#I actually really like Billy as a character. I think he’s interesting but these characters should hate him

[morganbritton132]

based on one of your latest tiktok saga posts:

I'm convinced that when people heard billy hargrove apparently had a crush on steve, a small but dedicated portion of eddie's followers started jokingly stanning billy. the cross section of conspiracy theorists / shitposters absolutely clowns all over eddie's comments with shit like "simping for the man who hit you with his car is king behaviour" and "wow, steve literally ran this guy over and he really just said thank you m'am. pathetic. I'm kissing him on the mouth btw."

I also like to imagine eddie would absolutely loathe this development

Oh my god, this is hilarious and very, very apt for internet culture. People were jokingly stanning Billy and then someone with an old Hawkins High yearbook posts a picture of him, and people realized he was hot then, game over. It’s the worst week of Eddie’s life and he once was on the run for murder, fought an interdimensional slime monster with daddy issues, and died in the same week.

I think Eddie absolutely adores fan art. His studio is lined with art that people have given him and that he’s bought from fans. He was even more over the moon when people started drawing art of him and Steve, but then. Then, these very talented jokesters in his comments are posting fan art of Steve with Billy.

Just imagine the amount of discourse Billy would create on the internet. It’d be worse than the discourse in the ST fandom, because Eddie has never had an opinion that he hasn’t shared. He’d let people know that he hates this. Billy was a bully who harassed him and his friends and liked shitty music.

This would egg people on more, I think, because that’s how the internet works. But Dustin, as president of the Steve Harrington fan club, would not let that slide. He posts a Tiktok like, “Uh, guys. You’re very talent artists and all, but uh. Billy Hargrove tried to kill Steve. He *picture of Steve after Hopper took him to the hospital* beat Steve up really bad and he wouldn’t have stopped if Max didn’t drug him. He ran me and my friends off the road once. And he was racist. He tried to fight Lucas.”

Max also posts. She talks about how hard it was after Billy died and how it nearly killed her, but she also talks about how he wasn’t a good brother, how afraid she was of him, and how he attacked Lucas and attacked Steve for sticking up for them. She doesn’t really want to see him on her FYP.

This leads to so much fighting between people who view Billy as their new white boy of the month and people who are like, why are you retraumatizing that girl in a wheelchair (I imagine post-season 4 Max does have mobility of her legs and walks with a limp or a cane, but sometimes still has to use a wheelchair). It’s just very annoying until the next big scandal happens and people stop talking about it.

#I maintain that Eddie is pretentious enough about his music that he separates heavy metal and hair metal #the only overlap is that I think both are probably Motley Crue fans but Eddie won’t acknowledge that #Steve is still blissfully unaware that a portion of the internet ship him with his high school bully #anti billy hargrove #I actually really like Billy as a character. I think he’s interesting but these characters should hate him #steve harrington #eddie munson #eddie munson tiktok saga

[daydreamerdrew]

Captain Marvel Adventures (1941) #45

#not Billy’s true nemesis- parenting #I actually think it’s really interesting how Captain Marvel’s issues with women go beyond being freaked out when they hit on him #he’s legitimately afraid of and avoids overbearing aggressive women #and he takes that you shouldn’t hit women to a comical level that creates problems when he has to fight female criminals #which is treated like a legit weakness as not as a respectable thing #this is a part of the comedic ethos of the character’s stories #which takes the approach that you don’t have to take the character seriously all of the time #and so doesn’t avoid making him look goofy even though he himself is not a goofy wise-cracking person #and I interpret those issues from a characterization perspective as a manifestation of the fact that he’s an adult with a child’s heart #which is different from just being a regular adult #so while he’s not an immature person he has some immaturity that’s unique to him #because Billy does not have those issues with women and has poked fun at Captain Marvel for them before #this story is making clear to me that Billy can have his own issues with overbearing women #in the form of being uncomfortable with being parented #which tracks from how this version of him was orphaned as an infant and then raised by an abusive and neglectful uncle #who eventually abandoned him after stealing his inheritance #so Billy has no positive associations with parenting and is ok with taking care of himself #his positive relationships with adults are with the best big brother ever Captain Marvel and his employer Sterling Morris #as well as the Wizard Shazam who’s mentoring could be framed in a parental light but is in actuality very distant from Billy #and not involved in his day-to-day life #wait now I’m thinking about how all of those characters are men and how Billy reacted to Mary getting the power of Shazam too #which was to be like but Mary can’t have the powers because she’s a girl which demonstrated a strong belief in gender roles #that was then affirmed by the story revealing that she actually had her own distinct different girl powers #and then he had a story in which he was essentially wrestling with his own assumptions about women’s minds #like that they were naturally suspicious and therefore that their suspicion about something was not to be taken that seriously #and his deep adoration for and faith in his sister which did ultimately win out when she was proven right and also saved him #fawcett comics #billy batson #my posts #comic panels

[bananxious]

To me the Poochie episode of the Simpsons is the Sam and Max episode. ramble ramble in the tags

#sam but he's voiced by dan castellaneta and max is voiced by billy west #not to bang on about it v interesting that voice actors struggled a bit w Sam. classic Homer is probably the closest comparison #classic homer is dumb but he isnt slow. he feels entitled to ramble on about any topic. only comparable character for me tbh #for instance Sam really has that energy of a dad who refuses to read the manual for anything #'then what was that big happy button I pushed?' #'its called a hod Max. A pot is what you're trying to win during poker' #'jessie james REAL HAND. AMAZING.' #sam isnt as lazy tho. thats max's role. Sam was totally up for exhuming corpses until Max suggested the fast food idea #but he definitely learned a lot of half truths from TV. much like how homer only knows about politics thru cable TV #watches late night talk shows and still thinks jay leno is funny... #thats my sam. well-meaning tv addict who thinks he knows far more than he actually does #uh the poochie thing is more to do with The Geek tho. whatevs

[sp0o0kylights]

Indie horror filmmaker Eddie Munson, high off his first big (underground but notable) success, knows the movers and shakers of the film world have their eyes on him. 

They're just waiting to see if he was a one hit wonder before they open all the doors he's been trying to kick down. 

His next upcoming film is his chance, his shot at finally making it. Of being like Rob Zombie and the other creators he looks up to that masterfully blended metal and horror. 

This is his golden ticket. 

The project starts off smooth. His last success has greased the wheels, and things fall into place faster than ever before. 

He's got the best idea for this insane haunted house story, a true "mazes in mazes" type of deal with a queer twist. A real look at how a place can haunt a person just as easily as a ghost can.

 Everything's going swimmingly--until one of his leads drops out the day they're due to start shooting.

No call no show's, and later, Eddie will find out the guy got a last second call back to be a contestant on one of those Love Island bullshit romance gigs (and laugh his ass off when the main love interest takes one look at Billy Hargrove and goes on a five minute rant about ugly mullets on national television) but right now? 

He's fucked. 

He's called in every favor he has for this film. Maxed out every credit card he owns, tapped every contact, got on his hands and knees and begged his rising star journalist best bud to help him market it. (Which Nancy agreed too, for way less cash than she should have.) 

 Eddie can't get anyone on the phone, much less find a replacement actor and the amazing place they rented, that is so dark and wonderfully eerie, is booked out the rest of the year as an AirBnB. 

If he doesn't film now, he loses it all.

Cue the other lead, unknown theater actor Steve Harrington, watching his hair pulling, tire kicking, 'cursing and hopping while holding a toe' mental breakdown and asks why Eddie himself doesn't act in it. 

"Just go full Kevin Smith man. Act and direct." He says, with an easy grin. 

Jeff, Eddie's tried and true videographer, trades glances with Gareth and Grant (Eddie's long used special effects and makeup team, who double for about twelve other jobs because they're also his best friends and they're all in this together, make or break.)

"We don't really have a lot of other options." Gareth hedges. "You're already using me and Grant as background characters." 

Eddie, hands fluttering around his face as though trying to wave away this entire situation, squeezes his eyes shut and lets out a pained hiss. 

"Fine, fine!" He announces with the air of a man running towards a fire. "Fuck it, this is our one shot and so help me I will be shooting it!" 

Steve politely hides a laugh with a cough. 

"Chuckle all you want big boy, I'm going to tragically romance you so hard people will forget both of our characters actually live." Eddie snarls.

Steve, the handsome bastard, just winks.  "Looking forward to it." 

Eddie blushes, but hides it with a surge of frantic energy, conveyed by lots of yelling and moving and getting the ball rolling. 

Two days later, Steve would give the performance of a lifetime down on his knees, covered in a literal pound of fake gore, booty shorts and nothing else as he sobbed about how a lover could become a home. His hands clawed at Eddie's jeans before resting a tear stained face on a slim leg as he bent his body towards Eddie like it hurt to be away from him. 

Eddie would later receive equal praise in his own acting during the scene, with the world and every reporter in it asking how he conveyed an otherworldly panic so beautifully throughout Steve's performance. What was he thinking, to evoke those expressions on his face? 

The way his own pale hand, unmarred by blood and acting as a metaphor for the plot, would come to stroke Steve's cheeks.

Eventually he'd come up with a smooth polished answer that cheekily pleased his audience, but nothing would ever come close to the truth. 

("Eddie I've known you since grade school." Jeff said that night, a scant few hours after they'd wrapped. "You can act man, but not like that." 

Eddie made a wild "shut up" gesture, looking frantically over his shoulder before admitting; "You saw how close his face was to the prince of darkness!? I was seconds away from popping a boner next to his lips, in front of the 4K camera!” 

Eddie bounced into Jeff’s face so he could hiss: “He fucking had his chin on my thigh, Jeff, and I am only a man. A mere mortal!" 

"So we're gonna unpack all of that later." Jeff said finally, when he'd managed to get his mouth working and Eddie back out of his personal space. "But dude, we've talked about you calling your dick the prince of darkness." 

Eddie flipped him off.) 

One year later and critics named Corroded the best horror film of the year, praising the camera work, practical effects, and how there wasn't a soul alive who was surprised to hear Eddie and Steve were dating after their explosive on screen chemistry.

No one ever quite understood the prince of darkness jokes or why Steve mentioning it made Eddie blush, but that was a secret to find out later. 

Today on WIP’s I have no intention of writing, indie horror movie AU!

#at some point this became a warmup for the warmup #and it feels very silly #LOL #steddie #Steve harrington #Eddie munson #horror movie AU #no upside down #eddie would have the STUPIDEST names for his dick #I will die on that hill #that is a man who has put googly eyes on his third leg #and then cried because they wouldn't come off #its why he loves steve bc steve would talk to it like a beloved pet #daddy misssess youuuu #corroded coffin as a unit hates them so much when they do this shit its the bane of their existance

[decaying-church]

Slasher with a s/o that likes to nap

Slashers x male reader

(a/n: Taking a mini break from smut and by that I mean I'll probably be writing it again in like 3 days.)

Warning: Billy Lenz being horny.

Characters (in order of appearance): Stu Macher, Brahms Heelshire, Billy Lenz, Vincent Sinclair, Billy Loomis, Michael Myers, Herbert West.

Stu Macher is also a napper. Maybe not to the extent that you are but honestly he's getting pretty close. He likes to hang out in your room while you nap, looking through all of your trinkets and shit, he’ll wake you up if he finds something particularly interesting or confusing, or if he gets bored enough.

You have a very strict schedule, pre-dewalling, you didn't have much time for naps. But when you did, Brahms would sit and watch you through little holes in the wall, maybe even dozing off for a bit with you. After he's come out, he’ll cuddle up with you, whether he's actually sleeping or not is a mystery but you don't mind the company. In a way, to him, it feels like a good deviation from the schedule he's stuck to for his entire life.

No, Billy will never let you sleep. Horny bastard. He will lay behind you and for a split second you think he's decided to have a peaceful afternoon nap but then he starts rutting against you and you realize that no, he's just horny again. (I mean if you don't mind just let him go to town and then convince him in his satisfied haze to take a nap but that's up to you).

Vincent is also a nap taker. Look at him and tell me he doesn't take a good nap. Plus his sleep schedule is so far outta wack he’d really appreciate it if you sometime would ask him to join you for a nap. If he comes home and you're already asleep he's definitely joining you. If he wakes up before you or isn't tired he'll sit with you, draw or make tiny wax figures, all in your general vicinity so he can still be with you without waking you up.

Billy is a bitch, truly and honestly. He will not let you rest, he will sneak into your room and intentionally slam the door or window he came through, or stomp around your room or “accidentally” drop something heavy on the floor until you wake up. He a dick, we know this. But if he decides he wants to nap with you he has to havd absolute silence.

Michael Myers should definitely take more naps, but as he is not it's not going to happen. He will watch you nap though, usually from the doorway or the corner of your room. If he's feeling particularly clingy that day he’ll sit next to you, maybe he'll talk to you a bit, his voice quieter than normal, telling you about his day, or anything interesting he'd found about his victims, really just letting himself ramble while you slept.

Don't fall asleep in his lab he will take blood samples from you. He’ll call Dan to come and get you but the moment Dan tries to pick/wake you up he tells him to leave. You have woken up to random body parts, both human and animal, just sitting in a tray next to you (you're in his space but he doesn't want you to leave but he still needs his space). He might, might nap with you on occasion, but neither of you must ever speak of it afterwards.

Reblogs>likes

#stu macher x male reader #stu macher x male!reader #stu macher x reader #brahms heelsire x male reader #brahms heelsire x male!reader #brahms heelsire x reader #billy lenz x male reader #billy lenz x male!reader #billy lenz x reader #vincent sinclair x male reader #vincent sinclair x male!reader #vincent sinclair x reader #billy loomis x male reader #billy loomis x male!reader #billy loomis x reader #michael myers x male reader #michael myers x male!reader #michael myers x reader #herbert west x male reader #herbert west x male!reader #herbert west x reader #slashers x male reader #male reader #male s/o #male!reader #male!s/o #reader insert

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Feelings Made Visible: Design Choices in The Sign

I am sure I am not the first person who has picked up on this, but I wanted to talk briefly about something I noticed in the Tharn and Phaya fantasies that were really intriguing to me.

So, generally I dislike intimacy fake outs, it often feels like fanservice in a way in that the story is building tension between it's characters and doesn't want that tension to break while also knowing that an audience seeing a ton of swerved or interrupted kisses may piss them off a little bit. And while I don't love that The Sign has given us the intimacy fake outs in the previews for episodes, I have really enjoyed them in the show itself because they serve a function beyond just catering to an audience that knows Billy is one of the best in the business when it comes to acting horny and just wants to see him making out with Babe.

The fake out intimate scenes in The Sign do a really great job at demonstrating the difference in expectations and desires between Phaya and Tharn.

In Tharn's fantasy he wants to be handled a touch more aggressively, he wants to be pressed against walls and choked, etc etc while Phaya's fantasy shows a deep desire for soft intimacy. He wants to be taken care of, he wants to be handled tenderly. And, like a number of us have pointed out at this point, you can see what aspects of their reality inform their fantasy. Phaya is pressed against Tharn's back at the end of their sparring match, and then Phaya is pressed against Tharn's back when they are about to start fucking in Tharn's fantasy.

Tharn strokes his thumb gently against Phaya's hand and wrist at the doctor's and then Tharn strokes his thumb gently against Phaya's hand and wrist in Phaya's fantasy.

That's all well and good. But there is another thing that they have been doing with these fantasies that are really interesting to me, and that is the difference in the way they are visually structured. In Tharn's fantasy in the bathroom, the lighting is vibrant and unnatural, a total wash of pinks and blues that almost drowns everything else out. In Phaya's fantasy on the couch, the scene is lit naturally but a bokeh effect is superimposed over top of their make out session.

And thinking back throughout the course of the show, these two visual cues are frequently following Tharn and Phaya throughout any and all of their potentially intimate moments.

When Tharn is drunk in Episode 2 and Phaya has dragged him in to the bathroom, the bathroom itself is lit up with a soft pink glow that brushes over Tharn and Phaya's skin. And while they are both leaning in to their desire here, their lips almost touching, Phaya actually giving in a little and kissing Tharn's forehead when he looks down at Phaya's amulet, it is Tharn who is iniating all of the romantic/flirtatious physical contact. It is Tharn that says he won't let Phaya go, it is Tharn that pins Phaya against the bathroom stall and kisses his cheek, it is Tharn that goes in for the actual kiss before getting distracted. And as a result of that we get Tharn's visual cues with the bathroom lighting, not Phaya's visual cues with the bokeh effect. And for what it's worth, the lighting here is real, when Yai enters the restroom and it is really just Yai and Phaya in a shot, they are still awash in pink. Which is why I think the lighting is fun but realistic (aka lighter/more muted) rather than absolutely consuming the scene.

At the beginning of Episode 3, Phaya returns to his grandmother's home and for a moment he invisions Tharn is cuddling him in bed, and for the brief time that Phaya is leaning in to that fantasy, he is under white/uncolored lighting the entire time, but those bokeh flares cover the screen until he snaps out of the dream and realizes he is alone in bed.

gif by @thisautistic

The same goes for later on in the episode for both of the soft, quick kisses between Naga and Garuda and Phaya and Tharn. When Phaya has the dream of him and Tharn in the past, there is a moment where they share a kiss, and again they are in natural lighting with a bokeh effect appearing when they actually kiss. And while this is a moment of shared intimacy between Naga and Garuda, it is occuring in Phaya's dream and as such we get the visualization of Garuda's feelings rather than having any visual confirmation of Tharn's. Same goes for when Phaya gives Tharn a goodnight kiss at Tharn's grandmother's house. In the moments leading up to the kiss all the lighting is natural, and they actually play a little bit here (and quite frequently if you look back at it) with string lights that give scenes almost a natural bokeh effect with the way the lights form little circles on screen.

gif by @25shadesoffebruary

So the entire time that Phaya and Tharn are talking on the dock there are little string lights in the background that sit near Phaya's head, and when he wraps his hand around the back of Tharn's head (something that appears in Phaya's fantasy make out on the couch later) and pulls Tharn in for a kiss, the bokeh effect flash large and bright across the screen. In parallel to the bathroom flirting, this time it is Phaya that is initiating all the action. It is Phaya who is flirting, it is Phaya that leans in for the kiss, and therefore it is Phaya's bokeh effect that appears when they actually share a moment of intimacy.

In Episode 4, Phaya offers to drive Tharn home, but forces them to stop for hot pot first. Tharn protests at first, but Phaya grabs him sexily by the shirt and starts dragging him of screen, pulling him for all intents and purposes in to a date. And at this point in the show, if you don't think Tharn reciprocates feelings for Phaya you are burying your head in the sand. SO. Tharn likes being here. He likes being on this kinda-sorta date with Phaya. Eating food and sharing space, and the moment that Tharn gets up from the table, the scenes turns to very intensely focus on him. As a result, the lighting in the background of the scene is a deep, bright, pink. A visualization of Tharn's feelings for Phaya.

gif by @25shadesoffebruary

And that pink lighting continues as we head in to Tharn's apartment and wind up in Tharn's fantasy. Phaya has just manhandled him (something Tharn likes), he's taken him on a date (with quite enough plausible deniability for Tharn's emotional walls to maintain that's not what he was doing because he can't fall in love with Phaya because everyone Tharn loves dies), and now Phaya is sleeping right outside his door. Something I very much appreciate about The Sign is that there is no mistaking these men's sexuality. There are no struggles with it, they don't have to fight against internalized homophobia before they are willing to be intimate with each other, and Phaya and Tharn are both experience a decent amount of early-to-mid twenties horniess that allows them to be very obvious about and open with their physical reactions to carnal desire. These are men that have clearly fucked before. And it is not that Tharn wouldn't jump Phaya's bone at the first opportunity, it is fully about Tharn's trauma history. If Tharn didn't have the baggage that he did, if he hadn't lost so many people that he loved, you know he'd have no hang ups about this and he and Phaya would have been fucking from like…week one of base camp.

And we know this from the moments where Tharn is not in his head. He initiates the physical intimacy when he's drunk, and when he is asleep he has his fantasy. And because this moment happens in a dream we get a far less realistic coloration to the lighting and instead get the very intense, saturated pink that covers every inch of the bathroom. And while we do get a little bit of a string light situation that is evocative of a bokeh effect, we don't acutally get a bokeh effect. Because this is 100% Tharn's fantasy.

gif by @firstmix

The color play continues at their next intimate moment when Tharn is patching up Phaya's wound, yelling at him about not being stupid and going off alone, and telling him never to say it's okay if he dies. When Phaya stands up to walk away, Tharn reciprocates the shirt pull from the beginning of Episode 4 (because The Sign perpetually says #verserights) and we get a moment where Phaya and Tharn are backlit by red and blue flashing lights from the police vehicles in the area. AND not only that but the way the lights reflect off of the medical van window alludes alludes to a bokeh effect. Because they are sharing this moment. Phaya is touched by Tharn caring so much about him, and horny about Tharn manhandling him. Tharn is pissed at Phaya for putting himself in harms way and is showing how deeply he cares for Phaya with his "never say it's okay if you die in front of me again" statement.

gif by @smileytharn

During the fight in Episode 5 there are a ton of colors being tossed around in that warehouse. The lighting itself is yellow and green, that snake dude is radiating green magic, and when Tharn steps in front of Phaya to protect him and gets stabbed he throws out some yellow magic in return. Cool. Noted. BUT because I am talking primarily about the intimate moments and their visual cues, I want to get at one of my favorite touches in the entire show/one of my favorite touches in BL, which is when Tharn wipes the sweat from the top of Phaya's lip. Because again, we are here in reality, so while we do have some non-traditional/realistic lighting happening in the warehouse, it's not as obvious or all consuming as Tharn's dreams are. HOWEVER! There is a deep, rich, saturated red-orange light behind Phaya's head every time the camera cuts to his face when Tharn is in his arms. It's there right before Tharn brushes his thumb across Phaya's lip and it's there when the camera cuts back to Phaya after Tharn has completed his action. There is no bokeh effect, and no allusion to it because Phaya is not experiencing a romantic moment here. This is a shared intimate moment, sure. But Phaya is fucking terrified for Tharn's health and safety. It is only Tharn that is engaging in some level of intimate/romantic touch and thusly it is only colored lighting that we get on screen.

gif by @forcebook

When they go back to Tharn's apartment, and we enter Phaya's fantasy, it is rife with bokeh effects. We have bokeh effects coming out of the wazoo. Phaya loves Tharn, Phaya cares for Tharn deeply, Phaya's connection to Tharn goes back centuries, through multiple reincarnations, and Phaya thought for a moment he was about to watch Tharn die. Phaya thought for a moment Tharn was going to die thinking that Phaya was pissed at him, with their last moment being Phaya punching Tharn in the face so hard he bled. And so Phaya really wants to be close to Tharn. He was to be comforted by Tharn. He was to be treated gently by Tharn, and he wants to reciprocate that gentle care for Tharn as well. In Phaya's fantasy he asks Tharn to blow on his wounds, and then asks to do the same for Tharn. Now, if you will allow me a brief tangent- from a script standpoint this make out fake out is incredible because Phaya knows Tharn so well that even in his fantasy he correctly identifies almost verbatim what some of Tharn's responses will be. Sure, he doesn't anticipate the "what if saliva gets in the wound and you get an infection?" but he does absolutely nail the "you don't need to look at my wound, the doctor took care of it" response. Tangent over. ANYWAY, Phaya indulges in this fantasy and the screen is absolutely drowning in bokeh effect because this moment belongs entirely to Phaya who has had an incredibly emotional day, and is therefore experiencing extremely large/deep/big emotions here too.

Where am I going with this? Well. Earlier today I was scrolling on tumblr (because I am physically incapable of leaving tumblr for more than 10 minutes at a time) and I saw that @negrowhat had reblogged some screenshots of an intimate scene from the official trailer for The Sign and I saw this:

Now. We don't know when this moment comes, we can't confidently say that it is real (though Episode 7 apparently promises no tricks this time). But I think it is real for one reason in particular:

Both Tharn and Phaya's visual cues are present at the same moment.

Up through now we have not actually seen that occur. We maybe had some level of allusion to a bokeh effect at the same time as some interesting color choices, but we haven't actually had a bokeh effect and a bright color at the same time. And even if we do want to count those allusions, this idea still holds because those moments where we've had some modicum of both are shared moments of intimacy from both parties. SO anyway, I think that when Tharn and Phaya actually have sex together we are going to see both of their visual metaphors joining together (since they are…ya know…joining together).

Alright. Time for the big whammy. I don't know how eagles see, I know they see well and I highly doubt they see in bokeh effect, so I don't have much to say about Phaya's visual cues around intimacy from a garuda perspective, except to say that hsi fantasies are always in correct and proper color. Where I do think the choice gets interesting is with Tharn. Now Tharn is naga, which I guess aren't technically snakes, but I don't know what the eyesight rules of sea serpents are so I'm going to go based off actual serpents.

Snakes see in infrared.

What does this mean? It means their color perception is bright, saturated, and heat focused. If you ever look at an infrared camera, you can see that areas of higher heat are typically demarcated in the red, orange, yellow spectrum. I don't think pink is a traditional infrared color but there have been moments throughout the show where red lighting connects Phaya and Tharn (police lights, the lighting behind him in the kidnapping/murder warehouse). And infrared lighting is intense. So I for one think it is absolutely fucking brilliant on the part of the director/cinematographer/lighting designer/production team to make the choice that Tharn's emotions about Phaya are going to be tied to color. That the naga that is lying dormant in him comes out subconsciously, unconsciously whenever naga and garuda are close. And I especially love that the moments of deepest color are when Tharn is dreaming because a) dreams are already fucking wild and b) it is one of the few times Tharn is not dragging his feet, gritting his teeth, kicking and screaming, and desperately trying to hold on to the emotional and physical distance he feels like he needs to have from Phaya in order to make sure Phaya survives.

I look forward to seeing what they do with these effects as the show continues. This has been Killing Time While on an Airplane with Captain Hands, thank you for your time.

#the sign #the sign the series #phaya x tharn #tharn x phaya #phayatharn #tharnphaya #billybabe #idol factory #thai bl #wka long post

[beyondthisdarkhouse]

Feeling really nostalgic about July 17-18, 2008, the last time I believed in Joss Whedon

It was just cool, you know? Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog dropped in three separate pieces over the course of the week. We'd get 15 minutes of story, and then two days to froth over the whys and wherefores in Livejournal comments before the next piece came out. And those days were so good.

Buffy fans are so fucking smart, y'all. They could combine academic rigor with unselfconscious fangirl squee. Squee was a hermeneutical method, a mode of interrogating the text--one we often dismiss and diminish, because if there's anything grosser than teenage girls getting goopy over a vampire they like, it's 30 or 50 or 70-year-old women getting goopy over a vampire they like. But it's similar to what I've seen called a "redemptive reading". You approach a piece of media specifically looking for its best parts, the pieces you love the best, and you allow yourself to fully embody the joy of liking something and caroling your joy to other people who like it too. In a perpetually burned-out time, squee can be like a desert oasis.

So the people who liked Buffy and Angel and Firefly watched Doctor Horrible in a manner both squeeful and intersectionally feminist, and saw all the amazing interesting things it was doing, showing how insecure geek masculinity fundamentally self-sabotages the main character, Billy, because the relationship he wants has been there in reach for months, and it's his own perception that he needs to be an alpha male warrior that has kept him from it. It interrogated the entire genre of costumed heroes, with two men thumping their chests and comparing their dick sizes, and none of them doing anything as direct and helpful for their society as Penny, the woman who stands on sidewalks collecting signatures to help a homeless shelter.

Part II came out on July 17, and the series would end with Part III on July 19. So on July 18, I spent most of the day reading Livejournal comments about it. There were all these theories: Maybe Penny was secretly Bad Horse, the archvillain whose approval Billy has craved since the beginning. Maybe she will collapse the love triangle with Billy's rival, Captain Hammer, by acting on her clearly-demonstrated discomfort and dumping him. Maybe Billy will learn that relationships are based on intimacy, not being The Best. Maybe Penny will become a superhero and replace Captain Hammer as Billy's nemesis. Maybe Billy will succeed and rule the world and give Penny Australia.

And then... none of those things happened. Joss Whedon ended the series in a way less progressive, less imaginative, less cool, than even the most half-baked fan theory out there. The story opened up possibilities to break out of an old, tired, toxic set of stories around men and women and sex and heroics, and then hid under a rock rather than change a single one of them.

July 19 was the day I concluded that while Joss Whedon might have his own baggage to work through about toxic masculinity, and artists have the right to make work meaningful to them, he wasn't making art that was meaningful to me. And I basically stopped expecting anything of him.

And then, for years, Buffy fans, educated and squeeful feminists and sharp pop culture critics, got told they were crazy histrionic SJWs for thinking Whedon didn't shit solid gold. For years. (I recently saw a video essay that included the line, "If you have the phrase 'mewling quim' branded onto your memory, you probably need some Metamucil" and, ouch, rude.)

There was so much excitement! A lot of us actually believed in the guy (although even then, there was enough evidence for many people to suspect what we now know to be 100% true about him.)

We wanted it to be good. We wanted to enjoy it.

I miss that feeling.

#joss whedon tw #dr horrible's sing along blog

[patchesnpins]

ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ ᴀʟꜱᴇᴇᴘ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇᴍ...

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: it's okay to let those weary eyes of your's have a rest, there's always someone around who would happily be your own personal pillow... (ft. steve harrington, eddie munson, billy hargrove & robin buckley)

☾⋆*:｡ a/n: another post, this time much more soft and fluffy <33 my meds have been making me incredibly sleepy and I've fallen asleep on my gf numerous times already. I just think this is the cutest sort of cliche, also please feel free to request more characters

☾⋆*:｡ details: SFW//w.c: 1.5k// warnings: gn!reader, cigarettes, weed & smoking, not properly proof read

ꜱᴛᴇᴠᴇ ʜᴀʀʀɪɴɢᴛᴏɴ

Steve was already blinking sleep away in his eyes, listening to the bland sounds of a movie he had watched one too many times yet it was once again decided on as the movie of the night. He was almost sure he could recite it out loud from beginning to end from all the times he had heard it in family video

You didn’t seem to be much more interested in the movie playing on the small and boxy television, eyes locked on the screen but not truly focussing on the things happening. A glossy look glazed over your tired eyes, watching but not actually taking information in, your mind too tired to process the flickering images

You’d already been pressed up against him, squishing onto the small and old couch alongside The Party who were much more excited to watch this movie, pushing and shoving their way onto the crowded sofa alongside you leaving you with little to no personal space

The sounds of the children's laughter and obscenely loud special effects started to fade into the background as darkness began to envelope yoru sight, slowly leaning more and more into the warm embrace you were seated next to. His cologne was like a sweet anesthetic to your tired mind

Steve felt your relaxed form pressed against him, no longer stiff and trying to lend him some space on the cramped sofa. Through the soft illuminations of the movie screen he peers down at you to find you calm and sleeping face buried into his side, chest slowly rising and falling as you nestle closer

He couldn’t imagine falling asleep in the midst of a movie night, with the kids flinging popcorn and talking loud enough to be heard over the loud booms and crashes yet you were fast asleep against him. Fingers coiled lightly around his arm, clutching to the soft fabric of his sweater and nuzzling closer

He shifts a bit, careful not to move you too much as he reaches at the edges of the blankets, tugging them around you both securly. He can’t help but sling his arm around you, muscles a bit tight to avoid waking your but carefully herding you closer into his side to rest peacefully, suddenly thankful for the dark room hiding his blushing face

ᴇᴅᴅɪᴇ ᴍᴜɴꜱᴏɴ

He’d never considered his bed all that comfortable, he kept forgetting to change out the old sheets and if you sat down you could feel the plenty of things he’d thrown into bed without care. An old guitar pick and capo, a magazine or two, forgotten pencils and pens and plenty more

Yet you insisted on smoking in his bed with him, he’d been left confused for a little bit but now the puzzle pieces were beginning to click into place as he watched your eyelids droop more and more as you continued taking hits from the blunt, his nerves sparking when as he watched you hold it between tired fingers

He whisks it away from the hand that was slowly falling, pressing it between his lips and just about to ask if you were okay before he felt the light thump of your head hitting his shoulder. You were still a bit awake, eyes fighting to remain closed but when he didn’t dare to move they finally fluttered closed

A smile plays at his own lips, chewing at the end of the blunt as heart seems to pick up in beat inside his chest. He should’ve been able to pick out you were getting tired from how it seemed to take you a bit longer to answer him and how you weren’t really hearing the music he was playing

Taking a slow drag from the blunt, he finally leans towards his bed stand to place it in an ashtray, fingers brushing lightly over the knobs of his radio and turning it down till it’s barely louder than a soft hum, much too quiet to possibly wake you from your sweet slumber

Ever so slowly and calmly he moves you from his shoulder, the bedframe was already digging into his back and he can’t imagine how much yours would hurt if he left you. He lets your head rest in his lap, his fingers stroking over your hair and pushing it back to avoid any tangles or cowlicks in the morning

If you needed rest then so be it. Eddie wasn’t against becoming your personal pillow for the night, especially how warm and soft you feel against him. He swears he can fall asleep to the soft sound of your breathing, the weight of you against him felt like a weighted blanket draped over his own tired body

ʙɪʟʟʏ ʜᴀʀɢʀᴏᴠᴇ

Stargazing on top of the hood of Billy’s car was always such a tranquil experience, the soft sound of the flicker of his lighter mixed with the lullaby of chirping crickets singing their goodnights, the sharp but almost relaxing scent of a lit cigarette and the cold metal of the hood against exposed skin

Your eyes were calmly closed, just feeling the bitter chill of the breeze wash over your skin covered with goosebumps. You could feel your own weariness creeping up on you, the shuffling and feeling over Billy glancing over at you was one of the few things still keeping you awake

Besides the subtle noises of nature around you both it was so quiet, chirping and hooting fading away in your mind to just a fuzzy noise as your head began to grow heavy, dipping down a few times as you tried to fight off impending sleep. You were too tired to notice Billy scooting closer and the smell of nicotine becoming stronger

The velvet of his shirt was smooth against your cheek, your weight slowly leaning more and more into his side as tiredness washed over you and whisked you away into an ocean of sleep. He didn’t care to move, arm wrapping tightly around your waist to prevent you from falling backwards

Wisps of smoke are blown in the opposite direction to avoid any of it getting in your face, your expression too peaceful and gentle for him to disrupt even if it meant holding a mouthful of smoke when the winds would pick up. His heart stirred in his chest when you would cuddle closer into his embrace

He’s hit by such a sudden twinge of lovesickness at you pressed so tightly against his side, seeming so safe and secure beside him, enough that you could comfortably fall asleep against him without a worry. So vulnerable, cuddled in his side as if he’s all the protection you need

He’d been planning to get home but with you asleep so calmly against him, he can only light another cigarette and let his tense body chill out. It’s a pretty night outside, he doesn’t mind a few more hours underneath the twinkling stars... 

ʀᴏʙɪɴ ʙᴜᴄᴋʟᴇʏ

There was nothing more that she hated than long car rides, her long limbs cramped up in the back of the old van because someone else had insisted that he had called shotgun first. She wasn’t into the idea of arguing, or at least it was stolen away like a gust of wind when she saw you climbing into the backseat

Robin’s eyes are glued to the passing shapes rushing by the window, slick with fog from the early morning of the road trip, the dark clouds outside making the bright little dew drops stick out more. She whispers in hushed tones to you, checking if you’re warm enough or pointing out the cows grazing among the rolling fields

She doesn’t look at you much, too enveloped in her own rambling and the fact that her skin would start tingling when she’d see you leaning in so closely to look out the window with her. But when you start not responding her heart plummets, glancing over her shoulder to see why you suddenly started to ignore her 

Your eyes are screwed closed, mouth slightly agape as you breath in and out so slowly, the turns and bumps in the road rocking your frame and eventually knocking you off your balancing act. Your body bumps against her, head tumbling onto her shoulder and you don’t even wake

The softness of her sweater is like a pillow against your skin, just as warm as her and smelling faintly of the sweet perfume and outdoors you’d just been hiking through. Fresh and alive like running waters and shivering leaves, but just as comfortable as grass against your cheek or the warm sun

She can feel her face warming up despite the almost frigid temperatures outside, her skin suddenly aflame at just how you were just curled up against her without a single worry. Just caught up in a deep slumber your body had been begging for and Robin just seemed to be the most comfortable thing in the world to curl up against

She gently rests her hand on your thigh, making sure that you won’t be flung around in the backseat as the car rolls over rocky dirt roads. Almost subconsciously you lean into her touch, entangling yourself with her and despite how much her heart races she just adores it

#stranger things #stranger things x reader #stranger things headcanons #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #billy hargrove #billy hargrove x reader #robin buckley #robin buckley x reader

[lurkingshan]

Hi! I love reading your opinions and I have just started The Sign. What are your opinions on the show and what route are you hoping it would take for the second half of the show? Take care and happy new year!

Hello anon! You picked such an interesting moment to send this ask. We’re halfway through the show and I think its strengths and weaknesses have become fairly clear. Let's talk about it!

Strength: The Chemistry

I think this is the thing that had all the girlies losing it right out of the gate: Phaya and Tharn are hot and their interactions are hotter. The pull and chemistry between them is palpable and the set up for their romance is compelling. Kudos to whoever found Babe and decided to pair him with Billy: you, sir or madam, are incredible at your job and deserve a fruit basket. We are all dying for these two to finally fuck.

Weakness: The Pacing

Which is why it's kind of frustrating that the show is dragging its feet on letting their relationship advance. The first four eps were delicious tension-building, but as the show starts to stall and use dream sequence fakeouts to provide smut without actual relationship development, the audience is clearly getting antsy. The show's pacing is all over the place in general, with wildly varied episode lengths and inconsistent action and plot advancement from week to week. And the desire to drag out the romance without a compelling alternative plot to fill the show in its absence is causing some damage to the characters, most notably Tharn, who is just starting to seem unreasonably antagonistic to a person we know he likes, not to mention unperceptive in his continued inability to notice what is going on around him.

Strength: Production Values

This show is absolutely gorgeous; you can tell most of the money went into making every frame of it beautiful. The strength of the production values and hard work of the crew to create the look and feel of the world was evident from the first episode with all those beautiful training sequences on the beach. And this is used to particularly strong effect whenever we visit Phaya and Tharn's past lives and see the magical world that exists around them come to life.

Strength: The Supporting Cast

The show also has a great ensemble, with Yai especially a standout character who brings a lot of fun to the show, along with his girlfriend Sand and the police squad bros. This is not surprising, as big, messy, chaotic, endearing queer friend groups are an IdolFactory staple. As of last week, we officially have a lesbian side pairing! Tharn and Phaya also have interesting family histories with sweet grandmas and loved ones who lend depth to their characterization.

Weakness: The Copaganda

It was perhaps too much to expect that this bl about cops would have a more sophisticated perspective on law enforcement, institutional corruption, and the so-called "justice" system, but that does not stop me from groaning out loud every time they pause the story to let these characters wax poetic about the nobility of their jobs.

Strength: Thai Folklore

This show is teaching all of us some things about real Thai folklore about the garuda and nara, including local customs associated with celebrating these tales, and the depiction of these stories in the show is just beautiful. Despite it basically being a tourism advert (complete with couple shirts for no reason??), I really enjoyed the episode that took us to Nong Khai and the Mekong River to see how modern Thai folks interpret and celebrate the myths at the center of this show’s story and ground us in something real.

Weakness: An Underdeveloped Take on Toxic Masculinity

This show uses violence quite a lot in its story, including violence in interpersonal dynamics, and it sometimes seems to want us to be alarmed by uncontrolled male anger, and sometimes impressed by it. At this point, Tharn and Phaya have both struck each other in anger during personal disagreements, and there hasn't been any real reckoning with the fallout of that. On top of that, the show has given us some crime cases that highlight the harm of toxic masculinity while also seeming to glorify and revel in it, most notably in the framing of a man who kidnapped and retraumatized sexual assault victims as a hunky folk hero. It's a confused take, to say the least, and I'm not sure the show has the depth and precision necessary in the writing to take on some of what it's throwing at the wall.

Strength: Villains

All I can say is Heng was born to play an evil snake god. The show has done a good job at making him feel like a real threat and building the antagonism between him and Phaya to the point where Phaya has been isolated from support and made to look crazy in front of Tharn. Dr. Slow Motion is very good at this.

So, what's the TL; DR? This show is a lot of fun, but has some obvious weaknesses in the writing, so do your best not to take it too seriously if you can. I am ready to see Phaya and Tharn get together and finally start working as a team, for the full backstory and epic battle they are waging to come out, and for the motivations of the rest of the cast of characters to become clear (I just know there are some additional past life reincarnations waiting to be revealed). It's a great time if you don't think about it too hard, and I really hope the back half will pick up the pace so that we can all just enjoy the ride.

#the sign the series #thai bl #shan answers

[driftwood-fireflies]

have any dilf billy and stu hcs?

HELLO YES for sure I do.

a lot of this is actually based on something matthew lillard said in an interview, about what he thinks billy and stu would do if they survived. if you want to skip right to the bit I'm talking about, it's at 12:40 in the video.

to sum it up for anyone who doesn't feel like watching it: billy and stu survive, fall in love, move to costa rica where stu works at panasonic (lol) and billy is an english teacher, and on the side they take in stray dogs and rehabilitate them.

I thought this idea was really cute (I'm even drawing some fanart of it at the moment 👀), so I've kind of just adopted it as my own canon lol, with some of my own bits added in.

lillard half-jokingly says "they slaughter people on the weekends," and I do agree that they'd probably never quit the whole murdering thing even as fugitives. but given that they've otherwise been pretty softened in this imagining, I wonder if their motives for killing would be less out of self proclaimed psychopathy and more of a moral gray. idk, maybe since they evidently have a soft spot for animals, maybe they kill animal abusers, or something. or maybe they really don't ever give up the whole slasher thing, taking on a new identity (or even revitalizing the character of ghostface, using some sort of knock off mask) and haunting a lakeside cabin resort or something. idk! just interesting things to think about. lmk what you guys think ^_^

#matthew lillard was crazy for saying this btw. #i really cannot believe this fucking clip is real #asks #headcanon asks #scream #scream movie #scream 1996 #stu macher #billy loomis #billy x stu #stu x billy #billystu #stuilly

[emblazons]

Thinking about that post that said Will had to be 'written out' of some of the S3 narrative because so much of it was about performing heteronormative relationships…& as an emotionally intelligent gay kid he quite literally stands entirely outside of both of those things.

Like. The Duffers said the premise of S3 was puberty, but in truth it's more like kids trying to act more mature than they are, not only by pretending they’re not into “childish” things but also emulating the relationships of the adults around them (for good & bad).

In S3, Lucas is literally just parroting his dad (and whoever else) when it comes to explaining relationships to Mike, and Max is projecting her displeasure/fear of divorce (because of her own parents) by repeatedly breaking up with Lucas and encouraging El to do the same while quoting Cosmo to her. El has her own streak of performative influence from her time watching all those soaps while locked up for a year—and Mike is just doing the best he can to keep up, seeing as (as we see with the Karen considering but then never actually cheating with Billy plot) Wheelers are often motivated by responsibility and duty to their relationships more than actual feelings or depth with their partners.

From the very first episode though…Will literally says “I’m not gonna fall in love," and while I know a lot of people like to talk about how that's kind of a sign he’s already falling in love with Mike, it’s also showing us that he stands apart from all the other people and “couples” we see this season…because he’s not performing social rituals trying to emulate the relationships of the adults around him.

Will is the only character outside of Dustin (who also comments on this tendency to be fake in love to Steve, ironically enough) who is refusing to take part in the ritualistic gambits of "dating" with his friends, on top of embracing his desire to continue doing the things he enjoys even as we are learning he is genuinely in love with Mike.

Will is the only one being genuine about his interests and desires rather than performing normativity (social and heteronormative) like the rest of his friends--the only one who is in love with his chosen interest because he enjoys being around him, and its that dissonance from the "play"/ sandbox narrative of S3 that makes it seem like The Duffers "forgot" about him (which, given the fact that S5 is confirmed as Will's Coming of Age season, obviously isn't true).

...I just think it's interesting that the season where everyone starts being shallow (because...thats the word for it. We should bring that word back lmao) is the season where it feels like Will gets neglected the most—not because he isn't important to the story, but because Season 3 was when The Duffers introduced dishonesty and ongoing romantic relationships as a concept for their "kid" characters, and Will's heartfelt affection for Mike and unwillingness to lie to anyone stands apart from that.

-

Bonus Thought: If you really want to get into it, you can also pull on how watching Will lie to Mike in Season 4 about the painting hurts all that much more because its the first time he's betrayed his character to "match the energy" of his peers—him "ripping off the bandaid" was him not only choosing to save Mike & El's relationship by sacrificing his own feelings, but also him choosing move into the same kind of dishonesty and shallowness he's been watching everyone around him get away with for two seasons now, even though it was going to break his heart to do so.

S4 got Lucas and Max back to the honesty and closeness they hadn't been mature enough to manage in S3...but that's not something Will got to see for himself. Getting us back to honesty for El, Mike and now Will (who have also been lying to themselves and each other in their performances of normalcy) will be a critical part of the "repair" that happens in Season 5.

#will byers #byler #I have so many thoughts about this fr #like. WILL SEEMS UNIMPORTANT BECAUSE HE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO STAYED HONEST IN A SEASON FULL OF LIES #AND THE GA DON'T SEE IT BECAUSE THEY'RE USED TO SHALLOW NARRATIVES. I SAID WHAT I SAID #duffer brothers #st commentary #my st commentary #stranger things

[negrowhat]

The Thumb Kiss Trope

Recently (like yesterday) I rewatched Wedding Plan and in ep 3 a thumb kiss was featured that was kind of glossed over by us all. Ever since then (like the past 12 hrs) I've been thinking about how I need more of this trope in my life. It's such a good trope and so under-used.

Sure we have different variations of a barrier kiss; My School President used that trope as a running gag up until the last ep. And we see people place their full hands between their lips. TinCan had a really cute kind of transfer kiss featuring Can's hand in Love By Chance, but nothing hits like the Thumb Kiss trope for me.

So why is the Thumb kiss such a vibe for me? Because it's the flimsiest of barriers to prevent a real kiss. It highlights the tension between the two characters, they both seem to be very interested, but it just isn't the right time for a real kiss yet. In my mind that thumb is a bookmark for the real kiss that is coming soon.

DON'T WORRY I HAVE EXAMPLES!

SoloGui from Oxygen the Series. We get their thumb kiss in ep 4. There are a couple reasons Solo does not kiss Gui in that moment; he didn't have permission, he didn't want to push Gui too much, and mainly because he was under the weather. But he couldn't just let the moment pass without a brief romantic interaction. At this point in the series, Solo is really just trying to gauge Gui's interest in him so he can figure out how to proceed.

Of course Gui responds like it's a real kiss, he kisses Solo's thumb too and then they both pull away. In the novel version, Gui is actually disappointed about Solo's thumb being there because he wanted it to be a real kiss (he's never kissed anyone before despite being a popular campus moon). BY THE WAY Nut Supanut from Pit Babe stars in Oxygen and it's a really cute, lowkey series with good communication. I highly recommend it, ALSO THE SIDE COUPLE IN THAT SERIES IS TOP TIER!

NueaToh from Secret Crush on You. Their thumb kiss happens in ep 2. It's not so secret that Toh is in love with P'Nuea, but we soon discover that Nuea is also kind of enamored with Toh. He goes out of his way to hire Toh as a photographer for his sister's birthday party (btw she's a fan of Toh's photography) and anyways, Toh and his bestie Jao are hanging out with Nuea and his friends and they play that good ole King's card game (you know the one! It's the only time we see cards in these series) and Nuea and Toh are dared to kiss.

We know Toh wants to and so does Nuea but Nuea doesn't want to turn his first kiss with his crush into a party game so he literally smirks at Toh and pushes his thumb between their lips. Nuea knows Toh likes him and he's sure Toh would be fine with their first kiss happening any kind of way, but Nuea wants to make sure Toh knows he's kissing him on purpose so he's going to wait.

ALSO half the cast of the Sign are in SCOY and I HIGHLY recommend the series to anyone who hasn't watched it, Billy is PHENOMENAL as Nuea. Saint produced SCOY as well and it's a good mix of cringe, spice, and pretty much all the characters are queer. I just hope you don't mind stalking as part of the plot (I can explain more if you're interested! I promise it's not that bad)

LomNuea from Wedding Plan. Sailom and Namnuea are vibing from Day 1 but Sailom and his fiancée Yiwa have contracted Nuea to plan their upcoming wedding. To Nuea, Sailom is going behind Yiwa's back to pursue him and he's having mixed feelings about that. Sailom is actually just a man in love with his wedding planner and trying to find the best way to explain a delicate situation without sounding selfish or manipulative.

Their thumb kiss happens in ep 3 and at this point Lom is trying his hardest to keep his intense feelings in check. He's parked outside of Nuea's apartment preparing to drop him off and he thinks Nuea is sleeping. He apologizes and places his thumb on Nuea's lips and kisses his thumb. When he pulls back Nuea is wide awake and Sailom declares that he's going to kiss him and they do kiss. Namnuea kisses him back.

Their situation is a little different because they have kissed already but it was a quick and playful kiss and Lom kissed him because he was trying to calm Nuea down (I can't explain it but it does work) and by ep 3 they are both very aware of the other's feelings. This is one of the moments where Namnuea gives in to his feelings for Sailom, which he immediately regrets.

One could argue that's what this particular scene visually represents. Sailom has a clear understanding of how he feels about Namnuea, which is why we can see him so clearly. Meanwhile Nuea is shrouded in darkness, he still needs some clarity.

I tried to go down my list of watched BLs to figure out if any other ones featured The Thumb Kiss and I couldn't find anymore which is TRAGIC. It's such a fun trope. I scream every time I see it and I wish it was featured more. I need more of this specific trope.

#anyways #this is my first list post for 2024 #and I'm excited about it #bl tropes #oxygen #oxygen the series #sologui #secret crush on you #scoy #secret crush on you the series #nueatoh #wedding plan #wedding plan the series #lomnuea #pit babe the series #the sign the series #pit babe #the sign

[squish--squash]

The best Sherlock Holmes adaptation (that people hardly know)

The stories and adventures of Sherlock Holmes is probably one of the most well-known, most referenced, and most recognizable series out there, as well as one with an insane number of adaptations. Hell, Sherlock Holmes even holds the world record of being the literary character with the most screen adaptations.

This has led to many, many people making ranked lists of their favorite adaptations, and I've looked at a lot of them to see if my favorite one appears. It doesn't. Not here, here, here, here, here, here, or here.

On the Wikipedia page for Sherlock Holmes adaptations, it is listed...in the external links section, at the very bottom of the webpage; it's only visible by expanding the "screen adaptations of Sherlock Holmes" panel

On here, under the three names it's regularly tagged as, there are a collective 13.9k followers (the breakdown is 5.2-1.9-6.8). In comparison, the "bbc sherlock" tag has 47k followers, "sherlock" has 644k, and "john watson" has 13k followers. Pretty underrated, if you ask me.

And so, you're probably wondering what this adaptation is, and why I think it's the best. Wonder no further!

The best Sherlock Holmes adaptation (at least, to me) that is criminally underrated is called Yuukoku no Moriarty, or Moriarty the Patriot. (and before you ask, yes, it's a manga! with its own anime!)

Now, because this post is already long enough, and because there is going to be A LOT OF BIG SPOILER WARNINGS, I'll be defending my claim under the read-more. But with that out of the way, let me begin...

Reason #1: Wait, Moriarty??

Moriarty is well-known to be the arch nemesis of Sherlock Holmes. He's the big baddie of the original series. So why in the world is this adaptation named after the villain? Because the plot is focused around Moriarty. As far as I am aware, this could be the ONLY adaptation so far that has done this (please correct me if I'm wrong! I'd love to find more). Furthermore, the "James Moriarty" in question is actually three brothers: Albert, Louis, and William (the "main" Moriarty), and the overarching plot follows their schemes as "the Lord of Crime" to... change 19th century England for the better?

Reason #2: The Premise is INTERESTING as FUCK

Yeah, you heard me! The big baddie in this adaptation is trying to do what they deem as "good"! It's called Moriarty the Patriot because William, Louis, and Albert are trying to make England a better country in their own ways; they view the class system of 19th century England to be, quite frankly, shit, and want to lessen the abuse and dehumanization of the lower class caused by the nobles. And, well, they do this by killing corrupt nobles. Or, well, more accurately, they help people commit crimes to kill the nobles, and stage it to look like an accident or make it extremely difficult to solve. It's actually really fun and cathartic to watch imo, especially in the early episodes of the anime and the early chapters of the manga. I'll come back to the plot later, but for now, I think it's time to get back to the characters.

Reason #3: The Gang's all Here!

The three Jame Moriarty brothers aren't the only characters: you also have the baker street gang (Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, and Ms Hudson), the Baker Street Irregulars, Mycroft, Sebastian Moran from the original series, Lestrade, Irene Adler, Herder (another character from the original series), and interestingly enough, Billy the Kid (in the manga). And these characters aren't just one-dimensional name-drops, but characters with so much personality, backstory, and motives. Take, for example, Sebastian Moran: he's a sniper who works for the Lord of Crime, yeah, but it's because he has a long-earned loyalty to William; both of them have a keepsake from the other, and after William's supposed death during this adaptation's version of "The Final Problem", it's the keepsake he gave to William that saves him from a dark path (there's much more to this story in particular, but you'll have to find out more yourself if you're interested). Also, there's Moneypenny in the manga. But why the hell is she here?

Reason #4: His name is James. James Bond (and he's trans!)

NAME ONE OTHER FUCKING SHERLOCK HOLMES ADAPTATION THAT HAS JAMES BOND, I'LL WAIT. YOU CANNOT. But yes, James fucking Bond is in Moriarty the Patriot, and is one of the best characters for many reasons. One of them? We actually meet him as a woman. And who is that woman, you might ask?

Irene Adler.

(note: the version I read calls him James Bond, but from what I've heard, his name is actually spelled "James Bonde" to avoid copywrite issues. However, for this post, I'll use "Bond") It's...incredible. The entire arc introducing Irene Adler and her arc into becoming James Bond is one of my favorite arcs in Moriarty the Patriot. It takes the original "A Scandal in Bohemia" and sprints with it. Like, the entire Bohemian-king-wanting-that-photograph with Sherlock and Watson is just a ploy, so Irene can be under the protection of public-hero Sherlock by tricking him into thinking he blew up her house with his smoke-bomb trick. Because she stole ENGLISH GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS SO CLASSIFIED, THE GOVERNMENT WANTS HER DEAD. It's just the way the series builds off the original works by Doyle in a way that not only stays true to the original, but is also its own thing. Because yeah, we don't see Irene Adler again after her "scandal" is solved; and that's because she fakes her death as Irene, and starts working under the Moriarty brothers as James Bond, now a man. Additionally, Moriarty the Patriot handles Bond being trans in an amazing way. Him being trans is no joke! The Moriarty group accept him as a man the moment he tells them (except for Sebastian Moran, who's confused about it at first before he warms up to it; in all actuality, it's his confusion and reluctance that's joked about, not Bond's manhood, which is a refreshing thing to see as a queer person myself). Even when reuniting with Sherlock, John Watson, and Ms Hudson, the three are respectful and understanding. Oh my god wait a minute I just realized I haven't even mentioned Sherlock yet-

Reason #5: Benedict Cumberbatch WHO

Sherlock Holmes in this adaptation is the best Sherlock, hands down. Why? Because he's fun, goddammit! So many Sherlock adaptations see the genius personality of Sherlock Holmes and see nothing else. They make him cold, uncaring, calculative. A lot of Sherlocks would shoot a man dead for a lead on a case. But not this Sherlock. Is this the face of a man who's cold and uncaring?

HELL FUCKING NO! And he's literally presented with the opportunity to shoot a man for a lead on a case, and he turns it down! Because he's good! Yeah, he's prideful. Yeah, he can be a prick. He treats Scotland Yard like a joke. But he's also silly. He's kind to the people he cares about. He wants to help people. He's hilarious with Ms Hudson and Mycroft, and his interactions with William Moriarty is one of the best things to read about in this adaptation, because their cat-and-mouse game matters so, so much in this story.

Reason #6: Cat and mouse; puppet and puppeteer; friend and...friend?

Sherlock has a very interesting role in Moriarty the Patriot as a whole. Sure, he's the detective. But he's so much more. When he's introduced (in episode 6 of the anime, mind you!) to the story, the overarching plan of William and his brothers shift to include him: William wants him to be the hero of the play they're setting for the country, because in the end, William plans to be defeated as a common enemy of the people. And so, the game begins. The Lord of Crime starts setting up crimes for Sherlock to solve, so he gains publicity. So he's recognized as the hero. He's the only man smart enough to solve the trail of breadcrumbs Moriarty leaves, after all. Sherlock starts as just a puppet in the plan of things. Led along on strings from crime-to-crime, slowly piecing things together. And Sherlock hates it. But...Sherlock and William meet outside of being a simple detective and criminal. They meet on a ship, and for the first time, William finds his mind not drafting up plans or thinking as the Lord of Crime the first time they speak to each other. And for the first time, Sherlock finds someone with a mind equal to his own. They meet again, on a train, and solve a murder together (one William was NOT behind). And behind this game of cat-and-mouse, behind the puppet and puppeteer, something blooms. When Sherlock learns that yes, the William James Moriarty he's grown to known is indeed the Lord of Crime, he's not mad. He's...glad.

(note: Sherlock calls William Moriarty "Liam", beginning with their meet on the train; he's the only character in the series who does this. Not even the other Moriarty brothers call their brother "Liam")

He's glad it was William; it couldn't have been anyone else, in his opinion. It wouldn't have been worth it otherwise. It all comes to head in this series' version of "The Final Problem", where Sherlock finally confronts Moriarty, once and for all. It's where William plans to be defeated by his nemesis, the hero. Because he's the self-proclaimed villain. "Catch me if you can, Mr Holmes", is what he challenged to Sherlock on the train, after he joked about William being the Lord of Crime. And Sherlock catches him, in the end. But not as a detective. He catches him, as a companion, after William jumps to his death into the river Thames to set his defeat to Sherlock in stone.

Reason #7: What Comes After

The anime ends after "The Final Problem", but the manga continues. And this is where I really, really think this adaptation shines its brightest, with the aftermath of everything the series has been building to. The main reason Moriarty chooses his death is because of the bad things he's done his entire life. He never enjoyed killing people, but felt he had to, and felt his death was the proper "punishment" for it. But through Sherlock, he finds that that isn't the answer. It's obvious that Sherlock would live through the fall into the Thames. But what about William? In most adaptations, he dies. In the original, he died. But in this? They both live. They both survive. Some big ideas floating around before "The Final Problem" involved revenge. An eye for an eye, if you will. Judgement, and delivering it. But afterwards? It's atonement. It's forgiveness, and the lack of it. It's growth, and redemption. They're saved and taken to America to recover and start new lives. William Moriarty finds ways to atone for his actions without choosing death. Sherlock does too, for his own crimes. They decide, together, to begin anew, find new purposes.

and it's beautiful. When they return to England, three years after their disappearances, their growth is obvious and amazing to see; the other members of the Moriarty gang have also chosen their own paths of redemption, and seeing it all come together is something I'll always enjoy rereading over and over. And the redemption and reunion with England is just the end of part 1 of the story. There's more to be made with this series.

Reason #8: Made With Love

It's so, so obvious that Moriarty the Patriot was made with love for the original series. The way details of the original stories are kept and built off of to work flawlessly as it's own story is something I will be continously impressed by. There was so much thought, heart, and soul put into this adaptation, and you can tell it by reading and watching it. There are so, so much more I could go into—like the music in the anime, deeper dives into the arcs of the main cast, how well the relationships between characters are formed and established—but I think it'd be better for you to just find out all of these things by yourself.

So please, if you've gotten this far, give Moriarty the Patriot a try. Let it prove to you how good it is. Let it show you that it really is the best Sherlock Holmes adaptation out there.

#moriarty the patriot #yuumori #yuukoku no moriarty #sherlock #sherlock holmes

[afro-hispwriter]

It was real!?

Evan Peters x Black!reader(not really descriptive but I only write for POC)

Kai Anderson x Your Character

Summary- your sex scene in Ahs cult(the shower scene) was a little too real

Warnings- past smut descriptions, masturbation, exhibitionism, just the tip, kais breeding kink

A/n- set during the Conan interview where Evan talks about masturbating but not copied word for word.

Italics= the scene

-

Evan and you walked on the stage of the Conan show, with people cheering loudly. You greeted Andy and then Conan before taking a seat next to the desk, Evan sitting beside you.

"Y/n, Evan how are you guys?" Conan asks.

"Good." "Good."

"So season 7 of American Horror Story[people cheer] and the theme is Cult." 

"Yeah, this was a very interesting season to do." You look at Evan for his answer and he pursues his lips together and nods.

"Y-Yeah." The audience laughed and you chuckled at his awkwardness. 

"Evan you got to play basically 6 different leaders this season, how is that." 

"Y-Yeah I do, it was very interesting and exciting in a way but um it's mentally challenging doing it all but having Y/n on set, working beside me always helps a lot." He says and grabs your hand, you scrunch your nose at him and the audience awws'. 

"You guys sicken me," Conan says and the audience laughs, along with you. "You guys have equally done crazy stuff in the past seasons, how is this season different and I should say crazier?"

"Om my god." Evan starts. "The list is endless." 

"Yeah everything you do, that you think you've done it they just."

"Yeah, they just one up all the time." You say. "But I'm assuming you're talking about our scene." You point between you and Evan.

"Billy Eichner." Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Evan have his hand curled up near his crotch. Like when he holds his- "You didn't need to do that with your hand."

"Im sorry im sorry." 

You walked through the men's bathroom, the camera following you closely. You could hear Evans moaning from outside. He insisted on getting himself worked out, he wanted the camera to catch his real climax. 

You rounded the corner and were met with Evan or Kai really, hand clenched around his cock. He gasped and moaned loudly. His thrusting in his fist and face twisted in pleasure. 

You stopped where you needed to stop and froze there.

"K-Kai?" 

"You didn't have to, you got to," Conan says.

"Yeah, I got to. It was very pleasant to look my girlfriend in the face as I did it."

"I didn't mind, it was kind of hot." Conan laughed. "But he got to do it, so I did."

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah, our characters having sex in the shower was pretty real except there was no actual penetration involved really." 

Evan gasped and he shook and you looked down to see his cum splattering on the tiles. It made your thighs squeeze, and the camera caught that.

"Hey, hun." He says with a shuddering breath.

"Are you serious Kai Anderson? This is what I catch you doing IN PUBLIC! I and our children have not seen you in almost 2 days. How is it fair that you can track my every move but I can't-."

You squealed as Evan reached forward and grabbed your wrist and pulled you into the shower, soaking you. 

"That scene took a few tries to get because id either fall or there would be a wardrobe malfunction."

He twisted you around and flattened your face against the tiles. 

"Bend down." He says and you lean down, his bare cock pushing against your leggings. The camera panned to your face, which was smushed against cum/lotion(that they squeezed very quickly to make it more prominent) "Clean it you whore." 

You slowly stuck your tongue out and swiped it along the tile. There was no taste overall, but there was a familiar saltiness to it. 

"We did that scene so much that you- she actually." Evan shook his hands around, trying to come up with a word and your face burnt hot.

"I was worked up so by the last shot I... climaxed for real." The audience cheered and there were some very excited men and women in the crowd. 

The camera panned across your body to see Evans hands pulling down your leggings along with your panties. A harsh blow hit your ass and you gasped. 

"When he spanks me, he didn't actually want to."

"I didn't want to hurt her." Evan shrugs with a knowing smile on his face and you squeezed his hand tightly.

"Kai." You moaned out and reached behind you and pushed a hand on Evans stomach. He leaned forward and wrapped his hand around your neck and pushed your back flush against his chest.

"You liked seeing your divine ruler touch himself, Hmm?" You sucked in a breath.

"Not when others can see what is mine." 

The camera changed to Evan and he rolled his head around before cracking a smile. He then dipped down and bit your neck harshly before licking up it. 

"Yours huh? I'm nobody." He growled in your ear and your exposed cunt clenched together. 

Get a grip Y/n it's supposed to be acting, even if it is your boyfriend saying it.

"For that, I should fill you up, so you give me another messiah. Maybe you'll give me twins again." He let go of your neck and started ripping your thin soaked shirt off. Followed by him skillfully unclipping your bra. 

"I didn't mind my actual boobs being out, it's not the first time as a lot of us know." You laughed awkwardly and the people laughed. "So I just told Ryan, '[Beep] it, no fake boobs or going the extra length to cover them. And it worked out." 

He grabbed your neck again, smushing your left breast down. With his available hand, he reached down to grab his cock. 

"Ready?" But before anything could be said Evan pushed his hips against your ass as if he was pushing inside you.

"There was no actual penetration involved, we didn't go that far," Evan says just to clear things up. 

Skin slapping against skin and moaning(mostly fake on Evans) was picked up by the microphone. Evans cock was wedged between your thighs, and he'd angle his hips just enough for it to rub against your clit.

You wrapped an arm around his neck and pushed yourself up to kiss the outside of his mouth. He turned his head and captured your lips, followed by him pushing his tongue into your mouth. 

You ended up losing yourself in the pleasure that you didn't notice Billy had walked in. 

"We have an audience."  He whispered and your eyes widened and looked at Billy before screaming and trying to get away. "No, you're not leaving, and get your hands away from your tits, let's give my trainer a show." 

"No no Kai please." 

"If I want to have sex with you in front of someone I will." He bit your ear making you wince but nod. He looked directly into Billy's eyes and continues his “assault” that had you gasping. You started to lose balanced and your knees buckled but Evan wrapped an arm around your neck and held your hips tight to him. He flexed his arm as he gave slight pressure on your windpipe. He then moaned loudly in your ear and your eyes rolled into the back of your head.

“K-Kai gonna cum.” You say as you felt your stomach tighten and your hips started thrusting back and forth. 

“Cum for me my pretty whore.” You were shocked that the derogatory word made you cum, hard. Evan was always a tender and loving boyfriend. It made your body jerk and your thighs clench tightly right on his cock. 

“Shit.” His balls tightened and he came for the second time in the small time this scene was supposed to go. You fell slack in his arms, tiredness going through you and maybe some embarrassment. You did just have sex and cum in front of cameras as if you were doing a porno.

Evans hands circled around to rest on your belly and he kissed your shoulder.

“May my messiah grow strong in the fruitful womb of my most devoted member, my wife.” He whispers so that only the microphone picks it up. He grabbed your wet curls roughly and pulled you up. “Go ahead and clean up what my wife failed to clean, and any other mess we left.” He tells Billy or Harrison really before pulling you off, you covering your breasts while walking past him. The last shot of the scene was Billy looking back and smirking as he stared at Kai before Ryan called cut.

“Yeah, we talked about it when we found out about the scene.” You say.

“We decided to just think about it as if it was just us two in the room, and when Billy came in it was us plus Billy.” Laughter filled the room and you smack your hand down on Evans thigh.

“Conan I think today we’ve gotten pretty off track so next question.” You say, starting to feel slight regret and embarrassment for talking about the scene(and thinking about it as you talked about it)

You and Evan were instantly given towels, robes, and privacy. Once everyone was out you released a breath and leaned against the wall. 

“You okay, didn’t go too hard did I?” Evan says, already having dropped the Kai mindset. 

“No babe you didn’t its just.” You start before laughing. “Im never doing that again, with anybody.”  You grab his face with both hands and pecked his lips. 

“Aww.” He says and placed his hands on your hips. “I liked feeling you practically throb-.” You shushed him. 

“Like you don’t feel it all the time. Next time let's just shoot a porno and post it on pornhub, see how many views we get.” You say sarcastically but there was a glint and a smirk of mischievous adorned on Evans face.

“Next time?” 

He got the biggest ‘Are you serious?’ face. 

-

A/n- I don't know if I like this

#evan peters x reader #evan peters #kai anderson #kai anderson x reader #evan peters x black!reader #kai anderson x black!reader

[genderflu1dwh0r]

Are you stupid?

You can be racist and have POC friends, Jason is way worse than Billy any day. Jason isn't the one being abused by his father everyday, he isn't poor, he didn't get taken from his home and live with a step sibling that he didn't know that well.

Jason is a horrible person and got his friend to tackle Erica, then he held a gun at Lucas. You can't tell me that that isn't racist, you can't tell me that's worse than what Billy ever did. Jason said "I thought you were one of the good ones". That. Is. Racist.

Billy got his bad traits from his father. Billy got beat by his father. Billy was crying into the phone for his mom to come home. Billy had no support system. Steve was the only person that Billy bullied and tormented, and in my opinion, Steve is a worse character than Billy.

Steve threw slurs, while Billy got slurs thrown at him by his own father. Just because you don't care about abuse victims, doesn't mean you have to spread your hate.

I think that Billy just wanted Lucas to stop hanging around because if Neil found out, Billy would be the one getting beat. Neil would probably hurt Lucas way more than Billy could have ever done. Billy was protecting Max and himself, he was scared that Neil would find out. He did care and love Max, he just showed it in some confusing ways.

Also, the Duffer brothers are racist, they wanted Dacre to say the N word. Dacre protested and it ended up not happening. Billy saying the N word isn't canon, cause it didn't happen in the show. Stop always going to that excuse for him being a bad person. He never said any slur.

People say "if the actor wasn't hot, then people wouldn't have liked him" and I disagree. His character is very interesting. He has a backstory, he has trauma, he has an actual interesting plot unlike any other character. Dacre is also a very amazing actor, he was able to make Billy even more interesting.

Dacre has said that his art imitates his life. He put his own life into the character, he didn't have a great relationship with his dad, he has said this.

Max is a horrible person too, she drugged Billy with something that she didn't know was in, almost hit him with Steve's bat, screamed at him before leaving and stealing his car. Billy could have died on the floor, he was drugged and had no car. Tell me that that isn't abuse. Just because Billy grabbed her wrist ONE time, doesn't mean it's abuse.

Siblings fight all the time, it's just what happens. Especially how their family dynamics was. I and many others have fights with our siblings. You get over it in like a day. That doesn't make Billy a bad person. He did some really shitty things, yes. But that doesn't excuse all the hate he gets. He's a complex character, no other character is like him.

That's why he's my baby boy. I relate to him, I'm an abuse victim, I love knowing that I have a character to relate to. Stop blaming abuse victims on how they grew up, they can change. He could have changed if he didn't die. He could have, but nobody let him.

Nobody tried to help him. He didn't have a support system. The people who compare Jonathan to Billy are wild, cause Jonathan did have a support system, his mother did so much. Billy had nobody. His father beat him, hi stepmother did NOTHING to stop Neil, she just watched. She was clearly abused too, but she's the adult, she has to be there for Billy. She has to get Max away from all of this, which in season 4, she did. But she turned into an even worse mom.

Right here. He was trying to get help, he was trying to get the MF to get out. He wanted someone to help him. He kept fighting, and that's how he saved everyone on the day he died. He knew he was going to die, he was sobbing.

Try to think before talking bad against Billy.

Why do people say Vecna/Henry/Jason/Troy/James/Angela are better than Billy?

Vecna/Henry literally tried to kill children and the whole world. Billy wanted to have some fun and games, he would never go to prison for killing a child. He was never going to hit Mike, Lucas, Dustin, or Will.

Troy/James made Mike jump off of a fucking cliff while wanting to take Dustins teeth out. Tell me that isn't fucked. MIKE WOULD HAVE DIED IF EL WASN'T THERE!!

Jason held a fucking gun to Lucas's head and got Erica hurt. He sent a witch-hunt over Eddie and that ended up killing that poor boy. Literally, he was poor and Jason is a rich christian white boy. Tell me that isn't classist. Jason also did this to get information out of a kid.

Angela deserved the roller skate to the face for what she did to El. I would have done the same thing, El never deserved any of what she went through there.

Anyone going to object? Cause you can't, my points are spot on. Why aren't we gonna get mad at Jamie Campbell Bower over saying he relates to Vecna/Henry? If Dacre is bad for doing so, why can't we shame Jamie for the same thing?

I would count the MF taking over Billy like that as a reference of sexual assault. His body gets taken away from him, he is crying for help, he is scared and tried to tell someone. I've talked to SA survivors and they agree.

Anyway, I am pissed at Billy antis and I am just so done with them.

#stranger things #billy hargrove #st billy #stranger things billy #dacre montgomery #neil hargrove #max mayfield #steve harrington #jason carver

[sokkastyles]

I've heard that Azula was meant to be male originally. I wonder how different the writing would be for the character and how different the fans would react to it. I am glad that they made Azula female tho.

I remember hearing that male Azula was also supposed to be the older sibling, which does change the story quite a bit. It makes Ozai's favoritism into a simple issue of succession. Male!Azula would be naturally favored because he would be the crown prince. Zuko would be raised to be subservient to his younger brother and that would be considered normal. Even Zuko being sent on a quest to find the Avatar becomes much more reasonable from that perspective as a practicality. Historically, second sons often went on those kinds of quests because it gave them something to do that wasn't "usurp my older brother for the throne."

Ozai would be even more aware that this was a issue, since he himself usurped his older brother. Actually, now that I think of it, it's really rather odd that Iroh, as crown prince, was the one out campaigning while Ozai stayed home, and that gave him an opportunity to stage a coup against his brother. A politically savvy Azulon would have sent Ozai out to man the siege of Ba Sing Se while Iroh was at home preparing to inherit the throne.

As for how fans would receive Zuko's older brother? I know a lot of people might argue that male characters are more easily forgiven than their female counterparts, and I have no doubt that a male version of Azula would have people ready to excuse his every move (see the inexplicable fandom that has sprung up around the likes of Billy Hargrove), but I also think the ways in which he would be excused would be vastly different.

Because with Azula there's a lot of "oh, she didn't really mean it," especially when it comes to the way she treats her brother. This idea that she actually really loves him, she just doesn't know how to show it, or twisting the things she does and says to him in canon so that they're actually proof of her love. I've been thinking about this a lot in terms of people saying they want to see Azula be "humanized," and what they usually mean is that they want to see her given redeeming qualities. Which to me reeks of a misogynistic double standard because most male characters aren't required to show kindness or be really loving deep down to be recognized as human. Being cruel and arrogant and sadistic are also human traits, and women are just as capable of these things as men.

I also think that because Azula is female and Zuko is male, there's a certain perception that she can't hurt him that much, either physically or emotionally. And the first one can be dismissed because the show takes place in a world where bending eliminates most differences related to physical strength. The second one is just wrong and relies on misogynistic beliefs about boys being less emotionally vulnerable than girls.

I do think that the Ursa blame would still be present if Azula were male, and possibly worse, because there would be that Freudian current about how Ursa damaged her son by not being the perfect madonna figure.

If Male!Azula were still the younger sibling, I think it would flatten the character in a way because it makes his cruelty and resentment of Zuko about envy for the throne. One of the most interesting things about Azula is that the fact that she is younger and girl makes her cruelty towards her older brother less expected, and more personal. And it takes something away from the character to try and excuse it away or soften it.

#azula #zuko #iroh #azulon #ursa