#like would a character express and stand like that? or is that just ur default go to bc it's a very easy way to show that.

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

you can do whatever you want it’s just funny to complain about ed being villainized in izzy/jack fanfic when you do the exact same thing to stede. like “lucius would want to kill him for what he did to ed” lol is that not what happens in izzy-centric fics except ur talking about ed instead of izzy? it’s fine to woobify one and not the other? be for real.

*long suffering sigh* ok first of all weird flex that you're in my dms about this but whatever, I would not wish you on my beloved mutual so it's fine, second of all we are villainizing Stede in a way that is consistent with his character (pure of heart but unfortunately dumb of ass, runs away as a default response). The sort of vilification of Ed in Calicohands fics that we are complaining about happens in a lot of Izzy fics and is not consistent with his character at all.

There's tons of meta about this but Ed as a character is a man who used violence once when he was young to protect someone he cared about and then got into a career path that necessitated liberal use of violence. Ed is also shown repeatedly to feel bad about that violence over the course of the show, and then at the end of the show he is told by someone close to him that he's worthless if he doesn't start doing that violence that he feels bad about again and that expressing his emotions is a fate worse than death, and that if he doesn't knock off the whole being himself routine he'd better watch his step, so he decides to retreat inwards because he's afraid and because he believes himself to be worthless. He uses violence as a tool to get rid of the one person he knows would be able to see through him and potentially talk him down(Lucius) and he uses violence as a tool to prove to Izzy that he's back to Blackbeard so that Izzy doesn't decide to make good on his threat. The three times we see him use violence as not a part of his job it's when a snake dropped on his head very suddenly (a snake of unknown venemousness btw) and he had a fight or flight response, when he punched Izzy in the face because he tried to murder his boyfriend (pretty fucking restrained actually), and when he was drunk and hanging out with his old buddy and he and Jack made a turtle fight a crab. I will not be apologizing for that one however it was one of the things that he was doing in order to have fun with Jack so its not just on him.

All that paints a picture of a man who A) is not that violent and B) doesn't want to be doing violence anymore. He tells us that on the beach when he's talking to Stede. He says he doesn't want to bite the heads off turtles or feed people their own toes anymore.

But you know what there is. There's a trope of portraying indigenous people, especially indigenous men, as violent savages in order to dehumanize them. And you know what a lot of people in this fucking fandom do in order to sympathize with Izzy? They portray Ed as incredibly violent, much more so than he is in the show. They make him into some abuser. So when he's out of character in that specific way it really makes you wonder why. It's roughly equivalent to making Stede into a villain on the basis that he's a sexual deviant or that he's corrupting Ed with his sexuality. Both of those portrayals would be homophobic, which as Stede is a rich white man, is Stede's major axis of oppression. If your grossed out by the latter(corrupting seductress stede) but fine with the former(violent savage Ed) You might have some shit to unpack.

I'm fine with making a character play whatever role you need them to play in a fanfiction. But when I'm looking for fics that give me a fun premise for Izzy to get his back blown out by Calico Jack(Something I engage in on occasion), I don't want to see a racist caricature standing where Ed stood. I feel like that's a justifiable thing to complain about. I even don't mind it if Ed is the villain so long as he's the villain in a way that makes sense.

Also Stede doing the thing we were talking about in that scenario is not actually that far off from what he actually did. What Stede did in canon was he kissed Ed and then after that happened he left without a word. In the AU we were discussing he fucked Ed and left without a word. In this AU he didn't know that Ed had never had sex before. The most out of character person in that fic is Ed, because it relies on him never having had sex before (despite Jack's dalliance's claims and David Jenkins saying that Ed is the more experienced party "physically") and maybe Izzy, because it relies on him watching Ed spill his guts to the whole crew and for Izzy to not go fucking off the fucking rails, prompting Ed to go off the rails with him. All Stede needs to do in that fic is the same damn thing he did in the show except with a little more cock involved.

#fandom critical

[transguykeith]

if ur still looking for prompts: yuuri telling nb viktor that seeing viktor play around with gender presentation helped them realize/accept they were genderfluid when yuuri was little

I took a little bit of liberty with this so it doesn’t fit the prompt 100% but it’s pretty close

Title: Perfect

Word count: 2,717

under a read more because this got long:

The first time Yuuri saw Victor Nikiforov he was twelve years old. Victor Nikiforov was sixteen and had won junior Worlds.

Victor was on top of the world. Victor was phenomenal. Victor was an inspiration. Victor was….more things than Yuuri could wrap his mind around.

There was something about Victor that none of the other skaters had. Maybe it was something to do with the long hair or the costumes. Maybe it was the way it looked as it Victor’s soul was poured out onto the ice. Either way, Yuuri was enthralled.

Victor quickly became his idol. Yuuri searched high and low for video footage of Victor’s programs and he would spend hours copying them, he hunted down as many posters as he could find and his wall was soon covered. He even choose the breed of his dog based on what Victor had, the dog of course was named Victor. Was Yuuri obsessed with Victor Nikiforov? Well, a little bit.

Yuuri couldn’t count all of the magazines he had containing interviews with Victor, many of them were in languages he couldn’t understand so he just cut out the pictures. But there was one that he held onto throughout the years. His dance teacher had gotten it for him while on a visit to the United States. The magazine came with quite a few posters, many of which became Yuuri’s favorites. He didn’t know English well enough to understand most of the articles but there was a line that stood out to him, highlighted in bold. “I’m not a boy or a girl.”

Instead of cutting out all the pictures and getting rid of the rest of the magazine, Yuuri kept it. He couldn’t read it very well, but he placed it in a drawer in his desk and there it stayed.

When he was thirteen he asked Minako if he could learn to dance en pointe she told him that it was something boys just didn’t do. He went home and pulled out the article and tried to read it, his eyes naturally skipped over the words he couldn’t understand yet but he struggled through it. Even though he couldn’t understand it, it gave him the courage to bring it up again and again until Minako finally agreed.

Yuuri didn’t know why that article in particular was so comforting. There were plenty he had that he could actually read. Ones about skating, ones about Victor’s dog, ones about training regimens. But Yuuri always defaulted to that article when he needed a pick-me-up.

When Mari caught him in her room trying on clothes of hers he burst into tears and profusely apologized, he didn’t understand what he was feeling but sometimes he felt as if her clothes would be better. Yuuri avoided her for a week after that, taking to trying to read the article every time he thought about the strange expression on her face.

She did eventually force him to talk to her about it, but she did so in a kind way and offered to paint his nails afterwards. He still didn’t understand what he was feeling, but he was glad that Mari wasn’t treating him like a freak.

The kids at school didn’t know what to think of him so he didn’t have many friends outside of Yuuko and Takeshi. They understood his love of the ice and didn’t care how he acted.

Sometimes Yuuri would go months without pulling out the article, but it was always there when he needed it and each time he understood a little bit more of it.

When it came time for him to pack to head off to Detroit, he made certain that the by then somewhat tattered magazine came with him. It ended up in the bottom drawer of his desk, tucked away with other trinkets of his where it sat forgotten for quite some time.

Yuuri was nineteen when he read the article and understood every word for the first time. It had been after a particularly difficult day at practice and every part of his program felt wrong. He was tired, he was homesick, and the odd feeling that was always kicking around in the back of his mind was in full force. So he took a shower and ate dinner and then dug out the magazine and curled up on his bed on a pile of blankets and he read.

Victor Nikiforov opens up about Nonbinary Identity

Recently I had the opportunity to spend a week in St. Petersburg, Russia. During this time I was able to obtain an exclusive interview with the one and only Victor Nikiforov.

After sweeping the Grand Prix series, Russian nationals, Europeans, and Worlds, Nikiforov is certainly making waves in the figure skating. Perhaps better known as the darling of Russia, this skater is quite stunning to watch in action.

My first glimpse of Nikiforov was during a morning practice session as Nikiforov and coach Yakov Feltsman are gearing up in earnest for Nikiforov’s senior debut, which is set to occur later this year.

Nikiforov skated up to the barrier to grab a drink of water and briefly explained what I had just seen on the ice. Nikiforov spoke in lightly accented English, “I need a strong program for my debut, so I come early and skate hard. The choreography is all my own.”

Nikiforov stands at about 5'7" and has long silver hair that flows down to a bit above the waist. Nikiforov’s eyes are of a blue-green character that I feel cannot be explained with justice.

I spent the next few hours watching from the sidelines as Nikiforov worked out on the ice. Feltsman would occasionally shout out a command in Russian as Nikiforov wife through the few other skaters out on the ice. It is clearly visible that this is a skater of immense talent.

Nikiforov offered to meet me at a cafe after cleaning up. We ended up in a small place a few blocks away from the rink where all of the workers knew Nikiforov by name and started on an order without having to ask it.

It was here that Nikiforov opened up to me and answered the many questions I had.

“I’m sure you get this a lot, but are you a boy or a girl?” Was the first question I asked.

Nikiforov leaned forward as if about to reveal a secret. “No,” a shake of the head. “I’m not a boy or a girl. There are many words for what I am, but I use nonbinary.” Nikiforov then disclosed that they use they/them pronouns rather than the typical he/she.

“Could you explain what that means?” I furthered questioned, intrigued by their response.

Nikiforov nodded. “Well people usually see the world as a strict binary system. Either youre a girl or a boy with no in between,” they held their hands apart. “But in reality it’s more like this,” they waves their hands in a blob like circle. “Gender identity is a strange thing.”

“So your identity lies somewhere outside the male-female dichotomy,” it was making more sense now.

“Yes,” Nikiforov smiled, a grin rather resemblant of a heart. “Identity isn’t as simple as male and female. You can identify as one or the other, as something that is neither, as multiple combinations of such, or even have a variable identity that changes with time. For me, my identity is pretty solid, I am nonbinary and that’s that.”

“When it comes to competition, you skate in the men’s division,” I pointed out. “Does that every make you uncomfortable?”

Nikiforov paused to think and took a sip of the drink set before them. “There isn’t much I can do about that,” they shrugged. “There isn’t a category for people like me, so I skate where I feel my accomplishments would be most deserved. My costumes are often designed to suggest ambiguity and my long hair adds to that effect as well. So it may not be right for me, but I make it so.”

“Do you feel as if there is any sort of unfair disadvantage or advantage you have while skating?” I asked.

“Every athlete has their advantages and disadvantages,” they stated, slowly stirring their drink. “Like I said, I skate where I feel I can achieve my best. It’s through practice that I work to minimize any disadvantages I have.”

“One final question,” I told them. “What would you like to say to any other athletes out there who may be questioning their gender?”

Nikiforov smiled again and this time it reached their eyes. “You have to be true to yourself,” they said immediately. “It won’t always be easy and oftentimes it will be very difficult, but find the people who believe in you. I believe you. Your gender doesn’t define what you are capable of. Whether you are male, female, neither, or some combination thereof, you got this. There is no reason for you to not pursue your dreams. It will take a lot of hard work and patience, but you can succeed in whichever field you choose. Trust me on this.”

I thanked Nikiforov for opening up about their identity and then we parted ways. Hopefully I was able to provide just a little more insight into this phenomenal sixteen year old.

A splash of tear on the paper brought Yuuri back to his senses after he finished reading. Suddenly everything seemed to make so much more sense, it was something he had never put too much thought into, preferring to ignore the feelings in the back of his head. But if his idol, if the unparalleled Victor Nikiforov, could feel similar in regards to gender, then maybe Yuuri could too.

It became his goal to catch up to Victor, to meet them on the same playing field and show them just have much of an impact they had on him. He read those words over and over, Victor believed in him, Victor didn’t think he was strange.

Yuuri worked hard and then he worked harder. He had more to prove than ever. One day he would be Victor’s equal and only then could he tell them how much one offhanded interview of theirs had inspired him to do his best.

But then Sochi happened and he had never failed as badly as he did that day. And he didn’t speak to Victor. And he lost at Nationals. And he almost quit altogether.

And then Victor Nikiforov was in the onsen, naked, and offering to be his coach. Yuuri couldn’t look them, Yuuri couldn’t look away.

Yuuri had fallen in love with Victor Nikiforov’s skating when he was twelve. Yuuri fell in love with Victor Nikiforov when he was twenty-four. Both came naturally to him.

They skated on the same ice, they fell in love. They won medal after medal. They got married.

Somehow in all of this Yuuri had forgotten to tell Victor the one thing he had always been intending to, the thing he had meant to say since day one. Yuuri had forgotten, until the day he finally remembered. –

Yuuri woke up in Victor’s arms as always. Despite waking up first, Victor would stay in bed until Yuuri woke up so that the first thing both of them saw every morning was each other. “Good morning my love,” Victor pressed a soft kiss to Yuuri’s forehead. “Pronouns?”

Yuuri hummed sleepily and nuzzled into Victor’s chest. “Too tired. Love you Vitya.”

Victor simply pulled Yuuri closer and held the position while the love of their life slowly came into the realm of the awake. “I love you,” they whispered. “Every part of you. Every day I love you more,” they continued. “I love that you’re the most beautiful woman and the handsomest man.”

Yuuri leaned into Victor even more so to hide the blush caused from everything being said. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you,” it came out in a constant soft stream until Yuuri finally pulled back to look Victor in the eye. “I think she for today,” she answered the earlier question.

“Okay darling,” Victor kissed her again. “We have to get up my dear.”

“I know,” Yuuri nuzzled into their chest again. “We have go to the rink in a few hours and we should unpack another box before then. And we need to get food ready,” her voice was muffled.

“Which is why we need to get up now,” Victor pressed a kiss to her hair before slowly peeling away and fending off her attempts to cling to them. “I will go find the smallest box left and you can wait here and finish waking up.”

Yuuri rolled into the spot Victor had been occupying and breathed deeply enjoying the scent of their pillow. She begrudgingly crawled out of bed and got partially dressed before Victor came back carrying the box they were to unpack. “I’m up, I’m up,” Yuuri smiled upon seeing them.

“That you are my dear,” Victor set the box down and tore open the tape. “Don’t worry I did make sure it said bedroom this time,” they grinned and opened the top of the box.

Most of it was stuff of Yuuri’s including some scarfs and some pictures from her childhood. It was fairly easy to sort through it quickly and they to the bottom faster than with most of the boxes they had unpacked before. Yuuri grabbed the framed picture of her and Vicchan and set it on her nightstand, when she turned around Victor was holding the last item in their hands, a worn out magazine.

“I forgot I still had that,” Yuuri said.

Victor looked slightly perplexed as they thumbed through it carefully. “I remember giving this interview,” they said. “She was a very kind reporter. But that was over ten years ago, why do you have this?”

It was then that Yuuri realized what she had never told Victor. “Minako bought it for me on a trip,” she said. “You know I had practically every poster there was to find of you. She thought I’d appreciate this. Normally I got rid of the articles if I couldn’t read them and just kept the pictures, but the one line I could read stood out to me. So I kept it.”

“You kept this that long because of one line?” Victor asked, taking her hand in theirs and kissing her ring.

“I would try reading it when I was confused,” she said. “Gender wasn’t really a thing we talked about so I didn’t understand what I was feeling and when I felt particularly bad, I would turn to this,” she ran a hand over the slightly crinkled pages. “When Minako wasn’t sure about letting me dance en pointe, when Mari caught me trying on her clothes, pretty much any time something felt off about my gender.”

Victor looked as if they’re eyes would tear up at any minute. “Really?”

“Yes,” Yuuri nodded. “It wasn’t until I was in college that I could understand what it said and that’s when everything started to click for me. I did some research and talked to some people and when I found the word genderfluid everything made sense,” she leaned her head against their shoulder. “I was scared about presenting myself as such and I needed to prove that I was good enough. So I worked harder than ever and it became a ‘Victor Nikiforov can do this, so can I. Victor believes in me, I should too.’ I had to get to the same stage as you, and then I was going to tell you how much you impacted my life.”

Victor wrapped their arms around Yuuri and pulled her tightly to their chest. “I have never been told something like that before. I never knew how much of an effect I had on you.”

“You know now,” Yuuri laughed softly. “I don’t think I ever would have accepted myself if it weren’t for you being so open and proud about your own identity. I love you for that.”

“You’re perfect Yuuri, absolutely perfect,” Victor hugged her even tighter. “I love you too.”

It was a long while before either of them let go.

#my writing #yuri on ice #yoi fanfic #victor nikiforov #yuuri katsuki #victuuri #ask #trans yuuri katsuki #trans victor nikforov #i hope i did this justice #yoi