#i want to love being gay but its so hard when the entire world hates u for it

[amageish]

Thinking way too hard about the queer possibilities of X-Men ‘97

When X-Men ‘97 was first announced, I’ll admit I was kind of ambivelent to the entire project... It felt very nostalgia-focused and was just less interesting to me then an all-new X-Men cartoon that could do its own thing without being burdened with established canon...

...and then I listened to the X-Men 60 Uncanny Years event earlier this year and hearing the executive producer of the series discuss what the X-Men meant to him as a kid as a gay black man in Florida basically changed my mind about the entire project. Now I’m excited for it!

The X-Men are so fucking queer. Even ignoring the ways that the mutant metaphor have been used to discuss queer issues before queer issues could be discussed textually, Marvel’s merry mutants just have... so many queer members and even more when you expand the list to include sub-textual and intended queerness.

So, with all that in mind, I did a little thinking and decided to take some guesses about who could make for queer representation in '97... Let’s dive in!

Part One: The Comic Canon Gays

Let’s start with the characters who are explicitly no-subtext-required queer in the comic books themselves. These are a few of the characters Marvel uses in Pride events and generally parades around every June.

Northstar

Jean-Paul Beaubier may seem like the vanilla ice cream of this rainbow sundae, but there’s far more going on with this character then the “Marvel’s first explicitly gay superhero” title that he is so often boiled down to. A French-Canadian superstar athlete, he’s lived never being entirely sure if his skiing career success was a result of his talent or his mutant abilities.

While his depiction in X-Men The Animated Series just had him be painfully French-Canadian with an on-the-nose accent and French exclamations, there’s a mean catty gay under the surface that is just waiting to be unleashed. They could also adapt his famous wedding arc, wherein he married his husband Kyle Jinadu...

Also he hates cops, so y’know... Maybe Marvel did nail the queer experience on their first try?

Iceman

Bobby Drake is arguably the most famous queer character at Marvel. A member of the original five X-Men, he was famously confirmed as gay when his teenage self was transported to the present and, with some unsolicited help from a teenage Jean Grey, questioned why his older self remaining closeted, even in a world that was (comparatively at least) accepting of queer desire.

In the original show, he showed unrequited interest in Polaris, as he had in the comics before his coming-out. This reboot could potentially give a more grounded and less fantastical take on coming-out then what he had in the comics... or maybe time travel will be involved again - who knows really!

Prodigy

David Allyene, aka Prodigy, is one of the most notable bi men at Marvel with one of the most distinctive coming-out stories. His mutant powers cause him to instantly learn things that other people know, hence the name Prodigy, and, through his powers, he also learned his own sexuality. How’s that for a crazy journey of self-discovery.

Prodigy is a newer character who did not appear in the original animated series at all, so there’s no continuity concerns there...

Mystique and Destiny

Destiny, also known as Irene Adler, met her lover Mystique when he was presenting as male and operating as a consulting detective in Victorian London.

Yeah uh. This is implying what you think it is.

The two of them have been lovers for centuries now, though both took other partners at different points during their relationship. Their love is something special though and together they raised Rogue as a child - as well as maybe sired Nightcrawler together? That was once intended to be Nightcrawler’s origin, but it was famously scrapped due to Marvel editorial not wanting to depict a child that is a product of a queer relationship at the time... but now this November a new comic will explore the “true” origin of Nightcrawler, so maybe Mystique/Destiny having a biological child is back on the table!

Mystique was, of course, in the original series. I’m not sure the actual odds of her relationship with Irene being acknowledged in ‘97 - partially just because I imagine Marvel would be concerned about backlash to queer villains... but also they’re adorable and good to me so I’d like them!

Captain Britain and Askani

Betsy Braddock and Rachel Summers are two incredibly complicated characters to summarize. Rachel is the time-displaced daughter of Scott and Jean from a hypothetical alternate feature, while Betsy Braddock spent like 30 years of her publication history trapped in the body of Kwannon, a Japanese assassin. While these two characters are some of Marvel’s most actively in-your-face unquestionably queer characters - the last Betsy story had a surprising amount of implied sex for only five issues - they’ve never really had a chance to shine in a multimedia way (well, at least not with Betsy in her own body and not being merged with Kwannon).

In the original show, Rachel cameoed briefly as a prisoner of Apocalypse while Pyslocke appeared without being named - assumedly they didn’t want to bother explaining the body-swap storyline. Personally, if they were to be in the show, I’d suggest that Betsy should be introduced as having inherited her brother’s title of Captain Britain, with Pyslocke of the original show being revealed to have been Kwannon in her own body all along...

Part Two: The New Mutants

There’s so many queer New Mutants that I’m just giving them their own category here... plus, with Sunspot being in the main cast, I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the time got (Sun)spotlighted as well!

Note that the sapphics of the first generation of New Mutants can also be mixed and matched when it comes to shipping. I present them based on the pairings that are currently canon/teased in the present comics, but Dani/Xuan, Xuan/Kitty, Kitty/Rahcel, etc. are all valid too and could be within the cards for the show.

Karma & Galura

The first explicit lesbian of the X-Men line, Xuân Cao Mạnh is a refugee of the Vietnam Boat Crisis, a thing which makes no sense when you consider that she is still canonically like 20-something years old in 2023. Her coming-out was a much lower-key affair then Jean-Paul’s, with her friends just casually running into her at the Exploding Person festival (i.e., Burning Man) with a shaved pink haircut and already travelling with her two “girlfriends”.

After the musical festival, she proceeded to fall in love with her roommate Kitty Pryde and then her co-worker Dani Moonstar, both of which were never (textually) requited. Recently, she’s started dating the winged mutant Galura and finally gotten to do stuff like “kiss a woman on-panel regularly” after two decades of being a lesbian denied a girlfriend...

She has cameoed in X-Men ‘92-related media with a design that is truly terrible IMO, but I think she could be rebooted and appear in this series in her full glory... especially after the New Mutants movie left her out entirely!

Mirage and Wolfsbane

Introduced in the original New Mutants run, Dani Moonstar and Rahne Sinclair share a unique telepathic connection, helpfully described as them being “soul-mates.” The Comic Book Code prohibited depictions of queer people, but uh. This first run is incredibly not subtle, even as Rahne nominally has interest her male teammate Cannonball.

Unfortunately, post-Claremont, their relationship was more or less abandoned for a few decades (coinciding with a massive downward spiral in Rahne content in general) climaxing with Rahne being killed off entirely in an allegory for transphobic violence... Thankfully, she recovered from her death and has recently been written by a non-binary author and now a trans author, both of whom have leaned back into the idea that these “soul-mates” may, in fact, have romantic feelings for each other.

Oh, also they were explicitly gay in the movie. So. Good for them for that!

Magik and Shadowkat

Another classic pair of X-Men “roommates,” Illyana Rasputina and Kate Pryde are another Claremont-created “soul-mate” duo - albeit without the telepathic bond. After decades of queer-coding, both were able to do queer-adjacent things explicitly for the first time in the Krakoa era, with Illyana asking a group of people of various gender presentations to make out with her and Kate kissing a tattoo artist who looks suspiciously like her bestie on-panel.

Pryde famously lost the spot of “Teen X-Men PoV character” to Jubilee in the show, but maybe X-Men ‘97 could give her a second chance... plus Illyana is one of the most popular X-Men characters not given a full spotlight in the original show, in spite of her more or less being an A-list X-Men in 2023. I don’t know if Marvel is brave enough to make this one canon, but I do think these two are two of the most obviously missing characters from the ‘97 line-up.

Escapade

Shela Sexton, aka Escapade, is a transgender sapphic who debuted in Marvel Pride last year and has since then had a starring role in the most recent New Mutants series. She has the incredibly unique power of the ability to “steal” things from people - including everything from stealing physical objects like their wallet to stealing abstract concepts like their emotional or physical state. Her character also generally has embodied the intersectional approach to mutant identity which has become more and more prevalent in the modern era - her mutant identity and trans identity are both important to her character, but neither are allegories for the other.

I think she’s probably too new to be added to the X-Men ‘97 cast pragmatically, but maybe they could have snuck in a cameo at the last minute? Idk. I figured I’d include her on the list.

Part Three: Let’s Get Wild!

Okay. Fuck it. Let’s talk about some comic book justifications that could be used to queer up the actual main cast from the original classic X-Men The Animated Series.

Jubilee

Jubilation Lee, the teen PoV lead of the X-Men, has been written as queer a handful of times, but never explicitly in 616. Most notably, she was gay in an AU Runaways story (written by N.D. Stevenson), where she dated a bisexual version of Pixie as well as an ice-powered sapphic named Frostbite. Monet also had a crush on her in the X-Men ‘92 animation-inspired comic book series. In terms of 616 content, her relationship with Laura Kinney has often been read in a sapphic way, especially in Liu’s X-23 series where Laura notably breaks up with her boyfriend only for Jubilee to be waiting back at her apartment to go out with her.

Storm

Ororo Munroe, aka Storm, famously has had a subtextual Sapphic fling with the bundle of chaos that is Yukio. They two met for the first time when Ororo went to Japan and their time together was almost immediately followed by her famous punk Storm era, which is very queer when you consider that context. Yukio was also later made explicitly queer in Fox’s Deadpool 2 movie, though the movie character doesn’t share much of the personality and thrill-seeking antics of her comic book counterpart...

Storm is the central protagonist of the original Claremont Uncanny X-Men and will be central to the ‘97 series as well. It’d be really bold to confirm her as queer, but I’d say this is the kind of move that would be worth it if they want this to stand out among X-Men adaptations.

Wolverine, Phoenix, and Cyclops

Finally, Jean Grey, Scott Summers, and Logan were implied to have been in a poly relationship throughout most of the Krakoa era - though they have fallen on hard times recently in the run-up to Fall of X.

I’ll be blunt: I don’t think there’s a chance in hell that Marvel corporate would approve this being textual... but I’m willing to be proven wrong, I guess!

WHEW. Okay. That’s my list. This is nowhere near definitive of course - I didn’t discuss Shatterstar’s bisexuality, Deadpool’s pansexuality, Gwenpool’s aroace identity, et al - but also basically every X-Men character is either textually queer or could be justified as being queer based on comic book lore. This entire brand has a queer poly energy that even the straightest writers weren’t able to fully shake off of it... so, while this is my list, they could really do anything they wanted (and that Mickey Mouse lets them do, at least)... We’ll see what happens!

[PS: In light of the strike and the general shitty way that megacorporations in entertainment have been treating their workers for years now, I’d be remissed if I made this post and didn’t encourage people to consider donating to the Entertainment Community Fund as well!]

#x-men '97 #x-men 97 #jean-paul beaubier #bobby drake #mystique #destiny #rachel summers #betsy braddock #xuan cao manh #danielle moonstar #rahne sinclair #illyana rasputin #kitty pryde #kate pryde #shela sexton #ororo munroe #yukio #david alleyne #raven darkholme #irene adler marvel

[sublimecatgalaxy]

You and @tee-swizzle write Rafe Cameron so well. Brb messaging her too.

I've read both of your masterlists for him and need more-

Could you do prompts 1 and 3? Maybe some angst??

Also have fun on your vacation! I hope that you have a super fun time and can relax for a bit. I know that it's been a really rough year for you but I'm so thankful that you're here and can share your beautiful mind with us.

Oh my god, this is so sweet. Thank you so much for the kind words- I love whoever you are, this made my whole entire day. The world has not been kind on me or my community lately but I'm hoping it gets better soon. I adore you.

"Why are you here?" I ask with an annoyed tilt of my head, watching Rafe shield his eyes from the rain beating down on him from above. I wait patiently as he comes up with a sad excuse, his eyes flickering from between my face to the ground, ashamed.

"I needed to see you." He mutters, trying to step closer to me but I hold my hand out to him, stopping him from coming any closer as I feel my heart begin to crack in my chest.

"Bullshit, what do you really want from me?" I demand, trying to keep my composure but it's so hard when I can tell from the look in his eyes that he's hurting. "Were you lonely or something-"

"Something, look can I please just come in?" He begs, voice dripping with desperation and I pause for a second, weighing the pros and cons before my head dips and I step out of the way for him to enter my apartment.

"Fine." I huff and he immediately slips past me and into the warmth, rubbing at his arms. "I know you get off at being scary and making women feel shitty about themselves but I'm not afraid of you."

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't like that everyone hates me, okay?" He snaps, an apologetic expression passing across his face immediately when he says it.

"Then be a nicer person and people might like you more." I cross my arms over my chest in an attempt to guard myself a bit more but he just gives me a sad smile and presses a hand to his chest.

"Ouch." He hisses, stripping himself of his jacket before flopping down on my couch. "I know that I deserve you kicking the emotional crap out of me for breaking up with you but seriously go easy on me." He pleads, eyes softening as I bite at the inside of my cheek, debating on whether to believe him or not.

"What happened?" I ask, ignoring my gut, sitting down beside him on the couch but keeping enough distance between us so that I don't give him the wrong idea.

"My dad." He mutters with a deep pained sigh, eyes flickering down to his lap where he plays with the strings on his sweatpants. My heart cracks even more at the thought of him going through this, the abuse, alone. But he chose to end our relationship. "Just needed to get out, didn't know where else to go."

"Maybe not your exes house." I tease, trying to ease the tension in the room the slightest bit but it doesn't appear to work, his frown just deepens even more.

"Like I said, this is the only place I could go." He sniffles, reaching up to run his hand through his hair, tugging gently as he shakes his head before pushing his face into his hands.

"You can stay, but don't think this is me forgiving you."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- Taglist: @bubblebuttwade @rafelover2405 @leslienjazzy @sorceresss @grxnde-dwt @alex–awesome–22 @bunnietoof @niyamar1e @serialghost @plantlungs @geniusohn @akaliltimmytim @lilaalouuxx @xshariex @elliotsbeigeguitar @elle4404 @lelieja @srhxpci @joselyn001 @taysirene @spinkspanther @thedivineuphoria @peter-maximoffs @tsukishimawhore @poohkie90 @szlaco @distantsighs @nstyles4299 @wolflover384 @givemefoodandlovesstuff @vane28282 @yeswhatever33 @amirrahfranson @vvaalleennttiinna @f-mu @yaspillz @jeyramarie @skylievin@abbybarnes17 @jointherebellion215 @visiondaddy @steezysimfinds @its-ya-gay-boi-luigi @crunchytoenailsyum@glizzymcguirex @beth123lg @melovesmut @rafecameronswhore @ariianelle @write-from-the heart @vampviolets@haylee-e @honee-chai-tea @lokiandbuckywife

@officiallyunofficialperson@heyaitsklaudia@rosepetalsparks @bluetreecloud20 @scenesofobx @double-shot-of-tequila @1dluver13xx @colbysbrocks @iamasimpingh0e @loveshineslikethesky @id-3-kbro @diorsitgirl @errorfound101-allideasburnedout @neverwillknowme18 @ellyskey @taylors-folk @loversjoy @myaloveee @thyris-is @lagataprrr @aaaaslaaaan @witxhy-lexx @minjix @luvroseee @tee-swizzle @savageneversaw @admiringlove @hysteriahall @piceous21 @starlightandfairies @igotmajordaddyissues @drewstarkey-wife1 @manyfandomsfanvergent @revesephemeres @bungunz

#rafe #rafe x reader #rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #the outerbanks #the outerbanks fic

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Gus Fring

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Breaking Bad is known for its fantastic cast of characters, all of whom have some level of critical acclaim and iconic status. Seriously, go to Wikipedia and go to any character’s page from the show (basically every major character has one) and look at the “Reception” part, pretty much all of them are universally beloved. Chief among that crowd is the only villain in the show to give our rascally villain protagonist Walt a run for his money, the criminal mastermind that is Gustavo “Gus” Fring.

If you think I’m going to do anything other than add to those heaps of praise, you’re surely mistaken; I love Gus as much as anyone else who has seen the show. But where most are willing to overlook certain aspects of the character that don’t work so well because he is cool and gay, I acknowledge those flaws and love Gus anyway. We are not the same.

Motivation/Goals: Gus is a businessman, plain and simple. Be it Los Pollos Hermanos or his secret meth business, Gus wants perfection in every aspect of his professional life. That being said, he’s a pretty fair boss, and if you pull your weight you will be rewarded; he treats his employees at Los Pollos Hermanos so well that you know the show takes place in a fantasy world, because no boss is that nice. And he was way too lenient with Walt all throughout that man’s career working with him.

Of course, Gus is also driven by revenge. Don Eladio, Hector Salamanca, and the rest of the cartel are responsible for the death of his lover Max, and Gus refuses to rest until the entire operation has crumbled, with only him left standing tall and Hecor lefty broken and crippled to be finished off last as he’s the one who pulled the trigger. It’s a very classic villain motivation, and it helps give a little bit of sympathy to a character who is otherwise too cold and mysterious to really delve into the mind of. At any rate, it makes it very easy to root for Gus and cheer him on as he plays his supposed superiors for suckers and orchestrates their downfalls all while coming up with dozens of plans to cover his own ass.

Performance: Giancarlo Esposito has such an air of elegance and menace to him when he’s playing Gus. You can really see why he man ended up typecast after this, playing cunning antagonists, because he really kills it here. He does have one incredibly major flaw, though: He’s not a native Spanish speaker like Gus is. This leads to pretty much any point where Gus is required to speak the language falling flat, especially since most of the time he’s up against actors who are actually fluent and even if you’re not a native speaker you can pick up on how clunky he is in comparison to Michael Mando or Tony Dalton.

Final Fate: Gustavo Fring got outplayed by both Walter and Hector, and the result is perhaps one of the single greatest villain deaths of all time.

As many have pointed out, it is genuinely hilarious how Gus hated Hector so fucking much that he refused to die in the same room as him. And hey, maybe this isn’t very accurate to how a person would realistically look after taking an explosion directly to the face… But it’s one hell of a cool visual. Sometimes it’s better to check realism at the door for the sake of symbolism and cool prosthetic gore.

Best Scene: I think it is genuinely hard to top Gus’ awesome moments, even if he doesn’t ever really get an entire episode of focus. I think his crowning moment, the moment where we as an audience and Walt as a character learn that us is not even remotely fucking around, is his silent preparations before he comes up to his lackey Victor and violently slits his throat in “Box Cutter,” before equally silently getting dressed once more. Right before leaving, he simply says, “Get back to work” before leaving a stunned Walt, Mike, and Jesse behind.

There’s also Gus taking down Don Eladio and all his capos in “Salud.” It’s such wonderful, beautiful vengeance, and it’s all made better by the fact Gus poisoned himself, went to the bathroom, neatly placed a towel on the floor and knelt down on it, and then induced vomiting. This man would pick the fruitiest way imaginable to save his own life.

Finally, there is his scene in “Fun and Games,” the first and only time we see Gus just out enjoying himself. We get to see him pretty obviously flirting with a sommelier, but as soon as the man leaves for a moment Gus makes the decision to commit himself fully to his mission and rule out the possibility of love again after what happened to Max. This is the moment where we see Gus fully become the man we know him as in Breaking Bad, and it’s honestly pretty tragic. He could have been happy if he’d just let go some of his hate, and maybe he’d even still be alive.

Final Thoughts & Score: Gus is one of the best villains ever to grave television, and considering he’s in a show filled to the brim with some of the greatest villains ever devised, that’s really saying something.

Part of what makes him so genuinely great is just how utterly unknowable he is. Over the course of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, he is almost like a god of the criminal underworld, untouchable and mysterious. What very little tidbits we get of his past paint a conflicting picture that could mean any number of things, and at every other point he manages to command respect and fear from all those around him, with those not wise enough to do so ending up dead by his masterful machinations. It ultimately makes the single scene where we see him not doing business, the one where he flirts with the man at the bar, so much more impactful. We see that Gus has rejected his humanity, his chance at ever being happy again, so that he can be consumed by his work and his vengeance. Gus is what he is by choice.

It’s why, even if it’s not really “good” that Walt won, it is so satisfying and cathartic. Gus spends his screentime pulling off superhuman schemes and feats of vengeance, orchestrating the deaths of the entire Salamanca family and his own cartel superiors, and yet he is done in by an absolute bumbling buffoon of a criminal like Walt. It’s a classic case of David and Goliath, with the untouchable adversary being taken down due to viewing his foe as so far beneath him that he didn’t realize he was screwed until it was too late. Gus was sadly too smart for his own good, never bothering to consider the erratic chemistry teacher could ever pull off anything big enough to defeat him.

With all that, Gus gets a 10/10. With how much I love Gus and how I consider him one of my favorite villains ever, you might be wondering why I didn’t bump him up to a 10.5 to denote him being a cut above the garden variety 10. Well, Gus has one issue with his character that I feels really hampers him in crucial moments: His inability to speak Spanish. Giancarlo Esposito, despite being an absolutely fantastic actor in every other regard, does not speak Spanish and needs his lines given to him phonetically. Native speakers have called his accent stilted and unnatural, and it has led to moments that should be epic and powerful such as his monologue to Lalo before killing him becoming nonsensical gibberish to trained ears. Considering that character is a native Spanish speaker, this is an absolutely unforgivable and glaring flaw. It certainly doesn’t ruin the character, but it does hold him back just a little bit.

But it really does speak volumes that as soon as Gus is taken out, the quality of the villains just plummets. The final season has Walt facing off against a bunch of Nazis and fucking Lydia, the annoying businesswoman. The final season is still peak, but boy are those villains living in Gus’ shadow. In spite of his flaws (or, well, his singular but rather major flaw), he’s still one of the greatest villains in television history, and is up there with Walt and Saul as the greatest villains in the series.

#Psycho Analysis #Gus Fring #Gustavo Fring #Breaking Bad #Better Call Saul #giancarlo esposito #Youtube

[cowboy-robooty]

no guys see robooty itager is the slowest burn fucking imaginable. because i think that 1) italy would have to initiate them dating since germany thinks hes rejected forever after buon san valentino (my boy loves one sided crush) and 2) if they dont slow burn theyll crash and explode. because i think italy takes forever to realize he genuinely really fucking love germany and ONLY loves him and is willing to be loyal 'n treat him well to have him. Since i think italy isnt the type to really love ever since his kindergarten crush so he takes forever to recognize what he feels is genuine love (plus his love is born from a sense of entitlement but thats a whole 'nother enchilada). but yeah and because they take forever and are fully developed in their feelings when they date things are happy happy sunshine swag peace and love ❤️ they do stupid shit as bros the only difference now is they make out sometimes and japan cries himself to sleep everyday ^_^

but in a world where somehow they started dating BEFORE italy completely sorts out his feelings then OHHHH MY GOD. HELLWORLD. LITERAL HELLWORLD. because italy would totally cheat on germany and germanys heart would have youtube poop glass shattering effect explosion and italy would be #unloyal and #mean #scumgong and he would break up with germany for being so clingy and upset about him breaking his heart everyday or germany would break up with italy because everyone in his entire life (2 people: japan and prussia) is telling him that he needs to because italys making him chew glass (they take like 6 years to convince him and have to resort to saying its for italys own good if he breaks up with him). and then when they break up germany would hashtag die and explode because he obviously still loves italy but hes held back by prussia to not come back to him and tries to satiate his autistic brain by thinking "he was mean to me and told me to leave. im sorry ill leave now sorry for bothering you" and he also doesnt feel close to anybody except italy and has to go "brother....... i am.... not feeling good right now........" and cant say much else bc WE SAW IN THE ANIME GERMANY WANTED TO VENT ABT ITALY AND REALIZED HE HAS NOBODY BC HE ONLY IS CLOSE ENOUGH IN THAT WAY TO ITALY. and then cut to italy and hes partying it up because hes pissed off at germany for being on his ass hardcore every single day for the past god knows how long (hate my wife syndrome) until a while later the partying slows down and he has a bunch of moments where he thinks "well usually right now germany would do [thing]" and that builds up until he is hit with the full realization that germany is not going to stay by his side anymore. because hes run away now and hes never ever coming back. and that realization is like the evil version of italy realizing that he loves germany and wants him to ALWAYS be by his side; so much so that hes willing to do what it takes and compromise and be loyal n shit to make that happen. and now italy is freaking out because he doesnt feel this urge ever and now hes already fumbled the dude hes fr in gays with. but this realization is evil because its under a sense of panic and shit so its also motivated by italy feeling a sense of entitlement to having germany by his side and like HES SUPPOSED TO BE HERE.

and from there italy would get back together with germany either easily bc he would just ask and say sorry and germany would go "well to be fair I should have been better as well. yes we should try again i want to too, i will try my best to not fail you this time." or it would be hard because germany would have his mind made up (with prussias support and urging and shit) to be like no italy we arent good for eachother and i cant (shouldnt) forgive you for doing those things to me and italy would be like Oh. and chew glass and freak the fuck out until he decides hes going to use #emotional manipulation and sob to everyone about how germany wont take him back and make everyone hate on germany and call him a terrible guy n shit to make germany feel so guilty and think hes an awful person to italy that he takes italy back. but even then their relationship is now fucked up forever because they live in perfect symbiosis thats their entire thing but now they dont because germany now has doubt of italy because of how he went into their relationship before and didnt give a fuck and italy unlocked his evil paranoia because now when he gets scared that germany will leave him he cant be comforted by thinking that would never happen because IT DID. HE WAS SEPERATED FROM HIM IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE GERMANY RUN AWAY. and because of that italy gets a lot more freaky about not wanting anyone to like germany so germany wont like them more than him and being emotionally manipulative and possessive and yandere shit because his paranoia is driving him to it. itager is great because it has so much potential to be evil like italy could emotionally manipulate germany so hard and all that shit but it would never happen because germany is so loyal and obsessed with italy that he never makes italy feel paranoid and like he has to. theyre like imagine if someone who has potential yandere gene in them dated a person who loved them more than anything in the entire universe and bends to their every will and never even glances at another person. that yandere gene is never getting activated bruh and at most manifests when italys like WAHHHH GERMANY YOU WONT LIKE RUSSIA MORE THAN ME RIGHT?? WHY DONT I HAVE THE MOST GERMAN TOURISTS IN THE WORLD WTF IS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT ME I NEED TO CHANGE????? but in the world where they rush things they break up and it disrupts all this homeostasis and makes them a little evil afterwards because italy has excessive paranoia that cant be quenched and germany has autism doubt because "he betrayed me once...... so hell probably betray me again *cries*"

#robooty kun #sorry not abt my life but this is robootys fucking essay #itager #i looooveee this shit okay dey make me crazy

[lambergeier]

2022 book post FINALLY

this post is six weeks late because, frankly, i was on my honeymoon over new years and its hard to get up the will to type all this shit when everyone has already posted their book lists ages ago!! but also i read a lot of good books last year and wish to gloat, so here we are. italics are rereads, bold are my favorites, asterisks denote not-prose, and reviews are interspersed throughout as i felt like it:

January

No One is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood (this book made me cry so hard lmao. first part is a sickeningly true-to-life depiction of Being A Blue Check Person and then the second part makes you cry so bad.)

Sorrowland - Rivers Solomon (what the fuck happened to the last third of this book? what shit-ass x-men knock-off did it come from?)

What Soldiers Do: Sex and the American GI in World War II France - Mary Louise Roberts (got on a whole ww2 history kick because, gotta be real, i watched all of band of brothers during winter break 2021-2022 and developed a bug up my ass. pulled this off the shelf at the library on a whim and it was STUNNING. excellently, thoroughly told history of sex, venereal disease, and race among american GIs in normany following the invasion. would read anything roberts now.)

How to Blow Up a Pipeline - Andreas Malm

Hello, Sailor: The hidden history of gay life at sea - Paul Baker and Jo Stanley

Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II - Allan Berube (another excellent ww2 book, frequently quoted on this site and for good reason. not written by a historian, so incredibly easy and engaging to read, that presents you with just this amazing overview of how modern american queer identity was totally, inextricably shaped by the us military and the experience of being part of it or even just near it lmao)

February

Possession - A.S. Byatt (really really lovely romance that was such a consistent pleasure to read that i got to the end basically unable to remember favorite lines or even scenes i was just like mmmmmmmm. book good.)

Uncanny Valley - Anna Wiener

Howl’s Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones

The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World - Patrick Wyman (this book sucked ass we gotta stop giving podcasters history books)

Watership Down - Richard Adams (so fucked up. loved this. love that we give this to children to read.)

Dead Collections - Isaac Fellman

March

The Hidden Palace - Helene Wecker (much better than its prequel, imho! resolved many pacing issues but lost no heart!)

The Vanishing Half - Britt Bennet (part of the reason i managed to read so much this year is that i had to drive a lot for work and started putting audiobooks on in the car, having never been an audiobook person before. i listened almost entirely to contemporary litfic this way, a genre i also had not previously engage with, and this was both a fascinating entry into an entire other world of books and also kinda boring sometimes lmao. vanishing half was good, certainly better than some of the other stuff i ended up listening to, but still not something i would have finished if i weren't in the car)

The Reformation - Patrick Collinson (this bitch was so funny his preface to the book was 'i didn't list any sources because i've been teaching this topic for 60 years. the source is Me.' anyways almost totally unreadable but did provide me some good context on the counter-reformation, which i want to learn more about.)

Fleischman is in Trouble - Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Home Baked - Alia Volz (soooooo good all bay area homies please read this)

River of Stars - Vanessa Hua

April

Light from Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki (INSANE BOOK. SO FUN.)

*Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller

Book of Dust - Phillip Pullman

Gold Diggers - Sanjena Sathian

*Angels in America - Tony Kushner (disconnected me from reality for like 24 straight hours. scared to reread it.)

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (read this in high school and hated it because i was a DUMB TEENAGER!! THIS BOOK IS SO FUNNY!!)

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett

Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett

May

Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia (strongly eh.)

Oh the Glory of it All - Sean Wilsey (loved it but feels impossible to recommend.)

Magic for Liars - Sarah Gailey

Foundation - Isaac Asimov (absolutely fascinating as like, a history of the genre thing, even if i only "enjoyed" reading the first two or three stories lol. also, HE COULDN'T PREDICT FIAT CURRENCY?? ACTUAL PLOT POINT THAT THERE AREN'T ENOUGH METALS ON THE PLANET TO MINT COINS???? reader i lost my mind.)

June

All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy (all the pretty horses my insane high school problematic fave. i will never read the sequels)

Have His Carcase - Dorothy L. Sayers

The Power - Naomi Alderman (as i said on private twitter after rereading, this book makes me sick to my stomach not because of the gender shit, which is like, i know what the book's about that's what it's about it's not gonna be a different book, but christ it's so bleak. love an oral history style but i gave my copy away once i finished lmao.)

Murder Must Advertise - Dorothy L. Sayers

July

Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid (great audiobook narrator, and a very funny book)

Several People are Typing - Calvin Kasulke (PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS AUDIOBOOK THEY HIRED A FULL RADIO-PLAY STYLE CAST AND SURE THE ACTUAL STORY DOESN'T STICK THE LANDING BUT IT'S SO FUNNY. i finished it on my own and immediately put it back on for emma to enjoy. so good.)

They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South - Stephanie Jones-Rogers

Hawk Mountain - Conner Habib (oughhhhouguhughuhghh the dread. great book. wretched creeping horror. queer, if that matters. gives you the Dread.)

There, There - Tommy Orange

August

If an Egyptian Can’t Speak English - Noor Naga (experimental fiction, i listened to it on audiobook and actually missed a lot of what it was doing in print but still incredibly good. absolute sucker punch of an ending.)

The Loneliest Americans - Jay Caspian King

Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People - Elizabeth Fenn (great clear thorough history of the mandan nation of the upper missouri river, really enjoyed this.)

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us - Ed Yong (ed yong is the best science writer working today and this book was tremendous. i quoted like every other line of it to emma and she still went and borrowed it as soon as i was done. we immediately bought a copy for the house.)

Sheer Misery: Soldiers in Battle in WWII - Mary Louise Roberts

September

Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse (damn so much modern sff is bad)

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life - Ed Yong (not as good as the animal book but still VERY good)

Dark Rise - C.S. Pacat (unfuckingreadable. a masterclass of incoherent bullshit)

Nona the Ninth - taz lol (this should not have been its own book.)

*Ducks - Kate Beaton (cannot recommend highly enough. intense subject matter, also made me cry many times, but holy shit ms beaton you killed it with this one)

Unreleased Friend Book that I Love So Bad (soon!!)

Normal People - Sally Rooney

October

Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (another book i haven't reread since high school holden ilu. you are my little problems boy)

Pachinko - Min Jin Lee (read it all in one day while on various airplanes. what a BOOK)

Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Foundation - Mercedes Lackey (thus begins the valdemar stage of the year)

My Year of Rest and Relaxation - Ottessa Moshfegh (uh. would not recommend.)

November

Devil House - John Darnielle (ur crazy for this one mr mountain goats. still don't know if it was good or bad lol.)

Arrows of the Queen - Mercedes Lackey

Arrows Flight - Mercedes Lackey

Arrows Fall - Mercedes Lackey

Magic’s Pawn - Mercedes Lackey (vanyel i love you)

December

Magic’s Promise - Mercedes Lackey (vanyel i'm obsessed with you)

Empire of Wild - Cherie Dimaline

Magic’s Price - Mercedes Lackey (oh misty we did NOT stick the landing here. rip to vanyel.)

Winter Counts - David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Neuromancer - William Gibson (loved so many individual sentences and, like foundation, a very interesting work for understanding the history of the genre. however in many ways, totally incomprehensible.)

total books: 66!!! nice work, me! really enjoyed how much i read in 2022 and how generally varied it was and after a long while of not reading too much at all, it's been very nice being back in the swing of it. also god non-fiction is so good. i can't read it particularly fast but every time i read a good one i enjoy it so immensely. look forward to reading more of it this year!!!

AND, FINALLY, A SHOUT OUT TO THE WORST DNF OF 2022:

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab sucks shit.

#2022 books #sorry if i was mean to book you liked i will do it again #went back in and added all the subtitles for the nonfiction whoops #book post

[rachelclowny]

fontaine megathread

full of spoilers.. duh

archon quest act i

they're referring to the eremites. couldn't leave sumeru without one last sprinkle of racism lmao.. fr love how this was one of the first things i saw in fontaine. "see something, say something." STFU!!!

the fontaine VAs fucking STEPPED UP!! like why is lyney's VA so good.. the decision to open the quest with three of the most off-putting and unnerving characters so far.. lyney truly sounds deceiving, it really felt like you couldn't trust him. and then lynette is just ominous

and then furina.. miss focalors, the star of the mf show. whatever they're paying the VA is not enough because she's incredible. bravado, insecurity, instability, fear, hunger.. all the emotions are portrayed so well

fuck them for this one.. THERES SO MUCH TO UNPACK. i mean, supposedly teyvat has flooded before, this would not be the first. they're so unsubtle with the noah's ark and biblical themes. AND ARE WE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE TEAR?? THE LYNEY PARALLEL?? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN

that moment when u realize teyvat is world without catholic guilt

lynette is so me. we both got that selective mutism rizz <333

YEAH WE GET IT, WE GET IT!! no subtly smh

the traveler bringing this up as if they didn't directly contradict each other. also another point. if the oratrice relies off belief in justice, not necessarily the archon, could that be applicable to other archon related things? this is feels odd because sumeru and mondstadt's people's entire philosophies rely off of wisdom and freedom respectively, yet they hold the "weakest" archons. and then there's inazuma, where modern citizens hate the raiden's vision of eternity, yet the raidens are arguably the strongest we've met yet

the way i fucking screamed i cannot believe we got skirk name drop

if this is actually meant to be foreshadowing i'm gonna laugh so hard

i'm genuinely so confused by the whole neuvillette situation.. so everyone knows hes not human, but no one knows hes the hydro dragon?? what do people think he is?

the way he fucking hates her i can't breathe

i couldn't get over this why did it jumpscare me.. paimon is funny again god bless.

did she happen to write 2021 aoty if i can't have love, i want power

insert speech about how hydro is truly about the split of ego, how someone presents or is perceived is always different from how they truly are or think. fr tho her design is SO GOOD. THE EYES!! THE TEARDROP ELEMENTS!! THE JELLYFISH ASS HAIR!! THE SILLY HAT AND FRILLS!! after anemo, i already feel as if furina's character aligns most with her vision holders

i've already seen everyone talking about this but we were literally hanging out with childe at lunchtime can we chill /j

with all that being said tho, i get it.. why did they lie did they just not expect this to be brought up its gotta be literal public knowledge

"SHES YOUR FATHER?" im gonna puke im so gay im so gay im so gay im so gay

cannot believe they went there. so fucking dark. kudos to hoyoverse.. anyways lynette come here my love i love u sm i will protect u

fr tho i loved the fact that we had a real prelude for this region.. i think the excuse to make something a little more isolated and establishing in it's plot is already super beneficial for whats to come. we got a lot more character exposition, and even the time to install these cool archon quest specific mechanics. i loved solving everything, it was all SO fun but they also got to have these really emotional beats, i feel this is some of their best pacing yet.

imo the last half of sumeru really helped hoyoverse find their stride, fontaine so far has similar storytelling energy to the whole heist bit of sumeru.

the best thing however might've been the SCORE??? they went out of their league with this one, it's the most fitting, noticable and influential instrumental work they've done in an quest imo

#act ii will be in the repost #plus more to come #genshin #genshin impact #fontaine #focalors #furina #lyney #lynette #genshin lore

[blneobin]

top 5 bl heartbreaking moments (yes im going thru it askfg)

MY OH MY WHERE SHOULD I BEGIN!!!

maybe I should start here

its the combination of great writing, great acting and great cinematography that made me feel shocks of electricity in my veins cause of how much I was so emotionally impacted by this moment. How Pran was so painfully in love with Pat and knowing that Pat finally feels the exact same but also.. he can’t. He can like anyone in the world. He knows his mum doesnt have a problem with him being gay.. just not Pat. It pains him so much that out of everyone he’d ever known and met, the one person he actually wants, who also wants him too, is the one person that would break his mums heart and trust. The clear need and relief in Pat’s eyes meeting Pran eyes that are filled with want and pain and hesitancy… just.. OH I was sobbing.

man… maaaaaaaaannnnnn!!!!!!!! No words were said the entire scene (at least thats how I remember it) and it was just Oh Aew in his room. Excellent acting and direction. You can feel how sad and heartbroken he was to be in his own body at that moment. it was just so SO painful and heartbreaking to see a baby gay clawing at himself and curl up and cry… like he was questioning himself, would Teh have hesitated is he was a girl instead..?

is it cheating if I added another Oh Aew moment…. NOPE. After catching Teh and whats his name kissing, he gave Teh a chance to explain himself… but he lied. HE FUCKING LIED!!!!! I wouldve said their breakup is the most heartbreaking moment (cause it was brutal) but the soul shattering moment is when Teh lied about where he was and Oh Aew just wasnt having it. PP is an amazing actor and I need him to come back to acting (which im pretty sure he will next year) cause his eyes.. you just.. UGH! I can’t.

i couldnt find the exact gif so here's Uea being heartbreakingly pretty

Uea’s memory of when his stepdad assaulted him.. when I tell you I love bed friend I mean I !! LOVE!! BED FRIEND!!! When we how his mum abused him when he was younger, I was so SO angry and upset and like I wanted to crawl into my screen so that I can give him a good hug and smack that bitch of a woman.. but I’m listing down the assault moment as my answer because it was hard to watch that happen to someone.

and the last and wort one because it was heartbreaking, upsetting and super unnecessary.. Make Our Days Count… first of all FUCK YYYOOOOUUUUUUUU what the FUCK!!! All that growth, all that pain, all the family challanges and overcoming self hate and internatilsed homophobia MEANT NOTHING!!! I don’t have to type out the exact scene but.. I remember watching it while it was ongoing so that finale was something I was looking forward to for WEEKS. I’d say the aftermath was actually more heartbreaking than the accident. Hao Ting who grew so much as a person, learned to be open about his feelings and became someone full of love and life turn into a person whos stuck grieving over the love of his life who isn’t technically dead but isn’re there anymore. What else can I say other than I was sobbing so much, its the only BL that I’ve had to actually call someone for comfort cause it hurt me so much.

HOW DARE YOU TAKE THIS SHINING ADORABLE HAO TING AND XI GU FROM ME YOU BASTARDS (writers)

ASK MY TOP 5 BL ANYTHING ✨

#inbox #this was tooouuuggghhh

[endlessdreamerxoxo]

* Disclaimer: I don’t identify as queer, so this post is just my opinion as someone from the outside. Feel free to give me feedback on this post if you are queer yourself.

I want to talk about Will and the whole discourse of his ‘coming out’ or lack there of. 

Do I believe Will is Gay? 100%

Do I think he came out? Yes.

Do I think his “coming out” could’ve been more and would I have wanted that? More than anything else in the whole Stranger Things World. It’s up there with Will getting a decent storyline,  Mike not being an asshole to everyone, and Eddie playing for Chrissy at the Hideout on a Tuesday.

Do I think Netflix queer-baited their audience and Blyer fans or the Duffer Brothers did Will so dirty for making him the third wheel between his sister and his best friend?  I have no clue about the first part because I'm not a member of either community.  But hard yes to the second part.

Do I kinda see the realistic element to their decision, even though I hate it for Will? Yes.

The show is based on a realistic depiction of the 1980s in the Midwest of America.  People weren’t just coming out like that, even though there was and will never be anything wrong with loving someone you want to love.  I think the beauty and curse about getting raised in the 2000s and living in 2022, we are living in a unqiue time for identity and we want everyone to live as openly free because everyone deserves that choice.  Yet, sometime we get hyper focus about acceptation that we can’t see a depiction of a different time as its own thing.  I would have loved Will to use the words “i’m gay,” because it would mean alot to so many people watching, including me.  But do I believe a 14 year old queer boy that grew up in Indiana in the 1980s with a bunch of hicks and a giant gun supplier that everyone goes to has the strength to use those words. I don’t honestly know.  And yes, Robin came out to Steve, not everyone in the party.  To be honest, I don’t know if she really wanted to come out to him. Steve kinda backed her into a corner with his whole love confession and she didn’t want to hurt him or their friendship. I don’t think she even said those words either. Also, she was high on truth serum at the time.  

Furthermore, the 1980s was the decade of the AIDS epidemic when a lot of queer people, especially gay men and trans women, would often demonized, villainized, and ostracized for who they were on top of the fear of dying. Will would’ve seen the news of it and saw where he lives, the same town who wanted to murder Eddie for satanism, and thought “I can never come out”.  I don’t blame him for not speaking openly to Mike or Johnathan.  And I don’t  entirely hate the two scenes we did get for him.

*bonus unpopular opinion: Will deserves much better than Mike Wheeler. He deserves a boy who will play DnD until 3am with him.  He deserves a boy who will never ever left him in the rain. He deserves a boy who is not going to break up with his sister and he is the second choice.

#unpopular thoughts #will byers #st 4 vol 2 #st 4 vol 2 spoilers #johnathan byers #mike wheeler #mileven #blyer #chrissy cunningham #eddie munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #eddissy #i know im gonna get hate for this #but it's true #but it makes sense #lgbtq #coming out #stranger things #stranger things 4 #duffer brothers #jane hopper #eleven #jane foster

[darkfire359]

My personal ranking of Izzy ships, based entirely on how much I like them:

1. Blackhands: My beloved toxic dumpster fire! Izzy just has so many feelings here, it’s hard to not want to focus on it. Probably a personal favorite just because of all the interesting power dynamics here (which I love). Hard to ever have a happy ending with this ship, but that’s okay.

2. Steddyhands: I feel like all my favorite fics are this. A good way to get the fun of Blackhands without everyone involved being miserable forever. I love it when the dynamic is “experienced vet helping new intern with world’s meanest cat.” I love it when the dynamic is “divorced couple get a marriage counselor, repair their marriage, also marry the marriage counselor.” And I love it when it’s just straight-up Ed and Stede conspiring together to seduce their grumpy first mate. So many fun takes on this!

3. Lusrael: I ship it more every time I see Nathan and Con do anything together. I think it’s the single most likely ship to happen in canon (not counting the Blackhands failmarriage). I think I’m personally just a little less excited by the dynamic in fics.

4. Gentlehands: Hard for this to not just be Steddyhands, but I do appreciate it on its own. Probably my favorite angle is “bitter rivals must team up to win back their ex, have hatesex, spend the whole time imagining their rival is actually their ex, accidentally fall in love.”

5. Calicohands: This ship made me actually like Jack as a character, sometimes. I think Jack’s style of affection of affection is something Izzy could actually accept (tackle-hugs, nuggies, friendly shoulder punch, etc) and while it’s not optimal, our poor baby might be touch-starved enough to like it anyway. I also like Jack having unrequited feelings and the resulting angst (in case you couldn’t tell from my #1 ship).

6. Jackie/Izzy: They’re actually friends, maybe! And Jackie would be the type of dom Izzy would love. Izzy does seem more gay than bi to me though, unfortunately.

7. Izzy/OC: Obviously highly variable. I’ve certainly enjoyed Izzy/Bryce from HoHW quite a lot, as well some other one-off portrayals of Sam. But #7 is probably appropriate in terms of how likely I am to actively seek out such fics.

8. Ivan/Fang/Izzy: I think I saw some art of this like once and it was good art. Also I see David and Con taking newlywed pics together and it makes me like Fang/Izzy more. IDK. They’re there, they know each other, it could happen.

9. Izzy/Roach: They both like sharp weapons. Roach at least tried to give Izzy a sandwich once, which was nice. But they don’t have much actual or implied interaction in the show.

10. Jim/Izzy: I’m very excited about them together platonically. Maybe it could work romantically? But unlike Lucius and Pete, Jim/Olu don’t come off as quite so poly.

11. Izzy/Pete: They could bond over being Blackbeard fans. They could get together by both dating Lucius. Possibilities exist.

11. Izzy/Frenchie: I’ve enjoyed some fics of this, but overall, I admittedly don’t see the appeal. Frenchie taunted Izzy with “In your face, Jizzy!” after he lost the duel. Izzy held Frenchie at gunpoint in a scary (rather than a sexual tension-y) way. It feels like this ship is just happening because Frenchie and Izzy are stuck on the same ship together post-e10.

12. Izzy/Buttons: Butthands is a terrible name. I think Buttons is in a monogamous relationship with the sea. Good art though.

13. Izzy/Wee John: John is big and could lift Izzy in a princess carry. I can’t think of anything else to say here.

14. Izzy/Olu: I feel like this would be a healthy relationship for Izzy, because Olu is the type of person who has healthy relationships. Therefore, Izzy would never go for him.

15. Izzy/Swede: I feel like Izzy would actually hate this. The Swede is probably the least competent member of the Revenge crew. This relationship would be a disaster and not in the fun way like Blackhands is.

16. Izzy/Mary: I really really like them platonically. So much. But I feel like a romance would make negative sense.

17. Izzy/Chauncey: This actually skeeves me out, no.

#izzy hands #Izzy/everyone #blackhands #steddyhands #lusrael #gentlehands #calicohands

[theslythernfreak]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Thanks....

Ofc! Bit of a tough question since im a very indecisive person but I like answering q's like this so-

Dick Grayson- I am VERY emotionally attached to him. Had an instant crush on him when I first watched Teen Titans. He's such a complex character but also so fucking relatable?? I love him so much.His dynamics with other characters (especially his family) are very intriguing and he is such a lovable loser <3. I relate to his issues with his family in a way too so?? He's just cool.

Bakugou Katsuki - Complex character again. But also a fucking loser. I love him so much. His anger issues and his ideals are just? Very relatable to me? He is the PRIME example of gifted child burnout. His redemption(??) arc was just <33. He makes me so sad but fills me with unimaginable glee. His relationship with Deku is SO interesting to me but also makes me fucking miserable. Lovable weirdo

Zuko- COMPLEX CHARACTER AGAIN. HE MAKES ME FUCKING MISERABLE. UR FATHER HATES YOU BUT U WANT HIS LOVE. U LOVE UR MOTHER BUT SHE DISAPPEARS. YOU DONT KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE CARED FOR. LIKE UGHHH. His redemption arc was so fucking GOOD. They did that so WELL. His struggle with being good and his struggle to not believe propaganda fed to him throughout his entire life? 10/10. I love him so much

Gojo Satoru - Complex character again. He makes me want to sob.He is the strongest. He is alone. His best friend turned traitor. His best friend died. His bests friend body is possessed. He can never trust anyone. He is the strongest. He will never be the same. -> But him going from "monkeys shudnt be our responsibility" to "its our responsibility" was excellent. It really showed the way Riko affected him. He's such a fucking loser, i love him.

Dean Winchester- Daddy issues GALORE. love him so so much. h is somehow v personal to me?? like he makes me SO SAD. he's SUCH a messed up person. i was a mother, i was a father, i was a brother, i was never a child. i sacrifice over and over again, i try so hard to be good. damn loser i love him <3.

Fushiguro Megumi- MY gay boy <3. i dont even wanna explain it i just adore him. he's strong, his first best friend(probably) died but he didnt, its OUR fault. i cant. i love him

Five Hargreeves- five the person that you are. unhinged asg. he loves his family, he HAS to save them, he is willing to do anything to save them, his family does not understand, he LOVES HIS FAMILY, he spent 45 years alone,he is a spiteful angry child and a lonely old man. i love him.

Roronoa Zoro- Literally screaming. he lost his friend, his rival, his idol,he was a lonely lonely child, he is loyal, he is determind, he WILL be the world's greatest swordsman, he is loyal. i dont know what to say. 10/10 character, legit amazing. he would hate me

Nico Di Angelo- i relate to him. i just,,,,love him so much. he is so traumatized?? his self worth issues are just?? very relatable.and every1 finds him to be a spooky little dude but he is an absolute loser to me so. i love him.

Kaz Brekker- unhinged. I love him and all his issues <3. i dont even know bro. he is just. epic to me.

#why do so many ppl on this list have daddy issues??? #cuz i have daddy issues <3 #kaz brekker #nico di angelo #roronoa zoro #five hargreeves #fushiguro megumi #dean winchester #gojo satoru #zuko #bakugou katsuki #dick grayson

[alltheselights]

I agree with you on everything and I love your clearsightedness, except one thing. I think youre right that LTHQ/Sony don't want Larries around as unconditional fans because we support Louis too hard, so we have to be taught in regular bursts not to trust him and hate him instead. I think HSHQ/Sony do want Larries around because we also support Harry hard and we're very handy to defend his queerness when he's playing all sides against the middle and getting shit for supposed queerbaiting from normals and other fanbases. We're gonna to be super useful for getting SM hype when MP drops and defending H from claims he shouldn't have taken the role because hes not gay. But Louis, they do need Louis to keep Larry going just enough (he is kind of necessary for that) and lets be real, make Harry's image more approachable and relatable for us, but they dont want him to come anywhere near reaching his potential as an artist as we've seen proved conclusively by now. This is just more of the same old bullshit they always pull to drag him back down and damage him again because the tour went far too well. Its the same shit. The same people. The same tactics. Damaging syndicated articles, and fandom sabotage 'from his own mouth' except it's always a version of Louis that doesnt exist when you actually see or hear him. It's about us , about Larries, and how easily we can be made to turn on him but only if we never turn on Harry. I really think thats what its all about now.

I actually do think you have a point here, so I’ll add this to what I said - maybe HSHQ do want Larries around, but they want us fully in the background while they continue to cater to his solo fanbase and especially to the locals, who they want listening to his music, buying his album, and attending his concerts. Hardcore fans are important, but those locals are the reason his streaming and overall sales numbers are so high and it’s hard to sustain that interest.

You know, I’ve noticed more and more lately how this side of the fandom's view of Harry strays further and further from the general public view every single day. For example, I constantly see people talking about how het Harries and locals only like “sexy” Harry and how they must HATE the rest of Harry’s stage behavior and clothing. In reality, people have known how Harry acts and dresses for a long time and it adds to their attraction to him. I don’t get how people haven’t picked up on this considering Harry has become MORE popular with the general public and expanded his mostly female fanbase since Vogue. I try to avoid Harry and Louis content on TikTok, but often when it pops up, I find people talking about how Harry was “written by a woman” because he’s masculine while still being in touch with his feminine side and he’s sexy without being threatening. These aspects of Harry’s image that many Larries claim het Harries or the general public hate are actually a huge part of peoples’ perfect boyfriend fantasy of him, and both Harry and HSHQ know that.

It’s just extremely frustrating to watch people come up with excuses and alternative meanings to very clear, unsubtle lyrics (e.g. I bring the pop to the cinema, if you’re getting yourself wet for me, choke her with a sea view), make excuses for certain types of behavior or ignore it entirely (so much of Harry’s stunt content never even makes it to Tumblr, I’ve noticed, while all of Louis’ does), or blame everyone around Harry and then turn around and spew vitriol toward Louis immediately when something happens. Especially considering what the consequences of all of this stuff are for Harry (his career is on the rise) and what the consequences are for Louis (nothing has improved for him in terms of promo or public image even after his sold out world tour).

It’s just hard to watch how Louis gets punished by his fans when he gets nothing out of this shit. This quote you said toward the end: “It’s about us, about Larries, and how easily we can be made to turn on him but only if we never turn on Harry.” You’re right. And it’s horrible.

#asks

[skyephobic]

i love ur ideas of terukane just being soft with each other ugh like teru wrapping his wings and tails around akane who is blushing hard is cute and can i ask for ur whole idea on this entire thing?

apologies if this is like the second time u seen this? cause the wifi connection here was shit and i didn't know if my previous message about asking for ur whole au idea was sent or not😭

it is the second time but DONT WORRY !! my wifi is also terrible i'm supposed to be on vacation but i'm talking about gay people [best vacation ever really i rarely get to talk abt em]

AND THANK U SM its actually funny that i say fluffy things like those because usually i absolutely destroy their lives in hcs .. fluff usually isn't my forte but i love the idea of protective dragon teru idk it just matches him

[i say academy instead of nursery since that's more what it's like in my idea BARE WITH ME . ..]

the au itself is a handful different from the official one. the academy is more of a researcher building and akane's role has also changed into more of just like.. a normal researcher. he's spent most of his life there while teru has spent all his life there. akane was handed over to the academy when he was young [and since he was raised there, he was the youngest researcher they had for a long time] and teru was obviously born there. the place itself isn't as fun as how the original au portrays it, its more boring and routinely- which akane was perfectly fine with.

teru on the other hand was not. more because he was the one who was studied and it bothered him, he didn't really like it honestly.

so one day. he bursts into akane's room and akane tells him not to do that because he's working and could get them both in trouble. teru quietly closes the door with his tail and he's like 'okay well anyway so.. i wonder how cool the outside world is' and akane raises an eyebrow because none of them are really supposed to talk about it, especially not the monsters because they're more capable of causing disruption. akane tells him to get to the point since he's rambling about it and teru just says they should run off! akane says why would they even want to do that when they're safe at the academy and teru responds with "we'll have freedom." they argue back and forth before akane reluctantly agrees. they make an exit out the window and go straight to akane's car, congrats to them!

when akane turned 18, he was allowed to be in and out of the academy. he has an apartment of his own and thank god for that because they'd be doomed otherwise... but before they go, akane has a small breakdown in his car about how he doesn't know what he's doing since it's not part of their routine. teru tells him they'll be fine and will figure things out with time, which is exactly what akane hates.. but it's oh well at this point. there's also a confession in his car for some reason, but akane's worried since it's considered forbidden. they know they love each other but aren't dating yet

when they get to the end there's this cool little force field thing nd akane has to use his bat to open up a small hole in it. it's like an ID basically... but teru doesn't like the bat at all since it's specifically for dragons.

akane says not to worry about it though. he doesn't ever really open up about it but he was paired with aoi when he was younger [wolf monster thing. ..] and they got along pretty well. they tried running away at some point too but it didn't work. aoi decided researchers Suck since she couldn't be free and scratches akane [they're both still kids at the time, the monsters age normally since i'm not quite sure how it works. akane does research on them despite being young though] and so she's handed onto someone much more capable. akane wasn't sure why it happened so he couldn't really tell the adults much.. he wasn't paired with another monster [teru, who he already knew at the time.. so it was safer. he was given from mei and shijima to akane. most the monsters were around his age since he was a teenager already, meaning they saw him more as a friend than a researcher] until he fully healed. people thought he was incapable of defending himself or something and since teru was a dragon they gave him that bat. Woohoo ! but he never uses it since teru never made an actual attempt to hurt him

anyway they get to akane's apartment and akane's like "oh yeah my ex boyfriend lives next door he's annoying just ignore him" and teru is.. . easily jealous as a dragon. teru asks him to be his boyfriend instead and akane Shockingly agrees before teru picks him up and spins him around... he's the reason akane's glasses are so broken goddamn!

anyway they both head to bed soon after and their lives go pretty normally except akane Becomes nocturnal to match teru's horrid schedule . they go out at night since teru can't really hide his dragon like features

they go to empty places with like flowers and sometimes teru burns them. So oops

basically its pretty nice until they get caught. a monster isn't allowed to escape and a researcher assisting makes it worse. so congrats to them

aoi was the one sent to get them and bring them back so akane is so.. . awkward and teru doesn't understand

thats all i have so far </3 forgive me anon this is messy

#tbhk #jshk #toilet bound hanako kun #jibaku shounen hanako kun #ask box #ask me whatever #alternate universe

[bisexualsdeservebetter]

Hey again.

So I’m bisexual myself. I grew up in semi homophobic evironment and only came out to myself 4 months ago. I know what my family’s views are and I know they will NEVER change so I’m never coming out to them. I also chose to not engage with that side of me for the sake of my religion and I’m content with that decision.

My problem is when Muslims or in general religious people try to dictate what members of the community should do or how they should live their gay lives. I’ll always advocate for people to live their true self and only God will judge us at the end of the day.

But sadly my fellow Muslims won’t agree with my mentality so yeah... down below is what the general Muslim view of homosexuality vs Islam’s views.

(Sorry English is not my native language so there might be loads of spellings).

Basically Islam never stated homosexuality directly and condemned it. The story about the people of Sodom (Lut in Islam) is often misinterpreted of being about homosexuality when in reality it was about Gods wrath about the rape culture, adultery, inhospitality, immorality etc... people still engaged in homosexual acts but I’ve yet to find the Quran explicitly mention this.

The thing is... Islam is very different in the way us Muslim worship God. It’s very much ingrained in practice of its teachings, following the Prophets way of living and striving as hard as we can to win over evil and obey God. So a lot will willingly give up desirable things to satisfy their Lord.

Adultery and sexual appetite are mentioned a lot in the Quran and Muslims are adviced to withstand the trails of this world. Fornication is one of the biggest and major sins.... homosexuality is still considered a sin, but not the fact that one is born like that... just the action of fornicating with the same sex.

Islam says it’s a test from God like any other test and we’ve to withstand it. We’ve to constantly fight the evil inside us. Now that could be contradictory since born gay is never evil.... But we’re taught to be loving people, never fall into the sin of it and God will reward us for our patience. It’s easier for religious people to live in that way. A lot have given up worldly desires in exchange to fulfill their Islamic duties. Not everyone can.

Islam condemns hostility against homosexual inviduals. Teaches us to be loving to them. To leave them alone even if we see them live their life according to their identity. We all sin differently and only he can judge. But Muslims have interpreted this wrong and the entire chapter of Sodom, to only be about forbidding homosexuality and that “just being born different” equals punishment. God is merciful, Muslims are NOT.

(Note under explains the jihad al-nafs (struggle against one’s self. It’s a very loaded and misunderstood word but this is simply what it means👇🏽)

“Jihad al-nafs is the struggle against evil ideas, desires and of lust, anger, and insatiable imagination, placing all of them under the dictates of reason and faith in obedience to God's commands, and finally, purging all satanic ideas and influences from one’s soul.”

“Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not”. [2:216]

Also Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) said:

"The struggler is the one who strives against his soul/self in obedience to God, the Mighty and Majestic." [Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah].

Well this was certainly an interesting perspective to read. Obviously everybody deserves both religious & personal freedom and you can believe whatever you want regardless of how much I or anyone else disagrees with it. I'm not gonna share my own religion, I'm gonna leave it at I'm not Muslim or atheist and I don't consider people acting on sga/ssa sinful at all. That's how we were born, it can't be changed, and it's not hurting us or anyone else.

[everythingsinred]

003 narumi

003

How I feel about this character: i made a vine comp for ga a while ago and i made fun of narumi a lot in it bc i think hes funny and someone commented "do u hate narumi?" (or smth along those lines). my answer is surprisingly no, i dont. it might seem that way, and my other answers on this post probably wont rly help, but i dont. i think hes fun and interesting and kinda creepy and altogether he makes a really enjoyable character. do i think hes a good person? HELL NO. i do make jokes with zoe about him being stupid bc we like having fun. hes not stupid really; some of his schemes are actually chilling.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: only with misaki-sensei and hes on thin ice for that too. narumi having the human pheromone alice does not translate into him being romantic at all

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: its hard to say bc while i think sometimes its sweet when he has scenes with mikan, i kinda resent that shes really the only student he gives a single shit about. like dude u are a fucking teacher for an entire class of kids, not just your unrequited love's daughter.

My unpopular opinion about this character: older fics that describe narumi as "clearly gay" are rly funny bc hes so toxically heterosexual in canon. the fanfics were right; sometimes canon is a drag. i say this bc i sometimes feel like im the only person in the world who doesnt like romantic narumi and yuka. he should have just been gay and saved me all this trouble smh

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i think the insidious side of his character is too well-hidden underneath his flamboyant attitude. he let mikan join the academy JUST so he could get to yuka again, knowing full-well that yuka wouldnt have wanted that and that mikan would be targeted. the fact that he says everything with a heart emoji isnt enough to disregard him as a darker character. i wish his darker side had been properly addressed instead of just brushed aside to focus on how QuiRky he is! or even worse, acting like he's always had good intentions and is a really good teacher who looks out for his students (when tbh hes never been)

Favorite friendship for this character: misaki is his friend, right? and i did think the alice stone galaxy chapter with yuka was cute so ill include her too. i just dont like narumi/yuka romantically

#thank u both for asking! #narumi is rly interesting #hes hard for me to analyze really #this reread that im currently on had me narrowing my eyes and being hyper observant of him bc i wanna figure him out all the way #but tbh i think i have to chalk some of his confusing characterization up to writing inconsistencies #maybe higuchi tachibana changed her mind about his darker side halfway through and thats why hes so bizarre. idk #like hes not a good person but i do like reading his scenes hes really such a fun character #gakuen alice #ga #im sorry for spamming this tag my friends. :( #narumi anju #ask games #answered #anon #anonymous #lucanogis

[frogboyandzombieface]

hii, hope you're doing well!

7, 12, 19, 23, 37 and 49 for the ask game :)

(sorry if they're too many)

 OH MY GOD MY FUICKING DUMB LAPTOP PISSED ITSELF AND I LOST EVERYTHING I WROTE :((( WAA i will do it again though.. sighs..

7: favourite episodes in each season?

AAAHH THIS IS A HARD ONE. okay so.. season 1, has to be holly jolly. my GOD the raw emotions in that episode, with joyce and hopper and hopper discovering more about the lab and everything and like.. mikes emotions with will being ‘dead’ and.. hvfjkjhhkhj hhooohhy my goodness its just so good.

season 2: THE GATE. DJFDK FUCKING OBSSSED WITH IT I LOVE IT SO MUCH AAA like everything coming to a climax, all the build up and the action and like the VIBES ARE SOSOSOSOS FUCKING COOL I LO V E IT SCREAMINGGGG 

season 3: MMMM probably the mall rats .. its got ELMAXXXX <33333 steve and dustin being all cute when they reunite, nothing tooo bad has happened yet , it has the BEST CHARACTER IN THE WORLD MR CLARKE. and has m*leven breaking up so YA KNOW !! best episode <33

12: favourite quote?

ohh man . god i love tons of the quotes. i really love jonathans quote to will “you shouldnt like things because people tell you you’re supposed to”, but also hopper’s letter at the end of s3 is so good.. and also joyce’s quote being like “i will find him and bring him home” in s1 GOD ITS ICONIC !!! sorry i dont have a singular fav cant decide. even though its my own fucking ask game whatever <3

19: j*ncy or ronance?

im sorry j*ncy fans but ... ronance. i dont Hate j*ncy but i dont really like it that much tbh.. also i need everyone to be gay like me ok.

23: who has the best hairstyle throughout all the seasons?

MAAAANN i gotta be basic and say steve. he’s always had the best hairstyle and he always will. ill say eddies a close second though.. my god i love his hair

37: if byler is something you’ll think will happen, how do you think they’ll handle it?

AAHHH SHITTT IM SO NERVOUS ABOUT THIS. i REALLY hope they’ll handle it in a concise, well-thought out way that slowly builds up to the ship and reveals it to general audiences (because apparently theyre too dumb to realise that theyve been coding it throughout the ENTIRE show so far) in a way that doesnt seem like its coming out of nowhere ya know?? and also i want to see mike and wills journeys of realisation and acceptance and everything like that handled in the way it deserves to be handled. they are my blorbos ok i am extremely attached and i need to see them go thru the proper channels,, especially mike because he’s clearly only coming to the realisation recently and he obvi has some Thinking to do. THE DUFFERS DONT KNOW THEM LIKE I DO💀💀

49: do you think mike is gay, straight, bi or other?

mann i gotta be honest hes probably gay. like all the queercoding he’s had throughout the seasons and the way he acts with eleven and everything, it points to the fact that hes probably gay more than bisexual. but im completely open to the idea of him being bi honestly !!! no bi erasure here :)) all i know is that he is certainly NOT STRAIGHT ok. this boys fruitier than the entire fruit isle he and will sat in in season 3.

stranger things asks! ⚡

#THANK U FOR THE ASSKKK BROSKI I HOPE U LIKE THE GAME <333 #it was very fun to make #asks #mutuals #imagineacoolusername #i am again imagining a cool username... #wait i forgot ur username is already cool !! <3 #stranger things asks #stranger things #byler #byeler

[pigeontakeover]

Do you ever wish you'd been born normal? I feel like every shred of my existence of my being is incompatible with my family. But also ISKCON is… to me its something horrible. If my parents had left it, if I'd been raised with actual Paraguayan culture would I feel less lost? What if I could still be a normal girl, could I fit back in again? Would I find a place for myself in my family? I am a woman trapped inside of a man that's trapped inside of a woman's body. Why is it that even though I feel like both a man and a woman, I cannot take advantage of that to lean into womanhood? Why must my womanhood be a man who happens to be a girl too? Why couldn't I have been normal? I feel the weight of otherness every time I interact with them, I feel like a liar masquerading as someone I'm not, always longing to be myself and feel loved by my parents. And yet, even when I'm straining myself to keep up the charade, I never felt that they ever truly liked me at all. If they'll hate me either way, why not just be myself? Why the fear of losing them entirely even though I don't feel like I'm a part of the family anyways? I will never be accepted as I am, I know that, I've tried that. I wish I had been born normal. I want to belong somewhere. I feel like I'm too broken to ever belong somewhere, I feel like everyone will tire of me and then leave me behind when I become too much to deal with. If I'd been born normal, would it be easier to find a place to belong?

I feel like it is my fault that I do not have close friends. And when people do actually like me, eventually I feel like I'll always drive them away. I feel like I am too much for anyone to take me on. I feel like I am hard to love. When someone says they love me i simply cannot understand why they do. I don't see anything to like about myself, I feel like I'll never be enough. So why do some people say they love me? And I feel like I have to be careful to make sure the love doesn't run out so I will not be discarded. I feel an insatiable desire to hear someone explain who I am. I do not have a grasp of who I am. Can someone explain who I am, how I am, and is it enough? Is what I am, how I am, is that enough? Am I worth the space I take up in the world? Is it stupid to feel like both a gay man and a lesbian? Why do I do that? If I have to be a freak why can't I at least be easy to explain, palatable, would it be easier then to feel like I fit in somewhere? I am scared of being alone forever, temporary in the lives of everyone who claims they love me, put aside if my needs and desires are ever too much, if who I am eventually disgusts them.

I wish my parents loved me. I wish I could be open with them. I wish I had someone to turn to. I really did cast any older person who showed me an ounce of care into a paternal role in my life, no matter how brief our interaction was. I'm still like that now. I want parents. I want a home to come back to if I ever need it, a place that is safe.

I'm tired of feeling the way I feel and wanting to be who I want to be. I just want to be easy, palatable, someone who deserves care. I don't understand why even though a big part of me hates my parents, an even bigger part of me is desperate for their approval. I want to push the people that love me away. I don't think I deserve their love. I don't know what to do right now. I don't know who I am. I feel like a hundred bad memories stuffed into a humanoid form. Who am I what am I like? How do other people see me? Would that help me understand who I am? I don't feel like a real person.

#omg im the op #im high as fuck and this high is fucking terrible ddude #journaling into the void to get the thoughts out