#only feeding them fictionally for romantic purposes

[autistichalsin]

Okay, I’ve been a bit scared because I’ve been observing from the sidelines, but I do want you to know this isn’t a hateful or troll ask, I’m genuinely asking for clarification.

In my experience, “pro-shipping” has always meant ‘problematic shipping’, and all of the people I’ve talked to about this have said the same thing.

Am I the one who’s misconstrued? I really don’t get it.

Being called “pro-harassment” or “pro-censorship” is hurtful and confusing as all hell.

I don’t harass people for what they create. I don’t care to do that. I block and move on, and warn people if I know they could be upset by the content.

But I also don’t understand how certain things are justified.

I am personally not bothered by much, but I have watched friends and acquaintances go through visceral traumatic reactions because people have decided to air out their coping by sharing it with the public. (I.E, people who write romantic incestual fics, etc)

I don’t give a shit what people write. I really don’t. But it feels harmful to use the excuse of coping when you, in turn, could be hurting dozens of others.

Like I said, I genuinely am not trying to be hateful here. I’m confused, and still distraught that all of this is happening. I don’t think anyone deserves to be harassed. I just also don’t get the logic here.

Pro-shipping never once meant problematic shipping. It meant opposite of "anti" because antis would come and invade the tags and asks, calling them all kinds of names if they found their ships distasteful.

Sorry that being indirectly accused of supporting harassment hurt your feelings. Imagine how I felt, being DIRECTLY accused of supporting rape in real life because of my taste in fiction. You are throwing in your lot with people who can't distinguish fantasy and reality.

I don't like incest fics either, anon. They are triggering for me. So you know what I do? I don't read fics tagged as incest. For that reason, I have never been triggered by an incest fic. I suppose I would be if I read an incest fic that wasn't tagged as much, but you will never find a single pro-shipper who defends posting such content without a tag. You are responsible for your own experience online; it is your job to curate the content.

If it was just seeing that the fic exists that triggered the response, then I'm sorry to say they're still in the wrong. As a survivor, learning that triggers exist and how to navigate those triggers is on you. We are responsible for how we deal with our trauma. Your friends didn't deserve their traumas, and they deserve kindness and support, but requesting that people never be allowed to write distasteful fiction so that they don't have to be upset by the idea that someone somewhere shipped incest is not reasonable. Their feelings are valid; it's totally reasonable to be triggered, to strictly curate your online experience. It's reasonable to block everyone who ships the upsetting incest ships, to put an "incest shippers DNI" on your page, all of it. It's not reasonable to call them supporters of IRL incest or to accuse them of causing your trauma. It isn't hard at all on AO3 or Tumblr; they even give you the option to blacklist/filter out certain tags so you can avoid it without blocking users. There's easily half a dozen safeguards that already exist that are a lot less radical, a lot less likely to be weaponized against queer users, and a lot easier to enforce than trying to remove them.

Me writing fics, such as a character using kink to cope, can only harm a user who doesn't curate their feed (and who reads fics they know will trigger them, which I can only assume would then be a purposeful form of self-harm). Denying other survivors their coping mechanism, though, IS a direct form of harm. Stigmatizing recovery by saying that survivors are in any way akin to abusers for creating fiction is a direct form of harm.

It sounds to me like you've absorbed some very harmful and very narrow ideas of what recovery should and should not look like, and what is and isn't a good/valid survivor. You might want to reflect on why you're turning your attention to policing what survivors do to cope so much.

#proship #proshipper #discourse

[ellmaii]

I’d like to make something very clear. I do NOT have a problem with Byler. You might disagree and that’s fine but I think the ship is one sided attraction. That’s MY opinion.

My problem is with everyone who is trying to manipulate and twist events in the show to feed their own Byler fancies. It’s not only annoying and ignorant but sometimes harmful.

Tumblr is a place that seems to attract people who have difficulties in their personal lives. That doesn’t apply to everyone but for a lot of people it does.

-people throwing accusations of homophobia. I don’t need to explain this one, It doesn’t go amiss

-People being ebleist (not always intentionally). Eleven has disability. You can say she’s ‘just’ traumatised and uneducated but it’s clearly had a profound impact on many areas in life. Trauma itself can cause that. ‘A disability is any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).’

-Disregarding and invalidating trauma and grief. “She lies to him because she doesn’t feel like she can be herself around him” “he can’t say he loves her because he actually loves Will” “she didn’t look happy when he confessed his feeling to her because she realised she didn’t love him like that” “Mike didn’t look happy when she said I love you too” Not everything is related directly to their relationships, Im sorry but it’s not. How people behave and respond to situations often goes deeper than what they’re actually arguing over that minute and these characters and their past go wayyy deeper than that. You can disagree but you don’t have to twist everything and anything to make it about Byler.

-No platforming. It’s dangerous. Don’t refuse to engage in a balanced debate because it crushes your Byler fantasies (same goes for Mileven). Sharing opinions and debating them is how we learn, but do them in a way that is respectful and sticks to facts. Not made up facts, if it’s not confirmed then ‘I think’ or ‘from my opinion’ are appropriate to use before sharing. Those are opinions, fell free to share opinions but don’t state them as fact.

-Open lack of compassion. Some of you love to criticise Eleven because she gets in the way of Byler. You can dislike her but at least try to understand her feelings and behaviour. Again, stop invalidating. She’s been severely abused and neglected her entire life, Im sorry if you find her “annoying” or “a bad girlfriend” but grow up

If you haven’t realised by now this post itself goes deeper than Byler and Mileven. It’s about respect. People like to use their fandoms as an escape and a coping strategy. Don’t call people homophobic for sharing an opposing opinion. How do you think child abuse victims or people with autism or learning difficulty or dealing with grief feel when coming across anti-Mileven post that invalidate Elevens issues or use them against her to further their own ideology. The lack of compassion and understanding then the refusal to educate themselves. All for what, to promote a freaking Tv show couple??

We grow attachments to fictional characters often because we can relate to them on a personal level. What you say about a fictional character can make someone feel bad about themselves. It can cause offence to people who love somebody who they think are similar to the fictional character.

We all have different opinions and fell free to share them, it’s how we learn and grow as people, but be considerate and educate yourselves first instead of spreading ignorance. And most importantly, STOP using these things for the purpose of promoting a freaking relationship between fictional characters. For example, saying El can’t understand romantic relationships and isn’t ready for one. If you believe that that’s fine and I respect it. However, it is completely irrelevant to Byler so don’t use it and point it out solely to feed your own fancies.

#mileven #byler #anti mileven #anti byler #abliesm #homophobia #stranger things #anti milkvan #fuck milkvan

[softxsuki]

hii! i hope you're eating and hydrating well! I'd like to join the match-up event please.

she/her, fandom: tokyo revengers, romantic match-up with a male character, I am intp, gemini. i don't really have a type, but for some reason I have a crazy thing for bloodied knuckles. the character is preferably would be understanding, supporting, teasing and funny (maybe even soft??). i am kinda shy, but also silly and easy going (if you can say it like that lol), kind (i think), and a little bit of a troublemaker, always looking for an adventure hehe. my hobbies are reading (fiction/scifi), scrapbook, baking... I love listening to music (any kind), im learning to play electric guitar, and im doing wrestling for like 4 years (brazilian jiu-jitsu yeah I can fight >:)). I'm currently in high school, I enjoy taking long walks and skateboarding (that's how I get to school and back). big spoon!! i love chocolate and mochi.. that's pretty much it

for the scenario, probably something like fluffy ditching school with the character during the lunch break and going to a park instead (with all the kisses and hand holding stuff). thank you very much, have a nice day!!

1000 Follower Event Matchup #29

This event is CLOSED. You can view the event masterlist here.

Note: Hi hi! Hope you enjoy! Sorry for the long wait (hopefully you haven't unfollowed yet 😭)

I match you with: MIKEY

Runner-up is: Baji

Mikey:

Oh he has bloody knuckles all right

Especially when those dark impulses kick in

Mikey’s only soft spot is you, after everything he’s been through, you’re the last string of sanity he has left

He’s his old self whenever it’s just the two of you, making you laugh and teasing you endlessly to see the way you react

Mikey is supportive in everything you do and will do everything in his power to help you achieve your goals

Knowing you can fight and fend for yourself if a relief for Mikey, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be any less protective over you

Double trouble duo over here, he’d never deny a chance to cause trouble with you, though he’s willing to take the fall for it all if you’re both ever caught 

When he isn’t doing gang business, he invites you to his grandpa’s place and you both bake together, getting flour on his nose…it gets very messy but it’s full of cute moments and Mikey even licks frosting off your cheek (he totally didn’t put it there on purpose)

Also would enjoy being the little spoon :D

Ditching school with Mikey?

He’s down

I don’t even think this man has shown up for even half his classes anyway 💀

But he’s ready to pick you up from your classroom; I swear he just bursts in, takes your hand and drags you out mid-class and your teacher is just like ????

I know you mentioned ditching during lunch break, but nah, he’s not waiting for your lunch break lol

He already has your skateboard and he has a bicycle as you ride to the park, getting some of your fav foods along the way and eating them together

Insists on feeding you

Swinging on the swings together while hold hands

Kissing under the playground set (no kids around thankfully)

It’s just a cute afternoon together

EVENT REQUESTS ARE CLOSED

REGULAR REQUESTS ARE OPEN

Posted: 8/28/2023

#tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo rev x reader #mikey x reader #manjiro x reader #tokyo revengers matchup

[muffinmonstah-art]

I think because nobody really makes any ship content for Jason and Barbara and it is extremely rare to see art for them, especially right now where everything is Dick and Barbara. So it’s nice to see that there is still a community out there or people who still like Jason and Barbara as a pairing. I absolute adore your JayBabs art! It’s so beautiful!

It's cute that my JayBabs art has been feeding my ask box a lot lately. I've produced a lot of fanart for niche ships over the years and I've never brought this type of attention to myself. By what you're saying the JayBabs tag has been very deprived of content. That's kinda sad. But it's not a big deal in my eyes. You'd be surprised by the fact that the majority of people engaging on the Batfam fandom online probably don't even know this ship exists and have no previous judgement towards it.

Sometimes you just need the one fanart that gets viral for the ship to gain a few new entusiastic shippers :)

The DickBabs ship is just Batwriter agenda, crafted with the purpose to keep Dick isolated from having any relevant bond outside the Batman property. And it's so fucking plastic and poorly writen that constantly gets in the way of everything even inside the Batman related stories. I'm starving for Jason & Dick content first and foremost, and I can't stand this shit getting in the way of every single Batfam dynamic involving Dick. Seriously, where are my Jason&Dick centered stories? I want Nightwing&Batman stories too without any nasty ships stealing valious pages from the story that could be used to explore other more relevant things. Do I also have to mention how annoying it is that Dick cannot count on his friends anymore because now his only bestie is the woke bitch?

The idea of me shipping this kind of editorial plastic craft that stank of "Batwriter agenda" since day 1, instead of a blank page full of potential for writers like JayBabs is laughable honestly.

Even worse it becomes when you add the fact that my most hated fictional trope of all times: the "childhood soulmates" one was injected to this turd back then, when the characters' ages were retconed to add their off-panel "history together" bullshit.

I have a problem with this trope. I have a big personal problem with any fictional ship that follows this shitty trope. This bland idealized fantasy that consists in two characters that meet each other as kids, and they become the first crush for each other, and become best friends and later on they start to date and they make love and they grow up together and stay together for the rest of their lives blablablah does not vibe at all with me. The reason? I LIVED IT IN REAL LIFE. The love of my life is the first man I've dated and the only romantic experience I had. It's been many many years since we started dating.

I get why normies instantly become attached and idealize this kind of relationships in fiction. Because in real life this is not the norm. The probabilites of someone having their first crush on their soulmate at a young age are what… 0.00001%? I've met many many people in my life, so did my boyfriend (and he knows thrice people than me), and even for the Catholic standards from my country, the number of people we've met that had a story similar to ours is NONE. It's no wonder really why so many writers write this ships so badly, and why the audiences of those stories cannot identify how awful those ships are. It's a fantasy scenario.

But I lived it, and I hate 99% of ships that fall into this trope because I consider they do a terrible job at depicting a reality that has been my normal day by day basis for the last 13 years. DickBabs is the worst of them all but in my eyes is just another example of why this shitty trope shoud burn in flames and never be used again, unless your typical writer actually tries to sit down for a minute and think about how humans behave and how human relationships work. You don't need to experience what you write in first hand to depict it well, you just need to be intelligent about it, do some proper research.

One day I'll write my own story featuring the childhood soulmates theme. It's going to be heavily based on my personal experience and it's going to bitchslap every stupid writer who ever wrote this trope as a bland boring idealized fantasy. It'll be the deconstruction of the childhood soulmates trope. I'll get to be the Latin American female version of Alan Moore!!!!1111oneone

But either way, I think it'd be nice if we stop mentioning DickBabs while talking about JayBabs. That ship is not a ship that has earned the status of relationship by the sweat and effort of countless writers that tried to make it work over the years like say, Clark and Louis. No. It's a Batwriter agenda shit. A retcon. The fact that it gets constantly shoved down our throats lately doesn't add any depth to that. It just makes it more forced and annoying. It really does not deserve the mention, unless it is to use it as a punching bag lmao.

Let's focus instead on why JayBabs has potential to be a great ship if it ever gets explored on the main continuity.

#asks #anti dickbabs #jaybabs

[lavender-long-stories]

Nari's Feral on Display Part 2

spoilers for Lavender Clouds

Can we just appreciate that Nari’s second Lavender Clouds' first comment was soo long and unhinged that they had to put it in two comments?

Mild disclaimer Nari references chapter 11 which is no longer chapter 11 since the rewrite. Ignore the numbers here.

Kisame [...] did such a number on me I couldn't possibly predict he would become the family's official favorite uncle, and yet (and yet I got another ship, even though I already have so many. Hinata's harem keeps getting bigger)

You and me both. T-T KisaHina might be one of my favorites that came out of Lavender Clouds and they were very much not romantic here. I just love their soft dynamic so damn much. 

I absolutelly love how Hinata can be such a mom to these grown ass terrorists.

She really is. I think the best thing is it’s not even out of character for her. She is trying to do her job which is caring for them and there is no other way for her to do it. She isn’t going to threaten them, she is going to scold them.

Also: Itachi respecting her, Hinata feeling proud of herself because of him, Kisame letting her do her thing. The three of them were my favorites from the start, right up until the end. [...] The three of them were just so comfortable to have around, and it felt like such a huge thing when they weren't there all the time anymore.

I need to write so much more of this dynamic of the three of them because I love it so much. Kisame being a protective big brother to Hinata, except when she is mothering him when he is hurt or she is feeding him. Itachi and Hinata being soft and understanding of each other. Itachi and Kisame leveling on being concerned about Hinata. GAH! I need to write more of the three of them.

I think you are really talented writing comfort stuff, because when you make your characters care for each other you make us readers care for them in return, and the hardest thing in writing a good story (to me, at least) is to make characters human enough and to give - or reproduce - their personalities well enough, and you can do that so nicely, even when they get a little out of character you can still pull that off because you give them humanity and reason to do so. 

Not the best compliment being dropped in the middle of a paragraph like it’s going to make my entire heart melt less. I am going to go die happy now, thank you. T-T

“You’re a regular housewife.” SO? SHE'S KEEPING YOU ALIVE, DIPSHIT. [...] It's really cute how Kisame went from "I don't trust you, I will end you" to "You're useful" to "I would die for you" so quickly, the three stages of adopting a missing-nin.

Well after making me cry we are back to the chaos. I love Kisame’s teasing. 

Kisame is the dad who says ‘we are not keeping the dog’ and ends up the one bonded with it.

Hidan mocking Hinata when he first showed up is just so funny to me, not only because he will have his ass handed to him, but because he also becomes an uncle. Fuck you, Hidan.

Hidan and Hinata’s relationship is wonderful because I think Hidan brings pain-in-the-ass big brother energy and Hinata gets to actually have some fun with him when he’s around, and she’s not sewing his limbs back on.

Do you know that feeling when amazing fictional locations are destroyed? That feeling of hopelessness, even though the places do not exist, but the memories in there are just as strong as if they're real? I feel that a lot, because I think the memories are what build a home. Hinata's little cottage was a home, as well as a bribe, and everyone had a good time in there. It's so bittersweet. I think her house was a character just as any other, because it had a personality and served a purpose just like any other. Seeing it again and knowing they will need to move on eventually hits really hard.

Ugh T-T Destroying the cottage gave me retiring the Going Merry flashbacks.

 Anyway, Akatsuki could totally be a real state agency, it seems.

Head cannon request: Do you think the Akatsuki owned it before asking Hinata to join or bought it to bribe Hinata after the found out she was available? O.O?

I love it when Hinata is missing having people around and thinks "hey maybe I shouldn't be emotionally dependent on criminals" and then she gets emotionally dependent on them anyway.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t become emotionally dependent on the men who keep coming back with their organs falling out and limbs missing possibly due to people I knew and loved there is no way that can end well.’

Oh yeah, I meant to ask you something when I first read. The books Pein gave her for her research were previously owned by Tobi? He talks about his later on, about the research being compromised. I thought the icky feeling she had was because the books were owned by Orochimaru, since he is a fucked up psychopath who was part of Akatsuki before.

So all the research is collected by Tobi. Some of what he tells Hinata is lies that’s why that might not be clear, but he does say to Hinata (in their final conversation) that he collected all her research. Most of the research pre-dates Orochimaru, but some of it may have come from him without him signing his name.

Thank you for introducing the art of killing people by Hinata's pretty hands too, it gave me life and joy and happiness and I twirled my hair and giggled a lot :D

I never did come up with a name for the technique because I refuse to call it ‘violent fist’ like my husband suggested. -.-

SASORI AND DEIDARA ARE HERE, FINALLY. LAV, I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, YOU HAVE NO IDEA. I COULD WRITE YOU A FUCKING ESSAY ABOUT THEM AND NEVER SHUT UP ANYMORE.

Bring it on bestie.

 I think Sasori was just so fucking confused. I also think it's funny how what made it for him, regarding Hinata, was pretty much what did it for Gaara in [Lavender Sand]: being treated gently not because she was wary of them, but because she saw them as deserving of it as any other person. She saw both of them as people and treated them as such, and it really did a number on them. Funny, considering how Gaara and Sasori behave about each other in here.

Hinata basically wins over everyone like this, just seeing people for who they are and treating them like they are people. Gaara and Sasori both suffer from the emotional damage of falling in love with the woman they can’t be with who treated them like human beings for the first time. T-T

You said it was rough to not make Sasohina and, well... yeah. It was hard on me too because how dare you make Sasori such a complex and interest character, the travesty. The travesty in giving him something he could only long for and never truly have because he isn't like the other men around. He kind of had her, and he decided to stay even though it hurt emotionally, because in the end having something bittersweet was better than having nothing at all after all the love and care. It really hurt because you made them care for each other so much, in Hinata learning about him and how to help him (as she did to everyone) and him taking care of her in his own way. I never expected Sasori in here. I never expected him to be a possibility.

I have admitted this a few times. If I were to write Lavender Clouds today, it would have been SasoHina because they just had so much chemistry, and it would have been perfect to have her go with one half of the love triangle between her, Gaara, and Sasori.

I need to write another fic with them because I just love their dynamic so much, one of them always teaching the other something. (Maybe another GaaHinaSaso because I love to make myself feel pain.)

Sasori trying to be an authority and getting beaten down by Hinata’s reasoning. Sasori gives up so early to not express his affection because he knows he’s no longer human and believes he can’t offer her a normal relationship, but the biggest tragedy is that if Hinata had known this probably would have ended SasoHina because Hinata would not care about him not being human or his true age.

"Deidara acted like a civilian teenager, flirting, rebelling, and throwing tantrums, especially when she told him how long she would keep him. No one in the Akatsuki had any patience at all. He was also rather sweet, passionate, and funny." And it fucks me from behind. This Barbie son of a whore was so suicidal and loathed himself so much it became narcissism. It seems like with Deidara, in canon, he never felt like he was enough to a point where he just wanted to be remembered when he died. You gave him a reason to stay, you got him coming back too. Being alive might not have worked in the long run, but at least to me, it felt like you respected him and did him some justice. I'm thankful to you for being good to him. I cried a lot about him.

God damn it Nari ‘This Barbie son of a whore’ had me rolling. 

Deidara and Hinata probably had the least interaction (until he came back, if you know, you know) but they were cute, and he was excited to come home and have someone like his work and appreciate his birds. He was remembered, he can be sure of that.

To be honest I cried very often. I cried every 3 chapters, I think. 

I am not sure if I just personally hit you in the emotions, or if you just cry a lot and after knowing you for a while I am still not sure XD

This is about all of the "what could have been". I'm totally unhealthy about how much out of time Hinata was in here. Out of time with her loved ones, never reaching when she could, never having enough time with them. She lost Naruto before even having him, she lost the possibility of Gaara, she lost Itachi when he was within reach, she lost Sasori to things that weren't their fault and happened before her time. It kills me, it fucking obliterates me, that her time was made of missing chunks of things that never came to be, of flowers that never grew, of impossible possibilities. I thought she didn't have as much chemistry with Sasuke as she had with her other possibilities, but what made it truly work for them imo was that Sasuke was just there at the right time. He stayed. Even when they thought they'd lost each other they didn't because they were in the right time, for once, and they didn't want to let it go.

I think this is the true secret to the final ship of this story. Hinata knew that her and Gaara would never last. Itachi never gave her a chance to think of him that way because he knew he would break her heart. Sasori kept quiet because he knew he wasn’t human. Hinata had given up on love and would have really taken anything and Sasuke was consistent and was waiting for her when she got back. 

A lot of IRL relationships are like this. Think of all the people you may have missed just because of the timing or the missing the person you are with now because you didn’t take the chance or didn’t show up to that event.

Diving into the second message, buckle up.

I went back to ffnet yesterday after leaving the second comment because I wanted to give Lavender Umbrella a chance and it made me realize stuff and I'm totally going insane. 

Live footage of Nari discovering the Lavender-verse.

You created your own little world inside your stories, you have the characters humanity and you gave them things to enjoy and care about, and you worked those things in your other works. Gaara and his thing about hugging Hinata and hiding in her tummy in Lavender Sand, Kisame enjoying the cooking and being taken care of in Lavender Umbrella, Itachi in Testing Success being a stable source of comfort and tranquility even in his worst moments, Sasuke being weirdly good with kids and having a good head on his shoulders when it comes to help Hinata because he cares about her and doesn't expect shit in return in What He Left Behind. It is too soon to analyze Death Wishes and I haven't read Wheels and Lavender Memories yet, but you are solid with your description of their core traits and it is so nice.

Let me die happy right here with the best compliments ever.

A personal love I have with writing fan fiction is I can pluck a character or character dynamics out of one story and plop it into another situation, and it makes a whole new story. 

Kisame and Hinata’s absolute tooth-rotting fluff of their need to take care of each other. 

Gaara not understanding but desperately wanting to take Hinata’s comfort and affection. 

Itachi constantly being bitch with a plan that causes problems for everyone and him not backing down on it. 

Sasuke calm when Hinata is panicking or spiraling and Hinata’s calm when Sasuke is being erratic or angry. 

(And now since it came out but they weren’t at the time of this comment) Hidan being loosely respectful of Hinata’s authority because he either feels like he needs her (medic) or because he doesn’t want to lose the one person who treats him nicely (which is most of the reason most of my pairings happen).

Btw, stop killing Itachi.

Hey… I technically, I have only killed him once if you count Death Wishes as him not being dead. There are several stories set after his death (because of where the story falls in cannon) but I don’t think that counts. I think I plenty of room to kill more. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think he was already dead in the moment he resigned to it, to be honest. And I think Hinata knew that too. 

Is accepting that you are going to die part of death itself - and other spooky thoughts I probably shouldn’t be asking myself.

There were several moments I think he wanted to kiss her [...] I think it was the moment it hit Itachi how much he trusted her. 

This is interesting to me, I would love know when these moments are. Lets talk I want all the head cannons.

He was also with a foot in the grave and still went for the base with Hidan for her, I will KILL ALL OF THE WINDOWS IN THE WORLD-

Hahahahahahahah

Kisame's hugs. Kisame's hugs and Kisame being lovely. And Kisame's tenderness. Kisame in general, just Kisame. And cuddles. I'm having a stroke, do you feel me? I developed such and attachment to a dude 

THIS This is why I needed Lavender Umbrellas to exist.

now I want to lick his face.

ಠ~ಠ Nari sometimes I question you. XD

Lavender Clouds

Pairing: Sasuke x Hinata Rating: T

Description: Hinata runs away from home into the arms of the Akatsuki. Bonds with Itachi. Saves his brother. Learns to reverse Gentle Fist. Raises a demon baby?

Tags: Adventure  |  Fluff and Angst  |  Romance  |  Slow Burn  |  Happy Ending  |  Akatsuki Hyuuga Hinata  |  Hyuuga Hinata-centric  |  Akatsuki Uchiha Sasuke  |  Canon-Typical Violence

@nikandrros

#nari i blame you #I love you #this is how you become my best friend #comment highlight #lavender clouds

[southern-belle-outcasts]

Roleplaying Profile Meme:

PLEASE REPOST, DO NOT REBLOG!  Feel free to add to any of your answers!  The purpose is to tell your partners about the way you write!  For the multiple-choice ones, BOLD all that apply and, if you want, italicize if it’s a conditional answer!

– B A S I C S –

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WHAT LEVEL OF PLOTS DO YOU WRITE? Unplotted / Open-Ended Plots / Semi-Plotted / Fully Plotted Epics(plotting to some degree is really the best way to avoid dropped threads)

HOW QUICKLY DO YOU USUALLY RESPOND TO THREADS? I am a Turtle /Slow /Fast  / Very Fast (It depends on my level of muse and focus level. I have ADHD. If we’ve plotted and you feed me hype, I’m generally faster at replying.)

WHAT TYPES OF THEMES DO YOU LIKE? (feel free to add!) Fluff / Angst / Smut / Action / Tragedy / Domestic / Family / Conversational / Hurt-Comfort / Fantasy / Dark

WHAT GENRES DO YOU LIKE? (feel free to add!) Fantasy / Supernatural / Science Fiction / Historical / Horror / Comedy / Romance / Drama / Action / Adventure / Espionage / Everything

ARE THERE ANY THEMES YOU’RE UNCOMFORTABLE WRITING ON YOUR BLOG? No / Yes  (I don’t do A/B/O, breeder/ovi, non-con- mentions are fine but not the act, cheating, and I’m selective with whom I’d do a pregnancy storyline with.)

DO YOU HAVE ANY TRIGGERS?  HOW DO YOU REQUEST IT TAGGED? No/ Yes (See above for what I need tagged. I will tag legitimate triggers as needed. I already always tag pregnancy, miscarriage, vomit, current events, nsfw)

– S H I P P I N G –

WHAT TYPES OF RELATIONSHIPS ARE YOU OPEN TO? Romantic / Platonic /Familial / Physical / Sexual / Enemies (Aaaaall the relationship types)

WHAT TYPES OF PRE-ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS ARE YOU OPEN TO? Romantic / Platonic / Familial / Physical / Sexual (I need to see chemistry in our writing even for canon ships before I’ll do romance unless I know you like that)

DO YOU HAVE OTPS? No / Chemistry only /Yes (Ya’ll already know)

WHAT IS YOUR MUSE’S SEXUAL ORIENTATION? - Heterosexual- Farrar / Heteroflexible / Bisexual- Nilza, Harry, Molly, Kaylee / Homoflexible / Homosexual / Pansexual- Sara, Gabriel, Cisco / Demisexual- Rogue, Padme / Asexual / Questioning

WHAT IS YOUR MUSE’S ROMANTIC ORIENTATION? - Heteroromantic / Heteroflexible / Biromantic- Cisco, Molly, Kaylee / Homoflexible / Homoromantic / Panromantic- Rogue, Sara, Padmé /Demiromantic- Nilza, Harry / Grayromantic- Farrar / Aromantic / Polyamorous- Sara, Gabriel, Cisco, Rogue / Questioning

ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WRITING SMUT? No / Selectively / Yes

ARE YOU AN EXCLUSIVE SHIPPER? No/ Sometimes / Yes

DOES CRACK SHIPPING EVER HAPPEN? No /Sometimes / Yes (It hasn’t yet but I could.)

DOES CROSSOVER SHIPPING EVER HAPPEN? No / Yes/ Depends (honestly most of my ships aren't even in the same fandom)

#;out of the south #;about

[tsauergrass]

Number 2 for the way I said I love you? 💖

hello dear, thank you for the prompt 💗

2. With a hoarse voice, under the blankets

***

Harry murmured, “Do you remember our first date?”

Draco hugged Harry closer to his chest. Under the blankets, only the head of his messy hair peeked out; his glasses were taken off and now sat on the coffee table, his face open in a way that slowly became familiar. Harry snuggled, dozing off.

Draco whispered, “Of course I do.”

Today was their first anniversary. Even though Harry did not care much for mannerisms, he had taken Draco out as a surprise: ice cream and an afternoon by the lake in the park, feeding ducks, and a table reserved at a fancy restaurant for dinner. After dessert he took him to the London Eye, led him into the carriage. They had watched the city shrink, bit by bit, as they ascended into the sky until a sea of lights blinked underneath them—a sea of fallen stars, the familiar city now beautiful at a distance in a foreign way. Harry had thought he wasn’t watching, but he was—Harry’s faint smile as he touched his fingers to the glass in awe, the curve widening as Draco reached for his hand.

Now they had returned to their flat, had cooked cocoa and watched Muggle television for the remains of the night—had snuggled up on the couch, drinking cocoa and eating chips. Harry was starting to doze off. The night was cozy in a way as though it would never end: the air warm, the lights soft, the television a hum in the background. Their legs curled together, the blanket hugging them like a cocoon. Draco thought he wouldn’t mind falling asleep like this, wouldn’t mind waking up the next morning like this: curled up together on the couch, pieces of the previous night cluttering around him—glimpses of their first year together opening into their second.

“I’d bought you sunflowers,” Harry mumbled.

“You did. To distract me, because you were late.”

Harry chuckled. “‘s not true.”

“Is it not, now?”

“No.” Harry buried his face into Draco’s chest. “Tell me ‘bout it again.”

They had told this story a thousand times; every time still felt like the first. Draco carded his fingers through Harry’s hair. Harry sighed.

“I was waiting for you at the library,” Draco started, voice low, “because you were going to pick me up. You said it was a surprise, where we were going. So I let you. Two-thirty in the afternoon, you said, but fifteen minutes passed and still you weren’t there. Twenty minutes, and I started to get nervous…”

“’m sorry,” Harry mumbled.

“It’s okay. Twenty minutes, thirty minutes…I thought you stood me up. I was going to leave and never talk to you for the rest of my life.”

It was an understatement, that he was going to leave and never talk to Harry for the rest of his life. He was on the verge of tears, then, furious and panicking and abashed: to think he had borne his heart out. To think he had hoped there was something, had believed there was a glimmer of something—how foolish, how inconceivably naïve. Stumbling, he turned to Apparate back to his flat, the Statute of Secrecy be damned—

But then Potter showed up.

“But then you showed up, and you caught me by the arm, and I must have looked quite wretched because you were so surprised. I shrugged you off but you begged me to stay, please stay, stay for just a minute—and you took out the bouquet of flowers from behind your back.”

It was sunflowers. A bouquet of sunflowers, the yellow petals bright and exuberant; the baby’s-breath like strings of bells. Wrapped beautifully in parchment the color of plum, it was as though a piece of summer bloomed in Harry’s hands.

Harry murmured, “I’m still surprised they weren’t all squeezed flat.”

Draco chuckled. Stroking Harry’s hair, “You said you were late because you were waiting for the bouquet. You said you wanted to get one last minute, because you thought I’d like it. You said I’m sorry, the café is still reserved, let’s go, please?”

“And we went.”

“And we went.”

Harry sighed in content. Snuggling closer he said, voice hoarse with exhaustion, “I love you.”

Draco pressed a kiss to Harry’s hair. “I love you, too.”

Send me a prompt: The way you said “I love you”

#drarry #harry potter #draco malfoy #fanfic #drarry fic #harry x draco #my fic #just for psa bread is actually bad for ducks #so #only feeding them fictionally for romantic purposes #lol

[echo84]

My feed has informed me that, as is traditional before the airing of any new episode of Doctor Who, the “Canon Thasmin or it’s Queer Bait” discourse has gone and kicked off again.

So. That’s a thing.

And while I'm all for shipping Thasmin, it’s a thing that I find really personally challenging though, for a few reasons which I’ll try to explain in some sort of intelligent format.

Reason 1: Friendship is not a failure, or a consolation prize

Underlying a lot of these kinds of discussions is a subtle but insidious message - that the ultimate goal and purpose of a friendship is to become a romantic and/or sexual relationship. There’s such a pervasive, society-wide expectation that friendship cannot, by itself, be a wonderful, precious, intimate thing, and only really has value if the end result is the sound of swelling violins and a backlit kissing scene.

I understand the reason for at least some of this belief being applied to queer media. Queer people have historically had a lot of their romantic relationships dismissed or hidden away as “just friends”.

But also understand that genuine friendships are joyous things, that are full of just as much love and care and respect as romantic relationships.

And honestly? If anyone deserves a friend? A really good, loving, caring friend? It’s the Doctor.

Let the Doctor have a friend.

Reason 2: One person’s queer bait is another person’s representation

A lot of the shows I have genuinely fallen in love with, shows like Good Omens and Sherlock and Doctor Who, have protagonists that have been loosely asexual-coded. Not named as such explicitly, perhaps, but with traits and behaviours that are deeply recognizable to a lot of ace folks.

Every one of those shows has been accused of queer baiting. For the simple fact that said protagonist cares very deeply about another person, but doesn’t want to (excuse my language) fuck them.

Because two pretty people who enjoy each others company must, at some level, want to do the horizontal tango with one another, right? Anything else would be... well... a bit queer?

If the Doctor were to suddenly be explicitly named as gay, then that would feel to me very much like queer baiting. To watch Thirteen, who displays so many asexual characteristics, grow and develop as a character so much without relying on traditional romance or sexual tension, only to discover that the writers were stringing me along the whole time? Surprise! She’s not actually ace, she’s just sexually repressed! But don’t worry, we fixed her!

That would... disappoint. A lot.

Which brings me to my final reason.

Reason 3: The only box the Doctor belongs in is a blue one.

I really do understand the desire. I’d love to have more characters in the media who explicitly called out the ways that they are like me.

Companions, especially human companions, should represent all different aspects of humanity. They should represent the very real, and expansive, human experience.

I want gay companions, and straight companions, and bi and pan and ace companions. Companions of all different skin tones and cultural backgrounds and time periods. Trans companions and cis companions and companions who haven’t figured themselves out yet. Let’s have them all!

But as much as is reasonable, I’d prefer not to not label the Doctor. At least, not with something as overly simplified as human labels.

Sometimes, the very best type of queer representation is a character who is queer in the most general, abstract sense. Someone who lives outside of the socio-cultural norm, but in a way that isn’t (and cannot be?) explicitly labeled.

One of the major reasons why we have fan fiction, after all, is so we can all take the characters we love, and find ourselves in them, without denying anyone else’s the chance to find themselves as well.

I want the Doctor to be unlabelled, so that I, personally, can head canon that she’s ace. Or or gay. Or bi. Or poly. Or whatever.

If they decided to make Thasmin canon, then my heart would break just a little bit. Because that would explicitly, canonically, make the Doctor someone who is not, and cannot be, my representation.

In conclusion...

Ship to your heart’s content in fic, and in fan art, and in your blogs and tweets and the like. But maybe, if at all possible? Let the Doctor remain, in canon, just a little bit ineffable?

#thasmin #doctor who #queerbaiting #yaz #thirteen #the doctor #asexuality

[foxofninetales]

Recommended Reads: aroace-friendly science fiction and fantasy

As a librarian, a reader, and an aroace person myself, I’ve been toying with the idea of sharing some aroace sff recommendations for a while.  This list is limited to what I have personally read and I know there are a LOT more wonderful books out there that would appeal to aroace readers (please comment if you have a rec to add!), but if you’re looking for something good to read, this might be a place to start!

These books all fit two criteria:

1) No or minimal/fade-to-black sexual content.  ACE PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO READ SMUT ARE VALID.  However, I wanted this list to be able to appeal to a wide range of ace readers.

2) Non-romantic relationships that are as strong or stronger than the romantic ones (though there may also be romantic relationships in some of these books).  ARO PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO READ ROMANCE ARE ALSO VALID.  However, I wanted this list to be emotionally satisfying to a wide range of aro readers.

This list also only includes books that I enjoyed enough to reread at least once, and usually many times.  This is the Good Stuff, is what I'm saying.

Also, if you a fanfic reader who is trying to get into reading more non-fanwork materials, there are several novella recommendations on this list that would be a great place to start.  In fact, my top pic for that purpose would be the first one on the list:

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. 

Lets get the obvious one out of the way first, shall we?  These are excellent, solid, space-opera style adventures, but what drives them is Murderbot, who may be THE most relatable protagonist I will ever encounter.  This is not just because Murderbot is clearly, explicitly ace, but because.... well, the first few lines of the first novella explain it better than I ever can.

"I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don’t know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure."

The stories follow the titular Murderbot as it investigates the mysteries of its past, tries to figure out what it wants from its future, and is dragged kicking and screaming into feeling emotions.  The series currently consists of five novellas and a novel.  Start with the first novella, All Systems Red.  Also, while there is absolutely no smut (Murderbot would be horrified) this series is -definitely- competency porn.

(I'm going to throw in a side-recommendation for Martha Wells in general. She's got an amazing gift for three-dimensional characters and deep emotional bonds whether romantic or not.  I've been a Martha Wells fan for YEARS and am thrilled to see her finally getting the recognition she deserves.  I enjoy all of her works, but I'll throw out a particular recommendation for "Wheel of the Infinite" (in which a badass, older WOC causes trouble on purpose while a really hot warrior dude follows her around holding her flower) and the “Fall of Ile-Rien” trilogy (which features delicious world-building and a not-explicity-stated but pretty obvious OT3 endgame that should be satisfying to Leverage fans).)

The Penric and Desdemona series by Lois McMaster Bujold.

I don't know exactly what you call the relationship between a sweet-natured young sorcerer and the ancient, multi-personalitied demon who lives in his mind, but it definitely doesn't fall into the standard romance mold.  This series of novellas is up to 9 books so far (start with Penric's Demon), and it's full of satisfying relationships with new and recurring characters. The setting in the Five Gods fantasy world, which is my favorite Bujold universe and has one of my favorite explorations of religion in fantasy, ever - in fact, the staggeringly overwhelming love the gods have for people is one of the non-romantic loves that clinches this series for me.  

(Again, another general recommendation for Bujold, with the proviso that she's been writing for a long time, so some of her earlier stuff, though progressive for the time, isn't quite on par with how we might think or phrase things today (but it's very clear she was TRYING).  She's another one with a gift for writing intense characters and relationships, and her romantic relationships oddly tend to be the weakest.  If you like the Penric and Desdemona series, definitely check out her other books set in the same Five Gods world, which are AMAZING.)

The Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie

Another obvious pick, but no less recommended for all that.  This is yet another of those works that illustrates the ace person's dilemma at having a lot of their representation in media be in the form of non-human characters; on the one hand, we really should get more diverse representation than that, but on the other hand, ANDROIDS ARE COOL.  Or, in this case, artificial intelligences, in the form of One Esk Nineteen, the last lingering remnant of what was one a vast and powerful battleship.  Part action-thriller, part political intrigue, part musing on the nature of personhood and what and who can love.  SO much competency porn.  Start with Ancillary Justice.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

When the entire royal family dies in an airship accident, a neglected and forgotten prince finds himself the emperor of the elves, forced to negotiate the complexity of court dynamics powered almost solely by his dogged determination to be a good person.  Maia and his struggle to balance the detachment of the throne with his desperate need for emotional connection are the beating heart and soul of this story.  Fair warning, I read a review once that described this book as having approximately 3/4 of an action scene, and they weren't wrong, but Maia's deep emotional longing pulled me along as strongly as any plot.  I think this book would have a lot of appeal for xianxia/wuxia fans, both in the general pacing, the clear influences on the worldbuilding, and the whump service.

(An ace heads-up: If you are not into kinky smut, use caution if you seek out any of the works by this author under her other pen-name.)

The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner

Megan Whalen Turner is a tricksy, tricksy sneak of an author who will have you finish a book and immediately reread it while shrieking "that was foreshadowing!" and "it was right there in front of my face!" the whole time.  She also likes to rip you heart out and stomp on it.  With hobnailed boots.  You may not quite believe me as you are reading the first book of the series (The Thief), which is lighter and a little more juvenile in tone, but trust me on this one, read through chapter 3 of the second book and You Will Understand.  You may also hate me.  

The setting is an ancient Crete/Grece/Persia type minimal-magic fantasy world that is painted with vivid strokes. The focal characters and focal relationships change between the various books, but they all rotate around the central character of Eugenides.  I can't say too much about him without spoiling things, but let's just say that he is a sneaky bastard in all the best ways, and definitely delivers on the competency porn.  He is also a whump magnet, so if that is your thing, MWT knows all the tropes you love and delivers them with care.  

The Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire

One of the positives to come out of the ebook revolution is the resurgence of the novella as a viable format; I think this is the third novella series on this list!  This series toys with the idea of those children who fell into otherworld fantasy adventures, and asks - what happens when those children come home?  Starting with Every Heart a Doorway, these interlinked tales rotate around Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, where all those kids who suddenly go mad and start babbling about talking lions and magical wardrobes are packed off by their uncomprehending families.  The tone is almost fairytale-like, with a definite undercurrent of horror, but the characters are raw and real.   Not only is there explicit ace representation, there is also copious representation of various gender identities, sexualities, and neurodivergences; it's basically the author waving a sign that screams YOU ARE VALID for six books so far.  

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

By golly, Maggie Stiefvater can write.  And I'm not just talking plots, or characters, or themes, I'm talking about the sheer mechanics of verbal structure.  I'm talking about writing where you stagger from an achingly poetic sentence that you reread six times for the sheer beauty of it, only to encounter an acrobatic convolution of words that hits you with all the delicate force of a mugger with a baseball bat.  

Though it could nominally be called urban fantasy, "The Raven Cycle" straddles the line between reality and unreality, an epic quest and a coming-of-age story surrounding one boy's singleminded quest to pull magic into the world as he hunts for the lost Welsh king Glendower in the rolling Virginia hills.  Though there are two strong romances that help drive the story, the non-romantic relationships between the tightly entwined main characters are every bit as important and visceral in their longing.  Start with The Raven Boys, and keep in mind that she is currently publishing a followup series.

The Web Shifters series by Julie Czerneda

Non-romantic emotional attachments are the driving force for this space adventure series (start with Beholder's Eye).  Esen is a web shifter, one of the last of a mysterious species that can shift into any alien form.  Tasked to preserve and record alien cultures, young Esen's strict training on non-intervention doesn't survive her first solo mission and contact with a lone, struggling human. Czerneda is a biologist in her non-writerly life, and it really shows, because she can write aliens better than just about anyone I've encountered.  Her aliens don't come across as alien, but as they would be viewed through their own eyes, warts and tentacles and all.  Esen's delight in her various bodies as she moves from form to form makes self-love and love of nature in all its weirdness some of the unusual loves of this delightful series.

(If you like these books, you will also enjoy Czerneda's other works - I'll throw out a a particular recommendation for the "Species Imperative" series.)

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

Oh, god, I'm just a novella whore now, aren't I?  The author herself described this book as being inspired by the characters and relationship of Baze and Chirrut from Rogue One, and I'm not sure if anything I could say could sell the book any harder than that.  This delightful miniature wuxia-inspired adventure isn't part of a series, alas, but *eyes Zen Cho* that could totally happen in future, right?  Please?  It involves a country under invader rule, a group of bandits who may or not be the good guys, stolen temple artifacts, and a whole lot of queerness.

The Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers

What do we want?  Found family!  When do we want it?  Set in the far future!  If a hodgepodge of misfit characters working together to make a stronger whole is your jam, this is where it's at.  The tone shifts throughout the series, from the finding-your-place adventure of the first The Long Way to Small Angry Planet, to the later Record of a Spaceborn Few which I can only describe as "very little happens but in the most life-affirming way".  What all of them have in common is a fervent embracing of emotion and relationships of all kinds - from romantic to familial, from friendship to loyalty to loss.

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon

This one's awarded an honorary spot for being one of the earliest - possibly the earliest? - depictions of an explicitly aroace character in fantasy, and one who isn't just a side-character but the main protagonist of the whole series.  (Start with Sheepfarmer's Daughter, or look for the omnibus published under the series name.) This is a coming-of-age military fantasy in the classic mold.  It has some of the issues you might expect from a trilogy written in the 1980s, but it has great characters and relationships and deserves respect for what it did.

#aroace #aromanticism #asexuality #book recommendations #book recs #science fiction #fantasy

[princesssarisa]

Some more “Little Women” remarks: the problem of Beth

I honestly think most commentary I’ve read about Beth’s character is bad, both academic and from casual readers.

I understand why. She’s a difficult character. Modern readers who love Little Women and want to celebrate it as a proto-feminist work need to contend with the presence of this thoroughly domestic, shy, sweetly self-effacing character, seemingly the opposite of everything a feminist heroine should be. Meanwhile, other readers who despise Little Women and consider it anti-feminist cite Beth as the embodiment of its supposedly outdated morals. Then there’s the fact that she’s based on Louisa May Alcott’s actual sister, Lizzie Alcott, and does show hints of the real young woman’s complexity, and yet she’s much more idealized than the other sisters, which often makes readers view her as more of a symbol (of what they disagree, but definitely a symbol) than a real person.

But even though the various bad takes on her character are understandable, they’re still obnoxious, and in my humble opinion, not founded in the text.

Here are my views on some of the critics’ opinions I least agree with.

“She’s nothing but a bland, boring model of feminine virtue.”

Of course it’s fair to find her bland and boring. Everyone is entitled to feel how they feel about any character. But she’s not just a cardboard cutout of 19th century feminine virtue. So many people seem to dismiss her shyness as just the maidenly modesty that conduct books used to encourage. But it seems blatantly obvious to me that it’s more than just that. Beth’s crippling shyness is actively portrayed as her “burden,” just like Jo’s temper or Meg and Amy’s vanity and materialism. She struggles with it. Her parents have homeschooled her because her anxiety made the classroom unbearable for her – no conduct book has ever encouraged that! In Part 1, she has a character arc of overcoming enough of her shyness to make new friends like Mr. Laurence and Frank Vaughn. Then, in Part 2, she has the arc of struggling to accept her impending death: she doesn’t face it with pure serenity, but goes through a long journey of both physical and emotional pain before she finds peace in the end. Her character arcs might be quieter and subtler than her sisters’, but she’s not the static figure she’s often misremembered as being.

‘She needs to die because her life has no meaning outside of her family and the domestic sphere.”

In all fairness, Beth believes this herself: she says she was “never meant” to live long because she’s just “stupid little Beth,” with no plans for the future and of no use to anyone outside the home. But for readers to agree with that assessment has massive unfortunate implications! The world is full of both women and men who – whether because of physical or mental illness, disability, autism, Down Syndrome, or some other reason – can’t attend regular school, don’t make friends easily, are always “young for their age,” don’t get married or have romantic relationships, aren’t able to hold a regular job, never live apart from their families, and lead quiet, introverted, home-based lives. Should we look at those real people and think they all need to die? I don’t think so! Besides, it seems to me that the book actively refutes Beth’s self-deprecation. During both of her illnesses, it’s made clear how many people love her and how many people’s lives her quiet kindness has touched – not just her family and few close friends, but the neighbors, the Hummels (of course), the local tradespeople she interacts with, and the children she sews gifts for who write her letters of gratitude. Then there’s the last passage written from her viewpoint before her death, where she finds Jo’s poem that describes what a positive influence her memory will always be, and realizes that her short, quiet life hasn’t been the waste she thought it was. How anyone can read that passage and still come away viewing her life as meaningless is beyond me.

“She needs to die because she symbolizes a weak, outdated model of femininity.”

SparkNotes takes this interpretation of Beth and it annoys me to think of how many young readers that study guide has probably taught to view her this way. No matter how feisty and unconventional Louisa May Alcott was, and no mater how much she personally rebelled against passive, domestic femininity, would she really have portrayed her beloved sister Lizzie as “needing to die” because she was “too weak to survive in the modern world”? Would she really have turned Lizzie’s tragic death into a symbol of a toxic old archetype’s welcome death? But even if Beth were a purely fictional character and not based on the author’s sister, within the text she’s much too beloved and too positive an influence on everyone around her for this interpretation to feel right. This seems less like a valid reading of her character and more like wishful thinking on the part of some feminist scholars.

“She's a symbol of pure goodness who needs to die because she’s Too Good For This Sinful Earth™.”

Enough with the reasons why Beth “needs to die”! At least this one isn’t insulting. But I don’t think it’s really supported by the text either. If she were a symbol of goodness too pure for this world, then she wouldn’t forget to feed her pet bird for a week and lose him to starvation. She wouldn’t get snappish when she’s bored, even if she does only vent her frustration on her doll. She wouldn’t struggle with social anxiety, or dislike washing dishes, or be explicitly described as “not an angel” by the narrator because she can’t help but long for a better piano than the one she has. Now of course those flaws (except for accidentally letting her bird die) are minute compared to her sisters’. It’s fair to say that only “lip service” is paid to Beth’s humanity in an otherwise angelic portrayal. But it seems clear that Alcott did try to make her more human than other saintly, doomed young girls from the literature of her day: she’s certainly much more real than little Eva from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, for example.

“She’s destroyed by the oppressive model of femininity she adheres to.”

This argument holds that because Beth’s selfless care for others causes her illness, her story’s purpose is to condemn the expectation that women toil endlessly to serve others. But if Alcott meant to convey that message, I’d think she would have had Beth get sick by doing some unnecessary selfless deed. Helping a desperately poor, single immigrant mother take care of her sick children isn’t unnecessary. That’s not the kind of selflessness to file under “things feminists should rebel against.”

“She’s a symbol of ideal 19th century femininity, whom all three of her sisters – and implicitly all young female readers – are portrayed as needing to learn to be like.”

Whether people take this view positively (e.g. 19th and early 20th century parents who held up Beth as the model of sweet docility they wanted from their daughters) or negatively (e.g. feminists who can’t forgive Alcott for “remaking Jo in Beth’s image” by the end), I honestly think they’re misreading the book. I’ve already outlined the ways in which Beth struggles and grows just like her sisters do. If any character is portrayed as the ideal woman whom our young heroines all need to learn to be like, it’s not Beth, it’s Marmee. She combines aspects of all her daughters’ best selves (Meg and Beth’s nurturing, Jo’s strong will and Amy’s dignity) and she’s their chief source of wise advice and moral support. Yet none of her daughters become exactly like her either. They all maintain their distinct personalties, even as they grow. Admittedly, Beth’s sisters do sometimes put her on a pedestal as the person they should emulate – i.e. Amy during Beth’s first illness and Jo in the months directly after her death. But in both of those cases, their grief-inspired efforts are short-lived and they eventually go back to their natural boldness and ambitions. They just combine them with more of Beth’s kindness and unselfishness than before.

“She wills her own death.”

Of all these interpretations, this one is possibly the most blatantly contradicted by the text. Just because Beth’s fatal illness is vague and undefined beyond “she never recovered her strength after her scarlet fever” doesn’t mean it's caused by a lack of “will to live”; just because she interprets her lack of future plans or desire to leave home to mean that she’s “not meant to live long” doesn’t mean she’s so afraid to grow up that she wants to die. It’s made very clear that Beth wants to get well. Even though she tries to hide her deep depression from her family and face death willingly, she’s still distraught to have her happy life cut short.

I’ll admit that I’m probably biased, because as as a person on the autism spectrum who’s also struggled with social anxiety and led an introverted, home-based life, I personally relate to Beth. If I didn’t find her relatable, these interpretations would probably annoy me less. But I still think they’re based on a shallow overview of Beth’s character, combined with disdain for girls who don’t fit either the tomboyish “Jo” model or the sparkling “Amy” model of lively, outgoing young womanhood, rather than a close reading of the book.

#little women #beth march #meta #literary criticism

[sir-sunny]

(Lavender)

aww your tags are so nice 😊 Chiaki and Gundham and Sonia always live in my brain tent free actually so I will

- All these guys so emotionally constipated it’s ridiculous. Like OBVS Sonia has issues with her emotions as a princess and Gundham is repressed in all manner of weirdly specific ways but like. Can we talk about Chiaki a bit?? Girl is so bad at expressing feelings. If you just look at her sprite lineup, you can’t tell me she doesn’t try and project that Chill all the time on purpose yo. Get these guys some therapy.

- I think Sonia’s the type who names pets and such after fictional characters or celebrities, with like. The full names, first and last, honorifics and titles and all. Gundham ofc also named his hamsters after media he enjoys in some way but like. “Subtle”. In quotes. Can’t have people thinking he’s some kind of nerd lol. Chiaki’s the kind who names pets dumb things like Spatula or full movie/game titles. [Chiaki Voice] These are my beloved cats, Ace Attorney Investigations 2 Prosecutors Path and Cheese Grater.

- I know you don’t know dnd but listen. Sonia would play a Barbarian, Gundham would multiclass into like. 3 different spellcasters. And Chiaki would minmax whatever she plays but prefers artificer. Just trust me I’m a scientist.

- Gundham is the only one here who knows how to cook. He is maybe one of the best cooks in the cast is the thing. Like, top 5 at least, sdr2 has a lot of good cooks I think. He’s very attentive to others needs in general, his animals mostly ofc, but could rival Mahiru and Imposter for how good he is at taking care of others if he really dedicated himself to it. He’s born for that kind of thing really. Meanwhile Chiaki has a similar diet to me(bad) and forgets all her allergies as soon as she’s not dying from them, and Sonia can’t step foot in a kitchen without lighting something on fire.

- If we’re talkin specific relationship hcs, I’m generally in the Soniaki camp ofc romantically but also qpr Gundham/Sonia. They all love each other in different ways.

- In addition. Sonia is very much affectionate casually with everyone always. though it takes a sec for others to get used to it and she def has some troubles with boundaries. I definitely see her having issues with others asserting their boundaries in the first place for a bit. As a princess I don’t imagine many would’ve tried before Hopes Peak, and as much as she wishes it weren’t so she def needs to check her own ego and how she sees others on occasion, at the beginning at least.

- Chiaki does casual affection too but never initiates it unless she’s Real Sleepy. Real Tired Chiaki gets super clingy. She will drape herself over you at most and hold your hand forever at least.

- Gundham ain’t into it generally. Even further into friendships I just don’t see him as a touchy person and that’s fine, though it’s something to work through with his more affectionate classmates like Sonia and Ibuki. Hand Touching in any capacity is like Friendship 6th Base for Gundham if the free time events are any indication, though he’s definitely willing to give hugs if someone needs it. I imagine he runs cold generally, but in a comforting way. Like the cold side of a pillow

AHHEYYYYY I LOVE THEMMMM

oh these three are not great with emotions at all but i love to imagine them showing their affection in unique ways like,, sonia will let them borrow her favorite murder mystery novels, gundham will them feed his devas, and chiaki will let them win a round in a game just to see them smile aksjdhdhfj

AAAA omg i love them naming animals the dumbest things without a shred of irony akjsfgsj

awhh gundham cooking for chiaki and sonia is so cute (also i concur with the hc that chiaki and sonia cant cook for shit)

i love the way these three love each otherrr its so sweettt

sonia likes to link her arms with gumdham and chiaki when theyre strolling around the island <3 chiaki will unconsciously nuzzle her head into gundham or sonia's shoulder when she's falling asleep <33 and gundham with OCCASIONALLY gently place his hand on sonia or chiaki's shoulder when he's talking w them <3

#hrhggmrg #hm #now that i can draw again i just gotta draw these three #asks #lavender anon #sdr2 #dr #dr hcs #chiaki #sonia #gundham #sunny speaks

[nomoregoldfish]

I Promised You The Moon rant

Just binged it and this was from the episode by episode reaction/discussion with my partner in crime @glossyboy.

First of all, Oab stole the show, singlehandedly, which he's not supposed to. I don't think anyone expected it including himself. In the very top post when I searched his name on tumblr, he said this lol

But the truth is he played one hell of "villain" that required a very nuanced performance and he delivered it in a believable and graceful manner. Jai became the catalyst of the entire season and his rather complicated relationship with Teh was the highlight of part 2.

EP 1

From the very beginning it's clear that part 2 is very much a Teh's story rather than a balanced story about two young people's journey as a couple in the next chapter of their lives. It makes me uncomfortable they made Oh-aew clingy and pessimistic without giving him any character development.

The best part is probably the opening scene where they went paper-rock-scissors to decide who's gonna buy condoms. It felt authentic, the expectation, the hesitation, the mischievous act, all fits their characters well. Other times ep 1 was more like two adult kids playing house, literally in an empty giant ass upper middle class apartment.

EP 2

It's great that they poked the femininity vs. masculinity issue through Oh-aew, but stopped right there at the surface. Missed a perfect opportunity to go head-to-head with the controversial topic, start a debate, crush the stigma of femininity, bring something new, be a real game changer of the BL genre, and most importantly give Oh-aew some concrete character development. Part 1 showed us a gay character that's very comfortable with his sexuality and femininity, that's almost revolutionary in Asia, not as a comic relief but a leading role. Oh-aew questioned his own sexual identity once in that bra wearing scene, it's straight out of comfort zone, BOLD, and transgressive. So I expected more from part 2.

That's it? And they're already sophomores? Can't believe Oh-aew's character has been marginalized like this. It's pathetic.

But I love the brutally honest conversation at the end where Teh vented his rage and despair regarding his frustration of acting. He was acting like a dick because he's disappointed, and scared. Teh again was not afraid of showing vulnerability, making the reconciliation very realistic and touching.

EP 3

Dare I say I freaking love ep 3! The unresolved (partially sexual, but not entirely) tension between Teh and Jai was over the roof! And the built-up to their kiss was very authentic, which paled Teh and Oh-aew's much sidelined storyline, including the long anticipated sex scene (still can't believe it happened right after Jai explicitly instructed Teh to do it after the two spent a whole night bonding, like wow! Totally TRANSGRESSIVE and to some extent, kinky.) Teh looked up to the senior, idolized him, wanted to be good for him and make him proud, thirsted for the validation from him, which was mixed with affections. The workshop diary was a brilliant idea to let them open up to each other and eventually bring them close. This was what a meaningful arc of a story looked like. By contrast, there isn't a single moment between Oh-aew and Teh in part 2 that made me go "Damn it's soooooo hot!"

I know Jai/Teh wasn't the endgame but I appreciate the storyline so much. It's a very bold move considering it broke the over-glorified "one true love in one's life" fantasy of its target audience, mostly young cis women. The popular narrative of "you can only love one person through your life/one true love" in romance fictions/chick flicks was totally smashed. And it wasn't written just to stir up things between Teh and Oh-aew, it wasn't a silly fling. Instead, it's meaningful, complicated, natural, and realistic, delivered by nuanced and excellent acting from two young actors. It's hilarious that fans hate Jai with a passion and call him names.

And big news, Jai is bi?! Bravo! He's radiating bi vibes since his first appearance.

I kind of gave up at this point, the season wouldn't do Oh-aew any justice. Like my partner in crime pointed out, the costume design literally threw some "incongruous female fashion pieces" on Oh-aew, made him dye his hair red, without...making any actual point of his personality or his character development. Wardrobe was supposed to make a point in storytelling. Yes, PP wearing pink is cute, and? There's nothing else for Oh-aew. Unfortunately he's reduced to this sulky, crying, and wronged partner in a failing relationship.

EP 4

Oab again was killing it. The tension between Jai and Teh...from the rehearsal in front of Oh-aew to the dressing room pep talk, was incredibly intense and hot AF.

Was it a manipulative relationship after all? Oab was so good at conveying a character with many faces. Jai's a mentor to Teh, also a good friend, their relationship was genuine. He's also ambitious with his own goals, he used, challenged, provoked Teh in a way that benefited them both. It made sense the title of part 2, I Promised You The Moon, was from Jai's script. He promised Teh what the junior wanted the most, a bright future in acting. Teh's unconventional and unspoken feelings for Jai was the best part of the entire season in terms of creative writing, it's complicated, fragile, delicate and completely heartbreaking.

The after talk in the hallway was so well-written. It's funny (Teh joking about playwrights always write about their EXs is gold), intimate yet meticulously controlled, no one lashed out or wept. Both knew what they signed up for and Jai particularly made it clear about his motive and the purpose of the "special workshop" beforehand (or right away.) Yet it's no one's fault that Teh got carried away. He's younger, he's immature, he's more into it, it's totally natural. It's so romantic when Teh's singing karaoke in the bar with Oh-aew, yet he couldn't help but desperately staring at Jai on the floor, knowing he and the man who just turned him down were never gonna happen, they were done, but he's still madly attracted to him and his talent. He fancied Jai, at least the idea of Jai, a playwright, a director, someone knew him better than himself. That hurt beautifully.

EP 5

Teh/Oh-aew endgame at this point was pretty meaningless. Oh-aew as a leading character never got any solid character development over a span of four years. What happened between Jai and Teh wasn't just "cheating", though they surely made it look that way, like Teh's empty promise of "I won't see him again after the show ends". No matter how Oh-aew and Teh eventually reconciled, there's no emotional connection, no sparkle anymore between the couple.

But I knew for a fact they had to. Otherwise it's too much of a risk financially for the series. The creators had to take the easy way out like most traditional romances—one of the most contrived and formulaic trope where the male leading character made a mistake (usually cheating) and realized he's wrong, he deeply hurt the female leading character (Oh-aew was merely a girl substitute in part 2), then he completely changed for hell knew what reasons, started doing every nicest thing in the world to try to "win" the female character back. It has been feeding the emotionally-deprived cis female readers/audience who are frustrated with heterosexual relationship irl for decades. The formula that made romance outsell other genres of fictions combined in the 60s and 70s still sells today, under the name of boys' love. It's pathetic to see Oh-aew confess to Bas that he always "lost" to Teh. Love shouldn't be some kind of game or competition, there isn't winner or loser in love. Love is spontaneous. Oh-aew didn't lose because Teh developed feelings for someone else, and he didn't win when Teh begged him for reconciliation. People change, people move on.

And as predicted, they went for it. The ending was so absurd and tedious.

Overall, Jai's probably the hardest villain to play, he needed to be REALLY GOOD to be "the bad guy", to make his role conceivable. Oab absolutely nailed it with his talent and experience. He's not even my type or extremely good looking yet I'm 100% SOLD. I immediately re-watched the scene of him kissing Teh back hungrily at the end of ep 3 like I used to re-watch Teh/Oh-aew's steamy make out session at the end of episode 3 part 1. Coincidence?

I like some parts of both seasons for the same reason, each challenged and tried to break some outdated/contrived narratives in the BL genre. Part 1 took on the sexuality taboo by showing two same sex characters sexually attracted to each other, no more "I'm not into boys, I just happened to fall for someone of the same gender" or "pure love" bullshit. By staying true to the characters' sexuality and actually showing it with explicit, intense (and beautifully shot) scenes, the gay characters were normalized. They weren't just pure and innocent, no one was. And it created two of most unconventional gay characters in Asian pop culture, Oh-aew, a beautiful boy who's very comfortable with his own sexuality and femininity, not passive at all, taking initiative to pursue what he wanted; and Teh, a sensitive, caring and vulnerable boy who cried a lot, he's confused but also sweet and brave.

Part 2 tackled the "You can only love one person through your life" trope with a very nuanced story of "cheating". Yet neither carried out what they started. Part 1 fell short of a revolutionary piece that stayed true to "adolescent sexual turmoil", dismissing bisexuality and becoming a typical unrealistic BL fantasy in the end. And Part 2, ugh, forced a "happy ending" that almost no one digs. I understand it's extremely difficult and risky to disrupt the established norms of a genre. But sometimes being transgressive and progressive could be the same thing. A story, an artwork, has to challenge something in order to create something new and compelling.

#i promise you the moon #i told sunset about you #ipytm #oab oabnithi #billkin #pp krit #rant post #asian lgbtq dramas #lgbtq #i promised you the moon

[shortfictionweeklychallenge]

Short Fiction Weekly Challenge

Time for a new prompt from the Short Fiction Weekly Challenge, tumblr edition.  Let it spark your imagination.  Any character, any fandom, any original world.   Reblogs welcome!

Post your story to your blog and send the link to Short Fiction Weekly Challenge!  The link will appear in our feed and the site index, and your blog will be listed on the Participating Blogs page.

This week’s SFWC prompt:

Week of August 27, 2021

Rude Awakening: All was going well--except that it really wasn’t and your character only just now found out. What situation has drastically changed and why? Did it actually change, or did only your character’s knowledge or perception change? Was someone keeping the truth from your character? Were they willfully blind? What are they going to do now? Was your character the one hiding the facts from someone else? Were they protecting someone or covering themselves? This week, give your character a rude awakening.

Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt.  A masterpiece missed the deadline?  Don’t let it gather electronic dust.  Submit it anyway and Short Fiction Weekly Challenge will publish it.  

This week’s prompt not for you?  Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive.  Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.  

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

Keep Grandma Happy: Okay, okay, not necessarily Grandma. Every family (or other social unit) has that one person whom you simply appease. The one you just don't want flying off the handle because it's such a bother and not worth the resulting tirade and calming down process. Surely your character's circle has one. Who is it? Is it your character? What's their hot button and why? What do the other characters do to avoid it? How do they settle them down when, inevitably, it gets pushed? Does someone push it on purpose for the fireworks? (note: while the intent of this prompt is humorous, feel free to make a more serious case, i.e. trigger or content warnings. Polite characters avoid the topic out of empathy or compassion and only dickish ones bring it up.)

You're Not the One I Was Looking For: It's fun to set your character up with the perfect match. The One They've Been Dreaming of. Hold that thought--what about someone else? Someone close, maybe overlooked. Someone who's right for your character in all the ways that matter, but not necessarily the ones your character thinks are important. Maybe they catch your character on the rebound; maybe they've been there all along but never thought about your character in a romantic way. Maybe a casual hookup turns into something more. This week, consider your character finding, not the one they were looking for, but The One just the same.

Got an idea for a prompt?  Submit it here.

#Short Fiction Weekly Challlenge #SFWC #fiction #fiction writing #writing #writing challenge #writing exercise #writing prompts #fanfiction #fanfic #Fic #anthem fanfiction #anthem game #dragon age #dragon age fanfiction #Mass Effect #mass effect fanfiction #Skyrim #skyrim fanfiction #swtor #swtor fanfiction #wildstar #wildstar fanfiction #WoW #World of Warcraft #World of Warcraft fanfiction

[thestupidhelmet]

I think the writers of that 70s show lowkey hated the characters. Even before season 8 new writers came in, and destroyed everything. it felt like the original writers wanted all the character on the show to be miserable.

I don’t think the writers hated the characters. Many of the writers in season 8 were long-time writers on the series and responsible for some of the show’s best episodes pre-S8 -- and some bad ones, too.

They took their orders from the newly-hired S8 showrunners, and it’s the showrunners’ disdain for Jackie, in particular, that comes through their story direction for her. The S8 showrunners clearly viewed Jackie as Hyde describes her in “Jackie Bags Hyde” (3x08): shallow and rich and mean and bossy.

Because of this flawed interpretation of her, the S8 showrunners wanted to -- and chose to -- “humble” Jackie during season 8  through:

--The way her greatest love (i.e. Hyde) and closest friends (i.e. Donna, Fez) treat her.

--Episodes that humiliate her, such as the one where her dress strap breaks at a bar, revealing her breast to all the patrons -- mostly men . It’s a very One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest moment where McMurphy exposes the antagonist Nurse Rached’s breasts to many of the mental hospital’s male patients. This moment deprives Nurse Rached of her power in a very misogynistic / patriarchal fashion, and the (male) S8 showrunners do the same to Jackie in that bar scene.

--Having her end up sweeping hair in a salon by the series finale -- a job she would (wrongly) disdain as beneath her -- which has nothing to do with her long-held career aspirations. Jackie is deprived of the chance to follow her dreams as punishment for being whom the S8 showrunners believe her to be.

The S8 showrunners fundamentally misunderstand Jackie and that one purpose of “Jackie Bags Hyde” is to dismantle Hyde’s fundamental misunderstanding of Jackie as being (only) shallow and rich and mean and bossy. Jackie is so much more than those attributes. She proves it time and time again in previous episodes, and she demonstrates the same to Hyde during their first date.

It’s a truth Hyde himself begins to recognize in “Prom Night” (1x19) but denies the whole of it because to acknowledge Jackie’s generosity, compassion, and insight would also mean to acknowledge the romantic feelings he’s developed for her.

Unfortunately, the S8 showrunners simplistic and sexist interpretation of Jackie leads to their highly disrespectful and often misogynistic treatment of her character in the show, via the writers they gave story direction to.

The writers (who were aware of Jackie’s true self) have the responsibility for following those orders and not protesting that this is not Jackie nor how she should be treated on the show. The series’ long-time director does, too (and he definitely knew better and seemed not to agree with S8′s story direction). But their only real option would’ve been to quit the show, and they weren’t going to put fidelity to fictional characters over their careers and the ability to feed themselves and their families.

The ultimate responsibility, however, lies with whoever hired those S8 showrunners, who very likely gave a treatment describing their ideas for S8. (“We’ll bring it back to its season-1 roots! The quirky humor! The show will be fun again! As long we can break up Jackie and Hyde.” <-- This speculation is derived from the interview printed  before S8 aired, where they stated what S8 would be like under their control, including reverting Jackie and Hyde “back to their season-1 antagonism,” which is what they believed was natural for them, despite that -- you know -- people grow and change, TV shows tell stories where people do this, and Jackie and Hyde grew and changed over the course of seven season / years of the show). 

#That 70s Show #That '70s Show #Jackie Burkhart #Jackie x Hyde #Donna Pinciotti #Ask #Anon #My Meta #My Essay #Meta #Essay #Season 8 Sucks!