#I'm pretty sure that guy can't make a story with a straight character :

[sugar-konpeito]

The entire Sailor Moon fandom has an annoying obsession with interpreting Mamoru as “the straight friend” or “the boring straight man”, and it feels like they ignore his actual character to do so. It’s like they just go I don’t like him, he’s boring, and boring = straight. It’s so annoying because he’s queer-coded in the anime, and in the manga his sexuality is never commented on. Assuming that a character who has no confirmed sexuality is instantly straight is pretty queerphobic honestly. Straight is the default, I guess. :/ /s

He honestly seems asexual, demisexual, aromantic, and/or nonbinary to me (going off of his lack of interest in relationships and his rather androgynous speech patterns in Japanese Sailor Moon media), but any male character who isn’t stereotypically gay can’t be queer apparently. Which like, he’s pretty effeminate anyways?? So he could be interpreted that way, most people just don’t for some reason.

His mannerisms in pretty much all Sailor Moon media are very delicate and feminine. He expresses his feelings through poetry that he dramatically performs OUT LOUD. He has a flower motif and a knowledge of flower language. He seems to enjoy theatre and loves to put on a show. He kinda like,,, had a deep, special connection with a man?? One that’s heavily implied to be of a queer nature, if not a romantic one. I’m not sure how any of this screams “straight man” to you guys. TT0TT

He’s also in a friend group with a bunch of queer girls. What straight boy just befriends a bunch of queer girls?? It’s not exactly typical. You know who does, though? Queer boys! My friend group when I was a teenager was a group of girls and one boy. What did we have in common? We were all queer! Queer people are gravitated to each other.

I don’t even wanna unpack the fact that he’s based off of Otokoyaku, and is usually played women nowadays! (Because I don’t know a ton about Takarazuka, and there’s just too much going on there.) People say he’s “too beautiful” to be played by a man. That doesn’t sound like it contains any implications of gender experimentation or queerness. No way...😳 /s Anyways, look at the resemblance (He has the same style of suit and over-the-top, dramatic presentation)! (Forgive my photo editing.)

Here’s a passage from an article about Takarazuka that I think describes Mamoru to a T. “They go on to say that the magic of Takarazuka is that it makes them believe in fairy tales, and male actors would be too coarse in the roles displayed in the musicals. Other fans echoed this, adding that women can truly display what an ideal man is, one that is sweet, romantic, sensitive and caring — without all the bad parts of men.” (Link: https://studybreaks.com/thoughts/takarazuka/)

This is Mamoru! He was designed to be an ideal man who is sweet, romantic, sensitive, caring, and *delicate*. He’s called delicate by official materials all the time. This reeeeeeally doesn’t sound like your typical “boring straight man”. His very essence as a character is gender non-conforming! He’s supposed to be a person who has the good parts of men and women. He was purposefully made this way, and it’s not just my interpretation! Takeuchi Naoko has said she was very inspired by Takarazuka, and you can really see it in her work.

In conclusion, it doesn’t make sense that people always interpret him as a “boring straight dude”! There’s literally so much queer stuff going on with him. This is only scratching the surface.

#sailor moon #tuxedo mask #mamoru chiba #rambling #bad writing #i wrote this fast ok!! #im frustrated #rant #i feel like people close their eyes and go LALALA to make this character straight #when he's very... not straight honestly #Ikuhara Kunihiko also directed three seasons of the anime and the R movie #I'm pretty sure that guy can't make a story with a straight character :/ #lol #my headcanons #headcanon

[asmolfolk]

Hi! Sooo, theres a tiktok video that is "Ivan, how did you bag that baddie?" and this come to my mind: Tesla, Buddha, Sasaki, Jack and Ares (separate) hcs with a s/o like that? They're like: Idk how, but she picks me up like I'm nothing. Let's just say I can imagine it, lol - Sorry for my English and kisses from Brazil <3

Oh my! A fellow brazilian! I'm also brazilian, so, kisses from the southeast part of Brazil &lt;3 Hope you liked this one, I really loved to make this one, it was very fun!

🥀♥︎.•° Fandom: Shuumatsu no Valkyrie. Characters: Nikola Tesla, Sasaki Kojiro, Jack the Ripper, Buddha and Ares (Separate) Ask: Inspired by the video 'Ivan, how did you bag that baddie?' 🦋♥︎.•°

Nikola Tesla

"Tesla, how did you bag that baddie?" The one who asked him was his friend, Robert... And that got him... Thoughtful. Tesla looked to the side, looking directly at your direction...

He was thinking about the differences between the two of you... And the similarities too. How you react to things, how you smile, how you show affection or interess in something... He is thinking all of those things at the same time. It would be a reason to "Why he stayed", after all, he never showed any interest in love or relationships that were romantical... But seeing that you were just like a Math question... [A lot of outcomes - Needs hard work and understanding to seek the problem...] That was enough to make his mind so... Full of love and interest. Of course, he couldn't not remember how did 'he bag this baddie'... Spoiler, he didn't. He still remember the day you just looked at him and straight up said "Oh, I don't have this color yet" and just picked him up like a cat and walked with him in your arms. He would tell anyone who saw that the exact thing "I accept it for cience!" But the truth was that he just didn't care to be holded... He liked that and the fact that he could still write his notes was a plus one. Since that, both of you started to talk and later on, date... It is still a surprise to most of Tesla's friends... He can still remember the first dates... And now, you are his... Girlfriend, aren't?... He can't be happier. You respect his space and actually, you were the one to start a lot of intimacy stuff with him... You seemed to always knew when he wanted something or when he acknowledges that you want something from him, but was too tired or busy and didn't want to leave you feeling unwanted by his lack of effort... So you - seeming to read his mind - do exactly what he wanted and started to give him some words of affirmation and to be sure that he knows that it's okay to not fit into some category... Or to not want to do something like sex, PDA or others.

It seemed like a he was off for some seconds IRL while in his mind, he just saw yours love story together... When he noticed that, he knew... He knew his answer. He looked to Robert and started his monologue. "Oh, you are surely mistaken, my dear friend. I'm aware of what could give the impression for you to think like that... But!" He stands there, smilling as if he is explaining math to someone "She, indeed, picked me up and straightly putted me into a consensual relationship that I do really, extremely, like." He puts a hand over his heart, as to give emphasys to his next words "This woman has a exceptional mind and strenght... Aren't I a lucky guy? Her mind is as brilliant as mine... Of course, in Differents/Same matters... Do you understand, Robert?" Robert is lost in words, he doesn't know what to say or what to do... After all, he just saw all of his - 'Don't want to date' - friend being so deeply in love with someone... He could only chuckle as his wife carries a surprise and shocked expression. "Oh my! I'm so happy that you found someone that matches you perfectly, Tesla! And her body is so pretty too... She would look awesome in a wedding dress, don't you think so?" "Hm... Wedding? I think it's a strange concept... But if she wants one..." Tesla, even having his disagreements over weddings... He couldn't say no to you. After all... You are his everything.

Sasaki

"Kojiro Sasaki, how did a loser like you bag that baddie over there?" It was the question of his opponent... He was looking directly at your face, seeing how it changed... After all, you were in fiery! How dare them say call Sasaki a loser... And before you could start approaching to 'ora ora' this person face, Sasaki holded your hand to stop you and smiled brightly. "Well... I may be a loser in battle... But she picked me from the ground and made me her boyfriend, resuming the whole story" He told his opponent as he chuckles as he feels you pinching his cheecks a bit "Ow-Ow! Sorry, sweetheart..." He laughing a bit. "It was nothing like that. I saw him on the ground and thought he was deeply hurt, so I carry him home so I could take care of him." You said, explaining it better than Sasaki resume... Or trying to. "...Okay...? Look, I don't really care..." Sasaki's opponent tried to say that but he wasn't heard, now, Sasaki and you were discussing about this first meeting and he seemed overly in joy after hearing your version of the facts. "So... How were you capeable to hold me?" He finally asked "I mean, I'm pretty heavy-" "I carry boxes that weight more than you, Sasaki."

Jack the Ripper

"How a serial killer like you got to bag that baddie?!" That was the question of Hlökk, who was actually curious to know more about this whole relationship between the two of you... After all, nobody seemed to know about Jack's partner. "Oh my... Well, it's interesting that you asked me this... Well, may I just tell you..." He said with his british accent and sweet tone appearing, he was at your side, holding your hand while looking directly at Hlökk. "She was the one and only who got me, who actually had me on her arms... When she was carrying me around." As he said it, his other hand started patting your head "Isn't it the most romantical and sweet thing someone could ever do to their partner? Carrying them around like they weight nothing" His explanation was not meant to make you feel that proud of yourself... Or to blush like you did. But in a way or other, you could only feel how much you matter and is loved by him... He is trully a gentleman. "EWWW, YOU CLINGY OLD MAN!" Hlokk seemed to think in a different way.

Buddha

"Buddha, my deaaaar friend. How did you manage to bag this baddie?!" Said Zeus... The sluttiest god "Oh my me! You should help me get a baddie like her, I swear to you... I give you candies... Hehe" Zeus - again - couldn't hide his horny. "No." A short and straight answer coming from Buddha, who looked unimpressed by Zeus atticts "I'm not helping you cheat on your wife." as he explained that, Zeus only rolled his eyes - remembering that he is married. "Aw,come on, Buddha, my great friend... It's not like I would steal your... Partner~ I just want to know what did you do...!" "...You have some serious problems, Zeus." With that said, Buddha just moved along his way... But Zeus question was enough to make him think about... That. How did this all happened?

You just looked straight at him and picked him up, saying "This is mine." and just straight up runned away from the gods. That was enough to make him be not only proud but happy - that reunion was a really shitty one.

"Hah... It seems like the puberty made her really strong." Remembering that day, Buddha couldn't hide his smile as he made his way towards you... He WILL use you as his pillow, after all, you can pick him up.

Ares

"Not that I don't respect you, Ares... But how did you... And her got together?" Asked Aphrodite with a rather... Amused expression, she seemed to be making fun of him. "How did you just do that? How did you manage that...? Did you finally follow your daddy ways?~ Because I don't see how you couldn't do that properly... You get no bitches at all~" "She isn't a bitch or anything like what dad do with Hera! She is different, I love her... I want her, she is the only one I truly love." He said, with a confused expression. "Oh love? Now you feel that... How patheti-" She is interrupted when you just walked straight to her, looking to her eyes with a hateful rage. "What did you just say to MY partner? Do you have a fucking problem with him?" As you started to swear at Aphrodite... Ares looked at you with a little smile on the face... Finally... He finally has someone who sides with him and stands up for him...

#female reader #ror x reader #shuumatsu no valkyrie #shuumatsu no valkyrie x reader #snv x reader #x reader #shuumatsu no walkure #buddha shuumatsu no valkyrie #ares x reader #snv ares #ror ares #snv jack the ripper #ror jack the ripper #jack the ripper #record of ragnarok headcanons #record of ragnarok x reader #jack the ripper x reader #jack x reader #Sasaki x reader #Kojiro sasaki #Kojiro Sasaki x reader #snv buddha #buddha x reader #buddha x y/n #ror kojiro sasaki #nikola tesla #nikola tesla x reader #shuumatsu no valkyrie buddha #I feel in love with this request #Nikolas Tesla was the longest - it wasn't favoritism... I swear

[thattimdrakeguy]

I HAVE BEEN READING ZDARSKY BATMAN, AND I HAVE DECLARED: I FREAKING LOVE IT!!

I'm reading the Batman Zdarsky run in reverse. That way if I see any bull I can back out at anytime: and to be honest--besides a few things. I really enjoy it

LIKE YO, THAT IS JUST STRAIGHT UP TIM DRAKE RIGHT THERE. It knows who he is as a character. his motives, it's great.

Screw the people complaining "oh why is tim still robin :((", THIS IS WHY HE IS STILL ROBIN. Because this is when he's at his BEST. When he gets to hit his character purpose, WHEN HE GETS TO BE HIM AT HIS MOST HIM. It's FANTASTIC.

Reading in reverse because I know I hated the first story, it was so contrived and ridiculous.

But this--this is some good shit.

Tim being an underdog fighter, having to use his wits to win the fight? MY DAWG, MY DUDE, MY GUYS, MY GALS, MY THEMS, MY THEYS, THIS IS SO TIMMY DRAKE. This is so damn Tim Drake, guys. Oh, my gosh, I am loving this so far.

Dick has his temper back? And trust me, he isn't normally like this. But he's hitting a limit AND IT'S SOMETHING NEW, NOT JUST A REFERENCE. HE'S ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING HE'D DO, 'CAUSE HE'S AT HIS LIMIT. That's wonderful, man. That is so wonderful.

Plus Tim is the heart of the Bat-Family again? This feels like someone actually went back to read these characters before writing it. I'm not saying everything is perfect of course, but these high marks are exceeding all my expectations. And I STOPPED reading comics because of how the beginning of this run destroyed any hope I had.

You guys have no idea how much I'm enjoying the few issues I've read. Besides the cussing (I remember after a bit they decided Tim was someone who used funny words instead of proper cusses), this feels like the Tim I know and love during the era I especially loved him.

Tim comparing himself to his predecessors? Tim not being a natural? A WRITER REMEMBERING THAT?? It's been so long since I've seen that! Most writers treat him like he was another prodigy when he wasn't. AND THIS GUY REMEMBERED THAT!

I shouldn't be so happy at just seeing Tim do Tim things, and serving his character purpose. BUT YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE A WRITER KNEW WHAT TIM WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE.

Only complaints I have is that Jason feels like a typical Bat-Family member, and not the sketchy outsider that he is. Making him so close makes his character more bland in my opinion. And Steph is--also generic af unless she's wacky quirky...which is a characterization I hate for her, because she started off so damn interesting, but they made her a freaking trope instead, which is such a disservice to her, but she barely does anything so far, so whatever I guess. Doesn't mean much.

--

This is the first honest thing I've seen that I hated.

No

Not this

This isn't the Bat-Family

This is a sitcom world the fandom wants to be the Bat-Family and some comply with

They're not a sitcom. The conflicts, and uniqueness of the characters is what makes things feel alive and well.

This stuff is cheap fanservice for the fanon demographic that doesn't buy comics to begin with.

Fanon doesn't belong in canon.

--

I mean sure Tim could be drawn smaller, the gag of him looking 12 when he's nearly 18 doesn't work when he's bigger than Damian who is 15 (and contrary to some bullshit comics isn't meant to be small. that was a random thing added for writers who aren't clever to write better humor. it actually contradicts things that were already established).

Don't see the big deal though for most of this.

Can't wait to find it, though. Oh boy.

This whole obsession with Zur Batman, is way over done though. So--I wouldn't be shocked if that was the problem, because my golly does that plot point not seem to be stopping--and it was there from the start and part of the reason why I didn't read it 'til now.

Good Tim tho, at least. So heehee, yey for that--I think--I guess.

Oh, well.

It let me peak at a pseudo-version of an AU I made up years ago. So that's pretty freaking cool.

Always a plus.

And redoing Red Robin story beats but better? Normally I'd hate references to Red Robin, 'cause that changed the perception of so many characters for the worst, but ayy, a bit of redemption isn't bad.

Man, just seeing simple stuff like Tim and Bruce being good ol' classic Batman and Robin warms my heart. It's been so long since Batman and Robin has acted like a proper classic Batman and Robin. It's dynamic that's been sorely missed by many.

OH, MY GOSH, WHY DID THE FIRST STORY HAVE TO STINK SO BAD. THIS STUFF IS GREAT.

Like, DUDE, this is such a Tim thing for him to do!!

And he's showing emotion?? He's crying like how he does?? Because he's not a typical Bat-Family member who just angsts his way through?? THEY'RE MAKING HIM STAND-OUT AGAIN BY MAKING HIM, HIM??

WHY DID THE FIRST STORY HAVE TO SUCK SO BAD?? THIS IS GOOD SHIT.

Like this part is why I originally stopped reading, not because Bruce should think Tim is his soldier, and not his son, THE FREAKING OPPOSITE.

But because the original story has Bruce acting weird when unneeded, just to say this was so unneeded, and adding in all these stupid corny Bat-Family moments was so groan worthy.

This run started off with a story that was a total turn off for me.

To end up being a run that could've kept me enjoying DC, rather than running away from it from as far as I have.

Chip Zdarsky started off awful, but really, he ended up great.

And I've seen people complain about his run, and TRUST ME, there's stuff to complain about. But I have only ever seen the stuff worth complaining about, or stuff I WOULD complain about.

WHEN MOST OF THE RUN IS GOOD

At least when Tim is around.

Go figure.

Maybe I should've paid sole attention to how he wrote Tim and nothing else at the very least for that first story.

'Cause even in the first story, Tim was well-written--it's how cheap the rest of the story telling was in that first story that turned me off--and the weird knew about the movie plans that I am still fully judging harshly. (Love the new Superman film suit, though)

#Tim Drake #Robin #Bruce Wayne #Batman #Dick Grayson #Nightwing #Chip Zdarsky

[zmediaoutlet]

Survey results time.

At time of downloading the data we got just over 300 responses, which is not bad for a survey that was long and complicated to take! I'm sure my shamelessness helped. Being a survey for a specific crowd, we also didn't get anyone (as far as I could tell) taking the survey in bad faith, which is a legit surprise. Special shout-out to the several people who, when asked to write literally anything to say they understood what was going on, wrote "literally anything"; additional shout-out to the person who wrote "penus and hole" (sic). You get it, anonymous person.

I'm going to share the top results for the questions here, but I'll also include the raw data as a sheet at the end in case anyone wants to actually go through it with a fine-tooth comb. This is not a survey where cute pie charts or graphs would be useful or readable, so get ready for some sweet-ass numbers:

Story Genre

Unsurprisingly, our leaderboard for most favorite story genre in the 'Anytime!' category is as follows:

Hurt/comfort (153 votes)

Angst (142 votes)

PWP (139 votes)

We just like the guys to get the shit beaten out of them, angstily, and then they can feel better by jerking off about it. The ideal evening.

The big loser in genre, with 34 buds flat out saying "not for me", was Dark!fic. That said, Dark!fic also got 112 votes (third highest) for "has to be JUST right," so we can probably take from there that while as a group we don't hate dark content, we have pretty strict definitions for a) what counts as dark, and b) what kind of dark we're willing to take.

Gencest/gen was arguably the most 'eh, idk?' of the genres, with respectable showings in every category from Anytime to No; most people don't hate it, but people aren't really seeking it out either. It's definitely There.

Story Setting

The winner of most 'Anytime!' votes for story setting is close to my heart; the podium is:

Bunker era (142 votes)

Canon-close, codas, etc (129 votes)

Pre-series/weechesters (126 votes)

It feels good to know that canon is on our side. This may help explain why various alternate universe settings didn't do so hot with the respondents -- the least fave according to this survey is an age!swap AU, followed by a raised apart!AU. Writers who are making Sam the big brother who lives in Cleveland while baby Dean lives in Seattle, you keep living your truth, but readers are rearing back.

That being said, while Canon Divergence isn't an overall winner, it has a full 149 votes in the 'Dig it' category; so, while we may generally prefer canon, we're willing to be led on a garden path away from it. We just want canon to be within shouting distance, at least.

Canonical Character Variants

Here's where the survey gets more complex. I've always been interested in how and why people are fandoming about things, and simple 'yes/no' surveys rarely dig into that meat. The point of the superego/ego/id separation is to really interrogate -- hey, do you like to read about (for example) soulless!Sam because you find it interesting on a high-minded level, or because your heart-strings are getting tugged even if you think it's kinda dumb, or just because it makes you so hornt-up you can't think straight? All are valid, and all are possible simultaneously, but it's interesting to prod at to see how the interest is working. You might also just be like, eh, it's fine, or GOD, STOP, and that's fine too. So, with all that said:

Superego winners:

demon powers!Sam (202 votes)

soulless!Sam (177 votes)

blood addict!Sam (160 votes)

Y'all like to really brain about how Sam is fucked up. I get it.

Ego winners:

Trials of Hell!Sam (186 votes)

blood addict!Sam (180 votes)

demon powers!Sam (161 votes)

Still all Sam, and no surprise that his saintly pale sleeplessness is winning the heartstrings battle.

Id winners:

demon!Dean (205 votes)

demon powers!Sam (175 votes)

blood addict!Sam (165 votes)

Again, no surprise: fandom girlies (gn) love their bad boys, lol. Soulless snuck in at #4 here with 163, presumably because working out still wearing a belt was juuuust dorky enough to kick him off the podium; #5 was Smith & Wesson at 162, probably because if they'd been left in that AU for ten more minutes they would have been fucking over the top of Dean Smith's desk. Glad we're all on the same page, there.

The nopes here were an interesting mix. In the full-on No Thank You category we had Michael!Dean and Gadreel!Sam (with 52 and 53 votes respectively) -- it would be interesting to know if that was due to dread of the storyline specifically, or just how No Bad Wrong it felt to have it happening. These two also led the 'meh' category, although they were joined on the podium of bad by Endverse!Dean (128 Meh votes), which frankly shocked me. Y'all aren't into his thigh holster? C'mon now. Sure, he murders his friends without compunction, but -- thigh holster!

Story Tropes

These ones were fascinatingly all over the place, which is exactly why I wanted to do this. Going to just run down the S/E/I podiums real quick, then 'Hard sell', then No --

Superego winners:

Outsider!POV (211)

Someone Finds Out (191)

Mental health issues (190)

Ego winners:

Mutual pining (252)

First time (242) AND Sick/injured (242)

First time in a long time (235)

Id winners:

Jealousy/possessiveness (224)

First time (218)

First time in a long time (180)

Now, part of what's interesting about these is how they fall off in other categories. Outsider POV wins handily at Superego with 211, but then drops all the way down to 92 votes at Id -- which isn't nothing, but clearly it's preferred to have a heckin' think about how other people view the incest relationship, rather than thinking it's just So Hot that people might. Similarly, while people do think it's so so hot for one brother or the other (or both!) to be possessive at 224 votes, when it comes to the superego that drops right down to 134 votes, presumably as the brain wakes up and goes RED FLAG!

Entering the land of no thank you, we shall have two anti-podiums:

Real hard sell:

Infidelity (127)

magic/powers!Dean (125)

Unrequited/no relationship upgrade (110) AND "Carver Edlund" fandom

This is a much more mixed bag. Infidelity and Unrequited are no surprise here, because it Feels Bad, Man; magic!Dean also not really a surprise, given that most of our respondents prefer being closer to canon, and Dean is very much our mundane buddy in the show as presented. (A delightful buddy, but a distinctly nonmagical one.) Carver Edlund fandom makes me laugh mostly because it's such a bananas thing to exist in the show. Sam and Dean reading big bang fics about each other? Collectively we just... don't know what to do with that. Weird.

Squick/No/Maybe one exception:

Permanent character death (140)

Infidelity (108)

Eating disorders (102)

Again, no surprise in the anti-winners of 1 or 2 here, but number 3 surprised me, personally. ED fic used to be a pretty big wedge of common tropes that people would seek out. Perhaps it's gotten less popular over the years? Or perhaps just that the people who like it REALLY like it and so chat about it out loud, while those who don't quietly bury it in sand, lo as a cat does with their leavings.

Most extreme delta in 'general interest' (whether that be S,E, or I) to 'ehh' (whether that be Hard Sell or Squick) is first time. Y'all loooove your first time.

Sexy Tropes, Vol. 1

This is where I really wanted to know if people could pull apart their interests between brain and heart and guts. Hopefully people were honest, as requested. Some of them we know are slight liar answers, because the hits on AO3 tell a story that can't be refuted -- nevertheless, here's what people were willing to admit to.

Bulletproof kink/will read any version:

Bedsharing (158)

Incest kink (139)

Size kink (133)

your friendly neighborhood survey creator is jumping up and down going 'wooo' that size kink made the podium. also I hope everyone understood that incest kink meant, like, indulging in the incest of it all via 'oh you're so totes my brother and i want to suck your dingle for that reason specifically', but I realize that could've been clearer.

Easy sell/you don't have to work hard for me to enjoy:

shameless bottom!Dean stuff (151)

switching (147)

voyeurism (138)

the first one here genuinely surprises me considering what I see getting written most often; is this a case of just not being in the right venn diagrams, or the 'easy sell' just not matching up with what people are being sold? Curiouser and curiouser.

Medium sell/not my fave, but I can see how it appeals:

bad/awkward sex (120)

phone sex (114)

in [drug/alcohol] veritas (110)

edging into awkward town in a few ways here: we don't love these, but we can see how it'd be fun. or not fun, in the case of bad sex.

Hard sell/this is unbelievable or uninteresting so you have to work hard to get me to enjoy it:

always-another-gender!AU (84)

multiple Sams or Deans (73)

genderswap (magic) (72)

so, in general, we prefer to keep the penises around and intact, but just one Sam penis and one Dean penis, please. Here, I'm interested that the volume is much lower than in the top category: maxing out at 84 hard sells compared to 158 bulletproof options means that we're willing to give more of these tropes a chance, even if they're not our faves. How accepting we are!

Squick/no/maybe one exception:

always-another-gender!AU (83)

A/B/O elements (65)

multiple Sams or Deans (51)

strong overlap with the hard sell; and, keeping in mind that people were able to choose multiple options, it's possible that some of those were identical votes. Again, please keep the penises straightforward and only two at a time. A/B/O is interesting here, especially given what we know of how well it does on AO3; while it's a big squick for a lot of people, it also has decently high votes in bulletproof/easy, averaging 82 votes. Mixed bag!

Sexy Tropes Vol. 2, Electric Boogaloo

Bulletproof kink/will read any version:

Possessive/claiming sex (129)

Marking (hickeys/bruising) (116)

Hair pulling (103)

Let's glance back up at the Id winners in the story tropes above, hmm quietly to ourselves, and move on.

Easy sell/you don't have to work hard for me to enjoy:

Marking (hickeys/bruising) (135)

Hair pulling (130)

Possessive/claiming sex (121)

Well, that's boring. So let's expand so as not to be repetitive:

4. Dub-con (116) 5. Dom/sub (113) AND Underage (113) 6. Knifeplay (107)

There we go. Pretty easy to put all of those into one fic, too.

Medium sell/not my fave, but I can see how it appeals:

Blindfolds (128)

Painplay (116)

Shibari/rope play (112)

We're starting to lose interest as accessories come into play. Interesting to compare D/s and its relative success against painplay -- so, tell him what to do, but don't hit him while you're doing it. Fair enough.

Hard sell/this is unbelievable or uninteresting so you have to work hard to get me to enjoy it:

Fucking machines (94)

Vore (80)

Mommy!kink (77)

Entertaining mix here, haha. General feasibility may be rearing its head here. (Also, for my own entertainment: daddy!kink got 67 Hard Sell votes. People generally prefer to keep it as horizontal incest, not vertical incest.)

Squick/no/maybe one exception:

Feederism (164)

Vore (161)

Extreme underage (157)

No surprises here, although some fans of the nibbly variety of wincest may be disappointed by vore's poor placement. Note also that 'extreme' is in the eye of the beholder; we'll leave aside value judgments, as we have for the whole survey, and note that people are not indulging in a version of underage they find to be personally past the line, or at least are not admitting to that.

At a glance, the closest matchup between bulletproof for some and a squick to others is bloodplay, with just 1 vote separating the two categories: 44 bulletproof, 43 squick. Next time someone tries to tell you that 'everyone' likes or doesn't like something, please take it with an entire shaker full of salt.

Dynamic & Position Preferences

I tried to encourage people not to think too hard about this one and just answer on instinct. Who knows if that worked. But here are some overview takes:

Toppy/dominant: Sam takes the lead here, with 69% of respondents being in the 'Love it!' category. Nice. (217 votes)

Dom Dean earned a respectable 52% of 'Love it!' votes (163).

However, I was also interested to check out the inverse --

subby!Sam: 44 'Very no thank' votes (13%) subby!Dean: 27 'Very no thank' votes (8%)

It's interesting to leap way back up and compare that against 'shameless bottom!Dean stuff' doing so well in the rated E categories. Makes you ponder.

Actual sex position: Frequently switching takes the win here, with 61% of the vote (194 votes). Sam always topping edges out if people must choose, with 144 votes; Dean always topping is our lowest choice, with 112.

Service!topping: this is a fairly niche fic type, but it does still exist -- I guess in a world of bottoms someone's got to actually get up and do something, and it is hilariously an almost perfectly even split:

service!top Sam: 50.17% (151 votes) service!top Dean: 51.50% (155 votes)

A healthy percentage of people said they didn't care about these questions either way, and more power to them. However, they were wildly outvoted by those who did.

Multishipping Time

Our final categories are when other people get their grubby hands on Sam or Dean, either canonically(ish) or in our fandom activities.

Canonical relationships for Sam

Jess wins, quelle surprise. :) 161 people Dug It and who can blame them.

Amelia LOSES, shocking no one: 112 people said Fuck That.

Eileen was definitely a mixed bag; her results, in order, were: Meh: 92; Fuck that: 76; Worse than meh: 66; Dug it: 44.

Canonical(ish) relationships for Dean

Note here: it was too unbalanced if we only went with people Dean officially dated. However, the show leaned hard into a few unrequited male relationships for him, which we included here, and no one sent me hate about it so I guess that was fine.

Benny wins the Love It! category with 129 votes, barely edging out Cassie at 122. Benny is best boy, so that fits.

Cas loses with a full 99 Fuck That votes, which is probably what we'd expect from a wincest survey. That said, he also got 93 Dug It votes, so it's a pretty balanced showing.

Poor Lisa sits firmly at Meh with 148 votes. It's not that we hate you, Lisa; we just don't really know what to do with you. Which is pretty much how the relationship went in the show.

Shipping Sam like FedEx

We returned to the S/E/I model for shipping as we did for tropes, because it means something very different to go 'oh sure, I can see how that would be interesting' vs saying 'I want them to fuck rawnasty and I don't care why they're doing it.' Apologies if I left out your favorite side-ship but, shit, there's only so much time in the day.

So, we return to the podiums:

Superego:

Ruby (132)

Rowena (121)

Cas (102)

Ego:

Rowena (121)

Cas (106)

Ruby (90)

Id:

Ruby (125)

John (121)

Rowena (118)

So that was going on sedately until Dad came in like a hammer. Fascinating. On the other hand:

No:

Lisa (234)

Donna (222)

Claire (219)

Interesting to me that these three are ladies that Sam theoretically could have got up in but people are not into it, regardless. This is slightly different to Dean's 'no' category -- spoilers for three inches of screen space!

Dean, Shipped by UPS

Superego:

John (129)

Benny (115)

Lisa (99)

Ego:

Benny (134)

John (116)

Lisa (102)

Id:

John (147)

Benny (128)

Crowley (114)

Well. That tells a slightly different story, ahem. Enjoy the various tropes that will be applied, Dean! And then we get:

No:

Amelia (245)

Kevin (223)

Gabriel (217)

Comparing to the Sam 'no' above -- these three are slightly more 'traditional' Sam ships, though the wincest shippers are nevertheless not into them for Sam, either. Dean literally never spoke to or saw Amelia on screen, so it'd be a determined shipper who'd make that happen. Not undoable, though!

Conclusion

Syke: there isn't one to be made. This really shows how diverse the taste is in the wincest community, or at least in the wincest community that a) happened to see this survey over the last five days and b) bothered to take it. This particular group leans slightly toward e.g. toppy Sam, or slightly toward switching, but when you look at raw numbers what you see is that at least one person LOVES every single one of these things, and at least one person fucking HATES every single one of these things, and so -- so what? Write what you want. If you see a niche of something that you love where you feel like not enough people are writing or reading, try to fill it. If you're worried "no one" will like it, well -- you're wrong. Someone will. It just needs to get seen by the right people.

That's where fandom comes in, to spread the love even if something isn't bulletproof for us -- reblogging a post to say, 'hey, my mutual made this thing, look at it!' What a joy it'd be if someone saw it and loved it to absolute shattering bits, and then found their little bulletproof community, and happiness was made. What's the point, if we're not making each other happy.

Thanks for participating if you did, and reading all this if you did. Here's a link to a google sheet (read only) with all the tables of raw data if you're interested. I'll post some of the more entertaining fill-in answers later.

s&d shipping survey results: November 1, 2023 - Google Sheets

#happy wincest wednesday #wincest #survey results #warning this is really long lol #but thanks for doing the thing <3

[olderthannetfic]

Oh, golly! A known youtuber was recently exposed for plagiarism also turns out to be an extreme misogynist?? Who could've noticed such a thing!

It's not like in multiple videos he went on rants about how female authors are big bads for writing about MLM couples and female fans are big bads for daring to enjoy those ships.

In his Killing Stalking video, he attacked women for enjoying the manga and (it's been a long time since I watched that video, and considering that he nuked everything, it's not like I can go back, but I'm pretty sure that he said that) we are raised with the belief that the abusive relationships between two gay men are ok to fetishize while we'd never read the same thing between a man and a woman (not only this is stupid and untrue, but notice how a third kind of couple is missing, here. Wonder why.)

Later on, he talked shit about the author of Love, Simon, forcing her to come out, then proceeded to keep addressing her as a "straight" woman, and whined that the book/movie erased the characters of any kind of sexuality despite the women wanting to see gay men do the nasty.

Later, later on, he rambled about Red, White, and Royal Blue, and this time he complained about that the evil women who fetishize gay men were against genuine displays of sex acts between two gay men (???).

For years, he blabbed about how women are the true enemy of gay-men-focused medias, and even then he couldn't keep his story straight (do we like to see these gay men fuck or not?? James, which one is it??).

Not to mention the fantastic take of "Queer women had it easier throughout history," because that's such a punch in the chest that we can't ignore it.

Guys, this shit was always in plain sight. He never tried to hide it, there was no need for a bald bisexual man to make us notice it. We gotta stop turning our faces to blatant misogyny simply because it's being expressed by a gay man.

--

Yuuuup.

I'm genuinely sorry for the people who didn't spot it, but I am not sympathetic. Somerton was not even a little bit subtle. He was a toxic, rancid piece of shit for many, many years.

Also, even the plagiarism accusations are years old. People just didn't listen because nobody youtube-famous had made a big video about them.

[sea-of-dust]

Ranpo,Chuuya,Atsushi x M!Reader

My hand slipped while I was doing math homework and i accidentally wrote this. This is my first time writing for a male reader I'm sure I'll be fine (this is going to be worse than my math grades)

Warnings: mentions of alcohol, mentions of bruising,death implications,might be a lil ooc I haven't watched bsd in a hot minute

Oh? You have sweets? Are able to bake?? What's that, you're able to spoil him? Yea, he's imagining how to rizz you up before you two were ever dating. "Y/n thinks you're cool" "really?" He lights up at the mention of you "he does think you're kinda werid tho" he pouts disapointedly, will be whining about this

You're like another piece of candy! You're not escaping him. You thought you were allowed to leave? No. "Y/n we need you on this" "alright" "I should go too" he raises his hand popping another candy into his mouth "he can solve this himself" "well I can make it so they're right back here in secounds" "whenever I go out with you the minimums like 3 hours" you cringe remembering the holes he digs into your wallet. "That's irrelevant!"

If you ever did manage a task alone, he'd be annoyed for the rest of the day, so annoyed he actually opens his eyes to glare at people. "30 minutes" "would have been a few secounds if you took me with you" you sigh kissing his forehead "I'm sorry I didn't bring you it would have been too boring for a great detective like you" he proudly huffs "well it would have been fine since it would be with you" will make you tell him how it went and it'll always end with him saying "I knew it! This is why you should bring me"

He does get hurt sometimes, but when he does, it's just a small scab at most. Never the less you still treat him. "Don't give me the teddy bear ones those are for babies!" "They fit you're aesthetic, though." "they do not!" Applying the bandage carefully, you watch him lift his pant leg higher to reveal another small bruise. "Are you serious?" "Well were already here" does like looking at your handiwork from time to time.

Wants you to stay up and tell him stories and is pretty understanding when you say you're too tired to. "Y/n! Are you up to read 12 angry men?" "Ranpo I'm heading straight to bed" you rub your eyes sluggishly, walking past him to change out of your clothes to something more comfortable. "Alright, but you owe me more pages than usual" "deal" he plops onto you as you cover yourself with the blanket. He doesn't even attempt to gain spoilers or read ahead if this happens. He really likes hearing your voice,trying to act out certain characters. He might even ask questions he knew the answer to just to hear more of you. "Wait, so why'd he agree?" "Because that guy's thinking about his son throughout the conversion by putting his past with his son behind him he accepts the fact the kid on trial isn't his son and shouldn't be found guilty" "he should've just agreed when everything else got debunked" "yea well sometimes stuff like that holds someone back"

"Do you like wine?" "No" "?!" How did you guys even date? Wait nevermind besides that wine thing, you're pretty great 10/10, not returning

He would use his ability to quite litterally sweep you off your feet. Feeling the sudden decrease in weight, you feel as if you're floating on air. "What the-" he casually grabs something out the fridge "that's the last one" "that's why I stopped you" sometimes he'd just leave you floating for an extra 5 secounds, gracefully hold your hands and and help you down. "Can't have you bursting your head open" "I was two feet off the ground" he sighs, you pull him close kissing his cheek "thank you for saving my fall Chuuya" and that's why he does it often

He does get a bit cranky, but it's usually when he has a bad day. He likes bad days if you're at the end of them, though. You'd always let him sleep somewhere or stay up and watch you try to open wine for him and fail or succeed. "Finally!!" You popped open the bottle with the Cork flying out. "Wait, where'd it go-" hearing a small thud, you see the cork crack the floor due to its sudden change of what seems to be weight. "There's a tool for that." he pulls out the drawer and shows you it nonchalantly, "but that was kinda impressive"

"I wanna get a dog" "we should get married." The guy would be on the brink of tears. A dog? And you two are living together? He's gonna love that dog. Unfortunately, that dog mostly followed you around. It likes him, but the millisecond you're there that dog lays with you,sleeps with you, he's starting to get jealous of both you and the dog! You still catch him petting it going. "You're so fluffy! Who's a good boy who's a good-" the dog sees you and walks toward you it's tail wagging .How are you fluffy?" There'd be such a defeated look on his face

Definitely would be judgemental and then do some strange shit. You'd catch him dancing in the halls? Nothing to see here, only him getting slightly upset you didn't say anything. Pulling out every product known to man to bathe the dog, it's pretty adorable. You still don't say a thing, only smiling when you see it, still a bit annoyed you didn't say anything As soon as he catches you posing with his clothes...he's flattered time to make fun of you. "What are you doing" you turn around smoothly "Why I'm Chuuya Nakahara of the port mafia" you moon walk over to him "that is not how I introduce myself" "yea you introduce yourself by trying to show off your taste in wine to someone that hates it" "you worked at a liquor store!" "I dont have to drink wine to work there" you take off his coat to put it back, but he quickly slides it back on "keep it on for a while I wanna savor this"

You taught him what a flash game is. "OK so then this guy wants uhhh" "oh my god its Wally" "WHERE" unironcally so emerged in papa's games its aggressively odvious you two aren't working, you're are lucky you specialize in speedrunning paper work the secound half of the work days basically just you two getting bullied by the food critic

He's pretty shy for a lover infact when you start dating, he still feels like a friend more than a boyfriend. So when you ask him out, expect him to hide away somewhere nervous he might say something werid, he'll suck it up for you though! He's got this! It's just a museum! He can- you held his hand, and his confidence is down the drain. How he managed to keep composed is a miracle. Surprisingly for him, he didn't do anything he'd think would embarrass him in the future. He's definitely gonna ask to go on more dates in the future.

You try to help him with tiger matenence. Including getting loads of dirt out of his paws and even splinters sometimes "Alright ready" "I never will be for AH-" he winces pulling away, but you hold out his arm "you're fine lemme put on a bandaid" they do feel nice after you clean then though a bit numb

Attempting to teach him games will get him to teach Kyōka. "Y/n would you like to play quack diddly oso ?" "You know how to play that? I thought it was too old" "Atsushi taught me" you decide to ask him about it. He would get a bit embrassed, his mind racing about what you'd do or say. "Maybe I should try and teach her numbers too" he sighs in relief leaving you a bit confused but you infact did teach her numbers, a horrible day for Ranpo in particular as she and you easily beat your record of 57 with him. You didn't need her approval for dating Atsushi, but you still got it because of some children's games

You wouldn't be surprised by how mushy he could get. He'd overthink about the dangers you two face being apart of the Ada. He'd get trembaly grabbing onto your hands for their warmth. "I'll be fine. I'm more worried for you" "But what if you get hurt cause of me!" "I gladly will" "That's the issue!" He grabs your shoulders."What if you-" "Then yosano will take care of me" You pull him close, letting him calm down. "You're hopeless." "I won't regret a thing"

#x reader #male reader #fluff #ranpo edogawa #bsd ranpo #ranpo x reader #bungou stray dogs #bsd atsushi #bsd chuuya #atsushi x reader #chuuya nakahara #chuuya x reader

[mazzystar24]

OMG i still feel like I'm in a fever dream. I keep refreshing tumblr just to make sure that it HAPPENED.

We've been waiting for this for so long, i can't believe that they made Buck Bi!! Also here is the thing i want Buddie to happen and I am a hundred percent sure that it's happening (i don't know why people are thinking that it's not like???) the way i could see this going down is buck and tommy exploring their relationship and Buck beginning to question more and more things such as his relationship with Eddie. I WANT and him and Tommy to be in a relationship for a while (because they're actually pretty cute) and eddie pining. tommy will be the catalyst for Buddie.

Also: Oliver stark literally said, Buck has a crush, gets the person (exactly what happened with tommy) and that he has to work for his relationship to work and ryan saying "closer than ever??"

I also hate the fact that so people are mad and hating on the actors , that it wasn't with Eddie. Like of course a Buddie conformation would've been great, but we all knew that that wasn't gonna happen in this episode? We got FUCKING BI BUCK !!! Let's just celebrate this and just watch this beautiful story unfold. I really love reading your prediction and your positivity, please continue with that !!!

What do you think is going to happen in the next episodes? Sorry for the long ask!!

Sameee like I keep trying to be normal then I REMEMBER I’m like wow I didnt hallucinate that??

Exactly like they flat out called Tommy a plot device, confirmed he’s here for a little bit and that it’s a fling, so enjoy it as much as you want to while it’s here but don’t lose hope for buddie people? like legit this is the biggest confirmation buddie is on the horizon

YES THE INTERVIEWS HAVE BEEN REALLY FEEDING INTO MY DELUSION

Like let’s not forget Ryan saying they’re trying to give the people what they want🫡and that they are closer than ever - like legit he has no reason to say this in the same season buck realises he’s bi unless something BIG is gonna happen for buddie (maybe not full canon but vibes???)

Anyone hating on the actors can legit fight me.

Oliver and Ryan have been such troopers for the fandom and Oliver now with this storyline you can tell how much he genuinely loves buck and like understands him as a character but also how to give this storyline what it deserves. Like Oliver has been endlessly respectful to the fandom too like he’s been making sure that he doesn’t get peoples hopes up while also trying to play buck in a way that is true to the character. Like did you guys see his message to the fans? Or his interview talking about how he was gonna actively play buck as bi this season as much as he can even before he got told abt the kiss. Like that man hasnt just been supportive of the fandom he’s been an advocate for us and for buck which is such a wonderful thing.

Also yeah it wasn’t Eddie but do people realise that it’s VERY hard to write an up to now presumed straight character’s self discovery in their 30s LET ALONE TWO?? Like Tim found the easiest way to set the scene for the new audience and the GA who won’t have picked up on early seasons undertone and the little things planted throughout and while I would’ve loved buddie without the middleman I completely understand why they did it this way and I’ll enjoy seeing it unfold

And YES EXACTLY BI BUCK like that alone is a MASSIVE win like we are getting such rare bi rep of not only a guy in a very “macho” job and a womaniser type character BUT ALSO a person figuring stuff out in their 30s not in a repressed full of sex shame and guilt way but in a they genuinely just never explored that side of them!! Like that’s so huge we can talk for hours about how many queer rep stories are just plain depressing but this one is so authentic while also being quite light and sweet

Also aww thanks I genuinely love these asks sm (me? In love with everyone who sends me an ask? More likely than you think🤭🤭🤭)

Also omg I’m sorry this is so long like I spent most of this talking about everything except your question😭😭

Okay so predictions:

So we know that Buck is gonna tell some people and some will be surprised some not so much and some will be like it’s about damn time, my bets are:

chimney- surprised but maybe not through insider info (Maddie)

Maddie- KNOWS HAS KNOWN but the only shocker for her is that it wasn’t Eddie like I can imagine the confused and so tired face rn, I think she probs has either thought he knew or knew he didn’t and just was giving him the time and dropping as many hints as she can in the meanwhile

Bobby- supportive father icon, KNOWS (and while he also I fully believe is the buddie captain as well he will play it a little closer to vest if you get what I mean- but inside he’s going insane and his eye is twitching because he poached Eddie for his dumb bi son only for them to ACT married for six seasons and go to him for dating advice abt other people constantly and now that his son is a man kisser it’s not the man Bobby was hoping for😔 pray for him y’all)

Hen- she’s the it’s about damn time response

Athena- also might be the it’s about damn time response

Ravi- in a permanent state of confusion- not about this he’s just confused always (also still fully convinced the poor guy thought buddie had been married cos that headcanon is endlessly amusing to me)

Now for actual plot I think that like the date is low-key a train wreck after the Eddie and Marisol interruption and that either we get a chenford-like double date or we just have a brief intereuption from Eddie and that’s a minor thing and like it’s buck admitting it’s his first date with a guy who hates throws a lot of questions in the air because Tommys reaction was a bit 👀 like I think it’s more or less confirmed that Tommy was repressed for a while when working with captain dickhead so maybe he’s like gonna be taking a step back cos he thinks buck needs more time to like explore this part of himself (but I hate that trope so hoping not) or maybe we get the buddie shipper daydream and Tommy is like more aware of buddie than buddie are and he either says that to buck as the reasoning but buck doesn’t tell Eddie that OR he says something cryptic about it to buck and buck doesn’t fully understand and he’s like you will eventually👀👀👀 (I need a lobotomy yes the delusions are a part of me now)

I hope that Marisol gets the fuck out right about now but I say that every episode 🫡 (edy’s face and voice make me wanna scream I hate her homophobic, transphobic ass sm)

Anyways I’m gonna shut up now bye love ya thank ya and sorry 🫡🫡

#911 #buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #911 abc #911 fox #evan buck buckley #911onfox #911 spoilers #buckley diaz family #asks #asks open #send asks #answered asks

[punkeropercyjackson]

I'm making sure Percy Jackson beats the skater boy allegations by 2024.I'm sick and tired of seeing posts saying he is one canonically with like a bajillion notes because it happens so often when A)Him skating was referenced literally once in a 10 part saga where he was an mc for 9/10 of it and it was in the second book of the og series,when he was 13 and that came out over a decade ago,B)Piper saying he looks like one is actually proof he ISN'T because a big point of Percy's character is that he's not what most people percieve him as upon first meeting him and C)He dosen't 'act like a skater' because skating is a fucking sport,not a personality trait.Percy acts,thinks and looks like a PUNK and i don't mean what y'all think makes a character punk because you can't read books that aren't Harry Potter or watch videos that aren't shitposts or racist,i mean HOBIE BROWN punk.And no,grunge and punk are not synonymous-And Percy canonically dresses normally but i digress-since grunge is an aesthetic while punk is a historical subculture and a political movement that Percy canonically fits all the requirements for by being anti-authority,fighting corruption,playing a parental role/older sibling to young queer kids(Nico)and poc(Hazel),respecting all minorities and fitting outside of society's box of what 'normal' is.Not only is Percy not a skater boy but i doubt they're even fully a boy or straight up just a (trans) girl and i've read the books so many times i'm pretty sure i know them better than Rick himself-That was meant to be about the stories but it sounded like i meant Percy and hey if the shoe fits.But back on topic,i am BEGGING y'all to cut the 'he was a skater boy' shit out,Percy's not NEARLY enough of a normal guy* for that to be in-character and i know Logan messed up peoples perception of what he's actually like big time but Walker is fixing it and we need to put some respect on his and book!Percy's name

#percy jackson #perseo jackson #persephone jackson #percy jackson defense squad #black percy #latino percy #autistic percy jackson #bi percy jackson #demi percy jackson #team parent percy jackson #piper mclean #antipipercy #pro shelper #nico di angelo #hazel levesque #nico percy and hazel #ft hobie brown #antilukercy #anti percy x gods #anti luke castellan #poseidon(derogatory) #walker scobell #pjo #pjo disney+ #the anomalies #pastel punk tag #summerposting #trans(fem) percy jackson #bigender percy jackson #pastel punk percy jackson

[stoopid-turtle]

Consuming Candies Pt. 1: GG and DD are le Gay

Everything is fake. I make up stuff for fun. Do not believe a word of it.

Intro post for this series

I'm a nerd so I feel I need to asterisk just about anything. Basically, this is my list of moments/candies that cemented for me a few things: 1) DD is hella gay; 2) GG is some flavor of gay; 3) that GGDD definitely had a thing around the time of the TU filming; 4) that they're still together.

1 and 2 are needed to establish 3 and, unless you go for a very different timeline than other turtles, 3 is needed to establish 4.

Such. A. Nerd.

I divided this up into 2 posts because I'm incredibly long-winded.

So, #1: DD is incredibly incredibly gay. There is no doubt in my mind. Here's why, in order with the most convincing moments first. Once I accepted these, the following points were easier to wrap my head around.

a) DD checked out another guy's ass at the Tencent Awards Night and exclaimed "Handsome" to his co-star.

Just what it says on the tin. I've watched these 5 seconds over and over, and I can't wrap my head around any other explanation. The man passes by, DD's eyes clearly sweep down, then he says "Shuai!" I'm usually skeptical of lip-readings, but this is unmistakable.

I put this as the most convincing for me because it's not a bts, there's no need for fanservice, it's an official stream of a video and there is literally no other way to interpret this. It's incredibly blatant. He's into men (and, notably, his co-star in LoF is clearly in the know since he makes the comment to her).

(Honestly, it makes me a little uncomfortable, because I've noticed DD has started covering his mouth when speaking to companions at public events, presumably so that fans can't try to read his lips. I'm sure he did not expect that ass-ogle to be noticed by anyone)

b) "I'm not talking about WWX, I'm talking about XZ." I discussed this in my turtle origin story, but this moment in the bts really knocked me over the head with that fact that DD was outright hitting on XZ. There was no way to interpret this as them joking around with the fact that their characters were in a BL relationship (a la the director referring to them as "lovebirds" or someone on the crew calling xz DD's "wife"). DD straight up flirts with GG. Gets turned down because the phrase he used was taken the wrong way. Then calls him "beautiful" (or "fairy-like"). When GG rejects this as not fitting WWX, DD just clarifies that he's talking about XZ not WWX. (Which, wow, what a line. DD is bold)

There's no het explanation for that moment, unless you want to posit that there was an intentional fabrication of fanservice (I address that issue elsewhere).

Add this on top of DD's other comments to XZ, calling him "erotic", asking for kisses, asking for him to sleep with him, declaring his love. A lot of this is joking around, but there's a safety in joking around when you're flirting with someone you like. You can retreat to the joke if they don't like it.

But this moment isn't even a joke. It's sincere. DD's flirting the fuck with GG.

It's not even hard to believe coming off a). DD is clearly into men. GG is very charismatic and seems to attract the attention of just about everybody who meets him (I get serious There's Something about Mary vibes from him sometimes in how people talk about him) (I am old. My references are old). Is it so hard to think that DD would shoot his shot?

He's on a cast with the guy, playing the love interest. They get along incredibly well. DD has a pretty high opinion of himself, to say the least. I'm not at all surprised he'd make a go for it.

There are several moments in the bts where GG teases DD for sending memes of himself (only the handsome ones) or sending (again, handsome) selfies of himself. It is funny, but it also strikes me as someone trying to get some reaction from his crush. It feels a little awkward to have GG openly teasing him about it but DD gets his revenge by showing off the pouty photo of GG, so he clearly managed to deal with it. (And GG clearly agrees that DD is handsome, so DD's text campaign worked)

c) The Nike rainbow shoes and ice cream.

Honestly, I wouldn't have this on here except for this post by potteresque-ire here on tumblr. Within the context in China at the time, and with the response DD received from his fans, it's clear that the rainbow Nikes + Ben & Jerry's were meaningful to DD. It's a shame that the political situation with Nike later required him to fall in line with the CCP and remove it, but I trust potteresque on the context that this post was a Big Deal.

d) His involvement with TU.

I've heard mixed things about the expectations for TU at the time of casting. The landscape for BL was rocky and the production company was unproven, but it was recognized that MDZS was a huge IP and so there was a chance that it could be a gigantic hit. There was also an equal risk that it would completely flop or not be allowed to air. Still, there's a fantastic interview with the non-GGDD cast of TU where the interviewer asks them if they knew that TU was going to be so big. There's a moment of awkward silence until somebody (I think WZC) just says, "No."

My understanding is that WYB was the biggest star they got on the cast. He had other opportunities, no doubt some that were more promising and that didn't result in him losing the support of his homophobic fans. But DD put his hat in the ring anyway.

Why? Maybe he wanted to roll those dice to see if he could sign on to something that would be huge. But he's also gay, and there's every possibility that he just wanted to act in a gay romance.

(This is putting aside some of the speculation that DD and GG knew each other or were even dating prior to casting.)

I bet he saw it as a rare opportunity to play a (censored) gay character, and he was willing to lose fans to do so (much like with the Nike post). DD is bold.

I go into this more when I talk about GG.

(Also, I don't know if he specifically went in for the LWJ role or if, like literally everybody else on that cast, he was trying to get the role of Xue Yang (srsly, what's up with this???), or if he just kept his options open)

e) He has no interest in women.

Just because a guy likes men doesn't mean he also doesn't like women. Except with DD, he seems to have 0 interest in women. At first, I could chalk this up to him being shy, not having much experience around girls, etc. But after a certain point, his clear disinterest has to be taken in consideration with his overt flirtiness and enthusiasm about men.

Basically, he doesn't have a problem with women. They're just not his focus in life or love. He doesn't light up around women. He lights up around men. I know this is real subjective, and that displeases my nerd heart, so the other points matter too, but this is really the heart of things. DD isn't interested in women.

Add onto this some implications he's made that he is...um...not sexually frigid (I tried to find this clip and was unsuccessful. Ah well.) and...well, you can't be shy with women and still be a horndog Leo if you're straight. That horndog energy is being directed somewhere else.

In sum, DD is just really, really gay. Don't hit me with those, "But his hobbies are so dudely" nonsense. Go meet some actual gay guys, list out their hobbies, then get back to me. DD. Is. Gay. Full stop.

#2. GG is some flavor of gay.

GG's always the more puzzling one. DD is so...loud and unapologetic. GG plays close to the vest.

I'm struck by some screenshots I saw of his university peers gossiping about him back in those days. People explicitly said he wasn't gay, so if GG was out back then, he was only out to a few people.

He came from a traditional family, and I get the vibe he was incredibly nervous at the idea of entering a gay relationship. I doubt he "didn't realize" he was gay until he met DD, because I think even the scaredest, most closeted person knows on some level that they're gay. But I think GG might have been set to remain in the closet for the long-haul.

There's an interview of GG done while filming where he's asked about DD (he smiles real big and it's really sweet). He gives the usual response of DD being slow to warm up to people, but when he's asked about his current impression, he exclaims that DD is "a lunatic" (I laugh every time I watch that). Then he comments that DD isn't scared to be "unconventional".

I can't say for certain, but it feels like it's in part a reference to DD being more bold with his sexual orientation. GG keeps things more buttoned up and close to his chest, but he clearly finds DD's lunacy appealing as he signed onto it.

Honestly, GG is hard for me to get a read on. When I see DD outside of the UT bts, I can see the continuity in his personality. I mean, yeah, everything's turned up to 11 in the UT bts because he's clearly infatuated with GG. But he's still a gremlin outside of the bts, just in a more subdued and less targeted way.

With GG, I struggle sometimes to see the continuity between his personality in the bts and his personality outside it (the wig doesn't help with this. it makes him look like a different person). Granted, I haven't delved into his solo work near as much as I have for DD (and, notably, he doesn't seem to do as much unscripted stuff as DD), but he strikes me as a person who is very adept at code-switching depending on the situation. DD is DD is DD, 24/7. GG is more adaptive to his surroundings.

I imagine that's one of the things that drew GG to DD (beyond the massive flirt-campaign...I mean, who could resist DD when he's going so freaking hard for it?).

Do I think GG's attracted to women? Honestly, not sure. I've not seen enough of his interactions with women or his history with women to say (I've spent way more time with DD outside of TU than GG). But I'm pretty sure he's attracted to men for these reasons:

a) His ideal life painting.

Put aside all the other interpretations people have for that. Just the fact that his ideal life included one (1) other person and that that person is a man is significant.

Admittedly, I don't know the background of the painting. It was used in an ad campaign, and if you watch the full video that showed the painting, the cat and bike elements are shown as inspired by stuff GG saw in a walk. I'm not sure how much creative control he had over the whole thing, and I've not been able to find anything in English about it.

But assuming that he had the freedom to paint his genuine ideal life, or at least enough of it to be the one to choose having a man in there (and why would the hotel specifically ask for a male companion in the painting?), then there's no het explanation for that. GG's ideal life is to be at the beach with his cat and another man.

b) When he wore Pride shoes to an interview.

Not just something that incidentally had a rainbow pattern. Straight-up Pride merch.

IME, allies don't wear Pride merch. Any ally I know who wears Pride merch will eventually come out as LGBT+ at some point. If you wear Pride merch, you're gay. (That's the rule)

Okay, more seriously. I grew up in the grimmer days of the 90s and 00s in US South, before rainbow-washing was profitable and before most studios felt comfortable showing even the slightest amount of gay relationships. Back when wearing a rainbow was a serious statement that would attract notice and might get you beat up (I had multiple friends who were physically attacked. I avoided it bc I am a trickster a bisexual and therefore invisible). Back then, the only people who wore Pride merch were actually gay. I can't think of any exceptions.

Later, as the situation for LGBT+ folks improved in the US (let's put aside the anxiety of the current anti-trans wave), I have seen a couple self-identified allies who wear Pride merch. But in every case, that ally eventually came out as gay. The "ally" label was a useful stopping place in their comfort with being openly gay.

Things may be different in China. I think in some ways, it probably resembles the way things were when I grew up--before gay marriage was legal and when the majority of people expressed disgust with gay people. On the other hand, the homophobia of the US has a strong religious element that doesn't seem to be present in China.

But all that regardless, wearing Pride merch is meaningful. Even now in the US, when rainbows are everywhere. It's definitely meaningful in China, where same-sex relationships are censored in the media.

c) I've discussed DD's overt flirting already, but another part of that "I'm not talking about WWX, I'm talking about XZ" video that struck me was GG's response.

He smiles, crinkles his nose, and shyly looks down. This is such a classic "I'm being flirted with and I'm into it" response (shy-person flavor). No straight guy would react to DD flirting with him like that. That reaction only makes sense if XZ is into being flirted with by men, DD in this case.

d) The BDSM conversation in the cave, complete with GG making an obscene, um, tongue gesture.

I'm trying my best to picture this as a conversation between 2 straight guys, and I'm failing here. The whole conversation is gay. Add in the literal tongue in cheek and it's incredibly flirty and suggestive. Like with C, GG's responses are just...not straight. They only make sense in a flirty context, and not one that's playing with them acting as Wangxian.

e) His involvement in TU.

This follows what I wrote for DD above. XZ was not as big a name as DD was at the time, so he was a relative unknown trying out for a role (for Xue Yang's role, specifically) on a show that may never air.

GG likely didn't have as many options open to him as DD at that time, so you could try to argue that he was just trying out for as many roles as he could.

But honestly, I think anybody who signed onto TU has higher than average odds of being LGBTQ+ themselves. Think about it. If you're queer and in the industry, you have few to no opportunities to play a role that reflects your relationships. You have few opportunities to work on a set that is overtly okay with same-sex relationships (at least, of the fictional variety).

You hear that a BL novel is being adapted and while you know BL novels are mainly for straight women, it's still gonna be a gay romance. Maybe your only chance at being involved in filming a gay romance. Of course you're going to want to be in on that.

Being in the closet sucks. Not being able to be yourself fully sucks. Back when I was a gay teen in the 90s-00s, I would just look up photos of girls kissing online (not porn. just kissing) just because I never saw that and it fed something inside of me that was missing. A part of me that was never reflected back at me. I ached for more lesbian relationships in TV and books, and I watched so many shitty movies/tv shows just because there were lesbians in it.

The media landscape is much better now here in the US, but when I think about how queer folk in the industry in China might feel, I think back to myself as a younger queer lady bursting at the seams to immerse myself in a world that actually had a space carved for me.

So yeah, being on the UT, in of itself, is a signal to me. It doesn't mean that everybody involved with it was gay. But I do think that it means that the odds of any particular person being gay is higher than in a non-BL production.

Admittedly, there's no way to prove this, and who knows? Maybe gay men would be less likely to want to work on a BL production because of the strained relationship between gay men and the boy-love genre. But I kinda doubt that because when your relationships are censored, you'll latch onto anything you can get that even resembles them. I watched countless anime made for horny fanboys because they had lesbians in them. I watched, literally, anything, no matter who created it. I know other gay girls who watched lesbian porn of the type made by and for straight men because they just wanted to see their own desires reflected at them, even if the reflection was a little wonky.

And that's just with watching media. Signing up to act in a project means you also get to connect with other people who are hypothetically okay with gay relationships. Who might even be gay, themselves. Fuck yeah, you're gonna leap on that.

So, yeah. This point is the last for both DD and GG but it's important because it establishes how I think about the production of TU. If the set had more gay cast/crew given the subject matter of the show, is it really so far-fetched that some people would hook up? Or start a relationship?

Once I convinced myself that GG and DD are some flavor of gay, the rest wasn't hard to buy into at all. But that's for the next post. :)

I am a clown and everything I say is fake. Don't buy into it.

Next Post: Consuming Candies Pt 2: DD ❤️ GG and GG ❤️ DD

#bjyx #yizhan #i'm a clown #everything is fake #this post gets really gay #almost as gay as DD

[markantonys]

okay quick 2x04 thoughts before i go off to make some gifs!

moiraine in cairhien was so fun!! loved getting a peek at her childhood and family

i gasped when it was revealed that moiraine (and presumably siuan) deliberately planted logain in cairhien to lure rand, even though i should've seen it coming! i should've known moiraine's always playing 4D chess!

WE STAN ANVAERE, absolute queen shit. she out-moiraine'd moiraine! also, as a younger sister who spent my whole childhood craving my older sister's approval, Felt

i'll admit i'm not jazzed about lan's storyline this episode. it was a little interesting and i liked getting a look at what alanna is like "outside of work", and she and maksim and ihvon continue to be top-tier secondary characters, but it felt like too much time and i wish some of this screentime had gone to mat or egwene instead. though i'm guessing we'll be getting much less of lan and more of others (especially egwene, for obvious reasons) next week!

but i AM intrigued by the direction they're going with lan's bond. everyone had speculated alanna's absorbing myrelle, but given that lan's getting on pretty well with them all and alanna seems to be leaving the decision in his hands and even suggests he could soon bond with nynaeve, i really do wonder if they might just have lan's bond go straight to nynaeve post-moiraine's-"death" and keep alanna & rand as the only non-consensual bonding in the show. it's a bit of a repetitive plot beat and i don't think anything would break if lan's version of it was skipped.

egwene referencing rand to elayne but without mentioning his name or any distinguishing info about him!!!!! this definitely gives me hope for a cute little scene of rand and elayne encountering each other in falme without realizing they have mutual friends.

i was SO confident that blonde warder trainee in the trailer was gawyn, but it turns out he was just a random background guy! i have been catfished! but maaaaaaybe it really was him but he just wasn't credited because he's not being officially introduced until a later episode? please???

LEANE'S OUTFIT!!! and ooooh great setup for the falme trip AND the coup next season (i'm sure some people will be more convinced by liandrin/elaida merger after this scene, but i truly don't think that'll happen bc a) it wouldn't work storywise for a number of reasons, b) if they were merging them they would've named the character elaida instead of liandrin)

i LOVED perrin's scenes with elyas!!! and this is coming from someone who was always bored to tears by perrin povs in the books! elyas delivering exposition like it was the most obvious thing in the world and perrin's an idiot for not knowing was a GREAT vibe haha and we have confirmation that perrin's visions aren't a visual representation of his smelling abilities, but rather sendings from the wolves! and we got hopper!!!!!

liandrin's convo with nynaeve was SO GOOD. i was going "awww this is so sweet, i love this" "oh wait, betrayal incoming, shit" djkjfg they did a great job of making it believable that nynaeve (and the audience) would trust liandrin's word about going to falme. also, the show's focus on the tragedy of aes sedai longevitiy is excellent, 10/10

elayne my beloved!!!!! "yes i'm following you obviously" i love her your honor!!!! and the earlier moment where she admits being curious about what it's like not to have your whole life mapped out, but then says she wouldn't trade places with egwene. baby! can't wait to get to her queen arc eventually!

FASCINATED by the reveal that min is working with liandrin because liandrin had promised to take her powers away from her. what an amazing story choice!!! it lends min some much-needed narrative meat, it makes SO much sense that she would find uncontrollable foresight to be a burden and a curse, and it sets up a potential arc of her learning more about/coming to terms with her powers. in the books she never has many thoughts on what it's like to have these powers, so i LOVE that the show is going to explore that more.

overall i'm quite surprised by the relative lack of mat in the season so far! i'd assumed they'd want a lot of time with him early since he was out of the final 2 eps of s1. but i'm sure he'll get a more focal episode later! on that note, i'm a bit worried because imdb doesn't have min in episode 5, and they do have mat, but it could just be because donal is a regular so gets billed for every episode even if he doesn't appear. because i'm not sure it'd make sense for mat to appear but not min next episode? but it's possible, and it's also possible that min will appear and imdb isn't accurate. still, i'm bracing myself for no mat storyline next week.

at least we got confirmation on the where & why of their trip: cairhien because ishamael wants to get mat and rand back together!! highly relatable of him, i must say

i don't even know what to say about the rand & lanfear stuff, it was SO good i'm shaking!!!!! but poor rand has probably been put off bondage forever now which is absolutely tragic djkfjgh

update to add: i can't believe moiraine walked in on rand mid-sex (with a forsaken) i hope they have the world's awkwardest conversation about it once they've stopped fleeing for their lives. there is a spectrum and This & mean girls "do you need anything? snacks? a condom?" are on opposite ends of it

#wot #wot on prime #wot show spoilers #wot book spoilers

[amethystina]

I wonder how Gaon and Yohan are going to explain the change in their interactions to Elijah, since it's going to be obvious to her that something has happened between them. Since Elijah knows that there's nothing between Gaon and Soo hyun, I wonder if she will play a role in clearing Yohan's misconception? Thanks for the update! I can't stop thinking how many ways this story can play out😅 Btw i really appreciate the time and effort you put into responding to our questions with such detail.

That definitely depends on who's doing the explaining xD Yo Han would just brush it off and pretend that nothing is happening — which would just piss her off — while Ga On would make a stilted effort to explain without making it too obvious what it's actually about. Which would also annoy her.

That poor girl, seriously. She doesn't deserve to get caught between these two idiots.

I'm not sure I agree that Elijah "knows" that there was nothing between Ga On and Soo Hyun, though. I think she very much thinks there was something between them. I mean, sure, they denied it when she asked if they were dating, but THE WAY they did so was pretty telling (especially in Soo Hyun's case). Even more so since Elijah is a bit... well, innocent? I think most of her experience with love comes from media, books etc. and how Ga On and Soo Hyun behaved is, well, straight from a drama xD

And Elijah also had that talk with Soo Hyun when they were eating ice cream on Ga On's terrace, where it became pretty obvious that Soo Hyun is in love with Ga On and has already confessed to him several times.

So I think Elijah very much believes they were in love. Which means she won't really play a role in convincing Yo Han otherwise — if asked, she'd probably only make it worse, even. Because her understanding of love is a bit superficial and probably pretty geared towards straightness. That's not to say that she's not aware of gay people (I think she might actually know more about that than Ga On does xD) but from the evidence she's seen both Ga On and Yo Han seem straight to her (because I can't imagine that Yo Han has flaunted his dalliances with other men in front of her).

I know I'm very, very firm about this but Elijah doesn't know that Yo Han and Ga On have the hots for each other. And not because she's stupid, but because she's grown up in a country where straightness is the norm and Yo Han has done everything he can to hide the depth of his and Ga On's relationship from her. Also, she's a self-centred teenager x'D

Like, take me for an example. I was around 23-24 and very comfortable in my own pansexuality but was still IN NO WAY PREPARED when my mum basically went: "I may only have had sex with two women in my life but, let me tell you — 10/10, would recommend." Because I had only ever seen her date and talk about men before and therefore assumed she had no interest in anything else. That's how easy it is to miss that someone close to you isn't entirely straight — especially if it's a parent/guardian.

So I really don't think that Elijah would notice until it gets a lot more obvious than this xD

Which wasn't technically what your ask was about (sorry for the tangent xD), but still important to know because Elijah really won't be all that helpful when it comes to Yo Han and Ga On figuring out their feelings for each other. In fact, she might just end up making things harder for them without meaning to. But more about that in later chapters ;)

ANYWAY. Thank you so much for the lovely ask! I'm so happy to hear that people are this excited and involved in my story! And, tbh, I can't help replying because I'm very excited, too, and love talking about my writing, my thoughts, and my takes on these characters. How could I resist? More often than not, I have to cut my answers short because I keep writing longer and longer ones.

Like, you guys have no idea how long the first drafts of my author's notes usually are. One time I had to cut half of it because it was reaching truly spectacular lengths. And sure, I know that some of you probably wouldn't complain if I had posted that first draft, but I'm trying to contain myself, okay? And also not reveal too much since it might end up spoiling future plot points. It's a constant struggle.

So yeah. I'm actually consciously holding back a lot of the time because I'm trying to not come off as completely unhinged x'D

#Amethystina Replies #Anonymous #Who Holds the Devil #I admit that I sometimes feel a little bad about being so firm about the Elijah situation #A lot of people seem to want her to be aware of Yo Han and Ga on's feeling? #And help them along? #But I genuinely don't see why she would be based on her character in the drama #She's incredibly clever yes #But also socially inept #(much like her uncle) #And a teenager #She's got her own problems to worry about #Her weird uncle's sexuality is NOT high on her list of priorities okay?

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.49 What in the world

I texted Chi Chi and asked about dinner. Luckily, it was at proper dinnertime, not in the middle of the afternoon like we used to do it. That left plenty of time for a good rest and getting my head straight. I fell asleep immediately and woke up still troubled. Dating multiple women was harder than I imagined it would be. How did other dudes keep it straight? I wasn't cut out for it. Truthfully, I preferred meaningful relationships, despite still delaying one. Regardless of how I felt about everything, I had an engagement to keep, so I took one last deep breath and went downstairs to see if Dad was ready.

As we walked down the street, I saw him glancing at me out of the corner of my eye.

"What is it, Dad?"

"Ummm...I know I said I would never pry, but... Is she the one..."

"Chi Chi? No. We haven't even gone out yet."

I could tell he was relieved, though I wasn't sure why. Did he like Eleanor? Wouldn't it be crazy if both of us ended up with Chi Chi and Eleanor and lived together in their house? Ugh. I didn't get the opportunity to be grossed out by my parents' love life and I certainly didn't want to start now.

The younger ladies met us at the door with smiles and holiday cheer.

"Hey guys," Chi Chi shouted. "Happy Harvestfest! Come in, come in! Make yourselves at home!"

Karmine wasted no time stealing my attention.

"Luca! My birthday is in a few days are you gonna get me a present???"

Again, I was a deer in headlights. I barely understood what she said because she spoke so fast. And I didn't realize she was that old. Thankfully, Chi Chi saved me.

"No, he is not!" She turned her attention back to me. "Please don't get her anything. She'll have to sleep in the yard if we cram yet another thing in that room! Oh! Mr. Ali, have you met my daughter? This is Karmine! Karmy, say hi to Luca's daddy, Mr. Ali."

Instead of greeting Dad, she burst into laughter.

"Allie?? That's a girl's name!"

Chi Chi gasped.

"Karmine!! That is not nice!"

She tickled herself pretty good and was doubled over in laughter. It almost made me laugh too.

"It's alright," Dad said. "It's nothing I've never heard before."

"Well, I'm sorry," Chi Chi said. "Let's eat, shall we? I can't wait to see what you made, Luca!"

"It's just tofurkey with veggies inside."

"Oh! Well, I've definitely never had that before."

Karmine dashed through all of us, yelling, "I WANNA SIT NEXT TO LUCA!"

Seeing as I had no choice, I sat next to her. Dad sat next to me at the head of the table, and Chi Chi sat across from me. Eleanor came from wherever she was and sat at the opposite end of the table next to Karmine. What a lucky girl to still have her grandmother. I wished mine would have lived long enough for me to get to know her. My other grandparents were like fictional characters in stories I occasionally heard.

"Sorry I wasn't there to greet you," Eleanor said. "Thank you for cooking, Luca. This is a real treat!"

"I was glad to. I want to get better at cooking."

"You all can talk if you want to," Chi Chi said, "but I'm gonna dig in!"

It was funny how different families were at the holidays. Some were more formal and sang songs before eating while others went around the table saying what each one was grateful for. Others took great care to appease those pesky gnomes. Chi Chi and her crew were super casual and did none of the above. I didn't mind it, but it begged the question: What was the point of Harvestfest without observing its traditions?

My tofurkey came out good, if I may say so. Even if I doubted, all the moaning from across the table confirmed it. And then there was the cat. He jumped on the table as soon as I placed down the platter. Dad's eyes flicked toward me larger than I'd ever seen, and I echoed his sentiment. Good thing we had already served ourselves by the time he started walking all over the food. I saw the unease on Dad's face as he attempted to keep smiling while silently yelling out for help. Chi Chi and Eleanor said nothing and went on eating as if this was a regular occurrence. How were they okay with that thing shedding its hairs all over our food?? And to top it off, Chi Chi kept kissing it in the mouth! I was no stranger to fur baby kisses, but I never let Tofu kiss me in the mouth. Not even Mama, who loved dogs more than sims, kissed them on the mouth. The mouth! Really, Chi Chi?!

Apart from the cat fiasco, dinner went pretty well. I even caught Dad and Eleanor sneaking glances at each other a few times. Karmine held me hostage, and my brain hurt, trying to keep up with everything that came out of her mouth.

After dinner, Karmine got bored with me, I guess, and followed Eleanor and Dad into the living room. I wanted to give them space to talk, but wasn't sure where to go. Sitting alone in the dining room was lame, and I didn't see where Chi Chi went. I felt weird about snooping around their house to find her, so I just stood in the doorway, acting like part of the conversation but also trying to stay unattached. She found me, eventually, and pulled me into the hallway.

"You good?" she asked.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm good. Thanks again for inviting us."

She nodded toward the bedroom we stood in front of.

"Let's talk."

I stifled a laugh as I wondered how many women's bedrooms I'd enter that day. The room was a good size and had a distinct sleeping area like mine and another space she used as a gym. I always thought I knew the least about Yasmine, but looking around Chi Chi's room, what did I really know about her? I mean, true, she told us her whole life story on the first day we met, but that didn't tell me anything about who she was currently. She was a professional athlete, but I didn't even know what sport she played.

"So like," she began, as she sat next to me on the bed, "what's your deal?"

"My...deal?"

"Yeah! Like, you're cute, you have a nice body, and you seem like a really nice guy... Why are you single?"

It had been a while since I'd been able to mess with someone, so I threw on a cheeky grin.

"How do you know I'm single?"

"I never see you with anyone, and you accept all my invitations!"

So much for being playful.

"Okay...you got me. I am single... It's complicated, but...well, the short answer is it's because I choose to be."

Seriously, Luca? You sound like some temple monk or something!

"Well, what I mean is I'm dating, but not looking for anything serious yet," I added.

She nodded.

"That doesn't sound so complicated."

If I told her the long version, maybe she wouldn't think so.

"What about you?" I asked. "What's your deal?"

"I'm kinda the same, I guess. I'm in my fun era right now. Ha ha! My husband was my first love and I'll always miss him, but we met and got married really young and Karmine came soon after. I loved our little family, of course, and I regret nothing, but I never really got a chance to live and discover myself, you know? So...yeah! For now, I just want to meet and mingle with as many sims as I can so when I'm ready to settle down again I don't have any shoulda coulda wouldas. I want more kids, so a serious relationship is definitely in my future. Just not yet."

It amazed me how many words could come out of her and Karmine in mere seconds. They never breathed!

"Now that we got that out of the way, you still owe me a date," she said, waggling her eyebrows.

I laughed.

"I do owe you a date."

I wasn't sure if I could ever get the image of her making out with the cat out of my head, but hopefully we'd still have fun...without kissing.

🤣

In Chi Chi and Eleanor's defense...

Let me tell you about this cat lol. (mini EA rant incoming!) This cat REALLY had to poop. Like, he had to go so bad, he risked everything and walked all over our dinner constantly! Luca would shoo him but he would not budge! He meowed and meowed and meowed...the poor thing was probably in pain he had to poop so much. So I finally investigated the house to see why this cat wouldn't leave us alone. The house has no litter box!! Why would EA create a household with a pet and place them in a house with no facilities? Like...really?? I'm so tired of them doing stuff like this.

Kitty kisses are brought to you in part by overlapping animations lol.

#ISBI challenge #sims 4 story #sims 4 gameplay #adolting #adolting gen 3 #luca winston murillo #ali murillo #xochitl luna #karmine luna #eleanor sullivan

[evelhak]

Feeling daring today - Haizaki for the character and ship bingo ;)

Your takes are much more interesting, so there may not be anything illuminating here but I tried. xD

*Non-sarcastically normal. Haizaki is a pretty neutral character when I think about him by myself, I just don't have that special connection to him.

*However I love him when you talk about him and I'm sure I would love him more if I just had an incentive to write about him. But I don't feel anything like that because you're already giving him justice. My brain doesn't really work unless I feel like I have something substantial to contribute, which I don't.

*Haizaki definitely still gets a lot of unjustified hate, because he was framed as a villain and people then interpreted his every action as coming from the worst place imaginable, while other characters' actions get understanding just because they can see those characters' sides but can't see Haizaki's since he wasn't written in a sympathetic way. On one hand, that's fair to me, if your fic needs a villain it makes sense to pick a character whose motivations were not discussed deeply, so you can turn him into as much of a villain as you want, because you have no need to think about that particular character so deeply. However, the rate at which this happens to Haizaki perfectly exemplifies how the same dynamic happens in real life, especially at schools. He has the outward characteristics of the person who is always the easiest to blame. Not that there isn't stuff to blame him for, it's just that when he gets blamed for more than his share, it becomes a vicious cycle. Not to say it would affect his likability to me even if he never grew less violent or got his shit together, because my like and dislike for fictional characters is not based on morality or whether or not I would like that character in real life. 😂 I didn't pay that much attention to him solely because I just overlooked his story as pretty been there done that. Any character depth he has is implied at best, because he's a side character. I would much rather see an actual depiction of the dynamics that get projected onto him. And you are doing that, so, I'm not complaining.

*I do think Haizaki is pretty silly, he's so macho but he's also kind of wishy-washy about it. Like, one minute he can be thundering on like any of the other macho characters but then his line for changing his mind and going like "you know what, not worth it, actually" is much lower. And somehow he gets depicted as pathetic for that, even though it may actually just be common sense and self-preservation.

*Honestly I need to remind myself that Haizaki exists, sometimes. I'm sorry. He just wasn't that compelling to me initially. I didn't demonise him (I'd like to think that I don't demonise anyone) I just wasn't interested enough. I knew there were reasons he acts the way he does but I didn't make actual effort to find out. You've done some good to me, reminding me that my perception is more limited than I would like, because I tend to pride myself for considering everyone's viewpoints. (Not 100% possible, but I try.)

*Well you said it, Haizadick is not an inaccurate term, no matter what way you look at it.

I didn't ship anyone with Haizaki because I didn't think about his life much before talking to you, so...

*Congrats, your Haizaki and his relationships are now basically canon to me. : D

*I just put that second tier text there because I imagine it's where the relationships that last a bit longer would go, and I think Haizaki just has many short relationships before maybe ending up with his end game.

*I mean I assume he has had fun short relationships with many girls.

*And probably many one-night stands.

*I literally just got it in my head that maybe he experimented with a guy once, while I was making this. He seems like a curious type even though I'm kind of assuming he's straight.

*Yeah, I theoretically get why these are ships but no I don't really get it, I would be lying if I said I truly deeply understood it.

I know my shipping tiers are a mix of "I actually root for it" and "I just sort of think it would happen" but that's what you get from me. : D

#knb #character bingo #ship tier #haizaki

[sohcah--toa]

bullet train/マリアビートル details ~

Hello!! I recently dug up the Bullet Train script (if you search it up, you should be able to find it relatively easily!! I'm not sure if it's completely reliable but it seems to be the first version) and listened to the soundtrack. (It's awesome, you should listen if you haven't already!!)

There's a lot of stuff here about マリアビートル, I hope you enjoy reading 🥳 (It's really ridiculous)

-- 1 ) LEMON'S CHILDHOOD // BACKGROUND(??)

I attached a photo for reference in the book!! :D (there's highlighter marks, I'm sorry) His backstory is tragic and aahh noo 🥹... I won't say much on it because we're all thinking the same thing. In the script, this is carried over when Lemon passes out because of the water. But apparently, in the final movie, this isn't shown a lot. In the book and movie, they aren't brothers and have a considerably colder relationship, so I can understand why the childhood scene in the cut is so much more wholesome. (Still supersuper cool though!!)

-- 2) "I'm forever blowing bubbles"

The original reason why this song was chosen for Bullet Train was because of Tangerine's West Ham United sticker (turns out, that's a football club). Hey!! But wait a minute!! There's a funny coincidence because Ladybug in the book was trying to become a football star. He has a quote that's like "my friend told me that someone like me could either become a footballer or a criminal, so I did both" and he says that his first crime was stealing a football.

The song delves into themes surrounding fortune as well!! I love their music selection 🙇‍♂️😤

-- 3) THREE ASSASSINS/グラスホッパー REFERENCES

Okay this part (in a way...) contains spoilers for Three Assassins, which is the first book of the "series"! ! The story revolves around a guy named Suzuki, who appears again in Bullet Train!! He kinda-sorta becomes friends with Ladybug and it's like 😊 they are so happy. To be completely honest, Suzuki's a bit traumatised but so is Ladybug, right?? Lovely friendship!!

It's also so interesting that he's reading a hotel buffet menu because his wife used to love eating at buffets and he adopted the habit of hoarding all the food as well. He's on the train to meet with his dead wife's family (which was extremely difficult for him after her passing).

-- 4) BULLET TRAIN REFERENCES IN THE MANTIS/AX

There's this other book in the series called The Mantis or AX for the Japanese version. This one isn't talked about a lot but if you like family stories, this book is so so soo good. It really pulled at my heartstrings when I first read it but I can't say too much without spoiling everything. Anyway, it makes a few references to Bullet Train and literally starts with the main character, Kabuto (an assassin), having a flashback to talking to Tangerine and Lemon during one of his missions, where they had the same target so they worked together. The Twins really respect him, actually, but find it funny that he's so careful around his wife (YES KABUTO, AN ASSASSIN, HAS A WIFE). Some characters reappear so.. :")) yay!!

-- 5) 777

Ladybug comes back!! He comes back in the latest book in the series; 777. So far, the Japanese reviews have been pretty positive and I think there's an English translation coming in November!! 🥳 I like how the title is 777; 7 like 7 tails in Nanao (七尾), car 7, his favourite number is 7 (if I recall correctly), 7 the "lucky number".

-- 6) THIS GUY

No one asked but I heavily dislike the Prince in the book. (to be honest, who doesn't...) He's just mean for no reason and likes ruining people's lives, makes fun of poor Ladybug (this really isn't that bad compared to the other stuff he does) and yeah, the list goes on. Also apparently he (heavily) tortures other schoolmates and it's not like he gets paid for it like the Twins or the other guys. He just does it for fun?? OK!! The premise of his character is amazing and it's great to see a villain that's actually just straight evil but since he's designed that way, we are validated when hating him ww. He talks about politics as well for some reason... keeps referencing historical tragedies.... man.

-- 7) ASAGAO/THE PUSHER

The Pusher is back too!! Weee~ (not really)

In the movie, it seems as though this entire part got cut out which, like, is reasonable. I attached a photo from the Grasshopper (2015) movie for reference hahaha. The guy in the black suit is the Pusher!! Yeah, he pushes people!! (not in the fun way!!)

He is in charge of protecting Wataru from the Prince's guy, although he's reluctant at first. He's obsessed with bugs and stuff. Whenever he opens his mouth, it's probably going to be about bugs. The Pusher's also strangely poetic. Maybe it's because he likes old bands like the Rolling stones? Oh!! And he gets mentioned in The Mantis.

And speaking of the Kimura family, Yuichi Kimura says something very true and it's:

"who do they gotta make the train toilets so nasty"

-- 8) LADYBUG IS COOL

This is very much a fact. In Mariabeetle, he gets kidnapped when he's 8 years old because he gets mistaken for a rich kid (after he lost a bet with his wealthy friend and had to wear his "rich person backpack"), then in the place he's being held captive, he escapes by HIMSELF since his dad isn't able to give the guys money for his son back (since they took the wrong person!!). But heyy he's resourceful and smart.

AND guess what?? He gets traumatised because there was this other boy being held but Ladybug didn't save him and it's haunted him ever since. This is also one of the reasons why he ends up helping the Prince even though he knows it won't do him any good.

Obviously, it gets worse from there. He makes it back to his family and they're pretty happy. Unfortunately, they're far from rich and Ladybug has to study extremely hard to get into a college. Spoiler alert, he doesn't. THE THING IS!! He studied so hard!! It's just that during his exam, some kid sneezed on his paper and he wiped it, smudging all his work and even his name!! Nanao! No!!

-- 9) TANGERINE BOOK RECS

To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

"We perished, each alone."

-> He really loves that quote. A lot. Also he's a Virginia Woolf fan!!

2. Forbidden Colours - Yukio Mishima

-> He's also a Yukio Mishima fan... I wonder if he's ever read "The Sound of Waves". What would he think about it? Hahaha this will keep me up at night 😅 (<- SLANTED EMOJI!!)

3. The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea - Yukio Mishima

-> To talk about Article 41 of the Penal Code of Japan. (Mr Kotaro Isaka, the author, studied law, by the way!! It's interesting!!) However, here, Tangerine quotes Mishima on Article 41 ;)

4. Hemingway and Faulkner

-> Actually it's a collection so it's not really a book recommendation but these two people are real - Ernst Hemingway (the Old Man and the Sea guy) and William Faulkner. They didn't really get along, by the way, and even though they respected the other's work, they criticised more than praised. Sounds like the Twins.

5. Demons - Fyodor Dostoevsky

-> "Crime is no longer insanity, but simply common sense, almost a duty; anyway, a gallant protest."

I think the author is a heavy Fyodor Dostoevsky fan, just because he also referenced his works in Three Assassins.

6. Crime and Punishment ;D

-> "Science now tells us, love yourself before all men, for everything in the world relies on self-interest."

(CONT'D) yeahh this book was referenced in Three Assassins and one of the characters is obsessed with it. Glad to see that Tangerine is a fan too hahahaha.

-- 10) LEMON IS AWESOME

Opinionated text here but Lemon is plain awesome.

"Between the principal's name and Doraemon's gadgets, it was blindingly obvious which one was more important."

To each their own and I know he's a criminal but he seems like he has no enemies. Sounds very wholesome.

-- 11) HORNET THE MVP

She's in Three Assassins AND the Mantis!! Hypercool. In both books, the Hornet is a team of a male and a female. The female is eliminated (this word choice ww) by Ladybug but the male is still up and kicking, though Ladybug feels bad about it. They use poison needles, like the movie, but they trigger anaphylaxis, which is a really dangerous allergic reaction that causes body shocks.

-- 12) SUZUKI: PHILOSOPHER AND ECONOMIST

"If people knew that they might be killed by someone tomorrow, economic activity would grind to a halt."

... well 😅 take from that what you will.

(that's Suzuki!!)

Cela dit... that's all.... so long, I'm sorry. But thank you so much if you read until the end!! I hope you at least found it a bit entertaining!! :"))

#bullet train #kotaro isaka #ladybug bullet train #maria beetle #bullet train novel #tangerine bullet train #lemon bullet train #three assassins #grasshopper 2015 #ranting #do you wanna read an economics student's ramblings about something that has pretty much nothing to do with econ while finishing a report? ; #all the characters are so likeable... I don't know. I love all of them. #my mother blocked me because i kept sending her bullet train gifs #brainrot is brainrotting

[freelanceexorcist]

I watched the EC chapters 7 & 8 and of course I have thoughts. Of course I do.

*cracks knuckles*

Spoilers under the cut.

-It was really good! The drama and the resolution hit the spot. And Baby Seph's story will continue!

-So I guess Seven Seconds Til the End is officially Baby Seph's leitmotif. Interesting that it is also the leitmotif of the wingless version of him that's chilling in the Edge of Creation. I guess Ore Sephiroth hasn't been memory holed after all.

-Man, they really put Young Master Seph through the wringer, didn't they? Woof. Poor kid.

-They really went there with Rosen, didn't they? And making Sephiroth kill him? I reiterate: woof. I didn't think they'd really do it, but those who predicted that nailed it. They pulled it off very well, too.

-He just wanted to save him and give him a chance. Seeing his face go from sadness and near tears to grim resolve was a pretty emotional moment. We see him learn on the spot that you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved. Rosen was never going to go with him to safety. He made the choice he thought was best, but the act haunted Sephiroth for a long time. I'll bet it's why he was so compelled to try and save everyone later in life. It was essentially a mercy kill to the folks watching at home, but to Sephiroth, it was a life-altering decision that stuck to his heels for years after.

-But he got Refu to safety! He carried him. "I couldn't save Rosen, but at least I can save his dog." I'm glad to see Refu with Glenn.

-But when the TFS trio thought Sephiroth just straight up murdered Rosen for no reason. Ouch. And it looked that way from the trio's perspective, too. It made the recollection from Sephiroth's POV hurt even more.

-The only complaint I have is the bit with the locket. You mean the thing literally drops out of the sky just to give Glenn his Kick the Dog moment? They really could have found a less clunky and contrived way to make that moment happen.

-But apparently there's no hard feelings anymore. I'm glad. The way he looked at Sephiroth while the troops were cheering for him was pure "that's my son right there." Good to hear that Matt and Lucia are still alive, at least as of the Crisis Core era.

-And good lord, he really does dislike the attention he gets. But he powered through it because he knew they looked up to him. Still, when the paparazzi security officer was done snapping pics his body language screamed "*sigh* Not this shit again."

-That glitching, though. Just like Cloud.

-They're really going hard on what a good person he was well into adulthood. "If I save everyone, it could make up for Rosen. If I save everyone, maybe I can start living up to the reputation that was built for me. If I save everyone, I'll have value. I can break the cycle. Right, Glenn?"

-This character development he's getting is just *chef's kiss*. Divine. And not the kind of development a generic doomsday villain tends to get. I'm not saying a redemption arc is coming. I mean, that would be great if they don't whiff it like they did with Genesis, but it doesn't seem likely. They're making him a big part of the story, far beyond "bad guy you have to beat in the end so you can win." They're making him even more sympathetic. They're making him likeable, and not just in a "yay, villains are awesome!" way.

-And holy shit, when the flashback happened and we find out that this was Edge of Creation Sephiroth reminiscing the whole time! Now that's one I did NOT see coming. I thought it was a CC/Wutai era scene for sure. I actually gasped when I saw where he was, because damn. I thought they had memory holed Ore Sephiroth but looks like they may run with that ball after all.

Bonus teaser trailer thoughts:

-BABY ANGEAL!

-This means Genesis is probably back too, though. *sigh* I just hope they do better by that character than how they handled him in Crisis Core. Maybe this is an area where paying a little attention to fanon and incorporating it will do some good, because fan interpretations of him make him so much more likeable.

-Damn it, Hojo. That's all.

-And they're going to make young Hojo hot, aren't they? It won't work on me, Squeenix. He'll always make my skin crawl right off my body no matter what.

That's all for now. We ate good today. If you've stuck around this far, thank you for reading.

#Sephiroth #Ever Crisis #The First Soldier #FFVII Spoilers #FFVIIEC Spoilers #Glenn Lodbrok

[entertainmentgirl80]

Texan & Georgian: Love Story (Jake "Hangman" Seresin X OC Reader) 👨💚🧑🏾🤠

Warning: Fluff, There Some Romance Tension Between The Characters, And Of Course Hangman Being Him.

It's a nice sunny day in San Diego, California. You were just moved here from Atlanta, Georgia, to start fresh. So while you are unpacking your stuff in your new apartment, you decide to call your mom to make sure you are straight and settle in after you move....

*Rings, rings*

"Hey Mama," you say hi, first.

"Hey baby girl, how are you?" She said hi back.

"I'm doing fine, just getting in and unpacking more stuff. What about you? How is the jewelry business and my doggy twin?" You ask her

"It's doing well, and your doggy twin is out on the patio enjoying the sunshine. So, what are your plans over California?"

"Probably go out, just sideseening and that all." You tell your plans to her.

"Alright, baby girl, but listen, I'm gonna let you go and do your thing, talk to you later, love you."

"Okay, love you more, bye bye." You hang up the phone.

Later on that evening, you already got dressed, and you is wearing one of your Shein graphic t-shirt dresses that you got on, you put on some little makeup, and you is wearing some of your gold bracelets and your rings on too as well with your bucket hat on, just to make sure you look decent while you going out. So after the Uber dropped you off at this bar called The Hard Deck, which is a casual bar/hangout place for the military & the navy.....

"Well, this is an interesting bar, so I'm guess it's wouldn't kill me to enjoy myself for a one drink and be around people." You said to yourself before you go in the bar. So after you went inside you saw different types of military people from men to women and there also regular people hanging out too as well, so as you walk towards to find you a seat and sit down, a good-looking but gorgeous man with beautiful green eyes staring at you while you sitting down waiting for your drink to order by a beautiful brunette older woman by the name of Penny Benjamin. So you look around just to feel the vibe in the bar, and this man keep staring at you, and giving you a smile and a wink, but you turn back around and while your cheeks is blushing.....

"Here your soda, love, enjoy. Let me know if you need anything, okay? Penny gives you a warm smile.

"Okay, thank you, ma'am, I appreciate it." You thank her after she gives you your drink.

So, while you enjoy yourself while drinking your coca-cola and looking at your phone, what is going on, on your social media. The guy with the beautiful green emerald eyes with the toothpick in his mouth taps you on your shoulder and wanna introduce himself....

"Howdy there, pretty lady, how are you this evening?" He greets you in a Texan southern accent.

"Hi, I'm doing fine, how about you sir?" You smile at the handsome man.

"I'm good darlin', can't complain, so what got you looking cute this evening?" He ask you.

"That good, well you know just to get out for a minute, and I'm just move here, by the way."

"Oh well, that understandable sweets, so where you from if you don't mind asking?" He wanna know.

"I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, born & raised, what about you and also what your name by the way if I don't mind asking?" You tell him where you from.

"Texas, born & raised, and my name is Jake Seresin, but my callsign is Hangman." He tell you his name and his callsign.

"That what up, nice to meet you, Jake. But why is the name "Hangman" though? Is it because you like playing the game when you were a child or something?" You raise your eyebrow, just out of curiously.

"Well, it is because I'm have a reputation to hang people left to dry." He explains.

"Oh, well, okay, so do you still do that to people?" Asking curiously.

"No, after my last mission and help out my fellow teammates and being the team leader that I am, it's changed my perspective."

"That good, so what do you do for a living, though?"

"I'm in a navy, and also I'm a pilot, by the way." He has a grin on his face.

So, after hours & hours on having a conversation between the two of you, you felt more comfortable talking to him about everything, even though you just met him, and he is more comfortable, and understand where you coming from. But however, you never thought a gorgeously but handsome blond man with a cocky personality starting to develop feelings towards you after y'all met in this bar. But the feeling is mutual between you & him, the way y'all look each other's eyes, the way he put his hand on your wrist while y'all slow dance during a slow R&B song on a jukebox. It's like a fairytale came true that you found your prince charming and he found his future wife & soulmate, even though y'all two from different worlds regardless of your race, so after both of you pay both of y'all tabs, you ask Jake can he come home with him....

"Hey, it's getting late, and I know we just met, but can I crash to your place for tonight, if you don't mind at all?" You ask while you yawn.

"Of course, not at all, suga, and don't worry , I won't murder you." He has a smile on his features.

"Thank you, so you ready go?" You have a lazy smile on your face.

"Ready that I'm ever be darlin, let go home." He kisses you on your forehead, and y'all left to go back to his place for the night.

A/N: This is the prequel to part 2, this is how they first met for the first time. I hope y'all like it. Thank you for reading, sharing, and reposting for my last story 🙏🏾 🫶🏾🫶🏾😌

#top gun maverick #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #jake seresin x reader #hangman x reader #jake seresin imagine #jake seresin x you #hangman top gun #hangman blurb #tgm fanfiction #top gun maverick fanfiction #interracial relationship #texan #georgian #jake seresin x black female reader #hangman x plus-size reader #white chocolate #jake seresin fluff #hangman #hangman fanfiction #tgm fic #hangman x plus size reader #hangman fanfic #hangman x you #hangman x oc #jake hangman seresin x reader