#If you or no one else reads this I don't blame anyone! Yikes...

[sophieinwonderland]

Wishing for anti-endos to loose all their friends and spaces and to be ostracized does not help pro-endos. It makes anti-endos even more set in their beliefs. It makes people who are on the fence go "yikes, I guess the anti-endos are right". I'm firmly pro-endo and your recent post makes me want to take some distance. This isn't how we gain allies.

I know, these people suck. I know, it hurts to constantly be excluded and hated for the way our brains work or the reason why they work that way. I know, many anti-endos are too far gone and aren't people that you or I can reason with unless they decide to unpack their shitty beliefs.

But posts threatening them is not the way to go. They already see us as the enemy. We don't need to add fuel to the fire. Let's make sure people who are on the fence or who don't know much about non-traumagenic systems see us acting in ways that make them want to listen to our side instead of the fakeclaimers. Let's make sure anti-endos who are starting to rethink their beliefs feel like it's safe for them to do so and to start listening to pro-endos.

I'm sure this post is gonna get lots of interaction. But if it makes people less likely to read your studies, to listen to your arguments, to hear out the systems messaging you about their experiences? That's all for nothing.

I... actually think adding fuel to a fire can be useful sometimes. As long as you can keep it a controlled burn.

I'm counting on most anti-endos on Tumblr who would be scrolling through the syscourse tag already having me blocked. They won't see my post.

I'm counting on neutrals probably not following my blog or the syscourse tag either one. And most of those that do follow syscourse have already made their minds up about me.

I made that post for a very specific audience. One that doesn't actually need anyone to fuel its fire because they've built an entire community on seeking out systems to mock and attack. They already cherry pick the worst posts they can find to keep their friend group indoctrinated. So adding one more to the pile shouldn't matter to that specific group.

I don't think anything I say is actually going to make them hate the endogenic community more than they already do because they're surrounded constantly by people who will always reinforce that very generalized hate.

But I do think I can direct that hate they already have. Focus it as much as possible on one specific person. Me.

And the more they see me as a threat, (whether or not I am,) the more hateful they respond to me, the more their community will crack.

Users will be more likely to break their rules, making moderation in their subreddit more difficult for the unpaid mod team who will hopefully start rethinking how much of their life they want to dedicate to a hatesub moderating an angry userbase with nothing to show for it.

And while a slim hope, I'm waiting for them to be pushed far enough for Reddit to ban the whole subreddit.

So yeah. I don’t mind tossing as much fuel on the fire as possible if there's a chance their ableist hatesub burns.

Besides... I'm not actually saying anything untrue.

Plurality IS going to become more accepted. They ARE losing the scientific argument. And anti-endos and cringizens WILL lose friends and community support as plural acceptance spreads unless they're willing to change. A safe space for endogenic systems can never be one that houses anti-endos.

This is not a threat. This is a promise. It's a natural result of progress. And I'll do my part to accelerate this. But it's going to happen with or without my involvement.

I'm just making sure that when it does and they go looking for someone to blame because things have gone bad in their lives and their bigotry caught up with them, they'll direct their anger toward me instead of anyone else.

(Although maybe they can direct it inwards too since, you know, it was their fault for being bigots. But I think that would be too much to ask for.)

[canonizzyhours]

I wrote this long meta post this morning when I was supposed to be working in response to someone saying that they relate to Izzy because he's an outsider, but I deleted it because I realized that I don't care about Izzy, and there's no point in arguing with someone who will be like well that's just your opinion man. Out of all the crew, I care about Izzy the least. I missed Buttons more than I'll miss Izzy in S3. So I'm going to stop reading Izzy posts.

(Although I still maintain that if you see Izzy as the outsider character in Season One you're missing the whole point of his character in that season. Being disliked by your peers is not the same thing as being an outsider!)

But I have one final vent: I'm completely baffled by the canyon. Completely. After I finished the first season, my friend warned me that there were people in fandom who LOVED Izzy, and I was like lol wut. And even after reading all the canyon's meta and all their frankly unhinged tweets, I still don't get it.

Jar Izzy? Okay, I totally get that. Everyone loves a bad boy with issues. I'd be shocked if he didn't have some fans.

But canyon Izzy isn't even Izzy. I've seen them say over and over that Izzy is mentally ill, which is never presented in canon (yet they ignore Ed's very textual breakdown??? why don't they relate to Ed's mental illness???). They say he protects and cares about the crew - citation, please. Show me the scene where he protected anyone. They say that he was completely motivated by the thought that Stede and/or Ed was going to get them killed - aside from Izzy freaking out over the Spanish in 1x04, there's no evidence of that, either. Every character trait they like about canyon Izzy (secretly soft inside, a genius, a natural leader, creative, funny, really really ridiculously good looking, probably nice to kids) literally belongs to the character of Ed!

Then I see posts saying that they relate to Izzy because they're mean and no one likes them... yikes. Or I see them say that they relate to Izzy because they've loved someone who hasn't loved them back, but then why do they vilify the character their fave loves? They've been queer baited because Steddyhands was totally written into canon. Izzy was the only real disabled character. Izzy was the only real gay character. Izzy was the only one with a queer storyline - I guess Stede's entire storyline in Season One never happened?

And you know what, I could probably ignore all that. I could stop checking Tumblr. Hell, some of the Ed takes annoy me because they go too far in the opposite direction and call Izzy an evil mastermind; there are a lot of annoying posts on this site. But it bleeds into my first love: Modern AU Fanfic. Any time I click on a fic that pairs Izzy with anyone else it's more likely than not to portray Ed as violently insane or emotionally manipulative. It bums me out because I'm going to have to start filtering out more and more fic, and I'm going to miss out on some real gems just because it's also tagged Izzy Hands. But I don't know how much longer I can read fics where it turns out that Ed beats and tortures Izzy and only Izzy because they have a special connection, and Izzy gets with Lucius or Frenchie and Ed can't handle it because he can't deal with Izzy loving anyone but him, and Ed picks at Izzy and says terrible underhanded things about him, and everyone is secretly on Izzy's side. WHY ARE THERE EVEN SIDES???

Anyway, I blame Sherlock and discord.

#198.

[deadsince1973]

OMG, thank you for asking! I’ve been hinting about this in my tags for a while now and nobody’s ever asked, so I’ve been really debating about whether I should post this or not! (Although, to be fair, it was also because I knew this was going to be long, and I felt too lazy to type it all up.)

I just want to start by saying I cannot emphasize enough that I don’t want to take away from anyone’s love for the Captain! If you find him positive representation and relatable, then I support your happiness in this!

But, that being said, I think Them There/Six Idiots’s representation of gay and trans characters is not very good. I could bring in examples from their other works (i.e. Yonderland and Bill), but I’ll try to limit myself to the Captain.

I’ve seen people say things like, “It’s so great to see a gay man where his sexuality isn’t the joke!” But, it is the joke. It’s the whole joke! Okay, to be fair, it’s only half the joke, because the other half is how militaristic he is. But when the joke is about him being attracted to someone, the whole joke is that he’s gay! Take for example when he first sees Mike. Humor exists in the subversion of expectations. Thomas says, “Let me pluck out my eyes, for I shall never see such beauty again,” as the camera shows Alison. Then the Captain says, “Yes.” There’s a pause, where the audience assumes he’s also talking about Alison. But then he adds, “He’d make a very fine soldier,” and we laugh because our heteronormative expectations have been subverted. The Captain is gay. That’s what’s funny! The Captain then clears his throat. We understand that he’s not out and proud. He’s not unashamed of his lust, the way Thomas and Kitty are. The facade of a straight man is maintained, allowing the show to continue to exploit the gap between the behavior expected of a straight man and the Captain’s behavior for laughs. If the joke goes beyond his being gay, it’s that he’s gay and closeted.

Now, you could argue that that wasn’t the joke, that the joke was that he was so invested in his military lifestyle that he conflated it with his sexuality. In other words, the joke was that he was attracted to soldiers, not all men. But that’s not the case at all, because no other case of him combining his fascination with war with attraction to anybody is ever shown. Additionally, because of the heteronormative bias we’re all immersed in every day (not to mention the very real behavior of military recruiters and real-life soldiers), we just more firmly expect a person with an unspecified sexuality to be straight than we do for an army captain to not look at the world and every person in it through a military lens. In other words, there’s more of a gap between our expectations of his sexuality and its subversion than there is between our expectations of appropriate behavior for an army captain and its subversion to exploit. Therefore, even though both his being attracted to a man and the reason why/the way he chooses to express that attraction are humorous, the bulk of our laugh comes from the realization of his sexuality. In order to exploit his expression of his lust in the form of military recruitment for laughs, the writers would have needed to remove the question of his sexuality from the joke altogether. To do this, they would have had to establish his sexuality explicitly and unambiguously before this scene. They did not do that.

You could then argue that that was the first joke, and it established his sexuality, and none of the jokes about his attraction afterwards exploited that expectation. But, as I said above, they still did not make his sexuality explicit. He pretends to be straight, and so we expect him to act straight. That’s as good as actually expecting him to be straight before the first joke for the purposes of laughs. Either way, we expect him to act straight, and so when he acts gay, he subverts our expectations and makes us laugh. Again, the whole joke is that he’s gay.

I’d like to turn now to the way his sexuality is treated in the serious parts, how it’s treated outside of the jokes. I do want to add the caveat here that I don’t find this show emotionally compelling at all, the way a lot of people do. So I am coming at it from that point of view.

After the first season, I said I would be more okay with them exploiting the Captain’s being closeted for laughs if they actually seriously addressed what it’s like to be a closeted gay man. For the record, I know Ben Willbond said in at least one interview that he didn’t want to “ge[t] too deep about it because it is just a comedy.” Personally, I don’t agree with that point of view. I believe that if you’re going to deal with a socially sensitive issue in a comedy, you should give the weight it deserves. I don’t believe everything in a comedy has to be for laughs. Perhaps if you find the Captain emotionally compelling, you would disagree with me that his experience with his sexuality needs to be treated earnestly (and you probably agree with me that not everything in a comedy has to be for laughs). I can respect that opinion, but I’m afraid I do not share it. I would have liked to have seen an explicit depiction of his experience and struggles with his sexuality.

Which brings me, of course, to Redding Weddy. Frankly, I think the Captain throughout the entire show is barely one step away from queerbaiting. Yes, at least there’s never any hint of his actually being heterosexual. That’s a slight improvement from most queerbaiting. But they still never make his sexuality explicit. To my knowledge, none of Them There have even said the words “gay” or “homosexual” in an interview in relation to the Captain. It’s an unspoken understanding between the show and the audience, and that leaves the character open to interpretation. There are allegedly fans out there who still do not believe the Captain is gay. And to my mind, Redding Weddy just gives those fans ammunition.

Redding Weddy is ambiguous. The Captain is clearly as horny as a goat for his lieutenant. But at the same time, even then, even in a flashback, even when the Captain is alone with the audience, we get no explicit confirmation of his sexuality. The Captain’s explanation of Operation William is unclear. It could be taken at face value. In that case, the Captain never wrote a letter to Havers, he really did just bury blueprints with the mine, and all the hinting that he was in love with Havers was just misdirection. At best, we can believe that both were true: that the Captain was in love with Havers, and the misdirection was in the story’s focus on his feelings to distract the audience from the fact that he was really buying secret blueprints. At worst, the whole thing was a misdirection, and he was never in love with Havers at all. I don’t believe that, but it is a perfectly reasonable interpretation. It could also be that the Captain was lying about the blueprints. In that case, he really did write a love letter to Havers and hide it with the mine, only concocting the story about the blueprints and the whole operation being called “Operation William” at the last minute when he needed to explain the mine to Alison. That makes less sense to me, because why would he need to mention the paper and the name William at all, now that it had been blown up? However, you could still explain that away by him being afraid that the letter survived and trying to pre-empt any questions, should the letter ever be found. That’s a bit too much of a stretch in my opinion, but still not a totally unreasonable explanation. I think it’s significant that none of the other ghosts weighed in on the story, even though at least one or two of them must have seen or heard something. I think the story was kept deliberately ambiguous in order to keep the Captain’s very obvious sexuality as vague as was still possible. I don’t like that.

What I would have liked to have seen, more than anything else in regards to the Captain, is for them to have treated his sexuality the same way they treated Kitty’s race: as completely inconsequential. I’m not good enough with history to know exactly when Kitty lived and died, but she’s supposed to be a noble, or at least rich, Georgian woman, right? Google tells me that slavery was not abolished in the British Empire until 1833, under the reign of William IV (who, as I know we all remember from The Monarchs Song, came after George IV). Would a black woman have been granted dignity and respect in the heart of an empire built by the labor of people enslaved with no justification other than the color of their skin? If I’m wrong, please correct me, but I don’t expect so.

I do understand the need for both types of stories. I understand that there’s value in stories about a person of color, or a woman, or a member of any other minority or disadvantaged group fighting for equality and gaining ground. It’s good to have stories that explicitly support equality. But it is my opinion that there’s also value in simply presenting that equality, as unrealistic as it might now seem. It normalizes that equality, and it lets people who identify with one of the disadvantaged groups feel included. That’s why I love seeing a black woman being a Georgian noblewoman, because why shouldn't black people be able to dream of belonging to any period of British history that they want to? None of us can time travel, so it’s no more unrealistic for a black person to dream that than a white person. And that’s why I would have liked to have seen the same thing with the Captain. No, of course homosexuality was not accepted in the 40′s. But why shouldn’t we be able to pretend that it was? Why can’t we just see a gay man being treated completely equally to everyone else, irrespective of his sexuality? Why can’t we let gay men and maybe even others who identify as anything other than cis and straight dream of being able to be themselves in any historical era that they want to? That’s why I would very much have preferred if the Captain was just out, that they used a word like “gay” or “homosexual” on the show in reference to him, and if the whole joke of his character was just his military ways. Possibly mixed with how horny he is, just like Thomas or Kitty. But, in that case, as with Kitty and Thomas, the joke would not have been that he was gay, it would have just been that he wanted carnal satisfaction when he had no physical form. That would have been much better representation in my opinion.

This has all be in answer to the question above, posed on my post about how the Captain dancing with a gay couple at the end of season 2 was magical. I stand by that. I want the Captain to be out and happy, and him indulging himself and being comfortable with his sexuality makes me happy. But the fact that his sexual orientation is so often the butt of jokes, that they never address his struggles about getting comfortable with himself, and that they never dignify him by saying his sexuality out loud makes me feel frustrated and disappointed.

[diavolosthots]

Hey dear! I hope that you have a good time! I want to make a request, but please delete it if you don't feel like doing it.

I saved that request in the notes and been waiting for you to open them 😊

For request

First fight with brother (any of your choice) and one of them (I mean MC or that brother) thinks that it's end of relationship (because never had anything serious), but they reconciled in the end. I want some heavy angst with happy ending. MC can be GN if that is OK.

If you don't mind you can do for Mammon, but feel free to choose another one if you don't feel like write for him. Or if that would be better to write as headcanons for all the brothers. That's up to you!

I haven't been doing requests for ages. Please don't hate me if there is something wrong! I've read the rules, and I hope I haven't missed anything.

Anyway, sorry for long ask. And thank you for your writings!

(I forgot to look if you did anything similar, and remembered it at the end of writing that ask. Sorry if you already did something like that!)

Hey babes ❤ I did end up doing HCs for all of them because I thought it would be cooler (or more like I know someone is gonna request separate fics for all of them if I dont and I'm saving myself that trouble lol) I still hope you like it ! ❤ also this got SUPER LONG so its under a cut

Warning: angst -> happy ending-ish

THE BROTHERS in a fight with MC and thinking that they’re over (yikes)

Lucifer:

Everyone always says Lucifer is quick to lose his cool but he’s honestly been nothing but patient with you. He may have hinted at several things he doesn’t condone and he definitely has that ‘look’, you know the disappointed dad look, but he has held back a lot so as to not ruin the beautiful relationship you have with him. Everyone snaps, though, and when he finally did, it was ugly. He did NOT call you names, but oh he didn’t. He went straight for your feelings and pointed out every mistake you ever made for as long as he’s known you. Ouch. In his defense, you weren’t nice either. The argument ended nasty and ‘I hate you’s!’ were definitely thrown around, but none of them were meant, right? Goodness, he doesn’t know. After you left, he threw himself on his bed, literally, and just stared at the ceiling. His anger slowly fled away and he began to feel… guilty. Not necessarily because of the argument itself, but because he delivered some low blows and he knows that. Are you over? Done with him? You haven’t texted or called or talked… you’ve been actively avoiding him and he doesn’t like that, but his pride is such an issue, goodness. He can’t straight up apologize, that dickhead, but he’s sending you flowers and standing in front of your door with a sad face that says it all. 

“Forgive me? I made reservations at your favorite’s? We can talk over a nice dinner?” 

Mammon:

Mammon is known to get mildly agitated over the silliest things, let’s be real. He’s also quick to revert to the “are you dumb?!” argument, which is never effective. But he loves you and he would do anything for you so even if you do do something that he deems ‘dumb’, he usually bites his tongue. Doesn’t mean that doesn’t get on his nerves, though, and he definitely has a short temper, although people tend to overlook that. You just managed to push his buttons today and he used the “are ya stupid?!” argument, to which you obviously defended yourself, and rightfully so. This ended in a massive screaming match and him saying “Then leave! Ain’t nobody keepin’ ya with me!” He regretted it the minute those words left his mouth and you could see his eyes grow wide in shock at his own words, but that didn’t mean you stayed. “MC!” he tried running after you immediately but you were faster and honestly, who can blame you? He fucked up, and he knows it, and he feels terrible about it. Honestly, he’s crying just at the mere thought of you taking his words seriously and he can’t… he can’t bear to lose you, you know? What’s he gonna do? You’re the light of his life, as pathetic as that may sound to some…. So he won’t let you run away. Homie will hunt you down and beg for forgiveness. 

“Please, MC! Forgive me! I’m dumb, not you!!! Don’t leave me…” Don’t leave him. He will continue crying. 

Leviathan:

His constant need to put himself down is frankly, quite annoying. To you anyway. But you put up with it and just reassure him that, at least to you, he’s the most amazing demon that ever existed. It’s just facts. But a person only has so much patience, right? You can’t always spend your days trying to lift him up when all he does is dig himself a bigger hole. Who has the emotional time for that? You sure don’t. “Oh my God, Levi! Shut up! I can’t take it anymore!” Followed by “See! You’re just like everyone else! Leaving me!” and then you slamming the door to his room shut. It’s frustrating and understandably so. It makes you feel awful that you can’t even make your own boyfriend feel good about himself and get at least a little bit of self confidence and it’s so, so, so very draining to have to constantly listen to that. At this point, it’s affecting your own mental health and you just… you just can’t…. But Levi can’t lose you because he knows you’re right. He has to work on himself if he wants to keep someone as amazing as you with him and that’s why he’s crawling back to you now. 

“Look I… I know you’re right… I’m sorry. I promise I’ll … I’ll try. For you.”

Satan:

For being the Avatar of Wrath, you always admired Satan for his ability to keep cool. He prefers the relaxed and easy going life much more than the type of life people expect him to live, and you respect that. That doesn’t mean his constant need to one up Lucifer, through whatever means necessary, didn’t bother the hell out of you, though. You tried talking to him about it once or twice in a calm manner, but you always got the same answer “Pfft.. it’s Lucifer. Who cares?” And it never sat right with you. Just today he decided to pull a prank on the eldest and you had enough, standing in front of Lucifer and letting the bucket of cursed green slime land on you instead, to everyone’s shock. “What are you doing?!” Now that you’re thoroughly green from head to toe, you were also beyond pissed. “What am I doing?! What are YOU doing?!” But Satan matched your anger tenfold, accusing you of favoring Lucifer over him and oh! “You probably got an affair with him, too!” Which was a stupid thing on his part, but it looked like it the way you defended him. Anger doesn’t even begin to describe the emotion you felt running through you and had it not been for Lucifer, you probably would’ve physically fought Satan for such a dumb accusation. Lucifer took you to get cleaned up and lifted the course, giving you your natural skin and hair color back within a few days and plenty of scrubbing, and Satan felt like shit. You’ve always been there for him and, rationally speaking, he didn’t have a reason to doubt your loyalty to him, but he just can’t help but feel insecure beside Lucifer…. He decides to come apologize anyway, a deep blush on his face and guilt in his eyes 

“I’m… sorry for accusing you. It wasn’t my right to speak out of anger and jealousy…” 

Asmodeus:

How can anyone fight with the Avatar of Lust? Seriously, the guy is super easy going and he loves pretty much everyone. Not as much as himself, but almost. You on the other hand… you didn’t. Well you didn’t NOT love him or yourself, but you were just… you. You didn’t spend 4+ hours in the bathroom trying to get ready when you knew you were only going to the kitchen down the stairs. Like?? Although you never brought it up to Asmodeus, he constantly bothered you about skincare and what foods to eat and what not to eat, etc… It’s quite annoying, honestly, and at some point you just gave him a passive aggressive “Okay, whatever. Can we move on now?” To which he didn’t take lightly. He was still nice and sweet, trying to convince you that at least one of these things will make your skin glow brighter than a unicorn’s ass but you just had enough. “Can you stop?! You’re indirectly saying I’m ugly without that shit ton of product in my face and a diet that would make me starve before it helped me! If you want a skinny VS angel that barely holds onto their skeleton, get one!” It was more hurt and frustration speaking than anything, but your outburst still shocked him and he was taken aback for a moment. And then you ignored him for a week straight and as someone who thrives off of attention, especially the kind he gets from you, he can’t handle that! So he showed up in your room in sweats and a tshirt and messy hair and no product on his skin. 

“You’re right… we’re all naturally beautiful…. Wow that… that really hurts to say MC but can you forgive me?” 

Beelzebub:

Oh the sweet, sweet angel. He’s far from innocent and you know that. We all know that. But for this story, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. His reliance on Belphegor is just really… annoying. Belphegor this, Belphegor that. “Belphie used to…” or “Belphie said….” or “one day when Belphie and I….” Like why does everything have to include his twin? It’s so annoying and so rude when your significant other is right here !!! and planning their own future with you, Beel, thanks. It makes you feel less than and like Belphegor will always come before you. It makes you feel like shit, quite frankly, and who is to blame you? “Hey MC did I tell you what Belphie---!” “No! Shut up! I don’t care! It’s always about Belphie! The day you come to me and don’t let that name drip from your tongue is the day Jesus comes back to save me and we both know that will be never! I’m tired of always being stuck with Belphegor! We are not equals!” Granted, you shouldn’t have yelled and Beel was more than confused at your outburst, but you wouldn’t talk to him anymore after that so he left you alone. He thought you may need an hour or two, maybe a day tops, but that day turned into a full week and he even lost his appetite just because he knows you’re angry with him. It’s been a week, does that mean you’re over? His heart aches just at the thought… 

“I’m sorry for bringing Belphie up… I don’t want you to feel less than, MC. You mean a lot to me and so does Belphie, but you’re not Belphie and I need to learn that…”

Belphegor:

Honestly it’s a miracle he hasn’t lost his temper at you yet. Well, he partially blames it on his own laziness because if being angry or getting upset didn’t take so much energy out of him, maybe he would’ve snapped by now lol, but he tries really hard not to because he thinks your relationship with him after everything is pretty good, considering yall kiss and snuggle and fuck on a regular basis. But anyway, that’s exactly the issue. Considering everything, you’re still holding *that* against him. It’s never direct either, which makes it worse. It’s always said in a joking manner and something like “haha look it’s just like that one time you killed me” or “Beel’s grabbing that ham like you grabbed my throat” or “I remember seeing jesus for a moment there” and it agitates him. It makes him so angry, and he finally snapped. “I know I fucked up MC! Stop holding it against me! What do you want? A medal of honor? A survivor's certificate? Maybe a pat on the back for developing some sort of Stockholm syndrome that made you come back to your abuser?!” And then he left. And you may have cried both from confusion and your own anger, he isn’t quite sure. It’s just so…. Aggravating. He can’t deal with it. He knows it was a mistake spurted by his own insecurities and survivor’s guilt which ultimately led to his hatred but please, stop holding it against him.. He can’t keep putting up with it from the person he’s grown to love. He’s the one ignoring you and he won’t budge either because he’s a stubborn ass, but maybe if you come up first… 

“I’m sorry for yelling at you… I’m just so tired for it being held against me… I love you, and you should know that, and I do feel guilty about what happened.” 

[magnus-the-maqnificent]

Let's Analyze - Alec in CoFA

So, I’ve been seeing plenty of discourse on two of my mutual’s blogs about this topic… so I thought I’d sit down and write another analysis post about my beloved Alec Lightwood cause people are still giving him shit for a book that came out ten years ago 🤦‍♀️

This is gonna be in two parts, and I'm putting both under the cut:

PART 1 - ALEC’S INSECURITIES 

So, the first part - how Alec’s insecurities drove him to saying stupid things in CoFA

A quick disclaimer - I’m NOT blaming Alec alone for his and Magnus’s break up. What happened was pretty complicated, and the blame cannot be put on one person alone. 

That said, let’s start with Magnus and Alec’s early ‘official’ relationship, in trsom.

These scenes are taken from only the first part of the book, but I’m pretty sure they’re more than enough to get a sense of Alec’s insecurities and all the chinks in their relationship. Throughout the entirety of trsom, we see more bits and pieces of Alec’s insecurities about Magnus’s sexuality, and his past and all the people he might have known - and that’s okay! Insecurities happen, cause brains are stupid like that.

But all of Alec’s insecurities could’ve been laid to rest with a simple conversation. But the conversation never happens. Magnus tends to deflect and change the topic every single time his past is brought up. I understand Magnus’s reasons for hiding his past, of course, but it doesn’t help his relationship with Alec. Magnus hiding a good chunk of his past will inevitably lead to Alec questioning himself - why is he so secretive? Why is he not telling me anything? Does he not trust me? ...and so on.

And when Alec is already feeling insecure in this relationship, this happens - (sorry about the terrible cropping btw)

And then later, while Magnus is talking to Camille,

Now… when people are insecure about something, they get irked at the smallest of things. I’m saying this as an insecure person myself. So now, you've got Alec, who's insecure as fuck, and his vacation with the person he loves got cut short by his ex who refuses to talk to anyone but him, and when they get there, his lover and his lover's ex seem to have obvious chemistry, he gets hit with the reality that his lover has dated several, probably even hundreds of people before him; and he has to leave them alone in a room so they can talk, and then he hears the ex basically just list all his shortcomings - i.e, his mortality, his appearance is compared to some random dead guy (sorry, Will) whom your lover had a crush on, which is just weird, and when you've had enough and open the door, it's to see your lover and his ex, standing close as fuck, and he's! touching! her! face! and! looking! into! her! eyes!

*takes a sip of water* yeahhhh... Alec was straight up having a bad day.

And at this point, a) Alec is still in his first relationship. He didn't get to navigate romance when he was younger, and while there's nothing wrong with that, there weren't exactly cutesy presentations titled 'how to keep your relationships healthy' floating around the internet. Heck, he didn’t know the internet. He didn't know that he had to communicate with Magnus, and it doesn't help that boy avoids conversations about feelings like the plague. And b) at this point, Alec would be facing several negative emotions - insecurity, obviously. Hurt. Helplessness, because of his mortality. Fear, that he might not live up to Magnus’s past lovers. Jealousy at seeing Magnus and Camille so close.

Negative emotions like these often tend to show up as anger or sorrow... and in Alec’s case, that would be anger. Which leads us to THIS- (🙈)

*sighs in second-hand embarrassment*

*drinks more water*

*this is gonna be so hard aksjakak*

So. Alec dealt with his insecurities... by being a mean, mean bitch to Magnus :/

Let's break this scene down, slowly, bit by bit.

First, Alec cuts into a conversation between Magnus and Jordan, when Magnus mentions Woolsey Scott, followed the rest of that particular page. To Alec, he's just a figure from Magnus’s past, and a possible lover, though in Alec’s defense Woolsey Scott WAS Magnus’s lover. This is the first instance that we see in which Alec lashes out at Magnus. It seems like he's trying to make a point to Magnus - "I don't know anything about your past, and so I don't know who you've had romances with, but I want to know." Except he makes his point in the worst way possible and ends up slutshaming Magnus.

The "What's true?" line, in response to Jordan saying "so it's true what they say about warlocks, then?" is pretty obvious. Alec is clearly not liking the idea that this random werewolf might know about warlocks, and in particular, his Warlock boyfriend.

Next... ooh boy... Alec basically snaps and in the next few paragraphs accuses Magnus of wanting to flirt with others which... is not a good look on ya honey 😕. These lines are the ones that get him accused of being biphobic... but is he really? I'm gonna talk about that in part 2.

So, in the first paragraph, where Alec makes the comments about Jordan, I find his choice of words pretty... interesting, seeing as 'messy-haired', 'broad-shouldered' and 'chiseled-good-looks' are all used to describe Alec in the series. Not sure if its relevant, but definitely interesting.

And in the next one, where Alec says, "or there are plenty of pretty girls here, since apparently your taste goes both ways. Is there anything you aren't into?" The 'apparently' makes me curious. In rsom, Alec mentions that he's only recently heard of the term bisexual, and there's plenty of time between rsom and cofa, so Alec should be absolutely sure of atleast the basic meaning of bisexuality. But I'm pretty sure it's just inconsistency on cc's part, since if rsom didn't exist, this book would be the first time Alec learns about Magnus’s bisexuality. (Which is obvious when you look at the scene after Magnus reveals that Camille is his girlfriend.) And as for the second sentence, I feel like it's a fallback to earlier in the book when Magnus says (I'm just gonna write the dialogue from memory), "I've dated men, women, warlocks, faeries, vampires, werewolves and even a djinn or two." Here, Alec is angry, and he takes the knowledge that Magnus has dated a variety of people and once again, lashes out.

Looking at all of it together, Alec’s insecurities are definitely a factor in all of this. We know Alec has pretty low self esteem in tmi, and he keeps having irrational thoughts about someone else grabbing Magnus’s attention, like in the trsom scene I've posted above. And he ends up taking out his insecurities on Magnus.

Was it wrong of Alec to say all those things to Magnus? Yes, absolutely. But looking back through all his scenes in cofa, it's easy to see how he could've fallen into the pit trap of emotions.

And before anyone says "but it wasn't addressed in the later books", it was, in CoLS. I’ve hit the image limit, so I'm just gonna type it out -

"[Magnus] said it would be better if he didn’t come. Apparently him and the Seelie Queen have some kind of history."

Isabelle raised her eyebrows.

"Not that kind of history," Alec said irritably. "Some kind of feud. Though," he added, half under his breath, "the way he got around before me, I wouldn't be surprised."

"Alec!" Isabelle dropped back to talk to her brother....

So, there. Alec makes yet another slutshaming comment, Isabelle overhears and is clearly not happy about it, and it's clearly implied that she talks to Alec about it. And Alec doesn't make any more slutshaming comments since then. Boy now knows what he did was wrong, and makes sure not to repeat it again.

Although, I do wish we had more than this. I wish we had more of Magnus and Alec talking about this argument, heck, even about all their arguments and the reasons they broke up, but you can't get everything you want, apparently :(

And now onto the next part...

PART 2 - IS ALEC BIPHOBIC?

The short answer, uh, no, not really.

The long answer.... would be complicated.

So, back in the day, when this discourse was at an all time high, I remember reading a bisexual person's essay about this topic, and they said that this comment from Alec - "or there are plenty of pretty girls here, since apparently your taste goes both ways. Is there anything you aren't into?" - would be a biphobic microagression.

According to Google, a microagression is "a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority".

And in Alec's case, IF his words were biphobic, they were completely unintentional. They were microagressive. Which is... still bad, of course, but it's more complicated than that.

If you look back on Alec's supposedly biphobic statements, they're more about Magnus’s hypersexuality and promiscuity than anything else. Yes, even the line i mentioned like two paragraphs ago. At first glance it may seem like a direct attack on Magnus’s sexuality, but think over the explanation I gave for the line and it will make sense. And a lot of people know that the whole 'bi people fuck around a lot and are cheaters' thing is a stereotype.

Now, it may seem like I'm going off topic here, but bear with me. I couple of days ago, I watched this video by chance. (Tw for the aids crisis and lots of biphobia, not from the narrator, if you wanna watch the video). Basically, back in the 1980s, bisexual men were scapegoated for spreading aids to the straight community and were vilified by popular media as being promiscuous scepters who would cheat on their wives with gay men and then give aids to their wives. (Yikes 😬). And since bisexuality was practically unheard of before all this (several bisexual activists have stated that all this shit, though unfortunate, pulled bisexuality out of the closet), it's safe to assume that this is how those stereotypes came to be - through 1980s propaganda.

But living with this propaganda is... a very limiting experience. The people who leaned and unlearned and fought against this propaganda are mostly US Americans who grew up with it, either the actual propaganda itself or passed down by their parents. But like I said, it's a very limiting experience. US is but one country out of many, and even for those living in the USA there's a chance that they grew up in a very hush-hush environment. People who grew up hearing all these stereotypes will see it as biphobia, while people who didn't - like Alec, and me, and several other people will not. A lot of people grow up with absolutely no knowledge of the queer community, and chances are that they'll be incredibly confused when a stereotype is pointed out to them, and they often get no more explanation than 'this is a harmful stereotype'. Queer experiences aren't the same for everyone, and while I respect the people who see this as biphobia, they should recognize that there are many people who won't see it that way.

I have seen bisexual people say that Alec's words were biphobic, and I've also seen bisexual people say that they weren't. Thus, there is no clear consensus about whether or not Alec was being biphobic. And like I said earlier, Alec grew up far, far away from mundane anti-queer bigotry. He was essentially a clean slate when it came to knowledge of eer microagressions of any kind, because microagressions and stereotypes are often incredibly specific, don't have anything to do with a person's race/sexuality/gender, etc. and will make zero sense unless you know the history behind them. To Magnus, who lived through the anti-bisexual scapegoating, the words would've definitely stung, but Alec didn't even know the implications he would be making with this words! Of course, the impact is greater than intention, and I imagine Magnus would sit Alec down one day and talk about all this history with him.

And idk if I can even blame cc cause the history of bisexual men is RARELY ever talked about, atleast on the internet.

Also, this scene in cofa is the only instance where he can be interpreted to be biphobic. Nowhere else in all of tmi, and even tec, do we see Alec express hatred or disgust or microagression towards bisexual people. If this was seen in a repeating pattern from Alec, one could argue that he's biphobic... but he isn't. Some might point to some of his internal thoughts in trsom to argue otherwise, but I believe that actions are superior than thoughts.

There's also the thing about unlearning prejudices, but in Alec's case there was hardly anything to be unlearned. The only prejudices he did pick up on were against himself, through vague homophobic comments from Robert.

P.S if you've read this far, I am legally entitled to compensation for thinking of cofa Alec for 48 hours. Put your favorite Alec moments in my askbox cause I wanna focus on his good side now. 😎

But yeah, the main thing here is that Alec has grown from his mistakes, apologized, and hasn't repeated this behavior at all.

And lastly, I just wanted to add - I don't think all this was unintentional on the author's part. She's grown up with the us American queer community, and has mentioned that she has bisexual friends, who have no doubt faced prejudices because of these stereotypes. I think she was trying to condemn making such statements, but a lot of people don't read between the lines and end up misinterpreting it and make both the character and her to be biphobic.

So... TLDR; was what Alec said biphobic? Maybe. It depends on who you're talking to. Is Alec, as a person, biphobic? Nope. Not at all. 😌

[immortal-enemies]

this would probably be an unpopular opinion but i don't understand how everyone seems to sympathise so much with grace

yes, tatiana was abusive and she didn't deserve to have the kind of childhood she did - but does that really make her "a great character that needs a redemption arc" though? She's done a lot of awful things (explaining in detail is tiring but i think we all get the gist lol) and not everything was because she was simply forced to. This one is based on personal preference but i really don't think she has that much of a personality either.

something common I see is "she would be a lot more loved if she was a man" and while i agree, i honestly think she would also be criticised a lot more by the fandom. So many of the m characters have the "they're terrible because they had a bad childhood/was abused and didn't actually want to be awful" trope and the fandom is critical of them (as they should). But why is it different with grace?

I'm not trying to invalidate other's opinions but i just find it hard to agree with her getting a redemption arc. I'm fine with people liking her character, I guess it's more of when they try to justify what she did and excuse her actions? also sorry this is so long 😅

Hey!! Absolutely no problem!! This was, for lack of a better word, interesting to read.

Alright, I'm sorry that this took so long to answer, but I was considering exactly HOW I was going to answer.

So, I'm turning this ask into a ask/rant. Under the cut is my current, unedited, written at 12:00 am, honest opinions on Grace and ig Tatiana, keep in mind that I am, I guess, “anti grace blackthorn” so this isn’t full of defenses for her, quite the opposite, in fact. Read at your own risk (fair warning, it’s long), but since no one will probably read it anyway, idk.

Yes, after CoI that is an unpopular opinion. No, I don't understand it much either. To a certain degree.

One of the things I think that people seem to forget/overlook/ignore is that, despite everything, Grace still had a choice. She decided to give in and spend years abusing a young boy. Tatiana is abusive, but that will never change the fact that, at the end of the day, Grace still had a choice. And yes, I understand why she did it. She was in a horrible place, mentally and physically, but she still decided. No amount of arguing will change that fact. It's her life, it's her choice.

Yes, she did do horrible things without needing to. Her power in to compel/control men. She didn't have to kiss Matthew and use it as some sort of blackmail, but she did. She actually had no reason to other then some personal reason. She could have made Mathew forget. In CoI Grace claims that Matthew would have forgotten the kiss anyway, so why do it in the first place?

That's one of the problems I have with how CC wrote Grace. She had to make the one girl abusing a boy be because she didn't want to show her young female audience that they can be abusive too. Women can be just as abusive as men, and TSC is an awful example of that. Looking at all of the abusive characters who were like that simply for their own possible benefit, the ratio of men to women in that is completely off balance. Not saying it has to be equal, but I'm fairly certain Grace would be the only female character abusing a male character for her own personal gain, while adding a character to her (yes, I also agree that she has none.) not necessarily a character to look up to, but she's not that in canon either.

Now, a point on Tatiana: Tatiana is a character who was driven to be crazy by severe trauma, grief and mental illness, and is portrayed as one of the main villains of the series because of what those factors led her to become. It's also used as a plot point that "she could have reached out to anyone in her family; they were willing to help." So you're telling me that she's the villain because she didn't reach out to the people who, in her point of view, murdered her father, husband and son? ESPECIALLY in the 1800-1900's? That ain't it. We all know that the Shadowhunter families, and Shadowhunters in general, are not responsible for this, but when you look for someone to blame, especially in a horrific mental state, that could very easily be the only thing you hold on to. To be clear: I'm not defending her. Going back to my Grace point, she DID still have a choice in who she became, but I hate how people go "UwU Grace" and then "Tatiana is the bad one 😡" when they're very similar.

Now, onto your last point: gender.

Yikes, touchy subject in fandom.

Yes, if Grace was a man, she would be much more liked from the beginning. But also, if she was a man, then the Grace stans probably wouldn't BE Grace stans, and would hate him relentlessly and criticize and hate. One of the main reasons that people excuse her so much are because she's a girl who's abusive to a boy!! And like, boy's can't BE abused. ESPECIALLY by women, right? I mean, THEY'RE always the abusers!! (/s)

Something else: Christopher.

Alright. This isn't very big, but people praise Grace for not controlling Christopher in CoI. That's horrible. You don't praise people and say "UwU so cute couple goals!" at the fact that she didn't do something absolutely awful to him.

A general criticism of YA is how, in general, m/f relationships are portrayed in a kind of stereotypical/abusive way? Like, you have the guy who, in absolutely NO way can call out/say ANYTHING negative about their female love interest, and are often portrayed as afraid of them. That's... Ew. And then you have the girl who is a badass mf who gets some sick pleasure out of scaring the "love of their life"? Ew. But it's also always said that that's what a relationship should be, and I'm not saying that that's what young girls are going to look up to/expect a relationship to be like, but fiction does affect reality. And honestly for a while I was genuinely terrified at being in a relationship because I didn't want to treat a guy how these girls in YA do. That was mostly unrelated, but I thought of it while thinking of a response to this ask so it's gonna be included.

Anyway, it does beg the argument: what would I have done in Grace's position? What was she supposed to do in such a difficult situation? Well. A mere year ago I would have said "I wouldn't have done it" but know that I would if I was broken down enough, especially at the age Grace was when she got her power. But now, I can easily and honestly say, that I would not agree to anything Grace did. If I was put in her position, I would venomously refuse.

There was more I wanted to say, but like, no one is reading this anyway do like-

[toomuchponytail]

I don't know if you're taking requests right now but I had this whump idea though I don't usually write whump stories but would like to see your take on it. “In the end…NOBODY WILL EVER LOVED ME!” They let out a sarcastic laugh, broken with pain “I DON’T EVEN LOVE MYSELF! HA! Can you IMAGINE!” Tears started coming through and with that they collapsed on their knees sobbing into themself “How can you ever care for yourself when no one ever care for you, when no one ever loved you!”

AAAHHHH!!!! This is so freakin’ good? Like you don’t write whump and you just…come up with that dang incredible dialog? If you ever decide to change your whump writer status I will 100% read what you throw out into the internet void, (tag meee!!) I love this! Holy baloney batman?! Sorry, I’m just excited….Whew.

Also I am always taking requests! I sometimes don’t see them if they are commented on an actual prompt because I’m always a little scared I’m going to get attacked in the comments for sucking so bad? (Is that embarrassing? I’m embarrassed lol but yeah that’s why I don’t go in there super often…yikes) But I will eventually get to anything that’s submitted! (Unfortunate emphasis on the eventually, sorry Anon) 

Alright, here we go, I’m feeling angsty, so this one is sad, a lil more than a touch dramatic, and TW for suicidal thoughts and talk! Here’s an antagonist who’s full of self loathing, and has never really been loved and a hero in sudden grief, so here we go! *Cracks elbows* 

(It’s long, and I don’t know why anyone would expect anything less from me at this point) 

The hero was sitting at home, feet up, flipping through television channels, having a night off for once. It had struck them as odd that no one had called them asking frantically for help, no one had put his signal in the night sky.

But he wasn’t going to complain, he didn’t remember the last time he’d had a night off. 

He flicked the channels as far as the news–thinking abstractly that the excess of channels but fraction of decent content was a true criminal act, before he stopped, frozen by sudden horror. 

The remote tumbled out of his hand. No, no, no! Was all that their mind was capable of producing. 

A reporter was standing in front of a building overtaken by flames, her hair was being whipped around by the wind, sidekick’s civilian identity was pictured next to their masked one on the screen, “The child of wealthy oil tycoon and owner of a shipping company has been killed this evening, they were better known by their masked identity as sidekick, helping hero fight the crime that has long plagued our streets.” The blonde reporter’s eyes misted with tears, she cleared her throat and continued, “Their secret was uncovered this evening when they were pulled unconscious  in a warehouse fire suspected to have been started by the antagonist, the hospital pronounced them dead on arrival. 

Hero made a soft choking sound, rolling off of the couch and onto the floor, they watched with wide eyes as the reporter wiped tears from her eyes, “There is currently no news of where hero is, and no news of the antagonist claiming the slaying of their longtime enemy. Wherever they are, the police are looking for them, and I have been assured in a statement by the chief of police that the antagonist will be found and questioned in the killing of sidekick,” she looked like she wanted to say more, but swallowed hard instead, when she wrapped up her report her voice was raspy with tears, “More on this as it develops, and to hero, wherever you are, I am deeply sorry for your loss, and to us, the people of this city, I am deeply sorry for our loss as well.” 

Somewhere Hero’s phone was ringing, he let it go, checking it to see if by some awful chance they’d missed sidekick’s call, they hadn’t, but they did miss this one, only when it started up again, his burner phone announcing it’s tinny necessity to the world, he groped for it feeling like his arms were full of wet sand. When he flipped it open he couldn’t say anything, it was like his throat had closed, his eyes burned. 

“God hero,” it was vigilante’s voice, gruffer than usual, “I’m going to make them pay for this, I’m leaving right now, I’ll get them I promise you.” 

Hero didn’t say anything, there wasn’t anything to say, there was, however, something to do. 

The hero got to them first. 

Blind with righteous aggression they stormed into the Villain’s base with eyes that already glowed a neon green. Not even having bothered to change into their uniform Hero ripped through the base, destroying everything in his path, not that he could see what he was destroying, his eyes were far too blurred with tears. The tears diffused the neon color, but by the time they reached his chin they were no longer charged with power, just grief. 

“Where are you? You coward!” Hero roared brokenly, “Get out here!” 

A handful of henchmen, all of them covered in ash from the fire rounded the corner, hero recognized the one in the front as the antagonist’s second in command, he grabbed the henchman’s collar lifting them effortlessly into the air before he could turn and get away, henchman had no choice but to grab onto the hero’s forearm as they were lifted. 

“Where are they?” Hero growled, henchman could see the wild and unrestrained grief on the hero’s face. 

“They didn’t mean it, hero you know that,” The henchman’s voice was gentle, their eyes full of regret, “You can’t hurt them,” they were trying to talk some sense into them, this wasn’t like hero at all. 

“Try me!” Hero roared, “Tell me where they are or I’ll–I’ll beat it out of you!” 

“Leave them alone hero,” The antagonist’s voice came from behind hero it was soft, resigned, “I’m right here, I know I can’t hide from this.” 

Hero put henchman back on their feet, they strode over to the antagonist with murder in their eyes, the antagonist flinched when hero grabbed them, but didn’t move away, hero’s red rimmed eyes beginning to glow again, “What right did you have?” Hero choked out brokenly, “they were just a kid, a kid antagonist!” 

The antagonist doesn’t trust their voice, they can’t meet the hero’s eyes. 

Hero shook them, ignoring the sound of henchmen coming up behind them, the antagonist held up a hand their eyes found their second in command, looking on in concern, their hands clenched at their sides, their eyes dark with sorrow, “Go, clear out,” the antagonist commanded over the hero’s shoulder. 

“But…” 

“Go.” The antagonist’s eyes are broken glass, they give away that they know this will be their last order, “No vengeance,” they breathe, “Just get out of here.” 

The henchman swallows hard, but they follow orders, leaving the hero and antagonist together in the ruined base. Their henchman doesn’t look back, it was the kind of goodbye the antagonist figured that they deserve. 

The antagonist’s attention moved back to the hero, tears burned like sand in their eyes, “Go ahead hero,” they whispered, “I won’t stop you.” 

Hero hit them then, letting the antagonist hit the floor, feeling so utterly wrung out by the wrongness of it, by the wrongness of all of this, they let their tears fall freely as they hit the antagonist again, and again, and again. But it didn’t make them feel any better, it wasn’t even really vengeance, hurting the antagonist wasn’t going to make sidekick come back, it wasn’t even revenge, they stopped their attack, hardening their resolve. 

The antagonist struggled back to their feet, a bruise, one of many, forming on their cheekbone, but their eyes are confused, “I said it was okay,” they gesture to the hero’s eyes, “go ahead, nobody will blame you.” 

Hero is staggered by this, even in their raw sorrow, “You want me to kill you?” They’d wanted to kill them when they’d burst in here, they’d been intending to, wanted to blast them until they were little more than a smoldering stain on the linoleum floor, but something was still holding them back, their useless morals, and now the antagonist was asking them for it? 

The antagonist looked away, asking in a small tight voice, “Do I deserve anything else?” 

The hero is not thinking, they want the antagonist to suffer, they want more than anything for sidekick to kick down the door with one of their terrible corny jokes, but that won’t happen, that won’t ever happen again, and that is the antagonist’s fault, maybe they can’t kill them because this isn’t really revenge, maybe the antagonist needs to feel what they do right now. 

“Who’s someone who loves you huh? You monster? Where is there someone who cares about something like you?” Hero asks, their thoughts darkening to something foreign and terrible, thoughts that would keep them up at night for weeks to come.  

In the end it was those questions that broke the antagonist finally, their face screwed up, “This is the end,” they choked out, “do you see anyone here?!” 

Hero swallowed, it was is if they’d been broken out of a trance, taking a half step back from their enemy, scared of what they had been about to do, of what they could be reduced to. 

“I don’t have anyone, nobody will ever love me,” they whispered it like they were realizing it for themselves, then, louder, their voice growing to a shout, ringing full of self-loathing, “In the end …NOBODY WILL EVER LOVE ME!” They force out some mockery of a laugh, broken with pain,” And is that really such a surprise? You both were the sole holdouts, the only ones who’d never called me that. Monster.” the antagonist shuddered, “I don’t even love myself!” they laughed darkly, “HA! Can you imagine?!” Their facade fell then, collapsing to their knees shaking with broken sobs, “How could I? How can you ever care for yourself when no one else ever has cared for you? When no one has ever loved you?” They covered their face with their hands, their body shaking with sobs, “I deserve it, I deserve that title, I proved that tonight! I didn’t want…I didn’t mean…It doesn’t matter!” 

They fixed broken eyes on the hero, “I am a monster, so you’d better kill me, before I have to do it myself!” 

Hero faltered, and because they can’t seem to be able to do anything else, cursing themselves for their own soft heart they drop to the floor and pull the unresistant antagonist into them, they can’t speak over the lump in their throat, but they hold them close, crying tears of their own, not angry anymore, just full of anguish. 

‘I’m sorry, god, I’m so sorry hero!” The antagonist sobbed into hero’s shoulder, “I tried to get them! They went back in! I don’t know why!” The hero can’t bring themselves to say anything. 

They sit like that for a while, weeping on the floor of the antagonist’s base, the antagonist crying for what they’d become, for what had happened to sidekick, and the hero crying in grief, both of them mourning what is, what was, and what could never be again. 

After an indistinguishable amount of time, both of them having run out of tears and settled into shell shocked silence, not having moved off of their shared place on the floor, there was a hesitant knock on the door. 

“Boss?” It was the antagonist’s second in command, their voice hesitant,  hero rose on shaky knees, helping the antagonist to their feet wordlessly, the sadness having washed everything away and leaving only exhaustion. The antagonist would have fallen if the hero hadn’t looped their arm around their shoulder, helping them limp to the door. 

“I-I told you to go,” there wasn’t any emotion in the antagonist’s voice, it was a monotone statement. 

“I know, but, um, Sidekick is alive.” 

The antagonist can feel the hero start beside them, “W-what?” Hero croaks out sharply, the antagonist is glad they were able to speak, this time it was their turn to have shock steal their voice completely. 

The henchman pushes the door open, their eyes widen in shock at finding hero still there, let alone finding the antagonist wrapped around them, but they force themselves to look away, clearing their throat, “um, we have it on footage, sidekick left through a secret exit, it looks like they faked their death.” 

“I’m guessing you didn’t know about this?” The antagonist asked hero who looked back at them with wide eyes, they shook their head mutely. 

“What the hell is going on in here!” Vigilante yelled from the doorway, a large weapon clenched in his deft fingers, his eyes were red from crying too, darting from the antagonist to the hero, and back to the antagonist again.  

“Sidekick faked it,” hero stated softly, trance-like, not even moving to let go of the antagonist. 

“Wh-what?!” Vigilante stuttered, dropping the weapon, it clattered noisily on the floor, henchman winced expecting it to go off, when it didn’t they relaxed their shoulders, “yeah, we have the footage,” they repeated, “They were picked up by a limo, and, um,” henchman glanced back at vigilante with a touch of worry, “They looked pretty smug about it too.” 

“What they hell is going on?” Hero wondered out loud, accidentally parroting vigilante. 

“I don’t have any idea,” the antagonist shook their head, “But we need to figure it out.” 

“Together?” vigilante grumbled at the same time as henchman, they were both met with glares from their prospective leaders, one soot stained and bruised, the other who’s eyes just momentarily glinted neon green. 

Together it was.

[ourimpavidheroine]

So I saw your repost about the headcanons and pairings, and honestly... I love your fics, I think they're really well written and I see the Wuko chemistry in there, but in regards to the original show? I'm kinda giving you the side eye. But seriously, I'm glad you see it even if I don't! I think I just don't see pairings in general like that unless someone throws them to my face - hence, why I spent countless hours of my teenage years despairing about the lack of companionship fics in One Piece.

Side-eye anon here. In case you don't know One Piece, it's at least to me the ultimate companionship manga. And all the characters are too in love with adventures to even pursue romance. I've seen maybe one romance fic that I thought was believable, and it was based on the idea that two guys were just emotionally messed up enough to think that fighting constituted of showing affection. Rant over. I was seriously invested in this for many years, sorry to sprout this all on you :D

Oh, there was absolutely no intention on Bryke’s part to make Wuko a thing in the show. Whatsoever. I’ve commented on that many times on this blog! Wu was queer-coded as fuck (apparently they didn’t have anyone on the writing team who was able to pick that up, yikes) but it was very clear that was unintentional on their part and the intent was to make super annoying heterosexual Prince Wu a foil for het Mako’s growth over the show.

Nah, any interpretation of the characters being a couple in actual canon is wishful thinking on the part of viewers, or at least at this point. I am 100% cognizant of that and have been ever since Book 4 aired.

What I did think was that the characters had potential to have a continuing relationship, and I thought it could grow into a romance, given the right treatment. The characters as they were in canon could develop something deeper if I explored that, and I was interested in exploring that with those particular canon characters. I liked the canon dynamic between Wu and Mako and I loved (and still love) the actual ATLA/TLOK worldbuilding and wanted to play in that particular sandbox. I did have to make Wu somewhat more bearable to do it (I had to lose his annoying slang, for one thing, and I totally used Huan to do that) and that was actually a challenge I set myself. Can I make this annoying little shit less annoying? (I like to think I did.)

Do I think I’ve made anyone ship Wuko who hadn’t done it before they read my fic? Well, based on comments that I’ve gotten, I have. Was that my intention in writing it? No. Not at all, actually. I assumed that the people reading it would be doing so because they already shipped Wuko (and honestly couldn’t imagine why else they would be reading it) and any comments I’ve gotten telling me I got someone to ship it have surprised me, believe it or not.

But here’s the thing: I was interested in the long game with these characters, not just a quick fic to get them in bed with each other. (Not that there’s anything wrong with a quick fic to get them in bed with each other!) Just writing some quick Wuko smut was never my intent. I wanted to explore a lifetime with them and their particular canon dynamic, through marriage and children and aging and change and growth and everything else. That’s the kind of writing that I love reading as a reader, and it’s what I wanted to write as a writer. 

I have had, over the nearly six years (!!!) I’ve been writing my TLOK fanfic set myself some goals as a writer. Could I write a successful letter fic? Could I write a diary fic that actually won over people who loathed first person? Could I create OCs that were believable, that could fit right in with canon, that would add to the universe rather than distract from it? Could I explore family dynamics in a way that resonated with people? Could I write in a way that would include representation without it being contrived or smacking people over the head with it? Could I take a reviled character (in this case, Baatar Jr.) and give them a redemption story that actually works (and here I am giving Bryke’s dreadful Kuvira redemption comic the side eye myself)? I wanted to learn and grow as a writer and fanfic gave me a way to do that, and I have 1000% used TLOK to do that. Both with my Wuko fics as well as my Beifong fics. 

I am a super cerebral person, which makes me a super cerebral writer, I suppose. Blame the Autism! My fanfic is a hyperfocus for me, for sure. It’s always been about that so much more than it ever was shipping Wuko during Book 4. (And if anything, all of my Beifong fic is proof of that.)

I don’t know anything about One Piece (even still, I can feel your love for it) but I completely understand wanting more companionship fic. I don’t think every single relationship has to be about love/romance/sex and I also don’t think every single story has to revolve around that either. So no need for side eye at all, my Anonymous Friend. :) It’s precisely why I very rarely read fic that is just a basic excuse to throw two characters together for romance/sex and why I don’t write it, either. If I am going to ship something that isn’t explicitly canon, then I am going to take the time and effort to make it believable, to draw readers into that world, to let the romance blossom in a way that works for the characters and the worldbuilding.

So here’s a question for you - a real question, an I am seriously interested in your answer question, a no sarcasm intended question - what kind of thing would you want to see in a Wu and Mako fic? What kind of plot, what timeline, etc. If you are willing to answer, of course! I am genuinely curious and genuinely interested as a writer.

[ungracefulace]

Apparently @exclusionistgodzilla made a callout post about me and its... So much. I cant reblog from them but I can respond to this because its dead ass just factually incorrect in a lot of places

So this is how they begin their callout. With someone who just cant stand me. Which is valid, but their reasoning is honestly hilarious. I just want to focus on how for proof in a callout about the DANGERS of ungracefulace, you get unsourced and also wrong (anyone who actually reads anything I post ever will see that I dont give a pass for phobic stuff ace people or any people do. I actively call out and argue with shitty inclusionists when I see them) whining from a whole ass 32 year old. So not a string start but lets see what's next.

So again, this doesn't... count as a source of my evil since it diesnt have anything from what I said. But Ill do one better, I actually found said conversation and this is what they were talking about. (For context this is arguing against the whole idea that ace people cant consent to sex because we don't experience sexual attraction)

So first of all I didnt say aces having sex is like lesbians having sex with men at all. I said that an ace person choosing to gave sex with someone counts as consent, and that lesbian sex workers like my aunt are doing so consenually.

Ill definitely give you my wording is bad; when I say "without enjoying it" I'm meaning without being sexually attracted to. And when I said that it doesnt gave to be super enthusiastic I meant that you dont have to be super pumped to have sex for you to want to have sex. But also this is from like 3 years ago and I've gotten way better at wording things (at least in my opinion)

Obviously these are different circumstances, but for clarification in the case of an ace person deciding to have sex with their partner there's nothing wrong with that as long as they arent being manipulated or coerced, just like literally any couple ever. And for sex workers as long as they are in control of their clientelle then I see no problem with that either.

So none of these at ALL have rape culture apologism so thats just a straight up lie. "Recounting possibly triggering opinions to a CSA survivor minor without consent" ????? They literally were the one to start talking to me in replies of an OP I made about consent. This was the only thing I said about it and they told me they didnt want to talk about it anymore I completely dropped it. And oh yeah, Im a CSA survivor too???? And was also a minor at the time???? Y'all are trying to frame me as some type of predator acting like theres some kind of power imbalance I'm preying on when thats literally not the case and its fucked up.

Supporting self identification in minors is apparently a call out offense now according "supporting the labelling of kids as asexual". And general illiteracy is something thats not supported past "this person said simeone they argued with cant read"

But wait, that's not all!!!

The callout actually continues! With this "receipt"

This is in reference to the thing from like 2 days ago, and again... its so much. We start out strong with blaming me for "defending 10 year olds being ace" because I'm not some asshole going to tell someine who isnt 10 and is still ace that they didnt actually learn they were ace wyen they were 10.

Then we slide into full lies, nowhere do I even mention "allo kids" or say that its normal for 9 year olds to want or have sex. I said that puberty starts between 9-13, and I said that after puberty people can be interested in sexual stuff. I also said (in the screenshotted part they have in their callout) that obviously its not good and n that I dont think anyone shluld be doing anything sexual until they are at least 16.

This last thing just straight up doesnt make sense. For one, the discussion doesnt gave anything to do with grooming. Someone said someine else was lying about their personal experiences for why they identified as ace at 10, and my point was that they cant decide that person is a liar because they dont think 10 year olds are doing anything sexual. They shouldn't be, but its entirely possible and does happen so unless they literally were in school with that person theres no basis to say the person is lying. But secondly, they acknowledge that I do address the grooming point but not enough for them??? How is that callout worthy???

And then they end this already really thin callout with this...

All in all, this is a poor callout formed from lies and twisting situations. And considering this is coming from Discourse "the AGBT movement" Godzilla its not surprising but holy shit is it annoying to deal with. But yeah. If anyone needs more sources or anything nust let me know. But that pisspoor callout... Yikes

[today-only-happens-once]

Im new to Hamilton and have an idea on the plot but don't fully understand it. Could you help out?

*tries not to immediately start babbling about how much I adore and will defend this show omg* first, understand my sweet anon that I have absolutely zero chill about Hamilton. So you have come to the right place but also be ready for way more information than you probably cared to know. 

Hamilton is a rap/hip-hop opera written by Lin-Manuel Miranda based on the life and death of United States Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton. It features a predominantly minority cast (which is its greatest point of controversy). If you’ve listened to the soundtrack, you have heard all but one scene of the show. It is based on Ron Chernow’s biography, which Miranda read while on vacation. It is hard to briefly summarize the plot, but I’ll do my best. (I kept it as brief but thorough as i could and it was long as heck so I put it under a cut, friend)

The opening number gives us a crash course on Hamilton’s background as an immigrant from the Caribbean. In the beginning of the show, he meets Aaron Burr, Lafayette, John Laurens, and Hercules Mulligan. All of them end up joining the military shortly before the American Revolution breaks out. Once it does, Aaron Burr attempts to win the good graces of Washington only for Washington to request Hamilton to be his right hand man. Hamilton agrees. 

While fighting the war, he meets Angelica and her sister Eliza at a ball. Angelica has a crush on Hamilton but realizes that Eliza likes him too, and on top of that, Angelica is expected to “marry up” since she is the oldest sister. Hamilton is of poor means, so for all kinds of strategic and sad reasons, Angelica decides to take a backseat and lets Hamilton and Eliza meet and fall in love. Eliza and Hamilton get married.

Back at the war, things are falling apart but Hamilton is doing his best to help Washington pull through. But Hamilton is a hothead and impulsive and when a disgraced soldier starts ranting publicly about Washington and blaming him, Hamilton challenges him to a duel (or rather, has his friend Laurens challenge him to a duel). The solider gets shot in the duel and Washington finds out and sends Hamilton home as punishment. This is how Hamilton finds out that Eliza is pregnant. 

BACK AT THE WAR (there’s a lot of back and forth in the first act), Lafayette tells Washington that he has a plan but like, Washington really needs Hamilton yo. So Washington sends a letter and Hamilton goes back to the war-front but now is like “cant be so impulsive i gotta kid on the way”. ANYWAY he helps Lafayette and Washington win the battle of Yorktown which wins the war.

Now, as a side-note, Aaron Burr had fallen in love with the wife of a British soldier. She had his daughter, named Theodosia after her mother, but I think either died or stayed with the British dude so we never get to meet her but we do know Burr has a daughter now.

Also, Washington becomes president.

The show then speeds through a bunch of years following the war effort in one song (”Non-Stop”) in which we learn that Hamilton and Burr both worked as lawyers. During these years also was, of course, the formative years of our government in which the Constitution was getting drafted.  Hamilton works on the Federalist papers to help the Constitution get accepted. Burr refuses to help him with it, but it gets passed anyway and Hamilton is generally showing Burr up left and right. Thus ends Act 1. 

If act 1 is about the war, act 2 is about the politics. Thomas Jefferson shows up from when he’d been in France during the war and is asked to be Secretary of State while Hamilton is asked to be in charge of the Treasury. They show two political debates throughout act 2 that shows how they butt heads: the first being about whether the federal government should “assume states’ debts and establish a national bank” (Hamilton is in favor, Jefferson is against) and the second being about whether or not the US is obligated to assist France with their revolution (Jefferson says yes, Hamilton says no). Hamilton is trying to establish a banking system for the government and do his job but politics are politics and they’re complicated.

Meanwhile, Eliza wants Hamilton to take a break and spend some time with his family but Hamilton is all like “i got sh*t I gotta do” and refuses to take time off. This leads to Eliza going to visit her family for a few weeks upstate but Hamilton stays behind and ends up having an affair with Maria Reynolds. Maria’s husband finds out and basically blackmails Hamilton into giving him money to keep quiet about the ongoing affair. 

Also, Washington decides to not run for President anymore and John Adams takes over.

As political tensions run even more high, Burr, Jefferson, and Madison (who supports Jefferson) figures out that something fishy is going on with Hamilton regarding money. They assume he’s basically taking money from the government and pocketing it for his own benefit. When they confront him about it and accuse him of treason, Hamilton is like “AW NAW IM JUST HAVING AN AFFAIR HERE’S THE EVIDENCE” and they’re like “yikes but a’ight you’re not treasonous i guess and nah we wont tell anyone”. 

Hamilton is afraid they won’t be true to their word, though, and writes the Reynolds Pamphlet basically saying “hey world i had an affair which is bad but i promise i didn’t commit treason”. Eliza finds out and is devastated and angry. 

Now, remember how I mentioned that Hamilton had a baby? Yeah, turns out it was a son. And that son hears someone talking trash about his dad and is like “imma fight you” and challenges the guy to a duel. Hamilton doesn’t want his son to get hurt and tells him to shoot his gun in the air instead of at the other person, and how the other person should do the same if they’re “truly a man of honor”. Duels are mostly about having the guts to show up anyway. 

But WOOPS because the other guy doesn’t shoot in the air, he shoots Hamilton’s son, and the son dies. 

Devastated and grief-stricken, Hamilton and Eliza move upstate and Hamilton… well, just listen to “It’s Quiet Uptown”. I can’t do it justice here (not that I’m doing any of the rest of this show justice with this summary but yanno)

Now the next Presidential election is up and people are actually campaigning now because Burr is tired of not getting what he wants so he decides to go out and get it. So it’s Jefferson vs Burr and the public keeps harassing Hamilton for his opinion. Hamilton backs Jefferson because even though Hamilton has never agreed with him, he appreciates that he’s at least honest and forthright with his opinion whereas Burr never wants to commit to anything. 

Jefferson wins the election.

This pisses Burr off and he challenges Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton agrees. 

He aims his pistol at the sky, just like he told his son.

Burr shoots him, and he dies.

Eliza is the one left behind to tell his story and continue his legacy. 

This ends our show. If you ever want to know more about characters or the controversies of it (I do have strong opinions on those whoops) or just about anything else regarding the show? I am always completely down to talk about it. I’ve written papers on it for college, I got to see it in Chicago a few months ago, I’ve basically memorized the album… I’m a huge Hamilfan. So don’t be afraid to hmu.

[captain-vrisrezi]

YIKES okay I'm looking over that call-out and there's ?? So much misinformation??? My EDL isn't a child, he's a full grown ass adult . Don't know WHY people think that. If it's due to his size, I'm literally going off the in game model. He's small, I thought it was cute.

Also I didn't Pressure anyone into sex! If anything, I felt pressured because when they got jealous I liked a friend's character, they wanted to claim me by roleplaying a very Bizarre sex scene where I'm near raped by their character. Of course, at the time, I thought it'd make them happy so I let it and acted like it was my plan!! I!! Didn't want!! To paint them as a rapist at the time??? But now that THEY are trying to do so to ME, I need to fucking stand up for myself and say I wasn't fully into That Shit.

But still, that wouldn't warrant calling them a rapist. I admit it was my fault to act like I was okay with it. I gave my consent and they appeared to as well. Saying it was rape because we regretted it afterwards is a fucking monstrous thing to do. Its insulting to actual rape survivors. We were fully capable of giving consent and we DID.

(not showing screenshots of how you acted during the sexting because that'd be fucked and also no one wants to see how fucking violent you got off the bat.)

Apparently I purposely humiliated them in front of our friends. Well here's some screenshots of them telling me to stop! Apparently... Also, a GODLY piece of advice is when you want somebody to stop doing something? NEVER do this shit??

Roleplaying doesn't make you look serious. You need to put your foot down.

When you want to tell someone no you give a HARD no. Not this "oo,, (I try to resist)" bullcrap.

Don't ever try to blame someone else because YOU YOURSELF CAN'T GIVE ADEQUATE SIGNALS THAT YOURE NOT INTO IT.

Sorry, sorry. Just people who never actually tell me a straight answer make me Fwustwated. There should be communication in a relationship. I get it was their first one, but that doesn't excuse blaming the other party because I couldn't read your mind? Before our relationship they were always very blunt. So of course I thought they'd be straight forward with me!

I already cleared up "misinformation" in the call-out of my own

There's the point where I felt THEY wanted a relationship... So five months. We dated for five months. And you're on my back because of a One Month Difference. Jesus Christ.

As a note, we were both around the same age. There's a lot to be learned, so I don't exactly blame them for feeling they're the victim. I feel that too.

HOWEVER, I CAN blame them for holding onto little details as if that's what made them a victim. Misgendering, yes I understand. But at the time they were comfortable with she/her pronouns and of course when we broke up it's not like I'd keep in touch with them. But little details like my inability to remember the dates of someone I wish to never talk to again? Yeah okay, so awful of me. We were emotionally connected in February. We ended the relationship in August.

Another thing to clear up is that minor posting NSFW thing.

That I've apologized time after time for. It really does make me feel awful that I acted that way and I do everything I can to make up for it. Even if said minor never forgives me for it, I wouldn't either. Even though I was triggered (I say this seriously !! It ties into my abuse as a kid and I would appreciate not joking about it), I should never have acted the way I did. I really do regret that.

In conclusion, here's the absolute NOVEL I had to write because an authoritative figure brought it to my attention. Out of privacy I'm not showing their response. This is purely my word, but if they wish to have this omitted I will remove this and instead rewrite my explanation. For now? I'm too drained to write anymore about my trauma as a kid and how it's affected me. Sorry.