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love-takes-work · 5 months

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I've seen a fair number of people interpret Rebecca Sugar's (and the Crew's) decision to put Ruby in a dress as subversive, and I want to discuss why that feels like a clear miss to me.

Every time--every single time--I've heard Rebecca Sugar talk about the queer relationships on this show, it comes with this expression of wholesomeness, and often glazed with a sheen of wistfulness, flavored something like "I needed this as a child and young person, and I didn't have it." Much of Rebecca Sugar's work to bring this wedding (and other unapologetic queer relationships) to the screen was framed as an emergency--as in, we HAVE to get this out there for those kids we used to be, because we know they're drowning.

Yes, it's funny sometimes when people make jokes about Sugar deliberately "adding more gay" or "making it gayer" as a big eff-you to the people who spoke against it, but that doesn't sit right from where I'm standing. It took so much strength (and resulted in so much battle damage) to fight that fight, yes. But from everything I can see from the interviews and conversations I've seen and read, this wasn't served up in a "ha-HA, take THAT!" kind of way. These characters having these kinds of relationships should have been a non-issue, and the fact that their very wholesome kids'-show wedding and very sweet kiss and very adorable love for each other was seen as Political when it should have been just two characters in love is so sad to me.

I've seen dozens of people suggest that Ruby is in a dress and Sapphire is in a suit "to fuck with the bigoted censors in other countries" or "to give the finger to gender roles," but again, I think it is simpler and sweeter than that. Rebecca's said that Ruby in a dress is how she feels in a dress. Celebration and exploration of feminine-coded stuff felt wrong to Rebecca for a long time, like it wasn't hers, because she wasn't really a woman and didn't want it forced on her. As a result she was robbed of all the beauty that should have been a non-issue, from what TV shows and toys she was supposed to enjoy as a kid to what kind of person she was supposed to marry and what she should wear as an adult.

Ruby never got a choice about how she looked really. Once she got to choose her presentation for a significant event, this is what she chose. It means so much more to see that than to construct it primarily as a reactionary measure, as if it would somehow foil the sinister censors in more homophobic countries (who, incidentally, are not therefore forced to show Ruby in a dress even though they tried to hide that Ruby was a "she" or that she was in a romantic relationship with another "she"; y'all, they just don't show the episode).

We see plenty of other examples of gender-role-related expectations being casually stepped on and squashed, like when they took the trouble to give traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine "clothes" to some watermelons to make the audience think there was a husband and wife watermelon only to have the wife be the warrior and the husband stay home with the child. With stuff like that, yeah, sure, maybe it's designed to make you think "oh isn't that very feminist of them!" Or maybe it's more "well why do I see this as a 'reversal' when it's just a thing that happened?" This show is full of ladyish beings who fight and have power. And as for Steven. . . .

Nobody has negative reactions onscreen (or even particularly confused reactions) when Steven wears traditionally feminine clothes, and it is (of course) also not presented as a "boy in a dress gag"--it's not supposed to be funny. When they go all in slathering Steven in literal princess tropes throughout the final act of Season 5, we understand that it's because the powerful Diamonds expect him to be Pink Diamond, not because the show is trying to girlify him or embarrass him or even make the audience think positive thoughts about boys in girls' clothes. It's more neutral than that in my interpretation: "these are literally just pieces of cloth, and while some of them have meaning, they don't inherently have a gender." I don't see this as transgressive. It's just in a world where putting on what you want to wear doesn't HAVE to be a political statement. (Though obviously it CAN be, and plenty of people wear a variety of clothes as a fuck-you to whoever they want to give the finger to. I just don't see that as happening here.)

Don't get me wrong; Rebecca Sugar certainly knew about the politics (intimately) and has lived at many of their intersections. She was not ignorant of how queer people are seen in this world. She was silenced as a bisexual person because her identity supposedly didn't matter if she was with a man and planned to be with that same man forever. She was shunted into "omg a woman did this!" categories over and over again, which she wore uneasily as a nonbinary person while accepting that part of who we are is how the world sees us. But what is it like if everything someone like her embraces is seen as a statement synonymous with "fuck you" to someone else?

She is married to a person who happens to be a man and happens to be Black. Her relationship isn't a "statement" about either of those aspects of his existence; her love is simply something that is. She is Jewish working in a society that's largely Christian. Her cultural perspective to NOT center her cartoon around Christian holidays and Christian morals; her choices to make an alternate world in this specific way is simply something that is. Her queer perspective as a nonbinary bisexual person has helped inform the Gems' radical philosophy of "what if we learned to explore and define ourselves instead of doing the 'jobs' we're assigned and being told it's our nature?" Her decision to include queer people in a broadly queer cartoon isn't designed PRIMARILY as a battle against baddies, or to drown out all the relentless straightness, or to deliciously get our queer little paws all over their kids' TV. It's an act of love.

So this is just to say that though I DO understand that sometimes subversion and intentional transgression are very necessary, I do not think that's the HEART of what's going on at this Gem wedding. We got a wholesome marriage scene between two of the most lovely little flawed-but-still-somehow-perfect characters, and I very much want to see their choices as being about them. About how Ruby feels in a dress. About how Sapphire feels about not having to always wear a dress. About them incorporating a symbol of their union into their separate lives so they can have some independence in their togetherness. About them celebrating their love by letting Steven wipe his schmaltz all over them.

There are many choices in the show that ARE carefully constructed to counter existing narratives, you know, giving the Crystal Gems' only boy all the healing, pink, flower imagery; having a single-sex species that's ladyish with all the members going by "she"; featuring many nurturing male characters who cry and cook and raise kids without mothers; pairing multiple fighty ladies with gentler guys; and importantly, intentionally loading up the show with stories, characters, and imagery any gender will find appealing despite being tasked with expectations to pander to the preteen boy demographic.

But it's very important to me that the inclusion of queer characters and the featuring of their choices be seen primarily as a loving act, and way way less of a "lol screw the bigots." I want our stories to be about us. Yes, I know it's a necessary evil that sometimes our stories are also about fighting Them. But every time I see someone say they put Ruby in the dress to "piss off the homophobes" or "stump the censors" I feel a little gross. Like the time I picked out an outfit I loved and my mom said I only dressed in such an obnoxious way to upset her, and I was baffled because my aesthetic choices, my opinions, my choices had nothing to do with her. Yet they were framed like I chose these clothes primarily to cause some kind of petty harm to her, when not only was it not true but I was not even that kind of person who would gloat over intentionally irritating someone.

The queerness of this show isn't a sneaky, underhanded act trying above all to upset a bigot or celebrate someone's homophobic fury. It lives for itself. Its existence is about itself. It's so we can see ourselves in a show, and it's so people who aren't queer or don't have those experiences can see that we exist, we participate, we want very similar things, and definitely are focusing way more about celebrating our love at our own weddings rather than relishing the thought of bigots tearing their hair out and hating us.

It's dangerous to turn every act of our love into a deliberate movement in a battle strategy when their weddings just get to be weddings.

I think there’s this idea that that [queer characters] is something that applies or should be only discussed with adults that is completely wrong. And I think when you realize that talking to kids about heteronormativity is just like air that you breathe all the time, it’s kind of amazing that that is not true in any other capacity. I think if you wait to tell kids, to tell queer youth that it matters how they feel or that they are even a person, then it’s going to be too late! You have to talk about it—you have to let it be what it gets to be for everyone. I mean, like, I think about, a lot of times I think about sort of fairy tales and Disney movies and the way that love is something that is ALWAYS discussed with children. And I think also there’s this idea that’s like, oh, we should represent, you know, queer characters that are adults, because there are adults that are queer, and you should know that’s something that is happening in the adult world, but that’s not how those films or those stories are told to children. You’re told that YOU should dream about love, about this fulfilling love that YOU’RE going to have. […] The Prince and Snow White are not like someone’s PARENTS. They’re something you want to be, that you are sort of dreaming of a future where you will find happiness. Why shouldn’t everyone have that? It’s really absurd to think that everyone shouldn’t get to have that! --Rebecca Sugar

#steven universe #ruby and sapphire #rebecca sugar #queer relationships #long post #myblog

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absolutebl · 24 days

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BLs with Strong Historical Elements

Costume dramas, historical BLs, and BLs with time travel or flashbacks to historical locations & times.

These are in order of my personal preference, best at the top.

I Feel You Linger in the Air

2023 Thailand

IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework (much like Until We Meet Again). It's about a gay man from our time who falls into the past, becomes a servant to a noble house, and falls in love with the heir. It turns out this has all happened several times before. Steeped in history and family drama it edges into lakorn (but not as much as To Sir With Love and with way less scenery chewing). This is an elegant and classy soulmates BL... from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. The main couple (both as a pair and as individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. Pity about the ending. Oh it wasn’t that sad but it wasn’t good either. This show could easily have earned a 10/10 from me except that it fumbled the… erm… balls in the final quarter. Argh. Whatever.

Nobleman Ryu's Wedding

2021 Korea - WeTV

A boy cross-dresses to take his runaway sister's place as a bride to a shy scholar, turns out they like being married. A historical setting allowed this BL to use some seriously old fashioned romance tropes (arranged marriage, evil step-sisters, Cinderfella) but also modern BL stylings like fake relationship & secret identity (drag) plus some cute gay panic. It reminded me of 12th Night more than anything else which just happens to be my favorite Shakespeare play. For all these reasons, I adored it.

(the ghat kiss!)

Tinted With You

2022 Korea - Viki

Fun stylish time travel meets portal fantasy with a likable cast, historical setting, and two actual kisses that mitigate the rough plot and issues around anachronisms.

Word of Honor

2021 China (censored) - Viki/YouTube?

I don’t rec Chinese stuff often, because I believe in censoring the censors, but this show is one of my favorites of the post 2016 censored bromances. It’s two murder-gay assassins (pining sunshine/tsundere), and they are so insanely gay for two boys who will never be allowed to kiss. Tropes include: wuxia, soulmates, paranormal, historical, and fantasy elements.

To Sir, With Love AKA Khun Chai

2022 Thailand - YouTube?

This is a true lakorn (basically Thai tellenovella or soap opera) with scenery chewing performances, especially from the mother characters. Gone With the Wind + Days of Our Lives but gay. That said? I loved it: A glorious central brother relationship (the best, made me cry), het romances, class divide + gay *gasp* main romance - oh my word, the campy drama of it all! Arranged marriage, rebellion, cut sleeves, over-the-top death with curses and regrets, beautiful if inaccurate costumes, secrets unraveling, cover ups, sparkle murder, sex herbs, coils within coils including snakes and murderous green metallic sequins (is anything gayer on this earth?). It’s a WILD ride but it does end happy for our gay boys. A man cries when he finds DEATH GLITTER. Come on! You haffa watch it. That said, like Manner of Death I struggle to rate something on a BL scale when it patently isn’t a BL. So I ended up giving this exactly what I gave that show, 7/10 I enjoyed it a whole lot, but not as a BL.

The Untamed (Special BL Edition)

2020 China (censored) - YouTube

Censored wuxia bromance, amorphous ending. Probubly the best known BL of its kind out of China and responsible for bring many fans to the BL side.

Our Skyy 2: Never Let Me Go

2023 Thailand - YouTube

I was nervous to watch this PondPhuwin vehicle but I liked it a lot! Doomed soulmates + paranormal time travel to fix the past. I’m happy for the outfits and the dancing (if not the singing). It’s not a bad premise and it’s nice to see GMMTV lean into its high production values for a change. I'd adore a full historical starring these two and this was definitely the best of the second series of Our Skyy. I don't think you have to have watched the original Never Let Me Go to enjoy this.

Legend of Long Yang: Rebirth

2017 China

Gaga

Whipping boy trope... literally, servant character takes the strap for the prince, who then makes him his bodyguard and lover when he becomes king. Low budget historical, comes off as kind of cosplay wuxia version of Irresistible Love, but we get (in the credits) an actual kiss, and they both live. So yay for small mercies.

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner

2023 Korea (historical flash backs)

iQIYI

A new employee at a film company encounters a director who claims to have lived 300 years and insists that they have to date (eat, hug & kiss) if baby doesn't want to die. It has a lot of Japanese elements, not the least of which are: an office setting, the fact that every character in this show is unhinged, and a killing of the gays. Featuring a gorgeous & stellar cast, TDWBMD should have utilized them less for melodrama and more for chemistry. This BL surprised me by going there with a lipstick mark AND an actually gay idol. But (you knew there was a but) while it's a unique twist on an office romance it is NOT a unique twist on the doomed red thread trope, resulting in it feeling less than the sum of its parts and ultimately unsatisfying. This might have also had to do with the fact that this was one of those KBLs where I felt how very short it was the whole time I was watching, like I was missing something constantly, in every episode. Worth watching for some but seriously flawed.

First Love Again

2022 Korea (historical flash backs) - Viki

A popular novelist who remembers his past lives meets his soulmate for the third time, only to find she has been reincarnated into the body of a man. This one started out a touch mean-spirited, but we eventually got a good kiss. The confession/rejection scene was justified and the reconciliation and ending was... fine. All in all, the pacing felt rushed and the romantic arc was underdeveloped. They go from like to love to boyfriends in a red hot minute. But that’s par for the course with Korea’s short form. If you don’t mind a heavy does of melodrama in your BL this one has a solid story with a strong concept that’s well acted and produced, making it a classic KBL with better than average chemistry but ultimately a touch forgettable.

Love in Spring AKA Spring of Crush

2022 Korea

This show was all over the place with uneven acting, narrative, and focus (sometimes it wanted to be a slapstick comedy, sometimes a depressing melodrama) which meant no one, actors or viewers, took anyone or anything seriously.... AND it’s a bromance. I was left wondering if SalHyung is now code for “they were roommates” in Kdrama historicals but otherwise largely apathetic and unimpressed. Korea, I now know you can do better. Do better.

Mermaid's Jade

2019 China (censored-esk) - Gaga

Kills the gay.

The Male Queen: Han Zi Gao

2016 China - Gaga

Kills the gay. Schrodinger's BL, both a BL and entirely not one at the same time.

Diary of Heong Yeong Dang

2014 Korea

Kills the Gay

I was gonna do a top 10 list, but there aren't enough by my metrics, so many end sadly.

This post at the behest of @verymuchof thank you for the idea!

Dated April 2023, includes only BLs that had finished their run by that date. Not responsible for cool costume flix that come after that. But you should check the comments to see if any have been added by others!

I might have missed a few that only have time historical elements since I don't always track those.

Also I would like to point out a decided lack of Japan on this list. My ninja yaoi consuming tiny past self is VERY upset about this void.

WHERE ARE MY GAY NINJAS??!!!

(source)

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hilsoncrater · 1 year

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The Tedependent Tinhat Thesis

Welcome! Welcome to The Tedependent Tinhat Thesis.

As of writing this, only Episode 1 of Season 3 has been released so far. If you feel the need to send me an anon about how Ted/Trent won’t happen, I implore you to remember when fandom culture used to encourage people to ship characters freely — even when those characters never interacted. This is all written in good fun, and to critically analyze Ted Lasso through a queer lens.

Disclaimer: This meta compiles various topics discussed by people in the Tedependent camp. I cannot take credit for everything. If anything, this is a love letter to them.

To make this a bit easier to digest (and write), I’ve divided this meta into the following sections:

Queerness in the Media. Ted Lasso and His Subtextual Bisexuality. Trent Crimm, Independent. Tedependent Evidence. Rom-com Tropes and Structure. Narratives and Storytelling. Unexpected Ending.

So let’s begin on a base level of understanding about queerness in the media and how that history does and doesn’t tie into Ted Lasso.

Queerness in the Media

The presence of queer people in film has been a contentious topic since the enactment of the Hays Code in 1934. The Hays Code sanitized/censored what could be shown on-screen, and catered to an audience of white, straight men. This sanitization/censorship of media went hand in hand with the American societal shift into conservatism at the end of the Great Depression and WWI.

The Hays Code remained in effect until 1968, when the political landscape of America once again shifted — this time into a more progressive light. Until 1968, filmmakers and creatives within the industry sought out ways to bend and push the Code’s rules. The invention of television helped play a role in the dissolution of the Code, as did the growing number of foreign films which depicted things like queerness and women’s sexuality.

Why is this relevant to Ted Lasso, a television show made in 2020?

30 years of conservative censorship and catering to straight, white men does a number on what people deem “acceptable” to show in film. This thinking extends into the world of television. The Hays Code was rooted in conservative ideology and created a system in Hollywood that prioritized white, straight men’s stories — to the point where there was little representation of anyone else. Its effects are still felt today, 55 years on from dissolution. There still is a terrible underrepresentation problem in Hollywood that runs from POC stories to women’s stories to queer stories. Even worse if any of those stories intersect with each other.

Before we dive into the topic of queer-coding in television, we need to understand the history of queer signaling. Queer signaling emerged so that queer people could identify themselves to other queer people without outing themselves to danger. It is by nature subtle to ensure safety within a homophobic society. Men wearing green carnations on their lapels, women giving other women violets, and the use of lavender are all queer signals that were used back in the day. Fashion choices are another signal (the old hanky code), as are certain phrases (“Are you a friend of Dorothy?”).

When you leave things to be subtle, it allows for people on the outside to interpret the information in a way that is easiest for them to digest. That has ramifications on queer history to be erased or explained away or rewritten to better push a heterosexual "default". You see it time and time again when historians call women who lived together for decades "good friends" or when historians laugh at the possibility of someone like Abe Lincoln being queer. There's this homophobic undercurrent of: How can this beloved, well-known person be queer? Why would you even imply something like that?

The same thing happens to queer characters on-screen. Queerness in television, specifically, has a history of being coded. Queer-coded characters are characters who are not explicitly queer — sometimes even are mentioned as straight —, but through their mannerisms and traits can be perceived as queer to the audience. Well known queer signals help aid in queer-coding. Harmful stereotypes also are utilizied to code a character. Therefore it is important to discern the intent and the use of these signals and/or stereotypes.

(Please note: Queer-coding is different than Queer-baiting. To code a character as queer is inherently neutral, while to bait a character as queer is almost always negative.)

The ambiguity of coding allows for the show/studio to not have to present overt representation at the risk of alienating its audience. Hello, Hays Code.

Queer-coding is a reflection on society's stance on queer people at the time the character is written. In the 1980’s, when the AIDS Crisis was labeled a “Gay Cancer”, Disney films queer-coded their villains (notable ones include Ursula and Scar). In the 1990’s, Chandler Bing in Friends became a queer-coded character, but instead of villainizing him, it served to ridicule him. Even jumping forward to today, characters (such as Deborah in Hacks) still remain coded despite other characters within the same show being explicitly queer.

And while the queer-coded characters of today are not targets of outright villainization, there lies an undercurrent rationalization to their subtextual queerness. For example, characters like Wednesday and Enid Sinclair from Wednesday are explained away as: “Well they’re just friends”.

Characters like Ted in Ted Lasso can be explained away as: “Well he isn’t toxically masculine”.

Ted Lasso and His Subtextual Bisexuality

Ted? A queer-coded character? Afraid so, bucko.

He isn’t the only one in the show, either. Keeley, Colin, and Trent are also queer-coded for their own reasons. Colin most notably for his Grindr comment; Keeley most notably for her various sapphic comments. Trent…we will get to later on.

(It is worth noting that as of writing this, there are still no explicitly confirmed queer characters in the show. Although the case can be made that Keeley is confirmed bisexual already).

Focusing back on Ted, there is a good amount of evidence for bisexuality that can admittingly be explained away. People can point out that he’s secure in his heterosexuality, that he isn’t toxically masculine, that that is just how his character is. And yes, those viewpoints are all true and well and good, but I want to pose a question:

Why are we so adamant that Ted Lasso isn’t queer?

Explaining away a queer-coded character’s subtextual queerness is perhaps the easiest route fans can take. Whether there is (implicit) homophobia attached or simply because of the fan’s strict adherence to what’s been canonically established so far, quite a few people’s knee-jerk reaction to reading a theory their beloved main character could be queer is: “Nope! No way, José!”

Let’s challenge that reaction for a second. Let’s put down the explanations. Let’s take a look into what, exactly, I am talking about when I say that Ted can be read as a bisexual man.

“Rugby. What a game. It’s like if American football and sumo wrestling gave birth to a baby with huge muscular thighs all caked in mud.” — Season 3, Episode 1.

This is a peek into how Ted views the sport of Rugby, and it sure is telling to what he pays attention to. It’s also said in the context of asking if Sharon is seeing anyone. The phrase “huge muscular thighs all caked in mud” draws up quite the image, which when paired up with the direct conversation context, lends itself into an erotic visual. Rugby is known to be a homoerotic sport, too.

(Please note: The “baby" in this sentence is Rugby personified to help segue the listener from imagining the sport as an abstract to imagining the sport as tangible. “It’s like if ___ and ___ gave birth to a baby” is a common figure of speech used to mean the combination of two things. The focus in this sentence is not the baby, but rather the muscular thighs.)

Ted could have said anything else about Rugby. But he didn’t. The first association he has with the sport is “muscular thighs caked in mud”. Why is that?

“Guys have underestimated me my entire life. And for years, I never understood why. It used to really bother me. But then one day, I was driving my little boy to school, and I saw this quote by Walt Whitman, and it was painted on the wall there. It said, ‘Be curious, not judgmental.’ I like that.” — Season 1, Episode 8

Walt Whitman was an openly gay poet in the 1800’s. His famous body of work Leaves of Grass has clear homoeroticism within it. The quote Ted references, though, isn’t a Whitman quote. But Ted believes it to be. “Be curious, not judgmental” is an aspired quote that reminds us to be more open-minded.

Added layer: Not understanding why peers underestimate you or treat you different is a common experience in the queer community.

“That’s funny, when it comes to small talk I often ask myself what would Dolly Parton do? Start with the 9 to 5 and end with God Only Knows” — Official Twitter. Sept 28, 2021

“And next week is, if I remember correctly, Shania Twain.” — Season 2, Episode 1

Dolly Parton and Shania Twain are gay icons, especially to country folk.

“Shoot, I know I got goosebumps. I remember being a little kid, sitting in front of the television and watching Queen perform right over there during Live Aid.” — Season 2, Episode 8

Queen is not only an iconic band, but interwoven with queer culture. Freddie Mercury was bisexual.

“Last time I saw equipment this impressive, I was about 20 minutes into Boogie Nights.” — Official Twitter. Aug 30, 2022.

Boogie Nights is a 1997 film about a man becoming an adult-film sensation in the 1970’s. Twenty minutes in, there is a scene referencing the main character’s dick.

Boogie Nights also draws heavily from the disco genre for it’s soundtrack. Disco is a staple in queer culture as it allowed people freedom to express their identities in the nightlife scene. It didn’t matter who danced with who in the clubs.

“I feel like you two [Beard and Nate] are about to do some improv comedy or tell me that you’re dating each other. Either one’s cool with me. ‘Cause your suggestion is: ally.” — Season 1, Episode 9

Ted is supportive of queer relationships. An ally, as he says. But maybe he isn’t just an ally.

He repeatedly calls members of the Diamond Dogs pet names/terms of endearment. “Sweetie” “Baby” “Honey”, the list goes on. When this began in Season 1, Episode 6, Beard found it out of character for Ted to do so. (Nate asking him if Ted’s alright and Beard laughing, “No!”). What makes me pause on this is that the origin of Ted’s terms of endearment stem from Michelle leaving him. Ted’s looking for emotional comfort or familiarity in other men that he can no longer give to or receive from his ex-wife.

Other straight men in the show (like Roy) don’t engage in this behavior.

Ted also really enjoys musical theatre. He references musicals a lot. I mention this information now because it is important later.

There are more examples in the show, but I hope I’ve laid out enough to get you to at least see the repeated mentions of queer culture. They’re spinkled in, sure, but they are there. And they’re given in a way that gives an impression that maybe, maybe Ted isn’t as straight as we’re led to believe.

Keep in mind that sexuality is fluid, bisexuality exists, and characters evolve over the course of their stories. Is it really so out there to imagine Ted developing into his own?

Let’s move on to Trent.

Trent Crimm, Independent

We do not know much of Trent’s backstory. Yet. James Lance has said in interviews that Jason Sudeikis brought it up to him early on. Interesting, as Trent hadn’t yet become a series regular. Was there always a plan in store for his character?

Well what do we know of Trent? From other character’s reactions and comments about him, we know he is someone who writes scathing exposés as a journalist. We know he’s highly obervant, blunt, and at times aloof. He takes his job seriously and he loves the sport of football. A “tough cookie” as Ted put it. People listen to what he writes about, as Rebecca mentions in Season 1 Episode 3. He’s established in his profession.

We also come to discover that he’s grown dissatisfied with his career. He’s “looking for something deeper”. He goes from disliking Ted (“Is this a fucking joke?”) to burning his source out of personal respect for Ted (“My source was Nate”). This shift in character is pretty drastic, though believable if you pay attention to how he acts in the press room and the questions he asks throughout Seasons 1 & 2.

He has a je ne sais quoi about him that queer fans of Ted Lasso have picked up on. Perhaps it’s the way he dresses, his hair, or his overall vibe. Perhaps it’s the way he looks at Ted like he’s endlessly fascinated by him. Trent Crimm, Independent inexplicably reads as gay.

Tedependent Evidence and Speculation

Keeping everything we’ve established so far in mind, let’s go through some of their scenes together. Keyword: some. This meta is long enough as is.

Lasting First Impressions

In the Pilot episode, one of the first things Ted says to Trent is, “I like your glasses.” To which Trent takes them off, looks at them, and replies, “Oh, thank you.” And then it becomes a recurring move he does nearly every time he talks to Ted.

In Season 1 Episode 3, Trent greets Ted, “Hello Coach Ted Lasso from America.” to which Ted replies, “Hello Trent Crimm from the Independent.” And then that becomes a recurring joke between them.

Speaking of Season 1 Episode 3, if you jump to 18:29, you’ll catch Trent giving Ted a full body check as Ted finishes getting ready.

Bring It On!

“Make like Dunst and Union and Bring It On, baby!” Ted says to Trent in Season 2, Episode 3.

The 2000 film Bring It On! includes a storyline about a gay cheerleader who is comfortable in his sexuality. The movie addresses issues of racism, appropriation, and systemic inequality. It’s become a beloved cult classic.

It is also the first time Ted uses a term of endearment on Trent. He doesn’t do that to any of the other journalists, indicating that they’re on personal friendly terms. Most of their interactions seem to happen off-screen. Ted baked birthday biscuits (and decorated them) for Trent’s daughter. Trent and Ted may have swapped phone numbers somewhere along the way too, seeing as Trent’s able to text him about Nate later on in the season.

The Tie Between Oklahoma! and Casablanca

When Ted references Oklahoma! in Season 1, Episode 5, it’s to specify that the musical is ruined for him due to it becoming a safeword in his marriage with Michelle. The direct quote is:

“So if either of us says ‘Oklahoma,’ the other one has to tell the God’s honest truth… Did ruin the musical for me though. So now every time I hear, ‘Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,’ or, uh… what… ‘Surrey with the Fringe on Top,’…”

“Surrey with the Fringe on Top” makes an appearance in the 1989 rom-com film When Harry Met Sally. Harry and Sally sing it together impromptu on a karaoke machine in an electronics store. Sally’s profession in the film is in journalism.

What else is referenced in When Harry Met Sally…? So glad you asked. Casablanca is referenced in the film a couple times. In the beginning and in the middle. It serves the narrative purpose to indicate how Harry and Sally’s outlook on love has developed over the years.

Casablanca is a hallmark of the romance genre. And it’s also been referenced in Ted Lasso. In Season 2 Episode 7, when Trent leaves his date to go over to talk to Ted, he says, “Of all the pub joints!”

The Casablanca quote is: “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” It is said by Rick about meeting Ilsa again.

Season 3 Episode 8 is allegedly titled “We’ll Never Have Paris”, which is a subversion of the Casablanca quote “We’ll always have Paris”.

Now for the absolutely insane bonkers speculation. That quote is said in the final scene of the film right after Ilsa asks Rick, “What about us?”. Rick isn’t getting on the plane with her, they’re separating, this is the end of their story. “We’ll always have Paris” is a reassurance that they’ll always be together in their memories.

So if “We’ll always have Paris” is a signifier to the end of a romance, it is possible that “We’ll Never Have Paris” is a signifier to the start of a romance. And who else in Ted Lasso has referenced Casablanca? No one. The only reference in the entire show so far has been said by Trent to Ted.

Twelfth Night

Want to get even more insane in the membrane? Of course you do.

Before Trent walks over to where Ted sits at the bar, Mae makes a reference to the Shakespearan play Twelfth Night. Her direct quote is: “If music be the food of love, play on. Give me excess of it.”

To which Ted replies: “If that's your fancy way of asking if I want another one, you guessed right.”

Sidebar here — because I love connecting the dots even if it turns out I haven’t connected jackshit — Ted’s reply could be a double entendre. He doesn’t say “if I want another drink”, he says “if I want another one”. Another one of what? It’s clear in the context of the bar it’s another one (beer), but it could also foreshadow to mean another one (love). The latter makes sense when combined with Mae’s reference.

Because Twelfth Night is a love story. It’s a romantic comedy. It’s a queer romantic comedy.

So Mae makes a cryptic reference — unprompted — to the opening of a queer love story, and then immediately afterwards we get Trent greeting Ted with a reference to another famous love story.

Remember how Trent did a full body check on Ted in Season 1 Episode 3? Well now it’s Ted’s turn. He does a full body check on Trent around the 31:50 mark in this episode. And he seems genuinely happy to see Trent until Trent puts his journalist cap on.

This happiness is also short-lived if we jump forward to Season 2 Episode 12. When Trent texts Ted initially, Ted smiles at his phone. The smile goes away as soon as Trent sends him the article he wrote.

Burning A Source

Trent burned his source for Ted. This serious, established journalist burned his source.

The Carpark

“Hey! There he is. I was worried about you. I thought you might’ve been in a bike accident or something.”

“Actually, I don’t know how to ride a bicycle.”

“Really? That surprises me.”

“Why? Cause of the hair and the whole vibe?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

— Season 2, Episode 12

Let’s break this down.

Remember how I said certain phrases are used as queer signaling? Bicycle is one of them. Bi-cycle used to be slang for bisexual (an example of this in pop culture is Queen’s song “Bicycle Race”). Trent saying he doesn’t know how to ride a bicycle could be a double entendre, with the hidden meaning that he isn’t bisexual. He then goes on to ask Ted about “the hair and the whole vibe”, which could be another double entendre. This time with the hidden meaning to ask if Ted’s got a gaydar. The pause at the end of his question and the way he asks it is equally important. He’s testing the waters with Ted.

And Ted passes the test with, “Yeah, I guess so.”

They are also in a carpark, which is a callback and parallel to not just Ted and Michelle, but also to Roy and Keeley.

This entire scene is coded and contains heavy foreshadowing. There’s a lot to unpack. From Trent’s choice of words to locking himself out of his car to Ted saying, “Do what The Man says and try to follow your bliss.”

Speaking of Ted, this is the last scene we see of him in Season 2.

Rom-com Tropes and Structure

So how does that evidence fit in with the story structure? We all know Ted Lasso is a rom-com. So let’s dissect the genre’s tropes and how its typically set-up.

Perhaps one of the most common rom-com tropes is the journalist falling in love (sometimes with who they’re writing about). Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, He’s Just Not That Into You, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, etc. This profession is popular.

There are also the friends of the romantic leads who help guide them. Diamond Dogs, anyone?

The anatomy of a rom-com is typically done in three acts.

ACT ONE: Meet-Cute

Every rom-com has a meet-cute. It’s integral to the structure. And oftentimes — if the rom-com includes someone who is a journalist — that meet-cute happens in the workplace. During this act, the two characters get to know one another and start to fall in love.

ACT TWO: Lose

This stage typically happens two-thirds of the way through. There’s a dissolution of some sort. One character betrays another or they argue or something gets in between them. Either way, one of them leaves.

ACT THREE: Declaration

Whoever left realizes “Wait a minute…I’m in love.” and then the rest of the film leads up to an iconic declaration of love. The characters reconcile and it’s — generally speaking — a happy ending.

It would make sense for Ted Lasso — which references rom-coms and rom-communism out the wazoo — to incorporate this structure. And I think that it already has somewhat in regards to Ted and Trent’s storyline, if you view each act as a corresponding season.

Narratives and Storytelling

Before we saw Ted’s panic attacks and now chronic depression, we got inklings of it. The writers consistently sprinkle foreshadowing into every major plot point in Ted Lasso. The situations in the show feel plausible and real because they’re given the space and the time to breathe, grow, and develop. Pacing is integral to this.

For a show to be so progressive yet not have an explicitly queer character seems strange to me. It feels off. We are given hints, though, which lead me to believe that sexuality will be a major plot point in Season 3. For it being the last season, it’s not going to be enough to potentially only have Colin be the One Gay in the entire cast of characters. That would feel uncharacteristically dismissive from the writers on a show about inclusion and found family.

It would also completely throw out a chance to further enrich the story and deepen the characters. Think about the wasted comedic potential of Trent becoming an accidental gay mentor to Colin. Or the wasted dramatic potential of the Richmond team banding together against homophobia. Or, I don’t know, the wasted dramedy in Ted talking to the Diamond Dogs about how he’s realizing he’s got feelings for men, and there’s a moment where they’re like, “No shit.”

Beyond foreshadowing, another common style the Ted Lasso writers love to utilize is the red herring. A red herring is a misleading bit of information used to distract the audience from the relevant information. We saw it in Season 2 between Ted and Rebecca and Sam. Some people didn’t connect the dots between Sam’s Bantr storyline and Rebecca’s Bantr storyline because Ted — the red herring in this example — was shown also texting on his phone. Editing played a part in this too, as some shots cut to Ted directly after Rebecca had a Bantr Moment.

I honestly think we’re going to get a subversion of this in Season 3. Only this time Rebecca will be the red herring to distract from Ted and Trent. Here’s why:

There are multiple parallels between scenes where Ted interacts with Rebecca and with Trent. This gifset captures those parallels. He gets through both of their barriers (hopping over Rebecca’s “fence” and softening Trent’s “tough cookie” exterior). It’s the Lasso Effect, baby!

What’s more, a larger portion of the audience watching Ted Lasso are primed to expect Ted and Rebecca as endgame. It’s what happens in shows between two main characters of the opposite gender, right? They get together, live happily ever after. Especially if they’re good friends.

Anyone expecting the Ted and Rebecca ending will probably disregard anything developing between Ted and Trent even if its right in front of them. Because historically two men don’t end up together on-screen. Especially not in a show as big as Ted Lasso.

But what if a queer endgame is what Jason Sudeikis means when he says in interviews that the ending is not what we’ll expect?

Unexpected Ending

Before we look at the ending, we must look at the beginning.

The first shot of the season is of Ted’s depressed face in an airport. Since Ted Lasso has so far began and ended each season with a juxtaposition shot, it would make sense for the last shot in Season 3 to be of Ted’s happy face. Whether or not that’s in an airport remains to be seen.

The teaser trailer for this season dropped on Valentine’s Day, which was our first look into Season 3. Season 3 ends on May 31, 2023, one day before June. Or, in other words, one day before Pride Month. The combination here of Valentine’s Day and Pride Month lends itself to an interesting choice.

The official Season 3 playlist dropped on Apple Music. So far all the song’s have been in order, and as there are 56 songs on the playlist, I’m inclined to believe that it’s the entire season.

“Wigwam” by Bob Dylan is the first song of the season. It’s got a melancholic, drifting feel to it, with no real lyrics. If it still stands that the songs are in order, then the last song on the show is “I Am What I Am” by Donald Pippin & George Hearn from the 1983 Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles. It’s got a purposeful, proud feel to it, with meaningful lyrics.

Remember how I said that Ted is a huge musical theatre nerd? La Cage aux Folles is an insane pick — in the best way — to end the show. It’s cultural impact was huge when it came out, as it was the first hit Broadway show that centered on a gay couple, Albin and Georges. “I Am What I Am” quickly became a gay anthem. I can’t give notable lyrics because the entire song is a love letter to being out and proud of who you are. It’s also worth noting that Albin and Georges are fathers to a son.

But why would they pick this particular song from this particular musical? Why choose a gay anthem?

I cannot say for certain that Ted and Trent will end up together by the end of Season 3. All I can say is that it would make sense if they do. From the set-up to the Rom-com tropes to the unexpected ending. And if it doesn’t, if all this ends up being wrong, that’s okay too.

Still, though, I can’t help but root for them.

#ted lasso #ted lasso meta #trent crimm #tedependent #ted lasso speculation #tedtrent #can you fuckign believe this is over 4k words....jesus #there was so much i did not include such as interviews from both james and jason #hope this made sense LMAO

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rinixo · 2 years

Text

cherry waves

Din Djarin/Reader | 3.1k | Rated E | afab reader, no y/n, sex pollen trope, description of illness, vaginal fingering, first time

In hindsight, that caf did taste a little off.

Non-linear oneshots featuring you, a university scholar from Naboo who is helping The Mandalorian seek out the Jedi.

read on ao3

The quiet murmur of the crowds were faint in the back of your mind as you sat underneath the shade near a small food stand. In front of you on the table were various datapads, and as you sipped on your caf your eyes darted from one to another, analyzing the information.

Off in the distance, The Mandalorian entertained the child by walking him past the various shops and stands. The baby had been distracting you from your current task, so the metal man had graciously pulled him away to ply his attention with shiny baubles and roasted skewers.

The market you were on wasn’t particularly large or well known, but it suited your needs well enough. The three of you needed to stretch your legs and breathe non-recycled air after a couple of weeks being cooped up in the Crest. Being able to stock up on some basic necessities was a plus, especially in a place where you were unlikely to be noticed or tracked by the various bounty hunters and imperial remnants out to find you.

However, supplies and fresh air were only second on your list of priorities. What you really needed, and what eventually led to you sitting there surrounded by datapads was a reliable Holonet connection.

A few days ago, you had approached Mando about your current progress on tracking down information on the Jedi Order. You had stockpiled terabytes of records and information prior to fleeing Naboo, which had been helpful, but could only get you so far.

“I need to cross-reference the variables against the network in order to extrapolate the most relevant data points and establish the locations with the highest likelihood of success,” you had explained. Mando had turned slightly in his seat, and you guessed that under that helmet he was frowning.

Smiling apologetically, you tapped your nails against the side of your datapad. You had the tendency to get too technical when it came to your passion. “I need a stable connection to the Holonet so I can plug in the info we know about the Jedi against recent mentions or sightings so I can narrow down where we should be looking.”

That seemed to make sense, so a few days later there you were, hooked up to the Holonet on some planet you had already forgotten the name of. For the past hour, you had been running the data, searching for info points on your keywords – ‘Jedi’, ‘laser sword’, ‘space magic’, etc – hoping to find something that would get you closer to your goal.

A while later, your search had yielded a half dozen promising leads. Pleased, you shut off your data pads and began to pack up your items up as Mando waltzed back over.

“Any luck?” He asked, and you nodded as you stood.

“Actually, yes. I found some relatively recent data that I think is worth investigating.” The two of you (and the baby, tucked away in his pouch at Mando’s side) began your short journey back to where the Razor Crest was docked while you continued to speak. “The New Republic has removed most of the Imperial censors on the ‘net, but a lot of the data on the Jedi has just been purged completely. It’s not so much that the information is censored at this point – rather, the information just doesn’t exist anymore. At least not in a format I can access.”

“But you found something?” Mando asked, and you detected a tinge of hope in the timbre of his voice.

Reaching into your pack, you pulled out one of your data pads and pulled up some coordinates. “Yes, several locations that have mention of information or remnants of Jedi history, and in some cases alleged sightings of actual Jedi.” Mando took the pad from you as you approached the Crest, climbing the ramp into the belly of the ship. “One of those places is just one jump away, actually.”

Mando handed the pad back to you, and began to head towards the cockpit. “Good job. We’ll start there.”

You set your things down among the recently re-stocked supply crates, hoping that turning your face away from the man was enough to hide the heat in your cheeks and the shine in your eye from the compliment. Your halfhearted attempt at dampening your crush on the armored man had failed, and your heart continued to race every time he praised you or brushed up against you.

You had acknowledged that Mando’s first priority would always be the child, which you respected and agreed with. You often wondered if the subtle hints you sent his way, in your body language and voice, made it through the beskar armor. He was still as stoic and unflappable as he was when you first met, but his replies had started to come easier and it felt like he would now go out of his way to spend time with you, instead of the wide berth he had given you half a year ago. Part of you knew that it was due in no small part to the trust the two of you had built, but the romantic in you also liked to wonder if it was something a little more.

A sharp pain in the back of your neck pulled you out of your wistful thinking, and you winced. Chalking it up to too much caf too quickly, you decided you finish putting your things away and take a nap. You didn’t want it to turn into a headache or migraine, and a nap was usually enough to stave such off.

Several hours later, you remained awake in your cot, head aching and body burning. You had slept in fitful bursts until the burning under your skin forced your eyes back open to the low light of the hold where you lay. Sweat trickled across your skin, and you let out a low moan tinged with pain. You felt like your very blood was made molten, chugging sluggishly through your veins and pooling uncomfortably between your thighs. Every slight movement of your legs and your body sent shocks of sensation to your most sensitive nerve endings.

Hoisting yourself up with some difficulty, you shuffled slowly towards the refresher, thin tank sticking to your clammy skin. Pushing open the door, you gazed at your reflection in the mirror, someone you had a hard time recognizing staring back. Your skin was slick with sweat, your pupils blown dark and wide. With a shaking hand, you turned on the water and tried to relieve some of your pain by splashing it across your face. It did nothing to help, and merely splashed your already sweat-soaked top with ice cold water.

Shutting the water off, you turned to return to your cot, only to bump straight into a broad metal chest. The impact wasn’t very hard, but in your fragile state you fell to the ground, legs shaking underneath you. Your head pounded, and you groaned and covered your eyes.

“Are you alright? You don’t look so good,” Mando inquired. You rasped out a ‘no’, throat dry. You weren’t sure what was going on, but you knew that you definitely did not feel well. Your pussy throbbed at the sound of his voice, which would normally not feel so bad. In your current state, it was almost painful.

Mando turned, looking for something, and returned shortly with a cup of water. He knelt to be closer to your level, and held up the cup to your lips. He helped you sip, and you downed the water gratefully, feeling the dryness in your throat ease some.

“What happened?” Mando asked, and you sighed.

“I don’t know,” you said weakly. “Maybe I’m sick? I felt fine until we got back to the Crest. I had a bit of a headache so I tried to sleep it off, but it just kept getting worse and worse.” A low ‘hmm’ emanated from the beskar helmet, and Mando pulled off a glove to place the back of his hand gently against your cheek. You closed your eyes and leaned into it, thankful for the coolness of his skin against your blazing cheek.

“You’re burning up,” Mando said, concern evident in his voice. “It’s odd that you’d get this sick this quickly.” You let out a whine as he removed his hand, letting you head lull to the side. A sudden thought rushed through your head and you looked up at him in panic.

“You – and the baby – I don’t want you two to get sick,” you breathed out. “You should get away from me, and keep him away.” Mando stood, and pulled a datapad towards him. Frustrated that he seemed to ignore your concern, you tried to pull yourself up and found it more of a struggle than you could attempt. Choosing instead to crawl towards him, you pleaded for him to return to the cockpit.”

“Hush,” Mando commanded, and it was like every cell in your body stood at attention to obey him. You shut your mouth and rested your head against his armored thigh, closing your eyes to ride another wave of the burning in your blood that seemed to both come from and end up between your legs.

“Did you have anything to eat when we were in the market earlier?” Mando asked. You shook your head weakly.

“N-no…just a couple cups of caf…”

His helmet tilted sharply to look down at you. “Caf? Are you sure?”

Confused, you shrugged. “I…I think so?” Now that you thought about it, it had tasted a little unusual, but you had assumed it was just some kind of local variety. “It was a little…spicy…?”

A muffled expletive was all you heard as Mando set the datapad down and crouched to get at your eye level again. He grasped your chin gently in one hand to steady your head, and you felt your blood sing. You could faintly make out your reflection in his helmet, your pupils so dark it felt like your vision should be black.

“Wha-?” you said in a hushed voice, confused. Mando sighed, and let go of your chin. He remained in a crouched position, arms on his knees and hands opening and closing into fists as he struggled to explain.

“I think you’ve been poisoned,” he started slowly. Your head shot up, panic evident on your face. “Not on purpose,” he clarified, “at least I don’t think so. I don’t think what you were given was caf. That planet is known for an herb that – in some people – elicits this kind of reaction,” he gestured at you. “I’m guessing that it was in what you drank.”

Your mind raced. Poisoned? Herb? None of it made sense in your addled state. All you knew was that with every passing moment your body throbbed with need and you were edging closer and closer to shoving your hand into your pants right here in front of the Mandalorian.

“Is there an antidote?” You moaned. “How long does this last?”

Mando shook his head. “Not that I know of. From what I’ve encountered, it can last a couple of days, but I’ve never seen someone have such a strong reaction,” he explained sympathetically. “I don’t know how much you had, so I don’t know how long this will last.”

“Is there anything to relieve this feeling?” You practically begged. “Mando, I’m desperate, this is unbearable…”

The man cleared his throat. It was clear he was struggling with something.

“There is,” he said lowly. “But it’s…it’s not something that…” he trailed off. You stifled a sob and crawled closer to him. One of his hands came to steady you at your shoulder.

“This reaction – the herb – it affects your libido,” he continued calmly. You grit out a short, strained laugh.

“No shit.” Something about him acknowledging he understood what you were experiencing was almost liberating. You felt like the more he talked to you, the more he touched you, the closer you were to him the clearer your head felt. The burn under your skin was still there, and the desire pounding through your veins, but your mind and attention were more focused.

“Yeah. So you can work it through your system faster by, uh…” he stumbled over his words. “R-releasing…”

You wanted to sink through the floor and float off into space, never to be seen again. The idea of getting off here with Mando knowing was mortifying. Sure, you were attracted to him, but this was not the way you had fantasized about approaching the topic with him.

“Damn it,” you murmured. “Damn it.” You looked up at Mando, debating your options. It seemed you could either ride this out, not knowing how long it would last, or get off until it wore off. Mando made it sound like it would be at least a few days before it was out of your system naturally You already felt at the end of your rope after just a few hours, so you crossed that off your list. That left you with one option.

Letting out a defeated sigh, you sat back on your haunches. “Can you help me up?” You asked, voice trembling. “Get back to my cot so I can, uh…”

Understanding, Mando moved towards you. Instead of sampling helping you stand, you let out a small squeak as he hoisted you up into his arms. The feeling of your skin against his cold armor was both a relief and a trigger, sending more need through your body.

He walked you over to your cot, and gently laid you down. You let out another (mostly) involuntary moan as his strong embrace lessened, and you desperately wished he would continue to hold you.

“Thanks,” you gasped out. “I’m so sorr-“

“Do you want help?”

You closed your mouth, not knowing to believe what you thought you just heard or not. He had said it so suddenly. His helmeted gaze was fixed on you, and you propped yourself up on one elbow.

“H-help?” You gulped. “H-help how?” His gaze remained steady, and there was a tension radiating off his body like you hadn’t seen before.

“I could…touch you,” he clarified. “Help you…release. Only if you want to,” he added. “Never without – I’d never presume –“

“Yes,” you said breathlessly. Your body hummed with desperation and need. “Please, yes, Mando.” His concern for you was intoxicating, his hurried explanation endearing.

Mando slowly moved to sit on your cot. While your sleeping space wasn’t exactly tiny, his bulk took up most of the space as he leaned against the wall, spreading his legs slightly. “Lay against me,” he said gently. Your body immediately obeyed his command, and shot up to crawl between his legs, settling between them, back against the cool structure of his chest. You felt dwarfed by his body and his presence, and that in and of itself was sending notes of gratification through you.

He shifted you slightly, so that your legs could spread wider. The feeling of his gloved hands against the soft skin of your thighs made you gasp sweetly, and you closed your eyes and leaned your head back.

A short rustle, and then his hands were back, this time bare. “Can I touch you?” He asked again, one hand on your thigh, the other hovering over the waistband of your bottoms. You nodded, and let out a hushed ‘yes’. Despite your enhanced state, you felt fully in control of your senses and cognizant of your decision.

Mando slipped his hand under your shorts, and cupped your dripping cunt. You spread your legs further, bumping them up against his. His hand on your thigh rubbed soft, soothing circles as his other prodded your folds and clit carefully.

You were so pent up and sensitive your first orgasm came embarrassingly fast. Mando slowly caressed your swollen pussy as you bit your lip and whimpered.

“So soon?” Mando joked breathlessly. Your hands came up to grip his pants, fisting the material as your lower half writhed.

“M-more Mando, please…”

He obliged you, putting pressure on your throbbing clit. You chewed on your lower lip, trying to move your hips in motion with his ministrations. His hand ventured lower, two fingers slipping inside you as the heel of his palm rubbed your clit. You opened your mouth in a silent ‘ah’ as he began to stroke in and out of you – not too deep, just enough to make your legs begin to shake.

His unoccupied hand came up to rest on your lower stomach. You marveled at how hands so calloused could feel so soft against you. You looked down at where he continued to pump in and out of you, cheeks burning. You were wetter than you had ever been before, and the sound of Mando touching you was nearly obscene.

You could feel another orgasm approaching. Your hands gripped his pants harder, and you arched your back, trying to get Mando to fill you more. His hand on your stomach stayed firm, holding you in place as he methodically fingered your dripping cunt.

“That’s it,” he murmured, voice husky and low even through the vocoder. “Let me help you-”

“M-maker…” you gasped. He ground his palm against your mound, and you were on the precipice. Your thighs shook with the effort of trying not to writhe so much that he lose his grip. You wondered where he learned to do this. Maybe it was the effect of the herb making you more sensitive, but it was like he was playing your body like an artist perfecting a masterpiece.

Your orgasm built like chain lightning, and rolled over you like thunder. Your thighs snapped closed, trapping his hand between your legs. Your head fell forward as you wailed, Mando coaching you through your second release.

“Yes, good girl, you’re doing so well-“

It felt like your release lasted two lifetimes before your thighs began to part. You felt extremely sensitive as Mando slipped his fingers out of you, trailing them up over your clit. Your body jerked from the sensation, and you panted, eyes closed.

“Feeling better?” Mando murmured, hand rubbing soft circles on your tummy. You nodded, voice not found. You were feeling lightyears better in fact – the burn was still there, but so much more subdued and your head no longer pounded.

“Mmm,” he said. “I guess your exceptional reaction results in exceptional completion.”

You let out a laugh. “Is that your hypothesis?” Mando’s hands returned to your thighs, and you bit your lip as he teased the soft skin there.

“Perhaps,” he mused. “I think it could benefit from more investigation.”

“Agreed,” you breathed, letting the pleasure wash over you as he resumed his attention dutifully.

pt 2 but with din getting sex pollen’d.....? ∠( ᐛ 」∠)

#din djarin x reader #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian #din djarin #sex pollen #din djarin smut #mandalorian smut #mando x reader

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sports-on-sundays · 5 months

Note

heyy girlyy, can i please request an enemies to lovers with pedri where the reader and him are notorious for fighting all the time and lowkey hating each other in school, but one day this boy and the reader get in a fight and he hits her and she comes out of a classroom crying with blood on her face and pedri sees her and asks her "who did this to you"🤭🤭 and is absolutely furious but she doesn't tell him who did it at first but then sees how mad he is so she tells him and he goes and beats the shit out of the boy who hit her, then the reader and pedri are in the nurses room together and she asks him why he did that and he confesses his feelings for her and how he was in love with her the whole time and she does the same and they kiss or something, yayy

a very detailed ask but i hope you don't mindd, anyways hope you're doing well, lot's of lovee 🫶💕

I hate you (not) / Pedri González

Summary: There is a very detailed summary in the ask haha! Pedri x female!reader. High school AU. Enemies to lovers trope ig.

Warnings: Blood, crying, censored swears

Requested?: Yes ma'am!

Author's Note: I love the detailed request girl! Thanks so much! I appreciate the support!

Pedri walks down the empty hallway slowly. He's tardy anyway, so why not just walk slow so he doesn't have to do any work when he gets to maths, right?

As he walks, he thinks. He thinks about the argument he had gotten in with you the day before. Maybe he had been a little harsh- saying that you were a terrible cheerleader and all the boys made fun of you in the locker room all the time? Yeah, that might have been kind of mean. You had flipped out, clearly hurt to hear this, yelling at Pedri and firing back at him about how he was a cocky idiot, and no one really liked him anyway- everyone was just pretending because they didn't want to hurt his feelings, but really they all gossiped about how much of an ass he was.

In truth, neither of these things were true at all. And in truth, both you and Pedri had believed what the other had said.

Then you had shoved Pedri, and he had smirked and teased you about how weak the shove was, before walking off.

Yeah, Pedri feels bad.

He's getting to class just as the bell is ringing. Students immediately start flooding out of the classroom, pushing themselves out of the door as if spending one more second in that room would suffocate them.

But then suddenly Pedri's jaw drops when you walk out of the classroom. You've got your hand over your mouth and nose, and there are tears streaming down your cheeks from your eyes, though you're clearly trying to be tough. You freeze when you meet the eyes of Pedri. Your eyes widen, and dread sets in deep within you. Oh God, no. The last thing I need right now is for Pedri to start taunting me about being a weak cryb-

Suddenly unexpected anger wells up within Pedri, and his jaw clenches. He doesn't even really know why- maybe it's because he still feels bad about what he said to you yesterday; maybe it has to do with the deep, honest feelings for you he has hidden down deep within himself. He snaps, "What the hell? Y/n, what happened? Are you okay? Who did this to you? Where's the teacher?!"

You continue to choke up, letting out only short breaths as you feel the blood trickle down the inside of your palm. You're in so much discomfort, you decide not even to worry about what kind of off motives Pedri has right now as you murmur, "The teacher was out of the room..."

As students awkwardly continue to file out of the room, Pedri asks again, "Who did this to you...?"

You glance around nervously, about to walk past him, but suddenly he grabs your arm. You look back at him in surprise. His concerned, angry brown eyes meet yours. His grasp on your arm is tough, but not enough to hurt. "Y/n... Tell me who did this to you."

"Pedri, I can't tell you..." you softly squeak, staring at his hand on your arm. "I don't want him to..." you hesitate, and let yourself trail off.

But he repeats with such seriousness, tenacity, and sincerity, "Y/n, it's alright... Just... Tell me who the hell did this..."

You swallow, and then say his name softly. It dawns on Pedri right away who the boy is, and he looks around in the thinning crowd. He spots the boy, and on impulse, so quickly so that you can't even stop him, suddenly he attacks the kid, knocking them to the ground. You stare in shock as the one minute they beat on each other feels like about one day. You're frozen as blood drips down to your chin.

"Why the hell would you hurt her? Do you see her? She's crying? Do you see how much blood there is? She's pale, you idiot! Don't you feel sorry! Say sorry! And if you tell anyone about this, you're going to be-"

You stare in awe when the boy on the ground shouts, gasping, "Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I won't tell anyone! Get off of me!"

Pedri hesitates, then slowly nods. You're leaning against the hall, slightly trembling. The moment Pedri pushes the boy away down the hall, commanding him with such fierceness to get back to class, he immediately turns to you. With no hesitation he uses the end of his shirt to wipe your blood a bit and murmurs, putting an arm around your back, "Hey... Let's go to the nurse's office. Okay?" He speaks with such gentleness and softness, you can hardly believe this is really Pedri. I didn't know he was even capable of speaking in a tone that sweet.

You walk along with him, feeling very confused. You get to the nurse's office- the whole walk you both just keep silent. Pedri explains to the nurse that you fell and cut your mouth and nose (which vaguely annoys you, because that makes it seem like instead of getting in a fight, you just fell over like a clumsy freak right on your f*cking face. But whatever.), and the nurse fixes up your mouth, covering the wound with some bandages. The whole time, Pedri stays. You watch as he slips a sweatshirt over his head that he had in his backpack- probably to cover the stain of your blood on his shirt. The nurse doesn't ask why Pedri stays, and neither do you, until you're all fixed up and walking out of the classroom alongside Pedri.

A few seconds pass by. You walk next to him, looking at the floor. The bandage above your mouth feels uncomfortable. But, you suppose, it's much better than the possible alternatives, which would be still spilling blood everywhere, or forming a huge ugly scab on your face. Pedri is also looking down, but his dark brows are knitted together, as though he's deep in thought. His hand brushes against yours as you walk, and suddenly he looks up. You look up, too. Your eyes meet his dark chocolate colored ones. He seems to hesitate. You swallow. "Pedri," you start softly. There's a question that has been in your head and bugging your heart ever since he met you outside the classroom. "Can I ask you a question?"

You watch his Adam's apple bob up, and then down again, when he swallows, before nodding. "Yeah."

"Why... Why did you do that?" you hesitate. "I thought you hated me..."

Pedri bites his lip, looking into your eyes. "I... I don't hate you. I've never hated you. The truth is, I like you. A lot. And I owe you an apology. A huge apology."

You stare in confusion and shock.

He rests his hand on your shoulder. Gives it a soft squeeze. "I'm sorry for hurting you all these times... I..." Pedri can't believe he's really doing this. All this time he's been masking his feelings, and all the sudden, now, it's all tumbling out.

He doesn't even know why. Right just seems like... the right time.

"Y/n, I've liked you for a long while now... And yeah, I mean the crush kind of like."

Pedri watches as your hand covers you mouth. "Pedri- then why..."

His jaw clenches. "Years ago when I started liking you I was too stupid to just admit it. So to mask it I was rude to you. Plus, it was fun to tease you sometimes... But I took it too far and... Yeah, here we are today, right now... I couldn't just randomly change my behavior, so I had no idea what to do. But Y/n, I really do..."

Suddenly your heart wells up, and your face heats up, and with no more thought put into it, you grab his hand tightly and squeak, "Pedri, I think I like you, too."

Now it's his turn to look shocked. "Really? Why? How? I've been so rude to you..."

I shrug. "I couldn't deny you're cute. I've always liked your personality. Sometimes I enjoyed your teasing. That's just why when we got in real arguments, it really broke me..."

He gently strokes your heating up cheek, your eyes lock. "Will you forgive me? Now that you know-"

You smile softly, enjoying the feeling of his touch on your cheek, and interrupt, "Of course I forgive you..."

His eyes shine. "This must be the best case scenario..."

You nod, and you notice his face slowly inching towards yours. You lean in, too, still eyes locked. Soon your faces are nearly touching, and Pedri whispers softly, "There's something I've been wanting to do for a while... Can..." He looks embarrassed, but you wait. "Can I kiss you?"

You swallow, hesitate, but then nod. And just like that, his head tilts, eyes close, and his soft lips gently press against yours. He cups the nape of your neck, and his other hand slips behind your back.

Suddenly you both jump though, pulling away from the lovely kiss when you hear the beginnings of the school bell.

Pedri waves, and says, "I'll meet you outside the front of school after classes!"

You stare, stunned, as you watch him walk away. You don't even care you've probably missed at least three class periods. You just gently press your fingers to the lips that Pedri just kissed, heart pounding and butterflies swarming.

My God. This is a dream come true.

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idesofrevolution · 10 months

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Let’s talk honestly

So I just wanna share where I’m at these days with Tumblr, the community, and some concerning developments as of late. Firstly, I want to thank all 5k of you for supporting me for almost a decade on this platform. It has been a wild ride with ups and downs but this community has really given me an overall positive impact on my self image, bettered my writing skills, and helped to come to terms with who I am as a person and as a kinkster. So above all, I have so much gratitude for y’all, thank you.

Over the last couple of months, I have taken notice to some difficulties on behalf of Tumblr and their censorship efforts against queer erotic writing. I have had to fight more flags and community labels than ever before, and it has really affected my desire and motivation to publish more stories. If only certain folks with their mature censor turned off can read my posts, that fuckin sucks. But I admittedly got rather stoned last night and thought about why Tumblr is cracking down so viciously on our content. I think I’ve come to my own conclusion there.

I am and have been extremely alarmed by a number of tropes that have become relatively commonplace in recently posted tf prose. As I have mentioned countless times before, underage people have no business being in your sexual fantasy fiction whatsoever. The amount of writers I’ve seen recently posting stories focusing on 12-16 year of children being erotically transformed is disturbing to put it delicately. Especially those which maintain the children’s psychological age intact, but even without that trope it is inappropriate, unacceptable, and should not be platformed on Tumblr.

In addition, I’d like to touch on another trope: homophobic tf. Now I have no issue whatsoever with Gay to straight, as being straight is a valid expression of sexual orientation. There is nothing wrong with featuring characters from a wide array of identities. That being said, this new content of lib to con, MAGA tf, gay bashing tf… it’s disgusting. In the current world we live in, these types of archetypical characters do exist in the real world and are causing real significant harm to queer folks. These groups of people are actively, in their own words, trying to eradicate the LGBT community in America. These types of people exist all over the world as well, and queer identifying people live in legitimate, actual fear for their lives. I question why we fetishize individuals who seek a literal genocide of an entire peoples, and whether it is acceptable to do so. I point to the fetishization of Nazism as an apt comparison: a hypermasculinized group of people who sought eradication of a group of people based solely on concrete identities which could not be changed. I believe we as a community have rightly deplatformed such content, and I cannot fathom why this current iteration is in such a Renaissance.

These are just two examples of obvious reasoning as to why Tumblr might righteously suppress tf erotica on their platform. Can I blame them? No. Frankly, I understand completely. If the community refuses to monitor and moderate its on content, then Tumblr as the platform most certainly will.

I’m unsure as to what the future looks like for Ides, as this current trajectory is not something I’d like to participate in. I’m hoping like minded writers will be a bit more critical in choosing the tropes and prompts for their stories, but in all honesty, I have significant doubts. Rest assured, I will touch base with y’all before I do anything drastic. But in my opinion, the writing is on the wall.

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mejomonster · 10 months

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Guardian really set my expectations of "censored bl cdramas" and man that was a high bar and probably not fair of me to expect.

Guardian really opens with Zhao Yunlan asking Shen Wei "are you married? You're such a catch. Can I take you out to eat? Here's my number A-Lan call me" which like even on face value id say thats called flirting (unless I guess ur so straight Straight blinders on that 2 men have to physically fuck in front of u to consider something gay)

Then of course there's shen weis pining shit but like, that's not Hammer down obvious to I guess the most oblivious person in denial

But Zhu Hong saying she likes Zhao Yunlan, Zhao Yunlan repeatedly refusing her and feeling bad about it, Zhu Hong repeatedly acknowledging he picked SHEN WEI over her (making it fairly clear it was a romantic pick and she Lost it to a guy) and shen Wei, brick that he can be at times, tells her it will only take a few years for the feelings to fade when she'll get over Zhao yunlan. The guy in love with him, instead of her. Yeah shen wei, she's definitely not wishing she could stab you for that insensitive remark. But she's too good of a person to.

Which. I'd say the above two points establish fairly overtly that: Zhao Yunlan is into men, that his colleagues assume he's also into women (if Zhu Hong thinks she has a chance), and that Shen Wei is Zhao Yunlans romantic pick. So Shen Weis sexuality? Well he doesn't dispute being Zhao Yunlans romantic pick, and Lin Jing assumes they're lovers with dialogue (yes he's saying opposite day stuff but his opposite day is just not being a liar and spy). So Shen Weis sexuality includes Zhao Yunlan.

And so like that's just. Fairly overt explicit stuff about their relationship. There's also the "a very oblivious person could argue its only implied" flirting. (And everything going on with Lao Chu and Xiao Guo, the side couple... oh my heart ;-; when they almost froze... the family dinner at Xiao guos... Lao chu admiring how kind Xiao Guo is, scaring him trying to say he's a cannibal and Xiao Guo not running away)

There's the coat sharing macho trying to be the man helping the damsel both of those fuckers do galore, shen wei moving in across the hall (which is either stalker or deeply in love or - as is true, both), shen wei implicitly moving in (this one's vague ill admit to be fair), the fucking "You're good with your hands" line from Zhao yunlan which is absolutely a porn line, every villain in the show viscerally aware Zhao Yunlan is who Shen Wei wants to protect, Ye Zun pretending to be Shen Wei by calling Zhao Yunlan cute names and asking if his outfit looks nice (and all of That), Zhao yunlans romantic ass hit me through the heart line of "if you're trouble I want a lifetime of you" at the wedding (not ever over it), the fucking lollipop scene in ye old haixing. Just a bunch of flirty type scenes, romantic tropes galore. And that's not even covering the actual genuine subtext of ALL the cases paralleling how shen wei and/or how Zhao yunlan feel implicitly (which are just subtext to be fair... how shen wei thinks he lost kunlun, how Zhao yunlan ISNT him so it hurts he's a stranger or he IS in which case he's a liar and shen weis grieving, the case where a dixingren and human love each other and Zhao yunlan notices he wants to be close to shen wei even though shen weis lying etc).

Like. They felt as canon as Tara X Willow in Buffy. Or at least as much as Xena x Gabrielle, the center relationship of the show where all stories of the episodes are always at least in some way about them.

#guardian #weilan #meta #rant #to be fair: word of honor cdrama did JUST as much as guardian on feeling basically canonically explicitly gay #as long as u can interpret overt flirting with men and them being soulmates as love.#cause yeah there are no kisses. but still like... yeah theyre in love.#and like.. man zhu hongs love triangle plot is Central in making the Guardian romance as overt as it is #obviously irs easy to put in: its a girl love interest for zhao yunlan #but its also a love interest he Rejects for shen wei. so like. cdrama land says he cant say i love you to a man?#but he can say he doesnt love a girl and hes picked the man instead. im just saying it works well to make that overtly clear #dont even get me started on chuguo ;-; i love them so much and acting defijitely helped intensify it

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storiesofsvu · 6 months

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Holiday Bingo 2023

That's right besties! It's that time of year again! And in an attempt to keep y'all entertained with your favourite blorbos, I'm hosting this bingo so we can all share our creations and you have something to fixate on while I'm busy as hell at work!

As per usual:

Submissions can be anything! A mood board, a ficlet, headcanons, drabble, gif sets, one shots, social media au's, make it a mini series following the holiday journey of the same two characters! literally whatever you want!

Prompts are all winter/holiday themed. If it specifically says "Christmas" it does not need to be Christmas, it can be whatever holiday this time of year that you want!

Read the rest of the rules under the cut!

Prompts can be made into any genre, make it super spicy, make it tooth rottingly sweet, make it angsty as all hell and break our hearts, make it a wild AU, do whatever you want with them as long as they are what inspired your story. (aka "first snowfall" could be the first time character a is seeing snow, it could be the first snow of the year, it could be the characters baby's/dog's first time seeing snow. It can be cute, catching snow flakes on tongues or sad, bringing back memories with a friend who has passed. Literally whatever you want.) Just make sure to include any and all appropriate warnings/tags at the TOP of the post and I don't want to see any TikTok censoring of words!

Fics can be a ship, a reader insert, an OC, or any kind of crossover! Mix and match, stick with one, try out a new character or fandom!

Accepted Fandoms:

Literally everything and everyone. This is wide open to any and every fandom/show/movie that you want, it's free game besties! It doesn't matter if I write/read that fandom, do what you would like!

Some Inspiration:

-Law and Order (OG, OC, SVU)

-Criminal Minds

-Marvel

-NCIS

-One Chicago

-Abbott Elementary

-Mayans

-Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice

-911/Lonestar

-OUAT

-The L Word

-Wednesday

Rules:

You MUST tag me @storiesofsvu and use the hashtag #storiesofsvuholidaybingo2023 on each creation and I'll put together the masterlist.

Bingo begins on November 25th and will run all the way to January 20th.

You may only post/submit ONE creation per day!

Only one bingo square per creation

No underage characters involved in relations.

Tag all and every warning appropriately at the top of the fic

Anything over 1000 words must be under a readmore!

Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to participate! You do not need to be following me, we don't need to be mutuals, if you see this post and want to play, let's go!

If anyone has questions, feel free to comment or send me a message/ask!

Some playlists to get us in the mood:

________________

tagging some people who might be interested? (if you got tagged and have no idea who i am/where this came from it is likely that i have read your stuff and loved it/have some bookmarked on my to bed read lol. feel free to ignore.)

@prentiss-theorem @swimmingstudentchaos891 @rustyzebra @plaidbooks @thatesqcrush @adarafaelbarba @detective-giggles @mickey-gomez @alexusonfire @bumblebear30 @tropes-and-tales @unitchiefs-blackbirdphoenix @beccabarba @prurientpuddlejumper @fighterkimburgess @baubeautyandthegeek @melk917 @blackbird-brewster @virescent-v @leftoverenvy @iamnotoriginalphil @happenstnces @daddy-heather-dunbar @just-a-torn-up-masterpiece @five-bi-five-main @thehauntingofbasingse @supercriminalbean @h0tch-r0cket @bullet-prooflove @boldlyvoid @astrophileous @slutforsilverfoxes @cissyenthusiast010155 @hotchs-bitch @honeypiehotchner @whiteberryx @v3nusxsky

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this-is-what-makes-us-fandoms · 1 year

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All’s Fair In Love and War || Part One ||

Requested: Hii can you do a "enemies to lovers" trope with max and reader imagine? :)

You’re a well-known thief, always able to steal whatever target you’re given. When you’re hired to steal a ruby from the Metroburg Museum, you come face to face with the famous ThunderTwins. Who, having been defeated for the first time in a long while, are determined to take you down. But you can’t help catching the eye of one Max Thunderman and him yours. How will things work out when you’re on opposites side of the playing field?

Pairing: Max Thunderman x Reader

Warnings: Enemies to Lovers, she/her pronouns, violence/fighting, mentions of blood/bleeding

Words: 2.3K

A/N: A while ago I made a poll for something and everyone voted for Max, this was that something. Inspired form the Spider-Man/Black Cat relationship I made this for the lovely person who requested it. This is going to be several parts, so I hope you guys enjoy.

|| GIFs not mine, Black Cat GIF is just a reflection of what your villain suit looks like not your actual self ||

It was late into the night, most of Metroburg was already sound asleep with a few exceptions of course. The few villains who were out and about, and the heroes who were trying to stop them. You, being one of them, stood on the roof of the Metroburg Museum; right by the ventilation system. You were pulling it apart, tugging the cover off the vent and throwing it to the side. You snuck in once it was off before falling through the vent and landing on your feet. You landed crouched down, leaning forward and placing your hands down in front of you before you started crawling. It was a small, narrow crawlspace, barely enough room to get through it.

There were a couple turns here and there that followed, taking each one as you had memorized it beforehand. Then coming to a stop above a vent cover and peeking through the blinds, spotting what you’d come for. You smiled to yourself, crawling back a few paces before moving to rip the cover off. Throwing it aside once you did and slipping through the vent hole. You fell, a small rush of air hitting you in the face and sending a shiver of excitement through you as you landed on your feet. The fall was rougher than through the vent, causing you to land crouched with your hands planted down for support. Lucky for you, you always landed on your feet no matter the height.

You straightened up after, rolling your neck once and relaxing your body before taking a glance around you. You were quick to catch what you were looking for, a glint of red hitting your eye. Turning full face towards it, a grin appeared on your lips, stretching wide and almost Cheshire-like. Just a few feet away from you stood a bright, red ruby encased in glass. It was called the heart of the museum since it was a literal heart shaped necklace. The ruby had been kept there for years, rarely ever shown to the public since it was worth millions. If it were to go missing, it would certainly strike disaster in all Metroburg. It only made you want it more, and in turn you could sell it for so much more than it was worth. After all, there were plenty of people willing to pay top dollar for it. More so, the person who hired you in the first place.

The hard part of it was slipping it out of the box without sounding the alarm. You didn’t need to alert whatever supes were patrolling around the museum. Approaching the case, you reached towards your tool belt and pulled out a spray can. Uncapping it, you were quick to spray all around the case, showing the censored lasers that surrounded the ruby. There was more than you imagined, making you sigh as you looked for an opening between the glass and the censors.

When you found it, you slipped your hand through, being careful not to move your wrist. You laid your fingers against the glass, outstretching them some and watching as your nails grew long and pointed. You pressed them tight against the glass, turning your wrist after you did and watching as they cut a perfect circle through the glass. Once it was done, your nails retracted back, and you laid your fingers back on the glass. Twisting your hand around slowly and turning the circle until it came off. You pulled your hand back with the glass, being careful not to touch the lasers again.

After that, you crouched down, setting the glass on the floor and reaching for your tool belt again. You pulled out an object, one that weighed the same as the necklace. You were sure there was a pressure censor on it, knowing that if you just snatched it up, the alarm would sound. When you stood back up, you reached your hand back in and towards the necklace. You had to time it right to set the figurine where the necklace sat and pull the necklace away.

You took a breath, steadying your hand as you set it on the display plate and slowly inched it to the side. As you did, you pushed the necklace along and stuck your pinky out. You hooked it around the band, pulling the rest of it out and letting it dangle off your pinky. Once the figurine was set down, you pulled your hand out of the case, grinning once again. You’d done it, you managed to steal one of the most valuable items in the world. You slipped the necklace into one of the pockets of your utility belt, ready to go on your way.

“That’s far enough,” you heard a voice say behind you.

You scoffed at the impeccable timing, standing up straight and rolling your neck before turning around. Behind you stood Max and Phoebe, the hottest superheroes in metroburg at the moment. They had risen to the top faster than any superhero ever had, given their own task force before even becoming full-fledged heroes. Though you hardly saw them as a challenge, knowing about their numerous failed missions from before. They were messy, which meant you could escape them easily.

“Well, if it isn’t dumb and dumber,” you said.

You smirked at the looks of offense on their faces, mirroring each other in a perfect twin sense.

“Okay, that was rude,” Phoebe scoffed. “No matter, we’re still going to take you down.”

“Sure, give it your best shot,” you mused out as you reached into your belt and threw something at them.

It hit the ground a few inches in front of them, exploding and releasing smoke. It clouded their vision immediately and you took the opportunity to run away. You didn’t want to deal with the pesky telekinesis they both had. You could hear coughing as the smoke invaded their lungs, but you didn’t look back. Instead, you took a turn and ran for the exit you had planned. You were avoiding going through the front, knowing there would surely be police waiting for you.

“Not so fast,” you heard from behind you.

“Shit,” you mumbled out, feeling a force acting from behind you.

It was Max who spoke, using his telekinesis to pull you back as you fought against it. It won in the end, he managed to pull you back enough to try and capture you. You didn’t let him though, turning around in a roundhouse kick. One you managed to land, kicking him in the stomach and watching him fly back against the wall.

“Sorry, pretty boy, but I have somewhere to be,” you told him before trying to run off again.

“Think again,” Phoebe said, appearing at your side.

She threw a punch at you, but your reflexes allowed you to evade her punch. You let out a breath of air as you stepped back, irritation slowly rising inside you. You really didn’t have time for this, you had somewhere to be, and they were getting in your way.

Just as you had deflected Phoebe’s punch, Max had recovered and jumped back in. He threw a punch of his own, one he landed square on your jaw and sending you flying back. This time it was you who flew into the wall from the force, an ache growing on your jaw. You steadied yourself against the wall, looking up and sending a glare Max’s way. Now you were pissed, it was rare for a superhero to get in your way. You were an excellent thief, always able to get in and out without trouble. Except for now.

“Tch. Pesky wonder twins,” you mumbled again.

You straightened up, looking between both twins and trying to come up with a strategy. They were both in fighting stances, ready for whatever you were going to throw at them.

“Give up, you aren’t getting past us,” Phoebe told you.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” was your response.

You went for Phoebe first, knowing you could take her down faster before focusing on Max. You threw a punch at Phoebe, watching her evade it like you expected. You didn’t let her recover before your leg lifted and made contact with her stomach. You kicked her down, watching her land roughly on the floor and holding her stomach. You knew it would take her a while to get back up, meaning you could take care of Max in the meantime.

You turned to look at him, just in time to step back before he hit you. You shot him another glare and went in for a kick at his side. He dodged it and grabbed ahold of your ankle before pushing you away. It caused you to lose your balance, falling back on your ass. You clenched your jaw, looking up at Max and the smug smile on his face. You hated it, you wanted to wipe it off his face, but there was something about it. Something that caused a stir in your stomach and sent a tingle down your spine. For the enemy, he was so damn hot.

That wasn’t the point right now, you couldn’t let your thoughts distract you from escaping. So, you stood back up, along with Phoebe who had recovered. You were back to facing the two of them. You shook yourself off, arms outstretching at your side and claws extending out. They were long and sharp, enough to leave deep wounds if you really wanted to. You didn’t wait for either of them to make the first move, stepping forward and striking with one of your hands. You went for Max first this time, claws barely scratching his suit as he leaped back.

You took a swing at Phoebe next, hand going to her face and managing to scratch her cheek. You could feel the skin split open against your nail and watched blood seep through. Phoebe’s hand flew up to her face, gloved hand rubbing at her cheek and wiping away at the blood. She looked at her hand, shock on her face as she looked between you and her palm.

“Woah, that is so not cool,” she scoffed out.

“I’m sorry, did I hurt you?” you asked, feigning remorse.

She shot you a glare, not appreciative of your sarcasm. “Don’t worry, I’ll return the favor.”

You faked a look of fear before rolling your eyes and retreating your claws back. You’d gotten what you wanted out of them, and they weren’t exactly your favorite to use. You dug a hand in your belt, pulling out a device and throwing it at Phoebe. It attached itself to her suit and distracted her as she tried to pull it off. It was too late; the device activated and shot an electric pulse over her body. It wasn’t hurtful but it was enough to knock her down and let you leave.

“Okay, that was kind of funny but dude, that’s my sister,” Max yelled out, holding back a laugh.

“Sorry, like I said, I have somewhere to be,” you said, once again feigning remorse.

He rolled his eyes this time and shot forward, swinging recklessly as if he were tired of fighting and just wanted to knock you down. You dodged each punch he threw, stepping back to create some distance so you could strike back. He wasn’t letting you, continuing to swing at you and hoping for the best. You had to give it to him though, he was persistent which sort of made him hotter.

“You know you’re pretty cute for a superhero,” you told him.

Your words caught him off guard and he stopped, looking at you like you grew an extra head. You took this as your chance, dropping to the ground and placing your hands in front of you. You used them to balance yourself before extending your leg out and sitting back on your heel. You spun around after, aiming for Max’s ankles and using your leg to swipe him under his feet. You managed to hit him clean through, knocking him off his feet and onto his back.

You smiled to yourself, standing up and looming over him, looking down at him. He groaned in pain, slightly curling himself up into a ball which only made you smile more. “But you’re not my type. Until next time, pretty boy.”

With both twins finally down, you took the opportunity to make your escape and disappeared before their eyes. Phoebe regained consciousness and sat up, hand against her temple to soothe the building headache. She looked over at Max who was lying next to her, staring up at the ceiling in defeat.

“She got away,” he mumbled out bitterly.

“You let her get away?” Phoebe shrieked.

“It’s not my fault, she got the better of me,” he answered. “But damn, she was hot.”

“Max! She stole the heart of the museum, and you called her hot?” she continued to yell.

“We’ll get it back, we can find her,” he said, sighing out heavily.

“You better be right,” Phoebe grumbled out.

She stood up after, hand outstretching towards Max and helping him up too. They were going to have report this back to the president, ashamed that they would have to admit defeat.

#oneshots #one shots #one shot #the thundermans #the thundermans one shots #the thunderman one shot #max thunderman #max thunderman one shots #max thunderman one shot #maxthundermanoneshots #max thunderman x reader

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mariacallous · 4 months

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At first glance, the X account @StopZionistHate seems like a pro-Palestinian leftist organization. It describes itself as a “Leading non-partisan American based organization fighting zionism and zionist hate.” Its logo is corporate-looking, and it has the $1,000-a-month “gold check” that represents supposedly reputable businesses and nonprofit groups. Some tweets seem anodyne — the account provides fact-checking, for example, via “our very own news wire.”

But the vast majority of its content is anything but vanilla. Stop Zionist Hate is based on and in reaction to an account called Stop Antisemitism; both achieve their high engagement and awareness rates by sharing upsetting and horrifying examples of hate — in Stop Zionist Hate’s case, from “Zionists” (usually far-right supporters of Israel) directed at pro-Palestinian activists, Muslims and others. Similar to Stop Antisemitism, it also doxxes and engages in mass harassment campaigns to get these people fired. All of this helps feed the outrage of its audience while positioning Stop Zionist Hate as a leader in the battle for Palestinian rights.

Scratch the surface, though, and something far darker is exposed: a white nationalist marketing machine. Accounts like Stop Zionist Hate are part of an even larger white nationalist, neo-Nazi and far-right project: exploiting the war in Gaza as disinformation explodes and a friendly billionaire/social media site owner gives them free rein.

To understand how Stop Zionist Hate fits into this, we need to examine how that project came to be. After Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, white nationalists pivoted to pro-Palestinian content. Accounts like those of Jackson Hinkle (with a long track record of transphobia) and Censored Men (misogyny) have followed this tactic to incredible success, garnering hundreds of thousands or even millions of new followers. Together, these accounts are able to achieve billions of impressions of their content.

While these accounts are now focused on Israel, this growth in their audiences means that they will now be able to spread their more toxic views as time passes. Already, Hinkle has begun spreading the idea that “Zionists” are releasing “sexualized video games for children,” a classic antisemitic trope about Jews’ exploiting children.

It is this logic that led directly to the creation of Stop Zionist Hate. Unlike the white nationalists above, it did not have a track record to sully its image. And since Twitter no longer vets any of its blue and gold checks, it was able to instantly appear credible with its gold check.

But for those paying attention, it immediately raised alarm bells. For one thing, Stop Zionist Hate drew early support from an unlikely source for an ostensibly progressive account: 4chan and its antisemitic, racist, Islamophobic, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic board /pol/ (short for “politically incorrect”). Furthermore, accounts like these do not grow so quickly without some help. On Nov. 7, it had only a few hundred followers. On Nov. 9, only 10 minutes after Stop Zionist Hate spit out a tweet, Censored Men shared it and told its 800,000 followers, “Everyone follow @StopZionistHate to keep updated on Zionist hate crimes.” A day later, the account had 16,000 followers.

When it was created, Stop Zionist Hate first followed many of the white nationalist accounts pretending to be pro-Palestinian. (Those behind the account have since attempted to sanitize their list of followed accounts.) It then complained about the supposed lack of attention to hate crimes against white people, a common refrain of neo-Nazis and white nationalists. Then it joined a Twitter Spaces (live chat) with neo-Nazis, and the person representing the account said they were fighting the “Zionist control over our institutions.”

A few days ago, the mask went from slipping to completely off: Stop Zionist Hate began spreading overt antisemitic content, including invoking the antisemitic trope that Jews killed Jesus.

Despite this, less than two months after its launch, Stop Zionist Hate has 121,000 followers. As it gains more followers, it will doubtless continue to double down on spreading overt antisemitism.

It does not stop there: Whoever is running Stop Zionist Hate is creating a network of accounts that spread different messages in a closely connected ecosystem, allowing it to maintain plausible deniability in its intentions while shepherding its audience from its anti-Zionist content to overt antisemitism.

Among a few such accounts, an account called Defund Israel Now is the most overtly antisemitic. It has a similarly corporate look, as well as the $1,000-a-month gold check, but a typical tweet claims Jews “destroyed Christianity through LGBT propaganda & pornography,… stole tax dollars to bomb muslim countries...[and] censored white voices.”

What we are seeing, then, is a full-blown campaign by white nationalists to use the war in Gaza as cover for more and more explicit antisemitism. This has been made infinitely easier by Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, which destroyed any semblance of content moderation or user verification on the site.

And that is only the tip of the iceberg. Stop Zionist Hate’s fans on 4chan already see the implications of what this means. In one popular post about the account, a user says, “Someone should start ‘Stop BLM Hate.’” In response, another says: “This is another good idea. We should take it a step further and do them all, Indians, latinx, Muslims, etc. Fight fire with fire.”

Since white nationalists are not focused only on Jews, accounts like Stop Zionist Hate are not in any sense about helping Palestinians. The goal is, in marketing parlance, to segment their audiences. By focusing only on Israel and spreading only antisemitism, they can achieve one objective. But the technique, if unchecked, will be used against others.

This is the new age that Musk has ushered in with his purchase of Twitter. There is now a social media website and app with over 200 million active users that allows overt bigotry to spread like wildfire and lets disinformation accounts pose as legitimate organizations. Which means that those selling hate have found their best marketing channel. And they are only getting started.

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twig-tea · 21 days

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Hi!

So Cherry Magic Thailand was amazing. Which really surprised me. I still have reservations about the next jbl adaptations by Thailand, but I guess we'll see. Anyway, because of that I have been thinking about this.

Which existing series do you think could benefit from an adaptation by a different country? That could maybe give the story a different perspective or simply because they would have different resources? Thanks

Rose💜

Thank you so much for this ask, Rose, and apologies for being so slow to answer!

The first obvious answer to this is anything from the censored era of Chinese BL being picked up by a different country. We're already seeing the benefits of that in Taiwan's adaptation of DaGe in Unknown the series, which from what I've been told is not only going to allow some intense kisses (possibly, if the actors aren't trolling us, more explicit sex scenes than are actually in the original Priest novel, though I'm not going to assume we're getting anything until I see it), but also with changes like a reduction in the homophobia of characters. Recently they announced SaYe/Chasing the Light was optioned for a film version outside of mainland China, so I'm now hopeful some of the stuff that was shelved is going to get made after all, and maybe with less censorship. That being said, a whole list of just censored dramas that were based on BL novels would be boring. So instead I'm considering what shows did I like but wanted to see done again in a different way, and which country would handle the themes and style of the original in a way that would be fun to watch?

I'm thinking about Love Stage!!! Which was a Japanese manga adaptation with a version from both Japan and Thailand, and My Dead Gangster Oppa which was adapted from a Korean webtoon, and Why R U Korea adapted from the Thai show, and how the productions in the different countries would change what we get. So, I'll be basing my answer on those as well as CMT you referenced.

[Sidenote: originally I was going to say Thailand should adapt Man Who Defies the World of BL except with Series-Y tropes and then realized that's exactly what Why R U was supposed to be in the first place--it would be neat to see a Korean version of this storyline with webtoon tropes (we kind of got that with Our Dating Sim but they went with dating game tropes instead). ANYWAY that's not really an adaptation so I'm not including it below, but putting it into the universe.]

Enough waffling, let's go!

Twig's Foreign Adaptation Wish List

Taiwanese adaptation of 2gether

Hear me out. If we're going to see this story again, I want better reasons for needing to fake date and better chemistry once they're actually dating, and I can imagine Taiwan adding in the angst and chemistry to make this show work through to the end. Taiwan would also have no problem keeping Sarawat's obsession with Tine's pecs in the storyline (critical inclusion, imho), and we know Taiwan loves a "they met before and this is fate" plot so I think this would work well. Switching Sarawat's obsession with Scrubb to something else would be a really interesting cultural shift and would help ground the series in the adaptation country.

Korean adaptation of I Can Hear the Sunspot / Silhouette of Your Voice

@absolutebl has said this before and they're right, this is the one JBL manga adaptation that I'd love to see it done again as a series with enough time to fully handle the character development that happens in the manga. NGL in my heart of hearts I'd want Japan to take another crack at it, but for this game I'll say Korea. I know Korea has a few good disability narratives (thinking of the love for Twinkling Watermelon I've heard about recently) so I think they could do a good job. Korean media also handles silence well and that's pretty critical for this one; they could also do some interesting things to illustrate the changes in the main character's hearing.

Japanese adaptation of Love Sick

I am envisioning a reverse Cherry Magic scenario, in which the foreign adaptation follows the written source material better than the domestic adaptation did, and then adds their own flair. Now take this with a grain of salt because I haven't read the novel, but my understanding is that the original Thai novel is about Pun and Noh as the main characters with the music club all there but the dramatic side heterosexual storylines are not nearly as front and center, and they were added to pad out the show because folks weren't sure how a BL series would land. I know there is already a Thai remake but let's pretend that's not happening. Japan handles earnest and sweet school-aged first loves well, and can handle the goofiness required of the Noh character, and deeply understands and portrays found family core friendships well, and I bet a Japanese production would do a great job with that core storyline. We don't get a lot of larger friend groups in Japanese BL and I want to see a Japanese production handle that. The one thing that gave me hesitation about this was the importance of the busking subplot and I don't think busking is a big thing in Japan the way it is in Thailand and Korea but that could be another opportunity for making it feel more grounded in the adapting country so I'm keeping it as-is.

Thai adaptation of Boyband Love

I'm going to steal the idea that I've seen @lurkingshan @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup mention before and riff of it to say that Daou and Offroad should be in a boyband BL; this is a main reason why I want a Thai remake of the Filipino series Boyband Love [which I don't actually recommend but, fun fact, had an out gay couple starring in it but they were not paired together in the show--Gus, who plays the lead Danny, has 2 kids with Louie who plays the side character Rico]. Thailand is clearly desperate to do a boyband BL so that they can make money off the concerts; Boyband Love as a story is already calibrated to be cheap to make because it's about a band getting ready to debut, and Thailand can scale it up from the original show. It's also no longer a period of COVID restrictions so crowds can be brought in. The storyline is pretty much what I would want of a Boyband BL: rivals within a band to lovers, pining amongst band members, underwater kiss, industry drama, and (spoilers for a 2020 series) the decision to essentially do BGP but keep their relationship secret. Thailand would have fun with that, I think. And they can add a little more heat, it's very important to me that something happens in the practice room pls and thank you.

Japanese adaptation of Middleman's Love

Japan gets two because they can do this type of comedy so well, and I really liked the bones of the Thai version so I'd love to see it done again. Japan can also handle trauma narratives so if they wanted to do both Bed Friend and Middleman Love they would be able to handle it. Korea is really good at balancing humour and trauma, but Japan is so good at losers who don't think they deserve love, and also excellent at pining, so I'm giving this one to Japan.

Korean adaptation of Triage

We're getting Korea twice because I haven't seen Korea do much in the way of genre BL yet, and while I admit this may be slightly influenced by me watching Hospital Playlist right now, Korea can handle the fast-paced ER scenes that are throughout this show, as well as the mix of drama and comedy. I'd love to see a more highly produced version of this show, and I know Korea can handle this kind of time loop shenanigans and heavenly spirits helping the protagonist along from kdramas. I liked the original a lot but I'd love to see it done again a little more tightly!

Bonus nonsense one: Taiwanese version of Calculating Love

This one is literally just for me. Ok listen I know I'm the only one who likes this show, and that's fine, it doesn't actually deserve attention. And it's so small that it would never be adapted. But I loved this dorky little short about nerds flirting with calculus and I want more. Taiwan is fantastic at dorks falling in love narratives, and so many of the HIStory series were short school BL, so I think they'd do an excellent job tightening up the story in the back half which got a bit meander-y and keeping the heat that's already there.

Thank you again for the really fun ask, Rose! 💕

#thank you for the ask!#ask game #typed so that i can stop thinking it #do i tag these shows? I think I won't #bl meta #multi bl #undescribed #each of the gifs in this post are a gif of the show that I've suggested for adaptation; the scene choice isn't relevant to the post #long post

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