#that a straight person would never assume that role

[guideaus]

trigger's choices just baffle me. there is an 11 second zoom out focusing on izutsumi for this entire exchange from the manga i screenshot, but they cut her internal monologue showing her thoughts about the group.

anime izutsumi's face is, once again, flat and unexpressive, we dont know what she' thinking until she makes this face, so we assume s he's dreading monsters (like the normal person would react) but izutsumi never has this type of attitude. her role in the oneshot was being the straight man, while in the main manga she just has that loner vibe, she doesn't want to participate and constantly considers leaving them, but anime izutsumi here has more of a vibe of being a sad hostage or something with these monster eating weirdos.

[lorephobic]

it sucks how much queer sex/expression in art gets sensationalized by the general public to the point of making the actors themselves uncomfortable when all they did was portray queerness, like as a queer person observing it happen in real time it always feels so othering when people can't just be normal about it

oh my god yeah. i’ve been thinking about it all day and obviously it's all speculation as to whether or not that's the reason barry's kind of distancing himself from saltburn, but the way people have been acting about jacob and barry after this movie is fucking crazy.

it's so annoying that straight characters get to just be characters who live and die inside of the story that they were created for. but for some reason, portraying a queer character is regarded as a sort of admission of the actor.

i think you're so right in talking about the sensationalism of queerness and i think it largely comes from the belief that queerness is something to be hidden and unveiled when the time is right. which means that any peak into a person's relationship with queer identity (in this case, barry playing a queer man and then extending this act to the pr surrounding the movie) opens them up to a line of questioning that they very well might not want to talk about. it's none of our business whether or not they're dating, and frankly it's delusional to assume that they MUST have a something romantic or sexual going on just because of the way their characters acted in saltburn.

the inability to draw lines between what's real and fiction and the pushing assumption that queerness is owed to us by people who play queer characters is so concerning. actors act. it is their job. not allowing them work-life separation is immature at best and harmful when taken to this extreme.

[xurory]

LAST KISS

summary. there was before you, and there was during you. for some reason, i never thought there would be an after you.

pairing. blade x fem! reader

cc. lowercase intended , angst - no comfort , mention of blood , implied immortal reader , 1.8k words

truly a bittersweet feeling — the way you stared at the picture frame sitting on top of your bedside table displaying a photo of two people alongside each other. you with the man you swore to love for all eternity, yingxing.

you never thought it would be this hard to let go of someone, specifically a person who you had already dedicated yourself to. constellation like souls, tied and destined together by fate. that's what it felt like loving him. for each time your eyes locks with his vermillion colored ones, those short moments felt like you were bound to devote your undying love to him forevermore.

he made it easy to stay alive, to live. for his presence simply gracing yours eased the deepest pains you've long hidden behind a carefree and bubbly personality. he accepted every little piece of you, without a care of what might come for him. he reciprocated the love you unconditionally gave him like it was easy. because for yingxing, it was beyond easy.

"don't you find it weird? that you take care of us but forget to care for yourself afterwards?" a male voice speaks in a whisper-like tone as you tend to the wound planted on his arm using bandages good for the bleeding you didn't cause. "jing yuan, stop worrying so much about me. if im still breathing just fine, then you can't say that i don't take care of myself."

you giggle, finishing his wrapped up right arm before patting it gently, standing up to leave and return the unused roll to a cabinet where they belong. "i'd like you to meet a friend of ours." his statement made you stop in your tracks, looking back behind at the vulnerable man sitting at the bed of your clinic with a smile on his face.

"who?" eyes locked on him, placing the roll on your desk as you patiently awaited for a reply from him. you seriously doubted he had more friends other than the members of the high cloud quintet who viewed you as a trusted someone who they could always run to when they're in need of assistance with injuries they earned from their battles. though, there was someone they've mentioned once who was also a member that you haven't met just yet.

jing yuan tilts his head to the side, looking straight into your eyes. "yingxing, i assume that you've heard of him atleast once or twice whenever you would engage in my conversations with my friends." which was true. you've certainly heard of that name but never really dared to ask about who he might be, for you thought none of it was your business to bring up so casually.

you remembered the day you first laid eyes on him like it happened yesterday. the memories you created with yingxing were the most vivid memories throughout the entirety of your life. fragments of memories you would forever cherish until the minute of your last breath.

he played such a special role in your life. as if you weren't able to carry the burdens crushing you without his support. it truly was a surprise that you managed to last so long unaccompanied by the man that took most of your pain just by simply being there beside you. his absence made it hard for you to breathe.

"xing, look at this!" your hand carried a white tassel that faded downward into a shade of red.

"for me?" he asks in an instant, gazing at the accessory that you've confirmed was for him with a nod. you hang the tassel on the left of his chest, watching as it swayed as he moved. yingxing smiled, at you. blood rushed up to your cheeks upon the rare sight of his gratitude towards your gift that he'd most definitely treasure endlessly.

it wasn't long before he pulled you by the waist while you watched the sun melt from a distance, feeling you warm body against his. yingxing's thumb rubbed circles against your side, making you chuckle.

oh, how you cherished every minute spent with the man you loved. simple moments of intimacy that never failed to make your heart race. silence drowned the lovers ahead, with one silently wishing to the aeons to make their relationship last, and the other hoping that he'll never have to spend another minute without you by his side.

the two were too busy being lost in each other's minds that they failed to notice baiheng capturing the moment with a camera that belonged to you, and jing yuan on the side gazing at the lovers like a proud wingman. guess you'd have to thank her for that later.

it hurt, it never really stopped hurting. yingxing healed you unknowingly, he cured the pain you endured silently by expressing his love for you. and now that he's no longer here with you, the pain became unbearable.

nevertheless, meeting new friends after almost a decade of being alone made everything a teeny tiny bit better. even though one of them was the mere reincarnation of an old friend of yours, yingxing's associate, dan feng.

meeting his reincarnation sure was confusing. he looked the same, but yet so different in so many ways. he goes by dan heng now. for some reason, the two of you got along very well, just like old times.

obviously, as part of the nameless, you were well aware of a specific organization known as the stellaron hunters to which yingxing, or should i say blade, is a member of.

he was an enemy to the astras express crew, to them, atleast. how could you ever hate someone you never stopped loving despite separation for so many years? that's right.

you thought the time where you would have to stand against your beloved would never come, so why were you panting infront of him under the pouring rain? gripping on your sword for dear life as blood streamed down your arm from the wounds he created.

he has changed, this moment was beyond your expectations but being surprised was nowhere to be found. he was your enemy, after all.

blade stood a few feet away from you, his bangs wet from the rain blocking his vision.

yingxing loved and accepted you, but blade discarded you.

for each time you caught his gaze on yours, it broke you to pieces seeing how there's practically no light to be found behind those eyes, just pure hatred. or so you thought.

blade was cursed to be damaged for eternity, cutting the hands of those who dared put his pieces back together, including the hands of the one he loved so dearly.

you wanted him to tell you everything, without leaving any details behind. you longed to feel him in your arms once again, feel that warmth of his that never failed to absolutely melt you. "x-xing.." your lungs were failing you.

"do not address me by that name." he spat, glancing over your fragile state, you were in the verge of breaking, and he did nothing about it. hearing his harsh tone felt like a million pieces of broken glass thrown against your way. you wished for him to hold you, tell you that everything's going to be alright and that he's right there, with you.

but your dreams were nothing but stupid desires.

"finish me off already." heavy breathing followed, using your sword to avoid falling to the ground and looking pathetic, like you weren't already. if you were anyone else, blade would've never hesitated and would grant your wish the moment you utter the words out. but you were more than that.

he launches at you, forcing you to engage in the duel, surrendering was not an option. "who taught you to be so weak? fight back." you immediately shielded yourself, his sword pressing against yours. his strength was unmatched.

blade pressured you to not give up, as if he wasn't already killing you slowly.

the fight between two people who were once peaceful, torn apart by fate. maybe, just maybe, in another life, they'd be able to freely love each other. there's no doubt that it would take long, after all, the worser fate than death is not being able to die.

your swords clashed, using your full strength to push him away from you. "stop.. pleas- fuck!" your arm ached, the same way your heart did.

i feel you forget me like i used to feel to breathe.

"waakee uuup~" you dragged the vowels on your tongue, kissing the white haired man sleeping soundly on your bed awake. feeling his hot breath against your face.

the sun shined brightly against his face, the face you would never get tired staring at. you could basically occupy yourself almost for an entire day just by admiring his pretty features.

"you're just wasting your time, don't you dare pity me any longer!" you screamed, furrowing your brows as you tossed your weapon aside, refusing to take part in this battle you know damn well you'd never win. the pain in your voice was easily noticed by the man before you, the grip he had on his weapon loosening. "pathetic. you know better than to prioritize your personal feelings over the battle ahead of you."

the rainstorm soon came to an end, just when you fucking needed it to conceal your tears you were so ashamed of showing. "you can't blame me, now can you? i'd rather you tear me to pieces than to live with the knowledge of you being my enemy."

"this is what we were destined to be, not even i could do anything to stop it for your radiance no longer leads my way." you wanted to scream the pain piercing your heart. your souls were bound to be against each other, and you gave yourself no right to accept such things.

blade walks away, refusing to see you suffer any longer than he could take. "i'd sacrifice anything just to feel your love again.." you whispered, loud enough for him to hear as clear as day.

"let go." was all he replied back, leaving you dumbfounded, your gaze stuck on his back as he disappeared into thin air.

you were willing to leave everything behind, give it all up just for him. but even that, he would never let you do such for his sake. for the love was there, but he simply refuses to be show vulnerability towards someone ever again, even to you.

your consciousness faded away, your body meeting the cold, wet ground. escaping reality to foolishly give the imaginary fragments of your mind indulge you for a while. considering that once you wake up, you'd have to face it all over again, as if it wouldn't kill you to live up to the fact that the probability of your relationship with him to be repaired was low, extremely.

"loving you was the most exquisite form of self destruction."

from xumi ; part 2 or nah? 🤕 reblogs r appreciated !!

[takemebacktowheniwassane]

i've been seeing a lot of falsettos posts recently deconstructing the fandoms beliefs and firstly

holy fuck thank you, i try to steer clear of fandom (and fandom-izing thereof) drama but this is getting a lot more visible recently so here's some little tidbits for you

whizzer brown is not an unflawed character!

okay so i haven't seen enough dissecting this but!!! in the chess game!

the whole point of marvin using that game to determine the ending of their relationship is because he suspects whizzer is constantly deceiving him and wants to prove it.

whizzer LITERALLY proves him right!

he asks marvin to help him along (yes i know he says he doesn't want help, hear me out, it's a little more complex than that) and takes advantage of the fact that marvin is- like- infatuated with him.

he draws him into a sense of false security then starts throwing accusations at him ("since you need a man!" "what?" "who's 'brainy'," "or witty, move.") until hes able to win, which he does with ease because he's been using marvin having this idea that he isn't smart against him.

of course, marvin's side of this isn't the best either but honestly, for once the fandom should focus on a different character when they think 'insane asshole'. typically we should also probably change our perspectives a little to be more unbiased cuz fr guys, this is getting really.. annoying.

i understand he's the most visibly flawed but that doesn't excuse constantly picking the worst parts of this musical (without other context, btw) to use against him.

and this post certainly isn't here to excuse anyone either i've just got a lot of opinions that i wanted to share while falsettos is.. trending? right?

2. marvin's (headcanoned but still somewhat researched) autism

this one isn't brought up as much but when i do see it around, it's kind of a skewed viewpoint.

while rewatching bits of the proshot i realized a lot of different neurodivergent traits that he shows-

he's helpless during I Never Wanted to Love You and is childish and regressive when he's upset (not every autistic person is like this either, i know this is a bit of a touchy subject so i just wanted to add that).

usually when people depict it i see it either toned down or joked about which is fine when all in good fun, and when its done respectfully.

not here to attack anyone, just here to point it out and say that yes :) he most likely is neurodivergent, but despite that his actions aren't condoned. he's still kinda a dick who needs to get his shit together

3. ..the lesbians also have shit going on?

just putting this out there- I DON'T SEE ENOUGH FOR THE LESBIANS! OR TRINA!

the girls in this musical are like thoroughly neglected and i think that's kind of shitty just assuming the fact that william finn put them in to demonstrate how gender roles put people in degrading positions (and he even makes it more prevalent by showing marvin as something like a misogynistic character who forces whizzer into more feminine roles to show the audience what woman have to/had to go through in society).

anyways, the lesbians aren't just there guys. they have a plotline too. in Something Bad is Happening, you derive a lot from charlotte singing about the outbreak of HIV/AIDS and realize how she operates on a daily basis (she's passionate about her work and takes every bad day as a hit to her life and career, explaining in a way that as a black, jewish, lesbian, FEMALE doctor in this time, everything that goes wrong is immediately brought down on her so much more than it would as any straight white male pharmacist-).

cordelia on the other hand has to handle the fact that her girlfriend is so adamant about her work ethic that she can't actually be super present in their relationship at times like that.

but either way she still sticks by her and is constantly trying to be supportive and endearing despite feeling like she's not amounting to her gf who's basically a hero in her eyes.

i kinda just wanted to bring that up because they mean a lot to me and they don't get enough love from the fanbase, thank you for listening to my TED talk <3

[annabelle--cane]

a lot of my first thoughts about martin's characterization back when I first listened were about how he experienced the process of transition into adulthood in a weird out of joint manner, and I want to try and bring that back into the way I think about him. if he dropped out of school at 17 to become his family's breadwinner, then it stands to reason that he'd probably been filling a lot of the "head of household" roles since his early teens, but always in service to and under the direction of a parent that hated him. assuming that he got his institute job within, say, a year of dropping out, and he had to move to london on his own, being able to do all that as a teenager and not just implode (especially with no emotional support) is a significant feat, but it was all based on lies. all of his coworkers would have thought he was 4-6 years older than he was, and he could manage it, but only by making them think he was an incompetent young adult instead of an actually very capable teen. he went straight from being a kid with no time for being a kid to being an adult who was never taught how to be an adult. I think that does something to a person's ability to evaluate their own skills and importance.

[wowevenmoreloveonearth]

You know what? I have become a gaylor sympathiser

This is going to be a long post, sorry! Please read the full post before even thinking about commenting.

Over the past few days I’ve seen a few posts on my dash about taylor swift and her fans that have left a bad taste in my mouth.

I know that a lot of people think that some fans of her are “trying to make her gay” and I just wanted to put the record straight and defend some people after actually looking at what’s going on. And I know I’m probably opening myself up for tumblr’s poor reading comprehension but before I start I’m going to say this:

I do not think taylor swift is a lesbian

Ok? Now let’s have a conversation.

First of all from what I’ve seen most of the fans who talk about Taylor swift and queerness do it from a point of literary analysis and learning queer history. This is a huge part of the community and lots of people have said that they never would have learnt so much about queer history without reading taylor swift’s works through a queer lens.

Adding on to that point, it seems a little hypocritical for the gay site which loves queer readings of books, tv shows, songs, musicals, films etc to be bullying a pretty small group of people who are mainly doing queer readings of lyrics. Especially when those people get near constant death threats. Instead of bullying these people (who don’t think or do what you think they think and do) why don’t you go outside and think “does this affect me? No. Do I agree with them? No. Am I going to cyber bully them because of this? No.”

Secondly, for the people who believe that any speculation on a real persons sexuality is 100% wrong. I used to think this too but I have changed my mind a bit about this recently after stopping and thinking about it properly. I’m not trying to change your mind at all I just want you to stop and think for a minute.

If you only get mad when speculation is queer in nature, then maybe think about that for a minute. Why is it totally wrong to think a person might be queer. We probably do it in our daily lives with people we know and they likely do it with us, back in the day that’s how queer people found each other-by speculating on sexuality. Would you be upset if you found out someone that you know thought you might be queer? I wouldn’t, maybe you would but if you would, why? Why is it terrible to think someone might be queer (this is NOT about hounding a person to admit to being queer like shawn mendes, this is just thinking in your head and on your small blog that the person will likely never see). Also this is literally the website where we talk about historical (real people) being gay even when they would have never said something to the equivalent.

An addition to this point before people start saying in the comments is that this is NOT the same situation as with kit connor. The issue there was people assuming that he was straight and taking that role away from a queer person. Speculating that he was queer was the opposite of what happened in that situation. So this is not an example of what happens when you speculate queerness.

Final things to say:

1) don’t believe every post you see with someone looking insane about taylor swift being gay, a lot of them are fake.

2) before anyone says “they should listen to real queer artists instead” most of them very much do. There’s a lot of fans of Hayley kiyoko, girl in red, Janelle monae, tegan and sara, zolita, kehlani etc.

3) there are some queer flags that are there. Sorry but there are. Hairpin drops, lavender, the ladder, flag colours, songs about women, friend of dorothy reference. Whether they are intentional is a different matter.

4) shipping real people is not what is happening for the majority of the people in the community. Also this comes back to queer vs straight again. Plenty of swifties ship taylor with men she’s been seen with and no one goes into their inboxes and sends death threats even when they are the ones making taylor swift all about the men she may or may not have dated.

5) taylor swift has never stated her sexuality. I know this may be hard to belive based off of how some people act, but it’s true. She has made vague statements which could have many meanings but she has never clearly stated anything. When gaylors get upset with taylor it is not because she said she is straight, it’s because they are getting death threats and doxxed and she seems to either be unaware of it (which is unlikely given how she seems to be a little terminally online) or she doesn’t care enough to tell her fans to stop.

6) if she does explicitly say she’s straight then there will probably be disappointment in her use of queer history and flags and her potential queer erasure (as we saw with lavender haze, with straight women describing their relationships as lavender) and centring herself in queer spaces (like the you need to calm down music video) but no one will be angry that she’s not gay. And a lot will probably be grateful that she actually explicitly stated for the record to absolve any confusion. The main issue would likely be other fans ramping up the death threats and bullying.

In conclusion: these people who do queer analysis of Taylor’s work are not trying to out her or make her gay etc. if you don’t understand it that’s fine it’s clearly not for you and you can go quite easily without seeing any of it. It’s not illegal to read works through a queer lens and if it means more people know about queer history then I think that’s a very good thing.

I changed my mind after looking at what a lot of people are actually saying rather than what people perceive them to be saying and maybe you will too?

Just be kinder to people online please and if you don’t like what people are saying block them and do not engage!

[wakeupthemembersofbylernation]

One of the reasons I believe a lot of people are so aggressively threatened, freaked out, and even offended by the concept of a gay or bi Mike is because then they’d have to face the fact that queer people are just people. Which, duh. Of course, they are! But Mike Wheeler, at least in the first season (and sorta the second season), is THE main character. He’s THE guy.

It’s what turned Finn Wolfhard into a heartthrob and fast-tracked him to starring roles in movies like It and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. For people who grew up loving 80s childhood adventure movies, on which the Duffers based their show, Mike Wheeler is Elliot from E.T. He’s Mikey from The Goonies. He’s Marty from Back to the Future. He’s Luke from A New Hope. In other words, he’s the kind of young sci-fi hero every boy dreamed of becoming. I mean, who wouldn’t want to find out that magic/the supernatural is real, go on an insane, life-changing adventure with their friends, stand up to bad guys, and fall in love with a girl with superpowers in the span of a week?!

Other than being nerdy/into D&D (which is honestly not that far from being a theatre kid, tbh)/hj, kinda melodramatic, and somewhat unathletic (affectionate), there’s nothing about Mike Wheeler that radiates gayness on the surface. Plus, he’s the protagonist! In Season 1 we experience most new things through his eyes. That makes him the audience surrogate character, so how can the audience surrogate character be (gasps) GAY?! That’s OBviously impossible. He’s just a guy. He’s just a dude. He’s just a person. He’s just the boy next door.

And if queer people are just people, then that means ANYONE could potentially be queer. Even your younger sister. Even your best friend, who has no stereotypically gay traits, plays football, and has a girlfriend. Even your children (gasps). Even you (am I gay quizzes? were born from fears like this). That’s terrifying for people who expect the world, and the media they consume, to be black-and-white.

People like boxes. They like things that are safe. Every time general audiences are introduced to a new character they fully assume the character is straight, even if they aren’t shown to have any interest in girls (like Will) unless they are an obvious stereotype, say the words, “I’m gay,” or explicitly make out with a boy (even then, some people will still try to claim they’re confused or simply “struggling with their sexuality”).

Kevin Keller from Riverdale. Kurt Hummel from Glee. Patrick in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (as much as I love that movie). Carlos in HSMTMTS. These are all characters that are Gay™️. They are almost always the comic relief sidekick, or the gay bestie for the main female character, or some variation of common tropes. Audiences (even homophobic ones) are increasingly used to seeing these types of characters on their screen, but a gay Mike Wheeler would be a different type of character entirely. 

“Mike being gay or bi would just be OUT OF NOWHERE and would be bad writing done just for woke points.” Okay. Aside from the fact that it would simply NOT be out of nowhere (gestures wildly at the Byler Proof Slides), let’s unpack the phrase “out of nowhere” for a second. Why is something only considered “out of nowhere” when it’s gay and never when it’s straight? Was it out of nowhere for Dustin to find a girlfriend while at camp? Is the resurrection of Stancy out of nowhere? And to the people who are still somehow convinced that Will Byers isn’t gay, just “maturing slower than his friends,” I guarantee you they wouldn’t call it “out of nowhere” for Will to suddenly have a female love interest, even though it clearly would be. They would encourage it, even if it was someone especially ridiculous like El, who is literally his sister, or Max, with whom he’s had almost no on-screen conversations. This is why you see people on TikTok and YouTube who genuinely believe Will’s painting is for the random girl he danced with at Snowball. Talk about out of nowhere!

“But Mike just isn’t gay. Don’t be delusional. Don’t be unrealistic. He is straight. He has only been shown to like El and has one of the most extreme cases of romantic tunnel vision in fiction I’ve ever seen.” Okay, let’s push aside the constant lip stares, the romantically charged conversations with his best friend, the fact that he can’t say or even write, “I love you” to his girlfriend, the ways the Duffers have consistently framed the Will/Mike/El dynamic with love triangle imagery and drawn our attention to this for the entire show, and more (gestures wildly at the Byler proof slides once more!!) for one second. 

The emphasis on “just isn’t” betrays them and their underlying perspectives. Let’s be clear. You can say Robin just isn’t straight because she’s been explicitly confirmed in show and out of show to be lesbian and into girls. You can say Will just isn’t straight because his sexuality has been all but confirmed as well. But you can’t say Mike “just isn’t” gay if the only concrete “proof” you have for this is his (turbulent) relationship with Eleven. Keep in mind. Without Vecna, we don’t have access to the innermost thoughts of any of the characters. All we have to go by is their actions, their words, and the intentional ways the Duffers have coded their characters. Ultimately, people who say this are saying that Mike Wheeler “just isn’t gay” because he doesn’t fit their pre-conceived, ignorant, myopic notions of what a gay person is. Mike “just can’t be” gay in these people’s minds because he hasn’t done any gay “actions,” whatever that even means (that’s why they believe Will- sweet, innocent Will- is a predator/homewrecker because they associate gayness with freakish deviance and see it as something inherently sexual, whereas if Will were a girl with the exact same feelings towards Mike, they’d never in a trillion years see it this way).

In both real life and in fiction, despite all the progress we’ve made as a society, straight is something you’re allowed to just be, by default, regardless of whether you’re dating someone. Gay is something you have to PROVE or “fall into,” and even then it’s treated with incredible suspicion (this is why people who ship Stobin believe Steve can “fix” Robin and make her into boys). Bisexuality is tragically either erased altogether, treated as a joke/a phase, or completely misunderstood (I heard someone say Mike could never be bi because he’d never date Will and El at the same time - what?! That’s not how bisexuality works). And comphet is something entirely baffling to straight audiences. You might as well be saying 2+2 equals armadillo. 

They’d rather believe that he’s just become an asshole, or that Finn Wolfhard has suddenly become a bad actor. Because accepting that Mike Wheeler isn’t straight means accepting that he can be the cool, brave, valiant, kind, caring protagonist of seasons 1 and 2, AND also be madly in love with his best friend. That feels like a bait-and-switch to some people because they don’t see queer people as “normal,” even if they claim they aren’t homophobic. They see queer people as “the other,” as something alien. [Insert Visibly Stereotypical Character Here] can be gay, not MY Mike Wheeler. He’s straight. STRAIGHT.  He’s madly in love with El. He and Will are just friends. JUST friends. Sound like someone?

That’s one of the reasons that Byler will be such powerful, meaningful, representation (aside from just being the only logical explanation for Mike’s weird actions). Byler becoming canon will give hope and provide a voice for the millions of LGBTQ+ kids out there who don’t fit a stereotype or society’s pre-conceived notions but who just happen to not be straight. Mike Wheeler will join Nick Nelson as one of the best LGBTQ+ teens EVER on screen. It will be a cultural reset. And it will hopefully open people’s minds to the beautiful tapestry of humanity. A love story so pure, so beautiful, and so overwhelming that the boy who tried so hard to be “normal” and to deny his feelings for his best friend and the boy who survived bullies, a week in a hellish alternate dimension, and a possession that took over his mind and body had no choice but to go crazy together.

[kingsandbastardz]

Tumblr ate the anon ask I was responding to so I'm gonna paraphrase it here:

what do mean llh gave di feisheng to fang duobing? the letter totally said something else

Yes, it did - but I didn't feel I could comment too deeply on it when it's been retranslated and people who are far more literate than I am have analyzed the contents already. -- The letter itself seems pretty straight forward.

However, what I wanted to focus on was analyzing unspoken social dynamics - so I'm gonna get in depth into my reasoning for my interpretation. And admittedly in previous posts I was playing fast and glib with my responses (they were just insomnia-fueled thoughts I typed real fast) so I wasn't really in depth or anything. Anyway~~~ That means it's time for me to get long winded.

So! First thing - this is the scene: The letter was written from Li Xiangyi and addressed in its entirety to Di Feisheng. However, when it was delivered the fisherman asked for both DFS and FDB. It was then read outloud by either the fisherman or FDB -- I assume read out loud, and loudly, because DFS never left his position by the rocks and emoted his distress at the contents. That means everyone there also was privy to the letter contents.

The letter itself is straight forward. It's addressed from LXY telling DFS that he regretfully can't make the duel and that he respects him both as a martial artist and as a person, and if he wishes, he can go to FDB who has inherited his skills and shows great promise, etc.

The thing IS - I firmly believe that this is not a message meant just for DFS.

Both LLH and DFS code switch between their non-leader selves vs Li-Menzhu and Di-Mengzhu. It's easiest to see based on what they're wearing. Li Xiangyi when he's dressed in the Sigu Sect uniform. Or the Styx flower hand-off scene where he calls him Di-mengzhu (not Lao Di or A-Fei or whatever else) likely as a reaction to his official regalia/red uniform which means DFS was showing up in an official capacity. Both of them know very well the importance of a certain.... how to say.... drama? They're both leaders and they were also very performative in their roles as leaders. They both expected that massive peanut gallery that showed up to witness the fight - the one filled with members of various sects, including Sigu Sect leadership -- because dfs was likely the one announcing it.

Imo - aside from the need to express the full weight of what he felt, part of the reason LLH was so formal in his letter is expectation that there would be other people there - influential people. The very people DFS and FDB would have to deal with in the future alone. FDB would be ok but he's largely unknown to the rest of jianghu and therefore his story is still malleable. DFS is known, but infamous and his narrative is as much of a trap as LXY's was. And now he no longer has the benefit of a sect to act as a buffer.

LLH's last act as LXY was not to save Yun Biqiu but to carve a new path open in the world for DFS and FDB:

Expresses that he bears deep emotion and the greatest and deepest respect for DFS despite a reputation of them being enemies

Informs everyone that DFS is not seeking dominion or 'the throne' but rather, is going the fighter-scholar path of studying and testing martial skill -- aka, this is message from one sect leader to all the others present. Spread the word, this man is NOT gunning for your power. None of you have reason to take him down.

Establishes FDB as his one and only successor - while also stating clearly it's entirely up to FDB to decide whether to continue down this path or not

Creates a pathway for DFS and FDB to maintain their connection with each other - and in fact lets everyone else know that there is a pre-established, legacy relationship between DFS and LLH that FDB will be inheriting.

Gently asks DFS to keep an eye on FDB's development - iterating that if dfs is the one asking, then FDB may make the decision to continue to train - aka help him see his full potential whatever his decision is.

At the same time, he silently wishes FDB to maintain connections with/keep an eye on DFS. In another reply I kinda went on about this: imagine a scenario where your friend's mom pulls both of you in front of her. And the whole time is telling your friend that they need to do, expectations, a list of goals, etc. The entire time she's only focused on your friend - but there is this silent implication that you, as the witness, is expected to act a reminder or even an enforcer if your friend isn't listening. If things go wrong, you're expected to go in there and help them to do the thing they were asked to do. This is the unspoken message I'm getting for FDB. Even though his name wasn't mentioned in the letter, it was explicitly delivered to both him and dfs. He's standing right there while an imaginary LLH talks to DFS. So if after all this, dfs disappears without another word = fdb can feel emboldened to go after him, knocking on doors until he answers. Should he decide to do so.

Entreaty - "These are LXY's (my) last wishes. Please respect my memory after my death."

Conclusion: LLH's last actions were to create a space where both DFS and FDB can make their own decision on their path in the world, without the weight of all those other people in jianghu influencing them.

Note: I also believe that on dfs' side, his clothing choices point toward his plans to publicly step down and leave the martial path with Li Lianhua. But llh sucker-punched him and left him standing on some rocks like a widow waiting for her husband who's lost at sea. They were technically on the same page, but it somehow went wrong because... well. Unfortunately that's DFS' narrative. He never quite reaches his goal without the hero either hindering or helping him. The entire drama was LLH being that karma busting fulcrum for him. But now, should he wish it, it'll be FDB's turn to step up and do the same.

[cowboyjen68]

i am 24, from chicago and i have a crush on youuuu

You are very sweet to tell me and this is my opportunity to talk about how healthy internet personalities or "celebrity" crushes are to young lesbians finding thier own sexuality in a world that mostly assumes people straight (becuase statisically that is objectively true).

I still, to this day, remember, as a teen and young woman having a crush on Christy McNichol, Nancy McKeon (or more particularly her character Jo), and Tatum O Neal. There were older women like Markie Post and Erin Gray who I crushed on. "Ooo older women, they are so steady and have their shit together .. and HOT". I actually knew very little about them off screen. My Teen magazines were featuring TEEN stars, for good reason.

But I still crushed on them and watching thier sitcoms. Most of these women were straight but that was not really important. What was important was they were not really real. I could build them to be how I want to be in my mind using the superficial things I could see about them or learn from little interviews etc.

The internet has changed that dynamic slightly. I am accessible. Reachable. A real person. I wonder if someday media experts will refer to"CowboyJen" as a character I created. They would be wrong but I would understand the thought process. There are aspects of my life I don't share. No one wants to see me ass dragging at 10 pm after a 15 hour shift sitting on my bed trying to untie my shoes before I fall asleep or cleaning my bathroom . My life is entwined with others and I protect their privacy unless they agree to participate.

I do answer DM's. I do respond to comments. I am not simply a character on a small screen that does not interact with the audience. That is a shift in the "celebrity" paradigm. And it can make crushes seem much more real.

What I want to address is that crushes and fantasizing about other women IS NORMAL and healthy and a tool to help us figure what we like, learn to enjoy our sexuality. I remember feeling shame for thinking about these women because it was "dirty" and "creepy". In reality it was no such thing. It is just a normal part of being human, to seek out a safe outlet for fantasy, day dreaming and forming our dislikes and likes in our own head and heart so we can translate that to our real dating/love life.

Crushes don't stop at the teens or 20's. I would argue most adults experience crushes as well and it is just another tool in our humanity that we use to navigate the world we live in.

The largest difference is my generation's crushes were relatively unreachable. Fan mail was mostly answered by an employee or a hired service. Any contact in real life with back stage passes or "meet and greets" were heavily controlled and monitored for safety and to protect the image of the celebrity. And also to often to prevent the musician or actor from over stepping his/her bounds too.

Now many smaller scale recognizable people are accessible in real life. We live and work in our communities. I didn't create a character I just share my life and my reality because I think it can truly give other lesbians and women hope that we are not destined to life of stereotypes because we are butch, or lesbian, or bi or female or not rich or any number of things that get false expectations attached to it.

I guess what I am saying is your crush is healthy and normal and I would never shame anyone for having such feelings towards me. It is also my duty as a role model to not breech appropriate boundaries and I take that job very seriously. The fact is I travel to Chicago on occasion and I am out and about in the real world so the chances of me meeting followers like you and and others is highly likely at some point. I love meeting people and often to respond to and meet followers, who become my friends, in person. We are all people and I am dead serious about forming intergenerational lesbian connections in real life.

Your crush is your safe place to explore emotions and attractions so enjoy.

Side note: I don't not consider myself a "celebrity" LOL I am using that word in the broad sense as meaning a recognizable person outside of my in-person friends and community.

[decepti-thots]

something that is very interesting rereading early MTMTE is that the comic is actually very much written with the assumption a ton of its readership are specifically pre-existing IDW comics readers, which can sometimes be difficult to remember because of the fact that a lot of people wound up coming onboard to MTMTE from outside the fandom in the end and now it has a reputation as an entry point as a result. this manifests in a couple ways throughout the first couple major arcs. one obvious one is that the Overlord stuff functionally makes it a sequel of sorts to Last Stand of the Wreckers, at a time no direct sequel was planned. but my favourite is that there's a kind of narrative trick the comic pulls with the leadup to the payoff Remain in Light gives us for Magnus.

the Magnus we get in early MTMTE is not the Magnus we get in earlier IDW comics. he's very exaggerated; where phase one Magnus is a by-the-books stickler for not so much as bending rules and someone we see struggling to maintain that sense of moral uprightness in the face of the war and the people around him being far less dedicated to staying on the straight and narrow like him, it's completely turned up to eleven in early MTMTE. phase one Magnus would not be doing endless doorframe audits, or throwing people in the literal brig for crooked badges. but this doesn't necessarily register as a change in character so much as a change in genre. MTMTE is also a dramedy with heavy emphasis on the comedy side of that in a way no other IDW comic is, and the shift in Magnus' characterisation therefore feels like 'well in THIS genre, that's what that archetype is like', rather than a diagetic shift in character. even if you come to MTMTE straight off those prior comics, it is very much a 'roll with the genre shift' thing rather than a 'hm. Magnus is acting… weird' thing. you let it go.

there are a couple indications this might not be the case early on. Rodimus especially seems to be under the impression that Magnus is acting uptight even for him, with his insistence on waving it off like 'he needs to relax, Swerve can you get him to chill on Hedonia because my guy is REAL stressed' and the like. (this makes sense- Rodimus is the person on the ship who has actually been directly interacting with Magnus regularly pre-MTMTE.) but it's not super obvious and not heavily emphasised.

which makes the eventual post-Overlord and RiL reveal, which is that Magnus has in fact been acting weird because he's having a breakdown that has largely gone unremarked upon by his shipmates, really really good. Magnus has not been doing doorframe audits because he's the comically uptight second in command acting as straight man for genre purposes; Magnus has been sending Rodimus a million memos a day and losing his shit over nothing because as someone whose entire identity as 'Magnus' is rooted in a wartime role he escaped into, he's been having an existential crisis now the war is over and he has no purpose and doesn't know what to do because he never expected to have to play that part in peacetime. the entire time the genre shift was somewhat obfuscating the fact this characterisation was a thing that is in-universe relevant, which also then reflects back on the fact Rodimus is like. hm. probably should have noticed that, now I feel like an asshole for not realising. (the scene where he and Rung discuss those unread memos, post-Overlord.)

it's a small thing, but it's a really effective misdirect for the payoff Magnus gets in RiL that reads a hell of a lot more clearly on reread and rewards that chance to revisit the early issues with that knowledge. of course that wasn't just a gag, of course he's actually slowly losing his shit slightly, he cannot go five seconds without making it clear he is Stressed As Hell. but until you get to that actual reveal, there's just enough room for the comic to let a reader assume it's, you know, we're in a comedy now, we need a hilarious straight man, and Magnus is it. it's great! all the stuff MTMTE pulls to simultaneously obfuscate the Magnus/Minimus reveal while also making it feel completely reasonable on reread is great. really good use of reader bias there.

[angelthemanspanker]

my most tinfoil hat AtS opinion is that legit straight up canon spangel was like RIGHT beneath the surface of season 5, like the show was ready to pivot in the direction of them being at least friends with benefits at a moment's notice despite fate and the censors' best efforts

Season 1 had shit like Angel's first power walk shot set against a pride flag and him awkwardly telling guys he wasn't hitting on them, going for a kinda Adam West Batman kinda gay thing where people assume that about him bc it's the early 2000s and his clothes fit VS Season 5 in the premiere alone giving us Angel correcting a guy who calls him a "little fairy" with "I'm not little" and the legendary, blog-inspiring "I have no problem spanking men" (one of which he says to a guy he's about to kill and one to a guy he knocked out, almost like Angel lets gayer behaviour slip if he's around people who can't bring it up later hm) followed by the only man we KNOW Angel has fucked literally appearing from thin air in his office

then you get Life of the Party where Angel's Whacky Magic Antics are set off by Lorne telling Angel and the person he's having sexually tense arguments with to get a room, causing him to have ill-advised hate sex he ordinarily would not have with someone he is reluctantly attracted to. and I believe in my BONES that at SOME POINT in the scripting process that that person was gonna be Spike. Even setting aside my admittedly subjective opinion that Angel and Eve had even less sexual chemistry than Xander and Willow, it just... scans. Angel and Spike have their "I need to get our faces within an inch of each other or I'll die" arguments in front of EVERYBODY in literally every episode of the season, so I feel like if Lorne was gonna say it about ANYONE it'd be about them. I will never budge from my belief that Spike still being a ghost at this point and early 2000s tv politics caused them to abandon the Angel And Spike Magically Fuck At The Party plot early in the writing process for the episode and slot Eve in there instead while Spike gets the easy-to-write-into-existing-scenes positivity thing.

and THEN. AND THEN. it becomes a plot point that the show Angel's friends are suddenly really on board with him getting back out there dating-wise (the unperson-ing of Cordelia helps here. whee.), with us all suddenly being in agreement that there is little to no danger of his curse being triggered by sex (even though both times he's lost the soul since his curse, real or imagined sex played a significant role in the moment of happiness). Like, Nina is one of the more one-dimensional characters in the Buffyverse and her midness seems to be for the purpose of setting the audience at ease that Angel's soul ain't going anywhere from hooking up with her.

WESLEY is all for it! Wesley "Most Paranoid and Prepared For The Return of Angelus" Wyndam-Pryce is saying look man we're all rooting for you go have a relationship with a girl whose only flaw that I can come up with is that she's a werewolf. Like sir??? How can you be sure the Beautiful Engaging Young Woman Who Actually Wants You won't accidentally make Angel happy with her extremely inoffensive flavour of Nice?

Whereas if, say, there was a beautiful, engaging blonde who actually wants Angel and Angel wants but comes with the caveat that THIS beautiful blonde not only drives Angel up the fucking wall but recently had magical sex with Angel at the office party in front of the whole main cast, proving that as much as Angel gets off on screwing Spike that he is Not happy about it? I can see Wes giving the all clear on that one ngl

bonus points that Angel and Nina got the Official Couple upgrade in Smile Time which comes right before the Illyria tragedy forces Angel and Spike into the... maybe not friendly but LESS hostile dynamic they keep for the rest of the show, so the season structure of their relationship still follows a lot of the same beats. honestly besides getting a lot more moments of David Boreanaz and James Marsters trying to out-six-pack each other in their post-coital shirtless scenes the only thing you'd need to do is change the world-shattering "Me and Angel have never been intimate. Well except that one..." to something along the lines of "Me and Angel have never been intimate, I just shag the bastard"

[bonefall]

Thoughts about Goldenflower? Specifically her alignment in terms of Tigerstar being a massive Thistle law supporter, and Goldie being left to raise their kits alone after he’s ousted from ThunderClan and caused thw death of their elder son (intentionally or not). Girl has been through sooo much I’m kinda glad she wasn’t around to see what her surviving son became.

Golfy BABY, Goldenflower is getting a sizeable kiss on the head.

She is the daughter of Speckletail, future bulldozer attacker. She is every bit as intense as this implies.

Goldenflower is the same size as her littermate Lionheart. She just braids her mane, making her look smaller. They are both fucking massive

The most personal and painful part of Tigerclaw's betrayal was the fact he KILLED HER BROTHER.

She is really close with Frostfur after Lion's death, because she's super overwhelmed with two litters so close together AND being head of the kitchen patrol.

Swiftpaw and Brightpaw were practically siblings with how close they were. It really wasn't a surprise that they ended up in trouble together.

Golden was planning to not even speak Tigerclaw's name to Bramblekit and Tawnykit. Her opinion on Tiger was an IMMEDIATE, FURIOUS 180.

Generally Goldenflower isn't a "soft" person. She's a lot like her mom, Lionheart was the more gregarious and diplomatic of the two.

Snowkit was also a very serious cat like them. This family is generally pretty focused and pious.

They also had a middle sibling who tragically died in the Plague-- Mistleclaw. That was before Fireheart joined ThunderClan.

I really love how in canon, Goldenflower is firm and pushes back on how unfair Fireheart is towards her kits. So that's where I'm building from and generally disregarding fanon's take on her as a gentle mom. Society has progressed past the need for gentle moms. Goldenflower is currently telling you to sit up straight and take all those dishes on your desk to the sink.

She's waiting.

You will not keep her waiting. Go.

Good. She's proud of you.

Back on that 189 though-- that was for almost everything. Frostfur, Dustpelt, Longtail, a LOT of cats have a much slower reckoning with the ingrained beliefs that they'd accepted from Tigerclaw.

But Goldenflower was motivated by some pretty hard spite. She wanted NOTHING left of him. She was finding things to hate about him, and ended up "leading the charge" on ThunderClan's reckoning here.

Not neccesarily because of deeper principles, but because she was willing to wrecking ball her way through any leftover associations with him.

Before this point though, she DID support Thistle Law, juuust over the edge past Hard Traditionalism. She would speak very critically of Queen’s Rights, openly call for war, protested against bringing back WindClan, etc.

after Tigerclaw's betrayal, she's still more of a centrist Traditionalist, but will listen to a convincing argument, and slides towards Fire alone over the years.

I actually want to write Fireheart and Goldenflower developing a strong friendship in this moment, too.

She doesn't advise like Whitestorm does, but she's good at shutting up bickering cats when Fireheart is a fresh deputy. I always wished he had some more allies in that moment.

Also generally a very reliable senior warrior. Will absolutely be one of Firestar's choices for his first deputy, though he ultimately picks Whitestorm.

After TPB, she has another big role as the new mentor of Squirrelpaw. Unfortunately, she has had to flunk the little fireball on her warrior assessment TWICE.

She actually talked to Firestar like, "I'm aware that this looks suspicious but I promise I'm not holding her back to spite you. She threw herself into the river."

"No no, Golfy, I'm aware she's wreckless. I never assumed you were being unfair to-- wait the river? The river with the WATER??"

"Yes. The river with the water."

She is also surviving well into OotS, as an elder. I don't like how tiny the den was for so many arcs! SO, that does mean she is going to get a pretty good look at her son's early leadership and all that entails.

Unfortunately though, she ended up taking his side in the Reveal. In her eyes, Bramblestar was LIED to. The Queen’s Rights are to protect kits-- but that doesn't mean you just get to lie to the mate who's going to raise them.

(This is also definitely colored a bit by personal bias, she would be more charitable if it was anyone else but her son)

So when he decides that the Three aren't his anymore... Goldenflower distances herself too. Lionblaze is especially painful-- she used to think he was in honor of her late brother. But now she finds out that it was all a lie.

From the elder's den, she has various opinions on the changes happening to ThunderClan under Bramblestar, like the crumble of the ShadowClan alliance. I feel like she wants to support her son, even when she thinks his choices are questionable... but at the same time, her pride prevents her from being TOO soft on him.

Just generally being a strong traditionalist in the Elder's Den, but on the softer side as opposed to Mousefur on the hard side.

I'm currently planning to axe her in the Great Battle, because there's no way she doesn't go down swinging... though I am also keeping her in mind for one of the greencough outbreaks, since I'm trying to make those into an actual threat in BB instead of "kill some randos" disease.

In any case though I want her alive into OotS to have opinions about Bramblestar, because I find that too interesting to pass up.

[visionofvoid]

How the Drivers React to Meeting/Seeing You For the First Time - Part One

Max Verstappen:

He was always supportive of Kelly picking her own staff, especially when it came to a role she would be working very closely with such as a personal assistant. He would sit with her after Penelope went to bed and help her choose the person adequate enough for the role. Max wanted someone that Kelly and Penelope would feel comfortable around, someone they could rely on and he immediately liked the look of Blake’s application. First impression purely from the resume was that he assumed Blake was a male but boy he was wrong. When Max was first introduced to Blake he immediately felt what he could only describe as uneasiness around her. She seemed comfortable straight off the bat, with the hustle and bustle of a lavish life that many would find intimidating. 

“Isn’t Blake a male name?” Were Max’s first words to her. Kelly apologised profusely before Blake simply smiled and offered a soft giggle. 

“I’ve never met a Max that wasn’t a female before. I guess we learn something new everyday.”

It was safe to say that Max had never had someone go up against him like that, someone that was more certainly not on his level or even remotely in the position to do so. So, he fuelled his uneasieness around Blake into something he was all too familiar with; hate. He had hoped that she would be gone in a few months time and that everything could go back to normal. 

Carlos Sainz:

To him you were always Ezekiel’s younger sister that just wanted someone to play with. You were still the younger sister that annoyed her three older brothers to no end in sight, wanting to feel like you belonged. He remembered the constant whining to your mother when the boys were able to go out but you couldn’t, you had to stay home because you were younger. Of course you had your own friends but you were all several years younger, crushing over boys that would never look at them in a different light other than Ezekiel’s younger sister and friends. 

Then you moved away to study abroad in America. You partied, studied, worked with children and loved, had your heart broken and cried many tears. Ezekiel, now all grown up, had started a family of his own but still spoke to Carlos on a weekly basis, catching the race whenever it was the Spanish Grand Prix and spent time with his childhood best friend when Carlos had time off. 

Carlos hadn’t seen Andrea in years until Ezekiel decided to surprise both of them at the Austin Grand Prix. Carlos was floored when Ezekiel rounded the corner, bringing his best friend in for a brotherly hug before pulling away, his eyes widening when they landed on Andrea. She still had her looks from back when they were younger but this time she grew into her body. She dressed maturely and managed to take his breath away all at the same time. 

“Andrea, wow! This is a surprise.” Ezekiel smirked as Carlos moved in, embracing Andrea in a tight hug. 

“Ah, my second favourite Spanish racer.” Andrea’s stupid and childish high-school crush looked as handsome as ever and she couldn’t help but feel insecure. She knew she would always be the best friend’s younger sister to Carlos. 

“Second?”

“Well, yes. Alonso is the first.”

Charles Leclerc:

He met Manon by chance. It was the classic right place right time trope that you see in romantic comedies. He would never say it was love at first sight, no, but he was immediately entranced by her. She was an enigma. 

The way her body moved to the beat of the music, her tight bun slowly losing its structural integrity the more she bounced around her small group of friends, strands of her dark brown hair sticking to her sweaty face. She seemed unfazed by some of the looks she was accumulating from some of the other females that were dancing a bit more modestly on the dance-floor but everyone else enjoyed her confidence, enjoyed how she let go to the sound of the music.

Everyone could just tell that she and her group of friends were not from the area, but instead they acted and looked like tourists, not that it was a bad thing. He felt a bit weird, sitting with George, Pierre and Lando in the VIP booth and just watching her but he noticed how she didn’t seem to be drinking the alcohol like her friends, but instead having fun whilst sober and making sure she was safe. 

“Go talk to her, mate.” George finally caught out, an espresso martini in his hand. The four boys decided to have a week in Monaco during their break, just have fun and let go whilst they were all young and before the world and their year got a little bit more crazier. “What have you got to lose?” Charles wondered in his head how he could sneak down to the general dancefloor and introduce himself to the girl without being noticed. 

He finally found his way walking towards her, offering a smile to some of the fans on his way but he was on a mission. He felt his friends eyes watching him and he secretly hoped he wouldn’t be rejected, he couldn’t deal with the teasing. It wasn’t hard to spot the girl from ground level, her bun sat tall and bobbed up and down. She grinned at her friends before spinning around and paused as the song ended, her eyes landing right on Charles. 

“You just gonna stand there or introduce yourself?” 

Daniel Ricciardo:

Claudia was eternally grateful when her uncle decided to offer her a position as a Junior Events Manager working out of Red Bull Racing in Milton Keynes. She had just graduated college and was looking to kick start her professional career, applying for various roles across London before Christian and Geri approached her with the idea to apply for the new 2023 intake. Christian had assured her that he would not be making the final decision and could only give a recommendation and that she would undertake the same application process as everyone else that was applying. It was only fair, she thought. 

So, when she finally got the call to come in and sign all the necessary legal documents and bring in relevant information (such as passports for international purposes such as following the race and security clearances) she was so thankful and so relieved. She was caught in traffic and was running a little bit behind her personal schedule, enough to make only herself nervous, so she pulled into one of the only remaining staff car parks closest to the entrance. She managed to beat someone else, the driver throwing their hands up in annoyance and honking at her, not that she was really worried about that for the time being. 

Daniel was livid. Not only did someone steal his car park but he was now ten minutes late. He liked to be on time, he liked to arrive early even but he had forgotten what traffic was like in the area at that time in the morning. The small action set him off for the rest of the morning, his stomps on the gravel kicking up bits that went flying everywhere. He knew what she looked like, at least the behind of her that he saw rush into the building. Christian finally spotted his third drive, Max and Sergio beside him, all three dressed in Red Bull branded clothing.

“Daniel, so lovely to finally join us. I have someone I’d like you to meet.” Christian began, shaking his hand before Daniel turned to the other two racers, sharing a smile and shaking their hands.

“Sorry I’m late. There was this incident in the car park and i-” Christian smiled brightly, looking behind Daniel causing the man to look over his shoulder. Though he only saw the back of her he knew this was the woman from this morning, the front of her matching the clothes, the same copper hair.

“My niece, Claudia. Claudia, Daniel Ricciardo.” Well, this is great, Daniel thought. 

Lance Stroll:

Piper Broadstone is the youngest daughter of two incredibly wealthy car collectors and curators. She was no stranger to the glitz and glamour of the life she was born into, sometimes loathing it when she wished to have some secrets to herself, sometimes appreciating it when she needed to use it for her own gain. She is an incredibly smart young woman, known to be quite quiet unless conversing with close family and friends. She would wear the most lavish dresses to galas, charity balls and auction nights and bask in the flash of the photography. Tonight was no different. 

Piper sat in a rather uncomfortable seat decorated with an almost acidic green backing. She listened as the auctioneer called out the newest bids, going back and forth with bidders and new prices. Every now and then she would put in a bid for something that piqued her interest; the first edition of a literary classic, an all-expenses paid trip to somewhere exotic and sometimes jewellery. She was oblivious to what was currently up for grabs. 

“Fifty-thousand dollars going to number six-zero-three. Going once, going twice-” Piper held up her bidders paddle, her lucky number eighteen in white block letters. 

“Seventy-five thousand.” The auctioneer seemed taken back by the twenty-five thousand increased bid but nodded, calling out according to his script. Lance looked over to where the woman called out the new bid, dissatisfied with the fact that her back was facing towards him, as was everyone else on the table or they were obstructed by a large structural column. He did note that the colour dress she wore was very similar to the green of his racing suit. His father’s eyebrows raised slightly before he simply smirked. His father was the reason why this charity auction was put together in the first place, it was good PR. 

“Seventy-five thousand. Going once, going twice. Sold! An one-on-one drive and date with Aston Martin’s Formula One race car driver, Lance Stroll, is sold to Piper Broadstone.” Lance, who was about to swallow a mouthful of whiskey choked from the sudden announcement before looking up to where the woman sat, now turned around and smiled at him. 

Piper looked back to Lance, someone she had only seen from a distance at other similar events or being briefly introduced to by her parents. The Broadstones and the Stroll’s were quite well known, in the same financial calibre. Well, there could be worse things to win at an auction.

[morallyinept]

A full character analysis on AGENT WHISKEY from the film KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

I've created this as a point of reference when writing for Pedro's characters, and I hope you find it useful. Even if you just want to learn more about the character. 🖤

FULL MASTERLIST OF PEDRO'S CHARACTERS ANALYSED

FULL CHARACTER STUDY:

Basic Details:

Full Name: Agent Whiskey/Jack Daniels

Nickname(s): None, real name Jack Daniels

Appears in: Kingsman: The Golden Circle, 2017 (first appearance seen at approx. 47:41)

Age (if known): 42 - (Although this was the age Pedro was himself when he filmed his scenes, and Whiskey's DOB is listed the same as Pedro's, 2nd April 1975, so his age may be incorrect. This was found via Whiskey's character Wiki page, see the bottom of this post for the link.)

Nationality: American, from Kentucky

Sexuality: Straight

Family: Former sweetheart/wife and unborn baby boy

Spouse/Partner: None, however he did have a "sweetheart" who died when she was out getting groceries and was caught in the crossfire of a robbery. It is claimed she was his wife, but he never refers to her as his wife or girlfriend in the film, only as his "sweetheart"

Relationship Status: Single/possibly a widower if he was married

Current Living Status: Deceased - Death by meat grinder

Languages Spoken: English

Education: Not confirmed, however as Whiskey is a secret agent, he would have had substantial training with Statesman. Assumed would have had school/college education as minimum before joining/recruited

Occupation:

Job Role/Title: Senior Statesman Secret Agent/Spy

Special Skill(s): Master marksman with guns, skilled with a lasso/whip, combat training, espionage and spy experience, can pilot aircraft

Notable Colleague(s): Eggsy, Galahad, Champ, Tequila, Ginger

Distinguishing Features:

Tattoo(s): None

Piercings: None

Scar(s): Mark/scar on left temple by left eye from being shot at point blank range by Agent Galahad

Other Markings: Freckles on neck

Eye Colour: Brown

Prominent Feature(s): Moustache

Injuries: Whiskey is shot in the head at point blank range, left side temple, by Agent Galahad, but is saved and revived by an alpha gel nanite pack. He's left with a mark/scar on his lower temple, right by his left eye. He is later killed by being pushed into a meat grinder, head first

Hair Colour: Brown

Whiskey's mark/scar from being shot at by Galahad:

Personality:

Traits: cunning, adept, clever

Whiskey appears to be from Kentucky, based on his American accent and where Statesman is based in the film.

Whiskey is against any mercy being shown to helping cure the people poisoned by Poppy's drugs, due to his own story of loss and grief due to drugs. His sweetheart/wife was killed whilst out grocery shopping by two meth addicts, who held up the store. She was also pregnant with his baby boy at the time.

Whiskey is a master marksman; he is adept and can shoot at moving targets with precision, barely missing. He can do tricks with his guns such as spinning them around his fingers.

Whiskey's whip/lasso can be turned electric and can cut through almost anything, including metal.

It is apparent throughout the movie that Whiskey harbors some sort of dislike for Ginger Ale. He has voted against her several times to become a field agent. This has never been explained or really explored in the film. Fan theories suggest it's because he is trying to protect her from being in the field due to what happened to his sweetheart/wife. Other theories suggest he is resentful that she couldn't help save his sweetheart/wife with the tech they have at Statesman; he later tells her that she didn't fix Galahad properly, hence why Galahad shot at him: "well I’m guessin’ you didn’t fix him right!" The real reason for Whiskey's distaste of her however, has been left open to interpretation. Later, after Whiskey's death, Ginger is promoted to an agent, and is, ironically, assigned Whiskey's code name.

Whiskey sees himself as a charmer with the ladies, telling Eggsy to "watch and learn, kid" when he attempts to smooth talk the target at the festival. He ultimately fails.

When we first meet Whiskey on screen, he is based in the New York office of Statesman, and is referred to as a senior agent by Champ, indicating Whiskey has been with Statesman for a long time and has plenty of experience and leadership skills, and is one of their best agents.

Fashion/Outfits:

Outfit 1 - (Opening scene in New York office) Black suit, white shirt, textured tie, Stetson, Statesman aviator spectacles

Outfit 2 - (Picking up Eggsy & festival scene) Black leather jacket with brown under collar, white round neck t-shirt, dark blue jeans, black wellington boots, Stetson, aviator sunglasses, brown studded Whiskey flask belt, watch/tracker on left wrist

Outfit 3 - (The bar scene) Blue wool blazer, dark denim jeans, brown boots, white shirt, blue polka dot tie, Stetson, brown studded Whiskey flask belt

Outfit 4 - (Statesman HQ scene) Brown wool blazer, white shirt, black/blue and white striped tie, Stetson

Outfit 5 - (Mountain scene) Blue snow suit, blue gilet, white turtle neck vest, black leather gloves, Stetson, aviators, black snow boots

Outfit 6 - (Piloting jet) American Flag helmet with name 'Whiskey' printed on it, denim jacket with brown lapels, grey denim look shirt, aviators

Outfit 7 - (Final showdown scene) Denim jacket with brown lapels, dark denim jeans, grey denim-look flannel shirt, brown boots, Stetson, brown studded belt with Whiskey flask, brown leather knife sheath and gun holsters on belt

Accessories: Aviator sunglasses, brown Stetson, watch/tracker on left wrist, silver engraved mini Whiskey hipflask belt buckle, which is detachable and he drinks from it

Weapons Used:

Weapon(s): (Exact weapons pictured below)

Whiskey has two Colt single action army 5.5 artillery model .45 long colt pistols that were custom designed and made for the film, and silver barreled. They are sheathed in a dual gun holster leather strap, embossed with the Statesman logo.

Whiskey has a whip/lasso that he can make electric, which has the power to cut through thick metal

Whiskey also has a knife with a thick brown handle, that he uses in the final showdown fight with Eggsy & Galahad

Modes of Transport:

Vehicle(s):

Whiskey drives a 1970 Ford Bronco with white top and trim and black base

Whiskey pilots the 'Silver Pony,' which is an F 22-A Raptor Fighter Jet

Dialogue:

🗨 See Whiskey's full dialogue from the film, including deleted scenes.

Further Character Links (if any):

Behind The Scenes Interview with Pedro Pascal, Kingman: The Golden Circle Behind The Scenes, Final Fight Over Briefcase VFX With Whiskey

Whiskey's Villain Wiki Page

Samples of Whiskey's Wardrobe - Brown Stetson, white shirt, blue wool blazer & tie info obtained via Styleofpascal IG

FULL MASTERLIST OF PEDRO'S CHARACTERS ANALYSED

[stellocchia]

I've talked about this already in a reblog [LINK] but I do find it fascinating how every time, without a fail, when cTommy would start getting close to someone they would immediately register as a threat to cDream.

cWilbur is the most obvious one. He was cTommy's big brother, his protector, the person he arguably loved and relied on the most. And cDream was very very obviously jealous of said fact. And he'd been jealous from the beginning. And he tried to weasel his way into the big brother role from all the way back in og L'Manburg.

I will never get over the fact that he only ever tried to change cTommy's mind on even being in L'Manburg [LINK because this is fucking funny]. And then later in Pogtopia that he left a special gift basket which included his treasured crossbow as well as the book Tyrant and a bunch of other stuff to cTommy when he only gave Techno (Pogtopia's most skilled fighter) one single either gold or god apple. The fact that, despite saying he would help from the shadows only, he still very much fought the pet wars by cTommy's side. Or that, after confession he was actually on cSchlatt's side and being against cTommy going to retrieve his stuff from his old house in public, he still allowed him in private. And then spent the whole pre-war hanging with cTommy.

He was always trying to get in cTommy's good graces. To sorta take him from under cWilbur's nose. And it didn't work because cTommy has always been about as loyal as you can get, so he went with the best possible alternative and encouraged cWilbur's self-destructive behaviors until he did the job for him. And then he just never brought him back until he was certain that he was no longer a threat to his big brother role [LINK to Tommy literally saying that cWilbur was worse than cDream].

But cWilbur was so SO far from being the only threat to cDream's fragile attachment. And, in fact, I would argue he wasn't even the biggest threat in cDream's mind.

After all, cDream never put that much effort into getting rid of cWilbur. Partially because cWilbur was already spiraling and distancing himself from cTommy, but I also think that he just didn't respect him all that much as a rival. Though that's mostly speculation.

No, the biggest threat was always cTubbo. The best buddy, best friends forever. There is a reason why during exile, while the role he was trying to cover was more akin to cWilbur's role in cTommy's life, his wording wasn't. He never used the term "brothers" always "best friends".

There is a reason why he went through the trouble of utterly destroying cClingy relationship far more than he ever did for cCrime, by framing cTommy, by demanding harsher punishments at the trial, by taunting cTommy and escalating the situation over and over again. And then still by discouraging cTubbo from visiting and by lying to cTommy about cTubbo just discarding his 'my Tommy' compass. And then, when none of that worked, he went for the ultimate betrayal, because he knew it would hurt cTommy immensely if cTubbo gave up the disc he'd been given as an ultimate act of trust, and he knew that he could break cTubbo's trust in cTommy even more. And when EVEN THAT didn't work he straight-up went for murdering cTubbo because my man was fed up (at least if we assume that the staged finale didn't completely go according to plan, but if I go on a rant about how UTTERLY MORONIC the staged finale was here I'll never stop).

cTubbo was always cDream's biggest enemy, and it really goes to show how single-minded he was as a villain that cTubbo being his nemesis wasn't even about cTubbo.

Next level obsession there.

Of course, the two of them weren't the only threats, just the biggest. Bud cDream didn't stop at them. He tried to kill Ghostbur during exile just because his constant presence was too much of a comfort to cTommy and later on actually killed him to revive the version of cWilbur cTommy seemingly hated. He took two of MD's lives because he not only was willing to move in with cTommy, but also wasn't afraid to call cDream out on his bullshit which, if you rewatch that stream, seemed to really bother cDream. Also the fact that cTommy, as soon as he was offered an alternative to follow MD's orders and rules instead of cDream's took it with pretty much no hesitation probably didn't help cDream's dislike of MD. He also never revived cRanboo, and it is very possible that it's because he knew that he and cTommy were friends.

Murders aside, he also sabotaged cTommy's and cRanboo's communication more than once when he realized they were getting close. Which shows that he ether considered cRanboo only a minor threat or simply still useful, because had anyone else visited that much they would be dead.

He also immediately threatened to hurt cPhil when cTommy started relying on him post-prison break. And let's not forget that time cLazar was literally only going to visit with a present and cDream considered it such a big threat that he made cLazar take part in abusing cTommy so thoroughly that cTommy was sure not to want anything to do with him in the future. (also, kind of an interesting coincidence that cLazar was one of the unlucky two selected to be slaughtered for the sake of science...).

Every time cTommy has gotten especially close to anyone, cDream was always there, ready to intervene, ready to deal with the threat as swiftly as possible. Because ANYONE would have been a better choice for cTommy and he knew it. And he acted accordingly.

Curiously, the only one he never took action against was cTechno, though I do wonder if that was just because of how obviously doomed cBedrock bros were from the very start. cDream does know the extent of cTommy's loyalty very VERY well after all...

[cannedbeefaroni]

March Of The Pigs: The Bad Touch Pt. 2 (Edward Nashton X Reader)

Part 1

Summary: You can't save Edward Nashton when the whole system is rigged against its patients. Desperate times call for desperate measures

Content: SMUT 18+, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, MEDICAL MALPRACTISE, MANIPULATION, POWER IMBALANCE (for those reasons, i consider this fic to be DUBCON), VIOLENCE, Reader and Edward have a bit of a role reversed Harley Quinn and Joker dynamic, Edward is described to struggle with hypersexuality and paraphilias (based on how the reader is described, they also have those issues), handjob, penetrative sex (not specified whether its anal or vaginal), exhibitionism (public sex), physical restraints, degradation

Y/N is referred to in second person as you/yours and is written to be entirely gender neutral.

(I'm sorry this is pretty short)

You were so fucking sick. Sick of yourself trying to assimilate into this corrupt, archaic environment, thinking you had any sort of power to be the change you wanted to see. You thought working at Arkham Asylum would give you the opportunity to help the outcasts and undesirables of society. It was stupid of you to assume that would ever be the case. All you achieved was becoming a pon in a system that only benefits the top 1%. There was no such thing as helping anybody, only imprisonment and torturous treatment, pretending to the rest of the world that something good was being done. You weren’t better, you realize how selfish you had become at the hands of this job. At this point, you weren’t even sure who was to blame: you, the given circumstances, or Edward Nashton. You knew what he was capable of, so it infuriated you seeing how small and weak he chose to become. Watching him be manhandled by guards on nearly a daily basis made you want to vomit. The worst of it had to be that one time you had the misfortune of seeing the nurses physically restrain him to the floor as they forced medication down his throat. You had a horrific epiphany that you never felt real empathy in your life until now. Knowing that for years you had seen all this occur and simply looked away, you hated yourself for it.

The day you had lost your job was the biggest relief of your life, but simultaneously the worst thing to ever happen. You’ll admit that it was probably unethical to perform sexual acts on your patient, but at a certain point you just stopped caring. You didn’t value working there anymore. You were able to engage with Edward inappropriately in three different sessions before you were found out, the last time being caught on camera in irrefutable evidence. 

The first time you met with him after the incident began, you were extremely cautious, aware that you had gotten overzealous the last time. Making sure to be as quiet as possible, you touched him again. He was even more eager this time about it, body shaking as he fucked your fist. Keeping your head down, you pretended that the interaction was purely professional. Your face stayed dead straight as your body internally screamed for relief. His tip turned red as precum pooled from his aching dick. You must have unintentionally leaned in closer, because you could feel his heavy breaths on your face as you kept your head down. Then he kissed you, catching you off guard. He leaned down, catching your lips with his, tilting his head to the side as his mouth dropped open, forcing his tongue into your mouth. He couldn’t hold you, since his hands were cuffed behind his back as per usual, but you didn’t pull away. You knew you should’ve pushed him away, but you just sat there, letting him make out with you as you unenthusiastically tugged on his dick. You felt miserable, knowing you were nothing but his therapist as he shot ropes of cum on your shirt, then it pooled over your hand. Near tears, he apologized profusely, but you insisted it was alright. You rushed to the bathroom after that session, desperately trying to wash your shirt in the sink, but you could only do so much, and ended up going the rest of the day in a soiled, damp shirt. 

During your last encounter with Edward, you were acutely aware that this arrangement couldn’t last much longer. You couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone knew what you were doing with him. Even though you felt your days were numbered, you decided against your better judgment to risk it all, going as far as possible. You put him inside you, and he didn’t stop you. Leaning back in his seat as far as his arms cuffed around the back would let him, you sat on his lap with his legs spread open, and you fucked him. He hissed viscerally behind you, tensing every muscle in his body as he resisted the urge to scream from the feeling of how mercilessly you viced him. Leaning forward, holding yourself up against the table, you rode his dick, and no matter how slow you went, the chair clanked against the floor. You hung your head, staring at your feet as you two desperately thrusted into each other. His tip prodded deep inside you, feeling as if every organ in your stomach was reacting to his penetration. Despite trying to keep the pace slow, he kept going faster, and you didn’t have the willpower to deny it. 

“You’re doing so well,” you praised him, for the first time in a genuine tone. You sounded disheveled and breathless. 

“You’re a shitty fucking therapist,” he chuckles cruelly. Head spinning back, you glare at him, eyes glossed over. That was probably your biggest mistake. Looking him desperately in the eyes as he degraded you so viciously. There was never a point in your life where you came that hard. It was almost numbing, and you couldn’t stop yourself from screaming out in pure ecstasy. Soon after he came inside, filling you up so much it was dripping down your legs when you stood up. 

“I’m sorry, Edward. I’ll make things right, I promise,” you said as the session finished, and you dressed the two of you back up before leaving, allowing the guards to take him back to his cell. 

Soon after you were called into your boss’ office. You didn’t need to go to know you were fired, but you did anyway. It was probably the most humiliating moment of your life, but on the plus side, they’d keep this incident a secret.Apparently what you had done was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen in the history of the asylum. It seemed they cared more about a public image than morality. You were told to never speak of it and move on. Somehow, that outcome was even worse than you expected. The truth was finally revealed to you: that there was no saving this abomination. There was no guilt or questioning what you were about to do. 

It was disgustingly simple, sneaking into places you didn’t belong, stealing a ring of keys from an unsuspecting guard, and just playing a guessing game of which one would unlock the button in the control room that would unlock all of the cells. The guards were all underpaid and undertrained, making the simple act of carrying out the plan right under their noses a breeze. One of them asked what you were doing, but all you had to do was flash your ID, which you hadn’t turned in like you were just told to. 

The moment the cover was lifted and the button was hit, you had mere minutes to carry out the rest of your plan as the emergency sirens blared. You were free to find Edward’s cell. Just like all the others, his cell door was wide open, and he was standing in the doorway, confused and scared. You run straight towards him, almost knocking him over as you collide. He tries to protest, stuttering as you grab his hands and bolt down the corridor, taking him with you. Finding a fire extinguisher on a wall, you smashed the glass with your fist and hauled it into your arms, slowing down, allowing security to catch up, but you swung it around, hitting one of them in the stomach with intense force. You and Edward continued your escape as you located any room with windows that weren’t barred in. Finding the office you were just fired in, the door was left wide open, so you ran in and threw the fire extinguisher through the window. 

This was the worst possible escape route, as the window led to a steep drop into the ocean. It probably wouldn’t kill you, but you didn’t have an option as you only had mere seconds to act before the two of you would be apprehended. Edward was petrified, but didn’t hesitate when you grabbed him, throwing him out the window, as well as yourself. 

It felt like you had died. The only feeling in your body was how cold it was, but the moment you realized you weren’t getting air, your survival instincts reacted, and you started moving again, peaking your head from the murky water before you could drown. Red flashing lights were reflecting in the pitch black water of the harbor. You could feel something brush along your leg, and your heart sunk when you realized it was Edward, still underwater. You dived in, reaching for him until you finally got a grasp on the scruff of his shirt. Pulling him up, his face peaked into the air, and for a moment he was completely still. You shook him as hard as you could, even slapping his face to wake him up, then he started hacking and coughing violently. His face was bleeding, and his glasses were missing entirely, leading you to assume they broke and cut him up. Holding onto him, you began swimming toward the nearest infrastructure in the water, needing something to hold onto so you wouldn’t drown from fatigue. Hiding in the water under the docks seemed like the safest option for now. 

Arkham was ignited with chaos as the freed inmates rampaged the island. Your head was so full of water you could barely hear the gunshots and violence occurring. You clung for dear life to a filthy algae covered wooden support. Edward was clinging to you, his head hinged on your shoulder. He was crying, and you didn’t know why it shocked you. You forced this upon him, now it was your responsibility to save him.