#i think the last thing i shipped more than was present in canon before like the pandemic cutoff was moonshine and hardwon

[starlit-mansion]

i've actually been trying to think very hard if i've had an actual ship outside of my ocs or incidentally liking a 100% canon relationship as part of the story for the past three years and i'm coming up with like... one??? but tbh that one is 99% fan content and i like it just as much nonromantically as well

[the-witchhunter]

DP x DC: Let’s talk about the ghost of Gary Lester

You know, if the ghosts are still following around John Constantine, Danny Fenton would fucking hate the guy

Danny Phantom is a kids show, the morality of it is a lot simpler than the very dingy grey that Hellblazer is painted with. Sure Danny has moments where he has to learn to not use his powers for selfish gains, but let’s talk about the ghost of Gary Lester aka Gaz

Spoilers for issues 1 and 2 of Hellblazer, that’s right we’re going back to the beginning.

A little background on Gaz: childhood friend of John’s, dropped out of art school and started Mucus Membrane with John and becoming part of the “Newcastle crew” before the events at the Casanova club which he was present for. Sometime during the 80’s he became a heroin addict before the events of 88 that resulted in his death

Now what killed Gaz? Short answer is John. Longer answer is Gary accidentally unleashed an “African hunger spirit” on New York by deciding to ship a glass bottle with the thing trapped in it to John’s apartment in New York, resulting in it getting smashed in transport unleashing a threat of mass possession on one of the largest population centers in the world, a spirit that would consume its many many hosts resulting in the potential death of MILLIONS

John, putting the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the few, enlisted the help of Papa Midnight to trap the spirit in Gaz.

The sprit devoured Gaz from the inside, a process that lasted hours and hours of screaming before Gaz was devoured and the spirit devoured itself

Meanwhile John stayed by the entire time, there for every painful moment until the end. He did that, and he did that to his friend. There was a hell of a good reason for it, but he still did that to his friend

Yet John stayed the entire time

Gaz then joined the ghosts the followed John, becoming a reoccurring symbol for the price John’s friends pay

People around John get hurt, and it’s often his fault

And I think that’s what the truly interesting thing about Danny vs John. They both try to do good but others tend to pay the price for John. Meanwhile Danny would sacrifice himself long before sacrificing his friends. Danny hasn’t had to deal with quite the same moral choices John has, and I don’t think canon Danny is really at a place where he could understand what it’s like to make those choices

An older more mature Danny might, a very traumatized Danny might or might not, but base Danny would be unable to understand sacrificing his friend at all. Did it save millions of people? yes, but Danny is not the person that has had to make that difficult choice

And so literally learning this from the ghost that embodies John making that very choice would not endear John to Danny

[shadowsandjasmine]

———

i’ll be honest. i never thought they’d get to the point of calling us anti-azriel for shipping him with the woman that he canonically wants to be with. so let’s dissect that a bit!

(i’m not going to even bother with the “his shadows hide from elain which is bad!!” take because at this point it’s obvious that is willful misinterpretation and we’ve beaten that dead horse long enough, i think.)

but let’s go through this point by point;

“want him with someone who has seen his darkness and can accept it”

did i miss the part where gw*n sees his darkness and accepts it? or where she really sees anything of him at all, especially when it feels like it’s pulling teeth for her to get him to open up to her in the first place?

Elain, on the other hand;

She seemed so small before him, so fragile compared to the scales of his fighting leathers, the breadth of his shoulders. The wings peeking over them.

But Elain did not balk from him, did not shy away as she nodded—just once.

Azriel, graceful as any courtier, offered her an arm. I couldn’t tell if she was looking at his blue Siphon or at his scarred skin beneath as she breathed, “Beautiful.”

interesting, that she does not balk from him and even finds the scars on his hands from his childhood to be beautiful.

let’s not forget him giving her truth teller to defend herself with;

Azriel, still limping, merely nudged aside Cassian and extended another option.

“This is Truth-Teller,” he told her softly. “I won’t be using it today—so I want you to.”

“It has never failed me once,” the shadowsinger said, the midday sun devoured by the dark blade. “Some people say it is magic and will always strike true.” He gently took her hand and pressed the hilt of the legendary blade into it. “It will serve you well.”

Elain looked up at Azriel, their eyes meeting, his hand still lingering on the hilt of the blade.

I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. The only bridge of connection … that knife.

doesn’t seem like she’s scared of him and his darkness at all in this scene, even when presented with his shadows and his weapon of choice while on a battlefield.

on to the next point

“someone who makes him feel relaxation and joy”

aww, this one’s easy!

“Az, this one’s for you.”

“Elain turned from where she’d been speaking to Nesta. “Oh, that’s from me.”

“I had Madja make it for me,” Elain explained. “It’s a powder to mix in with any drink.”

Elain bit her lip and then smiled sheepishly. “It’s for the headaches everyone always gives you. Since you rub your temples so often.”

Silence again.

Then Azriel tipped his head back and laughed.

I’d never heard such a sound, deep and joyous.

Elain smiled again, ducking her head.

Azriel mastered himself enough to say, “Thank you.” I’d never seen his hazel eyes so bright, the hues of green amid the brown and gray like veins of emerald. “This will be invaluable.”

seems pretty joyous to me!

another one;

Elain sat silently at one of the wrought-iron tables, a cup of tea before her. Azriel was sprawled on the chaise longue across the gray stones, sunning his wings and reading.

how lovely and relaxing!

as for the last part;

“someone who sparks goodness in his heart”

while i would argue my previous examples show her sparking goodness in his heart, that’s more my opinion/interpretation rather than irrefutable fact. i’m going to take a guess this is in reference to that lil spark he feels in the bonus chapter, and while i disagree and interpret it differently i don’t mind giving this one a pass (even though it’s under pretty suspicious circumstances, i don’t mind letting y’all have this one, even though it still doesn’t make sense pertaining to gw*nriel, because it’s about the only thing y’all have going for this ship at this point.)

all this is to say; if you’re going to make so bold a claim as to say elriels are anti-azriel for shipping him with the woman he wants to be with, at least try to use examples that can’t be directly refuted with canon text from the books, especially when you hardly have any examples for your own ship. it does not help your case.

[bloggingboutburgers]

I like sex and romance but only in fiction so I react with absolute disgust at self insert stuff. I know it won't disappear but I just... Really dislike the shift in fandom these last years. We aren't just fans of characters, obviously if you love one you want to have sex with them. Tag of them is filled with horny post.

Yeah sex was present before! But it was mostly around bl ship. It still exist to this day but there's much more self insert than before

And yeah don't be sex negative, don't shame women... But you always have the one to make an effort. It's never tagged. everyone is assumed to be into this.

A character can't be appreciated without loading him with romance and sex. Even canon aroace characters suddenly get hit by the "it's just fiction" argument because they can't do anything with a character than ship stuff

And today I realized.... it'll never change. Because to them all, we don't exist, and when we do express of we feel we are party popper, we shame them, we act superior.

I am basically venting. But I am tired to try to take less space and sugarcoat all I say about this subject so I'm not accused of things I do not say.

We will never be affected. So what's the point of being endlessly nice when we are still compared to plants and robots?

...Yeah, pop off. It gets exhausting, feels like nobody realizes how much it does but it does, so it's only fair to be fed up sometimes.

It's definitely the fact that no one ever seems to make an effort to think of us that gets me. And beyond that, no one ever seems to make an effort to respect us if we dare to voice anything. We're always the ones expected to either adapt, shut up, or idk, "change our minds" or something, like it's all that simple. It's very unbalanced and it gets exhausting.

[beauty-and-passion]

TBOB PART 3: OF BILL’S SOLITUDE AND BILLFORD (2/3)

Welcome, everyone, to the umpteenth analysis post regarding TBOB.

This time, time to talk about Billford because

it’s always the right time to talk about Billford

TBOB doesn’t just hint that there was something going on: it basically confirms it. And as someone who shipped them for years yes, it feels amazing to see the ship being canonized. Not that it wasn’t already canon before, but you got it.

For all disclaimers and premises, please check the previous posts and the main masterlist.

<- Previous post - Masterlist

_______________________________

Kindred souls

Let’s recap: we have Bill, a being with a huge void inside him, a hole of solitude he isn’t able to fill - because how can you fill the deep desperation of being alone, because you lost everything and it’s your own fault?

He tries with love and friends, but his relationships don’t work, his friendships don’t work.

And then, Sixer comes.

*

Gifted like me

On TBOB, Bill says Ford’s IQ “was off the charts” and he was “wasting his gifts”.

In THE EARLY YEARS section, Bill says he wasn’t just “smarter than all the dull trapezoids and rhombuses”, but he also had “a gift, a rare mutation”.

In Journal 3, Ford says: “I am strange. I was born strange, I am attracted to the strange and the strange has always been attracted to me.”. Also: “my grades were too high and my social skills were too low”.

On thisisnotawebsitedotcom under the code EVEN HIS LIES ARE LIES, Bill says Ford “was half a genius. The other half seemed to be frozen at the age of 18, still a child, totally dependent on outside praise, terrible at understanding and relating to others.”

They both have a birth defect that makes them special, they are both more clever than the others, they are both strange, they both have terrible social skills.

Add that they’re both alone, rejected, outcasts, searching for a purpose.

Is it so weird Bill was immediately drawn to Ford and immediately considered him a perfect partner? And fine, maybe it wasn’t romantic - at first, at least. But the possible attraction is now A LOT more plausible.

*

(Potentially) bad like me

In TBOB, Bill says he looked at Ford’s possible futures and “giggled with delight”, because he was “destined for so much more”.

What kind of possible, immensely fucked-up futures Bill could’ve seen, to “giggle with delight”? Well, consider this: Ford isn’t a 100% good person. (Just like every human being and that makes him an even more compelling character, imho.) He has - always had - the potential to become a villain.

Starting from the series: in The Last Mabelcorn, as soon as Dipper (and we) find out he was Bill’s friend in the past, for a second we all got the impression that this guy was evil. Journal 3 confirmed that Ford has such a massive ego, to think that “Icarus didn’t flap hard enough” and that he’s so much better than everyone else. In TBOB, in the missing Journal 3 pages, he says Rudolph the Reindeer should’ve burned his oppressor’s workshop to teach them a lesson. In other words, Ford is not exactly the nicest, most caring guy on the block.

So yes, it’s very possible that Bill peeked into futures in which Ford turned completely evil and joined Bill. The possibility has always been present.

As someone cleverly pointed out here on Tumblr (forgot your name & post, sorry!), probably the only thing that saved Ford was that Bill wasn’t always present. From what we learned, Bill left Ford alone for long periods (maybe because he had to deal with other shit?), to the point Ford grew jealous his Muse was with someone else. Maybe, if Bill stuck closer… who knows? Maybe it would’ve been easier to convince Ford to keep going with the portal. Maybe Bill would’ve convinced him that opening it was a great idea. Maybe he would’ve convinced him that destroying his world (and, consequently, his oppressors) was a good idea too. “A lesson to all!”, as Ford wrote.

*

Same fascination for the stars

In TBOB we learn that Bill’s mutation allowed him to see the stars. He looked at them and “was ready to be one”.

Ford has always been fascinated by stars. His signature is “per aspera ad astra”, which can be translated as “through hardship, to the stars”.

They are both fascinated by the universe in the same way. They both aim at the stars to reach their dreams.

And that’s even more interesting, if we consider that Bill’s friends have totally different dreams that do not involve the stars in any way:

Pyronica: burn the entire universe

8-Ball: host a podcast

Keyhole: restart his high school band

Teeth is basically a pet so… uh… treats, I suppose?

And we know nothing of Bill’s exes, but I doubt they shared the same fascination, all while being so similar to him like Ford is.

_______________________________

The endless flirting

In the missing pages of Journal 3 there is no homoerotic subtext: the homoeroticism is just laid here, in plain sight, with a flashing light pointing at it, in case you’re too blind to notice it.

Here are just a couple of examples:

A) “I think I’m starting to like you, Sixer!” / “I think I’m starting to like you, Bill.”: I’ve seen love stories starting with much less than this.

B) “Get out of my head” / “You first”: I can see them giggle with delight while saying this to each other. No way they said it in a less-than-flirtatious tone.

C) Ford says he has been contacted by “an interdimensional deity of knowledge… in a top hat”. He immediately noticed the top hat. In light of Bill’s love advice, now I firmly believe this is how Bill seduces people first. Well, congrats, Bill: the top hat worked.

 D) Ford comes back to his roots, by showering his Muse with compliments about how he “enriched my life and all he asks is just a partner and company”. You know, typical behavior of someone who isn’t infatuated at all.

E) The “IF LOST RETURN TO BILL” tattoo. And later on, Bill calls Ford “his property”. The toxic old men yaoi has never been more toxic, more old men and more yaoi.

F) On Ford’s birthday, Bill followed his own love advice and gave Ford rats as a gift.

G) Karaoke night. Just… karaoke night.

No, okay, more on karaoke night because that part is insane: first the “one thing led to another” which if it doesn’t mean “we fucked” it means “we made out like there’s no tomorrow” at least. Then the “I’m gonna, we’re gonna”... what, Ford? You’re gonna WHAT? Marry the triangle? Fuck him? Are we talking about kisses or should I pick up the BDSM scene in the Penthouse Suite- oh sorry, I meant THE LOVE CAGE?

I mean… I don’t even have to imagine something to make this couple work. It’s all written here. And if this wasn’t enough, then why not throw in some Fiddauthor too, in which Fiddleford is so busy making TWO gifts for Ford, to forget to get something for his own family. And he comes back to Ford, instead of at least trying to make up with the woman he married.

And since this STILL WASN’T ENOUGH, why not make a full “Love Triangle With The Triangle ™”, starring Ford jealous that his Muse was “off inspiring some other scientist” or “posing for some tapestry” (what, Ford? Are you afraid someone is drawing him like one his their French girls?), while Bill is jealous that Ford spends his time with “a third-wheel hillbilly”.

I mean… I always felt it was canon. I just didn’t expect canon to be an avalanche running over me.

_______________________________

Honest like never before

If there is something more insane in these pages besides karaoke night, then it’s the “monster conversation”.

First Bill basically hints that he tried to undo the past and get his dimension back (for more details, check THIS post).

Ford replies, “I guess you can never really go home again, can you?”. And considering the use of the impersonal “you” and the construct “going home again”, they both seem to confirm my train of thought - i.e. that Bill tried to get his home back and that “home” isn’t just a physical place, but his parents and, most importantly, the love and affection he lost when he destroyed everything and experienced, for the first time in his life, loneliness.

I don’t know you, but I doubt Bill shows the last speck of his home dimension to everyone. He may talk about Euclydia as an oppressive place, but actually showing what’s left of it? I don’t know, I think it’s a bit too… personal, you know? I mean, how would you feel, looking at something that reminds you of all the people you killed for a mistake?

This alone should be enough to prove how much Bill is trusting Ford here. He’s not just talking about his place like he did with his Henchmaniacs, he’s showing it too. He’s showing what’s left.

Remember: to his other Henchmaniacs, Bill said he liberated his home dimension. In the Love Cage, he will repeat the same excuse - while showing Ford that the actual “liberation” means destroying everything.

This alone proves Ford is more than another Henchmaniac, a tool, or whatever other excuse Bill pulls up while talking about him. He told him, for probably the first time in his life, the truth: that his home dimension was destroyed. Not saved, not liberated. Destroyed.

And he could’ve still saved face. Ford thought Rudolph should’ve burned his oppressor’s place, so he could’ve accepted some excuse like “my place was absolute, total, utter shit, so I burned it to give a lesson to all people opposing me”. Bill could’ve taken the merit of ending it.

Instead, Bill said it was a monster. For the first time, we see Bill talking about himself not in positive, grandiose terms, but in a negative term. He sees himself as a monster.

And no, we can be sure he wasn't lying, because that's not the first time Bill "looked more distant than I'd ever seen him":

And guess what, that distant expression appeared when he talked about his home dimension, how flat it was and how he "liberated" it.

But that’s not all:

So, not only Bill sees himself as a monster, describes himself to Ford as a monster, but gives him an indirect warning too, by saying that the monster “would eat you alive”.

Hirsch truly wanted us to tear ourselves apart in angst and I respect him for that.

_______________________________

And with that, let’s close this post too. The last one will come soon and it will be about the post-betrayal and how well Bill handled it.

Spoiler: not so well.

-> Next post

(How about a coffee? ☕)

_______________________________

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[buddiebeginz]

You want to know one of the ways I know most B/T stans are here first and foremost for T*mmy and Lou more than Buck and Oliver or anyone else?

Look at the way they talk about their ship. Most of it is them parroting stuff Lou or T*mmy has said.

They call Buck Evan.

They constantly say B/T are thriving (because Lou said it in that one video).

They say T*mmy had a difficult childhood because Lou headcanoned that.

They defend how T*mmy treated Hen and Chim in s2. They even say that Hen and T*mmy are besties now when there is no evidence of that.

They never see any faults in anything T*mmy does. Not a single thing he did in season 7 was wrong in their eyes. Yet they don’t shy away from pointing out the faults they see in other characters including Buck and especially Eddie.

They talk about how much the show needs T*mmy. Needs to make him a main. Needs to give him a begins episode while some of them haven’t even seen any season before s7. They make posts about how much more deserving of being a main character T*mmy is than Ravi or Karen who have been there for years.

Most of the posts about B/T are either sexual (likely because T*mmy constantly makes everything sexual) or them headcanoning them as a way more serious relationship than what’s presented on screen. They constantly talk about how in love B/T are when no one has even said the word boyfriend yet. This in my opinion comes in large part from Lou’s cameos where he continually used language that made the relationship seem more important.

They talk about how much Buck needs T*mmy and a lot of their posts make Buck the damsel in distress trope. Which just goes along with how much T*mmy patronizes Buck. Calling him Kid, calling him Evan (even though everyone else calls him Buck), dismissive of his feelings when he gets upset like an adult to a kid (like at the bachelor party), the daddy kink joke when Buck was trying to be vulnerable about his real father figure almost dying. Making decisions for Buck without talking to him (again like you would a child) like when T*mmy just abruptly told Buck he wasn’t ready and left him at the restaurant.

They say that Buck’s season 7 journey would be meaningless if B/T ends in season 8. They accuse us of making Buck’s coming out about Buddie but they have definitely made Buck’s coming out about T*mmy. They have said without T*mmy Buck wouldn’t have even realized he’s bi. Yet we know from Oliver he was attracted to Eddie in season 2.

They talk about how much T*mmy cares about Buck and how much he understands him but we've had so many examples of the opposite being true. At Buck's first date with a guy T*mmy didn't seem to have the patience for Buck's nervousness and left him at the restaurant with little explanation. The bachelor party T*mmy chose not to dress up and didn't seem to care even though the party meant a lot to Buck. The medal ceremony Buck was excited and T*mmy's response was "enjoy it while it lasts". In the deleted scene with Henren T*mmy seemed blase about his relationship with Buck. At the dinner Buck was opening up to T*mmy and T*mmy changed the subject to sex.

Also I rewatched a bunch of Lou’s cameos (pray for my soul 🤢) and in them he often will confirm whatever they ask him. This is why they continued to spend money on them because it was like an echo chamber with a “celebrity”. They’d headcanon something T*mmy was doing or thinking ask Lou and he would confirm it even though there was little to nothing to indicate that in the scene or script. His motivation I’m sure was to keep his little sycophants around and sending him 100/200 bucks a pop for his videos. But the main thing it did was create a monster of a mini fandom that believes everything they were told is the gospel according to Lou F*rrigno Jr.

They believe that not only is what they've seen on screen canon but so is everything Lou told them and they use that as a way to feel superior in the 911 fandom. Us looking at the many many years of Buddie's history seeing the depth of their relationship and seeing the logical place their relationship will go just makes us look desperate and delusional to them. Even though some of them used to be Buddie shippers. It's like they got lobotomized and removed the Buddie part of their brains.

They believe that not only are Lou and Oliver (he supposedly doesn't post on ig about Lou or B/T to protect them😒) on their side they also believe they have Tim on their side as well. They wholeheartedly believe that Tim is invested in B/T (despite all the evidence in s7 to the contrary) and that he can't stand the Buddie fandom and that he wants to punish us by never making them a canon couple. Nevermind the fact that since Tim has returned to showrunner Buck and Eddie have been together more than ever and in really important scenes that deepened their relationship no less.

I really can't help but wonder what they are all going to do when it dawns on them that their ship isn't going to last because Buddie or no Buddie I don't see B/T lasting beyond season 8. They have built this ship up to be some amazing love story when nothing in canon has given the impression that T*mmy is supposed to be anything other than the first guy Buck dates. In fact the relationship is like a lot of Buck's other relationships with women. Buck is still with someone who doesn't really get him. He only thinks it's different this time because T*mmy is a guy and there's been all that excitement that comes from exploring your sexuality for the first time. When that newness starts to fade Buck will have to look at his relationship with T*mmy and he'll realize he's been trying to be a version of himself to fit the relationship. Just like he did with Taylor. Buck wants someone who will love him to the core of who he is. Someone who he won't have to contort himself into a different version of so they will stay and love him. Soon he'll realize he's had that person in his life already for a long long time in Eddie.

[aroacedm]

here’s 12 pictures of my art! context after each and my references at the end

tgcf spoilers!

12th

redrawing of the official art from tgcf volume 4! shi qingxuan is my favourite character and he xuan is a close second

this took me a while until i liked it but i wanted to recreate how the original created the ominous feeling and had so much detail and contrast while being in greyscale

11th

from the tgcf manhua, fengqing! i think their my favourite ship, and i hadn’t drawn them before so i tried to give it a go. not a big fan of the proportions but i think it turned out ok.

10th

@oceantherat (this is their favourite character from rain code) showed me the reference picture and i decided to try drawing it as perspective practice. it ended up a little bigger than i though so i couldn’t fit the whole reference, and the mask doesn’t feel rounded, but overall i like it

9th

same guy again! i wanted to try drawing him again but i think the shadows got a bit messed up. my cheap pens smudged a bit but overall i like it

8th

also from the tgcf manhua, this was from a meme that’s become an bit with me and ocean, just felt like drawing something and saw this in my photos

7th

after a dnd session with ocean and some other friends, i drew a scene from ocean’s character’s (also called ocean because that’s not their irl name) flashback! this guy killed her family! he’s one of her relatives! but i really wanted to focus on how dark the scene was, with almost everything being pitch black. i wanted to recreate the scene that left my players going D:

6th

here’s a younger ocean and her cousin that’s more like a brother! i hope nothing bad happens to him… i wanted to draw a picture that helped me as a reference for the backstory, to help build the character relationships and motivations

5th

it’s another character from that dnd campaign when they were younger with their brother figure! except this one is an NPC helping them out! i wanted to try and make the effect of torn paper but didn’t want to risk anything, so i left a bit of uncoloured paper to imitate a layer of partially torn paper. this was also to help when i was writing backstories

4th

this is the npc from the last picture in present time, i wanted to make canon designs for all the characters to help me visualise everything. i hid a few lore elements in this but because ocean is going to see this i can’t explain

3rd

i tried to redraw a picture of me and a friend on a ride together but in a more simple style (no eyes and mouth, ect) i haven’t shown the friend yet but i will soon. i’m the person looking at the camera. i really loved the photo and wanted to try drawing it

2nd

i drew this a while ago, but i still really like it. i used my own hand as reference (for some reason i used the hand i was drawing with) i’ve always been fairly good at drawing hands and when i sent this on an art group chat i’m in, i was quickly accused of being a witch. i can only draw to a level i like when i have a reference, and i always have my hands so it’s the thing i’ve drawn the most. i didn’t have the colour for my hands, but i think it turned out good

and finally,

i’m really proud of this one, i was sick and really bored when i drew it. this is from tgcf vol 6, but i’ve always been really impressed by the tgcf official art and how they look hand drawn but also digital. (you can see brush strokes but they look too perfect). i didn’t have all the different shades of grey, but i think i did well.

thanks for looking at all my art, here are the references i used and where they’re from

i don’t have the reference for number 9 but i’ll reblog with it when i find it

also i plan on showing more of my art but i need to find the original authors of the references

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

I’ve been curious about your input.

If Chase had gotten the chance to know First Ninja’s siblings before their deaths do you think that he would’ve obsessed over them like he does over First Ninja? Or do you think Chase only has focus on First?

Oof, okay this is a hard question to ask for a person who now ships FirstxChase somewhat hardcore, because my knee-jerk reaction is like 'First would always be his instant focus', but it prooooooobably would be more complicated.

Okay, first of all, if we are talking in 'general' terms of canon 'unknown' Norisu Clan, I think Chase's interest would not reach the obsessive levels. Sure, they would be of great interest to him, and he certainly wouldn't mind adding a whole Clan of powerful Ninjutsu Warriors to his Fallen Warriors/Jungle Cats harem.

But would he actively, obsessivily pursue them? Eh, it would depend I guess, but probably not. Too much hassle to get all 9, lol, he would fight every single one and just get the last one standing

Which sorta leads to my personal take on one of the reasons I portray Chase as obsessive about First: he is the last Norisu left. It would hold a certain appeal for Chase to have this last warrior, the survivor and thus the strongest (since everyone else had gone and got 'ultimate sacrificied' or whatever, such a waste of fighters, in Chase's opinion). You can say, having all 9 devalues them and thus it would hold less appeal to Chase (First is like a rare collectable hah).

BUT if we are talking about my own headcanons/characterizations of Norisu Clan, it would be something like this:

If Chase met Norisu Clan Siblings before they 'made the Ultimate Sacrifice', he probably would be very curious about them (perhaps not yet to obsessive level but definitily more than just 'ill keep an eye on them from afar' type of attention). As a whole, the Clan would present 1) a challenge to Chase's own ego and abilities and 2) a possible present/future threat if they ever focus on him and his evils, after the Sorcerer.

The Norisu Clan, while full of powerful warriors are not just general ninja fighters (they have the same 'basic' training so to say), but also highly specialized in their own fields/abilities/preferences/interests. So while the Siblings are all fascinating in their own right, individually would be of various interest to Chase himself, also depending on what sort of person they are. For example, Chase would be more interested to engage with a warrior than a courtier, or a weapon's master than a monk/holy person (and yes its a subtle peek at some of my hc for Norisu siblings lol). So, while his interest certainly wouldn't wane, his regards/preferences to certain siblings would be obvious.

The ones who would interest him the most would be the Oldest Sibling (arguebly the most powerful of Norisu) and the Youngest (the one with the most uncovered/hidden potential) aka First.

The Oldest is not only powerful, accomplished warrior in all of the fields the Norisu Clan is famous for, but also is The Head of the Clan, so already, Chase who respects power and leadership would be greatly tempted, but in my opinion he would also be intimidated in some sense.

The thing is, I believe that Chase while seeking and respecting powerful people, does not like it when someone is more powerful than him. They present a threat and reduces his chances of getting them under his influence/control.

Because while Chase loves being powerful, (he sold his soul for it after all), what he grew to love even more is to have those with power under his control. After all why else would he start collecting powerful warriors in his Fallen Warriors harem? He defeated those people and added their strength to his own. Same with Wuya, who was a powerful witch, and who he essentially crippled in order to keep her close, under his influence and less of threat. Same with Omi, whose potential he saw and wanted to have as his own, to nurture and direct.

So the Oldest Sibling would be a powerful temptation, but also a more obvious threat. The Youngest aka First, on the other hand? Would be an even bigger temptation with much less threat.

There is something special about First, after all he was the one who faced Sorcerer in the end. Perhaps his specialness only became obvious after a life changing tragedy of loosing his Siblings, but even under protective shadows of his Clan, he would be noticeable.

Chase would probably see that hidden potential and it will invoke this need for him to have this potential under his control and by his side. Perhaps he would try to manipulate First into joining him (like he did Omi), by using his siblings. Or even try to make him join by making them join? (Well, that's certainly some AUs to consider for later, lol.)

So, in short, would Chase obsess over the whole Clan in general? A little bit, but they would also be a greater threat to him as a whole so the obsession would be much more cautious I think. But would he obsess over them as means for him to manipulate one of them, First, into joining him? Much more likely IMO.

(it also segways into my hc about the overprotectiveness Norisu Siblings would feel when they realize Chase's attention to First and his desire to manipulate him, which would make them all go ballistic because NO CREEPY IMMORTAL PRINCE OF EVIL SHALL TRY TO MANIPULATE THEIR BABY BRO)

(of couse they do not need to worry, First's strength of character wouldn't waver under Chase's dubious attention. He is also too busy thinking about kicking Sorcerer's butt.)

[ghulehthezombiequeen]

lost in yesterday - kylo ren x male reader

yeehaw gays in space 🤠 happy pride month folks

warnings/things to note: suggestive but no smut, male reader, hints of reader's unstable mental health, uhh not really canon timeline but it's fineee

this is also part one of 2 ( call out my name )

reqs open (link goes to req boundaries)

masterlist.

word count: 1,831

After bullshitting your way through life, you finally managed to get caught in the crossfire between the First Order and the Resistance, which was definitely not good as you've been in some pretty hot water with both sides.

Currently, you found yourself strapped to an interrogation bed in the Supreme Leader Kylo Ren's ship. He stood menacingly above you, wanting to instill fear into your defiant being.

"I won't ask again," his deep voice pulls you back to the present. "Are you a member of the Resistance?"

In actuality you weren't, you were just another smuggler following the footsteps of the great ones before you. But you knew you'd probably be sent to death row within the hour if you said that. So, you did what you did best.

"Does a Wookie shit in the woods?" You grunted in reply, earning an ice-cold glare from Kylo. He grabbed a fistful of your hair, tugging your head back as he pulled on it roughly.

"I suggest you cooperate, unless you want things to get more painful than necessary," he warned over your groan of pain. Your head was already throbbing from the stormtroopers' beatings and lack of hydration, and it only grew the tighter he held your hair. You licked your lips and panted heavily.

"Mmh, don't tug any harder or I might just come."

Kylo rolled his eyes at your cheeky response.

"Quite the smart mouth you have there," he replied, gripping your hair even tighter. He leaned down slightly, his face inches away from yours.

"Are you trying to provoke me?"

You whimpered, your mouth turning agape and almost twisting in a half-smirk. "A-Ahh, I wasn't kidding..."

Kylo's expression darkened almost instantly as he pulled your hair even tighter, your back arching as you let out a pained gasp. He leaned in closer, his mouth just millimeters away from your ear.

"Watch yourself," he whispered, his voice a low, intimidating growl. "I could easily break you if I wanted to."

"Kinky!~" You grunted, your shit-eating grin never leaving even though your heart was pounding.

Kylo's eyes narrowed as a flicker of irritation flashed across his face. He released your hair and stepped away from you, his arms crossing over his broad chest as your head slumped.

"You really don't know when to shut up, do you?" he asked, annoyance dripping from his voice. "I could have you tortured for days for your smart mouth."

You took this short moment of respite to catch your breath before giggling softly. Maybe you were losing your mind, but he just looked too funny in that last moment.

His eyebrow raised in curiosity as he heard your soft giggles. He stepped forward again, his hand reaching out to tuck your bangs behind your ear.

"What's so funny?" he asked, his tone still edged with irritation.

"You're- you're trying so hard to get me all scared for my life and whatnot," you paused to chuckle some more, your head lowering again to hide your manic smile. "When really, I don't give two shits about it! I have nothing to give you and nothing to lose!"

Kylo's eyes widened in surprise at your boldness. He wasn't used to someone being so unflinchingly fearless in his presence, especially someone who was strapped down like a prisoner.

"You think you're invincible, do you?" he questioned, his tone now holding a hint of fascination. "You don't care if I hurt you? You don't care if I break you?"

"Nah," you shook your head, lifting it to show him just how unafraid you were. His forehead wrinkled as he observed it. He just couldn't fathom how someone could be so carefree in such a dire situation. He walked around the bed, stopping next to you and looking down at your bound form.

"You're either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish," he stated, his eyes studying your face intently as you shrugged.

"I get that exact statement more than I do credits," you chuckled under your breath.

Kylo scoffed in disbelief. He ran a hand through his dark raven hair, shaking his head slightly. "You're unlike anyone I've ever interrogated before," he admitted.

"The others all break eventually, begging for mercy. But you…" he trailed off, his gaze roaming over your face again.

You shook your head, your smile never leaving your face as you held his gaze. "I exist out of spite. And let me tell you, it is glorious."

Kylo chuckled darkly at your snarky comment. He placed a hand on the bed next to your hip, leaning down to get closer to your face. "Spite, huh?" he repeated, his gaze locked with yours.

"You're a walking contradiction, you know that? Defiant and yet… somewhat amusing."

"That's what gives me so much power, darling," you winked.

"Oh, but... not physical, of course," you added, tugging at the restraints with a soft chuckle. "No, I'm talking mental power. You see, I just so happened to have found the cheat codes to the entire kriffing galaxy, and I am winning."

His eyes widened in amusement at your words. He chuckled again, shaking his head in disbelief. "So, you think you've found the secret to life, huh?" he said, his voice a mixture of amusement and annoyance. "You're tied down to my interrogation slab and have literally no power, but somehow, you're winning?"

Your eyebrow raised, "well, you haven't exactly broken me yet now, have you?"

Kylo's jaw clenched as your smirk hit a nerve. He couldn't deny that you were right, but he wasn't about to admit it out loud.

"I'll break you, eventually," he warned, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I've broken countless others before. You're no different."

"Mhm," you replied sarcastically. "Just don't go crying back to Daddy when we don't work out, okay?"

His eyes widened in shock, his irritation growing by the second as he clenched his fists to control it from flying right into your face. He stepped closer, towering over you as he spoke through gritted teeth.

"Don't push your luck, smart mouth," he practically growled. "I have ways to make you regret ever being born."

"Oh, honey," you laughed, shaking your head. "You're going to have to try much harder, I already regret it every waking day!"

Kylo's patience reached its breaking point. He grabbed your jaw, forcing you to look up at him.

"You really have no sense of self-preservation, do you?" he demanded, anger lacing his words. "You think this is all a game, don't you? You think you can just taunt and tease me, and I'll just let you go?"

"Oh, no- I don't plan on leaving. No, no, you're really a great host," you answered, your tone laced with sarcasm and a smirk.

His cold eyes darkened with anger, his grip on your jaw becoming tighter. He gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his temper in check.

"Oh, you think you're real cute, don't you?" he snarled. "You think your sarcastic comments and smirks are going to save you, but let me tell you something..."

He leaned in closer, his face inches away from yours.

"I can make your life a living hell if I want to. I can make you beg for death, and I won't hesitate to do it. So watch yourself, smartass."

You leaned your head closer as well, your lips barely hovering each other's. "I already beg the Maker for my death, and every day I wake is a living hell," you whispered into his mouth. "So you're going to have to try so much harder if you want to break me."

The Supreme Leader's breath caught in his throat as you leaned closer, your lips dangerously close to touching his. He could feel your hot breath on his face, sending a strange wave of feelings through him. He hadn't been this close to someone, let alone a prisoner, in a very long time.

He swallowed hard, his expression faltering for just a moment before he regained his composure. He released your jaw, backing away slightly as he composed himself.

"You're nothing but a walking contradiction," he grumbled, his voice now tinged with something other than irritation.

"Like I said," you shrugged while returning to your resting position. "I exist out of spite."

Kylo rubbed a hand over his face, his frustration slowly turning into fascination. You were unlike anyone he had ever met before. Most prisoners would be quivering in fear, doing everything they could to please him in hopes of being spared. But you were different. You were fearless, taunting and teasing him, seemingly unintimidated by his presence or power.

He couldn't understand it. Why weren't you afraid? Why weren't you begging for mercy? Instead, you were… smiling?

he scoffed and leaned against a nearby wall, crossing his arms over his chest as he observed you. His mind raced with questions and curiosity.

"Why aren't you afraid?" he finally spoke up, his voice calmer now but still laced with intrigue. "Most prisoners beg and plea for mercy, but you… you act like this is all some kind of game. Like you're enjoying this."

You leaned towards him as close as you could within your restraints, remaining firm eye contact.

"I'm proving that you're not as powerful as you promote yourself to be," you stated simply, your voice low and finally serious.

This earned another raised eyebrow at your response, leaving him somewhat impressed by your unwavering confidence.

"And you think this is the way to prove it?" he questioned, a hint of amusement in his voice. "By being snarky and defiant? Good luck with that. I've dealt with plenty like you before."

"But no one is just like me, now are they?" you smiled, leaning back again.

Kylo studied you closely, his gaze roaming over your calm, confident form. He couldn't deny that there was something different about you. You seemed untouchable, almost completely unbothered by the dangerous situation you were in.

He pushed himself off the wall, his footsteps echoing through the room as he walked over to the edge of the bed. He leaned down, his face now just inches away from yours.

"You're either recklessly brave, or incredibly stupid," he stated, his eyes never leaving yours.

"You already said that, but thank you, sweetheart," you teased, giggling again as you watched him suddenly turn to leave in fury. "Hey. Same time next week?"

This caused him to freeze in his tracks, his eyebrow twitching in irritation. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing as he shot you a glare.

"You think you're clever, don't you?" he snapped, his voice a mix of annoyance and something else. Without another word, he pushed past the doors and made his way down the corridor, his mind replaying the interaction again and again.

Your giggles died down, and you had to bite your lip to hide your pained sobs slipping through them. No, you had to be strong. You had to live, to spite the galaxy.

[horizon-verizon]

Phoebe Campbell saying about Baela and Rhaena “There’s a little bit of tension because of their separate upbringings, Baela was raised with grandma & grandpa, Rhaena by stepmom and half siblings. Rhaena feels quite a lot of resentment there.”

So... that garbage fanfic wants to put the dragon twins against each other ?? They aren’t Arya and Sansa, Baela and Rhaena actually love each other, and unlike Sansa, Baela never bullied her sister. And why would Rhaena resent the fact that she had to live with her stepmom and half siblings ??

This is if--and only IF--Phoebe is correct in how the show will decide to characterize Rhaena, and since they literally acted the character, shot all the scenes, and haven't gone on record with bad takes, I think we don't have much a reason to suspect otherwise.

Link to the article that came out today and what anon refers to:

BranwynHlfwitch over at Twitter has a whole thread pointing out other stuff how Ryan Condal has never had a great grasp on the plot or really of history & historians.

I think that part of it is they are trying to develop these characters for their larger roles they're planning during the Dance & the way they decided to go about that is to create conflict b/t the fan fav sisters. And I think they might try to to argue or imply that she is resentful bc of not just second-son syndrome, but basically Baela was picked by their grandparents to be closer and let Rhaena be. Why not both of them, if they are already seeming to break tradition? It will likely folow the theme of silent rejection the show allows the audience to quickly assume from episode 6, where Rhaena bemoans Daemon ignoring her bc of her not hatching an egg...which I already talked about.

Baela--for a very dumb reason--becomes the "ward" of the Velaryons & Rhaenys wants Corlys to name Baela as his heir...presumably without consulting Daemon, the girl's father or Viserys, the head of the house Baela is actually a part of and who would determine how his house's possible heirs inherit what over other candidates...bc Baela & Rhaena are both technically still in line for the throne though they aren't titled as princesses. Just way down and the claims would get stronger the more people before them die...which we already see in the bk.

Anyway, Baela is seemingly older than Rhaena instead of being her twin as by canon; she has a dragon where Rhaena does not; she is, bc she is older, taken to Driftmark to learn the ways of a leader as if she might become the head of a house or whatever even though we also know that Corlys has definitely not named her his heir by his & Rhaenys' conversation in the last episode (so for 6 years why is Baela there without being named when they could just visit each other--her and Rhaenys--by ship and dragonback [pic below] idk, the spectacle of it?).

And while Rhaena loved her dad, loved her stepsiblings/1st cousins-once-removed & I believe that Rhaenyra was a great stepmother to her, because the show did not show us their lives, they will take advantage of that and present us with a lot of stuff like this--breaking lore and going along with the breakage to build their own tale but also sometimes not showing a logical progression from that point of breakage [again, lok to the link abt cradle-bonding].

Yes, there's the argument that Daemon is merely worried over Rhaena's being singled put and left out or belittled, sidelined, for not having a dragon as he felt being a second son/child even with his dragon...but again, look to my post about cradle-bonds and the history of dragon bonds he supposedly knows and it becomes still dumb when he still ends up doing the very thing he's supposed to have feared for his daughter, to her.

Would it have helped if the writers actually developed these people's lives before the Dance and actually think through their plot decisions if they planned to make Rhaena-Daemon's deal this, absolutely! But we have what we have.

Show!Rhaena could come to just resent her sister for all this perceived favoritism.

I may be wrong, who knows.

[floatinginzerogravity]

I had so much fun doing the Pilot analysis for my friends that I decided to do another one for episode 2: Pt.1

Whaaaattt? N as a WD??? Are you shooketh? Cause I'm not. I've watched this show over a dozen times, ha-ha! (It is 1:00am right now) Okay, but serious talk

Tessa got the DD's from the drone dump. Just pointing this out, as I've read fanworks where Tessa got the DD's as gifts from her parents/adopted them from the mansion staff after they proved defective, which is canonically false. (No hate if you decide to AU it though!)

You know, I always just assumed the Drones were wearing wigs, but, like, they might actually be human hair, which, indeed, is creepy.

heh heh, Hi!

I love how the DD's sleep upside down like bats-

The solver breaking the mirror is a reference to how vampires can't see their own reflections

.... You sure about that, V? (I have a full analysis of this scene in an older anaylsis I made about V, using context from later episodes. But be warned, I had only been watching MD for a couple weeks when I wrote it, so I no longer stand by a good portion of that post.)

heh

This, to me, confirms that the memory wipes happened multiple times, as N doesn't remember landing on Copper 9 despite the event happening after the initial wipes

"You just killed a bunch of people, idiot" -Uzi 2021 No hate, just found this funny

Uzi's To-do lists <3

[Full Text: To Do

>Fix dumb murder ship >Sick ass spoilers >Add tinted windows >Paint purple, add cool flames]

After much thought, I personally believe that V was just messing with Uzi with this line. Some think differently, but that's my two cents

>licky

>Oh god, ew, why did I do that??

>Nobody saw that, right? Yeah, definitely, just pretend it never happened

heh

And this rounds back to my point in the last post about J knowing more than she lets on. Did she know it wasn't the company? I find it hard to believe that she would take orders if she didn't think they were from JCJenson. Am I reading too far into a miniscule detail? Probably.

ptff

You know things got real when you see fleshy ribcage in your robot show I have never appreciated how creepy this scene is, I'm usually immune to horror, but I guess staying up til 2:00am infodumping about MD does something to you

The little flesh creatures have the black holes inside of them. Don't know how I haven't noticed that before

Lizzie leaning over to whisper to Doll in the background

[Text: PSYCH 102: JAVA, ??? [week 11: Everyone DOES hate you and it's all they ever talk about together]

[Text: Programming and ????

[Expre#4 denotes obsession to all things done or said. Consider all drones are programmed to this same standard obsession over things you've done or said]

[EX: [embarrassing quirk] is ex [endearing trait] presented with a low confidence value. Except for that thing you do, holy yikes, do NOT normalize that]

[When receiving input: [Compliment Accuracy = -0.06% (What's their game??] [Critique accuracy = 110% (finally, some quality data!)] Heh, I'm all of these

[the-force-awakens]

Thoughts on Poe and his relationship with the force? For me, especially in the comics, it's always been one of the most interesting explorations of a non-force user connecting deeply with the force. I keep coming back to Poe's speech at L'ulo's funeral and just sit in awe of the writing for a good for minutes.

Oh, I have so many thoughts on Poe and his relationship with the Force, and a lot of them always go back to that scene in the comics, and something Oscar said in an interview ahead of the Force Awakens:

He knows about Luke and Han. But his family - he comes from a long line of rebel fighters, as well. So he’s committed totally to the Resistance. He believes in the Force. (source)

So, one thing that they seemed to have landed on from the get-go, is that Poe believes in the Force - enough that, y'know, he mentions it as part of his speech at L'ulo's funeral, and one thing stands out to me:

These days, we don't talk about the Force that much. I don't know if it's gone out of fashion, or if it's just harder to see around us. It was different for me growing up. We used to tell stories about the Force all the time.

Which sounds to me like 'believing' in the Force here, doesn't just mean Poe knows it exists, but that he possibly believes in it the way Lor San Tekka and the Church of the Force might - like it's part of Poe's religion. I mean, consider how excited he is to meet Lor San Tekka, and how much Tekka knows - the Force means a lot to Poe, and shapes his worldview.

The rest of my thoughts are technically not disproven by canon, but are the kind of extrapolation that's definitely more "headcanon" than anything:

I think Poe's relationship with the Force is interesting because of how much the Force is seeped into his story, and not just in the sense that Poe believes in the Force in a seemingly religious way: there's the fact that Poe first hears Leia in Free Fall, just outside/around a set of old religious ruins (because Kijimi used to be a religious site, back when). There's the fact that we meet Poe in a village filled with people who do worship the Force, and that it's canon (or semi-canonical) that Poe taps into it on Takodana while flying.

(I think Poe taps into it a lot, actually, if we look at how uncannily intuitive he can be...or the way he can easily dodge blaster fire while running into battle....or how in tune he can be with his wingmen - there's a shot in TLJ of him moving in perfect synchronicity with C'ai, during the briefing with Holdo, that I never noticed. Poe does it with more people than just Finn, apparently, and that fascinates me.)

But I also find it...particularly interesting that Poe is present (or nearby) a lot of the times when Force Sensitives first tap into the Force. He's in the village when Finn connects to it for the first time properly (I'm assuming that's the moment, anyway, since Ren has such a profound reaction to Finn), and - well Rey's a little more shaky, since he's vaguely sort of around, flying on Starkiller, when she fully embraces the Force. But then in Terrifying Tales, he's there when Dean connects to it for the first time as well....

I don't think Poe is properly Force Sensitive, I don't see him being able to lift anything, or stuff like that. But I think the Force loves him, and I think it might get a little stronger around him (hence the above with the Force Sensitives). The Force does just...move strangely around him, I think - he grew up with a Force-sensitive tree in his back yard, he's the right hand of one of the last Jedi in the galaxy (even if she quit training), he's tapped into the Force before while flying (probably more than once, if we're being honest, considering no one in the gffa flies anything remotely like Poe), and there's the very interesting scene in TLJ that - sure, proves that Poe is as good a tactician and leader as Leia - has Poe and Leia come up with the same plan, at the same exact time, from opposite ends of the ship...which is then immediately followed up with Leia having a Force Bond moment with Ren.

And then there's the torture scene. Ren doesn't go easy on him. In the novelization, it's described as "silent agony". In Battlefront II, we see precisely what it's like for the person on the receiving end, and Del does give up the information that Ren needs. In Kenobi, we see Reva get what she needs within seconds.

Ren doesn't...get anything from Poe. According to a Topps Card:

Kylo Ren tortures Poe Dameron in an attempt to extract any information about the Resistance's plans and the map to locate Skywalker. Poe manages to keep the location of the Resistance base a secret, but is in so much pain, he cannot mask his thoughts about BB-8 having the information [source].

By all rights, according to what we've seen in Star Wars and of non-Force Sensitives being interrogated for information...Poe shouldn't have been able to keep anything from Ren. But he did, even while under excruciating agony. Consider how many Resistance secrets are in Poe's head - he knows not just the location of the base, but likely the location of most of their spies considering that Resistance shows that Poe is the one to keep contact with them.

And there's the fact that Poe's torture is something that canonically reverberates throughout the Force, since Ezra hears his voice in the World Between Worlds episode of Star Wars Rebels ("The Resistance will not be intimidated by you").

So, I don't know. I think Poe worships the Force, and I definitely don't think he's a passive agent to it, I do think that he influences it to some degree, and that it influences him to some degree. I think the Force loves Poe right back, and that push and pull dynamic is so interesting to me when so many of the people in his life are Force Sensitive....

and it's utterly heartbreaking to consider that Poe's first experience with it, was on Jakku and the Finalizer, assuming Leia had never used it around him before (which I do find a little doubtful, and I like to think he's seen her do some Force stuff before, but if we wanna go the angsty route lmao...), and that something that he loves and worships, and possibly loves him right back, was then weaponized against him.

[dinitride-art]

Why Byler Would Be a Failure of a Queerbait

Queerbaiting is used to draw in an audience and usually results in a strong fandom. It’s goal is to gather a larger audience, and the audience that would not want queer characters. What I’ve noticed about it, is that it usually is comprised to two straight characters who are good friends. They then sprinkle stuff into interviews outside the media from actors. Things like, maybe she likes her? I guess you’ll just have to find out in the next season! Or saying they could see it happening. Basically anything that would draw in people who want to see a queer pairing, but keeping a reasonable amount of doubt available to those who don’t want to see a queer pairing. Also fan service when the queer bait is being directed at an audience of mostly straight women shipping two male characters. It’s a marketing tactic.

Queer baiting does sometimes result in queer characters, but not the ones that they’re marketing. Or if it is the ones their marketing, they immediately die. The Queer baiting and bury your gays combo. See, supernatural. Having canon queer characters usually isn’t what is intended. They aren’t important to the plot, and can be easily disposed of once they’ve played their part. Their part being covering up any trace of queer bait with the argument that they actually have a queer character in their show. These characters, more often than not, are one dimensional side characters and aren’t there to stay. Main characters revealed as queer, can’t be more than one, and are only revealed at the last possible moment as not to lose the part of the audience not being queer baited.

Stranger Things has two characters that are canonically queer and are relevant to the plot. Robin on her own could be seen as potential queerbait, if byelr were at that time, popular enough to warrant baiting. The queer side character backtrack comes after pressure from a queer baited audience. Not before. Prior to season four, there were more people on tumblr who shipped Mike and El, than Mike and Will. On tumblr. In fact, there were so few byler shippers, that they were in a position where they could be targeted by Mike and El shippers with no consequences. In season three there would be no reason to even think about smoothing over anger from a baited fandom. There was no fandom to be baited. The audience being baited needs to actually be present for it to work.

With one queer character introduced there is no need for another. If Robin were a side character who died in season three then that might allow for another queer character to be introduced in season four. However, Robin is very much alive in season four. She’s not going anywhere and actually has a character arc discussing both her as a person, and her experience as a lesbian in the eighties in Hawkins. That’s pushing it for queer bait. It’s really pushing it.

Will Byers is in love with Mike Wheeler. That’s canon in season four. It’s been built up to since the beginning. If Stranger Things was baiting a queer audience, this would be a weird move. Considering that Byler shippers have never been worth noting before season four, and that Will’s the character that they built the foundation of the show off of, this is a terrible option for queerbaiting. Not because it wouldn’t draw a queer audience that wasn’t to see queer characters, but because it would push away the audience that doesn’t. That is a line that they cannot cross. Will Byers would be crossing that line, and then some. This character is not one that can be thrown away without consequence. He’s important and affects almost everything that happens. I have never seen a main character be queer, and have their story represented in a genuine manner. Never would it affect a central straight relationship. They wouldn’t dare lose a single member of a heteronormative audience.

Two queer characters that are this important are not queer bait. They are not a marketing tactic, they’re integral to the story. Their experiences are integral to the story. Robin Buckley was the first straightbait I have ever witnessed. She is a queer character who was a character first, and queer after the work was put in to make the audience see her as a person. This character is enough to say that Stranger Things represented a queer character well.

Will Byers says that Stranger Things is about queer people. He’s in love with another main character, and it’s affecting the plot. Will Byers being in love with Mike Wheeler is actively changing Mike and El’s relationship. It has been since the beginning.

You can’t queer bait an audience that isn’t there. You can’t bring in a queer character to cover your asses when no one’s accusing you of anything. This isn’t something I’ve ever seen before. Robin is introduced in preparation for Will. It’s the literally opposite of queer baiting. It’s creating a story with queer characters, about queer characters, and marketing it to a straight cisgender audience.

Queer baiting has never been done like this. Because this isn’t queer baiting. It doesn’t effectively function as queer baiting because there was no audience, and their largest audience is the one they’re testing. It is more of a problem to lose a straight audience than a queer one that barely exists.

Byler cannot be queer bait because that’s not how queer bait works. There are not two canon queer characters in a queer bait. Certainly not one of the characters the plot has been centred around since the beginning. And definitely not a character that they would lose members of their audience for writing him as gay.

Will Byers is in love with Mike Wheeler. Will’s relationship to Mike is still important to both of them even after the audience sees this. In fact, Will is affecting Mike’s decisions, and it’s stressed how much he cares for him. Mike and El’s relationship is in shambles and Will is the character they’ve chosen to get involved in that.

This doesn’t happen.

Will is in love with Mike, and he’s still someone who Mike cares about. There’s no distance put in their relationship. They actually spent an entire arc repairing and strengthening it.

Will Byers is in love with Mike Wheeler.

And he’s still alive. He’s still important. He’s still important to Mike.

I literally don’t know what to do with Mike and Will. Because it’s not queer bait. It doesn’t function as queer bait because queer bait is not an aspect of the story. It’s always marketing to an audience. Never an experience or a conversation or anything that’s significance goes further than saying there’s a queer character for the sake of having a queer character.

And it’s never a main character.

When your main character is queer, your story is queer.

They cannot use queer bait as a marketing tactic because they’ve already committed to writing a queer story. Their main audience is not queer. There’s no reason to queer bait a straight audience that doesn’t want queer characters in the first place. It doesn’t work like that. Queer baiting has never worked like this.

This isn’t queer bait. It never has been.

They’re going for it. They are actually going for it. And I can’t wait to see it.

[warm-starlight]

I just saw that post you shared from TW and I wanted to get some things off my chest.

There’s no need to write a pathetic piece desperately trying to downplay Hanji’s impact to Levi. Erwin and Hanji are both important to him. THATS FUCKING CANON! I’m so tired reading the same “Levi encouraged Erwin to use Hanjis squad as a bait to save his life. Therefore Levi doesn’t give a shit about Hanji and is in love with Erwin.” ERWIN IS THEIR COMMANDER AND HIS SAFETY IS A PRIORITY! That's literally how the military chain of command is preserved! Hanji would’ve done the same thing in Levi’s place without a doubt. ”Levi still mentions Erwin even though he is dead for four years.” DUUUUHHH?!Of course he still thinks about him and his promise to him! All the scouts along with Erwin died to give him the opportunity to kill zeke and he fucking failed! Of course he is eager to finish the job! And for the love of god stop using the “I’m championing for LGBT ships and you are dismissing roori becase they are gay.” Girl,roori is the least dismissed ship out there. They are literally one of the biggest army of shippers out there and theres no shortage of people defending them all the time. Also, levihan isn’t a even a straight ship?! Did they miss the whole thing where Isayama changed Hanjis pronouns in the manga?I also hate how whoever wrote this feels like their personal interpretation is the only thing that matters and ours is wrong and invalid. All that shit they are presenting about Levi and Erwin should be interpreted as romantic but those between Levi and Hange no matter how emotional and intimate should not?Grow up!If levihan bothers you so much block and mute people.Do what you gotta do to keep away from the content you dont want to see!Let people enjoy hamless shit.

I have a lot to say about every paragraph of that post, but i honestly don't care for wasting my time on someone who chooses to read the manga with their eyes closed.

Remember when that central MP told Levi that Erwin is captured and will be hanged and offered to let him go if he just gives himself in? Levi said "no", even though he should want to protect Erwin's life no matter what according to them, right? Instead Levi said "Some lives are more valuable than the others.". At that moment he prioritized the lives of Eren and Historia over Erwin.

Also "he never thought about Hange" after they died is hilariously incorrect. He told Hange to "keep watching". He followed their theory that killing Zeke might sever Eren's connection to the paths and stop the rumbling. He also used the knowledge he got from them to quickly asses that the Ackermans and shifters are immune to the titan gas and lead everyone to kill Eren.

He literally thought about them as he was having his internal monologue. They were at the front of his mind so to speak and the only active character in the panels, while everyone else was a passive listener.

He saw them among every other survey corps member when he gave them his final salute.

Years later he saw a plane fly by that reminded him of the day he lost them and erooris clowning about that panel saying "HaNgE iS A PLaNe" are just completely braindead and don't understand literary symbolism.

There are too many scenes that showed Levi cares deeply about Hange and the fact he prioritized **the freaking commander of the survey corps** at some point does not negate that he has almost been hit by Zeke's rocks worrying about their safety and that he stopped in the middle of an intense battle to make Armin protect them when they got injured.

In the forest afrer finding out what happened to Zeke (because Zeke was the last thing he remembers before the explosion??) he immediately brought the conversation to Hange's expressed feelings and gave them much needed encouragement.

Anyway. Erooris clearly are seething because all they have is the promise which, although was made to Erwin,was really about All the dead survey corps members. The moment between them was nowhere near on the level of intimacy and vulnerability that 126 and 132 had. They are clearly green with envy.

When the shippes choose to talk shit about "a rival ship" rather than talking about their own content this is how you know they have no leg to stand on.

Yes, Levi cared about Erwin deeply, yes, his loyalty to him was amazing, but he has done things to Hange he has done to nobody else and Hange was the only person who witnessed him at his most vulnerable and soft and all of it was meant for them alone.

[bohemian-nights]

Fuck Rhaenyra, fuck the writers with this sapphic plotline they invented, it's simply pathetic, and fuck Emma D'Arcy who is the cause of that. Im sorry but why trans/LGBTQ agenda should be included, but then they don't care about racism? Cause Laena has bee treated awfully, next is Nettles, reduced to Daemon's new distraction/whim to cheat on Nyra and shows how bad husband he is, or even cut out to redeem him (?) This Show sucks. Fuck white privilegies. Fuck HBO and all the people who's supporting this trash. To all the people who kiss Emma D'Arcy's ugly ass, am i transphobic cause i hate what they did to Rhaenyra and to the story? Ok, and you're racist for using Laena as an excuse of made up ship (Laenyra) to shit on Daemon X Laena in order to praise your incest ship and for not wanting Nettles in the series cause could ruin it. Whatever happens it seems is always the black characters who gets sacrificed for the sake of white characters. I said what i said.

Um, this has the energy of this:

Oh God you really let it all out there. Minus calling Emma ugly(again guys can we please not call the actors/actresses ugly), I don’t think you are wrong and I get your frustrations.

It’s pretty clear this show has an agenda, is biased towards one character in particular at the expense of basically everyone else, and has a misogynoir problem.

Now to be clear, even though Emma is going along with what is being pushed, I think it’s inaccurate to blame any of the actors or actresses on this show for what is happening. Because at the end of the day it’s the show runners and the execs at HBO who are calling the shots. Emma is just a mascot for their agenda(take that as you will).

They more than likely purposely picked Emma because they wanted to make Rhaenyra into some feminist warrior queen who has a rainbow coalition of supporters against the conservative greens.

It’s corny, but with another character like say Rhaena the Black Bride(who’s already a lesbian) or even Visenya(who’s a warrior queen) it could work.

However the problem with choosing to make Rhaenyra into a revolutionary type figure/girl boss/feminist is that she’s the complete opposite of that.

Rhaenyra in canon is a racist to the point where she’s willing to use it to explain away murder, she mocks Laenor for being gay(says her half-brothers who are children are his type), looks down on and underestimates the small folk, and doesn’t even bother to help advance other women(Stokeworth and Rosby) in her class much less women like Nettles.

Her and Alicent have a completely different relationship dynamic in the books than in the show.

She’s selfish and self-focused. She’s malicious bordering on sadistic. She even puts her own children in danger for her own wants.

And before her followers go moaning she’s done too many things to claim that she’s been wrongly framed by the narrative. No sane person is chopping off heads and feeding it to dragons or trying to murder innocent women in their sleep. That’s not maester propaganda. She’s objectively awful.

She may be a woman, but she’s no better than her brother. Women can be just as awful as men(for Christ’s sakes look at real life not everyone is wrongly accused because of sexism). Rhaenyra shows that. Even at the last moments of her life she pretty much has zero remorse IMO.

For those reasons, I absolutely hate that the show is trying to redeem her. I hate how they cast Black actors to use them as human shields to make her look progressive, to lessen her atrocities, and even to make her something like her death look less atrocious.

Fans see Black people(the characters) supporting her vs. the mostly white greens they go that’s the progressive team(that ideology is so f*cked up). They even have Black fans supporting Rhaenyra because of all the Black secondary characters.

Never mind that these characters(who are race-bent) are being screwed over by the narrative, haven’t been presented in the best light, and have had their stories be rewritten to better serve Rhaenyra and make her look sympathetic/noble/just. The best who are treated way worse than their white book counterparts.

They added Ser Vaemond calling Rhaenyra a whore to justify Daemon killing him when in the books he rightfully calls her out and gets unjustly beheaded and feed to a dragon as a result on Rhaenyra’s orders. Then his sons and cousins get reprimanded by with some getting their tongues cut out, but that’s all been cut out.

Instead of showing that was loved or at least cared for by Daemon like in the books show Laena has been regulated to sorta second best(third best if you factor in the Viserys situation). She’s unloved and unwanted. Her suicide is made into a girlboss/empowering moment instead of being criticized for what it is away to make Rhaenyra’s death look better. Laena’s character is a walking stereotype(disposable Black girlfriend, look it up).

The audience eats it up of course and instead of calling out making her into a stereotype they are upset that the show did not make the non-canon throuple situation happen so they could get more brownie points for their I love Black people, I'm not a racist, I just don't want that Black person who isn't a plot device on the show act.

(I’m calling it non-canon cause you can’t only use the word fond to support a relationship, especially when you claim that word means nothing when it comes to Dettles which has more evidence than a single word).

Even Laenor has been made into a deadbeat dad. Corlys looks stupid. The girls have been given nothing to do. Addam’s whole purpose is to scarifice himself for Rhaenyra which is why they are highlighting him so much.

It’s absolutely disgusting.

I have no idea what they are going to do with Nettles, a character who doesn’t need to be race-bent cause she’s already Black, but based on their track record it could be terrible(I’m holding out hope though). She shouldn’t be treated like she’s just some whore or Daemon's mistress. She has her own plot, she’s loved by, and she’s one of the few survivors of the dance(and one of two dragonriders).

If the show was decent at all they’d do the right thing and show her as the multifaceted character she is and not regulate her into another stereotype(I guess they’d go the Jezebel route).

I totally get where you are coming from on the racism aspect. This is obviously lost by most though. Hell, most in the fandom are racist themselves, but skirt by because they like this show using the Black characters as human shields. It's a circus.

And no one is going to take this rant seriously since you went a little too far. All they are going to focus on is you calling Emma ugly, which again was uncalled for, but I get the essence of it.

[facelessxchurch]

Baronpine and/or Sorrowscorn for the ship bingo please

Imma do Sorrowscorn bc someone else already asked for Baronpine!

Surprisingly enough this is my first Bingo! :D I already filled out the other bingo cards but I'm answering these in the order of what is fasted to draw/answer.

I can make it so fucked up/Colour me intrigued: Self-explanatory. Just, the tension in each interaction, and them being the very definition of kill me romantically. Just everything is personal with them. Eliza can't decide if she wants to kill China, be her or fuck her. Meanwhile, Eliza is a reminder of a past and her old self which she both really rather leave behind. Since they were both part of the Faceless Church, their idea of romance back then has the potential to be so messed up and I do love some (self)destructive love archetypes <3

They're exes: Landy did Eliza so dirty by writing her as the biter ex archetype and giving her like no other personality traits. Even her name is based on that! Scorn -> "Hell has no fury like a woman scorned"

Basically canon to me: And then he has the audacity to claim he never admitted China and Eliza were canonly a thing during the war. There is a reason Sorrowscorn was considered a canonship along with Ganith for the longest time. But he either deleted the tweet or it was an answer on the SP forums which have been shut down by now.

They're the same fucking guy: Landy also did her dirty by making her the colour-swapped, lesser version of China. She, like China, has the ability to make anyone she comes across fall instantly in love with her, though it is established that this power is not as strong as China's, she is a rival collector and information broker to China and she very likely also chose symbol magic as her adept discipline as the glowing daggers she threw seem very similar to what China was shown to be able to do with her sigils. Her personality is also pretty much just wartime China. Since she is the weaker of the two she was very likely the one copying China instead of developing her own strengths and weaknesses. This shows a weakness of character that puts her in a power imbalance with China and also prevents her to climb the ranks of the Faceless church beyond her current position.

Fated Enemies/There is no way this will end well: And that's why their relationship could never last. That's why she could never be more than China's plaything. Seeing so much of herself in Eliza fed her ego and narcissism. She loved herself so of course she would love someone so much like herself. But when she changed and Eliza didn't...

They Enable the worst in each other: Accurate for both wartimes, pushing each other into new extremes since they are rivals as much as lovers trying to impress each other. In the present day, as enemies, Elize definitely brought out China's old 'sharp' self while they were fighting each other.

In a relationship not sure what the relationship is but they are in one: Self-explanatory.

Oh, the devotion/inherit eroticism of attempted murder: 👀👀👀👀

Thematically delicious: Ngl I have a thing for relationships doomed from the start. During the war they were birds of a feather. She found kin in Eliza since she has the same curse ability to make people fall in love with her. Finally, she has someone who understands the hardships that effect brings, finally, someone is immune to it, and finally someone's feelings are real. Now, China is a fallen idol in Eliza's eyes. Someone who she looked up to and wanted to be like now no more than a traitor. Not only did she abandon the church, she had abandoned HER too. And she hates the fact that she knows she would forgive China in an instant would she return to her. To China Eliza is a reminder of a past and an old self she'd rather leave behind. Landy said in a tweet that Eliza would kill China eventually (that was before phase 2 was announced and I think he deleted that tweet) but I think it would be more fitting if China would kill Eliza and quite frankly, Eliza would have it no other way.