#and also the engagement on my wlw fics are lovely— people who do read give kudos and reblogs and really thoughtful comments

[theinvisiblemuseum]

how about......people demanding wlw rep then never actually engaging with it because the only thing they care about is woke points☕

this really was the wrong day for me to rb this game because i'm seriously genuinely going to be a major cunt about it and i dgaf. that's your warning.

so. here's what i think. in very general terms.

if you don't want to read below the cut (valid) here's all i'll say: stop, actually. i don't want need or care about the megaviral wlw fanfictions of your dreams, because that's not how i choose to engage with fandoms. i already make and engage with the kind of content i want to see which (surprise!) includes a lot of wlw content, but i don't see the need to force moral superiority down people's throats over it. i don't give two shits if anyone other than me is making wlw content. this is fanfiction. fanart. etc. people are allowed to write or engage with whatever they want, HOWEVER if you're throwing a fit over not having enough wlw content and can't name a woman off the top of ur head, that seems like a you problem, idk. basically i choose to actively NOT engage with the type of people screaming crying and pissing themselves over content that already exists that they can't be bothered to look for because appearances and #feminism are all that matters.

if you're here, i'm going to get more cunty, not sorry, you were warned.

the demand for wlw rep is absolutely just dog whistling to seem holier than thou, and like, whatever, most of this shit originates on twitter and tiktok and i've never listened to a word a twitter or tiktok user has said and i won't start now so on the whole i can just put my metaphorical headphones on and tune it out and keep doing my thing, yk? but when it permeates my little den of horror and my brain starts scratching itself, well, i find that sometimes i need to be an asshole and sometimes is right now.

it's not actually a fandom sexism/misogyny issue it's an issue of wanting validation to enjoy certain things, because those things are only cool if the hivemind says so, right? i'm no political expert but i know enough to know that cultlike thought patterns don't lead anywhere good. i've seen zombie movies. i live in america. LOL.

i always joke about how i'd rather die than have my favorite ships become popular (i.e. pandalily, bartydora, lilycissa, etc) but the reason i say that is because a. it breeds discourse that i don't care about, and b. i don't want a bunch of people engaging with content they're not actually interested in just to seem woke or stay on top of trends. it just makes things worse for the people who actually enjoy it.

and while i have your attention, and while i'm being a bitch, wanna know one of the big reasons i think people are crying and whining about the 'lack of wlw rep'? they want other people to care so they don't have to. of course, they don't realize other people already dooooo care, because they're too terrified to sort by anything other than hits on ao3, but that's neither here nor there. no, what they want is for some big strong heavenly god to bite the bullet and characterize these women that, let's be frank, are names on a page and nothing more, so they don't have to. so they can keep on keeping on with the characters they DO care about and toss something around every once and a while about (insert megaviral wlw fic that doesn't exist) to avoid claims of sexism & lesbophobia. AND AS A DISCLAIMER! i don't think people should feel the need to care about a bunch of random characters if they don't want to. once again, this is fanfiction. do whatever the fuck you want. i promise it makes things so much more fun and chill. just because i wanna characterize the shit out of pandora fucking lovegood, i'd never demand anyone else does, and that's the crux of it, isn't it?

this is why it also bugs me when i see posts like 'omg i don't even care who the ship is, i just love sapphics!' or smth along those lines because like, yeah, i love women and i love when women fuck each other and love each other, but i'm not just gonna care about a ship because it's two women. if i did, i'd be more than happy with the pg spoonfed #girlcore sapphic representation in mass media, because half the time it's just two white girls named rachel and brookleighanna whose only defining character traits are that they're gay. nothing more. and sorry, but i'd rather have no wlw content than that. i can't enjoy a ship if i haven't rotated them to hell and back like a rotisserie chicken in my silly little head, often before i've even consumed any content about them. that's the fun of it! i sent like 12 voice messages about a ship i don't even care about that much one time just because i took a shower and had a lot of thoughts. does that mean i'm going to attempt to make them a cornerstone of the Fandom As A Whole and be treated like a celebrity over it? fuck no. i'm just here because i like to have fun and talk to people about characters we all enjoy and create so much lore in my head that only 2 people will ever know about simply because i'm passionate about it and that passion is really enjoyable to me. fandom is a community to me, not a hierarchy, like tiktok or twitter would have you believe, and i think that's what this whole conversation about wlw rep is missing right from the jump. (ta da! i circled back to the point at hand in the end. my tangent had a point!)

yeah so that's my two cents. lol.

[mxlfoydraco]

i saw this post: “bitches in fandoms will use "the women aren't well developed characters and they're boring bc the writers are misogynists and didn't give them anything >:(((" as an excuse to never talk about any female characters but then they'll have an entire made up backstory and 700 fics on ao3 for background male character #4 who doesn't have a canonical last name. “

and this relates sooo much to hp fandom. i love drarry and wolfstar but sometimes the things i see about reg is just kinda… that. we are talking about his door sign (bc ofc we read this glimpse in the book) and his story is very good indeed since he’s like an anti-hero but idk if it’s bc the original writing but we don’t talk much about the female characters that much. like i’ve never seen bunch of fics that detail hermione dealing with her parents after the war, how they could have felt betrayed that she made then forget their whole lives. i read one hermione/millicent fic that talks abt it but nothing… deeper. we don’t see much abt pansy potentially breaking down after trying to give harry to voldemort. my point is we never explore much of these characters. i’ve never seen fic festivals abt them. it’s all about the men in the universe and don’t get me wrong i love them but i wish we’d put more effort in writing wlw media and that we could discuss a female character’s little things or traumas.

i’m sending this to you bc i love your blog and i’m looking for more sapphic content! and i’m begging other ppl in hp fandom to reflect on it. anyway if you have any blog or fic recs that really focus on the female characters, i’d like to know! sorry if there’s any mistake, english isn’t my first language

I think this is a really nuanced topic and yes there is truth in the message of the post and what you’re saying but it’s also not the whole picture if that makes sense? It would require like an essay on fandom, gender and sexuality to explore M/M vs F/F topic (and there are many great ones!).

I want to approach it from a different angle with my reply, that they do exist. Pandora, Mary, Dorcas and Marlene are also only named in canon but have a big fanon presence. There are people who write and engage with female characters to that depth and with so much passion.

They’re not as visible, I agree, but it’s a self-perpetuating issue. They also feel alone in creating their works even though there are multiple, several posts like this. I’m gonna tag some accounts to check out down below, please use them as a jumping point to connect with creatives!

@hpsaffics @femmefest @fleurmioneweek sapphicspringfest @hpwlwbigbang @hpfemslash-minifest @hpfemslashweek @hpfemslashficrecs-blog @hpfemslash @hpfemships @harrypotterfemslash @thehpfemslashnet @hpfemslashnetwork @hpfemsecretsanta HP single mums Pansyfest @dirtygrangerfest @lunalovegoodfest @hermiones-haven @astoriafest @sapphicnovember @flonksfest femslashficlets @harrypotterfemslashcentral @andromedafreed @pansmione-archive

Also, if any of my followers and mutuals have female-centric or femslash works they’d like to share, please reply to this with your links!

[cringengl]

https://www.reddit.com/r/actuallesbians/comments/wkn5n1/why_do_you_guys_think_girls_tend_to_love_mlm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1

looking more into the mlm and why it draws in female attention I’m not the only lesbian who noticed it I’ll post more links because the psychology of it fascinates me because as a gay woman male relationships really don’t interest me specially when wlw suffers so poorly.

no offence to byler fans either but I’d rather a budding community of lesbians looking for female relationships not that between two males and then slap the word rep on it how does that benefit lesbians exactly? In my views it doesn’t because byler is just make girls look dumb craving male attention.

elmax has more chemistry then byler the show fucked up there massive potential

Hi!! Thanks for sending me the link!!

Honestly though, I do have to disagree with a couple of your points. Just because something doesn't directly benefit lesbians doesn't mean it shouldn't be supported. We are the lgbtq+ community and a win for queer rep is a win for queer people and we should be supporting other parts of our community.

Second of all, the idea that girls/women/female fans who like byler are only "craving male attention" not only perpetuates the idea that the only reason women do things is for men, but also that women only do things out of a sexual interest, which obviously just isn't true. There are a myriad of reasons why women, sapphic and straight, engage with mlm stories, whether that is due to relating to the story, just enjoying the story, or yeah, due to "craving male attention" but my point is that it's not the only reason why and shouldn't be presented as such.

Elmax was only ever going to be a friendship and although I love reading it in fics, both El and Max needed a female friend after spending so long on their male friends and romance arcs. Stranger Things will always be a friendship show more than a romance show and I am always of the belief that female friendships are super important, especially for girls and women. Max was right when she said that El needed someone in her life other than Mike or Hopper. El honestly needs a break from romance arcs so I'm hoping that she'll be single for the majority of s5. The importance of female friendship is also the reason why I believe that Robin and Nancy's friendship is going to play a part as Robin is Nancy's first female friend since Barb and grief doesn't necessarily stop with closure and/or a funeral.

I do agree with you on the basis that there needs to be more wlw shows and movies. Although there has been the recent win of the renewal of Warrior Nun, so many wlw series are getting cancelled after the first season or just not getting made at all. It's honestly very frustrating because something I love about TV shows over movies is the fact that there's so much more content and more room for growth in both characters and relationships and at this point I get most of my wlw content from books (if anyone wants recs I am happy to give them!!). That means that if they get cancelled after 1 season then I, and I'm sure so many other people, just don't care as much as we aren't as attached to the characters.

There are so many reasons why this happens I'm sure, due to misogyny, lesbophobia and the falsely perceived idea that people don't want wlw media (for whatever reason). I honestly do think the reason is a mix of all these.

But yeah, thanks for the ask, this topic will always be an interesting one :))

[jinjojess]

Hello I saw one of your posts say that there was nothing wrong with preferring certain sexuality ships and I wanted to say I disagree.. If someone is truly unbiased then they should not prefer straight shipping over queer shipping.. Relating your sexuality to a ship is one thing but I don't think it is right to say "referring straight over gay is ok" when gay rights are being fought for... I know you didn't mean it that way but please be careful with how your words could be interpreted ! -🌈

Anon, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're sincerely concerned about this as an "issue" and not a troll.

If you are sincere, then this will hopefully save you a lot of anxiety and heartache going forward, and if you are a troll, this will hopefully help save someone else a lot of heartache and anxiety.

There's a lot of issues with these statements, but I think the biggest, most glaring one is this: you are making some leaps of logic here that really don't add up at all.

Have you ever read the Phantom Tollbooth? If not, you should. But basically there's a whole chapter where the gang have to make this huge jump to reach the Island of Conclusions, and that's exactly what sprang to mind here when I read these asks.

Well that, and the “I like pancakes” tweet. More on that later.

First and foremost, what individual people ship in their spare time is NOT a social issue. It has no bearing whatsoever on the rights of real, living & breathing queer people. Full stop. If you are using fandom activity as activism, you are not doing activism. People shipping BL isn’t going to mean trans people get affordable access to gender affirming surgery. If there was a link between fictional preferences and irl rights, then the sheer popularity of lesbian porn would mean that irl wlw wouldn’t face any societal setbacks.

Also, as a corollary, remember that “queer” does not mean “same gender attraction” and can include m/f pairings as well. Some people are bi, or pan, or trans, or ace, etc. 

Second, what I was talking about in the post was what people choose to engage with voluntarily in their free time. You seem to be interpreting “prefer” as “only this matters and everything else deserves to burn” which isn’t the case for most people. 

I prefer f/f ships. That doesn’t mean I hate any other type of ship, it just means that I’m going to create or seek out content that’s about f/f. Me enjoying what I like is not taking anything away from people who like other things.

What is wrong is belittling the other things you don’t like. If someone is like “m/f is the only good way to ship and anything else is wrong!” or “ew, get that gay shit out of my fandom!” then yes, those people are homophobic little assholes, but that comes from them them being dismissive and nasty about other types of ships, not because they like m/f.

And you can’t/shouldn’t force people to write fic or draw fanart or obsess about any kinds of pairings--just because they choose to spend their time going all in on a certain type of ship content doesn’t mean they hate every other kind. There’s no need to be “unbiased” when it comes to what type of characters you like to ship.

(Also I was referencing a specific stupid post someone made once comparing f/f fandom content to vegetables, i.e. “tastes bad and not fun but good for you”, and how you should force yourself to make f/f content even if you like doing other things better. Look, I don’t need people giving me shitty, half-assed fanwork! Let them do what they want to and those of us who are in the f/f zone for the love of the game will take care of ourselves.)

Nowhere in my post did I mention people being “uncomfortable” with mlm or wlw pairings; that’s an entirely separate issue from “if you like writing about m/f ships better, go right ahead.” The people going nuts over a two second kiss between women in the Lightyear movie are not representative of every m/f shipper in the world. In fact, most of them aren’t shippers at all in the fandom sense--they’re like people’s weird relative no one likes to talk to at holidays. 

I get that it can be frustrating that the type of content you like is less popular or harder to find in a macro sense, but that’s just it--it’s a macro-level problem that usually has several other issues feeding into it, and most importantly, cannot be rectified by trying to police individual people. 

Especially when their individual interests in this case won’t materially improve the fucked up situation for people in real life.

As for having to be careful about wording, I agree to an extent, but also, allow me to direct you to the tweet that this ask made me think of:

It doesn’t matter how iron clad you think your words are--if someone wants to, they can try to twist what you said/wrote and try to make you look bad.

(This often has the consequence of making the person doing it look bad, but hey, trolls are gonna troll, you know?)

In closing, I hope this makes you feel a little more relaxed, anon. You’re holding yourself to a standard that’s way higher than you need to; if you want to do something that does make a difference, I’d suggest investigating volunteering opportunities or places you can donate to. Those can really help you feel less alone and frustrated, and more like there’s hope for the world after all!

[yikesola]

protip: if you’re going through a period where you’re insecure about your writing ..... don’t pick an advent based on a statistically less-read trope

[theuntamednarrator]

Multishipper challenge — Jiang Yanli! Jiang Cheng!

Heck yes Jiang Sibs! Excellent choice, thank you. I'm going to start with Jiang Yanli, since it's her birthday.

Jiang Yanli

• Xuanli - what can I say? MXTX, Xuan Lu, and Cao Yuchen just did a great job of building that relationship for me. Who of us hasn't turned into an awkward fumbling idiot around a pretty girl? What I really like about them is that Jiang Yanli doesn't force him to change, and circumstances don't really either, all of the people involved (well that we care about, Jin Guangshan can die, again) have accepted the engagement being dissolved. Zixuan just grows up, realises Yanli's good qualities, values her, and decides he's going to treat her as she deserves and I just really love their story.

• Yangli - this is just mostly me deciding that Yanli and Mianmian both deserve good things, and what's a better thing than these queens? Nothing, that's what.

• Yangxuanli - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ look I am just a simple polyshipper okay? OT3(+) all the way. What I love about this one is it gives you the best of arranged marriage + childhood best friends + that one girl from lan camp who made you google "can girls marry girls" the second you got home. I think they would all balance each other really well, and shijie absoLUTEly deserves to have two badasses who would throw hands for her.

• Honourable mention - Sangli because I've read a couple of really good fics with this pairing recently and I really like the dynamic of the two underestimated political powerhouses just quietly arranging everyone around them with a smile.

Jiang Cheng

• Chengqing - again Meng Ziyi and Wang Zhoucheng (particularly WZC) just sold this so well. I love that they don't handwave away the inherent conflict and regrets between them in canon, and it's basically impossible to do anything canon-verse/divergent without digging into the debts and obligations between the Wen Siblings and the Twin Heroes, which is delicious. And then modern aus is just the awesomeness of 'two mean bisexuals who dress nicer than you' so what's not to like?

• Sangcheng - but only modern aus/non-canon. I don't think canon Jiang Cheng ever did or would have respected Huaisang enough for there to be any sort of genuine foundation there. I did read some fics that went the 'Huaisang manipulating Jiang Cheng through sex/romance' route early on and it put me off the whole dynamic, but then I had a few modern au fics recommended where the pressure is off them both a bit and those really worked for me.

• Chengyao/Chengsu/Suchengyao - hear me out I know this is a left field one but I'm just really fascinated by what the dynamic between Carp Tower and Lotus Pier is like during those 16 years and these three are at the middle of that. This is more a platonic ship rather than romantic for me (though I have read some really good fics which play with the romance angle too). Jin Guangyao is too smart not to try and get Jiang Cheng on side, especially once it becomes clear the next heir to Carp Tower is going to be spending a lot of time in Lotus Pier. Meanwhile Qin Su is the closest thing Jiang Cheng has now to a sister, and since I hc him as one of those people who gets on better with women than men I can totally see them becoming friends and trading parenting tips about Jin Ling and Rusong over tea in the gardens at Carp Tower.

• Honourable mention - Jiang Cheng, himself, and he. I do hc Jiang Cheng pretty firmly on the aro and ace spectrums (nobody is THAT purple without being at least a little bit ace and also all my faves are a little bit ace). I actually think in canon the ideal for Jiang Cheng is a reverse of the Wei Parents & Jiang Fengmian dynamic where a pair of wandering wlw cultivators somehow end up at Lotus Pier and then never leave, and two years in they're like 'hey please father our children' and he's like 'ugh fine but one of you has to be my heir then I'm sick of the nagging at conferences' and they're like 'ugh fine' but secretly everyone is quite pleased with the arrangement.

Question from here!

[drivingsideways]

k-drama rec list

Prior to 2020 I’d maybe watched 2 k-dramas in my entire life, but this year I got sucked in, thanks to some great recs, and y’know, *gestures * everything.  

I think I’d held off watching kdramas because my impression of them was limited to romances that I didn’t enjoy at all. But this was the year I discovered the equivalent of “gen fic” kdrama- dramas that had wonderful ensemble casts, strong story lines that weren’t entirely romance focused and also a variety in terms of themes and styles. A big plus was that I found so many of these dramas had women leading the writers’ room, and seeing the effect of that in the story telling. (Notable exceptions: a certain “star” writer who should please stop inflicting her badly written, formulaic crap on the world, yes Kim Eun-Sook, I mean you, and whoever wrote that trashfire Flower of Evil)

So here I am with my own rec list! Caveat- these are mostly not the dramas released in 2020, I’m still playing catch up! :)

Under the cut for length

My Mister/ My Ahjussi  (2018, Written by Park Hae-Young, Directed by Kim Won-Seok, starring Lee Sun-kyun and Lee Ji-eun aka IU) 

This was definitely my absolute favourite of the shows I watched this year across western/ asian media. It’s a story about the thread that binds us all and the ineffability of human connection. It’s also a story that deconstructs ideas of masculinity and honour and shame in a non-western context, but with an extremely compassionate touch.  It’s a story that doesn’t shy away from showing the consequences of material and spiritual poverty; and how one can so easily feed into the other. It’s a love story that isn’t a romance, except that it’s a Romance. It’s about finding salvation in one another and in the kindness of strangers.  It’s about choosing life, and picking yourself up off the floor to take that one last step and then the next and then the next. The one quibble I have with the series is that it could have been better paced, it does get extremely slow after the half way mark. But god, do they land the ending. Both Lee Sun-kyun and IU turn in absolutely heartbreaking performances, and fair warning, be prepared to go through an entire box of tissues watching this series. 

Life  (2018,  written by Lee Soo-yeon  and directed by Hong Jong-chan, starring Lee Dong-wook, Cho Seung-woo, Won Jin-ah, Lee Kyu-hyung, Yoo Jae-myung and Moon So-ri.)

Medical dramas are very much not my thing, and I wouldn’t have taken a chance on it except that @michyeosseo said I should, and she was right! It’s a medical drama in the sense that it’s set in a hospital, but rather than a “case-fic” format, this is actually a sharp commentary on the corporatization of health care, and the business of mixing, well, money and what should be a fundamental human right. Writer Lee Soo-yeon was coming off the global success of Stranger/Secret Forest S1 when this aired, so I understand that expectations were probably sky-high, and people were disappointed when this show didn’t give them the adrenaline rush that they wanted. On the other hand, I thought that this outing was really much more nuanced in terms of the politics and also how the ending doesn’t allow you the luxury of easy-fixes. This show has a great ensemble cast, and while it took me a while to get used to Lee Dong-wook’s woodenness (i ended up calling him mr.cadaver after watching this and was surprised to learn that he’s very popular?), in the end I was quite sold on his version of angry angst-bucket elder-sibling Dr.Ye Jin-woo. His best scenes were with Lee Kyu-hyung who turns in a lovely, achy performance as the paraplegic Dr. Ye Seon-woo who just wants to live a normal life. The love story between the two brothers is actually the emotional backbone of the story, and I think they landed that perfectly. 

My one quibble with writer-nim is that she ended up writing in a forgettable and somewhat (for me at least) uncomfortable romance between the characters played by Won Jin-ah and Cho Seung-Woo. I think part of my uncomfortable-feeling was that I got the strong sense that the writer herself didn’t want to write this romance, it was as if she was being made to shoe-horn it in for Studio Reasons, and she basically grit her teeth and did the worst possible job of it.  I do wish we could have absolutely had the OT3 of my dreams: Moon So-ri/Cho Seung-woo/Yoo Jae-myung like, c’mon TV gods MAKE IT HAPPEN, just...look at them!!!! 

Anyway, that apart, I think this was a very engaging series, and by engaging, I also mean thirst-enabling, see below. 

 Stranger (aka Secret Forest  or Forest of Secrets) S1 & 2 : (2017-, Written by Lee Soo-yeon, directed by 

2017′s smash hit aired a much anticipated second season in 2020, and I managed to catch up just in time to watch that live, so that was thrilling :D . Writer Lee Soo-yeon  mixes up thriller/office comedy/political commentary in an ambitious series. I think S1 is more “exciting” than S2 in terms of the mystery and pacing,  but S2 is far more dense and interesting in terms of political commentary because it takes a long hard look at institutional corruption and in true writer-nim fashion doesn’t prescribe any easy solutions. Anyway, please enjoy public prosecutor Cho Seung-woo and police officer Bae Doona as partners/soulmates kicking ass and taking names in pursuit of Truth, Justice and just a goddamn peaceful meal, along with a stunningly competent ensemble cast. Also yes, Han Yeo Jin is a lesbian, sorry, I don’t make the rules. 

Search: WWW  (2019, Written by Kwon Do-Eun, directed by Jung Ji-hyun & Kwon Young-il, starring  Im Soo-jung, Lee Da-hee, Jeon Hye-jin)

GOD. Where do I start? +1000 for writer Kwon Do-Eun saying “fuck the patriarchy” in the most grandiose way possible, i.e. absolutely refusing to acknowledge that it exists. Yes, this is that power fantasy, and it’s also a fun, slice-of-life  tale about three women navigating their way through work, romance, national politics and everything in between. It’s true that I wasn’t entirely sold on the amount of time spent on the romance, and I really wish they’d actually had a textual wlw romance, though the subtext through the entire series is PRACTICALLY TEXT. But still, it maintains that veneer of plausible deniability and I think queer fans who are sick of that kind of treatment in media have a very valid grouse against the show. On the other hand, personally I felt that the queer-platonic vibe of the show is very wonderful and true to real life, and it was only reinforced by the ending. This is a show written by a woman for women (like me), and it shows. 

Hyena  (2020, Written by Kim Roo-Ri, directed by Jang Tae-yoo & Lee Chang Woo, starring  Kim Hye-soo and Ju Ji-hoon )

Those of you who’ve been watching hit zombie epic Kingdom are probably familiar with Ju Ji-hoon’s brand of sexiness already. I had not watched Kingdom and got hit in the face by Mr.Sexy McSexyPants’ turn as a brash, privileged-by-birth, up and coming lawyer who gets completely runover by the smoking hot and incredibly dangerous fellow lawyer/competitor from the other side of the tracks in the person of Kim Hye-Soo. When I say they set the room on fire, I mean it, ok. Every single scene between these two is an actual bonfire of sexual attraction and emotional hand grenades, and they’re both absolutely riveting to watch. “Flower of Evil” wishes they had what this show has- an actual grown up romance as opposed to a thirteen year old twilight fan’s idea of an adult romance. 

The “lawyer” shenanigans and the “cases” are hit or miss, and I think the occasional comedy fell flat for me. But that’s not why I mainlined like 6 episodes of this series overnight like a coke addict, and that’s not why you’re going to do it either. It’s so RARE, even in these enlightened days to find a female character like Jung Geum-ja: hard as nails, unapologetic about it, and not punished by the narrative for it. The best part for me is that she feels like a woman’s woman, not a man’s idea of what a Strong Female Character should be. Anyways, when I grow up I want to have what Kim Hye-soo has ok?

Other dramas that I watched this year, quickly rated:

The King: Eternal Monarch (3/10 and those 3 points are only for the combined goodness of second leads who deserved better- Jung Eun Chae, Woo Do Hwan and Kim Kyung Nam. Please head over to my AO3 and read my attempts to fix this garbage fire and rescue their characters from canon)

Flower of Evil (-10/100, dont @ me)

Tale of the Nine Tailed (5/10, I think it succeeds at what it set out to do, which is a light hearted, sweet fantasy-romance-melodrama, plus “second lead” Kim Beom will make you cry as the hot mess of a half human/ half fox spirit ALL TEARS character. I think if you’re into kdrama romances as a genre, this is probably a good bet?)

Signal  (7/10,  This was the first full kdrama I watched this year and would definitely recommend. It’s a police procedural with time travel shenanigans and has an engaging plot, good pacing, texture and compelling performances. My one disappointment with it was the way they wrote Kim Hye-soo’s character. As literally the only female character to survive in any way, she was given short shrift, and toward the end it really began to grate on me.)

Six Flying Dragons - (7/10, also would recommend if you’re interested in Korean historicals. It definitely already feels a bit dated in terms of styling and production values, and even scripting and acting choices. But it has a good balance of fantasy and history and political commentary. I was not a fan of Yoo In-Ah’s performance in this series, but it’s not anything that would make you want to nope out of the series. It’s GoT , if GoT was thoughtful about politics and characters and not the misogynist, racist trashfire that it became.)

My Country: The New Age - (3.5/10, and that’s 3 points to Jang Hyuk’s fan and 0.5.points to Woo Do Hwan’s heaving bosom. If you like your historical drama/fantasy with very pretty men, very gay subtext -seriously RIP to show makers who thought they could hetero it but didn’t account for Woo Do Hwan’s Tragic Face- lots of blood and tears and very nonsense plot, this is right up your alley. I probably would have enjoyed it more in other circumstances, I think? But this one just annoyed me too much at the time! 

I have a couple of more dramas to watch on my list, that’ll probably carry me over into 2021, so see ya on the other side! :D

[takaraphoenix]

HELLO SWEETHEART! (^_^) For the fanfiction ask game, can you answer 2,9,12,17,45, and 51??? 💜💝

Aw, babe, thanks for playing! ^o^ <3

2. What is your latest fandom?

Huuuh good question. When was the last time a show dragged me into its fandom... I really do think that’d be Arrowverse’s Kanvers. Kate and Kara really had me highly excited and hooked and dragged me into writing, reading and engaging with fanart and posts and GIFs about them and while it’s gotten a tiny bit dormant - as things usually do when a show goes into break - it’s still there.

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

Well, if we do go by that definition of current as in “not that long-term thing you been obsessing over for years, shut up about that for a second and talk about the shiny, new and current thing”, I’d say that would then be effectively the Supergirl/Arrowverse fandom.

My favorite thing right now about that is my Supergirl Discord server with delightful, wonderful people on it to talk about all the things? I haven’t been involved in a fandom in this way in too many years, to actually talk about the thing itself, outside of fanfiction, with a group of people. It’s a lot of fun.

I also love how wlw heavy the fandom is - both in fans and in content because sooo many good wlw ships! Where other fandoms usually have the wlw as like... a sidenote. And I mean both in canon and in fanon here.

I actually have multiple wlw ships to enjoy in the screen in the Arrowverse and there is shiny art and fics about them in the fandom.

12. Who is your current OT3?

Current... mmmh... well, I’d say my most current OT3 would then be Cat/Kate/Kara I suppose. I put one of those onto my list for Writer’s Month and I am very excited to explore it.

Though I also put Nyssa/Felicity/Oliver on it and that is also something I am heavily obsessed with currently but due to the nature of not technically being a whole OT3 - what with Nyssa being a lesbian and her and Oliver not being a thing and this being more of a “Felicity has two hands” situation - I’m unsure if I’d count it for this.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

The first OTP. That would be Seiya/Usagi from Sailor Moon, that was like “wow this is such a beautiful romance I love them!” (and then canon broke my heart, naturally). And... considering I am following an incredibly gifted and talented artist for this ship specifically still (go check out @marmaladica, truly the art is sooo beautiful), I’d say my love for them never wavered.

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

I don’t... have one. I have a very bad memory. I used to have that but by now it’s just been way too long since I even last looked back at it so I wouldn’t even know - also the story was abandoned many years ago, which broke my heart back then. That was Detective Conan.

I also had this monster Glee fic that I loved over the moon and worshipped.

But... all time favorite implies “still going strong” and I don’t really have one of those, I mostly moved on from these fandoms.

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

I wish it’d not be as taken for granted. I also wish more reviewers were - braver. So often I read really cute comments that then end on “I’ll shut up now sorry for the rant” like no please continue on with this rant I love being ranted at about what you enjoy about my fic?

I feel like for many readers the perception on us authors is wrong. Like, someone will comment on a years old fic with “I know this is old but I wanted to say I loved it” like - sure I posted it years ago but I still love to hear that it is still bringing joy to someone and I have a hard time imagining any author would scoff and go “urgh comments on the old stuff, who cares”.

Being told that a fic is appreciated and more so being told what about the fic is being appreciated are so great and would go a long way in making fandom creators feel more appreciated.

Because that is a current problem and not just for fic writers, GIF makers and artists too. Many fandoms just... consume and give back too little appreciation and it’s a shame, because that appreciation is vastly motivating for any creator.

Fanfiction Questions

[starryrogue]

Hey. Below the cut is a LONG (2 page google docs) rant on being a gay sff book fan and the intersection of being a gay man in m/m spaces and book stuff. Just me ranting into the internet void. probs gonna delete this later so dont reblog/ or @ me or w/e

Before I get started, a disclaimer. This is a series of observations and rants based on my lived experience as a gay man in book and fan spaces. This isn't a formal critique or callout or call for action. Just an expression of confusion, frustration and desire. This isn’t me trying to dictate who can read and write and express m/m fiction. This isn't me saying “How dare women find enjoyment in things” since shaming women for “liking thing” is a long and complicated history. None of this has been checked for numbers and stats. There are a lot of generalizations below. There are probably more lgbt people engaging than I perceive. THERE IS A LOT OF GENERALIZING. This isnt an argument or formal essay.   I emphasize, this is me, a gay man, ranting and reflecting on my experience. Now that we have that out of the way

On a fundamental level, M/M book spaces are predominantly women filled. Starting at the top of the process, authors (check goodreads), Publishing (my industry and the results of a recent survey showing employment stats in publishing), Readers and engagement (harder to say stat wise but checking goodreads comments), and Fandom (more just a lived experience) are mostly women . So as a Gay Dude its confusing. On one hand, I feel kind of if I'm entering a space not meant for me, a man entering a women’s. But on the other hand my identity is the subject of so much work, both properly published and fanwork. Is this a space I can enter? 

Why is this the case? Why are women writing about this? Why is it finding an audience with other women? Is it a result of all of the above aspects just being woman heavy and it's a statistical result that most genre fiction being written/read by women? Fandom, shipping and M/M zines and fic are historically not led by men? Why? At the inception of fan culture, were there gay men engaging in shipping and using that as an avenue to explore male sexuality? Why have I only heard of fandom moms and not dads? 

Please read none of these as acuistory. I am generally inquisitive and would like an answer with historical context and data. Again, it's hard finding a balance between being a man commenting/genrailizing on a genre/hobby predominaltey for women and also being gay and wanting to engage in M/M content since again, its part of my identity being reprisented and commented on. Obviously not all the people i'm generalizing are straight, or cis. There are probably a lot of wlw, trans and nb people in these circles but I can't imagine it's the majority.I’m worried this might come off as misogynistic?

But then comes the real life scenario where I go to Scifi/fantasy book events that feature mlm leads and relationships and at a glance) I’m like one of 3 guys in a room of straight women? (again, generalizing) and I think, “why are y’all here? I'm here b/c I’m gay, and this book is gay? What are you getting out of this relationship? Where are my Gay SFF bros?”

A lot of YA SFF M/M content seems to be coming from author moving out of fan spaces, using fic as a way to practice their craft. Is this an equivalent of stright bro enjoying lesbian porn? Maybe not in YA SFF but BL/Yaoi has alway been pretty for women, by women? What about all the Mass Market romance? Straight up romance and smut between guys? Is it enjoyable b/c its two dudes making out and the author and audience are attracted to men so why not make it two men? Is it the “cultural taboo” around gayness that makes it hot? In all fairness I’ve only read 2 or 3 Mass Market/Ebook gay romances and they were Okay (like 7/10ish?) but that's not a good sample size. Again, why are women/ straight or otherwise getting to depict and dominate a market about gay men? I really suspect that women who are into men drastically out number MLM and also women being into men has been less stigmatized (Generally) than men depicting gay romance and sex. 

I wrote a post about being a gay man and liking love between men for a masculine. A kind or romance and intimacy seeped in masculinity kind of  thing and a lot the likes I got (or could identify) were women. As a gay dude i want to intereact with other MLM about M/M media since like this is suppsoed to be depiciting our kind of sex and romance but it hard to find any? (I'm not looking craaaazy hard but it's frustrating that its not a default) but where are the mlm talking about gay relationships on tumblr and goodreads?

I’m not trying to dictate who can write and read and publish this stuff. It's just isolating. There are a couple things I could go on about like depictions of mlm in shipping culture or like why all the top Tapas comics are BL but I think that's a separate issue. 

And now for some content rant 

As far as canon m/m content in books, up until recently it came in 3 flavors. Literary Tragedy, YA coming out Angst, and Mass Market Romance. Comics are a little better but not by much. Growing up I had like Magnus/Alec in that C.Claire series and Wallace Wells from Scott Pilgram and I think that was it. There has been a recent move in Sci-fi Fantasy (SFF) to be more diverse but generally its a lot of YA with a little less coming out angst. All my faves are still genreally written by women but I think the queer women and NB authors do it best IMO. 

I love SFF, but also I’m an adult so I am aging out of YA. Also YA coming out stuff especially contemporary is an easy way to get me anxious AF. Long story short, being a gay teen is tough and Id preferer not to relive coming out. I wish I had things like Carry On and How to repair a Mechanical Heart as a teen, but alas, I did not. Not that these books have no value, just there is still a gap in the market fot gay adult genre fiction(also why are straight women depicting coming out stories? Altruism?)

Give me that adult genre fiction with a gay romance b-plot please. (shout out to TOR for being market leaders but i need to do a deeper dive into indie presses). Shout out to things like Witchmark and Amberlough and The Last Sun. All great SFF stories in other worlds and full of magic and plot but also, dudes kissing. The one thing is gay authors have a tendecy to make thier books have darker topics like abuse, sexual assult/rape, homophonia, hard core drugs and violence, which i’m not going to deny. Let authors navigate the waers of gay culture in thier art. But I just want to read things like Juno Steel, queer AF but none of the homophbia and trauma attached. These asks are purely self interested, but I know there is a market for it.

(Also, there is this weird trend of Homophobia-Lite ™ where we arnt going to have the characters be bullied or outed or beaten/disowned but they need to “grow up” and get wives and families. Which on one hand is not great but on the other hand I like the way it reflects the lived experience of being ashmaed of your secuality but without the harsher traumas of the world. Its like me being gay in NYC in an artsy inudsrty. No one realy cares I’m gay and out but there are still little things that give me pause and some shame b/c interlized homophbia is a think. I think the SFF book makes it the best of both worlds of exploring homophobia without the darker themes. Ok end sidebar)

I have more thoughts on podcast content and fan spaces/shipping culture but this rant is already long. So I’ll leave it here. 

Probs gonna delete this after a day or 2. This was mostly an exercise for screaming into the void at some gay nerd frustrations. This rant is not without flaws or critique. But again, just a rant. A gay dudes nerdy rant about fantasy books. 

[lightlorn]

Ship bias for your KH Muses! :D

i am a flawed human being. ll accepting.

Aqua:

Terraqua. This ship is part of the reason I kept crying so hard in KH3, now catch me admitting that on the internet. I love the way they are there for each other in spite of their stark differences, and that they have a lot of unexplored, threadable area in both their coming of age and post-KH3 timelines. Plus any ship I can draw a parallel between my fandom otp and another ship is a good ship.

Xemqua. Nomura was setting something up here and he dropped the ball and I will not take that lying down. You’re telling me they don’t even so much as look at each other during the DLC? Dishonorable, Nomura, truly despicable. There’s so much to work with there, what with the armor and the way you can read a lot of Xemnas’ closest allies in the Org being answers to Terra’s inner circle. If Nomura won’t give me their story, then I’ll write it with a partner.

Aqua/Larxene. There’s basically no other adult women in this series and I am a simple dyke seeking the wlw. I think it would make a fantastic opposites attract cliche with the added bonus of someone that won’t take Larxene’s attitude lying down while simultaneously being able to match her step for step. The Taming of the Nymph, coming soon to an AU near you.

Eraqus:

Xehaqus. This is my end all, be all OTP for the fandom. I have spent almost 100 dollars overall at cons commissioning art of these idiots. They are my phone background and lockscreen. I have an entire fic in my head of their apprentice days and frankly if Dark Road does not live up to the relationship development I have hyped up in my head I will go canon divergent. These fuckers are beautiful and heartbreaking and awful and wonderful and I love them. Bring me all the Xehaqus.

That’s it. I’m so disappointing. I have like one or two OC for him ships and I mean whatever happens in RP happens if relationships develop but oh my God. Xehaqus consumes me.

Invi:

Real talk my Invi is a lesbian and my take on the Foretellers is that she sees them all as her siblings underneath all of her posturing that it’s nothing personal, so I don’t even know what the fandom ships for her are. I’m not even sure who is available to ship with her. Throw whatever of age lady muses you have at her, mutuals, and let’s see where this goes.

Isa:

Isalea. Akusai is also good, but there’s something about their life together after the war ends when they are trying to rebuild and find everything they lost that speaks to my soul. I would never say that if I see an Axel/Lea it’s ‘on sight’ shipping because that’s shitty, but I will say I am that Saix/Isa that is always down to discuss your take on their dynamic and see what we can cobble together.

Xemsai. This will never be a healthy ship, I think, based on the fact my Saix is as likely to use his alleged loyalty and affection to try and get some form of control over his Superior, but there’s a lot that could be fleshed out here. Whatever heart he grows will always belong to his oldest friend, but he will do whatever it takes to see his ambitions fulfilled. He’s trying to use the creature that has used him for over a decade. God. The potential.

Xigsai. By the same card as above, I think if Saix clued into Xigbar being more than simply a bombastic menace, he could try and pull the same using sex and false loyalty to obfuscate his true means on Xigbar. The difference being that Xigbar is, at heart, far more deadly and aware than Xemnas is when it comes to the bigger picture. It’d be Saix putting himself in the mouth of the beast willingly, and not expecting how deeply those teeth can cut when they snap shut on him.

Roxas:

Full disclaimer: I am 25 years old and fleshing out the romantic drama of a teenage boy is not something that super interests me. That said, I do like the concept of Roxas and his brand new heart forming all kinds of bonds, and him eventually starting to register feelings beyond the platonic for certain people. So as far as character development goes, i can see him taking interest in the following:

Hayner. There’s something so coming of age adolescent aggression as a front for latent or closeted affection about them in the simulation, and in the real world they have endless potential. I think Roxas could definitely feel safe enough around Hayner to have something more develop feelings wise. Also Hayner has muscles and that makes Roxas 404 error sometimes regardless of shipping, just as a general Roxas thing.

Xion. It’s a cliche, to be sure, but depending on the Xion and their development, I can see Roxas starting to feel more at home in her presence after they’ve had time to heal and become their own people. This isn’t an on sight shipping thing, and in fact I am super selective about this even while shipping it, but there’s groundwork for a good dynamic and a sort of reunion between them as whole people who come to appreciate each other as more than their initial, shallow idea of friends.

Namine. Was not super hip on this as a kid, especially when I was less discriminating in my Xion tastes, but as an adult I can appreciate their bond. They have a lot of the same trauma in terms of being dehumanized and used by two separate factions in setting, and the two take a lot of risks for one another within the data Twilight Town. I think there’s something to be said for them both to have irrevocable individuality and come together and develop as more than friends over the years.

Riku. Is it trashy? Yes. Is Roxas still tied to Sora somehow? Yes. Would it be hilarious to see Roxas turn a would-be rivalry into accidental flirtation because he’s confused about his feelings? Yes. Riku just standing there suffering while Roxas demands they engage in a passionate battle of lips -- WITS. I don’t even know how serious I am in shipping this, but Riku being Roxas’ emotional training wheels amuses me.

Aaaaand you can’t really have biases for an OC because at that point anything with plot potential, chemistry, and aligning sexualities goes so instead I am just going to shout out Kokoro’s established ships + the muns for being so good to my little mary sue.

Xemkoro/Foxhole. I don’t know how me dipping my toe in the water of shipping with Lucky by saying ‘hey my OC and your Xem could have a cool dynamic’ became like... my entire shipping brand, but here we are. Their entire dynamic breaks me, the way Xemnas is clinging to a past that he wants so badly to have been a part of while Kokoro can’t afford to look back anymore, working too hard to meet future goals is... Everything. Especially in the fact she regards him as a person without hesitation or knowing how much that will come to mean to him. There’s so many layers to them, and they truly work to earn their happy ending, and that is everything to me. Here’s to successful risks and their payoff.

Aquoro.  Everything my gay little heart ever wanted: the dichotomy of childhood romantic friendship giving way to adolescent rivalry and a shell of what your relationship used to be that appears so often between girls. That they also represent the Responsible Daughter and Rebel Daughter in Kokoro’s secondary verse, furthering the gulf between them as Aqua continues to follow the Master’s teachings where Kokoro embraces her own ideas about what Eraqus preached is... Chef’s Kiss... And through it all, it’s still Aqua that Kokoro wants to find the most, the one for whom her heart breaks the hardest when she sees what became of her. I owe Lucky my life for giving me this phenomenal wlw content.

Koterra. Kleffy does spoil me. The difference between what Terra dreamed of as a boy and what their reality became, where she is instead his knight and protector while he calls the shots as part of reclaiming his identity is perfect. The way they grow from teenage misunderstandings and dick moves into adults that have a touch more kindness for one another is also good, because it’s all about the character development. Their bond is strong and their support for one another immeasurable. I am heterosexual for one (1) ship. All because Kleffy came up with it on the spot and then put in the effort to make it work, God bless em.

[claroquequiza]

what is your opinion on genyatta?

Short answer: I tend not to care for it very much, for a few reasons, but not to the point where I’ll stop reading a fic where it’s a background/side pairing. More details under the read more, but first let me be clear, I don’t think people should not ship it, it’s just not my cup of tea.

So, first of all, let me caution against my own feelings here for three main reasons:

1. I have an irrational aversion to Mc//Gen//ji, which may be carrying over to Genji in any mlm relationship, which would definitely send me from irrational to just plain stupid--however, in my defense, I do like Gencio, which I’ll get into a little, so I don’t think my feelings about Genyatta have too much to do with that.

2. I do tend to be suspicious of Genji in mlm relationships because I feel like the fandom likes to make him bisexual/pansexual for Maximum Sluttiness purposes. Like, canonically he was a playboy, but in fandom it seems like people make him fall into the Depraved Bisexual trope as a young man where he wants to nail anything that moves. Now, that’s not to say that I think bisexuals or pansexuals should never be written as promiscuous, but the way many authors portray Genji doesn’t strike me as positive and/or sensitive renditions of bisexuals and pansexuals. It seems more stereotypical, as though his sexuality is meant to be as upsetting as possible to the clan/society in general rather than a casual personality trait, which also tends to carry over when Genji is portrayed as homosexual to a lesser extent.

3. My personal experience with religion makes me suspicious of any mlm/wlw relationships with an intensely religious person. This is unfair, because there are plenty of LGBT+ individuals who are intensely religious with zero detriment to themselves or their partners--but there are also plenty of LGBT+ individuals who were intensely religious who suffered because of it, and I am among the latter. I don’t think Zenyatta is among the latter, though, so, really, this point should be moot, but for me at least it’s not.

So, there’s three reasons why I may not be the best person to analyze Genyatta, but if you’re still interested in what I have to say, read on!

I love Genji and Zenyatta’s relationship as between a student and a teacher, and for that alone I tend to shy away from them being in a romantic relationship--there’s a little power imbalance there, for one, where Zenyatta had to have delved deeply into Genji’s life, mind, and secrets, but not necessarily sharing as much in return. Indeed, much of the time it is absolutely necessary to maintain a certain distance and/or authority while treating someone as vulnerable as Genji must have been. It’s inappropriate for a psychologist/psychiatrist to start a relationship with a patient under their care, for example, and I think that applies to Genji and Zenyatta during Genji’s “treatment”. 

Even afterwards, though, since Genji and Zenyatta seem to have an ongoing master/student relationship, I think it continues to be inappropriate for either of them, but especially Zenyatta, to pursue a romantic relationship.

That aside though, in AUs for example, I tend not to like Genyatta because Zenyatta is usually too placid and too tranquil for me to see why he would be a good match for someone as boisterous, dynamic, and restless as Genji. Like, I think Genji does need a grounding presence in his life, but he also strikes me as someone who would get antsy with a romantic partner who is more like a rock than a hand held in his own. 

That’s one reason I like Gencio--Lúcio is a bouncy, active person who likes to party but also has a strong moral center and a clear, selfless life path. He would be a good match for Genji’s energy level, plus he would be a good indication that Genji’s desire to enjoy himself in his youth wasn’t inherently bad, merely taken to an excess. He would also be a grounding presence that would be a bit more, hmm, mobile?? And a little less detached from the world, as a monk would be.

Now, this objection to Genyatta is more an objection to fandom Zenyatta, not necessarily to canon Zenyatta. I think canon Zenyatta is supposed to be a lot more mischievous and worldly than the fandom gives him credit for--one of the reasons he left the monastery was because he wanted to be less dogmatic and more engaged in the world, after all, and in that Genji could be a great influence in helping Zenyatta expand his worldview. Buuuuut--I dunno, out of all the named characters in the game, I tend to think Lúcio would be the best match.

This is always assuming, of course, that Genji would be ready for a romantic relationship so soon after healing. I tend to shy away from any romantic relationships involving Genji post-Hanzo and pre-Zenyatta because, holy moly, I just don’t think he’d be in a good enough place mentally, but post-Zenyatta and getting into canon time--I dunno, there are many different ways he would be healing, and they don’t necessarily run at the same pace. He may feel at peace, but that doesn’t mean he would be ready to find a romantic partner to share that peace with--romance goes hand in hand with vulnerability, and I think he might want to live as a whole person for a while before he sought out anyone else.

So. There’s my opinion about Genyatta. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ If this was an indirect way of asking if Genyatta was going to appear in my Overwatch fanfiction, than I’d say no. I was going to include it in My Heart Will Be Blessed, but I think I’m going to keep them as platonic soulmates in that. In Afterdrop, I think Genji is going to be straight. And if I do have a story with Genji in a romantic relationship, I’ll most likely have him in a relationship with Lúcio or Sombra--I think he and Sombra would make a surprisingly good crack team and possibly more??? 

If you ship Genyatta, though, I’d say to ignore me! I see a lot of great fanworks about it, and most of it definitely does not strike me as inherently unpleasant or unhealthy. So, if you like it, keep on keeping on! Don’t let me spoil your fun, LOL!