#me applying tropes to my life to make it more interesting

[adharastarlight]

Not even surname academic rivals, but not referring to them and them and everyone else knowing who you're referring to based on the scorn in your voice and the amount you roll your eyes

[echthr0s]

my toxic trait is that whenever people start talkin about how such-and-such is an allegory for some real-life social ill or whatever I can physically feel myself losing interest

[sundrop-writes]

Push and Pull

Emily Prentiss x Fem!Reader

Summary:

While playing games with Viper, Emily (accidentally) plays on your attraction to her - something you had been trying to hide since you started with the BAU. The results end up being more than interesting.

Emily Prentiss x Fem!Reader - Co-Workers to Lovers. Smut, Sexual Tension.

Word Count: 2,800 words

Criminal Minds Masterlist | AO3 Link

THIS IS A RE-POST. This is a fic from my old blog (a blog that was shadowbanned, forcing me to move). This fic is not stolen, it is completely mine, and I am just re-posting it to help people find my new blog, and to make my masterlist complete when I post new fics for this fandom.

Detailed warnings and author’s notes below the cut.

Warnings: smut; this is set during Season 4, Episode 9 (52 Pickup) and there is a lot of references to the episode in this, but I think you could read this without having seen the episode; mentions of typically sexist practices - in the form of ‘pickup artistry’: the reader character replaces Jordan Todd on the team; there is an age gap between Emily and the reader - Emily is older and the reader character is younger; the reader character uses she/her pronouns and has a vagina; mention of the reader wearing a dress and makeup; the reader has sexual fantasies about Emily - which include: pussy eating, fingering, rough sex, semi public sex, being called 'naughty girl’; most of the sex acts are in fantasies (this fic is mostly tension and build up and sexually adjacent situations rather than actual sex); masturbation (the reader masturbates); mentions of masturbation being unsatisfying or not feeling 'as good’ as having sex with the desired partner; caught masturbating - Emily walks in on the reader; Emily refers to herself as 'Mama’ (once); rough kissing, Emily gropes the reader through clothing, very light choking (from Emily toward the reader) (Emily puts her hand on the reader’s neck and applies pressure for a few seconds to get her attention), Emily calls the reader 'needy little thing’ (in this case the word 'little’ is meant to be condescending and not a description of size); undertones of degradation kink; I believe that is everything.

A/N: This was based on a request, and the original request mentioned fake dating (and I would love to do that trope with Emily), but I couldn’t stop thinking about how stunning and gorgeous Emily looks in this episode, and I thought it would be interesting to use it. Also the idea of a man basing his pickup techniques on women needing male validation when - hey, what kind of women wouldn’t want or need male validation? A woman who is obsessed with the other gorgeous woman at the table. It was such a fun scenario to write about. I definitely wanna write more Emily fics in the future.

...

At first, you really weren’t looking forward to it. 

Though it seemed fun in concept - having an excuse to dress up and go out to a club while on the job - Emily assured you that it was going to be miserable. 

The way Emily talked about the man - Viper. She almost made him sound worse than some of the confirmed killers you had dealt with during your short time at the BAU. She said that he was the scum of the earth, a waste of oxygen, that made her feel dirty just by giving her a weird look. She joked that she was ‘dragging you along’ because she didn’t want to suffer alone (that, and she needed backup, in case the guy truly was dangerous). 

From the way she talked about it, you thought the night was going to be miserable. 

You certainly didn’t expect it to be one of the best nights of your life. 

Viper frequented bars and nightclubs. So of course, nightclub appropriate attire was required. You rushed to a store and grabbed the first tight dress you could find (a red one with spaghetti straps that would pair well with a pair of modest black heels you already had in your bag for the job). You didn’t expect to come back and see Emily getting changed into a clingy black dress that fit her like sin, her makeup subtle but smokey. 

You had been actively suppressing your attraction to her, a gorgeous older woman, since you had joined the BAU a month ago. You told yourself that you could keep your lustful feelings under control because you would only be there temporarily, to replace their usual media liaison - who was on maternity leave. But seeing her dressed up like this, it certainly didn’t help with that suppression. 

Things only got worse when you got to the club and Viper descended upon the two of you. (You quietly whispered to Emily that his name should have been Vulture and the soft laughter she let out had your insides fluttering.) 

Turns out, Emily had been paying extra attention to the ‘push and pull’ technique that Reid had talked about. And even though you knew that it was just in the name of messing with the cocky man - you fell hook, line, and sinker for Emily’s combatants of this technique. 

See, rather than letting him push and pull the two of you - compliment one of you and leave the other one reeling for validation, Emily complimented you herself. She never let Viper leave room for you to need that validation. Not that you would ever need it from someone like him. But she certainly threw him off with this tactic. 

She supported you, focused far more of her attention on you than she did on him. The two of you never fell to the traditional ‘women in constant competition’ market that his techniques were built on. If she put far more of her focus on you and actively ignored him (or even not-so-subtly insulted him), then what could he do? 

Women not vying for his attention? It was a curveball for the ages. 

Clearly, he had no backup plan. He was struggling to keep up. 

If he called your dress cheap, Emily said how well the fabric complimented your amazing body. If he said your mascara was clumpy and poorly done, Emily said your eyes were naturally beautiful and shined bright without makeup anyway. 

The more annoyed it seemed to make him, the more she fawned over you. 

And it left you staring at her all night. Captivated by her beauty, her silky voice. You barely even knew that he was there as she laughed at him, engaged in his silly games, taunted him. 

By the time you left the club, you were almost high on the affection Emily had given you. 

The rest seemed to go by in a blur. The real killer was caught at a different club, and the team retired back to their hotel to get some rest before returning home. As you and Emily walked back to your shared room, you were still laughing and joking about the pathetic man who somehow made his living off of scamming men more pathetic than him. 

“And did - did you see the look on his face when I said ‘you probably go home alone, don’t you?’ - Like he - he couldn’t believe that I wasn’t falling for his BS,” Emily said, stuttering through her words as hardy laughter disrupted her speech. 

“It’s like he’s never met a confident woman in his life.” You replied, a delicate chuckle in your voice. 

It was a subtle compliment toward Emily, admiring her confidence in how well she had dealt with the scummy, overly cocky man. 

“No, not quite.” Emily sighed, using the keycard to open the hotel room door. 

Your insides fluttered even more when she held the door open for you. You couldn’t help but enjoy the domestic feeling behind it as you brushed past her body in order to get inside. 

Of course, she wasn’t even paying attention to the dreamy, starstruck look on your face as she continued speaking. 

“He’s never approached a confident woman before.” She quickly corrected, letting the door fall shut and click locked behind her. “He’s never approached a woman he thought he couldn’t con.” 

“And for some reason he dared you to ‘meet him on his turf’?” You questioned, repeating the words she had told you, when ranting about the previous interaction she had with the awful man. “You, of all people?” 

You had to wonder what about Emily Prentiss would come off as even slightly insecure or - what about her said that she would fall for his stupid tricks. In your opinion, it was like trying to outrun a cheetah using a tricycle. 

“Yeah, I guess he was counting on me being drunk and blinded by all his guyliner.” Emily joked, tossing her bag down onto one of the twin beds. 

You collapsed down onto the other bed with intense laughter. The joke itself was funny, but her delivery, her confidence, and her smile caused a spark through you that forced you to laugh off the tension before you jumped her bones. You had to be professional. You had to keep reminding yourself of that. 

“I call the bathroom first.” She announced. “I really need a shower after being drowned in Drakkar Noir all night.” 

You had to ignore the dryness in your throat and the heat between your thighs at the thought of her in the shower. Previously, it was something your mind could have easily glossed over, but after she spent the night fawning over you and capturing your attention completely, it was like you were a horny teenager again. Now all you could think about was her completely naked, droplets of hot water rolling across her skin, surrounded by steam. 

You had to pull yourself together. You had to be professional, for fuck’s sake. 

“But of course.” You told her, giving a smile and a nod. You motioned toward the bathroom, as if presenting it to her in a gentlemanly fashion. “I’ll probably just shower in the morning.” 

Emily nodded in acknowledgement of this, and there was no further conversation. 

This left your mind reeling, your body entirely tense and hyper aware of her every movement as she got ready. You had to busy yourself with grabbing your pajamas out of your own bag - an oversized X-Files tee shirt and a pair of comfortable cotton shorts - while she grabbed her toiletries bag and went into the bathroom. 

The water turned on and you tried your hardest not to think about her undressing and stepping under the stream as you changed into your pjs. You tried your hardest not to think about her tight, fit body relaxing under the steam. You tried your hardest not to think about soft bubbles rolling across her soft, pale skin. 

Clearly, you were failing. Failing not to think about her. Failing miserably when it came to suppressing your attraction for her. 

By the time you climbed into bed, there was a hard, hot pain between your thighs. 

You wanted so badly to simply roll over and go to sleep. You wanted to ignore it. But a very large part of you worried that if you didn’t ‘take care’ of that nagging arousal, then you wouldn’t be able to sleep. And if you didn’t sleep and you rolled into the next day with this attraction to Emily still at the forefront of your mind - then you wouldn’t be able to act normal around her for the travel day home tomorrow. You might say or do something stupid. 

You had to do something. 

The longer you laid there in bed, unconsciously squeezing your thighs together, feeling your pussy throbbing between them - thinking about Emily’s head being trapped between your legs - the more it bothered you. 

You had some time while she was in the shower, right? You could be quick. Of course you could. And if you heard the water turn off, you would simply stop. 

Before any true logic could catch up between your ears, a hand was sneaking below the waistband of your shorts. That hand easily went inside your underwear and found a natural place on your throbbing clit. You dipped down into your wetness (leaking out of you abundantly from how much you had been thinking about Emily) and slicked up the hot button before you began rubbing it in hard circles. You were determined to cum quickly and be done with it. 

You closed your eyes and tiled your head back against the pillow, your mind drifting back to her once again. You couldn’t stop thinking about how perfect she looked in that ruby lipstick. All night, you had felt jealous of the glass when she brought her drink up to her lips. 

You imagined her approaching you at a bar. 

You would be out by yourself, and she would see you from across the room. So entirely confident, she would see you and in a moment, know that she could have you. 

She would come up behind you, whisper sweetly in your ear, telling you how perfect you looked. She would smirk at your initial shyness when you giggled at the compliment. She would tell you that she couldn’t wait to get you home - that she wanted you and she wanted you now. 

So she would pull you into a bathroom, pinning you against a counter. And then she would shove her hand under your dress, only to find that you weren’t wearing any panties, just for her. She would scold you, call you a naughty girl. Her voice so sweet and condescending, only making you wetter. And then she would shove her fingers into your slick cunt and shove her other hand over your mouth, trying in vain to keep your whorish moans from being heard as you begged for her. 

“Emily, please,” You couldn’t stop the faint, needy moan that escaped you as you got lost in the fantasy. 

Of course, so lost in it, that you didn’t hear the shower turning off. 

Your pussy ached, leaking freely into your underwear, and your clit throbbed, emanating a needy pain out through your pelvis. You worked your fingers in more frantic circles, doubling down. Your hips canted up off the bed, knocking the covers off you slightly as dull pleasure radiated out across your hips. 

(Dull compared to what Emily would have given you, you were sure.) 

Even if it was unsatisfactory, you were close. 

“Emily-!” You cried out desperately, right on the edge of orgasm. 

“Hey, do you have some makeup remover I can borrow? I forgot-” 

Shock cascaded through your system and you instantly stilled your movements. This caused your orgasm to become a low hum in your pelvis once again as your eyes shot open in disbelief. 

Your gaze locked onto Emily where she stood in the bathroom doorway. Your insides were still with shock - embarrassment or any other emotion hadn’t even caught up yet. 

Steam ploomed around her and she was forced to hold up the hotel towel with one hand as it couldn’t fully wrap around her body, leaving a sliver of her skin exposed from her armpit to her knee - the curve of her breast, her waist, and her hip on full display. With her hair soaked and her bangs slicked back from her face, and true to what she had said, her makeup still on but slightly smudged from the shower - she looked utterly delicious. 

She was like a pornographic dream, live in front of you. 

You let out a quiet whimper at the sight. 

It was only then that your brain began to unfreeze from the shock, and you realized how truly incriminating you looked. The covers pooled around your thighs, your hand quite visibly inside your shorts, your face contorted with pleasure as your eyes scanned over her half naked body. You rushed to rip your hand out of your underwear - and you realized the sight wasn’t much better as your fingers glistened in the light. 

Emily’s eyes moved from your glistening fingers to your stiff, nervous body, your thighs still parted (as it would be too uncomfortable to clamp them down on your wet underwear and aching cunt). She smirked at you. She looked at you with the same devious, cocky expression that Viper had started out the night with - before she had taken him down notch by notch. 

The look alone caused any apology to be stuck in your throat. You waited for her to speak before you made any moves. 

“What were you thinking about?” She asked, her voice breathy, soft, yet entirely commanding. 

In that moment, caught in the smoldering gate of her eyes, you could find nothing but honesty pounding inside of your chest. 

“You.” You whined quietly. 

Emily chuckled gently. 

Your stomach twisted with embarrassment for the split second that you thought she might be laughing at you. But then you realized that it was, in fact, a sound of satisfaction. 

That realization hit you when she dropped the towel completely. She stood in front of you proudly, showing off all of her naked, wet glory. Her dark nipples pebbling in the air, the damp sheen of water making her skin glow like a dewy goddess. Quite obviously, she wanted you to look.

Your eyes traced a few thick droplets of water as they escaped her hair and ran down her body. You became absolutely mesmerized by the way gravity pulled the water over her collarbones, the teardrop curve of her breasts, the plushness of her stomach, across her pelvis, down her thighs. You imagined yourself tracing over those exact lines with your tongue. 

“Come to me.” 

Her silken voice snapped you out of your trance. Your eyes shot back up to her face once again, and in the sluggish moment that it took the words to get to your brain, she added something onto the command that absolutely knocked the wind out of you. 

“Come on. Come to Mama.” 

Her calling herself that name, so self assured, so certain - the phrase almost had you down on all fours, crawling to her like a dog. 

But instead, you scrambled to get upright and practically ran across the room to her on shaking legs. Entirely eager, you stood in front of her and leaned in to press your mouth against hers. Naturally, you expected that the interaction would start with a kiss. 

But she quickly reached up and stopped you with a hand on the side of your neck. You let out a harsh whimper of disappointment - one that quickly turned into a moan when she pressed her thumb into your windpipe with just enough pressure to make your brain go fuzzy. 

She was showing you who was in charge. 

“Not so fast,” She told you, her breath cascading against your lips now. 

Although she was completely naked and you were clothed, it was very apparent that she was the one in complete control. 

“Tell me how badly you want it.” She ordered, her voice low and almost gentle - a soft domineering that caused the hairs on your arms to stand up straight. 

“I want it so badly,” You easily replied, your voice intensely needy. “I need it. I need you, Em.” 

Emily reached up with her other hand and - with no warning - harshly gripped your pussy through your underwear and shorts. This caused sharp shocks of arousal to flow through you, making you moan out weakly. It was a dizzying euphoria that had you bucking into her hand. You almost came from that single touch alone. 

“Needy little thing.” She purred. “I am gonna have so much fun with you.” 

This was her last verbal sentiment before she pulled you forward by that hand on your neck and silenced any further moans with a bruising kiss.

...

A/N: This is a standalone oneshot, so there will not be a sequel or a continuation of it. If you enjoyed the fic, please comment about the body of work that has been written here. And if you like my writing style, please check out my Criminal Minds Masterlist or my other Masterlists for other fandoms.

[weirdmageddon]

i posted this on twitter also but it’s still eating at me. i’m so fucking embarrassed to be jewish rn. i dont want to be associated with this ongoing bullshit from israel. why do we need our own state. theyre just making every jew across the globe look bad in general even though many of us are conflicted about zionism and the legitimacy of israel as a state

people have hated jews throughout history for no fuckin reason but now israel exists but now its like. GIVING people reasons to hate us as a group. note that i DON’T conflate zionism with jewishness, but a lot of people in the world don’t know the difference because theyre uninformed and been dripfed cultural antisemitic tropes their whole life and that’s the scary part is them falsely putting two and two together. like what the fuck israel stop youre just putting fuel on the fire for people around the world to hate an entire group of historically persecuted people if youre being this shitty with your insane colonialism and apartheid like……I Want No Fuckin Part Of This. you’re spelling our own doom. you cant just swoop in and go “mine now” and then oppress the people you took land from under a regime without my blood boiling at the injustice no matter WHO you are. even if my lineage is tied to you. so when news outlets support israel it doesn’t feel like they have the best interest of jews as a people in mind. it’s in the interest of a zionist ethnostate and whatever that christian zionism belief is about the jewish people returning to the holy land as prerequisite for the second coming of jesus. its not like they care about us as a dispersed ethnocultural group, it’s all for that religious narrative that a bunch of people in the US are backing.

saying you want all jews to die is antisemitic. beating someone up because they’re jewish and no other reason without knowing their views is antisemitic. criticizing human rights violations perpetrated by israel and the belief that one group deserves more rights another is not antisemitic. and the fact that israel has the ability to pull that antisemitism card in response to criticisms of the violations they commit because their state is the “jewish homeland” drives me fucking insane. take fucking accountability for your actions. and yes, there do exist full-on anti-jewish groups in the middle east that go beyond hatred of israel’s policies and existence as a state and i’m tired of people pretending there aren’t in fear of appearing to seem like they support the state of israel. on the other side of things many people overestimate this by fearmongering and saying EVERY arab is out to get jews worldwide, telling people like me “they want YOU dead”. this is not the belief every person in the middle east and it really rubs me the wrong way that people group millions of individuals into all-encompassing lumps like this. many people there do understand nuance of this political situation.

even if i have that “right of return” by israeli law or whatever, i don’t feel obliged to it; it does not register as fair. why do i have a “right of return” when i’ve never even been there in the first place while palestinians who have homes there can’t return to them? what’s the basis for that? substituting objective reality with an imaginary reality? i don’t think like that. i can hypothetically come and go whenever i please but palestinians are severely limited in mobility? what makes me more entitled to that land than the people who lived there for centuries? nothing that comes from natural law thats for sure. it’s all artificial and inflated.

but at the same time i also dont want to be the target of antisemitism and caught in the fray just for being ethnically jewish. once people start calling for the genocide of entire groups we’ve got issues (and you better believe this absolutely applies to the palestinian victims in gaza too), because people who dissent to the violence perpetrated by the loudest are caught in there with the people who are perpetrating the violence. lack of nuance. people conflating israel and its zionist apartheid policies with jewish ethnicity and culture worldwide. other people conflating being terrorist anti-jew with muslims worldwide (like that 6-year old palestinian-american boy that was just stabbed to death in chicago). scary times man. but as a jew i can’t just opt out of this if it’s how i was born as. i don’t have control over that. but i can control what i think and what my beliefs are

[variousqueerthings]

something very aromantic coded in s2 of good omens is that crowley and aziraphale canonically take their cues of what a certain kind of relationship ought to look like from books and films. firstly, very relatable, I did much the same thing throughout my teens (and in some ways still do although I'm not trying to make myself "fit" by taking cues that I've been studying to be the correct way to do a relationship, I just enjoy performing them in the same way all life is performance when you're not-doing-body-and-relationship-to-other-bodies correctly inherently)

secondly, how it plays out in them messing unintentionally with nina and maggie. they don't understand the structure of nina's and maggie's whole thing as it applies to the reality of relationship structures in the world they're in; that nina is initially in a romantic relationship and wouldn't just jump from it -- no matter how bad -- straight into another one that was presented as "more" correct. because of course standing under an awning or dancing at a ball makes people "fall in love" (whatever that is) because... well, that's how it happens in the stories all the time, that's what these sorts of relationships are all about, "one fabulous kiss and we're good" -- it's a shock to crowley that he misread all the cues "you were crying and she was..." isn't that what this romance thing is that humans are always talking about????

thirdly it of course eventually circles around to be about what in the world their relationship is, but when they're trying to figure out what's going on between the two of them, there aren't any words that can neatly sum it up beyond "us" -- whatever it is, it's "us" against "them" (although aziraphale isn't quite ready for that) -- the them being heaven and hell of course, but to be honest, from an aro perspective, the "them" takes on certain human connotations to me as well, because it's all about how these two don't fit into structures and are punished for this not-fitting-in, and while they're not punished by the humans around them, they also aren't... human. they still operate somewhat from the outside of everyone else, even though aziraphale manages throughout history to create a fair few connections from the sounds of things

similarly to how they do it to nina and maggie, they try on these tropes with one another: aziraphale invites crowley to dance, crowley kisses aziraphale, and it doesn't fit quite right (the first because crowley is concerned with all the demons outside and so isn't paying as much attention to the dancing part of the whole thing, and the second because [insert another bunch of analysis here that's its own post]), but they've already been us the whole time. their attempts at explaining using alloromantic shorthand fall short, because they're hampered by needing to define themselves and their relationship with terminology that's suitably correct for whatever dominant structures they're in

fourthly, the fact that their cues for what their relationship needs to be shouldn't even really be coming from movies/books and humanity in the first place, it should be coming from gabriel and beelzebub. gabriel and beelzebub don't even try all of that "this is what romance is," they don't call one another romantic or kiss or even say words like partner, they're not interested in doing human-based customs or "fitting in." their language for one another is based around that song, and that's as much defining as it needs. whatever aziraphale and crowley are to one another is equally all their own thing, but aziraphale and crowley struggle with definitions constantly. they don't fit into heaven, they don't fit into hell, and humanity -- while more the place they've adopted for all its wild wonders -- isn't quite right either, because they're still being put in a box

it was fun to look out for as I was rewatching, because the way they interacted with alloromanticism really did read like two people who have exactly zero idea of how this applies irl, but that's okay, the fiction's got it handled, all they have to do is copy-paste = result, but then the stuff that actually is the romance in those texts becomes a series of contextless tropes, kind of like how amatonormativity often has those exact same tropes recycled in story after story that can't figure out why it worked the first time but not the next hundred times, except in this story it's on purpose. one fabulous kiss did not in fact solve things at all (nor was it fabulous)

[darkcircles4lyfe]

This doesn't have anything to do with anything, but i had a talk with a friend a few days ago, about shonen biasis and the way this shapes our expectations, and mha came up so i remembered how so many people apply those biasis HEAVILY into the manga, to the point that they sound like they're looking for a different story.

And one of those things that it seemed to be MOST talked about is exactly bkdk's relationship.

I have seen many times people from the fandom (sometimes really angrily) point out how in most cases Katsuki seems to basically take up not one, but four roles in Izuku's life and this includes putting him in situations that people associate with the MC's love interest, and it is weird that, despite Izuku "having a girl" for people to make assumptions about, he seems to completely repulse any female character that could be the counter part to Izuku's.

And this made us wonder if Katsuki's placement in those roles and lack of interest was made specifically because the author precisely did not want the actions that both do for each other as romantic but a whole another thing entirely, as a subversion for the these classic tropes, as he did by making the conflict between Ochako and Himiko not a "rivals fighting for the affection of a boy" but something that is connected to the plot of these characters instead.

Oh you bet! I am always down to talk about this, because I think about it a lotttt.

This reminds me, recently I remembered a funny habit I used to have with books I read. Like, back in middle school. I used to start by flipping directly to the last page and reading the final sentence. Usually this did not spoil anything whatsoever, but sure enough, by the time I read through the whole book, that sentence would take on new meaning.

So I started musing about what it would be like if only I could do this with bnha, if everything was already out. It made me feel so nostalgic…

Will the last panel be something grand, or something small? Hopeful or sad? Distant? Intimate? A parting message to the reader? Will it look like almost nothing of consequence to the unknowing eye—yet burst with hard-hitting subtext?

Of course I wonder about all the twists and reveals that might be still ahead of us, but it’s kinda soothing to think about how the whole thing could be put to rest. Because then I realize I’m not worried.

For once, this is not because the story is following so many tropes so predictably that I know exactly, in so many words, how it will end. It’s more like the story is a close friend who I’ve gotten to know well enough that everything they do is so “them” it makes me smirk. I'm often marveling at how Horikoshi has managed to pull all this off. How is it that (at least here in the west) people who aren't really paying attention call it basic and cookie-cutter. Even a Japanese animator called it "classic," and this interview shows such obvious dissonance between Hori and the interviewer, just... wow. But it's so clear that bnha has broken just about every rule in the book at this point, so much so that I struggle to condense it into words. I'm like--*gestures broadly at everything*--why haven't more people picked up on it??

Yet we still get bombarded with people saying "it's a shonen, c'mon, we all know how this will end." Um. No you don't. I KNOW there has to be a bunch of people who are secretly frustrated by Kacchan taking up all the roles and getting all the moments. It's not even in a mysogynistic way, because Kacchan is the most anti-dudebro character imaginable. Bkdk's relationship isn't intended for them and they know it... and you know what, I'm starting to ramble. You've heard all this before. The thing I should really be focusing on in your ask is the part where you mentioned how you and your friend were speculating about bkdk ending up as "a whole other thing entirely" rather than simply romantic.

Well, fuck it, I've been biting my tongue, but now might as well be the time I talk about this. I got into a bit of a disagreement with someone over it once and then I shut up. Because it's very difficult to approach the subject without being lumped in with those people who see bkdk as "brotherly" (ew) or otherwise try to push some "crisis of male friendship" agenda, or at the very least without being accused of enabling people to make excuses against bkdk being canon ad infinitum. So let me be clear that I do NOT want bkdk to have an ambiguous or open ending. I want their complexity and importance to be acknowledged. I want them to use their words. I think we may have created a bit of a false dichotomy there.

I am aromantic, and to suggest romantic relationships are inherently the most important and intimate goes against every fiber of my being. I also reject the idea that cut-and-dry gay representation is more desirable just because it is more easily understood by the masses than aspec representation or representation of relationships "beyond" both romantic and platonic. We recognize how ridiculous it is for people to expect Izu*cha at this point, right? Well, the reason they're so confident anyway isn't just because of heteronormativity. It's also because of amatonormativity, the assumption that romantic attraction trumps all: no matter how much focus bkdk get, Izuku blushed at Ochako, so that automatically makes them more "important." THAT is the notion that I want to challenge most. More than anything, I want bkdk's relationship to be fully acknowledged because they have so much more going for them than just attraction.

You and your friend make an excellent point, that it would be very much in line with Horikoshi's taste and the patterns of his writing so far if he chose to subvert the shonen romance trope not just by giving it to two boys, but also by disregarding its premise entirely. It's unlikely he'd try to stuff them into such a copy-paste ending right at the end.

So maybe they won't get the blushy confession, the obligatory kiss, the wedding, the 2.5 kids and a white picket fence. That's fine, we shouldn't pretend those tired tropes are suddenly revolutionary just because they're gay. But don't be disappointed! Without them, we have more room for things that are actually personally meaningful to bkdk to stand out and receive the nuance they deserve: talking through their feelings openly, building each other up like no one else can, understanding each other like no one else can, smiling at each other, embracing, holding hands, rushing to the other in the hospital, being glued at the hip (or even closer), healing mutual trauma, putting each other first in all things. Maybe we'll also get confirmation on Ochako's side as she moves on from her crush on Izuku. You know what other shonen manga took this exact angle as a way of subverting tropes and presenting genuine complexity? Blue Flag! There are so many ways to do bkdk justice.

Even a kiss isn't out of the question, if the right opportunity comes along. A perfect example of what I'm talking about is Good Omens (major season 2 spoilers) because the kiss between Crowley and Aziraphale was not at all about canonizing them. It was an expression of pain and desperation that just made sense at that particular moment. Neil Gaiman was adamant that if it took that kiss to understand the context of their relationship, you really weren't paying attention. I respect the hell out of that.

Recently I was even daydreaming about bkdk getting something similar to the sort of uh, shall we say tasteful nudity, that togachako got, because of how Izuku appears in the vestige realm.

Ya know like not in an nsfw way but in like a "this is so deeply intimate and soft that I feel like I'm intruding" kind of way... yeah. Because it represents vulnerability and openness and acceptance of someone as they are. And I don't care if people call that bait. It's not. It's beautiful. It’s honest.

[crehador]

mulled it over for a while and ultimately decided i'm really digging this arajin-matakara fight, because like

the whole series has set up arajin as a piece of shit fuckhead (and i LOVE that for him) but this whole lying to matakara about wanting to be a honki people thing... is like the one thing he did not actually do

i get real rambly under the cut but tl;dr the way matakara treats arajin is the way arajin treats mahoro and that is suuuch a juicy parallel to me

throughout the whole series arajin has been not at all subtly trying to get away from these fights

could he have been more direct about that with matakara? sure maybe! but matakara was really ignoring all the signs that arajin is not who he thinks he is

which is such a delicious parallel to how arajin willfully ignores all the signs that mahoro is not into him

like. matakara built this version of arajin up in his head, with all these unreasonable, unrealistic, and honestly unfair? expectations based off some past foolishness from when they were very small children. he's clinging to this version of arajin that only exists in his head and has basically shown zero evidence of existing in real life

(yes arajin shows crumbs of courage but i think the scales are tipped pretty heavily towards his I DO NOT WANT ANY PART OF THIS moments)

this fight between them was like if arajin were to blow up at mahoro like "you've been leading me on this whole time!" when obviously. lol. no she has not

she did initially! just like tiny arajin as a child had those honki people ambitions! his ambitions may have been genuine, while mahoro feigned interest in him with malicious intent, but they're same in the sense that after that initial story beat, they have consistently demonstrated that actually no what happened back then no longer applies (whether because they grew out of it, in arajin's case, or they were faking interest in the first place, in mahoro's case)

but arajin is blinded by what he wants (mahoro) and ignores the reality of mahoro snubbing him at every turn, and matakara does the same, ignoring the reality of arajin really just... being extremely reluctant to have anything at all to do with him

anyway that's the main thing i'm chewing on and loving here, but ALSO i think the story paints this parallel in such an interesting way because like

matakara is just a big sweet ouppy dog of a boy! it's so so so easy to feel sorry for him, to root for him, to think the best of him. which i still do btw, in fact this episode made me like him more than i already did

because matakara is so uwu angelboy perfect, and arajin is such a dickhead, it's easy to instinctively think oh matakara must be completely right to be hurt and arajin must have hurt him. even if that isn't the case! this doesn't make arajin any less of a dickhead, but he's a dickhead mainly for other reasons

the fact that they've been set up as the perfect epitome of the Pure Boy and the Pervy Boy tropes is just such clever framing for this parallel between them, because i imagine a lot of viewers, if told what mataakara is doing to arajin is what arajin is doing to mahoro, would be like omg wtf no my pure angel baby is nothing like that disgusting freak?

except in this case! he literally is!! which is brilliant!!! i think it adds nuance to both matakara's character and arajin's character at the same time, making it so it's not just one of them is Perfect and one of them is Wrong All The Time

what's even better is that this made sense for matakara, like his reaction breaks him out of the Pure Angel mold but doesn't feel out of character. his emotions are already running high with what happened to his brother, plus akutaro is malewife mansplain manipulating him behind the scenes, so of course he feels like he's driven towards this emotional high that leads to this blowup

the groundwork was already laid out, and it wasn't even subtle. it was right on the surface! but this episode really highlighted how matakara's way of treating arajin is so much like arajin's way of treating mahoro and how inevitable it was that things would reach this point

(there are moments, even in this episode, that are in hindsight so clearly setting up this parallel! like arajin trying to talk to mahoro during lunch, mahoro CLEARLY not interested, making viewers think ugh arajin get a clue. then matakara often IMMEDIATELY coming in to try to talk to arajin, when arajin is the one who clearly isn't interested, making viewers think boo arajin be nicer to him! like i think the show deliberately set the audience up to have those emotional reactions, and this is the moment where the rug is pulled out from under us, so to speak, where it becomes even more obvious that... wait... double standard much?)

anyway. personally my only gripe with this episode is i wished they'd done more with aniki than just pseudo-fridge him, and hope they do still do more with him in the coming eps? but kind of understandable if they don't, because it is just a one-cour show after all

the actual blowup between arajin and matakara was just. mawh, chef's kiss. perfect

[astralexpressarchives]

The Renheng Iceberg Explained

Alright so there's this renheng iceberg on twitter that I was recently informed about. I'm wayyy too deep into the lore so I skipped to the bottom and everything there was stuff I was already more than familiar with.

So I figured why not put all this information to some use and make a post explaining the more obscure items on the iceberg and leaving out the self-explanatory ones, doing my best to reference as well as possible.

Blade gazing at Imbibitor Lunae statue

This was a hidden interaction where you could find Blade standing near the statue of Imbibitor Lunae at the scalegorge after revealing Dan Heng's vidyadhara form. He says he is 'mourning for folly' and asks you if Dan Heng is happy. You can watch a video about this here.

Good friends who are bad for each other

This is Kafka's description of what she knows about Blade and Dan Heng's history in her companion quest. This answer is a "truth" in her game of truth and lies.

"Apparently, they used to be good friends... Well, good friends who were bad for each other. Bladie forgot nearly everything, so he doesn't remember well. Together, they did something bad — something terrible. It led to horrific consequences. That's the information I managed to piece together. Bladie refused to tell me the details."

Dan Heng gets nightmares about blade

We see this in-game in the cinematic leading up to the Xianzhou questline. This is also suggested in the Only Silence Remains lightcone description.

Matching Jade Ornaments

Referring to this idea.

There is also a vidyadhara egg that says:

"You edge closer to the pearlescent shell and have a dream in which you are a Pearlkeeper who rides the waves, and travels across the ancient sea with your true love. The time you have spent with your lover is full of happiness, but the time of hatching rebirth is determined by destiny. You secretly put a jade pendant in your mouth so your lover can recognize each other in the next life."

And considering that DH:IL 4 story has him refusing to speak during the entirety of his interrogation, death sentence, and final verdict, it definitely leaves room for imagination.

Bracer Lore

This one encompasses a few of the other ones on the iceberg, too. Really, it's worth reading the entirety of the Passerby of Wandering Clouds relic set lore. Keep in mind all relic sets are in chronological order of head/gloves/body/feet. The bracer also mentions this part about 'That owner also once shared company and drinks with the unnamed, the two of them simply gazing at the moon with no words exchanged.' This has an interesting meaning in CN that tells us this drinking was an engagement ceremony. People thought this must be a typo but, despite many tickets from people, their only response has been that they're unable to comment further. They still haven't changed it as of patch 1.4.

Dan Heng polishes and gaze longingly at Cloud Piercer

A recent addition in patch 1.4 where Pom-pom now says:

"Passenger Dan Heng often carefully maintains and polishes his spear. Although the Express is very safe, it seems that he is not willing to drop his guard. Hmm, Pom-Pom can tell that when he polishes his spear, there isn't just alertness in his eyes, but a glint of longing, too. Don't underestimate me, Pom-Pom had dealt with all kinds of different passengers!"

I'm sure by now everyone knows that cloudpiercer was made by Yingxing (Blade).

You can see screenshots of this interaction in this post.

Mirror Inverted Colours

Apparently, a big part of CN character design focuses around the concept of inverted colour palette designs for ships. Because Blade and Dan Heng share inverted colours, this is considered a good sign for the ship as it indicates they were most likely designed together.

Danmei Coded

Danmei is the CN genre for mlm. It has a lot of stereotypical tropes that are very common in this genre and apply to renheng also. My personal opinion is that renheng is very similar to something written by Meatbun in particular - this is a danmei author who wrote erha, yuwu, and casefile compendium. The associated tropes are:

Lovers to enemies back to lovers angst timeline often including misunderstandings involving tragic betrayal

Black/red character x white/blue/green character

Under the moonlight

Amnesia and/or reincarnation themes

Protag did something that made everybody turn on them + complicated political drama plot

Redemption in death/isolation/retreating from the world at the end

Waiting frankly ridiculous amounts of time to be with the lover again

One character pursuing the other character literally

One character considered dead or demonic in some capacity, the other is ethereal and godly

Mortal x immortal

Afterlife/spirit realm shenanigans usually involving fractured souls as a result of torment

Contrasting personalities + others don't think they should get along/are bad for each other (usually the deviant personality is considered to be corrupting the noble/revered personality in some way which often involves a rebellion)

Mirrored Ultimates

Their ultimate animation sequences are very similar with close eyes with weapon - open eyes - attack.

And both of their ultimates take place in different versions of the same location:

Vidyadharas can't identify items belonging to their past yet Dan Heng got the bracer, jade pendant(?), and cloud piercer

There is an NPC named Lingling in the alchemy commission who is responsible for assisting in vidyadhara hatching rebirth. She collects the personal belongings of vidyadhara who claim that they want to keep the items for their next life. She says that:

From what I've seen, most Vidyadhara lack emotions fresh after their rebirth, and are unable to understand the sentiments of their previous selves. Not a single one has ever been able to identify which one of these items used to belong to them.

This is a big indicator that DH = DF and that their romance will be continuing in this life, too. We know from Passerby of Wandering Clouds relic set that Dan Heng is still in possession of the bracer because of the line: "His fingertips could still faintly feel the temperature from the other."

The stars always accompany the moon

This is a reference to their names in CN where the Xing in Yingxing means moon and the Yue in Yinyue jun (Imbibitor Lunae) means Moon. Their ship name Xingyue means Star and Moon, which is often why you will see them referred to with the Star/Moon emojis as well as the sword/leaf emoji.

Blade came to see Dan Heng blushing when Xiyan asked him to act the character in his story

This is referring to this video on weibo where Dan Heng is talking to Xiyan. You can see the characters in the crowd then Dan Heng starts blushing. The next time you see the crowd, Blade has arrived third from the right.

"Eternal Regrets of a High Elder" and "Dreams from a Past Life"

These are arias from the Cloudcry Songbook written by a Vidyadhara named Lingjie who reincarnated into Chunfen. Lingjie was an opera singer and apparently a big fan of Dan Feng and his romantic life.

My friend wrote the poem analysis of both of these arias. I would strongly recommend reading her translations.

TW: These translations do include mentions of a new leaked poem. Some of the content is NSFW.

Dan Heng named himself "Dan Heng" due to the "Dan" character carved by Yingxing/Blade

We know that Vidyadhara do not usually name themselves based on their past lives as they have no attachment to them. The other iteration of Dan Heng was named Yubie for example. Dan Heng's name in CN is  丹恒. The Dan 丹 means red/pellet/powder/cinnabar. You can see Dan is inscribed on his spear that Yingxing made for him, thus the logical conclusion is that Dan Heng saw the inscription and chose it as his name.

The Star of the East (Jupiter, Wood Star)'s god is Ying Xing, and their guardian beast is Azure Dragon/Canglong/Qinglong

This one is the only one I didn't understand when I first saw it, so I had to request the help of my CN knowing friends to figure it out.

Yingxing's name is 应星 (where the 星 means star).

The CN god of Jupiter Taisui Xingjun 太岁星君 is known as Yin Jiao 殷交

Jupiter is the planet associated with the Chinese wood element, known as the wood star

Azure Dragon is known as Canglong or Qinglong in CN. This is the guardian of Jupiter (the wood star).

Blade's fansong equates Yingxing with 听星 (judging star) which is an alias for Taisui Xingjun

You can read my friend's explanation of the relevant line in the fansong below.

Dan Feng's crime was inspired by Chang'E, the moon goddess for stealing an elixir of immortality and Yingxing was inspired by Hou Yi, a mortal and husband of Chang'E (he was given immortality but didn't, this parallels and contrasts Yingxing's immortality)

So there's actually a bit more to this. I'm going to just use my friend's explanation here:

According to Shang dynasty’s Guicang, It is said that there is a moon maiden who escaped to the moon after stealing an immortality pill. This story was eventually given more details: The moon maiden became known as Heng’e 姮娥, who was the wife of Hou Yi - the hero who shot down the 9 suns. Hou Yi was given an immortality pill/herb as a reward, but Heng’e stole it and flew to the moon. In some versions, upon finding out, Hou Yi tried to shot down her to prevent her from floating to the moon, but he hesitated and ended up choosing not to in the end because he still loved her. In the moon, Heng’e stayed in a palace called 廣寒宮 (the Vast Palace of Coldness) and cursed to be separated from her husband, alone with only the moon rabbits and the immortal osmanthus tree forever. Later on, her name was changed to Chang’e 嫦娥 because Emperor Wen of Han’s name was 劉恆 Liu Heng, and so the 姮 Heng part of her name became a taboo. The interesting here is that 姮 (Heng’e), 恆 (Liu Heng), 恒 (Dan Heng) are all alternative ways to write the same character, 姮, which originally means moon, Heng’e. In addition, we also have a lot of official artworks depicting Dan Heng with the moon and osmanthus flowers:

Yeah so I think that just about covers everything. I left out the ones that were self-explanatory but if anyone is still confused about any of them I can try to elaborate further in the replies.

[metanarrates]

i have a lot of mixed feelings regarding trans headcanons in orv, or in general in fandom spaces because of how often its taking transmisogynistic jokes and bending them to actually have a cool and awesome meaning instead of just reading fiction with transgender characters. how do you feel about this as an everyone in orv is transfem poster (not accusatory tone i am genuinely wondering your take on this)

I think it's complicated because i Do agree that most trans headcanons in fandom are rooted in transphobic ideas, especially when it comes to transfem characters. I actually personally wouldn't trust most people who headcanon characters as trans unless they're able to point out when something in the text is transmisogynistic. and orv does have transmisogynistic stuff in it. the whole joke with nirvana and the entire scene with the pink kids is based around transfems being predators and men in disguise. I really don't want to hang around other orv fans unless they're able to point that out. (also, i would Definitely not trust anyone who refers to those characters as trans icons or whatever.)

I'll also fully admit that I don't remember the revolutionary arc all that well. at the time when I first read it, I just simply assumed that jang hayoung was meant to be a trans woman, and any issues kim dokja had with recognizing her gender was interesting because of how it tied into the metafictional elements about how characters can change beyond a reader's perception. from my recollection, and from the readings of other people in my life who have read the novel, it seemed canon that she was intentionally transfem. similarly, I felt like the plot point of "yoo joonghyuk has a female alter ego" was taken pretty seriously, rather than being a meanspirited joke. if I'm not remembering that right, though, please let me know.

orv in general has a problem in depictions of lgbt people. there's the abovementioned transmisogyny with nirvana and the pink kids, and there's also the undeniable fact that "kim dokja and yoo joonghyuk are gay but haha Not Actually" is leaned on a little bit too much as a joke. I have a similarly complicated relationship to the idea of shipping them for that reason - I think their relationship is meaningful and rich, but I really dislike that the fandom seems to just take that joke as an uncritical BL trope, rather than discussing how it's sometimes a bit homophobic. again, I don't trust joongdok shippers who aren't able to discuss this.

at the same time, though, I do think that if you're aware of the problems in the text, it's possible to construct a lot of rich meaning out of applying queer lenses to the text. there's a lot to dig into regarding how the story depicts gender, for example, and how it depicts transcendence and self-actualization. you can't credit the authors here - like I said, their writing has several issues with lgbt people. but as long as you aren't advertising the story as Queer Fiction, I find that it's extremely valuable to discuss how a trans reading might cast an interesting light onto a character. and on a more personal level, I think having these sorts of open discussions about both the problems and merits of trans readings, as well as the issues present in a text, do tend to make a lot of trans people feel more welcome in fan spaces. both are necessary for making a story and space that may be hostile towards them feel more welcoming.

yes, I do agree that it would probably be better to read fiction with better trans characters. those stories are out there! this is also why I am wary to praise singshong for jang hayoung's character - I don't think orv exactly Deserves a reputation as a trans inclusive story, especially when there's a lot more of those that are much better at it out there.

but at the end of the day, there are going to be trans people who do like orv, all the same. I'm one of them, though I will say upfront that I am tme and therefore much less affected by the story's problems. my fiancee is transfem and she likes it. a lot of my mutuals who like orv are trans. I don't think it's such a bad thing that we've constructed these community readings in a work we already liked for its other merits. we're going to be here anyway. as long as we do our best to be respectful and point out problems as they arise, I think it's a good thing that we're having these sorts of discussions.

[sunnykeysmash]

the structure in mac and dennis break up

this is gonna be a short post tbh, I just rewatched the episode and I have a couple of thoughts.

if you need a refresher on what I think the structure is in general, I talk about it here.

I think Mac and Dennis Break Up shows us an example of Mac and Dennis (and Charlie and Frank) working properly in regards to the structure, let me explain why:

First... I don't think there's a need for me to describe the plot of the episode, we all know.

What I want to focus on, is that at one point Mac moves in with Frank and Charlie, and starts bringing his way of life to them.

At first, Frank is thrilled.

"I could use a little structure in my life here." he says.

This reminds me of dialogue from Carries a Corpse.

"Nobody admit this to Mac, but... I feel like he was carrying a ton of weight."

"That would be another one of his annoying identities... the man who could carry stuff."

He's been shown carrying Dennis, on top of generally being inclined to micromanage, take care of others so they're safe, and make decisions or at least demand to be consulted in them (like which movie to watch on movie night).

That's when Mac works best, so I assume that Mac generally brings structure (or is a man of action, as he describes it).

Later on, we see Mac take this too far, and Frank doesn't like it anymore. To me, this is because what this episode tells us is that Charlie and Frank don't work well with a set structure, the way that Mac provides. They're more free.

I think this reading is important because it shows me why The Gang Gets Romantic fundamentally fails in its objective (not as an episode god forbid, I mean in the narrative, especially for Mac and Dennis).

It applies the romcom structure to Charlie and Frank, while it doesn't to Mac and Dennis, when it should be the opposite. Throughout the episode we see that Mac and Dennis keep fitting the tropes to the romcom structure, but they refuse to follow it, and thus it crumbles. It can't work.

Here's another thing.

Dennis' back broke in the S15 finale.

That is funny, yes, but what does this mean when I say that Mac is the (his) structure, then?

Well... Carries a Corpse implies that Mac was carrying most of the weight of the corpse, and the corpse is meant to be the show... and most show meta is basically the same as Dennis meta (most meta lines seem to relate to him, whether the fact he left for north dakota and came back, or the fact he's a dad, being between life and death, breaking his back aka the structure, and so on), as I have discussed better in my other post.

Point being, Mac carries Dennis. That's what he's meant to do, and what he does best in their relationship.

This makes me think of another recent scene that I think is emblematic of their dynamic... but in an interesting way.

So, in 2020: a Year in Review, Mac and Dennis work together on a song.

They seem to be in harmony, but eventually start disagreeing and stop altogether to focus on something else. Why?

Because Dennis is working on the backup vocals, and Mac is working on the words. Which means their roles are reversed. Mac is supposed to be carrying the song, like the wind beneath his wings that he is, and Dennis, like the man of words that he is, should be responsible for the lyrics. They're doing each other's job, which means any harmony they reach is still bound to crack a bit the moment the song doesn't work for them.

Their seating position on their sofa reflects this.

Compare it to Mac and Dennis Break Up, which is supposed to be our ideal.

They're in each other's places, in 2020.

This isn't new, they've been sitting in each other's places ever since Break Up. Mac was sitting in Dennis' place in MFHP, Dennis was sitting in Mac's place in Gets Romantic.

So tl;dr... Mac and Dennis work well under structure, when Mac is the one to bring it and carry Dennis. They fit a proper couple structure after all. Charlie and Frank don't work as well under structure, since their relationship is more unique and doesn't quite abide by normal rules because of that.

This does bring me to one last consideration though...

They're back in their right spots, in season 16! Only problem is... couch is different. I would argue an inflatable couch doesn't offer the same amount of support (structure) that a normal one would...

Now that Dennis' structural essence broke, is he gonna feel what it's like when Mac is absent?

Perhaps this is why in Cursed we get Mac as the lucky one while the others as so unlucky they start to believe they're cursed (according to the synopsis...).

So the whole gang needs Mac?

Well...

In Goes To Hell pt2, when they build the human pyramid, it's both Mac and Dennis that end up at the bottom, as its structure.

So maybe... Dennis needs Mac as his structure, and the gang needs them to be in sync so they can both, together, support them (or shut the hell up about it, as both madbu and s15 would argue). Maybe this realization could be what brings the gang to work together in order to get them together. But that's getting into just speculation so imma end it here.

I like these thoughts though... Mac and Dennis being the foundation, the structure of the whole thing :)

[dearweirdme]

https://www.tumblr.com/dearweirdme/735811451636367360/are-jikookers-rewriting-history-taekook-was-the

This is gonna singe some jkkers ass hair but the truth is that, outside of a handful of fanfic shippers, jikook only took off when BigHit started editing out Taekook moments and highlighting Jikook moments. I've been here since the beginning so I saw it all. Jikook were not even on the water. Nobody was checking for them.

I think at that point, JM was being heavily shipped with Yoongi and Taehyung because...we got more content. Like if content is the determining factor then Yoonmin were having a loving love affair at one point.

Taegi even had a brief rise up for a hot minute for the same reason. We were seeing more Yoongi and Tae and less JK and Tae but my beautiful fantasy ship (🥲) simmered out when....drumroll please, we stopped getting content 😏 BigHit weren't showing it and we weren't seeing any signs of yoongi and tae spending time together outside of the company airplay.

So like a normal person, I stick to fanfics and memories for my Taegi fix and acknowledge that this ship sails only in my heart and my head. Jikookers, when will you?

JM stans didn't even like JK too much at the beginning because they accused him of being cold and jealous of vmin and not giving JM the attention fans felt he deserved and vminnies felt like he was third wheeling vmin.

JM stans were foaming at the mouth at one point because JK literally pushed JM off him and he hit the wall real hard. They were calling for his resignation, lol.

If you look at the hotel video where the three of them are playing. JM is sitting between Taekook and while he's talking, he is platonically slapping their thighs for exclamation and JK is not happy about it....(and this is after the festa where he makes a point of caressing Tae's thigh like he's won something after Taehyung tells JM to stop doing it in his confession letter)

It's worth noting Taehyung was not the slightest bit bothered by JM slapping his thigh, btw 😉

And jokers can write shit about how 'oh, its just coz they got closer, taekook drifted apart' but then I need y'all to answer me why we were still getting moments of Taekook being pretty damn close that BigHit clearly didn't want to put any shine on? We had to go looking for them, but they were there.

At first, jokers decided to play their ship as an enemies to lovers trope with JK being the tsundere but there were too many TK moments to deny and they realised that whatever they claimed for their ship, they'd have to acknowledge for TK plus more and they didn't like the idea of JM being the backstabbing, boyfriend stealing bestie or JK being a flip flopping cheat...so they decided to rewrite history instead and just take all the moments they used to shit on taekookers for (and some of those theories were crack induced, I gotta admit) and force them to apply to their ship.

Literally every Jikook theory started as a Taekook theory first. They raided the whole house and took everything; legit shit and the garbage too.

They're trying to bring fanfic to life. I think there's some projection and self inserting going on there too or something.

They feel like if JM 'wins' JK, they win too because JK wasn't always as nice to JM as he could have been.

But people who have been here since the beginning know that it's always been Taehyung for JK and jkkers feel it personally because they've put all their chips on JM 'winning' JK over in as absolute a way as it gets. That's why so many of them turned on Taehyung.

What do y'all think jokers are so mad for? 😂 They know the deal better than Taekookers at this point.

...Taegi though (😪) we could have had it all.

Hi anon!

Well.. they’re already pissed.. so posting this won’t really make a difference 😂.

You know what I found really interesting? How we got quite a few Tkkrs kinda shifting into shipping Tae and Goff. It came at a point when Jk was getting criticized about being cold, dismissive, and whatnot towards Tae while we were getting little Tkk content and saw Tae together with Goff more often. That feels similar, though I wasn’t here when BTS started so I don’t actually know what that was like(😭😭😭 forever sad about stepping in so late).

Jkkrs have a lot of bending and mending to do. They very often contradict themselves and are reading into situations like crazy (😂). Just this last year they went from ‘they’re laying low for the military’ to ‘taking a courageous step together’, from ‘they can’t control themselves around each other’ to ‘they’re adults ofcourse they can behave themselves in the army’. On the one hand you have jkkrs claim ‘jk is a painfully shy introvert’ while on the other hand ‘jk has to protect Jm’. Not even mentioning how many Jkkrs actually thought they broke up this year because nothing made sense anymore.

Things will never make sense to them, because what they expect to find just isn’t there.

[dkettchen]

I have an incredible hot take after witnessing live action sanji in all his glory for two episodes:

live action sanji actually has the looks that anime sanji seems to think he has

and before anyone tries to fight me on this:

I am highly aware that we all share our communal delusion about what anime sanji's personality is and should be (I mean, mine got so far out of character that I made a whole queer original comic out of it), but *actual canon-sanji*, however messy and weird and problematic he might be, sure does have the incel personality that desperately wants to be this chad, and isn't, and is mad about how twinky and pretty he is instead.

He wants that dress to not suit him when they force it on him on kamabakka, wants to look ridiculous in it rather than more passing than any of the other girls there. He wants to be a big strong man who gets the girl on manly prowess alone, not on the soft-boy charms that his actual successes with girls end up hinging on.

He wants to be that kind of man and he isn't, and live action sanji *is*.

And we can sit here, on our out-and-queer high horse, and insist he shouldn't have all that internalised homo-/femmephobia about himself, that he should just learn to embrace who he is and live his best life as he is, as he could as a pirate, but as Oda writes him he simply isn't that. He's this. Or he wants to be. (And I continue to believe Eiichiro "went to a drag show once and was like ye I got it" Oda is frankly not qualified to write this mess' queer liberation.)

Hence, wildly, reimagining him as this guy, who is so very differently built from the sanji we know, is maybe the only way to "fix" him without changing the existing plot. To legitimise his behaviour and make it less self-destructive for our poor queer eyes and less problematic cause at the very least he can back it up.

Should he be incessantly hitting on women who are obviously not interested in him? No. Obviously not. Is it less pathetic when he's actually able to embrace who he is and be himself while doing it rather than trying to posture as something he isn't? I mean, yeah. A healthy self-image goes a long way to prevent inappropriate behaviour. I say this both as someone who has dealt with my share of straight men I wasn't interested in, and as an mra who's done plenty of research into how (cishet) men function and why they're like that.

Will this mean we can't apply our usual zosan dynamic to the live action version 1 to 1 cause we've switched who's the buffer one out of the two this time? Sure. Will it mean any crossdressing or trans HCs can't rely on his pretty little face anymore cause this one wouldn't be passing as easily? Yes. Am I willing to sacrifice those fanfic tropes in this one iteration to see a healthier canon sanji for once? Abso-fucking-lutely.

tldr: I have been won over, I support the casting choice, I think it was the only way to make it work in the year of our lorde 2023 without changing the story

[ultfreakme]

How to make a romance! A Recipe Guide by TV tropes

Love At First Sight:

"This is one of the most common and oldest story archetypes. Love at First Sight is either a recipe for Happily Ever After or eventual disillusionment and heartbreak."

Watching The Sunset!

"It's often for their own pleasure, based on the romantic connotations, or for a symbolic purpose. They may even be waiting for something that's supposed to happen after the sun sets. Often symbolizes the end of a period — often a rather happy one — in somebody's life."

Finishing Each Other's Sentences~

"The effect is usually a demonstration of how close the two people are — they're so familiar with one another, they even think alike."

Meet The In-Laws!

"In many cultures, this is obligatory as a form of knowing and being close to each other's families. Everyone wants to make a good first impression in the face of possible disapproval and for this reason can be played for laughs or drama."

[-- ------------STANDBY------ERROR---- -------]

"Have you ever.....killed someone?"

LOADING.....LOADING.....STANDBY--

Despair Event

"The line that, once crossed,

destroys any last remaining sense of hope."

We Used To Be Friends

"The reasons might vary, but bottom line is, the once tight bond between the character(s) in question and their former friend(s) is severely damaged, if not completely broken."

Don't You Dare Pity Me

"An injured or suffering character is approached by another, eager to help, but the injured party is offended. This reaction of humiliation and resentment may be spoken, acted upon, or merely felt."

The Power of Love

"The Power of Love is a curious thing. It makes one man weep, and another man sing."

"It might just save your life."

[-- ------------STANDBY------ERROR---- -------]

//ERROR// LOADING

PLOT TWIST

THE FOOL

"the Power of Love can be applied in dire situations to make things better."

"Don't you dare mock it, it's more than a feeling, that's the Power of Love."

ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR

HAPPILY EVER AFTER!?!?!?!

The Lost Lenore

"The Lost Lenore is another character's deceased love interest. This kind of tragedy is one of The Oldest Ones in the Book"

"In order to fit this trope, the character must have just as much, if not more, importance to the narrative dead than they would alive."

Itadori Yuuji: The next words that spilled from my lips came from so deep within my gut that it nearly made all the things I've ever said feel like a lie. Itadori Yuuji: I will kill you.

[princeescaluswords]

And now for something a little different ...

I was thinking about my favorite shows, and I noticed a particular trope that connects them. I want to talk about it, because I think it's interesting, though I might be the only one. However, if you believe Game of Thrones was nothing but a misogynistic dudebro power fantasy and/or you think that Teen Wolf was nothing but shirtless young men and dub step, there is nothing in this post for you. To be fair, I have reservations about the writing of both shows, especially in the later seasons, but I also think a lot of the writing was deliberate, considered and worth examining.

I want to talk about The Good Man. (I use the male noun because I seldom, if ever, see this applied to female characters. That's another meta entirely.)

Eddard Stark is presented in the show as a good person. He is respected by his family, his peers, his vassals, and even his enemies. While he does make some serious mistakes (things would have gone differently if he had decided to investigate the deserter's claims in the first episode rather than simply dismissing them in a rush to execution), few viewers have claimed that good people must be without flaw. He has principles to which he is devoted, such as loyalty to his country and personal responsibility for those with power, e.g. "He who passes the sentence should swing the sword." He has compassion even for individuals like Joffrey.

Scott McCall is presented in his show as a good person. He is respected by his family, his peer, and even his enemies. While he does make some serious mistakes (things would have gone differently if he had refused to go with Stiles during Wolf Moon), few viewers have claimed that good people must be without flaw. He has principles to which he is devoted, such as the right for everyone to have a life and personal responsibility for those with power, e.g. "And you know this thing's gonna get out of control. That makes me responsible." He has compassion even for individuals like Peter Hale.

So why does Ned Stark die and Scott McCall survive? Of course, they appear in different stories existing in different genres, and Westeros is a little more brutal than twenty-first century Northern California, but I propose that there is a specific test that both narratives make of their Good Men, which Ned fails and Scott passes.

In Game of Thrones, this test occurs in The Kingsroad (1x02) and in Teen Wolf, this test occurs in Abomination (2x04).

We don't get to see Robert's Rebellion in the show, but we do get to hear a lot about it. Robert rides all the way to Winterfell because he is absolutely sure that the one person he can trust to help him hold his kingdom together is Ned. Ned doesn't want to leave Winterfell, but he is torn by his sense of responsibility to the kingdom and his personal loyalty to Robert. It's the suspicion of Jon Arryn's murder that pushes Ned into taking the position of Hand. Ned will discover the truth and if it is, bring the murdered to the King's Justice.

By the end of The Kingsroad, Ned should understand that there is no King's Justice, not anymore. The marriage between Robert and Cersei is a sham, Cersei is vindictive and cruel, Joffery a spoiled brat, but, most importantly, Robert is not the same friend he was twenty years ago. The death of Lady is an injustice, agreed to by Robert simply to buy himself some peace and quiet. The death of Micah is a greater injustice, one that doesn't even have a degree of dignity of being the result of a direct order. The Hound cut the butcher's boy down like he was chopping wood.

But Ned does nothing with this new knowledge. He sees the corruption and clings to his principles -- his responsibility to the realm and his personal loyalty -- that stand opposed to it, while not adjusting his behavior or expectations accordingly. This is the first time, but it's not the last: the realm's financial status, the useless tournament, the sending of assassins against Daenerys, Robert's gross behavior, etc. He will keep believing that the realm is worth defending as if it were twenty years ago and that his friend is still the same regardless of any experience to the contrary, and Ned will die for his refusal to change.

Note, I don't blame Ned for being tricked by Littlefinger, a childhood friend of his wife's, because I don't blame people for being deceived by liars, but there was plenty of evidence from which Ned could have learned he had to alter how he manifested his principles.

Which is why Scott survived and Ned didn't. Up until the end of Abomination, Scott keeps trying to work with Derek while maintaining his principles, which includes independence and saving lives. Yet, even after Stiles heroically held a paralyzed Derek in a pool for hours, even after Scott arrived and drove away the kanima, Derek demonstrates he is still deeply mistrustful of everyone (including himself), Derek demonstrates that lethal force is his go-to strategy ("When I find it, I'm going to kill it"), and that he is blinded by his hatred for the Argents. Note: I don't think there's anything wrong with Derek hating the Argents but there is a problem when he won't look past that anger for the greater good. If Derek had been willing to work with the Argents, it might have scuttled Gerard's plans. Then, Scott gets up close and personal with Gerard, which is painful and scary, but it does gives Scott something he can use against Gerard.

And here is the point: he doesn't share this with Derek, when he's tried to work with Derek in the past. Instead, he pretends to work with Gerard by infiltrating Derek's pack in order to be in a position where he can use the cancer against Gerard. Scott's principles still remains; he wants to resolve the conflict with as little death as possible. However, he changes how that principle manifests in his actions when it is clear that his previous method -- working openly and honestly with Derek -- not only isn't working, but it can't work.

To summarize, principles, the hallmarks of the Good Man, only work if they are used to guide the good person's reactions to the situation at hand. They don't work if they determine the good person's reactions. Ned's principles were set twenty years ago and remained static. Scott was willing to change how he achieved his desired result if his previous attempts weren't working. (As a digression, this is a rebuttal of Peter's insincere "shades of gray" criticism of Scott.) The comparison isn't flawless by any means, but I do think it's enlightening.

[i-am-church-the-cat]

Oh there’s a comment on my werewolf!Alex/vampire!George post

Oh that’s nice, I’m glad other people can see it and it’s not just me being weird. Actually, I-

Wait a second.

What’s this?

Oh @twinkodium. Oh poor unsuspecting soul that has somehow stumbled upon my blog. If only you knew the avalanche you have unknowingly brought upon yourself.

For you, twinkodium, and those of you who have only started following my blog recently, hello. I’m Church, a genderfluid autistic person, whose special interest is wolves with a specific emphasis on werewolves in media. And today I’m here to tell you why Alex Albon could totally theoretically be a werewolf.

DISCLAIMER: I know a lot about wolves and werewolves so my knowledge of Alex Albon is minuscule in comparison. I am more than happy to accept criticisms on the "Could Alex Albon be a werewolf?" debate. However, if you wish to disagree with my knowledge of lycanthropy, you will have to fight me with your own bare hands in the Florida Everglades. Hugs and kisses <3

That being said, let's get into it.

First of all, anyone can be a werewolf. That’s kind of the whole thing. You never know who around you could have a different side, a side they can’t control and might be totally different from the side they show you. But, that’s not what this is about, so let’s get into the actual details, shall we?

1. Lycanthropy has often and continuously been used as a metaphor for transformation.

The reason why I and many other transgender or gender non-conforming people relate to the story of becoming a werewolf, is because there is a fundamental motif of change. Your body changes, your mind changes, even how people perceive you changes. And from this change comes an increased level of awareness of yourself and your place in the world.

For example, it is a common trope in werewolf media that being turned into a werewolf heightens your “natural instincts” and the personality traits that you already showed as a human. A lot of feelings or ideas that were not as prominent in your human form suddenly takes a new presentation that is unavoidable and must be acknowledged (similar to how a lot of the times when people transition, they act in different or more pronounced ways because they now “feel more like themselves”).

Now, how does this apply to our dear friend and case study, Alex Albon? Well, I present you with two occasions in Alex’s public life where a large transformation took place:

A) his transition from F2/Toro Rosso to F1/Red Bull. Alex was a standout driver in Formula 2 and in his rookie season, this is of course why he got promoted. However, the shift from a high-performing car (when he started in Red Bull) suddenly brought to light a lot of small intricacies in Alex’s driving, some good and some bad (much like how transforming from one species to a more powerful one brings out a lot of traits that you could hide/did not seem as large before).

B) The second transformation is Alex’s change from Red Bull to Williams. The thing about lycanthropy is that even in “human” form, you still retain a lot of lupine traits. And taking that as a metaphor for Alex’s driving, you can see how Alex’s progression in Red Bull and his adaptation to high performing cars makes him out-drive the current Williams car.

HOWEVER. I don’t actually think Alex’s driving career has as much to do with why he’d be a werewolf as the simple fact that: Alex himself loves the act of transformation. All F1 drivers have some level of appreciation for change to do what they do, but not only does Alex transform himself to specific situations, he also just transforms himself for fun (re: dying his hair on a monthly basis).

Okay now on to criteria number 2:

2. Wolves are intrinsically shaped within a pack structure and need constant connection with their species to prosper. In that same vein, there is often a lone wolf vibe to werewolves in media because they are expelled from both natural human and wolf societies as a stage between the two.

Not only does Alex Albon have a big ass family (I say big but it is of course relative, but wolves do live in family structures made up of 5-9 members) but he has an entire zoo of animals (I am actually not even sure how many but at least in the double digits). This man screams pack structure. And this is not only shown in his actual family life, but also in his interactions with his teammates and friends on the grid. Alex Albon is a social animal and that's what wolves are.

Now, for the "lone wolf" aspect, of course Alex is in a very self-centered sport. But, drawing from my own experiences, being of mixed race can also feel very lonely. You're not 100% one or the other because there are always going to be aspects of yourself that depend on the fact that you're both. Alex Albon is both British and Thai and has said himself that it can be difficult (for example: "when I'm doing well I'm British and when I'm doing poorly I'm not British").

A large part of the overarching lycanthropic story is trying to find connection when you've constantly been isolated. For Alex, I see this most in the change from Red Bull to Williams. Red Bull is a lone wolf structure and Williams is a pack structure and we all know which one Alex has thrived more in.

Moving on to criteria number 3:

3. Werewolves in media have their senses dialed up to 11 and they often emote more and act in certain ways that feel more instinctual.

I don't feel like I have to say much about this. Alex Albon is the king of emoting. It's impossible for him to hide his emotions, when he's annoyed he looks annoyed, when he's happy he looks happy. And often this shows itself in strong ways (the iconic meme of him yelling "George").

HOWEVER! (I've been saying however a lot but still, however) a big big big thing in the overarching werewolf story is control. You have to have control to be palatable, to not outcast yourself or give yourself away. That's why I think even though Alex doesn't blow up like Yuki, or have his emotions literally bursting out of his body like Daniel, he's still a really good representation of how lycanthropy can (hypothetically) make you present your emotions in a very large way.

Bonus Criteria: Looks

I have focused on personality and storyline for the most part of this post and for a reason. However it must be said:

Does this man not look like a werewolf?? I mean, honestly, idk what y'all think a werewolf looks like, but this is it. The wider, flatter nose, the shaggy hair, the eyebrows. Even his chin man, idk how to describe it.

Anyway, this is where I rest my case. If this gets any attention, I might attempt to do a post on why I think vampire!George is totally realistic, but I am much more a werewolf enthusiast than a vampire enthusiast so we'll see. If you got to the end, congratulations, you deserve a cookie.

Werewolf!Alex Albon forever.

[admirableadmiranda]

I have a question about fandoms, fics, canon and characterization. If fanworks in general are transformative work, then fanon and characterization shouldn't matter, right? For example, let's take modern AUs. In this sense, the characters will be adapted to the setting and it makes sense that interpretations would differ. On that same wavelength, isn't characterization negligible alongside the concept of OOC? If you don't like something about canon, you can just change that in an AU and I'm assuming this applies to characters as well. I guess I'm wondering whether canon or the original text is even important .

Okay so let me ask you a very important question before I answer this with my own opinion:

When you are going into the fanfiction of a particular work, why is it that you’re going in there? Is it cause it’s a fantastic setting and you want more works in the world? Is it cause it had a plot with promise but was poorly handled and you want to see if people were able to do it better?

Or is it that you enjoyed the characters so much you want to see more of them?

Because depending on which one your answer is makes the question of if canon matters much more relevant. I adore Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, so I want to read stories about Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, not someone’s original characters that might share a name and a couple superficial personality traits. I have backbuttoned out of so many of those fics and I can’t enjoy them.

I have seen arguments that trend towards “canon isn’t that important for my story, cause that’s not what I want to write about”, and I find that most of those writers tend to work in… very subpar works. MCU for example. If you have a cookie cutter premise with cookie cutter characters, then perhaps it doesn’t matter that much to those writers, because they’re not in it for the love of the work in the same way. They were disappointed by what the work did, so they set out to create something else, something more interesting.

I personally disagree in the sense that eventually you do just stumble into original work with the vague skin of someone else’s names and faces. I don’t go into fanfiction for a fandom unless I adore it and want more. For me, I want to see respect and commitment to the original author’s work; modern aus are fine, but how do you maintain the integrity of those characters? Wei Wuxian is a canonical genius and inventor, so do you let him flourish in a modern world? Does it fit any of the elements of his character that are not so tightly wedded to the society and setting that he’s in? We know he’s a romantic who never kissed anyone besides Lan Wangji, so a modern au where he’s had a long string of lovers is going to annoy me a lot more than a modern au where he’s been happily going through life and then fell head over heels for the cool new guy in his lab because one of them is a lot more reminiscent of the Wei Wuxian in canon.

It matters because if you go into a fandom because you liked the characters, it’s not so fun to read about generic fanon trope #620. It matters because for fanfiction, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the defining interesting part of the work is the characters.

It matters because it shows how much respect you have for the work if you are able to maintain what keeps the characters functioning as recognizable versions of themselves, something that still pays homage to the source in which they came from. Otherwise you’re not writing fanfiction, you’re writing original fiction with a funky skin over it.

Thank you, and to sum up, yes ooc and fanon are things I would call problems in fandom, because the thing that should matter most is the wellspring from which your stories come from.