#and also our problems are written into the fabric of this fandom specifically so no matter what you ship you will always be doomed to

[buckttommy]

Hi! I would love to hear your thoughts on the sociological impact of multi shipping that you were talking about!

it's not necessarily the sociological impact of multishipping, it's more like... i don't think this fandom, in its current state, realizes that the tide in this fandom has the potential to shift in bucktommy's direction. because, like... before, it was just buddie, right, like there were no other potential "matches" for buck, not even josh or tk despite how many people tried to throw those hats into the ring. but now, it's like. there's tommy, and he's a real character with a (semi-)flushed out existence and he's another viable candidate for buck's affection and, like. if we were still on fox, right, i'd say whatever this doesn't have the potential to go anywhere because fox's audience was still fox's audience and if fox's audience (as in, the accumulated viewers over 911s years at Fox) hadn't gotten actively into buddie by s6, they never would've, and the bump in viewership from buck being bi + bucktommy wouldn't have caused that big of a shift in the numbers. buddie would still be THE primary ship.

but now it's like... we're not on fox anymore. we're on abc with abc's audience (both new and accumulated), and i'm not just talking about like. diehard fans. i'm talking about abc's audience who will watch 911 because they are familiar with abc shows, and have the same viewer experience with bucktommy that most of us did when we learned about buddie which is seeing these two dudes and going "oh there's something worth exploring there" and so. i'm just thinking that, like. depending on the volume of the audience, as in, the new audience who is actively interested and invested in bucktommy's relationship, i'm like... the longer this relationship goes on, the more the tide has the potential to shift from this fandom being a buddie-majority shipping fandom to a bucktommy-majority shipping fandom. at the very least, the buddie numbers hold strong and there would be an equal divide between buddie/bucktommy shippers (and i'm not just talking about shippers on tumblr; i'm talking about across all platforms which shippers make their presence known — insta, twitter, tumblr, YT comments). but the other thing is... like. it won't even take that long for that shift to happen, because now this isn't just a bunch of people rallying behind a fan ship, like... these are people who would have been dismissive of buddie before because it wasn't canon, who will now embrace bucktommy because it is. and i think a lot of buddie shippers especially overestimate how dedicated a lot of people are to their relationship, like. more than anything, 1) people love a good story, 2) they love a good romance, and 3) a lot of people like queer rep. and right now bucktommy is serving all of those things. and so. i don't know. it's just fascinating is all i'm saying. a shift is on the horizon and that's interesting

[myaekingheart]

As I approach a very raw and emotional arc in the story that I’m writing, I’ve been thinking a lot about comfort characters, coping mechanisms, and fandom. Specifically in the lens of curating your own fandom experience and trying to navigate other people’s perceptions of your comfort characters. 

Like, one of my favorite things about fandom is the fact that we have this tendency to so often latch onto characters that mean something to us or that we see parts of ourselves in. We get really, really attached to characters and fall in love with them and even create these fabricated narratives (that are sometimes also romances, self-insert or not) as a way to feel some sort of bond with these characters. We feel like we know them and end up feeling like we share some sort of fictional relationship with them and it can be extremely comforting. It can be extremely comforting using that fictional relationship and the stories we weave as a way to cope with things we’re dealing with in our lives, to work through these complex and raw thoughts and emotions in a way that foregoes more dangerous routes. The intrinsic value of hurt/comfort and even whump in transformative works in terms of coping with mental, physical, and emotional pain cannot be ignored. And this is great! The right to take a comfort character and use them as your own personal coping mechanism is truly one of the most wonderful things about fan culture. 

If this was all there was to it, then that would be fine. And if you’re kind of solitary in your fandom endeavors, then that’s likely all there is to it. When you start engaging in fandom and with other people, though, I feel like that’s when things can so easily go awry. Chances are, you are not the only person who takes comfort in a specific character. And you are not the only person who uses that character to cope and process through transformative works. It’s an amazing feeling to find someone who shares the same love for a character that you do, and who is on a similar wavelength as you in terms of using that character as a way to cope, and the things that you each use that character to cope with. But then there’s the darker side, when people use your comfort character to cope with things that make you uncomfortable. Or even just use them as a player in a story that makes you uncomfortable. It can be extremely difficult to be so deeply attached to a character and your own personal solitude in them, the idea of them protecting you from something bigger than yourself, and then so suddenly find someone else using that very character to create stories heavily focused on the very thing you’re trying to combat. The most common reactions, I feel, are typically anger, fear, confusion, hurt, distrust, disgust. A part of you might even begin questioning how well you even know this character to begin with, or if everything you’ve thought you understood about them was way off the mark and you’ve been fabricating this false, out-of-character idea of them. But more than anything, you begin to feel like the one character in which you sought comfort has been turned around to hurt you. And that can be an extremely distressing thing to try to manage. 

It can be even more difficult when the version of this character that is so heavily focused on something that’s harmed you is widely accepted or at least presented in a fandom space. It can feel isolating, like you constantly have to watch your step and vet everyone that reaches out to you or follows you. It can be tiring. It can leave you feeling like you just want to remove yourself from fandom spaces entirely. A personal example: one of my favorite characters is very commonly presented in fandom in a way that feels very close to an incident from when I was younger that traumatized me. And seeing this character presented in this way can be incredibly distressing, disturbing, and disgusting. More often than not, I end up having this very visceral reaction that leaves me nauseous, angry, and self-conscious. Because seeing a character I love occupying a space reminiscent of someone who hurt me is unsettling, and even moreso when it’s so much harder to avoid. 

So that begs the question of what to even do about this, because I’m sure that this experience is universal to anyone engaging in fandom in one capacity or another. There are plenty of options. There is leaving fandom entirely, whether that means detaching yourself from your entire fandom experience or resorting to enjoy fandom quietly, silently, alone. This is an easy and safe option. This is like the abstinence of options. You can’t put yourself in the line of fire if you never engage in the first place, right? But it’s also incredibly isolating. It’s cutting yourself off of the positive experiences in fandom because the negatives seem to outweigh them. It’s throwing the whole thing in the garbage because one piece broke off. Another option is policing other people. This is considered in poor form. This is unhinged and unempathetic. This is the angry child stomping in the grocery store insisting that if you can’t have a piece of candy, then no one can. Because people are going to continue to write and create whatever content they want regardless of whether or not it makes someone else uncomfortable. Sometimes especially if it makes someone else uncomfortable, because that is the point that they are trying to make in their art. But also because so often the very things that make you uncomfortable are the very things are bringing comfort to someone else. It’s their way of coping, just in the exact opposite way as you. And policing them would make them feel the same way as someone policing you. It feels restrictive and hurtful and, again, isolating. So if you can’t stop other people from creating what you don’t want to see, and you can’t bring yourself to remove yourself from the situation, what other options do we have left? 

Managing your fandom experience is like a balancing act. It requires not censorship, necessarily, but well-intentioned warnings. Tagging and unfollowing and blocking and blacklisting. The only reliance this has on other people is for them to maintain courtesy by listing the contents on the front page like the ingredients on a package of food. Not everyone does this, which is another problem entirely, but the ones that do are doing all that’s required of them. The rest is up to you. The rest relies solely on your ability to blacklist your triggers, unfollow people who do share content that triggers you without tagging (which can be difficult when something that triggers you is very niche and vague, like a specific perfume or a woman with blue hair). Block people who follow you that share triggering content, even if you’re not following them, because we know that even them just appearing in your notifications and the temptation of looking at their content can be unnerving--despite how much we all certainly like to believe we have some semblance of self control. Blacklist the tags that bother you so that you can continue engaging with a friend’s content even if they share things that you don’t enjoy or want to see. Tumblr makes this easy with options like Xkit and Tumblr Savior. 

But what about other places? What about on Twitter and Discord and AO3 and deviantART? What about when you run into uncomfortable content that you can’t avoid? When all other options have been exhausted but you still just can’t escape it? What do you do then? I’m still trying to figure that out myself. I’m still trying to find a way to navigate certain unsettling waters in the most balanced and respectful way, while also respecting my own triggers and mental health. And sometimes it’s really fucking hard. Sometimes there’s more to it than just blocking and blacklisting. And I wish I had answers for what to do in those situations, but I don’t. Not yet. And I hope one day I will. 

All of this is just to say: fandom can be a murky and dizzying experience and sometimes you’re bound to run into things that make you uncomfortable, or things that don’t sit well with you. Sometimes you’re bound to run into interpretations of your comfort character that make you sick to your stomach and want to punch a hole in the wall and delete everything you’ve ever written and shot out into the world for reasons you don’t even quite understand. And sometimes all of that can feel really isolating, or like you’re just overexaggerating and being a wimp, or like you’re being a bad participant in fandom spaces. Sometimes it can be really hard to want to stay involved in fandom when curating that experience can feel like so much work. And because as much as you can tag and blacklist and block and unfollow, that doesn’t always completely erase the feelings that running into that triggering content comes with. You can do all of these things and still feel nauseous and angry and uncomfortable and like you desperately need to reach for the eye bleach. And that can be really hard to navigate, especially when seeing that content makes you feel separated from the one character you would turn to to actually cope with this. Sometimes it can begin to feel like the way you see this character or feel about this character has been irrevocably changed for you now, because all you see attached to them now is your trigger, and that really hurts. I wish I had answers for how to manage those feelings, or how to rewire the circuits in your brain and load an old save up, to cut out the moldy part of the cheese and enjoy the rest that hasn’t yet been spoiled in your mind. I wish I had answers for how to cope with those sorts of things, but I don’t. I just hope one day I will. 

[philipsgaiamemories]

Compulsive Gambler

Fandom: Kamen Rider Build

Relationship: Kiryu Sento/ Banjou Ryuga

Summary: AU!Yakuza stuff, where Banjou is having a bad day but one visit to the casino changes everything.  Also slightly OOC

Notes: Not sure if I want to add to this or leave as is, so for now its complete unless I want to follow with more. 

Ratings: Probably Teen? Slightly Non-con?  

Banjou Ryuga was not in the best moods tonight, his irritation level high as he parted the crowds roaming the streets.  He could hear the soft gasps of the strangers around him, as he and the large threatening bodies of his family members moved through the city.  

Well of course everyone should be wary of them, this family around Banjou wasn’t just a normal family, the intimidating men around him were Yakuza.  Specifically, a subsidiary of the dominate Yakuza gang in the area; and in charge of the subsidiary was the lean auburn haired Banjou.

“Captain, why don’t we go to the casino?~”

Blinking the lean boy looked up, staring down the glittering neon street.  Right in front of them was a bright bold arrow pointing to a gold painted building with ‘Golden Palace Casino’ written on it.  This location was special though, this place was a hang out for their family, and one of the many businesses playing for ‘protection’.

“Oh yeah~ Come on lets try our luck!”  Sawatari Kazumi grinned next to Banjou. “Come on Captain! Lets cut loose!”

The other’s around him chattered eagerly, hoping that their leader would agree. Rolling his dark eyes, Banjou ran his fingers through his tresses, “Sure, why not? Come on everyone!”

Yeah, maybe after throwing some card down, the restless boy would be in a better mood.

“Yes! First round on me Captain!”  With a cheer the group continued down the street, stalking their way up to the entrance of the glittering casino.

“W-W-welcome Sirs!-“ As soon as they went past the foyer, the person behind the welcome desk stuttered, writing his hands nervously.  Well, it wasn’t surprising, every month they would have to deal with the Yakuza, and their ‘protection fee’.

Within a few minutes the men had beers in their hands, the boys happily settled at their own private table in the corner.  

“Ah! Captain you got a 21! Lucky!”  Kazumi grinned patting the back of the smaller male.  Grinning to himself, Banjou watched as the nervous dealer pushed the winning chips to him.  Yes, this was definitely a good way to blow off his extra steam.  

“O-Oi! Asshole, you cant get that lucky that often!”  Suddenly, the light hearted chatter in the casino fell into a hushed whisper, the customers gazes trying to stay away from the problem.  

Banjou’s lips fell into a frown, as he tilted his head, glaring at the direction the commotion was coming from.  He watched silently as large security guards reached for a lean boy in a long trench coat by the roulette table.  

“Don’t touch me!”  The boy’s hand lifted, swatting at the bodyguard’s hand, “I’ll leave!”

Even from their corner spot, the Yakuza Captain could see the boys wide almond eyes, dark, and defiant, sunken into his lean face.  Such delicate features for someone who was so feisty.  Then as if watching in slow moment, Banjou watched as the bouncer’s hand fell upon the troublemaker’s shoulder, the boy shifted his weight and in a blink of an eye the large man was on his back.

“O-OI!”

Amusement danced in the eyes of the Yakuza Captain watching as the other guards began to surround the lean boy.  But before it went any further, Banjou got up, and motioned his men to get up and move towards the circling boys.

“Guys, relax~ What did he do?”  Banjou called out, slowly coming up, parting the gang of men.  Tilting his eyes he finally took in the lean boy causing all the fuss.  Slender face, with those large dark almond eyes behind impossibly long lashes. Beautiful, pale, lean neck that flowed into a equally lean body.  Feeling his heart skip, Banjou couldn’t think of another word other than, ‘cute’.

The dark haired boy stared back at him with an intensely curious gaze, unsure what to think about the obvious mobster.  

“Sir, he was cheating at the game!”

Clicking his tongue, the stranger huffed, “Psh, prove it!”

The bodyguard growled, “Why you! There is no way you could win so many times-!”

Lifting his hand, Banjou lips curled into a smile, his mind turning with the statement.

“Prove it! You can’t can you!”

Could this boy have found a way to win at roulette without being caught?  Was that possible?! Crossing his arms over his lean chest, Banjou watched at the confident boy flaunting his obvious knowledge.      

“Well, why don’t we straighten out mm?” Motioning to Kazumi, Banjou watched as the lean boy was grabbed by the shoulder and arms, “Come on, lets talk.”

“Get off!” But it was no use, the lean boy couldn’t fight against the larger male.  The small group funneled through the casino, the Yakuza Captain leading them into the back VIP rooms.

“Out!” With a loud roar, Banjou watched as everyone in one of the used rooms ran out, their voices high in fear.

Lifting his hand, Banjou motioned towards the chair, “Sit.”

The mysterious boy eyeballed the door, as the Yakuza family members slowly slipped outside, taking their place guarding the front door.  With a sigh, the lean boy slowly took a seat, his eyes still shimmering with defiance.  

“So…what’s your name?” Banjou wanted to start out slowly, knowing full well that if he pushed, all he was going to get was resistance and lies.

“You can’t keep me here…I’ve done nothing…” His voice was firm, matching his defensive behavior.  

Sliding into a chair next to the boy, Banjou repeated. “Whats. Your. Name?”

His tone dripped with aggression, his eyes gleaming within the bright florescence lights.

Biting his lower lip anxiously, the stranger’s expression shifted, ever so slightly, his eyes momentary deep in thought.  Finally, the lean boy lifted his head, brushing back some of his chocolate tresses behind his small ear.  

“…Kiryu…Kiryu Sento…”

Humming lightly to himself, Banjou leaned forward onto his forearms.  “Sento hmm?  So…tell me…How did you do it? How did you manage to win like that?”

There it was again, that flicker of defiance in Sento’s eyes before he nonchalantly said, “I don’t know what you are talking about…I’m just lucky…”

The sound of scuffling filled the room as Banjou got up, a small knife magically appearing in the Yakuza’s hands.  The glittering blade pressed gently against the boys lean pale neck, with just enough force that the other barely breathed in fear of getting cut.  

“W-What are you doing?!” Sento’s voice came out in a strangled whisper. “Get that away from me…”

Banjou’s eyes shimmered watching as a small delicate line of red formed on the skin underneath the blade. The Captain was done trying to be nice, his patience wearing thin with each passing moment.

“Don’t you know…” He whispered, watching as Sento’s eyes grew into the size of saucers.  “That the money here, belongs to the Yakuza?”

Suddenly the cute stranger stiffened in his chair, his lips parting as if he wanted to speak, but dared not to.  Banjou had thought that it was well known that this place was under their thumb, and the money basically funneled into their pocket?  But, based on how the look of defiance was disappearing from the boys gaze, a look of fear replacing the Captain knew finally the boy was cracking. And just that fact, breaking the other without his normal violence, sent an exhilarating rush of heat and excitement down his body.  

Lifting the knife just every so slightly, Banjou dragged it down his button only applying the slightest of pressure to pop them off.  Inch by inch, the blade parted the fabric, allowing the Yakuza the thrilling sight of the pale flawless skin underneath his shirt.  The room was quiet, besides the soft, shuddering breaths from Sento, as Banjou continued to tear apart his shirt with no resistance.  

“…S-Stop…I-I’m sorry…I’ll return-“

Flicking the last of the buttons with the tip of his knife, Banjou scoffed, “You think that will fix everything? No…returning the money is the least of your worries…”

His eyes greedily took in the boys lean, fragile looking chest, parting the shirt with the tip of his knife, “Now…why don’t you be a good boy…and they will never know~”

[timeisacephalopod]

You know, I see a lot of discourse on why femslash is less popular overall and I think some of the reasons that are brought up (misogyny, less female characters, female characters not being just ‘boring’ like male characters, but outright misogynistic tropes, which makes them far harder to build than bland male characters on account of needing to completely remake them rather than just imagine more for them) are valid. I’ve often wondered why I gravitate towards almost exclusively m/m in writing and reading fanfic and considered misogyny, which is the most cited reason for the phenomenon. 

Here’s the thing though- if its original writing my leads are almost always women or female coded, and if they’re not there’s a strict split in genders (unless I’m writing something that has nonbinary characters). When I read original fiction I almost never read stories about men written by men- my entire library is female authors writing female characters. Obviously misogyny and not enjoying lady characters isn’t my problem, so what’s the deal? My proposed reason, or rather a partial reason on account of the reasons for why femslash is less popular depends on individuals and the fandom at large (ie, fandoms with more women characters have more femslash). But I think a lot of it is that there’s not much of a model for female sexuality outside of men. Culturally speaking, we don’t talk about women’s sexuality and when we do its almost never within the context of just women- ie the male gaze. Shit, even lesbian porn is meant for men. We know this, so it doesn’t entirely seem surprising that there’s less femslash because of it.

One might mention that there’s not a huge model for gay men either, but men’s sexuality isn’t exactly something we shy away from. We know how men work, its easy to imagine how they might look together and when all else fails we can stick them into a heteronormative framework (that top/bottom discourse that often falls into thinly veiled misogyny that relegates the smaller therefore more ‘feminine’ one to the ‘bottom’ and therefore submissive role. To be clear penetration is not a form of power or dominance, its just sex. Hop off it). Lesbians face this too, like the weird assumption that femmes only date butches, but its also really difficult to shove someone into heteronormative assumptions when penetration, the biggest part of heteronormative assumptions in sex, is often synthetic. 

All our models for sex and sexuality treat penetration as the ultimate form of sex, and lesbians don’t fit neatly into that narrative. That’s where you get wild assumptions like lesbians using realistic dildos means they’re secretly attracted to men- we as a culture have a very hard time with accepting that women have a sexuality that’s completely independent of men whether or not men are involved. (And to be clear it doesn’t matter how realistic that dildo is, its not a man and never will be. Lesbians are lesbians regardless of what fucking toys they use jfc). I think this plays a large role in how and why fanfiction looks the way it does, just the simple difficulty people have imagining women’s sexuality with each other. Which is a bit upsetting considering most fanfic writers are women, but culturally we don’t give women their own space to express their sexuality either. And if they try we often punish them for it (ie straight women being sluts, lesbians being into men actually, they just haven’t found the right one yet, etc). Then there’s the way women’s love is often written off or ignored, ie. the Gal Pal garbage we see all the time. Women don’t often get the luxury of existing sexually outside of men, and thus we don’t have a lot of models on how to depict women loving women because their romance is written off as friendship, and their sex is written off as secretly for men or experimental.

Point is, women don’t get a place to express their sexuality independent of men pretty much ever, even if they’re lesbians just existing like that. We often do a lot of work to reframe female sexuality as for men, actually, including in instances where lesbian women are having sex with each other for each other. To me, its not entirely surprising that some of that cultural fallout might have landed in fandom spaces too, especially where so many women in canon works are clearly male fantasies (yes, this is a Joss Whedon callout). Once again it results in fans separating out women from male fantasy, which makes them a lot more work than male characters. Which, more than likely, is why you see more femslash in works with more women- there’s a good chance women were involved with the production of those works and suddenly a lot of the work around dealing with female characters disappears. The dynamics come easy and fast because they’re abundant and well written, plus they come with the added benefit of not having to pull a bunch of misogyny or homophobia (lesbophobia specifically) out of the fabric of their creation.

I’ve never seen anyone mention this, and technically it falls into the misogyny explanation, but its a real specific brand of it that’s highly lesbian specific. I think there’s a reasonable chance that this has something to do with less femslash, especially in canons where there are less lady characters or where they’re already flimsy male fantasies. Recreating that into something that doesn’t read like bad mainstream lesbian porn is a lot more work than well written male characters romancing each other, or even taking a couple bland male characters and building them up some more to make them romance each other. But women are almost never just bland, they’re sexy lamps, and that makes giving them sexualities independent of the misogyny they were created into a pain in the ass.

[golden-redhead]

I focused on the 'I'd rather people erase her canon attraction to girls' part bc I agree with how the way she's written a lot can be frustrating. It wasn't relevant to what I was saying so I didn't mention it dipshit. It doesn't change that you think erasing canon lgbt characters is fine so stop acting like this is about 'representation'

And again, you on purpose change what I actually said in the context of both your previous ask and entire discussion.

This whole time, over and over again, I say that headcanons =\= canon. I never even said it’s fine. Headcanon doesn’t erase canon because it can’t affect canon in any way. The definition of headcanon is: “Elements and interpretations of a fictional universe accepted by an individual fan, but not necessarily found within or supported by the official canon.“ Sure, there are some widely accepted by the fandoms headcanons (fanon) but even then individual fans can choose to ignore them. As long as it’s explicitly presented as headcanon and someone doesn’t try to force it as canon acting as if it’s something that actual canon supports it’s… well, maybe not fine, because I agree that it can be problematic in some cases, but definitely not deserving of backlash and hate that people often receive for sharing their headcanons with the world.

I did say, however, that by dismissing other people’s headcanons (headcanons, not facts) - fandom can lose valuable and interesting content, even if not entirely accurate with our own interpretations of the characters. And that by sending them hate you don’t accomplish anything other than hurt others for… for what, for enjoying themselves? I also said that it is possible to have multiple interpretations of characters, depending on context and the story you want to tell, which is often true for fanfic writers and content creators in general. I wouldn’t personally agree with this interpretation of Tenko as straight but I’m also not going to get offended by someone’s personal interpretation of her, whether I think that it’s wrong or not. It’s much healthier to accept that you can’t change other people and that as long as they don’t go and present it as canon there’s not only little you can do but also there’s no need for it. I totally agree that it can become a problem when people erase someone’s canon sexuality on a large scale but this is hardly the case here.

Another thing you ignore here is how I specifically mentioned it in opposition to portraying Tenko as a “gold star lesbian”, something I personally see very often and which is much more harmful to LGBT communities than one person headcanoning one generally accepted as LGBT character as not-gay. Especially since it’s often portrayed in a positive manner (or at least it was in those few fics that I had a chance to read) which is my true issue here. This is very, very harmful because the whole concept divides LGBT people and creates hierarchies. It can be horribly transphobic and biphobic and since it comes from within the community which is supposed to be the safe space - it can make people feel alienated and leave them no place in which they could feel safe. Supporting the idea that lesbians who would never look at a man and only experience attraction to the people of the same gender are somehow better than the ones who are also attracted to people of the opposite gender or had a sexual experience with people of the opposite gender is horrible and toxic. I know someone who struggled with it a lot and let me tell you - it’s not pretty.

Also, you completely ignore the fact that context can be the key. As far as we know, V3′s characters whole personalities are fabricated. Any interpretations of who they were before the game are valid because unless we get new material which would explore their pre-game personalities - fans can come up with whatever they want. I have a friend who wanted to write a fic in which Tenko, actual pre-game Tenko, was actually straight and now she has to deal with her new-found attraction to girls and entirely new personality that contradicts her old one because this is exactly the kind of shit Tsumugi was into when writing V3′s plot. Pre-game Tenko isn’t really canon Tenko, because we never got a chance to meet her. And yet, it’s still Tenko. She didn’t write it because she was afraid of the backlash that would take place at the mere suggestion that Tenko might be or might have been straight. It doesn’t erase her canon attraction to girls because: 1. it applies to pre-game Tenko and 2. it would acknowledge and address her attraction to girls in a way that makes sense in the given context. Of course, we don’t know if that friend would succeed in writing it in a believable way, but that’s a different issue. And yet it would be totally deserving of straight!Tenko tag, even if it’s not entirely true.

Oh, and also: the whole discussion started from me saying that attacking people for headcanoning(headcanoning, not stating that she IS) Tenko as bi is biphobic. Because it is. Because if someone hates the idea that someone headcanons, as you put it, ‘canonically attracted to girls LGBT character’ might be bi then it is biphobic. Bi people are part of the LGBT community and can be attracted to girls. Even if you put her in a “straight passing” relationship, which many people see as straight - if they headcanon her as bi, then she’s still LGBT. And it’s still ONLY a headcanon. Which is not canon. It’s a personal interpretation. That this person is going to have, even if you call them names and disagree with them and provide proofs that this character can’t be what they headcanon them as. This is how it works. It’s not the fact that someone sees Tenko as bi and you disagree with this interpretation that makes you biphobic, it’s the fact that you hate the mere idea that someone might see her as bi. I know that it doesn’t really apply to your ask, since you don’t seem to have a problem with bi!Tenko, but this is a difference that people often fail to see and I wanted to mention it.

[let-me-be-your-home]

Supernatural : Nightmare Logic Review.

Some Supernatural episodes are written to convey some progress in the story. And this episode of Season 14, Nightmare Logic seemed fabricated around a few changes they wanted to convey. Whether to bring a twist or to specify the changes or developments been made over the course of time. They wanted us to know that Sam isn’t perfect at everything and is finding it hard to lead, makes mistakes but is also learning with the support of his ‘constant’ his big brother Dean, who was heart-warmingly encouraging and Sam’s biggest confidant all through this episode. The episode wanted us to know about Bobby’s son, his evolving relation with Mary, what Micheal has done with the new breed of monsters and of course MAINLY it wanted to remind us that the connection between Micheal and Dean is still relevant and is lurking around the corner, waiting to appear again.

What stood out to me in particular and has been a long time coming was that Dean has now begun to view himself in a more positive light. He tries so hard to not blame himself even though his first instinct is to take responsibility for everything that happens around him. I admired that he had let his brother help him, and from that encouragement was trying to move past what had happened. This is such a significant evolution in his character which I have been noting ever since the last two episodes. Dean was always open about his emotions but he had to be prodded to express them. But now he himself reaches out to his brother and unburdens himself.

Leading from that I also see the difference that openness has caused in the relation between the brothers. With Dean now confiding so confidently Sam too reciprocates the same. He shares his problems, and reaches out just as easily as if it is the most natural thing to happen.

Sam and Dean’s bond has taken a new note, and every moment between them is so seamless and easy. They have always had each other’s back, always been each other’s constants but somehow the last few episodes show it in a way more mature light than before.

Dean is back and if he wished he could get back into the job just as profusely as Sam is by wanting to lead the AU people. But he likes letting it be, trusting his brother blindly, but all the while there to back him, help him lest he falters. He was constantly letting Sam do his thing (not letting the big brother role intervene there) but still being the elder by looking after him, worrying about him.

And Sam returns all that love with his own concern, by promising to Dean that they will like every time fight this ordeal just as efficiently as they have always done.

I have seen many factions of fandom complain that Dean’s roles are being snatched from him or that Sam doesn’t get a voice. BUT I just don’t agree. I think by and large the show tries to balance character development and stories very efficiently. Like Jensen and Jared have said in a convention earlier this year that Sam and Dean do not compete with each other. They are made from the same fabric and take on any role that is needed of them at a given point. Sam leading now doesn’t mean the show is saying Dean’s job is to cheerlead. And because the main track somehow lies on the MIcheal/Dean story doesn’t mean Sam won’t have his job cut out.

This episode had Mary leave again – Her character is so very inconsistent that I do not have much words to say about that at all. Her bond with her sons hasn’t been developed and no moments are specifically shown to elaborate on them either. So to me she seems pointless.

And since I know very little about AU Bobby, my views on him are reserved too. Although we have begun getting to know him, but Jim Beaver acts so well that it’s easy to distinguish between this version and OUR version of Bobby. Didn’t like him reprimanding Sam so much considering both brothers are why anyone from the AU world is alive and surviving. But he wasn’t far off the mark in pointing Sam’s mistake.

Sending Maggie who couldn’t hold a blade properly to a solo hunt didn’t seem like a smart move at all.

The scene of Sasha and Dean was also significant. I love how Dean admitted in his own way that his own parents have always been in their own world doing their own thing and he had been devoid of their presence and encouragement all his life. Even now that Mary is around her being there or not is almost the same. But he is soldiering on, letting go… which was mirrored in his maturity when he hugged his mother so large heartedly and let her walk away….just wanting her to be safe and happy.

Again like the last 13 seasons the show once more specifies that Sam and Dean ultimately can only rely on each other. And no matter what that will be the driving force of their story.