#tangentially l&c anyway

[dirtyoldmanhole]

gunter/corrin S support analyzing time >:)

(i actually forgot to post this lol)

last revelation liveblog ~ like the A-support it's another long one!

like most Fire Emblem supports, the C-B-A supports tend to be platonic or at least plausibly platonic, and then the S-support is the romantic paired ending.

because these two are freak nasty special(tm), their last A-support ended with corrin calling him her "father figure" ... which is especially hilarious when you know what's coming up here, heh.

they start with another game of catch ~

............... l m a o at his sprite only smiling at the last line. pffttt. pfttttt. yeah there is 0 chance that he means that totally wholesomely. (actually, jokes aside if i remember right, that was 100% another one of those lines that started dinging my kink radar)

Anyway, they continue with the catch session, and it ends pretty much how you'd expect it to.

Corrin: Oh, I remember this deal. You always used this when I was refusing to study or train… Gunter: Exactly. I'll throw more and more difficult passes, and you have to catch them. We can work out some reward later if you catch them all, but I doubt you will.

(excuse you, snarky bastard :P)

Corrin: That sounds like fun to me. Let's do it! Gunter: I imagine you'll have no trouble with a normal throw, so… try and catch…this! Corrin: What the—You threw it straight up! Gunter: And with the sun overhead, you'll have a bit of trouble, I bet… Corrin: I think I… Awwww! It got away from me… Gunter: Hahaha. That one always got you. You haven't changed a bit. Corrin: I can't believe I didn't remember that trick. You used it so often, too…

devious old man hunting for the tea >:D

(ngl i love that he takes so much set-up to ask that question versus just asking her cold turkey. it gives a feeling that he's -for all of his years of experience-nervous as a teenaged boy, and there's a very tragic bitterness underneath the implications.

since the thing is- he's not expecting this to go anywhere. he's expecting her to name somebody else, and hoping that by "knowing" that corrin's set on somebody else, she's unavailable to his deepest wishes. it's... easier to tell the heart that, to let go.)

tangentially, something else i unironically love about their relationship is that in most other corrin ships, she's the active party by default of being the main character (and the player being able to choose who they want to romance).

here though: the mentor/mentee (among others) power tilt sharply flavors it in his direction. i don't think there's another Fates ship that has this vibe (Yukimura, maybe, given he helped raise her early on? but Corrin has less memories there.) gunter's not afraid to lead, and what's real interesting is that corrin leans into it. given the sheer confusion, terror, and everything going on in the games-i think corrin seizes onto that strength and protection like an anchor.

wait for it…. wait for it……

:')

go get him, baby.

8))))))))

so there's meta posts elsewhere on gunter's sheer guarded quality romantically elsewhere in the My Room lines. the man straight up apologizes for kissing corrin, versus some of the other characters which are a lot more sexually forward.

which is really interesting to compare and contrast to his JP supports where he actually blurts his confession to her without the careful prompting; he's much more forward there to some degree.

honestly, it's a really sad? the man doesn't even have the luxury of a true "yes, you" from her.

Kamui: Eh!? W-what kind of question is that… Gunther: A promise is a promise. Please answer the question. Kamui: Y-yeah, all right… I don’t have anyone like that… Gunther: I see. Then, what about someone like me? Kamui: W-what? Gunther: You are the only woman that I have loved. Kamui: Huh? G-Gunther-san? Gunther: I intended to carry that thought with me to the grave… but it seems I wasn’t able to keep my feelings towards you under control…. I feel more clear-headed now. So, Kamui-sama. Please reject my offer. I will be able to be at peace after being rejected. Someday, you will find a good man to be with. For me, being able to confess my feelings is enough.

this is one of the biggest reasons I read Revelation with a one-sided longstanding (romantic) pining from his side; so many weird little camera angle decisions suddenly make sense, and apparently there was a paired ending between them that WAS coded in there sometime in development but got axed partway through.

(god, can you imagine what that would have been like? How cool would it have been to have a conversation similar to Jill in FE9 where you can actually have the enemy recruit her, and then you have to recruit her back only if she has an A-support with somebody. Imagine only being able to rescue Gunter back if you had a A or S support.)

anyway I don't know how much of that is cultural versus treehouse trying to "soften" any consent issues (bruh, it's already freak nasty :P) vs something else i'm not taking into consideration. not going to go as far to say he's a different character, but it does give a wildly different flavor to the S-support.

(i also feel like i need to post the link to the obligatory analysis essay on the "you are the only woman I have loved." line which is. ironically. a lie.)

anyway, back to the EN version:

;___;

here, he apologizes again. god, the guilt and the shame that he's working through... it's all very carefully deniable and worded, but they both know exactly what they're talking about.

Corrin: Gunter, you should throw the ball again. Gunter: Excuse me, milady? Corrin: If I don't catch it, you'll have to ask something of me again… And I can guess that it will be "Can we be together?"

;________________;

(she knows her old man so, so well.)

Gunter: Corrin… Corrin: It's all or nothing, Gunter! You'd better throw that ball really high! Gunter: Very well. This ball may well touch the sun before it comes back! Gunter: I think you missed that one on purpose, but I suppose I have to ask now; Will you please… marry me?

;A;;;;;;

[skullandcarlyle]

I don't know if you know this but Jonathan Stroud ships George with Flo Bones.

 First off, hi there! You probably had no idea this would let loose a whole essay on authorship, ownership, fans and fanfic, but here we are!  I’m really passionate about the interactions between all those things, and talking about them and the way I specifically interact with them.

I’ll just start off by saying that I actually am aware that Stroud has implied that George and Flo are/might be in the future, interested in each other or compatible, etc.  I can see that.  They’re opposites in a lot of ways–George is very into research aspects of the Problem, about finding out what’s caused it.  Flo is much more focused on, you know, making a living.  But they’re both witty, canny, and kind of a mess, and I can see why he’s hinted that.  I can totally imagine there being George/Flo in teg, and that’s perfectly fine with me.  

I’m betting you read my George/Lockwood mini fic series, or have seen some of the Holly/Flo stuff I’ve reblogged. (If anyone’s interested, my fic is up on AO3 here. It’s set before Lucy joins l&c and it’s super cute.) I totally do ship Georgewood and Flolly! (And lots of other combos, which involve the people in said ships, with other people) But one of the awesome things about fandom, one of my favorite things about fandom, is our ability to play in a sandbox someone else’s made.  As a fan, I don’t feel an obligation to only engage in the source material in the way the author may have intended.  I tend to write a lot of things that align pretty closely with canon, because one of my favorite parts of fanfic is making a story feel as real as possible–such that the reader could imagine that it’s part of the source material, or an add-on, or something.  That’s mostly based on my preferences, because that’s the type of fic that I like to read.  But that doesn’t mean it has to be exactly canon-compliant, because I’m not the owner of the material, and what I write has no obligation to align with canon.  I’m the owner of my fics, the actual words that I put in the orders, but I cannot make that claim about the characters, or the source material in any way, and that means that I get to bend the rules! Sweet! 

I think about my interactions with canon and the author of a given work like this: The author created canon.  The author of the canon material ultimately writes what happens, and that’s what ends up being what I base my fan interactions on.  As a fan, writing and drawing for fun and not trying to claim any kind of authorship of the canon, I don’t have any control over the author.  The author is not beholden to me in any way, and gets to do whatever they want with the characters they created.  But just because they decide to pick one possibility in a story, doesn’t mean I also have to pick that possibility.  Jonathan Stroud has referenced that he likes Flo and George.  That’s totally fine! I’m not trying to dispute that. (Sidenote: If you want to get detailed, it’s actually not canon: it’s more of a word-of-god type of info, pseudo-canon? but that’s not super relevant to this discussion) . But I, personally, enjoy imagining, and writing about what if George and Lockwood had a romantic past.

If you really want to get into it, as someone who identifies as queer, one of the particular ways I enjoy engaging with fandom is by thinking, what if we didn’t assume all the characters are straight?  What if they weren’t? Lockwood can be bi, maybe George is gay, maybe Holly and Flo are totally destined to be soulmates, in my head.  And as a fan, I get to imagine that, and write fic about it!  I’m not trying to change canon, I’m just taking the characters, and imagining ways they might be just a little different, or filling in gaps or interpreting things in ways that the author or other readers might not, because it’s fun, and when I don’t see a whole lot of representation in most media, it’s fun and fulfilling to write my own.

Every fan interacts with source materials and canon a little differently.  Some people only want to engage with canon, and things that are exactly canon-compliant.  Some people don’t really care about canon, and just really like the characters.  A lot of people do a combination, or engage in some other way.  That’s one of the awesome parts of being a fan! They’re all different forms of showing our love for the characters and stories we love.  

Sidenote: If you’re interested, you can read a ton about the history of fanfic, and fandom, in the book Fic: Why Fanfiction is Taking Over the World, by Anne Jamison and Lev Grossman. I checked it out from my local library! There are also tons of really quality essays other people have written on the subject, much more intelligently than I have, that are pretty interesting if you want to learn more about fan culture and the history of fandom.

[f-117-nighthawk]

random Idea i had while doing chem homework and half listenign to my music:

The lyrics for Celldweller’s Memories of a Girl I Haven’t Met (Guess what album I’ve been listening to for a month) go like this: 

In this lonely place

Bathed in silence

And thoughts of you

I can't see your face

But I'm trying

To envision you

So are you really out there?

Are you awake with memories

Of a boy you haven't met yet

Who's wished upon the Pleiades?

There’s another song on that album, Seven Sisters, which is a really pretty song plz listen to it, that has this section:

I cast my hope upon The Pleiades The Seven Sisters who would come for me They'd fall to Earth to grant a child's dream But I'm still waiting

While fiddling with Galran Mythology, I created five lesser gods under the old gods, the Zad Kunsaetok. Five Siblings. They’re able to collectively grant wishes, that fucks some things up, and they retreat back into the stars. So there’s a star cluster visible from Daibazaal that’s associated with them. When Krolia’s on Earth, she sees the Pleiades. Now, if you look at the Pleiades:

when I first saw this I had a hard time seeing the sixth and seventh sisters. I was like “well, there’s five big stars, are they saying some of those smaller ones are also pleiades?” (the answer is yes, and their parents i think are also in there but that’s beside the point) anyway Krolia sees them and goes “Huh that sure looks like the Kunsaetok”  and is just happy for that small bit of home on this strange planet. 

Somewhere along the line, she tells Keith the legend of the Zad Kunsaetok, and tells him to wish on them. (”I cast my hope upon the Pleiades” and all that)

sad time: after the events of A Former Shade of Blue/hell even cannon if you want, Keith remembers this story as one of his few clear memories of her and makes a wish to bring her and his dad back. 

MORE sad time, but this time a little bit diverged from Dark Matter and the actual point of whta I was gonna write (hey free Dark Matter background lmao):

consider: trans!Keith. you keep a lot of Dark Matter canon and solidify him as afab (I do admit, which one varies widely in my head even while writing Dark Matter which is why none of my “Keith’s gender is somewhere around none gender with left masc” stuff will ever see a page).

So. Memories of a Girl I haven’t Met Yet. The Girl in this context is obviously Krolia. “This lonely place” is probably the roof of the Shirogane house. Keith’s sitting up there trying to picture his mom (”I can’t see your face but I’m trying to envision you”), wondering why she left/disappeared, wondering if it’s worth it to find her (”with thoughts of you”), wishing upon the “Kunsaetok” for her to come back (”Who’s wished upon the Pleiades”). Wondering if she’s actually up in the stars like she always said (”so are you really out there?”), if she’s thinking of him (”Awake with memories?”), if she’d accept him as he is (”A boy you haven’t met yet”) 

....you know aht fuck I might have to actually write this at some point

[emphasisonthehomo]

As someone who has been tangentially involved in idk the metal scene or fandom or whatever you wanna call it, since I was in middle school, it is fascinating/infuriating to see people who clearly have no history of interacting with that specific demographic, react to a character who is supposed to be an 80s Metal Head™ stereotype.

I’m so sorry, but LISTEN-

Eddie hates “hair metal” and complains constantly about how terrible it is. He hates Sebastian Bach with a fervor that’s honestly a little concerning. (This does not change the fact that he wants Sebastian Bach to fuck him so hard he can’t walk right.) He will Not Shut Up about it. Don’t get him started on Madonna or  WHAM! not being Real Music. (He doesn’t want to be fucked by either of them, except for how he does, no wait he does, no he doesn't - he’s not gonna dwell on that. DON’T MENTION IT.)

He’s fucking insufferable.

R E P R E S S E D  M A S C U L I N I T Y

I have looked at what fic has written, because of course I have. Many fics seem to have Eddie as like, super accepting of the fact that he’s a homosexual/interested in men.

INCORRECT.

There’s need to be MORE internalized homophobia for Eddie. It just makes sense.

If anything a male metalhead circa the mid 80s is going to manage to be more homophobic than the average joe. Maybe it’s because at the time every mainstream metal band wore enough makeup to put a 2020s influence to shame. Maybe it’s all the lingerie that Mötley Crüe was wearing. Maybe it’s because Twisted Sister was talking to congress. EITHER WAY-

The fact that Eddie as a thrash metal dude is a meaningful in the big scheme of things. It says stuff about his character. Mainly that he’s a pain in the ass. I have existed as a Metal Fan with Boobs for (christ) almost fifteen years now. If I were to meet an Eddie Muson in 2022 I would IMMEDIATELY be on high alert. I would have MULTIPLE levels of nonsensical bullshit he’d have to navigate before I’d bother dealing with him one to one. If I were to stumble upon him on Tinder I would ask his opinion on deathcore and IMMEDIATELY BLOCK if his answer was unsatisfactory.

I hate to say it, but your fave is the type of man to ask a random woman he’s never met before to list Slayer’s ENTIRE DISCOGRAPHY.

Anyways this is a long winded way for me to complain about how people are writing a character in a netflix show I have never watched and probably never will.

[bcrtonarrcws]

Meta: Claire's relationship with Barney

              HELLO, HI, YOU HAVE JUST UNLOCKED AN ESSAY THAT IS PROBABLY JUST A LITTLE TOO LONG, if I do say so myself and given that I wrote it, I would say you should listen.

 Anyway, the Bartons are actually my favorite comic siblings to ever exist – probably actually my two favorite comic characters ever ever. Their relationship is so dysfunctional and a little broken, yet held together by shitty guardians and a rough childhood. It’s kinda beautiful, how after everything that happened to each other, they’re still close?? Like they trust each other, tease each other, they have each other’s back?? The relationship between Clint and Barney is truly one of my favorite representations of a pair of siblings who didn’t have the easiest life, mainly because, like without the superhero nonsense, their relationship is actually very similar to my own relationship with my siblings – a severely messed up ride or die that might end with one of us killing each other.

Yet, this question is what does Barney’s and Claire’s relationship look like, not Barney’s and Clint, which despite how little it would change, does change some things. To figure out what it changes though, I’d like to head to what their relationship is like, in canon, for me. I know that the fandom has it’s own view of Barney Barton – I don’t agree with it nor particularly like it, so it’s probably best if I explain how I look at their relationship.

So Barney Barton, born Charles Bernard Barton, is the eldest of the two – no ages because this is the comics and characters can’t have canon ages ?? I guess it’ll break the suspension of disbelief but like shrugs – and he showed up in the comics in 1969, before this, he never existed. Of course this is during the age of the 60’s so most superheros didn’t really like have a life outside of the comics they were in so it’s not that big of a deal, but like still, Marvel just creates this character to be Clint’s brother, tells us he’s a racketeer that’s been on the Avenger’s radar for a while, and then kills him in the same issue, only revealing at the end that he was an undercover FBI agent.

(yeah, they gave Clint a family and then killed said family right away, sounds so similar, y’know kinda like the movie-verse which gave clint a family with very little characterization and then snapped them – no wonder I love Laura so much)

Anyway, later issues of Clint’s will explain that their parents were abusive, they died and Clint and Barney ran away from the orphanage they were in when they were like teenagers – this would be retconned to young teenagers, then implied to be younger as of the Hawkeye (2012) series, which puts Clint sleeping under the tents at age 9 (src), which could or could not imply them being their already - it’s whatever, like it’s just gonna get retconned again. Running away to the circus always puts strain on their relationship no matter what age they are though, mainly due to Clint receiving training from their mutual “father figure” Jacques DuQuesne and Barney becoming jealous; a completely and natural thing according to all child psych I’ve read, it creates an environment that allows one kid to be the “golden child” and the other to be the “scapegoat” – now of course, we don’t know much about the dynamics of their full childhood, Marvel hates sharing any information like that, but we can extrapolate a fair amount.

(also, just so everyone knows, this jealousy did not pave the way for their relationship in later comics, namely Blindspot. In that it’s very clearly stated that Barney was found by Egghead to still be slightly alive. He was then held onto, for nefarious reasons, in a healing chamber, until he was found by Baron Zemo years later who then manipulated Barney against his brother so that Baron Zemo could get his revenge against Clint Barton. I’ll say it again, Barney was used against his own brother by an evil guy who hated Clint because Clint slept with Zemo’s wife; that is where the “Cain and Abel” dynamic comes from – not childhood)

Back on the tangentially related topic I was writing about. This jealousy grows until Jacques DuQuesne leaves after Clint finds out about his illegal dealings ( though the all new hawkeye actually kinda, maybe, a little, I’m unsure, retcons this with Clint finding out about it much earlier, when he finds out about Jacques having Barney stealing from people and places and finds the hidden cache of a gun, money and some other things under Jacques’ bed??? I don’t know, I’m now a little confused if Jacques still fucks off thanks to that comic ) - of course, this is after Jacques chases Clint through the circus, cutting the high wire Clint tried to hide on. Barney tells Clint, while his brother is in the hospital (and in literally a comic that got retconned basically) that he should’ve kept his mouth shut and stuck by Jacques no matter what (can we say that that sounds like trauma?? because guess what, psych 101 says that that’s kinda sounding like trauma since Jacques was trash to these kids, like literally, fuck Jacques DuQuesne – all my friends hate him – he’s an interesting villain but fuck the whitewashing of his bullshit).

This doesn’t sour their relationship at all – no seriously, it doesn’t which uh shows that neither of them really take each other at face value anymore – and they go back to the circus, Clint heals up, starts working with Buck (a man currently being written out of the comics world which is a shame because he’s kinda important but kinda not) and then Barney decides he wants out. With Barney in the army, Clint continues down the crime street and well, now that we’ve got a bit of background (over 800 words of background), let’s get onto what their relationship is really like for Claire and Barney.

Simply put, like in the comic relationship with Clint and Barney, Barney is a protective older brother, he taught Claire how to fight and aim, how to patch up simple bruises and cuts, taught her to drink her first shot (at like age fourteen, but like what do you expect when that boy was drinking much younger???). He was her first teacher, her best teacher – yes their relationship got complicated; it’s Claire when isn’t her relationships complicated – but at the end of the day, he helped shape her into who she was.

Less simply put…

He is her everything—in all the P L A T O N I C (I’m emphasizing platonic because please don’t take this in the romantic sense, they’re fucked up but not like that; I am not Marvel, I don’t ship siblings and pretend that shit is fine.) sense of the word—he was her guardian when all the guardians around her failed to properly take care of her; he was her brother who teased her and made fun of her; he was her best friend who understood what she went through, the only other person who did; he taught her as much schooling as she would sit down and listen to, he taught her how to cook herself some basic food.

He was a father, a mother, a brother, a best friend, a moral compass – which is why when he went off to the Army, Claire found it a betrayal. She hated him for the time that he was gone, though she forgave him not long before she first shot him because she could understand that to him  (the little purple box in the third panel: Carnival of Death, of course this is how Barney would remember things) the circus was never a home, just another temporary place to stay. 

(btw this is “shooting barney” thing that is part of my main verse, is canon. Clint shot his brother, who was working undercover as a bodyguard, while Clint was breaking into a mansion with the aforementioned soon-to-be-retconned-I’m-sure-of-it Buck Chisholm, which led to Buck shooting Clint in the shoulder when he refused to leave his brother’s body and pinning him to a tree – I don’t quite recall how Clint got out of getting arrested, I’m pretty sure it never explained, but I’m rusty and not really up for pulling out some old comics to read up on) 

(I lied, here’s the comic strip: 1. 2. Clint “somehow” managed to get free, take his brother to the hospital and then leave??? yeah sure. )

Anyway, let’s get on with it. So if that was their relationship when they were younger, what is it like now?? Now that Claire has found a place – a sturdy, yet unsteady, comfortable, yet spartan, to call her own –

( and yes, this sounds angsty, but Clint has issues accepting that he is where he wants to be – Clint is always running, even when standing completely still. It’s a trauma response to his shitty childhood where they never stayed in one place for too long; even when their parents were alive, they moved from above the family butcher shop to the Barton farm. Barney had it too, but apparently a relationship helped with that (and okay, look I love Simone and Barney, but that part in All New Hawkeye rubbed me wrong as a fellow wandering child turned rootless adult; the guy needs therapy, not just a relationship – but then again, Barney Barton does not get agency or a personality outside of Clint Barton; his life must revolve around Clint Barton, even when he was on the Dark Avengers, it was about Clint – and yeah, they’re brothers, “two sides of the same coin”, and all that jazz but like I’ve got three sisters and a brother, I’m my own person at the end of the day – something Barney Barton cannot say, which means ending his story on the note of retirement and falling in love is just the best thing so they don’t have to keep finding a reason to try to remember that Clint has a brother   I’ll stop with the rant, I’m sorry.) )

   where does a man who no longer has to be a father, mother, brother, best friend, and moral compass stand when his sister has all that? Well, for the most part, he stands next to her – in my main verse at least. After he has come back wrong (Buffy much?), he finds his place standing beside his sister, no longer solely protecting her from the world (as he had always done because the world is not kind to lost little girls or boys), because he’s learned that she can, for the most part, protect herself, and Claire finds herself less on a lower standing (less of a burden in her eyes, less of a child in need of comfort) with her brother, but more like an equal, something that’s a bit of a new situation for the both of them.

In truth, Claire’s relationship with Barney is complicated and messy but it’s hers, and when you have something that’s complicated and messy, you have to figure it out, and that’s what, in my canon, she’s doing. Sure Barney isn’t around a lot - he’s got his own shit to figure out - but he’s her brother, and she loves him, and he loves her and they’re trying to get to a place where they don’t accidentally poke the trauma they’ve got and ruin a good thing. 

......

Okay, so like did any of this make sense??? I don’t know. I guess, to sum it up really quick, in my main verse - and most of my canon - I’d say Claire’s relationship with Barney is slightly yet not really awkward – it’s awkward because once upon a time, it was simple. Yet at the same time, it’s a really important relationship because Claire was shaped by her brother (and of course all those shitty adults because there are no good mentors in the Marvel world, not for kids at least).

Idk, this is really just me rambling. Like I should just state that tis is just Mun taking all the retcons that Marvel stuck her babies through and trying to make sense of them along with a healthy dose of a smattering of psychology shoved all about because unlike Marvel, I have no desire to ignore the C-PTSD/PTSD that seems to follow both boys around thanks to their childhood – of course this crazy amount of words actually kinda ignores all the trauma they have as adults, but that’s a whole nother post for some other day

I also know that I carry some ~controversial ~ barney barton views - ie. he’s not a villain and that him and clint share a close relationship, that he isn’t dumb muscle (bitch got a 1350 SAT score with like minimal schooling, i’d like to see you do that) and that he wasn’t a shit older brother when they were kids - i’m not apologizing for them. not at all. i will never apologize for them. characters are more than one dimensional and if i gotta be the one to wade through all this vague ass bullshit to get those other two dimensions then i’m going to do just that, which i have done. 

plus it doesn’t even matter because through all the retcons clint and barney has gone through, this is what their relationship is; a fucked up dysfunctional sibling relationship gone off the rails when Barney was brought back from the dead and manipulated/brainwashed into hating his brother. it eventually got better, how? we’ve got none of that, but it did and and at the end of the day, as clint said:

[dimples-of-discontent]

My Cockles Crack Masterpost:

Hello, yes, did any of you need a little pick-me-up? I know I do. So I’ve collected for you all most of the Cockles crack that I’ve written. I left off collaborative pieces of crack and ones attached to long gifsets. But all the text posts (especially “Jensen vs. Jensen’s brain”) are all there. I’ll drop a cut somewhere since this baby is long but I hope you all enjoy. 

LONG LIVE TEAM DUMPSTER MANSION!!! 

Dabb: So, let’s have AU Cas.

SPN writers: Cool. Why don’t we ask Misha to do one of his accents?

Jensen: *flings door open* *pants* AM I TOO LATE?! DID I MISS IT?!

BONUS alternative by @postmodernmulticoloredcloak​:

Dabb: So, let’s have AU Cas.

Everyone: …

Jensen: *starts vibrating at a very high frequency*

Misha: …okay I’ll do an accent

Isn’t it so weird that none of Jensen’s kids look like Misha?

Jensen is CONSTANTLY hosting his own episodes of Queer Eye and every one is about Misha.

[Below the cut]

Jensen: *looks up suddenly and stares into the middle distance* *vibrates at a high frequency*

Danneel: What is it, babe?

Jensen: Somewhere…Misha is doing an accent. Badly. He’s doing it badly, but he’s still doing it.

Danneel: You’ve gotta go!

Jensen: You’re right, I’ve gotta go!

Somewhere in Austin a high-pitched whistle blows.

Jensen, holding his ears and running into the kitchen: Alright, alright! What?!

Danneel, points wordlessly at laptop screen where this is displayed.

Jensen: Oh no.

Danneel, accusatory: I thought you HID those!

Jensen: I did! *pause* Why would he look in my dirty laundry anyway?

*Danneel stares*

Jensen: Oh right. I guess he needed something to wear.

Danneel: Pretty dumb, babe.

Jensen: Hmmm…yeah. *pause, then, hopeful* I guess we couldn’t fly to Hawaii to get them, right? *pause* No, no of course not. *mumbles* Damn shorts.

Text convo, probably:

Jensen: mish miss you. send me a pic.

Misha: *photo of something random like an interesting leaf*

Jensen: no, i mean like i MISS you miss you. send a pic of you.

Misha: *photo of his foot*

Jensen: oh for fuck’s sake! *posts flex meme and tags misha in it*

Jensen: there now it’s public you have to do it. and you can fuck off.

Misha: *sends dick pic*

Me: god Misha has the perfect jawline. Not that it matters.

Lizard brain: lick it

Me: yes, yes if I actually had a real relationship with him that would be well and good but…

Lizard brain: LICKIT

Me: yes, yes I heard you but what’s crucial is that Misha is one of the very best humans out there not that he has the stubbled and chiseled jawline of a Greek god so I really think we should focus on…

Jensen (in the distance): oh my God! it doesn’t have to be a choice, dummy!! L I CK IT!!

Jensen’s brain: It’s Misha’s birthday. We love Misha. Say it.

Jensen: No. We are in public. I am just going to call him “the man” and post a cute pic of us in matching outfits.

Jensen’s brain: NOOOOOO…SAYITSAYITSAYITWELOVEHIMSAYIT

Jensen: God fine ok…but I’m using an emoji not words.

Jensen’s brain: Acceptable.

Jensen: And also I’m going to add “bro”.

Jensen’s brain: …. 😒

Jensen: So now no one will ever know.

Jensen’s brain: 🙄

(About this mess right here)

Jensen’s brain: hold his hand

Jensen: NO it will look gay!

Jensen’s brain: but…you are gay for each other? so who cares?

Jensen: Yes, but we can’t LOOK gay ok? So just shake hands.

Jensen’s brain: fine 🙄

**Jensen does whatever this subby, hand-groping bullshit is**

Jensen’s brain: is that…. is that how humans shake hands? in a non-gay way?

Jensen: Shut up.

Jensen’s brain: i’m just trying to understand

Jensen: Shut up, asshole

Jensen’s brain: 😏

Look, I know it’s not going to happen, but all I want in life is for Jensen to respond to Misha’s shirtless video by saying “Hey Mish, if you need a shirt I have a few old ones for you.”

New theory: Jensen gives Misha so many shirts because otherwise his natural inclination is to run around bare-chested and Jensen’s poor, queer heart cannot handle it. (Photo version.)

Cockles trash cat meme origin

So you know how you sometimes go out with you friends and one of them gets way too drunk and ends up getting confessional with someone they don’t know that well? And you kind of want to stop them but, y’know, it’s their life and their choices so you have nothing to do but sit back and watch and be equal parts mildly horrified that they are spilling secrets to a relative stranger and incredibly amused at how they will feel about it later?

THAT is how I feel watching Misha tell the same story, over and over, about wearing Jensen’s hand-me-down shirts.

Misha, you’re currently my intensely emotional drunk friend and you need to stop before you reach the point of crying in the club. Neither of us can handle that. Thanks in advance.

Misha on social media: hahaha…Jensen is my cabin boy…that means he’s a sub who likes BDSM…hahaha…gonna make a comment about a giant space tongue rimming Jensen b/c why not lolz…gonna post a pic of myself covered in white goo and imply that it’s come from the conclusion of a threesome with Jensen and Jared…haha I’m such a scamp…I’m just incorrigible…teehee…

Misha when a fan mentions clothing: WHAT’S A JENSEN??? I’ve never heard of one and even if I had I definitely wouldn’t have had any non-heterosexual thoughts or feelings about him…and we’re absolutely not so close that we share in casual intimacy without a second thought…what could possibly make you think that?? I DON’T EVEN LIKE JENSEN OK!!!

Stages of Cockles in Gifs.

I feel like Jensen is one con away from straight-up answering an only tangentially-related question with, “…and that’s why I love Misha. You do know I love Misha, right? Like, love love him, like the way we love our wives. I feel like you guys get it so let’s just move on. Next question!”

At the next con, Jensen and Misha will be projecting the words “JUST SO YOU KNOW, I LOVE THIS MAN” on the side of the building across from the hotel in case you somehow miss that message in their panels.

At the next con, Jensen and Misha will be screening a 12-minute video that is just them giggling while one of them films the other; there will be no lines and nothing else will happen. Fandom will deem it a masterpiece.

At the next con, instead of his usual classic rock covers, Jensen will be performing a spoken word piece about how great Misha is, accompanied by Jared on bongos and Richard Speight on the kazoo.

In the final episode we are brought to the realization that the show DOES exist in our universe and on our timeline and that this entire time J2M have ACTUALLY BEEN TFW and kept this cover story about being actors on a TV show to keep us from knowing what they are really up to. Most of the show is just footage of their lives, though some of the things on the show were just absurd and to keep us off track.

Misha Collins is an actual angel. Jensen Ackles is a grumpy-faced softie with the biggest nerd streak. Jared Padalecki is a fiercely loyal and intelligent guy who has fought off more than his share of darkness. Gen and Danneel are actually supernatural creatures though neither will fully commit to being an angel or demon. Vicki is too powerful to be captured on film. And of course Jensen and Misha have been husbands for years. It was hard to hide that one on the show.

Jensen: *does interview quote game on his own* Great! Now, I’m gonna go get Misha. He’s gonna be so terrible at this game lol…He has the worst memory and never watches the show…hahaha isn’t that so cute?

Interviewer: oh actually we weren’t quite done interviewing you…

Jensen: yeah but Mish is gonna be so bad at this and I can’t afford to miss that! Imma go find him right now!

Interviewer: you really don’t have to…we’re actually talking to you all individually.

Jensen: ….

Interviewer: y’know, so we can cut the clips together?

Jensen: ….

Interviewer: And because you probably have a lot of other interviews at this huge press event for your 300th episode?

Jensen: ….. Yeah, no, I’m getting him right now. Hey, Mish! Get in here!

Filming with JenMish (aka “why’s Dean wearing a seatbelt?”)

**Jensen makes a dirty joke and Misha cracks up** **Misha and Jensen playfully push each other around the front seat of the car** **Misha says one thing that is mildly amusing and Jensen falls over laughing**

Sanchez, conferring with Bob Singer: What do you do to stop this?

Singer: strap one of them down

Sanchez: You mean, like, tell them to get it together or else?

Singer: No, no. I mean LITERALLY strap one of them down.

Sanchez: ….

Singer: Why do you think they get tied to so many chairs? **sighs** These two have cost us so much in duct tape.

photographer: alright, everyone, fight each other for pie! jensen: mish, you should pull my hair. misha: why? it’s not like that would stop you moving your arm. jensen: …. jensen: misha. you. should. PULL. MY. HAIR. misha: ooohhhhhh! jared: I don’t want to be here for this.

Cockles is the gay booze cruise of ships.

a text exchange that probably happened: jensen: I can’t believe ur still going running on vacation jensen: nerd misha: hello to you too. … misha: awww, babe, you must really miss me! that comment is so sappy! jensen: shut up misha: you “dig” the “WHOLE THING” huh? jensen: fuck off misha: don’t I know it!! jensen: fuck OFF misha: now I have to go like it. … misha: ok done. you huge softie. jensen: not always misha: oh really? misha: how about now? jensen: not now jensen: call me misha; as you wish…

Jensen’s brain (Jensain): holy shit!! look at our hot husband!! mmm…we like the grey and the sweat and the beard and, hey, did we give him that shirt? Jensen: yep. Jensen’s brain: and he sounds all smart and sincere, which turns us on….WOW we’ve been apart for too long! Jensen: tell me about it. Jensen’s brain: Say something about how good he looks. Jensen: I can’t. It’s public. Jensen’s brain: You gotta. Jensen: I. CAN’T. Jensen’s brain: But how these bitches gonna know he’s yours!? Do you know how many people are looking at this video RIGHT NOW?! Jensen: OMG Jensen’s brain: OMG Jensen: they gotta know… Jensen’s brain: YESSSSS!! DO IT!! Tell everyone the sexy, scruffy, deep-voiced, poetry-reciting motherfucker standing in the sunlight belongs to you! Jensen: I can’t say that. I’m just..gonna…tease him? about something? Jensen’s brain: u serious? 😒 Jensen: Well…no… Jensen’s brain: tell him you like the whole package! Jensen: I cannot use the word “package” about Misha in public. Jensen’s brain: 😏 Jensen’s brain: Fine! Can you at least mention how strong he is? Jensen: … I guess that’s less…gay… Jensen’s brain: uh-huh, sure. way less gay. 🙄 Jensen: ok, I did it. now leave me alone. I have to post a picture of my family so that no one suspects I only logged in because I have alerts set for Misha. Jensen’s brain: … Jensen’s brain: hey, you know who looks sexy in flannel PJs?? Jensen: ALRIGHT THAT’S IT

me: *wakes up in a cold sweat and sits upright in bed*

But how much of the mockumentary did Jensen shoot??!?

Misha is busting out of his shirt and jacket in those EW pics again, which makes me think something like this exchange must have taken place:

EW stylists: So, what size is Misha? SPN costumers: Eh, he’s the small one. EW stylists: But…he doesn’t…look small? SPN costumers: Nah, trust us, he’s the small one. EW stylists: Uh, looks more like he’s a 6’ wall of muscle but ok Misha: What’s a clothes? I will wear it. *Jensen sobbing in the background*

”I’m Full Frontal in Here Dude: Guest Starring Misha Collins” title of Jensen’s sex tape.

Jensen’s brain: you should give Misha that valentine.

Jensen: Yeah, good. It will work for the video. Like, as a joke.

Jensen’s brain: no. not joke. he’s your valentine.

Jensen: No he’s…

Jensen’s brain: you can’t lie to me. I’m you.

Jensen: shit. that’s true.

…

Jensen’s brain: Sooooo…valentine?

Jensen: Fine, but I’m gonna call him “buddy” when I give it to him.

Jensen’s brain: 😐

Jensen: People can’t KNOW!!

Jensen’s brain: You literally just called him your valentine on camera on a livestream but OK WHATEVER make sure you say “buddy.”

Jensen: I did WHAT??!

Jensen’s brain: Why do I bother? 🙄

Destiel AU where Cas is a poet who writes secret poems for Dean and posts them anonymously to an Instagram account that he gets Dean to follow and Dean falls in love with the mystery man he feels is speaking to him…and then realizes it was the guy he already crushed on from afar.

aka AU where Destiel is Cockles (with some tiny changes)

[cesium-sheep]

@epsilonnot replied to your post: @epsilonnot replied to your post: @epsilonnot...

haha, i was trying to find a way to say that without being too presumptuous myself, honestly. yeah, yeah, these are all really good points! i didn’t mean to imply that it’s always based on money, just that is was something for you specifically to cross off

anyway now i’m thinking abt my own motivations for coming out to folks and basically it comes down to the fact that being perceived as a straight person makes me want to hiss like an angry opossum

that makes sense, I can see why you might make that connection but I feel like there’s so many other factors that go into The Coming Out Thing that “well I won’t be homeless just cuz my parents disowned me” isn’t sufficient and probably isn’t necessary, except inverse, if that tracks. (probably the best thing I actually learned in school, the concept of neurons being necessary and/or sufficient for a given reaction/impulse. generalizes to metaphor so well.)

and I get the impression that’s a common motivation when folks are in a position that’s not dangerous or whatever, yeah. (also someone on etsy has [these] opossum pronoun pins you’d probably like, I almost got one but mine are weird enough that I need all 3 on the pin for it to make sense.)

(tangential to you poking at your own reasoning but) I think the only reason it doesn’t work that way for me is because it’s not my fault if dummies wanna assume I’m straight or cis, and when I correct them it doesn’t feel like ~*~coming out~*~ it just feels like they were wrong and I fixed it, like if they misspell my legal name. saying “oh my partner uses they/them pronouns” (when they assume I’m dating a man without any additional data other than “my partner” and “afab-typical voice”) and “oh it’s C-A-I. no, I-N” (when they spell it K-A-I-T-L-Y-N which is also a common spelling) feel the same lol, and have to be corrected about equally often

[fire-emblem-supports]

Hot Springs Ryoma & Hot Springs Camilla: C - S Supports

C-Support

Ryoma: Lady Camilla.

Camilla: Oh, Prince Ryoma. Are you enjoying the view?

Ryoma: Yes, I-- errr, what?

Camilla: My apologies. I just noticed you hardly tore your eyes away during the last battle. I hope that didn’t hinder you at all.

Ryoma: Errr... yes, well, that is... tangentially related to what I was approaching you for.

Ryoma: Your outfit... or, rather, your lack thereof... isn’t it a bit of a problem on the battlefield?

Ryoma: It does not seem to provide much defense, and--

Camilla: You do, of course, realize that you are also wearing only a towel?

Ryoma: Of course, but as a samurai, I am trained to defend myself. I merely--

Camilla: Don’t think I’m skilled enough?

Ryoma: That is... not what I meant.

Camilla: I appreciate your concern, but I do believe I’ll be just fine.

Ryoma: Well, there is one other problem.

Camilla: Go on.

Ryoma: When you’re up on your pegasus, you tend to... How do I put this...

Camilla: Prince Ryoma, I hope you’re not implying that you stole a peek up my towel.

Ryoma: Not myself, no! But the men in the army--

Camilla: --will just have to look away.

Ryoma: Lady Camilla, you aren’t letting me finish.

Camilla: I understand that you are complaining that my physique is a distraction to the male gaze in this army, yes?

Camilla: While I certainly appreciate the attention, if it becomes a problem on the battlefield, it is their problem and not mine.

Camilla: Unless you would also like to discuss your own distraction for the female gaze.

Camilla: Actually, there is a question I’ve been dying to know the answer to. When you straddle your pegasus like that, does your--

Ryoma: Ahem. Yes, well, that is all I wished to discuss. Thank you for your time.

(Ryoma leaves)

Camilla: Oh, was that too far? Hee hee...

B-Support

Ryoma: What an exhausting battle... A nice soak should be just what I need.

Camilla: Prince Ryoma! Fancy seeing you here!

Ryoma: GAH! L-Lady Camilla! Y-You are--

Camilla: --also enjoying a nice soak after the battle. It does wonders for the muscles.

Camilla: Care to join me?

Ryoma: That seems... incredibly inappropriate.

Camilla: Yes, I suppose so... Just as well. I was about to leave anyway...

Ryoma: N-No! Don’t stand up!

Camilla: Oh? But how else am I to reach my towel?

Ryoma: At least allow me to look away...

Camilla: I wasn’t aware there was anything stopping you.

Ryoma: Is this still about our last conversation?

Ryoma: I understand now how insensitive I was being, and I sincerely apologize. Can you please stop toying with me?

Camilla: Prince Ryoma, I’m offended. To hear you imply that I would purposefully toy with you...

Camilla: What kind of woman do you think I am?

Ryoma: That is not-- argh! I’m not thinking straight!

(Ryoma leaves)

Camilla: Ahahaha... Oh, maybe I am being a little bit mean...

A-Support

Camilla: Prince Ryoma, I owe you an apology.

Ryoma: No, you owe me nothing of the sort. I am the only one at fault for my...

Camilla: Wandering eyes?

Ryoma: Y-Yes. That.

Camilla: I won’t argue with you there, but I will admit that I have been taking advantage of your weakness to get back at you.

Camilla: I should never have gone out of my way to embarrass you so. It was childish of me.

Ryoma: I accept your apology.

Camilla: And I accept yours.

Camilla: So may we resume working together on the battlefield? I do believe we make an excellent team...

Ryoma: Th-That may not be the best idea... At least not until I’ve learned to stay focused in such circumstances.

Camilla: Oh, but perhaps you could get used to it quicker if you spent more time around me.

Camilla: In fact... perhaps it would be best if I just never left your side! What do you say?

Ryoma: G-Gods...

S-Support

Ryoma: That battle was quite exhausting. I thought it may never end.

Camilla: Oh, but a nice soak is exactly what the doctor ordered. Care to--

Camilla: --ah. Never mind. I forgot for a moment how inappropriate that would be.

Ryoma: Y-Yes. Of course.

Camilla: You’re blushing again, Prince Ryoma. And here I thought our friendship had overcome that little bump.

Camilla: Though, there is one thing that always troubled me...

Camilla: There are many women in this army who wear very little on the battlefield. Do they bother you in the same way?

Ryoma: Well... yours may have been a bit of a... special circumstance.

Camilla: Now what does that mean?

Ryoma: Very well. I suppose now is as good a time as any...

Ryoma: To be quite frank, Lady Camilla, I have had some... feelings for you for quite some time.

Camilla: Feelings?

Ryoma: Not just for your beauty, of course. Your kindness is what won me over.

Ryoma: But seeing you in that towel was... more than my heart could handle.

Camilla: Bwahahaha!

Ryoma: I... wasn’t expecting that response.

Camilla: I-I’m sorry. It’s just... your face. Oh, it’s so adorable. I wish you could see how red it was!

Camilla: But please, continue. I like where this is going.

Ryoma: Y-Yes, well...

Ryoma: If you would have me, I would like to ask you to marry me.

Ryoma: I meant to do this with a ring, but I didn’t have anywhere to keep it.

Camilla: Oh, no ring necessary. Just having you is all I need...

Ryoma: Then that would be a yes?

Camilla: Of course!

Camilla: Oh, and if we’re getting married, then there’s nothing stopping us from enjoying a nice soak together, is there?

Ryoma: Ack...! I-I suppose not...

[ohwhoopsok]

I don't know if you take suggestions for your fics but i had a thought for The Unloved Kids: adult pacifiers???

ASIDFKJDF OK HI LET’S TALK, I’M GONNA RAMBLE THIS IS BASICALLY A COMMENT FIC SORRY

Tangential, but: I had the random thought a while ago for someone to get Aaron chewelry and you’ve made me think about that spiraling.

Like, he and Neil are trying to make nice, right? So Neil notices Aaron grinds his teeth/chews his pens when he’s upset, and later notices this girl in class chewing on her bracelet and is like “huh… that looks like it was made for that” and asks her about it. (She’s probably alarmed as shit because Neil’s Not Great at being comforting to strangers yet, but he’s not making fun and she sees that, so she explains. She talks to him in class now which he as Neutral feelings about, she’s nice enough and doesn’t stare at his scars.)

And so he’s going to order one for Aaron, but then he thinks about the Twins having an actually twins little aesthetic and adds one to the card for Andrew, too. But then he sees one that’s a pirate coin and thinks about Dan who doesn’t really chew things, but he has seen her with the strings of her hoodies between her lips when she’s thinking. And also, Nicky sometimes puts his fingers/Bun-Bun’s ears in his mouth and just– He saves the site for later, he’s thinking too hard.

Then Girl-From-Class gets a new piece and it’s a pendant she can put all the way in her mouth. She gets sheepish and says, “Well, at least it’s not a pacifier, right? [nervous laughter]” and Neil is like… well, maybe not for a college student, but what about a little?

Because now he’s thinking about how Andrew doesn’t like to speak much anyway and he’d be darling with a pacifier, and how he remembers seeing a baby with a “Little Princess” pacifier and Kevin could stand to have his mouth occupied sometimes, when he’s feeling awkward/fussy.

But he doesn’t know how gifts work, so he asks Allison. Who probably cries because that’s the sweetest thing she’s ever heard and now he’s trying to deal with a crying Allison who is essentially squealing yes do it, I’m stealing the idea.

So he buys some stuff, at least for the monsters, and decides to get a paci for himself, too. (This is really more money than he should be spending, but he’s dating Andrew effectively rich so.) Then as soon as he hits “confirm order” he’s !!!!!!! and he calls Wymack wigging out because “I bought Kevin a pacifier????” to which Wymack replies “…what.” But he talks Neil out of his minor freakout because that’s very sweet of you, Neil, even if he doesn’t use it, I’m sure he’ll appreciate what it stands for, don’t worry, kiddo, you’ll be cute with yours, too.

And when they arrive, the box is discreet enough that he doesn’t die getting it from the mail room, but coming into the dorm with it is not subtle, because Neil doesn’t buy stuff and Nicky is Nosy, so he’s fidgeting with it before he just decides to rip it open and hand things out.

Aaron doesn’t know what chewelry is, but goes soft pink when Neil explains and hands him his dinosaur track pendant. Kevin nearly chokes on his food when he sees the honest to goodness, fucking pacifier in Neil’s hands. But his face sort of crumbles when he’s actually holding it and sees the like… “daddy’s lil princess” across the back or something, because he wants it, he loves it.

Andrew doesn’t really say anything, but he takes his pacifier–it says “lil’ monster” of course–and his (arrowhead?) pendant without making a big deal about it. He doesn’t even cock an eyebrow at Neil, just takes them and looks at them and then at Neil for a long time.

Nicky is excited about his emoji pendant and is hugging and kissing Neil and telling him he’s so sweet and nice and thank you very, very much, cutie! (Because he can tell Neil is nervous and he’s very good at taking attention from people who don’t want it all on them.)And yet, “What did you get?”

Neil probably would be inclined to get a plain one, but then he’d remember it’s for little space and figure why not get something a little quirky? His paci has got a little mute symbol on it and Nicky awes and laughs and Neil is feeling very small and sweet so he hides his face in Nicky’s shoulder.

Kevin says he’s going to ask Wymack for a onesie day and steps out of the main room for a bit. Before he leaves, though, he squeezes Neil’s hand. He doesn’t quite look like he’s going to cry, but something’s got his voice, so Neil just squeezes back and lets him step out.

Allison is blowing up Neil’s phone because her order came in, too, and ok she looks super cute, too, Neil asks if he can save the picture of her with a heart between her teeth. Nicky and Aaron go to the sink to wash their new chewelry.

“You could use a mute button,” Andrew says. He doesn’t open either one of his just then, but he kisses Neil and signs, [Thank you] like he means it.

Once they’re at Wymack’s, he does some fussing over them. Neil’s makes him actually laugh out loud and ruffle his hair. When Kevin shyly offers up his paci for Wymack to see, Wymack smiles–maybe has to fight some tears, so sue him, his heart is melting–and washes it off for him, before popping it right in his mouth. “Darn right, that’s my little princess,” he says and lets Kevin hide in his arms when he blushes scarlet.

They’re all doing a fair amount of cooing at each other, too. Allison did get Dan a pirate coin, Matt has a bright green light saber and is STOKED about it, Rene has a purple pacifier to match her purple elephant clipped to the front of her onesie.

When nap time rolls around, Neil is already laying with Allison curled into his back, finding that mouthing on his pacifier is actually sort of soothing. Then Andrew lays down and it very nearly wakes Neil up to see him with his pacifier in his mouth, too. But Andrew looks too aware of himself, of how he must look in a way he’s normally not, lets himself be vulnerable that way, so Neil tries not to look too wide-eyed. Instead he cocks his head, yes or no?

Andrew looks confused, but he nods, he trusts and Neil loves him so ffff much. He leans forward to bump their pacifiers together in a nuzzly little not-kiss that makes Andrew huff, relaxing it. He can pretend it’s annoyance all he wants, Neil knows what his amusement sounds like, he knows what his love sounds like, too. That was both.

On the other end of the sandwich, Aaron is chewing absently his pendant, not really sleepy, but more than happy to relax for a while. Kevin does look sleepy, though, and while normally Aaron isn’t big on being close up while they’re napping it just….dude…..Kevin is in a pink onesie with a pacifier in his mouth, looking droopy about the eyes and….look…….Aaron is a Grown Man but not when he’s little ok and Kevin is goddamn cute and looks like he should be cuddled. So Aaron waves his hand to get his attention and signs slow, [Can we touch?]

Kevin blinks a little, spells, [C-u-d-d-l-e?] And when Aaron nods, he holds his lion out of the way and pulls Aaron close. Aaron would like to think he maintains some dignity in all this, but he’s…he’s short… So if he winds up tucked into Kevin’s chest, shut up about it.

Wymack would normally take nap time to do some quick work or something, but this time around he lays on the sofa and just sort of watches all this happen. He watches them all squish together, some sucking pacifiers, some just cuddling with their faces pressed into the fabrics of their friends pajamas or their stuffies, warm and close, safe and happy.

Kevin meets his eyes over Aaron’s head and Wymack smiles, his insides gone warm and liquid-soft as Kevin’s pacifier bobs with his tiny smile before his face sags gently and he falls asleep just like that.

…you know, i had an “end” chapter in mind for TUK already, but… I don’t know, I’ve never done a story like this before! Do I just keep adding things after the ending? Hm… Is that what series are for? Who knows, not me!! But I just made this plot up on the fly so I might clean it up and make it a oneshot… hm.

Anywhichwho! Thank you for the suggestion, it’s cute, I love it.

[janiedean]

While i hate antis and their bullying everytime they shaming a fictional ship because i believe that "Fiction is not reality", I also agree that fiction can be a good role model for the real world for example : Diana's characterisation in Wonder Woman to show us more variety of strong woman character or Theon's PTSD scene to how us what REAL PSTD scene looks like (and we're mad when people keep saying that Theon just being coward in that scene). How should we balance the two, in your opinion?

okay, so, first thing, I think we need to make a basic distinction and state that fiction influences reality and people might be influenced by fiction do not mean the same thing whatsoever.

then we have to make another distinction ie there’s such a thing as massively consumed fiction and less consumed fiction/fandom and both are also different.

then we also have to state that one thing is emulating characters, one thing is finding them interesting or recognizing yourself in them.

last thing that instead is valid for everything, one thing is good things being represented in fiction, the other is bad things being represented in fiction.

let’s go from easier to hardest.

easier: massively consumed vs fandom. now, what people on tumblr fail to realize is that most of the planet doesn’t not give a fuck about fandom or engages with it. I mean, if you’re into it you would, but I know a bunch of people who are nerds/into fandom who don’t ship nor are into fanfic. fanfic/fanart/whatever influences people maybe on a fandom-level, but if you assume that people at large might start thinking incest is fine because thor/loki exists (which is a purely fanon thing) or because jaime/cersei exists (actual mainstream stuff but not as large as idk SW), you’re frankly deluding yourself because only thor/loki shippers give two fucks about thor/loki and not counting a few people I can think of, no one thinks jaime/cersei makes incest okay nor abusive relationships okay. thor/loki isn’t even represented in fiction, it’s fanfic, jaime/cersei is represented in fiction, but no one would think either thing makes banging your brother okay whether it’s dysfunctional (t/l) or just downright abusive (j/c). in that case assuming that if you’re into t/l or j/c you want to bang your brother is the bad case which assumes that whichever fiction in existence influences reality directly.

that said, no one is actually wanting to make a social justice point while having jc being a thing or t/l being dysfunctional. it’s dynamics that are interesting to explore.

wonder woman giving more variety to a strong female character instead is extremely mass-consumption media which would show a lot of people that different type (because a lot more people watch DC movies than GOT) then you show them differently and they might start thinking differently about strong female characters. or idk black kids seeing the new star wars and liking that there’s a black lead (same for the mcu and falcon/black panther) is also an extremely mass-consumption thing, because of course most people watch star wars and know what the hell star wars is. in that case you have fiction making a positive impact on reality (or maybe reflecting reality) but it’s also, like, reasonable. because sw-the-movies have impact and normalize that the leads in the story can also be not always white blonde men with blue eyes, but the star wars fandom - and I’m just talking about the part that produces fanfic/fanart and not about the people cosplaying stormtroopers and so on - influences shit. no one is going to make people think force-choking someone is going to be okay because k*ylux fic exists, same as no one thinks that killing a bunch of children is okay because anakin did it in the prequels and no one is ever gonna think you’re a psychopath because you stan k*ylo ren same as no one who watches star wars (IN GENERAL) sees kylo and thinks WOW HAVING SUCH A BAD VILLAIN WILL BE A BAD INFLUENCE TO CHILDREN, because a generation or two grew up thinking vader was cool but no one ever thought what vader did was right. I mean, people who don’t have issues distinguishing the two facts (and usually the people who do are radical SOMETHING, conservatives or antis or whatever) are entirely aware that reality lets itself being influenced by fiction to a certain degree when it’s about positive things, not for negative things at large.

now obviously you have exceptions like fifty shades of gray which is a bad fanfic that has turned mainstream (relatively) and so now there’s a bunch of people convinced that it’s real BDSM TM, but that’s because in society people don’t get educated about how abusive relationships work or toxic relationships work so they don’t recognize it in shitty fanfic turned mainstream, but that’s where you focus your efforts and educate people, you don’t say that since fifty shades is shit then you can’t write books or make movies about bdsm period, which is what the idiots seem to want.

now, moving on to point one: as stated above, *fiction* as a thing doesn’t influence reality or every kid who’s ever read HP would have committed suicide trying to fly off the window on a broom, which is a thing that we know doesn’t exist irl and cannot exist irl. and mainstream fiction can influence reality as much as we let it for positive things, because honest, who’s ever turned violent because of videogames? no one, but since we all have violent instincts buried somewhere maybe killing people in a videogame lets you blow off some steam and whatever because you know it’s fake. of course there’s the matter of age appropriate content, but if a parent lets a seven year old watch GOT or play GTA and then that kid is traumatized it’s their parents’ fault, not the fault of the media which was clearly labeled for adults. or I mean, I read/watched media that was above my age when I was ten but I was ready for it and my parents knew it, if I wasn’t they wouldn’t have let me.

also, on the ptsd angle: in the punisher there’s plenty of examples of realistic ptsd post-war, but I haven’t seen anyone yet say anything sensed on what was to me the most realistic and well done character in that sense (lewis wilson) because people kept on saying he was *white terrorist* and that the show didn’t excuse his action with *mental illness* without knowing that having ptsd post-combat is like, being mentally ill. that show was excellent rep in that sense, but have people in fandom caught up on it or understood it? meh. people outside it yes, and maybe some people on here, too, but not as many as I’d like. same goes for theon - WITHIN FANDOM because the ptsd thing was fairly understood OUTSIDE IT. which means that the real world is getting more sensitive to that narrative, tumblr isn’t. in that case, the real world is letting himself be influenced or touched by that narrative, tumblr isn’t. what do we know.

so, tldr for this part: fiction only influences X as far as you let it and people in general do know that if wrong thing is depicted in fiction it’s wrong. I mean, I never heard of anyone becoming a pedophile after watching or reading mysterious skin, which is a really fucking good movie which doesn’t romanticize the subject at all. 

now, about the last part ie personal identification/emulation: now, never mind that emulating a character is usually done by the time you’re ten and before then you pretend to be batman while playing with your friends but you know you’re not batman, and past five you do know that if superman can fly, you a regular human being can’t. the point is that fictional people are written by real people, so if they’re realistic and the writers write them well, they’ll be relatable, and if they’re relatable they might influence you as a person or make you find shit out about yourself that might change you, and in that sense it does influence reality somehow, or if you use it to cope with trauma then it surely helps you, but who you relate to isn’t what others might. we can say that we have basic level, representation level, using-it-to-cope level.

now I’m gonna go use myself as a template since I’ve for good and for bad have used fiction to cope with shit for my entire life, so. under the cut because this is long and the next part is all personal shit so people should have the right to scroll past it xD

basic level: when I was fifteen I was having a shit time, I read the dark tower, I ran into my Favorite Character Ever, the guy used shitty humor to deal with crap all the time, it was a tendency I already had and I went like ‘okay if it worked for him why didn’t it work for me’ and today I’m someone who deals with about anything by using shitty humor or joking about it and it’s helped me tremendously honestly, if I took everything too seriously I’d be a terrible person. also, that helped me with self-confidence to a point and blah blah blah it made my life tangentially better. but that was just, like, about me. and I didn’t certainly try to emulate the guy’s worst flaws, because that wasn’t the point. anyway, I found the guy relatable but I didn’t see him as, like, representation or anything.

representation level/slightly coping level: I read asoiaf when I was twenty-two. I am sad I didn’t before because when I ran into brienne I was slammed with a brick in the face that was saying OH HEY THAT’S SOMEONE WHO’S ACTUALLY LIKE YOU/HAD YOUR EXPERIENCES. I don’t just relate to brienne, I identify with brienne to a fairly bad degree, and I’m really sad I didn’t run into her before because I might have gathered a great deal of self-confidence from seeing that there was a main character somewhere who was ugly/seen as ugly by anyone else and still was an a+++ person who could do worthwhile things and was a viable love interest for Hot Guy. (idk if it shows when I write jb fic but it’s there, so.) did brienne change my life? not as much as she could have if I had read acok when it was released, but she did give me some hope that with GOT becoming mainstream not-conventionally-pretty women would get some mainstream rep, because sure af there wasn’t much when I grew up. if that happens? fiction did influence reality, but in the wonder woman/good kind. again, no one (me or anyone else) would want to be like brienne by GRABBING A SWORD AND KILLING PEOPLE, we’d rather probably just get confidence/inspired by what she does. because she’s a well-written character that entirely gets it.

except that a lot of asoiaf fans think that she’s boring or useless or see nothing in her. which is fine - it’s not their target I guess, but again, a character who’s extremely important to me means nothing to other people and certainly doesn’t influence them.

coping/potentially badwrong coping level: so, as a person I’m really not into badwrong/dysfunctional dynamics that don’t make people better. as such, I tend to ship healthy couples/dynamics where the two people make each other better.

which is why I never was remotely interested in thor/loki as a thing in my entire life until two months ago - WAIT - and for all my time in the mcu I always felt a visceral dislike for loki I never really dwelt upon while at the same time whenever I saw thor bashing (ie he’s an idiot or he’s a bully or he doesn’t understand loki and the likes) I always felt a visceral distaste in my mouth like NO DON’T IT’S NOT LIKE THAT, but since it wasn’t even my favorite mcu franchise and thor isn’t my favorite mcu character I never, like, thought about it. I just went with the obvious ‘everyone likes loki because ANTAGONISTS which I don’t get and I get angry on thor’s behalf because he doesn’t deserve that shit’. all good until I watch ragnarok which is, like, COMPLETE CRACK ON A STICK AND NOT A SERIOUS MOVIE AT ALL and which probably did not mean to be a psychological textbook and at the end I’m like ‘fuck okay maybe I ship it a bit and now that loki’s done with the angst maybe I can tolerate him’, and then not long later or so I get hit with another ton of bricks in the face and realize that of course I always had that feeling, that was because thor and loki had the exact same dysfunctional dynamic I had with my former best friend of fourteen years that I haven’t talked to for at least seven years and which is like the root of 70% of the issues I have. all of them. and like, loki was like her except Much More Extra and on a larger scale, thor was me except Much More Extra and the more I think about it the more it just fits 100% and you don’t even wanna know how I’ve spent this last month, because I had no idea I spent six years with those feelings about that dynamic because of that, I had no idea I actually found thor that relatable on a visceral level and I still have Unresolved Issues with that person and I can’t solve them with them personally for reasons. if I actually end up writing them fanfic where I, uh, subtly address personal issues and it works, then that badwrong-ish fic has influenced me for the best (and says all that I realized it just when they reconciled, I didn’t let myself do it before). but like, that wouldn’t mean that I wanted to bang my ex-friend or that I suddenly approve of incest - because sure af I didn’t want to bang her and sure af I didn’t turn into PLEASE DO BANG YOUR SIBLINGS WHENEVER YOU WANT (ew no). that’s the damned difference. thor and loki banging in whatever fanfic won’t make anyone excuse incest and won’t influence anyone outside thor fandom on ao3 - hell, at most it’s going to influence me because if I do it I’m doing it to work through my issues. it doesn’t change reality at large.

like, fiction can be a model for something you want to see more of or you can find characters role models or relatable and it can present you a view of the world, but at the end of the day we all know that it’s not real and we only use it to filter reality and/or ourselves through it and it helps us doing it, which is why something that makes sense to me - ie that thor is extremely relatable - won’t make sense to someone who finds loki relatable for reasons I couldn’t even begin to imagine. maybe the same piece of fiction/media both influences us, but it influences us very differently because we see it through different lens. and the thing is that if you conflate the two things and start emulating characters past the age of four then you have a problem distinguishing the two things and you need to get over it/get help/whatever, because to everyone else it’s normal to see the world through fiction or part of it. if you do because I know people who think fiction is merely fiction and don’t understand the point of relating to a character in the first place. 

so like tldr, fiction influences you as much as you let it and it’s something you use actively and that is there for everyone to interpret, but it can’t, just existing, influence anything especially because if no one reads it or watches it then it’s useless. and since most **problematic** stuff is consumed by people who actively look for it and know what they’re doing - again, no one reads tentacle porn on ao3 if they don’t like tentacle porn - you can’t say that by existing, incest fic or badwrong fic normalizes abuse, because it only does if you let it and if you don’t know what abuse is and you can’t recognize it for what it is. like, a piece of fiction doesn’t need to spell THIS IS WRONG for you to know that I dunno t/hramsay fanfic is not what you should want in a relationship, you have to know that, and that’s on you, not on something that’s not mass-consumption - because badwrong fic and stuff is usually written by badwrong fans for badwrong fans, not by hired disney writers for star wars movies that have to be good for children, adults, nerds and the mass audience at large.

you balance the two by knowing that badwrong stuff is wrong irl (and it’s not a stretch) and by looking at the world through the lenses of whatever not badwrong fiction you enjoy/like/relate to, which can also be badwrong of course (see the thor/loki rant above) but like the fact that it does it to us singularly doesn’t mean that all of a sudden THE ENTIRE WORLD IS INFLUENCED BY THE EXISTENCE OF FAKE THINGS.

nor that WE SHOULD PUT THAT MUCH IMPORTANCE on fake things, because one thing is all of the above, another is saying that a piece of media is trash because it doesn’t have the representation you want in it or thinking that since something exists in fiction then you won a social justice battle. again: fiction is a tool, it’s not the ending nor the beginning of anything. having more black people in media won’t be what stops black people go to jail in the US at a higher rate than white people for the same crimes, but it might help making people relate to someone who’s different and so normalize some stuff... if you watch/consume that media and choose to engage with it. (ie, brooklyn 99′s boss is a gay black man in a stable relationship with a white professor and it’s not what you usually see on tv and it will work for casual watchers, but I doubt someone who usually watches fox news then also watches b99 - you can’t win your wars through fiction, to convince the fox news watcher to not vote trump you have to talk to him and not show him a sitcom. and mind that this can be reversed ie all the anti-russian/islamic propaganda in the US which tends to normalize russians/muslims as The Bad Guy - it works along with other things, not just on its own) the key is in knowing that fiction is made by people and consumed by people and eventually begins and ends with the people who make it and consume it in whichever way, and not in thinking that it’s above us and is something divine that changes the world just by existing.

[actualbird]

Amazing Race AU: Jet and Michael are the team that (unless they are in a massive rush) will stop and take selfies with fans and acknowledge fan blogs. They see a fan on the street who's staring longingly? "Hey! Want a photo?" They see a funny post online? They bring it up on camera. Read an amazing fanfiction? Quote it. Michael thinks it's halarious that they have a following and M I L K S I T.

kfhkdsfjdfkjhf okay so @ fake-name, that scenario is unlikely in their original season because by the time they have a fanbase, all shooting and travelling and editing is done. so when the fanbase blows up, michael and jeremy are already chilling in their shared apartment happily watching people lose their collective shit over all the things that went down. by this point, they are already dating and they watch the episodes together while cuddling on the couch  to see how the story looked from the outside, what went on with the other teams when they weren’t paying attention, and to laugh hysterically at literally every scene they’re in.

(”I can’t believe this,” Michael wheezes, wiping a tear from his eye with the hand not holding Jeremy’s. On screen, Michael and Jeremy are hugging, and Jeremy finds it pretty weird to watch himself on television. It’s disorienting, seeing his experiences from another perspective. From a completely different perspective that manages to showcase just how goddamn oblivious they both were.“This is just the first episode and you literally solemnly said ‘you’re the most important thing in my life’. To me! To my face! Because I figured out a riddle!”

“I said it because it was true, shut up,” Jeremy groans good naturedly as Michael’s chest just keeps shaking from laughter under his head. He props himself up on his elbows to look at Michael. “It’s not like you have any room to talk, Mr. You Bring Light Into My Life, Jeremy Heere, Thank You,” Jeremy says it over-the-top sweet, nuzzling back into Michael’s chest. Michael flicks him on the nose. “Hey!”

“I said that when we were in Barcelona, okay. So first off, I was prompted by the ambiance. It’s Barcelona. Second, that was way farther into the competition. This is the first episode,” Michael says, threading his hand into Jeremy’s hair. “Sooooo, I win.”

“Win what?” Jeremy laughs. The TV is playing a bit where Chloe and Brooke are running across the streets. Brooke keeps whispering ‘cardio, cardio, cardio’ to herself.

“I have no idea.” Michael hums. Then he says, “Scratch that. We both won, really, yeah?”

Jeremy knows he’s not talking about the cash prize, but he nods, understanding all the same, Michael’s heartbeat a steady sound by his ear. “Yeah. Yeah we did.”)

SO OF COURSE they know about the fans and the fanbase and the shipping. michael thinks it’s the best thing ever while jeremy is a little bit more embarrassed about it (because jesus, they really were fucking oblivious). of course, for studio contract reasons, michael and jeremy cannot divulge any spoilers and are encouraged not to interact with the fans too much for various reasons: 1) fans are smart and might just deduce who wins and who gets eliminated, which is a big no-no for an elimination based show like the amazing race and 2) “Okay, Michael. Jeremy. You can’t tell anybody you’re dating now. This isn’t because we don’t approve of your relationship, but because if fans know you’re an item, they might stop watching the pine fest. Understood?”

it’s pretty understood. plus, they signed the contract. but michael actually reads the thing and learns that they’re not allowed to not interact with fans. they just cant say anything about the season + their relationship. everything else is fair game.

michael binge likes tweets about them. like. almost every one. it’s a joke in the fanbase that if you mention michael or jeremy even tangentially michael will find it and like it. it’s so easy to summon to him, but he says NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. when the fans realize the goddamn pine fest of the century, theyre basically banging down michael’s social media sites with pots and pans “GIVE US ANSWERS!!” to which he just replies with :)c each and every time. all his tweets have nothing to do with the show and are mostly about his music or a picture of a dog he saw that day. he tweets nothing new about jeremy because that would make the internet speculate and Explode, but if u go back on his twitter or insta it’s just all them (plus more dogs). what im tryna say is that michael’s a huge troll and while he riles up the fans, they also dont get much stuff to guess on so they continue watching the show. (somewhere out there, a bunch of amazing race execs just breathe a sigh of relief “oh, thank god”)

ANYWAY I VEERED WAY OFF COURSE, but if that scenario were to happen, it would be because the second scenario of anon happened. they totally agree to it but i think that by that point, they’re not doing it for the money and aren’t very competitive. the showrunners don’t mind because just their presence is enough to up the hype for the season even if michael and jeremy just turn it into a glorified honeymoon with challenges and being really really nice to fans. michael is SO UP FOR IT but jeremy is still shy. everybody is charmed either way and they all weep when Team Hus Bands is eliminated once again, (but also maybe a little bit relieved because god their screentime was just. unadulterated love. it’s overwhelming to watch. love is real. love is so real. too real. hey boys can you maybe tone it down just a little bit because this is national television and—-and theyre kissing, okay. okay fine.)

(really, it’s the showrunners’ fault for wanting them back a second time. they should know by now that michael and jeremy together always results in something.)

[miniwolfsbane]

Copied from @andalite-angel post. Edited slightly.

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, etc. are allowed.

Biospecialist, Marco/Rachel, Sam/Rahne, all cannon Disney Princess pairings, the two young kids Pacific Rim Uprising,  Lancitty, Evo Kurt/ Amanda,  Jott in Evo. Skyward??

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or ***** that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

Fanfic writers and Evo romy, adult Jubilee x Gambit, others.

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

Never gonna be big on Evo Romy ever again, will forever hate Rahne x Roberto, Sam and Rahne with anyone but each other!!

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Evo Romy...somtimes. Because it does sorta make sense IN FANNON, but not in cannon. And Jean x Scott, because it’s so iconic, but I only like them in Evo, so...yah.

E - Have you added anything cracky crazy/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what? 

See my fan fiction.

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

The Little Mermaid and Star Trek have been there for 95% of my life.

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, Sam/Rahne, Ariel and Eric (first when I was 5, even though I wanted to be Ariel), Rachel Tobias (first when I was actually gettin into fandom), Jake/Cassie (Animorphs), Clark/Lana, Clark/Lois (I think??) and Chloe/Ollie, Romy (even in Evo at a point!), and now Eliza and Goliath in Gargoyles. I keep saying I’m not a shipper, but I think I’m just a subtle one that pines and doesn’t read a lot of fanfic, but my heart swells over seeing my OTP on screen

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

TV Shows and Western (superhero) Animation mostly, but also a few animes.

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

I was annoyed by the Agents Of Shield fandoms behavior for a while, but I’ve never stopped liking any fandoms because of Tumblr. 

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

SuperWhoLock, Riverdale...some other popular teen shows.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Tie between Sailor Moon and Gambit I guess, but I’m sure there are lots of others. Sailor Jupiter has a good arc as well, even though she doesn’t have a lot of character development TBH.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

Roberto Dacosta’s super strength power is pretty cool and he’s a chill guy. And rich. (I just realized that a lot of X-Men characters are rich, actually. Gambit, Xavier, Warren and him. Holy crap.)

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon. TAS Rogue too, because she seems fun to hang with, and who wouldn’t like to be called “Sugah” all the time?

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

MORE GAMBIT (and comic Nightcrawler) IMAGINES!! And just more love and less fan wars across all fandoms, really.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

Hero by Chad Kroger. Ship: Romy or Mollyx Remy. Character: Gambit or Angel.

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

For any fandom? A mad scientist and a famous baker get together after the scientist contacts aliens, resulting in a warring invasion on earth.

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

To be perfectly honest, The Smurfs because we’re a Christain household and we found it had stuff in it we didn’t agree with. I was three.  Other than that, I’ve only given up one other fandom permenantly that wasn’t what I thought it was and chosen at a bad time. 

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

Kurt and Kitty in Evo, and Logan and Kurt is cool, but I don’t actually pay much attention to it.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Hmmm. One that isn’t too boring? Remy isn’t (wasn’t? He is married now) particular about a woman’s height and is comfortable enough with himself to date a woman much taller or shorter than he is. (Remember, Frenzy was freaking 6′7 before she got rebooted to a normal height and it was implied they had history.) For a while it was a wish of mine they’d pair him with a short gal, because all X-women are physically clones of each other, minus Rahne, Kitty and Jubilee. Blargh. Oooh, just had an idea for a new art project to make the girls look individual! ^_^

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

Besides the above? Uh...headcannon that Remy smells good and his hair is silky to the touch and yes I’m a sick, weird little person, I know. Haha, not really. I’m not much of a headcannon person. 

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

* Gambit: Hot, suave, lit, accent, good cook, romantic, my fictional ideal man (told you, I’m sick and weird). * Sailor Jupiter: Sweet, loyal, living on her own at bloody 14 years old, strong physically and emotionally, had trouble believing/finding her feminity like me, tall (not like me!), brunette character, thunder powers. * Tuvok (Star Trek): My second crush ever, calm, reflective, hot grandpa, sarcasm galore, strong, suffers emotionally and physically, POC and like the only black vulcan that I know of, cute little boy chest, that butt (XD), frakin’ hot.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

Surprisingly, one I haven’t talked about yet and that I’m not really fandom-y about. Rapunzel from Tangled. When I saw the movie, I was attached to her immediately. I’d grown up homeschooled and at that point I’d been caregiving for one of my parents for six years at that point, unable to move out and get married and have much of a life, so I was always metaphorically in a tower too. I have childish interests, am artistic and creative, have done LOTS of self-insert art like her, and am a generally happy person (even if I don’t always show it and don’t smile enough). So, out of every character in my many fandoms, I relate to Rapunzel the most. Also, I have only 2 things of Tangled merch-the movie, the soundtrack, and a gorgeous bedspread that’s actually based on the show, but doesn’t look like it. (I don’t like it’s animation/character designs, so it’s been hard to get into it.)

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

OMG, do we have to go here? Anything over-sexualized or kinky or just plain gross/weird. (v***, gore, ect.) There’s this one X-Men:Evo artist on DA that would be brilliant, but I can’t stomach their gallery because they feel the need to do a few  v*** and bondage pics amongst otherwise G-rated pictures. *throws up* IT’S A SHOW FOR 7-YEAR OLDS!! 

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

Huge guy, Tiny girl! (but it looks...weird...in live action. *Good Luck Charlie flashbacks*.) Also age differences. Some people are put off by Usagi and Mamo’s age difference in Classic, but I think it’s cute and they were really chaste about it. Specifically, I liked the part where he told her to do well in school for some reason. 

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)? Holy crap, Pride and Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables. No one on my dash is into them though, it’s a real life thing. Long story.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

I have written more self-inserts than is probably healthy, but at least I’ve mostly gotten past my teenage phase of thinking anime guys are hot and it’s extended to Gambit as well. I’d much rather see him be portrayed by a living, breathing actor semi-bringing my fantasies to life than as a drawn character. Well, not that I’m not happy seeing him animated and his voice in Evo is still super hot, but that’s another thing. Anyway, on that note, I wish XM:E weren’t a dead fandom and I could get more reviews instead of just faves/follows. I get so frustrated, because I’m not writing my fics for myself, I’m writing them to finish the story and for the fans. I know OCs/SI aren’t everyones bread and butter, but when you work hard on something, you want people to enjoy and appreciate it on it’s own merits. My regulars dropped off the planet and the fandom is just not that active online. (It’s still kind of active though, otherwise the Gambit and other prints on Steven Gordon’s online store wouldn’t have sold out so fast.) I wish it had been as creative as the MLP fandom, but even that wouldn’t have saved it. Thankfully, there are a few people “keeping the faith”, like Coldfusion180 and some others. They haven’t abandoned it and people have made AMVs for it in recent years, long after the shows cancellation. I know we’ve all moved on in one way or another, but it’s still nice to see the love for the show and it’s characters going strong, even if we’re now a niche fandom, tiny, but there. And even if I don’t get another single review up until the last in the series, at least I can say I finished it, if nothing else. Even if your fandom is dead, keep supporting it. If we don’t keep the characters alive, they die and are forgotten. They need us.

https://fanfiction.net/~miniwolfsbane

[titaniumbadger]

I wonder how well V's solo album will do. I know it wont chart at all in korea (assuming its available on Kr charts) and the mv views will prob be low like L*y's. Im not sure how charting in CH works but it may do well over there considering her popularity. I expect decent physicals too. But then again people see her as an actress in china so she may have to do extra work to build her music career over there.

Yeah, it’s a curious choice for sure. She has the right physical aesthetic and dance ability to have a Jolin Tsai appeal, but I don’t think she has the commanding stage presence on her own for a concept like that. She’s a bit like J*a in that she has pretty limited vocal abilities, but she’s obviously a good dancer, so if they just build the correct concept and genre for her, it could work. I have no clue how charting works in China either, but I doubt it’ll even make a blip in Korea, because frankly the whole public hates her now. If she gets any attention it won’t be positive... People see her as an actress (in China) but her fans likely still know she’s a singer, and that’s where the sales will come from anyway. We already know Chinese bulk buys are the majority of f(x) sales and that’s even with Vic’s voice hardly being in their music anymore. Imagine what it’ll be when it is just her voice and people are actually just supporting her.

The thing I’m really thinking is that it doesn’t seem like the right move. She’s clearly trying to promote and prove herself as an actress in China and she hasn’t quite made it yet. She’s got the fandom, but people who understand her popularity in China describe her as upper c/lower b-list at best. I feel like releasing an album now is super-tangential to her ultimate goal and might just prolong the time she has to spend in China before she can eventually (if ever) return to Korea.

[zagenta]

hear me out for a sec

Tbh all that’s left of the good h/a/m/ilton content that isn’t just pretty fanart of the musical is rly intriguing b/c i feel like it exists on this plane of existence completely separate from actual history or even the musical? Do you know what I mean?

Like I know its usually considered OOC writing for characters to be unlike canon but all the really interesting content i’ve consumed has evolved the characters so that they’re far more interesting their their canon counterparts, b/c ppl are using the bare bones of what was once probably a historical demon man to base a template for a fully fleshed out character. There’s been some really great content that delves into exploration of sexuality, gender, race, etc that’s based primarily on ppls interpretations, although that’s probably bc at this point i primarily only look at content by authors of color that talk abt LGBT+ characters of color.

Honestly it’s an excuse for some real creativity and exploration of intimate subject matter.

The femslash and the next gen stuff is a great example. Originally this post was going to be a joke that I was gonna write an original story featuring the hamilton next gen and nobody would have any idea, but really its true. Ppl have fabricated personalities out of practically nothing or very little historical info for characters that have very small roles or are completely cut from the diegesis such as Frances Laurens, Dolley Madison, Maria Cosway, Maria Reynolds, Martha Manning, Theodosia Jr, Georges and Adrienne, etc and I think that’s amazing!

And these practically fanmade characters are given stories that touch on LGBT+ themes, parental/child dynamics, drugs, racism, mental illness, art, music, etc. It’s surprisingly mature, and these characters expand upon the themes of the original text and adds additional themes and making it better, more palatable, and more satisfying.

 Almost always set in a creative setting or a modern setting.

Not that there isn’t that mountain of weird fetish-y romanticization works from the fandom, there is, but at this point i’ve learned to tune it out. I just think its amazing how fans can expand a pretty problematic original text into something far more interesting (it’s actually a pretty similar phenomenon to what happened with T/w/i/light, 50 shades fiasco aside). There’s lots of cringey stuff, but the same fan cliches can also be used to great effect.

Perfect example? Nonbinary Laf: often a cringey token nonbinary flamboyant european gay stereotype or an excuse to fetishize daveed, but i’ve also seen (and written, not to hype myself up too much) works that show a lot of depth to his character, his defiant flamboyancy being an act of queer transgression, that are a lot more introspective on the experience of being a nonbinary or bisexual person and parent, an outsider.

Often its the stereotypes that were used to the point of exhaustion by white fandom that we reclaimed to spin in a more nuanced light (some of it we worked to deconstruct b/c it was just nasty but other stuff we’ve reclaimed).

Because seriously, what fans of color have done w/ the show vs. what white fans have done is honestly incomparable. I mean, I doubt Israa still cares abt this demon musical, but her fics were serious artistry. Same w/ Dia, but Sorry About the Blood in Your Mouth is AMAZING. And Peaches’ Maria Cosway Certified Lesbian is the most charming thing on the planet. I even think the silly shit has its merits. 

& its strange, b/c most of these characters are so unlike their original counterparts, or were created from whole cloth, so they feel much more like *mine* than any character on some whitebread m/a/r/v/e/l show could be. And while, H/a/m/i/l/ton, as problematic as it is, is probably quite literally a masterpiece, these characters really don’t belong to the musical or to history. Sure they may inhabit the same names, but they’re not the same.

Butch lesbian Peggy is OURS, its not the musical’s. Stoner John Laurens, (silly as it might seem) is ours (well, its Vic’s), not the musical’s. Nonbinary Lafayette is OURS. Butch lesbian Frances Laurens with a F/un H/ome dynamic with her fucked up gay dad is ours. Technically-not-siblings/best-friend-cousins Philip and Frances is OURs. (I’d argue even the more problematic ones like Mads & TJ are so removed from the historical and musical reality that they fall under this category, fucked up as it seems).

They’re their own characters, they exist in a universe tangential to history and the musical but not the same one.

--And I’m gonna veer off into self-indulgent territory, but as far as my own involvement in fandom goes, I personally put a lot of work into this alternate universe. Closeted, ambitious, perfectionist Dolley Payne is mine. Gangly, neurotic, awkward gay Georges is mine. Angelica/Dolley the ambitious power couple is mine. Queer anarchist rebel Virginie de Lafayette is mine. They’re MY characters, and I’m extremely proud of them.

tbh im just gonna admit that me focusing on second generation of kids like Frances & Philip & etc and the women both in the show & that weren’t rly in it like Eliza & Angelica & Dolley & shit is how i reconcile w/ myself for H/a/m/ilton being a show based on the demon fathers & its not a perfect solution but tbh it gives me an excuse to just make up shit that are basically my own OCs bc half the characters i writer abt were never in the show. I know its basically an excuse to assuage my own guilt but there it is.

Anyways im not rly sure how to end this, if we’re mutuals i’d rly like your input. And pls don’t let this circulate around, i especially dont want antis to see it nor particularly do i care abt white fans’ opinions either

also i know this is super apologist i just wanted to express an idea

[ameslore]

A-Z have fun dude

my dude

bless you ella

A- already answered!

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

tbh idk?

C - already answered!

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

i don’t have anything like that, actually. i either like a ship or i don’t.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

the chimney fic for the inception fandom’s 2016 secret saito. also the fic that fulfulled @drown-yourdarlings prompt about rose and lissa’s lehigh university experiences but that’s on my fanfiction.net account and let’s not talk about that........... right now or preferably ever

(rest is under the cut for length)

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

i’ve more or less been in the va fandom since... 2014?

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

see my answer to part (a)

(romitri was probably my first otp)

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

it used to be books, but i feel like there are so much unexplored depths in movies that it’s really to get inspiration for meta or fic, so nowadays it’s more movies.

I - already answered

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

the 00q fandom. of course i knew about james bond, but i hadn’t considered the ship

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

rose hathaway, vampire academy. over the course of six books and maybe ten months(?) she really found herself, got a lot more mature and self-confident

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

tasha ozera did not deserve what she got. she was a force of nature.

dominick cobb is a really fucking smart guy

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

the collective smh + lardo

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

for inception and 00q: more well-developed female characters. more poc. more woc. more screen time for all three.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

okay so haunted by beyonce always reminds me of arthur or q and I HAVE NO IDEA WHY BECAUSE THE SONG ISN’T REMOTELY RELEVANT TO EITHER OF THEM

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

okay i actually had this idea rolling around in my head for months. i’ve seen something kind of similar to my idea, but the premise is a little different-- “a little less sixteen candles”, arthur/eames, by osaki_nana_707 on ao3

just a sec. let me pull up my doc.

high school teacher-student CANON-DIVERGENT au except there’s no underage pedophilia because arthur’s not actually a minor, he’s a grownass man

so BASICALLY. arthur is part of running project somnacin with dom, mal, and stephen miles, but it gets shut down when the first soldier loses his grasp on reality and shoots himself in the head. topside. which is like, a mess for the military, so long story short everyone’s like “this is a NOPE program BYE”

after project somnacin gets shut down, dom, mal, and arthur open an architecture firm but arthur, who’s a beast at research and investigation and also knows shit about criminal justice (or is it criminology?), occasionally gets contacted by the military/sometimes the nsa/sometimes the cia to do consultant work.

by now arthur is twenty-four. he gets contacted by the military and it’s like “okay so someone may have stolen top secret files about project somnacin and because you know about the [highly confidential] project and you’re really good at investigative research we need you to help identify who this person is [spoiler alert: it’s our beloved thief and forger, eames], figure whether this information is in danger of getting leaked to the public, and all that good security shit??? we might need you to bring him in”

so arthur does his fancy-schmancy research, has a breakthrough and identifies a one mr. [first name redacted] eames, british ex-pat currently living in america and teaching english at a private high school.

due to his small frame and general twinkiness (i’m sorry but it’s true), arthur can pass for a seventeen or eighteen year old. SO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS? HE DECIDES TO ENROLL IN THE SCHOOL THAT EAMES TEACHES AT IN ORDER TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT EAMES. in rolls the teacher-student au

okay. that was a very long way to establish the premise of a fic, but anyway if anyone wants to write that because i am Tired and have no time, just tell me and i’ll be ecstatic

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

the carry on fandom, mostly because the big blogs stopped posting/moved onto other fandoms and the content generally dried up

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

i wrote a fic a couple months ago featuring adhd!arthur and adhd!eames. a genderfluid!eames fic is currently near completion. (i am so EXCITED)

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

*grabs my fucking megaphone*

EDDIE CASTILE AND JILL MASTRANO AND ROSE HATHAWAY AND SYDNEY SAGE ARE ALL BI AS FUCK. ADRIAN IVASHKOV IS PAN.

ARTHUR IS PART JEWISH, PART CHINESE AND CAN SPEAK ABOUT FIVE LANGUAGES. HE WEARS JOGGERS AND BEANIES WHEN HE’S NOT WORKING. HE IS A CLASSICALLY TRAINED MUSICIAN AND LIKES TO SING

IN SOME CROSSOVER VERSE, Q AND ARTHUR ARE DEFINITELY COUSINS

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

arthur (inception), q (skyfall/spectre), eddie castile (vampire academy/bloodlines)

this is when you notice that i have a type: quiet bamfs who have been whumped by their fandoms quite hard

V - Which character do you relate to most?

arthur. my son my sun my heart.

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

“i wasn’t gay until i met you” or “i hate myself for being gay but loving you makes it feel better” because why do straight people think it works like that. also, not a fan of genderbending because the concept is inherently trans and nb exclusive, plus i kind of feel like it messes up the characterization.

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

when both/all parties of the otp are absolute bamfs and surprise each other with their competency

and angsty soulmate aus. call me a cheesy, bright-eyed fucker but i love them so goddamn much

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

the NHL fandom (i do occasionally reblog stuff about the pens/marc-andre fleury onto my omgcp sideblog? and i watch a few games every once in a while but i’m not actively invested in it.)

also the yuri on ice! fandom. like i haven’t even watched ep. 12 but i’ll reblog a funny post about it every so often

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

please see all this inception meta that i have:

plot meta, character and plot meta, wardrobe meta