#i love when pathetic men are ALSO repressed

[marley-manson]

the topic is Trapper and the army as foils, you have three hours, go

In no small part the satire of Mash, particularly in the first half of the show, is tied up with gender performance.

The army represents traditional, stifling and violent masculinity. This is shown through everything from freudian jokes about guns (eg Frank and Margaret's flirtations in The Sniper or The Gun), to Margaret trying to cajole Hawkeye into performing a more traditional standard of masculinity while treating him like a soldier in Comrades in Arms Part 2, to many jokes and comments about (usually) Hawkeye not being a real man in contrast to army standards and various specific army personnel (eg Lyle in Springtime, Flagg in White Gold), to Frank and Margaret's worship of the masculinity of the army ("He's twice the man you'll ever be," re: Flagg and Hawkeye, Margaret's lust for MacArthur, Frank pursuing the sniper in The Sniper in an attempt to be a "real man" in Margaret's eyes, etc) to many jokes positioning the military as a sexually aggressive man pursuing Hawkeye ("Sure, the sun the moon the stars, your high school letterman jacket. Same deal I promised nurse Baker." "A receipt please, and promise you'll go out with other doctors," etc.)

In contrast, the main characters all fail to perform traditional gender in some way, from crossdressing to immaturity to indecisiveness to peacefulness to Margaret's masculinity and Frank's pathetic failure to live up to his own masculine ideals, to just about everything about Hawkeye. His cowardliness, his jokes about not being a real man, his jokes about taking the feminine role in sexual encounters with men and women, even multiple double entendres about his average at best penis size.

Trapper is the most traditionally masculine of the main cast. He still subverts masculinity in some subtle ways here and there, such as the occasional feminizing joke and mentions of not being in great shape, but overall he's the more butch counterpart to Hawkeye's fem. He plays the role of boxer while Hawkeye plays the role of diva in their respective manager/star roleplaying episodes. He's broader and buffer and plays football, often seen playing catch with someone while walking around the compound, while Hawkeye disdains sports and doesn't participate. He reads Field and Stream which Hawkeye derides in Alcoholics Unanimous while making a wry comment about shaving his armpits. A past lover nicknamed him Big John.

And there are many, many jokes about Hawkeye and Trapper being sexual partners. The recurring Uncle Trapper and Aunt Hawkeye gag, if my father sees this you'll have to marry me, for me? only if you put those on, your father and I will tell you what we did to have you, that's when I fell in love with him, etc etc etc. It's constant. In these jokes Hawkeye usually takes the feminine role, though not strictly every time ("Me and the missus," is one exception in As You Were, the dance in Yankee Doodle Doctor is another).

Trapper's masculinity is differentiated from traditional military masculinity in a few ways. Most obviously, Trapper abhors the military's violence. He never uses guns and mocks Frank's obsession with them, he's a healer rather than a soldier, and he's disgusted by the results of military violence on the men on his operating table.

He's also secure in himself. The military's brand of masculinity is strongly characterized by insecurity and overcompensation. Frank is the main representative of this military insecurity - a coward who insists he's brave (The Army Navy Game), a man who clings to a phallic gun to compensate for his sexual and gendered inadequacies (a main theme of The Sniper, perfectly mirrored when the army itself comes in with a vastly disproprotionately powerful automatic machine gun on a helicopter to shoot down one sixteen year old), a homophobe repressing his own attraction to men (As You Were, the original script of George), etc. We also see this in Flagg, who implicitly sublimates sexual urges into violence (seen when he suggestively caresses his gun while describing how he wants to torture a boy in Officer of the Day).

Trapper doesn't need to overcompensate. He's well-endowed physically, he's portrayed as a competent and considerate lover, he's a brave man who doesn't mind being seen as a coward, and he may or may not be attracted to men but either way he's not a homophobe (George) and he doesn't express his sexuality through violence. When Margaret proves herself stronger than him, his response is to be impressed rather than offended (Bombed). When he dances with Hawkeye for a gag, he doesn't mind letting Hawkeye lead.

He's also differentiated in terms of tradition, with the mliitary representing a more propagandic 50s traditionalism, and Trapper representing a 70s, countercultural freedom from tradition. We see this in the way Trapper has plenty of sex despite being married, while adultery is a court-martial offense in the military. It's notable that he's open and carefree about it, while Frank and Margaret are surreptitious and hypocritical in their affair. This lack of traditionalism is also shown in his disrespect for authority, often in direct contrast to Frank and Margaret's worship of it, and his allyship to George who the military would persecute for his sexuality.

So ultimately we can see that while Trapper and the military are both examples of masculine performance, Trapper's masculinity differs from the military's in being more flexible, less violent, less traditional, and more secure. The military's masculinity is far more toxic than Trapper's, particularly in the context of 70s counterculture media, which aligns womanizing with sexual liberation rather than a lack of respect for women, accurately or not.

This contributes to their respective dynamics with Hawkeye.

Hawkeye, we've established, is usually more feminine, and there are a myriad of jokes characterizing Trapper as his sexual partner, as well as the military as a sexual pursuer.

The jokes Hawkeye and Trapper make about their relationship tend towards cozy domesticity. They're Radar's "aunt and uncle," they directly roleplay marriage ("Martha, we're going to have to move, the people upstairs are impossible,") and less directly behave as though married (the bickering in Alcoholics Unanimous, the discussion about naming their pony in Life With Father). Occasionally they're treated as a healthy couple in contrast to Frank and Margaret's toxicity ("While I'm gone, promise you'll go out with other doctors," vs "Touch anyone else and I'll cut off your hands" in Aid Station).

In some instances the jokes lean towards predatory - "If you're trying to get me drunk, it'll work," or "Who is this man in bed with me?" "I followed you home from the movies," but they're always playful, always fond. If Hawkeye takes on a submissive or victimized role in these jokes, it's one he has fun with and discards just as easily in the context of the rest of his relationship with Trapper.

So, it's important to note that Hawkeye and Trapper support each other and look after each other in an equal, enthusiastic friendship. From Trapper ensuring Hawkeye gets to sleep in Doctor Pierce and Mr. Hyde, to Hawkeye supporting Trapper when he wants to adopt a child, to Trapper right at Hawkeye's side as they attempt to procure an incubator, they are there for each other every step of the way. If their relationship is a marriage in some ways, it's a healthy, strong, and non-traditional marriage, an equal and open partnership free of jealousy and insecurities.

Compare that to the military's relationship with Hawkeye. In jokes it's characterized as powerful and predatory, far from an equal partnership. Sometimes it approaches positive - in Carry on Hawkeye, much of the humour is derived from Hawkeye and Margaret's gendered role reversal as she assumes military command of the unit. Hawkeye playfully calls her sir, seductively lies on her desk like a secretary in a porn film, and most notably treats an immunization shot as sexual penetration in a prolonged gag about sexual role reversal. Hawkeye has fun playing a sexually submissive role to a representative of military authority in this episode, but it is a submissive role.

Several of the one-off jokes have a similar sensibility, such as the double entendre of "My bellybutton's been puckering and unpuckering all day," in response to a representative of MacArthur assuming their excitement over the general's arrival to the unit, or Hawkeye's "Okay, take me, I'm yours," to Colonel Flagg. They demonstrate a willingness to play the receptive role on Hawkeye's part, but they also, pointedly, disturb the object of the jokes.

When Hawkeye makes these jokes that sexualize military authority, he's attempting to be provocative as well as defiantly drawing disruptive attention to his own powerlessness as a drafted surgeon. The power dynamic between Hawkeye and the authority of the military only goes one way, and Hawkeye gets a kick out of pointing it out in ways that perturb the representatives of that authority, but it's a power dynamic that takes its toll on him.

Many of Mash's plotlines revolve around Hawkeye rebelling and attempting to seize some scrap of agency back from the military. Adam's Ribs, for example, in which he starts a mild riot over the food he's being fed and spends the episode attempting to procure barbecue ribs from Chicago (which Trapper procures for him), or Back Pay where he tries to charge the military for his forced labour. A particularly notable example is Some 38th Parallels, in which Hawkeye complains about being paid the equivalent of a nickel per operation, and his frustration manifests in impotency until he can perform a gesture of rebellion against the military.

One unfortunate consistency of these episodes is that the army ultimately retains its power. When Hawkeye achieves his goals, it's only in small ways that do little more than satisfy his own need to assert his sense of self. Often, Hawkeye doesn't achieve his goal at all, but is thwarted by the army, such as in For Want of a Boot. In every instance he remains powerless in comparison to the authority of the military.

So the context in which Hawkeye makes these sexualized jokes about the military literally fucking him is one of abject helplessness. In a sense, all he's capable of is pointing out what the military is doing and putting it in his own, audacious terms. He's not capable of preventing it. His jokes usually have an edge of bitterness to them in delivery, and when they don't, that tone is imparted anyway by the greater context.

With Trapper, Hawkeye can play-act a marriage or an assault, but in either case he's an enthusiastically consenting, equal partner. Trapper's performance of masculinity allows for Hawkeye to take any role from victim to wife to husband, and enables Trapper to respond in kind from a position of equality and respect. The military, in its insecure, domineering performance of masculinity, is a dictatorial authority, never allowing Hawkeye perform any role but a feminized, victimized one, and only ever giving him the choice of whether to perform with a wry smile or a sneer.

In short, Trapper is the cool, considerate service top to the military's insecure domineering boyfriend.

I'm tagging everyone who enabled this lol, share the blame. @beansterpie @majorbaby @professormcguire @rescue-ram

#mash #this was dumb but writing it was somehow cathartic for me lol #i should've done this with frank and hawkeye as foils wrt subverting masculinity bc i think that would've been much easier #but i got caught up in this honestly. it's incredibly fun to write this kind of shit #maybe i'll post a round 2 sometime #marley on mash #ship ht #mash gs #and like... it's a little bit parodic but also sincere to an extent lol. this is absolutely one way of reading all the freudian #undercurrents in the show. it's definitely silly to contrast trapper and the military to make a point about how the show depicts #masculinity especially for like 1800 words lmao but it's a very fun angle #trapper mash #hawkeye mash #long post

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

when has anyone EVER said that homophobia is izzy’s only motivation. i’m on team “gay homophobe izzy” and i do not think this is his only motivation. i don’t even think it’s his primary motivation. it is another layer of complexity on a fascinating character. he is gay and in unrequited love with ed. he craves power and leadership but he is not good at managing those things when he gets them. he thinks men should behave a certain way and is aggressive and cruel to the men who don’t meet his standards. men having sex with each other is fine, but men falling in love with men falls outside of his rigid idea of how men should behave. he lacks the emotional maturity to be able to identify his feelings towards ed. he is so repressed he only accepts intimacy in the form of physical violence. he blames stede for ed changing. he hates stede because ed is changing. to izzy, the worst part about stede changing ed is the fact that stede is such a pathetic excuse of a man it shatters izzy’s image of ed to think that ed could find anything about stede appealing. he’s dedicated his life to the version of ed that he’s made up in his head. he is possessive of being the only one to call him ed, to be the only one who gets to call the legendary blackbeard by his name. but izzy has never been able to see ed without blackbeard. to him, knowing ed is a privilege only because ed is who’s behind the legendary blackbeard’s curtain.

i think izzy is fascinating. he's a fantastic character. he is incredibly well written. he plays a crucial role in the narrative. this show would not be the same without him.

im telling you now, having spent my time in this fandom primarily interacting with people who also read izzy as homophobic, anyone who is using this interpretation to reduce izzy's complexity is by far in the minority with that take.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #txt #meta #mine #if this post is in the izcourse tag no it isnt u just dont know how to use tumblr #izzy hands #ik the majority of the canyon def has me blocked lol. i mean this genuinely tho when i say: good for them #anyone in the world is free to block me for any reason #i block liberally and with abandon. i once blocked someone for having an annoying tagging system #which is HUGELY hypocritical of me bc i have an INSANE tagging system #anyway point is. uh. wait i forget what is the point. oH OK wait i remembered #point is i doubt this'll actually reach anyone who needs to hear it lol but im putting this out there anyway #so the next time someone says i reduce izzy to any one specific thing i can just link them to this #og

[whatsaudreythinkingabout]

Idk if u d0 r0mantic headcanons but… Dating Matthew Patel headcanons

I haven’t done romantic headcanons before (at least in terms of “x reader” stuff) but I’ll give it my best shot!

Quick disclaimer: I am a lesbian who is very much not attracted to men, so I’m approaching this from a purely objective standpoint just to get a better idea of how I interpret his personality & overall approach to relationships (& it’ll also help me flesh out my MattLee headcanons so I can get a clearer idea of their dynamic in my head)

So anyway:

Dating Matthew Patel

As I mentioned in my previous post about Matt (which you can find in the tags), after what happened with Ramona he became hesitant to pursue another romantic relationship because he figured it would only end badly, so he started to play up the whole “mysterious brooding loner” schtick so people would leave him alone. Unfortunately, this only attracted him more attention because 1. he was trying way too hard so it just made him come off as overdramatic and 2. there was a select group of girls in his grade who thought he was secretly a vampire and took him rebuffing their advances as “playing hard to get” (yeah this all technically takes place before Twilight [and by extension the vampire craze] comes out but it’s my headcanon & I’m allowed to have a little fun).

If he did catch feelings for someone, he’d probably start out repressing them pretty heavily like the angsty little bitch he is. He talks a pretty big game for someone who claims they’re so slick, but when the time comes to actually tell someone how he feels he shuts down & it would probably take him a while to work up the nerve to confess.

Either that, or he’d come in overconfident with some kind of ridiculous pick-up line, then cringe at himself on the inside whenever he inevitably crashes and burns.

However, once he does finally feel comfortable enough with a partner, he would be completely and utterly OBSESSED. This man is first and foremost a theatre kid, so he is dramatic as fuck and not afraid to show it. Expect a lot of big, flashy, over-the-top romantic gestures; gifts, food (I do HC him to be a good cook), nice dates, fully-choreographed musical numbers—you name it.

It’s been said that the difference between being in love with a hero vs. a villain is that a hero would sacrifice you to save the world, but a villain would sacrifice the world to save you. Matt might be more of an edgelord than a true villain (no matter how much he claims he’s totally evil, yeah sure you are), but regardless he would burn the entire world down if it meant the person he loved would be warm.

It’s also been demonstrated that for all his big talk he has a pretty fragile ego, so he’d fall apart at the slightest indication that you were mad at him. Just totally pathetic (/affectionate) malewife guyfailure energy

Overall he acts all doom & gloom on the outside but when he does love someone, he’d both die and kill for them

honestly that’s about all i got for right now. i might come up with more later but it’s a lot easier for me to do these types of things for female characters bc women

#scott pilgrim #scott pilgrim vs the world #matthew patel #headcanon

[sneezemonster15]

Hi! I enjoy your posts and sorry if my english is unclear but i was curios how the characters in naruto will have reacted if they knew about sasuke and naruto true relationship. And if kishi didn't have to pare them in couples to make money

Hi, don't worry about your English. It's cool. :)

Given Konoha is a heteronormative, and prejudiced society, it would have not have reacted positively to the union of Sasuke and Naruto. Hinata is a stereotypical female hentai bait character whose whole purpose in life is to get a husband of her choice. Her choice happens to be Naruto, and the idea that her love should be ideally reciprocated by her object of desire doesn't really occur to her. She is portrayed as a typical Japanese girl. In Japanese society, women are fairly traditional (not counting exceptions). They typically adhere to traditional gender roles and having an individual ambition or evolution is not at the top of their priorities. She portrays such a woman, whose only purpose in life is to secure a marriage with the guy she likes. In one of his interviews at the end, Kishi said about her character that she would be really pathetic if she didn't get rewarded at the end. What was her reward? Naruto. She was not the only character to get rewarded for doing absolutely nothing, or nothing good at least. She is shown as someone unintelligent and proportionately unskilled, who doesn't move a finger unless it is to show off to her object of desire. If Naruto ended up with Sasuke, her reaction would be the same as when Sakura hugs Naruto at the end of Pein arc.

Just - Naruto kun....

And then - .....

And nothing else. She would mope about and do nothing about it. Just like she didn't in Naruto the last movie. Except maybe knit a scarf. :/ Would it end in her character's resolution, some kind of realization? No. Kishi never showed her as having a capability to introspect and deduce calmly, she never thinks or even wonders about Naruto's feelings for her, she just thinks of her own.

Sakura? She already knows that Naruto and Sasuke's bond is special. But if they were officially united, it's pretty obvious that she would throw tantrums, like she does. She would get upset and angry, she would probably accuse Naruto of stealing Sasuke from her (yeah, she has very limited self awareness, also she is very good at repressing or dismissing stuff that doesn't benefit her objectives), she would probably abuse Naruto some more, she would whine and cry in front of Sasuke. Either that or she would outwardly show happiness for them but inner Sakura would be resentful, bitter, jealous and vengeful. Sakura is a malicious character, make no mistake. Her priority is her happiness, her pleasure, her ego. Like Hinata, she places her own ego satisfaction over the happiness of Sasuke, Sarada or her own long term happiness.

And these ladies had to be written this way to facilitate the Brokeback Mountainesque situation post Shippuden, two entitled and self centred women with very limited amounts of self awareness, who will be happy with their one sided love as long as their egos are satisfied, as long as they get to 'have' the men they like and want.

Where some characters show some awareness/knowledge of Naruto and Sasuke's special bond, such as Gaara, Itachi, Orochimaru, Kabuto, most others seem pretty heteronormative and consequently oblivious. Gaara loves Naruto but his happiness is in Naruto's happiness, so he will be happy to see Naruto happy. Neither does he disrespect Sasuke, like other characters do. Itachi suspected that there was more to Naruto's feelings for Sasuke. And he seems to know that Sasuke has feelings for Naruto as well. Itachi told Sasuke that Naruto will take care of everything, so I think Itachi will be happy to see Sasuke's happiness. Itachi does have a very twisted understanding of love and loyalty, but towards the end, he understands his brother and the world a little better.

Characters such as Kakashi, Shikamaru, Kiba, Sai, Suigetsu (who constantly push the characters of Naruto and Sasuke towards Sakura, Hinata or Karin irrespective of Sasuke's or Naruto's own disinterest or apathy) could never really tell whom Sasuke or Naruto loved, despite seeing how crazy and absolutely single mindedly obsessed Naruto was about Sasuke or that Sasuke would pro actively show concern for Naruto and Naruto only, especially in Shippuden. So characters like these would simply be surprised, and then blanch at Sasuke and Naruto getting together, and some would possibly show disapproval. Characters such as Jiraiya certainly would, who have a very narrow minded belief system about how men and women should be, and what their roles are in society.

Ino would cry and whine, but then accept the status quo. Her interest in Sasuke was also very fangirlish, she wouldn't suffer for long, and certainly get over it as soon as she manages to find another male romantic interest who is good looking.

Naruto's parents are also quite heteronormative, but I think they, at least Kushina will be eventually happy that her son is happy and thriving with Sasuke, that she who could not be there to provide a family to her only child, Sasuke took that role on and satisfied it. Minato would also follow suit. Doubtless, Naruto would be infinitely happy with Sasuke. Sasuke is his oxygen.

Oro and Kabuto would smirk, given they had always known it. Kakashi would probably introspect about how wrong he was about so many things, just like he was wrong about his father, Obito, shinobihood, and making Sakura false promises about Sasuke after the hospital fight.

Tsunade would be mildly surprised but won't have any malice or prejudice. The elders (and Danzo) would disapprove in a major way. Obviously. They represent the traditional and corrupt ways of the shinobi world.

Iruka would be genuinely happy (even if surprised) because his only condition is Naruto being happy. And Naruto will be happy with Sasuke. Tenten would say - Kawaai, and will continue playing with her weapons. Neji won't say anything, would probably just smile, and probably worry looking at Hinata's pathetic self, Neji knows she has feelings for Naruto.

Akatsuki members (except Itachi) won't give a shit. Hahahaha. They are non conformists, disillusioned, they don't care what society thinks. They very well know how hypocritical and unjust their world is.

Kurama would approve and be happy for Naruto, since he knows how much Naruto cares for Sasuke. Karin would also react dramatically, she'd be taken aback, get angry, then sad, but would eventually accept the status quo. Juugo wouldn't care as long as Sasuke is well. Hashirama and Madara would have a fleeting thought/regret about how Sasuke and Naruto achieved what they couldn't. The general population of Konoha would also disapprove, Naruto is their hero, as a hero, he serves their needs, and they won't be happy seeing Naruto breaking convention flagrantly. Also, they are wary of Sasuke, Sasuke's role in the war is not revealed to them, they think of him as a nukenin that Naruto forgave. They were seen approving Naruto and Hinata's union because Hinata is a princess heiress, and it's a fairytale wedding, and Naruto is a hero who eventually ends up with the princess. Typical heteronormative society.

Temari and Kankuro would be surprised, Temari would be subtle about it, Kankuro would be loud and perhaps a bit vulgar about it. In good humor though, I think he knows about Gaara's feelings for Naruto. But Temari and Kankuro would be pleased for Naruto's happiness but probably a bit sad for Gaara? Heheh.

Okay who else, who am I missing?

But yeah, that's how it would be.

#ask #naruto #sasuke #sns #haruno sakura #hyuuga hinata #uzumaki naruto #uchiha sasuke #konoha

[tizzyizzy]

Izzy, Homophobia, and Lucius

A lot of people have taken the scene on episode 5 where Izzy confronts Lucius and Pete to be confirmation of Izzy being homophobic, but I think this is an oversimplification. I also think there is a tendency to misremember the scene in hindsight, altering the tone and context.

Izzy walks in on Lucius and Pete having just finished Sexual Activities. He comes in with his coffee, leaning against the frame. "Get back to work now, all of ya," he says. Notably, he reacts with more aggression to Wee Jon asking for coffee than to the gay sex.

This is not a dude whose first reaction to seeing gay sex is surprise, disgust, or hatred. He's just chilling, sipping his coffee. His concern is the slacking off, not the sex.

But then Lucius sasses back at him, and it is here that Izzy becomes overtly confrontational.

So Izzy isn't lashing out due to homophobia, but the questioning of his authority. Like Jon's coffee request, Lucius isn't viewing Izzy with the respect he believes he's due.

The thing about homophobia, or any bigotry, is that there is a sliding scale of severity.

Izzy's mockery and insults focus on his perception of Lucius's effeminacy. The high pitched mock giggling, "bitch", "seductress", whatever the fuck the daddy thing was. Clearly Izzy sees these traits as potential weak points he can mock.

But again, Izzy doesn't go out of his way to harass Lucius about this stuff. He resorts to them as insults when provoked. If Lucius hadn't threatened his authority, he wouldn't have sought him out to bully. Sure, Izzy might not think highly of those traits in his head, but he's content to let a femme gay guy bang as long as he's done working.

His beliefs seem to tie into his overall toxically masculine worldview. No emotional attachments (loyalty to the captain is noble, unlike pathetic love). Project a foreboding aura. Anger is the only acceptable emotion.

So while I think it is technically correct to call him homophobic, I can't really agree with assertions that Izzy's homophobia is a horrific, potentially irredeemable character flaw. Nor that is his primary motivation for trying to separate Ed and Stede.

We're dealing with a character that is a repressed gay guy in a pirate culture of toxic masculinity. It's not fair to treat his homophobia as equivalent to that of someone who would attack gay men for kicks, a fundamentalist who preaches that sodomites burn in hell, or a conspiracy theorist who calls LGBT+ people child molesters.

This doesn't mean his homophobia is OK, obviously. But this is the homophobia of a guy who worked on a ship crewed entirely by leathermen, so let's keep our reactions in proportion.

#izzy hands #lucius spriggs #ofmd #izzy hands discourse #izzy hands meta

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

𓅨 Fortuna: Chapter Four

Fortuna: Born with what seemed to be the worst luck in the world, you have managed to get into, and out of, life-threatening situations all your life. That is until the plague of 1514. You had escaped Mother Death countless times before, but not this time. Mother Death has taken a liking to you, and with your kindling relationship, you become that which historians whisper about. You are the great Fortuna, Goddess Incarnate of luck, and ruler over fortune and fate. No one could have anticipated what your ties with Death would bring you: Pain. Torture. Death. Love.

Warnings: Language, Gore Description, Blood, Wounds, Painful Wound Care.

To Note: Morpheus/Dream x ImmortalSpanish!Reader, Reader’s nickname is Fortuna. Fortuna is the Roman Goddess of personified luck and ruler over fortune and fate.

Word Count: ~2.8k

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In the following days since your capture, you and Dream had remained in peaceful silence. Your captor, Roderick Burgess, had yet to venture back into the basement to continue his demands, and the guards that watched you constantly never spoke to you. They never slept, either, constantly popping pills from these little brown bottles. You had asked Dream about them, and the lack of sleep, and he had given you a clear answer: “I am the King of Dreams and Nightmares, the moment one falls asleep in my presence, they are at my mercy.” But that power also came with a drawback, the binding circle beneath the hanging glass cage repressed much of Dream’s power. If you were going to get a chance to escape, someone had to break it. That likelihood wasn’t going to come soon, but eventually, eventually, someone would make a mistake. You just had one problem: it was getting cold. 

You forced yourself not to shiver against the glass you were slumped against. The cold air of the basement nipped at your skin and made goosebumps pickle your skin. Your only saving grace was Dream’s body heat but considering that you hardly knew the Endless, you were not going to push your luck past that which he had already granted you. Your leg. Your injured leg had not been moved since you woke up, for good reasons too. The broken and bloody flesh pulsated with the beat your heart made and occasionally oozed in place. You knew that it was infected, and your skin did not look good. But what could you do trapped in your glass prison? The only thing you had going for you was that Dream had a steady grasp and stopped your trembles from causing you more discomfort. 

In the quiet basement, filled with the ticking of the clock that sat on the desk of the guards, you counted the number of stones on the far wall for what felt like the hundredth time. How many were you at? 100? 200? You had lost count, better start again, it wasn’t like you had anything to do. Just as your eyes dropped back to the rock you always started with, there was a grating of metal on metal. You frowned, it wasn’t time for a guard change yet, they weren’t even halfway through. Rolling your head to the left, you eyed the little draw bridge as Roderick Burgess came striding in with a few more men. What did the pathetic old man want this time? You let out a small huff and went back to counting stones. You hardly felt inclined to entertain the man. Certainly when you felt so terrible. 

“Are you feeling more agreeable now? Hmm?” You already hated the sound of his voice. So haughty and arrogant. Dream was silent as always, not even giving him the honor of hearing his beautiful voice. No, that voice was only for your ears it seemed. Deafening silence filled the room. “Still just as stubborn then… well what about you Fortuna.” Your eyes rolled to stare at Burgess. His eyes glittered with greed and egocentrism. “Well? What do you have to say, Goddess Incarnate.” 

“Nunca,” (Never.) You stated coldly, enjoying the way his eyes tightened in confusion and anger. He slammed his cane on the cold floor. 

“I do not speak Spanish wretch! I know you speak English tongue, you are on English soil and you will do so.” 

“Que te folle un pez,” (Get fucked by a fish.) You spat back, enunciating your statement. One of the guards near him started turning red in the face. Clearly, he knew enough about your native tongue to understand the message you were conveying. Burgess snarled at you. 

“Well?” He growled. “What did she say!?” The man who had understood your words looked ill for a moment and coughed. 

“Well, sir, what she said was no compliment…” Clearly. Burgess didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t translating what you had said. His anger and irritation churned behind his eyes. You smirked at him, enjoying getting in a jab at the human. 

“Tell me, I will not ask again.” Burgess ground out, his eyes tightening. The guard looked like he wanted to die but slowly opened his mouth. 

“It— uh, it means—“ Burgess spun around to glare at him. “Sir— really, you don’t—“

“Spit it out!” 

“It means ‘I hope you get fucked by a fish’!” The man all but squealed, his face now the color of the tomatoes your mother use to grow. You felt like laughing, no, you did. Everyone in the room froze your muffled laughter the only sound in the decrepit basement. You basked at the moment with glee and smugness, you had caught them unawares. Burgess finally turned back around, his eyes glittering with unbridled rage. You stared back, undaunted by his gaze. 

“So you’ve the mouth of a whore,” He snorted in disgust, eyeing you like you were the very thing he had called you. “And to think the Spaniards hold you in such high regard.” He sneered at you. “Very well, we shall see how you like solitude, Fortuna. For I will not let you out until you agree to my wishes.” You kept your face cool and passive for you had no desire to ever give in to his demands, nor did you want to ever give him the satisfaction of knowing that confinement terrified you. Burgess turned around and strode away, leaving you and Dream to once again sit in peace and quiet. You went back to counting stones. 

Morpheus stared intently at your ankle, his eyes training on the puffy flesh. Then to the darkened bits of your skin where death had taken shelter. While the wound on your cheek was healing nicely, your ankle was an entirely different story. Streaks of discolored skin spread out like a sunburst, indicating that infection had settled in and was spreading. What was worse, the skin that you had torn and fought against while chained had darkened to black. Gangrene was what the humans called it, death of body tissue. If it was not addressed it would only spread. You were already running a fever and Morpheus knew that without intervention, you would only get worse. 

It was a gamble whether Burgess would help you. You would simply be revived if you died of the infection, but the human did not know what would happen if the gangrene spread and your body entirely broke down. You could become useless if that happened and Burgess could not have that, so he fetched a doctor to take care of your ailing limb. Your treatment required preparation, he needed to gather his disciples and arrange extra guards to hold you. You would surely be a hellcat the moment you were brought out of the cage, infection or not. The day finally came and you were staring outside your glass cage with a glassy-eyed look, your mind trying to repress the great aches and pains you felt in your body. The iron gates creaked open and Burgess led the guards, his disciples, and the doctor into the chamber, his eyes set on your shivering and lethargic body. 

While the doctor used a nearby table to spread out his medical and surgical supplies, the disciples gathered in a circle around the summoning circle. Burgess approached the glass cage, directing the extra guards to the place where the cage opened. 

“There, you will grab her from there, and do not break the summoning circle.” He called strictly, his eyes shrewdly examining you. You didn’t appear to have the energy to glare back at him, or even spare him a glare in the first place. The guards gave you a look, their eyes passing over your naked skin and eyeing the dried blood that still clung to your skin long after your neck had healed. Morpheus eyed those that gathered in a circle, an unsettling feeling emerging within his body. They would most likely use magic to hold him at bay while you were retrieved. Morpheus’s guess was correct because the hooded men and women started chanting and he felt oppression weigh down on his shoulders. The guards made fast work of removing the panel of glass and roughly grabbing your limbs, yanking you from the confines of your prison. Morpheus’s eyes never once left your body as you groaned in pain at the movement and handling. 

The moment you seemed to realize that you were no longer confined in the glass cage, your struggles started. You jerked your arms around, nailing one of the men in the face with your elbow. He shouted as blood dripped from his nose. You then kicked another in the shoulder. It was a struggle as you thrashed in their hold, and your struggles only increased when you saw the doctor laying out several instruments, a scalpel included. You could only think of the worst possibilities of why you were being dragged out and towards the doctor, your fever-addled brain unable to consider that he was there to help you. You started yowling like an angry cat, lashing out with your nails, scratching, clawing, you even tried to sink your teeth into an arm or two. Hellcat indeed, you were not going down without taking one of them with you. Your struggles continued until you were dropped onto a frosty metal table and your limbs held down. 

Gasping from the cold that jolted your body, you felt your pained ankle get grasped and pressed down to the table by hands on your shin. You tried to kick with your other leg, but hands were soon grabbing that limb as well. A slew of slurred curses was quick to leave your pale lips. “La Madre que te Parió!” (The mother that gave birth to you.) You shouted. “Quítame las manos de encima, Serpiente!”(Take your hands off me, snake!)

“Shut the wretch up!” Burgess snarled, irate with your endless jibbers in Spanish that he didn’t understand. For a useless little speck of a thing, you sure had the hellfire of even the strongest of English lasses. As hands grappled to get your writhing body under control, your eyes strained to stare Burgess down with the fires of your Spanish heritage. 

“El burro sabe más que tú,” (Donkeys know more than you.)You hissed at him as a heavy leather belt was shoved between your teeth. Your words were now garbled but still, you continued barking curses at them and jerking against the hands holding you down. You were huffing and puffing, your energy draining quickly from your infection-riddled body. The moment gloved hands started poking around your ankle you yelped in pain, sharply jerking against the hands holding you down. The doctor held your puffy ankle tightly, and started flushing your infected wound with an antiseptic wash. Just from the rush of liquid across your raw skin, you felt blistering pain run up your leg. 

You started yanking harder on your ankle, tears rapidly burning their way into your eyes. Your teeth bit into the leather in your mouth with almost painful pressure. There was a brief moment of relief as the doctor drew back to switch out instruments. You took to glaring at the man closest to you. There was a sharp pinch of pain near the base of your ankle and you squawked. Then the blistering pain started to dull around the circumference of your ankle. You nearly started relaxing. Nearly. What you couldn’t see was that the doctor had picked up a scalped and examined the gangrenous skin flaps that had turned brittle. Unfortunately, he was going to have to cut away all of the dead and diseased tissue from your flesh so the gangrene didn’t spread. The doctor eyed the guards holding you down. 

“Better tighten your grip, lads, this’ll get rough.” The doctor spoke. The guards tightened their grip, expecting more violent thrashing from you. The scalpel descended towards your flesh and at the first cut, a piercing shriek echoed in the basement making every single man who heard it, flinch. Even Burgess flinched at the scream of agony. Dream, however, clenched his fists so hard that crimson started dripping from his closed fists. His eyes were brilliant mercury, glowing with the embers of a nova. The doctor, however, had been expecting your cry of pain and continued his work of cutting away the disease and dead flesh. You were writhing in the guards' hands, doing everything you could to pull away from the pain the doctor was inflicting. He was quick but thorough on his cuts, making sure that the pain he was causing you wasn’t for naught. Everyone sighed with relief when your muffled cries went silent and your body fell limp. 

Methodically working, the doctor worked to remove all of the gangrenous flesh from your leg and gave you several Salvarsan injections around your freshly cut skin, a new drug that proved to be a powerful healer of syphilis and other infections. It would certainly rid you of any lasting disease. Pleased that your ankle had been properly treated, the doctor wrapped it up with surgical dressing and gauze before packing away his supplies. 

“I have done everything I can, the Salvarsan will destroy the rest of the infection.” The doctor announced, looking at Burgess over his spectacles. “You will see improvement in her condition within the week, but the flesh wound will need several months to heal under proper conditions, including not overbearing the limb.” Burgess huffed. 

“She won’t be going anywhere, anytime soon… that is until she is more agreeable,” Burgess explained, his eyes then coldly regarded your still body. “Put her back, lord knows the trouble she’ll cause if she wakes up. Troublesome hellcat.” The guards picked up your dead weight and carried you back to the glass cage as the disciples started chanting again. Morpheus was once again oppressed and severely weakened as he watched them open the glass cage and shove your body back in. You ended up sprawled across Morpheus’s lap, your head lolling against the curved glass. Even with you unconscious, Morpheus could still feel your tremors and shakes. He remained in his drained state long after the basement was cleared and the doctor left. The guards had returned to the morning's paper, ignoring you and him once more. It was then Morpheus finally moved. 

He first gathered your upper body close to his chest, cradling you against himself to give you a more comfortable position. Certainly, you were deserving of such after being put through such pain, your screams alone would haunt him. Then Morpheus brushed his hand along your injured leg, glaring at the wrapped portion of your ankle. Your wound might not kill you, but you would be left with immortal scars of the memory. Morpheus had to concentrate on your even breathing to calm himself down from the rage that churned like a violent tornado within himself. Even though you were a firecracker and defiant, you were still, at the end of the day, a little human battling against the monstrosity of men. You were a survivor, but Morpheus worried that at some point, you might break. 

You had a pounding headache upon rousing from an unconscious stupor. Your head ached in the worst way, but it wasn’t as unbearable as the raw sharpness that wrapped around your injured ankle and dug into your flesh like razor wire. An agonized moan bubbled in the back of your throat as your entire body tensed for a few moments. Then you shivered and sunk closer to the warmth enveloping your left side. You hadn’t been this warm since your capture. Ever so slowly, your eyes cracked open to see a fuzzy wall of pale skin. You blinked in confusion, then realized your arms were pressed against warm skin. No, your entire body, was pressed against warm skin that provided the head your own begged for. It was at that point you choked on a gasp in realization. You were cradled in Dream’s arms, sitting in his lap! Despite the lethargy in your body, you attempted to pull away. Your ankle screeched at your movement and your bit down on your lip to stop the scream that wanted to crawl out of your mouth. 

Warm hands were immediately stopping your movement. You whimpered into Morpheus’s neck, trying to breathe through the pain your sudden movement had caused you. Your right hand pressed into his chest, your back ridged from the electricity spiking up your spine. You almost howled but silenced the noise by sinking your teeth deep into your lip, smothering the noise. A hand stoked your shoulder soothingly and you sputtered, cursing softly. You didn’t need verbal words to know that Dream wanted you to stay put. So that’s what you did. 

Date Published: 11/20/22

Last Edit: 11/20/22

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#morpheus #morpheus x reader #dream of the endless #dream the endless #dream of the endless x reader #dream the endless x reader #dream x reader #the sandman #sandman x reader #the sandman x reader #the sandman netflix

[jiminrings]

Hiiii jiminrings aka one of my favorite authors everrr aka supreme ruler of angst and pathetic, sniveling men! I must say I've never read angst quite as cutting as yours, blood running cold, jaw hanging open, you know the type. Thanks so much for sharing your creativity and time with us!!! I really mean it.

I've read some of your previous works, but fail safe has managed to hit different, and that's very hard considering hbjimin!!!!!! and 478jk!!!! (Ik I'm echoing a popular sentiment on here, but you deserve your flowers)

I need to confess that when I first started reading fail safe I felt so taken aback by your oc's characterization, to the point I didn't even like her. But halfway through the first part, I had a big, fat epiphany and realized the only reason I felt unsympathetic towards here was because (SHOCKER!) that's my twin lowkey 😭😭 I was like oh....... so this is how it feels like to have a mirror held up to your face 😂🫵

Even though I've always grown up as a pretty responsible, independent kid who had big dreams and a sense of passion I'm currently at a point in my life where I feel very lost and confused and unsatisfied with my life. I have felt that spark of fashion almost totally dampened, and as a result I feel like (some of) the people around me kinda look down on me a little / are very worried about my near future / are very condescending about where I'm at emotionally and existentialist (basically oc and yoongi's dynamic). Making that connection.... hurt and made reading this fic so much more emotional.

This means I have a HUGE VENDETTA AGAINST FS YOONGI FOR TREATING OC LIKE SHIT AND BEING A CONDESCENDING, PEDANTIC ASSHOLE!!!!! He's borderline demonic, talking to her life that throughout her teen hood, no wonder she has such a negative self-image, in spite of working to build herself up. But the issue is that she's working from such a shaky foundation and she hasn't healed one bit 🥺 kinda feel she's self medicating through her work (like yoongi maybe but I don't care about his bum ass). She's in a very unfair position cause she doesn't have anyone in here corner in terms of like her immediate family circle (except for her mom but she can't talk about it with her cause it will break her heart knowing yoongi has always been like that to her 🥺- like seriously what is his issue???? did he flip on oc cause he has unresolved romantic feelings that he couldn't act on cause of 1. age gap and 2. Namjoon). Speaking on Namjoon, WHAT AN ASS!!!! He gave me ptsd to all the times my brothers chose to be insensitive towards me and not stick up for me.

Overall, there are so many mixed feelings. I understand her still having a complex with yoongi cause there's too many unresolved issues and hurt feelings that have been repressed for too long and that just keeps her on a cycle instead of allowing her to fully let go. So I don't judge her for it cause I've been there, done that.

I'm sooo excited for what's to come. I'm looking forward to the mysteries being revealed (my prediction for second lead is mr. kim taehyung himself), gut-wrenching lines courtesy of your lovely brain, and oc development! I'm ready to scream, cry, run around, jump off a cliff, swim in circles ❤️

I apologize in advance for the long ask. Also, star emoji anon, you're a legend lmao

ok first of all thank u second i love yew n third u don’t know how much this means to me!!!! fs yoongi is rlly up there with his predecessors (hbjm and 478jk) and for him to be the superlative of something (derogatory),,, that rlly says something!! i won’t ever get tired of thanking sweet sweet people like you and ur flowers <3 if i could digest them i already would’ve . STOPPPPP U R LITERALLY TWINS !!!! triplets if u count me n quadruplets if u account for all the other anons that had fs resonate w them!!! i feel you So So much bc we r almost exactly the same!!! being ambitious as a child (i’m the youngest if u couldn’t tell… womp womp) without no clear picture of what you want to be, then turning into someone who has no actual passion at all except for the desire to live a good n secure life… whew!!! thank god i only have irl yoongi on my side though and NOT fs yoongi bc that would’ve been really something 😑😑😑 thank u thank yewwww i actually love it whenever people tell me they have mixed feelings bc oh my god yer telling me that i made you think really hard???? THANK U SO SO MUCH AGAIN!!! never apologize for long asks bc i love them a lot and star emoji anon rlly is a legend n i can confirm that!! LOVE YEWWWWWWW

#answered #mass answered #fs feed #love mail

[fryandleelasbigfling]

Amy and Leela relationship?

i think about amy and leela a lot because the show is really weird with them due to the fact they are usually two women written primarily by men, and that can be quite evident -- usually in the form of gratuitous fanservice (albeit usually self aware), but also in their catty dynamic. "butterjunk effect" is the most infamous instance of this so i like to ignore most of what it says about their relationship cuz it falls into tropes i hate.

personally i actually laugh a lot at amy's passive aggression towards leela. i know it falls into misogynistic tropes and i'm not gonna give the writers Credit for it, but as someone who struggles with femininity, some of amy's digs just resonate really hard as an exaggeration of what it feels like to deal with internalized misogyny.

it's also interesting because amy suffered misogynistic emotional abuse from her parents her whole life, so i think even though she knows their rhetoric is wrong, she internalizes a lot of beliefs about what womanhood should be and ends up projecting them onto leela. she rarely actually sounds malicious towards leela -- in fact, several times she insults leela ("a leela of her own," "anthology of interest 1") with a tone that sounds complimentary or at least like an attempt to "help." and i think she does genuinely want leela to lower her standards and have fun and find love, and she's a genuinely good wingwoman in "bender's big score."

this is falling into pure headcanon but i think amy's slightly fascinated with leela, how she can push forward and -- on the surface -- take total control of the situation, coordinate herself, (seemingly) not care about her appearance and take a more practical approach. their interactions in season one are more friendly while the writers were still figuring out their personalities, and amy even seemed to initially try to respect leela as a captain. yet in later seasons i think amy got caught in in leela's more "pathetic" attributes and found it pitiful, but a little funny too. amy does seem to understand leela's grief to some extent ("xmas story") but generally has trouble empathizing with people. (i attribute this to her upbringing -- her parents seem to dismiss any genuine emotion she has, even telling her to get over it when her husband died.)

(i also headcanon that amy had a bit of a crush on leela when they first met, which faded / was repressed over time because she started noticing more of leela's flaws. however "bender's game" and a few other homoerotic jokes suggests that there's something weird between them sometimes. idk i think amy having a crush on leela despite everything she says about her is just funny and compelling)

on the flip side i think leela genuinely does dislike amy because of her insulting nature, but also i think leela would be a little resentful that the only other girl in the company is rich and beautiful and sexually active. leela has a problem with comparing herself to social norms and trying to please people / prove she's better than they thought she was, so amy is almost like, a manifestation of her own insecurities, especially after she gets with kif since leela doesn't find true love for a while after that.

but she can put that aside and reach out to amy when the latter's having issues, because she is responsible and kind. she's literally amy's shoulder to cry on in "beast with a billion backs" which means a lot more when you remember the love of leela's life (well one version of him) offed himself about a month ago.

i think their most solid dynamic is in "murder on the planet express" because they fight over shit besides their sexual prowess and femininity, but also work together well. they have such a funny sisterly dynamic and i'd love the revival to lean more into that instead of that "all women passive aggressively hate each other" bs, especially with their more diverse writers' room which has more Women in it.

#futurama #lamy #turanga leela #amy wong #leela #amy #this has been sitting in my drafts for ages... sorry sam lol #answers

[nugulover69]

top 5 toku guys?

Oh yeah a chance to be subjective and ramble abt men my favorite thx

1. Gai - Jetman

Peak archetypal Inoue scumbag. He's a creep he's pathetic he's deeply repressed in multiple ways but most importantly he's cool as fuck. Him and Ryu have the most yaoi dynamic that has ever yaoied, every scene between them they were having sex actually ! Spoilers ! his death is also both the most earned and deserved death ever. Earned as in he proved himself to be a force for the greater good after rejecting the responsibility constantly, he died surrounded by ppl who love him and was killed performing a heroic act; deserved bc he was very much a creepy asshole, ESPECIALLY to Kaori. Like I love him but Kaori didn't deserve any of that

(Toshihide Wakamastu also super hot. like having a guy that looks like THAT wear leather gloves all the time should be illegal)

2. Jan - Gekiranger

Best sentai red hands down. His arc of becoming a more focused and less feral hero (his domestication arc if you will) is so well done. Him and Leo have a fantastic rivalry (literally destined to kill each other shit) that is also super yaoi. He could have easily been super annoying but thankfully his irrational behavior comes off more endearing (and understandable literally everything is new and confusing to him) thanks in part due to Hiroki Suzuki's great acting (and great face). he's just a lil kitty cat!!!!

3. Asakura - Kamen Rider Ryuki

He's killed dozens of ppl, he was born in a toilet and ate literal shit for years, he serves cunt while having never bathed in his life, he's the character of all time

I adore how the writers do TWO redemption fakeouts w/ him (didn't actually want to reunite w/ his brother nor cared abt that little girl he was "protecting") to drive the point home that this guy? is a agent of pure violence and chaos. he is basically non-human and cannot be reasoned with. This makes him a great narrative foil for "desperately tries to see the good in everyone" Shinji and a great yaoi foil for "literally my job to keep you in order" Kitaoka

Ryuki was a perfect starter kamen rider/toku show for me solely bc of this dude. my hole made for me <3

4. Taiga - Kamen Rider Ex-Aid

Me darling ice king <333 Seriously Taiga is the best character in ex-aid (aside from Poppy). I love how he mirrors Hiiro; both highly prideful and that pride leads them to do more destructive things in pursuit of what they believe is the greater good but really is more so just abt salvaging their bruised egos. And neither them could save Saki as Kuroto guaranteed her death by spraying her w/ more gamer disease

That and his partnership w/ Nico is so charming; hilarious in how Nico's bullheaded attitude forced Taiga to lighten the fuck up and genuinely heartbreaking when Nico was totally hysterical when Taiga nearly died. In short, he has layers like an onion and the sour taste of one too luv himmmmm

ALSO ALSO THE ONLY GUY WHO WANTED TO KILL KUROTO BUT EMU AND HIIRO WERE LIKE "noooo we can't kill this bio terrorist that'd be wrong :( for some reason" based Taiga always correct

5. Yellow/Gaku - Gaoranger

This pick is entirely subjective. He's not super deep or complex by any means (nothing in Gaoranger is, even for a sentai it's light on everything expect batshit insanity) BUT he is very Gender and Just Like Me fr

I love how his character (battle hardened military grunt) could've easily been a no-fun straight man but he acts more like an eldest brother to the team (rational and strict when it comes to immediately dangerous matters but amicable and goofy when it comes to boosting team morale). That and his lil details like randomly speaking English or being morally against eating birds give him that bit more flavor

Honorable mentions to Kusaka, Sosuke, Kyosuke, Gokai Gai and Tendou bc this post is long enough as is lmao

#ck rambles #i hope you were expecting paragraphs bc i love to talk #if you notice any typos no you don't

[transfemstarscream]

What is your objective opinion on cis men that worship Starscream as this "paragon of masculinity" and making all the women in the series into his sex slaves or punching bags? It's clearly projection but I think cis dudes that're violently opposed to the concept of Starscream being anything other than cishet (unless they hate him and wanna call him transmisogynist and homophobic slurs) should be examined under a microscope.

it's an odd phenomenon that i see happen much more than i'd like to think (or see in the first place) and i do think it's heavy projection on their part, but i'm more morbidly curious on why starscream of all characters. i've made it clear that even with my love for her, a lot of the times she sucks (both as a character and as a person) and the franchise stopped respecting her in 2006. her track record is just a tombstone that says "here lies starscream: she never scored".

i think it has to do with a very surface level reading of her; it's not uncommon for the "pathetic male character" to often be popular with guys who are considerably as "pathetic" or lonely, and this ties into how starscream is perceived in-universe and most of the fandom. she's ostracized from not only the autobots but also the decepticons, and the dinobots, and the combaticons, and even the damn gods, and etc. etc... characters that are often hated by the in-universe cast of characters are clung onto by people who also feel ostracized by society, and she's a perfect vessel to project that onto. it's not really uncommon for a lot of transformers fans, most of them male, to feel this way because of their interests or similar. but like i said at the beginning, it's a very surface level reading of her, and one i think is on purpose.

the reason she's treated this way by the franchise and the fandom is linked to how she may not be the most masculine character. the franchise makes way too many jokes at her expense for this to be ignorable: characterized as vain and flamboyant, a considerably androgynous voice not helped by how high-pitched it'd become in later seasons of G1, her designs becoming considerably more androgynous over the last decade and the focus on how much she cares about changing bodies/how she looks, one of the only "male" characters to not show blatant romantic or sexual interest in female characters excluding obscure material, a female clone representative of an unknown source of her personality in animated, doesn't get along well with men, is opposed to more stereotypically masculine ideals in favor of more stereotypically feminine ones, etc. etc... it's quite a lot she has on her plate! it's possible you can reflect on at least a few starscream moments off the top of your head that fit particular things i listed.

guys who see this don't see it as a possibly positive aspect of her character, though; guys who see all this think of it as a symptom of her being treated poorly by the franchise. not because the franchise makes jokes at her expense because she exhibits these traits, but because she exhibits these traits in the first place. they think that these things by themselves are bad and "emasculating" of their favorite character, therefore they try to erase it and make her the "paragon of masculinity" they want her to be so they can feel more validated and comfortable liking such a character. when they see "starscream has a female clone in animated that is meant to represent a part of her [psychology]", they don't see that slipstream is meant to represent starscream that is most likely hidden or repressed, but only the weird joke in-show that starscream is attracted to herself as a woman and something-something proof she's heterosexual something-something. where her bigoted haters insist on calling her a lot of...certain names...because of her behavior, her projectors insist that these things just don't exist and/or can be interpretated differently.

there isn't any nuance in their eyes because they only see "pathetic character that is actually competent treated badly by the franchise" and not "pathetic character that is actually competent when written competently or when she doesn't let her arrogance blind her treated badly by the franchise because of unfortunate implications that she is 'lesser' due to being unmasculine". they see themselves a lot in her i.e. the "pathetic" part, but it's also hard to ignore that she isn't exactly the most masculine character, so they characterize her as what type of man they dream of being, which comes in the flavor of "womanizing badass that beats all the men and takes their girlfriends and has a harem and Got Cool Upgrades That Make Him Look Like A Stud" and so-forth. because what better way to combat against homophobic and transmisogynistic hate against your favorite character than to erase neutral aspects of her and instead replace them with just worse ones, which make you question why she's your favorite in the first place if you're changing everything about her.

it's why japanese iterations of starscream, which typically exaggerated her femininity by making her literally refer to herself femininely and speaking in speech associated with gay men and trans women (お姉言葉) are disliked and often loathed by these same guys, because it's unavoidable at that point. even galaxy force starscream, who is objectively the most competent and badass of starscreams, gets flack by people who understand just how feminine her way of speaking can be. (and yes, guys were upset that she was not at all attracted to thunderblast. i've seen it with my own eyes)

it's why starscream, whose interactions with a lot of female characters usually consist of either jealousy or a morbid respect (something not common with male characters loved by the male audience), is twisted into starscream being this weird pervert because they're projecting what they think onto her. they don't think female characters are actually characters, therefore their favorite Manly Male Character doesn't either. she's pathetic and lonely and underestimated, which is enough to project all your manly masculine ideals onto. never mind why she's characterized as such, because that requires looking into the unfortunate implications of her character, and that's not fun.

#like this is also a thing with her cis female fans too but not as huge as her cis male fanbase. #where the girls want to be with her the guys want to /be/ her. #like i could go a lot deeper; i feel like there's a lot of things i can talk about for hours such as the transmisogyny surrounding her #japanese iterations that i only talked about for a small section of this. #but here's what i think. i hope it helps! #long post #transmisogyny #homophobia #ask2tag

[bylightofdawn]

Beyond Evil Episode 10

OKAY this show is definitely trying to take Obi-Wan's crown for /infinite sadness.

Lee Dong-sik/Infinite Sadness is officially my Beyond Evil sadclown OTP.

Shin Ha-kyun's acting in this show is just...wow I hope he won some version of a Korean emmy or something for his part in this show because it is just phenomenal.

One thing I've noticed is just the amount of times they let Dong-sik cry. For a guy in a media franchise that is just pretty unheard of, at least from a Western audience's POV. We are so embroiled in toxic masculinity and the idea that men can't cry because that equates to weakness is just a pathetic and depressing part of our media culture.

I want to say we are doing better as a society in normalizing letting men express their emotions and actually do more than shed that one lonely tear whenever there is a punchy emotional scene but considering how low that bar is, it's not very hard to cross.

Meanwhile, you have Lee Dong-sik breaking down into tears multiple times over the course of this show for VERY VALID AND UNDERSTANDABLE REASONS and there's no implication of weakness or he's less of a man for doing so. I'll fully admit that my ignorance of Korean culture and East Asian cultures, in general, is pretty lacking so I don't know if that's the norm. From my limited exposure, it's definitely not. Or at least I don't recall seeing a male character who expressed himself as much as Lee Dong-sik does.

Of course, the fact everyone labels him that lunatic etc and LBR he definitely has his feral and unhinged moments so there's prolly some element of truth to that. Maybe he gets a pass for it because of that?

Ugh the fucking ending of the episode. The chief dying and Dong-sik just breaking down next to him. Fuck Han Ju-won practically in tears as well just fucking stab me in the heart and end my suffering already.

Though the laconic and snarky part of me was all 'Oh there's the random death of someone close to the protagonist I've come to expect from nearly every police/law k-drama I've seen' It always seems like they love to kill off the beloved older mentor figure or someone else who holds a similar station in the protagonists lives.

I knew someone was going to die. Pffft. Pretty sure I called that one from episode one.

I think next episode is going to be spicy AF and am looking forward to Lee Dong-sik reacting to the double whammy that his sister wasn't killed by Kang Jin-muk and her killer is most likely out there and he literally just lost prolly the closest thing he has to a father, a mentor and a protector. Cause Sang-bae was definitely holding the wolves at bay when it comes to him and without him being there to shield Lee Dong-sik it's gonna get very spicy.

I'm also interested to see where the fuck they are going with Park Jeong-je's apparent mental breakdown that my boy seems to be going through. Something is up with him and his random affinity for deer and drawing them. He did say he'd killed a deer, surely he didn't like fucking completely snap, kill Yu-yeon right? And like completely just repress that shit?

Surely the show wouldn't go THAT EVIL. I mean, they did hint she got like run over so him accidentally hitting her, freaking out and going coo-coo for cocoa puffs would just be the worst.

#beyond evil spoilers #beyond evil #el watches stuff

[aedificloudio]

JUST REALISED IM LIKE 66% OF THE MAFUAKI TAG????? AND NO ONES POSTED CRAZY INSANE BRAINROT HERE??? IM ALONE??? WHAT THE FUCK MAN

ok whatever i’ll i i here’s more insanity under the cut

this is genuinely just brainrot, headcanons, and random character analysis abt mafuaki and their dynamic

mafuyu is aromantic in my brain 🫶 so her dating him is genuinely just her fucking around bc shes bored and wants to feel something

also mafuyu is good at everything too so its double hitting the complex

hes never gonna be good enough

LIKE mafuyu's whole thing is being the perfect daughter who is good at everything despite not giving a shit about any of it, so she finds it really funny that akito has self esteem issues and is constantly comparing his abilities to other people

shes probably like

wow. this is smth i really dont experience

and ig she also compares it to ena's behaviour and shes defs like "oh yeah they sure as fuck are related'

coz the shinonomes are teeming with jealousy and inferiority because they can never live up to the standard they want

ena has complicated feelings about art because all her life she's being told she'll never make it

and akito knows hes nowhere near as good as the rest of vbs and he tries to hide it behind a tough guy persona

its so gap moe...

MAFUYU drags him to her room one day and keeps him in a fucking garbage bag/bodybag duct taped and cuffed and hes like freaking out bc even tho he did consent to this (he wanted to see her room) the fact she WENT THROUGH w this at all w/o a hint of remorse is downright terrifying

also when he looks around her room and how barren it is hes like 😟

"ohhh im so fucked why am i here"

he also accidentally finds out mafuyu composes music and its better than anything hes ever written to the point he fucking cries LOL

i would assume like

their rls is super casual coz theyre both busy

but they make time to see each other because a) akito gets to flex he has a girlfriend b) mafuyu finds him decently entertaining to which she's surprised about c) its a win-win

AND IDK its just super entertaining to me

thinking abt a shitty crack beach episode 25ji and vbs crossover.....

mafuyu in a swimsuit 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

mizuki in a sun dress or some shit and refusing to go in the water

kanade fucking dies.png

ena is there for her socmed

kohane and an in couple drip and they fucking slay

toya is barely allowed to go and hes in some expensive swimsuit and kinda pathetic. like. hes all "wow this is my first time!"

akito thinks ena is so embarassing rn but Holy Shit Mafuyu Has D Cups

hes so repressed abt being gay he tricks himself into liking boobs. or maybe hes bi idk

teenage boy crisis of "NO i cant like men i love boobs ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️"

(guy who dreams about making out with toya)

also i just think its funny that toya is completely oblivious in this au until either halfway or the end bc hes fr just

"yayy i have friends!!"

😭😭😭

akito is scared shitless of mafuyu tho bc  he's begun to notice her smiles don't reach her eyes

and any friend of ena's has hella issues

i don't think mafuyu ever really opens up to him about her mental issues but akito isnt completely dumb, he can kinda sense that theres smth wrong w her, especially like. the fact she has an empty aquarium in her room is fucking FREAKY

also the way he has to be snuck in there is just 💀 ermm rip girlie

mafuyu's parents knock on her door and she throws him out the window

i’m so normal abt them

#mafuaki #project sekai #mafuyu asahina #akito shinonome

[tunglo]

Hello! Hope ur day has been good! For the fandom meme : W and K 😊

Thank you - and yours! :)

K - Say something nice about someone in any of your fandoms.

Everybody who interacts with me! Seriously, you make being in fandom worthwhile. Because, yeah, I'm mostly here to write, but I'd still lose motivation quick without anything to bounce off. It's the fandom squee that keeps the fire alive. :D

W - 5 favourite ships and 5 kinks you like best for said ships.

I'm so vanilla with my fave kinks. It's all just like, they love each other a really unhealthy amount and pine pathetically about it. (Also: men crying.) Like, the sex might eventually be quite kinky, but it's not so much about what they're doing as who they're doing it with. But! I racked my brain for some ships I love combined with more concrete kinks.

Reed900 (Detroit Become Human) - wireplay! Why write robots with fully functioning bits when you can have some lovesick idiot sticking their fingers in the wiring?

Xander/Spike (Buffy) - neck biting/blood/vampirism. Because, well, obviously. I love focusing on it for all my vampire/human ships, but Xander/Spike was my first. <333

Kirk/Spock (or McCoy/Spock...) - ears and handplay. AKA the bits we've all collectively decided are definitely Vulcan erogenous zones. To be fair I'm all about the fantasy/sci-fi ears. When I eventually continue my Deep Space 9 watch through I have no doubt I'll be straight back on my Nog/Jake bullshit, for example.

Gaston/LeFou (Beauty and the Beast) - sharing a third party. Like, Gaston would totally be too selfish to get his women off, so he gets LeFou to do it. And LeFou would because he gets to put his mouth where part of Gaston's just been...

Obikin/Vaderwan - older virgin/inexperience kink. Because Anakin would get off on the idea of being the one and only, and because I am always down for a character who is more or less a virgin because they're too repressed/devout/ashamed, etc.

Also I am increasingly feral about male lactation for the first time. Just, Anakin demanding that Obi-Wan literally feed him on top of everything else is so hot.

#ask #obikin #reed900 #gafou

[dwellordream]

Initial Impressions of HotD, Episode 9

be warned there are spoilers below.

i have read fire & blood, but i am not judging the show as to its accuracy towards the book, as i had major issues with fire & blood, particularly in regard to how grrm wrote the female characters and handled the Dance.

this is not an evaluation of it as an adaptation but on its own merits.

Alicent’s genuine grief-stricken reaction to learning Viserys’ death is interesting. She does seem to have committed fully to caring for him up until the end, despite her repressed rage and grief over her horrible marriage.

I remain annoyed about the ‘Alicent truly believes it was Viserys’ belief that Aegon II is the Chosen One!’ plot beat, but I won’t beat a dead horse. Suffice to say, I wish they injected less prophecy into Season 1, and focused more on the human flaws of the characters, rather than who is ‘destined’ for the throne.

I’m also not thrilled with the choice to make Alicent essentially helpless in the long-standing secret plans to make Aegon king. While I appreciate them showing Alicent as victim in many instances, making her a totally passive observer caught up in men’s schemes doesn’t really gel for me.

What’s this? Ser Criston finally facing consequences.... for killing Lord Beesbury in a fit of rage? 

Alicent’s distress at the thought of actually having Rhaenyra and her sons killed I think continues the thread of love she still has for Rhaenyra from the last episode. She may be firmly opposed to seeing Rhaenyra as queen, but she can’t stand the thought of her being imprisoned or executed, either.

Helaena embroidering bugs... I love her. 

Rhaenys was not present at the Red Keep when Viserys died in Fire & Blood, so her being a potential hostage against the Blacks is interesting, though I do hope we actually see her on Meleys before the season ends.

Criston lecturing Aemond about speaking respectfully of women.... after calling Rhaenyra a spoiled cunt... lmao.

I’m not sure if the implication here about Aegon is that he’s just a straight-up sadist who likes seeing street children fight each other, a pedophile, or both, but it’s uh.... a choice. 

Aemond outright stating he would make a better king than Aegon and that’s more learned than he to Criston is certainly blunt of him. He at least trusts that Criston is more so loyal to his mother than to Aegon, I guess.

The choice to have Alicent and her father at odds and vying for control of the Greens adds another layer, I guess, but I’m not sure I like it.

Rhaenys and Alicent’s discussion was very interesting, and I did like Rhaenys’ line about Alicent only wanting to ‘make a window in the wall of her prison’ as a passive observer, rather than seize power for herself, but I’m not thrilled they’re making Rhaenys a damsel in distress stuck as the Green’s prisoner.

At least they have Mysaria something to do by seizing a drunken Aegon in the night, and actually trying to trade Aegon’s safety for putting an end to the fighting pits and helping the children. But the accent is still awful.

Aegon crying for his mother and trying to run from Ser Erryk and Arryk was almost pitiful in a pathetic way. Him outright screaming that he doesn’t want to rule and wants to flee the city would be almost amusing if not for the earlier pedo implications.

The foot scene with Larys was.... very strange. If they were going for a psychosexual thing, it wasn’t working.

In Fire & Blood Viserys’ death is concealed for an entire week, while here the Greens actually work very fast to arrange the coronation and imprison Black supporters within 12 hours or so.

I do think Aegon’s coronation scene was well done. I liked the background music and the arrangement of the bugles and swords and the defeated look on Aegon’s face as he accepts the crown. 

Rhaenys is having her Arya moment, witnessing this coronation while trying to flee the city. 

HBO’s crowns continue to suck ass. 

Aegon realizing he may get more validation and adoration from the smallfolk than his own blood family and embracing it... 

It’s kind of silly because Rhaenys literally has the opportunity to kill all the Greens as soon as Meleys gatecrashes the coronation, but the scene is still probably the best in the episode, including Alicent putting herself between Aegon and a dragon while the Kingsguard are useless.

Overall the episode was similar to 8 for me. I didn’t think it was terrible, but it wasn’t that great, either. I was pretty bored until the last 10/15 minutes or so. Best scene was probably the last, and Rhaenys and Alicent’s conversation was interesting. Everything else was pretty meh.

#hotd #word to the wise

[oni-tengu]

could you tell us more abt sue & rat? i love your drawings of them :D

UM YEAH dont tempt ME with a good time !!!! you can find more posts of them in these tags: #oscar-vargas ; #sue-williams ; #lucy and #miriam who are part of the supporting cast

this guy, sue, belongs to my friend min ( @ iminzemi on twitter and instagram ) art by min

more below !

its 5am and im off my shits sooo both guys are from texas, usually when i draw rat hes 25ish, sue is usually 32-35 when we draw him (i forget exact age but their time together spans ten years). they start i believe around 1907 or 1909, just as cowboys were facing their extinction. just a warning, rat and sue's relationship is not THE MOST healthy lmao

sue's whole deal was that he was based on the johnny cash song, A Boy Named Sue. like the song, his father named him sue to make his life a living hell and sue left home with a big fight. he's repressed, closeted, insecure, angry, and not afraid to get a lil violent.

rat left texas when he was a teenager because he also did not have a good homelife and foresaw that it was only going to get worse when he began to act on his ~gay urges~. he travelled around the south until he was picked up by a gang at 18 and continued to travel with them, eventually becoming wanted in two states for things like robberies. he was given the nickname "rat" by his outlaw friends because he "looks like a rat", but his real name is Oscar Vargas.

this was the gang leader, sunny. he had a big chip on his shoulder because he and his family are natives and he lost everyone when he was younger, so now he acts and thinks like whatever he does to others is karmic retribution. he and rat had a loose affair when rat was 20-23ish, which was when he left the gang. (pic is years later)

rat left the gang after sunny took their robberies too far and killed some people.

rat and sue met when sue got on a job on a ranch with min's other characters, huo bao, anselmo, and thomas. rat was flirting with sue, but sue assumed he was being made fun of for having a ladies' name and smashed a glass on rat's face.

un/fortunately rat is a little pathetic and he puts up with a lot, he instigates fights and likes to fight, even does it for money sometimes, and is pretty good at taking a hit. so he wasnt deterred and continued to talk to sue, he and lucy+miriam had sue over for dinner, rat started to make moves which began to make sue very confused and frustrated. he continued to act out physically but rat being the stupid dick he is, was still not deterred, and sue began to have more confusing feelings that he fought with. they engaged in an unofficial but exclusive relationship through all of this

due to the time, they kept things very secret, but rat lives with lucy and miriam, who are also an interracial lesbian couple, so they figure things out and hide the secrets well enough. sue vacillates between his feelings on the relationship, but ultimately loves rat, though he isnt always sure how to express it. rat kinda gets him, but is still a shit-stirrer, so they still wrestle and bicker lol

later down the line, sue is going on longer trips to transport cattle for jobs, straining his relationship with rat, and one time his job goes pretty awfully. he's essentially framed for a crime (undecided if robbery or murder) but it just so happens its actually SUNNY'S crime and he's back in texas. sue has never heard of or met sunny, and no one knows who really did it, so sue spends several months in prison. (i.e. traumatized by the conditions and treatments of known gay men, he keeps his own status secret but still sees what other men face and is scared shitless.) after being released and coming home, sunny eventually ends up in their town and starts some things, making sue a little jealous, revealing rat's complicated past, and sunny informs rat that one of their old outlaw friends has died. sunny leaves with rat's threats.

later down the line, ten years into their relationship, sue's still doing long jobs, lucy and miriam are giving him crap for not being around and not settling etc etc and sue crumbles under the weight of their words, his own insecurities, the stress of hiding a relationship, and the state of being in a gay relationship in the first place.

sue runs away to washington without anything more than a note that he's gone off to work (i believe it was logging?). he plans to make good money and return to texas after the season so he can stay with rat longer, but he has an accident and is bedridden for much longer than he expected to be there. he ends up having to prolong his stay to heal and make the money. he only writes one postcard after months and months of agonizing over it, telling rat in a subtle way that he misses him, and then that he'll come back.

either 9 months or a year later, the night he comes back is in this comic, after rat flips out and then decides he wants sue back in his life and puts off the talk until later. they figure it out and sue is forced to be very honest, and rat tells him that he cant do that again, because rat wont wait. min and i have talked about them having a lavender wedding or perhaps no wedding but holding rings.

thats basically the gist! despite the long term story, we mostly just like to talk shit on them and make up goofy day-to-day scenarios to write. sometimes rat gets shit-faced, sometimes sue loses his temper, sometimes they go riding horses, stuff like that (:

#text post #ask #lore #sue #rat #sue williams #oscar vargas #sunny

[causalitylinked]

REASONS OTHER PEOPLE MIGHT FALL FOR KOBATO.

He actually cares. Sure, Kobato might not always do the right thing, but he does worry about others and is the sort of friend who would find you and drive you home should you get lost. He’ll also offer to buy you food, especially if you happen to be younger/an underclassman of his or a cute girl.

Will whisper sweet nothings to you and unlike most Japanese men, has no trouble saying ‘I love you’. Of course, this only applies to female aligned muses, because again, he’s very obnoxiously hetero, even in The Caligula Effect 2.

Doesn’t discriminate. Seriously, Kobato doesn’t give a shit if someone is a man or a woman, because if they’re an asshole, they’re an asshole. Honestly, he would even hit a girl should they... like, not back off or are causing real, actual harm to someone he is friends with.

Not a guy who subscribes to toxic masculinity, even if he does like to tease Ryuto for liking sweets so much despite being very mature for his age. Why, he doesn’t actually repress his emotions and will even cry/let himself be vulnerable around you, which happens to be rare, because it’s actually quite common for Japanese men to be more emotionally inhibited and find discomfort in expressing their emotions through words.

Will be transparent with you and will tell you things exactly how it is. Like, while the rest of the Go-Home Club members had been hesitant to tell Marie about what they found out about her, Kobato had no qualms telling her she was actually a paraplegic in real life and that if she ever returned back to reality, she will have a shorter life expectancy compared to the average person and will live out the rest of her life, confined to a hospital bed, because she can’t move a single muscle and Redo, the world they were all stuck in, was basically supposed to be her safe haven from all that. But yeah, even if it’s painful, he won’t bother withholding information from you, especially should it concern you in particular.

In his Post-TCE2 verse, he’s really trying his best to be a function-able adult despite having apathy and just lacking passion when it comes to a lot of things. Honestly, driving might be something that he doesn’t find annoying (like manual labour), but it’s nothing he’s particularly passionate about to the point where he would be devastated he can no longer do it anymore, so he won’t be able to relate to, say... Sonia Nevermind’s love for the occult. Like, he doesn’t mind driving and is even used to doing it, but I feel as if ‘enjoy’ would be too strong a word, due to the fact his apathy prevents him from feeling much happiness/interest in things that don’t revolve around the opposite sex. Why, Kobato doesn’t even choose his clothes or appearance based on his own personal aesthetic anymore but what he thinks girls actually like, so despite being someone who is unable to derive meaning from living for himself rather than for others, he still chooses to cling onto life, no matter how empty he feels on the inside... so for as pathetic as he is, he still chooses to move on and exist rather than continue to mope about things he can no longer control.

When it comes to any interests other girls might have, he can be open-minded. Like, if you’re into, say... a video game, he would probably start playing it, because he wants to be able to relate to you and get closer to you. Granted, it’s not like Kobato wouldn’t have ulterior motives by doing so, but he really does try his best to the kind of guy any girl would like.

#ce2 spoilers #ce2 spoilers tw #█ ▓『 ✦ ⸂ •• QUEUED — ⧼ because livi is a busy adult irl. ⧽ 』 #┕━ ❛ ❀. muse »» ᴋᴏʙᴀᴛᴏ ᴋᴀᴢᴀᴍᴀᴛꜱᴜʀɪ〡𝗶'𝗺 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶'𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁. #┕━ ❛ ❀. headcanons »» ᴋᴏʙᴀᴛᴏ〡𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝘆. #┕━ ❛ ❀. about »» ᴋᴏʙᴀᴛᴏ〡𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝘂𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 �� 𝗮𝗺. #[ me: i hate him so much ] #[ also me: /lists all his positive traits and incentivises people to wanna ship their female muses with him ]