#even if it's clearly being developed with more intentionality

[masteraqua]

real question

are y'all actually going to play khml if it turns out to be

laggy

a massive storage/battery drain

gacha hell

microtransaction hell

generally designed to promote insidiously addictive behavior

[cospinol]

Genuinely can’t get over warau arsnotoria having the most premium Big Group of ikemen characters I’ve seen in ages, airing in this incredible dry spell Era we’ve been in lately where it’s just been season after season of ikemen shows with designs so bad/boring they can’t hold my interest at all, and then the group of characters is just… not in the show lol. The incredible nerve of it. No I will not be downloading your gatcha game to learn more thank you very much

it’s like an intentional version of the self-own bucchigire also performed this season where one character was so much better than the rest of the cast that he accidentally tanked the entire show. But at least that wasn’t on purpose

[scoobydoodean]

what is your opinion on people calling dean a heavy misogynist? i don’t agree personally but i feel like you could put my thoughts into better words

First, I have to chuckle a little at "heavy misogynist". Apparently, some people have begun to realize their fave is also guilty of misogyny crimes therefore they focus on making sure all of us know Sam is a light misogynist and Dean is a heavy misogynist. I just find that amusing.

This is a broad topic in a long show, so I won't endeavor to address every conceivable incidence of misogyny in the show I can think of. Instead, I'm going to create a few headings, at least one of which I think most criticism falls under.

Misogyny through the writing team

How Sam's misogyny gets a pass

Purity culture wank and Dean performing for Sam

How Dean actually treats women

Misogyny Through The Writing Team

First, Supernatural in of itself has issues with misogyny—as in, the writers of the show (including female writers) have issues with misogyny which they are happy to put on display semi-frequently. The show started in 2005, during a period of time where casual sexism was absolutely rampant on TV and no one thought anything about it. Female celebrities were regularly mocked and dragged on cable television in a way men simply weren't. They were called bitches and skanks and whores, and even "progressive" voices were inundated with casual misogyny and a fixation on purity culture (that largely applied to women only). Quite simply, I think fandom tends to be far too generous toward the writers, assuming certain things were "flaws" the writers intentionally wrote for the characters.

Put another way, there are some criticisms I prefer to level at the writing team rather than the characters, because what is written plainly reflects their ignorance in the real world rather than any intent to give Sam or Dean or any other character meaningful flaws—much less outright terrible ones that greatly harm their image. I'll give a few examples:

2.17 "Heart" makes me very uncomfortable as I sit here in 2024 and observe how Sam and Madison's romance develops. Me feeling that way does not mean the authorial intent of 2007 Sera Gamble was that I think to myself, "Man Sam comes off as uncomfortably rapey here." Hopelessly bad with women, perhaps—but not creepy.

In season 2, the writers begin to develop a running “joke” that Sam is afraid of not just clowns but also little people. The latter “joke” is (wisely) dropped fairly quickly. I have never criticized Sam for being afraid of little people, and I never will. It is readily apparent to me that this running "joke" reflects the ignorance of the writing team rather than an intent to give Sam meaningful or interesting flaws. Their intent was to use little people as the butt of a joke. I personally find this "joke" distasteful, and the idea of trying to take that and somehow "dunk" on Sam for the bigotry of the writers is more distasteful to me.

This is also how I feel about the running "joke" of a porn magazine and website (BAB) that solely features Asian women, that is put on display on multiple occasions during the show—first in 2.15 "Tall Tales", where the context is Gabriel infecting Sam's laptop with a virus from the website and making him believe Dean is responsible. BAB continues to make "Easter Egg" appearances in the show afterward. While often associated with Dean by fandom, the writers clearly think of BAB as a general, "funny" (it isn't), running gag with no more depth than "haha men like porn funny". An issue is stolen by a sentient teddy bear in 4.08 "Wishful Thinking". An issue is owned by the teenager who swapped bodies with Sam in 5.12 "Swap Meat". The Men of Letters also collected a considerable number of issues (8.17). I simply do not believe the writers thought for a single moment about BAB being a grossly racist gag. They most certainly did not write it as an intentional criticism of Dean from that perspective. It reflects nothing but their ignorance and racism here in the real world, and absolutely SHOULD be criticized from that REAL WORLD impact.

How Sam's misogyny largely gets a pass

One of the things I have not been able to stop noticing on this rewatch is Sam's issues with misogyny, and how often Sam's misogyny comes out in conflicts with Dean... starting from the very first episode of the show. Pretty much any time you get anything that feels like it might be a misogynist Dean or horn dog Dean moment... Sam either just has or is about to follow that up with some misogyny of his own.

In 1.01, right after entering Sam's apartment and meeting Jess, Dean mentions the Smurfs on Jess's shirt. We think to ourselves "Okay. A little misogynist... a little horn-dog Dean." Sam is happy to 1-Up that in two ways. First, Jess voices her intentions to go get dressed. Dean dismisses this, but while doing so, makes it clear he intends to leave the room with Sam, as he'd like to have a private conversation with Sam anyway. Sam objects, walking over to Jess and putting an arm around her, demanding Dean say whatever he needs to say right then and there. Maybe this would feel supportive if Jess wasn't in her underwear and hadn't just made it clear that now that the panic over a possible break-in is over, she'd really like to not be in her underwear in front of a stranger. But nope. By god she needs to stand there so Sam can prove a point about misogynist Dean! Second, Sam immediately (and I think quite erroneously) jumps to imply Dean is trying to cut Jess out of the conversation because she's... a woman? Or... something? He makes a big show of moving over Jess and standing beside her, saying anything Dean has to say, he can say in front of Jess. However, the moment Sam actually understands that Dean is here because John is missing on a hunting trip, he dismisses Jess to speak to Dean alone... because he's lying to her. By painting Dean erroneously with this "The men are talking" bullshit that had nothing to do with anything, Sam sets himself up to be viewed as a misogynist by his own framing of the situation and what it means to leave Jess out of a discussion. He also reveals his own alleged principles as a performative illusion. Despite being his intended life partner, Sam never intends to tell the woman he loves about his past as a hunter (he makes this clear later on the bridge). However, I think because Sam's actions usually co-occur with what gets called out more directly or more immediately recognized as misogyny from Dean (should have gotten him for the Smurf's comment, Sam!) Sam's misogyny often flies under the radar... and he's really... pretty bad.

I spoke here at length about how Sam tends to look down on women who interact with Dean (often before meeting them). There is absolutely an intersection with purity culture here and there's discussion in that thread about that as well, and whether this is a "2000s writers" issue or intentionally written flaws.

In 1.06, Sam cuts Dean off before Dean can accept an offered beer from Rebecca, but then as soon as Sam needs Rebecca out of the room, Sam asks her to not just bring them those beers... but also fix them sandwiches. Rebecca says, "What do you think this is, Hooters?" and Dean mumbles, "I wish" and we somehow lose sight of the fact that Sam literally just asked a woman to make him sandwiches which is possibly the number one misogynist man trope. Sam vaguely suggests Dean is a misogynist in 1.19 for nudging Sam to go on a date with Sarah Blake and possibly get information on the case, because that would be "using" her, but Sam wants to "use" Meg Masters in 1.22 and he wants to "use" Ruby to get what he wants, and when he said getting information from women was "Dean's job", he was also showing he was perfectly willing to use Dean and Sarah—he just doesn't want to get his hands dirty. It also comes to light in 1.19 that this is more about Sam's belief that he has to protect women from him, and Sarah herself ends up calling Sam antiquated for it.

I mentioned before that Sam doesn't plan to ever tell Jess who he is, and he makes the same plans with Amelia. Dean, meanwhile, confides in Cassie (it's what leads to their breakup) as well as Lisa.

I also have to mention... one of the funniest things I see deancrit samgirls in particular dig at time after time after time is Dean calling women "bitches". Never mind that Sam also calls women like Ruby and Bela bitches and calls a woman a bitch in front of Madison. Apparently none of these occurrences count because... *looks at notes* reasons. "Bitch" only counts as misogyny when it's Dean saying it. Also, let's not mention that Sam exclusively uses the word "bitch" to refer to women, while Dean also calls men and creatures bitches at different points so it isn't a gender specific insult for him.

Dean is definitely the "heavy" misogynist here... right? (I guess Sam is a "tall" misogynist instead).

Purity culture wank and Dean performing for Sam

Dean is commonly treated in fandom as if he's some kind of sex pest, and quite blatantly... he isn't one. Women almost always proposition Dean first (thejabberwock has sets on this here and here), but him asking people out also isn't inherently creepy in any way? Co-occurring with Sam's purity culture inundated judgements, we often see fandom's own as well, where Dean is some kind of sex pest because he... likes women? Or... because he has sex with consenting women who also want to have sex with him? Sometimes it's giving purity culture wank, sometimes it's given big radfem energy... but regardless, I sometimes see people talk about Dean like him so much as making eye contact with a woman is a violent sexual threat, and that's just laughable—as is denying the agency and autonomy of consenting women in general.

Even though it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, I'll also add that Dean... doesn't even actually have sex with the frequency that people talk about it? Dean has sex with Cassie—who was a long term partner of his in 1.13. He has sex with an actress in 2.18, and with Doublemint twins in 3.01. He has sex with a waitress 4.05. He plans to have sex with someone in 3.04, but turns her down when he realizes she's a prostitute who's working. This happens again in 10.07. I'm on season 4 of my rewatch and haven't been formally keeping up... but Dean is not actually having a lot of sex? We get implications he's been out partying a few times, and can maybe infer he scored, but we don't actually know.

I'm not a huge fan of performing Dean, in the sense that I think over the years I have seen it wildly overstated far too many times. But I do think Dean sometimes plays a character for Sam especially. Dean tells us this himself in 2.03 "Bloodlust" when confiding in Gordon. He never says so directly when it comes to the sexy sex guy doing sex persona, but his actions reveal him. One can think of plenty of examples of Dean saying horny stuff about women to Sam... but what about his actions?

How Dean actually treats women

Finally, there's how Dean actually treats women... and one would be very hard pressed to prove to me that Dean is sexist toward the women in his life. He's been close friends with multiple women and worked with women on hunts on multiple occasions and never once batted an eye. Jo in 2.06 is sometimes floated as an example, but it's actually discussed within the episode. Dean makes it very clear that he thinks women can do the job just fine. What he has a problem with is Jo's lack of experience and her romanticization of the job (especially during a period where Dean has fallen deeply out of love with the job himself). Everything we see as the series progresses supports Dean's assertion as truth. He's very good friends with Charlie, Jody, and Donna and doesn't go around excluding them on hunts while favoring men. That is not a thing that happens. While he initially tries to talk Claire out of the life (as he does everybody—this is not unique to women—see Adam for example) when she decides to hunt, he supports her regardless. There is nothing uniquely overprotective about how Dean treats women who hunt. End of. Dean has no illusions about traditional gender roles or any of that nonsense, jumping to clean dishes after dinner at Jody's and cooking breakfast for Lisa and Ben. (Our knowledge of Dean and the chores he does for his family already tell us this—but regardless). Even Demon Dean, an entity with no love for anyone and close to zero principles, targeted men who abuse and threaten women, and when Crowley ordered him to kill Lester's wife to fulfill the terms of Lester's demon deal, Demon Dean instead became so deeply annoyed with Lester's hypocrisy (he cheated on his wife first) and his assertion that it's different when men cheat, that he killed him and smiled while doing it.

So anyway, nope—I don't think Dean is a "heavy" misogynist.

[altbite]

MW2 x Russian Speaking! Reader *Headcanons*

Summary: Reader who can speak Russian (don’t have to be Russian necessarily) and mw2 characters reaction to finding out. 

Characters involved: Price, Soap, Ghost, Gaz, Konig, Alejandro

__

You had kept the fact you could speak Russian a secret, not intentionally though. You just didn’t speak it outside of your family. 141 found out before Konig and Alejandro did as you met them later on.

Price: When Price found out you could speak Russian, he was impressed. Both that you could and that you managed to keep it hidden from him. He is usually a know-it-all man when it comes to his recruits. Clearly he missed this. He used this information to send you out on missions that involved Russians, from gathering Russian intel to being a translator. He also started watching Russian war movies and made you sit and translate it for him. Or if he was watching any tv and there was someone speaking Russian, he would pause it and call you over to translate. You usually complained about the pronunciation and wrong grammar instead. 

Ghost: Ghost found out at the same time as Soap. You were on the phone to your family and they walked by and overheard you speaking. They both stood there, jaw dropped until you noticed and hung up. Ghost gave you shit for it, probably because there were missions where it could've been helpful. But he thought it was pretty cool nonetheless. Did the same thing as Price when it came to TV.

Soap: Soap was shook. He grabbed you and sat you down and forced you to teach him curse words. Of course it would be curse words. The man was a child. You did not teach him curse words just to annoy him. He eventually just asked you on how to say random ass things in your language. Varied from saying shit about members to how to say he’s the coolest dude ever. You did this on missions mostly, on the way to or back from them. It kept you guys entertained and busy from thinking about anything bad.

Gaz: Gaz was sweet when it came to finding out. He was like “That’s so cool wtf”. He didn’t nag you about it like Soap or Price. This made you choose him when it came to teaching curse words. Soap was not impressed when he found out Gaz could curse in Russian and tried to convince him to teach him one word at least. Soap begged on his hands and knees to you and Gaz and Ghost took a photo of it. Gaz picked up Russian a lot better than you expected.

Konig: This man was highly excited when he found out. Nothing really screamed Russian about you, so to have another person who spoke a different language was fun. You two sat together and taught each other your language. He would point at objects and ask you what the word for them would be. He started to mix German and Russian together when speaking to you. It was funny but it also helped you both learn and understand what was being said. It also scared half the recruits when they saw you talking because of how angry both languages sound. especially together.

Alejandro: The minute this man found out, he was wooed. He was in love. Okay, maybe not literally just yet. You would compliment this man in Russian but it sounded like you were pissed at him. This turned him on more?? Ghost and Soap stood there, watching you two, waiting for you to stop. When he would curse out enemies, you followed in Russian and then fist bumped. 

Bonus Alejandro + Konig:

If you and one of them could understand each other in each others language, you would talk to them in Russian and they would reply in theirs. It confused everyone because they didn’t understand what language you were speaking or whether or not you actually understood each other. It was the same in English. You would speak in Russian and they would reply in English or vice versa, so what anyone understood was just a one side of the conversation. It was fun to see the looks you received from recruits or even strangers passing by

_

Thank you for reading! I want to make a konig x russian speaking!reader and develop it more there so i might. Also i see you anon ;3

[nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos]

Well fuck, I guess this is gonna be three parts instead of two

It was an accident I swear I'm sorry 😭😭

Just kinda want it to develop naturally instead of forcing it

Soooooooooo

Oooh that smile 😌🫠

Well, here we go.

Blacksmith's Daughter

Part 2 of 3 (I'm POSITIVE this time I swear)

Part 1 here

OPLA!Shanks X AFAB!Reader

Wordcount: 4.3k

Hurt/comfort, fluffy as goddeng cotton candy, I guess slow-burn now too? Idfk

Trigger Warnings: mentions of death of loved one, trauma

Tag requests: @zzbloody-animezz

Perfectly harmless.

You very highly doubted that claim was true.

"Well," he said, tilting his head a little closer, "mostly harmless."

Still, almost as if to prove it, Shanks released his hold around your waist, his hand resting at your lower back a moment before slipping away to hold the cell door open for you. You stumbled just a little on your first steps out of the cell, your legs trembling, stiff and weakened in equal measure from three days and two nights stuck with the very limited range of movement that your bindings had allowed.

"Easy, now," said Shanks lightly, briefly slipping his arm around your back to steady you by your waist. "You haven't been on your feet in days, you can take a minute to get your footing. We're not in any rush."

"R...right," you said, uncertainly. You swallowed as he helped guide you over to the brig officer's desk, where you sat heavily in the chair, stretching your legs out for a moment. "I still don't really want to stay here too long. Three days has been more than enough." You leaned forward, pulling your swords across the desk and resting your forehead on one of of the black leather sheaths, laying your hand over the hilt. "Don't want to keep the crew waiting, either."

"Ah, they'll be busy a while," he said dismissively, pulling himself uo to sit on the desk. "There's a good bit of cargo to transfer." He nodded down at the swords. "Yours, I take it?'

You nodded, lifting your head. "I didn't even know if they were brought on the ship or not," you said. "My father made them for me." He had made them just over ten years ago, given them to you on your fourteenth birthday.

"Well, he was damned skilled. They're beautiful. May I?" He gestured a hand toward them. "If you don't mind."

"Go ahead," you said. You lifted one of the cutlasses and drew to from its scabbard, handing it over. His hand brushed across yours as he took the blade, clearly intentionally if the small smirk that briefly curved the corner of his lips was any indication. You watched him flip it deftly in one hand, holding it upright, his eyes scanning slowly down the edge of the blade.

"And well cared for. Sharp as a razor," he commented, impressed. He turning it sideways, flipping it around once more and nodding. "He teach you anything about smithing?"

You shook your head. "Not much," you said. "My brother was his apprentice. He taught me maintenance mostly. He instructed me in a few different weapon types, but swords were always my favorite." You took the weapon back when he handed it off to you, slipping the blade back into its scabbard. "And his."

"Experienced thief, weapons expert...." He leaned back a bit, smiling as he shook his head. "Yeah, you'll fit right in, sweetheart."

The way he was looking at you, the way his eyes burned into yours, had your face growing a little warm again as you turned your own gaze away, swallowing nervously. It wasn't as if no one had ever flirted with you before; you were honestly pretty used to it, ever since you had ended up living in the streets, used to crude comments and catcalling.

And yet here sat an incredibly notorious pirate captain, being incredibly respectful about it, all but making you swoon every time he lowered his voice or so much as touched your hand.

You stood from the chair, picking up your swords and setting to strapping them to your belt at either side of your hips, glancing down at the Marine cadet still bound in the corner of the room as his eyes passed between you and Shanks. You had never been around any pirates before now, but you had encountered your fair share of Marines, as many of them had been customers at your father's smithy.

Many of them had been self-righteous prats, and all the Marines aboard this ship had treated you like scum they had dragged in on the bottom of their boots.

"I think I will fit in fairly well," you finally said, quietly.

"Now that's the spirit!" His enthusiasm was honestly infectious, and you couldn't help but smile a little as he slipped off of the desk. "There's a fair chance you'll end up with a bounty on your head once word of your escape reaches Marineford, anyway. Between that and breaking into a base in a major city." He still sounded particularly amused about that as he rest his hand over the small of your back, stepping over the Marine cadet as if he weren't even there. "I'm eager to find out how you managed it. Oh, no, not yet," he added when you opened your mouth to respond. "I'm sure the whole crew's going to want to hear that tale."

Well, it was quite a tale. You were honestly surprised you had made it as far as you had before getting caught.

Before everything went to hell in a handbasket.

You lifted a hand to shield your eyes as you emerged onto the bustling deck of the ship; the mid-afternoon sun was blinding after days of only seeing it through one small, rounded window in the brig. The Red Hair crew was working quickly and steadily on robbing the Marine ship completely blind, right before their eyes—the entire crew of around fifty Marines was tied up on the deck, bound at their hands and feet, the captain and his officers situated at the center mast to give them the best possible view of the entire debacle.

Shanks called and motioned for his own officers to line up at the starboard side of the caravel, and took his time in introducing you to each of them individually. He glanced back occasionally at the Marines' captain and mates with a smirk, clearly reveling in their growing annoyance.

"Our newest thief has two years experience," he dragged on loudly, pacing slowly between you and his officers—many of whom were cracking up themselves, well aware that the whole spectacle was being orchestrated for the sole purpose of riling up the captive Marines, "and was arrested for—if you can believe it—breaking into a Marine base in a major port city in Arabasta with only one accomplice, and getting so far as to open their treasury vault before being captured."

And he paused for effect at that, waiting as the crew began to break into laughter, as you struggled to keep a straight face yourself, glancing toward the infuriated Marine captain, who had told you before shoving you into the brig a few days ago that he would personally see to it that you never saw the light of day again. For once in your life you were seeing karma in real time—and it was a positively beautiful sight to behold.

"And I'm sure we're all dying to know," Shanks went on, ceasing his pacing and stopping just in front of you, grinning, "how the hell she managed it."

He had given you more than enough time to go over the details in your head. A lot of your success had been pure dumb luck, for sure, but you drew up your resolve to relay it.

"Overheard a few cadets in a tavern talking about how the vaults were never heavily guarded...and the roof access was never locked." His eyebrows shot up toward the bright red fringe of his hair as you spoke. His officers glanced between each other. "A couple days later we climbed the back wall of the base. Knocked out a couple Marines at the top floor, stole their uniforms, and made our way down."

"Bullshit." All eyes shifted onto the Marine captain when he spoke up, glaring daggers at you. "That base is constructed out of sandstone. Five stories of completely smooth stone. There's no way anyone could climb the walls."

"Tell your comrades at the base to check the back wall for holes," you said coldly, your eyes lingering on his. "We used climbing spikes."

The man's teeth gritted together in a visible scowl. You turned your head back toward the snickering pirates, in time to see Shanks mumble something to Benn, who rolled his eyes and scoffed.

Then you heard the Marine captain behind you again, speaking in a low growl. "Disrespectful wench." You turned your head in time to watch him spit at the heel of your boot.

"Disrespectful?" Though the rest of his crew continued to chuckle, Shanks wasn't laughing as he put himself between you and the oposing captain, his forearm resting over the hilt of his saber at his hip. "I get the impression you haven't done much to earn anyone's respect," he said. "That being said, respectfully, captain...."

And with that, he placed the heel of his sandal against the man's shoulder and shoved him over. With the Marine's hands and feet bound, there was nothing he could do to right himself—nothing except glare daggers at Shanks as he crouched down in front of him.

"Don't interupt." Shanks gave him a smile and a rather hard clap on the shoulder before straightening back out and turning to face his own crew. "Now—"

"Goddamned pirates," he spat. Shanks looked back over his shoulder at the man. "A thief's a thief," he said viciously, glaring daggers at you from where he lay on the deck floor. "The whore'll rob you lot blind same as she tried with us."

There was scattered chuckling around the Marines as Shanks stared down at the captain for a long, tense moment. You saw something shift in his eyes, the warmth and humor leaving them.

"Whore?" he repeated lightly, raising his eyebrows. His eyes swept around the rest of the Marines, before he turned to you, taking a couple steps closer. He brushed a few strands of hair behind your ear, offering you a warm smile. "I take it," he said slowly, quietly, "this is how you were being treated for the past three days, sweetheart?"

You swallowed, glancing over toward the Marines, whose laughter had quickly subsided. "More or less, yes," you affirmed.

"Hmm." He nodded, his hand drifting down to your shoulder, lifting the torn strap of your black tank top—torn when you had been flung into the cell in the brig by a couple cadets, while the captain stood watch and told you then that you'd never see the light of day again. His eyes shifted over to the Marines again, and he spoke aloud. "Change of plans, men. We take everything from this ship that isn't nailed down...and then we sink her."

The protest from the Marines was immediate, loud and desperate—some begging to be spared, others calling you several other colorful names and shouting claims that you were lying. Even you found yourself staring wide-eyed at the red-haired captain, at the knowledge that he would sink an entire ship just because of how the crew had treated you.

You were beginning to understand the reason for his bounty.

Shanks ignored the Marines entirely—it seemed his mind was made up. "I think we're just about done here." Your eyes remained wide as he turned his head back to meet your gaze, his expression softening into a smile again, his hand resting at your lower back. "What say we get you over to our ship and..." He glanced down at your shoulder briefly, at the broken strap of your shirt hanging down, "maybe find you something to change into."

You nodded, tugging unconsciously at the broken strap to pull the neck of your shirt up. "I...suppose that would be..."

"There's no need to worry, love" He clearly noticed your unease—there was no doubt it was written all over your face. He curled his arm around your back, leaning in a bit so he didn't have to raise his voice over the mounting protest of the Marines behind both of you. "You're part of my crew now, and we always look out for each other." He glanced over at the metal clink of a lighter igniting at his other side, and grinned at his first mate. "Isn't that right, Benn?"

Hi first mate quirked an eyebrow, taking a puff from his cigarette. "What am I agreeing to?"

"Ah, don't worry about it," Shanks laughed. "Anyway—I'll trust you to handle preparations here." He nodded back toward the Marines as the three of you stopped at the starboard railing around the deck, and he leaned forward against it, his eyes scanning over his ship floating only a few feet away, over the rest of the crew getting the supplies they had taken from the Marines organized. "Half a keg of powder should do the trick, we'll bring the rest with us."

"Right," said Benn, stubbing out the cigarette he had just lit on the railing and tucking it behind his ear.

"After you've—"

There was a light metallic clink right behind you—and all three of you heard it, glancing over your shoulders.

In the same instant you drew one of your swords and spun around, leveling it with the Marine officer's throat, Benn had his rifle pointed at the man's forehead. The officer dropped the flintlock pistol he had pointed at Shank's back, his eyes widened in shock, shaking as he slowly raised his hands.

Shanks turned around and leaned back, hanging his elbow over the edge of of the railing and glancing at you with a quick nod of approval. Then he turned his eyes on the Marine, giving a small chuckle and cooking his head to the side a bit.

"Now that wasn't a very smart decision, was it?" he said, grinning. "You could have just snuck by and sent out a distress call. Did you?" he added, lifting his eyebrows.

"I—I—no, I—I just—I—"

"Check," said Shanks, cutting his eyes toward Benn.

Benn gave a short nod, shouldered his rifle, and headed off toward the quarterdeck in quick strides.

The Marine remained standing there, shaking and stammering, his eyes darting between your blade and Shanks as the red-haired captain rolled his gaze back over to you. "Quite a set of reflexes you've got, sweetheart. You said your father trained you?"

You glanced at him only briefly before training your eyes back onto the Marine, and nodded. "We didn't live in a great area," you said. "He wanted to make sure I could defend myself."

"I would have to say he succeeded," he chuckled, shaking his head a little. He leaned back a bit further, placing the toe of his sandal over the Marine's pistol and sliding it across the deck, stooping down to pick it up. "What other tricks have you got up your sleeve?"

"Well," you said, watching as he turned the pistol over in his hands, and then casually reach behind him and drop it overboard. Benn was heading back down the stairs from the quarterdeck with a coil of rope hanging from one shoulder. He seemed to be in no hurry, so clearly no distress signal had been sent off. You went on, "He rigged this for me, in case I ever get disarmed."

You shifted your weight onto one foot, and hit the back of your right boot heel on the deck, and a three inch blade shot out from a slot in the front of the sole.

The Marine drew in a sharp breath, and Benn stopped a few feet away, speaking one word that clearly echoed his captain's wide-eyed expression.

"Shit."

Shank's brief look of shock quickly faded into an almost childlike excitement.

"God, that is brilliant," he laughed, crouching down and tilting his head to examine the blade. "How's it work?"

"Some sort of spring-loaded trigger mechanism," you said. You knocked your heel down again and the blade retracted. You smirked a little yourself as Shanks straightened back out—his enthusiasm truly was contagious. "My father called them 'Ball-Busters.'"

That cracked him up immediately—he leaned his shoulder into the railing, laughing, while Benn gave a scoff and shook his head. "I'd say that's pretty goddamned accurate," the first mate said. "I got it from here," he added, pulling his rifle down from his shoulder and shoving it against the Marine's shoulder as you pulled your cutlass away and slipped the blade back into its scabbard. "Alright, over there with the other assholes," he said, nudging him with the barrel. "We're as sick of being here as you are of having us here."

You watched Benn usher the officer over toward the main mast, feeling oddly as if you were stuck in the middle of some strange dream you might wake up from at any minute—wake up back in the dark and dingy cell below the deck, down in the brig, getting dragged out to be shoved into an even darker cell in Impel Down for the rest of your days.

"Oh, you are just a treat." So lost in that thought were you that you jumped a little when Shanks wrapped an arm around your back again. "Come on, love. Let's get you changed and cleaned up." He pulled himself up onto the railing and stepped into a sturdy plank laid out between his own ship and the Marines', offering you his hand. You took it and he helped pull you up as well, his fingers lacing through yours as he gave you another charming smile. "I'd say you've more than earned it."

Your eyes remained locked for a long, tense moment, his thumb brushing across the back of your hand, your heart racing a little faster—until a particularly strong wave rocked both of the ships and made you stumble a little. He chuckled lightly, before leading you across the plank and onto the main deck of his own ship.

You felt more than a little out of your element a few minutes later, lingering near the door of the captain's quarters with your arms crossed over your stomach while Shanks rifled through a wardrobe against the wall. You were still a little apprehensive, your mind still lingering on the man's decision to sink the Marines' vessel solely on your behalf, but there was a charm about him that was almost intoxicating, and it was drawing you in quickly.

"Don't really have anything that's going to fit you properly," he said, pulling one shirt out and frowning at it before hanging it back up. "But there might be...something...."

You swallowed, glancing around the cabin—at the table to your left that was covered in maps, a desk in the corner with a closed logbook, a four-poster bed in another corner with a pair of floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the port side of the ship. It still all felt uncanny enough to be a dream.

"No...other women on the crew, I take it?" you said slowly.

"No," he affirmed, still pushing aside hangers and frowning. "Not as if it's intentional, it just...turned out that way, I suppose?" He said it with an air of genuine surprise himself that almost made you chuckle. "Seems most women aren't interested in sailing around with a ship full of—ah, this should do," he interjected, pulling out a white shirt on a metal hanger that seemed at least a little smaller than the others. "Probably haven't worn it since I was a teenager," he said, looking it up and down.

He gave the shirt an appraising nod, and then tossed it to you before crossing the room to take a seat at the desk. He noded once more toward the corner by the wardrobe where there stood a fold-out changing screen.

"You'll have to forgive me if I'm a little averse to leaving a stranger alone in my personal quarters. But..." He lifted his hand, smiling, before covering his eyes with it. "I promise I won't peek. Pirate's honor."

You did chuckle a little at that. It wasn't as though you weren't used to changing in less than totally private conditions—you had been living on the streets for just over two years. You crossed the room yourself, ducking behind the divider screen and pulling it out.

"Nor do I wish to be on the recieving end of the Ball-Buster," he added, and you laughed aloud at that.

"I've never actually used it," you said, hanging the shirt over the top edge of the screen and pulling your tank top over your head. "Not as more than a threat a couple times. The sight of it usually gets the point across."

"I can't fathom any circumstance where it wouldn't," he laughed. You heard him sigh after a moment, while you pulled down the hanger and unbuttoned the shirt he had given you. "Out of curiosity," he said finally, "why exactly were you being shipped to Impel Down?" You paused, your eyes flickering up to the changing screen, in the direction of his sillhouette—and noting that from his shadow alone you could tell he still had his hand over his eyes. "That's a privilege normally reserved for pirates and revolutionaries rather than petty local thieves."

"I, uh...." You swallowed, pulling your arms through the sleeves of the shirt. You hadn't been completely clear on every detail, but it seemed now was as good a time as any—even if it was painful to recall. "I...killed two Marines before I was apprehended."

"Did you?" he said lightly.

"Mmm." You set to buttoning the shirt, slowly, glancing toward his silhouette again. "I didn't...really mean to. After...I guess after my brother took a bullet for me, I just sort of...reacted. I don't even really remember much of it. Just—him falling, then them taking my swords and locking me in a storage closet before carting me off to the ship."

You truthfully weren't even sure how long you had remained at the base before being taken to the docks—locked in the dark, your arms wrapped around your knees, wondering if you were ever going to see daylight again, hoping it was all just some awful nightmare you might wake up from.

"That's...." You heard him sigh heavily. "That's a lot." You gave a small hum in agreement, looking down at the shirt, and sighing yourself—it fit you like a nightgown, the hem drooping nearly down to your knees. You shook your head and set to unbuttoning it again.

"I suppose the Marines had a good reason for treating me like trash," you allowed, rolling the hem of the shirt up and tying it in a knot at your midriff. You fastened a few of the buttons above the knot, and set to rolling up the sleeves. "I did kill a couple of their comrades."

"And they killed your brother," he pointed out.

You frowned to yourself, swallowing back a lump forming in your throat at his quiet, understanding tone. You glanced up again when you heard him shift, and watched his shadow stand and cross the room through the screen as you rolled up the other sleeve to just above your elbow. You pulled the screen back just as he reached it, your eyes meeting his the moment you did. The sympathy in his dark eyes was almost enough to break you in an instant. You glanced down at his hand when it came to rest on your shoulder for just a moment before your eyes snapped back to his.

"That doesn't—" He shook his head. "Nothing excuses fifty plus grown men treating a young woman like something a dog dragged in. Particularly not after what you went through." Your gaze fell away from his at that, down to the floor. "I'm assuming from what you've said—and forgive me if I'm wrong—that you'd never..." He paused, seeming to search for the correct words. "You'd never been forced to defend yourself before?"

You shook your head. You had practiced with your swords for years, sparred with both your father and your brother regularly, but you had never been in a situation where you had to truly fight for your life. You had definitely never killed anyone before. You barely recalled the details even now, and you honestly didn't want to remember them at all.

"Oh, sweetheart..." He let out a slow sigh, and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. You closed your eyes as he rest his hand lightly over your head, as a little tension you hadn't even been aware of released from your shoulders. Your head fell forward, resting against his chest, and you closed your eyes as he lowered his head over yours. "Just so we're clear...you don't have to stay here," he said gently, his thumb brushing across the crown of your hair. "You're not a prisoner, you're a guest. You can take a few days to decide. Or longer. But if you do..."

He moved his hand to your cheek, lifting your head gingerly until your eyes met his.

"This crew is like a family." He lowered his forehead to yours, his hand drifting down to your shoulder again as he offered you a warm smile. "And you'll be welcome to stay as long as wish. Alright?"

You swallowed, and nodded.

Lowered your head again, your breath shaking as it left your lungs, and you rest your forehead against his chest again, your eyes closing tightly. You weren't used to this—this degree of kindness, of compassion from much of anyone, much less a stranger...but something in his eyes, in the warmth of his touch, told you that he was being completely sincere.

"Th...thank you," you whispered—you couldn't think of anything else to say than that, nothing that could wholly express the emotion swelling in your chest.

He just chuckled lightly, wrapping his arm around your shoulders again.

"You're welcome, love."

[ezwezz]

mean girls - bp x reader

genre: imagines :) summary: the 'mean girl' develops an interest in you. pairings: ot4 x reader

jennie:

jennie was your classic 'you either wanna be me, or be with me' kind of mean girl.

your first encounter with her was through a seating plan. she begrudgingly obliged to sit next to you as the teacher separated her from her rowdy friends.

each lesson you found yourself progressing in small talk with her- it went from "what's the answer?" to "oh my god you won't believe what happened earlier..." as you were opening up to each other.

you were actually beginning to look forward to the lessons despite being acutely aware of jennie's mean girl status.

eventually, as the end of term neared, jennie asked for your number to keep in touch with you over the holidays.

one thing led to another and you were attending one of her house parties. you instantly gravitated towards each other, both in a drunken stupor, and spent almost the entirety of the party at each other's side, oversharing unfiltered life stories and having a raw heart-to-heart conversation.

she even shoo'd away potential hookups in order to continue hanging out with you.

in the early hours of the morning, one mutual confession of interest led to a heavy makeout session with the mean girl.

from then on, your relationship progressed into something of a fwb situation. you'd receive random texts throughout the holidays from jennie, asking you to come over.

sometimes she was intoxicated after hanging with some friends, therefore you took it upon yourself to take care of her instead of doing what was routine at this point.

you and jennie returned to school hand-in-hand, much to the student-body's surprise.

jisoo:

jisoo was a bit of a bully and had a tendency to target people she disapproved of, with her group of peers.

an unfortunate incident involving one of jisoo's crushes being friendly with you, caused you to become their next target.

jisoo confronted you before school the next morning, so you decided to toy with her a little.

"why were you talking to [redacted] yesterday?" "they're kind of cute...i was just testing the waters." "back off." "i'm surprised you're lowering yourself to that." "excuse me?" "it seems a little desperate. not what i'd expect from a pretty girl like you."

jisoo was at a bit of a loss for words after that encounter, she simply scoffed- a light blush tinting her cheeks as she stormed away.

from then on, you found that jisoo would intentionally find you throughout the school days to shoot you a bitchy comment, which you would respond to with a comment of equal bitchiness.

the school became your cold war arena- however, it never verged on unpleasant the way actual bullying would do. it felt progressively more like lukewarm exchanges of banter.

one particularly smart remark from you caused jisoo to crack and let out a giggle- surprising both you and herself.

"cute laugh!" "shut up."

you received a text from an unknown number after school that day: 'it's jisoo. erase my laugh from your pea-brain, i still hate you'.

you replied: 'charming as always, i guess this is one way to start a conversation with me ;)'

the conversation continued into the early hours of the morning. it was frosty at first, but by the time you finally said goodnight there was an undeniable warmth to her replies.

she greeted you the next day, not with the usual middle finger, but with a small "good morning" and a smile as she passed by.

lisa:

lisa was the rich girl. from what you'd heard, money lacked value to her, it was simply a constant in her life.

one day you were alone in the bathrooms sorting out your appearance in the mirror when someone came barrelling in, instantly locking themselves in the nearest cubicle. you could hear distinct sounds of sobbing coming from inside.

"uh...everything okay?" you felt obliged to ask. "obviously not! my boyfriend just broke up with me." a voice replied, it clearly didn't take much for them to open up.

you spent the next 20 minutes conversing with the person, indicating for random people to leave when they stumbled across the scene.

when the door finally opened, you were shocked to see a red-eyed lisa staring back at you. "you're really nice to talk to." she stated after a moment.

from then on, you'd be subject to random little gifts from the girl in gratitude. she claimed that now she didn't have a boyfriend, there was a gap in her spending to fill and none of her friends deserved the gifts more than you, but that was the extent of your interactions for a while.

you caught rumours of lisa's birthday coming around, and while you surely couldn't match her expectations on a spending-scale, you could certainly put some thought into a gift- as a thanks for all the ones she'd given you.

you slipped a small necklace with a moonstone pendant into lisa's locker on her birthday. attached was a note explaining the qualities of a moonstone such as inner growth and emotional balance, in light of her recent relationship ending.

the next day, you spotted the necklace adorning the girl's neck and smiled to yourself. when she found you later on, you were greeted with a hug, catching you by surprise. "thank you..so much." she whispered, before slipping a note into your pocket and rejoining her friends. it was her phone number.

from that day forward, lisa wore the necklace every day, and you wore your new matching bracelet.

rosé

rosé was captain of the cheer team, a role envied by many as a clear symbol of status. you'd known rosé years before school, and long before she'd become 'popular', due to your parents being friends.

you'd naturally drifted apart, but were still acquaintances in some ways- despite not even sparing each other glances in the hallways.

one day, in a strange turn of events, you found yourself inside rosé's house attending a dinner party with her family.

there was a definite air of awkwardness surrounding you two when you were left alone by your parents, but the conversation picked up when you began the gossip session.

you eventually found yourself in rosé's bedroom, completely abandoning the dinner party as you two joked around carelessly, forgetting about the divisions you faced in school. it felt strangely normal all of a sudden.

the following days were pleasant, instead of ignoring each other, you and rosé would say hello in the hallways. then it didn't take long for the friendship to rekindle as rosé would start asking to eat lunch together and hang out after school. much to their disdain, you'd eventually replaced a few of her popular new friends.

one thing led to another and you were once again in rosé's bedroom, this time as closer friends than before. you were finishing up some homework as she scrolled absentmindedly through her social media, both lying on the bed.

"i'm bored." she exclaimed with a sigh for emphasis, shifting so that she was directly beside you and her face inches away from yours. "i want to do something..." "like what?" you met her gaze, the proximity undeniably intimate. "i dunno!" she giggled while unsubtly glancing at your lips. "you sure?" you replied, smirking.

before you knew it, her lips were on yours and you were breathlessly making out with the cheer captain.

the small pecks in the hallways prior to that night seemed only natural.

[willbyersabyss]

Mike is gay

Disclaimer: This is my personal interpretation and is not meant to start discourse. Anyone who calls it discourse will be blocked, thanks!

The biggest reason why people believe Mike is attracted to girls is because of his relationship with El, especially in season one. I don’t think he was genuinely interested in her at all. I think Mike was and has been experiencing a lot of compulsory heterosexuality. That’s not to say that Mike has been intentionally deceiving El all this time, a lot of his behavior was subconscious! That’s how socialization works! We aren’t always aware of the expectations being forced on us and this is especially true for heterosexual socialization. Now let’s see how the show hints at Mike’s relationship with El being a case of comphet:

We are supposed to believe that Mike fell in love with El when they met, but when we watch the first week they spent together, it’s pretty obvious that that’s not the case. Mike showed simple kindness to El when they first met because she was clearly scared and traumatized. Mike is a very protective person, as we learn throughout the show. He wasn’t being kind to her because he’s romantically interested, he’s just a protective person. 

El is the only girl in the show that Mike shows “interest” in. It’s established before Mike’s crush develops that El looks like a boy to outsiders! We are also reminded of this after there are romantic hints between mlvn (when Troy is talking to the police). She doesn’t even look like a girl! So the only girl we see Mike with in a romantic context looks like a boy. Yeah that supposed attraction to girls isn’t looking great right now.

Mike and Dustin are discussing how El got her powers when Lucas starts accusing Mike of having a crush on El. Mike didn’t say anything remotely romantic about her, he was just correcting Lucas that it’s okay to be weird! Also it’s interesting how they only compare El to male superheroes. Not only that, they compare her to the X-Men! Lucas believes Mike is interested in El right after they compare her to men? Okay.

Edit: Despite the deceiving name, the X-Men are actually not all men! There is a woman superhero with telekinetic powers that they were likely comparing El to. The choice to use the name X-Men rather than the actual character is an interesting choice, though!

Side note: I feel like Mike had similar views to Jonathan on normalcy in the beginning of season one, but that changes as people lead Mike to be with El. He thought it was okay to be different, maybe even cool, until his friends and family told him otherwise. Anyways!

Mike seems genuinely confused during this scene. This isn’t the typical “What? No way!” reaction that an embarrassed 12 year old would have when discussing a crush, Mike genuinely doesn’t understand why Lucas made this assumption. If you watch the scene, Mike’s tone isn’t defensive or embarrassed. If Mike had a crush on El at this point, why was he confused by Lucas’ assumption? This is definitely where Mike starts to mix up admiration for love. Lucas has a huge influence on how Mike views relationships. Since Lucas thought Mike had a crush on El, Mike must like her right? Mike starts viewing El in a different light after this interaction, beginning his comphet journey. 

Mike only starts to show signs of a “crush” on El after Lucas implies that he should. A boy being nice to a girl? Must be love! This is a huge sign of heteronormativity. Mike starts acting on these heteronormative expectations. He gives El a makeover to make her look like the ideal girl, he calls her pretty while acting out the “guy sees girl all dressed up and is shocked!” trope, and gives her special attention. Honestly I’m trying to find more romantic mlvn moments in s1 to help my point and there just… aren’t any. That’s it. He calls her pretty a few times and then they kiss at the end. 

This line sticks out to me. El is the first girl that isn’t “grossed out” by Mike and this is why Mike likes her. He doesn’t like El, he likes the concept of El. Mike is a very insecure person who has been called ugly by bullies his entire life. When El, a cool superhero, shows interest in him, he feels like he must be cool by association. He’s been told that girls being attracted to him is a marker for importance and he finally has that. Mike doesn’t want girls to be interested in him because he wants a girlfriend, he just wants his insecurities to be relieved. Mike admires El’s super powers because she’s similar to the (male) superheroes he admires. His relationship with El is based on admiration and the desire to be desired rather than actual attraction. This is a common symptom of comphet (from personal experience). 

Later on, El asks if she’s still pretty without the wig. Mike reassures her that she’s pretty and then he makes a face. What is this facial expression? Why does he look grossed out after calling El pretty? El starts to lean in towards him and he just stands stiff. He does this in later seasons as well, but I’ll get into that later. El is trying to kiss him (?) and he’s frozen. Why isn’t he leaning in too? It seems like he doesn’t want to kiss her. Interesting. 

Mike and Nancy have a conversation about their new love interests. Nancy assumes Mike was acting weird because of Will and Mike thinks she’s been weird because of Steve. The thing is, they were right. Nancy was acting weird because of Steve! She was performing a big act of conformity at the beginning of the season. What was this conformity? Ditching her nerdy interests and trying to grow up by getting a boyfriend. Sound familiar? That’s a surprise tool that will help us later. Mike was being weird because he was grieving and looking for Will. Everything he was doing was to find Will, even hanging out with El all the time. They’re both right in their assumptions here while implying that they were wrong! 

Nancy, like Lucas, has a big influence on how Mike views relationships. When she assumes he likes El, he acts grossed out because Nancy denied his accusation that she likes Jonathan seconds earlier. He’s mirroring her because he admires her, whether he wants to admit it or not. We see him find her cool for breaking the lock just before this! He wants to be like his big sister. So now two people Mike looks up to have tried to get Mike to see El romantically. Mike is definitely internalizing these assumptions. Everyone thinks he likes her, so must like her, right? 

It’s interesting how Nancy implies Mike’s behavior around El is weird. It feels similar to…

Another person who finds it weird that Mike is hanging out with a girl. Is this just Mike’s family teasing him about being nerdy, or is he lacking an interest in girls in their eyes? The people closest to Mike (Lucas, Nancy, Ted, and Karen) all find his behavior around El to be weird. I don’t necessarily think they suspect that Mike is queer, but from the audience’s perspective, this may be hinting at him being gay.

This conversation is extremely queer coded as well. Karen talks about being more open while Mike is literally hiding someone in his closet! Mike is hiding a girl (who looks like a boy) in his closet. Is he hiding his lack of attraction to girls in the closet?

“All this that’s been going on with Will, I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you.” Is the beginning of this conversation. So what was going on with Will? Obviously that he was missing, but what exactly did the town think happened to Will? They thought he was killed either by a homophobe or another queer person. Karen seems to be fairly popular in Hawkins so she probably heard these rumors. On the surface, this just seems like a conversation about grief, but when you look closer, is Karen trying to spark a deeper conversation with Mike about these rumors and how they make him feel? If so, what does Karen believe Mike is hiding here? She obviously knows how special Will is to Mike and she might suspect that he is queer too. Maybe in the same way Will is...

Anyways, back to what Nancy said. So after Lucas teased Mike for crushing on El, Mike started to see El differently than before. He feels like he has to develop feelings for her because his friends are expecting it, so he starts to force his behavior to change around her. Instead of just showing basic kindness, there’s more of a tenderness in the way he treats her. He’s testing out Lucas’ theory! Once Nancy accuses Mike of liking El, Mike’s act of conformity gets pushed to its limit. He only tries kissing El after his conversation with Nancy. When El seemed like she was going to kiss him before, he wasn’t into it. Mike is trying to hide his lack of interest in girls by pushing himself towards the only girl that has shown interest in him because everyone is telling him that’s what he should do!

And here we are. What is this? This is just… weird. Why did they have this said about what’s supposed to be a romantic couple? This isn’t the first time either. The boys said she was Mike’s cousin earlier. I know there’s a trope where characters call each other friends before getting together, but this is just a whole other level. 

El expressing that she sees Mike like a brother right before they kiss is not a good sign! Mike says that his relationship with El is different, but starts to backtrack. “It’s different… or I guess it’s not.” Um? I don’t think Mike views his relationship with El as familial at all, of course not, but this tells me that he only really sees her as a friend. If he was actually attracted to her, why would he even imply this at all? This also shows how he’s letting other people change how he views his relationship with El. He’s trying to say that he likes her until she implies that they’re more like family, and then he changes his mind. Mike is easily swayed by other people’s opinions when it comes to relationships (at least in season one). 

So I believe Mike mixed up admiration for El with romantic feelings and this was heavily influenced by others pushing him to be with her. Since El is really the only girl he shows interest in in the show (which I’ll get more into in a bit), this points to him being gay! Mike wasn’t purposefully using El to hide being gay, I don’t think he was aware of his queerness yet, but he was conforming to the expectations placed on him. 

Now that we’ve established that Mike’s feelings for El were not genuine, let’s get into the other evidence of him being gay:

Boys only! This line feels like it has similar implications to Will’s “free of girls!” line. If Will wanting to be free of girls is a hint that he’s gay, then Mike’s “boys only!” serves the same purpose. The same goes for Will’s cluelessness about girls (Girls don’t play video games. Girls go to science camp?) Mike is clueless about girls the entirety of s3 and even agrees with the video game line Will said in s2. They’re clueless about girls because they’re gay. Of course, real teenage boys are often clueless about girls, but I’m thinking about this in the context of a TV show. What does this tell us about Mike? It could just be for relatability but I think there’s something deeper there.

And here are a few shots of Mike looking disgusted or angry at the thought of showing attraction to girls. The first scene is where Dustin tells Mike he is going to flirt with a bunch of girls. Why is Mike making that face? Flirting with girls confuses and disgusts him, apparently. The fourth scene is where Lucas tells Mike to talk to El with ominous music playing in the back. Why is scary music playing when Mike is thinking about talking to a girl? That’s kind of gay. 

Mike, like Will, showed no interest in winning over Princess Daphne while Dustin and Lucas fought over her. But Mike staying quiet doesn’t mean he’s disinterested, right? Nope! Princess Daphne foreshadowed Lucas and Dustin fighting over Max. Mike showed zero interest in Max. Even Will was (platonically) intrigued by her, but overall he was indifferent. Mike and Will have the same reaction to Max. They aren’t showing attraction to her, unlike Dustin and Lucas. Again, Mike and Will having similar reactions to girls points to their sexuality being the same. Mike’s reaction was actually more extreme compared to Will! He was trying to kick Max out!

"Awesome? You haven't even spoken a word to her." Funny coming from the person who claims to have fallen in love with a girl at first sight. But that's a topic for later.

Mike didn’t want Max to join the party because he didn’t like the idea of his friends moving on from their more nerdy interests to get girlfriends. They were ditching Halloween to impress Max. Mike’s behavior towards Max in s2 is the same as Will’s behavior towards El in s3. Will didn’t want to move on from DnD for girls! We know Will is gay, so what does this entail for Mike? If Will’s annoyance towards his friends hanging out with girls was a sign that he’s gay, then we can assume Mike’s annoyance in s2 was for the same reason. Obviously, both Mike and Will have multiple reasons for their behavior, but one of those reasons has to do with them being gay.

El tries to kiss Mike and, for a second time, he stands still. His eyes are wide and he almost looks scared? He’s not looking at her lips or showing any attraction towards her. Why is it that every time El tries to kiss Mike first, he’s like a deer in headlights? It’s almost like he needs to talk himself into kissing her and that’s why he doesn’t like when she does it first. Seems pretty gay to me!

I feel like Mike started to pick up on his feelings for Will here. They felt the spark for most of the season, but the Snow Ball is when it really clicked for Mike. He started mirroring the actions of his friends and family from s1 by pushing Will towards a girl. Everyone did it to him so Mike thought this is what he was supposed to do! So why does it feel so wrong? Mike starts putting the pieces together and he’s scared of what he’s feeling. He complained about his friends growing up and moving on to get girlfriends the entire season, but at least he had Will, right? Then this girl takes Will from him too and now Mike is left in the dust. He feels like he has to do the same so he runs into the safety net of El to try and push his newfound feelings for Will away and be normal.

This kickstarts Mike’s behavior in s3. He’s going after a girl to try and be normal so he can be safe! He’s scared to acknowledge his feelings. Why isn’t Will doing the same? Mike is scared for both himself and Will. Mike has heard what everyone thinks about Will, so why isn’t Will trying to prove them wrong? I feel like Mike’s outbursts at Will are not only because of his repressed feelings for him, but also because he’s confused why Will can be so loud about not caring about girls while Mike is trying everything he can to force himself to like girls. They’re supposed to be “growing up” and getting girlfriends, but Will doesn’t want that and neither does Mike. Mike is trying to conform so he doesn’t face the same fate that Will has faced his entire life. It gets so bad that Mike starts to contribute to the struggles Will faces for not wanting to conform.

The rain fight makes so much more sense in this context. Why was Mike so frustrated that Will didn’t like girls? He wanted Will to be conforming the same way he was because conformity is safe. Otherwise, Will was putting himself in danger. I’m not saying that Mike knows that Will is gay, but Mike has watched Will get bullied for exactly that so he expects Will to conform to avoid the bullying! Mike was advocating against getting girlfriends until Will seemingly got a girl at the dance, so when Will didn't even stay with that girl, Mike’s effort was for nothing. Mike thought he had no other choice but to force himself to like a girl and when Will shows that that’s not the case, Mike wishes that he could do the same. Mike takes his internal frustration out on Will because he wants Will to be safe instead of chasing after the things they both want but can’t have (playing games for the rest of their lives). 

And so we come to the conclusion that Mike was projecting onto Will during their fight. “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” Is Mike’s internal struggle being taken out on Will. “What did you think, really? We were never gonna get girlfriends?” And Mike thought exactly that in s2! He thought the party would stick together for a bit longer until Dustin and Lucas ditched them for girls. This tells us that Mike was projecting here because he had the same thought he’s accusing Will of. So if these lines are projections, that means that Mike doesn’t like girls. He has to be gay.

Let’s use that surprise tool I mentioned earlier! Nancy ditched her nerdy interests to get a boyfriend (Steve). That’s where Mike initially got it hammered in his head that growing up means getting a girlfriend and moving on from “childish” things. Nancy’s relationship with Steve is an act of conformity and we know this thanks to Barb who calls Nancy out on her behavior. Will is doing the same to Mike! The argument Nancy and Barb have (this isn’t you) is a small parallel to the rain fight. Mike is conforming because he has witnessed others do it and has been told to do so. He can be like his straight sister, right? 

Once again, we have El initiating a kiss with Mike standing completely still. That’s the third time this has happened! If Mike was just surprised, why didn’t he start to kiss back? Or at least close his eyes? He had plenty of time to react. When El leaves, he has a strange expression on his face. The way his eyes dart around show that he’s realizing something, a realization in front of the closet with a lightbulb over his head. Mike thought that if he kissed El enough times, romantic feelings would eventually develop and his feelings for boys would just go away. This moment in Will’s room is when Mike realizes that those feelings are not going away. 

If this realization was just about Mike figuring out he’s attracted to boys, why is it happening after kissing a girl? Why is he standing in front of a closet while kissing El? His realization is not about liking boys, it’s about not liking girls. If Mike was realizing that he likes both boys and girls here, it would have happened after his talk with Will, not his kiss with El. He feels the need to hide in the closet because his repression is not working.

The Hopper’s letter sequence supports this as well. Mike is shown during these lines:

 “I feel like you’re pulling away from me or something.”

“I don’t want things to change.”

“So, I think that’s maybe why I came in here, to try to stop that change. To make things go back to how they were.”

El isn’t the one pulling away from Mike. We just saw her tell him she loves him! This line is foreshadowing events between seasons. Will doesn’t try to call Mike and they don’t have any contact. Mike tries to call, Will is pulling away. How is Mike changing? Of course, things are changing because the Byers are moving, but I sense a double meaning here. These scenes parallel the night they found Will’s body at the quarry. Mike feels like he’s losing Will for a second time because things are changing. Mike’s feelings are changing.

And this leads us into s4. Mike still attempts to repress his feelings by staying with El and it’s getting easier since she’s across the country. He doesn’t have to face his feelings for Will when he can’t see him!

Now let’s talk about his room decor. He has a couple of buff men (well one is a dragon but still) and one woman. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t necessarily think that room decor is always an indicator for sexuality. Nancy has posters of women in her room and as much as I love to hc her as sapphic, I think it’s more likely that she’s meant to be straight in the show. So, in my personal opinion, the woman on Mike’s poster isn’t hinting at his sexuality.

I do think the one way sign is important, though. I believe this serves a double meaning. It’s pointing at the closet, but it’s also hinting at Mike’s sexuality being one way. This sign points in the same direction as Mike’s triangle pocket that’s over his heart and always pointing at Will. Mike’s heart is not split between El and Will, it goes one direction. Will! A boy!

Speaking of split, let’s talk about this. This line is commonly used as bi evidence, but I don’t interpret it that way. I think this was more foreshadowing who Mike pays attention to throughout the day. Yellow is Will and purple is El! We see Mike noticing all the details about Will being upset, but he doesn’t even pick up on El looking uncomfortable when Angela shows up. He was focused on Will more than he was El! If this line was about sexuality, why didn’t they make it blue and pink (the usual colors for gender) instead of yellow and purple? This feels more person specific rather than an overall read on Mike’s sexuality. And this could just be a double meaning but again, this is my personal interpretation.

Also this line is in past tense. “I kinda did a 70/30 split.” If this is a double meaning for his sexuality, it’s in the past tense. He tried to do a split and it didn’t work because there’s too much yellow! His attraction to boys overshadows his (nonexistent) attraction to girls!

And now onto this load of bullshit. Mike lied. That’s pretty much a fact at this point. “I’m sorry I don’t say it more.” And he’s literally never said it to her face. “It’s not because I’m scared of you. I’ve never felt that way.” Lie. He was definitely scared of her a few times in s1 and possibly when she hit Angela in s4. But the most important lie here is that he fell in love with her at first sight. Hours after they met, he wanted to send her to a mental asylum so they could find Will. He only started to really care about her when he found out she was in danger and when she said she could help find Will. He called her a weapon and yelled “what’s wrong with you?” multiple times. That’s not love. If Mike ever had feelings for El, why would he feel the need to lie about when that happened? He could’ve said the Snow Ball or some other significant moment in their relationship (there are none), but he lied! He couldn’t name the actual moment he fell in love with her because it never happened. So if Mike never had feelings for El, that means he’s gay. Mike doesn’t show attraction to girls otherwise!

The climax of the monologue is the “you’re my superhero” line. Mike doesn’t even view calling someone a superhero as romantic. He calls his friends superheroes multiple times. Why the hell is that the climax when he doesn’t see it as romantic? And what kind of superhero? Every time Mike refers to El as a specific kind of hero, it’s a male hero. The X-Men and Superman. Other characters are perfectly capable of calling El “supergirl” or saying she’s like Wonder Woman. Why does Mike seem incapable of acknowledging his girlfriend’s femininity? Gay!

I didn’t really talk about how he shows attraction to boys because if you’re reading this, I assume you know that already. I’m just going to leave this here and it should be enough:

And with that, I’m going to wrap this up here. There’s more evidence I could address, but I wanted to focus on the evidence that’s most significant to me! Mike has not shown genuine attraction to girls and his relationship with El is a form of compulsory heterosexuality. Also, yes the show will confirm his sexuality in some way. Mike doesn’t exist just to be a love interest. His journey through queerness is just as important as the currently confirmed queer characters. I think they’ll confirm it in a similar way to Will and Robin where it’s not explicitly said, but still obvious. Michael Wheeler is gay!

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

When I think about it, I think we start to see a shift in Ed's perception of Stede's self-confidence as early as s1e7, and that's when he starts to make a real effort to reassure Stede when he can.

It is very, very easy to understand how Ed missed how devastatingly low Stede's self-esteem is at first; I still don't think he fully gets it. Stede could be the poster boy for a "fake-it-till-you-make-it" mentality; he carries himself with a lot of unearned confidence and enthusiasm. He also doesn't fucking talk about his feelings unless he HAS to. It's no wonder Ed misses just how much reassurance Stede needs.

But we can start pinpointing him starting to suss it out a bit! In s1e5, he clearly hadn't realized: Ed not only interrupted Stede when he was trying to talk at the party, he contributed to how the other guests were laughing at him. I don't think Ed was intentionally trying to be mean; he acts much more like they're playing characters at the party than Stede does, and he doesn't know how deep Stede's insecurities go, but it was still a bit of a dick move.

But then, in s1e7, when Lucius tells Ed how hard Stede is trying to impress him, it seems like something clicks. Ed goes out of his way to validate Stede's ideas, and though he comes on a bit too strong ("see, now I feel like you're just patronizing me." "I am.") it's a great step in the right direction.

There's a slide back in s1e8, when Ed ignores Jack interrupting Stede and doesn't really do anything to shut it down when Jack insults him. It's meant to add to how Jack is encouraging Ed to behave in callous and inconsiderate ways to push Stede away. But an episode later, when Ed can tell Stede needs reassurance, he's on it. He tells Stede his fake heads idea "wasn't bad" to hype him up a bit, and fondly tells Stede to shut up when Stede says he only has stupid ideas. It's a good move.

In s2, we can see this develop even more. In s2e5, Ed is happy to give Stede some pointers on his captain voice (and not even exclusively for horny reasons), and compliments his performance. In s2e6 he specifically waits until Frenchie and Jim leave to tell Stede that they're just trying to Calypso him, making sure Stede won't feel like he's being embarassed in front of his crew.

And now, as of the s2 finale, Ed is really starting to fully get it. When Stede tries to bring up his own accomplishments when Ed and Zheng Yi Sao are talking about how cool their fight was, Ed instantly picks up on it being time to reassure his boyfriend, quickly letting Stede know that he saw Stede being cool, it was incredible, and adding on a cute pet name to make sure Stede knows he's being genuine and affectionate. Even if Stede wasn't really super cool in that fight, Ed knows Stede wants to feel included and like his contributions had value, and he immediately rises to the task.

These guys just get each other so well and they do such a good job of hyping each other up. I can't wait to see this develop even further.

[antianakin]

I'm getting a little tired of this moment that occurs in happy fix-it AUs a lot where a Jedi character will correct a clone character when they accidentally call them "general" or "sir" by reminding them they're no longer a general and the clones says "you'll always be MY general, though" and they just proceed to keep using military titles for them afterwards and it's supposed to be some sweet thing between them.

Like, on the one hand, I get it, the rank that the Jedi once detested has come to mean something else and the clones use it to mean something other than what anyone else would have, but on the other hand, the Jedi also HAVE THEIR OWN TITLES and they clearly aren't HAPPY about being drafted into the war as generals. It's not a role they chose, it's not a rank they earned, it just got forced upon them, but ranks like Padawan or Knight or Master are all ranks that the Jedi would've earned for themselves and that have really great meaning to their own culture.

So why is it more meaningful for the clones to just insist on continuing to use a military rank for the Jedi because THEY found it meaningful, rather than allowing the clones to develop AWAY from the enforced military structure and embrace the titles the Jedi chose for themselves as a way of recognizing this new dynamic between their two cultures? It's not even just symbolic of the JEDI leaving the war behind, but of the CLONES leaving the war behind as well as the way of thinking about themselves that the Kaminoans would've shoved down their throats about what they were made for and what their purpose is.

It feels a lot more meaningful to me for the clones to let that go, both their own pasts and the power dynamics forced upon both them and the Jedi, by intentionally setting aside the military titles and using the titles the Jedi already HAD.

Also, names clearly mean quite a lot to the clones, especially as something they chose for themselves to define who they are. It seems a tad out of character to their culture for them to hear the Jedi express a dislike for military titles and insist on using them anyway because it's what the CLONES prefer even if the Jedi already HAVE preferred terms of address.

I'd love to see more clones taking the initiative to switch over to using terms like Initiate, Padawan, Knight, and Master without needing to even be asked because they know how important it is to the Jedi to be able to reclaim those titles.

[getvalentined]

Actually while I'm on it, I wanna talk about the dichotomy between Genesis and Angeal. I'm not censoring names in this one because I'm not worried about it being read as character bashing, but it's a topic that I think is super interesting but I never see discussed outside the perception that they represent the dichotomy of good versus evil.

The dichotomy between these two is not and has never been good versus evil. Angeal having a white wing or insisting that he's honorable does not make him good, particularly when his idea of "honor" includes never asking anyone for help and forcing people that love him to do horrific things so he doesn't have to keep living as he really is. Conversely, Genesis having a black wing and referring to himself as a monster doesn't make him evil, particularly when everything he does in the actual storyline is an attempt to save himself (and his men), or at least make sure that Shinra falls far enough that it can't do this to anyone else.

That said, Angeal and Genesis are on opposite sides, just not in the way you most people assume.

Angeal is all about appearances, expectations, worthiness. He's never let go in his life, he was brought up in a poor household where he was presumably heaped with expectations and responsibilities by parents who were unable to properly care for him, and this led him to developing some extremely rigid and maladaptive ideologies. His concept of "honor" is probably the biggest one; we can see how he picked this up from Gillian pretty clearly in how she refers to the Buster Sword, and how we know she continually turned down Shinra's hush money and then never told the truth anyway.

Angeal sees "honor" as doing everything yourself, forever, the exact way that you were told. "Honor" is working yourself to death, it's not admitting when you're in over your head, it's accepting the worst situations as necessary even if they could be changed with the participation or contribution of someone else. It's dishonorable to ask for help. It's dishonorable to stop when there's still work to do. It's dishonorable to be indebted to anyone, even if the process of paying off a debt will kill you. It's better to die than to be dishonorable. He is his mother's son in every way.

By contrast, Genesis is all about independence, equality, justice. We can also see this in what we know of his background—Genesis was the brilliant son of a wealthy family, he gave Banora global brand recognition, his work with Banora White juice literally changed the entire face of his homeland's economy forever. He did this on his own. He figured this out because he wanted to share something with someone he admired, and he knew that the only way to make it worth something was to do it himself. However, where Genesis is independent, he's more than capable of asking for help, and he does over and over through the course of the game. Independence isn't about cutting yourself off from your community, it's about doing things in the way that works best for you, regardless of others' opinions.

Genesis' biggest issue is his concept of "justice," because it wheels pretty often into vengeance. At the end of the day he has three goals: survive, get Sephiroth out of Shinra, and make sure that the company can never do to anyone else what it did to him. He tries to ensure this by carving his way through anyone he feels stands between him and those goals, because Shinra deserves what he's doing and anyone who thinks otherwise is unjust. He's not self-centered, per se, but he has no empathy for anyone he doesn't personally care about, and it makes him seem cruel in a way that is entirely unnecessary.

It's pretty clear by the end that he's not intentionally cruel, just like he probably doesn't lack empathy by choice—but he does clearly struggle with empathy, and he clearly doesn't understand why anyone is angry with him when he knows he's right. He tells the truth without understanding that not everyone wants it. He can't conceptualize why someone wouldn't want to know.

Genesis' biggest problem is that he can't tell the difference between justice that strengthens the world around him and the people under his care, and vengeance meant to pay back the people and institutions that led him here in the first place.

The dichotomy in Project G was never good versus evil, it's external validation versus internal validation. Angeal needs the world to see him as right, while Genesis needs the world to back off and allow him to do things the way he already "knows" is right. The majority of Genesis' story takes place in his own head, and it's a broken narrative for reasons unrelated to the literal rotting; he knows what he's doing, he's methodical and clear in his actions, and he doesn't understand why people that know the truth don't agree with him. Angeal's, meanwhile, takes place primarily through Zack's eyes, because the opinions of others are what matter to him, and if he can't figure out how to make those eyes see exactly what he wants then he can't bear to be seen at all.

Basically Genesis is autistic, Angeal has OCPD, and Shinra has no concept of mental health care. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[lurkingshan]

Since you've watched a lot of kdrama, what are common things you've seen in kdrama that have been consistently ported into K-BL, and what is your assessment of that approach?

Ooh, interesting question. So first, let's acknowledge a few things:

Korean bl is short format, with even the longest shows (Light on Me, The Eighth Sense) not even half the length of a standard kdrama (16-20 hours), and most clocking in around 2-4 hours

Kbl operates under much smaller budgets and significant constraints around casting as compared to mainstream kdrama

Kbl often draws from webtoons and manwha and mostly does not have the kind of auteur writers and directors behind it that you get in kdrama (Hwang Da-Seul is the most consistent creator in genre with Where Your Eyes Linger, Blueming, To My Star)

All that said, there are a few features of mainstream kdrama that have definitely ported over into kbl despite these constraints:

Slick production values and strong use of setting and color: even the cheapest kbls still look decent, and there is always intentionally behind the setting and use of color palettes to set the tone and feel. Korea has a very well-developed film industry and it shows. Color Rush, Semantic Error and Blueming were fantastic examples of this: even within more familiar school romances, the settings felt specific and the use of color to communicate character and themes was striking. I also think often of Our Dating Sim and Choco Milk Shake and the very effective characterization work achieved through design of the apartments.

Sound production and music on point: the home of kpop is not going to be caught sleeping on the OSTs. Nearly every production has original songs and given the leads of these shows are usually idols, they're often the ones on the tracks. And when they use music that is not original, like in The Eighth Sense, it's a very intentional choice to set mood and tone. Korea is not going to let a boy who can't actually sing take the mic (*side eyes Thailand*). To My Star is a great example of memorable OSTs even in a fairly low budget production, and Wish You and Sing My Crush showed us what kbl can do when it decides to bring the full kpop treatment to bear.

A keen understanding of the international audience: kdrama production is a big part of South Korea's explicit goals to take the global media landscape by storm, and kbl is included in that. It's not a coincidence that Korea decided to step up its game in this arena shortly after Thai bl exploded (shoutout to 2gether and pandemic lockdowns). Kbl follows trends and explicitly caters to international audiences in a way jbl does not. The Eighth Sense was basically a case study in marrying kdrama sensibilities and western aesthetics for maximum international attention.

Second leads and valorization of unrequited love: you and I have discussed this one a lot because this is a feature of kdramas that will never die and that kbls also clearly love. Korea loves a one-sided love story and culturally, there is a certain dignity afforded to owning your feelings and being honest with the object of your affection, even when there is no hope of reciprocation. Often second leads don't get the guy/girl because they hesitate or hide their feelings until it's too late: the trope is used to underline the important of honesty and effort as well as providing a catalyst for the main lead to make their move. In Korean culture, the trying is what matters much more than the succeeding. We are meant to like most second leads and see them as honorable and dignified for their sincere feelings toward the protagonist. Second lead syndrome is a thing for a reason. It's also just a cheap and easy way to create drama so you'll often see it in the lower budget kbls. Second leads showed up recently in kbls like The Tasty Florida, Jun & Jun, Oh! Boarding House, Bon Appetit, etc. We also sometimes see kbls playing with the idea of unrequited love in the main pairing that is actually requited, like in Our Dating Sim.

Love triangles: relatedly, Korea loves them a love triangle, and they are uniquely good at doing it well when they want to. Light on Me is a fantastic example of a narrative where you can legitimately see the protagonist liking and ending up with both the main and second lead. And that is rooted in the way the narrative treats Daon with dignity even as it punishes him for his hesitation in reciprocating Taekyung's feelings (see above). When you have a strong second lead who engenders real sympathy with the audience, love triangle excellence is achieved.

Workplace romances: kdrama loves workplace romances, and we have seen kbl start to move into that space recently with shows like Roommates of Poongdock 304, Love Mate, Our Dating Sim, Jun & Jun, and The New Employee. Kdrama workplace romances run the gamut, but they often feature chaebol characters paired with a "normal" aka not wealthy person, and we are starting to see that more in the bl genre as well, as we discussed a bit yesterday. I believe @nieves-de-sugui commented on your post about how the rich/poor romance fantasy trend in recent bl may be coming in from kdrama. I think there's some truth to that, but really it's a foundational romance trope that predates kdrama by literal centuries, and is absolutely rooted in heteronormative patriarchal dynamics that assume men are breadwinners and caretakers for women (translated to seme/uke dynamics in bl). Often in kdrama the chaebol character is unable to live an authentic life due to the demands of filial piety and the expectations tied to their wealth, and I do think that dynamic is ripe for enrichment when you layer on gay identity in a homophobic society. But that requires shows leaving the no homophobia bubble, which few kbls have done.

Physical intimacy squarely in the middle space: comparing to heat levels we see across the spectrum of dramas, I think kdrama and kbl are pretty consistent in that they tend to land right in the middle of the spectrum. It's rare to see straight up dead fish kisses from romantic leads anymore (though it still happens, wincing at Unintentional Love Story), but they are also not going to be serving authentic sex scenes. What you get instead is very pretty open-mouthed kissing that feels more realistic than, for instance, the pure jbl lane, but still polished and aesthetically pleasing. Think Semantic Error, Blueming, Roomates of Poongdock 304, Love Mate, To My Star 2, Jun & Jun. This seems to be where the genre is landing and I don't expect heat levels to get any higher for kbl, as this is right in line with mainstream kdrama. The Eighth Sense offered a less polished version of intimacy that felt right in line with its grittier sensibilities.

So, after that long list, on to your second question: my assessment of this approach is that kbls are doing fairly well for themselves when you consider the constraints they are operating under. Look at a show like Love Tractor stacked up against something like Hometown Cha Cha Cha. These are both based in the classic romance trope of a city slicker coming to the country and falling in love with a humble working person. But where HCCC has 16 hours to build a quasi-enemies to lovers narrative with a rich community of side characters, LT has 3.5 hours to achieve the same thing. So it makes sense that it would fall back on well-worn tropes and story beats it knows the audience will recognize to help save time. These shortcuts help the audience ground themselves and get invested in the stories quickly.

One thing I'll say is that kbl mostly stays in the romcom lane with very occasional ventures into melo, and despite what casual observers think, kdrama actually has a lot more to offer than that. It's a giant world with stories based in every possible genre, tone, and style, and Korean media is particularly adept at embedding romance plots that actually work in all kinds of stories including action thrillers, horror, crime narratives, mysteries, supernatural and fantasy epics. I'd love to see kbl try this, though of course it would require the resources and runtime to do it successfully. Here's hoping they get the chance.

[moonpetrichors-blog]

HEAR ME OUT, ROYAL AU BUT WITH SCARAMOUCHE

Prince Scaramouche

Tags: Royal AU, Scaramouche, Imagine, Prince!Scaramouche, Princess!Reader, Scaramouche x Reader, Mommy Issues Galore, Lowkey Enemies To Lovers? , Scaramouche is Just Bad w Feelings, Oneshot

Warnings: Mentions Of Scara Being Mean

Scaramouche is an Inazuman prince with mother issues, and you’re a caring princess from Liyue visiting for diplomatic reasons. What could go wrong?

* ˚ ✦ 947 Words • Read below the cut

╭┈─────── ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-╰┈➤ ❝ [30/11/22] ❞

Imagine, Scaramouche is the prince of Inazuma.

He is cold, calculated, and untrusting. He rejects any speck of emotion, whether positive or negative. He loathes his subjects and never ventures outside the castle gates to see the outside world. Since his mother, Ei, cast him aside, he has done nothing but wallow in the confines of his room as the useless, unwanted prince.

He used to have lofty dreams for his future in the kingdom, filled with eternal affection for his citizens and a desire to ascend to the throne in order to better the lives of those who lived beneath him. Yet, for his own mother to consider him an undesirable son, he did not appear to be fit to rule with the iron fist that she hoped of him.

So, imagine his surprise when his mother invited outside guests to their home, and asked him to be present during their visit.

Royals, from Liyue, in fact.

Scaramouche was also thoroughly interested to learn that while not all the royals themselves were able to attend, they sent a group of ambassadors in their steed. But that is not what caught his interest.

No, it was you.

The visiting princess, and the only royal hailing from Liyue who had arrived for diplomatic relations.

Imagine, that as the prince is staring daggers into your back, you make eye contact, and find that his expression is one of an evil, shit-eating smirk. Not even five minutes in Inazuma, and you have created a bright red target on your back for the royal family.

Scaramouche is the polar opposite of you; where he is frigid and wary, you are warm and compassionate. It irritates him more and more as he gets to know you. In some ways, he may identify with your demeanour as it reminds him of shards of his former self. However, it just serves to infuriate him. He's been wounded by Ei many times, so forgive him for not inviting a stranger into his home with open arms. Who's to tell your sweet disposition isn't all a ruse?

But it isn't, and he knows that. Scaramouche understands that he can't simply go out and play cruel pranks on you to get you to crack, but that doesn't mean he isn't trying. At least, in subtle ways that is. He'll mock you, taunt you, and make catty remarks. Scaramouche would never intentionally ruin Liyue and Inazuma's relationship, but he occasionally believes that if he acts out, Ei will acknowledge him. Even if the attention is negative.

You, on the other hand, give him attention, which he desires from anyone who is willing to offer it to him. But, just as quickly as he becomes attached to someone who makes him feel vulnerable, he pushes them away. But not with you.

Once he quits attempting to reveal your 'true' nature during your visit, he gradually but steadily eases into being comfortable around you. While he is still harsh at times, his jokes take on a more lighthearted tone. And you eventually become friends. At least, according to you. Scaramouche laughed in your face the first time you called him so, despite the fact that he knows it's true.

Perhaps there's another reason he's so infuriated by your smile, and how you seem to make his pulse beat faster every time you come close. When he cracks mean jokes, you may respond with one of your own. Of course, this is all in good fun, but it makes him dizzy since you don't even react badly to his jokes. Curse you for being so patient and also so amusing.

Scaramouche has developed a crush on you, but since he denounces all his feelings as stupid, he believes his infatuation with you is clearly just being annoyed that you, well, exist.

You might be a kind and warm princess, but not a stupid one.

That’s why, when one day, Scaramouche decided to make a teasing joke about how “you wanna kiss me sooo bad”, you do it. For once you got him to shut up, but left him in a sputtering, flushed mess in the process. After composing himself from the mental combustion he just experienced, he throws his massive hat at you and walks away with the back of his hand shielding his cheeks.

Later that night, you paid his chambers a visit, hat in hand. Scaramouche was about to shut the door in your face, but not before you wedged your foot between it. Of course he is blushing again, because how can he face you after the events of earlier?

You make your way into his room, and plop down on a chair. Beckoning him to come sit with you, he does so begrudgingly.

Imagine Scaramouche, for the first time in his life, being able to talk about his feelings without feeling sick. And, as he tries to communicate his feelings to you in yet another dumb, teasing way, you kiss him again, the words dying in his throat. You tell him you share his feelings. You also suspect you may have had just broken him, because the words he is attempting to compose in his mind are being vocalized in vain.

Days pass since that night, and Scaramouche is still awkwardly trying to figure out how to express his feelings to you nicely.

But, you make him kind again. You make him trusting.

That’s why it hurts all the more when you have to leave him. Of course your stay wasn’t permanent.

That’s why it also makes him happiest, when Ei tells him she received a proposal from Liyue two weeks later for his hand in marriage.

[tossawary]

I really love your platonic interpretation of lbh and sqh throughout your fics, and in stepping up in particular. it’s really interesting to see lbh as his clingy, sticky self with sqh as hus shizun but not as lovesick compared to svsss lbh to Shen yuan as his shizun. I do wonder what are your thoughts on the difference on LBH his feelings for Shizun!SY and Shizun!SQH? 

Thank you! I've been thinking on this question and I still don't think I'm satisfied on the wording of my answer. I wrote some long rambles, but they were kind of directionless, so I'm going to try and squish it down into something more coherent. SPOILERS.

I think Luo Binghe in both "Stepping Up" and SVSSS is a person of very intense and complicated feelings, partially due to his youth, his past, and his position in life. And so... I don't actually think Luo Binghe's feelings are that different for SQH versus SQQ (SY). The relationship is platonic and will never be romantic, but I intentionally wrote Luo Binghe's feelings to be a little ambiguous.

I think it would be out-of-character for Luo Binghe not to have had the thought: "I would treat Shizun so much better than that wicked, ungrateful bully of a demon if he loved me instead." He wants his teacher's attention, approval, and affection. I think Luo Binghe at this stage in his life wants both everything and anything he can get.

Entrance to Cang Qiong is equivalent to saving his life. Poverty kills and Luo Binghe has witnessed this firsthand in the death of his adoptive mother. Cultivation skills potentially guarantee survival forever, even if he gets kicked out of the sect. So, he starts out desperate to impress so that he doesn't lose everything.

There's lot to be said about the quality of life that SQH and SY both offer LBH. In "Stepping Up", I think that LBH has more immediate and greater stability on An Ding, but the introduction of Mobei-Jun and revelation of his demonic heritage brings some desperation and uncertainty back to LBH's life. SQH and SY are both revealed to be imperfect and in need of help and potentially protection.

I think that the main difference here is mostly just that Shang Qinghua has positioned himself as interested in someone else romantically and exclusively sees LBH as a disciple and a son figure. SQH doesn't have the System breathing down his neck like SY did (SY is fighting for his life to show any kind of kindness to LBH at first in SVSSS), so SQH can be a lot more straightforward about exactly why he was interested in LBH (demon kid) and more clearly set the boundaries and expectations of their relationship.

SQH and MBJ are a mess, but they're also arguably already a form of life partners even at their messed-up master-servant stage, and LBH is the intruder on a relationship of nearly 20 years. SQH and MBJ have a lot more life experience in this world and it shows. As LBH adjusts to the rather confusing Moshang relationship, which SQH is clearly intent on maintaining, whatever desperate teenage romantic crush he might have is fading rather than developing, as things start to settle into something better and it becomes clear that there's not one spot in SQH's life to fight over.

Honestly? I think a lot of romantic and platonic affection overlaps. Gestures of affection can be very subjective and context-dependent. Awkward crushes on inappropriate figures happen, especially in a period of sexual development and discovery. I think LBH being able to develop interest in people who aren't Shen Yuan is fun (rarepairs are fun to explore!) and makes Bingqiu more interesting overall.

[revvethasmythh]

Looks like Sam/FCG is getting on peoples nerves (fandom wise) the last few episodes. Saw someone say that FCG was hypocritical, and putting others in danger, relying on the changebringer too much. Someone was also annoyed with the FCG’s insistence on going to Imogen’s hometown when she clearly didn’t want to. It seems like I only see criticism and hatred to FCG and not to Imogen or Laudna or any other character when their being annoying or assholes.

You know, anon, fantastic timing on sending this because I've been debating whether I wanted to write something about this exact topic for a little over a week. Because, at least imo, I agree that I've seen quite a bit of...disgruntlement? anger? mean-spiritedness? over FCG's more (intentionally! it's part of the bit! and, like, his character development!) annoying traits, most recently his turn to blind faith with the Changebringer coin, but it's certainly something I've seen pop up other times in general. And I think it's interesting that FCG seems to exists within the confines of a sort of....conditional tolerance by a lot of people? And that condition seems be to whether he's supporting their favorite character (or, god forbid I talk about this, favorite ships) in a way that they like to see. It's like, as along as he's supporting who the viewers want him to be supporting in a way they see fit, he's fine. Hell, you even get the "fcg/sam riegel supremacy" comments sometimes if they do something the viewer particularly approves of. But the second FCG deviates from that and does something solely to further their own story, or even just, well, doesn't cast guidance on Imogen, it's like we're backtracking to this really strong point of negativity regarding them that really just seems to culminate in the idea that their behavior is plain on old annoying and could they stop, please?

It's an interesting dichotomy. And, like, this isn't really about whether people actually like or dislike FCG as a character (a person's opinions about him as a character is actually not the point here!), it's the fluctuation of the opinion that stands out to me. The loud approval if he does something the audience deems as "good" and the loud dismissal if he does something the audience deems as "bad" or "annoying." Hence "conditional tolerance" is sort of the phrase I've landed on to describe the phenomena. This is something I think has shown up in shades with other Sam Riegel PCs as well, though to be fair I wasn't active in the fandom pre-90s in the M9 campaign. But I feel like something similar did happen with Veth in parts of the M9, as memory serves. I feel like it has to have something to do with people's inability to look past the "bit" and see the deeper character work that seeded into those bits. If the audience member is assessing the character's actions as nothing more than a silly bit that's getting in the way, perhaps they become quite aggravated by it? (Also, I'm not going to get into the specifics of how people's christian-centric view of religion is absolutely affecting the way they're responding to the "blind faith" thing, but. You know). Like, there is something to be said here about people not wanting to actually delve deeply into the character work happening in Sam's PCs, I'm sure. It's a...unique way of engaging with his characters that is simultaneously so annoying to me as fan of Sam's PCs and also, like, weirdly fascinating as someone who did reception studies in grad school? Like, it is genuinely a unique, if irritating, aspect of the fandom discourse.

[mermaidsirennikita]

a huge issue with romance right now (and I mean, tbh? commercial lit in general, it's arguably worse for YA atm) is that people are currently considering books about people who do not act the way the reader morally thinks they should... flawed

like, y'all think a character being intentionally written as a problematic individual is a FLAW, when in fact it was a CHOICE the author made, usually to incite conflict and/or trigger character development

I mean, I'll use Laura Kinsale's Flowers from the Storm (a book a Goodreads user I was mutuals with told me not to read when I simply added it to my TBR) as an example

Jervaulx is a SHITTY PERSON. We are introduced to him while he's in bed with his mistress, a married woman; he realizes she's pregnant and casually tells her to go fuck her husband to trick him into thinking the baby is his, because Jervaulx ain't got time for that baby or that woman. He then meets a fellow math nerd who is blind (which by the way, love that he is also into math, man contains multitudes) and notices that the blind man's daughter is a) hot and b) a Quaker.

Jervaulx asks this man "do you know what your daughter looks like" the man tells him it's been a long time since he saw her, and Jervaulx basically takes this as an opportunity to very seductively describe this woman, even though SHE IS A QUAKER AND IS CLEARLY MADE UNCOMFORTABLE (and turned on, let's be real) BY BEING DESCRIBED IN A SEXY WAY IN FRONT OF HER DAD (who absolutely does not pick up on what Jervaulx is putting down but whatever).

This man... is an asshole. And he's an asshole on purpose, because the entire story is about taking a man who has a lot of power and a lot of casual ability and privilege and bringing him down to an EXTREMELY low point, which results in heavy character development (and which does NOT, I should add, turn him into a perfect person! Because people aren't supposed to be perfect! Because perfection is boring, and while boring may work in real life... maybe... it does not work in a story in which we are supposed to have plot and character and forward motion).

BUT NEVER FEAR. Maddy, the aforementioned Quaker and his heroine, is also KINDA UNLIKABLE. Because she is so devoted to her faith (to the degree that it would be hard for readers to relate to her, even when the book was published decades ago) and she is frankly snobby, and closed off, and judgmental. She has GOOD INTENTIONS much of the time, but she is not initially a very emotionally accommodating woman, and even when Jervaulx is brought low, she does not WANT to like him. Because he is not a Quaker, he is not a Friend, and Maddy is not, in the beginning, open to the idea that you can be a good person or become a good person without conforming to the worldview that she has been convinced is morally correct. And in fact, her worldview may not actually BE wholly correct, even if it does have solid points that disrupt a corrupt class system.

It's almost like many readers could also benefit from learning that their worldviews about what makes a good person and character could in fact be flawed and unrealistic and

Fiction is not meant to be didactic and the fact that the current market is increasingly punishing authors for writing books that are not is incredibly disturbing. It's why we have so many books that are either incredibly boring, or swing towards cheaply written dark romance which is not actually good (to be clear: I think dark romance CAN absolutely be good). There's a desperate market for it, I think, because at least that's something readers who want something not Good and Dull can latch onto

Basically: please God read more books about people who are kinda shitty and plots that are kind gray, I promise they won't bite

[lady-of-the-english]

Tommy and Grace and Marriage Part 3

To echo back to ideas I started in part 1, Tommy at his core is a romantic with Grace, with a healthy view of what their relationship should be like. Tommy desires a true partnership with Grace - he promises her he'll help her with everything as she'll help him (it's one of the only health sentiments we've heard from him that I can remember).

He is willing and able to strip himself bare, physically and emotionally, with Grace. And with that, she is his strength. It takes strength and courage to put yourself out there, to trust another person, to be open and honest with them about your feelings and your dreams of the future together. Tommy knows and understands this: he is extremely picky in deciding when and with whom he shares the true depth of himself.

In 2x01, Polly, Ada, and Lizzie all prod Tommy for that openness and vulnerability to no avail. He chooses stoicism, maintaining his mask of emotionless as much as he can - like when discussing business at one of his oldest friends and brother-in-law's Freddy's funeral.

In the same episode, Campbell, as an antagonist, identifies Grace as Tommy's weakness. However, we are meant to disagree as Campbell is intentionally used as Tommy's foil to consider the ethics of both their careers and in their romantic connection to Grace.

The first of the trio to explicitly mention marriage and that potential future for Grace and Tommy is Campbell in his own failed proposal - a proposal that heavily centers around Tommy.

In 1x05, Tommy realizes that the guns have "become a burden" and agrees to sell them to the IRA in a trap, collaborating with Campbell.

In realizing that the IRA are planning to kill him once they get the location of the guns, and thus possibly before the "sixth chime" to midnight, which is the police's signal, Tommy turns to Grace - partly because "barmaids don't count" when told to be alone, but also because Tommy genuinely trusts her with his life.

We see Tommy's fear explicitly. He comes into the Garrison panting, shaking a little. Grace immediately understands that there is going to be "trouble" just seeing him. He's willing and able to show his true feelings with Grace. He trusts her to both help him handle this situation and to not think less of him demonstrating these unmasculine feelings (as Moss will deride Tommy for being ladylike due to his discomfort with the dead bodies in his bar at the end of the scene).

We see Tommy's frustration and fear that he needs to pull Grace into this side of the business. He tells her that when the IRA men get there, "they plan to kill me. It's your job to stop that happening." And he minimizes what she has to do: "You don't shoot. You just point," reassuring her that neither will have to kill anyone as the "police want them alive" and will be in soon to deal with the situation fully - a statement that surprises Grace. If the police are to help him, she assumes that she would be informed, and thus, her own disquiet truly develops.

Grace doesn't object at all to the idea of protecting him, only a bit in disbelief that "you could have given me more warning" to which Tommy reveals his full frustration and fear that "he just got the message himself" and thus wouldn't involve her in a danger situation unless he absolutely had to.

He sends her off to hide until the signal with his voice rasing and getting faster in his panic as he repeats to Grace, "All right, go. Go on. Go!"

Grace, hidden but peaking around the door, watching and listening for Tommy's signal, can hear clearly their threats as they they condensingly ask Tommy, "Did you think was let you live? Make your peace, Mr. Shelby," to which Grace comes out guns blazing.

I think her motivation is three-fold: since we met Grace, her primary goal has been to ensure these guns don't fall into the IRAs' hands. Even when Campbell points out at the beginning of the season that there are other players of concern, such as the Peaky Blinder, she maintains her focus on the IRA in her fear, hatred, and grief over her father's death. So, the mission itself, as an agent of the crown intertwined with revenge, greatly motivates her.

But, I think her feelings for Tommy are just as inspiring. If her grief of her father dying at the hands of this organization is still haunting to this degree, I imagine it must have been terrifying to hear another person she cares about possibly being taken from her in the same way. Feelings of revenge tend to be wrapped up in guilt of not being able to save that person. If she couldn't save her father, she'd make sure they couldn't do this to anyone else again - especially her again, which is a position I don't think she ever imagined being in.

Grace shoots multiple times, planning to kill both men so that Tommy would never be in real danger for a moment. Instead, her revenge helps pull him into the danger she so hoped to avoid. As Tommy begins to fight back, she's trying to get in there to shoot again, but she is knocked down and stays down until Tommy kills the second IRA man by bashing his face in.

Tommy immediately goes to Grace, and while she initially flinches from the violence, she let's him come to her, help her off the floor. She leans into Tommy's gentle caress of her face as Tommy tries to reassure himself that she is okay. Grace doesn't try to get away when he holds her head and asks her, "why did you shoot, Grace?". She replies in shock and disbelief, "I didn't know I had it in me like that."

Tommy, is likewise full of regret, afraid that he has driven her off as "now you've seen me."

But Grace's fear and criticism is only for herself as she responds, "and now you've seen me. I'm sorry." Instead of moving away from him, she draws closer, hugging him. Tommy is initially in disbelief, thinking he'd driven her off forever and surprised that she's the one sorry (I just can't imagine Tommy's been on the receiving end of many - any - apologies). But, he quickly unfreezes and sinks into her comforting embrace as he closes his eyes to bask in her presence and love.

This is Grace's breaking point as she tells Campbell the following morning. When Moss and the other cops come into the Garrison, they aren't sorry for purposefully going back on their deal with Tommy, that the IRA men are dead, and that Grace and Tommy could have died. Tommy, with tears in his eyes, holding himself up by leaning against the bar, respectfully state that "they fought well. They were brave men." Moss, gets in Tommy's face and and degrades him that they look like he was "killed by a wild fucking animal" and asks, "who cares?" about the bodies that he states were never never. As they leave, Grace looks at Tommy, whose eyes are closed, trying to stop the tears, and she can see fully who the real "bad" men are.

After walking her safely home, Tommy reiterates Grace's apology, telling her, "I'm sorry." We don't see Tommy often providing apologies either, but he is willing to give Grace what she offers him - everything.

In truly seeing both Tommy and the police force, Grace meets with Campbell to offer up the guns and her resignation. Previous scenes had shown Grace's discomfort with Campbell's degrading rhetoric about Tommy, but she typically ignored it and didn't argue back.

But now everything is different. At the meeting with Campbell, he strokes the same cheek Tommy caressed the night before, but this time, Grace flinches away.

Campbell offers a non-apology placing the blame on Tommy for the danger she was in: "I had no idea that he would involve you in this ugly business. If I had, I never would have let this happen," showing only his concern for her life in the situation. Grace looks away disgusted and argues back for truly the first time: "he trusts me. I told you that. You didn't believe me," showing the sharp contrast between Tommy and Campbell.

When he challenges her that Moss reported that they were "embracing," she scoffs is disbelief: "Is that your primary concern?". He tries to justify that his "concern" is for "her welfare," but Grace shakes her head no and takes full responsibility, telling him, "it was me who killed them" - both of them, as Tommy only finishes what she started and thus, she covers for him, not willing for him to face the consequences of her actions.

Campbell tries to blame that on Tommy's influence too, but Grace won't let him and makes clear that "something inside me changed" through seeing both Tommy and the police force clearly. She asserts that she and the police were the real "beasts" last night, not Tommy.

Grace claims that she no longer feels the need to "avenge" her father as she understands that it almost costs her Tommy's life. She asserts that the "hatred that I brought here with me is gone" in contrast to the depth of hatred Campbell feels. She reminds him that the mission was always about the guns, not The Peaky Blinders, and with that, negotiates a deal with him. She demands that "I want your word that Thomas Shelby will not be harmed if the guns are recovered. Your word as a gentleman." This great act of betrayal is in service of Tommy's life as both possessing the guns and trying to sell the guns have proven to have the same deadly consequences for him.

Campbell doesn't immediately agree as it is not something he wants to give; we've seen from the beginning how petty and personal he makes the "mission." He is incredulous that she has "sympathy" and "sentiment" for Tommy and tells her she's "too good-hearted for this work." He deems Tommy her weaknesses, just as he'll deem Grace Tommy's.

Realizing that he'll only agree if there is something in it for him, Grace capitulates on their own history: "So, for my sake, will you spare him?," finally getting his "word."

When she meets him at the grave the following morning, Campbell hugs Grace, which she doesn't reciprocate, and proposes the moment she resigned, ready and in wait to strike with a ring in his hand the second she's no longer his "subordinate." Campbell tells Grace what she once thought but no longer believes: "I'm a good man, and my admiration of you has turned to love." Seeing her shocked and disbelieving face, he tells Grace, " I don't ask for love in return. Just recognition that we are liked minds with shared values."

It is a proposal that is in complete odds with Tommy's declarations. Campbell formalities juxtaposed with Tommy's giddiness and boyish teasing in the following scenes. While both consider how they are the same with "liked minds," Campbell's viewpoint is based on the old version of Grace, who hasn't witnessed the police threaten women and children and provide empty promises, Tommy is confident in his assertion that they've "found each other" because Grace has told him so explicitly that he's truly "seen her" as she's seen him, and neither wants to look away.

Grace understands whose reactions to fear when giving bad news - who the real threat to her life is. Grace slowly and hesitantly goes to grap Campbell's hand (as the first and last time she voluntarily touches him) and formally addresses him as "Mr. Campbell," while trying to let a violent man down gently by lying and telling him, "you deserve better."

It's a lie he easily sees through, showing Grace his true colors once again. He immediately gets aggressive, stepping towards Grace, screaming in her face, "Is it the beast that dug this grave? Is it him between us?". This is in sharp contrast to the gangster that she actually betrayed, but who never showed her any anger or made any threats. Tommy wishes her well and his continued love when parting at the end of the season, while Cambpell tries to murder her.

Campbell's bullet wound from Grace is a physical reminder of Grace for Campbell, Tommy, and the audience. While she is not there, no one has forgotten her, and every visual and auditory cue of Campbell's cane echos her presence in these men's thoughts.

In 2x01, Churchill challenges Campbell's choice in using Tommy in spite of their history. Campbell assures him that this is why he is the best choice as to apply pressure, you need to know a man's weakness and I "know his weaknesses intimately" - a direct reference to Grace as he once spied on Tommy and Grace dancing in her apartment intimiately. Thus, the audience is reminded that Campbell's intertwining his personal petty grievances with his work have helped Tommy before. In 1x05, Campbell calls off the police raid when he learns that Tommy's gone off with Grace. Moss questions the choice, too, as it's not the smart, logical choice, and thus one that helped save his life. He chooses his pride over the job then.

While Campbell's goal is to use Tommy and then dispose of him once and for all, because of his resentment over Grace choosing Tommy, Campbell will save Tommy's life once again as they interrupt Sabini's attack on him at the end of the episode. And with that, we see once again that Grace isn't Tommy's weakness. When Campbell comes to the hospital to threaten and blackmail him, Tommy is the first person to mention Grace's name. While Tommy is senestive about Grace, he can and will bring her up when he wants to. And he calls on her memory to help him through this situation. Just as Campbell assumes that she is Tommy's weakness, Tommy knows that she is Campbell.

Tommy assumes correctly that Campbell is just as hung up over Grace as he is. He can't imagine someone being able to get over her, as he sure hasn't, and he uses the memory of her to disrupt Campbell's own control and strategy over the situation. With a pointed causualness, Tommy provides details of Grace's life, letting us know that he has kept tabs on her, wanting to stay connected to her even as they are ocean's apart. He relates that she's in New York and knows even more specifically that she's living in a "place call Poughkeepsie" and most importantly that she's "married now." In knowing how much that devastates him, he assumes that it will have a similar impact on Campbell.

Just as Tommy hasn't moved on, Campbell similarly shares Grace's personal details attacking Tommy's insecurities, letting him know he also knows that she's married, "to a banker. He's rich. I'm sure she's very happy," as he pokes at what Tommy wanted to provide Grace himself - economic security, but most of all, happiness.

While Campbell's information could come from Grace's family and abuse of his position, Tommy's obviously comes from Grace herself as we are told by Lizzie that a letter from "Poughkeepsie" arrived for him at his new offices in Digbeth. Both of them have ensured that they other has their new addresses keeping in touch. Obviously, the letter that season 1 ends on and season 2 opens with is not the last contact they've had in the last two years. We can see how much Tommy hasn't moved on; even though she's married now, he is still keeping communication open between them.

Campbell's remark is one that hurts, and thus, Tommy pivots to the physical discomfort Grace imparted - which visually symbolizes her presence for the rest of the reason.

Tommy says, "I imagine being shot by a woman hurts the same as being shot by a man. Just a bit more shameful." He emphasizes how while Grace has left them both, she only wanted to leave one of them behind and that the person she truly hurt purposefully isn't Tommy. In the end, she picked Tommy over everything else: her job, her family's expectations and status, her grief and plots of revenge, and her previous convictions about law, honor, and moralty.

Tommy declares that "every time you lean on that stick, I bet you see her face," as Tommy himself does. He is so sure that her memory haunts Campbell, willing to "bet" when he is someone who typically fixes bets in his favor. Tommy sees and remembers Grace everywhere. So, in his view, why would Campbell be any different.

Therefore, we see the door of the future Tommy imagined for them still open. Even if she's married, Grace is still the person he longs for every day; even him burning her letters isn't enough to truly burn the bridge between them - but more on that next time.