#Roundabout Films

[candyheartedchy]

Bunny Boys

[squiidkiid]

"The return of magic roundabout" is my roman empire

[lilianhuas]

Love at the first sight - parallels || Queer 2024 vs Zhenhun

[may-moth]

Watching The Magic Roundabout. Why? Cause it's now a comfort film of mine. Now this version is the British dub, not the American dub. Doogal as it's called over there...

I do want to see the Doogal version, but! Only if I can watch it with one of my American friends so I can rant about it to them!

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

You’re telling me we’re gonna get this in fine line? OH—

https://www.tumblr.com/everythinghessa/656177777346740224

it's on the docket, yes!!

[bwobgames]

They see a slumped, defeated looking Owen and a pensive Simon on one of the tables.

“Now that’s not the mood for a fancy train ride. Cheer up, strange creatures!”

“No can do, for the future only brings ruin. Forked paths. Uncertain fate. Such an herculean feat of Atlas proportions”

“What”

“We’re thinking”

“Are you?”

“They’re bummed out because they have to choose a career for university”

“WHA- WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?”

“Around”

“Is that what’s worrying you? Career prospects?”

“It’s more than that! I took a year off to ~find myself~ but uh. I mostly played videogames and got a cool haircut”

“And now I have to actually do the damn thing, and I still haven’t found out what I want to do!”

“It’s alright Owen, the university life is not for everyone.”

“No no, I know that! But I need to know what is it that I want to do for the rest of my life!”

“That does sound like a Herculean feat of Atlas proportions”

“Well, what is it that you like to do?”

“Uh. Listen to Medieval versions of popular music?”

“…As like. A hobbie”

“Don’t worry, a lot of people don’t end up working as the thing they studied. I was a security guard for a good while!”

“Security! That’s it!”

“A security expert? That’s a noble job”

“I’LL BECOME THE NEXT DOMINION!”

“The guy is nowhere to be found, and people found he sold all the stuff he stole so he must be loaded, right?”

“And! I get to have a cool costume!”

“You think it’s cool…?”

("He thinks it's cool?!")

“Owen that’s how you get in jail. And at least a few broken bones. A person needs to be borderline crazy to believe they can pull off the stuff Dominion did”

“Because he was like no other, truly. Amazing, mysterious, charming…”

“A complete lunatic”

“less than three”

“wh- Did you say the heart emoji out loud?”

“Well, if I can’t be Twominion then what do you think I should be, Mr. B- Oliver Beebo?”

Hmm… Something that Owen would enjoy…

“I think you’d do it well”

“Well, that does sound fun, but uh, isn’t that a bit… low on employment?”

“That is true, but. Does it really matter for your type?”

“My type?”

“Rich people."

"You have connections. Your parents have connections. No matter how low-end a career path might be, you’ll get to do anything because of your family’s name”

“Ollie, you’re not wrong but I don’t think that’s what the kid wants to hear right now…”

“Why not? It means he’s free to do whatever he wants. Look at Nadia”

“Oliver…”

“She’s studying film. In a country with barely any movie productions. Less so known ones aside from some closed circles. On a private University.”

“Yet she’ll be able to do all the movies she wants and be successful because the Margulis name is strong”

“…Excuse you. Are you implying I’m not able to be successful on my own?”

“Ah, you certainly have talent Nadia, I wouldn’t say anything against that”

“But that talent can be found in millions of people. People who might be even more talented. But we’ll never know because they won’t be able to reach the place it has been given to you on talent alone”

“You will. Because you have money. Because you were born with money.”

“…You-“

“SIMON! HAHA WHAT ABOUT YOU SIMON? HUH? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO STUDY HAHA”

“C’mon Beeb, only I’m allowed to fight the child”

(“Fight?")

Simon thinks for a second

“…Marine Biology”

“Although mom always gets weird when I say it. I think she might hate fishes”

“Bu- But you are good at cooking yeah? Didn’t you love cooking?”

“I am good at it but… The cooking scene isn’t very nice…”

“And I refuse to cook Lobster! It’s terrible and cruel!”

“Well, what if you become a vet! And specialize in fish! Or become the owner of an aquarium!”

“That just seems like a roundabout way to get to marine biology”

“You could have your own restaurant! Fish free!”

“I think it’s fine."

"If you like it and you think you can make it, then go ahead. Biology is hard though, think about that”

“I’m pretty good at it”

He seems relieved.

While he can’t speak for the others, his blonde roots and white shirt made his eyes look… almost green.

Eugene never got to study what he loved. He’ll make sure Simon does.

<-PREV START NEXT->

[artbyblastweave]

Was the Boys (2019) take on Captain Marvel about Carol or Billy?

Carol- there are a lot of deliberate parallels between her and Stormfront.

Stormfront gets added to the roster of The Seven for basically the same reason that Marvel aggressively promoted Carol during phase 3- they want to counter the perceived gender imbalance of their premiere roster. Their powers are loosely similar, and they both have an enticing take-no-crap girls-get-it-done break-the-glass-ceiling presentation that's layered over an uncomfortable authoritarian core. Captain Marvel (the film) is pretty directly propaganda about how girls can join the air force too, and even in the comics her "role model" elements have always been in uncomfortable tension with her established tendency to defer to authority and break in authoritarian directions due to her military background; to my recollection, Kamala Khan's hero worship of her was an eventual casualty of this tendency during the (sigh) second Civil War event. Stormfront exaggerates this by being an out-and-out Neo-Nazi who's using her "blunt and earnest" persona as a strong woman in a male-dominated field to launder and propagate her grotesque views. (Tellingly, she's stationed in Portland- a stereotypically-progressive city in a state that's historically inimical to nonwhite people.) Both characters are predicated on having been active agents in the setting for a long time prior to their introduction; Captain Marvel wasn't present in previous installments because she's supposedly spent the last 30 years flying around the universe solving people's problems, but Stormfront wasn't present in previous installments because Stormfront is a rebrand identity that she's switched to in order to escape consequences for decades of unaccountable black-bag spook shit and brutally racist violence. As an added cherry on top, the scene in the season two finale where the other female supes dogpile her and kick the shit out of her is a direct parody of the Scene in Endgame where Carol rallies all the female heroes at once.

Of course, the thing is that in the comics, Stormfront was still a Nazi.... but he was a male Nazi, and a visual hybridization of both Thor and (drumroll please).... Shazam, the original Captain Marvel. So, in a roundabout way, she's pulling double duty for both of them.

[captainclickycat]

Been thinking about the appeal of the "hurt/comfort" trope for no particular reason, and how it relates to me personally.

I remember once seeing someone say "well obviously we like stories like this because we want someone to comfort us when we're in pain" and not really personally relating to that at all, and on reflection I think for me it's more like the way people watch horror films to experience fear in a controlled environment, despite the fact that nobody actually wants to be chased around by a ghost with a chainsaw.

I don't consider myself to be the most emotionally demonstrative of people. I get very squirmy and uncomfortable at the thought of having big tearful touchy-feely conversations about feelings. When I start crying I'm more likely to want to go off somewhere alone and calm myself down than to seek another person out for comfort. If it was a simple one-to-one case of wanting to personally experience what I'm reading about, I'd probably find it more satisfying to see an upset character be given space when they ask for it.

But there is still something indulgent about the fantasy of being able to just spew out your negative feelings all over the place and not give a shit about it, like a toddler having a tantrum. So seeing my favourite character bawl their eyes out and let someone make a big fuss of them is a way to sort-of experience that from a safe distance without having to actually experience it. It's not me who's doing those things, it's that guy! We're not even the same gender! (Which is also a whole thing in itself but that's a topic for another time.)

So is this related to your own feelings in some way? Kinda, in a roundabout sort of way. Wouldn't you prefer if it was someone who looked and sounded like you, so you can imagine yourself in their position? Absolutely not.

[loser4loserswhok1ll]

First Meetings + Touches With The Slashers

How you meet and how your first touch goes

Headcanons

Sfw, fluff, some angst, slashers learning how love works and sort of failing</3, GN reader

Includes: Martin Mathias, Brahms Heelshire, Michael Myers (RZ), Norman Bates, Kurt Kunkle

💉Martin Mathias

It was.. awkward.

you were spinning slowly on the roundabout thing at the park with Martin

it was late at night, pitch black out, and you guys were just existing together, talking only every now and then

youve done this since martin moved into town

you guys met when he delivered a package to your house and when you came to put it away for your mother you instantly wanted to know this kid

he looked around your age and you think he felt the same

so you guys just became friends and sat in the silence of the other like this often

you did most of the talking as Martin just watched silently, only chiming in every once in a while when something really caught his interest

at some point deep into a comfortably one sided conversation, your hand slid slightly and gently rested on his

you didnt notice, but oh god he did

he just stared at your hands and shifted uncomfortably but not in a disgusted or hateful way, more like a cautious and unsure way

it took a moment before you looked over and realized and you moved your hand back almost immediately

he just stared at you with those puppy eyes, mouth slightly open showing the tips of his front teeth (cute stuff yknow?)

You apologized but he just,,, stared. scanned you. observed you.

it took a moment before anyone spoke, and shockingly, it was him

"Its ok. your hands are warm.. s'okay. I promise." and he said it so soft and in that awkwardly boyish manner that he has

that made you smile gently, easing the tension, putting your hand back in its spot comfortably

it was a peaceful night and an even more peaceful comfort between you two

🗝Brahms Heelshire

the actual first time he touched you wasnt even when you were awake

that wall freak snuck into your room when you were asleep and petted you basically

but the first time when you were awake was when he decided it was finally time

he just couldnt wait to reveal himself any longer, he would go insane if he had to watch his goodnight kisses be wasted on some hollow porcelain again and again

he tried to be gentle, soft, tried not to scare you

of course you were damn near terrified to death

a tall and strangely muscular man just lumbered out of the wall, the very same walls youve spent months in between, months living with, and yet never once did you think they were a living space themselves

it took you time before you could calm down, painfully long before you even let brahms take a step closer to you

but when you let him, he was overjoyed

he gently grabbed you and nearly swallowed you with his arms, taking a very obvious and harsh sniff of your hair

that was the first of many lingering hugs and touches so you should probably adjust to this new life soon- for your own sanity

🔪RZ Michael Myers

oh, and make a new list of rules

you werent supposed to be there, actually

there was a halloween party going on at the myers house (and it wasnt even a good one smh)

you didnt want to go but your friends didnt want to walk alone (and they definitely needed a chaperone to walk them home)

so you walked them there, dropped them off, and gave them a time when youd be back to wrangle them (also chastising them for disrespecting the house and the myers family so horribly)

you had a nice evening to yourself, 0 worries, watching some slasher films alone (house of wax, wolf creek, house of 1000 corpses, yknow the good stuff)

time to get your friends unfortunately *sigh*

you turn off the tv and make your way to the myers house

there are.. a lot.. A LOT.. of police

in a panic you sprinted through every shortcut possible to make it there

one of those shortcuts was through bushes and in between neighboring houses fences

thats where you bumped into him

you looked up and froze, fear paralysis, staring at the blood splattered ghost white face- no- mask

from your end, you were sure you were gonna die

from michaels end, he didnt know what to do with you

he saw you ramble on about how these dumb drunks should just let the myers family rest and they were disrespecting them and blahblahblah

because of that he wasnt going to kill you

but here you guys are, body pressed on body, between bushes and fences, staring at eachother

he made the first move and you flinched and blocked your head with your arms instinctively

he didnt do anything, just left you there to collapse into a ball of fear and confusion

anyways he had to contemplate why he liked the warmth of your body against his so much (and why its been in his mind for weeks after the incident)

oh also ur friends are dead :p

🛎Norman Bates

you were just a normal guest

just passing through but it got late and it isnt safe to drive when youre so sleepy

so you pulled into the nearest motel you could find and low and behold its the bates motel!

you got your stuff and checked in

you just assumed norman was this shaky and nervous around everyone

norman knows hes not. at least not to the degree that you made him

god the moment he layed his little puppy dog eyes on you he was in shambles

you are the definition of what he desires

mothers pissed!

he helped you bring your stuff to your room and you guys talked about anything and everything

he invited you to eat dinner with him after you mentioned you hadnt eaten

you unfortunately refused because your exhausted tanked your hunger by a long shot

as he was going to leave you touched his arm gently, a friendly touch

you thanked him and he shakily gave a thank you back for choosing his motel and being so kind and being so gentle and for being so- he should really get going now before he rambles too much and loses his dignity, shouldnt he?

you laughed softly at his behavior and gave him a kind goodnight before closing the door and readying yourself to sleep

norman basically booked it back to his house

mother had an earful for him but he was so dazed and stupid from the things he was feeling for you

the absence of your warm fingertips on his arm made him crazy, he wanted longer touches and he wanted to feel that warmth endlessly

he was very adamant you stay in the bates motel again soon when you checked out the next morning (much to mothers dismay)

📱Kurt Kunkle

he was your spree driver (so unexpected ikr)

you got into his car when he pulled up and happily greeted him

he liked your kindness, he likes not awful people a ton

was real awkward with you but you didnt seem to mind (you were also a little awkward so it was like a mutual thing)

you asked him about the cameras and he told you it was for some webseries about safety as a driver or something (he said it very strangely so you kinda didnt trust him)

you leaned forward to talk with him more and you guys really hit it off

he thought you were cool, you thought he was a total weirdo

perfect match

the drive was painfully short though so you had to leave soon after you got in

when you got out you knocked on his window and complimented his service

you also gave him your number and he gladly took it

after exchanging numbers you placed your hand on his shoulder while thanking him

he went RED and stuttered out a 'your welcome' and also rambled about how hed love to drive you more often and stuff

after you left dude had to take a BREATHER

he wants you back in his car NEOW

rides the high that your touch gave him for the rest of the day (even a little bit the next day too)

[cheriladycl01]

I'm not scared! Colby Brock x MotoGPDriver! Reader Part 4

Plot: You made a tweet about Sam and Colby and were in a podcast and they brought up Sam and Colby where you talked about the paranormal and how it doesn't really scare you because you drive motorcycles at over 200mph.

Credit to misscalliopecruz for the GIF

You didn't realize just how easy it was for Sam and Colby to make calls to these haunted locations and be given permissions to film investigations.

You'd been set up for literally 3 days time which made you guys feel even more excited as it was such short notice. Colby and Sam spent the time charging all the equipment, booking hotels and doing all the admin stuff you'd offered to help them with but they'd refused saying you should try and get a few good nights of sleep while you could, so you stayed in your flat making sure you had a comfy enough outfit ready to go in.

Colby had practically begged you to wear their merch, so of course you took the hoodie he'd given to you. You'd planned to wear it with a pair of bootleg jeans as even though it was very clearly British Time you gathered in the middle of the night in an old creepy castle it would get cold. Which is why you were thankful for the hoodie rather than a top as the piece of merch Colby gifted you.

You kind of wanted to make Colby and Sam wear some of you Red Bull Merch but thought maybe that was going a bit too far so you left them packed away in the rucksack you were going to be taking with you.

You had a later night on the day before the investigation so you were able to stay up till around 4 or 5am, ending up waking up for around 11am. You did your morning workout before getting something to eat and had a slow evening before meeting up with the boys.

"Are you okay driving?" Colby asks as you all walk down to the car park of the hotel they were staying in.

"Any reason, or just because I'm the better driver?" you smirk, knowing full well you were the better driver.

"I just don't like driving in the UK, it's way more complicated than the US, those roundabouts... wild things!" he jokes, even though there was some truth to it.

"Yeah sure, I don't mind... but If I'm driving its my Spotify playlist on shuffle..." you reason and they both nod agreeing, not petty enough to start a disagreement over music, especially when you guys would probably have similar music tastes.

The drive to the castle was fun, you were all talking about the history you guys had researched and what was there.

When you pulled up, you got this zing of excitement down you spine.

"Guys, I'm really excited for this" you exclaim looking back at them getting all the stuff out the car while you were in awe of the building.

It was a huge location and you already knew that the boys would challenge you to go somewhere alone because of how big it was.

The boys got out their camera and you waited off to the side as they did their intro.

"What's up guys its Sam and Colby and today we are here a Dannamore Castle in the UK, one of the most haunted Castles in the world!" Colby says with that normal cryptic sort of look on his face.

"And as you guys probably expected from our recent trip to see out good friend, today we have Y/N Y/L/N here with us!" Sam introduces panning the camera round to you making you smile and bunch up closer to them.

"Hey!" you grin and the boys turn to you.

"Okay for those who don't know Y/N is a MotoGP rider to she basically rides motorbikes really quickly round race-tracks for a living and she's really good at it too. The reason she is here is because she said she wouldn't be scared to come onto one of our videos and we really want to put that to the test" Colby mentions and you blush at the praise, entirely used to but it still got you every time.

They cut the cameras after showing the outside of the area saying that they'd be filming a lot of the history out-takes in their studio at home and having watched their videos you knew what they meant.

Two men and a lady came out, one was the caretaker, another was a tour guide and the other a medium of sorts that worked with the place.

Sam and Colby started to talk to the caretaker that would help in showing you round later when you walked off.

You thought you saw something dash out the corner of your eye, Sam and Colby were too busy listening too all the ins and outs of the area, what rooms you didn't have access to which in this particular castle wasn't actually that many just the unsafe spaces where the wooden flooring had gotten too old and they hadn't rebuilt it yet.

"Where's your friend?" the caretaker asks seeing that the girl wasn't where she had been a minute ago.

The others look around trying to see if you were behind the car or near the entrance but you were nowhere in sight.

"Y/N?" Colby yelled out. Sam following with a shout of his own name.

"Yeah?" you ask walking from behind a stone wall that ran behind the castle into the gardens.

"Where did you run off to?" Sam asks and the caretakers also look intrigued.

"Something caught the corner of my eye and I wanted to see if anyone else was on the property" you shrug your shoulder making Sam look to the now turned on camera Colby had, as they had started to film the minute the group were aware that you were missing.

"You just left, because you saw something?" Colby asks and you nod, making Sam chuckle. They cut the cameras, giving you a small run down of the castle, which rooms you guys weren't allowed it and when you guys had to leave by.

They also further explained not having got there before that it would just be you guys in there tonight, the caretaker however stays in the barn that was technically 'on the property' but not inside the castle just for legal purposes.

"So this is the centre of the castle. Back in the day, all residents from the Dannamore family and their friends would have been around here as this was and still is a hub" the tour guide smiles as you all look around the expanse of the hall.

"Who was part of the Dannamore Family, I'm guessing we'll meet some of them tonight?" you smile asking intrigued.

"Well Drake Dannamore has always been the most present spirit we have here. He is the original resident of the castle" she starts and you all nod.

"Is he cool?" Colby asks making you turn to him in shock. How is he referring to a like 1000 year old spirit as cool.

"He's a kind spirit yes. Y/N you'll get most the activity from him, he's the protector of this house... practically the women" she smiles.

"Really? Why's that?" Sam asks.

"Well, Drake..." she starts and you guys hear a knock from the back of the room making you all look there and the guide and caretaker laugh a little.

"I think he's here with us!" she smiles looking around before continuing.

"He married Valisa Dupont a French Lady from a wealthy family. Their family gifted and built this castle as a sign of their gratitude for Drake protecting Valisa. However, Valisa did not love Drake and apparently she became very spiteful towards him. She would cheat on him with the bakers boy who worked and lived in the home. She neglected their children making Drake exhausted" she starts and you feel a sort of overwhelming sadness wash over you. Enough for you to reach up and hold you chest.

"Vasila attempted to kill Drake but ended up mistakenly poisoning his sister Darcey. He ended the relationship with her, and she was livid. He moved on and married Bianca, who mysteriously died one night after saying for years she felt like she was being watched. People working in the castle at the time reported that Vasila killed Bianca out of jealously. Drake was in anguish and after that refused to marry again. He tried to protect Bianca as much as possible thinking Vasila was terrorizing her. After that its said that Drake either pushed her or she threw herself from the east tower, falling to her death" she finishes and you all look in shock.

"So he protects females that come into the castle from Vasila, who i'm guessing remains here as a negative energy because he feels like he needs to do what he couldn't do for Bianca?" you ask and a creak or footsteps was heard from above making all your heads snap up.

"I'd take that as a yes!" Colby laughs making you laugh as well.

"So this is an active place for all the spirits?" Sam asks looking around.

"Not all, but most. Drake can be found here along with his children who are also protectors of the home. Bianca is also here who is a very friendly and kind spirit. But its not just people who have lived in the castle. There's portals here too" the caretaker answers showing the mirrors that were facing each other.

"Woah?" you say stepping closer to Colby where the mirrors are.

"So what do we need to be wary of?" Colby asks.

"Vasila, of course. She doesn't like any-one male or female. She's been known to touch and scratch and make lots of loud noises but she's only in certain areas of the house like the tower and the pantry room" she explains.

"Because of her relationship with the baker boy?" Sam asks and she nods.

"Y/N you'll need to be extra careful of the baker boy" she admits and you look off to the left.

"Why?"

"He doesn't like ... dominant women!" she exclaims looking down, making you frown with a small laugh.

"I'm a dominant woman?" you ask with a laugh.

"Just like your presence, the tattoos, biker personality and just your aura she means, your head strong which is something Madison didn't like" the medium says for the first time since being here.

"Madison?" Sam asks.

"The baker boy, that was his name Madison!" he answers.

This would make for an interesting night!

Taglist:

@richardsamboramylove55 @braveangel777 @rockwyu @jada-lockwood @itzdarling

[about-faces]

Last night, I was once again struggling to actually write smut for a Harvey/Bruce/Gilda fic, when I noticed a very timely new guest comment on my Gilda fic, Bust. It was the first truly critical response I’ve gotten so far, and while that sort of thing would normally send me into a depressive tizzy, I actually found it really interesting!

So instead of actually writing the ship, as I should have been, I wanted to take this opportunity to think about just why the heck I shipped them in the first place.

Here’s how I responded, with added scans to hopefully better illustrate my point, plus some additions that occurred to me upon drafting this post:

I’m actually glad you raised this point, because I would have felt the exact same as you just a few years ago!

I’m gray-asexual, and I used to be a bit bothered by the rise of Bruce/Harvey shippers, because it was their canonical platonic FRIENDSHIP that mattered so much to me. I gradually warmed up to the shippers, because 1.) I realized I was ace and they probably weren’t, and 2.) they at least understood the importance of Bruce and Harvey’s bond, which is more than I can say for LOTS of official DC media.

Still, something bugged me about the ship, and I realized what it was: the lack of Gilda from the equation. She’s always been deeply important to me, especially her scant older appearances, and erasing her for a Bruce/Harvey ship (even one I’d come to appreciate) didn’t sit right with me.

But like you said, it’s not canon, and I’ve always been deeply invested in canon, even the stuff that’s frustrating and contradictory. So yeah, the throuple would have bugged me too.

Except! It all depends on WHICH canon you’re talking about!

So over the past 15 years, I’ve been obsessed with tracking down the entirety of the obscure, forgotten Batman newspaper comic strip from 1989-1991. I’ve posted the entire thing at @batman-daily, and I strongly encourage you to check it out. A couple years ago, I reread it and noticed something really interesting: the remarkable relationship between Bruce, Harvey, and the latter’s wife, Alice, who is Gilda in every way but name. They are all mutual friends, with Alice even going to visit Bruce alone to help/bully him to take care of himself.

It all reads like a perfect long-game setup for a love triangle, or for Harvey—having become Two-Face—to go after his loved ones in a jealous rage, like he did in Paul Dini’s “Two-Timer,” a story which notably showed that Grace had feelings for Bruce.

With that in mind, consider the final story arc of the newspaper strip, wherein Bruce acknowledges his OWN feelings for Alice and PASSIONATELY KISSES HER, all in a hilariously roundabout way to save her marriage to Harvey! It makes sense in context and is frankly hilarious.

And it works! Because Harvey isn’t jealous! The love triangle conflict you expect NEVER HAPPENS! Because they all love one another! And that love saves Harvey in the very end!

Was it explicitly a throuple? No, but nor have Bruce and Harvey ever canonically touched dicks. And yet the love between Bruce and Harvey in canon is true and real enough that shippers who want to make it sexual are perfectly allowed to do so, because it’s the love that matters. At least, for those of us who aren’t afraid to acknowledge the love between men, platonic or otherwise. And that love is rooted in canon.

So consider this: the mutual three-way-love between Bruce, Harvey, and Alice/Gilda is ALSO canon. That comic strip has been officially accepted as DC multiverse canon in the “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Absolute Edition,” which designated it as Earth-1289.

Furthermore, there’s something else you need to consider: the fact that Harvey HAS been used in love triangles against Bruce in several stories in recent decades. I already mentioned “Two-Timer,” but there’s also Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” the animated “Gotham By Gaslight” film, and the Telltale game. In various ways, these stories serve to throw a wedge in the friendship between Bruce (the protagonist, whose story serves him) and Harvey (the guy who is going to lose it all, the woman included). I hate that shit. I hate the contrived drama that’s meant to stir up needless added conflict between two men who love each other.

And then, on the other hand, you have Mariko Tamaki’s Gilda story from “Batman: Black and White.” Tamaki depicted Harvey and Gilda being in a distant, loveless marriage, where even on their wedding day, he was constantly ignoring her in favor of work. The only person who could actually get his attention was Bruce.

At the time, this felt an awful lot like that problem I was talking about with the Bruce/Harvey shippers: raising up the gay ship while throwing the woman under the bus. In this case, for the purpose of doing an avenging girlboss take on Gilda. I hated that too, especially when Tamaki didn’t even follow through with the gay subtext in her next, miserable Two-Face comic.

You know that meme of a bride, groom, and best man all kissing one another, while the bride flips off the cameraman in the end? @whipbogard redrew the Tamaki wedding scene as that meme, right around the time I reread the comic strip. And suddenly, everything clicked into place for me.

After a lifetime of never, ever having any serious fandom ships, I fell in love with the idea of Bruce/Harvey/Gilda. Take what the comic strip did and bring it into the mainstream canon I love to spite the canon I hate.

In those great old Gilda stories, she saw through Harvey’s bullshit and knew how to reach him, however temporarily. She could do the same with Bruce. She’d be a valuable third voice for the ongoing toxic relationship between Bruce and Harvey, the one who could love them both while also getting to be frustrated with how fucking stupid and fucked-up both these men are.

Before she was reduced to a ride-or-die killer housewife in "The Long Halloween" (which, I'll grant you, has its own appeal), classic Gilda would actually stand up to Harvey and tell him to cut out his shit or else. I love the idea that she can also see right through Bruce, understanding how very alike he and Harvey are, even if they don't want to admit it.

Writing Gilda this way speaks to me as a longtime fan of both men, while also wanting to try to develop her place, as a woman stuck in the middle of their decades' worth of conflict and angst. She sees these men at their best, worst, and most pathetic/ridiculous, and while she's got the nerve to stand up for herself and call them out as needed, she still loves them nonetheless. For me, Gilda has become the voice for fans just like me, who are helpless to stop Batman and Two-Face from continuing the cycle of violent, toxic friendship, but still loving them nonetheless, and always hoping for the best.

So, at this point, let’s say I’ve at least managed to make you grudgingly accept my reasoning for the relationship. Even if that’s true, I’m gonna guess that the mention of a threesome felt like it came out of left field. I can’t argue with that. I wanted to actually write that as its own smutfic but, being ace, I struggle with that. But I really liked the idea, and as I was writing this, it just really wanted to be mentioned, so I included it.

The response has been positive (until now), which indicated to me that I had been successful in introducing Gilda as a viable third into a slice of fandom which had only shipped Bruce and Harvey. This is fanfic, after all, such things are expected, even encouraged, so I leaned into it.

Now, if I were ever (un?)fortunate enough to write for DC, officially? I doubt I’d have the nerve to go that far. But I’d still want to at least embrace the polycule-coded relationship between those three that we saw in the newspaper comic strip. I think it adds a whole new, refreshing spin on their ongoing dynamics, while being rooted in relationships that were established all the way back in 1942 by Bill Finger.

Finger’s story, at its heart, was all about how love can save a life. How love is the only way to defeat the villain. For Harvey Kent’s part, Gilda’s love was every bit as important as Batman’s unwillingness to give up on his friend. So I’m just taking it one step further within the freedom allowed me by fanfic.

Sorry for the length of the reply, but as you can see, I only came to this shit after several decades of thinking about 80+ years of official material. I hope I have at least been able to lessen your feelings of being jarred out of a story you otherwise seemed to appreciate. For my part, I hope to further develop the potential of this fucked-up polycule in future stories, and maybe—just maybe—I’ll be able to get you on board too. Hope to see you then!

(art by ofossart)

[citygirlyuno305]

About Kotoko (Just a braindump)

TW for CSA/SA

Her case presents many complicated issues, each of which have the potential to be super incendiary. It’s a very delicate topic and I fear doing a full analysis of it might graze too many at once. So I’ll avoid some key concepts for the time being and just spitball about a few different things, because I keep getting those “P*do tries to meet minor” videos where citizens lure a predator online to a public place and film themselves beating the fuck out of them. And in a roundabout way it kind of reminded me of some of the issues of Kotoko’s case.

As a person, I find what Kotoko did to the one victim admirable because she undertook a duty that other people wouldn’t, at risk of consequences to herself. We have no general duty to rescue- if I saw someone drowning in a lake right now, I would not violate the law by doing nothing and watching them drown. Isn’t that fucked up? But, if I had some cognizable duty to that person- like it’s my son, or I pushed them in the water- I do have that duty to rescue. And if we’re on a joint venture I have a duty as well. If I were out at a club with my friend in the winter, and we were drinking and I saw her pass out, and I do nothing, and she aspirates and dies, I had a duty to do something there. Sometimes, rescuing someone can hurt you. If I saw a horrible accident on the side of the road and someone was on the ground, and I moved them so they didnt get hit by a car while we waited for 911, but I actually made their injuries worse? They could sue me for money damages. And Kotoko did this to save someone who was undoubtedly going to be violated or hurt or killed by someone committing the most egregious of offenses, and was going to keep it up because he wasn’t being stopped.

As a lawyer, I hesitate to praise vigilantism NOT because of the harm to the offender that was killed, NOT out of any sympathy for the offender, but because of the multiple variables that killing someone who commits those kinds of crimes presents. It’s my understanding that, correct me if I’m wrong, Kotoko’s murder victim was a child kidnapper and abuser/murderer. Without giving away too much about myself, my typical day is spent putting away and keeping defendants who commit CSA and SA in prison. I’m unfortunately very familiar with the nuances of those cases.

So my immediate questions with Kotoko and her murder are, what if- considering the connection to corruption and evasion of justice- he was a part of a large scale ring of violence against children and couldve given information on officials in public service who are involved in trafficking and abuse? Now, I’ve only been working as an actual attorney for just over a year and a half, so I thankfully haven’t had any cases involving p*dophillic rings. But I do know, and have seen personally, that prosecutors often offer deals to someone involved in a large scale ring for the sake of destroying the ring overall. Or, what if he could’ve led them to the bodies of other missing children for the families’ closure? What if the victim had other children held somewhere and the physical violence couldve been leveraged to get him to reveal their location? Prosecutors or lead investigators may also instruct law enforcement to bring the offender in for questioning even when it’s abundantly clear that they committed one CSA offense, to ascertain if this person committed any other similar offenses or to see if other victims exist. In fairness, there often are other victims in some form-most predators do not immediately offend outright, but begin by viewing CP or committing nonsexual assaults or batteries, grooming, etc. And these things really help to secure convictions, and its a lot easier in my location to admit the evidence of an uncharged prior sex offense than it is to admit other prior uncharged offenses. And in that way, even victims who were hurt years ago, and their ability to press charges has elapsed due to the passage of time, can get some form of closure by testifying against the offender to help this new victim.

And even then there are evidentiary issues because the introduction of illegally obtained evidence is a violation of constitutional rights. I’m by no means an apologist, and I beg you all not to view my statements as any indication of that. But there’s a reason we never hear about those vigilante p*do ass kicking videos ever actually securing a conviction and prison time for the p*do. The vigilante sting operations are illegal, and we cannot admit illegally obtained evidence, because if we do, it will be reversed on appeal and the disgusting POS will walk. And then, all they’ve learned is how to be more careful to not get caught again.

And yet, it’s still delicate because I fully acknowledge that Kotoko’s victim was able to continually evade justice because of government corruption. If she had not acted, another victim would have likely been irreparably harmed or killed. Perhaps many more. And I’m not above admitting that placing faith in law enforcement will not always yield justice. Because cops don’t always follow the rules either. And when they don’t follow those rules and there’s no exception to rely on, their evidence can’t be admitted either.

So Kotoko’s case comes across as kind of like a trolley problem. Do I intentionally act to save the one, at the risk of hurting multiple (in terms of closure or finding their location, allowing a ring to continue and tighten their practices because they know they’re being made by Kotoko, possibly obtaining evidence that will be thrown out and then actually hurt the case)? Or do I not act at all, and allow the one to get hurt for the possibility that all could be saved? Kotoko chose to pull the lever. And in a way I find it admirable, because not many others would, and because the latter decision can still hurt everyone. In another way, it’s potentially harmful, because some people do want that opportunity to confront the monster that hurt them and see the justice delivered upon them, and vigilantism can make a prosecution very very difficult.

Please do not mistake this as me showing any type of leniency or mercy to the most horrific of offenders that exist. But these questions and thoughts also introduce a broader issue (that doesn’t apply to Kotoko) but generally, where do we draw the line in terms of the amount of evidence that the victim is actually an offender in excusing vigilantism? Of course, I always believe the victim. And it’s good to always believe the victim. But if ever I had one of those rare cases where someone is falsely accused, and I contributed to their wrongful imprisonment, I would first do everything within my power to rectify my mistake; and as soon as I exhausted those options, I would resign from the practice of law. And so I can’t imagine the mental toll on someone who was acting with good intentions as a vigilante and ended up killing someone innocent by mistake.

What do you guys think? What is the better scenario: acting to save the one you can, knowing that others that were hurt or killed might never get the justice they deserve/the family will never get to confront the monster who did this to their kid/the monster will walk free because the court cannot accept the evidence you obtained? Or waiting and hoping the police get their ass in gear and help, potentially allowing another victim to get irreparably harmed, but knowing that you personally will not deprive the other victims of the justice and closure they will likely need to be able to recover? How do we strike a balance between the interests of one current victim and the interests of other potential or past victims? And how can we strike a balance between incentivizing helping other people, and preventing harm that could stem from zeal to help out?

I am genuinely asking because at bottom I want justice for everyone.

[fn205]

In general, I'm not a big fan of AI generated stuff -- especially how its ease of production compared to actual good human-created stuff crowds out the good in favor of the cheap. But fetish art is hyperspecific enough that I think there's some space for rendering things that can't be adequately/easily captured in real life, or you want to get a specific way.

This is a roundabout way of saying, I've been finding the new Flux AI image generation models better than I expected for rending oxygen/anesthesia masks. I'm not going to post many of these because don't want them to overwhelm real stuff, but I've made some personally satisying stuff on krea.ai, and figured I'd share in case anyone else wants to experiment there.

Here's the prompt: candid photograph of three 30yo women, depth of field, women in foreground and background, in an futuristic operating room, dental exam. a calm beautiful busty feminine buxom voluptuous tamil plus-size actress, on the left side of the photo, breathing through a translucent maroon oxygen mask with a white rubber breathing tube, going under anesthesia, fainted, closed almond eyes, arms fallen to her sides. clear oxygen mask covering her nose and mouth, thick white rubber breathing tubes connecting the mask to an anesthesia machine. long hair. zoomed out, full body, wearing high-neck tight yellow floral-print sundress. exhausted, dizzy, fainted, lying in a reclined dentist's chair. bokeh, realistic, detailed, human, dry dark skin. bare hands. dizzy, confused, worried eyes, falling back into the chair. film grain, chiaroscuro. by Peter Paul Rubens, by Caravaggio, carefully composed scene. laughing guatemalan female swimmers hugging in the background, wearing silver shiny swimsuits. in a dental spa.

[dearmyloveleys]

It is awesome how good it feels to have the director/cast say it's romantic, even if in a roundabout way. I feel like there are a lot of times fans pick up on undertones and get labeled as crazy or projecting, so this feels really great. :)

Absolutely. Personally, ever since I watched WHC1, I kept gaslighting myself into thinking that it’s probably me over analysing their relationship due to the comments that insist we’re reaching.

I do understand their point, or at least those who want to keep shse platonic. I am actually quite adverse to romance in the shows I consume if they do not write the relationship well. I too, would love to have a show that focuses on deep platonic relationships. I kept finding reasons to box up shse as friends.

But as we all know, we really cannot.

It’s frustrating to see the public go ballistic at the idea of two boys being lovers after being friends, when there are plenty of heterosexual couples that undergo the same friends to lovers trope, and the public says zero shit (Hospital Playlist etc). As I mentioned, I am completely fine with shse staying friends, but the way people do not even entertain the idea of them being romantically involved? Upsets me.

It upsets me even more because shse have serious un-platonic undertones. It’s so obvious with Sieun, especially him.

This is why if shse does become legitimately canon in S3, it marks a very real movement of queer acceptance in mainstream consumption of (east) Asian shows. Queer relationships in East Asian shows are constantly placed in Indie films and minority sectors (BLs), like us queers are some sort of special menu item lol. Seeing shse not only be part of a well-received action series but also have their relationship be grandly announced, for mainstream media consumption? I will die happy.

As someone who grew up in an asian society, with heteronormative relationships in shows stuffed in my face since Day 1, I can’t wait to stuff gay ass shit back into their faces.

[negrowhat]

what are your top ten fav bl's of all time?

Hey Anon! I had to take some time to think about this. It's hard for me to choose things like this! You're really putting me on the spot lol. Here we go tho...I might cheat a little.

To My Star. Both 1 and 2. I love Seo Joon's and Ji Woo's story. I love their relationship dynamic. I loved how protective they were of each other. Both Ji Woo and Seo Joon are complex characters with layers that you can really bite into and analyze many ways. I know a lot of people were not fans of s2 but that was one series where I truly ate up the angst. Ji Woo is a hard character to understand unless you really take the time to watch the series and focus on his behaviors. You'll never, ever catch me talking bad about TMS.

Gameboys the Series. Both the seasons and the movie. CaiReel have such a modern and relatable love story. I think it being a series about finding relationships in the middle of a global pandemic while we were ALL sharing the same plight really stood out. I felt like I made new friends while watching that series. Also for s1 to be shot completely on an iPhone and for most of the actors to not actually be filming their scenes at the same time, I was BLOWN away by the quality AND chemistry. That series made me SOB and that is also something I consider impressive. If it can make me cry then it's certified gold.

Utsukushii Kare. Both seasons and the movie. This is another series with complex main characters. Hira deals with his general uninterest in damn near everything EXCEPT Kiyoi and photography. And Kiyoi deals with his need for attention even if he generally doesn't like people because they always disappoint him. It's interesting to see how they handle their seemingly unbalanced relationship. Hira is willing to give Kiyoi all the love he requires and not get close (which is normally what Kiyoi wants) and Kiyoi learns that with Hira he wants a real true love and relationship and that's quite a task when the man you love doesn't value himself. It's just interesting seeing the growth between them.

Color Rush S1. I love the way they tackle the soulmates trope, and explore the darker side to the obsession that could happen once you find your perfect match ESPECIALLY when that match can help you see a full picture. Yeon Woo struggles with a myriad of thoughts and fears as he does his best not to get close to Yoo Han even though Yoo Han is serving up himself on a silver platter with tantalizing promises of helping him learn the colors he craves to see. Yeon Woo becomes obsessed, but little does he know that Yoo Han is also obsessed because Yeon Woo also helps Yoo Han see a clearer picture. But maybe that obsession is really just them falling in love and not knowing what to call it.

Moonlight Chicken. Messy and relatable to a person like me who is smack dab in the middle of the age groups involved. This series really showcases how messy romances can be. It shows how hard it can be to close the door to a chapter you thought would end happily. This series shows how hard it can be to move on when a normally open door shuts in your face suddenly and forever. It shows how a chapter that starts off terrible can lead you into the most thrilling moment of your life. It shows that the last chapter you finished might have you TERRIFIED to move on to the next one. Stuck. This was a series I found difficult to dislike any of the characters even if they were being terrible. Emotions were high and reactions were warranted. This was a series where I felt like people were allowed to feel the way they were feeling.

We Best Love. Yes, both seasons. Shu Yi and Shi De had such an up and down ship. Shi De went through such a roundabout way to get close to Shu Yi and I really enjoyed watching them become friends. I enjoyed watching Shu Yi come to realize he was in love. I wanted to beat Shi De up in s2 for ghosting Shu Yi and I was enjoying watching Shu Yi get his lick back, but really he was just looking for answers so he can decide if he was stupid for wanting to forgive Shi De the moment he saw him again. It's another fun and messy series.

Lovely Writer. I LOVE Gene ok. He really made me love the series because he was such a bomb ass character. I also found Nubsib's psycho/stalkerish tendencies quite entertaining because he was so polite about it. I love that the series took stabs at all the things wrong with the BL community while simultaneously having the main character be an actor in one of the most toxic fake BLs I've ever seen. Just meta on top of meta. Satire in the form of a trendy BL within a BL.

History 3: MODC. Salt run aside, I just really loved this series. Can't believe a series about the shy kid falling in love with his bully is a fave. That sentence alone would make it problematic af...not to mention the questionable age gap between the 2nd couple. But it was beautifully constructed. Hao Ting found the best version of himself in Xi Gu and Xi Gu found a brighter side to life with Hao Ting. And they were WAYYYYY into each other and Hao Ting did put in his work to be forgiven. I do my best not to overthink Zhi Gang's age difference from Sun Bo because it's such a norm in Taiwanese BL. It's kind of interesting to see their relationship play out. Zhi Gang definitely has his hangups with the age gap and Sun Bo just doesn't care.

Blueming. Such a laid back series. Si Won is just a sweetheart dealing with self-esteem issues trying to make his presence known in life so he can get the best out of his university experience. And Da Un is just that effortlessly cool guy Si Won strives to be like. He can't even fathom the idea of such a cool guy having a crush on him that he takes the flirting as arrogance lmao. I think it's sweet that Da Un helps uplift Si Won and I think it's sweet that Si On showed Da Un the attention he never got at home.

Ingredients the Series. Just a sweet lil slice of life miniseries. It fills me with joy to watch Tops and Win pine after each other as Win works on his music and Tops works on his cooking and they live together symbiotically. There's not too much to this series. It relies heavily on food and chemistry and that's perfectly perfect for me.