#but i definitely am so interested in their chemistry and dynamic alone | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sunshinechay · 1 year

Note

Heyyyy! Just wanted to hop on and say your blog has been bringing me a lot of joy lately. What is your number 1 show and ship atm that you are keeping up with or would like to reccomend?

You have no idea how happy this made me. I’m glad I could help bring you joy!

For my fav show that I’m watching right now…I would have to say it’s A Boss and A Babe. It’s an office romance between Gun (aka Boss), the president and owner of a video game development company and Cher/Laem, who is an intern with the company. They are also my favourite ship from the show. They are absolutely adorable and the acting duo behind them (ForceBook) have such good chemistry. It’s a really nice more mature BL that gmmtv is doing right now, which is a nice break from their usually line up of school bls. It has it’s light hearted moment and it’s serious moments and I absolutely love Cher’s friend group (#foundfamilygoals). Plus the secondary couple (which we don’t get to see nearly enough of) ThreeZo is every level of adorable you can imagine. I would definitely recommend this show if you aren’t watching it already.

My forever rec, of course, is Not Me (The Series). It is a really interesting and enjoyable series that has a lot of social commentary about life in Thailand, especially with regards to poverty, capitalism, disability and LGBTQ+ issues within the country. The found family in this show is something very special to me, especially because we still get to see growth from them even though White walks into an already established group (also #foundfamilygoals). The flag scene changed me as a person, I will never be normal about this show because of it. It also falls in the “Be Gay, Do Crime” type shows that I always end up loving XD. The main ship, SeanWhite, are everything to me. White is someone who manages to surprise everyone with every turn he makes, despite (and likely a little because of) his kind, caring but ultimately rational and calculated nature/personality. Sean is an absolutely babygirl who is here to fuck shit up and love his boyfriend and lucky for him, he gets to do both at the same time…I love him so much. It’s the first bl I watched that forced a ghost ship on me that I don’t talk about enough but am most definitely not normal about (BlackTodd my beloved). It’s OffGun at their finest and definitely worth the watch. (Gun’s acting alone is worth the watch. It genuinely feels like he is two separate people when he plays each of the twins and holy crap this guy deserves all the roles and all the awards.) The rest of cast is made up of equally talented actors who play their roles spectacularly. All in all, it’s a wild ride that I love to watch again and again.

The ship I’m obsessing over atm is KimChay. I just love them so much and I can’t stop thinking about them haha. I think at least a little of that is how open their ending is, which normally I hate but it works for them, especially with the epilogue of sorts they managed to give them during one of the concert shows. Their dynamic (sunshine and sunshine protector) is one of my favourites. They are a perfect match to me, with Chay, despite being so young, being the most emotionally mature, emotionally intuitive character on the show and Kim being an emotion shunning half feral murder kitten who just wants to protect the boy he loves. I mean Kim literally leaves a pile of dead bodies in a bar to show Chay he loves him, which is fucked up but also oddly adorable as he didn’t have to go to help Chay when he could have helped protect his brothers during the attack on the compound. He chose Chay over everyone else and I think in the end, Chay would/will and does chose him back. I mean my boy Kim thought writing a song and releasing it on the internet and publically declaring it was for Chay was a good way to try and make it up to Chay instead of giving Chay what he wanted. You know, an explanation and a conversation about why Kim thought doing what he did was okay. You’ll never convince me Chay wasn’t already ready to forgive Kim for everything during the breakup scene, he just wanted to hear Kim’s side of the story and have an honest conversation with him about it. I think Chay absolutely understands that he did it for his brothers because Chay would also do anything for his brother, he just wants to hear Kim say it (see again, my belief that Chay is the most emotionally mature character in the entire show, every single adult included XD).

Ironically though the ship I’m reading the most fic for right now is probably VegasPete, though both KinnPorsche and KimChay are in there as well :D

25 notes · View notes

reanimationstation · 6 months

Note

Which batim/batdr ships you dislike or are uncomfortable with?

anon do you want my body to be found in a ditch /j. nah i think the bendy fandom is chiller than that. but i do have a list for you! i'll try not to be too critical of any of them, so in no particular order (also my definition of "dislike" is very broad):

Ink Demon x Sammy: i dunno, its just an angle i never enjoyed! i just dont think its interesting. But if you ship it, you do you. i know i follow at least one person who ships it. though if you do ship it please refrain from using those tags on my art of them, since thats nearly exclusively a father-son dynamic in my AUs

ok tbh Ink Demon x Anyone: honestly i just dont see him having romantic relations with anyone lol. just not my cup of tea

Constance x Brant: ok disclaimer i dont DISLIKE this ship i just dont like it in a casual sense. i am a TLO trio polycule truther (or rather, QPR truther), though this alone just kinda makes me wonder. they barely knew each other. honestly she had more chemistry with Bill, if any! good on you tho if you ship it, i guess

Dot x Buddy: shrug. theyre more compelling as friends to me.

i'm not putting the obvious ones on this list because that would make my list long and boring. also this is not an invitation to come into my inbox defending any of these, im not interested in further discussion.

FADE TO BLACK SPOILERS UNDER CUT

Rose x Evan: unpopular opinion, maybe? Look, her crush is cute, and I support her being adorable about it. But the age gap........makes me really uncomfortable. I know its the 50s, "things were different" and all that jazz, but its still fully within my right to be uncomfortable with it. shes 17, hes 20, its.....well its certainly something. Also, I really don't feel like Evan reciprocated the feelings at all? Hell, if he even noticed them. He treated her very little sister like, or just plain good friend, to me. regardless, i just plain don't like it. none of yall better come into my inbox defending it ill block you for being annoying

Dot x Evan: if i stumbled upon a REALLY compelling argument for it, exploring both their characters, then sure, good for you. but sometimes it feels like yall are just shoving any male and female together and calling it a ship. also Evan's a bit young ngl

Dot x Archie: same as before, though strangely i feel like it'd be easier to convince me of this one? They at least interact with each other.

#victors asks #bendy ftb #<- for tag blocking purposes. i dont want anyone to see what they dont wanna see #me starting this off with saying ill be nice and then bitching about the last three is kinda funny #if you ship any of these sorry <3 #in my defense FTB is fresher in my mind and my opinions are stronger #really tho i just kinda Look Away when i dont like something #if its that bad ill block. nice and simple #for the record the obvious ones are like. incest. and audrey and wilson. miss me with that shit yall

10 notes · View notes

ilikereadingactually · 4 months

Text

The Mimicking of Known Successes

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older

i will happily admit that i had a long Sherlock Holmes phase precipitated by the BBC's Sherlock. that phase ended fairly abruptly when the Sherlock show and fandom simultaneously crashed and burned, or at least that's how it felt to me; i was so turned off by the whole thing that i didn't revisit ANY Holmesian books or media for years afterward, even though i liked quite a lot of it. i've dipped back in a bit since then (because it's hard to resist the charms of Enola Holmes), and am slowly remembering what i loved about the original stories.

this book has all of that charm and then some. honestly what could be more up my alley than wlw Holmes and Watson in a post-environmental-collapse-of-Earth future in space?? literally nothing, it's a perfect book for me. Malka Older really captures everything that makes the original Sherlock Holmes so delightful to me! the first person narrative, for one, which is pitch-perfectly Watsonian in vocabulary and tone, both nostalgic and totally readable. the excellent chemistry and dynamic between Mossa and Pleiti is also spot on, pleasantly messy and immediately fond and entirely satisfying. and the mystery! i loved that the mystery was driving the plot but that the emotional story was the more important arc, and i loved that i had a sense of how the pieces connected but didn't understand it all until Mossa put it together, which is just how a Holmesian story ought to feel.

a fantastic read, and a quick read too, and i'm DYING for the next one (already requested it on NetGalley even though it comes out pretty soon...)

the deets

how i read it: @digger1649 literally put the hardcover into my hands as i was picking up other books at the library and said "you should read this," and he was correct. thanks for all the absolute banger recommendations lately!!! this is one i will definitely buy for myself and recommend at work.

try this if you: are a Holmes fan of any stripe, dig a queer mystery, love sff that imagines what we'll do after running the Earth into the ground, or just delight in the interesting combo of old-fashioned gaslamp language/tone and a futuristic setting!

some bits i really liked: i just love them and also the references so much

Mossa waved that aside. "But you also know me, and how I work. Explaining it to someone else would take too long." I could not restrain a feeling of warmth as if that were praise or even affection and not merely a statement of fact. Believing in signs of affection from Mossa was a trap, because it led to expecting signs of affection.

---

"And you were saying about your specific project?" "Ah yes. I study the British Isles, in the mid-twentieth century. At the moment I'm working on a very useful book about rabbits and their adventures. There's a wealth of descriptions of the flora and fauna in a highly circumscribed, clearly-identified area."

---

Mossa's expression was like the one she had worn in theoretical forestry class when the professor had offered successively more difficult elimination problems until Mossa, alone, had comprehended the final paradigm: as though I were as fascinating and satisfying to grasp as her most difficult questions. But then she shook her head. "Pleiti," she said, "I haven't changed."

---

Mossa responded simply with a Classical quotation: "'Why are men?'"

#books and reading #book reviews #book recs #booklr #bookblr #queer sff #the mimicking of known successes #malka older

5 notes · View notes

yennefer-x-tissaia · 9 months

Note

I'm sure we all remember that heartbreaking scene in 2x01 when Tissaia cries for Yennefer. She pushed herself to her limits and corssed any rules the brotherhood had to find out what happened with Yennefer. She said it by herself she is not a curel person. But Yennefer let her act totally out if character. It was like Tissaia forgot anything when it's about Yennefer. (And I really hate that we didn't saw more of her anger against Stregobor when he interrogated Yennefer or her taking care of her) I mean she was always willing to welcome Yennefer with open arms. Their bond was so strong and I love that.

And that's what makes the season finale so much sadder. Because after everything they went through together even after Yennefer tells her that she would never survived all the things without her and how much she needed Tissaia right now, Yennefers love wasn't enough for Tissaia to stay. And I can't even imagine Yennefer’s feelings after she found her. Her biggest support system was gone. Tissaia was the first person who show her how much she can be. She was the only person who never really let her down and always was somehow on her side. Even when they where not talking for like 30 years Tissaia still offered her a home a place to come back. She always had a save place with Tissaia. And now she just left her. She must have felt so alone, guilty and anger and so much pain. And I'm honest I am glad whe didn't actually hear Yens scream because it must've been so heartbroken and I felt for everyone who found them in Tissaias room and had to deal with a sobbing Yennefer crying over Tissaia's body. I'm kinda curious what happened right after that and who found them but at the same time I just can't imagine something that goes that way. What about you?

I apologize for my grammar and I hope you understood the most important things but I really needed to get this out of my system.

Please don't apologise! I think you've expressed your thoughts and feelings very clearly.

I think it was interesting that the show chose to have Yen acknowledge her anger at Tissaia's decision to take her life. That's a very human reaction and an understandable one. But I don't really feel like we can judge Tissaia for doing what she did either. She had been spectacularly deceived by someone she trusted, which in turn had led to the deaths of girls in her care, and injury and death for girls that she'd trained throughout her time at Aretuza. The guilt must have been immense.

I think we saw her make peace with her decision when she was holding Yennefer. I think that's when she makes up her mind for definite. I'm sure she appreciates Yennefer's attempts to console her, but I think it only proves to her more that Yennefer has grown up and is a strong, capable sorceress who can inspire and lead people.

I wish we'd seen a bit more of the direct aftermath, to be honest. While I like that it was Yen who felt her death, and Yen who found her (because it speaks to their bond) I would have liked to see the others grieving. I expected a funeral, to be honest. A speech from Yen would have been nice. Or maybe Yen would have been too grief stricken to give one. Maybe Rita, in Yen's stead, who could have acknowledged Tissaia's great respect and love for all her girls (but especially Yennefer).

I hope the show remembers Tissaia. I hope Yennefer thinks of her and talks about her, and that she gets to appear in dreams or visions like Calanthe and Pavetta do. The show will suffer for the lack of Tissaia, I think. For being a minor character, she was such a presence in Yen's life and they had such chemistry in every scene that a lot of the other dynamics fell a bit flat in comparison.

I will miss Tissaia, and so will the show.

#Anonymous #ask #commentary #yennaia #the witcher spoilers #season 3 spoilers #suicide cw

15 notes · View notes

pyrriax · 1 year

Note

hmmm pandora or melody for the ask game? :) i am SO interested in them !!!

OOOOO okay you get a two-for-one because I can!!

I'm putting this below a read-more because christ almighty it's long, lol

PANDORA:

One aspect about them I love

I love the fact he sticks to his beliefs & is genuinely consistent with how he treats others. It causes so many issues (especially later on when that really gets challenged) but also is part of why I think he's as compelling as he is.

One aspect I wish more people understood about them

Oh my god. My main one: he is not a good person. Not At All. Yes that hinges off his past, no it's not part of what I've shown so far. He remembers tasting blood for a reason, man! And he did not lose a fight to end up in that situation!

One (or more) headcanon(s) I have about this character

Okay I'm gonna talk strictly headcanon with this! I definitely see him as being either nonbinary or genderqueer post-maze. Probably an any pronouns user, especially with demon culture not really focusing on strict gender stereotypes (though that's still a thing, just not as common in his experience). Oh dude Pandora would SO wear one of those long flowy skirts, that's absolutely his jam.

One character I love seeing them interact with

Accius!! I love him and Accius interacting, it brings me so much joy. Even if Pandora doesn't realize it, Accius looks up to him as an older brother type of figure. (Even if Pandora is only a couple of years older than them)

One character I wish they would interact with/interact with more

Oliver, 100%! Those two could've had such great chemistry and would've bounced off each other really well, but sadly that just doesn't get to happen :( I hold it dear regardless, and I'm totally gonna write something based around those two getting along because I think that'd be so sweet.

One (or more) headcanon(s) I have that involve them and one other character

Ooooh man this is tough! I'm gonna leave this one alone because my only idea right now is actually a plot point in the next two chapters and I don't wanna spoil anything (I see Dane reading this, silly creature :3)

MELODY:

One aspect about them I love

I love the way she talks!! I don't know how to really describe it, but the way she talks is just super fun to imagine + write. Also just I love how much her character and behavior comes from a place of love and grief, rather than hatred :)

One aspect I wish more people understood about them

I'm not intending for her to be a villain in this story, she's just somebody who's hurting and taking it out on others. I mean the whole scene in Chapter 15 (cicadas) was supposed to be showcasing that fact, even if it did mean she almost killed someone. She's quite literally just grieving in a horrible manor, and maybe he looks a little bit too similar to somebody, but that's not his fault.

[ Context since I know you haven't been reading! Melody approached Pandora when he was in the prison cell and almost ended up shooting him with her bow, but intentionally missed and walked away after. ]

One (or more) headcanon(s) I have about this character

OKAY I literally refuse to actualize this because I really dislike one-sided romance / pining and we already have one instance of that (Ivy being hopelessly in love with Accius) but I feel like Melody would absolutely have a crush on Lyra. Would I condone that crush? Hell no! Not for the fact it's lesbian, but for the fact that it would be so unhealthy it's painful. Lord.

One character I love seeing them interact with

Oh yes!! Nyx! I love how she interacts with Nyx, it's so natural and it makes total sense that she gets along with him, being a volunteer.

One character I wish they would interact with/interact with more

This is hard to choose, man! I wish she interacted more with Altair before [redacted] especially because of the fact they were always listening to what she said. But also, I wish she interacted more with Kato! Those two had such a good dynamic and I am SO upset it didn't get more screen time

[ You have: Person who was notorious for basically learning everything about a person & Person who refuses to say anything about themself unless it's life or death ]

One (or more) headcanon(s) I have that involve them and one other character

We're going canon again with this one!! I think her and Pandora absolutely used to practice fighting with each other, she did it out of some curiosity and ended up getting some of her memories back because of it :) They're actually really evenly matched in a battle, though she often held back when it came to anything ranged. Even if she hates him, she's not going to use the fact he has poor depth perception and a mostly-blind left eye against him.

On that topic!! She trained people in the clearing archery and was the one who showed Urki how to use a halberd, along with showing Accius about War Scythes. She's got a fair bit of weapons knowledge, since that used to be something she studied a lot! Mel is the combat teacher of the group, though a lot of people already had their preferences and specialties and just needed reminding.

[ Also I feel like she's DEFINITELY both gotten accidentally stabbed during training, and also definitely accidentally stabbed somebody. Both of which were probably from and to Pandora. Those two fought a lot. Ironically I don't think they ever actually physically fight after the first couple of months. They were closer than I showed in the condensed version of the story! Hatred leads people to knowing each other better than they wanted to :) ]

#ask a ghost #asker: navysealt4t #au: where the dust settles #BLUE YOUR GONNA KILL ME I SWEAR!! THANK YOU!!!!! <3 #small spoilers #i tried to avoid them but HOENSTLY i am just chattering on and on and its 00:31 and i cannot be bothered to scan for spoilers #pandora's should be fine mostly just melody's might have spoilers #i love the idea of enemies being closer than they expected. even if pandora doesn't think of her as an enemy

5 notes · View notes

lydiaas · 1 year

Note

That was a good point. We definitely skipped over the fact that not only was Kie kidnapped in a foreign country, separated from her friends, but then also thrown in a room with Rafe AND was forced to “trust” him to escape (that was her only chance, she had to in my opinion).

Regarding Rafes attitude towards Kie, it seemed like he didn’t like that she ran around with the pogues but he mostly seemed to try to separate her from any issues he had with the pogues (it’s not you we want Kie; stay out of this kiara). This leads me to believe they at least had an acquaintance-type relationship during her kook year when she became close with Sarah. He doesn’t really completely associate her with the pogues. She’s in a different category to him. Maybe due to their short lived acquaintanceship or a weird attraction/obsession he has with her. Her alone is not a threat. But her associated with the pogues is a threat. This leads me to believe he probably would have at least not harmed her. However, she has witnessed him lose it in moments and become violent in previous seasons and during their season 3 time together (choking her in season 1; throwing the guy off the truck during their escape), exactly how he described it to her in their room at Singhs; losing it in certain moments and how he can’t control it. And she was scared. It’s very possible, if triggered, he would have lost control on Kie and done something to hurt her eventually like you said, and that was in the back of her mind.

This got away from me and I rambled lol. Although I am here for Jiara through and through, I do like the Rafe and Kie dynamic. I like that they used it to bring something different to season 3, and it was well received. I think it could be made better by confirming what their past actually is, but regardless I still think it’s interesting and could be utilized in season 4. I don’t think Rafe is very happy about him opening up to her and then her betraying him. He’s probably slightly embarrassed and pissed and would definitely hold that against her, especially after admitting “he’s always liked her” in a not so tasteful way (you’re at least half kook). And if it serves me protective JJ, I am 100% in, sorry not sorry!

Yes completely agree with this. Rafe is fully classist so I think he definitely elevates Kie above the Pogues simply because of who her mother is even if he would throw her to the wolves to save himself.

I think Madison and Drew have good chemistry together (not romantic necessarily but an interesting energy) so I enjoyed their scenes and I wouldn't be averse to more. I love to see her drag him and treat him as badly as he deserves. I think giving him some weird fascination with Kie would be super juicy and interesting although the way that S3 spawned thousands of Rafe x Kie shippers I'm kind of scared of that prospect as well lol

#obx #kiara carrera #asks

3 notes · View notes

deadboyswalking · 2 years

Note

Tododeku?

Strong Dislike. Willing to put up with it if the actual fic is interesting enough (or if it's a background ship and a ship i like better is the focus like some kiribaku fics), but TBH there's only one long-form fic with the ship as the main pairing that I deemed worthy enough to read.

Why I dislike it? It's just super bland to me and the characters have zero romantic chemistry or "spark" together in the story. None of their interactions read as potential for a relationship (especially with Izuku's total 180 in personality and how he treats Endeavor from the SF to the Endeavor Agency Arc) and they're like, barely friends at this point in the manga. Genuinely, they have no emotional or personality connection.

Canon potential? None. At the end of the manga, Izuku will get paired off with Uraraka and Shouto will either be left alone as a member of the homosexual supporting cast or get a random 11th hour female love interest. The only male/male Izuku ship that has the slightest canon potential or any actual buildup is Bakudeku and that would be a groundbreaking reach for a shounen series. We can only hope that Izuku will be a better friend for Todoroki after the war because he's historically been kind of a shitty friend to him post-Kamino.

What I think of the fanon? I am definitely going to get angry anons or lose followers for this, but I despise every element of the fanon. This could be an entire separate post, but in brief, I primarily hate the way Shouto is woobified and his canon character traits of being kind of a snarky dick are completely erased to make him the perfect sweet prince who cries all the time in the supportive cutesy green boy's arms. Also, the kind of fanon surrounding t'd'd'k is made by people who really fucking hate Bakugou and project that hatred onto Shouto's character, which makes no sense and is completely OOC for him as he considers Bakugou a close friend. "They're so sweet and emotionally open perfect boyfriends for each other." Affectionately, Shouto canonically deals with emotions by bottling them up until he explodes. He has the social and emotional intelligence of a gnat, he is not the emotionally in tune knight in shining armor saving poor little miserable suicidal Izuku from the clutches of big mean Katsuki. Argh, I know this paragraph is borderline incoherent but the fanon is wrong on so many levels about their characters and dynamic that I don't even know how to begin to organize why I hate it so much. 😡😡😡

6 notes · View notes

minetteskvareninova · 10 months

Text

Minette watches Medici, part 14 (Alliance)

- Thank Lord, Theotokos and all the saints, the show has finally returned to a bearable level of stupidity! I mean, it’s still not GOOD, but at least there’s enough good here that I don’t need to have a vodka bottle on hand to finish this series.

- Finally, some good fucking tension! I mean, Lorenzo is still a raging Gary Stu, but at least the show is nice enough to throw us a bone and not make him win 100% all the damn time. And I made my peace with the fact that old Iacopo is a fucking cartoon villain; now I just revel in a fact that he has the decency to be good one.

- Citta di Castello has me fucking rolling, like that name sounds extremely fake, but it’s an actual city and apparently that plot is kinda based on something that actually happened - although I don’t think Lorenzo was involved at all? Then again, could’ve known that, this show doesn’t have a relationship so much as persistent, but still noncommittal flirtation with history. Either way, I liked that plot, if for no other reason, then because Lorenzo finally got in line and follows his granddad’s footsteps in winning only trough great effort and sacrifice. Also, hey, the Volterra plot was somewhat relevant beyond that one episode! Nice.

- The triumphant return of Lucrezia D was somewhat eyeroll-worthy because of the writers’ verbal fellatio of Lorenzo trough Clarice, but I am willing to forgive it a lot because from this episode on, I am a Clarice x Lucrezia D shipper. Like, pair the suitors would always be the superior dynamic, but these two. Oh, these two. Ladies, I know that silver tongue probably eats mad pussy, but the other one has mouth too! God, I swear as soon as I end this mostly painful season, I am writing some mad smut with this pairing. BTW, still waiting for chemistry between Lorenzo and Clarice, but as mentioned, Clarice only has eyes for Lucrezia D.

- If only every romantic subplot was at least semi-decent, but alas, Giuliano and Simonetta also exist. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not bemoaning their individual existence as character, not when Giuliano was finally useful this episode. But their tragic love story (for a given value of love and story, though tragic it definitely is in multiple ways) has finally ended, just as stupidly as it began. Vespucci’s gullibility is at least qualifying for the national championship (and mind you, in this very universe, you had Cosimo convinced Marco Bello killed his father) like Iago at least had some kind of flimsy proof unlike here Francesco - unless this show insists on telling me Vespucci had no idea Giuliano de’ Medici will pose half-naked on a portrait with his wife, which I call enormous bullshit on.

- He at least reacts the way I would expect from your average renessaince husband that learned his wife cheats on him with the local fuckboy (and unlike Lorenzo, I do not believe the dick is that good - he probably doesn’t eat pussy at all, let alone well). This plot point honestly gave me war flashbacks to The Musketeers season 2 and the good ship HMS Constagnan. To which I say, sir, how very fucking dare you. Not only did they do the whole “nominally shitty husband way too decent, at least in comparison with the hot fuckboy love interest, let’s make him commit some random domestic violence” sooner, they did it... Well, at least not as terribly. I mean, Simonetta is cool, but she’ll never be Constance, Giuliano is just straight up trash (unlike D’Artagnan, who, while annoying, did have at least some charisma and likeable qualities), and though old Bonacieux wasn’t quite convincing as an outright wife beater, he at least was a kinda bad husband.

- And of course, since Simonetta Vespucci IRL died of tuberculosis, the writers just had to milk her situation for all the Victorian Novel Dissease cliches they could cram in the limited time they had. Like, fuck me, I didn’t think I would see the day I was going to be glad Matilda Lutz and her angelic face are leaving this world, but the writing really is that bad. Whelp, at least Giuliano is going to get shanked soon too...

- Lastly we have the subplot with the bald councilman and his ugly son, which had a few mildly stupid moments, but overall wasn’t bad. I am still not sure whether Lorenzo placating the ugly son was really as stupid as it seemed to me at first, like I guess it made sense, in that Lorenzo was giving up any advantage he might’ve gotten by the bald councilman’s murder, thus convincing the ugly son it wasn’t him...? Then again, it could’ve been a cunning plot, a desperate gamble to gain the ugly son’s trust... Nah, I’ll buy it. Ugly son, you’re not qualifying for the national gullibility championship, how sad for you. Anyway, props to Iacopo Pazzi for once again proving a well-placed assassination has its place in the politics of renessaince Italy! A+ use of your hired thugs, no notes. Also nice preview for Giuliano’s shanking...

- The ugly son reminded me - no Bianca and Francesco’s lame brother to bring down the charisma in the room in this episode! Yay. A gold sticker for this episode, everyone.

#medici: the magnificent #minette watches medici

1 note · View note

wikiangela · 2 years

Text

she-hulk is here!!! I didn't realize just how excited I was until I went on d+ just now lmao

spoilers ahead!

I fucking love fourth-wall breaking so much, I'm so happy it's happening here hahah

ans we finay found out why Bruce is in his human form again! and why he can just go back to being smart hulk I guess 😂 makes sense 😅 that's what I wanted to know since Shang-Chi 😂

okay, the convo about Steve was gold, lmao I already love Jen so much 😂😂😂

oooh, so that's how she became a hulk, that's interesting haha

I am loving this show already

lmao "because I'm better than you" she's the best 😂

I'm so glad I watched inside out last weekend, and I got that reference 😂😂

omg she doesn't have an alter ego - she really is better than Bruce 😂 (also, I just realized her clothes just stay on when she turns, she really has it so much better haha)

Bruce is so jealous and it's so funny 😂

like, I love Bruce but Jen is clearly the superior Hulk and she's been a hulk for five minutes 😂

I just love the way she can control her anger so easily because she's literally doing it every single day as a woman - female hulk is a great way to address all that tbh

Hulk fight!! loving this, finally someone who can take Hulk lmao

oh no the bar! 😢 I legit gasped 😂

the thing is, I can see both of their perspectives - like obviously they're different people and Jen is good at controlling her emotions, and she just wants to live her life, which is understandable - but also Bruce has been through so much shit obviously he wants to help her and be there so she doesn't have to go through this alone - they both make valid points tbh but Bruce just needs to understand that they're very different and she doesn't need to be isolated from everything forever

Jameela Jamil!!! yaaay!

oh, so her clothes do rip - but at least they stay on her body so it's a win anyway hahaha

I'm so invested already haha

the conversation about Steve being/not being a virgin is still so funny 😂 and I love that it's finally confirmed that he was not a virgin 😂 "Captain America fu-" 😂 😂

I love lawyer shows and I love superhero stuff so this show is so fantastic for me hah

this was great - I love the story, I love the characters

I really enjoy the relationship between Bruce and Jen, they really do seem like family, they have great chemistry and the dynamic between them is just amazing hahah

Jen seems so fun, I loved her already within the first few minutes, she's amazing, and I can't wait to see what happens next now that people know she's a hulk haha

it was funny and interesting and I honestly loved it haha

(also, I'm one of the few people who definitely do not miss Tony so I could not relate to Bruce missing him and I didn't really care tbh, let's move on lol)

#she hulk #she hulk spoilers

1 note · View note

here2bbtstrash · 2 years

Note

Honestly Namjoon + Jin sound like a fresh pair. They have a very interesting dynamic with Joon being the leader but Jin being the oldest. Contrary to some headcanons, I think Joon could be quiet bashful / shy / too horny to think at the beginning of threesome. It IS still considered taboo in some places; let alone threesome with his own bandmate. And I think Jin can really just crack some jokes and make fun of the situation while still taking care of you (+ getting Joon out of his shell). I think Joon will definitely lean into taking cues from Jin in the beginning. I can just see Joon ruining your insides while Jin's holding your hand and support you like a sweetheart that he is 🥰 Joon will be heavy and sensitive while Jin will be sweet and funny. It'd be such a treat 😋

OH MAN you explained this so well anon!!!! the two of them have such good chemistry together (yes i am thinking of the vlive where they build bt21 toys and joon looks FINE AS HELL lmao) and you would definitely still be able to laugh, while also getting absolutely destroyed. aka the perfect combo 🙏🏻🙏🏻

ya know what i'm fucking sold!!

if you could hook up with a bangtan subunit (2-3 members, for group sex) - who would you pick? feel free to explain why if ya want 👀👀👀

#ask game #anonymous

1 note · View note

writer-monster · 3 years

Text

11 reasons why cap 4 should reintroduce Bucky Barnes as the love interest, an essay

to start this off, i am not writing this essay from a shipping place nor do i believe that this would have any influence at all over the upcoming movie. i expect nothing. this is simply something that i would personally like to see. (of course no hate to anybody who thinks differently)

here are 11 reasons why i think making Bucky into Sam Wilson's love interest in Cap 4 would be a good move for Disney.

1. on the Chinese film market - and why it's an irrelevant argument against the inclusion of homosexual themes in Cap 4

the Chinese film market is something that has been blamed for a lack of diversity in Hollywood films a lot lately. many people claim that this market with a lot of buying power has been responsible for the lack of gay and black representation in particular within Hollywood films.

and we have certainly seen Hollywood treating it as such, going so far as to cut gay scenes from movies for their Chinese releases, and vastly minimising John Boyega's (a black actor's) presence in the Chinese poster of Star Wars The Force Awakens.

[image ID: on the left is an image of the American poster for Star Wars The Force Awakens, featuring John Boyega prominently on the right-hand side. And on the right is the Chinese poster for the same movie, in which John Boyega is barely visible.]

so we know at the very least that Disney believes this through their own actions and efforts to self-censor for the different markets.

but Captain America 4 is a black-led movie, don't you forget. and Disney can't minimise Sam Wilson/Anthony Mackie in the movie or the poster because it's his movie and his poster. and no amount of creativity in the editing room can change that (thank God!).

so if by their own argument the film is already going to be either banned, panned or slammed in China... then what do they have to fear from making it a gay movie too?

2. oh, the queerbaiting

queerbaiting is an unusual cultural idea. and sometimes i find myself thinking that the term is far too easily used, but then all of a sudden i will stumble upon a movie or show that is so quintessentially cruel and overt in it's... well... queerbaiting that i will start to wonder what the hell kind of a bizarre relationship all these straight people seem to have with their friends. take Troy and Abed from Community or John and Sherlock from Sherlock as the perfect examples of this. (in which my reaction to the show's creators saying the show wasn't gay was to ask so then why did you make it so gay?!)

i felt that Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in tfatws were getting quite close to this level of queerbaiting.

there was the field scene, the couple's counselling scene, the boat scene, the couple's counselling scene, Bucky going with Sam to face Karli when she told Sam to come alone, the couple's counselling scene, ALL the staring scenes, Sam checking out Bucky's ass here as they said goodbye, the "i would move in with him but" hidden scene, "Uncle Bucky" showing up at the cookout scene, the romantic walking off together into the sunset together ending scene, and the couple's counselling scene. did i forget anything? but i mean seriously, the couple's counselling scene!!! that thing they did with their legs and their crotches while staring deep into each other's eyes, would any straight guy willingly do that? do straight guys crotch-snuggle now?

[image ID: an image of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes during the therapy scene with the quote, "Isn't anybody going to drag me into impromptu couple's therapy and slot my legs firmly between theirs before staring deeply into my eyes?"]

(yeah i stole this image from a buzzfeed article on the fan reactions to the couple's therapy scene. but given that they stole 80% of the content of that article from fandom tumblr, i think it's pretty even-steven.)

there's also the fact that people started talking about bisexual Bucky Barnes a lot after the tiger pictures line, and the lead writer Malcom Spellman responded to the talk of Bucky's bisexuality with "just keep watching". well we watched, Malcolm. but it's beginning to feel like you were just jerking us around.

3. the writing

seriously though, what else is Bucky Barnes doing right now in the MCU? his only remaining connection to anything going on right now is through Sam. there is literally nothing else established that's left for him to do that doesn't involve Sam. he moved to Louisiana to be closer to Sam (canonically), he hangs out with Sam's family (canonically), and Steve is presumably gone and is definitely not coming back for more adventures.

he has no villains or loose ends left. he has no other superheroes that he appears to be in contact with. he has no girlfriend or potential love interest, or even other friends or family. he is living in a tent that he has secretly set up in Sam's backyard and is mysteriously appearing from the bushes when it's time for dinner like a stray cat.

in my opinion there is no other meaningful and pre-established progression for Bucky's character that wouldn't just feel cheap.

plus, i don't think the general audience would be all that surprised if they kissed. i think a LOT of people picked up on all that tension. i think a lot of straight people picked up on all that tension too.

4. the chemistry between the actors & the chemistry between the characters

the original pitch for tfatws was essentially just this, it was the chemistry between Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie and their respective MCU characters of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson.

now obviously Anthony and Sebastian are simply friends, and i wouldn't mean to imply anything more. but they are also not their characters.

Sam and Bucky's scenes together before tfatws were both limited and short, and yet audiences still fell in love with the dynamic between the two characters.

in interviews, these two actors are constantly slipping into character and flirting with each other and frankly it's adorable. plus it's really entertaining. i'd love to see that dynamic, unfiltered, in a movie.

because believe it or not the flirting is actually even more open in their interviews than it was in tfatws. and i'm leaving some links as proof.

this here is known as the "married" compilation

and here's a "lucky dip" selection of interviews - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

and here's Anthony trying to get Seb to take his jacket off.

i'm just saying, why not let their chemistry shine? these two are so talented and so entertaining, especially when you put them in a room together. and can you imagine how absolutely hilarious and brilliant it would be to watch them navigate being a couple?

(and for those who bring up the "friends would be uncomfortable pretending to be dating" argument, i'm not here asking for a sex scene or anything. i don't think anyone would expect them to show any more intimacy (physical or emotional) while playing a couple than what they've already shown together in say... tfatws or in their own interviews. not that i actually expect anything regardless.)

5. if they were a man and a woman they would've gotten together in tfatws

i have no more to add here. just that... yeah, they would've.

6. and i'm not talking about the comics here, i'm talking about the MCU.

i understand fully that none of what i'm saying here falls in line with these characters from the comics. but the mcu itself doesn't fall much in line with the comics either, and these two characters especially are very different from their comics counterparts.

i'm not asking for these two to get together in the comics. tbh i don't think that it would work.

but the mcu Sam and Bucky are different and closer than their comics counterparts. they've got different histories, different backstories, and a very different dynamic. please rest assured that i am only talking about them in the mcu.

7. Bucky Barnes is believably bisexual. and Sam Wilson has never been proven to be straight in the mcu, nor has he had a love interest.

(now please continue to keep in mind that these points only stand for the mcu versions of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, and not at all for their comics counterparts.)

Sam Wilson has never had a love interest, which is crazy because have you seen that man! he has had two blink and you'll miss it moments of verbal expression of attraction to women, both in TWS. and that's the extent of it, through his entire history in the mcu.

Bucky Barnes has had a number of surface-level female love interests, but none of them even came close to the level of connection and chemistry that Bucky shares with Sam.

and i'm sorry SarahBucky fans, but i just don't think there's very much to their relationship either. i love Sarah, i really do. but it's Sam who shares all the meaningful moments and history and chemistry with Bucky. and i don't see what making her into a love interest would do for Sarah's character either, what would that add to her story?

[Picture ID: Bucky at the cookout with Sam, Sarah, Cass and AJ. Bucky and Sam are looking at each other and smiling.]

and also there is the whole tiger pictures thing... again. which does strongly suggest that Bucky is bisexual whether this was intentional on behalf of the writers or not.

8. it's representation... AND it feels natural

marvel hasn't had a lot of queer representation that's been noticeably present in the MCU at the time of writing this.

there have been a lot of failures so far, from the bisexual erasure of Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok to the wlw erasure in Black Panther.

there was queerbaiting almost identical to the bisexual Bucky baiting for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. when asked if he had considered featuring a gay hero in gotg2, director James Gunn stated that "We might have already done that. I say, watch the movie." after the movie's release audiences were understandably confused about the lack of queer representation. To which the director followed up his comments with, "But we don't really know who's gay and who's not. It could be any of them."

there is also Loki, considered by most fans after the airing of his six episode series on Disney+ to be both a poor attempt at both genderfluid representation and bisexual representation. with both attempts being summed up fairly well by the term "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". (also it's just terribly written and Loki doesn't wear any interesting clothes! fanficcers are a Goddamn blessing in this hard time!)

and let us not forget that Andrew Garfield was apparently FIRED for pushing for a bisexual spiderman. a bisexual spiderman within an interracial mlm relationship no less.

so for all these failures, marvel, why not allow us queer fans this? two brilliant and heroic men in a loving interracial relationship. two heroes that we can look up to.

now, one of the biggest detractions from the argument for representation is the idea of "forced diversity". and some poorly written characters certainly do end up feeling forced into the narrative. take Iceman in the comics for example, with Jean Grey just straight up suddenly telling him he's gay. like, marvel, sweetie, that's not how this works! and i don't know a lot of queer people who thought much of that "representation".

but the crux of the "forced diversity" argument is almost always that it feels unnatural within the story, right? and i don't think that anyone could say that about MCU Sam and Bucky ending up together, given these characters' existing chemistry and their history. they've both played characters in gay relationships before so we know that it's not outside of either actor's wheelhouse. and y'all know that Anthony and Seb can act, people. if it's in the script i believe that they'll make it seem like the most natural thing on earth.

9. it'd be a nice change

there's been an ongoing meme lately about "Disney's first gay character", the joke being that they continually announce gay characters without really ever including gay characters in their films.

this is to the point where Disney has formed a reputation amongst queer audiences of being homophobic.

if Sam and Bucky were to become a couple, then Disney could have its first actual gay character within a gay relationship. AND have him be in the lead of his own movie, no less.

it's also worth keeping in mind that there's likely an overlap between the people who were outraged by a Sam Wilson Captain America, and the people who'd be outraged by a gay Captain America. and if they were already not seeing the film, then i don't think much is gonna change that.

queer audiences would definitely love it, and the media attention would be guaranteed to be huge. i mean, simply look at the amount of media attention mere rumours of a character's queerness gets you and multiply that by a canon confirmation of said rumours.

but i'm pretty sure that Disney already knows this.

10. and yet, in truth, it's not about the representation

in truth i've never felt that i had any trouble relating to characters of any sexual orientation, race, gender, sex, body type, etc. (although that is not to throw any shade at all on people who do wish to see themselves represented) but for me, i think it's more about the story than the packaging.

and yet, a love story is still just a story. straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial. when two characters have chemistry and history and have sacrificed for each other time and time again, and they also can't keep their hands or their eyes off each other, then i'm pretty sure that that's a love story.

straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial, it shouldn't be about these simple labels. it should be about how well written the relationship is. it should be about chemistry, and history, and sacrifice.

because i'm fucking sick of all the hollow, forced romances in media no matter the genders of the participants. i'm sick of lazily written, shallow relationships where any two people sharing the same space for any extended period of time will simply fall in love. it's boring, it's repetitive, and as a writer myself it drives me up the wall!

romance stories suck! and everyone knows that romance stories suck. between twilight, and most of the entire YA genre, and love triangles (so boring), and romance used as poorly-written throwaway subplots in Hollywood movies, the world is in agreement that the romance in western media is simply dreadful. and yet we still want love stories. it's an entire genre that sits at the heart of the human experience (<3), and yet one which so few of today's best known writers seem truly able to capture.

i don't think that i'm the only one who feels this way, either. i suspect it's actually a large part of why fandom is so romance-centred in the first place, that we're all just starving for a good love story.

(btw i think fandom has a reputation for being something that as a whole that it is not. it has this reputation for straight up demanding things and harassing people until they get their way. while unfortunately there are a few people who do this, they're fucking annoying and i swear that they're far from the majority.

in my experience fandom is mostly about writing a five thousand word story at three am while drunk off your ass because it might make someone whom you've never met smile, editing it in the cold light of day, and then posting it. expecting nothing. sometimes getting nothing. and sometimes getting someone send you kudos or a comment so heartbreakingly wonderful that it makes you smile in return.)

11. so once again, it is all about the writing.

i want to see Sam and Bucky get together in the mcu, not because they would be a gay couple but because i genuinely believe that their story has potential to be an amazing love story.

and i know the mcu isn't about the romance. it's why in my personal opinion we haven't gotten a lot of good canon romances besides Peter Quill and Gamora. and i don't think that the mcu should be all about the romance either. i fucking love the action and the fighting scenes. i love the comedy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier had no romance and it was a fucking treasure, it was an amazing spy-action-thriller and it made my little gay heart dance. Thor Ragnarok had no romance, and it was an utterly brilliant comedic spectacle action film. not every movie needs romance.

but mcu Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were doing couple's therapy and fixing a boat and walking off into the sunset together in tfatws. they were inseparable on the battlefield. they've got a dynamic. it's beautiful, it's romantic, and it's gold.

a budding relationship between them in the next movie would be a good way to explore both characters more without the narrative feeling too stilted and separate. at the end of tfatws, both Sam and Bucky fans found that their respective fave felt somewhat underutilised and that their characters were underexplored.

now, that problem would be even more difficult to remedy in a movie, because the plotline of a movie needs to be really tight to work (giggity). and we know that the central conflict of the movie is gonna be action-based (which is good), but we still need each character's personal journey and growth to tie into the main conflict. (which is another issue that some fans found with tfatws, that these characters didn't really feel connected to the action-based plot on a more personal level.)

if Sam and Bucky are already in a relationship, however, this whole dynamic changes. first, their relationship has already been set up for nicely since TWS and through tfatws and they would officially be the best-fleshed-out couple in the mcu. but most importantly, a relationship gives them a perfect vehicle to explore both of their pasts comparatively and connect them personally to the action-based plot.

do you want to establish that Sam is a little too trusting and naïve? then establish this through his relationship with Bucky, and through showing his placing his trust in Bucky. (rather than through having him sympathise with a villain who threatened to murder his sister and his nephews).

perhaps you want to show Bucky recovering from his trauma? show us how comfortable he is with Sam. they get along, they're enjoying each other's presence, we see more of Sam's life and of his family, and then let Bucky tell Sam something that's raw and dark and honest about his life as The Winter Soldier. something about a memory, one that he only just recalled. he's opening up. and maybe what he tells Sam is even something that sets up the future action-based conflict, to ground that in something real.

you want to explore that Sam has trauma too? do this through Bucky. he tells Bucky a story about his time in the military. in the form of a flashback, he shares his own story of loss to evoke before the audience the shared theme of feeling at fault even when you're simply a helpless bystander to an act of pure destruction.

then, action sequence! and it's directly connected to Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier. explore the grief of someone whose life the Winter Soldier tore apart manifesting into a villain perpetuating the cycle of pain. establish your villain.

Later, Sam is dragged into battle against this villain for protecting Bucky. But Bucky doesn't want Sam to protect him. He feels guilt for what he can't control and he doesn't want Sam getting hurt because of him. Bucky reminds Sam that he has a family, one who needs him and who loves him. He tells him to go home.

Sam reminds Bucky that he's a part of that family. And that sure Sam's a hero and his job is to protect anyone and everyone, but that he's doing it because he wants to. It's not simply to prove that he can, or to prove that he's not a bystander (this connects to Sam's trauma here), but that he's doing it to help people.

and this gets Bucky thinking about who he is and what he's doing here. is he a hero who stands by Sam's side? or is he an ordinary man who stands aside? or perhaps, does he stand alone? what does he stand for? Maybe Sam knows. But does Bucky?

Sam and Bucky fight off the villain again, and for the first time Bucky meets this adversary face to face. And Bucky recognises this villain, and has a flashback to the genuine pain that he inflicted upon them in the form of the Winter Soldier. Bucky freezes mid-fight, he almost dies, and Sam has to save him.

Sam chews Bucky out for almost getting killed because he was afraid for him. but Bucky takes this the wrong way and goes off to fight the villain alone, or perhaps to die alone, he's not quite sure.

He puts up a half-hearted fight. He apologises for what the Winter Soldier has done, and he waits for the killing blow, when Sam swoops down and he saves him. He asks Sam why he saved him and Sam calls him a moron. And then, Sam asks him what sacrificing himself would solve. He tells him that you can't choose your past but you can choose your future (connecting to his own experience of loss and guilt and grief). And that no matter what Bucky Barnes still has a future, whether that's as the Winter Soldier or the White Wolf or just some dork with a day job. And that he has a future as a part of Sam's family too.

Sam fights the villain, and it's toe to toe. He delivers a few good blows, but receives a fair few himself. And then the villain tears off his wings, first one and then the other, in a manner reminiscent of what the Winter Soldier did to him in TWS. Through Bucky's eyes there's a flashback to highlight the parallels. Sam gets back on his feet and he fights his best fight, but is now losing.

And then the heavily injured Bucky steps up and fights by Sam's side, and only together do they take down the villain.

"So... I inspired you, huh?" Sam teases with a smile, utterly exhausted. "With my heroism and-"

"You inspired me." Bucky said, equally exhausted. "Let's leave it at that."

Together, Sam and Bucky go back to the safety and warmth of their family. Sam fixes his wings. Sam goes back to being Captain America. And Bucky... he's around, but it's unclear what he's doing.

That is, until the very end. When Sam is in a fight, and suddenly Bucky shows up and helps him out.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.

"I've made up my mind." Bucky says. "I'm the Winter Soldier. But now I'll save lives, Sam. Now, like you, I'll be a hero."

Sam smirks. "So does this make you my sidekick, then?"

Bucky smiles. "C'mon, at least make me a partner." He says.

"How about co-workers." Sam says (in flashback, he remembers back to the death of his last on-the-job partner).

"How about friends." Bucky says, with a wry look.

"Bucky... I don't want to see you put your dumbass self in danger." Sam says.

"Oh, and it's ok for you to go running off into danger on your own all the time?" Bucky asks.

"Yes." Sam says stubbornly. "Absolutely it is."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a dumbass?!"

"Sam, if you think I'm not gonna be watching your back for the rest of time... then you're the biggest dumbass I know. And I don't care if you need me or not, I will be there for you."

"Because Sam, you're more than Captain America. You're more than a good soldier. You're a good man. And I think sometimes, the world forgets what the difference is."

...or something like that.

(i only spent like 15 minutes on that. you know if i were actually writing this movie i would come up with something much better. and if anyone from marvel is seeing this, yes i can come work for you. i will make the time, let's do this thing right!)

finale

at the end of the day, whether or not the mcu chooses to make Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes a couple, it's their decision. and they don't owe me anything.

i'm just some random person on the internet. who thinks that Captain America 4 should #givecaptainamericaaboyfriend

#givecaptainamericaaboyfriend #meta #analysis #captain america 4 #caatws #fatws #tfatws #captain america #cap 4 #sam wilson #bucky barnes #sambucky #marvel #mcu #mcu phase 4

338 notes · View notes

snow-in-the-desert · 3 years

Text

Dramione Recommendations

Ok so, 2020 has been A LOT but on a personal note one of the most surprising things to happen was me discovering Dramione fanfiction and becoming unashamedly obsessed with it. I really didn’t see that coming but I’m here now and I’m here to stay.

I think I started reading in the Dramione fandom around mid July last year?? (In all honesty I’ve lost any true sense of time’s progression at this point so I could be well off the mark with that) And I’ve decided to compile a list of all my favourite fics I’ve read so far. Why? I really just want to gush over all the amazing writers I have found through this fandom because y’all deserve it.

Side note: If any of the authors actually sees this post just dm so I can buy you coffee or post you writing supplies or something idk I feel like that’s the least I can do for all your amazing work x

Remain Nameless by @heyjude19-writing

Ok I have to start with RN because this fic is pretty much the sole reason I decided to create an account with A03 or a tumblr or just decided to get involved with this fandom at all.

I headcannon this story hard. But I think even if you aren’t a fan of Dramione you should just read this because it is so unbelievably good and well written and poignant and Draco’s sarcastic personality in this is truly a thing of beauty in this - I relate to his inner monologue’s on a deep personal level.

I could rave about this story any time, any day of the week, just ask me. In fact, maybe I’ll just start a HeyJude19 fan club to fulfill that urge.

There are so many elements that I love but for the sake of brevity, RN is a beautifully told story of Draco and Hermione finding love and healing in a post-war HP setting. Heyjude19 had the very special ability of making me want to simulatenously laugh, cry and swoon with the power of her words. Just stop what you are doing and go read it now if you havent already, ok?

I also really enjoyed reading Bells on a Hill, Beers, Potions and Unwise Notions and A Shift in Focus, if you are looking for smaller fics, definitely give these a go. They are all funny and heartfelt stoires that will make your tippy toes wriggle with glee.

The Rights and Wrongs Series by @lovesbitca8

The Right Thing To Do, All The Wrong Things and The Auction are the holy trinity of Dramione writing. I have christened it thus, so mote it be. And frankly I’m not interested in any other opinion than that one, thank you very much!

After reading this series I don’t think I’ll be able to look back on the orginal HP books without thinking of Hermione’s and Draco’s memories of their time at Hogwarts in these fics as anything other than strictly cannon.

So many things to love about this series but I think one of the major highlights was Hermione and Draco’s use of occlumency. LoveBitca8 created such beautiful visuals with how occlumency works as a magical practice and seeing Draco and Hermione so devoted to eachother to the point of safeguarding their inner most feelings to protect eachother was unbelievably romantic and poetic.

Also the smut is divine ;)

Manacled by @senlinyu

My heart will never be the same after reading this story. Like I actually can’t think about this fic without getting a lump at the back of my throat. I have never felt so emotionally ruined after reading anything, compared to the likes of this fic. Just please, please read it. To badly quote HP, reading Manacled will make you suffer but you’re going to be happy about it.

The flashbacks are a rollercoaster in of themselves but the way Hermione inadvertently refers to them when she is still in a state of memory loss was so heartbreaking to read. My heart still aches for them both. Also its a truly satisfying to see Draco and Hermione written in a way were they are both so fiercly protective of one another. They make my insides go soft.

I also really enjoyed Snow Fall, Now Is A Gift and All You Want by the author but to be honest anything written by Senlinyu is always thoroughly enjoyable and worth a look.

The Erised Effect by @adaprix

Ada is QUEEN of dramione smut but ‘The Erised Effect’ is top tier. Its equal parts funny, romantic, sentimental and oh so sexy. Ada really knows how to build and build on sexual tension and doesn’t disappoint on the final delivery. I’m a big admirer of her writing style and just veraciously read whatever she posts but ‘The Erised Effect’ is just golden. A must read. (Also Pansy’s sexual fantasy in this story is a visual I don’t think I’ll ever be able to remove from my brain so thanks for that Ada)

Also quick side note: Adaprix’ stories were the first I read when I was looking into this fandom and it was enough to get me hooked on the pairing from the get go so I have that to thank Ada for too. I remember devouring all the stories she had posted to A03 and when I was done I was like... now what am I supposed to do with my life?? And that’s basically when I began to look deeper into the fandom and thus the course of my life in 2020 changed for the better.

Some other stories I love by her are Break for Me, All My Sins, The Big 4-0, The Fucklust Series and The Flat in Bath.

Clean by @olivieblake

This 6th Year AU where Draco and Hermione work together on a class assignment and end up falling in love had me feeling all kinds of ways when I read it. I almost don’t know where to start but I think one of the stand out things for me was how immersed I felt in reading it.

Hogwarts is captured really well, you get a good sense of class atmospheres, character nuances and behind the scenes of events that happen in HBP but from a Draco and Hermione’s perspectives. It’s well executed and intricate tapestry of a fic. With an excellent plot twist ending!

Also Hermione and Draco’s relationship in this is equal parts fluffy and smutty and it just ticks all the right boxes that you want to see for those characters ;)

Breath Mints / Battle Scars by @onyx-and-elm

The angst in this one is just *chef’s kiss*

God I love this fic. The way Draco is portrayed is very true to his defensive and tetchy character in the original books but he is also given so much more depth. The way his diary entries are written are just so well executed. It’s a true testament to the author’s creative writing skill. And I LOVE how even though Draco is clearly in such a messed up place, he still has a basic level of self respect and dignity that he won’t tolerate being used or undervalued in his relationship with Hermione.

Yep, I really love Draco’s characterisation in this one if you can’t tell. But Hermione is also well written too. Her stuggles and trauma of returning to Hogwarts after war is described in a believable and grounded way. And my heart definitely ached for them both. I just wanted to wrap the pair of them in a big fuzzy blanket and tell them that everything will be alright.

WANDS OUT! by @persephonestone

This murder mystery / Dramione / Theo x Harry / AU crossover is everything I didn’t know I wanted until I read it. I felt like I was picked up and plonked right into an alternative dimension where all the characters of HP are just living it up in an Agatha Christie novel.

It’s a funny and clever story that I found refreshing to read amongst all the other fanfics that are usually cemented in the HP timeline or universe. Theodore Nott in this fic is perfection he should be written like this in every fic from now on in my opinion. I couldn’t stop giggling any time he had a scene in the story.

And the ‘only one bed’ trope in this fic is 10/10. I don’t want to give spoilers but ohmygod. It hits all the right notes.

The One With Technical Difficulties by cassielassie

Cassielassie has an excellent three part series of Dramone called ‘The One with...” but I have to give special credit to this story in particular for one main reason. ELEVATOR TROPES. I can’t get enough of em. I think I have my early childhood viewings of NCIS to thank for my obsession with elevator tropes they just do something to me that simply cannot be explained with mere words. The palpable sexual tension of being in a broken down elevator with an ‘enemies to lovers’ pairing, a heated arguement breaks out followed by a discovery of mutual feelings and a romantic embrace...

Eugh. It gets me everytime. And this fic is no exception. I loved it for all the reasons I’ve already stated above but also for the attention to detail in Draco and Hermione’s careers makes this one particularly immersive. The dynamics between them established in this one-shot are convincingly portrayed and the chemistry between them is so undeniably hot.

The Light is No Mystery by @masterofinfinities

Yooo if you want to read a dramione fic that is a deep dive into Pureblood culture and Post-War recovery but is also a perfect allegory for discrimination and today’s political landscape of moral grandstanding for votes then look no further than this one.

This story has a bit of everything. Intrigue, mystery, ptsd and recovery, enemies to lovers / secret relationship, government conspiracy and humour, to name a few. I eargerly await every update to this story and am anxious to know how it ends!

The Eagle’s Nest by HeartOfAspen

Finally! A fic that gives me the Ravenclaw representation I crave. I think I could recommend this fic on the lore depicted of Ravenclaw house alone. ‘The Stacks’ and Rowena Ravenclaw’s own ‘come and go room’ are just such cool details that I could see being real in the HP universe.

This fic is so cosy and makes me feel like I’m just popping back into Hogwarts for another year. You get to see all the usuals like prof. Mcgongall, Nearly headless Nick, PEEVES, Hagrid, as well as learn more about minor characters from the other school houses. The story follows Hermione going to her day to day classes and there are interesting concepts about magic and alchemy that are explored.

Draco and Hermione’s relationship in this one is of course very fluffy and heartfelt. But it’s the attention to detail that really makes this fic outstanding and the experience of reading it feels fleshed out and true to HP universe.

A shorter fic by HeartofAspen that I recommend is one called Set in Stone, it has an adventurous, Indianna Jones vibe to it, that I am so down for.

Teachable Moments by @purplesugarquills

In this fic Hermione is an innocent little virgin determined to learn everything about sex. And Draco Malfoy is her tutor. If that isn’t enough to get you on board then I don’t know what is. Both Heartfelt and Steamy. PurpleSugarQuills writes smut so well but it’s the progression of their growing attachment and the nervous treading of new uncharted waters of romantic relationships for both of them that just adds a whole other level of feels to the story. Also chapter 9 is like reading poetry - its so good. Eugh just give it a read if you haven’t already.

Les Pèlerins by @pacific-rimbaud

This story is high art. It’s transcendent. Reading this story feels like the emotional equivalent of standing around a hundred glowing fairy lights, sipping hot cocoa and being wrapped in the loving embrace of a s/o. I can’t speak my praises highly enough or even become passably coherent in my words when I try to articulate a review.

From the very first paragraph I felt like I was just whisked away on a Parisian holiday and I’ve never even bloody been to Paris but damn it if this story didn’t make me feel like I was there. The writing style is just so tactile and intense it’s like I could feel the cold winter air brush against me as I read it. Eugh I just completely fell in love with the story and the writer.

New Year’s resolution. Read everything PacificRimbaud has ever posted online.

#This post is the online equivalent of me thrusting a pile of books into your hands and poking at you until you every single one #A behaviour I may or may not already be prone to #dramione #fanfiction #fanfic recommendations #I think I may have missed a few but I think I'll try to make a habit of gushing over new writers as I find them #Doing this just satisfies a deep inner urge in me to just compliment the everloving shit out of writers #who made my life a little more bearable with their words

1K notes · View notes

inawickedlittletown · 3 years

Text

Queerbaiting and Buddie

(word count: 1,900)

I keep saying that I don’t want to spend any more time on 9-1-1 meta or fic, but the events of this weekend made me open up a document where I had some unfinished meta and in light of the S4 finale airing tonight, I thought I might at least write this:

“Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not actually depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ representation. They do so to attract a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion of relationships or characters that appeal to them, while at the same time attempting to avoid alienating other consumers.”

That is how Wikipedia defines queerbaiting. And I really feel like everyone needs to read that and then read it again and realize that what is happening on 9-1-1 with Buddie is NOT queerbaiting.

I don’t want to go into the long history of queerbaiting because we would be here all day and anyone that wants to do some research should go and do so. There are a lot of resources out there. Use them.

But the short of it is this: queerbaiting has a lot more to do with the way a show is promoted, with the way that anyone involved in the show talks about a queer ship, and with the show deliberately scripting scenes that hint at a relationship without any intention of following through. Expectations and wanting a queer ship to go canon and those expectations not being met do not alone equate to it being queerbaiting.

For any of us that have been around a long time there are a lot of perfect examples and if you compare Buddie to any of them, they are very different. I’ll name a few:

Merlin/Arthur

John Watson/Sherlock

Emma Swan/Regina

Derek/Stiles

Castiel/Dean Winchester (though they did go canon...barely)

Lena/Kara

Buck and Eddie do not fit into that list. Which isn’t to say that someday they could belong there, but I just do not believe that they will even if Buddie never becomes canon. And this all lies in how Buddie as a ship has been treated both on screen and off. I’ll break it down by season.

S2:

Eddie is very clearly introduced as a new character, a straight Army veteran with a disabled kid and family drama. He and Buck have immediate chemistry. We can’t deny that, or deny that from that first episode there are immediate sparks. Unintended sparks, but sparks nevertheless. And it is easy to tell that no one on the production team expected that and the story reflects that.

Yes a foundation for their friendship is formed and yet the season long story focuses on Eddie’s relationship with his estranged wife and Buck is dealing with his own growth after being left by Abby. Their friendship shines and their scenes are great but none of them suggest romance and there are actually a lot of episodes where Buck and Eddie barely interact in S2 aside from in the background or for small work related moments (this mostly happens after Shannon returns).

S2 does give us the first acknowledgement from the powers that be aka Tim Minear that they know what the fans have seen. This is why the elf scene exists, but it exists in a space where it’s a nod to the fans and not meant to do much more than that. The other moment is during the call with the livestreamer. But S2, places them completely and without question on a strong friendship.

S3:

We see a lot more conflict for Buck and Eddie in this season and we see how close and important they are to each other. Those are the two main things. That can be read as friendship easily and it’s a season where both Buck and Eddie deal with their pasts and in one way or another start to get closure while their friendship remains intact.

Yes there are some scenes that make us squint and go huh, wtf? (I’m looking at you kitchen scene), but narratively we also know that neither of these boys is ready for a real relationship with anyone, let alone each other. But we can bask in how close they are as well as how Christopher fits in into all of it.

But in S3 we are also introduced to Ana and we see the return of Abby. We also get to see that Buck and Eddie have become closer than ever and that the lawsuit only serves to highlight the importance that they both feel about having the other available to them. I’ll also quickly mention that Eddie Begins worked hard to highlight Buck’s devotion to Eddie.

S4:

Without considering the events of the finale (I am avoiding spoilers and know nothing about it or the speculation), we’ve seen Buck and Eddie both grow and get further closure on their past. This season has paralleled them well and their friendship has not faltered, they’re as close as ever.

The beginning of the season was heavily focused on Buck and we saw him grow as a person and begin to work on himself in a healthy way and we’ve seen Eddie be supportive of that.

We also have Ana to consider and her relationship with Eddie as well as the return of Taylor and yet the appearance of these women has not changed the Buck and Eddie dynamic. And I find it fascinating that Eddie beginning to date Ana, is the thing that prompted Buck to start dating. The parallels are all over the place but it is the strength of the friendship and the way they care so deeply about each other that remains whether that becomes romantic is still to be seen, but it could still go either way.

Off-screen by the end of S2, Tim Minear had already addressed Buddie by throwing in that elf scene in a wink/nudge fashion that said “I see you” and in the scene with the girl with the livestream with the comments. During S3 he tweeted about being frustrated by the fans demanding and being hostile and thinking that that would make him more likely to do what they want (I’m paraphrasing what I remember seeing). Tim has never once said that Buddie will happen or shut the door on the ship entirely, but he did say he did not want to engage in conversation about it because he doesn’t want to get into arguments with fans.

Oliver has always been enthusiastic about Buddie and has even said that he would be perfectly fine with it happening both a while ago and more recently in promo for S4. Conscious of queerbaiting and not wanting to give fans false hope, he has specifically said that he does not know if it will or won’t happen and that he wouldn’t speak on that as he’s not the one making that decision. His support for it happening does not mean he has any sway one way or the other. He’s said this a few times and even wrote a letter to the effect to make it clear to fans that the last thing he wants is to disappoint someone due to something he’s said.

All in all, it just isn’t a constructive environment for anyone working on the show to interact with fans on this topic because any time that they do, they get attacked by overly enthusiastic buddie shippers that in many ways are making everything worse.

In all of the interviews from Tim that I’ve seen, he has always been very quick to hint at what was coming up on the show in a way that at times has been misleading on purpose. The number one thing that comes to mind is early in S4 where Buck was said to get a new woman in his life. Tim absolutely made it out to seem like it was a girlfriend while knowing fully well that it was a therapist. This is an excellent example of what promoting and hinting is actually like. No one from this show has done that in regards to Buddie.

No one has gone out of their way to hint that it may happen in a way that excites the fans. And this is one of my main reasons for knowing that Buddie is not a queerbait. At no point in the life of the show so far has anyone used Buddie in a promotional way to bring in viewers. Because THAT was the whole point of queerbaiting in the past.

It was a way that some showrunners found to bring in a lot of viewers when they needed to up their numbers in order to show networks they were worth keeping around. Someone figured out that LGBTQ people wanted to see themselves represented so much so that they would tune in to anything that promised an LGBTQ character in some fashion. It was a tactic that worked well in the landscape of tv where there was so little LGBTQ content on mainstream media that anyone wanting it would latch onto anything. And then they just wouldn’t deliver on those relationships or characters. In 2021, that is not the world we live in any longer.

In today’s tv landscape there is so much to watch and so much to pick from and diversity has grown, it is celebrated. Queer characters are well represented as are queer relationships and queer stories. The times are different. A while back I was listening to a podcast (Bait: a queerbaiting podcast) and something I found interesting was how the hosts both agreed that in today’s tv landscape there is no more real queerbait and that we won’t easily find anything like the ships I mentioned above. I think I agree more with this than I expected to, because I do think that it exists in some spaces, but it definitely isn’t what it used to be. This is a good thing.

Specific to 9-1-1, this is a show that has that diversity and that isn’t afraid of tackling that diversity and giving us interesting and nuanced perspectives and stories embracing that. We have characters of color, women in positions of power, a F/F relationship, two multi-racial relationships, a disabled character, other queer characters including a M/M relationship. There is so much in this show that embraces diversity and that embraces the reality of what the world looks like. To call it queerbait is to disrespect everything else that this show is and has done and the hard storylines that have been tackled that we would not have seen on tv ten years ago.

And I get that Buddie would be another breakthrough. It would be a novel way to tell a queer story, and it would be amazing if it were to happen. The set up is there, but it isn’t fully realized, and Buck and Eddie can still be read as just friends if we take off the shipping goggles. But it also isn’t queerbait or likely to become queerbait and people have to stop calling it that.

What Buddie resembles is one of the many unintended slow burn ships that have frustrated viewers in many forms across fandoms and we just have to go along for the ride and maybe it will happen. Or maybe it won’t. But if we know anything about relationships on tv, it is that a lot of the fun comes from the journey, even if the destination is good too.

#911 fox #buddie #911 meta #911 on fox #buddie meta #buddie is not queerbaiting #long post #this is almost 2k long

227 notes · View notes