#i can't decide if this is Bromance or Gay so it's up to you

[watchingblsnowandforever]

GMMTV lineup (part 2, mostly, with some unreleased part 1) in order of my preference: (these are only the QLs. All the het shows fall under my Indifferent category. If I feel like it, I'll watch them.)

The Heart Killers. Pretty sure this is #1 on most of y'alls lists and for good reason too. My reasons? Pretty simple. I love action, mafia and romcom and this is all in one. And also FirstKhao and JoongDunk so-

Peaceful Property (part 1). After TayNew outdid themselves in the beautiful soft little thing that was Cherry Magic Thailand (anyone wanna join my Cherry Magic Th propaganda?), I can't wait for this series. Also: if they give me besties, it'll be a hard pill to swallow but I'll be fine, but if they give me bromance, I'll commit homicide.

Wandee Goodday (part 1). Releasing tomorrow. I am interested to see how GMMTV will handle this trope.

My Love Mix Up! Thailand. I loved the original Kieta Hatsukoi, and I'm just a bit skeptical if they'll be able to recreate the magic of the original, but I have faith in GemFourth and after Cherry Magic I've decided to trust them.

Pluto the series. A GL? With NamtanFilm? I'm in.

Revamp. Previously: The Vampire Project. Love me some vampires <3. Also, BounPrem.

Sweeth Tooth, Good Dentist. The plot sounds super fluffy and cheesy, so of course I'm in. And no way I'm missing Mark Pakin first lead. (Also, as a dessert-loving person who had many teeth-related problems as a kid, the premise just sounds too relatable. Except the falling in love part with your dentist obviously.) But... JittiRain. I have complicated feelings for her works.

ThamePo/ My Heart Skips A Beat. It seems soft and sweet, though it does have the secret/forbidden relationship overtones.

Ossan's Love. I found the trailer hilarious, but trailers, especially pilot trailers lie. Also, I'm not hearing the greatest things about the original, but I haven't watched it so I will reserve judgement. If I like it I'll like it I guess.

Us the series. You might ask how a GL ended up so low in my list. Personally, it's a bit jarring to see BLs have this safe space/bubble for their gay bois, but GLs are proclaiming love between women as "taboo" off the bat. I also saw this in 23.5, and yeah okay I get it, wlw is seen in a much harsher eye sometimes, but in 23.5 all Ongsa did was go on repeating "But we're both girls..." without explaining the why and resolving it properly. For now, I will not think too much into it, and worry about it when the time comes.

Perfect 10 liners. What put me off in the trailer itself is the clear discrimination based on looks/physical appearances. It also seems like at this point they're just trying to give each pairing some screen time this year but have run out of plots, and are thus shoving pairings into series like it's the metro/tube/subway/whatever you call it in your country during rush hour. Will I like it? We'll see. But after We Are, I have some hope left.

Currently Airing:

We Are. It's absolutely great for my tastes and I get to detox once every week. Love it. Has absolutely no plot but has loads of fluff, and it's something I didn't know I needed in my life until I had it.

Only Boo. I kinda like it, but I have zero idea where they plan to go with the current storyline. Fluffy and cute, I'll keep watching, but it probably won't end up high on my favourites list.

#kinda long post #gmmtv 2024 part 2 #gmmtv 2024 #gmmtv part 2 #gmmtv part 1 #peaceful protest #the heart killers #wandee goodday #my love mix up #my love mix up thailand #pluto #pluto the series #revamp #revamp the series #revamp the undead story #the vampire project #sweet tooth good dentist #thame po #thame po the series #heart that skips a beat #ossan's love thailand #us the series #perfect 10 liners #we are #we are the series #we are series #only boo

[fanjiansaa]

TOTAL DRAMA REVIVAL TIERLIST + THOUGHTS

After binging all of the new season, I've updated my initial tierlist! Priya stays winning, no surprise there. Thoughts about the ENTIRETY of the new cast (with spoilers) under the cut!

Let's just start off by saying that the over the top toilet humor and intro aside, this was a great season. While Pakhitew Island was rancid with blatant obvious character tropes, this season managed to make most of their characters relatable while parodying at it.

But as for Caleb, Scary Girl and Ripper... Those were on the nose too much for my liking. Caleb got the season 1 Justin treatment, Scary Girl is literally Jinx from League of Legends, and Ripper is nothing but a shoehorned character for fart jokes. It sucks because I thought Ripper was going to be great. His personality is pretty solid and reminds me loads of McArthur.

Now that I've got the slog out of the way, time to dissect the more intriguing parts of this show!

Nichelle, Damien and Axel were tremendously robbed this season, and you know it.

Axel's dexterity and agility would have no doubt gotten her far. Unfortunately, her prickly attitude got her booted very early, akin to Eva's elimination back in the original TDI. She's definitely the Shawn of this generation though. And hey, which begs the question — is she his kid? It's been 15 years after all...

Nichelle was nothing like the mean girl label everyone pegged her for. Just a typical rich, famous celebrity that's never been out of her comfort zone. Rude and vicious? No, she had the team spirit and was always ready to pump up her team. I love Dakota, so I am definitely a fan of Nichelle, the two being so alike. In her elimination episode, she had a breakdown where she realized that she wasn't "all that". It was honestly pretty sad to see.

Damien was the person with the most common sense on that show. It's funny how he's just wants the million bucks and never seen the show before. But when he sees what there's up against? He's totally done. FINALLY, A CHARACTER THAT GETS IT. He's a whole vibe. In the end, he decided he wanted to stay after he did some awesome heroics, but his team voted him off like he wanted... Better luck next time.

Speaking of next time, apparently these three do have another shot. They've all been invited back for another season, which means that we can explore these characters far more! Let's hope that the writers do not miss this opportunity.

As for someone that I don't think overstayed their welcome, MK definitely takes the cake. She was honestly a great character with witty comebacks and superior intellect. I think she got just the right amount of screen time. We got to see her in action while making room for other character's developments to shine. Nice.

Wayne and Raj are what happens when you combine Katie and Sadie with Geoff and Brody. I found their bromance pretty sweet actually. I don't think they had much time to grow more distinctively from each other though. And I know how everyone was betting their money on them or Caleb/Bowie as the gay couple, but I'm so so glad that they weren't.

Instead we got a delightfully surprising pair — Bowie and Raj. While I did want to see more build up, with 13 twenty minute episodes, you can't really do much. But no matter, I still thought they were plenty cute! I needed to see them smooch in the finale though. It would've been loads better than...

Chase and Emma.

How this pair irks me to no end. Chase is an incel and Emma is stupid for going back to him. Really hit the nail on the head with the on and off again couples of the world. Seen this way too often.

Speaking of which, I think you all owe RR Emma an apology. Because RR Emma actually had loads more character outside of her boyfriend. We got to see her in action, taking charge, her fiesty attitude, the great dynamic with her sister!

But this Emma? All she did was whine nonstop about how Chase was a horrible boyfriend only to go back to square one. Every second of her on screen was either her wanting to torture him in the best way possible or lusting after him. Girl... After everything Chase's done to you, him granting you immunity in a round does not cut it.

I'll give some points for the Bowie/Emma friendship. Except for the fact that it centered around Chase mostly, UGH. Bowie going "ew straight people" is how I felt about this whole ordeal.

And in case it wasn't obvious enough, Chase deserves to be ejected into sun. He radiates toxic masculinity. He wanted to change Emma's name to "Chase's Girlfriend"? He thought a guy should win the finale? He can't take no for an answer and keeps pursuing his ex? I hope he rots, ew.

Bless Zee's heart for being bros with him. Goodness knows I could not do that. But let's face it, Zee is bros with everyone on this island. He's that stoner friend everyone needs. Just chilling, making some unintentional funny comments, you get the gist. I first pegged him to be the scaredy cat type, but seeing him in the zone instead was hilarious. And he's the amputee! How cool is that?

Now I know I haven't talked about one of the best parts of Total Drama — the villains/antagonists.

Julia was a very fun twist villain. At first, she was just Dawn but if she was a social media brat. I was surprised to see that facade crack and her true colors shine. Instead, she's a two faced teenaged girl, which I see a lot in society. Putting on a show for others only to bash them in private. Watching her let loose was a thrill and I was here for it. Her manipulation, scheming and determination is unmatched.

At least, that's what I would say if Bowie didn't exist.

How Bowie absolutely dominated that competition. He was here to win and he meant it. Seeing him pull the strings was a sight to behold. He convinced the team to vote off Caleb at first glance, outsmarted Julia at her own game, ruined Priya and Millie's friendship, and snagged a pretty cute boyfriend too. If that's not absolute winner things, I don't know what is.

Which brings me to the part I've been waiting for. Last, but certainly not least of all, Priya and Millie.

These two are MY Total Drama inserts, I'm so sure of it. Millie disgusted by her own generation and Priya's obedience to follow her parent's dreams were things I felt in my soul. I know that they weren't popular when the characters were first leaked, but I'm so glad that they beat the early boot allegations.

Millie's character arc is one of the best things of the season. She came here to write a book slandering the people her age and thought of herself as above everyone else's nonsense. But then Priya happened. Priya was nice to her, she was the first real person to ever make Millie feel good about herself. And that was the wake up call Millie needed and the turning point of her life.

Priya also learned something too — self worth. She was too eager to be friends with Millie off the bat and have nothing but good energy all around. Only to realize that maybe she's putting more effort into their friendship than the other person is. And as someone whose been in that position multiple times, it absolutely broke me.

And everything went to hell when Bowie gifted Priya the notepad in which Millie was writing smack about everyone. Of course, Millie had changed her mind and was trying to be a better person, but karma catches up to you. Priya finally let herself be gulfed in anger and Millie truly got hit with the great significance of Priya coming into her life.

In the end, Millie managed to apologize and pour her insecurities out to Priya about everything. It brought both tears to me and Priya and the two of them reconciled. This was the best friendship story I've ever seen written on Total Drama. It's like what Gwen and Courtney could've gone through in All Stars...

Also, Priya wins. How cool is that? I rooted for her at the very start AND SHE WON. I'm loving this so so much. I'm sure there's another alternative ending where it's Bowie but the one I watched was Priya so that's the true happy ending to me :3

Sidenote: Anyone wanna talk about the Priya/Damien ship tease? Honestly I'm glad Priya didn't blush at anything Chase said; I know the fandom thought they were going to be a couple. But the best girl Priya and the best boy Damien had a hint and that's another win for me.

Think about it, a girl who's prepared for Total Drama all her life with someone who's never seen it before? GOLD. They were even paired for the finale! Do you think next season will have them be a couple? Manifesting that so bad with a real Chase/Emma breakup. And more Raj/Bowie while we're at it too, yeah?

#total drama #total drama island #total drama revival #aji rambles

[siringadev]

My thoughts about secret relationships in Hollywood. I read a report from FFH staff who said that during filming, Tom and Jake were together all the time and went into private together (it was said that they had sex), and also that they lived in the same hotel room, both during production and during press tour. All this was then carefully hidden and silenced by homophobic Sony and Disney, and PR with fake gf was invented, and then Tomdaya stuff appeared. On Blind Item they write that both Tom and Jake are hiding and their "beards" are needed to hide their real relationship with each other. Also, Tom and Jake have been together for five years now. There is a lot of evidence, but I won't post it - I respect their privacy. Believe it or not, I decided to drop a hint about this for those who are looking for the truth and still love their love. Part of me wants to talk more about it, but the other part says to keep quiet. I'm sad about all this lying, hiding, manipulation, PR, homophobia. I'm desperate about what's happening. I'm angry at the system, at company, at their managers, and partly at the actors themselves, although they are victims of the situation, but they are also responsible for lying. They have the right to keep their real relationship a secret, given homophobia, but lying about a relationship with a girlfriends and doing entire staged photo shoots, fake performances and interviews where they lie is wrong and not good. This is a game on people's feelings. But society is also to blame for forcing actors to do this.

You see when Tom is with Jake, he smiled truly, happily, from the bottom of his heart. And not now, miserable, forced smiles during PR with Z. Yes, Tomdaya is a fake relationship. The contract with Sony forces him. Sony and Disney are homophobic and hypocrites, they fired Andrew Garfield for just saying "Spiderman can have a boyfriend, he may be bi or gay" and then they demanded an apology from him, he refused and told them "You just want to sell more tickets to homophobes and bigots?" That's why PR is needed. Every Spider-Man actor "has to date MJ in real life" to sell their product. But society, which is homophobic, stupid, ignorant is to blame for this. Most of Tom's fans now, will they still love Tom when they find out he's not hetero? That Tomdaya is a subtle marketing ploy? Hardly. And that's why Hollywood is still has closeted actors. Despite all the rights, society has not changed its deep-seated attitude towards gay men. Especially for celebrities. Read what Kate Winslet said about this, as well as a new interview with Richard Armitage, who only came out publicly now, at age 50, and who said he pretended to be straight so as not to ruin his career. Actor Colton Haynes said that after he came out, he stopped getting offers for big roles, and when he went to auditions, he was turned down.

"I came out of the closet in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2016. I hoped it would set me free, and in some ways it did." Unfortunately though, Haynes believes that his coming out made it more difficult for him to get parts, saying that "the work mostly dried up" compared to when he was closeted. Colton Haynes Stopped Getting Roles After Coming Out as Gay

You may say that I can't talk about actors' sexuality and private relationships until they reveal it themselves. But Tom and Jake opened up at first, they told the truth, they confessed their love a hundred times, said that they would get married, called each other husbands.

And what then? People called it a joke, bromance, fanservice (which is nonsense, gay fanservice exists in Asia, but not in Hollywood, and Sony/Disney certainly won't allow it). But I don't care what people say. I'm tired. I see how the privacy of actors is destroyed every day, for many years, "officially" and in the media, how all the details of their “personal hetero-life” (fabricated) are discussed from all sides by a press and fans. Look at Tomdaya and Jake's "gfs" stuff. This is disgusting. And no one condemns this, right? Why can't I tell the truth about gay relationships? I think we need to discuss, we need to share, but sensibly, intelligently, with understanding and empathy. This is the only way we can change something for the better. Sitting in the closet and lying, we do not improve. By doing this, we only deepen prejudices and perpetuate stigmas, making same-sex love something taboo and forbidden. Lies bring money and fame, but the truth sets you free.

#gay #love is love #writing #gyllenholland #article #homophobia #PR

[welcometothejianghu]

I can't actually recommend Psych-Hunter, as it's not, strictly speaking, what you'd call good. It has, however, made us laugh out loud several times, and a lot of the visuals are really clever, and it's got to know what it's doing with how gay it's making those main boys (to say nothing of the police captain and that little cop who totally has a crush on him). It's weird and it's fun, and if you're looking for a thing to watch, you could do a lot worse!

NOTE: The preceding paragraph was written before I watched the last episode.

Look, this show is a hot mess. Let me break it down:

The good: some amazing visuals; excellent costuming (like, even when it's ugly, it's still good?); delightfully batshit worldbuilding decisions; fun short-arc mysteries; hella gay bromance; delicious boy tears; incredibly endearing secondary cast; great Psychonauts-esque plot device; some gorgeous mindscapes done with (mostly) practical effects; did I mention those two boys are real gay for one another?

The bad: little to no narrative cohesion; terribly bad pacing; high body count, especially of ladies; a couple inexplicable heel turns; when the CG is there, it's not great; plenty of unintentional comedy; most overarching mysteries remain completely unsolved.

The ugly: het romance that swings between just plain boring and outright skeevy; absolutely no grasp of the female lead's character; and of course, all the shit it pulls in the last episode.

...But obviously I found the whole mess still pretty compelling despite the flaws, considering I've just written like 1500 words of a Tumblr post that barely anybody else is ever going to read about it! So, uh, maybe that's an endorsement? I can't tell anymore.

Most of those words are beneath the cut, starting with the vaguely spoilery thoughts -- the ones you can read without spoiling yourself for the whole show. I'll mark when the big ones are coming up.

The good and the bad are, I think, somewhat self-explanatory. I want to talk about the ugly a bit, though.

The first two are actually two halves of the same problem. As a character, as she is written, Yuan Muqing sucks. Her entire personality is "whatever we need The Girl to be doing in this scene." She swings from Strong Independent Woman to Damsel In Distress to Spunky Female Police Officer to Spoiled Rich Schoolgirl to Giggling Love Interest with no sense that there should be any consistency between these states. Every detail of her life disappears the second it's not immediately relevant to the plot. She is a selection of two-dimensional objects chosen on a scene-by-scene basis to compliment whatever else is going on around her. I guess you could excuse this by [insert spoilers for the last episode here], but for that to work, the show would have to give off any sense that it understood her characterization was bad in the first place.

Whatever they could have done with the het romance was pretty doomed to fail from the start by having her be so badly written. (There are a few very cute moments they have later on, when they write her like an actual person, but it's too little too late.) She and Jiang Shuo already have little to no actual chemistry together, and the majority of their relationship is artificial overreaction-and-miscommunication conflict. And as though that weren't bad enough, the show keeps making it skeevy by making her so young. She's a high school student who has a very little-girl room, complete with dolls she talks to and petulantly punishes when she has tantrums. Many of her hairstyles and outfits also run young. Nobody gets a canonical age, but she's clearly a teen while both boys seem well into their twenties. The age gap does the relationship no favors.

Worse, the romance largely nukes her relationship to Qin Yiheng. When the show starts, they at least interact with one another, even if it looks like the show's going to get a "girl can't decide which boy she likes!" dynamic going with the main trio. Very quickly, though, she needs to be only The Love Interest for Jiang Shuo, meaning that she barely talks to Qin Yiheng for the whole rest of the show. Even when all three are onscreen together, those two might as well each be invisible to the other. They're not really a triangle -- they're a hinge, and the non-Jiang-Shuo points don't touch.

All that being said, there is such potential in her, and like 95% of that potential comes from the fact that the girl is obviously insane. Beyond even her canonical delusions, That Girl Ain't Right. Everything she does is so much better if you imagine there's a full-on roomba with knives simmering just beneath her bippy, ponytailed surface. She has to be Generalissimo Daddy's good little girl, when deep down she wants to do violence. That's great.

Some of the early promo materials I've seen make mention of how she's supposed to be the muscle of the operation. I wish they'd been far more consistent about that! She should absolutely be the party tank, bounding away from danger with a boy under each arm. All of the "oh no, Muqing got kidnapped/held hostage/threatened!" beats should have been responded to with a shrug.

But of course, it doesn't matter, because...

****MAJOR SPOILERS START HERE****

...it's not real.

Nearly none of it is real. There are two real people in the show, and everyone else is imaginary. Everything Jiang Shuo feels about her is completely one-sided, because she doesn't exist.

I am not categorically opposed to the final plot twist. I actually think, thematically, it makes a fair amount of sense, given how many other dreamscapes and mind-dives we've seen. What I'm opposed to is having it drop in the final episode, when there's no time to deal emotionally with any of it. If you wanted to pull that Inception shit, you should've done it at least halfway through the series. Give poor Jiang Shuo multiple episodes to deal with the truths that a) everyone he loves (minus one person) is a figment of his imagination, b) he is ultimately the one responsible for the horrors he has created, and c) he will have to decide in the end whether to live in the delusion or to destroy it by leaving. Let him wrestle with what he knows vs. what he feels. Give him plenty of time to deal with his guilt about what he's done to Qin'er. That would be delicious. That's not what we got.

Also, you've got to telegraph it, like, at all. As it is, I wondered for a while there whether something weird/bad happened, the real last episode got destroyed, and they had to hastily film an alternate ending. I am all but certain, on reflection, this is not what happened. There are just enough clues planted earlier that, yeah, I'm pretty sure this was the end they meant all along.

Which was such a bad decision. You know all those mysteries you were interested in, the ones driving the plot? Congratulations! You're never going to know! And it's not because the show got canceled or otherwise truncated -- no, it's because the show decided to tell you outright that those mysteries were never meant to be solved. It's a riddle that never had an answer in the first place.

I said at the time that the end feels exactly like an anime that got too far ahead of the manga, ran out of source material, and had to cobble together an ending that wouldn't spoil the manga's eventual logical conclusion. That's not quite what happened, but it's exactly the vibe.

(Not to get too spoilery of other properties here, but yeah, you realize this was the same guy who made Sand Sea, and that actually makes a lot of sense. Speaking of things that ran out the source material...)

My instinct is to tell people not to watch the last episode, to just stop at the end of 35 and make up your own stories about what comes next, but ... you kind of have to see it to believe it. It's worth it for the sheer audacity that would consider this a good ending.

I've seen plenty of people on various sites saying they loved the ending while clamoring in the same breath for a second season. No, friends, you're having the same reaction I did -- you know a twist like that should not be a last-minute drop. It's not a setup for anything; it's what happens when you can't stick the landing, so you throw out a bunch of impressive-sounding nonsense while pretending that was what you'd meant to do all along. A second season wouldn't solve the mysteries, because the show has declared that not only won't they be solved, they weren't even mysteries in the first place. They were fancy shiny meaningless things that made the plot go, and you were stupid for being invested in them.

And by "mysteries" here, I mean the actual things that are being held up as mysterious and in need of a solution, like Liu Zhi's identity and the Yin River treasures and what happened to Papa Qin. I don't mean the things like wtf is going on with Moustache Dad and his weird semi-k*kistan flag -- because those are just fun bits of magical realism worldbuilding. Clearly this is all operating in some urban fantasy next-world-over scenario, where we're in, uhhh, Zhanghai, Zhina. It's real-world enough that we still have the British and the Japanese, but fake enough that whatever was going on with that hypnotism clock and the lake monster skeleton? Totally normal.

I guess that's part of what I find so frustrating, that it made such an interesting world to play around in ... and then took the cop-out "it was all a dream!" explanation. All the trauma and deaths you felt sad about? Irrelevant. All the friends in danger? Who cares! All the stakes you thought mattered? Meaningless. What, you want new stakes to care about? Well, we'd love to, but the last episode's ending. Bye!

Anyway! Frustrating but compelling! I have now burned so many more brain cells on this show than it deserves, and I will probably continue burning more for fanfic purposes. If you made it this far into this nonsense -- both the show and this post -- I salute you.

#psych hunter #house haunters #心宅猎人 #i made this #meta #rec post

[one-strugling-bean]

Animatic ideas and songs that remind me of the Dragon Riders:

(because when I obsess over something, it takes hold over every aspect of my life, including, how I listen to my music)

“Family” by Mother Mother is the gang's friendship summed up

“Cult Of Dionynus” by The Orion Sound also gives me the gang's vibes, but while “Family” is about a platonic, familial friendship, with “Cult of Dionysus” I think of them as a romantic polycule (the mighty OT6)

“Melancholy Astronautic Man” by Allie Moss reminds so much of Fishlegs and Heather

“Someone you like” by The Girl and the Dreamcatcher is RttE Hiccstrid. Just yes, trust me on this, I'm right

“Saint Bernard” by Lincoln makes me think of both Hiccup and Snotlout, but for different reasons

McCafferty's “Beachboy” also gives me the gang's vibes, but not sure why

“Bromance” by nigahiga is an accurate representation of Snotlout and Tuffnut when they decide to be besties

Then Astrid makes a joke about them looking like a couple and Tuff breaks into Ninja Sex Party's “If We Were Gay” and Snotlout is not amused

“You, me, and Steve” by Garfunkel and Oates works so well with literally any ship+1 among the Dragons riders, try it yourself

“Boys will be Bugs” by Cavetown is teenage Snotlout material, but it's also teenage Hiccup material. I dunno, but I can hear both of them in this song

Meanwhile, whenever I hear “Talk to Me”, also by Cavetown, I just think of all the hurt/comfort fanfics I'll never write about the riders being each other's emotional rocks and leaning on each other when they need to decompress

I can totally imagine Ruff and Tuff performing “Have You Seen My Sister Evelyn?” by Evelyn Evelyn, except it's "Have you seen my cousin Gruff?"

“Heather” by Conan Gray is so freaking perfect for unrequited Fishlout - Fishlegs is in love with Heather and Snotlout mopes about it

“I can't decide” by Scissor Sisters was Dagur's vibe when he was evil

“UwU” by Chevy -> Snotlout about Fishlegs after he realizes his crush wasn't exactly Thor Bonecrusher

Speaking of Snotlout's crushes, “Boy Bi” by Mad Tsai is also a very Snotlout-y song. I wonder why

“Oh No!” by Marina & The Diamonds is my personal idea of Astrid's mentality up until Httyd1 rolls around. Maybe Snotlout too, but definitely more Astrid

"They're only Humans" from the Death Note Musical and it's the dragons' thoughts on humanity before Httyd1 (Barf and Belch are the ones singing it because I say so)

An AU materializes in the form of a very Dark Hiccup singing to Astrid “If I Killed Someone For You” by Alec Benjamin after finally killing Viggo for his transgressions against the Riders

“Love like you” from Steven Universe works in so many ways, but I'll propose Hiccup and Toothless, thinking about each other and their one-in-billion connection

Snotlout realizing the error of his teenage ways and trying to change for the better following the beat of Jaymes Young “I'll Be Good” (I know it's a cliché, but lemme have this)

An animatic of Hiccup convincing Eret son of Eret to join Berk's side through “The Other Side” from The Greatest Showman

Kodaline's “Brother” makes me think of Toothless and Hiccup, or just, the riders and their dragons in general - that tight bond they all have with each other. Or even just the riders themselves, amongst each other.

Hookfang's evergrwoing feelings towards Snotlout portrayed throughout the trilogy of songs from Kaden Makey "I just really hate/like/miss your face" (ik that's supposed to be a romantic song(s) but i think it can work for a platonic relationship as well, sue me). It's like, 1st works before Httyd1, and his feelings towards humanity in general, then the 2nd it's already at any point after they form their bond (Hookfang is a major tsundere peeps), and theeeeeen, 3rd is just, angsty, hurt Snotlout fanfic :>

“Oh Fionna” by Neil Patrick Harris from Adventure Time but Hiccup wrote it for Astrid during RttE - and then never had to courage to sing it to her up until their wedding night

One of the riders singing Centaurworld's “Rider's Lullaby” to their dragon, who's still recovering from an injury received in their latest battle

“In Our Bedroom After The War” by Stars is an absolutely beautiful song that I think illustrates the few months post HTTYD2, or perhaps even more accurately, HTTYD3 pretty well

“Don't Forget” from Deltarune, and it's Astrid, singing their kids to sleep and definitely thinking about Stormfly the whole time

Listen to “Let Her Go” by The Passenger while thinking of HTTYD3 and join me in the crying corner :')

These are just a select few I've thought of from the top of my head. Anyone else wanna add any? I love finding songs that match my favorite fandoms

#every single one of these songs is amazing #i tried thinking of a wide variety of them #not sure how i managed but oh well #Im not sure why im posting this #its really random #httyd #httyd rtte #hiccup #hiccup horrendous haddock the 3rd #astrid hofferson #astrid #snotlout #snotlout jorgenson #fishlegs ingerman #fishlegs #ruffnut thorston #ruffnut #tuffnut thorston #tuffnut #dagur the deranged #httyd heather #viggo grimborn #toothless #hookfang #stormfly #meatlug #barf and belch

[jacks-little-jacky]

hiii could i request a headcanon (or fic) of jack & yami playing fuck, marry, kill (and they ask each other about fellow captains/Julius/Marx/Owen/Mereo included) thank u!! kekeke 💚

Fuck, Marry, Kill | Jack & Yami Shenanigans

I love this. Yes. Please ask me for bestie-content of my idiots. Also reading this a couple days later I just noticed I missed Owen, fuck, so sorry.

Warnings: consumption of alcohol, the men are talking and arguing about their choices and it's a shallow game, the b in their bromance almost escaping, mentioning of "this was so gay lmao"

Jack was spread over the couch of the black bull's base, the sun had already left for the darkness as he and the other Captain shared a few more drinks. They talked and chatted, the tension of the meeting regarding border secrutiy sliding off their shoulders.

"Yeah, did you see Nozel? He was all like 'My squad and I will rise up to the need..' ... Ugh, why does he talk like that?", Jack mocked. "Cause he's a fancy little prince with his fancy little prince talk.", Yami giggled.

"Fancy little braid.", Jack muttered before breaking out in a laughter. Yami couldn't help but howl out a laugh too. "But it's kinda cute, no? He has it done every morning just to be a presentable prince." Yami chuckled. "Very cute. Just like a shiny bird. Just too bad he can't attract a mate.", Jack snorted.

"He can't? That's news to me." "Yeah well, he doesn't have one. So he can't attract one he wants?" Jack changed his thought.

"Okay but I don't get his fanclub. Is it like... a bunch of groupies who wants him to step on them with those sandals?", Yami chuckled, leaning back in his seat before taking another swig of beer. "God, urk... Why do ya' make me imagine this?" "Do you like it, scarface?"

"No!" Jack yelled out before sticking out his tongue to illustrate his distaste. Yami couldn't help but further laugh at his friend's disgust.

"Ah... I have an idea." Yami mused. Jack raised an eyebrow at this, waiting for the bull to continue. "Fuck, marry, kill. Our pretty bird, William and the little one, Rill.", Yami mused. Jack thought for a while. "... You make me feel weird saying this but Fuck William, Marry Nozel and kill Rill.", Jack said after a while.

"Care to elaborate?" Yami asked, trying to hold in a laugh. "Rill is too young for me. What am I? A nobel? I'm not thinking about someone younger than twenty in that way, that's weird... So kill, besides he's kind of annoying." Jack reasons which makes Yami nod. "And Nozel... Well... He's a pretty bird. And imagine him married to me, that'd be his worst nightmare. That would be hilarious."

"So you'd marry Nozel just to spite him?" "And cut off his braid when he sleeps, keke!" Jack laughed which Yami heartily joined in. "What about you?"

"Honestly, kill Rill too, same reason. Marry William and fuck Nozel. I don't think seeing Nozel all that much would do me any good." Yami mused which Jack could only confirm in a nod.

"Me next," Jack decided, thinking for a moment about the next three candidates, "Dorothy, Charlotte, and Mereoleona." "All the girls, I see... Ugh... I don't know where to place Sisleon..." "Just kill her off?", Jack suggested. "I can't. I can't fuck or marry Dorothy, she's always asleep, that would be weird."

By now it was clear both of these men were thinking for this game.

"Okay... Kill Mereleona, fuck Charlotte, and marry Dorothy.", Yami decided after a while. "I think Dorothy would be chill, and I don't have to fuck her. Like... platonic marriage, we just say we completed the wedding. Or she wakes up, I don't know."

Jack nodded, thinking about his answer. "Honestly with the asleep point, you kinda did something. Kill Dorothy, fuck Mereoleona, and marry Charlotte, keke." "Marry Charlotte?", Yami asked with a raised brow.

"She's cute, isn't she?", Jack answered. "And I like tough women, keke." "I can see where you're coming from but... If you like tough how come you didn't pick Sisleon?" "I know Charlotte better." Jack shrugged it off.

"Oh?" "We patrolled together sometimes when our people were busy preparing for the exam.", Jack added before rolling his eyes.

"Okay... Fuegoleon, Kaiser and... me?", Yami suggested before chuckling. "... You're so weird, keke." Jack mumbled. "Are you like into me or why do you put yourself in the roster?" "We're out of people, scrawny dude!"

"... Alright... Uhh... Kill Kaiser, I'm not about to homewreck for someone like that." Jack muttered. "Like that?" "Aw c'mon he's boring! Maybe the missus is satisfied but I wouldn't be!... Anyways, kill Kaiser, fuck Fuegoleon and... Marry... You?", Jack said, getting a lot quieter towards the end. "Aw, are you blushing?", Yami asked before laughing loudly.

"Shut up! I'm not! It's just weird, keke!" Jack answered laughing too.

"Alright, for the roster; Me, Marx and our dear chief, Julius.", Jack said with a cocky grin. "... Julius? Are you serious?" Yami asked with a deadpan face which send Jack into a laughing fit.

"Man up to the challenge, keke!" "Alright, alright!", Yami called, raising his hands in the air, "Fuck Marx, Kill Julius because I can't do the other two with him, and Marry you."

"Aww, you'd marry me." Jack cooed before strechting out his tongue. "Go away and kill yourself.", Yami shot back as he watched Jack stumble off the couch toward him.

"Aww, don't be like that. Give your husband a kiss.", Jack giggled before creeping above Yami, caging him in his seat underneath the taller man.

"Jack, what the-" "Awww, are you blushing?", Jack teased, using the same tone Yami had pulled earlier on him. He leaned in a little. "Are you sure you're not into me?"

"Very.", Yami said before shoving Jack back by his face. The taller man stumbled back laughing before letting himself fall on the couch again.

There was a certain silence hanging in the air between them before Jack spoke up again. "This was the gayest fuck, marry, kill I've ever played, not gonna lie."

Yami couldn't help but laugh too and nod along.

#jack black clover #jack the ripper #black clover #jack the ripper black clover #black clover jack #jack the ripper (bc) #black clover imagine #yami sukehiro #yami black clover #yami and jack #my idiots #i love them

[flightypiscean]

Wtf!? Am I being gaslit, misled, or mistaken by my straight friend?

After years of feeling like I've been receiving mixed messages from my straight friend, I decided to test the waters when after a night of us chilling at the bar, invited him back to my apartment to continue our rendezvous. When we entered my bedroom, I made him a cocktail and turned the TV on for us to watch. He decided to climb in my bed and get under the covers. Now at this point I'm thinking, 'what straight man is going to chill with another man, in his bedroom, in the bed, under the covers?' His action reinforced my suspicion that there's something there ready for me to explore once and for all. We laid on our sides, bodies facing each other, about an arm length apart, watching TV. I strategically moved my hand towards him little by little until my hand met his midthigh - I rested it there, waiting to see if or how he'd respond. He didn't budge. As if to casually tap my fingers on the mattress, I'm simultaneously tickling his thigh gently, he warns, "Watch your hands, bro." I playfully respond, "Boy relax. Ain't nobody thinking about you and I'll touch you if I want," then grabbed his thigh and made a playful monster sound. Is he playing hard to get? Perhaps. We kinda laughed the situation off then went back to watching TV. I allowed my hand to fall back to where it was, but this time I let it remain stationary, but still in contact with his leg. Again he warned, "Bro, watch your hands." This isn't fun and games for me anymore. If he was still playing the game of hard-to-get, he's taking it too far. If he's serious, I don't want to come off as predatory so I said, "I'm not doing anything to you but laying here watching TV," and decided to withdraw my hand. After several seconds of silence he asked, "We're just friends and nothing more than that, right?" I said, "Yeah." He then proceeded to go on a spiel of, "I want to make sure because you keep trying to touch me, I don't want to have to put hands on you, gay guys have a habit of trying to turn straight men gay...." and so on and so forth. Slightly embarrassed, taken aback, and annoyed, I said, "If you feel uncomfortable, you can leave!" He goes to leave, but I stop him because I owe it to myself and him to be totally transparent. I admitted to him that I was trying to make a pass, but that my pursuit was from years of mixed signals he was giving me. That I'm not used to having an intimate bromance with a straight guy like what we had and that yes, I developed an attraction. He said he understood how I misinterpreted his friendship and that all was well.

In hindsight, I can't help but think did he know what he was doing? Is he a master manipulator and played on my attraction to him? For context-sake, let me go down the list of the things he's done over the years that made me go, hmmmmmm:

•He always made it so we hung out at a gay-friendly bar (even when I suggested non-gay bars) To my comfortability? His comfortability?

•Complimentary of my looks (being handsome, dressing nice, smelling good) Complimentary or flirtatious?

•Told me that my confidence can be intimidating and that maybe guys are waiting for me to make a move. Subliminal?

•When a gay guy was vieing for his attention in attempt to make me jealous, he was going along with it (though he said he wasn't aware) and left with him to get a "ride home."

•Invited him to an event I was hosting that he told me he more than likely couldn't attend. Aforementioned gay guy invited him to my event, he showed up at his request. (Seemed interested in him)

•One night his female coworker that he had a sexual fling with, joined us as the bar. When she stepped away from our table, he made it clear to me that he was no longer interested in her and that he wanted me to drive him home to avoid her advances. When the night was over and he and I was walking to my car, knowing she was watching, he walked down the street with me, arm around my waist, playfully lifted me in the air, put me down and continued walking with his arm around my waist. Without question, she had to had felt some kind of way watching the man she was attracted to walk off engaging with me in a manner he would her had he been interested in going home with her that night.

• Takes his penis out to urinate outside while drunk, knows I'm looking and doesn't shy away.

He was so hard to read. Too many blurred lines. What were his intentions really? Was he gaslighting me? Did I read into it wrong? I don't know what to think.

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

a real homie will happily sacrifice his jacket to keep his bro safe from the rain ✨

#boboiboy #bbb #gopal #random stuff #my stuff #i can't decide if this is Bromance or Gay so it's up to you #what would their ship name be anyway? #goboi #?? #what the frick is a 'background' never heard of it

[redxblueihateloveyou]

Fascinating. They usually cut jealousy scenes to a minimum or don't show at all even in pure BL genre, like Lan Wangji (esp Wen Ning thing) or Shen Wei being extremely possessive, bc it can't be explained by brotherhood in their opinion. It's also the reason it was cut from Ultimate. So why here suddenly add scenes like that and with such heavy focus is a mystery, since you've said it's not in the novel. It's not even reasonable jealousy, its just straight up "cant touch my piece of pizza" stuff

Hmm... never thought about it. LOL in the anime the kept LZ being jealous of Wen Ning though xD. Idk in "Sleuth of the Ming" they made a whole open scene out of it. What I've noticed is that their censorship always works differently, and some choices never cease to surprise me, as in who decides what's ok and whats not, bc idk... I understand that stuff like dying for each other, touching, staring can be by many seen as a touching bromance technically, I mean I've seen many ppl watching even cencored BL and being completely oblivious. But there are sometimes some stuff included, that I personally do not get how it can be interpreted as "close friends" and how it passed the censorship. And I do not mean here sucking out poisons, for example (bc I would've done this for my close friends if they were in danger haha).

I'm just judging from the point of view of like me and my sister being very close to the point of a person on the street asking us if we're lesbians lmao (I like still don't get where it came from, hand holding?xD). As I've said before, I guess I see why some ppl who don't have close friends or family would consider some closeness as romantic (since both close bros and couple do some things like spooning for example), but anyone who like saw idk bts members or have a super close bestie or sibling might know that hugging each other to sleep, wearing their clothes or feeding them a jelly bean if their hands are busy doesn't always mean you have any romance there going on, speaking from my expierience, so I just have different view on this "gay stuff vs bro stuff". (like to me the afterlife pingxie scene is actually gayer than any touching they've done, bc like why he didn't see his family or iron triangle whole if they all bros). It's just there are a LOOOT of things that can be indeed considered bro stuff technically (they might not be, but they could), but there is some stuff that just cannot be explained by we're bros, thats all. And this kind of jealousy is one of them.

Bc like a bit of jealousy like "my bestie wanted to go skating with their lover instead of me, so I'm upset we don't spend as much time together" can exist, but if you have problems with someone hitting on your friend, checking him out or even touching him and you don't want them to date anybody, that's another thing, that just means you wanna date them. Wu Xie can hug Fatty to sleep and they can slap each other's butts like me and my sis, but he'd never be jealous seeing someone flirting with him or smth. You know what I mean here? So I get why it's in most situations considered not censorship appropriate and it's cut.

But the most funny thing about the "him being unreasonably jealous" added scenes is the fact that like they actually chose to make him being absurdly jealous. Bc for example in the first version of the scene, Pangzi was trying to dance with Xiaoge, thats why Wu Xie got all worked up:

it was at least somewhat understandable. But in the actual scene from the drama they went and for some reason changed it. Xiaoge pulled Pangzi in, bc he lost direction while being blind, but it was still Pangzi who got reprimanded for that at the end lmao

so it just became even more hilarious, bc Pangzi just grazed him, he didn't even do anything, so I was like will this guy just calm the fuck down, but no, he kept going lolz

I'm just surprised about some of their deliberate choices I guess. So I agree, weird it is.

But Reboot in general was weird, when it comes to the rollercoaster of their choices lmao. They uncensored, then used censorship to uncensor, then censored to cover, its just the first time I saw this weird kind of censorship, like as long as girls are there, jokes like "I won't be able to get it up on a woman" are okay??????? Idk they were just extremely out there almost each episode with all kinds of stuff, that by the end I was like... well, at this point its already pointless. I guess it was just the first time, I've seen it made in such weird way and actually used in a smart way fitted with the character and no just for the sake of it. Adding a scene when he accidentally calls his in their opinion potential love interest his bro's name is actually uncensoring, not censoring, you know what I mean? (since we in fact didn't move anywhere near this realization in the book). Same as what many noticed about them openly making fun of censorship and "out of nowhere appeared feelings and how its not love and whats wrong with idolization if u don't know a person" after NPSS interviews and how it only made everyone fall for what pingxie have more. So it was like... I actually for the first time enjoyed it. It was a pretty genius way of showing Wu Xie's weird internal struggles from that book, which I thought were not possible to show. Bc as you know he's hilariously oblivious there about all of it and same as WWX for example do not even consider such possibility. But I think it's just bc it's not actual BL BL, it's a story where a couple naturally accidentaly came together and turned out to be both guys (even tho one was initially intende to be a girl xD), so its in general complicated. Wu Xie is just borderline lost at this point xD. It's like "Yeah, I want him... What do you mean as in dating? Whats that?". Or like:

- Want a wife?

- No, I want Xiaoge.

- As in you're gay?

- What's a gay?

That's basically how he rolls.

But I do love jealous Wu Xie, I think it's hilarious here, he's like somehow complitely okay with how idiotic he looks and that's very sweet haha.

P.S. "can't touch my piece of pizza" lmaoo well Xiaoge does look very delicious like Black Glasses says xD

P.P.S. all in all I really do not get how their censorship works in general at all. Like why Wangxian wedding bows were allowed, but other stuff don't? Or like I get like complimenting your bestie "you look hot in this" or "you're so pretty" or smth, but there's a difference between this and saying that their "lips look sweet"... like thats already another thing entirely. So at times I watch cdramas like... huh??? Maybe it depends on who checks it idk

#answered #anonymous #pingxie #lost tomb reboot #reunion the sound of the providence #wu xie #zhang qiling #daomu biji #dmbj #reboot overall just so full of crass only slightly hidden jokes that i was like is that allowed? xD #i didn't get how some parts were okay for their tv #but i'm grateful for those lmao

[malexfan10]

Now that my anger has calmed down.....

We got a season 2 renewal!!!

I can't say how happy I am about that. To get the renewal so soon after that wreck of an episode last night means everything! If we had to wait a whole month.....

Trusting the writers to fix what they broke is a whole other thing after that finale. But it can go two ways.

Either they completely decide to screw everyone over and have M&M be endgame (if Michael says 'I never look away' to Maria I will be completely done with it all) or they will test the waters with M&M and when they decide they've had enough, break them up and have Michael go back to Alex. I'm thinking scenario 2.

Now how should this all play out? It sucks that we even got a triangle to begin with and the fact that Michael said 'I never look away' and then ended up looking away to Alex's best friend no less brings my anger back from last night. The fact that Alex was sitting there waiting and wondering, looking at his watch, sad and alone while M&M was happening is not a visual I will forgive the writers for anytime soon. To top that, this ending made Carina happy if it ended there? That still puzzles me. Seriously, lady?? BUT what's done is done. Can't change the past. We can only hope that season 2 is not a terrible shitstorm like last night was.

So how can this all play out? Will Alex be waiting in the sidelines, depressed and upset, watching his best friend and true love across town being happy? I hope not! If they have M&M explore a relationship for half the season or even the whole season, then Alex deserves to move on as well. Do I still want Malex to be endgame? You betcha! But both sides to that relationship deserve happiness, not just Michael. If they can't have it with each other right now because one side has decided his happiness lies elsewhere, then Alex deserves the same treatment.

The last thing I want is for Alex to take that rejection as a sign and shoot his walls back up. He has done amazingly in terms of growth this season and I need his character to keep growing. The boy deserves so much happiness! So does Michael after all he's been through but because he chose Maria and because I dislike the triangle and how those M&M feelings came out of nowhere, he's not my focus right now.

Should a new relationship for Alex be with Kyle? I love that dynamic and I don't want anything to mess with that. Plus, in terms of where they are with each other, there is still so much healing that needs to be done. These two were probably best friends as kids. I love Kyle a lot but you can't fix that friendship overnight. Little by little, they've been making wonderful progress so I want that friendship to flourish next season and an added complication of a relationship won't exactly help. If Malex were completely done, I'd be gutted but I would change my tune on Kylex. But for now, let Alex be with someone new.

All of this is if they keep M&M together for half or most of the season. If it's a one or two episode storyline, then I don't want Alex getting involved with anyone else. But they put the effort to push this triangle so unfortunately, it doesn't seem likely that they will abandon M&M that easily or anytime soon.

Michael and Alex have been through so much in 13 episodes, together and apart. It's why we love their characters and storyline as much as we do because we feel for them and our hearts hurt seeing them tortured. Michael was always searching for a family, for a sense of belonging and when he found his mother, she was taken away in the most cruel and tragic way. But all these people around him see him as family too. They care for him from one degree to another. He's been through a lot on the show but he still has such a huge capacity to love.

For Alex, he started as an abused, scared, gay teenager terrified from his father's actions into choosing a life he never wanted for himself. Did he end up enjoying the Air Force? I think he did because like he said, it felt good winning battles. But at what cost? He put his life and happiness on hold for 10 years and lost his leg in battle. He's the definition of pain and suffering on the show but despite it all, he has always maintained this incredible kindness in his heart that is unmatched.

Alex started the season closed off and unsure and the journey he went through was beautiful to see. He found his inner strength, he faced his demons (Jesse) and he started forgiving those who had hurt him by seeing who they are now (Kyle). He finally reached a place where he wasn't terrified to open his heart to love again. That scene with Michael last episode? That was so pivotal to his storyline. He showed Michael how important he was to him, not just through actions, but through words. Words that have been lacking between them for so much of their history. He was willing to stay and die with him. He wouldn't have been able to have that moment with Michael at the start of the season. Where he was and where he ended up showed the biggest growth from all the characters in my mind. It was easily my favorite personal story arc of the season. Sucks how that growth got spat on last night but it doesn't take away from who Alex is now.

Do I want to see Malex be separated? No, I love them wholeheartedly. I haven't been this invested in a TV couple in a long time probably since Pacey and Joey back in the day. Oh, just a side note - Carina mentioned how she wants Michael to be the Joey Potter of Roswell. Giant No Thank You to that idea. As much as I love DC and PJ, the way Joey ping-ponged between him and Dawson was just ridiculous, never knowing who she wanted until literally the final episode of season 6. That is not what I want to see for Malex. Hope she changes her mind on that idea quick.

But anyway, with Michael choosing his version of a happy ending last night, then Alex certainly deserves the same. I hate that Michael chose Maria. I hate that he knew he and Alex were going to talk but he blew him off and went straight to Maria anyway. I hate that they kissed. I hate that Maria acted on her feelings knowing what Michael means to Alex. I hate that neither thought about Alex in that moment. I hate that he played the guitar in front of her. But if we're going to be forced through more M&M, then let Alex try to move on too.

I want Malex together, of course I do! But if Malex is endgame, and I think that they are, the writers are definitely not making the road easy for them or us. In the meantime, while I fast forward through whatever M&M scenes we're going to be getting, let Alex have some pleasure too. I want them to explore his family more, his mother, his heritage. Just give that boy some love and happiness please!

I love both Vlamis and Tyler equally but it shows how inexperienced Vlamis was with TV fandom. Tyler was a lot more reserved with his interviews - he'd been through it with PLL Haleb vs Spaleb. He expressed how he felt about Malex but that wasn't all he touched on. Vlamis (Oh how I still love him) was all Malex, Malex, Malex for weeks and then the shift in his tone was so obvious. He spoke about M&M a lot more towards the end. The powers that be advised or urged him to do so because everyone knew how the season was ending. But I still love him and of course I love Tyler. The Vlamburn bromance is everything.

I just want to add that Tyler's tweet today really helped heal my heart a bit. He's such a sweetheart for reaching out to the fans and trying to assure us. Knowing we have a season 2, I choose to believe him.

Sorry for the long post. I still hate how it all went down last night, how Alex was left alone and pining while M&M got together. I hate how both Alex and Maria were nothing but props for Michael's storyline. The finale felt rushed and I could probably pick only three things that I liked from the whole episode. Kyle, Liz and Max hugging in the desert and Rosa. I didn't even like that Malex scene in the trailer or Michael telling Isobel he loves Alex because of where it all went.

But now that we have a season 2, we have to look forward. I want to see filming pics and behind-the-scenes when they start planning the season. Hoping that M&M won't be depicted as some grand romance next season because seriously, what the hell? I hope that Alex can continue to grow and his friendship with Kyle grows even stronger. In the end though, I want Malex. I wanted them last night and I want them in the first episode of next season. That's obviously not realistic anymore so all I can hope is that they don't make Alex a sad, lonely, heartbroken 3rd party while they explore M&M being together. Because if they do, this fandom will seriously riot! And no more giving sacred Malex moments to Maria either. Please stop doing that. And flesh Maria's character out more next season too. Away from Michael, preferably, but more than being the bad best friend who hooks up with her besties soulmate. Like, honestly, come on. Girl's got such great potential.

In the meantime, I will bury myself in writing fanfic to tame my anger at that crap ending until season 2 🙂

Vlamburn ❤

#malex #roswell new mexico #roswell nm #roswell nm spoilers #roswell alex and michael #tyler blackburn #michael vlamis #still annoyed #but i want to belive they can fix it

[twelvedaysinaugust]

The concept of ‘larrie baiting’ was really made up by larries to pretend that if Harry and Louis aren’t gay for each other, then they are doing all of this intentionally and gaslighting the fans for money. It’s an argument that seeks to absolve larries of all responsibility and personal ability to leave the conspiracy behind, and makes it seem like they are powerless and being tricked.

At some point in time you need to accept that larrie was used for marketing and fan service very early on, and that completely disappeared after/around TMH. You aren't being baited. You are still ascribing conspiracy significance to things that conspiracy theorists have claimed have meaning, and you're assuming Harry and Louis know or care. They are living their lives, wearing clothes, like normal people.

I don't think Larries invented the concept of Larry-baiting. Anytime someone brings up the possibility of baiting to Larrie blog, they vehemently oppose it and argue that it's evidence for a real relationship.

You're correct to say that Harry and Louis' "bromance" was played up, but that abruptly came to an end around Take Me Home. Was that Larry-baiting? I guess you could say so. A lot of people cite the famous "Paris Interview" as something that convinced them Harry and Louis were together. Regardless of my opinion on Larry, the "Paris Interview" always seemed like a flirty friendship dynamic with a side of fan service to me.

My goal here is not to convince anyone that Larry-baiting is or isn't real. Since baiting of any sort comes down to a person's intent, I don't think we can ever know with any certainty whether Louis or Harry are baiting Larries. That said, I often see comments like, "If they really wanted to bait Larries, they'd mention each other in interviews instead of worrying about clothing." I can't decide whether I agree or not. In theory, I feel like baiting could take on many forms and would largely be driven by fan theories. For Louis especially, Larry is big business. At the same time, I think Larries have gone completely overboard with this "coded clothing" thing. Stuff like the Pink Floyd paraphernalia and blue hat Harry wore in some photos with Olivia seem like pure reaching. Over the years, I do think there are some instances of supposed "coded clothing" that are harder for me to discount. Louis' custom-made lighthouse t-shirt with the word "yes" would be an example. But is that baiting, signaling, coincidence? I don't think we can say for sure.

I think the baiting question is interesting but ultimately unknowable. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on the matter. Some of the stuff that sticks in my head admittedly feels really silly, like the ugly red Papillon track pants Louis wore for Valentine's Day, after only wearing black pants for all the other shows. Anyways, not a hill I want to die on and certainly not proof of anything one way or another.

#just my thoughts

[janiedean]

Fandom and politics, that's the topic of this message and a request for your opinion on fandom and politics. In recent days in polish fantasy fandom one of the prominent figures, a writer, asked why can't we all just talk and be fandom and leave politics behind, like in "good old days". And explained how he and the wolę fandom just doesn't like ideology pushed at him in media. (1/2)

(2/2) The problem is, what he calls ideology, is often media not being as racist, sexist or homophobic as usually (i.e. the feminist head of the team of writers of The Witcher netflix show, black Heimdall in "Thor" etc.)Or women in fandom demanding to do sth with t-shirts that was sold at one convention, with a print that goes sth along the lines of "I love burning villages and raping virgins". Because those are the prominent scandals of polish fandom.

hmmm the thing is, I think that fandom shouldn’t meddle with politics when it comes to fans period and when it comes to authors, it should but to a certain point. what I mean is:

when I say fandom shouldn’t be meddling with politics when it comes to fans I mean that whole part where you’re judged as SOMETHING just out of your fandom preferences. I mean, people saying you’re homophobic because you don’t ship the slash ship, people assuming you’re racist because you ship two white guys or the likes, people thinking you’re pro-pedophilia because you ship underaged characters and so on. that imo is a thing that regardless of the media in question should die in a fire because you cannot judge people on their fictional preferences. no one should assume I’m okay with incest in general if I ship thor and loki, no one should assume I’m racist because I like stevebucky better than stevesam and no one should assume I’m homophobic if I ship a m/f ship and so on. especially when it comes to people who ship/like problematic stuff for whichever damned reason and they get told they’re monsters when they just wanna do their thing. like that imo is a thing that has to die in a fire right now especially when it becomes a fandom-wide thing and you get people basically going like ‘if you’re white you can’t engage with a fandom with black/poc characters because you’re gonna be racist anyway’ and then complain when they get zero content. or worse, the star wars lists of problematic people that you need to avoid because they ship rey/lo and are therefore *insert problematic word here* and such things. fandom should be a place where fans are free to do whatever they like and explore whatever subjects they like without being judged for it. obviously if someone fucks up MAJORLY (see: the infamous j2 haiti fic of doom) calling them out should happen, also because it means that if they’re ignorant they’ll learn, and using fandom as a platform to learn stuff about people different from your social/ethnical background is always great, but people shouldn’t be shamed for what they do in fandom as a general rule. that is my general opinion when it comes to fans. you can’t go on and judge someone on whether they like noncon in fiction or not. like. no.

what you’re talking about instead is the media itself being more progressive, and in that case I don’t agree with the *good old days* thing because more diversity is good and honestly if someone’s problem is that heimdall is black in a marvel movie that isn’t even accurate per se because in theory thor and loki aren’t even odin’s sons then like, you need to get over yourself.

and like, one thing is having reservation over a shirt such as what you said and another is telling other women they can’t like kink or m/m porn, so like that is a kind of politics that needs to be discussed and absolutely should, but that’s not what I mean when I say I’d really like politics out of fandom space. one thing is fandom space, one thing is the original content. I’m entirely down for diverse original content of whichever kind, what I don’t think should be done is fans engaging with it just looking at the politics and judging it based on the politics only and not on the plot, and mostly judging it on whether it’s progressive enough or not and judging other people for liking it if they don’t think it’s progressive enough, not fans asking for more diverse stuff in general and/or wanting to feel included in fandom spaces, and I think creators should acknowledge that.

like, the polish fantasy writer obviously doesn’t care for diversity - but no one forces him to. but saying that FANTASY IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS WAS JUST WHITE PEOPLE is also ridiculous bc diverse fantasy has been around for ages like ffs.

what I mean is that we absolutely should have politics - if by that you mean more diversity - in the original media we consume, though I don’t think authors should be forced to do that because you get better things when the author actually wants to write them, and fandom should engage with more diverse media absolutely, but fandom can’t also judge what people in it do all the time based on how *they* engage with the content in case, because everyone will like different things and you can’t force people to engage with that specific thing just because you think it’s woke. and you also can’t trash the author for things you might perceive as problematic but actually aren’t.

examples of what I mean: I, author, write a fantasy story.

not so ideal case of politics in media: I, a white cishet female author, decided to write a fantasy story. I don’t know much stuff outside standard fantasy and I don’t feel like writing people who aren’t what I am. I write your usual standard lotr-ripoff, everyone is white, cis and hetero, there’s one romance, a couple bromances, no social or political hidden commentary. it has a good story. it’s an okay book. the fandom most likely will ship the guys in the bromances. no one feels challenged. tumblr declares me problematic for not writing diverse stuff and then ignores me.

ideal case of politics in media: I, a white cishet female author, decided to write a fantasy story. I don’t want to do the same usual lotr rehash and I know that diversity is important and I want to make a good job. I make my character list. I decide who’s white and who’s not, giving a decent balance. I make some of them non-straight. I don’t see many trans characters in fantasy, so I decide one of them is. I spend months talking to anyone belonging to the aforementioned categories asking them what they think of my approach - ie I find a number of trans people to discuss what I want with the trans character, I talk to a number of black people if I want the character to be black possibly not all from the US and I pick people from all over the place. I write my book. I make sure every character has a meaningful relationship with the others so that all their interactions are interesting. I try as much as possible to not have stereotypes. I get a bunch of betas and I change anything they find improvable. my book gets published. everyone loves it.

now, ideal fallout of the above which is what I mean with healthy fandom consumption: I get a fandom made up by diverse people because I have a diverse book. people enjoy that I gave everyone some space. they might interact with me on twitter and asking me ships headcanons. I tell them that they can ship whatever they like write whatever fic off it they want. every character gets some fic or moodboard and everyone enjoys whatever they like in whichever dynamic. not-trans people who had never run into a trans character in fantasy might go like ‘wow I hadn’t realized that’s how it felt’ and might get informed. if I based it on some specific historical period people might get informed on that. people belonging to the minority categories educate the others in fandom about what they might not know, nicely. everyone writes all the porn in the world. everything is great. if someone asks me why I have black/lgbt+/etc people in my book I reply them that minorities exist so why shouldn’t they be in my book and that’s the most twitter hate I get. life is great. my publisher wants more. that book becomes a series. rinse and repeat.

not so ideal fallout, ie what I mean with fandom shouldn’t be about politics: somehow, there’s a fanon ship that gets most fans for a reason. it happens to be idk, bisexual white guy + gay white guy who are not together in the book. they get more fic than dunno, hetero black woman with hetero asian guy. people start calling the first group problematic because they don’t ship the poc couple and THEY’RE RACIST. the trans character isn’t a stereotype/isn’t *good enough* for fandom standards so they decided that idk, feminine straight guy I put in because feminine straight guys exist is actually the only trans one because HEADCANONS and suddenly all fics with a trans character for that book are about the headcanoned character that’s actually a stereotype if you go for that, not the one I actually spent six months researching, and if you don’t agree you’re suddenly a transphobe. someone sends me a twitter message asking me what I think of HEADCANONS and I answer that I’m okay with HCs but I put canon characters that aren’t white, straight and cis for a reason and suddenly I’m THE MOST PROBLEMATIC AUTHOR EVER and people decide that my efforts aren’t good enough and that as a cis woman writing gay men is problematic and everyone in fandom who writes m/m and is a woman is shit. then people decide that shipping the black cis bisexual guy with anyone white is racist and writing porn where he’s on top is racist but then another side says that if he bottoms it’s racist (guys LOOK AT SW FANDOM I DIDN’T MAKE THIS UP), so no one ends up touching the black character out of fear of being dissed. six months after the book is out, the only thing there’s a fandom following for is a problematic as hell crackship in between two cishet white guys that hate each other and barely interacted because it’s the only fandom space where people don’t get shamed for what they like.

I, the author, look at all the hate messages I get on twitter and think fuck it, next time I’m just doing high fidelity 2.0 just with cishet white female protagonists so no one can tell me I did it wrong since I’m white, cishet, female and I hang out in record stores all the damned time or at least I used to when I was younger and they existed. I never write a diverse cast again. I never write a trans character again because that wasn’t what I wanted to do, I just wanted people to have fun and enjoy a more diverse cast of characters without fans murdering each other over it.

like, that’s what I mean with politics shouldn’t be in fandom that much, not that politics shouldn’t be in fandom spaces/in the media we consume period XD ;)

#janie rants #yes my fantasy book is the upgraded version of the sw ST fandom #I MEAN THAT WAS AN EXEMPLAR CASE WHAT DO YOU THINK XD #fandom for ts #valentinevilleforts #ask post