#why make a character straight when you could make them queer and open the doors of possibilities

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Friendship Sometimes Means Having to Say Sorry

A/N: Because I love a good pansexual Argyle & Dustin bonding. This one shot just popped into my head, and I had to write it. Mike's taking time to be single right now because I love that for him. I tried to fit as many characters as I could and their relationships into one little one shot.

Dustin muttered as he paced in front of Steve’s house. He shook his head and took a deep breath before exhaling. He knocked on the door. A moment later, Eddie opened the door.

"Dustin, did you knock? Since when do you knock?" Eddie asked.

"Who's at the door?" Steve’s voice came from inside.

"It's Dustin!" Eddie called back.

"But there was a knock!" Steve exclaimed. "Are you sure it's Dustin? Because when Robin and I went to Indianapolis, I saw a kid there that I swear looked like Dustin!"

"And what? You think that the kid followed you here all the way back to Hawkins?" Eddie asked.

"What's happening? I was in the bathroom," Robin's voice spoke up.

"Dustin's at the front door!" Eddie yelled back.

"I thought I heard a knock, though? Doesn't he usually just barge in? You know, when Steve and I went to Indianapolis - "

"Okay! I am ending this!" Dustin yelled, barging in.

Dustin huffed as he pushed Robin and Eddie into the living room. He went into the kitchen and dragged Steve out of the room. He pushed Steve down next to Eddie.

"I was making lunch!" Steve exclaimed.

"You were setting a timer! It was in the oven! Besides, this is important," Dustin said. "What do you guys think of me when you look at me?"

"Well, annoying little brother comes to mind," Steve scowled.

"Emphasis on annoying," Robin said.

"No, I mean attraction wise," Dustin said.

"Eww!" The three of them said.

"Like they said, little brother! Plus, waaaayy too young!" Eddie grimaced.

"No! I mean, when you look at me, do you think that I'm straight?" Dustin asked.

"I try not to make assumptions about people's sexualities," Eddie said.

"Really? Because you cried like a baby in my lap when you discovered you were queer and thought that Steve was straight," Robin said.

"I said try, Robin! Judging by my track record in school, I clearly fail a lot," Eddie said. "I'm not perfect."

"You're perfect for me, honey," Steve said.

"Aww, baby," Eddie cooed.

"Okay, guys? Guys?! Stop gazing into each other's eyes for a minute! Okay, yes, you two are adorable! Focus on me! Eyes up here!" Dustin exclaimed, clapping at them. "Jeeze, it's like trying to stop Tews from flirting with that raccoon that eats our trash."

"See! I told you it wasn't just me who thinks Tews is romantically interested in that raccoon!" Eddie exclaimed. "Wait, who's the cat? Me or Steve?"

"Eddie! Do you think I'm straight?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know, are you not straight?" Eddie asked.

"No! And that's the thing! Everyone else is out and about! You guys know this. Will is dating Gareth! El and Max are dating. Lucas apparently thought we all knew he was bisexual. To be fair, Taylor is a pretty gender neutral name. Anyway, that's over now. Mike just came out, and I let that settle before I wanted to start explaining myself to the group, but they didn't really believe me. I think they thought that I was trying not to feel left out. Can you believe that shit?" Dustin snapped. "Apparently, they see me as the only straight guy in the group!"

"What exactly did you tell them?" Robin asked, looking at him in concern.

"That I was attracted more towards people's personality than their gender," Dustin said. "And they also thought I was mocking them, and they kicked me out of Mike's basement."

"That's fucked up of them," Eddie said. "I mean, I can see why they might think that, but they're still assholes for assuming that you, of all people, would do that."

"So, you told them you were pansexual and they kicked you out?" Robin asked.

"There's a word for it?" Dustin asked, his eyes wide and filling up with tears. "There's other people like me?"

"Oh, buddy," Robin said and jumped up to hug him, then glanced at Eddie. "Call Argyle."

Steve hugged Dustin's other side as Eddie went to make a phone call.

"So, you really believe me?" Dustin asked.

"Of course, we do," Steve said and ran his hands through his curls.

"You're our brother," Robin said. "Part of our troop. Part of our pack."

After crying for a while, they managed to get Dustin down to a few sniffles as Robin and Steve squished him in between them on the couch. Eddie leaned against Steve’s side as he pressed a hand on Dustin's head. The timer in the kitchen went off.

"Don't worry, Stevie!" Eddie exclaimed. "Stay there! I'll get the casserole."

Eddie got up and went into the kitchen just as the front door burst open. Argyle skidded into the living.

"Heard the little dude needed me, came right over. Oh, they sent me the wrong size shirt, and I know you like to wear funky shirts too. Here. Yeah, this is definitely going to look good on you," Argyle said.

"Uh, thanks, man," Dustin said as he took the shirt.

Argyle plopped down in front of him on the coffee table.

"So, what's the problem, my curly haired little dude?" Argyle asked.

"Well, we know that you don't have a problem with telling people what you like and that sometimes you forget to tell people. Did you want Dustin to know?" Robin asked.

"Oh, yeah, he's a good egg. I'm pansexual," Argyle said and paused. "Wait, does he know what that means?"

"They just told me because I didn't know that there were other people like me. I didn't even know that there was a word for it," Dustin said.

"Man, all words are made up. There can be a word for anything if you want there to be," Argyle said. "Thank you for telling me."

"Thank you," Dustin said and hugged him tightly. "The others didn't really take it well when I tried to explain it to them."

Argyle pulled back and placed his hands on Dustin's shoulders.

"The great thing about friends is when they realize that they hurt you, they'll sometimes apologize, and apologizing means that they want to be in your life. They want to keep you in theirs, especially if they really are sorry," he said. "Forgiveness means the same thing too."

"Thanks, man," Dustin sniffled and wiped his nose as he set back on the couch.

Robin was handing him tissues as Eddie walked back into the living room. He was still wearing the oven mitts, his hands on his hips.

"So, are we inviting the little shits over to apologize?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah," Dustin said.

"Okay, but if it's not good enough, then no casserole for them," Eddie said. "It needs to be as good as when I apologized to Lucas. Shit, it needs to better."

"You made your casserole?" Argyle asked Steve. "I love your casserole!"

"Well, there's plenty if you want to stay," Steve said.

"Thanks, my dude!"

They were all eating around the island in the kitchen when Mike, Lucas, Will, El, and Max all came stumbling in.

"What's he doing here?" Mike asked, scowling at Dustin.

"Waiting for your apology," Robin said.

"He was making fun of us!" Mike exclaimed.

"I thought you knew him well enough that you would know that Dustin Henderson would never do that," Steve said. "You misunderstood what he was trying to tell you because you weren't really listening."

"What was he trying to tell us?" Max asked, her arms crossed.

"I'm pansexual. I'm attracted to people regardless of their gender," Dustin said. "I wasn't trying to make fun of you, I was trying to open up to you as well."

"Shit," Max said, looking guilty. "You're serious."

"Yeah, I'm pansexual, too, man," Argyle said, his mouth full of food.

"We were total assholes to you! We're sorry," Will said.

"We were mouthbreathers?" El asked.

"Yeah, man, but sometimes everyone can be a little bit of a mouthbreather," Argyle said.

"Even you?" El asked.

"Even me, supergirl," Argyle said.

"We are sorry, Dustin," El said and hugged him.

"Yeah, we're sorry," Max said and hugged him. "We love you."

"Did Max Mayfield just tell me she loves me?" Dustin asked.

"We. WE love you, and I'm taking it back," Max said, punching him in the shoulder.

"We're really sorry, man," Lucas said and hugged him tightly.

"No one's perfect, man," Dustin said. "And I get why you might have thought thought that. You guys really want my pansexual ass a part of your lives, huh?"

"YES!" they exclaimed.

They pulled Dustin into their arms, hugging him tightly.

"Not a straight person in this house. Although, if there were, I'd be okay with that. Love is love, man," Argyle said.

Dustin pulled back, wiping happy tears from his eyes.

"So, do they deserve casserole?" Steve asked him.

"Yeah."

Pretty soon, the island was crowded with everyone joining in. It was pretty quiet for a while until Dustin dropped his fork on his plate.

"You know, I'm just realizing this now, but like when I was starting to get to know you guys when I first moved here, I think I developed a crush on Lucas. Then on Will when I started to get to know him," Dustin said thoughtfully. "They're gone now."

"Did you have a crush on me?" Mike asked Dustin, and he stared at him thoughtfully.

"No!" Dustin exclaimed, snapping his fingers at Mike. "But I did have a crush on Nancy!"

"Seriously?!" Mike asked, rolling his eyes.

"You had a crush on Nancy?" Steve asked.

"I thought it would be weird to tell you, considering that she's your ex-girlfriend, and you and Eddie have that deal with her when she comes down from Emerson," Dustin said. "Just out of curiosity, how does that work?"

"What deal?" Mike asked.

"How do you know about that?" Steve asked.

"Oh, I overheard you talking about it with Robin, though I didn't realize that it was supposed to be a secret," Dustin said.

"What deal?" Mike asked.

"Never you mind, Mike. Lucas, do you want to help me clean up?" Dustin asked.

"Sure," he grinned as he helped him clean up. "So, you had a crush on me?"

"It was a long time ago," Dustin said as he started washing the dishes, and Lucas grabbed a towel to dry.

"You know, I had a crush on you back then too," Lucas said.

"What?" Dustin asked.

"Totally. It was just something about you and those curls, man," Lucas said, tucking a curl behind his ear. "You know, you and I are both single. . . "

"Are you asking me out while we're doing the dishes, Lucas?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know, depends on if you want me to ask you out," Lucas said.

"Maybe, if you help me finish cleaning up," Dustin said, flicking water at him.

Lucas laughed and hip checked him. Robin let out a screech.

"Steeeeve, our babies! I can't believe Vickie isn't here to witness this! Instead, she's at some dumb family reunion," Robin said.

"God, I can't believe we ever thought you were straight," Max said.

"They are cute," El said.

"Them fighting over me when I first got here suddenly makes a lot of sense," Max said.

Suddenly the phone rang and Steve went to answer it. Steve laughed when he did.

"Hey, Argy, did you drop everything to get here?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, the little dude needed me," Argyle said. "Why?"

"You were in the middle of a lunch date with Jonathan," Steve replied.

"Oh shit! How mad is he, man?" Argyle asked.

"Not at all. He's laughing his ass off," Steve replied as he hung up the phone and leaned forward on the counter.

"Gotta go, my dudes!" Argyle said. "Gotta face the music."

"Thanks again, Argyle!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Call me if you ever want to talk, little dude!" Argyle waved at Dustin before leaving.

"Love that guy," Eddie said as he draped himself over Steve’s back. "I'm glad he could help our kid."

"You all helped me," Dustin said.

"I guess I'm just never going to learn about the deal you guys have with my sister," Mike muttered.

"It's better that you don't," Eddie patted his back.

Dustin laughed as he leaned into Lucas. He never felt closer to his family than he did right now. The only one he had left to tell was his mom, but somehow, he figured she already knew. Dustin felt lighter than air.

#stranger things #dustin henderson #pansexual dustin henderson #henderfam #henderdads #eddie munson #joseph quinn #eddie stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson lives #steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #robin buckley #lesbian robin buckley #robin & steve #platonic stobin #platonic reddie #stranger things argyle #pansexual argyle #mike wheeler #max mayfield #el hopper #will byers #lucas sinclair #brief mention of #nancy wheeler #stranger things vickie #rueleigh writes

[celluloidbroomcloset]

Hi, other anon! First ranty anon here. Thanks for adding the bit about Rhys and Taika! In my head I included them in the cast and crew who helped shape their characters but actually didn't put that in the rant... 😅 And I gotta rant again, sorry! Please yell at me if I'm annoying. I just gotta rant at somebody.

But of course canyon op downplays their contributions! They're straight, they don't count! Only Con does since he's the only queer one in the "main three" cast! Besides who cares about how wonderfully adorable and romantic their little ad-libs made Ed and Stede! Nobody cares about Ed and Stede!

/sarcasm

Never mind the (admittedly slim) possibility that either Taika or Rhys or both could be queer and just publicly identify as straight. I don't know or care if they are or aren't, that's their business. But downplaying their contributions to the show just because they identify as straight is not the best look. Same with trying to villify Jenkins for his original plan (which still doesn't matter because he scrapped it) just because he's cishet.

"Jenkins never meant for this show to be so kind to queers!" they say as if Jenkins had nothing to do with the casting of so many queer actors and the hiring of the astoundingly diverse writers' room. He asked for queer writers and actors to help him shape this! Why does canyon op try to paint it as queer actors subverting a straight showrunner to make something awesome when he asked them willingly to contribute? Is it not better that this cishet man went to members of the community to help him make his show a wonderful celebration of all types of queerness because he recognized his limitations? Do they not realize just how rare it is to have that? Do we not want more awesome queer media that treats the community with love and respect, no matter who makes it? Why try to paint one of the few truly good things we have like it's just barely dodged being yet another lame "queerbait" when it's anything but?

(sorry again but I just saw their additions and justifications and like...did you not read your own tags, canyon op? you are trying to turn people against Jenkins with your post and you are twisting his words to turn him into a villain and downplay his involvement and make the show entirely the result of the cast dodging around him and...I'll stop now. sorry! 😆)

I think the original poster blocked me, which I'm more than fine with, but I still do find it quite funny that I literally didn't realize they were going for a "David Jenkins bad!!" narrative.

It's hard to say who shapes what in a show like this; again, it seems pretty indicative that Jenkins is collaborating with others and not simply forcing through everything himself. The whole point of allyship is for those in positions of privilege and power to use that to hold the door open for others who aren't. (I know there are lots of people who take issue with Taika, for different reasons that are perfectly legitimate, but he has undoubtedly held the door open for others, and it seems that Jenkins has too.) So to criticize Jenkins for making a poor choice and then deciding he could make a better choice, and that turning into what we see on OFMD, seems not at all about allyship or queer rep, but about personal animosity.

Same goes for Taika and Rhys. Again, plenty of actors can and would categorically refuse to do the queer romance. Others would be entirely uncomfortable with it and try to brush it off. I know nothing about these men personally, but every interview has them talking about how proud they were and are about what they've been able to do. (It's also, TBH, unusual to see two straight male actors being so openly loving about each other, which I think is nice to see.)

What struck me and so many others about the first season is that...they actually did that. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and it didn't. They're gay. It's a romance. There are bisexuals and trans/nonbinary people and asexuals and polyamorous people. The cast is hugely diverse. One of the leads is a biracial indigenous man and the other is the whitest man on the planet and they're shown falling in love (look at media history sometime and let me know how common THAT is). The big villains are toxic masculinity and colonialism. Classists get burned alive. Racists get their hands stabbed.

It is very much not a perfect show, and there are things it could do better, but what it does is fucking remarkable. You will not find someone more leery of white male artists than me, and it is always possible to be disappointed by a direction a show takes, even when its first two seasons are so good. But we should embrace it when art is done right and this show, so far, is done right.

I sure as fuck will not let a teeny group of dingbats mad that it doesn't conform to the story in their heads ruin that.

#ofmd #guess i had something to say #feel free to send asks always #never mind that this show gave me insight into my own queerness #that's a personal thing and not everyone's experience #but don't fucking tell me it's queerbait

[queerxqueen]

I think the biggest reason why people believe M*ileven will be endgame is because we’re just so used to seeing the the straight ship that’s supposedly had tension and chemistry all along end up together.

Even though we’ve basically picked apart why romantic M*ileven is a narrative mess and why it would be bad writing, there have been so many shows in the past that have continued to promote and drag their one straight ship to the end of the show even when it has become super nonsensical and trashy. 

I think that’s something that needs to be taken into account considering why people are hesitant to believe in byler and why we’re also deep rooted in fear that this will be the case at the end of the day.

However, this season especially, they’re just really going for byler and I’m still in awe about all the things we’ve known for years being blatantly confirmed like Will being gay and in love with Mike. We’ve been saying that for years now and it’s insane for it to actually be canon! It does just open up a door of possibility of byler more than ever and tell us that the show creators do know what they’re doing with the writing. 

I’m not going to lie the fact that we picked up on it and gathered all this evidence years before it’s actually confirmed is just so amazing and it’s an example of great writing too. And the Duffers couldn’t have done it you know, they could’ve never taken the initiative to make it clear and confirm Will’s feelings for Mike they might as well have left it as subtext. 

The fact that they did do it is just so crazy because of M*leven already being seen by majority as THE ship so Will’s feelings for Mike moving out of subtext territory being clear as day now is such an unconventional move and it shows us that they’re not here to feed into majority’s expectations. They’re writing their damn show in the most authentic way possible and it makes sense if they are.

What doesn’t make sense is why they’d make the decision of making it clear that Will has feelings for Mike and it has been intentional all along (biggest evidence for that as we’ve picked up on it) only for him to just end up being rejected because that is a problematic storyline and they must know that. They could’ve just confirmed he’s gay and left his feelings for Mike as subtext if they were planning to go on the “M*leven is endgame” route as this would still give them brownie points for representation there was no need for them to SHOW and TELL us that he has feelings for Mike. It would make no sense for them to incorporate that problematic storyline if it’s not going to be requited and there’s not point in him having feelings for Mike if he’s going to be rejected. It’s like pointless misery for him after so much buildup of that arc for ages. 

The wait isn’t for much long and I hope I’m right with the Duffers knowing what they’re doing with the writing! Because they could’ve just left it all as subtext, could’ve only confirmed Will as gay instead of it being him having feelings for Mike and have M*leven as endgame just the same but no they took this Byler initiative and I’ve got my fingers crossed more than ever that we won’t be disappointed.

Absolutely agree with all of this, Anon, thank you for sharing your thoughts!

I agree that no matter what happens on July 1, the fact that one-sided Byler is canon at the very least is a huge win considering how hateful the fandom was toward Byler shippers back in the early days. Assuming they do an amazing thing bringing the subtext into canon, and I do have faith they'll ultimately be kind with Will's coming out in the way they were with Robin's, we will have another amazing queer character in Stranger Things.

But like you said - there was no reason to make this About Byler if only Will would be impacted. They could have done any number of other paths to make Will queer without leading him toward heartbreak and rejection from his best friend, and I just can’t see that being the only outcome. I really am quite confident in Byler, delusional or not, so we’ll see soon!

Thank you for the message!!!

#byler #stranger things #stranger things 4 #antimileven #mike wheeler is gay #mike wheeler is not straight

[bugsbenefit]

"where others saw order I saw a straight jacket, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades!" Okay soo, is his whole monologue worthless now? Does he even think any of what he said or is that the mf talking, is there even an Henry anymore? I'm so confused

Where does the grandfathers clock fit in all of this

(everythings spoiler tagged but i'm still putting the rest under a read more so it's easier to scroll past)

i'm genuinely kind of curious how little they seemingly did with it too. specifically things like the grandfather clock are so relevant to the character in s4 it's an odd choice to not give it any significance in the origin story spin off

but i'm still waiting for more leaks, what we have right now is a very bare bones summary of plot beats, so the grandfather clock showing up at Some point is still very much possible. it just doesn't seem to have any major plot importance

regarding the monologue, yeah it really depends on what else we'll get form the play i think. i said yesterday too that i'm not a big fan of them seemingly wanting to lean into giving Henry his powers later on in life via possession because it creates a few problems for the writing of s5. it does solve the Will/Henry situation pretty neatly, it makes sense why they're paralleled that much with this. but it gets a bit odd when you suddenly have this kid where there's Actually something wrong with him (posession/cosmic creature influence) on the show with main characters that are all inherently different (queer, poc, disabilities). that just falls out of line of the ongoing theme

and yeah, it does make the monologue hit significantly less hard. the whole sentiment of feeling trapped by society works well coming from someone who's othered in some way, and being directed at another character that is also othered. if Henry's prime "otherness factor" came from a supernatural encounter it would lose a lot of the potential it had

but again, i don't really want to speak too much on it yet because we only have major plot beats bullet point lists after the first day of pre screening. any nuance about the characters and story beats that aren't part of the main message are still mostly unknown, so i want a clearer picture before i say that i think they picked the weaker option writing wise

with the MF having more active involvement you could also still take the time theme of s4 to s5 to some degree with the monologue, even without it being in the play. aspects like Vecna being able to show Nancy an accurate glimpse into the future with the gates opening implies that, in this case the MF, is in some way not bound by the same time constraints as people. so they could instead turn the monologue into a him Literally seeing/being shown time on a level normal humans don't experience and that being the reason he has such a meta view on it. so i do think they could make the monologue make sense, depending on how they define the MFs relationship to time and space in s5 and what it's relationship/bond to Vecna is actually like (gives them more room to fumble it though since Henry himself experiencing oppression and otherness based on him as a person would make the monologue work better regardless imo)

but yeah, if they really Do want to go the "it was due to MF influences all along" route they're opening up the door to some troubles. like you say, the monologue would lose a lot of it's impact if the Dimension X encounter was really all there was

but well see well see, i'm curious for more leaks to get out

#ask tag #tfs spoilers #the first shadow spoilers #<- tagging this one as both in case someone only has one version muted <3

[denimbex1986]

'A few days after the marriage equality bill was passed, Andrew Haigh's 'All of Us Strangers' started making its rounds again on social media, since it arrived (just in time, one would say) in Greek theatres. The film, which was one of the last screenings at the "Premiere Nights" held at the IDEAL cinema, is now also being screened at Cinobo Opera and belongs to the fantasy romance genre . Between us, there is so much more.

I won't lie. When I found out it was a fantasy romance, I had no idea that I would end up with tears in my eyes and so emotionally charged. Haigh's magical realism beautifully embraces the central theme and opens up a huge conversation about queer identity. As Christos Politis (aka Christos doesn't live here anymore) said on LIFO's 'The Review' podcast: “I wanted to see a queer film but luckily I didn't just see a queer film. If I had to put it somewhere, I would definitely put it very high on the lists of the best queer films ever made […] Combined, it blew me to pieces.”

Same Christos, same 🥲

When the broken fire alarm goes off, Adam (Andrew Scott) , a lonely screenwriter, descends on the entrance of the apartment building. Looking up at the other apartments, he sees only one has light: Harry's (Paul Mescal) . He shows up drunk at his door and jokingly says "should I come in?", to which Adam replies "no" (seriously, who would throw a package at Paul Mescal?!). From there begins a strange, sad and bittersweet journey of self-discovery and exploration.

Everyone's performances (well, 4 people were all) had something unreal: You could understand everything from their eyes! With the feeling of loneliness overwhelming every frame of the film, Andrew Scott was the personification of a tragic character; the viewer knows everything, but the protagonist discovers it along the way. On the other hand, Paul Mescal brought an air of melancholy as Harry, portraying a young man both full of love and sadness.

' All of Us Strangers ' explores queer sexuality, both from the protagonists' conversations and from a parent's perspective. First spoiler: ours turns out to be little delulu as he sees the ghosts of his parents when he visits the house where he grew up. Based on this, he begins to reminisce about his childhood with the help of his parents, in the style: "Do you remember when...". We've all experienced it with our own parents and we've all stopped them from saying it. This movie, however, made me want to listen to it again.

One of the many conversations he decides to have with his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) is that of coming out . Being almost 50, Adam has relatively recently discovered and embraced this side of himself. So when he decides to talk to his parents, he does it piecemeal: first to his mother and then to his father. Somewhat stereotypically (although the percentages also speak), mothers tend to accept their child's "difference" more easily than fathers. The punch that this film has in store for us, however, is the immediate acceptance of the father.

In an incredibly touching scene, Jamie Bell apologizes to his cinematic son for not protecting him from bullying at school, culminating in a hug. But in the reflection of the mirror behind them, we see the father embracing a younger version of the son - when he needed him most.

Adam's conversation with his mother is a great parallel to the conversation with older generations. We see her fearing the outcry, talking about illness and lonely life, expressing prejudices that have been cultivated in the way of thinking of many older people. In other words, a man can be lonely, as long as he is straight. In this case, it's typical. But if someone is homosexual, then this is the cause of his loneliness.

The discussion in question:

Adam: “Men can get married. And the women."

Mom: "What, between them?"

Oh yes"

M: "Why?"

A: "What do you mean why?"

M: “Isn't it like you want it all to yourself? Do you want to get married and have children?'

A: “I don't know. It wasn't possible for so many years that I thought it wasn't worth trying to get married and have children."

That sentence hurt 🥲

Overall, the whole movie is a trip down memory lane. With every flashback of Adam, I find myself in my father's house, with all the beautiful memories. It is still a heartbreaking story that belongs to the spectrum of the fantastic, but it makes you feel very familiar. Perhaps one of the best films of '24.

PS: And a fan fact: The house where the scenes with Adam and his parents were filmed is actually the real house where the director of the movie grew up!

Tissues, sweet and good viewing 🥲'

#Andrew Haigh #All of Us Strangers #Andrew Scott #Paul Mescal #Claire Foy #Jamie Bell

[josibunn]

i think a euronymous story where reader gets super turned on by euro being all dark and angsty and seeing him be all mean to everyone, like someone messes with reader and he threatens them or beats them up???? maybe even fucks reader later talking about how he’s their protector and everything!!!! GOOD GOD, could definitely be so toxic but so hot

oh I like this one a lottttttt anon I love you.

nsfw, p in v, really possesive and mean euro, breeding kink, choking, the usual. use of the word queer in a derogatory manner but not by any important character.

you sat pretty behind the counter, faust on your side under the bunk watching tv as you flip through some mag, not paying any mind to the youngsters roaming the store.

everything was peaceful, euronymous was in the back sleeping, store was running smoothly, up until someone storms in, an older guy, with a record in hand. the stomping alerts you, but just as you raise your head he booms a loud “HEY,” which makes you jump and stand up straight at attention.

“how can I-” “you guys sold me bullshit,” he slides the record onto the counter, pushing your mag away. “I just bought this last night. the fuckin queer that was workin’ the other day told me it was limited edition, so why when I put it on nothing plays? huh?”

you try and recognize who he could be referring to, and in all honesty it could be hellhammer, but you brush past it in the sake of getting this guy the fuck outta here. “okay, uhm, f-faust can you tune this please so we can see what the problem is?” youre stammering as you take it out the paper casing and hand it over, “by not playing, do you mean just-” “there was no fucking music coming out of my record player. like is everyone dense in this store?” he scoffs, and you roll your eyes.

“ok, well, in all honesty,” you look back at the cover art. “I don’t know who was working last night but..with this particular band as a listener you’d know that they haven’t released in a decade, so you’d know they wouldn’t have a limited edition version released, that’s just..poor thinking on your part.” you shrug. “yeah, he’s right, no music, just static,” faust says.

“it wasn’t poor thinking, I was lied to. you guys are tryna fuckin scam me and I want a fuckin’ refund!” he points, and as you examine him you say, “sir I assure you, we’re not. it’s a record there’s gonna be a mishap here and there.“ you look over the receipt, “now we unfortunately cannot refund you, but you can chose something else from the store, perhaps another or the same album in vinyl or mixtape? or you could chose something completely different, but we cannot refund it.”

“you can’t refund it?! I fuckin bought it from this store and this store ripped me off! I want my money back!” he’s raising his voice, and as you try and reason with him, as shaky as your voice is, øystein stirs from his sleep, raising from the futon and listening in, grumbling as he stands and scratches his bare chest.

he’s shirtless with his lover half covered from pants to shoes, his face is sleep ridden and angry as his head pounds, groaning as the yelling gets louder. he opens the door to the shop, watching you shrink under the anger of the customer. “hey hey what the fucks the issue?!” hes grunting, hand still on the door as you turn in relief, you thought you were about to cry.

“his record wasn’t play-”

“someone sold me a busted album and-” “did I ask you? huh?” øystein interrupts the guy who interrupts you, stepping fully out of the room and by your side. “i’m talkin to my worker, ok? cause’ you’re not gonna yell at me or anyone in here like that. so you’re gonna wait your turn like everyone else is,” and surely a scene is caused as øysteins hand rests on your back, and he’s returning his attention back to you.

“what’s the issue.” “he’s saying whoever worked last night told him it was limited edition and he believe him, and when he went to play it it didn’t play any music.” øysteins head jerks back and peers at the cover art. “are you stupid? this band hasn’t released in a fuckin decade why would anything limited edition come out now?” hes tough with his words as he returns back to you. “that’s what I said, and I told him we can’t refund it but he can trade this out for the same album or get something else from the selection.”

øystein looks back at the guy, “what’s the problem here then??” “I want my fucking money back, your workers are idiots, your music runs like shit and I don’t want something else, I want to take my money elsewhere!” “well we can’t give you the fucking refund!” his voice is louder than the guys as he throws his hands out. “she just fucking told you that. we can’t give you the refund, period. we don’t do fucking refunds on records. so you can either get your fat ass out, or you can get something else and leave, alright? you don’t run shit here this isn’t your fucking store, and you’re definitely not gonna talk to anyone in here like that on my watch. so matter a fact,” he stands you up.

“what’re you’re gonna do is you’re gonna apologize to this sweet thing, and then you’re gonna either get the fuck outta my shop or get the fucking record and get the fuck out. chose one before I chose it for you.” he says, his hands resting on your shoulders. and in no way is euronymous taller than this guys but he’s angrier, and louder, and more intimidating.

he apologizes, and you and øystein watch him pick something and leave before he’s wrapping his hands around your waist, sighing. “you ok?” he asks, and though you were a little shaken up by the guy, you were moreso..turned on. really turned on, actually. you had goosebumps, and you were so wet you thought it was seeping through your pants.

his biceps were still flexed as his jaw was still clenched as he looked at you, fuck was he hot? “yeah, m’ok. he was just mean.” you shrug, though you’re not paying attention. you’re trying not to look at his bare chiseled chest. “are you ok?” you ask, and he rolls his eyes. “fuckin headache, n i’m tired, think I just started my period,” he grumbled, and you giggle as he kisses your cheek, you feel the tension come off him as he rubs your body.

he looks at the clock, “close up for me baby, i’ll heat up the car.” he pats your ass a goodbye before he’s heading out back, and you watch his hips as he leaves.

you’re reminiscing on the drive home, lip tucked between your teeth. god, who knew a man yelling could turn you on so much? and not just any man, your sexy man, yelling at your defense, because you’re his damsel. so you’re on him as soon as you enter your shared apartment, he’s caught off guard, kissing you back with a confused and amused hum, “baby what’s gotten into you,” he giggled cheekily, allowing you to tear off his shirt.

“you.” you huff, rejoining lips after chucking your own shirt. “you’re just..so hot.” you smirk in the kiss, your hands grabbing at his tiny hips.

and before you know it he’s pounding into you, sending you through the mattress as your back arches off the bed, moaning out as you grab onto the sheets under you. “you were..” you try n speak, drool pooling your mouth with each deep stroke of his long cock. “you were so hot back a the store.” you whisper, hands running down his shoulders and biceps, and he almost laughs.

“y’mean when I was chewin off that guys head? you liked that?” he tilts his head and you nod, “was really hot, sexy,” you moan, biting your lip as you reminisce. “and your voice was so nice and deep and..fuck you looked so hot yelling like that. fuckin loved it. love when you get all mean like that.” he’s soaking in this feeling, cheeks pink as he hides a smirk under his bit lip.

“you’re nasty baby.” he pants, and you grin and shrug, eyes shut. “he was fuckin crazy if he thought he was gonna talk to you like that,” he’s rolling his hips into yours as he brushes against that sweet spot deep inside you, and he knows what he’s doing, he wants to drag your orgasm out. “especially in my shop, shouldve fired faust for letting him talk to you like that.” he rolls his eyes, and he finds himself getting angry all over again.

“yellin at my fuckin girl, ‘cause he was a fuckin idiot, i’ll be damned.” his eyes shut as he shakes his eyes, and you’re barely listening, you’re so close, and he’s completely torturing you, edging you with each brush of your soft spot. “wakin me out my fuckin sleep over some bullshit? fuck,” he groans, raising up.

“onea these days imma fuck around and end up in jail over you baby, you know that?” he huffs, and when you don’t answer he grabs your cheeks, your eyes popping open. “you hear me baby? you’re my girl, kay? i’ll kill someone bout you.” his eyes are hard on yours, remembering how you looked at him when he stepped out the room to your rescue, tears in your eyes.

“you’re my girl, no one should be yelling at you like that, makin you cry. you fuckin serious? only reason you should be cryin’ is when i’m beatin’ this pussy in,” he says, and you’re whining, he should be doing that now >:(. “gotta keep my girl safe, can’t let anyone lay a finger on you, i’d kill em, fuck i’d kill them,” he says, and you choke when he grabs your neck, sending your head back and your back off the bed.

“doesn’t matter who. all I need is you anyway, you, and this fuckin pussy, and this baby imma’ put in you.” he nods as he rambles, eyes hard on you before he sends kisses to your sweet spot, finally giving you what you want what you’ve been chasing, it has you moaning out in relief, loud and high, eyes rolling back and hand grabbing his twist weakly. you don’t even have time to register what he says as his cock kisses you from the inside, your toes curling and tickling.

“that’s right baby, lemme have it.” he rasps, watching you with possession. he couldn’t imagine a world without you, let alone a scratch on your perfect body. “i’ll do anything for you baby, got that? say you understand.” with his hand still on your throat, his other hand cups your cheeks and hunches over to meet your face, nose ghosting yours, still sending deep strokes that has you clenching round him, your legs trembling in the air as you feel your orgasm rub over you with each declaration of love he spews from his mouth.

“yes baby, I-I understand I swear,” you moan desperately, your fingertips on his pecks so you don’t float off the bed, trying to ground yourself as he rocks your through your orgasm. tears roll down the side of your face through your hair, your stomach heaving as you tense up, clenching around him eagerly. “øystein,” you sob, “m’cummin, fuckin cumming oh my god, oh my god!” you moan high, and hes possibly sending you through your hardest orgasm yet but knowing him, he’ll try to outdo himself in the future.

his lashes flutter as he lets go of your throat and drops his hand down your arching back, “that’s fuckin it princess, sweet girl,” he smiles against your skin as his head ducks into your neck, because he was right, you were his sweet girl, you were his princess. his. he loved protecting you, and caring for you. he cumz in you shortly after you, and you’re both smiley and dazed, “you wanna put a baby in me?” you ask airily, and it makes him raise up from your neck, face pink and hair falling cutely against you.

“of course I do, want you to be mine forever.” he shrugs almost shyly as he traced shapes on your body, and you internally aww at him as your lips pout, he’s so cute. you give him a final kiss before flipping onto your sides and giving in for the night.

this is so unrelated but ughhh i’m getting back into my hamilton phase again, I feel fourteen I love it :3. I hope you don’t mind I took a sweet approach towards the end!! I just love when he’s soft. hope you enjoyed!!

join my taglist! @vanlisbon @sugarinte @monkeyfart @444rockstargf @bambi-horror @auggiethecreator @wonkinoo @auryyz @brithedemonspawn

#rory culkin #rory culkin smut #euronymous smut #euronymous #lords of chaos #lords of chaos smut #x black reader #eurory prompt

[ao3screenshots]

mood babe

#fanfiction #fandom #fan #fanfic #Author #ao3 #AO3 tags #ao3 writer #my AO3 #AO3 stuff #gay #queer #tag #i came on tumblr because all the other big social media platforms are down but tumblr is Still going strong lol #funny #why make a character straight when you could make them queer and open the doors of possibilities

[recappers-delight]

I AM INFURIATED!!!!

But not for the reasons you think.

How many of you watched the She-Ra panel tonight? ACTUALLY WATCHED IT?! Because I did and here's what I saw:

1. "_____ called someone the D slur"

He DID NOT call anyone that word. He used it in the context of announcing a panelist to the show. The word is IN THE TITLE of her podcast. He was literally just stating the title. That's it.

2. "Noelle said Double Trouble would be creepy around kids."

What Noelle said was that to get the inspiration for Flutterina, Double Trouble would have gone to a coffee shop, found a girl to imitate, and stare at her until they got her mannerisms down. Because of the implications here irt trans people and the stereotypes of "creeping on children", this could have been worded better. BUT this whole headcanon was in response to Noelle DEFENDING Double Trouble against the rest of the crew thinking they straight up murdered the real Flutterina. And again, problematic because of larger implications, but on the show Double Trouble IS A VILLAIN. Just because we think they're awesome doesn't mean they're not capable of shady shit. I saw very few people having a problem with this before. Other things they said about DT?

They specifically searched for a non-binary trans activist to voice the role.

Double Trouble was the whole cast's favorite character.

Everyone had a crush on them.

They support DT x Peekablue headcanon and think they should date.

3. "Noelle said Entrapta and Hordak are great representation."

Literally just did not say this. This comment was made by a fan writing in. A fan who, by the way, IS DISABLED THEMSELVES, and was writing in to thank the crew for the rep THEY saw in these characters. Noelle didn't agree or disagree at all. She goes on to give a character analysis about them both, and that's it.

4. "They made Bow's brothers slaves."

No. They didn't. It's a crew inside joke that all of Bow's brother's have pun names that rhyme with "Bow". The brother in question came from one of the other male creators making the joke "which one of Bow's brothers tills the field? Sow." Here's a pic from Noelle about the rest of the brothers.

Because of the complicated history between black people and "farm work" it's best to not make any joke at all like this. It was tasteless and misguided, but hardly a reason to grab pitchforks. Black people have the phrase "whites gonna white" for a REASON. We know there's no such thing as an unproblematic person. Creator or otherwise. Is it still wrong? Yes. Should people strive to do and be better? Absolutely. Should allies listen when POC talk about things that make us uncomfortable, and support us when WE call it out? Please, for the love of God!!! But I do not think the level of backlash the crew-ra is getting is at all warranted.

I understand I do not speak for all black people or lesbians, and I don't speak for ANY of those other groups mentioned and possibly offended, because I am not one of them. However, I felt the need to speak for myself. I am SO SICK of everyone knee-jerk reacting to every little thing that could possibly offend someone. Noelle is not perfect, but she has done a SHIT TON of work for representation and the progression of normalizing queer, inclusive stories to younger audiences. She also went to bat for a diverse cast of characters to be voiced by a diverse cast of VA.

The truly fucked up thing? There was a question someone wrote in about how a cis, straight, white person can respectfully tell the stories of underrepresented and marginalized communities. Noelle then goes on for 5 minutes about how it's difficult, and how it's more important to hold doors open for creators who actually come from those communities to be able to have their own voices heard. And this is the woman you throw flames at? Ridiculous. Our true enemies are able to so easily conquer us, because we so easily divide ourselves.

No one owes allegiance to any one fandom or creator. But we have got to start picking our battles more carefully. If we don't, people will become desensitized to our cries when REAL threats and offenses happen. And white people? PLEASE stop being so outraged at every little "off-color" remark someone makes YOU think might offend ME. I appreciate you wanting to be an ally, but you are drowning out our voices over things that really matter. That's why we get shit like musicians and sports teams changing their "racially insensitive" names, while police are STILL killing unarmed black peple in the streets without repercussions. It shouldn't be an either/or thing, but it often is, so please focus your attention on "canceling" THAT.

TL;DR: Don't just retweet and reblog everything you see without doing your own research and forming your own opinion. Speak out against bigotry, but understand when it's time attack, and when it's time to educate. Stop holding people on so high a pedestal they have no room to grow, and can only fall. Do not speak for, or louder, than the people you say you are standing up for. We can speak for ourselves. Help amplify our voices; DO NOT BECOME OUR VOICES. And finally, because we really do just have so much bigger fish to fry:

#i said what i said #she ra #she-ra #she ra panel #noelle stevenson #double trouble #entrapdak #entrapta #hordak #wlw #spop

[greensaplinggrace]

do you have any darklina fic recs?

I certainly have a few! But first I want to clarify that I don’t really read fic when I’m writing it, and since I have so many fics in the works right now, I haven’t really been reading a lot of fanfiction. So this list probably won’t be as extensive as it could be.

Here are some other great fic recommendation posts, however:

DARKLINA FIC RECS by @vicioux

DARKLINA FIC RECS // part ii by @vicioux

Darklina Ruling the World Together Fic Recs by @clubofthestarlesssaint

Tumblr Ficlets

Aleksander’s First Memory by @kestrafagnor

Fivan Talk About Darklina by @jomiddlemarch

a little light in the great, big dark by @valkyrhys

Alina tells Mal she’s with Aleksander by @lorsanbitch

Darklina week day 5: intimacy & touch by @starlesscne

AO3 Fanfiction

if it ain’t me by larry_hystereks (Incomplete - 10/13 Chapters)

alina’s in her second year at Yale when she meets aleksander at one of his frat parties.

a hookup with the potential for more, only if alina wasn’t still struggling to piece herself together from last year’s breakup.

or: alina, zoya, their trust issues, and the men that fall for them

---

I’m only at about chapter 6 of this fic currently, but so far it’s one of my all time favorite Modern AUs. The characterization for Alina and Aleksander is incredibly well done, and the entire fic itself is so feminist and queer in such a refreshing way. Aleksander and Alina are bisexual as fuck, both with their own separate complex lives, and much of Alina’s own traumas and relationships are explored outside of Aleksander.

There’s some Zoyalina, with Nikolina friendship and endgame Zoyalai. There’s some mystery and some tension, but nothing too extreme, and a lot of the fic is merely an exploration in growth and overcoming one’s history and learning how to move on in healthy ways. I love it.

She Wears a Collar (With My Name) by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

She is immortal, and whatever lingering hints of humanity she may have once had have long been bleached from her heart.

I will grant you one wish, boy, if it is in my power to do so. What does a Shadow Smith most want?

"You," he answers.

Written for Darklina Week 2021 - Day 2: Role Reversal

---

This piece is just exquisite. This author’s writing style is one that I particularly enjoy. Their stuff is always so uniquely composed and crafted, and this one especially is a work of art. The way Darklina as a relationship is portrayed in particular is fascinating to me because it’s a role reversal but it’s still so complex. Aleksander’s character is nailed.

the bright sun was extinguish’d by athousandwinds (Complete)

Somewhere, deep in the dark forests of Ravka, a boy grows up on stories of Sankta Alina of the Wastes, the Sun-Scorched Saint.

---

This fic is just straight up magnificent. It’s so engaging and I love love love the way a role reversed Aleksander who joins the army is portrayed. He reminds me so much of Demon in the Woods Aleksander, as if he’s exactly what a grown version of that young boy would be. When I say I adore his characterization in this I’m not lying.

If I wanted any completed fic I’ve read to have a second chapter, it would be this one.

Winter in the Little Palace by redisxwing (Complete)

Written for Yuletide 2020.

Baghra and Alina's wildly different perspectives on the Darkling, and how things could have gone if nobody listened to Baghra.

Warning: Baghra is written as a harsh and arguably abusive parent, and this is darkfic about that relationship, with a side of shipping. Everything is terrible (except the parts that are pretty much okay).

Canon divergence pretty much as soon as Alina gets lessons in summoning.

This fic is likely not compatible with King of Scars (or any subsequent work).

---

As is said in the summary, this one makes Baghra a bit more extreme. If you’re a fan of Baghra, this fic probably isn’t for you. But since I’m not a fan of Baghra, I had no problems with it.

My biggest praise for this fic is in regards to the character interactions and the POVs. There’s a brilliant grasp of unique perspective and how to convey it, and that talent is carried over into the way character interactions are brought to life in the text. Also, there’s a scene where Alina gets kind of protective of the Darkling, which is one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to Darklina.

Good Ideas by FelixRivers (Complete)

Alina Starkov had a very good idea. Aleksander Morozova would definitely agree. (or: Alina wants to go camping and Aleksander won't complain)

---

This fic is just straight up adorable and hilarious. They’re such a cute couple and Alina’s POV is great. It’s just pure fluff and humor 💕

I’m not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you by SanktaJenya - @sankta-arya (Complete)

Winter had been hard on Old Baghra and Ana Kuya was worried about her, so she decided that Alina should make the trip to her cottage on the other side of the woods to bring her some food and kvas. On her way there, Alina meets a stranger...

Darklina Red Riding Hood/Company of Wolves AU

Darklina Week, Day 4, Fairytales

---

This fic has a splendid grasp of tension and atmosphere. It’s very enchanting and dark and intriguing, and it nails those aspects with absolute precision. I love the style and the way the fairytale is incorporated into the narrative. It’s truly a masterpiece.

The Wretched by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

“We are strangers, but I want to help.” He growls at her, mocking and mistrustful. “I understand,” she said. “You think I am one of them. I certainly look like one of them. But I want to help you. Will you let me?” Prompt: fairytale. Alina saves a dragon.

---

Okay so I’ve mentioned this one before as one of my Top 5 fics of all time and I still stand by that. I can’t even describe why I love this fic so much except that the pacing is amazing and the prose is stunning and the story is beautiful. Aleksander is a dragon and Alina is a witch, and their relationship is just so...interesting and fascinating and lovely. I would literally kill for this fic. There’s such a softness to it as well. Such a tenderness. Idk, I just really love it.

Show Me Who You Are (I Want To Know) by Ceris_Malfoy (Incomplete - 12/?)

Alina takes her future in her own hands and makes her own decisions.

---

This is a great “what if Alina had stuck around after the reveal” rewrite. It doesn’t have Mal bashing and in fact still writes them as close friends, which is something I’m fond of in Darklina fics. Aleksander is allowed to be soft and Alina is allowed to be powerful, and I really enjoyed the take on their dynamics as a power couple wherein Alina is given a lot of control.

There’s something to be said for the way Aleksander is written in the scenes where he must be honest and earnest with Alina. I really enjoy the way they both come to equal ground, and I’m even more fond of the way Alina is allowed to grow darker without losing her light. She also engages a lot with quite a few other characters, developing tons of friendships and alliances on her own that help strengthen her as an individual character.

on this bridge between starshine and clay by @rhea-imagined (Complete)

"His breath narrows for a moment, his fist clenched tight before he forces himself to loosen it. She is his only opportunity for salvation, but vulnerability is not a cape he wears easily. “In those days, there was less prejudice against Shadow Summoners. But everyone fears the dark, in one way or another.” He does not look at her as he waits for the penny to drop, half-hoping it stays suspended in the air."

In which Alexander comes clean to Alina and tells her about his true identity in hopes that this will help convince her to take down the Fold.

A rewrite of the fountain scene in episode four, with a good!Darkling that is trying to make amends.

---

This is my all-time favorite good!Aleksander AU. He’s kept in character despite the major changes made to his motivations, and Alina is given a lot more agency in her own story. It’s the first fic in what might become a series, but it can stand alone beautifully.

I love how Aleksander and Alina’s relationship is allowed to grow tense without breaking, and how it’s a clear sign of change but not abandonment. I love how both characters are able to think for themselves and become self-aware and are given the chance to think critically. I love the character interaction so much because it’s honest and fresh and engaging. Everything from the smallest action to the most off-hand thought is in character and meaningful and incorporated with an amazing style of writing. It’s a very refreshing piece, and the writing only makes it that much better.

Bunnies of a Feather Stitch Together by Ill_Ratte (Complete)

"Just as Alina called to the light, gathering and twisting it into a ball in her hands, the door swung open.

Kirigan blacked out the door frame. His appearance enough would have surprised Alina, but there was something clutched in his arm, something dark and floppy. It almost looked like the stuffed toys that had been passed around to the younger Orphans." - Alina and The Darkling bond over a love of soft things

---

Soft stuffed animal shenanigans. Bits of trans!Aleksander, which I’m very fond of, as well as just a lot of fluff with a bit of something bittersweet and sad in a good way.

Half Lie by Ill_Ratte (Complete)

"Baghra always talked of the demon that had stolen her daughter." Or, Alina learns the hard way that the Darkling isn't the only one who deals in half-truths

---

This one is trans!Aleksander, and it handles it in a very interesting way. It’s quite sad, and deals a lot with Baghra & Aleksander’s relationship through Alina’s POV. I want to give a warning for transphobia, because it does center around that a lot as the premise, but it really is worth the read if that isn’t a trigger for you. This is one of my favorite trans!Aleksander fics, and the way it handles emotion and grief and pain is quite extraordinary.

The CEO and Helioseismologist by mrthology (Complete)

Aleksander Morozova doesn't get sick. He's the CEO of one of the most successful companies in the world, one that he had built from the ground up with blood, sweat, and tears. He exercised daily (usually), maintained a healthy diet, and kept himself fit.

He wasn’t sick.

Too bad no one believed him. And too bad Genya decided to call Ivan to take him home before also calling Alina to take care of him.

Maybe, just maybe, being sick wasn't so bad. Especially not when he has such a wonderful girlfriend.

---

Both of the fics in this series are great, but I love this one in particular because I’m an absolute sucker for hurt/comfort. Anyone who’s been on my blog for a while knows that it’s my all time favorite trope to read, and this fic fits the hurt/comfort trope to a T in the best of ways. It’s very tender and in character, and Aleksander and Alina are so soft with each other. It’s adorable and really makes you feel for Aleksander, and the caretaking is done perfectly.

All the different layers of dark (thousand little suns) by Anuna (Complete)

One month after the Winter Fete, Aleksander returns to the Little Palace, and Alina has been missing him.

Or

Episode five canon divergence in which Alina had never left Os Alta.

---

This one is soft emotional hurt/comfort smut. They’re both so open and vulnerable with each other, and it’s so beautiful to read. I love the writing style and the emotion in this one. It makes my heart ache in the best way.

An Honourable Man by liviy695 (Complete)

A reimagining of the scene after the winter fete. Alina catches a glimpse of a caring Darkling after he returns from integrating the Conductor. Plus, no Baghra interference.

---

This one is what it says on the tin, in that Baghra doesn’t interfere and they’re allowed to talk after the Darkling interrogates the Conductor. But more than that, it’s a great imagining of how a scene where Aleksander reveals Marie’s death would have gone. There’s a sort of quiet to it that I appreciate, with grief and solemnity weighed against care and vulnerability.

I see the real you (even if you don’t, I do) by Anonymous (Incomplete - 8/?)

A series of questionable decisions lead Alina to meet the Black General a bit earlier. Butterfly effect ensues.

---

I’ve only read half so far (I hadn’t realized it had updated!! 👀👀) but I’m already in love with this fic. Alina’s dialogue and perspective is perfect, her relationship with Mal and the other cartographers is great, and I really enjoy how much personality she has. Aleksander is so smitten, but more than that, his characterization is soft but not weak. It feels almost as if he’s swept up by Alina, instead of the other way around, and I quite like that.

Of parenting by Anuna (Complete)

Alina finds out how her husband handled yet another parenting situation.

---

This is pure adorable Darklina parenting fluff and I live for it. Yet it doesn’t lack depth and in fact explored Alina and Aleksander’s relationship with parenting quite well.

i have a longing by LRCee - @ladylyannastark (Complete)

“So, Alina Starkov, risk-taker, how did you end up being editing’s newest wunderkind?”

Alina Starkov is rising in the publishing world. Singlehandedly responsible for editing (see: rewriting) the hottest book of the year, she lands a coveted spot at Morovoz Publishers. It's the position she's always wanted, at the biggest publishing house in the country. Life is perfect. That crush on her boss though, that's gotta go.

---

OKAY! I LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCH!! Let me tell you, as someone who is not too fond of Boss/Employee dynamics, I was very wary going into this fic. But boy did it deliver in a way that was perfect for me.

The relationship that develops between Aleksander and Alina is complex but healthy, and it never feels as if there’s too much of a power imbalance or anything that would make Alina feel forced or unhappy. The tension lies purely in how she fears others will perceive her, and not in how unhealthy her relationship with Aleksander is. For somebody who’s often attracted to unhealthy ships, I have to say that my favorite fics are usually ones that don’t have that type of dynamic between the characters. This fic delivers on that.

Also, Aleksander’s POV surrounding his struggle with his Russian heritage and his feelings for Alina is amazing, and has some of the best writing and characterization I’ve seen.

You receive: an evil demon; I receive: human souls by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

The next morning while she tried to tell herself it was a dream, that of course there wasn’t a fucking demon in her house, she found a note taped to her fridge.

“You might eat this shit,” it had written, “but I would like some fucking souls please.”

Darkling Week Prompt 7: free choice. Alina has a demon in her house.

This is absolute crack, and I have no idea what the fuck is wrong with me.

---

May I just say that this is the most fun I’ve ever had when reading a fic. It’s interesting with a bit of mystery, and Aleksander as a little shit of a demon is hilarious. Alina in this fic is great too. It’s such a unique take on her POV, especially when you reread it after knowing the ending. 10000/10, this fic is brilliant in every way and I love it.

I had been lost to you, Sunlight by BrytteMystere (Complete)

A Girl became a Woman, became a Sankta, became a Goddess.

Or: An Immortal Alina calls upon merzost to reunite with the Prince of Shadows she lost long ago. She may have lost herself in the process.

But then again, maybe time and endless wars did that instead.

---

You really just have to read this one to get it. It is utterly haunting and fascinating in the best of ways. The writing style is strange and novel and fits so well with the story being told. The composition of the fic as a whole is genius.

I Look Inside Myself (And See My Heart Is Black) by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

"When is a monster not a monster? Why, when you love it, of course."

Written for Darklina Week 2021 - Day 6: Favorite Quote • King & Queen • Monster

---

Once more, this author comes through with an absolutely breathtaking writing style and story. The imagery is elegant yet brutal, simultaneously horrifying and glorious. There’s a certain way these stories are written, like fairytales, where the beautiful becomes the macabre and becomes ever more stunning because of it. It’s very dark but in a good way - an almost bewitching way.

Afterlife by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

“You are asking me to leave?”

“Not asking, shadow,” she said. “Telling. Time to get unlost, loser.”

Day 3 Darklina Week prompt: Modern AU (I mean, barely)

Alina expels ghosts from purgatory.

---

@aceofnowhere once again bringing the best of the paranormal to the Grishaverse. Literally everything you write is amazing idk why I’m even pointing out individual fics when I could just rec your whole page. But anyways!! This is fun and interesting and Alina is a badass. Aleksander is, of course, compelling and dark and kind of a little shit, and it’s all incorporated seamlessly into an existential paranormal narrative.

Once Upon a Shooting Star by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

"But most of all, she was drawn to a vast darkness that reached out above all of them, a void so hungry for companionship that she knew she could fulfill."

---

Let. Alina. Be. Feral!! Anyways, I clearly have a type when it comes to storytelling, and it’s whatever the fuck this person has got going on. Feral!Star!Alina is literally the light of my life. Her interactions with not only other people but the world in general are so well done, but my favorite parts about this fic are the numerous ways her relationship with Aleksander is described and depicted.

I love the dark and light imagery, especially with how it’s portrayed as them filling in the gaps of each other’s lives and supporting each other instead of trying to block each other out. There’s such clear passion and joy and love and devotion between them. The central focus of this fic is on her and Aleksander’s relationship, the interplay between them and their powers and the way her light fills his loneliness, the passing of adoration and trust and reliance between them. It’s very beautiful and I love it.

A Blaze of Light by Keira_63 (Complete)

They discover the Sun Summoner in the burnt-out remains of the Shu laboratory in which she has spent the last seven years of her life.

Or, the Darkling finds himself with a Sun Summoner whose greatest wish is to burn Shu Han to the ground. He is happy to oblige her.

---

👀👀 Badass Alina and Badass Aleksander. The ultimate power couple, and Alina burning a path through Shu Han before they both burn a path through the world together. The darkness and rage in this one are handled very well, and the way that rage turns to coldness and then resolve is done so well. This fic is very cathartic and also very furious, and reading it is certainly a trip down emotion lane.

One more for the Road by Rist (Complete)

He returns to the war room shaken, and finds an Alina that cannot leave without at least having tried.

---

This one hurts so much but its soooo gooood!!! Very smutty but also very tender and very bittersweet. Sad and soft all at once. I just... love the way Alina and Aleksander are written so much, and Alina’s complicated feelings for him are explored in such detail and depth. This one is truly worth the read.

#darklina #sab #grishaverse #shadow and bone #aleksander morozova #the darkling #alina starkov #ficrecs #shadow and bone netflix #darklina fanfiction #darklina fic #alina x aleksander #alina x darkling #darklinafics #shadow and bone fanfiction #shadow and bone fic rec #fic rec #darklina fic rec #myramblings #asks and answers #anon #ty for the ask! <3 #okay thats it!! #i have more but i have to stop somewhere aljdflsakj

[guiltycorp]

~Arcane!Viktor’s vaguely-queer-moments~ with commentary about how it might just be straight after all to keep myself in check.  Alright, so I might miss something, feel free to add (although this is more for myself tbh, sort of a journal entry). Personally, I didn’t notice like half of this when I was watching for the first time and didn’t really think much about the possibility, however the second time I was quite surprised to notice that there was... eh, quite a bit.  Also, this isn’t meant to cover anything from LoL lore, but it’s nice to remember that as a character he was originally a soviet-coded robotic mad scientist. Idk it’s not a very gay archetype by itself but it IS rather sensual.  Anyway!  1) Saying 'it’s Viktor’ and then continuing to soulfully gaze into Jayce’s eyes for another couple of seconds as his theme swells (’It’s Viktor’, fittingly). 

might just be fanservice for league players who remember old champs, gasp, oh it IS viktor, the machine herald, plus letting the theme’s violin notes hit just right, plus this is the finishing scene before the story gets back to vi... kinda awkward tho??   2) ‘Wait a minute, this isn’t my bedroom’ as the excuse he came up with when Mel came across him and Jayce breaking into Heimerdinger’s lab, clear implication (although Jayce talks at the same time so it might be harder to hear for some viewers).  ...might be a generic excuse for trying to open the wrong door and also too subtle, flew right over most ppl’s heads, however this is probably the most overt viktor line in the show 3) Right after that he throws a sour look at Jayce who’s busy mooning over Mel. 

uhh concern that his new partner would be more interested in a gorgeous corrupt politician rather than in scientific progress? doubtful:) however also subtle, didn’t notice this on 1st watch 4) Doesn’t return Sky’s interest, in fact the first time we see them together he kept on looking at Jayce (who was about to give a speech yeah but also had his back turned to Viktor atm). 

well, this could be for a variety of non-queer reasons... more like an additional detail and in later scenes when he’s busy with hexcore he’s practically ignoring jayce almost the same way he does her, so im not putting it here  5) Viktor bleeding onto Hexcore and passing out while Mel&Jayce have sex (with Viktor’s theme worked into Romance track), in this case i actually prefer a metaphor for the rich and powerful of the world finding both cooperation and pleasure together while the less privileged inevitably suffer and have to turn to less ethical means to survive, but well... The fact that Jayce is having sex with his political partner while his scientific partner is dying is still a bit? Suggestive? These readings aren’t mutually exclusive.  6) “Singed: If you take this path, they will despise you. Love and legacy are the sacrifices we make for progress. It’s why I parted ways with Heimerdinger. Viktor: Jayce will understand.”  idk this seems like a logical answer after the mention of singed’s previous lab partner but still, love.. more a weird choice of words on singed’s part tbh, could be just a generic type of love in a ~friendly colleagues~ way lol 7) no visible nipples under a really high support brace 

might be just stylistic design choices ig, low pectoral muscles.. due to muscle atrophy maybe?   So, like, all of this can be viewed in a different light, I guess? And most overt hints are in Act I.  This is naturally a familiar path for anyone who has experience with fandom and reading into things, impossible to say for sure whether it’s all in our heads or not... Earlier I’d say that it doesn’t even matter! We do have one rly cool queer couple in the show and also perhaps this ambiguity suits that particular storyline, AND more importantly Viktor’s sexuality or gender wouldn’t really add that much to the themes of the show, in my opinion. It’s just really nice for fanart and fic ideas, various additional materials and rediscovering the homoeroticism of cold war metaphors in League lore.  But after that whole thing on Amanda Overton’s twitter (one of the writers for Arcane) with first an implication that any queer-seeming moments are just the results of ‘no stigma against affection between men, friends or family’ followed by a bewildering ‘I’ve faced what felt like identity erasure myself many times. I’ve not given a real-world label to any one of our characters because I sincerely believe it will be more satisfying to learn this as their story unfolds.’ Which um. Reads as ‘wait and see’, essentially, also backed up by a different artist (Evan, although he isn’t working on s2) on the show seemingly for this particular issue (’I super do need people to stop asking us about things that aren't explicitly shown in s1. I get that people want assurances, but it'd be such a massive disservice to spoil any of the moments being cooked up’).  And after that I’ve began to feel a familiar frustration...  Like, this isn’t that big of a question in the story? Like I said, Viktor’s sexuality or gender isn’t super relevant to his character since he already has lots of other narrative-defining traits (risk-taking scientist focused on improvement of life quality & leaving a legacy, comes from zaun, disabled, close to dying), plus if Amanda is to be believed there’s no stigma towards sexuality or gender expression in Runeterra so it wouldn’t be seen as an alienating trait, just a sort of sad one if he had an unexplored (and potentially unrequited) crush on Jayce. Which again, isn’t really needed to drive home the idea that their relationship is slowly falling apart because of a divide in ideologies and personal circumstances. Or rather, it just wouldn’t be a good twist for s2, but it would have been a potentially cool detail to add or imply in s1.  My point is that if the queercoding was intentional why not say so? And if it’s not what’s the big deal in saying ‘nope! it wasn’t intentional! however we can see how it could be viewed that way, best of wishes to the fandom, you’ll get your riot mlm and or trans rep someday, xxx’.  Or, yknow, ignoring the question. Instead homophobic and/or sexist fans took the first part of the answer as an opportunity to gloat that the idea of a queer Viktor is entirely delusional while us losers received familiar bait of ‘maybe it’ll happen in s2!! be on the lookout for bi Jayce trying to seduce robo-Viktor (Even-Bigger-Dick-Now) who fell out of love with Jayce because of hexcore or an undercity flood or whatever’. Argh idk, I’d easily expect such an answer from a riot marketing team! But it’s really kinda sad to see the same sort of vague placation of both sides from a queer writer who pushed forward Vi/Caitlyn whose relationship truly kept me on the edge of my seat the whole show. sigh

#arcane spoilers #viktor #jayvik #i guess? #does fandom tend to disproportionally focus on mlm couples even when wlw are there and canon? #sure #but i actually like the more toxic and dysfunctional fictional relationships #so sue me #oil and water scene didn't even make that much sense #i would LOVE if they have an actual argument in s2 which leads somewhere #preferably not into enforcer Vi land #did i write this only bc i saw ppl say slurs on twitter? #yeah #yeah i did #text #i think there's a possibility they'll make ekko bi by giving him a background boyfriend which would also like #yeah sure #but where's the drama #arcane

[inawickedlittletown]

Queerbaiting and Buddie

(word count: 1,900)

I keep saying that I don’t want to spend any more time on 9-1-1 meta or fic, but the events of this weekend made me open up a document where I had some unfinished meta and in light of the S4 finale airing tonight, I thought I might at least write this: 

“Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not actually depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ representation. They do so to attract a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion of relationships or characters that appeal to them, while at the same time attempting to avoid alienating other consumers.” 

That is how Wikipedia defines queerbaiting. And I really feel like everyone needs to read that and then read it again and realize that what is happening on 9-1-1 with Buddie is NOT queerbaiting. 

I don’t want to go into the long history of queerbaiting because we would be here all day and anyone that wants to do some research should go and do so. There are a lot of resources out there. Use them. 

But the short of it is this: queerbaiting has a lot more to do with the way a show is promoted, with the way that anyone involved in the show talks about a queer ship, and with the show deliberately scripting scenes that hint at a relationship without any intention of following through. Expectations and wanting a queer ship to go canon and those expectations not being met do not alone equate to it being queerbaiting. 

For any of us that have been around a long time there are a lot of perfect examples and if you compare Buddie to any of them, they are very different. I’ll name a few:

Merlin/Arthur

John Watson/Sherlock

Emma Swan/Regina

Derek/Stiles

Castiel/Dean Winchester (though they did go canon...barely)

Lena/Kara

Buck and Eddie do not fit into that list. Which isn’t to say that someday they could belong there, but I just do not believe that they will even if Buddie never becomes canon. And this all lies in how Buddie as a ship has been treated both on screen and off. I’ll break it down by season. 

S2: 

Eddie is very clearly introduced as a new character, a straight Army veteran with a disabled kid and family drama. He and Buck have immediate chemistry. We can’t deny that, or deny that from that first episode there are immediate sparks. Unintended sparks, but sparks nevertheless. And it is easy to tell that no one on the production team expected that and the story reflects that. 

Yes a foundation for their friendship is formed and yet the season long story focuses on Eddie’s relationship with his estranged wife and Buck is dealing with his own growth after being left by Abby. Their friendship shines and their scenes are great but none of them suggest romance and there are actually a lot of episodes where Buck and Eddie barely interact in S2 aside from in the background or for small work related moments (this mostly happens after Shannon returns). 

S2 does give us the first acknowledgement from the powers that be aka Tim Minear that they know what the fans have seen. This is why the elf scene exists, but it exists in a space where it’s a nod to the fans and not meant to do much more than that. The other moment is during the call with the livestreamer. But S2, places them completely and without question on a strong friendship. 

S3: 

We see a lot more conflict for Buck and Eddie in this season and we see how close and important they are to each other. Those are the two main things. That can be read as friendship easily and it’s a season where both Buck and Eddie deal with their pasts and in one way or another start to get closure while their friendship remains intact. 

Yes there are some scenes that make us squint and go huh, wtf? (I’m looking at you kitchen scene), but narratively we also know that neither of these boys is ready for a real relationship with anyone, let alone each other. But we can bask in how close they are as well as how Christopher fits in into all of it. 

But in S3 we are also introduced to Ana and we see the return of Abby. We also get to see that Buck and Eddie have become closer than ever and that the lawsuit only serves to highlight the importance that they both feel about having the other available to them. I’ll also quickly mention that Eddie Begins worked hard to highlight Buck’s devotion to Eddie. 

S4: 

Without considering the events of the finale (I am avoiding spoilers and know nothing about it or the speculation), we’ve seen Buck and Eddie both grow and get further closure on their past. This season has paralleled them well and their friendship has not faltered, they’re as close as ever. 

The beginning of the season was heavily focused on Buck and we saw him grow as a person and begin to work on himself in a healthy way and we’ve seen Eddie be supportive of that. 

We also have Ana to consider and her relationship with Eddie as well as the return of Taylor and yet the appearance of these women has not changed the Buck and Eddie dynamic. And I find it fascinating that Eddie beginning to date Ana, is the thing that prompted Buck to start dating. The parallels are all over the place but it is the strength of the friendship and the way they care so deeply about each other that remains whether that becomes romantic is still to be seen, but it could still go either way.  

Off-screen by the end of S2, Tim Minear had already addressed Buddie by throwing in that elf scene in a wink/nudge fashion that said “I see you” and in the scene with the girl with the livestream with the comments. During S3 he tweeted about being frustrated by the fans demanding and being hostile and thinking that that would make him more likely to do what they want (I’m paraphrasing what I remember seeing). Tim has never once said that Buddie will happen or shut the door on the ship entirely, but he did say he did not want to engage in conversation about it because he doesn’t want to get into arguments with fans. 

Oliver has always been enthusiastic about Buddie and has even said that he would be perfectly fine with it happening both a while ago and more recently in promo for S4. Conscious of queerbaiting and not wanting to give fans false hope, he has specifically said that he does not know if it will or won’t happen and that he wouldn’t speak on that as he’s not the one making that decision. His support for it happening does not mean he has any sway one way or the other. He’s said this a few times and even wrote a letter to the effect to make it clear to fans that the last thing he wants is to disappoint someone due to something he’s said. 

All in all, it just isn’t a constructive environment for anyone working on the show to interact with fans on this topic because any time that they do, they get attacked by overly enthusiastic buddie shippers that in many ways are making everything worse. 

In all of the interviews from Tim that I’ve seen, he has always been very quick to hint at what was coming up on the show in a way that at times has been misleading on purpose. The number one thing that comes to mind is early in S4 where Buck was said to get a new woman in his life. Tim absolutely made it out to seem like it was a girlfriend while knowing fully well that it was a therapist. This is an excellent example of what promoting and hinting is actually like. No one from this show has done that in regards to Buddie. 

No one has gone out of their way to hint that it may happen in a way that excites the fans. And this is one of my main reasons for knowing that Buddie is not a queerbait. At no point in the life of the show so far has anyone used Buddie in a promotional way to bring in viewers. Because THAT was the whole point of queerbaiting in the past. 

It was a way that some showrunners found to bring in a lot of viewers when they needed to up their numbers in order to show networks they were worth keeping around. Someone figured out that LGBTQ people wanted to see themselves represented so much so that they would tune in to anything that promised an LGBTQ character in some fashion. It was a tactic that worked well in the landscape of tv where there was so little LGBTQ content on mainstream media that anyone wanting it would latch onto anything. And then they just wouldn’t deliver on those relationships or characters. In 2021, that is not the world we live in any longer. 

In today’s tv landscape there is so much to watch and so much to pick from and diversity has grown, it is celebrated. Queer characters are well represented as are queer relationships and queer stories. The times are different. A while back I was listening to a podcast (Bait: a queerbaiting podcast) and something I found interesting was how the hosts both agreed that in today’s tv landscape there is no more real queerbait and that we won’t easily find anything like the ships I mentioned above. I think I agree more with this than I expected to, because I do think that it exists in some spaces, but it definitely isn’t what it used to be. This is a good thing. 

Specific to 9-1-1, this is a show that has that diversity and that isn’t afraid of tackling that diversity and giving us interesting and nuanced perspectives and stories embracing that. We have characters of color, women in positions of power, a F/F relationship, two multi-racial relationships, a disabled character, other queer characters including a M/M relationship. There is so much in this show that embraces diversity and that embraces the reality of what the world looks like. To call it queerbait is to disrespect everything else that this show is and has done and the hard storylines that have been tackled that we would not have seen on tv ten years ago. 

And I get that Buddie would be another breakthrough. It would be a novel way to tell a queer story, and it would be amazing if it were to happen. The set up is there, but it isn’t fully realized, and Buck and Eddie can still be read as just friends if we take off the shipping goggles. But it also isn’t queerbait or likely to become queerbait and people have to stop calling it that. 

What Buddie resembles is one of the many unintended slow burn ships that have frustrated viewers in many forms across fandoms and we just have to go along for the ride and maybe it will happen. Or maybe it won’t. But if we know anything about relationships on tv, it is that a lot of the fun comes from the journey, even if the destination is good too. 

#911 fox #buddie #911 meta #911 on fox #buddie meta #buddie is not queerbaiting #long post #this is almost 2k long

[wenellyb]

Anthony Mackie is homophobic

There’s no way around it, Anthony Mackie is homophobic and here’s why.

This is how you make a headline..! You make a shocking title and then a catchphrase and the job is done.

You want it to be provocative, intriguing and you want people to click on read more, you want to catch everyone's attention.

Who cares if it's misleading or not accurate, right? People will get the rest of the idea/article when they read the whole article.

But what about those who don't click on the link and read the article? Who see the headline and then their idea is set.

Most people don't have the time to read the full article for further explanation. Some people will read the headline, take the information and move on. Sometimes they will even share that headline... without even reading the article. And I won't pretend I haven't done it too... I have done it and still do it. I've read headlines, retweeted them and shared it without reading the content because the headline was enough information for me.

And a lot of people on the Internet do this...and I think that it's part of the game. But, if you're going to use those headlines to throw accusations at someone and then share those accustions with people, the bare minimum is to read the article first.

And I feel like there has been 3 types of people in the Anthony Mackie story:

Those who read only the headlines and tweets but didn't read the article

Those who read the FULL article but didn't listen to the podcast ( This is much much better than the first one btw)

Those who read the article and listened to the audio.

And I also feel like people making the most noise are part of the 1st category.

I keep receiving some asks that I feel that some of them are missing the point so I'm going to write what I think about all of this and hopefully I can just link this post whenever I get a question.

And I am also disturbed by the fact that this is the 3rd option I get when I type Anthony Mackie on Twitter.

Now that the situation is calmer and the story died down a little, I wanted tovshare my thoughts. And of course you don’t have to read this, but I had to write this down, at least for myself.

I will be exploring 3 angles, so feel free to skip the ones you are not interested in.

It should have never been about the ship

If you say someone is homophobic, at least you have to explain why

Your minds were already made up on Anthony Mackie even before the article was published.

Part 1: It should have never been about the ship.

For the people who read only the headlines... It's a shame because the headlines made the interview all about “Anthony not liking Sam and Bucky's relationship as romantic”. '

A lot of the people based their opinion on the articles and didn't even look further... it was set that Anthony didn't like Sambucky as a couple.

It was revealed with the audio of the podcqst that it wasn’t what Anthony said at all, and he wasn't talking about Sam ans Bucky's relationship but was answering another question that the interviewer had asked about male friendships. And in fact, and it was the interviewer who said that male friendships were rare in the superhero context... He set up the question that way.

But that is the not the point, the point is that EVEN IF Anthony had said he didn't see Sam and Bucky as romantic... that is not enough to say he is problematic or homophobic.

And the intensity of the backlash he received is because he is a Black man, sure... but the accusations of being homophobic  would have been there anyway.

Because fandoms are not rational.

When Sebastian Stan said he didn't play Bucky as in love with Steve in 2016, he also received backlash from the fandom and got accusations of being homophobic, even though he had said people were free to interpret it as they wanted. And guess what he still got the accusations lesser level than Anthony, but still...

Anthony and Sebastian have both played gay characters in the past, more than once. And I repeat this so you understand, they have played gay characters more than once. So maybe, MAYBE if they say their character isn't gay or bi, maybe it isn't because they're homophobic, or because they don't want their characters to be ....but because that is how their character is written in the script?

Again, Anthony didn't say any of this about Sambucky but even if he had, it would certainly be because he played the part they were supposed to play.

Some people want to make Anthony this big bad guy who "killed the ship" but I'm sorry, Anthony doesn't own the production company, he isn't the writer or the executive producers.... The actors who be the last in line to blame for this.

And I don't want to make it seem like it's only the general public doing this...Because even some journalists have been writing articles about how Anthony shouldn't be "shutting down ships or dismissing Sambucky" because there is so little representation in the MCU... I'm sorry but what??? WHAT???

I understand the sentiment and I know that a lot of ships are there to compensate the lack of representation on screen...but how is it Anthony's responsibility or his fault?

It’s great when actors go along with the ship, do not invalidate it and leave the doors open, but it is not their fault or their responsibility if they don't, especially actors who have no clue about how shipping or fandoms work.

If it's written in the script that the charcter is straight and the actor says the character is straight you shouldn't be lashing out at the actors for "killing the ship"...Do you want him to change the script? Go blame the production company instead.

I know actors are an easy target because it is much more easier to tweet about them than look up the names of Executive Producers or CEOs and write them letters to ask for more representation. Actors are an easy target but it is literally not their call.

Some of these articles making headlines blaming Anthony because he shut down the idea of romantic Sambucky when there is so little represenration and not making headlines blaming the multibillion dollar company that refuse to have decent representation!

Sure, let's blame the Black actor who said that Sam and Bucky are just friends for the decades of nothing expect a total of 10 seconds screentime for a character nobody remembers and just calls the “Russo cameo”.

And again, Anthony Mackie didn't even say anything against a romantic reading of Sambucky, nothing! But it shouldn't matter, even if he had said they were just friends... it wouldn't justify any backlash at all... if it is about the ship.

Him shipping Sambucky or not should be the last point the fandom is focusing on.

An actor doesn't ship your ship and it bothers you? Move on, ship another couple if you want to... Don't start calling him names because of the ship.

When you make the debate about the ship, it kills the discussion before the discussion can even start because how can you have a constructive discussion if the debate has no foundations?

For instance, if Anthony made hurtful or problematic comments, the right way to deal with this,  would be to ask for apologies or for a better explanation of his words .... But since a lot of people, and even news outlet made this story about the ship, what do you want to do?

Ask Anthony to apologize for thinking/saying Sambucky is platonic?  We do realize how insane this would sound right? Or are there people who really want Anthony to come out and make a public statement about how he apologizes and supports romantic Sambucky? Is this were we want to go?

People made it about the ship, so he will also think the problem is that he doesn't "ship" Sambucky... but that wasn't the problem right? At least I hope it wasn't.

All of this should have never been about the shipping...If you are bothered by an actor not liking your ship ...it's ok. Stop shipping it if you want to and move on, but don't act like they're the worst human being on the planet because of it.

When I first read the article I was surprised by Anthony's comments about Sambucky because he had never talked like that about the relationship before... but the first thinf I said ia that he is an actor... he reads and interprets the script he has... he doesn't make the decisions...

But when I listened to the audio... I was even more horrified by the way the whole story was handled.

Part 2. If you say someone is homophobic, at least you have to explain why

This might be an unpopular opinion but I don't mind people saying that Anthony Mackie is homophobic. I don't know him, so I won't pretend to know what he is or isn't. What I do mind is people saying he's homophobic but not giving any explanation or evidence.

And I have seen people do that. A lot... And I have receiced asks like that.... "Have you seen those articles? Anthony is homophobic," “He dug his own grave”

But all of the articles and headline are talking about the ship...is that your evidence?

If your opinion is based on a headline or some tweets, I don't know how you expect people to believe you.

I have seen people calling Anthony homophobic because of his comments on the explotation of homosexuality. But to me it was clear that he wasn't talking about the Queer fans, even though I could be wrong... (I talk abour this more in the part 3)

The part where Anthony Mackie has made comments that could be dubious are the comments about how he is bothered that he can't go to bars with his friends anymore.

No matter how you turn it, making it seem like it's a problem that people think you're gay when you're with your friends, has homophobic undertones.

That is the part that really bothered me personally... It really made me feel uncomfortable.

But is it enough to say he is homophobic? I don't think so, but if I'm wrong and it means he is, in what way? You need to give an explanation. Even a short one.

And even with that comment about the bars, if you add the context, you could imagine that maybe he's not talking about the characters but about his real life experience because we know that some people ship him and Sebastian romantically, and if he was talking about that... It could be understandable that he is bothered by that because he's a celebrity and when people make assumptions about celebrity love lifes they can become annoying or even toxic sometimes.

People shipping the two of them romantically makes me unconfortable so I can't imagine how it would make HIM feel.

But anyway, that part of the interview bothered some people and I personally don't think it's enough to call him homophobic but I do think it is worth a discussion.

Unfortunately, most people didn't focus on that... they focused on the shipping or other words that were taken out of context... By mixing everything with the shipping, the battle for a legitmate discussion was already lost before it even started.

Part 3: Your minds were already made up on Anthony Mackie even before the article was published.

I think that what bothers me the most were that some people were waiting for this moment... They were holding their breath until the moment he would finally slip up so they can be hateful in peace.

This is a screenshot of a post from April 2021, way way before this whole story.... Some people already had in their mind that him being a Black masculine man, he was homophobic... and were just waiting for a confirmation it seems.

( I cropped the OP’s blog name to avoid any problems going their way)

I have said this before... But I don’t follow celebrities foolishly. If you think Anthony Mackie gives off homophibic vibes or could be homophobic... you may be right.... but I would need evidence, or an explanation, not just a “vibe”... I asked evidence to that OP or at least an example of an homophobic joke he had made and they blocked me...

I have watched a lot of Anthony Mackie interviews and never got that "vibe" so I really wanted to know. Later, I asked one of my mutual to reach out to ask them about it and the OP finally answered to my mutual and said that an example of a moment they could tell he was homophobic was the interview were Anthony talks about his soft spot.

So that person based their impression of Anthony being homophobic on the fact that Anthony doesn't like to be touched in the back by strangers...Imagine me staring at the camera like I’m in The Office

And this isn't about racism because that person who wrote the post is Black apparently. But it is about how Black men are perceived and stereotypes that are often attached to them.. People make all of these asaumptions on then wait for the moment they can be proven right.

For this OP, a masculine Black man from the south =homophobic ...

And I don't think they are the only one.

What's worse is that they make it sound like all of this is on Anthony:

"Sambucky won't happen because Anthony gives off homophobic vibes"

Not only are they sharing accusations without even a small proof... they are the acting like he would be the only one to blame if Sambucky doesn't happen... Let me tell you that sometimes when I come to Tumblr I want to scream at how irrational people are... Disney has a history of being homophobic and never having any kind of representation, but if Sambucky doesn’t happen, it would be because of Anthony Mackie.

Please, PLEASE!

Anthony Mackie isn't writing the scenarios, he isn’t a Disney Exec.... Does anyone really belive he would walk away from the movie and the contract just because his character is gay, bi or pan? When he has played gay characters in the past??? Why are people trying so so hard to put all the blame on Anthony? I don't understand....

I have also seen "Sambucky won't happen now that Anthony made that interview and said he didn't like it...." How??? How does that even make sense????

What I believe is that a lot of people already had their minds made up about him and were holding their breath until they could finally throw accusations at Anthony because the minute there was a potential scandal... they didn’t try to look for more or try to dig deeper...their mind was already set.

And from then on... their idea were already set on how they were going to interprets the things he said.

For instance, When I first read the article without the context of the audio... I thought a lot of the things Anthony said weren't contreversial because those are ideas expressed on Tumblr every day...the fetishization of some MM ships etc,... But I thought he had expressed it in the worst possible way because he seemed like he was mixing a lot of stuff.... well, I found out later that it was because it was taken out of context.

But even in the context of the article, it was clear to me that Anthony was talking about anybody BUT the Queer fans when talking about the exploitation of homosexuality etc,...

We talk about the fetishization of MM ships by straight women on a weekly basis on Tumblr etc.... What would make anybody think that when Anthony was talking about the some things being “twisted” explotation of homosexuality he was talking about the Queer shippers???

I have joined and left BL fandoms after 2 weeks because of the problems exposed by Anthony. I have seen people who shipped real life actors to the point where it affected the actors's lives. I have seen an actor from a popular M/M ship make a dramatic public statement explaining that nothing will change for his fans that he still loved them and still loved his costars... and made it seem like he had a terminal illness or something....It turned out he had just gotten a girlfriend......?????

And these examples are specific to the BL genre but I have seen similar behavior with some MCU stans.... look at how some (I insist on some) Seb stans react to Seb having a girlfriend (I have seen things).

What made people think Anthony was talking about the queers fans if not the fact that you already had your mind set on the fact a Black man talking about a topic like this was homophobic in some way or the other and some people were just waiting for a confirmation?.

I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t confused by some parts of the interview. What is  “There’s nothing more masculine than being a superhero and flying around and beating people up” even supposed to mean? And it wasn’t the only sentence. But I don’t think any part of his interview deserved the backlash he received.

A discussion? Yes. Remarks? Yes. Blacklash and hate? No.

TL:DR: If you're going to call out Anthony for what he said.... you better  be ready to give a few arguments other than.... "bohoo he doesn't ship Sambucky" or “have you seen the headlines?” and  you should probably check your own pre-conceived ideas first..

If you come in my asks to tell me I write too much I will save you the trip and tell you... I already know that😂

#anthony mackie #sam wilson #sebastian stan #tfatws #sorry for the long post again #And some words I didn't know how to write but was too tired to look them up #long post

[cosmicclownboy]

hi- why don't you like Maria?

Oh lord.

Where do I even begin with Maria.

Season 1

Makes a joke about Alex's secret relationship being with Wyatt and finding it funny- (Wyatt who is an abusive racist dude who commits hate crimes and bear in mind she knows Alex was abused for being gay) IT'S GROSS.

Speaks about Alex's secret relationship guy being his home to Alex and literally feels his hopefulness because it is part of her alien ability and continues to pursue Michael in s2.

Maria (straight) outs Michael to Liz. That's not okay on any level.

When Liz tells Maria to speak to Alex before doing anything she ignores the advice and does what she wants.

She's really smug about Michael picking/pursuing her like she won.

Season 2

Pursues Michael at a funeral in front of Alex without talking to him.

Makes Michael's loved ones husband funeral about a relationship status

Slut shames a random woman who makes out with Michael when they were never exclusive

Enters a relationship with Michael where he has to be exclusive but she doesn't because she doesn't believe he could be faithful. That's reeks of harmful biphobia stereotypes.

Ignores Alex the whole time UNTIL she needs something.

When she appears at Alex's door she says they are even. AKA comparing Alex not telling her a secret that wasn't his to share to her pursuing the love of his life in front of him without any empathy and ignoring the whole time.

Bitches to Alex about Liz and wanting fuck all to do with her. Alex has to remind her Liz has a dead boyfriend and is struggling cause Maria only has Maria vision and lacks empathy for her 'best friends'.

Uses her mom's laptop to get the scope on Alex/Michael's relationship which reads 100% manipulative. She even says Michael is pushing you away and then proceeds to encourage the narrative where Michael pushes Alex away because she suddenly wants Michael. And of course Alex is supportive she recognises he lacks self worth and rolls over him.

Beginning of 2x06 she tries to set up Forlex to get Alex away from Michael. Once again manipulative.

Tries to make Alex feel guilty for being gay in 206 because when she was a kid she idealised being with him and had to come up with a whole new plan. He grew up in an abusive household you know that....It's not okay to say that. You know how much internalised homophobia he has.

When saying he's had good relationships provides only examples of relationships with women......................HE IS GAY.

Asks him if he would change being gay.......jfc.

Alex tearfully saying he dissociates with women because he clearly forced himself to out of internalised phobia, Maria takes it to mean she has a chance. She thinks she's the exception since a touch starved abuse victim liked to be touched by her in high school. That doesn't = consent.

When Alex, a whole ass Airforce Captain tells her it's unsafe to stay at the creepo's place she acts all I am feminist about it and this results in Alex being stabbed and Michael getting whacked on the head.

Earlier in the episode she whinges to Alex about Michael kissing another woman in front of her and how cruel it was and then proceeds to kiss Michael in front of Alex KNOWING how he feels for Michael.

In THAT scene it's clear she notices Michael's emotions towards Alex and is insecure about it. She uses Malex's feelings for each other to her advantage. She's chasing the fantasy of getting with Alex. These are two highly traumatised queer men who struggle to say no because they spent their lives in abusive environments.

Neither Michael or Alex were in a position to consent to sex that night Michael is concussed from a whack on the head . Alex has lost a lot of blood and is completely out of it. And neither would ever initiate that situation. Not to mention the assumption Michael would be down because he's bi is so harmful as a stereotype.

"I think she’s cool with her decision. She wanted some answers, so subconsciously there was an emotional comfort she needed. But she also had a little bit of an agenda. She needed some decisions made about the status of their relationships, so she thought, “Let’s throw everything against the wall and see where it lands.” I think she was just wondering if they made any progress on that front. She said it was OK for their feelings to be out in the open, but let’s just voice them for what they are. As we saw, Michael stepped up and was like, “No, I still love you and I’m with you.” Secretly, that’s what Maria was hoping for. By suggesting a threesome, she’s was basically telling Michael, “Make your choice… and I hope it’s me.” this is what Heather said about the scene. So not only was it coercive and such but she used her best friend like that with no care or empathy whatsoever. It's disgraceful.

The next day both Michael and Alex are confused by what the fuck happened. Alex due to his C-PTSD completely dissociates from the situation and Michael attempts to laugh it off despite him being hella confused. The only person who isn't confused is Maria who is listening to them from inside.

When Michael comes in she turns on the tears just in case he does want Alex afterwards. Bear in mind she is a psychic who can feel everything and she assumed Michael was going to go after Alex. Doesn't that say it all. SHE KNOWS MICHAEL IS IN LOVE WITH ALEX AND VICE VERSA. She does not care, because at the end of the day this is what she wants. She wants to win. She wants to treat Michael like this trophy that she can show off to people I got the great Michael Guerin not a relationship guy to date me.

When Michael wants to have emotional conversations she shuts it down for sex. The entirety of the relationship it has to be her way or the high way. She also recognises fairly on his abandonment issues and plays upon it, reads manipulative.

When Michael who has lost his mom and brother in the span of a few months asks Maria to be more careful about her abilities she doesn't listen. And ultimately breaks up with Michael when she can't get what she wants from him which is a yes man who will do what she says and isn't the idealised Michael she wants.

Season 3

Shits on Michael any chance she gets. She's so mean to him and he goes out of his way to look out for her.

Is dismissive of her own health despite the fact that everybody goes out of their way to help her. Liz is in California working on a way to help her. Kyle is risking his job.etc

Is fine with Liz, her best friend losing the love of her life to get a vision to prevent a murder. A vision she's only invested in because apparently in it she blames herself.

Is fine with Max or Kyle dealing with the guilt of her death had Michael not saved her.

Shoves Michael and belittles him because he's stronger then her. Infers he just sits on his ass and does nothing therefore does not care about anything....rude. There's also a weird superiority complex that her power is more important then Michaels or any of pod squad for that matter.

Creates a situation that is so bad that Kyle risks his doctors licence to give her adrenaline. Just take an ice bath or something there are a 1000 ways to give yourself adrenaline without risking your life and risking others.

Doesn't thank or acknowledge what Liz is doing for her honey has spent a FULL YEAR of her life trying to help and your just like yeah I'll let her soulmate die for my visions.

Emotionally guilts Isobel for not hanging out with her despite the fact she's hated her for two seasons and now has just randomly decided she wants to know......okay

This idea that Maria is suddenly lonely when she's the second of the main cast (first being Kyle) to have scenes with all the mains by Monday. Literally everyone is there at her beck and call but Maria is lonely??? IT DOESN'T ADD UP. Everyone's up her arse 9/10 how is she lonely everyone expresses concern and care for her ALL THE DAMN TIME. She's also narratively never had scenes that give the connotation that she is lonely. Michael has scenes that connotate he is lonely. Max and Alex do too. Maria has yet to have scenes that give the connotation of feeling lonely or depressed.

Maria comparing the alien siblings to her and feeling left out when she acts superior to them and they are literally siblings. Literally every character is somewhat left out with Pod Squad they've lived their lives assuming it's just them three against the world it's not a personal attack.

Maria is 1/8 alien at best so diluted genetically it doesn't show up and somehow she believes she has the capability of the aliens who are 100%. Say you have French DNA you don't expect to speak French suddenly.

This whole Maria never does wrong narrative and it's empowering that she's doing all of this just feels like a crock of shit tbh.

She reads like a 2000's movie mean girl.

All of my bullet points are why I don't like h Maria and it's not biased because I'm a so and so fan. Narratively she just wins up doing shitty things to Michael and Alex the most.

#anti maria deluca #rnm spoilers #tw 2x06 mention #tw coercion

[commander-diomika]

[Image ID: Screenshot of a tumblr reply from user @weareallfromearth ​​ saying “Holy shit I would V much like to know what you’d do with ZolfWilde.” End ID]

This was in response to me tag rambling that if Alex “I don’t Actually Have That Much Experience in Courtship” Newall and Ben “I just Realised I’m Too Straight For This” Meredith don’t know what to do with Zolf/Wilde, they should hand the ship over to me. 

*rubs my gay little hands together.*

I initially characterized them offhandedly as Enemies-to-Lovers but that’s not quite it, is it? On reflection I would say it’s more of an Opposites Attract situation.

Oscar Wilde, as re-imagined in the RQG universe, is a homme fatale; a dangerous, attractive man, skilled in encouraging people to underestimate him, wearing different masks, never quite being able to trust or be trusted by anyone.

There is NO personal/professional line for Wilde. He lives his work, and his work is subterfuge and interpersonal manipulation. (whether or not he started this way in his field as a journalist, or was forced to become this way by the changes in his world, is another post.) He is a person who either cares very deeply what people think of him, or is has decided that manipulating what people think of him is the way to get what he wants, and from the outside it makes no difference.

Zolf Smith does not care what people think of him. He isn’t even skilled at being kind and empathetic to people he cares about; he has no time for emotional manipulation or genuine charm. He doesn’t even have a fantastic grasp on his OWN feelings, let alone other people’s. He’s grounded, disinterested in frippery or appearances. Which is why Zolf and Wilde started out so deeply at odds with one another.

Despite the differences in the interpersonal approaches, they have plenty of common ground.

They are both deeply dedicated to a cause. They care about their work to the exclusion of all else. They are both pragmatists who have their own internal moral code, and are willing to bend or break other people’s rules in order to get the job done. They are fundamentally good people. Despite their rocky beginnings, they can respect each other because of these things.

And they might have maintained their mutually disdainful, begrudgingly respectful working relationship and that could have been the sum total... Except then the world fell apart. The Meritocratic organisation was initially compromised, then disintegrated. The blue vein plague isolated everyone and made it even harder to trust supposed allies. The Cult of Hades was on everyone’s ass making their life difficult, the other PCs disappeared off the face of the planet. Zolf and Wilde ended up in a situation where they had no one else they could trust.

Familiarity breeds contempt, but maybe if the contempt is already there, it builds Something Else. Wilde was stripped of his magic in a way that made it much harder for him to keep people at a distance and (pardon the pun) project the illusion of the debonair playboy. Zolf would have had the chance to see through Wilde’s masks, and get a better understanding of what parts of Wilde were a calculated tactic, and what was his genuine self.

Whatever betrayal transpired that gave Wilde his scar and hardened him, Zolf was privy to. He was either there and saw it happen, or he was close enough in the aftermath to see Wilde properly vulnerable for the first time in their friendship. Hell, maybe Zolf was the one who rescued him and patched him up. That was a chance for Zolf to realise that this insufferable man is a friend who he cares about deeply. At this point, he’s cared for awhile, but has been too wrapped up with his own spiritual difficulties to have space to admit that to himself.

And Wilde, oh Wilde, he’s desperate to be seen and known and loved, but he’s never allowed himself. He’s never felt SAFE to. He doesn’t let people get close, treats every conversation as a battle to be won. His safety and his power lies in being admired, but never loved. So even as trust and fondness for Zolf blossoms within him, he won’t for a second allow himself to hope that the fondness is reciprocated

With all that out of the way, this is my version of events.  

Wilde is a slut (affectionate), and Zolf is gray-ace, so if there’s any bridging of that gap in terms of physical intimacy, it has to be from Zolf’s side. Giving canon a tender massage into place, that first instance of Zolf grabbing Wilde by the collar changes. (This happens on the Vengeance after Zolf has taught Wilde to steer the ship). Zolf drags Wilde down to say “I’m glad to see you perked up.” That moment now involves a whiskery kiss on Wilde’s cheek, and the man would be absolutely FLOORED by it.

I’m talking slow-mo glittering lights as Zolf stomps off blushing, unsure what just came over him; Wilde touches his cheek in bewilderment for a stretched moment before realising he’s completely agog, and he let go of the wheel for a dangerous length of time. Every interaction, every moment they’ve spent together over the last two years is flashing before Wilde’s eyes and a new context is being applied rapid fire. I’m talking the italacised oh kind of moment.

(on top of Zolf being witness to The Betrayal, throw some other moments of almost-intimacy into said flashbacks. I’m talking late nights, Zolf doing his gruff-yet-kind caretaker thing, cooking for Wilde, maybe sharing quiet and rare downtime with Zolf reading a Campbell novel on a couch in Wilde’s office)

Wilde is realising, “Oh this is allowed, oh this is reciprocated, this is possible.”

And of course they don’t talk about it, because what’s a slowburn if they immediately go and TALK about their feelings? No, the kiss goes completely unremarked upon, and Wilde continues to needle and tease and get under Zolf’s skin, except now with an added warmth in his eyes because he finally gets it. He finally understands that Zolf cares, that Zolf loves him, he’s just not the kind of dwarf that knows how to express it.

And Zolf, frustrated by feelings he can’t express but is beginning to understand, can hear the undertone of “haha, you looooove me,” shining through Wilde’s deliberate antagonism. They continue their time on the Vengeance just a little easier and closer to one another.

And we continue on to the death/resurrection arc, and Wilde’s spirit pushes for Zolf to open up about his feelings, because if not when he’s literally past death’s door, then when? When Zolf finally manages his “I need you,” it’s like a dam has broken for both of them. The second collar-grab and “We’ll go on a holiday or somethin’,” is now followed by a full kiss on the lips, not particularly erotic but passionate, (it’s the epitome of kissing someone to shut them up) and Wilde makes a surprised and delighted squeak that he would be glad he can’t quite remember when he returns to land of the living.

Once returned, Wilde might not remember everything that his spirit said or did, but he remembers the kiss. The comfort and ease that the two of them share in 179 (Eat Drink and Be Merry) is there, only instead of the two characters still being in a place of questioning their feelings for one another, it’s been answered.

Whether or not this relationship is sexual in nature is kind of up to you and what kind of fan works you like to read/write. I think there are wonderful scenes to be written an explored in many directions.

Wilde allowing himself to enjoy sex for intimacy and closeness instead of using it as a tool/ Zolf not being one for sex but Wilde’s never slept more soundly than when he’s being held in Zolf’s arms/ Zolf realising that the unfamiliar feeling he’s been struggling to express is the desire to rail Wilde til he cries/ Wilde realising that if his partner doesn’t want it from him, he’s actually quite content without sex/ The two of them being mean, antagonistic bastards to each other while fucking but Make It Kink (of the trusting and RACK kind). There really isn’t a single bad interpretation.  

So really, I’m not doing anything different with them other than reading between the lines, giving canon a little nudge, and sticking the landing. This isn’t to disparage the concept of queer platonic partners. (I’ve got one!) or to talk shit about Ben or Alex (I DO respect their craft).

It’s just to say I find these two characters , and everything they’ve been through, PAINFULLY romantic, tropey, and delightful. I’m looking forward both to how Ben and Alex play the QPP, the fanworks I’m gonna read and hopefully write, and the inevitable tragedy that you KNOW Alex is gearing up for.

#zoscar #zolfwilde #RQG #rusty quill gaming #zolf smith #RQG Oscar Wilde #hank talks #rqg podcast #rqg meta #feel free to reblog #and to talk to me about it

[interact-if]

I’m sending this in because it seems like I could get good opinions from not only you but also the people who follow you. I have an idea for an IF, and I’m very excited for the story. My question is, would people be offended if I made the playable MC physically female that identifies as female and all the ROs physically male that identify as male? I have seen some out there that are strictly M/M or F/F, and I’m so happy they exist because I feel that population is underserved. I just feel, not having the experience, I could bring justice to writing LGBTQ+ (and I don’t want to offend anyone in that community by writing something incorrect), mostly when it comes to sex (which I plan on including in my game). I support games that have those relationships in them and admire them, even play those games, and I don’t care who plays my game. The more the merrier! I still want the characters to be diverse. One of them will be of a descent that is based on Japanese culture and many others, based on Persian culture. I also want the playable MC to have any skin tone/features the player wants. I just want to know if this…will have people coming after me? I want to tell my story, but I don’t want to be attacked for it, if that makes sense?

I really don’t mean to offend anyone. I just don’t want to cause trouble, and I just want to respectfully ask for people’s opinions on this.

Hello! So, before diving into our response, we’d like to emphasize that we are but five individuals running a blog devoted to interactive fiction. We are neither the end-all-be-all voice on this matter nor necessarily a representative mouthpiece for the community.

First off, you can write whatever you would like to write; as the author, you have absolute control over what you produce, so nobody is going to stop you from writing what you want to write. It’s also important to write what you enjoy.

That said, the community is, in our experience, very inclusive, and largely devoted to providing a space for the queer community. We can understand the desire to have an appropriately inclusive and diverse game, and why you particularly want to turn to characters of color to bridge the gap; however, substituting characters of color for queer characters to claim diversity in a project is possibly something that will receive the wrong kind of attention. Furthermore, assuming that writing characters of color well is any less complex than writing queer characters potentially suggests that said characters could end up underdeveloped or tokenized. (See Nines' and Roast’s response below for more context)

All of that doesn’t mean you can’t make a game that’s genderlocked and restricted to M/F romance, and I don’t think anyone will be offended by such a game, but it might limit your audience. At the same time, there are (many) other visual novels that have this format, so it’s not something unheard of. As far as CoGs and text-based games go, as far as we’ve seen, they are rarely genderlocked unless for plot reasons, etc.

There is also a chance that you may receive feedback requesting that the MC be un-gender locked, or for additional ROs to be added of different gender, or for the ROs to be made gender selectable. These requests may be gentle, insistent, kind, or aggressive, and they may only occur at the beginning of your work, or may occur throughout your game development. Maybe they’ll never happen at all. It’s impossible to predict the future, but in our experience, we have often seen this occur to games in the past with RO gender imbalances, locks, etc.

As for searching for feedback, if you’re looking for feedback but you’re not pursuing the CoG format, may we suggest the Reddit subforum? It’s a little difficult for you to get the feedback/dialogue going here that you’d likely like to get, so Reddit’s format may be more conducive to your needs.

In the meanwhile, those who would like to provide their thoughts are encouraged to respond in the comments of this post. Please remember to be polite with your discussion!

— — —

The above is our general mod response; a few of us wanted to offer some individual thoughts as well, and those can be found below. These are personal opinions and reflect each individual mod’s thoughts, rather than a collective response.

While it can be a little daunting to write about something you’re not familiar with, writing often broaches topics with which we don’t personally have first-hand experience. Additionally, queer relationships are ultimately still relationships between people—they’re not all that different from heterosexual relationships. If you’re worried about the way you’re portraying your content, that’s something well-curated beta readers/testers (from the population you’re trying to represent) can help test for, and give feedback on. And on top of all of the above, that’s not to mention the potential issues associated with substituting in POC to replace queer people, which is perhaps not what your intention is, but is what it feels like your intention is (see Roast and Nines for all the ins and outs on why this is an issue). Ultimately, I stand by the opinion that on the most basic level, most will not be offended by a game that’s about a straight, cisgender female MC—yet some, or even many, may be off-put by such a game. I know I, personally, am. (P. S. Also consider that the MC has to interact with the other ROs that she isn’t romancing, as friends, enemies, acquaintances, what have you—having selectable ROs, for example, also allows the player to “diversify” their acquaintance group, if they so wish.) — Dani

I understand that this ask is coming from well-meaning intent but I would just like to state that writing characters of color is not easier than writing queer characters. One of them isn't a substitute for the other. Writing characters of color and writing queer characters are separate matters entirely, and both come with its own difficulties. Wanting your characters to be diverse, while admittedly lacking the perspective to back such identities, is still a murky water to navigate.

Personally speaking, and I really do have to be transparent about this, the way certain sentences were phrased in this ask rubbed me the wrong way. Still, I understand that this isn't malicious, just someone who is asking for guidance, which is something I can't fault. We all have to start somewhere, you know? That being said, if you really want to write diverse characters, my general advice is to do research. Lots and lots and lots of research. No author is exempt from that, honestly.

Find helpful articles, journals, studies, video essays, etc. to aid you in writing your characters. If you still feel like that's lacking in some way, which is a valid concern, being open to feedback from the appropriate people is also a good way to improve. The integrity of a project is important, but so is reasonable criticism against, for, or about it. Keep an open mind, educate yourself, and don't be afraid to ask for help or clarification should it be needed. — Nines

Nines says it well that queer people and poc are not interchangeable nor any 'easier' than the other. The fact that you're willing to do research and include characters of color yet not include queer characters tells me that you're afraid yet misconstruing how much effort actually gets put into cultural research.

There is a 'purity culture' that goes around tumblr that claims that diverse characters have to be perfect, have to have no flaws, cannot die, cannot have trauma, cannot face adversity, they must be perfect and good and happy.

I think this is bullshit.

I also think the backlash from this 'purity culture' community is what is creating so much fear in authors (including queer authors!!) in making characters with different backgrounds and identities than their own. In making queer characters with flaws and tragedy and negative characteristics.

If we only ever wrote what we knew, what we've personally experienced, fiction would be a very boring world.

Being afraid of representing a community wrong is a valid fear, but it shouldn't stop you from trying. You can write what you want to write, but it shouldn't be limited by fear.

Do your research. Get sensitivity readers. Be open to feedback. Be willing to be afraid, but do it anyway.

If, in the end, you decide to gender lock, make it an informed decision at the very least, and if you are including characters of color, know that that is a heavy amount of research too, and should be handled with the same care as what we've said on queer characters.

And like we've said before, we are not the voice of the community, we cannot give you permission or our blessing or flawless feedback, we are just five people running a blog. — Roast

Alright this was already mentioned a bit before but I wish to add my two cents: M/F relationships are the norm anywhere else in real life, and if you feel like there's no space for you and your relationships in a mostly-queer community then you might want to recheck if this is the community you wish to have as your target audience.

No one's going to be offended if your story is cishet, as we said, but you are extremely reducing your audience by doing such. The appeal of interactive fiction is that a good bunch of us have played female-mc-straight-love-interest visual novels in the past, having to endure being misgendered or romancing people we might not be attracted to.

The current interactive fiction community we're trying to promote has opened a million doors for everyone to explore themselves, so don't be surprised if your story, no matter how good, is ignored due to this aspect. Most of us have no interest in being forced to play as something we're not.

Again, we cannot tell you what you can or cannot do. We don't speak for the community, we speak for ourselves and for this blog. Maybe every comment we've made was incorrect and your game turns out to be successful, really, but it's what we believe you should keep in mind. — Cruz

Honestly, I don’t have much to add since everyone here mentioned and discussed important facets of this ask! At the end of the day, we are not a group who can or will ever dictate what you can or cannot write. That is not the purpose of the blog or the reason why we’re working as hard as we are. 

There have always been games with this specific set of characteristics: gender locked MCs and/or ROs. Some people may enjoy it, others may not, for whatever reason. 

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee anything in terms of how people will respond to a game, because people will react to content differently. All we can do is offer our perspective and the potential things that may happen in the future based on the experience the lovely devs above have had. (fellow interact-if mods, my beloved ❤️)

It’s always admirable for people to reach out when they’re unsure, and I’m sure there are infinitely more opinions that vary or are similar to the ones in this response. But there you have it, some of our thoughts! 

Goodluck with your project! — Mars

#interact-if asks #anonymous #long post

[queer-and-dear-books]

Title: Openly Straight

Author: Bill Konigsberg

Genre: YA Fiction | Romance | Friendship | Drama | LGBTQ+

Content Warnings: Homophobia

Overall Rating: 9.3/10

Personal Opinion: It does not hold up as well from when I first read it. That aside, I will always love Rafe and Ben as best friends and as a couple. They truly felt perfect for each other. Agape, a higher love. One that transcends all others. This story is about Rafe learning the importance of being himself and also about the possibilities of love when you keep your mind open to them. And there is nothing more romantic than that.

Couple Classification: Seamus Rafael Goldberg X Ben Carver = Nerd/Jock X Nerd/Jock

Do I Own This Book? Yes! It was a favorite of mine in high school so I bought it way back then.

Spoilers Below For My Likes & Dislikes:

Likes:

- I don’t know if it’s just the nostalgia talking but I still love these characters. Truly, even without the romantic aspect, I think Rafe and Ben were just perfect together. I mean, their talks were always so deep and they openly said, “I love you” as friends and that kind of shit just brings a tear to my eye. I think it’s because Ben is this huge, buff, perceived straight guy but he’s so sweet and openly affectionate with all of his close friends and I wish that more straight men could be like him and Bryce. Smart, kind-hearted, and sensitive.

- Albie and Toby are amazing friends too. They didn’t judge Rafe for hiding who he is and just talked to him openly about shit. They made him feel welcome and real. All three of them are dorks too. I love their wild and less-than-sensible antics. But they’re also good people. Like when Toby wanted to help that lost old lady.

- Claire Olivia is an ace bestie too. Even though she didn’t get why Rafe did what he did (and yeah, it was bizarre), she was there for him. She was always backing him up and made sure his facade stayed strong even when she didn’t understand.

- Rafe’s parents may be the best part of this story though. They’re even bigger dorks than Albie and Toby and they love their son so much, clearly. I love how much they support him and how much they love to celebrate his queerness. God, if only every parent could be like that. 

- I haven’t talked enough about Rafe and Ben. I think what really gets me is just how connected they were. Every time they locked eyes and just stared at one another, my heart skipped a beat. Every time they had a philosophical debate, I wanted them to talk even more nonsense. I just wanted more of them. With every detail of their developing relationship, I wanted more and I think that’s what makes a good fictional couple. When you can read every single one of their interactions and crave for more. And not because their interactions are lacking. Those interactions were very central in this book. The fact that I yearned for more when I got so much is proof that Rafe and Ben worked. When Rafe was walking to the bathroom and Ben opened his door and said, “Those footsteps. I know those footsteps,” I swooned. It was like he knew Rafe was thinking about him and then they had implied sex and it was beautiful. 

- Mr. Scarsborough is such a great teacher. I love that he didn’t judge Rafe and instead, encouraged him to write about his experience. He helped Rafe discover and explore himself in a safe and private way and I think that makes him an extraordinary teacher.

- I just remembered that Ben kissed Rafe on the cheek not once, but twice! The guy is so sweet, I can’t take it. It’s really no wonder my standards for men are so high. And why I’m subsequently disappointed by them.

Dislikes:

- Fuck Steve and Zack. God, I hate their dudebro attitudes. But that’s intentional so whatever.

- I feel like I should really hate what Rafe did. We’ve pretty much established that I loathe when a character is in the closet for no real reason. So I should hate that Rafe went back in the closet and was seemingly ungrateful toward his parents, right? Except I’m not. I’m mildly disappointed in him for not telling Ben sooner but overall, I’m not mad at him. I think it’s because my coming out story is the exact opposite of his. And if I could have traded lives with him, I would have. So I think I get why he did what he did. I get why he felt like he had to. The grass is always greener on the other side and whatnot. If only dear sweet Ben hadn’t been collateral damage in it.

- There’s a lot of ableist language in this book. The early 2010s was clearly very different because every other work by Konigsberg (that I have read) handles mental health very differently.

- Whatever happened to Toby and Robinson anyway? I feel like we glossed over it after Robinson got outed and Toby showed his secret hideaway to Albie and Rafe.

- I am so glad there’s a sequel in Ben’s POV because the ending is severely lacking.

#Booklr #Booksbooksbooks #Book Blog #Book Review #Book Recs #Openly Straight #Bill Konigsberg #LGBTQ #Queer Books #Queer Lit #Queer Representation