#also i see them from a lesbian perspective and there's something to be said about being attracted to the characters you ship

[actual-changeling]

bear with me here but i think michael would actually be quite a nice person if they were alone with someone they're not in a power struggle with.

we see what heaven is like, the higher your position, the more influence and power you have over the other angels, archangels included, and being a low ranking angel fucking sucks.

there is michael and uriel hashing it out over gabriel's position and they never STOP doing that, every single time we see them they're still competing to see which one will take the empty throne/have the most to say. it's michael bringing up being duty officer, it's uriel being the one to turn off the alarm with that smug little look and voice, it's the entire scene with the match box - all of it.

gabriel has no one to fight for power and he makes the others feel it. especially his arrogant, almost mocking "you can ask but i don't have to answer". the fact that they all let him go and only belatedly are like "fuck me he doesn't have a desk".

and then how absolutely terrified they all are when they realize who the metatron is. did we do something wrong and suddenly all power struggles with each other fall away because holy shit he can hurt us in a way we cannot (and never would) hurt each other.

i think an interesting little tidbit is also michael's behaviour when they bring the holy water to hell for the trial in season 1. that aura of smug superiority to defend their status and be the person with the most power in the entirety of hell in that moment.

all of this does have a point, and we're getting to it now.

get michael and dagon alone in a room, and, after the initial awkwardness and once they realize there's no reason to play tug of war with power, i am certain they'd bond. angels are lonely, and dagon honestly seems like fun (their fake vomiting gets me every time), and give michael the room to just relax for a fucking second and a person to catch them, and they will.

we see it happen with crowley and aziraphale, we see it with gabriel and beez, even with muriel in their initial conversation in the bookshop.

dagon and michael having somewhat secret meetings because their companies are a fucking mess, and it's nice to share the responsibility with someone, to not have to keep up a mask. a few meetings in, michael's had a horrible day, and right before they leave for heaven, they hesitate.

it's a i don't wanna go back and it's nicer here with you and i'm exhausted and it scares the shit out of them. but there's that moment during which they just look at each other, and dagon is a demon, they're not supposed to feel any good feelings, let alone love or care, yet they reach out and squeeze michael's hand, and they're both so shocked they let it pass without a word.

then michael spreads their wings, dagon mutters "fucking show off" because it isn't actually necessary, and with one last thankful little smile, they're off.

(somewhere in heaven, the metatron gets a sudden headache.)

(somewhere in... somewhere, god smiles)

[blueskittlesart]

i get that people’s first reaction for the religious thing is often negative—being raised irish catholic i experience the same knee-jerk reaction—but that’s because we as adults are approaching the ideology from an adult perspective. we have our own associations with both religion as a concept in general, as well as the social phenomena around religion (and for this post specifically we’re talking about christianity more than anything else). kids don’t have that experience, and so while it might feel really uncomfortable to an adult listening to them speak with such a casual incorporation of it into their worldview, they truly wouldn’t see why that could be. and it’s only when it they’re older and it becomes the only point of perspective or logic for them that it’s truly a problem

EXACTLY. if you don't have a lot of experience with very young children it may be hard to conceptualize, but especially preschool-aged children are still learning LITERALLY EVERYTHING. like, I said the word "collision" when two of my kids ran into each other the other day and then had to have a like 10 minute conversation about what that word means and why I said it. Everything in the world is a new experience for them, including morality, storytelling, and social interaction. there's a specific, scientifically documented developmental stage (usually between ages 2.5-3) where they learn for the first time that they can lie. before that stage, they genuinely don't understand the concept that something can be fake, and it often takes even longer for them to understand that other people, especially adults, can lie to THEM, too. everything in their world is true unless proven otherwise, which can be a scary way for adults to hear religious concepts addressed, since among adults that kind of rhetoric very often goes hand in hand with radical beliefs or conspiracy thought. but for a child, it's just an age-appropriate way to conceptualize religion.

children of that age are also very self-centered in their thinking and largely assume that their lived experience is the same as everyone else's, and that anything outside their own little world doesn't exist. we almost all assumed as kids that our teachers lived at school. I once had a kid with lesbian parents ask me where my 'other mom' was. children I babysit for will very often be upset that I don't inherently know where things are in their house, because to them it's the most obvious thing in the world. they're still developing empathy and the ability to think from someone else's perspective doesn't exist yet. again, irt religion, when that kind of sentiment is expressed by an adult it's usually a supremacist or evangelical who believes that all other religions are inherently evil and their religion is inherently good, but that's not what it means when a kid expresses self-centered thought about their religion. it just means that they haven't yet learned that other people view the world differently.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

pt XVI good omens season 2 (still not traumatic) episode 3 EDINBURGH

HELLO IT'S ME IT'S THE OFFICIAL GOOD OMENS MASCOT WHY DO I STILL KEEP INTRODUCING MYSELF IDK. If you don't know who I am, thank God and Satan for their mercy and flee. Also, the day after I post this, I'll be watching the last three episodes on livestream for the first time so. You know. I'm hyped on the energy of this being my last day not enveloped in tears. Take the summary:

Before the episode starts, someone asks why Crowley said in the last episode that Aziraphale couldn't fall because look at him, all angelic when Crowley looked the same as starmaker. I reply that "Crowley thinks he deserved it, he sees Azi as something beautiful and untouched while he probably sees himself as idk marked in some way so god kicked him down."

I am told that I am learning too fast to weaponise the narrative to induce angst. So then I say oh, I go too fast for you. Tears ensue.

The episode begins! Everyone shrieks about Edinburgh, David Tennant, how it is their favourite episode, and SCOTTISH CROWLEY.

We open with lesbians being gay, and then Muriel enters as Inspector Constable! They are very sweet and very determined to do their job right, and they are adopted by Crowley and Aziraphale just like Jim.

Crowley sits on Aziraphale's chair's arm. The maggots all swoon.

Fine, I also swooned.

Aziraphale gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-mansplain-manipulate-manwhores his way into getting Crowley to give him the Bentley keys (BOUNDARIES. BOUNDARIES.).

WHAT PLENTY OF USE DO BOTH OF YOU GET OUT OF THE BOOKSHOP?

The really ineffable plan is whatever the fuck was happening in Aziraphale's brain when he somehow went from London to Edinburgh via Loch Ness (check the map) and then proceeded to disguise himself as a detective who pretends to be a journalist.

Crowley slays in sleeve garters and a cardigan keeping house in the bookshop meanwhile, does not sell books, instead cleans with Jimbriel and periodically yeets book stacks into corners when distracted.

Aziraphale reads his old diary entries about Crowley, a (6000+) 13 year old with a crush.

MINISODE MINISODE. They are in Edinburgh during the mid 1800s. Victorian outfits, check. Scottish Crowley, check. Capitalist Karen Aziraphale, che-wait what.

Huh. Well. There's a wee bit of body snatchin' going on, to sell to doctors for medical research because there aren't enough murderers, and to make enough money to survive.

Aziraphale channels his inner capitalist judgemental Karen and ruins that plan, come on Aziraphale you have religious trauma but you're better than this, and long story short, Wee Morag dies after Aziraphale realises his error, her friend Elspeth has to sell her corpse for pennies, and is about to commit suicide with laudanum. Azi, oh god. I'm glad you underwent character development at least.

NOW CROWLEY HERE SLAYS. I KNOW THIS IS AZIRAPHALE'S PERSPECTIVE AND IS BIASED. BUT WITH THIS POV, CROWLEY SLAYS.

He calmly educates Aziraphale about how his whole "the poor have more opportunities and you shouldn't give them money or they'll lose the virtue of poverty" is absolute bullshit, and he does this understanding Aziraphale's situation and not losing his temper.

The framing. The framing of the shot when they see Wee Morag and Elspeth sitting down on a step and explaining their situation. Aziraphale stands above, bustling with righteousness, and judges them. Crowley sits down. He sits down next to them, rather than taking the high ground. He meets them where they are and empathises. It is the fact that he is fallen and damned that makes him behave really divine and sorry I wrote a whole hymn on him have it I'll stop rambling just know I love him.

I think his amusement is a facade so hell won't think he's genuinely being good. I think he's morally grey and incredibly brave and kind.

When Elspeth is bouta kill herself with the laudanum, Crowley grabs it and drinks it himself, and grows tiny and then huge, absolutely high off his head. David Tennant takes the opportunity to travel Scotland from east to west in terms of accent variety.

He gives us the good message of NO DYIN'. NO MORE DYIN'. IT'S NOT ON. And then forces Aziraphale (who doesn't want to ruin her virtuous poverty) to give the girl all the guineas he has in his pocket, and tells her to go off and start a farm or something. BUT NOT JUST PRETENDY GOOD, BE PROPERLY GOOD.

He then gets pulled into hell. To be punished for this. Aziraphale is frightened and heartbroken for him, looking around desperately, and we find out that Crowley didn't meet him for a while after. And later he wanted holy water. To protect himself? He got punished by hell. For how long? The whole month in between the incident and the diary entry? There can't be anyone better at punishment and cruelty than hell.

Sorry I'm just screaming here.

Never mind fuck I started this summary really happy and bouncy and listening to a dance playlist. Dionysus by BTS and Italian pop is still playing and now I'm crying.

Is this the natural progression. Fuck I'm crying. Sorry guys something else happens with Aziraphale politely talking to a phone and Crowley smiling really beautifully while unsuccessfully trying to manipulate two lesbians into a relationship and something about a visit I don't care everyone's being morally dubious as usual and then lovely Scottish music outro I CAN'T FUCKING ELABORATE I'M SITTING HERE CRYING OVER CROWLEY.

right summary done, time to go sob, lmao i thought i wouldn't cry today over good omens HAHAHAHA still not traumatic eh HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[starryalpacasstuff]

She Loves To Cook and She Loves to Eat: I can't summarize my love for it sufficiently

A while ago, I asked @lurkingshan for Japanese QL recs, and Tsukutabe was her first rec. And while I'm finally watching this significantly later than I expected to, I'm so glad I did. I watched both seasons as a whole, which turned out to be a good idea because while season one was good, season two was excellent.

I think, going into this show I expected it to be a simple, domestic show that was pretty much all fluff. And while it was all those things, it was so much more too. It's got a lot of hidden depth to it, particularly in terms of how mature and real it is.

Tsukutabe is many things, but at its core, it is a show about people being kind. It's about people receiving kindness and being kind to others in turn. From inviting someone to a home cooked meal to volunteering to cover overtime work, the characters in this show exemplify how much change you can bring by simply being kind. It's something that fills you with warm, fuzzy feelings as you watch.

It's also a show about healing. We get to see people who have very different relationships with food heal and develop them as the show progresses. One thing I loved about this show was that it consistently treated everyone's problems as equal, never downplaying any of them. Nagumo and Kasuga's problems and relationships with food are fundamentally opposing, but are also equal in that they are two sides of the same coin, and are treated as such. I nearly wept tears of joy at the balcony scene with Kasuga and Nagumo, which was absolutely beautifully handled.

The show delving into the pressures of family and society in regards to marriage hit extremely close to home in the best way possible. I really appreciated the realistic and relatable portrayal of people's views on marriage, in particular how the show delved into the relationships queer people have with marriage. The depiction of the common belief that queer relationships are less likely to last was also extremely familiar. My mother, who is more liberal than most Indians, once told me that an Indian lesbian she talked to said the problem with being gay in India is that, due to gay marriage not being legal, there is very little commitment in gay relationships. While I'm still slightly unsure of whether this was true, the point stands that this is a fairly prevalent belief amongst Asians who don't grab pitchforks and torches upon hearing the word gay. I really, really enjoyed how realistic this show is in this regard, because it made me feel so seen.

Kasuga and Nomoto's relationship was adorable. Watching them figure out their deeper feelings for one another, stumble into a confession and then figure out how to be in a relationship was delightful. I was extremely pleased that there was little to no miscommunication, and that both of them acted like mature adults with decent communication skills (what a surprise!). And finally, they had an excellent dynamic that felt very real.

Another thing I absolutely adored was how much focus this show gave to the food, to the point where it was practically the third lead. I mean, I'm sure that it's to be expected from a show called she loves to cook and she loves to eat, but I still found myself genuinely surprised by the amount of attention that was given to the food in the show. Whenever food was cooked and eaten, we were presented with generous shots of both, which, as a lover of both cooking and eating, I greatly appreciated.

This show is amazing in many areas; the food, Kasuga and Namoto's slowly blossoming relationship, and the fantastic explorations of relationships with food. But, what really stole the show for me was the supporting cast. Each character that they introduced was someone who was at a different place in their life, with a different perspective that they brought with them. And, most importantly, as I mentioned before, they were so kind. The interactions between most of the characters were incredibly wholesome, and the story did an amazing job of showing us as much about the supporting characters as it could in the limited screen time they had.

Not only was Sayama a consistent, reliable support and voice of reason to Namoto, she had her own issues that she regularly discussed with Namoto, because that's what friends do. Too often in QL do friends of the main characters seem to only exist to listen to their problems, provide (typically questionable) advice and further the plot. I loved how the story subtly showed us how marriage pressure affect Sayama as well, who seems to be searching for a boyfriend only because that is what society expects of her, which is likely the reason she cannot find anyone. Kasuga's coworker had a wonderful mini arc of her own, and despite nearly all of it occurring offscreen, what little we got was absolutely brilliant. The scene wherein she and Kasuga talked about having to care for elders has to be one of my favourites in the entire show. In this, she was probably one of the first elders to ever encourage Kasuga to act with her own wellbeing in mind. Similarly, Kasuga was likely one of the first people to tell her to do what makes her happy. The fact that they are, in way, speaking in place of each other's loved ones only makes this moment even more of a tearjerker. The final scene wherein we see her looking for a job was delightful; it was the perfect conclusion to her story. Yako perfectly embodied the older, experienced queer and I loved her so much. It's clear that she's not had an easy time being a lesbian and asexual, but she overcame the challenges and came out smiling. Although I do wish that the show had explored her asexuality more, and perhaps even expanded on her story, I also understand that time constraints wouldn't have allowed for it; and besides, there's a certain poignancy to the conclusion she got. Honestly though, I'd absolutely love to see a spinoff based on Yako's story, exploring the hurdles she's overcome and maybe even seeing her find love (season 3 anyone?). As for Nagumo, I don't think I even need to say anything. She had a wonderful arc that was extremely well written, and by the end of the story she had blossomed into a better version of herself. I also loved her friendship with Kasuga, how the two of them grew closer over time and helped each other with their respective problems. The wide range of characters helped emphasize the show's message of how everyone is different, and how it is these differences that make our world a better place. Even Nomoto's coworker is an example of this, as someone who seems to have little to no interest in romance, who doesn't hesitate to take up the overtime work so that the two girls can enjoy Valentine's Day. (I'm headcanoning him as aroace and you can pry this from my cold, dead hands).

Found family is a trope I adore, and this show has to be one of the most beautiful executions of this trope I've ever seen. Watching Namoto and Kasuga build a little family for themselves—one that accepts everyone as they are—was a very healing experience.

Another thing I really liked about this show is how realistically conflict was handled. On the most part, the show did not antagonize characters. The man who told Kasuga to drink beer is treated as simply an annoying person one stumbled across (a common occurrence), the cooks at the restaurant make an effort by offering different sizes of rice portions after serving Kasuga a smaller portion due to her gender and both Nomoto and Kasuga acknowledge that it was not the real estate agent's fault for mistaking them to be friends. Nomoto's mother is slightly overbearing and conservative, but she clearly cares for Nomoto, something that hit very close to hom. I appreciated that the show portrayed this so well. Most people are not evil and out to get you, they're just people living their own lives based upon the beliefs they've built up over the course of their life, and most of the time it is not worth our time to get worked up over it.

Meanwhile, Kasuga's father is perhaps the only actual antagonist of the story. I really liked how this plotline was handled because of how real it felt. The show plays out exactly according to the actual thought process someone would have in a situation like this, in particular an asian; that our parents are products of their time and that while we wouldn't condemn them for their actions, the same does not make us responsible for dealing with them either. Side note while I'm on this, I was also very happy that the show did not compare Nomoto and Kasuga's different methods of dealing with family, because not only were they in different situations, the show also seems to emphasize that neither choice is wrong, and that it is up to each individual to choose their own path. Going back to what I said about being glad that the show did not compare Kasuga and Nagumo's situation, this seems to develop into a theme for the show. The show is filled with different people with different lives and different perspectives, and never once does it try to compare any of them, which I find to be a beautiful message.

If there's any criticism I have of this show at all, it's only that it's probably not the best pick for a binge. The slow plot, laid-back feel and fact that each problem that arises is resolved in the same episode makes it an excellent candidate for a show you watch a few episodes of every day. Unfortunately, I placed myself in an 8 hour flight with the downloaded episodes being my only source of entertainment, so I did end up binging most of it. It's definitely not bad as a binge, I certainly enjoyed watching it, I simply feel like watching it slowly is a far better choice. All in all, this is a wonderful show. It's cozy and comforting, and it's very realistic and mature in a way that's quite refreshing. Watching it made me feel warm inside and I'm so glad I finally watched it.

[tommystummy]

I was literally just thinking about your most recent comment on ~daddy kink-gate~, and how I’m curious what the demographics of the two opinions are. several of the vocal critics have been people who aren’t attracted to men, and like, yeah, of course that would give you the ick then, you don’t like men?? I’d also raise that for straights, daddy issues is often just shorthand for (a woman) who is hypersexual and possibly a little kinky but not necessarily invoking daddy kink. specifically for women who interact with straight men, it’s kind of used as another way of calling someone a slut? all that said, that doesn’t justify the reaction to the conversation when Buck is the one who initiated it and having Daddy Issues in all meanings of the phrase is literally a core character trait of his. and they’re both queer men, so as you’ve pointed out, it means something specific to them. people need to stop and think for five seconds and recognize that just because *you personally* might be uncomfortable if your partner responded in that way doesn’t mean that 1) Buck, a fictional character who is Not You!, was uncomfortable, and 2) that Tommy is a Bad Person for responding to Buck’s flirtation in that manner.

There is a lot going on Gender Wise because yeah “daddy issues” when applied to a woman is often code for “slut” and yeah from a heteronormative perspective saying “I hope you have daddy issues” is a fucked up thing for man to say to a woman.

You can see that in the way some male-attracted women reacted to the scene e.g.:

But from a non-heteronormative, queer male perspective that was a playful flirty joke that opened up potential talk about kinks. As you can see in my reaction:

And even in the captions of queer male gifmakers like @tylerposey here

I think the ultimate disconnect is that this is a genuine misunderstanding of what the interaction was like from a MLM perspective (and people willfully ignoring Buck being the one who brought up daddy issues and kept pushing on it when Tommy said he didn’t) and I don’t know how the exact demographics shake out but it seemed like most queer men picked up the intent of the scene (Buck and Tommy talk about their fathers, then the conversation gets a little flirty to show that they’re more comfortable with one another) and most of the most vocal disgust has come from people who, by and large, are not queer men.

Like the Big One that caused several unfollows and blocks all over the fandom was written by a lesbian and yeah, if you’re a lesbian, the idea of a man saying he hopes you have daddy issues WOULD activate your fight or flight response and to that I do have some sympathy but it keeps coming back to the simple fact that in context, a joke about daddy kink is about as tame as you can expect from two boyfriends flirting in the privacy of their apartment.

I shudder to think what the reaction will be if they ever make a joke about Actual Gay Sex.

[ravangie]

Your last posts abt homophobia resonate so much. I'm also from Russia, and feel very much the same way. People always say "just move to a different country" like it's easy. I work in a translation agency and I see exactly what you need to do nowadays to move, and I see that I don't have that and won't have that for a very, very long time. And many other people, lesbians, don't.

And even then, forgetting the financial and legal sides, not everyone wants to abandon their home. It's far from perfect, but where is? And the baby lesbians growing up in Russia also need to see themselves in this culture and in this language. I knew I didn't even know being a lesbians was a thing until I was 12 years old! And I'm not that young, things were much better when I was a child than they're now.

Before, I desperately wanted to move and I thought this was the only way to happiness. But I remember reading a comment in a Russian lesbian group once that said something along the lines of "they want to trade us, but it's my home too, and I'm not going anywhere, why the hell do I need to hide in what is essentially my home?" and it changed my perspective so much, even though I'd still love to change countries if I could xD

Anyway, sorry for ranting, just wanted to tell you I see you and feel what you're saying a lot.

Спасибо.

Hope you don't mind that I keep this message public since I believe it's healthy for everyone to see perspectives of other people. And this is our perspective.

I want to love the place that I live in. I see the potential in it, I want to see it thrive, I want to be proud to be here. I want to work for the good of my home and the people in it. But it appears that this place doesn't want the same things for me. And it hurts.

And it hurts especially bad, when you remember that things WERE better. But now, with every day they only become worse. And you can't do anything about it, but be absolutely crushed by the news. It's not like I haven't tried to make a change. All of us have. But it wasn't enough.

I'm constantly worried if I'm gonna "let people down" if the truth about my sexuality comes out. But you are right. I have every right to be here, even if the homophobic laws and people who make them try to convince me otherwise.

[cyanoticfireflies]

Hazbin Hotel - Rewatch Thoughts (Episode 1, Part 2)

Charlie kicks into song #1, “Happy Day in Hell,” and KeeKee is just kind of floating in the air listening along with all the rest.  Just an observation.

Okay, so some of the stuff we see in Hell: one very dead ant/praying mantis looking demon, some actually not *that* kinky sex (guys, we’re on AO3… if you know you know), and a slew of dead bodies in the road.  I assume those are fresh kills and not leftovers from last week’s extermination – though maybe?  They smell awful and have flies, which means the dudes picking up corpses in the Pilot are very inefficient at their job.

Real talk about the barbed-wire pair – what’s the status on Sinner/Imp relationships?

 Because in HB we kind of see some of the social stigma of, say, a Goetia prince and an imp.  Though there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of noise about a Sin and an imp – probably because everyone is way too distracted by Lust falling in love.  And with a Sin and a hellhound, it is telling that the party is populated by imps and hounds exclusively….

We do get an imp and a sinner making out in the music video Addict (the ladies with Valentino) but that strikes me a bit more as “someone told Valentino that lesbians making out was hot and he said “Yeah, sure.”

Anyhow.

I feel like when Charlie hops up on the car we get our first real core philosophical discussion here.  “If I can show them the dream I’ve dreamed, that anyone can change.”  This is *optimism.*  This is highly simplistic so we as first-time viewers of the show can understand Charlie’s personality and motivation.

This is not realistic.

Vivianne did a livestream where she talked about just this idea and that part of the conflict is that maybe not everyone can be redeemed.  Are we holding out high hopes for the loan sharks that came to the hotel with a battering ram in episode 5?  The skeezy sharks that tried to date-rape Angel in episode 4?  *Valentino?*

(That last one actually wouldn’t surprise me that much if they tried it, but also how?  If HH pulls it off and genuinely manages to redeem the most universally hated character in the show, I will be impressed.)

Some people don’t want to change their ways and be redeemed.  Others may have done things so horrific that it’s hard to imagine them being able to truly change their ways and move forward with the rest of their existence.  There’s a sliding scale of what is and isn’t forgivable, and VM said herself that the scale is very person-to-person and it’s something the series will struggle with.

“But I do think there are certain things, you know, to me, from my perspective, that I feel like are irredeemable and, you know, when that line is crossed, I’m like ‘that can’t be uncrossed.’”

Counterpoint to Charlie’s singing, Vaggie starts talking about the angels.  She’s 10,000% convinced that this isn’t going to work, and at this point in the show first-time watchers are just nodding along.

But we know that Vaggie isn’t just repeating anti-angel slander here.  She knows better than anyone in Hell except maybe big Lulu himself what the angels are like because she *was* one.  When she says they’re stubborn, don’t change their minds, are bloodthirsty, she’s talking from hardcore experience.  And specifically exterminator experience.  We only really spend time with Lute as far as the exterminators go, but – as we’ll see later on in this very episode – Vaggie is pretty much hitting the nail on the head describing her own personal knowledge of angels.

Also, it’s worth noting that Vaggie says “those angels,” “they.”  This is partially to avoid spoiling the big reveal later on but also because Vaggie genuinely doesn’t think of herself as an angel anymore.

She no longer has wings.  She’s no longer an exterminator.  She lives in Hell.  She doesn’t have any personal connections – that we’ve seen yet – to anyone in Heaven but has a Hellborn girlfriend.  Vaggie’s life exists in BC and AD in terms of “Before Charlie” and “After Demon [Princess].”  More on this later.

 (What moron killed this dude and then *left. the. drugs?*)

This next part is, to me, where “Happy Day in Hell” cooks.  You sing it, Princess!

So… Travis?  Why???  What is this dude’s deal?  Not even getting into the pilot or Addict videos, but in episode 4 – so actual published show cannon – this guy directs Valentino’s porn.

His literal job is watching porn all day long, live and in 3D.  But he wants to spend his free time watching other porn and getting so randy he’s practically humping the windows?  Me thinks his sins are related to a porn addiction that is very not under control.

Moving on to Cannibal Town, I have a legitimate question.  We’re told that sinners can’t “double-die” unless they take an angelic weapon to the face.  Does that mean that those who are cannibalized in Hell don’t actually die from it? 

And if they won’t die from it, are there people who volunteer to be eaten?  Do the cannibals take turns deciding whose turn it is to eat and whose it is to be eaten?  And then after they’re eaten, do they just respawn?  Is there a lottery system?

It's been a long time since I was in band, but I think the sheet music behind Charlie is actually correct, which is like a super impressive little detail.  Tri-pe-let-hold.  There’s-just-no-way. 

As someone who likes shows where the person “playing” music is so far off of the music that it’s laughable sometimes, it’s just really cool to see.  It probably wouldn’t have been any more – or less – work to just make something up, so there was no reason not to.  But I’ll still give the kudos!

Little detail that cracks me up every time is Husk’s original VA being the flasher Trenchcoat Demon.  “Touch his parts” indeed. 

Sorry, buddy – only certain fluffy spiders get to touch the parts.  Imagine getting told you’re being replaced by Keith David only for them to find a part for you anyway and it’s that.  Mick Lauer must have a great sense of humor.

Without going into too much detail on my job, I actually do a reasonable amount of communication with and visits to embassies in Washington, DC.  Charlie’s experience of walking straight in the front door and ambling around until she finds the reception desk is definitely a suspend your disbelief moment for me. 

I know the whole point is that it’s abandoned and creepy.  But no metal detectors or bag checks?  At least there is a sign in sheet.

Someone pointed this out, but how does Adam eat through his mask?  I know that the ribs are a hologram, but so is Adam, so assumedly the real Adam is eating real ribs up in, like, the atelier off of Sera’s office? 

In episode 6 we later see him drinking through his mask while he’s walking around with Lute, but that’s normal drinking.  This is like he’s shoving the ribs through a rib-stripper that mechanically separates the meat from the bone.  That whirs.

The hologram part of Adam’s presence does seem to be entirely arbitrary, though, based on whether the scene wants him to pull a prank on Charlie or be slightly threatening.  Her hand goes right through him when they go to shake, but later on he is able to grab her wrist and physically move her. 

Is there a button up in Heaven?

Wait… if Adam is a hologram for Charlie, is Charlie also a hologram for Adam?  Is he in full VR like he’s sitting in the Heaven Embassy in Hell, or is he sitting in his own office and just Charlie’s physical presence is being projected?  Or did the design the two rooms to look the same so no one would get lost on where they are?  If Adam moves a chair in Heaven, does an identical chair move in Hell so that if Charlie walks in that exact spot the two images won’t overlap?

I may be thinking too much about this.

We go back to the hotel, where Vaggie wants to create a new commercial. 

I love that Angel can’t be within a few feet of Husk without basically going “the old man… I desire him.”  Poor Husk.  His eye is actually *twitching.*

Notice me not saying anything about the genuinely impossible physics related to another (missing) eye.  So proud of myself.

Alastor creates a new camera for them, and I’m genuinely curious what his thought process is.  The photo camera he makes seems pretty congruous with his time period (aside from some antler decorations), so it seems like he conjures what is familiar for him.  But when he creates the video camera, it includes an eye and even eyelashes. 

I wonder if this might be related to some part of his backstory with Vox.  We know that Vox has cameras set up all over the place and watches people, so maybe Alastor associates video cameras with being watched.

Vaggie films Husk and Angel first, and I love hearing awesome actors act like they’re awful actors.  But this also makes me curious what the storyboard Vaggie has in mind is.  Also, there’s no way Vaggie actually handed Angel a script that said “big, strong daddy.”  She’d die.

I know the “you come” set up the Angel-filthy-moan joke, but it should definitely be “you’ve come” – possibly setting Angel up for a “not yet, baby” joke…  Either Husk really needs the script that close to his nose to read it or the scriptwriter didn’t get good grades in grammar.

Scrub that counter good later, Niffty and/or Husk.  We know where Angel’s *everything* has been.

… I’m not even asking what the skeletons around the bar are from, but one does look like a snake. 

Maybe that’s why Sir Pentious thought they other residents had it out for him.

I’ll get into this more in episode 4, but even this early we can see Angel adopting some of Valentino’s mannerisms  when he’s making passes at Husk.  “Baby-cakes” from the pet called “Angel-cakes” by his own master…. 

I know it’s upsetting you, Husk, but take the lid off the bottle first.

(We'll pick up in Episode 1, Part 3 due to Tumblr's 30 images-per-post limit.)

[abyssalzones]

I would love to hear more abt your college pre-egg-breaking fiddauthor thoughts if you'd be open to it

oh BOY would I

so when I think about college fiddauthor nowadays I mainly think about both my own experiences with ~navigating identity~ and how I would approach a gay FTM relationship from a semi-realistic 1970's angle, where you start to see a lot of what you'd call "milestones" I guess in LGBT history and public awareness. wait okay here's something I said to mer that can set a precedent for what I'm talking about

when it comes to me and my own journey of self discovery irt sexuality and transness, I feel like those two things are very intertwined, because the concept of identity in my eyes is very socially motivated. I've previously identified as a nonbinary lesbian and a transgender gay man respectively before getting to the point I'm at now, and don't feel like either of those things were incorrect necessarily, just how I felt at the time (and what I wanted out of a relationship, really). I think I literally got an ask ages ago questioning how I went from one to the other but Idk I don't think the gender journey is as simple or "logical" as people coming from a hetero-patriarchal perspective (that's a mouthful) seem to think.

and, And, from a Historical perspective, FTM experiences and butch lesbian experiences have Always been very intertwined, especially back in the early 70's when more people were starting to have some awareness (even in LGBT spaces) of this thing known as the Transgender Lifestyle. I'm flattening things quite a bit here and I know for a fact there's a lot of variation between experiences, especially depending on your social circles, but from what I can glean a lot of the time transgender men weren't very well known and so a lot of the time you would just ID as a butch lesbian and/or present as a man socially, sometimes for safety reasons. and there's a lot of overlap there too that continues into contemporary transmasc spaces today :]

historical justification aside I basically think college would be a major turning point for self-discovery in both of their lives, but more-so for fiddleford than ford? I've always assumed based on everything we've seen that fidds was basically the only friend ford had in college, which definitely would have influenced him in important ways, but other than that I think he invested most of his time in studying and developments in gender were an afterthought. ford's FTM identity starts from a place of "failing to be a woman" and then develops with his pride in being a huge weirdo. in my mind that can only really happen once he's in gravity falls and has basically sacrificed his connections with other people/the world to live as his truest self, whether that's researching anomalies or living as a man.

fiddleford, however, I always think of from the perspective of someone bucking to societal expectations for safety reasons. this is because of a lot of things: ford's possible feelings of abandonment in favor of Normalcy (who can forget "Go back to your doting family and a life of fear and compromise!"), his jumping into a nuclear family immediately out of college, But also packing up and driving to oregon in a matter of days after ford asks for his help... when he has a kid who could be no older than 5 or 6 at home...? I sort of see his presentation as a foil to ford's, trying to mimic cishetero ("hetero") normalcy vs. being the Lone Transsexual Freak. I've gotten horribly off topic from the college thing hang on

basically I imagine them in their uni days like two weird butch gay women that are just, totally socially unapproachable. fiddleford is the more outgoing of the two as he's been voted "most likely to actually have other friends" in my mind, so if anyone was going to gay & lesbian student association meetings it would've been him, but otherwise ford is too busy ignoring his feelings. "I don't care if I'm a man or a woman I'm too busy studying. go away." but of course they find enough solace in eachother's company and their different-but-distinctly-similar weirdness that it forms an unbreakable transgender bond. freak4freak if you will. fidds settles on a bisexual identity without thinking about it too hard because honestly the conclusion here is that it doesn't matter if his roommate is a woman or a man he just knows he needs to do terrible things to him over d&d&md (sorry) (not really that sorry though.)

it's actually funny you bring this up because I'd been workshopping a short comic set in their college era that touches on this stuff a lot. not sure when that will ever get done but I can tell you it's. uhm

yeah they're kind of weird.

[vintage-bentley]

How in the fuck are you going to be anti trans and a Good Omens fan as if both the book and the show don’t explicitly establish the existence of several nonbinary characters and both Aziraphale and Crowley themselves are genderless beings

Not to mention both David and Michael’s staunch support of the LGBT (really emphasizing the T here, since you love to drop it) community as a whole, and David literally has a trans child

Part of me is even asking this in good faith because how do you see a series that is so incredibly queer and like it considering how much you shit-talk trans people on your lackluster TERF blog

There’s many reasons, actually! I’ll explain them in good faith, because I think that people who ask questions like this don’t understand the perspective of so-called “terfs” and assume we think like you do.

Firstly, I’m a feminist, so I’m used to media not aligning with my politics. I expect it, actually. Down to very simple things, like knowing I’m never going to go into a show and see a woman just existing with body hair like men do in shows all the time. But I’m comfortable and confident enough in my beliefs that I can consume media that doesn’t align with them. This extends to my feelings regarding gender. A they/them character doesn’t make my head explode, it’s just the same for me as seeing a Christian character (like Ella from Netlix’s Lucifer) or a female character who’s pro-beauty culture (like Elinor from First Kill). It’s a representation of a belief I don’t agree with and personally don’t believe in, that’s all.

Secondly, Good Omens is set in a made up universe with fantasy themes. I can easily get behind the idea that the true forms of angels and demons are genderless, because that makes sense to me in the same way God being genderless makes sense to me. This doesn’t have to carry over to me believing that humans can be genderless (I don’t believe in the concept of internal gender identity, because I don’t believe in souls. So I guess the better way to put this is that I don’t believe humans can be sexless unless we’re using gender and sex as synonyms). In the same way that it makes sense to me that angels and demons have souls that are put into bodies issued to them…but I don’t have to believe that also applies to humans. Or how it makes sense to me that Aziraphale and Crowley could survive without food, water, and sleep…but I don’t have to believe that also applies to humans. Etc. etc.

Basically, just because something is in a fantasy show, doesn’t mean I have to believe it’s real.

Thirdly, what the actors do in their own lives is none of my business. I don’t agree with supporting the TQ+ especially in relation to LGB (considering they’ve made it a primary goal to harass lesbians into pretending we can like penis, and to take every chance they get to express their hatred for homosexuality. I love to drop the T because they dropped me and my fellow homosexuals years ago). If two straight male actors want to do that, whatever. I also don’t agree with Sheen having a baby with a woman his daughter’s age, but that hasn’t stopped me from watching the show or appreciating his talent.

This all takes me back to what I said about believing you don’t truly understand the perspective of those you call “terfs”. Just because you might not be able to comprehend watching and enjoying something that doesn’t perfectly align with your worldview, doesn’t mean others feel the same. For example, many radical and rad-leaning feminists enjoyed the Barbie movie, despite it not being radical feminist. We’re capable of watching and enjoying things we don’t agree with, and of having discussions about why we don’t agree with it.

A much simpler answer to your question would be: I’ve always loved angels and demons and all things supernatural. I’ve always loved old cars. I love Queen. Religious/moral commentary and critique interest me. I love lighthearted comedies. I’m gay and starved for representation of healthy gay relationships. I love gay star-crossed lovers stories (go watch First Kill). Naturally, I’m going to love Good Omens, even if it doesn’t perfectly align with my worldview.

[castlebyersafterdark]

hiii i just wanted to come on here as a lesbian who is very pro spicy byler to maybe give a little personal experience and perspective to this convo. it’s also 5am for me rn so this might get too personal and also not make any sense sorry 😭😭

so at least for me, and not speaking for any other lesbian’s here cuz idk what their experience is, a big reason that i like spicy byler is Because i’m a lesbian and not attracted to men. in my own life i don’t think about men’s sexuality or have to consider men in a sexual way, so i can view sex between two men from a completely outside perspective - i don’t need feel inadequate about my own sexual experience because i don’t want to have any sexual experiences with men, there are no notes i need to take on technique, there’s nothing to feel insecure about never doing before and going “oh it would have been better if i had done that” or “that’s how it should have been? i’ve been doing it wrong this whole time? fuck.”. its almost like - because it has nothing to do with me and experiences i actually want to have in the future (at least technically, with anatomy and stuff, i definitely crave the emotional intimacy aspects) it’s just pure high fantasy. it can be hot and i can just enjoy it as hot because the characters find it hot. i think i also have a very deep attachment to these characters and their relationship that seeing them show their love in any way is very cathartic, whether that be sexually, where the release of catharsis is very much 1:1 mimicked by actually coming, or romantically, where tension is really built up and a simple, well written confession can be just as much of a release.

i do think that when i first started reading mlm smut i was definitely confused about what it meant for Me sexually. cuz it was like, ik i’m not sexually attracted to either of these men, i definitely don’t want to be in any sort of sexual situation with them, why do i find this so hot?? do i like men in general?? do i like male anatomy?? am i lying to myself??? but i’ve since realized it’s that its the emotional intimacy that i can relate to and enjoy from the character’s whereas the physical intimacy is something completely divorced from my reality, allowing me to enjoy it just as what it is without having to think too hard about my personal experience. there is no overthinking i have to do that gets in the way of my enjoyment. i can imagine for people who do have sexual experiences with men or are men that physical or sexual inaccuracy or just a general sense that this is an unrealistic physical feat or reaction can take you out of the moment and/or make you cringe - since i don’t have any experience with that, the only thing that takes me out of the moment is emotional and characterization inaccuracy. its the fact that i didn’t have to actually involve Myself (whether that be my own pleasure or how to go about pleasing a partner in a technical, physical sense) that allows me to enjoy it so much. there are zero personal implications that i have to take to heart thus allowing me to fully enjoy it without getting in my head about technicalities. its just - these people are finding pleasure in this, them experiencing pleasure is hot, what they’re experiencing must be hot. it feels very much like escapism for me. (i feel like i just said the same exact thing 10 times and still didn’t get the wording right lmao)

from what have gathered, its a very common formative experience for queer women to read and be turned on by male ships and the sexual experiences that are written about them - and ik friends irl that definitely relate to that as well. now, idk if this is the reason for all or a majority of enjoyment of this type of content, but i imagine this is not a completely unique experience in fandom for lesbians.

Thank you for sharing this!!!! Super super super interesting!!!! I kind of thought as much for some of your points but I've never seen it all spelled out quite like this. ❤️

[alouiadina]

Fanfiction Idea

This is going to be long because I didn't want to split it up.

I've been thinking about this idea inspired by There's A Part of You Always Standing By (Mapping Out a Sky) by Perpetual Motion (@sweaterkittensahoy )

For those who haven't read it, it's about Rosie and Ken's relationship during the war (and there isn't homophobia, though it is set in the 40's) And if you haven't read it, you should, it's amazing.

So, my idea isn't really that different from what's in the thing, it's really just a bunch of fan fictions that I want to read.

So the gist of it, is it's basically one story, but with multiple different fan fictions/perspectives, and it is set in the 40's with no homophobia like it was in the 40s. It'll, of course, include buck/bucky, but all of my favorite pairs/ rare pairs, and how their stories intertwine, as well as changing some stuff around so that their isn't any major character death.

I apologize if the timeline is off:

Clegan- when they meet, Gale and Marge are close friends, and when he and Bucky first meet, he thinks that Gale and Marge are dating. For the few chapters (like 2-3) they're in basic training and they're kind of dancing around each other, Bucky actively trying not to flirt with Gale, but still being his handsy self, and Gale being receptive to it, but also thinks that Bucky is just a big flirt/ a bit of a whore because he sees Bucky acting similarly handsy with Curt and some of the women there. Everyone thinks they're dating, asking Bucky about his better half, and he explains they're not dating. Gale has some similar experienced

Bucky doesn't realize he can ask out Gale until Marge and her friend (I don't remember her name) comes to visit. Maybe they come a bit earlier, while they're still in basic training. Marge insists that the two of them go get drinks bc she wants to make sure that Bucky is good for Gale, because Gale has written her about him. Bucky asks her "so, how long have you been going out?" you two being her and Gale. She answers "Oh, (friend) and I have been going out for a year."

Bucky blinks at her, dumbfounded. "Lesbian?" He asks, oh so eloquently. She nods, and he responds with "Oh. I thought you and Gale were dating." And she responds with the same thing, mentioning how Gale talked about him in the letters that he sent her. After a day of processing, Bucky does eventually ask out Gale, and they're dating by the time Marge comes back with her girlfriend before they ship out.

(Sometime before they ship out, they get two pictures of the two of them embracing for each of them to carry in their forts. And maybe their is a dance or something idk)

They do break up before Gale goes down, because they fight over Gale not wanting to London with him. Bucky does end up with that woman because she looks so much like Gale, then the next day he finds out that Gale went down, and feels guilty. They then reconnect in stalag luft III, where Bubbles, Dickie, and Curt are bc they didn't die. When it looks like they're going to start dating again, Bucky tells him about the woman in London, which makes Gale pull away. Gale tells Bucky that he's hurt by what Bucky did, even though he knows that they were broken up and Bucky was upset, but it still hurts. Bucky apologizes again, and their relationship starts again, but it's a little rough.

Their relationship is still rough when they're moving to the 2nd POW camp, and if I remember correctly, Gale comes across a friend, and Bucky is jealous of said friend.

Their relationship is slowly healing throughout this, and is basically healed when Gale, his friend, that other guy that escaped with them (I think), and Dickie escape, forcing Bucky (and Curt) to stay behind. And before they escape, Bubbles gives both Bucky and Gale to give to Crosby to let him know that he's alive.

The rest of the stuff happens, Gale gives Crosby Bubbles' note, Bucky and Gale reunite, and Gale asks Bucky if he wants to get married, and Bucky jokingly brings up this conversation he and Curt had (either in basic training, sometime before Curt crashed, or after Gale escaped) that the two of them discussed having a double wedding. They don't, as who would be Bucky's best man.

Crubbles- They also meet in basic training. They both meet because they both were denied to become pilots, Crosby because of his air sickness, and Bubbles because he once took the place of navigator and they just made him a navigator. They begin bunking together. And maybe this is a polyamorous Crosby/Jean thing, with both of them bisexual. There could be this whole thing of Bubbles being miserable because he has a crush Crosby. Jean, like Marge, visits with her girlfriend during basic training, and the two of them plus Crosby and Bubbles go to dinner.

While Croz is getting drinks, Bubbles witnesses Jean and her girlfriend kissing, and internally panics because in his eyes the wife of the man his best friend, the man he's in love with, is cheating on him with her friend. Croz comes back with drinks and they continue their conversation from before Croz went to get drinks. Bubbles tries to act normal, and waits until after Jean and her girlfriend leaves to tell Croz about what he saw. He has to wait a little because Jean wants to talk to Croz for a moment before they leave. When they do leave, and Jean is out of sight, both of them say that they have something to say to the other. Croz lets Bubbles go first, and he says "Your wife's cheatin' on you, Croz." And when asked to clarify, Bubbles says "She kissed her friend when you went to get drinks."

"Oh, you mean her girlfriend?" "What?" "Jean and I have an open relationship, that was her girlfriend. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about,"

Crosby then goes to explain the reason why Jean came to visit them was to meet Bubbles, and approve of him, which is why the two of them talked afterwards. Bubbles asks what Jean would be approving of him for, and Crosby goes a bit red, his confidence leaving him as he looks at his feet.

"I wanted to ask you out," he mumbles and Bubbles stops breathing.

The two of them start a relationship, make comments about Bucky and Gale's (because maybe at this point in this story, they haven't started yet.) Also, maybe Crosby and Rosie are able to meet in basic training before Rosie goes to Texas, and they both talk to each other about their love lives/ wanting to ask out the men they're interested in, and also Nash is there. Before Rosie goes to Texas and before Ken gets shipped to England like a week before Bubbles and Harry do, they go on a double date while the two couples are on weekend passes. While on the double date, they come across a Photo Booth, both couples doing pictures.

They basically have a happy relationship, and they are able to have another weekend pass/ some down time, like maybe in Greenland or something. Then Bubbles plane goes down, and there are some parachutes out before the plane explodes, but not everyone sees them, which leads Crosby to think he's dead. Crosby has his "Hallucinating Edward Cullen" moment when he over works himself, and stays up for 72+hrs. Even after waking up after passing out, he still sees Bubbles, then he's forced to go to Oxford. Then the whole Sandra thing happens, and he's hallucinating Bubbles the entire time, and the maybe first time the two of them have sex, he sees Bubbles in her place, which is why he's desperate to keep seeing her.

While this is happening Crosby and Rosie are emotionally leaning on each other, Crosby because of Bubbles and Rosie because Ken broke up with him after finding out Rosie re-upped without consulting him. He also sees Ken doing what Crosby did when he found out that Bubbles "died" with not sleeping. Crosby ends up having a conversation with Ken, saying this lack of sleep will inevitably lead to bad things. Ken, in anger, accuses Crosby of sleeping with Rosie, which angers Crosby, but he swallows it, mostly, and he gives this Ken this speech about appreciating the ones you love while you still can, then he leaves. Ken does end up apologizing to Crosby when Ken when Rosie's fort is the only one to come back. Crosby and Rosie do end up talking with each other while Rosie's in the Flak house and Crosby's at Oxford, and he ends up talking Crosby down from going and seeing Sandra in more of a friendly sense again. He ends up talking to Sandra more about Bubbles, what they meant to each other, and why he pursued a relationship with her, and she's understanding, and they become friends

Then in stalag luft III, Bubbles gets processed, and meets up with Curt and dickie, as well as Gale then eventually Bucky. One of his bunkmates does proposition him, but Bubbles says no, he has a boyfriend waiting for him.

Crosby and Ken do end up connecting more the they find out that Rosie's plane had been shot down, and Crosby is the one that sits with Ken, comforting him when Winks can't, making sure he's eating and sleeping regularly, and also talking to him about both Rosie and Bubbles, because talking helps.

I don't remember when this happens in the story, but when Crosby does get sent home to Jean, instead of not telling her about Sandra like he did irl, and of the Edward Cullen Hallucinations he's been having of Bubbles. She's angry, but understanding, then they have sex and she gets pregnant.

Then with the moving between POW's, like I mentioned before Bubbles writes two notes that say the same thing and gives them to Bucky and Gale respectively in case he isn't able to escape (which he isn't). It's just this heartfelt letter saying in case no one saw, he escaped his plane before it blew up, and as of the day he's writing, he's still alive. He hasn't stopped thinking about Crosby, the thought of the possibility of escaping or being freed so that he can get back to Crosby has kept him alive for this long, and that he'd do his best to stay alive to do so.

Then he does eventually get freed, coming back with Bucky. When he gets back, before he's able to shower, Crosby pulls him into a hug and starts peppering kisses over his face, then finally his mouth, all the while Bubbles protesting, saying that he needs to shower.

They do shower together, and while in the shower, Crosby tells Bubbles everything. Bubbles is disappointed in Crosby for the Sandra thing, but makes sure that Crosby knows that he understands that grief his weird, and that's why he did what he did. He's also excited about Jean being pregnant, and is excited to be parent/uncle/ whatever Jean and Harry wants him to be to the child.

Rosielemmons- Robert at first only knows Ken as Lemmons and as a head of curly hair that occasionally sticks out of the forts. He finally goes to meet Ken because Nash is tired of hearing Rosie basically waxing poetic over this mechanic they've never met. So, Nash drags Rosie to where the planes are kept, asking Winks where Ken is. Winks points them to a plane that he says Ken is checking, and he drags Rosie over.

Ken is working on checking one of the of the last forts that needs to be checked when he hears two sets of footsteps approach. They yell up to him, and he yells back to give him a moment to finish his once over, as he is almost done. About 5-10 mins later, he's out of the plane and he has a bit of moment when he sees Rosie, not realizing that Rosie is also having a moment. Then he notices that there is another person is there, stuttering out a greeting/apology, then asking why they're there. The other person (Nash) introduces the two of them to Ken and says that his friend Rosie was curious how the planes work on a more mechanical level, and that he was the best person to ask. Then Nash leaves, leaving the two of them alone. Ken, not knowing what else to do, starts walking Rosie through the parts of the plane, in detail.

Rosie does his best to listen, asking questions when he hears something that he doesn't fully understand, but he keeps getting distracted by Ken's freckles, curls, eyes, lips, and all of that. By the time they're done, it's almost dinner, and Rosie almost asks Ken, who he still only knows as Lemmons, to join him for dinner, but Winks comes in, saying that it's time for dinner. So, they say they're goodbyes and they go to dinner. At dinner, Rosie keeps glancing at Ken, stopping when Ken catches him.

Nash teases him, and Rosie hits him on the back of the head, telling him that he looks forward to teasing him when he gets a crush. The next day, he visits Ken, again close to dinner, this time able to ask to eat with him. Ken blushes and agrees. At dinner, they're sitting as alone as they can. Ken tells Rosie his first name and rank, and they end up talking to each other so long they are asked to leave the mess hall so that they can lock it up.

Rosie walks Ken to his barracks, where they almost kiss because of an eyelash, but that doesn't happen because Winks walks out of the barracks to go look for Ken, only to him and Rosie standing there.

They end up exchanging notes, and meeting up when they can, and they start dating. They go do their weekend pass, Rosie spoiling Ken while they're there, and also doing the double date with Bubbles and Crosby. They do the Photo Booth stuff, the night ending not long after that.

A week or so later, Ken gets shipped over to England, going over on a boat. While on the boat, he writes a long letter to send to Rosie once he's there, maybe he also meets Rosie's sister at some point like he did in the Perpetual Motion's fic, sending a picture of the two of them with his long letter.

Then Rosie's stay in America extends as he as he and Nash go to Texas for teaching and stuff. Ken, Winks, and the other mechanics befriend the children that hang with them in the air field (?)

Then Rosie finally comes over, there's a dance, and Rosie gets excited when he sees the bucks, and his interactions with them are the same, but Ken is also there.

Their relationship gets strained with all of the missions and Ken's late nights, but they try. Ken eventually finds out that Rosie re-ups. They have a fight and it's messy. Rosie tries to get Ken to understand the guilt he'll feel if he leaves, and Ken tries to get Rosie the pain he'll feel loosing Rosie. There's yelling and crying, mostly from Ken, and Ken ends up ending the relationship, stomping on Rosie's heart, not because he wants to, but because he feels like Rosie has stomped on his. They both mope around, Rosie going into the emotional co-dependency thing with Crosby, and Ken gets it into his head that the reason why that Rosie re-upped was not because of the guilt he was talking about, but because he wanted to break up with him and get with Crosby. So, he starts doing what he saw Crosby do when Bubbles went down: barely sleeping and barely eating, mostly working. He does try to hook up with Winks, knowing that Winks used to have a thing for him, but Winks turns him down and tries to take care of Ken the best he can, which is usually bringing him food from mess, and the occasional blanket.

Then Crosby finds out and tries talking to him about it and its consequences. Ken's, of course, hostel towards Crosby, accusing him of sleeping with Rosie. He can tell that it pissed off Crosby, then he gets the "Cherish your loved ones" speech. Then Rosie's fort is the only one to come back. The two of them have a lightly awkward conversation and they both apologize for their words and actions, and Ken ends up finishing his paperwork that night with Rosie sleeping in the cot in his office. Rosie get's sent to the flak house, and one of the days, for like an hour or two, Ken gets to visit Rosie.

Then, a bit later, Rosie's plane gets shot down. Ken's emotional pain is so intense, it hurts him physically. He ends up coming to Crosby and asking him how he deals. They end up meeting up to talk about Bubbles and Rosie, and Crosby is obviously dad-ing him, which leads to Ken finding out about Jeans pregnancy. This lasts until Ken gets a letter from Rosie, saying where he is, what he said, and that he's on his way back. When Rosie finally returns, he tells Ken what he saw, and asks him if he wants to get married. He does. They end up discussing it when they can, and they agree that they're getting married on Ken's family farm, and then where they're going to live.

I haven't really thought about a curt/dickie longfic, though it may be nice to read one alongside the others.

I would also like to mention that jackharding would be an ideal additional ship also to appear in a longfic that focuses on the two of them. Like, the only thing I really thought about is that Jack is mad at Bucky for getting demoted, which lead Jack getting air exec, but the anger he feels for Bucky goes away when he actually meets Harding, the new CO.

[ribboncare]

i do not care for nurse doom

to start this blog off right, im going to immediately launch into my many issues with doom and how he is both delivered and perceived

with that said, here are my main and most thought on qualms

doom being paired with patients

whilst i believe pairing any patient with a staff member is creepy and gross, doom in particular is not only shipped with a plethora of them, but also finds his way into the main polyamorous quadruplet that makes up cometcare. this is troublesome for many, many reasons, but the main one that always springs to mind is this: the egregious power imbalance

think about it. would you really go out with your medical nurse? wouldnt that be odd? not to mention doom has hurt and tortured several of the patients he is currently in a relationship with in cometcare. i dont know about anyone else, but it would personally make me extremely uncomfortable to have anyone insinuate me and a person who abused me would make a great couple

dooms gender being changed for the express purpose of shipping

doom used to be a cis man. while there is nothing wrong with him being changed to agender, kc has gone on record saying that it was specifically so his gender could be compatible with caroline being a lesbian

from a perspective of "these are just kc's ocs!", this is ultimately something to shrug and maybe make a face over. however, from the perspective of sparklecare as a piece of media (which is very much is, regardless of what kc thinks) and as a story, it is upsetting. why make a man agender just to ship with a lesbian? a lesbian that he has hurt repeatedly, no less? its not a very fun situation

dooms extremely sudden character "development"

i say "development" in quotations because truly, there was none. one day kc decided squeak liked doom, and thus his deterioration began. squeak started drawing him much more friendly looking and decided that any of the things he had done in the past volumes (such as being toxicly masculine and (even unwillingly) misogynistic towards uni when taking away beary) suddenly didnt happen. doom is forced to do things like this yes, but he had no reason to act maliciously as he does in many of these situations before the sudden change. now he has been sanded down to his barest bones, leaving a sad and pathetic little guy who you Have to feel sorry for :( he has no say in the matter of what he does :( he would never hurt a fly :( yes he tortures people for a living BUT DONT LOOK AT THAT! look at how sad and lonely he is!! :(!!!

overall, i would not say doom is my favorite character. in fact, because of these issues, hes probably one of my least favorite ones. its extremely frustrating seeing kc course correct so hard to make characters squeak likes into "good guys" that they lose all sense of themselves along the way. if you ask me, doom should have stayed morally ambiguous. it is not only much more interesting, it is actually true to what his original role as a character was. i do unfortunately believe that because of cometcares existence, this role is forever lost and will never be found again, which is a shame

doom had the chance to be such a captivating and compelling character, but will forever be stifled for the sake of shipping and making sure any character kc likes is unmistakably "redeemable", no matter what the cost

[starcanwrecked-confessions]

mspec anon from a couple of days ago elaborating since you asked.

it's just some little things that probably are fine to other mspec people but are weird to me. some of it is how some people talk about mspec. like "this m/f pairing is bi4bi" but not suggesting any attraction, celebrity crush, childhood crush, whatever, they could have or could have had. makes it feel like bisexuality is treated as straight but queer bc straight is bad and queer is good. not saying that attraction = action, or that a mspec person who hasn't dated someone of the same gender is invalid, just that they do have to have or have had attraction to someone of a gender like their own. not saying m/f bi4bi is bad, i write a lot of it myself, just a pattern i sometimes notice.

on the flip side, canon bisexuality is treated as gay but with a different word. there are absolutely m/f ruth fics, but there are more f/f ruth fics. this isn't bad in itself, i love it when ruth gets the girl. and there's a woeful lack of femslash generally. this isn't me saying ruth being with one or several girls is bad, i love it. but i feel like a lot of those don't address that she is attracted to men as well.

i think certain people, when they're doing m/m or f/f relationships with characters without canon/semi-canon queer identites often make them monosexual. not everyone and not a majority. that can feel invalidating bc it feels like it's saying "you can't really be attracted to more than one gender". or sort of "you don't like the same gender as much as a fully gay person can if you also like the opposite gender". not on purpose, i'm sure, i don't think people are actually being biphobic or whatever. it just is an implication that kinda hurts.

sexuality discourse for this next part. like the rest of it hasn't been sexuality discourse.

also bi steph is weird to me. generally. most of the time. people can headcanon characters how they want, always, but i find it uncomfortable when mariah says she's pan, and has said that a couple of times, but people see her as bi because of the vibes or something. bisexuality and pansexuality aren't the same, but they are similar, and i don't think that people who view steph as bi have a real reason for differentiating those two identities other than "edgy popular girl means bi". i understand that's not where most people are coming from, and it's certainly not intentional. from my outside to them perspective, it feels like sexuality defined by personality traits and not just... who they are.

that and i really didn't like that anon about "an angel getting it's wings ripped off". i get it's fandom language, sure. but that's really evocative language to suggest. grace is a lesbian and max is gay. which is fine, excellent headcanon!! see them that way, go for it, (/gen). but it felt like behind that was they can't be queer if they're bi. i'm probably reading too much into things, and i know that, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. i think you can have headcanons without going that far.

again i do want to reiterate: i'm not saying people are being biphobic. i'm not saying that your headcanons or ships are invalid. all i'm saying is, as a bisexual, these little things that probably mean nothing to no one ever build up and make me uncomfortable from time to time. and i sent that anon at one of those times. i get that i'm being overly sensitive, i get that other people with different identities (including sexualities) in fandom feel ostracized for different reasons. this is just my pent up experience.

thanks for reading, i am so sorry if this launches a bunch of discourse. or brings up discourse again? i just thought you wanted an explanation so here it is.

~~~

[ariainstars]

"The Acolyte" is Cancelled

or

Why the Woke Controversy is Getting Ridiculous

In all honesty, I didn’t go crazy for The Acolyte. I found it rather mediocre. But I had already read and heard so much discussion and criticism about it, both from people who hate it and from the ones who liked it, before and after the second season was cancelled, that I watched it just in order to form my own opinion.

What’s Positive

The Acolyte is a series that doesn’t thrive on fanservice. Finally new characters, new perspective, no reference to characters or events from the classic movies. It’s not a great series, but at least it's something new and fresh.

It’s not a story of Good vs. Bad. Everybody is human and fallible. And people get to step into other people’s shoes instead of simply judging them - Mae putting on Osha’s clothes, Osha putting on Qimir’s helmet etc.

“The Force does not belong to the Jedi.” (Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi)

Yes, some in the galaxy far, far away call it The Thread. And use it their own way. Both ways might be wrong. That’s what The Acolyte is about: Osha is raised by two very different mentalities and finds both don’t suit her, so she joins Qimir who is also looking to find his own path.

The Controversy

No, the show is not perfect by a long shot, but everything I read and hear about how bad it is, how lesbians and diversity and wokeness are at the root of the problem is stupid.

1. The Acolyte is not about lesbians. The central relationships are a) between two sisters, b) a Jedi and his apprentice (father-daughter relationship) and c) a male and female former Jedi (erotic relationship? maybe? wasn’t made clear enough).

2. No one was gendered by Disney in Star Wars. Characters are heterosexual or you don’t find out if they have a sexuality at all because it doesn’t matter for the story. If Aniseya (the twin’s mother figure) and Mother Koril (the woman who bore them) are a couple, I noticed no love, partnership or erotic spark between them.

3. The two main characters of The Acolyte grow up in an all-female society, but that has nothing to do with the glorification of lesbians or hatred against men. The women distrust the Jedi because they want to take their daughters; they never say or show that they hate men. Also, the Jedi who want to take the girls include two female ones.

4. The Dathomir witches Asajj Ventres belonged to were an all-female, coven, too. Nothing new here. (In Dune we have the Bene Gesserit, also all female). No one called them a bunch of lesbians, to my knowledge.

5. The most impressive fighter and Force user in the entire show is Qimir aka the Stranger. A guy. We even got to see him naked. Yup, definitively a guy. Not a woman or anything in between.

6. I noticed nothing erotic (lesbian or otherwise) in the entire show. The only time we feel a little erotic spark is when Qimir openly flirts with Osha, i.e. a guy with a girl, and that isn’t even requited by her. Amandla Stenberg, the actress who portrays Osha and Mae, came out as non-binary, but that doesn’t mean anything in this connection because the two characters she plays aren’t (or if they are, it’s never said).

What Is Actually Behind It? The Usual Thing...

Jedi Stans

Many die-hard Star Wars fans are upset because the Jedi Knights have always been some sort of infallible superheroes to them. More recent productions show that the Jedi are actually the problem. George Lucas himself had already done that with the prequels; they weren’t as well received, but he was still the creator of the classic films, and at the time there was no social media, so the backlash wasn't as vicious as today.

Sol: “She was just a child.” The Stranger: “You brought her here.”

„The majority of my colleagues can’t imagine a galaxy without the Jedi. And I can understand why. When you’re looking up to heroes, you don’t have to face what’s right in front of you.“

„I think the Jedi are a massive system of unchecked power posing as a religion. A delusional cult that claims to control the uncontrollable. You project an image of goodness and restraint. But it’s only a matter of time before one of you snaps. And when, not if that happens, who will be strong enough to stop him?” (Senator Rayencourt to Master Vernestra)

It’s words like these, and the actions that prove them, that makes die-hard fans get out of their minds with rage. Because it’s the truth, a truth they have spent decades ignoring. Still in the classics, Obi-Wan and Yoda tried to manipulate Luke to push him to commit patricide. Ben Solo is what Luke would have become: a self-loathing patricide burning in an inner hell. And we see over and over how a Jedi is the first to draw a weapon although they are allegedly trained to fight only in defense. The Jedi have made so many mistakes and committed so many sins that I could spend hours writing about nothing else. But woe if you dare to attack the alleged heroes who can make things float and have shiny sabers and a detached, uncaring attitude (or at least, pretend to have it).

If a Star Wars show had Jedi for protagonists and these would be the infallible, all-wise superheroes hardcore fans take them for, these fans wouldn't mind one bit if these Jedi were black, Asian, female, lesbians, non-binary or anything else. They would swallow it all, hook, line and sinker.

Some YouTubers Apparently Don't Have a Life

Now Star Wars is owned by Disney, and the antis see the studios as an enemy they need to fight tooth and nails because apparently, there is no life without a fight. These fans are a much bigger problem than the studios. Thanks to social media, any idiot can easily post their unthinking, hateful opinion online and gain a following of fans who are of the exact same opinion but would never listen to another perspective, or watch the tv show in question in the first place.

This whole discourse just shows what a polarized world we live in. You don’t like something, so you „fight” against the supposed bad guys who are responsible (in this case the Disney studios).

The Acolyte had few viewers because apparently many fans watched and listened to haters online instead of watching the actual show and forming an opinion of their own. Also, it is well known that the author is a lesbian and the protagonist identifies as non-binary, so that’s enough of a reason to reject it.

How progressive. I remember learning how in feudalist Europe the nobility refused to listen to Händel or Rossini because not being of noble birth, they allegedly couldn’t be good composers.

My point is that Star Wars stans should at least give a film or a tv show a chance instead of bowing down to preconceived notions, expectations, entitlement and influencers who they probably don’t even know personally.

After The Last Jedi, there was bullying and even death threats en masse; it already started with the prequels, Ahmed Best became depressed and Jake Lloyd schizophrenic. Kelly Marie Tran and Daisy Ridley had to cancel all of their online accounts. And these are just a few examples. I wouldn’t want to produce or work on Star Wars. There is no reason to be so aggressive over a piece of media.

I don’t like the „woke” agenda either, the victimization of minorities is ridiculous and counterproductive.

But please, who hates The Acolyte should at least a) watch the series and stick to the facts and b) look at themselves first. Female heroes, black / Asian actors, queer characters are not the problem here. It’s their hero worship of the Jedi and their misguided idea of what a „true hero“ ought to be like that’s at the bottom of all of their hatred. Die-hard fans still feel personally offended because Luke Skywalker had actually taken responsibility for his faults and drank green milk; they can record hours of YT videos where they keep ranting about every single shot of The Last Jedi, never admitting that they hate it because they feel like their personal pride got a blow on purpose. They would never listen to fans who actually liked that film, and why.

Some problems, really. These alleged fans ought to get a life instead of spending years and years hating on Disney, Kathleen Kennedy etc. because Their Heroes were (shocking) taken off their pedestal and humanized.

What also gets me is how utterly entitled and ungrateful these fans are. Ever since 2015 Disney has produced plenty of good Star Wars content until now: Rogue One, Andor, The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, the 7th season of The Clone Wars, Ahsoka, The Force Awakens, just to name a few. Most fans agree that these are good or at least solid work. But as soon as something comes out that they don’t like, they forget all about that and rave that Disney should sell the franchise to more competent authors, or that at least the current board of directors should be fired and replaced.

Really? Listen to Rachel Zegler telling everybody what she thinks of 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the film that actually laid the ground for the studio’s success and wealth, and that she’s supposed to be starring in the remake. There’s a person who ought to be sacked right away for her disrespect of the original and overall entitlement.

Star Wars Is Not Owned by the Haters

In the end, a good story is a good story because it’s well told, not because of the ideals it (apparently) wants to convey.

Star Wars, ever from the start, was not about Good vs. Evil but about the power of love. The fact that the Jedi are not the good guys but fallible though well-meaning people is what makes them interesting. It’s not the author’s fault if so many fans believe that a good story must be Good vs. Evil and that there is no alternative to that. Star Wars started out as a fairy tale, it’s not your average action movie franchise.

I would like many of the antis have to do the actual work, i.e. write and produce a Star Wars show or movie, and do better. Most of them wouldn’t get two sentences together because all they know how to do is to hate on people who actually are creative, even if the result of that creativity isn’t perfect.

So, I suggest we, the more moderate fans, take a stand. Why have we allowed the antis to hate on Disney and on Star Wars in general since The Last Jedi came out? Why are our voices not louder? Why do we always hope for something better to happen?

The studios are drowning in hatred, for all the wrong reasons. It’s a pity that the more aggressive and stupid voices are also the loudest.

I would have liked to see a second season of The Acolyte, just to see where the characters would go. So would many other fans.

Let’s speak up. As for me personally, I’m sick of getting invested in stories and then let down.

Have a nice day.

[x-manson-annotated]

X-Manson Annotated Chapter 5 - Part One: INFILTRATORS.

Holy shit, the final chapter. This is where I really like a lot of concepts. The Avengers make a proper appearance and everyone's favorite sapphic Carol Danvers has a shitty time. See the reblogged version for the rest of it, since Tumblr has a limit on only 30 images.

If i'm not mistaken, this places the year that Kitty is watching the documentary as 2000 whereas before it said "Present Day" or "Today" . This places Kitty and Dani at probably 23 and 26 respectively.

**Dwight Hammer, like all cops is a goddamn moron.

Paid Schill.

1999 the y ear of the raid? Xavier's psychics forcing people to confess to murders that they didn't commit?

*I'm not sure if Dolores is a reference to someone special or just a filler character.

**I don't know why the spelling of her name with the 'e'. I've looked at multiple versions of the story and that detail remains in all of them.

**ALIENS EXIST IN THE CULT AU.

Motherfucking Carol Danvers!

*I'm not totally sure if that's something Supergirl used to be like.

** Rogue. I'm not sure who the intelligence agency is, since SHIELD seems to be a known quantity in the world.

*** That isn't really a thing she's known for either.

*Carole uses that very insistent phrase "the Kree that fucked me up". In the comics, she gained her abilities from an explosion that mixed her DNA with Mahr-Vel. So, is it possible in this au the Kree intentionally experimented on her?

**Pretty green eyes convince Carole Danvers that Rogue isn't a tech. Gay as hell behavior, champ.

***Further gay behavior. Much less traumatic loss of her powers as opposed to what happened to her in the comics.

*This is referencing her lesbianism within the story. I don't know if this is Benway's potentially homophobic perspective on Carole's sexuality, or if it's meant to be a purely in-universe sense of present homophobia.

Rogue's Mom, Destiny is being a cryptic old biddy. She's present twice the story, but Mystique isn't. Maybe she died a while back after some encounter with the cult, resulting in Rogue being sent in as an agent. But, that's just my headcanon.

*See.

**Rogue gave Carole a type.

**Why didn't she decay? Because of Carole's powers?

***Destiny was able to see that Carole was going to fuck her shit up by kissing Rogue's corpse, but not that Rogue would get murdered? Like, c'mon, that's your daughter.

*I might be right.

**I'm so fucking sick of Vance taking every single incorrect lesson from his life. Of course, she was angry, Vance. She was in near-constant pain, you unbearable prick.

***Probably doesn't help that she was being cryptic about what happened.

*I still love how angry he is with American spy agencies.

*Possibly this universe's version of Freedom Force?

Xavier loaning out cult members for odd jobs?

*Sorry HOXPOX fans, Moira isn't a mutant.

**So that's where they're potentially filling up their ranks?

***My immediate thought was Gambit both because of the title and the New Orleans connection. This might also be Amahl Farouk, who has a history of employing pickpockets, but he was based in Egypt. Though, I don't want to discount him totally because of my biased headcanon.

*Tracking the cult's activity from the ground up. But, how is the cult going to all of these places constantly? How far spread are they outside of Westchester?

** Nice to know that Black Tom exists in this au. Hope he and Cain have a summer cottage together somewhere on the coast where they can grow old together, far away from any of this cult horseshit.

Spain

Morocco

Romania

Hungary

Yugoslavia

Westchester, New York.

So, Sean was likely trying to infiltrate them after making contact in Yugoslavia and then ended up being inducted into the cult, proper.

That is so goddamn scary it's unreal.

*was their a psi on the isles manipulating the local Interpol agents? Can Xavier or Cable stretch their influence that far?

*Rahne Sinclair

*I just now noticed that Terry in this story is eleven. My god. That's an especially horrifying ordeal at that age.

*if Sean was pleading, it's possible that either they didn't have him under psychic control yet (not coring him) or the distance allowed the connection to break. But who else is with Logan that's coercing Sean into action?

*She could tell almost immediately that Rahne was a mutant and not some kind of freakish dog.

The river to confuse Logan's tracking ability?

*Rahne's home in the woods.

*They don't see her transform in the dark, but she can take on a human or at least human adjacent shape. Rahne Sinclair is a saint.

First Voice, Unknown.

Second Voice, Logan.

*My first instinct was that this is Sean, but Moira would have clarified if it were. Maybe it's Cable or Piotr?

**Rahne can take on a human shape, but is functionally feral and cant understand human language.

*Logan's voice again.

**Cars everywhere. Some of them look burned. Sunfire? Is the second voice Sunfire?

*Christ alive, they massacred ten whole police officers and special forces agents.

Logan sticking around to threaten the family by leaving shreadded vehicles around? Why not murder them?

[sillybayo]

Viewing Revolutionary Girl Utena from an Aspec (mainly asexual) Lens

Some notes before I begin;

-This ramble/essay/whatever contains discussions of CSA and objectification (specifically towards a brown little girl, which contains racist implications). I mean, its quite obvious considering the show I'm talking about, but I still think this is an important warning. Also, please remember that the majority of the characters in utena are 13-17. While I don't mind a deeper discussion into their sexualities, desires, events, etc. etc., you need to remember that they're still children, and such topics need immense maturity. Please don't leave comments that sexualize the characters. It will leave me heavily disgusted.

-This is written under the assumption that Adolescence of Utena is an alternative universe, rather than a direct continuation from the show. This means that I don't think the characters in the movie remember each other nor the events from the show, and have a complete fresh start in all of their relationships.

-I'm not saying that these are the only possible interpretations or meanings, thats far from the truth. Its more so, "This event is because of this, but I also think its because of this on top of that." I just want to share my headcanons, as I think they make sense and want to give others a different perspective.

-I've only finished the show during the spring of last year, and I'm in the middle of a rewatch (somewhere in the black rose arc). I apologize if I misremember things, forgot something, or state something that lacks clarity.

-I'm perfectly aware that asexuality is lack of sexual attraction, and doesn't exactly mean that you don't enjoy sex. However, I'm using asexual (and other identities I mention here) as a general term containing both preferences. Absolutely no shame towards my acespec sex lovers, y'all rule the earth >:3!

-This is purely a thought dump, so I apologize if topics tend to bounce around, not make any sense, and/or the lack of proper episode references (like saying "when Utena and Anthy did a silly goofy dance", instead of "on episode 17, so and so"). This is really just for fun :3! I wanna put my ideas out there and want to talk about them with more people.

Now with that out of the way, I want to share why I think Utena and Anthy are acespec bambi lesbians. Lets get started ^o^!!

I'll start with Anthy. Throughout the entire franchise, she has been seen as an sexual object. In the show, this is less obvious until we're further introduced to Akio, since when people own her, shes seen as a key to revolutionizing the world, and going up to the castle illusion above. The farthest we see more romantic or intimate scenarios with Anthy and the duelists (other than Utena, of course), is her and Saionji exchanging diaries, and Mikis crush with misogynistic seasonings throughout.

Back to the topic of Akio though, he has been forcing her into sex for who knows how long, to the point where its her duty. She has only been an object to anyone and everyone she meets. Someone to project desires onto. Even Utena has accidentally done this (though it was far more tame, as she simply said Anthy wants more friends, when she, too, is lonely herself).

In the movie, this becomes much more clear. The way Saionji rubs her face, the way Touga talks about her, how Utena asks "Is this what the rose bride does?". The things she does for Akio has expanded to duelists. Once again, it has become her duty.

This is further proven when Utena and Anthy lay in bed after the first duel. She touches her, even without prior consent. Ever since I first saw this, I didn't think it was a sign of attraction, but rather, that Anthy just assumed that was what Utena wanted. This isn't the only thing that Anthy does without asking or talking it out first. She enters Utenas dorm room, she looks through her clothes. She now belongs to Utena, so she must prepare for her usual task.

So then, what if, with all of this in mind, that Anthy doesn't like sex at all? This follows the similar concept of her being a lesbian, since shes only forced to be with men, and has shown no genuine interest nor happiness towards any of them (well, not concept, as she is a canon lesbian, but you get the point).

Theres also a scene in the show where she implies that she didn't enjoy intercourse with Akio, in which he replies "Why must you torture me?" (once again, I apologize if I remembered this wrong). Theres obvious reasonings for this. One, hes her adult brother, two, shes a lesbian, and three, this is rape. But considering what I stated above, Anthy possibly being asexual is another reason.

Meanwhile, instead of being forced into romance and sex with other duelists, with Utena, theres always this more calm and comfortable air. Of course its because Utena actually cares about Anthy, and duels for friendship and love alone. But neither of them suggests sexual intent towards one another. Theres this emphasis on pure romance and patience, compared to other intimate relationships in the show and movie (keep emphasis and comparisons in mind!)

Although, Anthy could also easily be seen as demisexual, as she always chooses Utena in the end. Personally, I view the ending of the movie as nonsexual, as the removal of clothes being more about breaking out of their roles in the story, and the kissing being them finally being comfortable with their love for one another. Once again, thats just how I view it though. But Anthy growing a trustful bond with Utena is something a lot of demiaces can relate to. She can even be demiaro! Thats another wonderful read into her arc. Generally, I personally don't think Anthy is allo, and watching the franchise with amatonormativity and allonormativity in mind just doesn't feel exactly right, y'know?

Moving onto Utena, I'll be talking more about particular emphases, and how Utena acts towards sex compared to other characters in the show. Showing how one character stands out compared to all of the others, even subtly, is a writing tool often used in queer storytelling. For example, how all of the girls in monster high are boy crazy, except for Clawdeen.

Whenever Utena is put into a situation that implies sexual intimacy, shes shown to be uncomfortable. Like when she bdoyswapped with Anthy, and Saionji pulled her aside and removed a part of his clothing (only to reveal a diary though, thank goodness). When Touga constantly played with her hair or got really close to her. When Akio made continuous advances towards her, trapping her in a kiss, and eventually raping her. All of them show her either being terribly displeased, or groomed.

But she enjoys the idea of sex with girls, right? No, it doesn't seem like it. In the movie, when Anthy touches her, she immediately backs away and is clearly distressed. When she has to pose nude for a painting, she hesitates and clearly doesn't want to reveal herself, even though the task is nonsexual in nature. You could turn to the ending of the movie and say that shes interested, but I've already gave my personal thoughts on that.

Characters like Shiori, Kozue, Touga, Saionji, and Kanae, compared to her, however, don't mind about such things at all. Though for them, it could easily be read as trauma response, especially Touga. This is one of the many ways that Utena stands out instead of fitting in with the rest, and why I heavily believe she is not only asexual, but also caedsexual, akoisexual, and sex repulsed.

Andd that should be the end of my ramble! I hope you enjoyed peaking into my silly little brain. Rgu means a lot to me for many different reasons. It helped me become more comfortable with being a lesbian. It helped me figure out my gender and my relationship with it. It helped me process the trauma I was going through at the time. It improved my writing and analytical skills. Its truly my favorite show of all time, and I'm so glad I decided to watch it. My ramble may not be as metaphorical and deep as all of the other utena essays out there, but I had fun writing this :3. And to the aros, aces, and lesbians reading this,, I love you,, mwah <3