#and its not like either of us said anything misogynistic?? but i totally used that implicit 'haha ditsy wife' shit to get away with it

[nexttothelamp]

...

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 4

Joan Watson

How were BBC Sherlock shippers so rancid about a WOMAN who wasnt even in the SAME SHOW?????

Martin Freeman of BBC Sherlock insulted Elementary and specifically Lucy Liu in the press. He straight up called Lucy Liu a "dog" in an interview APPARENTLY as a joke, because calling female actors ugly is hilarious. Benedict Cumberbatch was more measured about it, but he still said he was cynical about Elementary because it would lose the "male friendship" dynamic, which of course Johnlock shippers used against Joan Watson fans. Even the lead BBC Sherlock actors got in on the yaoi victimization of Joan Watson... 😔

she wasn't even in the same SHOW as the yaoi I've been convinced she deserves to win the entire poll. I was a Johnlocker but I did watch the first season of Elementary and it was fine????? It was totally okay????? Especially in hindsight given how hard Sherlock season four flopped. Also Lucy Liu is a queen and deserved zero vitriol for *checks notes* playing a character???? A fucking fictional character???????? Oh my god we were all SO mean to this show and we (or at least I) thought it was like The Good Fight™️, like we were defending BBC Sherlock against copyright infringement and straightwashing and Jonny Lee Miller's bizarre scarf, (it wasn't a good scarf I do stand by that) but then Elementary didn't make Holmes and Watson a couple either???? And also it didn't insult its audience constantly etc etc we've all seen the Hbomberguy Sherlock is Garbage video. This is really long sorry hashtag justice for Joan Watson.

Misa Amane

she gets treated in-canon the way fandoms treat female characters that Threaten an m/m ship. it's like, "oh why don't you go sit in the corner and be pretty, misa, while the Men have intelligent conversation and pretend they aren't ten seconds from fucking each other, doesn't that sound nice?" it's infuriating. and MAYBE it's better now but i remember her getting treated the same way in fanfiction too, like we all need to do just as badly by our female secondary characters as fucking tsugumi ohba, but with the added insult of making her be alternately oblivious of the relationship between light and L or actively trying to sabotage it—incompetently, of course, because god forbid misa be allowed dignity or moments of cleverness.

she's one of the first characters I think of when I consider old school fandom misogyny. The annoying bitch and clingy crazy gf allegations were AFTER HER ASS. She's also a lot more intelligent than people gave her credit for, but most seem inclined to take the Very Biased word of our unreliable, narcissistic narrator and his homoerotic arch nemesis and claim that just because she's bubbly and into romance that she's also a complete moron. Which is blatantly untrue. Everyone was afraid of Misa girlbossing too hard. Killing people and devoting yourself to the deranged twink of your dreams even though you know he'll never love you back??? Having a hardcore goth aesthetic and being so Hot even literal Death Gods are into you?? God forbid women do ANYTHING!

Not only is she the victim of yaoi culture, she is the victim of early 2000s misogyny by an author that wanted to introduce a girl character because he knew his male rivals were getting too homoerotic. She is a goth bimbo icon who portrays what I think is one of the few callouts for stan culture and what parasocial relationships can do to both the stan and the idol. The fact that she is a toxic fan of Kira and also hot, funny, sociable is tragic in its own way, which I think the author did try to touch on but was too misogynistic too really get through. Of course, she was reduced to villain status by the fandom and anime alike because she got in the way of the supposed romance in their psychological horror anime.

[neptunescore]

Most of the drivers are more concerned about padding their own pockets. Lando is probably the worst on the grid though. He has a lot of influence and acts like he keeps it real and doesn’t care bc he tells it like it is and isn’t afraid. He’s a total faker. He never speaks up and only repeats what his PR team tell him to say. Nothing seems genuine or real about him. Not only that but Lando travels the world and has fans from all over and doesn’t even care to look at a map and be made aware of what part of the world he’s in. He charges obscene amounts for his shitty merchandise when he knows his fans aren’t making that kind of money. He also accepts money when he does stream on twitch. He has no shame. At the Miami GP he goes and says people should respect a guy who has a known reputation for being an incredibly racist and misogynistic. His fan girls don’t care though bc they all think they have a shot with him and think he’s cute.

Lando no backbone Norris, yeah put that on a shirt.

I used to be a fan of his but over the years I’ve been finding him more and more annoying.

Anon, in the most gentle way, while I do agree with some things here, I feel like there are so many other things ur getting angry at him for, for no reason.

Like yes, I am INCREDIBLEY angry/ irritated abt the stuff he said abt trump, and his unawareness/ ignorance of the boycott, as well as (and this for all the drivers, EXCEPT LEWIS HAMILTON THE GOAT), his inability to post/ talk abt the genocide happening in Palestine.

However, U saying there's nothing 'genuine' abt him, and talking abt how he doesn't know 'which part of the world he's in', is just way too much. Like we've never met him, we dont know him personally, so we can't really say anything when it comes to him being 'genuine' or not. Also, come one getting mad at him for not knowing where countries are is a bit to much, like ofc everyone is free to dislike a driver just bc, but don't hate on him for smthng so lame😭.

U also talk abt how 'he made his merch too expensive for fans', anon, merch - in general - has ALWAYS been expensive, like go look at the rbr, mercedes, ferrari, ANY OF THE TEAMS' merch. Go look at TAYLOR SWIFTS merch, at OSCAR'S merch, at DANIEL'S Enchante stuff. Obv, we'd all like if the stuff was less pricey, but u can't just get mad at one person and not get mad at the others for the same thing.

'He accepts money when he streams on twitch,' I feel like u don't get how his fans VOLUNTARILY give that money, like no lando does not demand them for it, or tell them he'll hate them if they don't give him anything, he's NEVER said he wants them to donate😭. And me personally, if someone was giving me money willingly and happily, I wouldn't refuse it ( its hard out here😔✋🏽) no matter if I was rich or not.

Anyway to end this, I just wanna say that I don't like lando either😭, it's not that he sucks, or that I think he's 'overrrated' I just don't personally vibe with him. (He gives me like 17 yr old f boy energy vibes). But that doesn't mean I'll create reasons to hate him, or like be one of those weirdos who go and talk shit in his comments. I just don't follow him, and when he DOES do smthng wrong, I call him out for it, like I would do for every other driver.

And whoever likes him, can like him. Its their choice, as long as they can admit when he does smthn wrong.

(THIS IS ALL ABT OFF-TRACK, on-track I say you must bcm the biggest haters against drivers u dont like bc if not then WHERES THE PASSIONN😤😤. stop the hate as soon as the race ends tho😭🙏🏽)

[irelandseyeonmythology]

DIAS Black Friday Sale

Once a year, the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), offers a sale for Black Friday -- DIAS is one of the major publishers for Celtic Studies, many of the best studies of medieval Irish material have come through there.

Some books that I recommend, personally:

Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law (26.25 Euro, normally 35) (THE introduction to law in medieval Ireland)

"", Early Irish Farming (26.25 Euro, normally 35) (Everything you wanted to know about day to day life in medieval Ireland but were afraid to ask. Literally. Everything.)

Medieval Irish Prose

Fergus Kelly, Audacht Morainn (18.75 Euro, normally 25)

Are you planning on becoming a medieval Irish king? Do you want to know what you should do to involve the total destruction of the natural order? Then this is the text for you! Now with English translation!

In all seriousness, this text is used a LOT with regards to studies of ideal kingship in medieval Ireland.

Cecile O'Rahilly, The Táin from the Book of Leinster (26.25 Euro, usually 35)

I'll be real with you, lads: I hate Cú Chulainn. I hate him. I hate his smug, misogynistic face. His creepy multi-pupiled eyes. The shitty way he treats Emer. The way that his presence is like this black hole in the study of medieval Irish literature that means that the Ulster Cycle can get a prestigious yearly conference held in its honor while the other cycles are left with either crumbs or outright dismissal. I think the Táin is boring and episodic as a piece of lit and I've never found anything overly redeeming about it over any other piece of medieval Irish literature, especially since imo other pieces of literature do women (and homoeroticism) much better and get much less praise for it.

...that being said. It's important. It IS iconic, both as a piece of medieval Irish literature and, in general, to Irish literature. Its status as The Irish Iliad means that, if you want to study medieval Irish stuff...you have to read the Táin. And this is a version of the Táin that you might not have gotten, translated and edited by a master of Old Irish, with commentary.

"", Táin Bó Cúailnge: recension I (10 Euro, normally 35)

See above.

Early Irish History and Genealogy

T.F. O'Rahilly, Early Irish History and Genealogy (30 Euro, normally 40)

So. On the record, a lot of what he says here is absolutely not currently believed in the field. Just. No. BUT. There's a reason why I always recommend him anyway, and it's because if you're serious about doing a study of Irish Mythology, whatever we take that to mean...you will not be able to avoid this man. His ideas were very popular for decades and still often are to people who don't really focus on mythology. It's better to know where these ideas come from and to identify them than not, and O'Rahilly, in his defense, had an *excellent* knowledge of his sources. It's dense, it's difficult (rather like the author himself, from the accounts I've heard), but it's necessary if you really want to attack this.

Joan Radner, Fragmentary Annals of Ireland (22.50, normally 30)

There is so much weird shit in the Fragmentary Annals. So much.

Welsh

Patrick Sims Williams, Buchedd Beuno: The Middle Welsh Life of St Beuno (22.50 Euro, normally 30)

I know what you're thinking: "Why the FUCK are they recommending this book about a random Welsh saint? Answer: Because this is how I learned Middle Welsh. The introduction to Welsh at the front of the book + the VERY good index at the back is still one of the best ways to learn Middle Welsh. Also if anyone was watching the Green Knight film and going "Why is there a lady with her head chopped off?" this answers that question.

 R. L. Thomson, Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet: the first of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, edited from the White Book of Rhydderch, with variants from the Red Book of Hergest (15 Euro, normally 20)

Once you've gotten enough of a hang of Middle Welsh to know the basics, it's time to dive into the classics, and what better way to do it than with the Mabinogi, starting at the very beginning, with the First Branch? Personally, I dislike a lot of Thomson's orthographic decisions, but, hey, it's the First Branch, and that's Middle Welsh orthography for you.

Ian Hughes, Math uab Mathonwy (22.50 Euro, normally 30)

The Fourth Branch, my beloved. Incest, rape, bestiality (well...pseudo bestiality, really), creating a new life while not being willing to deal with the consequences of it...it truly has it all. Not for the faint of heart, but absolutely worth the read if you can stomach it because imo it handles its themes very well and it's incredibly haunting.

And a lot more -- go in, shop around, see what's available. Even with the older books, they're often things that we're still referencing in some way into the present.

[klbwriting]

Adventures In Atlantean-Sitting

Chapter 10

Fandom: Aquaman

Pairing: Ormxfemale!Reader

Warnings: none

Summary: Arthur is stripped of power and Orm waits to see if YN will recover

Arthur was in trouble now. Orlan had something big, he would have to if he was calling an emergency council meeting. Orm hadn’t been in contact with him for a couple days and he was worried what could have happened. Did Orlan have Orm? Had another attack happened, and Arthur didn’t know about it? He arrived at the meeting room and took his seat. The council looked annoyed and confused at the interruption to their day. And Orlan was late on top of it. He wanted a show, to make an entrance, and that irked Arthur more than anything. People were getting hurt, his brother was being set up, and this asshole wanted to put on a show.

“I am sorry to call you in on short notice,” Orlan said, sauntering into the room and taking his seat with a flourish. He looked somber, until his eyes looked at Arthur. There was joy in them. The king didn’t like it. “I am afraid I have found some more disturbing evidence of how the former king has been able to evade our king’s chosen tracker.” Arthur kept his face neutral, but his blood ran cold. Orlan produced a holodisk with an image of Orm and YN together, in the woods near her cottage. They were holding hands, the next image they were kissing.

“What is this? Who is this person?” Horvath asked. Orlan barely contained his smile.

“This YN, she is the metahuman tracker that King Arthur had out searching for Orm. It seems she found him,” Orlan said. The council turned to look at Arthur. “Your tracker seems to have betrayed you sire. What a shame that you are such a horrible judge of character.” Arthur seethed.

“I will have to contact her, see what this is about,” he said, trying to remain calm. “Perhaps this is some kind of ploy she is using to lure Orm in peacefully.” The council murmured, sounding unconvinced.

“It is clear your majesty, that she has betrayed you. What self-respecting woman would use her body to lure someone into a trap? Its unseemly,” Orlan said. Arthur knew how misogynistic that was, but Atlantis was not quite as progressive in terms of sexism as it would like to think. “This is concerning and draws one to the conclusion that perhaps our king has either, used resources to hire someone he did not fully check out before hiring, or that he himself knew of this plot and actively participated in it. I’m afraid we must vote to remove Arthur’s power from this council. Make him king in name only.”

“No, that is ridiculous,” Arthur said, but he could see it was no use. His allies had already voted him down once in this case, they would do it again. They asked him to leave the room and wait outside. Screw that, he took off, heading back to the surface. He had to find Orm, and they had to figure out a plan for what to do next.

Atlanna had been in the bedroom with YN for two hours now, slowly working the poison out of her system with tonics and medicines. Orm has already swam the lake several times, cleaned up the cottage the best he could, and baked a couple dozen of YN’s favorite cookies for if she woke up. When…not if…when she woke up. She had to wake up. He couldn’t survive the surface without her. Couldn’t survive the sea, the surface, couldn’t breathe without her. He barely registered the pounding on the door until Arthur just broke it down. Orm tackled him before he could process who it was. He was ready for Leo to come back, to bring an army with him. Orm would be ready and he would kill Leo. He landed at least two solid hits to Arthur’s face before realizing who it was. He stood up and Arthur glared at him.

“What the hell happened?” he asked. “I have been removed from the council, Orlan has almost total control all because someone tailed you two and got an image of you two kissing. Now I look like shit…”

“I don’t care what you look like! YN could be dying!” Orm yelled back. “Fuck Atlantis, let them take your power, let them hate me and curse me, let Orlan become king and nuke the surface world, I don’t care anymore! I want Leo, I want his head on a pike, if YN dies because of him, I will find his hiding place to kill him. The world will burn until I have my revenge.” Orm felt all that old rage and vengeance he used to have for Arthur rising at the very thought of Leo. Arthur was staring at him. He could see his little brother, full of anger and fear and loneliness, back again.

“What happened little brother?” Arthur asked, voice soft now. Orm didn’t even yell at him for the little brother comment, he just sat on the ground, head in his hands.

“Leo was the one who saw us, followed us. I’m not sure how long. He made himself known and YN, she took a picture of him with a weapon pointed at me, so there’s that, he’s wearing the gloves in the picture. Do with that what you will,” he said, handing Arthur the phone. “But, because she has her power I assume she thought if she touched him she could know where he was, find him. So she ran out from behind me, tried to tackle him. I don’t know if she even touched him, but he held the weapon on her and then so I wouldn’t follow him he shot her. There was poison in the shot, the same as last time.”

“Did she…?” Arthur asked.

“Mother is trying to save her now, getting the poison out of her system,” Orm answered. He felt wet on his cheeks, wiped them. He hadn’t cried much since being on the surface and he worried if he started now it wouldn’t stop.

“This poison that keeps being used, we had the weapon’s poison analyzed and the report went missing,” Arthur said. “Do you know why Orlan would do that?”

“Orlan was a plantbringer, noble through his talents at gardening and close to my father because he knew how to use the plants for medicines or poisons. He had a specific poison he used, tried to kill me with it once, that he never told anyone the ingredients for. I’m betting if that poison is in those weapons, he made sure that any proof of its existence disappeared. It would be the only thing to tie him to the attacks. The only reason mother was able to heal me was her ability with the plant life of Atlantis, she figured out an antidote,” Orm explained. Arthur nodded and smiled.

“We can use this, our mother is above reproach in Atlantis. She is the goddess queen, came back from the dead. If she can figure out the poison and we can somehow relate it back to the poison used to try and kill you, we may have our proof of Orlan being involved in the attacks. No one would dare question the righteous Queen Atlanna,” Arthur said. Orm sighed.

“There may still be a sample of the poison used on me in the evidence storage of the royal guards, or maybe a report that lists the elements in the poison, but considering you don’t have any power how are you going to get it? They would suspect you or even Mera were trying to mess with the investigation into me,” he said. Arthur sat in thought.

“Give me a day I’ll think of something,” he said. But Orm wasn’t listening. He knew every inch of that palace and the outlier buildings. He knew how to get to the evidence without anyone knowing. But Arthur didn’t need to know that.

“Alright, a day, but if she dies, I won’t wait for you to do any investigation. Leo is dead,” Orm said. Arthur nodded.

“She will be alright little brother,” Arthur said before he headed off to try and think of a plan. Orm already had one. He went back to Atlanna, told her that he needed to do something important and asked her to watch over YN until he could get back. Then he headed back to Atlantis.

[rhaenyra-first-of-her-name]

This is kind of a long rant against HotD and not structured at all so you might want to avoid it if you like TG or Alicent. Or even Daemon, sorry, I don't like him much either.

I was always skeptical of HotD even before it started but I had never expected that it would be so much worse than the source material which is, mind it, a very pro greens, biased, misogynistic spiral by some dead maester.

I don't enjoy F&B as a book and the Dance wasn't remotely my favorite part of it. Like the whole Dance of Dragons reads like a misogynistic spiral sometimes but HotD just took a biased source and dialled it to a 100.

You would think they would try to do the opposite bcoz the source is acknowledged to be biased but nope, they just had to make it worst. The Greens get to be whitewashed, they can literally not commit to any actions (Alicent committed treason by mistake, Aemond murdered a child by mistake, like wtf? Wtf are these fucking uwu passive characters and writing. Fucking commit to treason if you are gonna do it. Who half asses treason? Book Greens would gobble up Show Greens for breakfast. The Lannisters would have a laugh.) The Blacks are villainized and all the Velaryons are sidelined (which is worst with the show changing their race intentionally and then doing this).

Like the Greens have no redeeming qualities, just the narrative framing them as the good guys on their sides and I always hate how the narrative is trying to shove it down my throat. I can't stand it.

Like I don't even like Daemon but the show is stripping all the depth from him. I seriously don't like him but it's like the show can't stand anyone on the TB to have anything good or significant.

They literally showed Aegon to be a rapist onscreen and want me to root for him? Wtf are they smoking? The amount of cognitive dissonance you need to like TG is too high. Ik the show doesn't expect much from its viewers but it's like they expect the viewer to be stupid.

Show Alicent is so passive, they make me prefer the book Alicent and I hate the Evil Stepmother trope. The show acts as if Rhaenyra wasn't supposed to be the Good Mother and Good Stepmother counterpart to Alicent.

And F&B and George isn't subtle about who won the Dance. It's the Blacks. Rhaenyra might have died but her fraction won the war, her sons and descendants sat on the throne. Daenerys is her direct descendant and she brought the dragons back from death (especially given that the Dance was the main reason for their downfall and even the Targaryens' powers thanks to TG).

TG has the same fate as all the usurpers in the series- Maegor, Larys Strong, Robert Baratheon - the end of their line. Alicent 's line all dies before her eyes. The current Higtowers have nothing to do with Alicent and her line, they're not even worthy of remembrance and mention in the main series so far. Margaery is a half Hightower and despite the Tyrells' obvious efforts to make her queen and have one of their own on the throne, no one remotely mentions the only Hightower Queen ever. Imagine how embarrassing is that. You know if Alicent was a decent queen in any right, it would have been mentioned by now, the Tyrells aren't one to not use every advantage they have given that their Bannerman have more royal blood than them, which was again mentioned in the series.

Anyway, Alicent 's line dying and going to oblivion for all purposes is their ultimate defeat. I can't stand the TG stand trying to make it anything else.

And yes Rhaenicent is just queerbaiting and terribly at that. As a queer woman, I don't want them as any sort of a representation. An evil step mother aged down for a pairing where she plots treason and murder for Nyra and her sons? No, God, Daemon is a better option than that and I can't believe they made me say it.

Also, Laena was right there if they wanted to have a sapphic pairing.

When I said I wanted more morally gray female characters, I didn't mean totally irredeemable ones. There is a fine line in what characters, or crimes, you can redeem, starting a civil war out of personal greed and misogyny is not one of them. And yes, TG are all misogyny even if Alicent plays the uwu victim of patriarchy all the time. And funny how she never does anything to help any woman, not even her daughter Helena; does nothing against the man who actually harmed her and actively wants to put her rapist son on the throne instead of the rightful heir but her stans act as they or she is some kind of feminist when Alicent is no woman's friend.

And canonically, which are the books btw, not the badly written fanfictions (I am so sorry, this is an insult to fanfiction tbh) of the producers: GoT and HotD, Nyra had her mother's sigil on her flag, not Aegon the Rapist+Usurper.

(Can't believe the show tried to make some kind of gotcha moment with Alicent in that green dress. Idk why the characters even stood up. They only do that for the ruling monarch, not the consort and Alicent literally did nothing to deserve that kind of reaction. She just wore a green dress so what? Once again, the show is giving TG credit for doing nothing.)

On the last notes:

Cole is an incel.

I can't believe people ship Aemond and Luke. The former is his murderer and a war criminal while Luke was just a child. Leave my baby boi alone.

Otto is a cunt. Idk why Alicent stans don't crucify the man who arranged her marriage (and the bane of her existence) more.

Daemon is somehow better than all the men in TG which is an accomplishment especially since I dislike his character.

Once again, Aegon is a drunkard rapist.

Helena deserves better than her family.

I never liked Jaehaerys I and this is all kinda his fault. For the best king ever, he singlehandedly roped his daughters and all the Targaryen women of all their rights. Rhaena I should really have been the queen.

Viserys I, you tried but you should have done better. Aemma would have been so disappointed.

[limeade-l3sbian]

idk how i feel about the clay part, but i do like the idea of themyscira maintaining its population through some sort of blessing by athena (i would actually find it really cool if all the "virgin" greek goddesses (hestia, artemis, athena, hecate, astraea, britomartis, and alectrona) had involvement in themyscira, too. perhaps women being able to create their children (or even get pregnant) through means completely removed from male presence? admittedly i don't trust the general public not to be weird about that sort of thing, though.

the sad part about the tim one is idk if i even mind the method in of itself. the idea of women who died from misogynistic injustice being reborn somewhere they will be able to live free from men and develop strength and community is actually quite lovely, imo. it only becomes completely, irredeemably stupid when men are allowed to be reborn into the space, too, simply if they have a fetish, internalized homophobia, body image issues, or a mix of two or more of the above. it's still a little silly without that, sillyness/strangeness resulting from wish fulfilment / escapism for oppressed groups like women is good, whereas changing rules to deny oppressed groups even fictional refuge or escapism from their oppressors is not just bad, but disgusting. the fact that the explanation was used specifically to deny women even the escapist fantasy of a society without males is repugnant, but the core concept of "women who died at the hands of men being reborn into a land without them" is good, if you don't twist it to allow "totally special completely different safe men (i promise they're different, they said they were and we have to trust that for some reason)" onto the island. idk if they would have ever written this lore if not to use it to include men in themyscira, though, even though it could have actually meant something worthwhile if they didn't do that.

I don't know if I like the well as anything other than an ideology, though.

The thought of a religion where if you so happen to be killed by a man, you still be reborn into a place where you will never need to deal with them again is a beautiful comfort. But I feel like when you state that all women from Themyscira come from harmed women, it still involves men as the core of themyscira's very existence. A bad core, no question. But the core, nonetheless.

Like you said, I LOVE the idea of conception that is entirely removed from men. Love it to death (and you're right, ppl would make it weird instead of just letting it be.)

The clay babies are more of a personal preference lmao but ultimately either one is a female-centric birth. I don't like the idea of the Amazons coming to the island with varying memories of pain and hurt. It's extremely escapist on my end, no question about it. But I just always loved the idea of women who just have never been around or liked men and live in a society that fully caters to this. For me, it feels as if even allowing the memories of men on Themyscira taints the place for the paradise (so to speak) that it should be to women. And it carries the potential of bringing internalized misogyny to the island from women who perhaps are still steadfast that men are still "not so bad".

[reidsnose]

Black Eye

overview: reader and spencer go to reader's highschool reunion as a fake couple

genre: fluff i think

warnings: mild violence and swearing, a guy being kind of a total creep, and mentions of bullying

a/n: idk if its any good again just love the idea but it was inspired by a dream i had last night (thank you temporal lobe) so yeah let me know what yall think !! :) also im posting this at like ass oclock in the morning so whoops

masterlist

-

-

you and spencer had gotten yourselves in quite the situation.

your dreaded highschool reunion was just around the corner and you made the mistake of complaining about it to penelope. she was always trying to make everyones life easier (and more interesting) so when she heard you had no date she took it upon herself to find you one.

it didn't take a lot of looking, none at all actually; because Penelope had already been trying to figure out ways to get you and Reid together.

you two were undeniably perfect for each other. you were an amazing team at work, you hung out alone all the time (though both of you denied these hang out as being dates, Garcia had her own ideas on this), and you were both very obliviously head over heels for each other.

and somehow, through the magical ways of Penelope Garcia, you and Spencer were now sitting in the parking lot, fake married for your high school reunion.

"do we need to go over our back story again?" you worried, looking up at him.

"our backstory is basically all true anyway we just fall in love after a little bit. and i have an eidetic memory so i remember; you're my wife you should know this!" he joked, trying to relax you. "we got this! we're gonna be so married!"

Spencer had actually never been this nervous in his life but he was trying to be brave for you. it would be more embarrassing for you both to show up like nervous wrecks than if you had just come alone. he was just happy to get to be fake married to you.

"the marriedest!" smiled, fist bumping him.

"now lets go make some people jealous!" he chuckled getting out of the car and jogging over to your side, opening your door before you got the chance to; like a true gentleman.

you stuck out your hand which he happily took into his, neither of you commenting on the redness you both had sprinkled across your cheeks. as you walked in, you saw all the people you dreaded seeing.

the boys who tormented you were balding and the girls who made sure you felt awful everyday had wrinkles riddling there skin. you were surrounded by botched botox and bleached blonde to cover graying hair. you felt terrible to admit it, but you were a little happy to see that their beauty had faded like this; they made their looks their whole personality in high school, you couldn't help but wonder what was left for them to be. not that it mattered, but you and Spencer were undeniably the most attractive couple there.

you actually had an ok time, you had spotted a few of your friends that you hadn't seen in quite a few years and it was nice to catch up.

Spencer had wondered a bit, but not too far, he was talking to some guys who used to be in science club when you were younger. you smiled at the thought of what they might be talking about.

"y/n! hey youve really filled out!" you heard a gruff voice from behind you.

you turned around and were met with the very unappealing face of the ex quarterback. Spencers attention had been caught at the sound of your name.

"um..hello," you muttered, trying to covertly back away from him.

"i see youve got a ring, interesting i dont remember us getting married!" he said in an incredibly creepy tone.

"do you know im a federal agent now?" you said through a gritted smile.

spencer had already begun walking towards you, he could tell something was off.

"ill tell you what sweetheart," he put his hand on your shoulder, pulling you slightly closer to him, "you can put me in handcuffs any day."

you threw his hand off of you and drew back your fist, but were cut off before you could deliver the punch but his hand engulfing your own, and squeezing.

"THATS MY WIFE!" spencer yelled in a voice you had never heard from him before.in the blink of an eye he was standing between in front of him. "do not ever talk to her like that, let alone lay a finger on her or so help me God i will-"

"what beanpole? what are you gonna do? what if i did this?" the man asked.

and then he sent a swift punch to Spencer's face.

thats gonna leave a mark.

in a matter of seconds, Spencer had him overpowered, laying face first on the floor with his hands uncomfortably angled behind him, completely helpless.

"now i'm going to let you go and you're going to walk out of here unharmed. if you try anything like that again, ill let my wife handle you. and i promise if she gets a hold of you, you'll be a dead son of a bitch." Spencer muttered in the mans ear, gruffly pulling him up by his collar and shoving him towards the door.

"were leaving." you said, grabbing Spencer's hand, trying to ignore how incredibly attractive he looked right now.

"babe if you want to stay we can stay," he offered as if he didn't just have his shit kicked in by a coward with misogynistic tendencies.

"honey, i want to take you home," you smiled, liking the way it felt to call him a pet name. you walked into the parking lot, "what were you thinking?"

"i was thinking this guy is trying to hurt you and i was not going to ever let that happen." he answered confidently as you two reached the car. "plus this totally made the marriage thing more believable. i wouldn't get a black eye for just anyone."

"thank you. i'm sorry you got punched trying to protect me." you sighed, feeling incredibly awful about the whole thing.

he chuckled, "id do it again."

you fought hard against the blush creeping up your face.

"i gotta say, the black eye really suits you. you look pretty badass." you chuckled, trying to change the subject before it got too sappy and you said something you shouldn't.

"maybe it should just be my new look," he joked, looking down at a ping from his phone. "uh oh."

"we have a case?" you asked.

"yep. and hotch wants us in the office asap which means we cont stop by either of our houses." he sighed before starting the car.

the drive was mostly silent. but a comfortable silence. Spencer thought about how in the moment, he didn't care how many punches the guy threw at him, as long as it meant you were ok, he was willing to take it. he knew he loved you far before that moment but that truly solidified it.

at the same time you were thinking of how quickly your time as a 'married couple' was over. it felt so right to call Spencer yours. so unexplainably perfect for the two of you to be together. if only your time wasn't cut short by a sucker punch.

you neared the building's parking lot. you looked over at Spencer who you could very easily tell was lost in his own world.

"whats going on in that beautiful head of yours?" you asked, causing him to stifle a smile.

"just thinking." he answered.

"what about?"

"us." he stated, pulling into his parking spot.

oh. oh.

"do tell."

he hesitated, "if i tell you, and you disagree, do you promise it wont change anything about us?"

"i promise."

"did it feel right to you? us being together?" he asked, his eyes innocent and filled to the brim with a mixture of anxiety and adoration as he looked at you.

"yes. it absolutely did. and i was so mad at the assclown for cutting our time short," you admitted, "and punching you in the eye, obviously."

"i- i'm not sure how to ask this but- do you...would you..sorry i-" he stammered.

"yes."

you cut him off, pressing your lips to his. his hand gently cupped your face, deepening the kiss and you both felt like you were on cloud nine.

"thats exactly what i was trying to say," he cracked a dopey smile, causing you to chuckle.

"i've been trying to say it for so long." you confessed, causing him to smile impossibly wider, "we gotta go hotch is waiting."

"just one more kiss?" he asked, which you gave in to, obviously. and then another. and another.

maybe it was good thing that he got a black eye that day, because when you got to the office the whole team was so focused on it they didn't even notice the hint of your lipstick left on spencers lips.

-

-

ultra mega super cool taglist:

@mac99martin @imhreid @spencersmagic @hollydaisy23 @raelady1184 @a-broken-pact @padfootswife @hey-there-angels @star-stuff-in-the-cosmos

[butwhatifidothis]

I also think that part of the reason why the church gets so much hate is because of how much general distrust there is in organized religion in real life. Like I went into Three Houses trying to keep an open mind and during White Clouds I really couldn't see what was so heinously wrong with the church even during the Lonato thing that made the institution so much worse than what Edelgard was inciting. I could be totally wrong but I was under the impression that Rhea didn't squash the insurrection because they were a part of the Western Church but because they were actively rebelling and, on top of that, Lonato was bringing civilians into the conflict. That, along with the fact that Rhea knows for an absolute fact that the goddess existed and that she herself is old as dirt (trauma included) makes her decisions make a lot of sense.

I'm playing through AM with my friend who's never played before and they IMMEDIATELY said they distrusted the church because Jeralt doesn't like Rhea (for understandable reasons but my friend also ignored his very sus behavior of not explaining literally anything to Byleth) and because organized religions must be inherently bad.

It’s something that’s heavily related to a player’s inability to separate the reality of their specific circumstances with those of the fiction they’re consuming. They implant their experiences onto things that are only somewhat related and then extrapolate “facts” about the fiction that are, many times, actively shut down and/or disproven by that fictions lore or story or plot.

And, like, it’s normal to relate fictional things to your personal stories if you see connections to them. I’d wager a good amount of people find some aspect of a character they like/love that sticks out to them specifically because of a similarity they share of some kind, whether big or small. I know of people who’s fave superhero is The Flash because The Flash is fast and they ran track and hey, that’s cool, a superhero who’s ability is running really fuckin’ fast and I wanna be really fuckin’ fast. To use myself as an example, I can relate to the struggles Claude specifically has with race because many of the things he says correlate very well to my personal experiences with race. So, going by that line of logic, the opposite is clearly going to happen as well; there are many villains, or characters of either or neither allegiance towards good and evil, who have traits that personally affect someone in a negative way.

But here’s the thing about that... Claude and I have similar experiences with race. He’s still a prince, and I’m still someone who’s never seen above the poverty line in terms of income. He’s never had to live off a box of Whoppers he happened to find under his bed for three days to hold off until the food stamps come in because there’s just no food and no money to get any food. And on the flip side, I’ve never had people try to kill me just cuz I’m mixed. I’ve never felt the pressure of having to lead thousands of people to safety or have them die, directly due to my inability to lead them well enough. We still have extremely different lives and I can acknowledge those differences when looking into his character, regardless of whatever connection I may have with him otherwise, and that’s where these people fail in terms of critically consuming 3H as a piece of media.

These people - understandably, to an extent - look at Rhea, this devout religious woman who heads a major religious institution, and they automatically connect the language she uses as a devout religious person to the negative experiences they personally had with religion... without acknowledging the differences between the two. They see Rhea and they don’t see a bisexual who surrounds herself with and gives shelter to former criminals, foreigners, and people in need of a home while asking for little in return - they see their local pastor, or some other religious leader/person, who’ve done them wrong, and thus Rhea hates gay people, she hates POC, she’s a zealot and unreasonable and she’s this terrible person with no redeeming qualities. And this isn’t me arm-chair psychology-ing these people - they poke fun at themselves about how much they let their personal experiences cloud their judgement of the game and its characters with bingo cards for liking Edelgard having “raised with religion” be one of the slots and things like that. 

And really, why else would “religious institution led by white-presenting race of people” be automatically turned into “racist, homophobic, misogynistic, and violent to any who aren’t their religion” when 1) one of the main characters - the one calling Rhea racist - himself eventually says that racial diversity fits well and snug in the Seiros faith, 2) not only is the leader and founder of the religion a bisexual woman, but no one says anything about having their love be confined to one specific gender anywhere, with heavily coded LGBT relationships like Shamir+Catherine and Dorothea+Petra being just as LGBT coded in SS - where Rhea can potentially come back as archbishop - as anywhere else - hell, when one of the most devout followers of Rhea clearly is romantically interested in her and faces no repercussions or consequences for openly being so despite being female herself, and 3) the Church only ever uses violence when either called from the outside for help or forced to when outside forces try to attack them? Why are we hearing all of these awful things about the Church when it sometimes is never even implied? 

It’s in large part due to religion being such a sensitive part of people’s lives that they are unable to disconnect their personal experiences with religion with the fictional religion the media they’re interacting with provides them. Rhea, as a devout religious leader, especially with how genuinely morally gray she is, was never going to land well over here in the west, double especially to an audience of people that very clearly are already inclined to ignore pieces of the game’s story, lore, plot, and character interactions to fit their own preferred version of what’s happening. Triple fuckin’ wombo-combo especially since the game itself fails to do Rhea any favors until the literal last second of two out of four routes and only shove in her directly admitting she was wrong in her actions in the hardest support chain to build up in the entire game, and even then only at the last part of it. Poor girly didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell

[valcalico]

Athena and Ares

(Just my thoughts on them and their relationship)

I have a lot of feelings about these two. They have a very complex dynamic, where they don’t really like each other, but they can’t work without each other either.

Athena provides rationality to the cruelty of war. She is the strategy and logic behind it. The objective. One might say she represents the generals, and the politicians and the main heroes. Basically the big players.

And Ares? He’s the opposite. He represents the emotion associated with war. He is the bloodlust and the desperate fight. Where the battle is thickest, where there is no room for thought, and when its pure survival instinct that drives you, that’s Ares. He represents the worst parts: the blood and the violence and the cruelty. He is accompanied by fear and terror (Phobos and Deimos). One might say he is the god of soldiers.

So they need each other. If they actually worked together, they’d be one of the dangerous forces ever, even in god circles. But they don’t. Not only because of how differently they view the world, but also because of deeper nuances in their relationship.

Athena is beloved. She is Zeus’ favourite child and his right hand goddess. The people love her. She is the patron of one of the most powerful, influential cities, Athens. She is highly respected everywhere else too. A protector of heroes and a friend to humanity.

Ares, on the other hand, is disliked by many. Zeus says he is “the most hateful of all gods” and says he would have thrown him into Tartarus if he wasn’t his and Hera’s son. (Its in the Iliad) (This part always makes me sad poor ares) He is highly respected in Thrace and Sparta. But Athens dislikes him and worships him out of necessity only.

Even in modern times, Athena is considered a feminist icon and badass lady, while Ares is labelled a brute.

Most people know this. So why did I just type out all that? Cause context is important when delving into the myths.

So first of all, let’s debunk that last point I made. In the ancient myths (and I’ll try not to include romans esp. Ovid), it didn’t work that way at all. Of course it’s important to keep in mind that ancient Greece was very misogynistic. But still, Athena was not feminist at all. Her being a “masculine” woman (mostly) was what made her so acceptable to Athens and she was regularly used to shut down other women. Also:

(The actual translation of this scene was circulated a while back. So you’re probably familiar with this. Also I’m not saying this to offend any worshippers of Athena or anyone who admires her. There are a lot of bad things in greek mythology and Athena’s internal and external misogyny is probably the least of my concerns. Plus if the greek gods did exist, i believe they change with the society, so they will no longer be Like That in the present day.)

Ares, on the other hand, was incredibly feminist, especially for that time. He surrounded himself with women he loved and respected. (Aphrodite, Eris, Enyo, etc). His lovers were often famously women who challenged the status quo (Otrera, Cyrene). He was regularly show to be a good father to all his daughters, immortal and mortal. (Harmonia, Hippolyta, Penthesilia, Alkippe). Also:

If that isn’t the coolest thing EVER-

Anyway, I won’t delve deep into that (well, any more than I’ve already rambled about it).

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, we can get to the hypotheticals.

I headcanon that despite ALL the evidence to the contrary, they maybe don’t despise each other completely. I see them having more of a love-hate relationship.

The thing is, gods are very contrary creatures. Zeus and Hera’s fights shake the world one moment, and in the next, they are as loving as any. Apollo is smiling and singing in one moment and skinning a satyr alive in the next. This complexity should be given this relationship too.

Like I said above, they need each other. Both general and soldier are equally important in war. And I don’t think you can completely truly need someone and hate their existence at the same time. (There are exceptions)

This scene in the Iliad really got me thinking:

If you take the scene at face value, this is probably not something to think too much about. Its Athena going to Ares, insulting him a bit, and taking him away from the war.

But its more than that. First off, Athena goes upto Ares and can calmly convince him to listen to her. Second, look how she frames the question. She says “shall we” which i think is pretty important. Athena doesn’t need to worry about Zeus’ anger or his rules, as she shows later on in the Iliad, and before, during the Rebellion. Both Athena and Ares knows this well. So why does she also need to withdraw? She can make the point without adding herself to the equation. She can also fairly easily run him off the battlefield like she does later. But she doesn’t. And there isnt any hostility from Ares.

Instead, they go together, away from the battlefield and...sit down near a river bank? Basically relax as much as they can? That doesn’t sound like a hateful relationship.

There is also the fact that Ares was going to join sides with the greeks (aka on Athena and Hera’s side) until Aphrodite convinced him to join her instead.

Its clear from this that Ares doesn’t really have much of a stake in this fight. He doesn’t care much about the greater objectives of the war. The only thing that can convince him to take a side is the people one the sides. He fights for the people he cares about, not for any greater good. He easily changes his loyalty because of his love for Aphrodite. He frequently gets into fights to save his children. He goes against Diomedes partly because of how he wounded Aphrodite. All of this means that he cares for Athena too. (And for Hera ofc). Maybe he doesn’t care for her as much as he cares for Aphrodite, but its not really fair to expect him to.

I like to think they genuinely do care for each other a great deal, they just kinda suck at showing it. Maybe that changes as time passes. I can see Athena being quietly protective of Ares (maybe she makes up an excuse to send him away during the Rebellion because she knows he will be in danger otherwise). I definitely think she felt a little guilt (guilt, not regret) at stabbing Ares, seeing as it wasn’t really fair. Ares didn’t know she was there.

I also think that Ares, who spends a lot of time with awesome women and is very fierce in standing up for them if the need arises, will be the one who calls her out a lot of the time on her misogyny or hypocrisy. Athena also has a habit of suppressing any “vulnerable” emotion. She likes to keep all her guilt, sadness, fear, hurt, and regret all locked up tight. I feel like Ares is one of the few people she lets a few of those emotions out around, even if she still tries not to. And in the lighter moments, in private, maybe they joke around a bit and laugh, too.

Okay, now for the heavier bit. While i do think they care for each other, there is also a lot of resentment there. A lot of it, unfortunately, comes from how they are treated by their peers and elders. They like different people, they are liked by different people and they are liked to different degrees. Let’s talk about 3 of the main players.

1) Zeus. Does this surprise you?

I do think Zeus loves all his kids. He doesn’t like some of them, but he does love all of them. And he isn’t as bad of a father as everyone thinks. People have discussed that better so I’ll not rant about it here.

All that aside, he definitely has favourites. Athena is his favourite child (Apollo, I think, being his second). And this favouritism is SUPER OBVIOUS. Its like none of the rules apply to Athena, which is weird considering Zeus isn’t forgiving of those who defy his authority (did someone say Prometheus?)

Ares, on the other hand, is on the other side of the spectrum. The one Zeus dislikes the most.

We can see how this affects them in several instances. The most notable is probably in the Iliad, after Athena deceitfully stabs Ares and forces him to flee to Olympus, injured.

Ares calls Zeus out on his favouritism. He says that gods weren’t allowed to fight each other and if it were anyone else, they would have been punished. He says Zeus always does this, always lets Athena get away with everything, and that he needs to start getting his daughter under control.

Zeus doesnt like this too much and basically tells Ares to stop whining and that he isn’t much better when it comes to destruction. He says Ares is the most hateful of all gods and loves bloodshed. He says he would have gotten rid of him if he weren’t his son, but seeing as he was, Zeus cannot bear to see Ares in pain. He then gets Ares healed.

I can definitely see how this kind of blatant favouritism from someone who should be better to Ares would affect him. Ares is the firstborn son of Zeus and Hera. He should be getting a lot of respect, as per ancient standards but instead, he is overtaken by his virgin half sister from Zeus’ previous marriage, and many bastard half siblings.

Athena being able to break rules left and right, and Ares having to be nervous about even toeing the line will cause distance between them.

This in addition to his position as a god of civil order is a reason that i think he wouldn’t want to break any rule until he deems it absolutely necessary, like if someone he cared about were in danger.

I can totally see a situation where both of them try to help a hero but Zeus orders them not to. Athena then wants to break the rules, but Ares is very hesitant about doing so. Athena convinces him, either by taunting or by calmly urging him, to go along with it. They get caught but only Ares gets punished. Ares can then truly show Athena the difference between her and everyone else.

Remember when i headcanoned earlier that Athena sends Ares away during the Rebellion? That ties into this. She knows that if they get caught, ares could get into trouble whether or not he did anything. I expect Ares will be furious about it when he returns and finds out what happened though, thinking it was just to get him out of the way, until its revealed why she did it. Then he’ll probably be super awkward.

2) Poseidon

The equal and opposite force to Zeus.

Well, maybe not equal, but quite close.

Lets start with the canon. Poseidon HATES Athena, despises her completely, and he frequently clashes with her father too. They worked together one (1) time and as a result, Athena wasnt punished while Poseidon was enslaved for years. Then there is the fight for Athens, the whole epic of the Odyssey, and so on.

Meanwhile he and Ares are actually shown to be close. Other than the Halirhothius incident, they are pretty chill. Poseidon is the one who vouched for him after the Net Thing With Hephaestus. Poseidon is also pretty cool with Aphrodite and they work together occasionally.

I think Poseidon thinks of Athena as this bratty kid of his brother, who is constantly working against him. You know that one annoying cousin you have who you try to avoid during family reunions because you KNOW you will clash? This is that, but a thousand times worse.

Meanwhile Poseidon really cares for Ares, and Ares takes fatherly affection from anywhere he can get it. Poseidon maintains a good relationship with both Aphrodite and Ares. He is closer with Aphrodite and doesnt love Ares quite as much as Zeus loves Athena, but he still cares a lot.

3) Aphrodite

It is no secret that Athena hates Aphrodite. Even when Athena warns Diomedes not to harm any god, she says Aphrodite is the exception. Athena, along with many of the other Olympians, see her as nothing but a silly, flighty, hysterical goddess.

On the other hand, Aphrodite and Ares are known for their intense love for each other, from even before her arranged marriage. They have a lot of kids together, and are shown to be close with all of them. They each have like one story of jealousy/one story where they are at odds with each other, which is pretty good for such a high-profile couple (Aphrodite curses Eos and Ares kills Adonis). They are there for each other, like in the trojan war, when Aphrodite was wounded and Ares gave her his chariot to go back to Olympus. He also changed sides very soon, just because Aphrodite asked. Athena complains about this too.

I think I wouldn’t be far off in saying that Athena is definitely resentful of how close they are, and how much sway Aphrodite has over her brother.

While Athena definitely doesn’t see eye to eye with Ares, and disagrees with his domain, she still sees him as a War God. One of her kind. And she just doesn’t see how a War God can go for someone like Aphrodite. Basically, she doesn’t think Aphrodite is, for lack of a better term, good enough for Ares, seeing as she is a Love Goddess.

Ares, on the other hand, does not want to hear anything like this. He is fiercely defensive of Aphrodite. He defends her warlike aspect (Aphrodite Areia), while everyone else tells her that she has no place in the battlefield. He sees Aphrodite as more than what people have labelled her to be. Which is why I believe (other than Eos and Adonis), they have one of the healthiest open relationships in greek mythology.

This can definitely cause animosity between Athena and Ares, because of Athena’s scorn and Ares’ temper. It can also increase the conflict between Athena and Aphrodite.

Maybe as time goes on, Athena can start seeing Aphrodite as having more depth. I certainly hope so. While they wouldn’t be best friends, I don’t see why they can’t learn to get along. This could also strengthen Athena and Ares’ bond. As long as people don’t insult her or lay their claim on her domain of Love and Beauty, Aphrodite is often very supportive. I truly think Aphrodite can help Athena overcome her misogyny, with Ares.

In conclusion, Athena and Ares have a very complex relationship. They do not simply hate each other, and neither do they have the most loving relationship. But they do care for each other. But strain can often be put on their relationship from their relationship to other people as well. Hopefully as time passes, they can overcome that, and have a healthier relationship, instead of sharing a good moment and then proceeding to fight each other for the next 500 years.

[downbytheouterbanks]

Happy Place (Rafe x Reader) pt.1

a/n: hi um this is my first time writing and posting anything like this so I’m sorry if this sucks, please go easy on me. also, I hate Ward and Rose but in this they are just your run of the mill white parents who are trying their best and Rafe in this is just a normal asshole who is not addicted to crack and has not committed murder or arson lol

& you can find part two here & part three here

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Your dad had finally caved, Ward Cameron, your dad’s best friend from college, convinced him to move your family to the Outer Banks. The house that you used to call home every summer was up for sale and the couple who used to rent it to you was tired of the upkeep of the property and told Ward to sell it for whatever he could. That price matched your parents’ budget so here you are, a week after finishing your junior year of high school, reunited with your happy place. 

It has been about two years since the last time you were able to spend your summer on the island paradise. You had picked up a summer job and had sports tryouts with mandatory conditioning, your parents gave you the “choice” of staying home but you knew they would be disappointed in you if you gave it all up to come to the beach for the summer, so you always stayed. 

   The sun was beginning to set and you were ready to just unwind after unpacking all day. You picked up your yoga mat and water bottle and were heading out the door, “Hey, ma! I’m gonna head to the beach for a little while.”

“Did I work you too hard today? Need to find your zen?” She chuckled, giving you a kiss on the cheek. “Love you, go relax, babe.”

“Thanks, momma. I’ll be back in a bit.” And with that you began your short walk to the beach. Not much had changed in those two years you realized as you stepped out onto the sand. Your favorite spot was still not too crowded, only a handful of people who lived in the homes around you were scattered across the beach enjoying the sunset. 

You found yourself a nice spot to set down your mat, take a seat, letting your breath sync with the patterns of the crashing waves, and then beginning your yoga flow. All your senses were focused on the moment you were in, feeling the sea breeze, tasting the salty air with every breath, moving your body almost in rhythm with the waves hitting the shore, and then your eyes were opening as your moment of tranquility came to a halt as a round of flirty whistles rang through the air. You moved up and out of your downward dog position to be met with a pair of boys, about your age, clad in Vineyard Vines. They looked familiar, you thought, and then the one with dark sandy hair spoke,

“Topper, I think we got a newbie on the island, I would remember an ass like that.” 

You opened your mouth to respond but then were cut off by your phone ringing. You sighed, and quickly quipped to the boys, “Wow, you really know how to make a girl feel special,” rolling your eyes, you answered your phone and turned around, gathering your things.

“Hey, sweetie,” your mom said, “the Camerons invited us over for drinks and dessert, so your father and I are going to head over there now. If you’re up to it, you should swing by!” 

And with that, you walked off, catching the boy’s parting words to you, “See you around, yoga pants!”

After a quick shower and throwing on the best outfit that you could conjure from the clothes you had unpacked, you were back out your front door, throwing your wet hair up into a bun as your muscle memory carried you a block over to the Cameron residence. The property came into your sight and you didn’t know it was possible for a place to look like it hadn’t changed at all yet nothing was quite the same, at the same time. 

After a hesitant knock on the door, a voice called out telling you its open and to come in. “Y/N!” Ward said as soon as you crossed the threshold, “If it weren’t for your dad posting pictures of everything you do on Facebook, I wouldn’t have even recognized you.” He embraced you in a hug and then pointed to the living room, letting you know your parents, Rose, and him were in there catching up but Sarah, Wheezie, and Rafe were in the backyard. You nodded and made your way to the backdoor.

As you stepped out into their yard, you immediately saw Sarah, the two of you had kept in touch, you had the 748-day streak on Snapchat to prove it. At the sound of the door closing, her head snapped up to your direction, “Y/N! You’re finally here!” You smiled and made your way down the steps to the grass where they had their game of cornhole set up, the second your feet hit the grass the two girls embraced you in a hug. 

“Wheezie! Oh my god look at you! My baby is all grown up, look at this gorgeous young lady!” You exclaimed giving the girl a spin. 

“Y/N?” You looked up to be met by Rafe, staring at you in shock, which you mirrored back for a split second-this was not the awkward, straggly boy you used to be taller than. 

“Actually, I think you addressed me as “yoga pants” at the beach if I’m not mistaken, right?” You chuckled and raised your eyebrows, waiting for his response. 

“Uh- I… I wouldn’t have said that if I recognized you.” He choked out, reaching his arm up to run his hand through his hair, making a few strands fall loose from his slicked-back locks. A laugh escapes you as you cross your arms, “Gee, Rafe, what a relief.” 

“Ahem.” Sarah let out, her and Wheezie stood, awaiting an explanation.

You and Rafe shared a glance, almost asking who was going to explain, and you debated how you wanted to handle this. You were not for letting anyone off the hook when it came to misogynistic behavior, but you could deal with this in anger or you could deal with it in humility and humor. You decide to go with the second option, meeting Rafe’s uncomfortable expression with a slight smile,  and then turning to Sarah and Wheezie. 

“Your gentlemen of a brother over here,” you say as you reach up to pat him on the shoulder, “ran into me while I was at the beach earlier, I was doing yoga and him and his friend had some opinions about my choice in beach attire, isn’t that right, Rafe?”

You gave Sarah and Wheezie a look and Wheezie was the first one to connect the dots, “Oh, God, Rafe, what did you say to her? Oh I’m totally gonna tell Rose and she is gonna pull out her respecting women PowerPoint, again.” Wheezie began to skip away when Rafe ran over and grabbed her by her shoulders, a look of panic and desperation in his eyes, as he bent down to her level.

“Oh my God, Wheezie, please, no! You know that thing takes like an hour and a half, please, for the love of God, I am begging you!” Wheezie let out a laugh that only a mischievous younger sibling could make, “If Y/N says to back off, then I’ll back off.”

His eyes meet yours from over Wheezie’s shoulder, “Please, Y/N, I’ll owe you one, I won’t do it again, just please don’t make me sit through that again. She has a quiz at the end and everything!” You take this time to ponder if Rose made that PowerPoint for him then maybe he should sit through it.

 “I’ll let it slide this time, Rafe, but you owe me a favor.” Rafe lets go of Wheezie and runs over to you, muttering “I’m sorry”s and “I promise I won’t objectify you, again” as he hugs you giving you a kiss on the cheek. You let out a laugh as he releases you from his grip, “Geeze is Rose’s presentation really that bad?”

All three of the Cameron siblings let out a “YES” and then Sarah adds, “She made it for Rafe and his friends after they got caught looking at PlayBoy magazines in his room, she even made Wheezie and I sit through it and told us that we can’t objectify boys either.” The four of you begin to make your way inside.

“You know, I like Rose even more, now.” You smile and Rafe elbows you, the two of you laugh and look at each other, he gives you an appreciative look and then asks, “So what favor do I owe you?” 

“I don’t know yet but I will let you know when I figure it out.” You smile at him and he throws his arm around your shoulder as you walk inside.

[mikami]

Continued discussion from this post, because it was getting long!

@eecmidford said:

It’s not rude at all to ask! I’ve read the manga a few times, but I do watch the anime a lot more. That’s why I don’t talk about the manga very much. I’m familiar enough with it, I just happen to know the anime WAY more. I guess that explains why we keep disagreeing😅

From what we see in the anime, I honestly don’t get the feeling that Light’s relationships with Sayu and Sachiko are that deep. We see surface-level interactions like Light’s mom bringing him apples, and besides that it’s mostly him sitting around listening while they relentlessly praise him. I think Light sees people in terms of what they can do for him, with very few exceptions. He’s also incredibly sexist and misogynistic, so the way he sees Sayu for instance wouldn’t be “Sayu Yagami, my sister,” it would be more like “Sayu, a girl who is related to me.” His mom would be “mom, an older girl who is related to me.” I’d go so far as to say his relationship with Misa is even deeper than his relationships with either his mom or his sister, because at least with Misa he can be truer to his real self (Kira, as I believe “Kira” as we see him in the warehouse is the closest to the “real” Light we ever get to see). He likes his mom and sister because they praise him and they don’t get in his way too much, but I don’t think he cares that much about them and I definitely don’t think he loves them. I’m still not totally convinced he loved his father, but you’ve got me conceding that he did care about him.

(Side note: I know in the manga Ryuk teases Light about how he secretly loves Sayu when she gets kidnapped, or maybe he says “care about” instead of “love,” I honestly don’t remember…but idk, I just don’t buy that? I don’t have any deeper reasoning there, I just simply don’t buy it.🤷🏻‍♀️But definitely share any evidence to the contrary if you have it!)

“He’s hurt, but can’t afford to be hurt” is a perfect way of putting that. That’s Light to a T. I would like to take it one step further and say that Light feels he doesn’t deserve to be hurt. Other people can feel pain, but not the God of the New World.

Finally, two more questions. I know I keep bothering you with new questions, but YOU KEEP MAKING ME THINK ABOUT THIS STUFF SO IT’S YOUR FAULT:

1. If Soichiro had survived, what if any decisions do you think Light would have made differently toward the end of the series?

2. If Matsuda had taken the eye deal, would he have killed Mello? (I’m pretty sure I know how you’re going to answer this, but I’m curious so…)

That makes sense! My weakness is definitely my incapability to look at the anime and go “this is a work worth analyzing in its own merit”. When I talk about Death Note, I am always referring to the manga version. A lot of it applies to the anime as well, but I truly have trouble seeing it as its own standalone story so characterizing the anime characters at face value is not my forte.

And yes, the anime absolutely cut out pretty much... every single scene about Light and his family dynamic, it’s kind of insane to me. I have compiled a list of what’s missing and why it is significant here. There is also a very good post about Light and Sayu here. I’m sorry that this is a lot of hefty reading, I have a hard time condensing the evidence down to few words, so it’s easier to link the proper elaborations that have been done before. (The “Ryuk’s Notebook” pages in HTR13 are obviously humorous in tone, but there was well Sayu is listed at the top of Light’s priority pyramid (below himself) under “people he loves”.)

But yeah, our views of Light are fundamentally hard to weigh against each other in detail because we disagree who he is at baseline. In the end, I must admit that I just don’t agree with anything you’ve said in the paragraph about how he relates to family >_> Sorry!!

As for the questions...

1. He definitely wouldn’t have been so callous in using Takada for the investigation, that’s for sure. Otherwise, this is a subject I really need to think longer about because “Soichiro does not die” alters the situation so much. I am pretty sure I have an ask about this in my drafts so I will put that brainpower to use.... soon.

2. Matsuda would have killed Mello - he does a lot of reckless things to prove his worth and he is the most sympathetic to Kira’s “criminals should die for the peace of others” ideology. He wouldn’t exactly feel good about it, but he’d have written his name with little hesitation.

[clolikescloquetas]

THINGS I HOPE TO SEE (OR NOT) IN ACOTAR4

Nesta NOT STAYING AT THE ILLYRIANS MOUNTAINS for long, and travelling to other courts or the continent instead so she sees the world just like she wanted to do before the war. I think sending her away to a cold mountain surrounded by misogynistic warriors who hate her and are scared of her was a stupid af decision. Especially when it's a war camp and war triggers her PTSD. Oh and let's not forget there's a revolution about to take place. I see it as a very forced way of the narrative to make cassian and nesta interact. I understand an unexpected turn of events was needed as a beginning for acotar4, but going to the mountains shouldn't be anything more than a beginning that quickly leads us to another location. We've been told many times that nesta is "illyrian at heart" but I don't buy it. She isn't such thing, and her character is way too complex and interesting and has too much potential to just make her fit into a culture she doesn't belong to and has nothing in common with (it's stupid to think a place that reveres war and bloodshed will help her heal).

Besides, after all the places the previous books introduced I think it would be boring to stick to the same court. I loved Velaris but now that Feyre's story has ended it's time to move on. Not to mention that the Night Court is the worst place for Nesta, it reminds her of all her trauma and its high lord is a male she despises. Nesta needs to go somewhere else where she can recover her spirit and independence, and be free of the commands of a male that gives her orders as if she were her subject (she is not).

Hopefully, knowing how much sjm loves plot twists and given how she's already told us where nesta is supposed to go, it won't stay like that for long.

NO TRAINING. Maybe learning self defense techniques but that's as far as I'll go. No training to turn her into an almighty warrior. Nesta has power from literally the mightiest magic device in the world, and you're telling me getting beat on a ring will empower her?? Even when she's previously stated her refusal to train and said fighting isn't the only thing that makes someone strong?? And we're talking about Nesta, whose powers make her lethal. Making Nesta train would butcher her character and istg if they pull the "fighting helps her go back to her old self and empowers her" I will lose it. Enough with making that troupe work for everyone. We've seen it before and it has worked out well for other character, but in this case it wouldn't feel right and would be boring af.

I've seen a few people say they want Nesta to command the Illyrians, and help with the whole misogynist issue they have, or that she should do the Blood Rite I don't know if the name is correct, I don't remember it to gain the respect of the warriors. How should I put this: NO. This is more of the "Nesta is Illyrian at heart" bullshit Rhysass likes to pull, when what he actually means is that she is proud and stubborn. She, and I can't stress this enough, is not Illyrian. She shouldn't be participating in traditions she doesn't understand and doesn't engage in (she doesn't want to learn how to fight for fuck's sake) and we certainly don't need nesta to pull a white saviour behavior. I don't want her to come and solve a centuries old problem of a culture she doesn't belong to. And I don't see how she could do that in a credible way either, given how they all are terrified and wary of her. This also applies to the rioting issue that is looming over the illyrian camps.

Nesta healing and improving her mental health with cassian at her side to support her, without making him the reason why she gets better. And showing the effects war has on a veteran as Cassian too.

Someone, preferably Nesta, calling out Feyre, Rhysass and the rest of the IC on their shitty behavior and actions, and the narrative finally acknowledging their mistakes and portraying them as the deeply flawed characters they are. Now that we don't have Feyre's POV anymore there are no excuses for condoning their shit.

Cassian realising he has judged, ignored and said cruel things (like he doesn't know why her sisters love her are u kidding me) to Nesta and how he hasn't stood up for her before his friends. Oh and how he ignores her when Mor is present. I'm a sucker for nessian, but before they are a thing, he should apologize. I don't like how he treats nesta poorly and then expects her to love him, when she doesn't owe him shit. It's selfish of him to expect her to fit into his family even when they all hate her. I hope acotar4 handles well these issues. And I can't wait too read Nesta's POV and know why she didn't want to be close to Cassian after the war.

Nesta making new friends on her own, people who respect her and love her. I love nessian but I don't want their relationship to be the only deep interaction and relationship Nesta has. I would LOVE to see her and lucien become best friends (they were supposed to be lovers after all, and although a romantic relationship has been dismissed I'm sure their friendship dynamic would be amazing), or get acquainted with Helion or even Azriel. She needs to meet new people, and preferably not from the night court.

We've read many times how Nesta's powers are described as great and terrible. The source of her power is the fucking cauldron, used to create the world. Even tho no one knows yet what those powers are exactly, she has used them to turn hundreds of soldiers to ashes and even the bone carver, a death GOD, has spoken of the way the earth trembled at her power when Nesta was made. I want these powers to be a huuge part of the plot in this book. I want Nesta to master them fully, and for us to see the process. I don't know if I'm the only one who thinks like this, but when Feyre discovered she had powers from all the high lords, it seemed to me that she mastered them too quickly. I was hoping to get more attention on that issue, but it got dismissed quite quickly. Now that it's Nesta's time, I want the book to fully focus on these powers. Oh, and what I want the most is my baby to become the most powerful creature in the continent. More mighty than Rhysass and the other high lords by far. You can't give us a whole book preaching how nesta is really powerful, and how she took something from the cauldron that made the earth tremble, and then turn her into a common witch or something similar. I mean you can't expect me to believe the high lords have more power than the cauldron.

Although I find that to be another plot hole, bc the cauldron was supposed to be almighty but then Rhys and Feyre restored it when it broke?? Does that mean they are more powerfull than the object that created their world?? If that is so, they why didn't they win against hybern sooner??

Anyways, I want Nesta to never have to bow to anyone. Ever.

Well that is what I'd like to see in the next book. Which, based on the information we have, is basically the opposite of what will happen. As far as we know, sjm said there would be a lot of training in this book (I assume she was talking about Nesta) so there goes the chance of her not been a warrior. We know she'll go to Illyria, and although it's my hope she leaves soon or that she never goes in the first place, I know that's not what's going to happen.

And then there's the sex. Sjm said she had to delete some of the sex scenes bc her editor said they were too much and unnecessary. Which means there are still plenty of sex scenes in the books, as sjm confirmed. Don't get me wrong, smut is fine if handled correctly. But I don't think it will he handled correctly.

In fact, I think acotar4 will be placed on illyria the whole book or at least a huge part of it, and that we'll have lots of unnecessary and meaningless sex scenes inside of Cassian's cabin in the mountains instead of a well written and interesting plot, a well developed and complex relationship between the characters and a well handled depiction of PTSD and trauma healing.

In my mind it'll go like this:

Nesta arrives in the mountains. She and cassian are mean to each other for a while and the sexual tension is pretty obvious between them. Nesta starts training. At the beginning she hates it but over time she ends up loving it and excelling. Sex. Nesta makes a few friends between the illyrian female warriors she trains with, whose characters are shallow and totally secondary. Sex. More sex. Maybe something about Nesta's powers. A scene where cassian and nesta have an openhearted conversation about their relationship. Cassian never acknowledges how he treated Nesta, but she will apologise to him for how she kept him away. This leads to more sex. Nesta makes up with feyre, and apologies to her for being mean or whatever sjm comes up with. Feyre doesn't apologize back, or it's a shitty apologize for sure. Sex. Nesta stablish a cordial although cold relationship with Rhysass and Mor bc apparently she and Az are not destined to interact (even tho Az would totally oppose Nesta's situation of being sent to the illyrian camps). Sex. Nesta does the Rite. Sex. Sex. Something about the illyrian rebels. Cassian gets hurt. Nesta goes feral and gets a hold on the illyrian people. They respect her and answer to her now. Sex.

Or something along these lines. Oh and I have the impression sjm loves her main characters too much to write any scene showing how the decisions, actions or behaviour regarding Nesta of Feyre and Rhys were wrong. Acknowledging this could make it seem like they are flawed people like the rest, and apparently that's not possible.

I pray to be proved wrong once the book is released. Only time will tell.

[rpbetter]

Women also use genderbending as a way to cope with the fact that female characters are still vastly underrepresented in popular media. Franchises like Lord of the Rings or the MCU are complete sausage fests. Genderbending is a way for us to incorporate our experiences as women into stories that lack female characters, and that's valid, too.

It's absolutely valid, yes! I should probably have looked for the post so I could link it here, but in my defense, it is Halloween and I'm a little busy. In any case, there was an early-on question about my opinion of genderbent muses, and this was a part of that opinion. This last round of the topic has focused on the trans community and gender exploration because the question posed focused there, not because this point isn't valid!

So, let's talk about it, I don't think it's addressed enough.

Women are supposed to be happy with an incredibly narrow selection of canon characters (as well as an equally narrow selection of female character types for OCs) who are female, if they're not, they're supposed to have no issue selecting and writing a male canon. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely glad that the RPC got over at least most of its insistence that one could/should only write their assigned at birth gender, that it is primarily acceptable to write any gender. The early days of RP were unbelievably hostile to mun choice in that way, as well as acting like anyone who was female or trans was inherently predatory for writing a male canon. That doesn't mean everyone is comfortable doing so, it doesn't mean everyone has to be comfortable doing so, and allowing major franchises to dictate choices in this way is as gross as it is in all other ways.

As I said in another response, I'm not comfortable writing female characters, I totally understand why someone wouldn't be comfortable writing male characters. That doesn't make female muns who want to write female canons anything other than RPers with valid preferences. Just as my preference is valid, someone who only wishes to write trans characters is valid, and so on. It makes no one here a misogynist, misandrist, radfem, transphobe, or otherwise a terrible person.

So, what are you supposed to do when the characters who get the most screen time, development, interesting story lines, friendships, powers, and so on are male? Because that's the reality. Like many other types of characters, when you have a female MC or a story filled with women, it's not about the same things anymore. It's about specific female experiences that are neither across the board nor of interest to everyone. Not to mention, those can be quite limiting characters to take into RP. Or, maybe, you just want a character who is allowed to be a character, not one that has been created as a franchise's woke trophy. Those characters aren't allowed to be characters in the same way male canons of major franchises are the great majority of the time. To do so, they have to make real mistakes, mess up, be human. Things women aren't allowed to do. Unless, of course, the intention is to kill the character at the end of whatever shallow, oriented around The Boys in the story arc she gets. Flawed women die.

Male characters don't have their stories, especially as main characters, completely wrecked and diverted for love interests. No male character I can think of has ever been punished for the terminal flaw of either not wanting or not being able to create biological children. They're allowed to be friends with other men and women alike, not in a constant, snipping bunch of bullshit or set up for Romantic Tension. When a male character wants to be sensitive, is romantic, or is family-oriented, that is considered subversive and charming (and unfortunately, in mega-franchises, it still is unacceptably "subversive" and those characters tend to be female-coded and more maligned). When a male character has little to no emotions or goes off on a murderous rampage, he's considered deep and forgivable.

By contrast, even the most well-developed of major franchise female characters are extremely likely to be sidelined in subsequent films or even their own films for a romance. A female character who is not interested in having children will be shoehorned into a change of a heart or will suffer the same fate of those who cannot have biological children - she's a dead woman walking. She will only have female friends after she has proven she's not like the other girls and/or has learned her lesson to be kind to other women, even if she's never actually shown to be friends with them like a normal human. Ultimately, the purpose of her having these "friends" will be to either vaguely queerbait the audience that there might be lesbians or bisexuals in this film or so that some petty, performative display of girl power can be had on screen. Her male friends will all have been previous lovers, which is never anything awkward because she's not like the other girls, or there will be palpable sexual tension between them. Either way, like the female "friendships," they'll almost certainly be underdeveloped and never actually displayed as real friendship. She's either there to crush men or be their mother. If she's emotional, romantic, or family-oriented, this is "typical" and seen as weakness or bitchiness, all around though, boring. If she's emotionless or goes off a murderous rampage, no matter how much the point of it is valid and even fulfilling for the audience, she is a villain who will not be forgiven even upon any redemptive actions.

Not only are your choices for female characters limited as hell in those sausage fests, but you also have extreme disparity between the way male and female characters are presented, used, and consumed. So, again, yes, it is very valid that you'd want to take a male canon who has had the benefit of all that development, genuinely interesting and more nuanced characterization, and write them as female.

RP is like fanfic, it's meant to be a bit transformative of the canon work. Your choice to base some of that on transforming a cisgendered character into another cis gender is...that. You are making canon work for you so that you can enjoy exploring that character in a way you are both comfortable with and interested in. Given your shitty options otherwise, is it any wonder this is a choice? Nope!

Honestly, Anon, I feel like there is a lot at the heart of this issue that specifically relates back to women making this choice, as well as problems in fandom that have only, sadly, seemed to have become internalized. It's all far too much to discuss here, especially in the way it deserves, which is with citations and links, but I think it's worth considering when approaching this topic. As opposed to slapping accusatory labels on muns and invalidating choices that don't affect anyone who isn't making an adult decision to interact with them.

Thanks for allowing this part of the conversation to come up again, I really appreciate it! Furthermore, I hope you didn't feel excluded because it has been concentrated on other experiences. Again, that is due to the context of the original ask, not out of a desire to exclude or talk over.

To that end, to everyone, I want to repeat - it's valid to dislike or be made uncomfortable by genderbending, it's valid to enjoy and participate in genderbending for any reason that makes it the right choice for you. The only thing that isn't valid is forcing your opinion on other muns through the use of serious, charged labels.

[shelovescontrol91]

Writer/director Kay Cannon (Pitch Perfect, Blockers) has re-envisioned Cinderella as a modern musical with a heroine at its center who has ambitions of a career in a world that just wants her to find a prince to marry. Ella (pop music superstar Camila Cabello) wants to design beautiful ball gowns while her stepmother (Tony Award winner Idina Menzel) unsympathetically attempts to squash her dreams, until her fairy godmother Fab G (Billy Porter) shows up to help boost the confidence she already has in her heart.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Cabello talked about tackling her first lead feature film role, wanting to be responsible with her platform, believing in herself, her own Cinderella story, the music she’s currently dancing to, getting to put on the ballgown and slippers, the first day of shooting vs. the last day, and her desire to continue doing acting projects.

Collider: When the possibility of playing Cinderella in a big movie musical came your way, especially knowing that fairy tales and particularly princess fairytale is they’re often old-fashioned, misogynistic and sexist, what needed to be there in the character for you to feel like she was someone that you wanted to represent?

CAMILA CABELLO: I feel like I try to be as responsible as I can with my platform and putting forth messages that I stand by and feel like right to me. That is why I did the film. It’s just really empowering for women, and really empowering for me. It doesn’t have these messages that are this black and white way of looking at people, where they’re either good or they’re evil. It just has this complexity that I think is really beautiful.

You’ve had great success as a singer and performer, in that sense, but this was the first time you’re leading a film, as an actress. How did you find your inner confidence, to show up on set and lead this cast, as an actor, doing something that’s outside of what you’ve become known for?

CABELLO: I think that it was about just letting go of my ego, as much as I can, and just trying to have fun with it. Obviously, there were times where I felt nervous and I felt the pressure, but at the end of the day, it’s something that I chose to do because I believe in it. Clearly, I’m here because Kay Cannon, our director, and James Corden believe in me and they wanted me to be this character. I’m here for a reason, so I’m just gonna believe in that and have a good time.

Did you also have a real movie star moment, where you felt like you really owned that, when you were on these extravagant sets, in these costumes, and working alongside Pierce Brosnan? Did you feel the movie magic, in that way?

CABELLO: I feel like because it was my first movie, it was obviously really, really thrilling. And also, you don’t wanna feel like that, when you’re making a movie. You wanna feel grounded and present and not psych yourself out too much. I tried to just keep it as chill as I could, which is hard when there’s Pierce Brosnan in there, but I tried.

In a lot of ways, your own life journey feels like a real Cinderella story. Do you feel that way? Have you really felt a sense of that?

CABELLO: I definitely feel that. I feel like my story is a total Cinderella story. My life changed so much. I was just in Miami, with no connections, really, to anybody in the music industry. And one day, I auditioned for X-Factor and my life changed, and my life keeps changing. I definitely have been like the underdog, for sure, many times, so I totally relate to that story.

What’s it like to go from being that underdog to seeing how you inspire other young people?

CABELLO: It’s amazing. I just feel super lucky that life worked out that way. There’s just a lot of gratitude. There were a lot of really fortunate events happening.

A lot of actors talk about not wanting to watch their own performances, and you’ve said that you don’t like to listen to your own songs. How hard is it to then watch a movie that you’re acting, singing and dancing? Is that even more difficult to watch?

CABELLO: Totally. It’s very difficult. I had a lot of fun watching it because I was watching it with my castmates and my director, and we formed a little family together. And my acting coach, Anthony Meindl, was there too, so it was fun to enjoy that with the people that I made the film with, but it is, by no means, fun to watch yourself from all of these super up-close angles.

What is the strangest or most memorable place you’ve been, when you’ve heard one of your own songs start playing?

CABELLO: Hmm. I don’t know. There hasn’t really been any weird places. Out of people’s cars, on the street, is really interesting.

You’ve never been in an elevator with other people, when your own music has come on?

CABELLO: No. That would be terrible.

It’s hard to know how to handle a fame until you’re in it. What has most surprised you about yourself, having had the spotlight shown on you for some time now?

CABELLO: Honestly, how much that is not really the fulfilling or meaningful part of what I do. Even though it might look like it because that’s the part that most people see, the behind the scenes of making the music and the people that I make it with, and also the stuff that has nothing to do with my career at all, is really fulfilling and meaningful. The actual fame part is not really a big thing that I think about.

Has it taught you anything about your own strength that you didn’t expect to realize?

CABELLO: As I get older, I my sense of self gets stronger and stronger. I’m really lucky that I have an amazing family and amazing parents. My mom has been with me for a lot of this, so I never really lost myself in that, which is more of a testament to the people around me.

You have great comedic timing that seems very natural, which is not necessarily an easy thing to pull off. Do you feel that not taking yourself too seriously helps you with just jumping in and finding the comedy?

CABELLO: Totally. Hopefully, I’ll do more comedy. I think it’ll get easier and easier. Obviously, I really cared about, and care about, this film, so I wanted to do a good job. But I think that, at my best, I am pretty funny.

You’re definitely a powerhouse, in your own right, but what’s it like to get to duet with someone like Idina Menzel? As a singer, when you’re told that you’re going to be belting it out with her, is it intimidating or is it fun and exciting?

CABELLO: It’s so fun and exciting. I love her. Obviously, she’s so talented, but also I feel like we’ve connected so much during this whole process that it was just really fun.

Had you ever found yourself belting out any of her songs, before doing this?

CABELLO: Of course. “Into the Unknown and “Defying Gravity” are some of my favorite songs.

I especially enjoyed the big musical performances in this, at the beginning and the end, with “Rhythm Nation” and “Let’s Get Loud.” Both of those are songs that just make you want to get up and dance and sing along. Do you have songs that do that for you? Is there a song you always put on when you want to dance around the house?

CABELLO: Yeah. Tight now I’m listening to a lot of Reggaeton and a lot of J Balvin, a lot of Bad Bunny, and a lot of Rosalia. That always makes me want to dance around.

How much fun was it to get to do the big performance numbers, with all of the staging? What would surprise people about what it takes to pull off something like that?

CABELLO: It’s amazing. That last finale number and that week was a real movie magic moment. It just felt very like, “Oh, my God!” The best part of a live musical is having a huge ensemble singing and dancing and doing this amazing choreography. It was a lot of rehearsals, after set days and between set days. It was definitely a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun.

If we got a glimpse into the blooper reel for this movie, what kind of things would we see?

CABELLO: You would probably see a lot of unprofessional laughter. It’s hard for me to say anything specific on the spot right now, but a lot of the moments with the comedians, like James Acaster, Romesh [Ranganathan], James Corden and Rob Beckett, were really funny.

Your Cinderella is a fashion designer and has a great sense of style. Are you the same way? Have you always had a great sense of style, or are there fashion disasters in your past that you wish you could forget and that you wish didn’t live on social media now?

CABELLO: I’ve definitely had a lot of fashion disasters because I started doing this at 15, which is crazy. I’ve gotten more of a sense of style, as I’ve gotten older. Now, I just find it a lot more fun than I used to before. It was like a chore to me. I didn’t get joy from it, but now I really do. So, I relate to her more, in that sense.

I love that this is also a Cinderella who doesn’t change who she is or give up her life for a prince. How important was that to you? Is that something that you had conversations about and that really mattered?

CABELLO: Yeah, that was one of the things I loved about the script. She’s not really giving up her life for the prince because she knows that she would just be unhappy. She wouldn’t be able to be herself. At the end of the day, you wanna be in a relationship with somebody where you can be yourself. You don’t have to give up a part of you for them. So, that was one of my favorite parts of the script. I think she’s a real bad-ass for that.

One of the things that doesn’t change with the story of Cinderella is that you still get to wear a gorgeous ballgown and have glass slippers. What did you think of her look for the ball and getting to put on that incredible gown?

CABELLO: It was awesome. Ellen Mirojnick (the costume designer) did such an amazing job with that iridescent, non-traditional version of the Cinderella gown and the slippers. I loved it. It was gorgeous.

Was there a scene that was the most technical to do?

CABELLO: There was the running scene that we had to do, over and over again. That definitely required a lot of endurance because I was just running, all day. That was definitely a little hard.

Was there a most fun day on set?

CABELLO: There were different most fun days. The day with Billy [Porter], doing the Fab G sequence was super fun and magical. And also the finale was really fun. The last song was super fun.

You’ve said that you don’t know if you could have done this with anyone other than Kay Cannon. What was it about her and her vision? What was it like to really establish that collaborative and creative relationship together?

CABELLO: I feel so fortunate. Any other person that I work with now, it’s gonna be such a high bar because she’s just such a great person and an amazing collaborator. She’s so passionate and such a good person. I think that shows in the script, her emotional awareness, her sensitivity, and her desire to stand up for people and give people a voice. She’s like the character. She’s like Cinderella. She’s a bad-ass.

What do you remember about the first day on set and shooting the first scene you had, and how did that compare to the last day that you had on set and doing the last scene for the movie?

CABELLO: The first day, I was insanely nervous. I was so nervous. And the last day, I was not. The last day, I was just having so much fun. At that point, I was just like, “This has been the best experience ever,” and I wasn’t nervous anymore.

Now that you’ve had this experience, where would you like to take your acting career next? Are you already reading a lot of scripts? Have you thought about the type of things you’d like to do?

CABELLO: I haven’t because I went into making my album after the movie. But I would love to do more acting roles, for sure.

Is there dream project, a specific genre, or a character that you’d like to play?

CABELLO: I literally couldn’t tell you. I’d love to do more comedy. I think drama would be really fun. Action would be really fun. Thriller would be really fun. There’s so much. There’s a lot there to explore it.

Cinderella is available to stream at Amazon Prime Video.

[seventhfracture]

Q. 6-10, 15, 19, 22, 26 & 27 for DN salty asks please? <3

6 Has DN ever made you enjoy a fandom you previously hated? None I previously hated. But when people first said Ryuk/Light I took it as a joke. Then, slowly... It's not a joke anymore. Now I'm onboard lol.

7 Is there anything you used to like but you can't stand now? Light is a bad person and we all make jokes at his expense. Some of them line up with his character enough that I include them in stuff I write. Like Light being a repressed gay man etc or a misogynist. Those ideas are worth exploring for a lot of reasons! And some of those jokes are funny! But I think there's a fine line when you're using those as punchlines. It doesn't bother me as much as I know it bothers some other people but I think we should be careful that in making a statement about Light, the character, we're not insulting a community of real closeted people.

8 Have you ever received anon hate? What about? I've received interesting hate across multiple different fandoms, never from the places I expect either, for Death Note specifically I've been told "I won't go into detail but your stuff is really bad. Look up a youtube video, maybe take a writing class." Which, given the full message this person sent and the fact they said it anonymously? Pretty funny shit.

9 Most dislikes character? Why? | This sounds incredibly petty but I really don't like Raye Penber. The English dub makes him say some horribly sexist things. And, yes, the other characters say way worse but the show paints them as the bad guys. I am seemingly supposed to be sad, with Naomi, when Raye dies because "he was such a decent man" but in the one scene we had of him he immediately make me dislike him???

10 Most disliked arc? Why? I really love Mello, Near and Mikami. Sometimes I feel like I don't appreciate them enough. And my perfect Death Note timeline would include all three of them. But I really have trouble paying any attention after L dies. My whole grasp on the Arc is sloppy just because I've watched/read it waaaay less.

15 Unpopular opinion about the manga/show? I really dont like the second anime opening. It feels like it belongs, musically, to a totally different show. The first opening gets all meta and shit which is the perfect level of pretentious but it also sounds good. I just... I don't like the second opening.

19 What is one thing you hate most about your fandom? I hate antis in any fandom. Puritanical nanny bots are the worst. Particularly in Death Note because... Well, none of these people are portrayed as uninterrupted good, none of them get a pass, we're sitting in the mud. Then you try and tell me its "gross to ship L/Light because of the age difference!" like, honey, we've got WAY BIGGER PROBLEMS to talk about here. It just seems so backwards to get hyper ethical about a series that spits on ethics and comfort.

22 Popular character you hate? I dont hate him but I dont see what the big deal is with Matt/Mail Jeeves. He's like... I don't get it. But I know people love him. Maybe cause you can insert a lot onto him? You do you, guys.

26 Most shippable character? The trash king himself; Light Yagami. He just writes himself into a world of interesting options and plotlines, ya know? And he's such a chameleon/homme fatale that he would try it once, with pretty much anyone, if he needed something from them.

27 Least shippable character? Watari. Cause you could ship Watari with a lot of people. But I don't think I, personally, would be interested in reading many of those fics for a range of reasons.