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bohemian-nights · 6 months

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I’d like to in advance apologize for ranting it just seems to me that you may be one of the few people who actually like Nettles 😊. So I’m not gonna lie I was expecting more from the trailer(s). I mean I knew I wasn’t gonna get to see Nettles (I genuinely am obsessed with the idea of her being the only non-Valyrian dragonrider, I’m equally obsessed with stories in general when people (especially women) live in a society that usually counts them out or that they’re very low in the food chain in to becoming powerful + gaining agency and respect, and it heals my inner black girl when I see black women in fantasy) (anything to be honest because it seems as though we’re always done wrong either by narrative or fandom) (I’m also not opposed to her being a “witch” because if done properly it could be done in an interesting thing and tie into the magic that was used in the beginning to tie dragons to people) (though knowing this fandom they’d probably start coming up with their special “takes” about how she tricked/ r/ped Daemon into being with her 🙄 and will block you if you point out that’s the same thing they praise Alys Rivers for allegedly doing (I say allegedly because that’s awful and truly horrific and I hope neither Nettles or Alys are shown doing this) (speaking of Nettles and Daemon….🫠 lol I don’t really like Daemon (I’m 50/50 on book!Daemon mostly because I don’t get to know what he’s thinking which created a disconnect and I don’t like show!Daemon at all. He did a lot for a little in my opinion, and because I don’t know his thought process he just kinda comes off as a bit of a c*nt just to be one because it makes him “edgy” and a “bad boy” and while I don’t find Matt Smith unattractive he’s not exactly what I consider to be such a panty dropper that I can like Daemon) the age gap and power dynamic also raised both my eye brows but at the end of the day it’s fantasy, so different rules apply, and most importantly despite the discourse over certain (platonic, romantic, or sexual) aspects of their relationship it’s very clear that the two cared/loved one another) (anyway 🤞🏾 we’ll get her next season) but it seemed as though for the Team Green and Team Black trailers they just showed the same scenes in different order. And while there’s a lot more dragon action going on, it doesn’t feel like dialogue from different scenes forming a compelling trailer it feels as though multiple characters are just narrating I don’t know maybe I’m reaching. And personally I’m neither Team Green or Team Black but I still liked Team Green’s trailer more especially when Aegon (looking completely unhinged) said “to war then.” I don’t know I just remember thinking “he looks crazy as shit” lol. In general I’m kinda 50/50 with HOTD. I watched the first season because I like fantasy shows and at that point I had just finished up GOT and was getting started on the books. So having no prior knowledge to how it was gonna go it was entertaining enough. Then I read Fire and Blood (which interestingly enough I didn’t know was a history book….🫠) and was really invested in how they were going to adapt the actual Dance and I feel like I’m just getting into the ASOIAF fandom (steered clear of it back in the day because it seemed too unhinged) but it seems completely unhinged, misogynistic, racist, and really odd when it comes to the subject of blood purity.

Aww thank you and I don’t mind the ranting.

The Nettles fandom is extremely small, and I'm off in my little corner of said fandom because I think I’m the only Nettles fan who genuinely loves Daemon(which is fun).

He is a lot though and their relationship is somewhat problematic, but yeah you have to keep in mind that this is all just fantasy. And you can’t forget that Daemon does care for her and he is the one who saves her. The good ultimately outweighs the bad in their relationship.

That being said, Nettles is a fantastic character in her own right and deserves all of her props. And yeah it’s nice to see a Black girl in the medieval fantasy genre, but irregardless of race, she falls into my favorite category of characters for women.

Been through a lot, people doubt them, and yet they still overcome and get their happily ever after, sign me up 🙌🏽

As far as the witch thing goes, it could be interesting, but I find it cliché and ultimately demeaning and limiting. Not only because of the situation with Daemon(turning her into some Jezebel is a no-go), but it also takes away from her claiming of Sheepstealer. Instead of her wit she has to have used magic because there is no way someone like her could claim a dragon.

That would ruin the essence of a character that is supposed to show that it’s not our blood or some supernatural superpower that makes us, it’s us.

Honestly, I don’t think that the show will go this way with her character since they’ve already faced backlash for what they did with Laena, Rhaena, and Baela back in season 1. Playing into another trope with a Black-ish woman(voodoo mama Jezebel) will only make them look all the more like the racist jackasses they are.

Now for the trailer and upcoming season, It doesn’t spark any excitement within me. The show as a whole is just kinda meh(and the lack of Nettles isn’t helping).

HOTD is a far cry from the early days of GOT(which followed much more closely to the books). There is the issue that the show is based on historical text, but not everything in that was a lie like the show is trying to claim.

I don’t like the blatant whitewashing being done and then claiming they’re championing diversity and female empowerment while treating all their Black, particularly the Black-ish female characters, like shit.

Lastly there is the fandom. While racism and misogynoir are not limited to the HOTD fandom these fans really do act batshit insane.

I can’t take anybody who claims that a Black character should be cut because there are already enough Black people on the show then starts crying when they get called out for their racism and claiming they are being wrongly accused seriously.

And of course, we can’t forget the ones trying to save Nettles from the evil white man—while completely ignoring the one who tries to turn her into a hate crime statistic for the sake of the sisterhood…

(That is all I can say without being metaphorically stoned for not pushing Nettles under the bus for a racist white woman who tried to kill her so I'll leave it there, feminism am I right).

As I have said before, if I wasn’t already here I’d take one look at this hellhole, and a running I’d go, but alas. I am unfortunately invested in this circus so here I am 🤷🏽‍♀️

#bnasks #bnask #nettles #house of the dragon #anti hotd #yes I’m still bitching about this but until Nettles is on my screen I will continue to bitch about things🤷🏽‍♀️#dettles #daemon targaryen x nettles

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sirenalpha · 1 year

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Belle 2021 is a super flawed movie

the animation is good and the soundtrack is nice, but there are so many problems

and it's not because it decided to forgo a romance for the main character which is what I see a lot of people saying all the criticism stems from

that some people just can't understand a movie without romance or connect with a non-romantic movie and that's why they don't like the movie

but please have some respect for other viewers' film and cultural literacy because you guys seem to be the one not understanding why anyone would go in expecting a romance and then feel cheated when there turns out not to be one

the main thread of a grieving girl re-finding her passion for a hobby she shared with her dead mother with the mental distance the internet and an avatar gives her and then ultimately understanding her mother's sacrificial choice by helping someone else is good

it's not a plot that needs a romance

but omfg straight up stealing entire shots from Disney's Beauty and the Beast is not the way to communicate that this movie is not about a romance for the main character because that movie has a romance, it is about the romance, and Belle 2021 literally STOLE romantic shots from that movie and reskinned them, same expressions and iconic gestures with no other changes made

using Beauty and the Beast theming AT ALL is not necessary to this character arc and Beauty and the Beast is a lower case r romantic fairytale, it is about a heterosexual romantic relationship, always has been

anyone who sees that this movie was titled Belle and marketed as a Beauty and the Beast story is going to expect a romance

and they're right to

there are people who are going to go into this movie expecting a Beauty and the Beast romance because that's literally what the movie and marketing said to expect, they know what Beauty and the Beast is, in fact they probably WANT to see a Beauty and the Beast romance

genres other than romance exist so someone not wanting to see a lower case r romantic movie is not gonna pick Belle 2021 from the name and marketing

I would tell the director that he needs to pick a lane, either do Beauty and the Beast or do the story of a girl coming to term with her own grief and her mother's choices except I think it was totally intentional

he wanted a fake out

he sets up Shinobu as Suzu's real life love interest who is actually Dragon and we have to be TOLD he acts like her mother rather than being shown because it would remove him as a candidate for Dragon when audiences would automatically expect him to be Dragon

because that's how online romances work in movies, the guy you fell in love with was at your high school the whole time, so the director's not even using just Beauty and the Beast romance tropes to communicate to the audience that a romance is happening, that Suzu's interest in both Dragon and Shinobu is both legitimate and romantic and might even be the same interest for the same person

and he holds the reveal until the 11th hour of the film

of course some people are gonna feel cheated when Dragon is revealed to be a 14 year old, they know what a romance trope is and what to expect! They have probably seen Disney's Beauty and the Beast and recognize the shots taken from it

yes the reveal of Dragon/Kei's age is foreshadowed but I cannot blame anyone who might have thought Suzu was either gonna have inappropriate romantic feelings for a 14 year old on account of the literally taken from Disney's Beauty and the Beast shots or else be super disappointed and reject the 14 year old because of Shinobu because of the online romance tropes

I am not saying Beauty and the Beast tropes or online romance tropes can't be subverted to be non-romantic, but I am saying this movie didn't do that, it did not do a subversion it played these tropes so straight that they STOLE SCENES from Disney's Beauty and the Beast

this movie pulled a cheap fake out

it cheated on the Suzu/Bell and Kei/Dragon relationship, instead of putting in the effort to create their own unique non-romantic relationship maybe something along the lines of mentor/mentee which could have been interesting but we'll never know because they took a short cut and stole Disney's and its animators efforts to create a genuinely well regarded and beloved film which had a believable and well constructed romance and shoved it into their film to quickly and easily create a 'romance' (really a genuine emotional connection) between Suzu and Kei to an audience who will find their 'romance' comforting and familiar because they have already seen the original

and I think it cheapened it further by having the ending suddenly include physical child abuse and how it portrayed and resolved that abuse

until the livestream, this movie has low romantic interpersonal stakes, no one is in real danger, the worst that can happen is getting exposed online which will not kill you or physically harm you even if it is legitimately scary or can cause psychological harm

putting in physical child abuse blows up the stakes of the rest of the movie, everything else is basically inconsequential with real life harm occurring

and there's no way for the main character to legitimately resolve this conflict because it is physical child abuse and she herself is also a child

the climax of this movie is batshit, contrived, and it's cheap

it's emotionally charged because of the physical abuse but it makes no damn sense that an abuser would behave the way they did in the movie, and it's certainly not a guarantee that the two brothers will now be totally fine and safe from their father because a 17 year old girl stood up to him once and then immediately went back home

the movie ends with all the other characters back home and cheerful like it's all fixed and it's weird because it's not fixed

I'm genuinely surprised I haven't seen anyone be offended by the movie's portrayal of child abuse because I think it used it for shock value and raise the stakes of the film and make it seem deep which wasn't necessary (it was already deep if they just focused on the grief aspect) and then doesn't resolve it realistically or well

the ending is too fantastical for something like physical child abuse and shows no consideration to anyone who has suffered child abuse, it's just using their pain and trauma to punch up the stakes and make Suzu look more heroic than idk connecting with someone who is only grieving and struggling to connect irl like she is

I don't think it even works well for the theming/connection to the mother angle, the mother saved a child from drowning in an emergency one time situation, child abuse is not a one time situation that's a long term situation, one heroic not even that self sacrificial act cannot fix it but that's what the movie wanted it to be

really REALLY controversial take here but Kei being suicidal from his mother's death might have been a better option because while it is also a long term issue, an attempt is acute which Suzu can actually help by visiting Kei in person as well as go back home after having helped connect Kei with a bigger support group and continuing to be online friends so you could still have a happy end when she gets home even if you know it's not over

Beyond the stealing and cheating and fake out

how U works makes no goddamn sense and really didn't help with the suspension of disbelief and made the writing flaws stand out more

how can you be logged into U where it says your vision is the first thing to be in the game, but also be running out in the real world and seeing where you're going like Suzu does at the end of the movie, how can Hiro be in the game but also looking at a massive screen

either you physically move to move your avatar or you do it mentally but the movie has both so it doesn't make sense so once again I feel like asking pick a lane, stopping trying to have your cake and eat it

I totally get why people would be buoyed by the affect of this film and like it because of it

it's beautiful, well animated, great singer, great soundtrack, I think the songs are legitimately emotional and well written, the stolen Disney scenes give familiarity and hit the nostalgia button hard, and the finale plays the drama to the max

but holy shit is it seriously flawed and it's not just 'we want the romance and we're too stupid to not understand the beauty of non-romantic relationships' or whatever the fuck

seriously why isn't the cheap use of child abuse or the stealing the headliners of controversy for this movie??

#belle 2021 #anti belle 2021 #people comparing this to miyazaki are insane

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daydreamorama · 2 years

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Year of the Dragon Lunar New Year DMBJ Treat Exchange - Dear Creator Letter

I’m so excited for this new type of exchange with no assignments, just treats, and a year to create! Will be fun!

If you want to join

Post: https://at.tumblr.com/dmbjexchange/year-of-the-dragon-lunar-new-year-dmbj-treat/4sbprg0i7qdo

AO3 collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/2023DMBJTreatExchange

Okay and here’s my letter :D.

----

Dear Creator! I'm daydreamorama on Ao3!

I would prefer gifts with text in english.

Preferred DMBJ canon: Reboot and Ultimate Note (but don’t mind spoilers from any other canons)

Relationships: Liu Sang/Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling (can focus on any subpart while they are all together, or pre all of them joining), or Liu Sang/Hei Xiazi. (or go wild and put all five together). (Update: I've also been craving Liu Sang/Kan Jian feel free to do with that as you want) (also feel free to skirt the line of ‘I don’t know if this is romantic or platonic or what, but it’s something’ cause who even knows where the line is anymore)

Characters: all the above, and feel free to use anyone else from canon as long as they aren’t the only focus.

General likes:

My absolute favorites: Asexual characters (sub-type sex-repulsed) and Getting together (the whole polycule or one person joining)

You include both of those and nothing else and I will go feral.

Some other likes: misunderstandings, Touch-starved (or other complicated relationships with touch), pining, anxiety, Anything related to bondage (for any reason romantic, torture, accident, whatever), Non-sexual bdsm, AUs (except college/highschool), Coming out fics (especially when accompanied by lots of angst/anxiety about it by the person coming out), Characters in ship where those involved have different sexual or romantic sexualities (eg allosexual/ace, ace/aro, etc), hurt/comfort, angst

Rating: M or below. (feel free to skirt that E line if the plot/emotions needs it!)

DNW (Do not wants): poetry, first or second person POV, outside POV, main Characters younger than 22(it’s fine if they were younger in cannon as long as I can read them as older now even if age is never mentioned), highschool/college AUs, major character death, sad/ambiguous ending, full non-con within the ship, characters saying ‘i love you’ or ‘baby’/'sweetheart' or similar pet names, focus on terminal illness (ie No Wu Xie Lung Cancer, post cure is fine (during tltr if sick not mentioned also great)), characters exclusively using different pronouns than they use in canon, explicitly take place during sha hai/sand sea or when Xiaoge is behind the gate

In terms of media I do not want any fanvids or moving gifs.

For any other visual media I have the additional DNWs (does not apply to text): anything above Teen (or skirting the line), shirtlessness or pantslessness (want fully clothed), kissing (hair or hand kisses are okay), hand holding, hand touching erogenous zones (even if innocent) (such as butt, chest, crotch, lips, upper inside legs)

Prompts if you like them and don’t just want to work on the above vibes!

Telepathy

Liu Sang’s oversensitivity to external stimuli (like the time he was sick when introduced in canon)

someone taking care of someone else's hair

Fake Dating/Marriage AU with lots of angst over falling for partner(s) and thinking the other is just doing it/showing affection for the fake, bonus point if the other partner is already in a relationship with someone else and that person falls for that person too.

model/Idol Liu Sang and ship(s) does not know (or they DO know and it’s combined with Fake Dating above :D )

Sentinel AU or crossover

Valdemar AU or crossovern (bards? Heralds? Companions? Healers? Gifts?)

Stargate Atlantis crossover. (prefer crossover here not just an AU, I just think it would be fun if Rodney and Wu Xie met. Science vs ‘science’. Xiaoge and ronan or teyla fighting, Liu Sang’s complete disbelief that Aliens are real, Pangzi constantly trying to take alien artifacts home, I dunno, have fun!)

Sense8 AU: the above 5 characters and pick your 3, any three! Bonus points for: character realizing they’re gay (or straight or bi) due to accidentally witnessing other characters; dealing with sex-repulsed ace in polycule, when others want to have sex.

Liu Sang or Xiaoge (or both!) are cold and wet and just having a really hard time. The cold/wet one is touch averse and isn't close to anyone with them (yet?)that they would feel comfortable helping them but their fingers are too numb to take off their clothes and they need help if they don't want to freeze to death.

Happy creating!

#dmbj #dmbj exchange #LNY 2023 DMBJ Treat Exchange #LNY 2023 DMBJ Treat Exchange Dear Creator Letter #have fun and join in #I may edit this to add more prompts and likes later #but the DNWs shouldn't change

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linkspooky · 3 years

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This is kinda random, but what is your top 10 favorite otps?

Sure.

#1 of All Time SPUFFY

Spuffy, it wrote the book on both beauty and the beast archetypes, and enemies to lovers. For me the most important thing in a ship is the character development it brings about. Spike's redemption doesn't work without Buffy, because it's meeting the one person who expects better than him and won't put up with his selfish crap, that forces his character arc. Buffy's development is also nothing without Spike, it's meeting Spike that makes Buffy confront her dark side, and realize that being a good person isn't something you are, but something you work towards for the sake of your loved ones. The ideal ship should inspire this permanent character development and chane (Unless it ends tragically), they should be an inseperable part of each other's character arcs.

#2 Kumagawa / Ajimu

This is what I was talking about when I said "unless it ends tragically". Sometimes you ship two people who should never end up together, because they probably won't accept their differences. However, even in a failed relationship, two people can be important to each other. There's not really a hapyp ending for Ajimu and Kumagawa, despite their similiarities when they're together they just seem to make each other worse. In Medaka Box they are the anti-Zenkichi and Medaka. However, for Ajimu Kumagawa represents her only human connection, and for Kumagawa Ajimu represents the first person to be "good" to him even though their relationship soured at one point. Therefore I find the ship interesting because despite the fact that they are permanently separated they are still an incredibly important part of each other's identities and who they are now.

# 3 Matsuda / Junko

Basically for the same reason as what I said above. There is no universe where Junko and Matsuda end up in a happy relationship, as long as Junko is still Junko. However, Matsuda and DanganRonpa Zero as a whole add so much to Junko as a character. As long as Matsuda exists, Junko's more than just a black hole that only cares about despair, and I think together the side materials like IF and Zero show that Junko actually is capable of caring for people outside of her natural tendency to want to throw everything into despair, however, humanizing Junko in this manner doesn't actually make her a better person. She can have feelings like romantic, and familial love, and she still chooses to destroy those things and the people in her life. It just adds so much to Junko as a character, which is what I like ships as, an extension of characterization through character interaction.

#5 UIHAI

I love Ui and Hairu because it's like a broken fairy tale. It was a love that could have saved Hairu, but it didn't, because for Ui he always realized his feelings too late to save anyone. Hairu was obsessively chasing after Arima for the smallest amount of approval, when Ui was right there, and already in love with her. They seem like the perfect couple that could never get together, because Hairu is too fixated on Arima, and Ui is too fixated on his job. They are perfectly suited to giving each other what they wanted, and even in lots of side materials and sketches they seem like a pair, or Ui's feelings for Hairu come across as pretty clear but it never came to be in canon.

#6 ZACK / AERITH

Once again for the same reasons as above, it seems like a fairy tale romance of a knight, and a girl he wants to protect, but it fails completely to live up to that story. Zack and Aerith is a tragic story of first love for both of them, and it's also really formative for who Aerith is now as a character. Zack tried to be there for her, and he tried to be a hero to Aerith, only to very consistently not be there for her, and then disappear from her life all together. Much later on, Aerith is incredibly isilated, unable to fall in love with the real cloud without projecting Zack onto him. It's a relationship where in a better world they could have been there for each other, but also the failure of the relationship develops them as much as characters as them getting together might have. Zack and Aerith are one of those relationships that seems ideal on the surface but they are very different people with different wants, Zack wants to be a hero, Aerith just wants to be a person first.

#7 LINK / MIDNA

The best zelda ship period. Once again the most important part of a ship interaction is the change that both characters inspire in each other. Midna begins not caring about Link at all, never referring to him by name, only seeing him as an object, an old legend, a hero to be used instead of a person. Midna's a manipulative freak, and Link breaks through to her because he actually isn't interested in being the hero of legend, he just wants to save the people closest to him at the village because he feels indebted to them, and Midna inevitably becomes one of those people. Link and Midna's partneship makes the game, because it's Midna who pushes him and makes him into a hero, but it's Link through his unfledging acceptance of her who inspires her to be a person once more, and not just the twilight priness.

#8 Morrigan / Warden from DRAGON AGE ORIGINS

This and Spuffy are like the only two on this list who actually end up together, so let me just have this. Once again my favorite aspect of a ship is the transformation the relationship brings baout in a character. The warden is a non-character, but for Morrigan herself, her relationship with the warden is what allows her to escape an abusive household, and beyond that decide not to repeat the cycle of abuse with her new family. What made this ship an all time fave was in witch hunt when the Warden gets to ask her what she wants, and she's just completely confused. Even with her mother dead, Morrigan is still a tool of her mother's ambitions, it's still all about her mother wants. It's her love with the warden, either through friendship or romance that awakens Morrigan to the fact she's allowed to exist as a person with wants and needs outside of what her mother wants her to be.

#9 Kaine / Nier

It's the Most Humanizing Ship Ever Between Two Mass Murderers. As a story, I think Nier is about finding the life, and love, in a story that is ultimately, fatally doomed. Nier only worse and worse as the game goes on but that doesn't mean there was never any love in his life. For every bad thing Nier does, he was not bad to every single person, specifically Kaine, it was Nier's love and belief in her that allows the wounds in her heart to start to heal. As Nier and Nier gets worse, Kaine's own shadow self says, that her feelings in her heart are no longer hatred, or even revenge, there's just a pure white light of love left. In a game where everything only rots, Kaine has healed to the point where she can love again when she never thought it was possible. It's why I like ending D the best, because it's Nier knowing he can never escape his own sins, but he can use his last action to heal Kaine fully all the way and allow her to live on a few more years.

#10 SATOSUGU

Once again, there's no universe where they end up together, and yet still on opposite sides of a conflict they remain each other's closest friends. The most important thing about a ship is the character development it leads to and Gojo would not be who he is today without Suguru. I generally get the sense that Gojo's idea of a good person isn't himself, but rather who Geto used to be before he broke. Gojo actually relied on on Geto for a lot more than he realized, considering it was the one connection he had that seemed to humanize him. Geto provided the chosen one who can do literally anything in the world with his powers, support and guidance. He was the jade, and the foundation of their two person friendship, and then the jade broke.

Gojo and Geto's broken relationship is not only the most emotional thing in the series to me, it's also an incredible part of who they are ten years after the fact. Gojo straight up didn't bother to make friends for ten years later after the fact even though he could have, Geto still told his daughters that Gojo and him were best friends, they just had a fight. He couldn't comperehend in Volume Zero that Gojo would still regard him as a friend after everything that they had done.

It's like one of those "Can't live with them, can't live without them" pairs. They want to be each other's one and only but it just won't work because they don't understand each other, and neither of them is willing to compromise. They are also each other's perfect yin / yang complement. Gojo is the opposite of Geto, and still carries a part of Geto within him, and Geto even after becoming the enemy of the sorcery world while Gojo is the savior, still carries that friendship with Gojo inside of him as well. While their relationship is a failed one, it's also a past I hope that the next generation Megumi and Itadori both learn from, even if Geto never truly comes back.

#spooky speaks #top ten ships #shipping #askspookies

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jacaranda-bloom · 4 years

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October Fic Rec

I’ve been super slack in doing my monthly fic recs of late (sorry!) so this list covers the last 3 months and there’s lots of lovely fics to devour!

In this instalment, there are fics from @lesbianiconharrystyles @kingsofeverything @mediawhorefics @lululawrence @harryanthus @evilovesyou @fallinglikethis @cocoalou @gaycousinlarry @comebackassholes @daggerandrose @allwaswell16 @sadaveniren @all-these-larrythings @wait4ever @jaerie @laynefaire @harrybridgers and @missandrogyny.

Thank you to all the writers for sharing their wonderful talent with us. Please don’t forget to leave kudos and a comment if you enjoy their work. 💜

New Reads

💜 Ever Since I Tried Your Way | @lesbianiconharrystyles / flowercrownfemme | E | 26k | June 2020 | 1940′s/50′s, farm/ranch, farmer Louis, farmer Harry, virgin Harry, gay cowboys, repression, internalised homophobia, hurt/comfort, gender exploration, marriage kink, feminisation, romantic face shaving, body worship, country music | As soon as I started this fic I knew it wouldn’t be able to put it down. It’s just... gosh. The writing is stunning and I was completely immersed from the first page to the last.

💜 Have Love, Will Travel | @kingsofeverything | E | 97k | Sept 2020 | road trip, camping, friends to lovers, smut, humour, youtube, POV Louis, slow burn | God, this story was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. Amazing relationship building and great communication. Hilarious, brilliant dialogue, heartwarming.

💜 Love You In The Dark | Perzikje | E | 10k | Oct 2020 | wedding night, arranged marriage, smut, dubious consent | Sexual exploration and first times. Check authors note.

💜 All These Lights | @mediawhorefics | E | 35k | Nov 2015 | ABO, X Factor, consensual under age sex, omega Harry, alpha Louis, angst with a happy ending, smut | I’m a sucker for a good ABO fic and this one didn’t disappoint.

💜 I Go Down Blazing, Feeling Like I’m Going Crazy (series) | @lululawrence | NR | 30k | Niall / Rory McIlroy | Oct 2020 | soulmates, famous/famous, singer Niall, golfer Rory, pining, diet angst, no smut, heartbreak weather, based on Dear Patience and Bend The Rules | This was my first time reading Niall/Rory and I adored it. Brilliant take on the soulmate trope too, heartwarming and tender.

💜 Who Do You Burn For | @harryanthus | NR | 4k | Oct 2020 | strangers to lovers, implied/referenced drug use, references to addition | I am such a massive fan of this author and I will inhale anything they publish. More like poetry than prose. So evocative.

💜 Point. Drop, Call. | @evilovesyou / 4ureyesonly28 | G | 1.6k | Jan 2020 | summer, best friends, summer romance, first kiss, party games, mutual crushes, coming out | This was absolutely adorable and managed to provide a whole-ass story in 1,610 words. All the summer feels.

💜 Eat Your Vegetables | bananaheathen | M | 9k | Aug 2020 | soccer player Louis, nutritionist Harry, shopping, banter, sexual realisation, smut | This fic sucked me in from the very first page, so much so that when I went back to grab the link to add to this post I ended up re-reading the entire thing. So witty and sweet and all the goodness in the world.

💜 For Wanting | anonymous | E | 5k | Oct 2020 | post mpreg Louis, male lactation, body worship, lactation kink, strangers to lovers, neighbours, dirty talk | Really sweet and hot, beautifully written.

💜 Pillow Talk | @fallinglikethis | E | 26k | Feb 2016 | friends to lovers, sexuality crisis, first time, mutual pining | I have no idea how I’ve never read this fic. Such a clever plot and perfectly delivered. Hot and funny and sweet and all the loveliness.

💜 The End | @harryanthus | T | 5k | Aug 2020 | post-war, selectively mute Louis, soldier Harry, psychological trauma, hopeful ending, non-specific time period | This is everything I usually avoid reading but this writer’s words just do something to my brain and I let down all of my protective barriers and dive in not caring about what I’m going to be faced with. I’m yet to be disappointed. When I read their fics I always feel like I’m floating or drowning or... I don’t even know how to describe it, but yeah. Wow.

💜 The Anticipation of Knowing You | @cocoalou / sweetrevenge | T | 13k | Sept 2020 | strangers to lovers, neighbours, pen pals, love letters, baked goods as a wooing technique | This was all kinds of lovely and funny and sweet. The premise is brilliant and I understand that we’re to be blessed with parts 2 and 3 in the near future, so yay!

💜 It’s Halftime. Are You Ready To Go? | @gaycousinlarry / momentofclarity | E | 12k | Oct 2017 | friends to lovers, awkward boners, pining, banter, flirting, dirty talk, body worship, smut, watching football as a seduction technique, Niall texts Harry terrible sporting innuendos to make him sweat, jockstraps | So fucking good. Sexy and cute and funny. Could read this one again and again.

💜 Salvation Let’s Their Wings Unfold | twoshipstiedup | M | 14k | May 2019 | angels and demons, heaven and hell, angel Louis, demon Harry, humour, fluff, romance | So much love for this fic. Way less heavy than the tags suggest. Niall is both supremely unhelpful and the captain of the ship as always. Fluffy and fun and romantic.

💜 Dom Louis (series) | @comebackassholes / dimpled_halo | E | 12k | Mar 2020 | dom Louis, sub Marcel, BDSM, kink negotiation | God. This series is amazing. Hot and sweet and nnnrrgggh. Really hope we get more in this universe.

💜 For You I’d Bleed Myself Dry | @daggerandrose / amomentoflove | E | 50k | May 2019 | vampire Louis, human Harry, soulmates, king Louis, angst, depression, blood drinking, past abuse, past kidnapping | I absolutely loved this fic. Beautifully written and so thick with emotion. Check tags, summary and author notes.

💜 Fellowship of Eroda | @sadaveniren | E | 5k | Feb 2020 | dungeons and dragons, gaming, hate to love, BDSM, face slapping, facials, wrestling, choking, spanking, Louis is a brat, so is Harry a bit | Adored this. Such a clever plot and the writing is amazing as always.

💜 Brooklyn Saw Me | alreadyhome | E | 29k | Nov 2017 | homeless Louis, uni student Harry, no-graphic violence, homophobia, angst, slow burn, hurt/comfort, NYC | Painfully beautiful and so well written. Loved it from start to finish.

💜 It Feels Different When You’re With Me | @all-these-larrythings / rearviewdreamer | M | 45k | May 2020 | deaf Louis, sign language instructor Harry, slow burn, mentions of major character injury in the past | God. This fic is amazing. Gorgeous writing and so romantic and sweet.

💜 We’ll Be Alright | @jaerie | E | 20k | Feb 2020 | ABO, alpha Harry, omega Louis, major illness, sick Harry, sex therapist Louis, dubious ethics, sexual dysfunction, depression, recovery, mating, knotting, unplanned pregnancy | Gosh. So good. So hot. So lovely.

💜 Let Me Be Your Everlasting Light | @laynefaire | M | 12k | Aug 2020 | established relationship, northern lights, Norway, romance, proposal | Loved every beautiful word of this. So romantic and sweet. Can I go to Norway please?

Re-Reads

💜 Here In The Afterglow | @harrybridgers / fondleeds | E | 89k | Dec 2016 | 1970′s AU, small town America, gay rights movement, period-typical homophobia, strange to friends to lovers, angst, hurt/comfort, bullying, high school | Re-read of an old fave which hits differently each time I revisit it. Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking in some parts, but ultimately uplifting and hopeful.

💜 Led By Your Beating Heart | @missandrogyny | E | 30k | Oct 2015 | famous Harry, non-famous Louis, Call or Delete, Cute Lou from the Loo, coming out, smut, banter, romance | Still one of my all time faves. The plot is delicious and the flow of the whole story just makes me smile throughout. I find myself going back to this one every few months. Romantic and fluffy and sexy as all hell.

💜 Is This Seat Taken? | Lainy122 | E 35k | Dec 2015 | famous Harry, non-famous Louis, popstar Harry, seat-filler Louis (eventually), Louis and Zayn make bets, penis-shaped cashew nuts, miscommunication, shitty PR tactics | One of my all-time fave fics. I must’ve read this one more than ten times by now and it never disappoints. Funny and sweet and hot.

💜 When The Sun Won’t Let You Sleep | @allwaswell16 | E | 30k | July 2018 | enemies to lovers, scientist Louis, scientist Harry, Antarctica, sexual tension, smut, diet angst | Such an interesting plot that is handled so beautifully. I adore all of this authors work but this definitely up there with my faves.

#November 1 2020 #fic recs #ficrectag

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cross-d-a · 3 years

Note

if you're doing those characters then please give me more amazing takes on princess mute 🥺💕

OMG IM SO LATE ANSWERING THIS BUT HERE I FINALLY AM

Also omgg thank you SOSOSO much for asking me about Princess Mute?? THE LOVE OF MY LIFE??? You know me so well, vish!! I love and adore you so much!! Thank you for giving me the chance to blabber on about the woman I love!! ⁽⁽٩(๑˃̶͈̀ ᗨ ˂̶͈́)۶⁾⁾

ALSO! I’m gonna do my best to like- not spoil all my plans for whispers, haha

The rest is under the cut bc I just have a lot of FEELINGS~ about our resident zombie girl

❤⃛ヾ(๑❛ ▿ ◠๑ )

How I feel about this character

OH BOY OK I JUST??? LOVE HER??? A LOT???? I wasn’t expecting to get quite so immediately and intensely attached to her?? But from the second I heard about her in the legend I was just gone. Completely done for. I’m generally a sucker for mythology, and there’s just SO MUCH that’s fascinating about the tale behind the Princess Mute and the South Sea King?

Even though Princess Mute is so central to the myth, the South Sea King is deemed as the most important? I mean- duh it is his tomb, but Princess Mute is the catalyst? None of this would have happened without her? She’s main character material and yet she isn’t the main character of her own story?? She has practically no agency? It’s so? Fucking? Fascinating?? And there is so fucking much left unanswered? The myth says she turns into a goddamn monster?? Is this- figuratively? Or literally? Is she a monster for breaking gender norms and committing the ultimate taboo by killing the Emperor??? Like- holy FUCK? Like- LOOK at this pic from Ershu’s Expensive Powerpoint:

and a close-up for good measure:

(note the HORNS/HELMET?? the LIGHTNING STRIKE!!! 👀👀👀 how she’s dressed as a SOLDIER?? that SPEAR??? also she’s depicted as much bigger than the emperor!! which, of course, means she’s more important!!!!)

and, HELLO!! She’s called the PRINCESS MUTE. She is only known/named in association to someone else. Her name has been erased from history. It isn’t important to anyone. Which is so fucking ironic. She’s Princess Mute. Her voice has been stripped from her, just like her agency. This tale is the Mute Emperor’s and not her own. Her suffering means nothing to anyone. Her life means nothing other than for the Emperor to desire and the South Sea King to mourn over (and WOW!! ISN’T THIS JUST!! SO perfectly encapsulating Nanpai Sanshu’s female characters and their relevance to the story/male characters)

(so what is her goddamn name???? I mean, I know what I’ve named her, but sorry dudes. Again. I don’t wanna spoil too much :) )

also, WHY is the South Sea King covering her eyes when she’s sent off to sea in the origami boat?

What actually happens to her after this? The body we see of the South Sea King has long white hair so I assume he died pretty old? So why does she look so goddamn young?

And- the million dollar question here (WHICH I HAVE A LOT OF HEADCANONS FOR BUT I DON’T WANNA SPOIL WHISPERS): What happened to her after she killed the Emperor????

ALSO!! WHY IS SHE HOLDING A DINGLAN RULER WHEN SANSHU FINDS HER IN THAT FIRST EXPEDITION?? (internet says it’s a “special ruler used for making shrines, carving wood statues and making tablets of gods. Later used in measurement of architectural scale; measuring instrument for the netherworld, wishes best for tomb owner) did she design her own father’s tomb?? is there more to her becoming a leather figurine than filial loyalty/sacrifice??

Why does she have a tattoo?? I go a bit into this in my fic, but from my understanding it was unusual for people (women especially!) to have tattoos during this time! (this is just from my research! if I am wrong please correct me!)

For anyone who hasn’t read whispers, there were a a few tribes (minorities!) during this time who tattooed themselves (and to this day, they continue this tradition :) ). The Li were often attacked by invaders who assaulted the women and sold them as slaves. The women ended up tattooing their faces and bodies to make them less appealing, and it ended up becoming a tradition. When a girl came of age she’d get tattooed. Then we’ve got the Dai, who (from what I understand!) got tattoos of animals with characteristics they wished to embody, such as to show their virility and strength! So they’d tattoo tigers and dragons, etc.

So why does Princess Mute have one? Who gave it to her? WHAT ACTUALLY IS IT!!!!!! (eternal frustration that we never see a clear shot of the whole thing!!) It kinda looks like a heavily stylized fish? With some waves. But I am unsure! But it would make sense, considering the ongoing theme of snakes and fish throughout dmbj.

Also, her scars seem very strange. Like- if someone skinned her (YIKES!) then- her scars don’t really seem like they’re a result of skinning (double yikes!!). You’d think that for a woman who was the daughter of the King, they’d take more care to preserve her face?? So why does it seem like someone has done their utter best to ruin it? Did the Emperor do it himself? Did her father? Or did someone else do it?? Did she do it herself????

Also, I just wanna cut the bullshit with the creepy hand clam thing. A hand clam isn’t gonna wrap their fingers around Wu Xie’s hand to stop him from blowing himself up. Like. I get that it’s the censorship. I get it. But- you can’t tell me it wasn’t actually the Princess Mute who saved him. I just?? This moment is so powerful? It literally knocked the breath from my chest.

Princess Mute’s story is just so fascinating and tragic and I am just a mess over how she isn’t in control of her own story? She never is. Except for when she kills the Emperor. (AND when she saves Wu Xie) And I think that’s fucking telling.

Of course, it felt like they had more of a storyline planned for her which never happened, but I’ll get more into that later.

Basically, I just have SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

It’s like- I dunno. Seeing a gorgeous woman flip an obnoxious man over her shoulder and slam him to the ground without breaking a sweat and watching her walk away with stars in your eyes. You barely know anything about her but you’re already half in love and you just want to know more.

I’m super Gay for her, if you couldn’t already tell.

Honestly, she just perfectly represents all the female characters and their treatment in dmbj with all the extra PIZAZZ of the mysterious supernatural/mythological elements. She just makes me go feral and I adore her with my entire heart.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

NUMBER ONE I SHIP HER WITH MY CUTE AND PERFECT GF XIAO BAI!!!!!!!!

They are my two favourite (okay and my wife Su Nan!) female characters in dmbj. I think their stories parallel each other pretty beautifully? They’re both women in a powerful position, though with limited agency. They both defy gender norms and accomplish things (I’m counting killing the Emperor as Accomplishing Something) in a very male-dominated world. And- okay. I know the Princess Mute is technically dead. But she also?? is someone still doing stuff?? and pushing along the storyline?? as a zombie?? So I’m just gonna say that both of them aren’t truly killed off for the Man Pain like all the other female dmbj characters (except for Xiu Xiu, and I guess Chuchu but ChuChu’s situation is kinda....Iffy. At best.)

Also both of them are linked pretty heavily with Wu Xie? They both have an interesting relationship with him. And Princess Mute leads Wu Xie to Xiao Bai!!!

And okay this is spoiling a bit of whispers, BUT!!! Warehouse 11 was built atop the South Sea King’s temple. Isn’t that fucking important??? I stand by my headcanon that Xiao Bai is a Warehouse kid (descended from the Founders) and so she grew up there. And like- ignoring censorship bc I can AND because Reboot leaves a lot of supernatural stuff up in the air anyway- wouldn’t growing up atop an insanely powerful temple do something to you? Wouldn’t it affect you in some way?? There’s just!!! SO much potential between Princess Mute and Xiao Bai!! Plus!! I think it’d be great for Xiao Bai to form a relationship with another woman. She needs some female solidarity in her life.

And- well. I just ship Princess Mute with all the dmbj women, really. Princess Mute has two hands, why can she use them both?? I’ve got a couple Princess Mute modern au’s going and in one of them she just- sweeps A’Ning and Su Nan off their feet :)

I really can’t ship Princess Mute with any male characters, I think. There’s just- so much underlying trauma surrounding her agency and how she’s been used by the men in her life. Also, I like wlw & mlm solidarity. Let Princess Mute and Wu Xie wallow over their Stupid Crushes. Or Princess Mute & Xiao Ge. I’m not picky.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Purely bc of my own au, I am very much invested in Princess Mute & Li Cu (& spirit snake). As I mentioned before, there’s a running theme of loss of agency in their own lives and suffering the consequences of others’ actions. Plus, there’s a lot of supernatural happenings surrounding the both of them. Why wouldn’t they find a connection?

And, obviously, I adore Princess Mute & Wu Xie. Princess Mute saved Wu Xie and then Wu Xie was promptly obsessed (can’t say I blame him). They had such an interesting relationship in Reboot that was just- so fucking tragically dropped.

My unpopular opinion about this character

SHE SHOULD BE MORE POPULAR!!!!!!!!!! She is so goddamn fascinating and gorgeous and I just!! Want!! Everyone to adore her as much as I do!!!!!!!! At least I feel a bit accomplished for swinging some readers over to her side in whispers!! That’s something!!!

I’ve got like- a million au ideas with her. I’m going to be the creator of the content I wish to read!!!!!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I WISH SHE COULD HAVE GOTTEN A SATISFACTORILY COMPLETED STORYLINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She just gets completely dropped after she leads Wu Xie to Warehouse 11. So once more, she is a plot device and not. And actual. Person. Her importance is tied irrevocably to the male leads. Her agency is not her own. Wu Xie cares so much about her, and okay, he’s trying to figure out a mystery and we all know how he gets when he’s trying to puzzle out a mystery-- but you can’t tell me he just- stops caring after he encounters Warehouse 11??? What happens to her after that?? Does she rot away in a box in Wushanju?? Does Ershu take her back?? I’m just?? WHAT????

I want to know her side of the story and not what everyone else has said. I want her to actually properly communicate with Wu Xie. I want her saving the day again and I want her being fucking badass and I want her and Xiao Ge being soft together and I want her and Xiao Bai to bond fall in love and I want everyone to just- fall in love with her? And care about her? And I want to to find herself caring about these fucking idiots too???? Can you imagine her and Liu Sang bonding over shitty fathers and lack of agency and Trauma?? Can you imagine Princess Mute getting her life back and the freckles returning to her slowly darkening skin and her being silly with Hei-ye bc he keeps shoving increasingly ridiculous sunglasses at her. And can you imagine her trying on jeans for the first time and picking out a cute bomber jacket and shoving a baseball cap on her head and dipping her feet back in the sea and befriending shibie bc she’s just?? that?? cool?? while Iron Triangle is off on the side fretting like she isn’t befriending some very dangerous creatures but it’s okay bc she’s a dangerous creature too and she understands fear and desire and hunger.

I want her returning to Thunder City. I want her getting closure. I want her story to get closure. Period.

And I know it didn’t happen bc censorship and Nanpai Sanshu and just- a host of Other Things. But I want it, and she deserves it.

AAAHH VISH!!!! Thank you so much for letting me yell about Princess Mute!! Sorry I couldn’t go more in depth with headcanons but!! Like I said, I don’t want to completely spoil you for whispers, so I’ll keep those close to my chest for now

٩(*ゝڡゝ๑)۶♥

#dmbj #the lost tomb reboot #princess mute #dmbj meta #sorta??#tltr #Wu xie #Xiao bai #cross talks #reunion: the sound of the providence #bai haotian #ask game

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icykalisartblog · 3 years

Text

Why Bilbo Baggins/Gandalf OTP

All right, here’s my big post on why Bilbo/Gandalf is OTP. This is half-joking but should include some genuinely valuable analysis! Much of this is cribbed from a paper I wrote in about queercoding in The Hobbit.

The Hobbit tarot deck has them as the Two of Cups, usually signifying soulmates and romantic attraction so this seems like a good image to start the post with... soulmate AU, anyone? XD

Without further ado:

Bilbo Baggins Big Queer

Usually when I see queer readings of Tolkien’s works, it’s centered on The Lord of the Rings, and for good reason. But I believe the most likely character to be queer in Tolkien’s work is in fact Bilbo Baggins. When reading Tolkien’s works with this idea in mind, Bilbo, Tolkien, and the world of Middle Earth take on a new dimension, especially The Hobbit.

Bilbo Baggins is an unusual Hobbit due to going off on his adventure to win back the Misty Mountains from the Dragon Smaug, but at the beginning of The Hobbit, it would seem that he should have represented an ideal wealthy landowning Hobbit in the eyes of his neighbors and family members. The narrator of even states that the Baggineses were highly respected. However, we know from the very end of the book that Bilbo was not particularly well-liked even before he ever did anything exceptional, by the eagerness with which his family members auctioned off his belongings and presumed him to be dead. It is not just jealously over his wealth that caused the other Hobbits to dislike him—his mother was Belladonna Took, and the Took family was known for going on adventures, though the narrator explains that after marrying Bilbo’s father, she never did anything unexpected again. Interestingly, the narrator suggests that “...although he looked and behaved exactly like a second edition of his solid and comfortable father, got something a bit queer in his make-up from the Took side, something that only waited for a chance to come out.” Also from this page, we know that other families of Hobbits thought that one of the Tooks had taken a “fairy wife” and that Tooks would occasionally disappear, but that their relatives would try to quiet the rumors. If you’re going 👀 at queer make-up and a fairy being mentioned, you should. These terms were already being used as queer signifiers and pejoratives in the 30s when Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, plus Tolkien was well... a philologist.

Enter Gandalf

So Bilbo’s Tookish side is being linked to his queerness, and the other Hobbits think the strange behavior of the Tooks might have been caused by one of them taking a “fairy wife.” Now, if you are very familiar with Tolkien’s works, you’ll know that the closest thing to a fairy that exists in that world is probably what Gandalf is—a spirit known as a Maia, which all the Wizards are. Maiar (that’s the plural) are usually conceived of by critics as angelic beings because they serve the gods and Abrahamic God equivalents, but they have fairy-like qualities as well. And Gandalf is going to serve as the catalyst who brings out Bilbo’s, well, queer side.

When Gandalf arrives in The Hobbit and introduces himself, Bilbo simultaneously gushes and rants about him, and gives special importance to Gandalf’s fireworks: “They used to go up like lilies and snapdragons and laburnums of fire and hang in the twilight all evening!” he says, and then the narrator remarks, “You will notice already that Mr Baggins was not quite so prosy as he liked to believe, also that he was very fond of flowers,” as if Bilbo’s secret desire to be unique and his love of flowers were of close to equal importance. Gandalf mentions that for the sake of the Old Took and “poor Belladonna” he will take Bilbo on an adventure. The only reason we are given for Belladonna Took being unfortunate in any way is that she was somehow repressed after being married. A critique of heteronormativity?

Bilbo turns Gandalf away and denies his not-so-well-hidden desire for an adventure but invites Gandalf to come have tea with him the next day, an action Bilbo himself does not understand. In fact, the Bilbo is so shaken by the invitation he himself gave that he thought “a drink of something would do him good after his fright,” despite this scene taking place right after breakfast . Gandalf is left standing outside of Bilbo’s house, laughing. He takes the “spike of his staff” (...!) and draws a “queer sign” (...!!!) on Bilbo’s door.

I think it’s worth noting that in Tolkien’s unfinished writings, Gandalf initially didn’t want to go to Middle-Earth. He feared Sauron and thought of himself as too weak to be a proper emissary, but that’s exactly why Gandalf was the right Maia for the job of protecting Middle-Earth. Gandalf’s origin was thus very much the same as Bilbo’s... he’s been through all of this reluctance, too.

The Two Together

After Bilbo’s adventure, he is ostracized, and the beginning of The Lord of the Rings makes it clear that he had “no close friends” among Hobbits, and that the only ones who appreciated him were young children who would not understand how he was non-normative, and poor Hobbits to whom Bilbo gave money. In fact, the narrative begins with an argument between the Gaffer and Mr. Sandyman about Bilbo’s and Frodo’s “queerness,” which includes Bilbo’s adoption of an heir as opposed to having children biologically. With a queer reading in mind, Bilbo’s request that Gandalf take care of Frodo makes Bilbo and Gandalf appear to be caregivers of an adopted heir.

The text that I feel makes it hard to deny that Bilbo Baggins is queer is a version of “The Quest for Erebor,” an unfinished account from Gandalf that gives his perspective on the journey of The Hobbit. “The Quest for Erebor” was written at the same time that Tolkien was working on The Lord of the Rings, but was not ultimately included as part of the narrative (only an abridged version was included in the appendixes of The Lord of the Rings). I will quote Gandalf’s words from the unabridged version, regarding his choosing Bilbo for the quest (emphasis mine):

I learned that he had never married. I thought that odd though I guessed why it was; and the reason that I guessed was not that most of the Hobbits gave me: that he had early been left very well off and his own master. No, I guessed that he wanted to remain 'unattached' for some reason deep down which he did not understand himself - or would not acknowledge, for it alarmed him. He wanted, all the same, to be free to go when the chance came, or he had made up his courage. I remembered how he used to pester me with questions when he was a youngster about the Hobbits that had occasionally 'gone off,' as they said in the Shire.

As one can see from this passage, Gandalf, who has a very close relationship to Bilbo, does not believe what would be the obvious explanation for Bilbo’s remaining a bachelor—that he was a wealthy landowner, and thus did not need to. Rather, Gandalf believed that it was Bilbo’s latent desire for adventure that led to his never marrying. As I have pointed out, the call to adventure is connected to queerness. Gandalf also quotes other Hobbits as referring to those who had adventures as having “gone off.” To “go off” obviously indicates leaving the Shire to go somewhere else, but this phrase could also mean exploding (and fireworks, something that Bilbo remembered Gandalf for, go off), or to go bad—in the sense of food rotting or becoming moldy and inedible.

I think it’s also worth pointing out that Gandalf felt supernaturally compelled to bring Bilbo along on the quest. It’s likely that this was the Tolkien equivalent of Abrahamic God intervening in the events of Middle-Earth—something that rarely happens! The relationship between Gandalf and Bilbo is really important!

All of the points I have made signify that Bilbo Baggins’s story is applicable to the experiences of queer people, and his relationship with Gandalf suggests that Bilbo himself in fact has a queer romantic orientation—that he is queer in more than the sense of being non-normative due to going on a quest to retake Erebor. The friendship between Gandalf and Bilbo develops throughout The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as Bilbo learns to trust and appreciate both Gandalf and his own adventurous side, and Gandalf learns more about kindness and true strength from Bilbo, Gandalf visits Bilbo many times afterward. Finally, they both care for Frodo and leave for the West together. Their friendship is heartwarming, and I would argue that this queer reading of it may be even more so—while there is an enormous age difference between these two characters (Bilbo is fifty-one at the start of The Hobbit, Gandalf is thousands of years old), Gandalf treats Bilbo like an equal and they both teach each other a lot (and Gandalf does not act like he is thousands-of-years old, he lost a lot of his innate knowledge and power when he was sent to Middle-Earth, after all).

Other Details

Close to the end of The Hobbit, after they retake Erebor from Smaug, Bilbo and Gandalf travel together, just the two of them, and the narrator doesn’t elaborate on this. This sounds like peak shipping and adventure fanfic fuel to me!

I’m not a fan of The Hobbit films, but they do contain some great shippy moments with the two characters. There’s some hilarious snarking, like this exchange:

BILBO: Are there any?

GANDALF: What?

BILBO: Other wizards?

GANDALF: There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. And then there are the two Blue Wizards... you know, I've quite forgotten their names.

BILBO: And the fifth?

GANDALF: Well, that would be Radagast the Brown.

BILBO: Is he a great wizard, or is he more like you?

And then Gandalf is like 😮 XD

There’s also a really heartwarming moment where Galadriel asks Gandalf why he chose Bilbo:

GALADRIEL: Mithrandir? Why the Halfling?

GANDALF: I don't know. Saruman believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid, and he gives me courage.

I remember there being other movie-only sweet moments too, but it’s been a long time since I’ve watched them!

#bilbo baggins #gandalf #the hobbit #the lord of the rings #queercoding #I need an analysis/meta tag

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rpgchoices · 5 years

Note

I keep seeing your list of games with m/m options pop up, which is seriously awesome! Thank you! I’m definitely going to try some of those titles out right away, since I’ve never heard of them and they seem right up my alley. Do you possibly have a similar list for f/f games anywhere, too? Either way, thanks again for writing that out. Looking forward to some happy gayming, hehe :)

Absolutely!! I actually started with the wlw games for femslash february! Here's in three parts:

PART 1 + PART 2 + PART 3

(In general I use the tag useless recs for any specific lists!)

for a more succinct list of games that have wlw romances (and if you don’t want to be submerged by the gifs and pics in those three parts links), here it is:(I added a * for the games I played, so if you have any specific questions about those ones I can answer).

Also if you want more information, just check the tag what to expect and look for the title game! MEDIEVAL FANTASY RPGS

Dragon Age: Origins* = isometric fantasy rpg, the first in the series. As a female warden you can romance Leliana. If you start as noble human you can also have a fling with a woman in the prologue story.

Dragon Age 2*= second in the series, action fantasy rpg. You can romance Isabela or Merrill. In the dlc you can flirt with Tallis.

Dragon Age: Inquisition* = classic action rpg, fantasy. As a woman you can romance Sera (who is lesbian), or Josephine (biromantic, probably ace!). You can also flirt with Lace Harding.

Pathfinder Kingmaker* = fantasy isometric rpg. As a female character you can end up in the ultimate (but hard to get without a guide) Nyrissa romance, or you can romance other female companions: Kalikke, Kanerah, Octavia. Small warning, it’s easy to romance Kalikke, if you want to romance Kanerah I think you might have to start from a Kalikke romance. You can end up with both Kalikke and Kanerah. If you decide to romance Octavia, you’ll have to break up Octavia and Regongar, otherwise you can have a threeway relationship with both (but Reg is male).

Baldur’s Gate 1.5 Siege of Dragonspear* = isometric DnD fantasy rpg, sequel of BG1. As a female bhaalspawn you can romance Corwin (but the romance does not continue in BG2).

Baldur’s Gate 2* = fantasy DnD isometric rpg, sequel to BG1 and Dragonspear. As a wlw bhaalspawn you can romance Hexxat (mild warning: she is a evil character, so you might want to do an evil/neutral playthrough).

Divinity Original Sin 2* = isometric fantasy rpg (it’s here but is it really medieval? I am not sure). You can play as Lohse or Sebille, or you can start a new character. You can romance any of your companions, the female ones are Lohse and Sebille. (ex. if you play as Sebille you can romance Lohse). No need to play the first game.

Divinity Original Sin 1* = not exactly romance in sort of medieval fantasy rpg. You play as two characters, they have minimal interactions, and at the end you can get the lovers ending.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen = In this fantasy rpg you can play as any gender and you will have interactions with different characters. Some of these npcs can become your beloved at the end.

Knight Bewitched* = small fantasy pixel rpg inspired by Jrpgs. You play as a female knight, Ruth. The story is linear, so Ruth will necessarily end up in a romance with Gwen.

Skyrim’s mod Enderal = this is a whole big mod for Skyrim with its own storylines and characters. In this mod you can romance Calia.

Sorcery!* = not exactly a romance, but if you play as female character or male has no influence on a female seer falling in love with you in game 3. If you play as male and have the Y’Bran god, you can turn into female for a night and have a fling with a pirate lady in game 4.

Arcanum of Steamworks and Magick Obscura* = not a full romance, but you can sort of have a thing with Raven (female elf) independently from your gender.

HISTORICAL (age of sail, renaissance, not exactly medieval) FANTASY RPG

Pillars of Eternity Deadfire* = continuing Pillars of Eternity, fantasy isometric rpg, more renaissance than medieval. As a female character you can romance Maia or Xoti (or you can match make them together!)

Jade Empire* = rpg set in a supernatural fantasy version of imperial Silk Fox is the female option for both female and male protagonists.

Pendula Swing* = adventure rpg, isometric, fantasy in the 1920s. You play as bisexual lady dwarf Bryalinne. Your wife is dead, so you are a widow. You will leave your house to find who stole your magic axe and in the city you can romance two female characters: Marla Lee, elf policewoman, or Joanna West, human adventurer.

Greedfall = in this new age-of-sail(?) turned fantasy rpg you can play as both male and female, and as a female protagonist you can romance Siora.

NON FANTASY RPGS

Always Sometimes Monsters* = you play as female or male, and you select the gender of your partner. It’s a love story, with time and money management.

Expedition: Vikings* = historical viking isometric rpg. The female option for female playes is Roskva, the witch companion.

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey = This game needs no introduction! You can play as Kassandra and romance ladies and women all around Greece. The romances are mostly romantic encounters, not really full Bioware romances.

Mass Effect (trilogy)* = Action rpg in space. As a female Shepard you can romance Liara, Samara or Morinth (Samara and Morinth don’t have full romances) who are all part of a female coded alien species, or the human Kelly, Samantha or Diana. Liara is the only romance that can be started in game 1.

Mass Effect: Andromeda = in this space rpg you can play as Sara and you can romance some of your female companions: Suvi, Vetra, Pelessaria or Keri.

Knights of the Old Republic = a Star Wars rpg that lets the female players romance Juhani.

Fallout 4 = the post apocalyptic rpg. As a female character you can romance Piper and Cait.

Life is Strange = in this adventure videogame you play as Max, a girl who has suddenly found herself with superpowers. Max and Chloe are main characters in the videogame, and they can end up together.

MEDIEVAL/HISTORICAL DATING SIMS

Arcana = money grabber phone game, do not buy anything with real money please. You can romance Portia or Nadia.

When the Night Comes = fantasy detective visual novel story with dating sim. You can play as female and there is one female romance option.

MODERN FANTASY DATING SIMS

Monster Prom* = Your gender has no influence in the game. The game doesn’t really have romance, it’s mostly you attending a modern monsters school and trying to get a date for the prom. Dating sim. Female possible dates are Vera, Miranda, Polly, the shop seller or The Hero.

Salting the Earth* = lesbian dating sim, modern fantasy with orcs and nymphs. You play as Roo, a nymphs, joining a chief/cooking team in a building mostly inhabited by orcs. Two romantic pathways in the game, both lady orcs.

FUTURE GAMES

We know that Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous will have some wlw romance options (for now Camellia is confirmed as a romance option and she will probably be wlw), The Waylanders has also been confirmed to have same gendered romances, same for the dating sim Errant Kingdom. Knowing DOS2, there are also changes that BG3 might have some wlw options!

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gayrett-hawke · 4 years

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Getting to Know Hawke

Basics

Name: Garrett Hawke

Age at the start of their game: 27 (born 30 Firstfall, 9:03 Dragon)

Gender: Male

Sexual orientation: Gay

Race: Human

Class: Mage

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 227 lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair color/texture: Black; Wavy (not that you can tell with how short it normally is)

Skin tone: Ivory

Do they tan or freckle?: He definitely tans, and he gets some freckles too, but they're so faint, it's hardly noticeable

Any distinctive physical characteristics?: Other than being a big, beefy boy with a fabulous beard? Just some scars here and there, most notably the one across his nose that he usually covers with war paint

Personality

Personality type: ESFP-T

Optimist, pessimist, or realist?: Realist

Best traits:

Charming

Friendly

Outgoing

Compassionate

Loyal

Worst flaws:

Self-Deprecating

Foolhardy

Soft-Hearted

Audacious

Evasive

Tropes that apply to them:

All-Loving Hero

Almighty Janitor

Aloof Big Brother

Badass Unintentional

Because Destiny Says So

Benevolent Boss

Beware the Silly Ones

Big Brother Instinct

Bullying a Dragon

The Caretaker

Casual Danger Dialogue

The Charmer

Cosmic Plaything

Deadpan Snarker

The Dutiful Son

Failure Hero

Fight Magnet

Friend to All Children

Heroic Self-Deprecation

Hurting Hero

It's All My Fault

Let's Get Dangerous!

Living Emotional Crutch

Magic Knight

Magnetic Hero

Modest Royalty

Must Make Amends

Nay-Theist

Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!

Non-Idle Rich

Obfuscating Stupidity

One-Man Army

Properly Paranoid

Rage Breaking Point

Reluctant Warrior

Right Man in the Wrong Place

Royals Who Actually Do Something

Sad Clown

Seen It All

The Snark Knight

Warrior Therapist

You Are Better Than You Think You Are

Are there any songs that particularly suit them?:

Forever Young by Youth Group

Don't Stop Me Now by Queen

Warriors by Imagine Dragons

Smile by Nat King Cole

For You I Will by Tata Young

If yes, would they agree with your selections?: Yeah, probably, but he might prefer I leave out the 4th one

Preferences

Favorite color: Red

Favorite animal: DRAGONS!

Taste in clothing: Casual. Anything that's comfortable, sturdy, and at least somewhat decent-looking

How do they feel about mage rights?: Would like some, thank you

How do they feel about the other races of Thedas?: As long as the personality is decent, he gets along with them. Also, Qunari are big and strong, and he admires them from an aesthetic point of view

Are they religious?: Not especially, but he technically was raised Andrastian

If they were to find themselves in a modern AU

Favorite food: Burgers

Drink order: Dark and Stormy, Old-Fashioned, or Whiskey Sour

What would they wear for a night out?: An obnoxiously-tight black t-shirt, a red flannel with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of jeans, and some black Doc Martens

Song(s) that would be sure to get them on the dance floor:

Take on Me by a-ha

Tubthumping by Chumbawamba

All Star by Smash Mouth

Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65

Ma Ya Hi (Dragostea Din Tei) by Dan Balan and Lucas Prata

What Is Love by Haddaway

Careless Whisper by George Michael

Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley

YMCA by Village People

Rasputin by Boney M

U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer

Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye

September by Earth, Wind, and Fire

College major: Kinesiology or Paleontology, maybe

Ideal date: Amusement Park

Favorite movie and/or film genre: Shrek 2; Comedy

Family/Friends/Love Life

Relationship with their parents: Garrett was very close to Malcolm. As the firstborn and a fellow mage, he had plenty of time to bond with his father and follow in his footsteps. His relationship with Leandra wasn't as solid, though. He always wanted to make her proud, but she put a lot on him after his father died, and he mostly just accepted that she needed someone to take her pain out on

Siblings (outside of canon): Surprising or no, Hawke really loves Carver. He's not great at being serious and all that, but he does actually care and would do anything for his younger brother. He also realizes how much Carver has had to deal with and is willing to be an emotional punching bag whenever he needs it. His relationship with Bethany was a lot better, since they spent a lot of time learning magic together, and she was more willing to let loose than Carver. She was his rock, and the rest of the family's too, and her loss affected him deeply

Best friend(s): Varric, Isabella, Anders (initially), and Inquisitor Adaar (if she is able to exist in the RP)

Companion(s) they get along best with: Fenris, Isabella, Varric, Merrill, and Anders (initially)

Companion(s) they get along worst with: Carver (one-sided), Sebastian, and Anders (eventually)

Companion(s) from other games in the series you wish they could meet, and why: Alistair back when he was a Grey Warden, just because of the sheer amount of goofy himbo energy they both have

Age of sexual debut: Probably around 16 or 17 (but please don't be creepy about it; mun is ace and is only basing this age on what they heard about from their peers in high school)

Romanced: Fenris (RPs will not go beyond flirting with anyone he met after this man who stole his heart)

Relationship status as of the end of Inquisition: Partners

Are there any songs that particularly suit their romance?:

All On Me by Devin Dawson (with altered gender terms)

Did I Mention by Jeff Lewis and Mitchell Hope (again, altering gendered vocabulary)

Arms by Christina Perri

Latch by Sam Smith

What are they like as a romantic partner?: Snarky and playful, but ultimately putty in his partner's hands. He's a bit of a hopeless romantic and will turn his whole life upside down to please the one he loves. Also prone to grand romantic gestures and spontaneous displays of affection

Do they enjoy cuddling?: Absolutely!

Do they want children?: Not particularly

Do they (now or eventually) have children?: No

Skills

Can they cook?: A bit

Can they sing/play an instrument?: Sing? Sure. Play an instrument? No

Are they a good dancer? If not, do they do it anyway?: He can be, but it's much more fun to goof off and entertain the people around him

Do they have any creative hobbies?: Not really

Any martial training beyond their main weapon?: Malcolm trained him in swordfighting before his magic kicked in

Languages spoken: The common tongue and a bit of Tevene he picked up from Fenris

Any other unique skills they'd like us to know about?: He's pretty talented at drinking, but anything else he'd like you to know probably wouldn't be appropriate to repeat

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notebooks-and-laptops · 2 years

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Krem & The Iron Bull example dialogue:

Zevran & Alistair example dialogue:

The Ultimate Best Dragon Age Non-romantic relationship dynamic (click here for the other polls/what the voting criteria are!)

#dragon age ultimate non-romantic relationship #dragon age #the iron bull #krem #zevran #alistair theirin #dai #dao

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nakazonoluck · 4 years

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G E N E R A L —

HEIGHT. arisu has always been small, only standing at 5′ feet tall. she’s been petite in height her whole life, having reach 5′ feet at 13 and not growing at all since. it doesn’t bother her, she likes being small. it’s easier to disorient & dodge in fights she believes.

WEIGHT. while she is petite in height, she’s less so in body size. she’s fairly muscular, putting her at 140 pounds of pure muscle. it makes sense considering how far she can throw people.

ETHNICITY. japanese, born in tokyo.

OCCUPATION. arisu is the matriarch of the nakazono clan, first-tier subsidiary family of the tojo clan. the family is not the largest but big enough to have a few second-tier subsidary families. the family specializes in gambling and various other nightlife activities.

GENDER. cis-female.

SEXUAL & ROMANTIC ORIENTATION. arisu is bisexual/biromantic; she has gone out with several men, though has always had a preference towards other females. she has not been known to have had many “official” relationships & does not develop deep attachments in a romantic sense very quickly.

MBTI. entp, the debater - No one loves the process of mental sparring more than the Debater personality type, as it gives them a chance to exercise their effortlessly quick wit, broad accumulated knowledge base, and capacity for connecting disparate ideas to prove their points. Debaters are the ultimate devil’s advocate, thriving on the process of shredding arguments and beliefs and letting the ribbons drift in the wind for all to see. They don’t always do this because they are trying to achieve some deeper purpose or strategic goal, though. Sometimes it’s for the simple reason that it’s fun.

S P E C I F I C S —

FAVOURITE FOOD. arisu has an affinity towards fish: takoyaki, sashimi, etc. but he also has a big sweet tooth. if you promise her favorite candy, she might do whatever you ask. white rabbit candy is among one of her favorites.

FAVOURITE DRINK. as per her sweet tooth, she loves fruity sodas. melon, strawberry, etc. she loves. her favorite brand is ramune, due to all the flavors and popularity, so she’ll drink that a lot.

FAVOURITE HOBBY. like her father, gambling is one of her favorite hobbies. she prefers mahjong, but it’s not unlike her to play any other type of gambling game (poker, blackjack, koi-koi, etc.). she does have a reputation for suspected cheating, given that she rarely loses a game, but most lack evidence to back it up. other than that, she does love video games. if she’s not in her office, or in a gambling hall, she can almost always be found in an arcade or at her house playing a game.

FAVOURITE SCENT. cherry blossoms and vanilla are about tied, cherry blossoms remind her of her father while vanilla reminds her of her mother. her father because of his tattoo, and her mother because of her vanilla perfume. as for non-flower smells, she does really like bubble gum. a bit childish, but it relates to her sweet tooth. sometimes she’ll smell something like that because she’ll almost always buy a bubble gum perfume if she sees it.

FAVOURITE PERSON. an obvious answer is her father, given how close she was to him. but she does also really like nishitani; though she never got to meet him when he was alive, she loved hearing stories about him and looked up to him, thinking he was one of the “coolest” people alive when she was a child.

T E N F A C T S —

when outrun was still in the arcades, she always had the top score under the pseudonym “arn”, because she was uncreative and essentially used her initials. & she had an intense want to have the top score in most places, even going as far as sotenbori. it also gave her an excuse just to go, she always liked sotenbori for it’s entertainment strip in the norther part of the town. she liked looking at the restaurants for it’s outside decorations; like the big crab, big octopus, and the dragon that blew out smoke.

she snuck off a lot as a child, thinking she was so cool for being able to go out alone without parents. while it tended to fly under the radar with her parents, it didn’t for her uncle. hisashi (her father’s sworn brother & top lieutenant) tended to follow her around when he could, or sent someone he trusted, making sure she stayed out of trouble and people didn’t mess with her. there were only a few times he had to step in when people would get annoyed when she would get mouthy (maybe bite) when they tried to mess with her. she never knew this, still doesn’t know this. whenever he’d step in, everything would either go too fast to where she couldn’t catch his face or she ran away before she could.

arisu ate a lot as a child. being so energetic, she’d burn through calories faster than she probably should’ve. she’s still this way for the most part. she’s not quite as energetic, but she tends to get into too much trouble to not burn through everything so fast.

if you were to ask her if she remembers any other tojo clan members from before she became matriarch she’d most likely say no, even if they may know her. a very rude child, she never paid attention to who any of her father’s coworkers. except maybe yayoi and sohei, but that more lies in how much she admired & had a small crush on yayoi. she didn’t know her name for a while, frustrated arisu to no end & ended up just called her an equivalent to “mrs. daigo’s mom”, same for sohei. but once she knew her name, she stopped for both. they were then known as “yayoi” & “yayoi’s husband”. if sohei ever complaned about it, she didn’t care enough to pay attention.

she definitely bullied daigo as a child & did not stop when he became chairman. she does not care she just sees him as the boy she would put in a headlock whenever she saw him.

she’s been around for four chairmans & only respected one of them. she doesn’t highly regard daigo for personal reasons, kiryu wasn’t around long enough for her to interact with, & didn’t respect terada because of how he tried to destroy the tojo clan as well as manipulating kiryu & ryuji. she didn’t know & didn’t meet ryuji, but she knew enough about what happened with him & kaoru to sympathize. sera, though, she always liked. she admired how he could be so assertive & strong without having to try hard, & how acquiring a position like that at a young age.

arisu has a pet fox named momo. she didn’t get him in a traditional way, as in going to a breeder or a pet store (not that you can get a fox at a pet store). she found a small fox pup, probably the runt of the littler, wet & shivering in a pipe. it was hard to coax him out at first, but she didn’t leave until he walked up to her & let her pick him up. her mother & father weren’t the happiest when they saw her walking in with a small fox pup but they soon go used to him. by the events of kiwami 1, he’s only a year & a half old. she never had any other pet besides koi fish in her backyard before him.

from around 8 or 9 on, she had a group of kids who followed her around calling her “aneki”. it was a huge shock at first, going from none of the kids liking her to having a group like this. they were all boys at first, looking to be “cool” & “tough” & hanging around a yakuza’s kid meant that to them. then as she got into her teens more girls came into the group, looking for a way to rebel. these kids are the reason for her big ego.

while she didn’t have the closest relationship with her mother, they were still fairly close in their own way. without her mother, she would’ve never learned how to fight or defend herself. they tended to bond over that, & would always spend most nights watching movies or tv shows together, but not much else.

unless a lieutenant were to step up in place as matriarch/patriarch, the nakazono clan will end with arisu’s death. she doesn’t plan on having children, but if she did, she wouldn’t allow them to try & run the family.

FIVE THINGS SHE LIKES.

tattoos

foxes

candy

family! surrogate or blood.

beating people she finds annoying up

FIVE THINGS SHE DISLIKES.

being told what to do

street thugs, punk, etc.

misogynistic behavior

people who mess with her friends/ family

male strangers expecting her to help them without some kind of reward

COMMON WORDS / PHRASES THAT ANNOY THEM. anything with telling her that she’s too young for something, or trying to limit her because of gender or sex. it’s a good way to get hit.

PERSONALITY TYPES THEY PREFER. she prefers strong, loud, & excessive personalities. people who see fun in the same ways she does. other personalities don’t deter her though, she just gravitates towards these ones more.

PERSONALITY TYPES THEY AVOID. besides ones that are very discriminatory in some way, she hates people who think they’re superior & condescending. nothing aggravates her more than to feel less than & dumber than.

WHAT DO YOU FIND DIFFERENT / DISTINCT ��ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL? she’s an oc so there’s not really anything to compare her to, but i do like to think there are a lot of things that does make her original & sets her apart from canon characters & other ocs.

#save #i found this & it was a lot #brain fried

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veridium · 6 years

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Just a Few Opinions On Josephine Montilyet and Why I think We as a Fandom Don’t Deserve Her

Hello. Local salty fandom sapphic here. We’re coming to you live from the Dragon Age fandom where, as always, we as a collective need to remember some things and check ourselves before we, as the cool folk say, wreck ourselves.

Tonight’s Headline: Josephine Montilyet’s romance and character arc are not boring, you’re probably just mad there wasn’t explicit content and have fallen down the rabbit hole of her moniker “the Disney Princess” of Dragon Age.

I can think of few other upsetting moments in my fan experience than watching the romance comps on YouTube with Josephine content and seeing all the comments that were lamentations about how A). her romance was boring, B). people wanted to see her naked, and C). fetishizing her anyway with infantile tropes. It was especially upsetting considering how much LGBTQ+ women, and particularly LGBTQ+ women of color, are expected to be both desirable and undesirable, fetish and foreign.

Now let’s get some hot takes straight here, collectively, once and for all:

1. Josephine Montilyet is a grown ass woman and has seen some shit. That “Disney Princess” reputation akins her to a characterization of being a teenager or even young adolescent girl: innocent, fun, charming, but ultimately A MINOR. Josephine is in her late 20s at least, is the heir apparent of her family and their Estate, and has been a nationally appointed Chief Ambassador to Orlais before coming on board as Chief Ambassador to the Inquisition. Before that, she was a Bard, and educated in Orlais -- which, come on, have you seen Orlais? That place ain’t exactly a Florida retirement community. Shit happens that would make your eyebrows burn clean off before breakfast.

The woman has seen, heard, and done some shit. Yes, she’s principally non-violent, but we all remember her swift and SCALDING threat to that noblewoman’s marriage with a mere pair of gloves placed on the proper table.

Also, fun fact: grown ass women can be just that, grown, and not be your sexual object + entertainment. IMAGINE.

2. It is not Josephine Montilyet’s job in the game’s story to be the Inquisitor’s girlfriend. In fact, it’s none of the possible LI’s main job to be there, be sexy, and be naked. She is the Chief Ambassador and Diplomat -- she is the political operating face of the Inquisition. She has shit to do, she probably isn’t paid enough, and she has to also manage her family’s wealth and affairs as a SIDE hustle. The woman burns the midnight oil like nobody else.

To lament and despair that she isn’t more explicit, that there isn’t more sexiness or objectifiable content in her personal arc + romance arc, misses the point of her presence.

Also can we just talk about how shit ain’t good in game fandom unless there is sex?? Like, come on, ya’ll. Sex is not the pinnacle of character depth, character dynamics, or plot. It isn’t the holy grail. It’s sex. Establishing some kind of content heirarchy for SEX of all things is ridiculous. You know what shit I’d roll in my grave to see in games? Queer characters not being shat on, characters of color being the default character creator setting, disabled characters being protagonists without a second thought as to their capabilities, RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARE MORE FOCUSED ON EMOTIONAL AND FRIENDSHIP-GROUNDED ASPECTS THAN TITTIES.

One of the reasons why I loved and continue to love Josephine’s romance arc is who wonderfully romantic and safe it feels to love her. You’re not going to lose her to a bury your gays trope, you’re not going to have to break up with her for some outlandish, shoe-horned reason, she isn’t going to be possessive or ugly about your relationship. It’s a happy ending, it’s a futurity, it’s a kindness that the Inquisitor gets to have and live off of during an incredibly difficult several years and onward.

3. But it’s important to remember that as wholesome as it is, Josephine as a character is complex as any of the others. She has a near impossible job, succeeds at it, and she is determined to do the right thing and be earnestly moral throughout it all. She is committed to nonviolence but she is no doormat: she knows how to get things done, how to get to people, how to achieve an end result. She is cunning as she is kind, erudite as she is practical. She works from a place of tolerance and acceptance, and loves an Inquisitor regardless of gender or race for who they are.

She survives working in one of the most volatile socio-political climates by sheer will and grit to be good. There’s a wonderful beauty and strength to that. Her romance arc is about appreciating all of that, about seeing how someone can be good even when they are submerged in treacherous tumult.

Yes, it’s cutesy to have her be the Fairytale Princess of all the DA romances, but don’t forget just the scope of what she accomplishes in her ONE. GAME. TENURE. She builds an Inquisition diplomatically from the ground up, she supports the Inquisitor and fellow Advisors without fail, sustains the cause after Corypheus and jockeys for its survival and purpose during the Exalted Council. She dedicates years of her life to a cause she believes in and puts her heart and soul into it, and her relationship with the Inquisitor. I’m not a Josiemancer because I prefer a “safe and boring” experience, I’m a Josiemancer because she’s a badass.

So, let it be known, that indeed, Josiemancers got it good with the lack of heartbreak and tragic ending. But just know, we also got it good because Josephine Montilyet is an amazing character, with an amazing message, and she does not deserve anything less than the best.

BACK TO YOU, TED.

#josephine montilyet #fandom critical #psa #dragon age meta #da meta #long post

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sasorikigai · 5 years

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Random Shenanigans || @pxlariis (look who decided to chime in!) || always accepting

Before I begin even analyzing and elaborating about this, I have to admit this is such an excellent and deep question. I love questions like this.

His origin story states that;

Scorpion was born Hanzo Hasashi to the Shirai Ryu clan of ninjas and assassins. Hanzo's father was a former member of the Shirai Ryu and forbade his son from joining the clan, but Hanzo saw a way to give his own family comfortable life and so he joined against his father's wishes. Hanzo was trained and became a highly skilled killer for the clan and earned the nickname "Sasori" - Japanese for Scorpion. Scorpion had fought for the honor of the Grandmaster and the Shirai Ryu clan itself and was considered one of the clan's best by age 32.

Instead of Hanzo’s father being a former member of the Shirai Ryu, I divulged significantly from the canonical headcanon and made so that his father is a former Grandmaster (which Hanzo succeeded as, as soon as the Shirai Ryu’s extinction came about - as did his and his family’s slaughter - and ever since then, he had vowed to become the Grandmaster to reform and rebuild the clan back to its flourishment). And that Hanzo did not want to pursue in a warrior’s path from the beginning; he was rather an intense, considerably advanced and protean boy who excelled academically and wanted to pursue a scholar’s path. But both nature and nurture got the best of Hanzo Hasashi and the rest was history. His tenacity, stubbornness and passionate dedication has surpassed anyone’s expectations, and by when he was an adolescence, he would become the master of kunai and would develop his character-defining weapon, the chained kunai (it is his original creation and no one in Shirai Ryu handles it as expertly and swiftly as Hanzo can ever could. He would never divulge his secrets to anyone else, not even the fellow Shirai Ryu clansmen).

Knowing Hanzo being Japanese and having lived rather traditional style of living, we have to consider the fact that the Asian cultural definition of masculinity relies heavily on scholarship (academic study or achievement; learning of a high level) and not showing weakness, which translates into men showing less emotions. I speculate easily that Hanzo’s father would have been the same way; though he would have been dualistic between his family and non-family. The differences which comes off as unloving and uncaring is only founded on the undercurrent of struggle and sacrifice, which Hanzo’s father had burdened all on himself, without ever showing a hint of it to Hanzo’s mother and Hanzo.

I believe how Hanzo breaks that gender norm is unbelievable, especially regarding the context of the Mortal Kombat, which is heavily driven by misconceptions, loss, treacherous deceptions, greed and ambition for power, absolute dominance, immortality, violence and gore, etc. Not only Hanzo takes Takeda under his wings because Kenshi was too busy with his own endeavors of protecting his son from the Red Dragon, the crime syndicate that killed Suchin, Kenshi’s wife, but he literally becomes a sole parental figure through Takeda’s growth and mother hens him to protect him from any volatile situations and dangers, but offers knowledge and philosophy ot not only the Shirai Ryu, but his own. He does not back away from any danger, is extremely dedicated and passionate towards his set intent(s), never relinquishes nor gives up control - because he’s gone through that path so many times (beneath Quan Chi, beneath his own gullible conscious and hellbent on one-track mind without ever widening his perspective, etc.) and most importantly, treats anyone he loves and treasures with candor honesty and genuinity.

Even when it was not the most smoothest excursion, as there were doubts and mistrusts rampant (because Hanzo was Scorpion before), Takeda gradually begins to see Hanzo as so much more than a depressed man who is hellbent on destroying himself. And through that experience, Hanzo too, would regain the meaning of his own life and most likely sees Takeda as the surrogate Satoshi, as the immense longing towards his family would have been fulfilled through becoming a parental figure towards him.

For Hanzo, being a father doesn’t only mean providing steady source of income and the child’s family name; Hanzo is knowledgeable and astute enough to know that the nature and extent of father’s involvement depends on economic activities and cultural practices such as marriage and residential patterns, husband-wife proximity, cooperation and contribution to subsistence and level of material accumulation, as well as presence of other family members. Patterns evolve in adaptation to the ecological and historical roles and relationships within cultures. Depending upon the sociocultural context, fathers may be authoritarian, nurturing, caring, affectionate, and distant or completely detached. He always strives to be nurturing, caring, affectionate, yet stern and disciplinary when he needs to be.

Hanzo is entirely okay with the idea of having a child (or children) in the future with someone (he already has one with @heamatic‘s Cassie named Haruki). Though he may be guilt-ridden in the initial stage of the pregnancy (even getting into romantic/sexual relationship brings a deep sense of self-condemnation. But such dawning idea that he too 1) could be finally be happy, without ever forgetting what happened to Harumi and Satoshi, as such tragic, heart-wrenching experience would only solder and strengthen him throughout the romantic/sexual relationship and ultimately, being a father and husband to a newly-formed family and 2) hoping to leave his own legacy behind, as he would either see his offspring take over the role of the Grandmaster - though this isn’t a requirement. If his offspring wants to pursue a different path, Hanzo would never be unsupportive. He just prefers that he could be exemplary enough that it inspires them to follow his footpath - or at least to follow the warrior’s path, although he would be extremely protective and cautious, due to the events of his past, obviously.

Hanzo would see paternity itself as a natural path of his life; for his first marriage to Harumi has given him further growth and responsibilities and a further sense of accomplishment. He can never imagine his life without being a husband and a father, because 1) he’s very good at it (he may still come off as unapproachable, intimidating, and grumpy, but he’s exceptionally empathetic, kind, affectionate and passionate) and 2) through living as so many manifestations and having been through hell and back, going through this inevitable cycle of life only grounds him stronger and gives meaning to his life.

#✗ obsessive cathartic (headcanon)#✗ the ineffable testimony of spawned hellfire (scorpion)#✗ i am hanzo hasashi (i)#✗ roaming untethered hellfire (ii)#✗ seeking reconciliation with his own humanity (iii)#(this is needlessly long and rambly)#(but this was such a good question and I hope this makes sense!)#pxlariis

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youngfolksrpg · 5 years

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WELCOME TO NEW YORK, ELIAS.

Elias Salazar is a 34 year old local residing in Queens. He is a NFL player who is known for being reckless, hot headed, occasionally apathetic, protective to the point of stupid, and doesn’t always follow through. Click read more to discover more about this character! Trigger Warnings: Alcohol abuse, child neglect.

• • • CHARACTER BASICS

Character Full Name: Elias Santiago Salazar. Nickname(s): Sal, Salazar, 33 - never Elias, though. Age: 34. Birthday: November 3rd. Occupation: Full Back for the New York Giants. Birthplace: South Padre Island, TX. Borough: Queens. Citizen Type: Local. Ethnicity: Mexican. Nationality: American.

• • • IDENTITY + HEALTH

Gender: Cisgender Male. Pronouns: He | Him. Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual. Romantic Orientation: Heteroromantic. Relationship Status: Single. Face Claim: Michael Trevino. Hair Color: Brown. Eye Color: Brown. Distinguishing Features: He’s typically bruised up in some way - comes with the territory of being in the NFL. He’s also got a fair amount of scars from the game and because of past bar fights. Sal also usually has a cocky grin on his face because he’s that person. Personal Style: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Physical Health: He’s had a few knee injuries while playing, so he has to be careful. Sal also doesn’t feed himself well and drinks way too much alcohol. Mental Health: Just a few low grade abandonment issues from his parents.

• • • FAMILY

Parents: Rosalia Salazar (allegedly) & his father is unknown. He has no idea what’s currently going on with his mother. Relationship with Parents: His relationship with his parents is considered rocky at best. His mother has never been reliable in the slightest. She’s been excellent at dropping in and out and leaving her sons to take care of themselves. She’s honestly only shown up when she wanted money. That habit started when he was younger, and it even continues to this day. He hadn’t seen her in years when he was drafted, and then she showed up out of the blue again. Sal pretty much told her to buzz off. As for his father, Sal’s never known who he was, and he really doesn’t care to find out. His older brother knows, but their dad took off while Sal was pregnant, and he decided very quickly that he didn’t want to know the man who didn’t want to know him. Siblings: One older brother - potentially others. He can’t be too sure with a MIA father. Relationship with Siblings: Sal’s older brother is the only family he’s ever been able to count on. With a dad who left and a flakey mother, the Salazar boys ever only had each other. His brother practically raised him (so that’s why Sal jokes that he ended up so poorly), and he’s the only reason why he got into the NFL. His brother pushed him when he realized that Sal had the ability to go far. It’s weird not living in the same city as him, but his brother is back home in South Padre Island, and Sal had to move to New York. He’s definitely tried convincing him to make the move, though. Children: None that he’s aware of. Relationship with Children: N/A. Pets: A German Shepherd/Pitbull mix named Amigo.

• • • PERSONALITY + MUSIC

MBTI: ISTP. Moral Alignment: Chaotic Good. Zodiac: Scorpio. Hogwarts House: Gryffindor. Alter Ego: Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights. Personality Traits: Reckless, hot headed, occasionally doesn't give a shit about a lot of things if he's in a mood, depends a little too much on alcohol to cope, protective to the point of stupid, commits to things and then doesn't follow through if he realizes he doesn't want to do it in the moment, will constantly tease you about things. Playlist: Sal’s favorite songs. Overcome - Better than Ezra Howlin’ for You - The Black Keys I Wanna Be Sedated - Ramones Thunder / Young, Dumb, & Broke - Imagine Dragons, Khalid Venom - Aaron Taos King - SAINT PHNX Gooey - Glass Animals What I Got - Sublime This Is America - Childish Gambino Paper Planes - M.I.A. Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers American Teen - Khalid You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid - The Offspring Pray For Me - The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea - Fall Out Boy Hypnotize - The Notorious B.I.G. Buddy Holly - Weezer Santeria - Sublime When I Come Around - Green Day When You Die - MGMT

• • • WANTED PLOTS

Sal is in need of friends! He’s a little bit of a hot mess, so he would have trash friends and also friends who are well versed in saying “Sal, no.” You have to be able to handle his occasionally shitty tendencies, but there are some positives to being his friend. He would 100% go to jail for you, go to the ends of the earth, pick a fight, defend your honor - quite a lot, in truth. He’s a pretty damn good wing man, will defend your reputation to everyone he comes around, and will remember your birthday and probably get you a decent gift. He will spend the night in jail so you don't have to (although less since he joined the giants - let's just avoid jail time if possible, y'all), be a fabulous coach if you need to get better at something (especially if it's athletic), can cheer you up if you're down, and will remember your drink order (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic). The only catch is that considering his abandonment issues, it takes awhile for someone to become truly close to him beyond a superficial level.

Although his family is few and far between, Sal does have another family in his teammates. Sal plays on the New York Giants, and he’d love to have some teammates around if anyone is interested! Or even people who work for/with the team, but aren’t actually on the team. He spends a lot of time when it comes to football, whether it be working out, practicing, or figure out ways to get better. Football has been one of the few constants in his life, and he has no desire to give it up. He tries to be the best teammate he can be.

Abandonment issues and commitment issues go hand in hand. Sal would have a ton of messy romances in his past. He’s capable of settling down for the right person, but most of his history isn’t with the right person. Truthfully, his past romances are a lot of brief relationships, or a few longer relationships where there was definitely infidelity - on his side or even both ways. I imagine he’s got at least one that he goes back and forth with (he’s inspired off of Tim Riggins from FNL, so he definitely needs his off + on drama with a Tyra type lmao), but ultimately, his list of exes should be long. There’s also probably been several “Oh yeah, I’ll totally call you” after a brief encounter that doesn’t happen.

• • • THE PLAYER

Elias Salazar is played by Paige. She is 29 years old and in the CST timezone. Please be mindful of their triggers: incest, rape, student x teacher.

#borough: queens #character: elias salazar #character profile: male

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