#And thus being a lot of kids' first gay ship

[the-poppy-outie-effect]

Begging yall to keep Pigsy's characterization in your freenoodles content

Yes, he's a sweetheart and madly in love with Tang, but that doesn't change the fact that he's still a grumpy middle aged man and Will React As Such. More grumpy middle aged man Pigsy characterization please, it's very important

#lmk pigsy #/nm #lego monkie kid #It's just a weird trend I've noticed #Probably the product of this being a kids property #And thus being a lot of kids' first gay ship #(Or at least first older gay ship) #I bet it's just a lot of not knowing how to deal with Not teenage gays #I just. I like pigsy's characterization okay #Hes the way he is for a reason #freenoodleshipping #Freenoodles works Because of the annoyed/annoying dynamic #It's the bickering like an old married couple that made it interesting #And then it was garnished with the fact that they're obviously in love #And have been married for years #By all means enjoy the ship as you will #If that means being ooc then by all means #But I'd like to see more in character sometimes! #Just a thought #Idk #Shut up Beck sorry beck #Tang lmk

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I made it better

I'm assuming this is because of me getting annoyed at Azutara shippers in my other blog and calling them and Tyzula fans the "Azula fandom's equivalent of Zutara and Zukka" XD

Anyways *grabs a megaphone and gets on a soap-box*

As a bisexual woman that would go crazy with joy if Azula was gay/bi, and that ships her with Ty Lee and Mai, and even Toph and Suki every now and then, let me make one thing very clear here: Azula DOES have a confirmed canon sexuality, and it's straight. Heterosexual. Likes guys and only guys. The idea that ANY gay ship was CANON in ATLA, a show made in 2005 by a kid's Network, is ridiculous.

Azula explicitly stated that she has tried to flirt with boys before and it never worked out because they are scared of her. She was jealous that boys were paying attention to Ty Lee - and while fanfic writers, and even I, like to say stuff like "Oh, you don't like them getting too close to your gilfriend, Azula?" it's VERY CLEAR that the show was going for the classic "Why do they like her and not ME?" aka she wanted attention from GUYS. She wanted to hook up with Chan, and immediately went for "Let's conquer the world together!" after one kiss. Even the up-coming Azula comic has her dreaming of a guy trying to flirt with her and calling her pretty.

For fuck's sake, Grey Delisle already admiting to voicing the scene between Azula and Zuko as if Azula was trying to seduce her own brother. Meanwhile, even though she likes Tyzula now, when asked about the ship her first reaction was the same as the one every actor, writer and/or showrunner had to hearing about popular gay ships: "I did not see that coming."

It might seem surreal nowadays that the Network let the show get away with incest bait but gay characters were out of question, but that's what happened because, surprise surprise, homophobia was still going strong. Hell, it's still going strong TODAY.

Lots of Nickelodeon shows from the 90's and early/mid 2000's tried to get away with implying or flat out saying "This character is gay" and it ALWAYS resulted in banned episodes, some of which became lost media because the Network was just that desperate to bury any evidence of it to avoid controversy. Even characters that never had any love interests ever were assumed to be straight - not as in "treat them as being straight unless we say otherwise" but in "They are straight because that's the only thing allowed to exist in kid's media." There was no "otherwise" to be heard of. Fitting for years that followed the policy literally called "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL."

THAT was the general sentiment around homosexuality at the time, especially on TV (KIDS TV, I remind you): pretend you don't know that's a thing.

Even The Legend Of Korra, that parts of the fandom still pretends did anything for gay representation, had the creators (the same who made ATLA) that they never even bothered to ask Nickelodeon if they could Korrasami happen, and thus kept the whole love triangle, with the girls fighting over a GUY, going. It wasn't until the very end that they had the guts to ask "Can we make them hold hands in the finale?" and Nick said "Sure, the final season will basically not be aired on TV anyways." Bryke even had to state ONLINE that "Yes, they are a couple." Only THEN, with the positive response from audiences, that neither the writers nor the Network had thought could ever gain any sympathy for the show, did they make Korra and Assami have an actual relationship in the Korra comics.

Do these guys sound like the type that would leave a character's sexuality up for debate or even try to write a gay couple into the show IN 2005, years before Korra was allowed to get away with a slight hint of gayness that to be explained on Twitter?

They didn't make Azula's attempts to win guys over fail to show she was a gay teen trying too hard to be something she was not, her envy that Ty Lee was getting a ton of attention from boys while she wasn't was meant to be taken as EXACTLY that, and no cutesy moment between her and her friends was meant to be taken as anything other just gals being pals.

We can, and should, point out that it is unfair that gay relationships were treated as "too adult" while straight romances weren't. We can change any character's sexuality in fanfics. We can ship whatever the hell we like. But claiming Azula was EVER meant to be seen as anything other than a 100% straight girl that just sucked at flirting and thus was struggling to get a boyfriend is just a flat out lie.

She's not bisexual. She's not a lesbian. Her sexuality was not "left up to debate" because THERE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE A DEBATE!

Again, I would love a bisexual Azula (provided that wasn't handled by people like Yang and Bryke, who see her as nothing more than an ableist stereotype), but let's not kid ourselves here.

Nickelodeon is not our "ally", they're a company that wants your money. Bryke, by their own admission, were not revolutionaries who pushed for gay representation and were ready to give up on the idea of same-sex relationship with no resistence if the Network told them "no, only straight romances allowed". Korra was no Steven Universe or even Adventure Time, it was basically Disney with it's 50th "first" gay character that gets five seconds of screentime. Azula's sexuality absolutely WAS confirmed and it is (sadly for me) heterosexual.

And to the people that claim to love headcanons for bisexual Azula, but still insist I should only ship her with women, or make her strongly prefer women, or only have had bad experiences with men and positive ones with women, otherwise she'll be "basically straight": your biphobia is showing, stop hating on bi women everytime they shatter your ilusion that we're just confused/in denial and will eventually realize we're actually lesbians.

#azula #azula is straight #*cries in bisexual annoyance*/frustration #homophobia #biphobia

[acertainmoshke]

Happy STS! Is there an aspect of your WIP that you think will start internet arguments if it gets published? 🍿

Oh wow so many.

For one thing, is Shakatra actually autistic or are you just reading into it? (or do they just live in the 50's when that label wasn't an option?) Even though they have multiple meltdowns, constant sensory sensitivities, frequently stim, etc.

Also, I definitely completely ruined the narrative by not having Kris and Maggie get together in the end despite their obvious chemistry (or, you know, he got a non-sibling friend for the first time in his life).

I might escape the worst of it tbh though because I don't really have a lot of shippable characters. I have three adult characters throughout, two teenagers, and the rest are kids. I guess people could ship Zuri and Moss, at a stretch, just for being unrelated teenagers? You just made me realize that (note: ONLY in the first book) I don't actually have any possible gay ships.

No. I lie. People would be writing enemies to lovers about Maggie and Shaka. But there aren't a lot of characters to ship, is my point, and thus not many to war about.

People would probably whitewash Kris for being "not black because he's not even human" (I mean, Shaka is purple but is still white; and I made sure Kris has actual brown skin despite his many inhuman features).

Oh and of course it's horribly problematic because Shakatra kills people and isn't kind or gentle. And I'm sure would be labeled bad enby rep for it.

But probably, I would mostly end up with internet debates about things that didn't even seem like a big deal at the time because that seems to be the way of things.

This is such a fun question, thanks!

#moshke writes #writeblr #cold iron #storyteller saturday

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

I think you mentioned it a few times... But can we get a peak at anything left on the cutting room floor for Dekugate? Notes, cut contact, ect? If you feel okay with that! I just love this story and wanna see all your thoughts on it, even what didn't make the cut. Kinda like dvd extras I guess ahahh.

HOWEVER I get you cut some things for a reason and know how tumbler can be and don't want drama, so it's cool if you just don't feel comfortable with that.

There are two main story elements that got cut.

The first one is that there was originally going to be more of a subplot around Izuku having crushes on both Uraraka and Aoyama. I say ‘crushes,’ but it was closer to what it ended up being where he’s not sure how to feel about them or the idea of being close like that with anyone. When Izuku learned about dekugate, the internal conflict would shift to how his toxic fans would treat them. They’d hate Uraraka for being a girl since aggressive shippers tend to view male/female relationships as inherently lesser, but with Aoyama, they’d just be fetishized. But i worried that having overt shipping stuff like that would overwrite the focus on the fic in the minds of readers; the relationships would be seen as what’s at stake instead of Izuku’s mental health on its own. When I decided to cut it down from a subplot into a background detail, I favored the Uraraka parts because they fit neatly into the more misogyny-focused critiques.  And why did I end up focusing on that part?  For one, as a female-bodied person, misogyny, particularly misogyny coming from other women, is something I have more experience in and thus felt I had more to say.  That, and I worried that even if i made careful critiques about how women in fandom often fetishize gay men via reductive stereotypes and how applying that fandom behavior to real life people can cause harm, people would just see it as “ew gay ships are bad.”  If I were to ever do some kind of follow up, I’d give more time to the fetishization side of things.

The second major cut was a lot more detail about the backstory of Toshi and Inko’s relationship, as well as an expository dump of refutations for every single insane thing the dekugaters claimed.  Most of it was stuff so obvious, it really didn’t need to be spelled out, (why aren’t they holding hands and smiling in every photo?  because no one smiles and holds hands at every single moment, even two people in love.)  The rest was either shaved down to just the most relevant bits, or left to implication.

I’ll summarize the highlights under the cut:

- Toshinori was interested in Inko right away since by that point, he was the symbol of peace and constantly surrounded by hero worship.  Between being a naturally anxious person and the paranoia that comes with fame, he didn’t think it was possible for anyone to ever fall for the real him.  Then he met Inko, someone who called him a show-boating poser to his face, and fell head over heels right there.

- It’s only hinted at briefly in the fic itself, but Toshi didn’t come from a great home.  His hang ups about Izuku being named after someone came from the fact that he himself was named after a great grandfather in an attempt by Toshi’s mother to appease his anger for having a kid out of wedlock, with an American tourist no less.  He was already looked down on by his conservative family for being illegitimate, but once his mother ‘properly’ married and starting having more kids, they emotionally neglected him even more.  By the time he moved out to live with Gran Torino, they barely noticed he was gone.

- Inko’s biological parents were a low-level thug for hire who bounced between gangs, and her mother was a sex worker who gave her up for adoption, then later died of an overdose when Inko was a toddler.  None of this was particularly relevant for Inko growing up, but the dekugaters would eventually dig up the records and use them to fling accusations.  But until then, Inko had a fairly normal childhood all things considered.  She didn’t bounce around foster families too often, and the ones she had were good people.  Mitsuki was in the same home as her for a few years, and they kept in touch after she was adopted.

- Inko’s hero’s journey began when she was eleven.  She and some friends stopped at a convenience store to grab some snacks after school, when a villain took the whole place hostage.  Nobody was hurt, but it took almost two hours for any heroes to even show up, during which Inko thought she was going to die.  Afterward, she needed to know why it took so long for help to come.  This was a time before heroes were on every street corner, and her neighborhood was outside of the nearest agencies’ ranges.  She decided to fill in the gap herself.

- Her UA career wasn’t all that eventful.  She got into the hero course by using her quirk to pull all the bolts out of the robots, but she didn’t make it to the tournament stage of the sports festival until her third year, at which point she was eliminated in the first round.  Instead of going straight into hero work, she went to college to study management and urban engineering so she would have everything she needed to run a self-sufficient hero agency.  Before the dekugaters, she had plans to construct a new agency building that doubled as a community center.

- One of the big dekugate brain rot posts i eliminated before writing was a timeline breaking down Inko’s pregnancy to ‘prove’ it was fake, complete with the exact date they believed izuku would have been conceived on and it’s impossible because All Might was seen doing something else not with Inko that day.  This is unfortunately based on real posts.  But since I cut it, it didn’t need it’s refutation, which is that the dekugaters’ stalking isn’t as accurate as they think.  Their dates were top to bottom wrong, with inko becoming pregnant way later than they thought and Izuku being born prematurely.

- Their dating timelines were also screwed up, but mostly because they refused to believe All Might would commit to anyone so fast when ‘they were barely seen together’ aka if something doesn’t appear on social media, it doesn’t exist.

- Izuku still went to Aldera in this universe for 3 reasons: it’s in the neighborhood his Mom works in and he wanted the chance to see her on action walking to and from school; he still saw Bakugou as his only friend and he wanted to have someone he knew at his first public school experience; he played down all the bullying and quirkless discrimination to his parents until after he let for UA, otherwise they would have homeschooled him again and he didn’t want to be isolated anymore.

- izuku’s UA experience up to the point of the fic has been largely unchanged from canon.  This is because this is supposed to be a small, self-contained fic and it’s a lot easier for readers to understand when the conspiracy posts reference canon events.

- Melissa does know about the conspiracy, but just the part about her dad and uncle being together, none of the fake kid stuff around Izuku.  But because most of that fandom likes her, not many people have been obnoxious enough for her to think it runs any deeper than a few overzealous shippers.

If there are any other weird conspiracy claims from the fic you want context for, just let me know

#answers #dekugate

[scary-monsters]

Now I'm curious. How do you see Gyro fitting into your modern Diego / SBR au?

LOVE this question because.. tbh.. I haven't thought a whole lot about his role in the au 🤔 but now this has me thinking.

diego first finds out about gyro through johnny's instagram account, and by that time the two have been dating for a while. this is during diego's time at cambridge, right before he moves to the states, so him and johnny are both 20-somethings that finally moved past the awkward kiss years ago. they aren't quite best friends again but they follow each other and sometimes engage in the same sort of banter they did as kids.

but gyro's backstory on his own isn't something i've really fleshed out, i think this is because writing his character is weirdly difficult for me, i'm not fully confident in myself in that regard. same with drawing him. 😭 i like the idea of him being in a band ??? and maybe johnny meets him at a show, probably when he's around 18 or 19. johnny is struggling with his own identity, not only in terms of sexuality, but he doesn't go to university, he has no idea what he wants to do and just sort of.. spends his time tending to his family's ranch (this is how diego and him met; diego took riding lessons there when he was very young)

so ANYWAY, let's say johnny tends to frequent a local bar that occasionally hosts shows for small bands. and let's say gyro's band plays one night and johnny finds himself enamored by the frontman. maybe it's gyro's confidence or the way he keeps making eye contact with him and clearly trying to get a reaction out of johnny who maintains a stone-cold expression the entire time. thus begins johnny's crush that he fights very hard to suppress.

the one thing i DO clearly imagine, and find funny, is the idea of gyro trying to talk to johnny and accidentally spilling a drink on his shirt 💀 and apologizing profusely before wheeling him away backstage to get away from the crowd and clean him up. he gives him a band tee and jokes that johnny can pay him later before giving him his number, and they stay in touch (gyro always initiating the conversation). this is such a rough idea but eventually they catch feelings and johnny fully succumbs to his identity. so he becomes a roadie!! and travels all over the place with gyro, whose band slowly grows in popularity.

going back to diego (bc oops, he's the main character), i don't think he'd meet gyro until the band becomes successful enough to tour a small number of cities in the states. that meeting would be hilarious tbh. i also love the idea of it not happening until the gyjo wedding. either way, diego will be a shithead at first and demand credit for being johnny's "true gay awakening" 💀💀💀

granted, this au branches into self-ship territory and gyro plays a very different role, HOWEVER, in terms of where i would place him when it comes to a potential fic? this is what i'd do with him. i think. this is a lot of brainstorming LOL... thank you for the opportunity and SORRY THIS IS SO LONG

[russilton]

I’m curious about how you and Kimy met each other & got together, and who started shipping 4463 first? Just interested in hearing this kinda story and you can totally ignore me if you don’t want to answer. Hope you both have a nice weekend 😁

God no I love answering this question!

(Edit: while answering this question you caused me irreparable damage as I realised for the first time that abu dahbi 21 was the direct cause of me and kimy being on the call where I realised she liked me, and then I asked her out. I will never recover.)

Kimy (aka @thatsmemate ) and I met in 2017, technically twice, first in a shared discord server where we didn’t even realise we’d talked till years later, and the second time via tumblr

We both used to ship a fairly popular marvel ship (and still do, just less actively) that will go unnamed for the sake of plausible deniability, but anyone who wants to try hard enough can probably find my other blog lmao. I started making art for said ship in early 2017, and Kimy, without fail, left the BEST tags on my posts.

Not kidding, that’s genuinely how first connected, she used to leave the sweetest, kindest tags for me, that always made me feel like I was actually posting good work. And because they were always so good, I’d look forward to seeing her name in my notifs. Eventually I followed her back, because despite me being awkward as hell, it seemed like everyone I followed knew her (she will deny this, but it’s what I remember thinking, so it’s true), and thus, I wanted to know her. Eventually we started talking, then DMing, I wrote my first ever fic right into her tumblr DMs and by the end of that year we we’re insufferably inseparable.

We didn’t get together till December 2021 though, because in a fanfiction style twist, she ended been pining for 3 of those 5 years, and thought I knew. Anon, I did not know, because I am thick skulled and cannot read social hints.

Why December 21? Well Kimy decided to finally let me show her the hit Netflix documentary tiger king. Yes, THAT tiger king. Why? I shit you not I think it was genuinely because I was angry and upset about AD 21 happening THE DAY PRIOR and she was comforting me. A fact I had genuinely blocked out until writing this LMAO.

A combination of the trauma of AD combined with the best thing in my life happening means I assume my brain decided to separate the two. Anyway, she was pining, and I wasn’t. Not because I didn’t like her, but because I had no idea that was an option. My brain functioned under the assumption she couldn’t like me. Sky is blue, 1+1=2, she could never be attracted to me. At least it did until I made a STUPID joke about the first husband in tiger king. The one that got gay married for meth.

It went something along the lines of “my meth would be a partner who let me be a stay at home dad because I want to provide home care for my family” I know I’m so smart. She replied with saying she wouldn’t mind something like that because she hated having to do things after she got home and actually enjoyed work. I say “hahah maybe you should marry me for a green card, it might actually work out”.

I know. She was pining sadly, but the dusty cogs in my brain finally started working. And flirting. For the rest of the call I kept making jokes about soulmates and “that’s why you should marry me” as we discussed what we want out of our partners.

Call ends, she pines, I FINALLY go “oh shit, I think that was a Jk unless hint…” then spent a night thinking on it, before asking her out the following day. She said yes ❤️.

As you can tell from that story, I was very invested in F1 long before we got together, but I wasn’t shipping 4463 at that point yet. I was the one to pick it up first though. I even found 4463 works THROUGH a conversation with her! I caught a massive throbbing man crush on George (I had one on Lewis already but the George one was a lot less awe and a lot more nsfw) told her about it, and she kept encouraging me. Then after Spain I sent her a gif of Bono and Lewis looking gay, it lead to a convo about fanfiction, and I, long used to ao3, went looking…

I spent a few weeks getting neck deep in gewis, and I slowly started sending her things, because there’s not a thing on this earth I DONT share with her —She could blackmail me very effectively— and because she is the best person to ever live she got right into it with me, even after watching me have an angry betrayed ranting fit about certain fics that won’t be named BUT KNOW WHO THEY ARE.

By austria we started watching quali together on our date nights as she let me explain f1 to her. That’s why her favourite drivers are my favourite drivers, because I am a dreadful biased influence. Its the best thing on earth to share this with her. Because she is the best thing on my earth.

#asks #anonymous #personal #kimy’s tag #mark rambles

[inlocusmads]

12 — What struggle have they seen each other through? For Nora and Trystan, as well as Jane and Ethan! Love you and miss you so much, my sweet Mads. 🥰❤️

Lin, it's been so long! How have you been? I really ought to catch up with you and your works and after all of this uni burnout concludes, that's the first thing on my list. Thank you so much for sending this Ask! It really means a lot to me to just talk about my characters!

> Ship Questions

Nora -> The trauma of her parents and her rather borderline addiction to throwing herself at danger. She blames herself even though she was a kid and that seeped into what she sees as her "duty" and to see anyone get harmed under her eye really did amp up that guilt a lot. Trystan had seen through some of her struggles.

She suffers from PTSD and generalised anxiety disorder and has some tough moments to get by. Sometimes even waking up could be a struggle. Sometimes getting shot at by a mob would be just another Tuesday.

Trystan -> Growing up, Trystan was never really taken seriously, rather used as a figurehead or a totem for his parents to pressure and mould him into. He suffers from people pleasing and wanting to do so much but being restricted to a backseat role in his own story.

Apart from that, it sort of put him in an awkward position where he wants to be considered important but with terrible self confidence issues, he struggles to navigate a world that clearly doesn't want him. Nora has seen him through his struggles and she can't do a lot because it is a personal battle for him to fight. She could only help him through some tough times and reassure him that a broken childhood and trauma from the past doesn't set a precedent for the future.

____

Jane -> Jane has terrible family issues. From being "outcast" for being pan to having to support her brother who is also gay, because nobody else would, she had some pretty tough times which caused her to develop some intense trust issues. She doesn't trust people easily and is always looking for an "out" or a "quit" button when she knows something is wrong.

Between that and the walls she'd constructed, she also suffers from anxiety and has the case of undiagnosed ADHD, which makes it doubly hard for her to focus on something. And it's hard because the medical field is incredibly demanding. The only thing Ethan did and continues to do is to tell her that she's doing a good job. Small affirmations helps her sort of gain a foothold on her life - that she's doing something right.

Ethan -> Between his absent mother and his emotionally distant father, Ethan didn't really have people to talk to and thus ended up bottling up all of his thoughts and opinions. And to get over the fact that his mother had resorted to drugs took enough out of him, leaving him a broken shell of a person behind.

It got to his self worth and ego, which sort of blew up his rather distant, cold personality, when in reality, he's far from being overly pretentious just so he could have that affirmation that he was nothing like his parents.

Jane, of course, doesn't do much about it because it is Ethan's struggle and she can't "fix him" much less, change his perspective. However she helps him rediscover his interests that he'd had when he was young, such as love for comic books, TV, football and all the other things he did before his life changed for the worse.

___

Once again, thank you for the Ask, Lin! I hope we can talk sometime soon! Cheers.

#askboxed! #ship questions #ofmischiefandmedicine

[popculturebuffet]

Spongebob: Rock a Bye Bivalve Review (Patreon review for Emma Fici)

Hello all you happy people and happy pride! And for my friend Emma’s patreon review, you can get your own right here by pledging 5 bucks or more, guaranteed every month WITH a bonus one time review on signup, this month she went with a classic.

This is also my first time covering spongebob on the blog and it’s a series I have a fond connection to, having grown up with it as a kid , even having voted in the poll to pick an ending for Shanghied! , and seen it PLENTY years later when my niece, one of my nephews and my nibling all grew up on it. While the series did hit a rough patch, it’s first few seasons are great and unlike family guy which I suffered through two episdoes of (and enjoyed one) last week, it rebounded eventually, I just haven’t gotten around to it. Still don’t think the show needs 80 dozen spinoffs when you have shows just asking for revivial or spinoffs stinking in your vault, but Nick has never been a company that made rational or likeable desicions, why start now? 

So I’m happy to  cover the series even if this review will likely be short. 

For those who haven’t seen the episode, and if not i’ts on paramount+ with the rest of the series and I HIGHLY recommend it, rock a bye byvale is a season 3 episode, the show’s best season in my eyes. The episode follows Spongebob and Patrick as they find a baby scallop in the wild, adopt it and quickly take on the roles of mom and dad. That really is the episode in a nutshell: Spongebob and Patrick adopt a child and play house with it, and it’s as caked with subtext as it sounds. Thi sis the same series that faked us out with the idea patrick LICKED spongebob once so they clearly knew what they were doing. 

And while the episode has aged a little, the idea that a kid needs  amale and a femlae was outdated evne at the time as was the sterotype in a same sex relationship that one’s the “woman, it still largely works: I feel any implications are just accidental, which dosen’t make them entirely okay, but it’s clear it’s all in good fun instead of actually harping gay people and the real lintention is more two big oversized kids playing house, and thus feeling it needs a mom and a dad since that’s what they knew. Hell patrick even is eager to be a mom too and only dose’nt because “This would be kinda shocking”. Their not enforcing gender roles out of any malice, but because it’s what these two idiots know and it lightly decontructs it by having Spongebob be overworked, doing basically all the work. .while Patrick goofs off all day. It’s clearly just there to be silly fun and mlik Spongebob and Patrick having HEAVY ho yay between each other for all ti’s worth. Seriously they knew people shipped them even this early.. and I can’t say I blame them. Though what his sexuality is.. is an engima. Seriously nick trotted him out for pride with other queer characters a few years back and it still baffles me. He dated a krabby patty so he’s probably pansexual since she was a female crabby patty, or maybe bi like me, but otherwise it’s never been clear and it feels weird putting him out there just because the gay community took him in. If your going to make him some form of LBGTQ+ then fine, but don’t take credit for something you haven’t done.  

The jokes here are all classics and while it’s likely because i’ve seen this episode a LOT across two generations, they still hold up, and from minute one with Spongebob playin gwith a box and of course Patrick’s response to a baby being “I’LL TAKE CARE OF THIS” and almost ending the episode right there. Pitch perfect black comedy. There’s tones of all time’s classic “Uhhhhhhh”, “OVERTIME!” “A donut?”, and the ending is just pure greatness. It’s a perfectly paced episode that jumps around enough you don’t get bored but stays well focused. Again I don’t relaly have a ton to say here, it’s really hliarious, expertly timed and still holds up decently despite the age spots. It’s a good classic spogebob episode and I highly recommend it. Thanks for reading. 

#spongebob squarepants #pride month #rock-a-bye bivalve #patrick star #junior squarepants #nickelodeon

[thelastharbinger]

I am going to have to address this in a longer post but I originally intended this as a reply because once again we have to talk about the supposed “queerbaiting”. Look, I’m tired.

People misunderstand that "queerbaiting" by definition is a marketing ploy and tactic where media producers imply queer stories that are never actualized because they think it will bring in profit. It’s the quintessential, they want to have their cake and eat it too-- “we don’t want to turn off our conservative audiences but we still want everyone’s money so we’ll dangle something in front of you and pull out before we make our Mike Pences in the crowd upset.” In a conservative South Korean market where queer visibility is little to none and still very publicly frowned upon (Marvel's Eternals had its first gay married couple kiss on screen and many audiences in Korea at the theater were not happy about this, in case that gives you any indication of where things are in terms of how Korea feels about the gays, *hi*), to do what OOO is doing from a strategic and monetary standpoint, hurts more than it helps them. Companies will do literally anything to avoid making their group unmarketable, that’s why idols are not allowed to publicly date (OOO are btw), among other things.

I don’t know how to emphasize that for OnlyOneOf, who are a very small group (as in, they are largely unknown among 4th gen groups inside a hyper competitive industry) that come from a very small company, that to actually imply any kind of same-sex narrative would be more to their detriment. In the kpop scene, we know conformity gets you more popularity. It’s why so many groups follow trends like the girl crush concept (Blackpink, Itzy, Aespa, Everglow, and more) or why electronic dance music made a major splash across groups these last few years. OnlyOneOf doesn’t produce a typical kpop sound, they don’t have typical concepts, thus they already are at a disadvantage compared to their peers in the industry and sure, you could say by queerbaiting they’d garner attention, and they did, but a lot of it was negative (which they understood and accepted as a risk, hence why we’re getting a song called “undergrOund idOl” but it’s not on spotify yet???) and they had to censor parts of their choreography to fit broadcast standards.

(Also, and I do have to add, why is it suddenly OOO is queerbaiting but fandoms have been shipping kpop group members since the beginning, and those are actually some of the most popular/viewed kpop youtube content, i.e. “Stray Kids are not Straight Kids”, “The S in ATEEZ Stands for Straight” or “YeonBin are real” or whatever shit. Moonbyul released a song and video about a same-sex relationship and I don’t see anyone claiming she’s queerbaiting???)

I can’t say libidO and skinz are “queerbaiting” because there’s no way to look at those videos and not come away with, “this is gay.” They’re not hinting at relationships and pulling the rug from under you, it is there. And if the mvs didn’t confirm that for you, then the choreo and stage performances certainly did. The members have been very explicit in the behind the scenes of the libidO shoot that what you see narratively are three love-lines.

I don’t think OnlyOneOf set out to say “oh we’re going to pretend to be gay now” (1. don’t assume you know anything about anyone’s sexuality) but rather, they set out to depict a more mature concept about love that is explicitly sexual in nature and in Korea where women are admonished for participating in their own sexuality, it may have just been easier to say we’re just going to express carnal desire amongst us. It was a double-edged sword to begin with. You gotta understand that in kpop, when it comes to songs about love it is very much, a school crush or a puppy love or a break up song or a yearning, etc etc, but it is never about sexual desire. Idols are encouraged to be sexy but not act as sexual beings, that goes for male and female groups alike. OOO’s Instinct albums are a refusal to this rule and several others. In the end, it is all storytelling and I think they’re doing a pretty good job of it.

#so can we PLEASE stop this line of discourse?! #it's getting old and tired and hypocritical #its the fake wokeness for me #this is the definition of i'm going to jump on this thing for wokeness sake w/o fully understanding the thing i'm criticizing #like what would you need for it to not be queerbaiting? you want them to kiss? you want the members to confirm a queer identity?? #i say all this as a queer person myself yall are annoying #onlyoneof #onlyoneof skinz #onlyoneof libido #ooo #is it queerbaiting?🧐 #kpop rant

[antidotefortheawkward-art]

I just got into the Lego Monkie Kid fandom recently, and I must ask. How do you feel about the Wukong/Macaque shipping? I've seen a lot of people say it's inappropriate because they're commonly interpreted as brothers. But others say it's okay cause it's not set in stone and lmk has changed some details on the original story, including Wukong & Mac's relationship.

I will be frank and say that Sun Wukong x Liu'er Mihou (Six-Eared Macaque) shipping grosses me the hell out, and it is one of the biggest reasons I'm hesitant in involving myself with the Lego Monkie Kid fandom, due to its domination of the fandom.

This will be a long post, so here's a bulleted TLDR:

I feel it is unfair to consider LMK independent from JTTW, given just how much LMK draws from JTTW.

I feel that the fandom's earnestness to detach LMK from JTTW does not consider how LMK is a Chinese piece of media and is thus insensitive of JTTW's place in Chinese culture.

JTTW functions as a Buddhist allegory. Within this, Six-Eared Macaque represents Sun Wukong's flaws and strife, and is literally created from him. Therefore sharing the same DNA while being two separate people, functionally siblings. Which is what has led Chinese popular culture to commonly interpret these two as such.

That being said, even if LMK makes them beyond a shadow of a doubt not siblings, I still think it's gross to ship people who were siblings in the source material. Shipping is not the only way to interact with media.

Why It's Important to Consider JTTW in Relation to LMK

While Lego Monkie Kid has changed details in the original story, I do not think it's fair to consider it as independent from Journey to the West. As a Chinese person, I feel the fandom's earnestness to separate JTTW from LMK is insensitive at best.

Journey to the West is one of the 四大名著 [Four Classical Novels of China]. Not only that, it is arguably the most accessible of the four, and as such, it occupies a very special place in Chinese culture. JTTW is a story everyone grows up with, whether it be the actual text, adaptations, or even just a bedtime story from a family member. Nearly everyone can name the main pilgrims, notable antagonists, chapter titles, and weapon names. The story is basically a backdrop to everyday life due to how much it's casually referenced, whether it be in pop culture or even food names. As such, much of the story is considered general knowledge. Changing details and rewriting parts of JTTW for an adaptation is expected because everyone's already so intimately familiar with the original story. It doesn't make an adaptation any less of an adaptation. With the case of LMK, I don't think you can reasonably consider it independent of JTTW. Not only are the majority of the cast lifted directly from JTTW, but Qi Xiaotian makes a point to directly quote chapter titles in the literal first and second episodes. If you want to call LMK anything, it's honestly a fan continuation.

Similar to how I've spoken on my discomfort regarding people using the Arthur Waley names for the pilgrims, I'm uncomfortable with people detaching LMK from JTTW because it feels like an avoidance of the original Chinese culture and context. LMK was originally produced with a Chinese audience in mind. As such, the target audience would have gone into LMK with the cultural context JTTW holds. Detaching JTTW is insensitive to the original intent of the producers, insensitive to the fact that LMK was produced for an audience that isn't just white westerners, and insensitive to JTTW. Therefore I think it is disrespectful to consider LMK without considering JTTW.

It will take time to understand Journey to the West, especially if you're not a fan who grew up with the story. However, I believe that if you're interacting with media from a culture not your own, you hold a responsibility to take measures in order to interact with said media and its culture respectfully. If creators are going to share an important part of their culture with you, then it is common decency and courtesy to interact responsibly. It's better to expend the effort to familiarize yourself with JTTW than to act insensitively, watering down its significance for the sake of digestibility.

Sun Wukong and Six-Eared Macaque within JTTW

Before going into my JTTW-grounded reasons for being uncomfortable with Sun Wukong x Six-Eared Macaque, I'd like to make a point in bringing up how JTTW is, at its core, a very Buddhist story and that you cannot, in good faith, separate the religious aspects from this story. JTTW is often read as a Buddhist allegory, and as with any allegory, thoughtful analysis and interpretation is a must.

(Chapter 58- Photos from my copy of 西游记 and screenshots from Vol. 3 of Anthony C. Yu's translation)

Please note the title of Chapter 58 uses the wording 二心 for "two minds" and that these are the same characters for 二心, the Buddhist concept of double-mindedness referenced in the screenshots below.

(Screenshots of Anthony C. Yu's JTTW footnotes regarding the Buddhist thought behind Six-Eared Macaque, provided by my friend @uwukong -who has xyr own post with further reading on interpretation of Six-Eared Macaque functionally being Sun Wukong's brother)

It is commonly accepted that Six-Eared Macaque was literally created from Sun Wukong and is a personification of his strife, his flaws, and the things generally holding him back from the true path to enlightenment. Some adaptations go as far as to depict Sun Wukong in genuine pain when killing Six-Eared Macaque since the act of killing Six-Eared is actually hurting a part of himself. While "sibling" may not be the completely technically correct term for their relationship, Six-Eared Macaque shares DNA with Sun Wukong, since he was created from Sun Wukong. However, as a separate person with identical genetics, Six-Eared Macaque is functionally his sibling. If you have to pull the "technically it's not incest" card, then I don't really think there's ground to stand on. The "grey area" this ship resides in is too thoroughly debunked by the text.

That being said, even if LMK decides to change Sun Wukong and Six-Eared Macaque to be explicitly, unequivocally, undoubtedly unrelated, I still find it really uncomfortable to ship characters who were brothers in the source material.

Please don't go through such lengths to ignore the original text and its significant Buddhist context just to justify a ship. There are other ways to interact with media other than shipping. I'm a gay Chinese man and I too want to see more gay rep in Chinese media, but let me tell you, the monkey brothers are not a healthy place to look for them.

#asks #anonymous #incest tw #lego monkie kid #sun wukong #monkey king #six-eared macaque #liu'er mihou

[achangeinpriorities]

-slides in late with hot chocolate- Bodyguard AU + Fake Dating for Hartley/LI of your choice?

Oh you gave me too much leeway on this one! I know (and ship) Hartley's more common ships, but for some reason this combination made me think Hartley/Mark Mardon, because it would be good for Mark and piss off the Rathaways tremendously (and that's always a worthy goal):

As he comes of age (before he comes out), Hartley's parents decide he needs a bodyguard. It's a dangerous world out there for a young, rich man, especially one as pretty as Hartley, and they wouldn't want anyone trying to hurt him.

Out of a large pool of applicants, they select Mark Mardon. This is an excellent gig for Mark, who was never formally trained - he cobbled together a training out of classes he could afford, and from his experience on the street. However, he comes highly recommended, by virtue of the fact that this man *never* leaves a fight unfinished. Upon meeting him, the Rathaways are annoyed to find that he obviously comes from a poor background - he's blunt, he doesn't know his way around formal events until instructed - but he's obviously willing to go to great lengths to protect someone. They'd accept nothing less for their darling boy.

An unintended side effect: Hartley takes one look at Mark Mardon, and all the months of questioning if maybe he might be gay reach a thunderous conclusion. Yes he's gay, and *damn* Mark is attractive.

They bond slowly. Hartley is still himself, caustic of wit and slow to trust. He's equal parts annoyed and intrigued by the fact that Mark doesn't take his shit; he's never before had someone threaten to spank him like he's a bratty kid. (He's never been more intrigued by the idea of being spanked like a bratty kid.)

In the intervening length of time, there's an attempt on Hartley's life, and Mark goes above and beyond in the line of duty. He ends up hurt, for which Hartley's parents give him a generous bonus (all of which goes toward putting Clyde through a good school). Hartley is left utterly bewildered. He never thought he was worth taking a bullet for. He'd always assumed that the moment he was in a situation where he became deadweight, the other person would look to their own needs first - and if that meant leaving him behind, so be it.

In addition to the newfound awe for Mark, the attempt on Hartley's life leaves him shaken. He's forced to confront the fact that he doesn't want to die without having lived authentically, and he thus enlists Mark's help on a grand endeavor: to pretend to date him and see how long it takes for his parents to catch them. He cautions Mark that he'll no doubt be fired, but Hartley will likely be disowned at the same time, so they'd both be risking a lot. Mark can't begin to fathom how this weird rich guy's mind works, but by this point he too is feeling spiteful toward the Rathaway parents (and is a little bit in awe of his charge, who stood his ground while threatened even though he'd have gotten his ass handed to him in two seconds flat).

And so they begin to fake-date. The Rathaways remain oblivious for a shocking amount of time, brushing off the surreptitious touches as a way Mark checks in on Hartley rather than a sign of affection. It takes them walking in on an actual kiss (Hartley's first) to figure out what's happening, and much chaos ensues.

In the aftermath, Mark ends up taking Hartley back to his place. Hartley might be weird, and sort of a pain in the ass, but Mark isn't going to make anyone live on the street. And besides, he admits when Hartley confronts him, the dating may have been fake, but finding Hartley hot wasn't.

They start properly dating about a week later, after Hartley has processed his feelings around leaving home. Hartley has never been happier or more himself, and Mark doesn't regret this turn of events in the least.

#hartley rathaway #mark mardon #what even is their ship name #fanfiction trope mash up #fanfiction ask meme #oh this was a lot of fun to write!

[handsmotif]

The Queercoding of Pinky and the Brain

This originally was just me infodumping to my friends on discord, but I decided it might be interesting to some people on here, so I polished it up and made it an actual essay lmao

To start, we’re going to break this into 2 sections -- the relationship between the mice, and Pinky’s relationship with gender, because queercoding doesn’t just mean gay!

For a 90′s show, Pinky and the Brain (and its mother show, Animaniacs) was very progressive for its time! But there were still lots of things that they couldn’t slip by censors, and thus, that’s where we have to read between the lines. And that is something I wanted to clarify here before we dive in, the actual meaning of queercoding. It’s NOT the same as queerbaiting. Queerbaiting is when the people producing certain media purposefully dangle the possibility of queer representation to lure in audiences (most prominent examples are BBC Sherlock, Riverdale, and Supernatural I GUESS? who knows abt that last one anymore), but never follow through, purely for profit. Queercoding is when media producers WANT to write in queer representation, but can’t, usually because the censors won’t let them. So, they must resort to subtext. (example: the policemen from Gravity Falls) It could also be unintentional, simply assigning certain characteristics associated with the LGBT community to characters. (example: Bugs Bunny, many Disney villains) Either way, it heavily relies on the audience picking up subtext, but whether it’s malicious or not varies, depending on the media. Bugs Bunny is an example of positive accidental queercoding, while a lot of Disney villains are negative examples.

Now, to actually discuss the gay little mice! Pinky and the Brain, whether it be intentional or not (based off comments from Maurice LaMarche, Rob Paulsen, and Tom Ruegger, signs strongly point to intentional, but it’s never been explicitly confirmed), is an example of positive queercoding.

There are many moments that I could pick out to discuss here, but we’ll start with some VERY on the nose gay metaphors. 

Remember Romy? If you don’t, that’s their actual biological son! Romy came about due to a cloning accident, where their DNA got combined and spat him out. 

There’s SO many things I could say about Romy. Every appearance he makes has an overarching gay metaphor as the plot. His first appearance in the episode Brinky (yeah it’s literally titled their ship name), it deals with his dads (WHICH I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT, he DOES call them both dad, and they do both call him their son) disapproving of the fact that he wants to leave home and not follow in their footsteps of taking over the world. Brain even goes as far as disowning him whenever he tells him, which is certainly something a lot of queer people can unfortunately relate to. Also seen a lot in this episode is Pinky and Brain arguing even more than a married couple than usual, which pushes Romy away even further. Later, when Romy eventually does leave, and Brain starts to regret chasing him away, he tries desperately to reach out to him, but Romy doesn’t want anything to do with him. They end up tracking him down to an apartment building, where Romy is now living with his human girlfriend. When questioned about their relationship, the girlfriend, named Bunny, goes off on a tangent about how people shouldn’t judge others based on labels or relationships (hello?), and that Brain needs to be more tolerant. Brain apologizes and Romy forgives him. Happy ending.

Romy’s only other appearance is in the comics. Essentially, the plot of this one is that Brain wants to become the president of the local high school’s PTA, but he needs Romy’s help to make it look like he has a normal home life. He also enlists the help of Billie, the obligatory Woman introduced to make sure Brain doesn’t look as gay as he actually is, that he has a crush on. She pretends to be his girlfriend, and Pinky pretends to be Romy’s uncle, while they make up the story that Romy’s actual mother was lost at sea. Because if the organization found out that Brain has a son with a MAN??? THINK of the controversy! Anyway, the plan works, and Brain actually manages to get elected as president. Throughout this though, Pinky gets WEIRDLY jealous that Brain keeps brushing him aside for Billie. To the point where during Brain’s inauguration, Pinky actually dresses up as the wife/mother lost at sea and storms into the room.

[ID: Comic panels of Pinky, Brain, and Romy on stage at the inauguration ceremony. Pinky busts into room wearing drag, saying, “Yoo hoo! I’m back from years lost at sea to be with my son and ungrateful husband! Narf!” He then hugs Romy, while glaring at Brain. He goes on to say, “I’ll stand by your side, even though you left me behind!” The people in the audience begin to question this, saying, “Oh great fuzzy bangs!”, “What’d she say?!”, “He deserted her to be with that other woman!”, “What kind of monster is he?!”. Brain then rips off Pinky’s wig and says, “This isn’t my wife! This isn’t even a woman! It’s my roommate, Pinky.” Pinky replies, “Well, yes... But Romy really is my son! Poit!” And Brain responds, “N-Nonsense! He’s my son!” More people in the audience angrily speak up, saying, “What’s that?”, “He lives with a guy who likes to dress up in women’s clothing and the both claim to be that kid’s father!”, “Grumble! Mutter!” /END ID]

Needless to say, this doesn’t end well for them. What we can conclude from this is that homophobia exists in the Pinky and the Brain universe, and our characters are directly affected by it.

Moving on, And-There-Was-Only-One-Bed is a pretty common occurrence with these two. Their cage is big, they have plenty of room for two beds, but? They choose to sleep together? Even in some times where this has been inconsistent and they DO have separate beds, they’re always RIGHT next to each other. (what if we put our minecraft beds together ❤😳)

I would like to mention the episode, You’ll Never Eat Food Pellets In This Town Again! This episode is interesting to say the least. Deals with a lot of the meta of the show. Anyway. In this episode, Brain has a nightmare that he’s in a loveless marriage with Billie. You know, the woman he’s supposed to have a crush on. In the end, he wakes up from the nightmare in the same bed as Pinky.

Speaking of female love interests, Pinky is seen having multiple relationships with characters of different species. Any time this is brought up by Brain, Pinky counters with Brain being too intolerant. An honorable mention with this is in Wakko’s Wish, when Pinky is with Pharfignewton, and Brain’s constant pestering about their relationship could be read as jealousy. Pinky needs a mousy date, after all!

Something else I would like to mention is in one episode (I forget what it’s called, I’ll try to look it up later and edit this), Brain is applying for a job. The employer asks Brain if he’s married, and Brain hesitates before saying he “has a roommate,” but that he’s occupied with his own things, which then cuts to a shot of Pinky applying lipstick.

Leading into part two of this essay, Pinky’s relationship with gender! Pinky has always been very gender nonconforming, and loves to wear dresses, do his makeup, and make himself look pretty. For the most part, this is played pretty straight, and not as a gag, like a lot of shows tend to do! It’s just a casual fact about him that he likes to present femininely sometimes.

This does play into their taking over the world plans pretty often, where Pinky wears drag, usually either to sneak into somewhere. Like in one of their earliest appearances on Animaniacs, Noah’s Lark, where they pose as a couple to board Noah’s, and I quote, “love boat.” After boarding, Noah says to himself, “Who am I to judge?” Okay. Yeah. Alright. Anyway.

I actually had less to say on this than I thought I did, but I wanted to make sure to emphasize that Pinky at the very least is coded as being Not Quite Cis, and that he’s played a key part in helping a lot of people watching the show figure out that they’re also Not Quite Cis. 

Wrapping this up because I’m hungry, but I want to throw in some more honorable mentions that I really do not see any type of cishet explanations for:

They literally go on a romantic date at a very fancy restaurant in Brain’s Night Off. This is played extremely casually, and the only remark from anyone that they receive is that they are “much smaller than the usual clients.”

Pinky, on at least one occasion, daydreams about him and Brain being a married couple, and wanting to be a housewife (the original malewife ❤)

There’s an issue in the comics where Pinky has a crush on another male mouse, and when Brain gets annoyed, Pinky reassures him that he thinks Brain is cute and quite the catch too

Brain attempting to kiss Pinky in the reboot??????

Brain actually did conquer the world once in the Halloween special, because Pinky made a deal with the devil for it, and thus Pinky got sent to hell! Brain actually went to hell and gave up the world to bring him back

Brain was extremely close to conquering the world once more in the Christmas special, but after reading what Pinky’s feelings for him were (nothing romantic, just Pinky basically just praising Brain for being so hardworking and an amazing mouse, and lamenting that he never gets anything for it), he gets so emotional that he sabotages himself and wishes everyone a Merry Christmas instead

TLDR; these mice are very queer and need therapy, and are probably the most heavily queercoded characters that I can think of in children’s media.

#animaniacs #pinky and the brain #patb #brinky #FLOPS ON THE FLOOR this took a long time to write

[marlborodean]

here’s my analysis of a 14-yr-old supernatural episode

so remember that episode where sam fucked a werewolf? because he related to her unwilling monstrosity? well that episode is actually just about dean starting to come to grips with his childhood and his sexuality.

if you ship w/ncest do not interact. this post is not anti-sam either btw. 

content warning: discussions of childhood trauma, internalized homophobia, guns, killing. 

does include some images with Image Descriptions following them.

[ID: An over-the-shoulder close-up shot from the episode, focused on Madison, the werewolf, as she cries. Dean is standing behind her. They are both looking at Sam, whose shoulder is on the edge of the frame. End ID.]

Brief episode recap just in case u don’t remember. This ep is 2x17 “Heart.” Sam and Dean are hunting a werewolf. They discover that the woman they interviewed, Madison, is a werewolf (not THEE werewolf, but one of them). Sam develops a lil crush on her <3 I wrote the majority of this after watching it for the first time in almost SIX years, so i was just vibing the whole time UNTIL the last shot changed it all for me. So let me explain!

Three important points that i will refer back to:

1. The episode begins with Dean being excited to hunt a werewolf because "what about a human by day, a freak animal killing machine by moonlight don't you understand? I mean, werewolves are badass. We haven't seen one since we were kids."

2. Then the episode centers on Sam and his relationship with the werewolf woman and his own monstrosity: "[Dean: Sam, she's a monster and you're feeling sorry for her?] Maybe I understand her."

3. BUT THEN the last shot of the episode is of Dean crying as music plays (see below for the specific lyrics) and then Dean jumps at the sound of the gunshot. That's it! That's the end of the episode!

[ID: For all three screencaps, Dean is looking torturously sad. Each one is zoomed a little bit closer to his face than the last. In the last image, Dean sheds a single man tear. The captioned lyrics for the first one say "Relax, child, you were there." The second says "but only didn't realize" and the third says "and you were scared." End ID]

Even though the story is supposed to be about Sam and his monstrosity, and partly about his relationship w/romance since this is the first person he’s slept with since Jess died (at least with what is shown on screen)...the Dean Sandwich tells us otherwise. We're supposed to be taking away something about DEAN here. Like, that's the whole purpose behind the last shot focusing solely on Dean instead of Sam who is AT THAT MOMENT, KILLING THE GIRL HE HAS FEELINGS FOR. It's literally a heartbreaking, devastating, super traumatic thing for Sam to be going through, but instead we're watching Dean as a single tear slides down his face lmao. It's because this episode is about DEAN, and furthering his story.

Let’s not queer this just yet. The death of the werewolf is about/representing his loss of innocence. It's a violent disconnect from his childhood. Point # 1 shows that he is fascinated by werewolves because since he was a kid he thought they were badass, not to mention all the werewolf films he references throughout. Then, through the music lyrics over that last scene, they mirror that theme of childhood. They’ve done this before, having the diegetic music directly reference what the characters are going through. No different here: Dean is the child they’re referring to.

I have to reiterate that that's the last thing we hear before the gunshot cuts the music short and then the cut to black. "You were scared" is the last thing we hear before the gunshot, as Dean cries. ALSO I have to reiterate that Dean was looking forward to killing a werewolf and shooting it himself. So it's super fascinating that, not only is Sam the one that kills the werewolf, WE DON’T EVEN SEE IT HAPPEN.

[ID: A medium-close shot of Dean as he looks at Sam, who takes up the right half of the frame. The caption says, “Sammy, I got this one. I’ll do it.” End ID.]

Am i gonna have to say this now? The werewolf is a metaphor, okay? It's a metaphor for his innocence, which is long-dead, forever doomed. I mean, a lot of kids love werewolves because they ARE badass! It's a classic monster that anyone could easily obsess over, and with Dean's childhood it must've seemed even cooler, knowing they're real and having the power to kill this "mythical" beast. So the way he's looking forward to killing one is the way a child imagines themselves as a hero.

But what happens instead is a tragic mercy killing. It's flipping his fantasy completely on its head, and it makes Dean realize that.....his fantasies are just fantasies. They aren't real, never would be. There's nothing heroic about killing this werewolf. It's tragic as hell. When he offers to kill her himself, it's just to relieve Sam's burden, but he's reluctant still. Because, as he keeps saying, he doesn't want to be a hunter! He doesn't want this life! He's tired of killing! And that's also what he's mourning as he cries and startles at the gunshot. His fantasies will never be real and his childhood could never have been normal and he never got a chance to be a kid because being a hunter was thrust on him at such a young age. And now it feels inescapable.

[ID: A gif of the slow zoom on Dean’s face as the single tears slips down his cheek. He jumps at the gunshot, then blinks and his lip wobbles. End ID.]

So now we can queer it :-) Of course all monster stories can be easily queered, but werewolves are popularly queered. The first example that comes to mind is An American Werewolf in London (1981) isn’t an overtly queer film (though it is Jewish!) but it’s definitely read that way by a lot of people!! Anyway the film was directed by John Landis which JUST SO HAPPENS to be the pseudonym Dean goes by in this episode. hmm. (Also, interestingly, the BTVS ep where the first gay character comes out references this film too)

[ID: Sam and Dean are standing close to each other. Sam is in the foreground, not in focus. Dean, behind him, says, “Landis. And Detective Dante.” End ID.]

There’s this essay about the queer werewolf that you can read here (and they also talk about fandom in it! very fascinating), where they say in the intro: “the werewolf seems an obvious choice as a queer monster with its identity-disrupting hybridity, as well as its atavistic, and, thus, disallowable sexuality.” A lot like Kristeva’s theory of the abject body! which is popular in queer theory. 

This episode is then queering Sam—his attraction to the werewolf makes him abject—but it also queers Dean thru the way his attitude towards the werewolf transforms (get it?) throughout the ep. His desire and eagerness to kill the werewolves is obviously ingrained in him from John’s parenting. Consider what he said in 2x03 “Bloodlust”: “And the way he raised us, to hate those things—and man, I hate them, I do.” In conjunction with the monsters in the show being seen as queer allegories (the gorgon, as an example of an explicit comparison), Dean’s excitement to kill the werewolf can be read as internalized homophobia and repressing any of his own feelings. 

Remember, though, right before that line in “Bloodlust,” he also said, “What if we killed things that didn’t deserve killing?” He’s really beginning to question whether all monsters are bad, and what it means to kill them. Is he also questioning what he believes of queer people? What John believed of queer people? The loss of innocence and queering both slot together through that final shot, imo: he’s crying because he realizes his fantasies aren’t real, but he’s also mourning the fact that he never could have had the chance to grow up without John’s control, and now it’s forever tainted his worldview. What else could he have been without that? (The answer is evident in 4x17 “It’s a Terrible Life.”)

Dean was taught to hate queer people but he doesn't want to. He wants to get out of the life but it feels inescapable. He wants to kill a werewolf and then when he has the chance, he doesn't want to. He actually cries as it's killed. It scares him, having to confront that what he thought he knew was wrong, but he knows all the same that he’ll never have the chance to have grown up without that. 

#is anyone up? anyone wanna read this? i finished this instead of doing homework #sorry the end is bad LMAO i'm notoriously bad at writing conclusions #also i want to say that the monster allegories in SPN more often have to do with race and not homophobia. but this episode sticks out to me #as representing queerness instead of race. especially because they set it up as compared to Sam's story which is SO queer. #spn #what do i tag this #ej.pdf #supernatural #bi dean #my professors would give me a bad grade on this #portfolio

[yellowmagicalgirl]

Hey, how do you and other Krexie shippers work around the age gap? I mean, I ship Krexie and have my own headcanons, but I'm curious to see what others have done.

I feel like I answered this before several months ago, but I don’t feel like finding that post so I’ll answer again. The full answer to your question is a short essay (and that’s without including the footnotes) so I’m gonna put it under a cut. This is based upon my own experience in the fandom, and the krexie circles I frequent are the ones on FFN, AO3, and of course, here on tumblr. Abuse and grooming (in the context of real people) will be talked about below the cut.

TL;DR I’ve seen three main ways of dealing with the age gap: ignoring it, aging Krel up, and aging Douxie down.

Ignore It

This one actually encompasses two different methods. The first of the two is to treat one or both of the boys’ ages as nebulous, with the maturity level of “teenager” and nothing more explicit since Douxie is about nine centuries old and Akiridion royals live for centuries Krel’s exact age is unknown. In this case, the age of one or both of the boys won’t be mentioned aside from being hundereds of years old. In addition, at least on Douxie’s end, this is somewhat canon. Fun fact: Douxie never calls himself a college student, and neither does Archie. Likewise, neither of them call Douxie 19. That was Steve, who deserved far better of a character arc than just to be the idiot that he is in Wizards. However, even though he deserved better Steve is not a reliable source of information on Douxie’s age, but Douxie and Archie are. In Wizards, the only information Douxie and Archie give on Douxie’s age is that he’s about nine centuries old.[1]

The other method of ignoring the ages is to treat Douxie as a 19-year-old (ignoring the immortality) and Krel as a 16-year-old, and to mention one or both of their ages. Their ages are ignored due to one or both of the following reasons: for one, in real life a three year gap between teenagers doesn’t automatically mean the older person is a predator. It’s something to be cautious about, and the younger person really needs to have people they can trust since if the relationship does turn toxic they would have less power and thus be in more danger (usually, though it is possible for the younger person to be more dangerous to the older one), but that doesn’t automatically mean something bad will happen. The other reason to ignore the boys’ ages is because honestly? If someone needs non-canon ships to tell them which relationships are healthy and which ones are dangerous, then their parents/guardians and teachers have failed them. Fanfic authors, fanartists, and other people creating/consuming fanworks on the internet are not responsible for educating random people on the internet. In fact, they and their content are not responsible for if a random person is abused, even if the abuser uses fanworks to groom the victim. It’s the fault of the abuser for being abusive.[2]

Out of these two methods, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen more using the former method of ignoring than the age gap than the latter.

Age Krel Up

This, again, has two different methods. The more common method is to have Krel (and the other Arcadia Oaks High students) age naturally, until they’re at an age that the fanwork creator is more comfortable with having krexie at. These types of fanworks take place years after the events of Wizards. The other method is to create an au where Krel (and likely the other Arcadia Oaks High students) were already the age the fanwork creator is more comfortable with when Douxie and Krel first met. I, personally, have created a lot of content for the first method, and I’ve seen other people use this method as well. My fake marriage au utilizes the latter method, and this method would also work for au’s where Douxie and Krel are both adults when they meet but the au does not follow canon.

Age Douxie Down

This one also has a basis in canon, though I haven’t seen any other krexie shipper use this method of dealing with the age gap. I, personally, use this whenever I want to make krexie content that’s compliant with Trollhunters and 3Below but also do not want to deal wit backwards time travel because I hate backwards time travel. However, someone should write an au where Douxie and Krel are human high schoolers whose biggest problem is being gay for the guy attending your rival school.

Now, while Douxie and Archie gave Douxie the vague age of about 900 years old and Steve made the assumption that Douxie was a 19-year-old college student, Trollhunters actually went out of its way to show that Douxie was a high school student.

In season two episode 10, Mary reveals that she was dating a student from Arcadia Oaks Academy, and Eli remarked that that was their rival school. I was in high school when Trollhunters was airing, and let me tell you: high schools do not have rivalries with colleges. Arcadia Oaks Academy would have to be a high school, or maybe a k-12 or 6-12. However, it’s far more likely that Arcadia Oaks Academy is a high school with the same age range of students as Arcadia Oaks High. In season three episode 1, Mary excitedly tells Claire that a student from Arcadia Oaks Academy is at Arcadia Oaks High. This student is Douxie, and unless I’m remembering wrong he also mentions attending the Academy. Unless Mary knew all along that Douxie was a wizard and was trying to give him a cover story for why he was hanging out at Arcadia Oaks High only for this information about Mary to be cut from Wizards due to time constraints, there is absolutely no reason for Mary to lie about Douxie’s age to Claire. The fact that Douxie was considered to be a high schooler by most of the fandom (some people had been on the train of “he’s a centuries old adult” for a long time) is why the krexie fanworks created pre-Wizards are all treating Douxie like a high schooler. (Yes, people shipped krexie (or at least consumed/produced fanworks for the ship) before Wizards came out. I have my fic on AO3/FFN and other people’s comments to prove it, as well as some fanart saved to my blog. Sadly, some of the people are now antis, and one them has now harassed at least one krexie shipper.)

Personally, when I age Douxie down, I age him down to 17. Only 17. Not 17-plus-several-centuries-without-aging. In-universe he may try to call himself 1492 years old, but he’s really just 17. However, as I mentioned before, if I’m aging him down to 17 then I’m also completely ignoring the backwards time travel aspects of Wizards. And, by doing that, I end up really changing the lore of Wizards. If you would like more information for the timeline I use when I age Douxie down, please refer to this ask.

In Conclusion

Thank you for reading this. These footnotes aren’t nearly as on topic and are more of a ramble.

[1] Re: Douxie having a really vague age of nine centuries. If you take enough chemistry and physics (but in my experience especially chemistry) courses, you will have it drilled into your head that 900 years old could really be anywhere from 850 to 949 years old. So, while 919 is definitely possible in the age range given by the age of “about 900″, it’s really a give-or-take number. However, if we truly want to be accurate, then if we choose to have Trollhunters take place in the 2016-2017 school year, choose to have had the moppet been between 16 and 19 years old at the Battle of Killahead Bridge, and we consider that the late 12th century (aka the time period of Wizards... supposedly, considering that it is not historically accurate) to be the latter half of that century, then Douxie would have to be somewhere between 834 and 886 years old. If we want a 16-year-old moppet and for the 900 years to be an accurate case of rounding, then the Battle of Killahead Bridge would have needed to be in 1183 at the earliest, which is accurate for the description of late twelfth century. If Douxie were to really be 919 in 2017, then the Battle of Killahead Bridge would have needed to take place somewhere from 1114 to 1117, aka the early twelfth century.

[2] Re: the argument that fanwork creators are not responsible for if an abuser uses their content to groom a victim. When I was a kid, the big scare was that strangers would lure off innocent children with candy. We were told not to go anywhere with a stranger, even if they had candy (or puppies, kittens, etc.) I don’t know how many kids have been hurt by strangers promising candy, nor do I know if this is something kids are still being warned about, but I do know that there isn’t some campaign against candy companies for daring to sell candy that an abuser would use against kids. This is because, as horrible as children being hurt is, it’s not the fault of the candy companies. It’s the fault of the abuser. And likewise, it’s not the fault of a fanwork creator if someone else uses their content to harm others.

PS: A side note since we’re discussing ages. I’ve been in this fandom for years, specifically on tumblr, AO3, and FFN as well as one of the discords. It wasn’t until the krexie discourse started that I started seeing people start calling Krel 14. I had seen people call him 15-16 in the past, because the fandom wasn’t sure if he and Aja were twins or had a minimum of a 9-month gap (assuming, of course, that Akiridions reproduce like humans do). That being said, before the discourse I never saw anyone treat Krel (or Aja, for that matter) like he had a canonical age. 14, however, seems to be something that stemmed from the wiki. You know, the same fan-run wiki that claims that Nomura’s full name is Zelda Nomura even though nowhere in the shows, books, games, or graphic novels is she ever called by that name. Yeah, the Arcadia Oaks-Pedia is not a reputable source. I’m going to give the wiki editors the benefit of Hanlon’s razor and hope that they were just going “well, since Krel is Aja’s younger brother and we’re assuming she’s 15-16 years old like the rest of the protagonists he must be 14-15 years old” and it was only after that that antis took the idea of Krel being 14 as canon and then ran off with it to be cruel and cause chaos.

#answered ask #anonymous #krexie #tales of arcadia #trollhunters #3below #toawizards #krel tarron #hisirdoux casperan #fandom discourse #child abuse #abuse tw #grooming #if i wake up to people being dicks about this i will be so mad

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Eda's Requiem" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

...

...

...HOW IS SEASON TWO SO GOOD?! WE'VE HAD SEVEN EPISODES SO FAR, AND EACH ONE OF THEM WAS A HIT!

Take "Eda's Requiem," for example. It's yet another episode where I have NOTHING bad to say about it! That's two weeks in a row where that happened! HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?!

HOW!

HOW!

...But anyways, "Eda's Requiem." It's another fantastic episode, and I'm about to dive into explaining how and why. Just keep in mind, it's gonna require spoilers to do so, so be wary of that as you keep reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Eda’s Checklist and Grom Photo: Within the first second, "Eda's Requiem" perfectly sets up Eda's central conflict in the episode. Despite spending years being on her own and looking after herself, she now has two kids that she's constantly caring over. Eda can try all she wants to say that she doesn't care, and I bet she has in the past. But given the hard work she's putting into getting King and Luz what they need and having a grom photo of the three of them together pinned in her mirror, it's pretty clear that those two knuckleheads wormed their way into her heart and are never getting out.

Eda’s Worried About King and Luz Leaving: And thus, that's precisely why something like this bothers her so much. Eda inadvertently adopted two rambunctious rapscallions (Yeah, I know. I'll get to it), so the idea of them not being around her anymore is going to be terrifying. That is a situation most parents, especially mothers, can identify with. It’s called empty nest syndrome and it proves just how much Eda loves Luz and King that she can't stand the thought of her babies leaving the nest. It's yet another well-made, wholesome, found-family moment that this series continues to excel at each week, making me extra excited for more like it to come...while also readying myself for heartbreak when one of them eventually does leave Eda.

Eda and Raine’s Music: Ok, I don't know the exact instruments that were played during this episode, but I also don't care because it was all (for lack of a better term) music to my ears. Every time Eda and Raine played resulted in melodies that are so beautiful and filled with so much emotion and feeling that I'm honestly tempted to listen to them again, multiple times, on repeat. Shows rarely do that for me, as background music doesn't always draw me in as much as lyrical songs do. Usually, it takes something so extraordinarily composed to give me the desire to listen again, and that's the case here. So huge congrats to Brad Breek for doing so. Seriously, the man's been killing it this season.

Eda’s Bard Magic Causing Things to Turn to Ash: This was assuredly a surprise side-effect of the curse. The fact that Eda can sort of do magic at all was its own shock. To then reveal that a specific type can do dangerous things to people and environments is...Well, it definitely brings up its own fair share of questions. Like, how can she do this? Will she do it again, one day? And are there other types of spells that can be negatively affected by Eda's curse? We don't get answers for any of these questions, and odds are, we never will. But that's alright with me. Because if a show makes me consider these many possibilities after a brief amount of time, it is a show that has to be doing something right. Even if I don't get the answers I want, the fact that it caused such a reaction makes me less willing to care.

Raine Whispers: Hey, would you look at that. Another fun, interesting, and compelling character added to the list of this shows' other fun, interesting, and compelling characters...how is this series so good at this!?

Joking aside, Raine's pretty good. I like Raine. They could have been this super serious leader who lost all their fun after years apart from Eda, but I'm glad that they're not. There are moments when Raine takes their job as leader of the BATs seriously, as one would, but I still prefer the fact that they kept a jovial nature despite how grim their situation is. It's an admirable trait to have, and it avoids the trope of making leader characters boring just because they're the ones who have to take things seriously.

Oh, and also, Raine's Disney's first non-binary character who has a stake in the plot. This is a tremendous deal, as you don't usually see that many non-binary characters in children's animation, let alone ones that hold importance to the story. So it's pretty cool for the writers to feature Raine, as it helps several kids feel as though they're finally seen and respected. And the fact that Disney of all companies gave the thumbs up is even more impressive. I hear people say that Dana Terrace should have pitched The Owl House to more progressive networks to avoid pushback, and while I absolutely see your point, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Disney is the largest entertainment industry of all time, so if you want to make LGBTQA+ representation normalized, you gotta stop making splashes and start making waves. Because if the same company that made three racist cats in the span of a few years manages to say that being gay is a-ok, then you know there's something wrong with you. Yes, Disney ended up screwing over the show anyway. But for that one moment, when kids felt pride after seeing a character like Raine, then, in the end, it's kind of worth it.

Also, if you're still having issues with more representation like this popping up in kids' shows, then allow me to redirect you to the complaint department.

...I made that post earlier today for this bit. YOU HAVE BETTER APPRECIATED IT!

Day of Unity is meant to be a Secret: At least, that's what I got when Raine stumbled over their own words. So if it's true, then I wonder why? Why does Belos want to keep the most critical change in the Boiling Isles a secret? Does he want to make it a surprise for his grateful subjects, or does he not want to spread worry and fear amongst the wild witches? It has to be something big if he doesn't want his followers to even say the words "Day of Unity." Whatever reason he has, we most likely won't know until the future. A future that I grow more and more afraid of each week.

Hooty Eating Echo Mouse: My heart sank in that brief moment when I thought that Hooty intensely screwed Luz over in getting back home. But looking back...it is pretty funny.

Just the suddenness of Hooty eating the poor creature that Luz desperately tried to earn its trust is priceless in how shocking it was. And also, Luz's expression.

That was the look of a young girl who immediately shoved her hand down an owl demon's throat the second the scene cut away. The Owl House may not always be a hit in the comedy department, but scenes like this prove that when it's funny, it is hilarious.

Luz and King Entering the Grand Prix: Not much to discuss here. It's just a cute subplot that adds frivolity to the intensity of what's going on through Eda and Raine's story. But I will say that I love how both stories occasionally interconnect with each other through the many moments of Eda being worried about King wanting to leave to find his father and avoiding any conversation about it. It helps both plotlines feel like they belong together, without being something like "Through the Looking Glass Ruins," whereas both stories could have been in their own episode. Which is neat.

How Bard Magic Works: I really love how this season is diving into how the other magic types work. More specifically, the ones that seem a little vague. I mean, stuff like healing, potions, and plants are easy to figure out, but what does it mean when a witch's talents are construction, beast keeping, and bard magic? We've been getting a lot of clearing up lately, with bard magic looking like a witch can control their environments and enemies through the power of music. Which is fair. Music is pretty powerful in the metaphorical sense, and I actually love that it's powerful in the literal sense when in the Boiling Isles.

The BATs: Not much to comment on these three either. The BATs have the potential to have an entertaining dynamic, but they do very little in this episode that I can't say much other than I hope they make a return in the future. But I will make this claim: Amber is my favorite. I'm sorry, but her screaming "You're not our mom!" to then go, "Bye, mommy Eda" is just too precious for me not to love.

I'm a simple man who falls for cute s**t. Leave me alone.

Raeda (RainexEda): Well, EdaxCamila, you were a fun crack ship while it lasted, but I'm afraid that this is now goodbye. The current canon has provided an incredibly adorable and believable relationship that I would be a monster not to support with my whole bi-heart. It's been real.

Ok, back in serious mode: I love these two together. Eda and Raine are grown-ups, and they still act all flustered near each other as if they were still Luz and Amity's age. It's definitive proof that you're never too old to get flustered near a crush, and seeing them interact adds a sense of wholesomeness when seeing them together as well as heartbreak when they're forced apart. Plus, we get confirmation that Eda's LGBTQA+! Whether she's bi, pan, or whatever, now that we know Eda can catch feelings for someone like Raine, it's yet another case that The Owl House is the most important series to the community. Because having the main character be queer is fantastic in its own right. But having the same apply to the motherly mentor figure? That's is an extra bit of normalization that anybody would be willing to appreciate.

Unique Guard Designs: Not many fans are going to appreciate this, primarily compared to everything else this episode does perfectly. For me, I actually like that you see a few Coven Guards looking differently from the others, as it helps make them less like clones and makes it seem like anybody of any body type could be a part of the coven.

Gus Looking Uninterested when Presenting Grand Prix with his Dad: I am positive that you didn't notice this (I didn't even notice it until someone else pointed it out), but there's something to dissect here. It hints that perhaps Gus isn't as interested in his father's field of work as one might think. If he did, he would look a lot less bored and much more excited to be helping Perry Porter present the race. It could just be the race itself, but judging from Gus' expression, it really seems like the kid would prefer to be anywhere but there. And why would he have that reaction to a race that his best friend is competing in? To me, this seems like an inkling of what Gus' relationship with Perry could be, which may not actually get time to shine, what with how little wiggle room the series has now (Thanks Disney). Regardless, it is interesting to notice, and it will certainly have fans thinking for a while.

Bump Being Smug of Luz Being in the Lead: That's it. Principal Bump looking smug as his human student is beating the students of his rivals is yet another moment that proves why Bump is easily the best cartoon principal.

Darius: First of all, this guy is f**king fabulous, and I love him. *Snaps*

Second, he is definitive proof that you do NOT want to f**k around with Coven Leaders. Lilith may have had her intimidating moments, but none of them compare to the guy who can turn himself into an abomination monster where only magic that hasn't existed before can take him down. It's genuinely scary to see Darius lose control, and I fear for the day when Luz inevitably ends up in his crosshairs.

With that said, Darius' still a ton of fun! He may be threatening, but he's just a flamboyant guy that hates the idea of getting his outfit the tiniest bit dirty. And I love that. I love that these Coven Heads have actual personalities instead of being generically evil. I consider it preferable to make villains entertaining rather than blatantly scary as I'll remember the personalities first and the villainous acts last.

Eberwolf: But this one's my favorite. I told you: I'm a simple man who gets easily swayed by cute s**t. And Eber? I mean, just look at her:

She's just a cute widdle rascal! I just want to pinch her cheeks, give her a belly rub, and--

...Eberwolf is not a cute widdle rascal. She is a strong, independent woman, and I will respect her as such from this moment forward...lest I feel her wrath.

That is all. Let's move on.

Eda and Raine Attempting a Final Performance: This was the best scene of the episode. It looked gorgeous, it shows the dedication Eda and Raine have for stopping Belos, and it says so much through so little. Go back and look at how Eda and Raine regard one another when performing Eda's requiem. Through their expressions and a few short words, you know they understand that if they complete the song/spell, they probably won't make it in the end. And yet, they don't care. They both know bad stuff will happen if Belos wins, so Eda and Raine put everything to the side, both their feelings for one another and the people they leave behind if it means putting an end to a tyrant. That level of dedication...Words can't fully describe how powerful that is.

Raine Sacrificing Themselves Instead: But in the end, Raine can't do it. Not when they know the life that Eda has and the people she'll be leaving behind. It's an extra bit of nobleness to the character seeing that Raine refuses to take away a woman from two kids who need her the most. A tad bit selfish, sure, knowing what Belos has planned. But when it comes to love, the romantic, familial, or platonic, the best decisions aren't always the logical ones.

Eda Crying: Luz crying tears me up, but seeing Eda cry is a whole different level of heartbreak. Like Lilith, Eda has her emotions locked up tight, with the closest she came to weeping were those two tears in "Young Blood, Old Souls." In "Eda's Requiem," she cries but almost quickly stops herself. As if she knows that doing so isn't going to save Raine. That is...even worse than seeing Luz break down after losing Eda. The fact that Eda refuses to give herself time to mourn losing someone she loved is tragic because crying is the most natural way of showing grief. Turning that off isn't healthy, and seeing her do it with little resistance is sad to me. It's sad to see a character I love can easily shut off all emotions despite how badly she may want to embrace them. It's one of those moments that, again, by doing so little, it shows so much.

“No one watches Crystal Balls anymore. It’s all about streaming.”: Oof. Even I felt that burn towards cable.

King’s Message: King's message was the pick-me-up I needed after the heart-wrenching sadness this episode put me through a few minutes ago. Seeing King say who he is and listing all the things he loves is nothing short of adorable. On top of that, I adore that Eda willingly recorded the whole thing. She may not want King to leave, but that doesn't mean she'll sabotage the one thing he wants. Especially not after Raine gave up everything so Eda could be with her kids. The opening scene may prove how much Eda cares about a rascal like King, but this heartwarmingly sweet moment reveals just how far she'll go to make him happy.

King’s Dad Reveal: ...ok, I'll be honest, I did not think we'd get that reveal this soon. Dumb of me to say, considering the number of times I've said that these writers don't waste time getting to the s**t, I know. But still, it's pretty cool knowing that King's dad is alive and well, added with the fact that we've got a fair idea of what he looks like. At this point, it's only a matter of time before we see him figure out where the Clawthorne residence is and witness the tear-jerking moments that will follow.

King Changing his Name to King Clawthorne: Not the official adoption I was expecting Eda to make...but DANG IT, is it still diabetes-inducing levels of sweetness!

Personally, I feel like the main reason why Eda breaks down this time is not only because she shouldn't be worried about King leaving her life, but also because Raine's sacrifice wasn't in vain. Her kids really do need Eda because no matter how far apart they'll be, she will always be a part of their life...dang it, I'm going to cry too!

What those Coven patches really do: Well...that was horrifying to see.

...Writers, if you kill off the best non-binary character in animation (it's a short list, I know), we are going to have PROBLEMS!

IN CONCLUSION

"Eda's Requiem" is--surprise surprise--another A+. The emotions hit hard, the representation hits harder, Raine is a fantastic addition to the cast, and it was all surprisingly cute at times. Season Two is currently on a hot streak, constantly winning with every episode that's come out so far. When a bad episode does eventually show up (IT'S GONNA HAPPEN!), I'll be sure to sing my requiem then. For now, I'm just gonna enjoy the ride.

#the owl house #the owl house season 2 #the owl house reviews #eda clawthorne #raine whispers #raeda #king of demons #toh darius #toh eberwolf #what i thought about

[thenightlymartini]

Asking again because your headcanons are *chefs kiss* and brighten up my day. So because I've been on a bodyguard trope kick lately, how would that trope play out with your ships?

Awww, thank you! Do you mind if I call you my chef's kiss anon?

Also, you single-handedly opened my third eye to this trope! Like how can one trope somehow fit all of my fav pairs so well?! And I love every single one of them so much that I want to write stories for them!?

Like I would sell my soul to anyone who does artwork about this trope with these pairs with no regrets.

Headcannon #64 - Bodyguard Trope (side note, these are in Human AU)

Kimchiburger: I've seen this go around quite a bit, but America as popstar!SK's bodyguard is so what I'm down for. I've done a few asks and headcannons surrounding that scenario, and I practically fell in love with it.

Like SK getting secretly flirty with his bodyguard? Totally scandalous? But so great! America getting flustered cause he's trying to do his job without feelings getting mixed up (too late on that front). Those two trying to keep a relationship on the down low when it could ruin both of their careers if it got out? There's the angst and danger I'm looking for!

Like SK could be a solo artist or in a group (maybe a co-ed group consisting of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Philippines, and Japan and China are other solo artists in the same company) and his brother, NK, is the manager? Which just adds even more complexity and danger to their hidden romance?

RusNK: Like, NK is just a rich CEO's son and Russia is the hired bodyguard to deal with the heir to a conglomerate empire. Little did Russia know is that NK isn't going to make it easy. Like the Korean will do everything and go out of his way to make it difficult for Russia to keep him even in eyesight, much less do his job. Why so? Cause NK thinks he can handle himself and is dealing with family issues. Like his father likes his brother more and wants his younger twin to be the heir instead of him, despite getting top marks and trying to prove otherwise? And it makes it worse cause SK wants nothing to do with the company and wants to go his own way, thus causing more strain on NK and his relationship. Having a bodyguard is almost like a slap in the face from his father, because he thinks his father is just making sure the second option is available if the first isn't convinced in time. Add in a little more angst where he is also trying to come to terms with his attraction to men which also ties into the familial drama, and he is now supposed to let some hot Russian be his guard and not catch feelings, whether purely physical or something more?

Add in Russia (where he comes from a country where being openly gay is not socially acceptable) and his coming to terms with his sexuality with a good looking, college-aged Korean that he isn't supposed to feel that way about, both professionally and socially? Along with the slow burn of man this kid is so damn annoying and I just want to strangle him to I feel bad for the kid to I kind of admire this guy's spunk to maybe I like this guy in more than an admiring way to oh god, I think I like him what do I do.

Commieburger: I like the idea of the both of them being bodyguards to popstar!SK. They hate each other and have very different ways of doing their job. Like SK could have gotten a death threat due to a minor slip or some rabid fan trying to hug him while he's performing on stage and they would have very different ways of how to deal with the situation. America would be the calmer of the two and be forceful, but respectful to the fan, and then comfort SK when he gets depressed about it. NK would have flattened the fan with a punch if he was legally allowed to (so he just settles with being a lot more aggressive) and tell SK to buck up cause "you're not going to win everybody over, so don't let it get to you", but his actions would be kinder than his words towards SK cause of family relations (which America wouldn't find out until he accidentally overheard an argument between the two).

The catalyst to these two seeing each other differently is when both of their pride and stubbornness towards each other costs them a fan slipping through and grabbing SK, causing him to twist his ankle on stage and being forced to take a medical leave for a few weeks. Both of them were devastated that due to their bickering SK had to suffer. Like he's America's best friend, how could America let this happen? And he's NK's younger twin, how could he, as the older brother and bodyguard, fail to protect him? Like SK would never blame the two of them, and waves it off as "shit happens", but both of them take it rather personal. They never start pointing fingers and blaming the other, despite that being a tempting option, because both realize they themselves could have been the bigger man and prevent what happened, but they didn't. That fact alone is what makes them realize that the other isn't necessarily as bad as they thought, since, for once, they both were on the same page.

This then becomes slow burn of them gradually warming up to each other to then having the beginning bud of romance once they realize with quite the surprise that they are actually compatible together. Like their both competitive, but it works out in oddly positive ways? Like they challenge each other to who can bench press more or who can be more discreet about dealing with unwanted attention directed at SK. Or that they both have green thumbs after finding out they both were taking care of SK's plants when he wasn't looking, and they give each other tips on plants they themselves own. Or how their seemingly clashing personalities are actually good balances? Like America is super spontaneous and charismatic, and NK is more calculating and calm, but they figure out that by balancing both personalities they both get a lot done. Add in SK (who is oblivious when it comes to his romantic life, but never his brother's), slyly shipping them and prodding them together, despite the controversy and conflict of interest that could arise if this were found out by superiors. Like SK is so sly that both America and NK think they get together under their own terms when really SK may have had a hand or two in some key points.

#hetalia #aph america #hws america #aph russia #hws russia #aph south korea #hws south korea #aph north korea #hws north korea #kimchiburger #rusnk #commieburger #i swear i keep changing how the name rusnk is shown cause I'm never satisfied with one or the other #also trying to answer asks differently so that it shows to the anons the notifications #that way I get more people seeing my content