#it’s so queer core and it gets me any time a queer character says it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lurkingshan · 8 months

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On Boston and Brian Kinney

I’ve seen a lot of folks in the Only Friends tag recently making connections between the show and Queer as Folk, both US and UK versions, which makes sense because QaF is a clear reference for the show, both visually and thematically, and we know Jojo likes to reference western media in his work. One parallel folks are drawing is not tracking for me, however, so I am jumping in the wayback machine and putting on my old QaF stan hat to talk to y’all about Brian Kinney, and why Boston is actually nothing like him. Tagging @bengiyo and @neuroticbookworm who talked this through with me and also @slayerkitty because I saw you were contemplating this connection between the two characters.

So, first, why are people making this comparison? It really boils down to one thing: Brian and Boston are both sluts. That’s… pretty much it. They both like sex and prefer to have it with many different partners, and neither has much use for monogamy. But this is pretty much where their similarities end.

So let’s remind ourselves who Brian Kinney is: a kind of fantasy of a hot, rich, self-actualized gay man with unmatched sexual prowess and a surface level flippancy masking a heart of gold. Brian is an adult man with a thriving career and money that he earned for himself after leaving his abusive and homophobic family (who would eventually explicitly reject him because of his sexuality). As a result, he is defiant in his commitment to live his life as loudly and queerly as possible—which includes a dedication to fucking and sucking, public sex, and a rejection of heteronormative constructs like monogamy.

Brian has a very clear moral code he lives by, even if it’s not one most can relate to. He decides to have a son with his (lesbian) best friend because part of him wants to believe in a better future and build a family of his own. He is extremely loyal to his found family even as he’s a jerk to their face most of the time, and he is always working behind the scenes to protect them even as he often hurts their feelings with his glib remarks and shitty behavior. Despite his disdain for monogamy, he never actually tries to destroy any of his friends’ happy relationships (in fact, he tries to sacrifice his own friendship with Michael to ensure he stays with his boyfriend).

Brian has a sense of responsibility to others and often takes on the blame for things he didn’t even do, which is why he takes baby gay Justin to Debbie and ensures he is cared for even as he tries to dissuade Justin from getting attached to him, and why he cares for Justin in the aftermath of his bashing. He cares deeply about his community, to the point where he pours his money into protecting the local gay scene, literally bankrupts himself to stop an anti-gay politician from winning an election, and gives up a dream job to stay put in Pittsburgh and help rebuild the community after a hate crime.

Brian is unflinchingly honest and he avoids making promises because once he does, he knows he will absolutely keep them—he takes his commitments seriously and he always does what he says he will. When he falls in love, he does not abandon his core values but he is willing to make some compromises. And he hides his better self and often wallows in self-destructive behavior because he feels deeply unworthy of love, which goes back to the intergenerational trauma he experienced as a child in an abusive home and the parental rejection he felt due to his sexuality.

Boston, by contrast, is a character who feels more rooted in reality. He’s a pampered rich kid who is indulged in his hobbies and who already has a life plan laid out for him and paid for by his daddy. He likes to sleep around mostly because it’s fun, and because he knows his life here is temporary so he doesn’t see any point in getting attached to people. In stark contrast to Brian’s out and proud and fuck you if you have a problem with it brand of politics, he is still trying to hide who he is in service of his father’s political career, even if he’s pretty sloppy about it (see him fucking Top in a car with giant windows parked in the driveway at a house party).

Boston’s moral code is fungible and ever-changing to fit his circumstances—boy is a hypocrite (see his opinions about people filming and photographing him even as he does the same to others constantly). He has no loyalty and no qualms about hurting and betraying his friends, and actively tries to destroy their relationships for sport or as a means to get what he wants. He does not feel responsible for anyone and often lies and ducks accountability for the things he does. He does not care about his community at all, and in fact already has a NYC escape hatch in his back pocket for when he inevitably burns his bridges. He is not as honest as Brian and sends a lot of mixed messages to keep people guessing and on the hook.

Rather than hurting people by being brutally honest as Brian does, Boston plays psychological games and manipulates his friends and lovers, and he seems to take twisted pleasure in blowing up their happiness. We haven’t seen him make a promise or fall in love, and while there are some signs that he may have some sort of inferiority complex at play (with Mew in particular), his motives are not tied to any past trauma. Boston is just a messy bitch who loves chaos and doesn’t really care who gets hurt as long as he gets what he wants and stays entertained. Where Brian is literally a superhero to his loved ones, Boston is just a very flawed human being.

But Shan, I hear you saying, I thought you liked Boston! I do, besties, I do. He’s a fantastic character and a very real kind of person many of us encounter in our 20s. Because that’s the thing: Boston is so young. He hasn’t developed any sense of responsibility to others or any understanding of the importance of queer community, and he has never had to take care of himself, which is perhaps the biggest difference between him and Brian. Brian has lived independently for more than a decade when we meet him in QaF, whereas Boston is a spoiled rich kid who has barely lived. Brian is a fully realized adult and his more nuanced characterization is a reflection of that; Boston is actually a pretty basic chaotic drama queen who will grow up eventually.

TL;DR: Aside from being promiscuous, Boston has very little in common with Brian Kinney. He is more a reflection of a very real kind of person you will meet on the scene in queer communities than an homage to a larger than life fictional QaF character. And while OF is absolutely referencing some of the themes and values and stylistic flourishes of QaF, it is not making direct parallels to its characters.

#did i write this mostly as an excuse to get brian kinney on this blog?#who can say #only friends the series #queer as folk #thai bl #ofts #only friends #ephemerality squad #shan shouts into the void

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meraki-yao · 2 months

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Ok I got four asks in my inbox about the new Nick interview and I'm actually mad. I'm actually livid and exasperated because I've been getting and answering similar asks over and over again, and yet people still come to me with the same statement and the same conviction EVEN AFTER I POINTED OUT EVERY FUCKING FACT THAT CONTRADICTS IT.

Do you really need a 19-year-old to teach you reading comprehension and media literacy?

Ok, fine.

Statement One: Nick doesn't appreciate RWRB, he's brushing it aside, which is why it wasn't mentioned in the New York Times

One: Editorials don't always portray the actual thoughts or agenda of the interviewee.

Unlike a video interview or a podcast interview where we can hear the whole conversation directly from Nick with his voice, and even if there are cuts and edits we can pick it up via visual or audio continuity, in a written editorial the only thing we can rely on is the writer's words, or in other words, the writer's paraphrase or quotation of what Nick said to him. This gives much bigger room for any changes or manipulation in content because we have nothing else to reference.

It is clear that in the past three editorials, the writer or the magazine itself has deliberately demeaning and devaluing RWRB. In NY Magazine, it was only mentioned in one line and degraded to "a queer take on a common straight trope" (see the choice of word "president's daughter"), with the implication being at its core, it's a straight story/ reliant on past straight stories to be interesting; Hunger Magazine calls it fujoshi-pleasing (fujoshi: Japanese slang, denoting how a straight woman who enjoys fictional gay content is "rotten", too ruined to be married, an insult to both the audience/fans and the movie itself ); and this time New York Magazine didn't even mention RWRB, when let's be honest, it's Nick's biggest breakout role.

"Once Is Chance, Twice is Coincidence, Third Time's A Pattern" this is deliberate. I can't say what the agenda is, my guess is some extent of latent homophobia, but it's clear that this is a fucking pattern. In fact, besides the hidden agenda of devaluing RWRB, these editorials show another hidden agenda, but that's something for a later day. PM me id you want to now, I won't discuss that one on my public platform yet.

Again, there is so much more room for twisting and hiding words in a written editorial. In all the video interviews Nick did, especially in the UK, when has he ever avoided a question about RWRB? When has he ever not shown gratitude towards the project?

Two: In all video evidence that can't be manipulated, that clearly shows Nick's own thoughts which not influenced by any other party, he has made it clear that he adores RWRB.

Why else would he sign books during the M&G London premiere, going as far as to stay behind after the event just to sign books? Same with the LA M&G premiere and TIOY premiere: those were promotions for other projects, he had a valid reason to refuse to sign the RWRB books and posters, but he didn't, always signing with a big smile on his face, even playfully signing on Taylor's face. He said it himself in his Instagram post, and I quote: "The love that Henry has received has been one of the most heartwarming things to watch. It's been difficult to not talk about him. So thank you for seeing him for all he is. He was a joy to bring to life." There's your proof, directly from the man himself.

Statement Two: Nick's not interested in doing a sequel, he said he's done playing princes and he's done playing romantic leads

One: "Done playing princes" doesn't mean literally done playing princes, it means he wants to try more roles and not be stuck with only being known as the "prince" guy. (even though he's literally a prince lol)

Plus, he said that after Robert, but then Henry came along and he was attracted to Henry as a character with his scared but loving heart. He doesn't just view Henry as a prince, he views Henry as a complex, delicate person who so happens to be a prince. Him saying he's done playing princes means in the future, he doesn't really want another royal on his filmography, but this doesn't mean he doesn't want to continue Henry's story. With the given context, namely asking him about future projects he wants to take up, "he's done playing princes" and "he doesn't want to play Henry anymore" are not mutually inclusive.

Two: "Done playing romantic leads" means he wants to try new things and take up new projects that aren't romance films.

This doesn't include the continuation of already established characters i.e. sequels, this just means if he were to take up brand new projects, he wants to try something else. Sequels are inherently different from new projects because again, sequels are based on already established characters.

Three: He said several times ON VIDEO that he'd be in for a sequel

In this one, when asked if he'd be up for a sequel, he said, and I quote "Look, I think with any opportunity of doing a sequel, I think, you know, the script has to be right. But obviously, it was so lovely to see how many people it touched and having that resonance is incredibly important to me, so, yeah. Of course."

In this one, when asked if they have had conservation on a potential sequel, he said, and again I quote: "Yeah, I mean definitely had conversations. I think we're all on the same page in the sense that, you know, the script needs to be right, and sort of all the different components need to be right because we made something that has such a positive effect and I think the last thing you'd wanna do is ruin that or take that in a way, so, you know, the conversations are definitely being had."

And there are more videos from red carpet interviews that I can't be bothered to find right now but he says more or less the same thing.

(look I even transcribed it)

Not only is he on board with a sequel, he's also being careful about it to make sure once they do get to making it, it's something good. He's on board, and he values it. And again, that's directly from him.

We have a phrase in Chinese: 斷章取義, meaning "breaking off a small part of an article and deriving the meaning from that single part" That's what so many of you, in particular, the people who come to my inbox with the sentiments of the above-mentioned statement are doing. Please, use critical thinking and look at the whole picture. Stop making judgments from the surface of one source.

Tagging my friends @alittlefrenchtree and @myteavsricochet because it looks like they've been getting the same things I got

#rwrb #red white and royal blue #rwrb movie #nicholas galitzine #henry fox mountchristen windsor #henry hanover stuart fox #rwrb thoughts #meraki essay #i'm not someone who gets mad easily but I've had enough of this #nick galitzine

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sentfromwolves · 2 months

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◈—⌈ SENTFROMWOLVES ⌋ writeblr introduction ²⁰²⁴

Hi everyone, and welcome to my writeblr 2024 introduction. My name is Eran (they/he & freshly thirty) and I've been on writeblr for awhile, so you might've seen me around. ( •̀ ω •́ ) This is my yearly post to introduce the projects I'll be working on this year, what I write, and who I am. I'll be keeping it short and sweet.

I'd love to meet more writers this year, so if you write any of the following, or just like these genres, or even just wanna shout about ocs together, come holler and I'll give you a follow!

◈ — sci-fi and fantasy of any kind! cozy fantasy, romantasy, epic fantasy, space opera? this is my bread and butter, and I love shouting about it from the rooftops with others! ◈ — found families, ot3s, complicated soulmates. I am almost always writing about soulmates who have either killed each other at least once in the past or are planning some sort of murder. Complicated relationships, especially found families that aren't all rainbows and butterflies, are right up my alley. ◈ — queer and trans protagonists, large queer casts! all of my wips feature trans/nonbinary leads, and I'm always looking for more queer writer friends to connect with! ◈ — hope at the end of the tunnel, but hell to get to. I write stories with hopeful endings, with the sun on the horizon, with the promise that something better might now at long last be on the way. I love seeing characters get put through hell, but I love it even more when they make it to the other side. (if you write tragedy though, please know I will still cry on your doorstep if you'll have me) ◈ — corruption arcs, redemption arcs, sometimes both! Deeply nuanced characters with messy attitudes, and even messier actions. I'm just as equally obsessed with cool worldbuilding as I am with character-driven things, and I will yell about ocs all day, and maybe draw them too >:3 ◈ — big, epic, and sweeping worldbuilding! I am a huge fan of delving into the worldbuilding aspect of my wips. I love building magic systems, cultures, geographies, and more. One of my 2024 projects is doing a worldbuilding experiment blog at some point. I am always down to clown over worldbuilding, whether to sound board or just holler together!

There's a lot more I could say here, but this post can only get so long! Σ(っ °Д °;)っ my dms are always open, and I will follow back most of the time! But just to get all of the basics outta the way:

◈—« here's a quick and dirty rundown of how I work! »—◈

➺ I interact and follow from @calamityeden, so if you see that username, it's just me.✌️I am most active on discord, and if we become friends, you're more than welcome to ask to add me there. ➺ I am open to being tagged in writeblr games! Just know that I am not online all the time, and might be slow to respond to them. 🐌 ➺ My ask box and DMs are open, just please be respectful. I love meeting new writers and talking about projects! I am happy to chat and make new friends. You're always welcome! 💌 ➺ This is a strictly 18+ writeblr. Please DNI with me if you are a minor and respect my boundaries.

🪄You can find my core tags here under my writing and my graphics, as well as writer reminders, game train and catharsis. (❁´◡`❁) And now onto the fun part! My 2024 main project line up!

I have my main four listed here that you'll probably hear me yelling about pretty consistently, but I've also got a lot of other projects rattling around in my brain. So if you're ever curious about a project that's not here, feel free to yell at me about it! >:3

Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy Standalone.

Status: First Draft Complete (117k)—Revising for beta round one.

There's a clock tattooed on Nemesis's wrist, and when it reaches midnight on his 21st birthday, it will kill him. It doesn't help that his mom is the one that cursed him, and the demon currently possessing his car ate her before Nemesis could convince her to break the damned thing. Thankfully, Judge came prepared with an alternative: help him break into a mythical living city and steal its heart, and in return, he'll shatter Nemesis's curse for free. Accompanied by a three-headed hellhound, a haunted holy sword, and an excommunicated exorcist, Judge and Nemesis set their sights on an impossible heist. But the closer Nemesis gets to the heart, the more he begins to realize that he isn't the only one under a curse. And if he doesn't find a way to break Judge's soon, his own life will be forfeit as well.

Genre: Space Opera

Status: 2024 zero drafting from scratch

Two hundred years ago, humanity expanded to the stars only to find a cosmos filled with graves. But then their children began displaying the strange ability to commune with the alien ruins scattered across the planets, waking ancient, extrasolar mecha from their sleep, and turned the struggling colonies of space explorers into the fledgling galactic nation of Sol Galatea. Now, Wren Akane is on the run from the whole galaxy, wanted for the strange alien powers throbbing through his veins. His luck runs out when he accidentally awakens an ancient Relic in the desert of his planet, only to be embedded with the memories of its last pilot and the revelation that the war that littered the cosmos with graves is far from over. But no one believes Wren when he tells them that continuing to wake the Relics will bring the hostile alien empire that destroyed them back to Sol Galatea’s doorstep. Only Wren’s rival pilot, Marek Khalid, seems interested in a word Wren has to say. But Marek doesn’t want to save Sol Galatea. He has big plans for what to do when the aliens arrive, a rebellion to lead, and if Wren isn’t on his side, he’s in his way. With time running out, Wren must soon decide how far he’s willing to go to save the people that never tried to save him—or if Marek is right, and he should let the stars burn instead.

Genre: Adult Romantasy

Status: First Draft (1k/100k)

Once a year, Celestials from all across the Lumina Kingdom gather together for Eventide, the season of courtship, hoping to win the hand of the most eligible star at court. Sirius knows the game they play all too well: by day, he is the forgettable, miserable daughter of the Lumina Family, least of his seven siblings and wanted only for the royal blood running through his veins. By night, however, Sirius is the Starweaver—the mysterious dressmaker taking the kingdom by storm. Everyone wants to know the identity of the one responsible for elaborate outfits that turn even the quietest Celestial in the room into the star of the show, outshining even Sirius’s luminous sibling, Diana. When the infamous King Beyond Midnight arrives with the intent to wed Diana, Sirius finds his secret in jeopardy when the condition for their hand in marriage is a simple challenge: reveal the Starweaver's true identity. There’s no outsmarting Octavian for long, and soon, Sirius will have to make a choice: give up on his passion and stay hidden forever, or risk everything to stay true to who he really is.

Genre: Second World Urban Fantasy

Status: Outlining

Something changes the day that Nakano Touya returns to the crumbling city of Soma Lux. It starts with voices in the radio static, blurry figures caught on camera, always out of focus. When a monster crawls out of Touya's television screen and eats him, the last thing he expects is to find a strange, shadowy otherworld lurking on the other side. But his biggest problem isn't the monsters of the otherworld that want to eat him, or the talking cat that saved him, now living in his apartment without a care in sight. Soma Lux is experiencing a strange new epidemic—one that Touya is completely unaffected by. But when his half-sister falls comatose, Touya knows he has to get to the bottom of it all to save her—and find out why he's the only one immune. Accompanied by his jaded ex-boyfriend, Touya’s nosy classmates, a part-time fortune teller, and a cantankerous old hag, Touya dives into the murky underbelly of Soma Lux, where the realities have begun to bleed together between his world and the next.

That's all for now! >:3 Here's to an amazing 2024! (also my actual blog is a mess right now please do not mind it ksjndfskfn)

#writeblr intro #writing community #writeblr #my writing #my graphics #hey all hehe i just decided i'll probs do a fresh one of these every year to make sure i can pin an accurate wip list to the top #especially as i change wips from year to year!#i mostly am on discord #but i want to be able to meet new writer friends here too especially as the community grows!#seriously feel free to holler anytime #i'm usually around somewhere :3

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hazelnut-u-out · 7 months

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I really wanted to like 'Air Force Wong', but it was a massive letdown.

I think my main issue with the episode was that it felt like queer erasure.

I have no issue with Curtis being into Wong. Let everyone be pan/bi if they please! At the same time, I feel like the inherent homoeroticism/queer-coding of Rick's relationship with Curtis was... downplayed? Especially in the beginning, I thought there were a lot of elements set up that didn't get properly explored. One of these moments is the scene where Curtis says, 'You’re making me choose? You or her?' I don't think I'm mistaken in thinking that's a very coded statement. Then, the rest of the episode seems to put that setup on the back burner in favor of Unity.

Again, I don't have any issue with Unity. In fact, it was one of my favorite side characters and I was super excited to see it on screen again! I just feel like they lost understanding of its character, to put it lightly.

I was honestly really annoyed with all of the she/her and 'lady' business. Unity was one of the only characters in the show with very explicit neutral pronouns. I was fine with the instance of 'them' (especially because it felt like Rick was implying that it wasn't a woman and it was used in ‘Autoerotic Assimilation’). I could have even excused Wong referring to Unity by feminine terminology if Rick hadn't joined in? In 'Autoerotic Assimilation', the writing was very explicit about Unity's pronouns, so this frustrated me.

Another issue I had with the way they portrayed Unity was that they almost portrayed the President member of Unity as Unity itself (or something adjacent to the 'core' or 'real' Unity)? Again, in 'Autoerotic Assimilation' it's very explicit that every member of Unity is equally Unity, and we watch Rick interact romantically with members of all ages and genders. Even in the break-up sequence, the letters are read aloud in the voices of many different members. I feel like this was more erasure of Unity having no one gender and it felt like it was pushing heteronormativity onto Rick’s attraction to/relationship with it.

Maybe I’m being too harsh, but I was not a fan. All of the mishandling of queer characters made the good aspects of the episode fall flat for me. I think it tried handling way too many things at once.

Hopefully next episode will be better! Excited for the rest of the season.

As for ‘Air Force Wong’, I give it a 5/10.

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #air force wong

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grace-williams-xo · 23 days

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There is much discussion on the internet about how many seasons of Bridgerton we’ll get, and how it will be approached. I have a wild theory, if you wanna TLDR and skip the ramblings then scroll down to the bold.

While 8 seems far fetched, a lot of people are thinking 6 but I increasingly don’t even think that will happen (or if it does, it won’t happen well).

Jonny has said he’s committed to Bridgerton, and making whatever he projects he gets work around it, and that he/kanthony will be at all the siblings weddings. His commitment to the show and increasing career is well displayed in s3. He’s only in the first of the four eps (tbd for the second half, let’s hope more!) but he filmed Fellow Travellers at the same time (watch it if you haven’t) and Wicked also at a similar time. I think we can count on him/kanthony making at minimum 1–2 appearances per season, regardless of how long it lasts.

Arguably the other biggest star of the show rn is Nicola, so will be interesting to see what she does in Bridgerton s4. There’s a trend of the lead actor/s taking a back seat in the season following their spotlight, so wouldn’t be surprising if it happened also with Polin/Nicola and Luke Newton.

Now, the core of the issue is the remaining stories. (Preface, I haven’t read any of the books but I know most of the general plots). Consensus is that Benedict will be s4; and (or maybe but) all the s3 Benedict press is talking about him going through changes, evolution and inching toward the marriage mart. One could say this is set up for s4, but that doesn’t feel entirely right to me. The only plot that needs the set up is Polin because of the friends to lovers arc, and we got that in s2. (If there’s more benophie set up that makes sense that I’m not aware of, let me know!)

While I know Francesca is popular with book readers, and her character steps up in s3, we can agree that the next most popular sibling is Eloise. Eloise’s story is also the most hotly debated about how authentic the show should be to the books. I know many book readers want Eloise’s story to stay mostly as it is, and while the more I read about it the more I come around to it, I think that a problem is posed by the fact that Marina’s character is much more significant and invested in the series than the books (so I hear).

On the note of Gregory and Hyacinth, I also think that the viewers are too attached and invested to them as children to want to see them as serious romantic partners with anyone. This isn’t even touching on the fact s8 would be released in (crikey I just did the maths) probably 2030 or 2031 😭

In my head there are three possible options for the future of the show. (Four, three good options).

1. Six seasons: with Benedict, Eloise and Francesca all getting a season. (Approx 2025, 2027 and 2028 release) (I think this would be the best option if the got their act together and made/released the seasons faster, but as the actors get busier I don’t see that happening)

2. Five seasons: with Benedict and Eloise getting a season. (The best (realistic) option imo).

3. Four seasons: Benedict season four, no Eloise. (The worst option imo).

4. Four seasons: Benedict season three AND four, Eloise season four. This is kinda why I made this post. Stay with me, hear me out.

All the indications that Benedict is evolving and stepping into the marriage mart this season make me think that they could be doing a lot more set up/start of the story than necessary for a brother who isn’t the lead yet. Beneloise are such an iconic duo that I think them falling in love together would be so fun. If they followed the book, then Eloise’s love is kinda long distance anyway. If they did do something different with Eloise (contentious, ik, I’m in two minds) and made her queer and/or not get married then it could also work well.

I don’t think this is the best outcome, I just think it might be the best outcome if we only get four seasons. The actors are all increasingly busy, and many (Claudia and Nicola especially) are already playing characters far younger than their characters.

Please let me know your thoughts on this rambling, especially if you’ve read the books. Tell me what will or won’t work!

–GW xo

#bridgerton #bridgerton season 3 #bridgerton season 4 #nicola coughlan #claudia jessie #jonathan bailey #benedict bridgerton #kanthony #eloise bridgerton #polin #francesca bridgerton #gregory bridgerton #hyacinth bridgerton #bridgerton theory

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starrylayle · 2 years

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Soman’s failed POC and Queer rep in the SGE saga — And why criticism is essential to the movie (franchise)

[repost]

Before I start though, I’d like to say that if you have any argument about forced representation, dni. I don’t give a shit that ur faves aren’t white anymore — and please stop fucking harassing Soman and the cast about this non-issue.

Now onto the racial criticism of Soman’s work, which I don’t see talked enough about.

Being a person of colour does not mean you are exempt from racial criticism. I’m sure this is known by now, but in the books, literally everyone is white. Like EVERYONE. And not only that, the beauty standards he portrays and tries to critique (but then fails miserably at unfortunately) are so Eurocentric it’s quite disheartening actually - pale skin, small noses, coloured eyes, etc. The themes are also quite Eurocentric as well — if you had told me that the books were written by a white author, I would believe you.

Now, I’ve always given him the benefit of the doubt here, considering he was writing a middle grade series as a marginalised author, which was a lot more difficult at the time, and because he does genuinely try to improve his POC rep in the later books (even if that does include retconning character’s previous descriptions lol). In that same vein, the cast is also noticeably more diverse, and I truly applaud Soman for that. However, he has not said anything in regards to the racism the cast have been getting, which considering his influence on the fandom, would have been much appreciated. (The only casting choice he actually spent some time defending was brunette Tedros 💀💀 — like mate, get your priorities together!). Also, since whiteness is quite intrinsic to the core themes of the story (I’ll make a separate post on that later), I worry that the movie will unintentionally be pushing it. And if that’s the case, people should be allowed to critique this (hypothetical) poor depiction of race, without it being considered racist. (As previously mentioned — this excludes those fucking weirdos who just hate on the cast coz their faves aren’t white anymore 🙄🙄)

Ok so, in regards to the queer-coding/queer-baiting:

Just like being a POC doesn’t mean u can’t have internalised racism, being queer doesn’t mean u can’t have internalised homophobia, especially to other members of the community. I don’t know why exactly Soman struggles with writing queer rep so much (I mean I can understand in 2013 — but now plenty of middle grade books include queer characters), but he barely has any canon gay rep.

Tristan/Yara, who is not even specified whether they are gay or trans, is one of the first characters to die, with absolutely no resolution to their arc whatsoever - and their queerness is never mentioned again. The next confirmed queer couple are two backgrounder guys who barely have any significance to the story. The couple after that are two evil white boys, who are only confirmed to be queer after they both die. They are are the only relevant gay characters at this point — yet ofc they’re dead, white and evil. This wouldn’t be a problem if there were other (good) queer characters, but since that is not the case, it just comes off as rather… icky.

Now notice how all these couples, as poorly written as they are, are all (white) gay men? There are hints that Hester and anadil might be in a relationship, but it’s never explicitly confirmed.

In addition, sophie and Agatha are explicitly queer coded — (I made a post about it on my acc for anyone’s interested) — they even kiss!! Of course people are going to be mad that they were baited into a relationship that ended up being incesteous! Especially, ESP, considering that Agatha is now a Black girl in this adaptation. We barely see any white canon wlw couples in media — Black sapphics are almost unheard of in the mainstream, especially as leads. first kill, one show that featured a Lesbian Black girl lead (a Dark-skinned one at that!)— got cancelled. And this happens all the time. Lesbians/sapphics, esp sapphics of colour, ESP Balck sapphics are barely given any time of day in our media in favour of centring gay white men in queer narratives, and thus they have every right to be upset at the queer baiting.

I’m not Black, but as a queer woman of colour, Agatha’s character has always been very special to me. I’ve always thought she should be a POC considering how different her and her mum are from the rest of her cookie-cutter village, and queer because she did not fit into conventional notions of femininity. It would be so awesome to see Agatha, a queer woman of colour, as the lead in a high-budget fantasy series. But alas, that is too many marginalised identities for the general audience.

Not only that, the twin reveal was just plain bad writing. It had absolutely no bearing at the story whatsoever and is never mentioned again. It was just done purely for shock value, and for that, I will absolutely critique Soman.

I know that this discourse is tired and worn out — and understandably so, it’s been years. However, now that this movie is approaching mainstream — At worst, this queer baiting can already add to the whole ‘lesbian relationships aren’t serious’ and other terrible stereotypes. At best, it deprives sapphics of much needed representation in mainstream fantasy films.

Remember, unlike with the books, we as fans have the power to influence the story. If the creators see how unpopular the twist is with the public, they can probably change it. We can make a difference! Btw, this doesn’t mean sophie and Agatha should be endgame — I’d like for them to be in a short term relationship and be confirmed as canonically queer — Tagatha can still be the end couple! (Not hophie tho, coz sophie is a lesbian and I despise Hort lol).

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tepkunset · 6 months

Text

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Film Review

(This review contains spoilers!)

I consider The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes book to be a masterpiece that sets a standard of what YA Fiction can be; something that any young adult upwards can enjoy. Suzanne Collins does such an amazing job of pulling you into the world and characters she’s created, and doesn’t shy away from the truly grotesque things that make a dystopia feel impactful. I am glad to say that, for the most part, this film lives up to that standard.

Before anything else, I do want to get a few minor complaints out of the way. Keep in mind they did not ruin the film for me, but I feel they are worthy of pointing out.

Sejanus Plinth is my favourite character in the book, and while for the most part he is very accurate, there is one thing that really disappointed me: In the book, Sejanus knew damn well what he was doing with the rebels; he deliberately supplied them with weapons. But in the film, he has the line “I didn’t know there would be guns”, discovering for the first time that they used his money to arm themselves. This really feels like de-clawing his character to me.

It would’ve been nice to have at least a brief mention that Barb Azure is gay. I can understand why they had to cut out Pluribus Bell for time, but because the also cut him out, that means there’s no mention at all of the book’s queer characters in the film.

The relationship between Coriolanus and Sejanus has a much more bitter feeling in the film than in the book, and after sleeping on it, I think I know why: Because we don’t get to hear Coriolanus’s thoughts in the film, the film I think overcompensates by making him much more verbal about his snobbery towards Sejanus. Subsequently, it’s harder to believe why Sejanus sees Coriolanus as his best friend.

Okay now, onto the praises!

The story is extremely loyal to the book. In fact, there is a lot of dialogue that is ripped right of the page, and it all made me really happy to hear. I am especially glad they kept in this pinnacle Lucy Gray quote: “I think there’s a natural goodness built into human beings. You know when you’ve stepped across the line into evil, and it’s your life’s challenge to try and stay on the right side of that line.” Because this, of course, directly enforces the core message I took from the book: Good and evil is a choice. The choices that Coriolanus made are his to hold responsibility to, and as much as you can point at Dr. Gaul for introducing him to the path he takes, ultimately, he chose to walk it. Most of the changes were understandable cuts for time without any sacrifices being too detrimental. The things they added were all, in my opinion, enhancements to the story by expanding on what only happens on the peripheral of Coriolanus’s point of view in the book. For example, the things he only watches on screen in the arena are delved further into by shifting to Lucy Gray directly a few times. They also added a bit to Coral’s character at her time of death, which I liked because it made her out to be less of a cardboard antagonist and instead reminded the audience that she, too, is a victim of the system.

All the actors did a phenomenal job, from both the main and supporting cast. Tom Blyth does a great job at showing Coriolanus Snow’s progression down the path of a young villain in the making. Rachel Zegler does a great job at capturing Lucy Gray’s charm and free spirit. Josh Andrés Rivera does a great job at selling the weight Sejanus carries around with him, and has some of the best line deliveries in the film in my opinion. (My favourite being “I’m so blameless I’m choking”.) And I especially have praise for Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul, who does an amazing job at bringing the unhinged character from the book onto the screen. She’s properly intimidating and strange at the same time. Dimitri Abold as Reaper was also a scene-stealer, in that he captures what I absorbed from the book really well; the western societal expectation that a young Black man is a danger that is then turned on its head. Not only does he not kill a single person, he has a very emotional moment of mourning for the tributes, collecting their bodies as he does in the book, and covering them with the Panem flag – something that outrages the audience more than the actual death of the children.

The scenery is very loyal to the descriptions provided in the book; I swear they stole it straight from my own personal imagination while reading.

The music… I don’t even know how to put to words my satisfaction in how the film adapts the music written out in the book, into an actual song. My personal favourite is “Nothing You Can Take From Me”. Rachel Zegler has a great voice, for sure.

The costume design is great. The Capitol’s eccentricities we know from the core trilogy haven’t evolved yet, but there’s still a certain flavour carried with characters like Tigris and Dr. Gaul for example, that tell a story of where the fashion will eventually end up. On the other hand, we see that things haven’t changed very much for District Twelve at all, which showcases how society’s change is stilted in poverty.

The colour palette of the film is mostly just a little desaturated, with one exception: whenever Lucy Gray takes Coriolanus outside of District Twelve. The meadow, the lake, and the forest are all noticeably more colourful, which I interpreted as representing the freedom these locations offer to the characters.

All in all, I think the film was fantastic. It is easily the most loyal Hunger Games adaptation, and I don’t think that’s coincidental in its quality.

#tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #thg #hunger games #movie thoughts

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genericpuff · 1 month

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Idk if my addition will matter.

I've been following Hanza since back when they were making my deepest secret, so I've seen the development of the guy upstairs first hand and how hanza writes it. Even back in the concept stages, it was so blatantly clear that it was supposed to be a thriller/cat mouse vibe where Adam (killer) was horrible and not to be rooted for. They've compared him to irl serial killers and how those guys will often use women as shields to hide their true selves from the public and how that's messed up and bad to do.

They've shown Adam as a horrible irredeemable person and honestly there's little to no nuance with how they handle it, but that makes sense because how else can you handle an audience like what they've gotten without beating them over the head with the facts. How many ways can you outright show your main character despising and wanting to yank their best friend out of the jaws of a murderer before the audience realizes its not foreplay.

I think them going from an actual romance to a fully thriller non romantic story meant that the residual audience expected some kind of messy toxic romance, but Rozy to me has always explicitly read as Queer so idk why people aren't getting the hint.

I get their frustration and it seems like they might be shifting into a potiential issekai romance about a grandad and a middle aged woman who got reincarnated as his grandson's fiance (hard to explain but its hilarious if you want to check it out) without any thriller elements from their recent non comic posts. Whatever they do I hope they can find something to be passionate about again.

your addition VERY MUCH MATTERS actually because I don't read TGU and have very little context to the situation as a whole aside from what I've seen people talking about, which makes me reluctant to speak on it because I don't wanna go spreading misinformation in any regard. So I appreciate you taking the time to lay it all out for me, thank you!!! <3

And yeah, I've seen posts shared in the /r/webtoons sub from other blogs claiming that Hanza was being an awful person for "taking people's money" and "baiting them" into reading a dark romance story when that's very obviously not what it is? Even one excerpt that was literally like-

And I just... since when is any romance plotline that ISN'T abusive and problematic at its core (such as between a serial killer and a victim) considered "super conservative" and "pure"? It's really baffling to me how people have gone so far in the opposite direction of "purity culture" that they've started arguing on behalf of legitimately harmful and toxic relationships. It's extremely concerning especially when you know the majority of people saying this shit are between the ages of 16-21. IDK what the fuck we're doing anymore when it comes to the romance genre (and TGU isn't even a romance ffs).

Aaaand yeah in relation to where the Hanza topic came up, that's really why I'm moving away from WT as an audience and why I don't consider it a "loss" to not use WT anymore. Once upon a time I wished for Time Gate to be a contracted series, for it to have thousands of readers and be my job. But seeing what's going on with Hanza's work just informs me that I'd be dealing with a lot of the same shit - people expecting Uzuki and Mitsuhiro to be the endgame of the romance when they're literally NOT good for each other, which is the POINT. Like sure, unlike the main duo in TGU, they actually are a couple with a 'relationship' but it's not meant to be healthy and the last thing I need are 15 year olds thinking they're "couple goals". If you ship them in fanfic or w/e the fuck that's fine but please don't get mad at me when they don't wind up being the endgame couple, they're both terrible people and make each other worse when they're around each other (・_・;)

Either way yeah, I don't blame Hanza in the slightest for getting so frustrated with it all that they'd rather just be done with it. It sucks for the more loyal and sane part of their audience that the series is gonna be ripped out from under them like that, but at the end of the day if the creator is being harassed and decide they're done as a result of it... why should they have to keep putting up with bullshit just for a comic? I don't even blame Rachel if she was ending LO by choice due to the noise of the fandom, and unlike Rachel, I don't have anything in the slightest against Hanza or their work LOL But I also don't have the full picture on it all so maybe my opinion will change if I find out more about it. I just don't think any of this shit is worth directly harassing a human being over.

That said, can't get any better than someone who's read their work since before TGU, so again, thank you !

#ask me anything #ama #anon ama #anon ask me anything #webtoon critical

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funishment-time · 1 month

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for the ask game, Toko Fukawa :D

you got it! i'll include Syo as well. this is a bit Incoherent, but with any luck you all can Parse what i mean

Sexuality Headcanon: Toko's...tough, because she's got so much going on. regardless, i think if you strip everything away she's genuinely Bisexual, as is Syo. they lean towards Men, but Komaru is special. additionally, i say "comphet" for a lot of the girls, but in Toki's case it's a bit different: hers was less societal and more the abuse of her peers and parents. had she never met Komaru it may have never occurred to her that she could love and partner up with a Woman.

brief aside on this: i don't think Toko would ever identify as gay or queer or anything remotely accurate or healthy (ha). nor would Syo, but Syo would probably use a Slur as a label to get a rise out of people, avatar of rebellion and grunge that she is. Toki in particular is on my list of personal "what are you, gay or something?" characters while actively being married to a woman, next to Miu and a few others. good times

Gender Headcanon: okay, hear me out on this one, and sorry if this doesn't make sense, but...

the Fukawas are generally cis to me, though i've imagined a few scenarios where they're trans. when they're cis, however, i headcanon that, if they're with Komaru, only Toko ends up actually being cis. Syo becomes a sort of...genderweird she/her because she sees herself as the fantasy-masc Byakuya to Komaru's femininity. for lack of a better term: Syo thinks of herself as Komaru's husband (hersband...) a lot.

i have no idea how else to explain this without getting mildly NSFW. my thoughts on it aren't really pornographic so much as, like, Psychosexual? you know? and i want to keep the blog somewhat PG-13, so i'll leave it there!

A ship I have with said character: i am a diehard Tokomaru shipper and they're probably the one OTP i don't like splitting up in the whole franchise. they have a game together. they are the Girls of all time

A BROTP I have with said character: i've always loved the idea of Komaru being the entryway into Toko genuinely befriending (or at least earning the tolerance of) a lot of her fellow survivors in the main timeline. i do think Makoto would sincerely be Toko's pal, though, and i adore positioning him as the sweet bachelor brother-in-law in their nasty little family

A NOTP I have with said character: are there people out there who genuinely ship Fukawa System x Byakuya? if so...i'm sorry, but why? whyyyy. again, i try to Live and let Live in this fandom, but lorda mercy you chose poorly in this case, no offense

A random headcanon: to expand on my previous point...i will add, however, that my Fukawa Headcanons generally don't exclude Byakuya. i've said before that, for me, the Fukawas never really lose their crush on him, but it becomes purely, well, NSFW. if you excuse me being blunt for a moment: they still want to rail him, he figures in many of their fantasies, but they don't want to wake up next to him, and they certainly don't want to have his kids or make him breakfast.

Komaru, however, is the Fukawas' WIFE. she is Love, she is Healing, and she is their very best friend at her core beyond all the romance. she is pancakes and shitty manga and joy. Toko (and Syo) may not dream of Komaru kicking them around, but they do dream of creating a peaceful life with her. well...as peaceful as things can get in that timeline. some shit is always Happening

anyway: and Komaru just accepts this, because she knows she's got the girl(s) in the end!

General Opinion over said character: 10/10 i love my Toki so very much. Toki kinnie 4 life. stinky little insect creature. vile and perfect and lovable

#danganronpa #genocide syo #genocide jack #genocide jill #toko fukawa #fukawa system

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wangxianficfinder · 1 year

Text

In the mood for...

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1. hi, in the mood for wangxian university au that contains homophobia ^^ in the mood for those realistic pain that i can relate to as someone who lives in a conservative asian country :') thank u!!

Syncopation by Nyatci (E, 13k, WIP, WangXian, WWX/WX, College/University, Singer WWX, Friends With Benefits WWX/WX, Good Guy WX, Exes Wangxian, Exes to Lovers, WangXian Endgame, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Sex, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, lots of flashbacks, Non-Linear Narrative) might be a good fic - for now it's only 1 chapter, so it's hard to say, but still.

(I should’ve known) I always knew by ilip13 (E, 58k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, Misunderstandings, Unreliable Narrator, Sexuality Crisis, Friends to Lovers, First Time, Developing Relationship, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, POV WWX, Please read the author's note for more info, Eventual Happy Ending, Gray-Asexuality, Demisexuality, Masturbation, Dom/sub Undertones, Rape Fantasy, Anal Fingering, Barebacking) and its companion fic

Pan - We're queer here! Series by IBurbick (E, 158k, WangXian, NieLan, 3Zun, Coffee Shops & Cafés, Modern AU, Everyone lives, Everyone Is Gay, Because it's a queer café, cooking magic, Homophobia, Food Porn, Eventual Smut, Mental Breakdown, Dissociative Episode, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, Panic Attacks, Slow Burn, Music Theory, Verbal Fight, Fist Fight, supportive friends, Bullying, Madam Yu's A+ Parenting, Adoptions, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Hand Jobs, Mutual Pining) is a Modern Coffee Shops & Cafés AU that might contain some of what you want; LXC’s vegan café is a beloved neighborhood hub for the queer community, but also a target for homophobes.

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2. Hello! Could you please help me find fics where WWX and LWJ receive each other's injuries and killing one would kill the other, ala Love Between Fairy And Devil? I know this is sometimes a soulmate au trope so I looked through your Soulmate comp and I did find one that I loved: Nothing You Confess by Porcupine Girl (LWJ feels it when WWX loses his golden core). Can you think of any others where they share/feel injuries? Thank you so much!!

Side By Side Suicide by scifigeek14 (T, 2k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Character Death, Major Character Injury, Blood and Injury, Non-Graphic Violence, Angst, Not A Fix-It, Unhappy Ending) I have one of my fics for number 2. but warning cus its NOT happy. They dead.

🧡 Talking is Better than Silence by blackcatkuroi, KuroiWrites (blackcatkuroi) (T, 227k, WIP, WangXian, XiChengQing, Communication, Fluff and Angst, What-If, Canon Divergence, Resentful Energy is a Thing, Musical Cultivation gets Center Stage, Honesty, Myth Making in Action, Soulmates, Cultivation Healing is Expanded, Lore Creation Story, Completed and Regular Updates, Any Rated E for Extra Sexy scenes posted as separate CODA chapters)

Lovescars by ardenrabbit (M, 62k, WangXian, JC & WWX, demi lwj, Bi WWX, aroace jc, Self-Harm, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, POV Multiple, Blood and Injury, PTSD, roughly follows the nove, lAngst with a Happy Ending, Canon Parallel)

The Price of Forever by Witch_Nova221 (T, 22k, WangXian, NieLan, XuanLi, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Magic, references to still birth, References to Child Loss, Implied/Referenced Torture, Implied/Referenced Murder, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Happy Ending, Found Family, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers)

Sunder by naqaashi (E, 32k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Heavy Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Denial of Feelings, Mutual Pining, Emotional Sex, Porn with Feelings, PWP, Light BDSM, Fix-It, POV LWJ, YLLZ WWX, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Top/Bottom Versatile | Switch WangXian, Light Dom/sub, Explicit Sexual Content, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Five Stages of Grief, Suicidal Thoughts) it is super angsty, but I promise it has a happy ending!

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3. I'm in a mood for ace spectrum wangxian, either one or both! I'd like them to be sex positive or neutral but won't mind sex repulsed either.

#1 in this post has some ace spectrum fics you might like ^^

💖Let Them Eat Cake by Vamillepudding (G, 7k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Romantic Comedy, Light Angst, Asexual Relationship, Getting Together)

you've ruined my life (by not being mine) by cicer (E, 132k, WangXian, Developing Relationship, Modern AU, Idiots in Love, Awkward Flirting, teenage romance, Shameless WWX, slowburn, Demisexuality, references to lqr's a+ parenting, references to jfm's a+ parenting, references to yzy's a+ parenting, bottom LWJ in chapter 15)

your touch in the dark (your voice in the silence) by beesinspades (M, 13k, WangXian, Modern AU, Friends With Benefits, Busker!WWX, Musician!LWJ, Mutual Pining, Pining while fucking, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Strangers to Friends With Benefits to Lovers, Happy Ending, Sexual Content, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Top/Bottom Versatile | Switch WangXian, Asexual WWX, Demisexual LWJ)

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4. hello <3 for in the mood for, may i ask for fics like in stunted, starving juvinility, in that Lan Qiren actually develops a bias TOWARDS wwx, maybe even dotes on him a little? that would be amazing askdjkfd

Accidental Uncle Acquisition Series by deliciousblizzardshark (G/T, 13k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Modern AU, Single Parent WWX, Good Uncle LQR, Accidental Uncle Acquisition, Found Family, Kid Fic, Soft WangXian, Matchmaking, Fluff and Humor)

The Untamed: For the Love of Two Boys by YenGirl (Not Rated, 181k, WangXian, XuanLi, ChengQing, 3Zun, LQR/SiSi, Single minded LZ, Caring WY, Supportive lxc, Supportive LQR, Prickly JC, Sweet JYL, Good JZX (Peacock), Badass WQ, Cinnamon roll WN, adorable a-yuan, Supportive NMJ, Redeemed JGY, Evil JGS, Supportive Madam Jin, Evil XY, Rescued SS, Supportive Lan Healer OC, Accupuncture, Golden Core Reveal, Yunmeng sibs reconciliation, Implied mpreg jokes) I think he gains a bias in this one it's been a while since I read it

藍色的花，紅色的蘭 {Lan se de hua, hongse de lan} by Admiranda, AshayaTReldai (M, 45k, WIP, WangXian, Orphan WWX, Friends to Lovers, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Childhood Friends, softer lqr, Good Uncle LQR, Good lan clan, Good Older Sibling LXC) Lan Qiren adopts WWX as a child in Yiling initially out of need to repay a life debt, but comes to love him in his own right over time.

Just Say Yes series by edenwolfie (M, 338k, wangxian, canon divergence, matchmaking, pining, cloud recesses study arc, getting together, fluff, humor, hurt/comfort, everyone lives au)

🧡 All will be well when the day is done by abCEE (T, 76k, wangxian, time travel, canon divergence, fix it, not YZY friendly, not Jiang friendly, butterfly effect, no sunshot, madam lan lives, lan WWX) WWX gets kind of adopted by LQR

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5. Dear mods, I hope all of you are doing fine these days. Also, I have come again with an interesting request. For the next ITMF, are there any fic with playboy LWJ. And with that, this humble thank you

the earthquake in the room by phnelt (E, 39k, WangXian, College/University, Modern: No Powers, Canada, Getting Together, Mentions of lwj/others, inter-faculty romance, strangers to lovers to frenemies to lovers, mostly book characterisation)

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6. For the next ITMF post: We are deliberately told next to nothing about Mo Xuanyu in canon. I’d like to read some good fics that flesh out his life in the period before the Sacrifice Summon—growing up in Mo Manor, adjusting to the Jin Sect (and his father), returning to Mo Manor, etc. and so forth. Can be any sort of POV or characterization of him, just interested to see what people have come up with.

Too gone to stay by Aenya (T, 31k, WangXian, WWX-centric, Canonical Character Death, in non-canonical ways, Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death REVERSAL, Canon-Typical Violence, novel canon, Pre-Relationship, Happy Ending) has some backstory for mxy, although it’s set in an AU

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7. Hey! This is an IITMF request.

Fics where so many people have crush on / like WWX. (Bonus if the fic is from their pov)

- LWJ being a vinegar jug. @utxqia

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8. Hi!!! I read most of the fics of xuexiao on ao3 and now I want to ask if anyone knows any good fics that aren't on ao3? Prefer it to be a happy ending for xuexiao and not have xuexiaosong or songxiao. I don't mind it to be a little dark or manipulative but I don't want their relationship to be completely toxic / one-sided or forced in anyway. Thank you~~

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9. hiii i’ve never done this before so forgive my mistakes… i think this is how this is done… for the next ‘in the mood for’ post, could you guys find fics where the Lans are protective of WWX? Either post-resurrection or a canon divergence where wwx comes to the Lan sect early pre-sunshot, im not picky… thanks in advance!!

Life Series by scifigeek14 (T, 65k, WangXian, Weddings, Shotgun Wedding, (But not cus of a baby because of politics), Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fix-It, POV Alternating, POV Third Person Limited, Devotion, Feelings Realization, Family Feels, Politics, Golden Core Reveal, Marriage Proposal, Marriage of Convenience)

What Becomes of the Melting Snow? Series by Admiranda (T, 7k, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Supportive LXC, lxc putting in his character development, Supportive Sibling LXC) is a work in progress series where post canon Lan Xichen puts in a lot of character development and drags his clan along the way to become good to WWX.

one of our own by glitteringmoonlight (G, 7k, WangXian, Post-Canon, POV Outsider, 5+1 Things) also 9 is a fic about many members of the Lan Clan protecting WWX

🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 43k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU) (link in #16)

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10. This might be a weird ask, but I want a Wangxian fic that also has Jiang Cheng getting some sort of happiness or a Yunmeng sibling reconciliation

there's the Yunmeng Bros reconciliation comp

some good mistakes by Lise (T, 18k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Post-Canon, Road trips, rescue Missions, Hurt/Comfort, Awkward Conversations, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, [Podfic] some good mistakes by kisahawklin)

Rotten Work by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 63k, WangXian, WWX & JL, Post-Canon, Protective WWX, Protective JL, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, Reluctant Matchmaker JL, [PODFIC] Rotten Work by sakizar)

Living by WithBroomBefore (G, 15k, WangXian, JC & JYL & WWX, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, POV LWJ, WWX Lives, JYL Lives, Family Feels, Crying, Suicide Attempt, just the one though, Healing, Sad with a Happy Ending, Minor Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort)

Regrets by antebunny (G, 37k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Time Travel, Fix-It, Temporary Character Death, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Descriptions of Love, and other squishy feeling, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Grave dirt by esama (T, 92k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Found Family, Pre-Slash, canon-typical corpse desecration, Questionable approach to cutivation, Cultivation Sect Politics, Fix-It of Sorts, canon typical genocide mention, Yílíng Wèi Sect)

maybe you'll take the long way home by surething (T, 25k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Getting Together, Tenderness, Yearning, Character Study, Introspection, fun uncle wwx, bitch boy lwj, Found Family)

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11. For the next itmf I was wondering if you had any 3zun fics where JGY gets severely injured when NMJ kicks him down the stairs? I would prefer novel canon over CQL canon but I’m okay with anything. Thanks!

Different Paths to the Same Route by JustAWanderingBabbit (T, 184k, jjin guangyao & lan xichen & nie mingjue, 3zun, lan wangji & wei wuxian, canon divergence: AQ becomes XXC and SL’s first disciple)

Dream of the Gold Chamber by JustAWanderingBabbit (T, 8k, Implied 3Zun, Referenced canonical incest, canon violence, Canon Divergence, Crack Treated Seriously, Dream a Little Dream, XY is a turd, He might still be redeemable, JGS is not redeemable.)

Jin Guangyao + Chronic Pain Series by crypticidentity (Varied, 15k, XiYao, HuaiYao, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Chronic pain, Hurt no Comfort, Fluff, POV JGY, JGY-Centric)

angstymdzsthoughts post may yield further fics

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12. Wei ying gets 33 lashes

~*~

13. I can't remember if this has been asked before, but I love a good time loop/Groundhog Day fic. I remember one with LWJ stuck in a loop where WWX always ends up dead, and I feel like I read one once where JC was the one stuck in a loop, but there have to be more than that, right? Any from WWX's point of view? Someone else? Thanks for your help!

Wearing Down Every Bone by CSHfic, VSfic (E, 30k, WangXian, Groundhog Day, Time Loop, Temporary Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Case Fic, Curses, Pining, Getting Together, Time Travel, Night Hunts, Hurt wwx, Mystery, Angst with a Happy Ending, Use Your Words, Mutual Pining, Depression and Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, gratuitous use of empathy)

see you yesterday by glyphic (M, 138k, WIP, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Ghost Hunters, Time Loop, Case Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn)

the cycle of regret by KouriArashi (T, 14k, WangXian, Groundhog Day, Fix-It, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Alternate Canon)

~*~

14 Hi! For the next in the mood for post, do you have some fics where wwx has a complete meltdown that everybody wants him for something or blames him for smg and he's just like fuck you all, screams it out and leave the sects to be? Thank you so much, you guys are awesome!

Fuck This Shit, I'm Out!!!!! by WiFi_Stalker (Not Rated, 6k, WIP, WangXian, XianQing (platonic), Canon Divergence, A-Yuan time travels, Oblivious WWX, pining LWJ, BAMF WWX, not for jc fans)

Enough! by Jeeny271196 (Not Rated, 5k, WIP, WangXian, Gūsū Lán Sect Bashing, Jiāng Family Bashing, JC Bashing, LXC Bashing, BAMF WWX, Cultivation Sect Politics)

~*~

15. ITMF Lan Wangji wielding Suibian or WWX wielding Bichen in battle (or walking around a conference or something), and them shocking the polite cultivation world for it. Thank you for any suggestions you can give!

when you're doing all the leaving (then it's never your love lost) by tardigradeschool (T, 26k, wangxian, canon divergence, hurt/comfort, canon-typical violence, sharing clothes, sharing a bed, fix-it, golden core transfer) sadly i barely have anything to contribute to the latest itmf except for one (questionable?) rec for 15. Has one (cool) scene of wwx wielding bichen.

~*~

16. ah hello wonderful mods!! I am interested in any and all fics that have a scene of wangxian running into each other's arms (kind of like the canon scene of wwx jumping from the tree into lwj's arms). thank you for your hard work!! @yourancestorsarefrowning

🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 43k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU)

❤️ The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli (T, 20k, wangxian, In-Universe RPF, Romance Novel, Post-Canon Fix-It, primarily drama-canon with cameos from novel-canon, The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli [Podfic] by Rhea314 (Rhea))

~*~

17. i'm curious if there are any fics where nobody (or mostly nobdy) knows the yiling patriarch and wei wuxian are the same person? thank you

only the dead (have seen the end of war) by comforting_monachopsis (T, 42k, WangXian, Temporary Amnesia, BAMF WWX, Sad LWJ, Grief/Mourning, Mild Gore, Medical Inaccuracies, Secret Identity, Loss of Identity, Identity Porn, The Science of Cultivation, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Angst and Humor, Crossdressing, WWX is Bad at Feelings) is a great fic where even wei ying himself forgets who he is after coming out of the burial mounds, and wears a mask so no one recognizes him.

my life's journey is far from over by thelastdboy (E, 148k, WangXian, Modern AU, Canon Divergence, Madam Lán Lives, JYL Lives, WQ Lives, Post-Sunshot Campaign, POV WWX, Slow Burn, YLLZ WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Modern AU but not too modern™, mlm/wlw solidarity, Kink Negotiation, Kink Exploration, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, WWX Lives, Mental Health Issues, References to Depression, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Burial Mounds Ensemble as Family, Single Parent WWX, Selectively Mute LWJ, Eventual Smut, Light Dom/sub) It's the second fic in a series but can be read alone (totally recommend both, though!) And it's more the aftermath of the war. WWX struggles sometimes with being alive, so proceed with caution if necessary.

Imperfect Memory by xantissa (E, 61k, WangXian, dub con, Dark FantasyAU, double identity porn, sub!LWJ, Drama, Forced Orgasm, tiny bit of blood play, Prostate Massage, D/s themes, Falling In Love, mature LWJ, Magic, multiple OC characters, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Porn, Identity Porn, Dubious Consent, Happy Ending, Falling In Love Again, Angst and Hurt/Comfort)

If You Love Someone by CoatWrites (T, 28k, WangXian, Rule 63, Fem!LWJ, Fem!WWX, Perceived Major Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Misunderstandings, Light Angst, Happy Ending, Inspired by Princess Bride, Mistaken Identity, mention of past mercy killing, mention of past cannibalism, mention of past torture by a main character, Mention of food insecurity, Attempted Arranged Marriage)

🧡#WarPrizeJiSeason by PorcupineGirl (T, 15k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, YL WWX, Warprize LWJ, Yiling Wei Sect, Mistaken Identity, Identity reveal)

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic recs #i'm in the mood for a fic #the untamed #wangxian fic search #wangxianficfinder #long post

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twig-tea · 1 month

Text

Close Friend 3: Soju Bomb Lied to Me

Angry rant time!

I do not like to trash shows for being "not gay enough"; I think there's room in the BL sphere for all kinds of stories and I'm really interested in shows that would not typically 'count as BL' getting money and eyes, so I'm pretty forgiving of something being advertised as a BL and not meeting the criteria of a BL. I was not mad at Tunku Drama Shower for One Room Angel, for example, because that show was good and queerness was at the core of the story, and even though it didn't really work as a romance narrative, I'm glad they experimented with it.

However.

HOWEVER.

Close Friend 3 went too far and I'm mad about it. Let me break it down for you: Close Friend is a franchise that started in 2021; VIU hired a bunch of established pairs from other shows and got them to each do a microseries to see what stuck. The tagline was "six different pairs of men, six different forms of love". Then in Close Friend 2 the two most popular couples (Ohm & Fluke from Until We Meet Again, and Kimmon and Copter from 2 Moons and Gen Y) got a sequel series, in which their characters were put into the same universe, and we had essentially two BL couples co-heading the miniseries. And while Close Friend 1 and 2 aired on Viki, Close Friend 3 was picked up by the queer content distributor GagaOOLala.

All that's to say Close Friend 3: Soju Bomb is the third entry into a franchise that to date has been romance narratives featuring exclusively m/m couples, and is airing on a queer platform, has only the guys in the series on the poster, and has a heart in the logo of the show. And so I do not think I am crossing any lines to say it is a betrayal for this show to not be a BL romance, which it decidedly is NOT.

[Just to underscore that it makes no sense why this is "Close Friend 3": While all 6 of the microseries in S1 were unrelated, the stories that were in S2 were related and were sequels to S1. So it's REALLY strange that S3 had not a single callback to S1 or 2--especially since in those earlier seasons, Ohm played a music producer, so it would have been really easy to even just mention his character in a show about aspiring music artists. They didn't even try.]

Not only is this show not a BL in the more standard ways--it isn't about romance at it's core--but it also is not about androsexual men (men who are attracted to men). Even more egregiously, there is a kiss that it teases for several episodes, but that kiss turns out to be a drunken "I love my buddies" kiss that everyone agrees is no big deal once it's revealed.

At my most generous, one of these characters could be said to have maybe had some kind of questioning/queer awakening occur as a result of the kisses. He was ruminating on his flashes of memory, and clearly has a reaction to hearing about how difficult life was for the lesbian couple that felt personal. But it's not a central core of the narrative, and as soon as he remembers what happened and the band members have the conversation in which they agree they're just friends (and they joke that one day having a cush on him is possible), that thread drops. If he does remain questioning his sexuality (which, by the way, it was never clear he was doing in the first place--he says in the show that he was concerned about the fact that he kissed them and their reception of him afterwards. The actor definitely played it like he was queer, but the show does nothing to make that explicit), it does not remain a concern of the show and is never brought up again, not even in non-romantic context e.g. concerns about his future if he were to try to debut as a (closeted or out) KPop idol.

Meanwhile there are two heterosexual romances as subplots of this story (one of which is with their manager, and as trainees that is potentially exploitative but never treated as a problem by the show). There is also an older lesbian couple which would be extremely cute except one of them is dead (side-eyeing you, My Strawberry Film, for contributing to this becoming a pattern I hate).

There is also a "shippable" couple in the show that the show makes clear is not a couple because one of them is in one of the heterosexual couples I mentioned above. Seeing these two sometimes hit BL beats while knowing they're not going anywhere was frustrating and felt like salt in the wound.

By setting up audience expectations that this would be a BL story and then betraying those expectations (and in fact laughing at them), this show has done itself a serious disservice. If they had billed this as a general Thai/Korean crossover about Thai Kpop trainees who are filmed in some pretty iconic spots in Korea (e.g. most KPop listeners and kdrama watchers will recognize Yongma Land) where they explore their friendship, their reasons for wanting to debut, and their feelings around the restrictions that the company has placed them under for years just to abandon them, I'd have been on board, and said they did a decent job. The ending was a little pat (particularly the idea that anything at these companies would change), it didn't take things that it set up as serious very seriously, and the character arcs were not very strong, but I was entertained at some of the twists and the reveal of what happened during their blackout drunk night (Gaga in their listing compares this show to The Hangover and it's a similar premise), the friendships were solid, and it was very pretty; in other circumstances I'd happily say watch if you're bored or something specific in the show appeals to you (if you like The Hangover; if you like good cinematography and unusual locations; if you like boyband stories, as examples).

As it stands, I am now upset, will never recommend this to anyone, and these creators are on notice (the cinematographer, Job, was also involved in The Shipper and Our Days, so he is on my List. How dare this man continue to use his talents for shows that don't deserve them. The Trainee better be stunning, that's all I'll say about him. The screenwriter Rose is new so she gets a warning, and the director is Yoo who also directed 55:15 Never Too Late, which was ok so he also gets a warning).

TL;DR This show should never have been marketed as a BL. I do not enjoy being set up for disappointment or for queer stories to be sidelined in ostensibly queer content (same complaint I have about My Strawberry Film). This approach did this show no favours at all, and it means I cannot recommend it.

#close friend the series #close friend 3 #close friend 3: soju bomb #soju bomb the series #this title is also such a mess to try and tag good lord #bl meta #typed so that i can stop thinking it #long post #i am very annoyed; that was egregious

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poltergeistsoup · 6 months

Note

Who's your favorite member of Gorillaz and why? :°

Girl (gender neutral) this is the Murdoc Enjoyer blog. He’s my favorite for the same reasons as everyone else: because I have a normal and uncomplicated relationship to my dad he’s a silly little guy :)

Fine here’s an actual answer:

Him being goofy is such a core element of his character that is frustrating when people don’t include it in their characterization. It’s what makes him so enjoyable rather than just being an asshole. It makes him more non-threatening— whether it’s because he’s full of shit, playing the fool on purpose, or him just naturally being a little goober. He’s a clown first and a musician second. In phase 1 Noodle says she likes that he makes her laugh and it could partially be her not taking him seriously, but also we see him trying to make people laugh all the time (you especially see it when Phil Cornwell is just improving and doesn’t have a strict script).

It makes it fully believable people would like him. Funny guys win. It makes people let their guard down, and it makes it easy to control how people see you.

He’s also motivated by a desperate need for control— keeping 2D close, spinning lie after lie to maintain attention and keep his true self nebulous, his fear of his bandmates leaving him behind. And it drives him whether he wants to be loved or feared. His ego crumbles any time that control is threatened and it makes him willing to change tactics to maintain it— so he’ll start yelling and throwing things *or* cry at your feet if one of those will get him what he wants.

What also sets him apart from other “asshole man” characters is that he’s not really behooved to prove his masculinity. Like obviously him wearing thongs and wanting to be strung up by a dominatrix and doing drag (him doing queer shit, essentially) is meant to be funny but also. I just like that he’s not ashamed of those things. He’s not in the closet, not out of the closet, but a secret third thing: “what’s it to ya.”

TLDR he’s everything to me. He’s a short king, he’s bisexual, he’s a clown, he’s utterly tragic, it’s entirely his fault, he’s a butch lesbian, he’s wet and pathetic, he’s babygirl, he’s a beast, he’s a catboy, he’s a deadbeat dad, he’s Mommie Dearest, he’s a drag king, he’s a whore, he’s the worst, he’s so deep, his story is mostly stupid, he’s mediocre, he’s exceptional, etc.

#gorillaz #murdoc niccals #asks #anonymous

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newtthetranswriter · 22 days

Text

Pride Event 2024

Hello everyone, as you may have figured out I am a queer trans writer, and therefore I want to do something for Pride month this year. I want to write a bunch of LGBTQIA fics to post throughout the month of June, and so hopefully that’s where all of you lovelies come in. If you wish please send in Lgbtqia requests for any of the characters I listed in this post, as long as it’s lgbtq I’ll see what I can do with it. This post will have a list of characters I will write for during this event, as well as a list of rules for the event. So without further ado please join me in prepping for Pride month and consider requesting. everything is under the keep reading to no clog the dash.

Here's my master list if you want to check out some of my work

Rules: (rules for event will differ slightly from my regular rules)

Please have some kind of plot when requesting, not just character & fluff, I need more to work with

In addition to the first rule, please don’t send me a request that is two pages long. Please keep requests to four or five sentences. If your request needs to be longer, please message me the details and we can discuss.

When requesting, please state if you want headcannons, a drabbel, or oneshot.

Limit of four characters for headcannons and drabbels

All characters are aged up, unless stated otherwise.

From now on Minors/ageless blogs will be blocked

No Smut (just not confident enough to write it yet, might change later on)

NO CHILD READER (in any way, even if it's a look back on character and reader as kids. I'm not comfortable with it)

No incest/stepcest or anything of the sort

No minor x adult

No big age gaps even if both sides are adults

No Homophobia/Transphobia/racism, there is an exception for if it is part of the plot requested. For example character comforting reader after they get harassed

No self-harm, ed’s, or s/a’s

Please do not send links. I would like to believe that you lovelies would try to put a virus on my computer, but I will not risk it.

Please only send requests or ask questions, don't say weird shit

AGAIN, NO MINORS OR AGELESS BLOGS

if you have any questions about if I will accept a request, feel free to message me for clarification

Characters: (some characters may be available for the event but crossed off on my main list, this means i will only write them for the event at this time.)

Jujutsu Kaisen (anime and manga)

Gojo

Yuta

Toge

Yuji

Maki

Choso

Nanami

My Hero Academia (anime and manga)

Hawks

Fatgum

Denki

Tokoyami

Dabi

Bakugo

Amajiki

Kirishima

Mina

Shoto

Tokyo Revengers (anime and manga)

Chifuyu

Mikey

Draken

Mitsuya

Baji

Kokonoi

Akkun

Yamagishi

Yamamoto

Inupi

Kazutora

Haikyuu (anime and manga)

Sugawara

Daichi

Kurro

Kenma

Oikawa

Bokuto

Akashi

Osumu

Atsumu

Demon Slayer (anime and manga)

Kyojiro

Muichiro

Inosuke

Tanjiro

Haganezuka

Mitsuri

Shinobu

Giyuu

Chainsaw Man (anime only)

Denji

Aki

Power

Fairy Tail

Gray

Natsu

Sting

Rouge

Gajeel

Freed

Bickslow

Black Clover (anime and manga)

Finral

Fuegoleon

Nozel

Magna

Luck

Zora

Rill

Nacht

Klaus

Vanessa

Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood

Edward

Alphonse

Hawkeye

Roy mustang

The Legend Of Zelda (Breath of the wild and Tears of The Kingdom)

Link

Final fantasy 7 Remake and Crisis core reunion

Cloud

Zack

The Umbrella Academy

Ben

Kalus

Five

Criminal Minds

Spencer Reid

Avatar The Last AirBender and the legend of Korra

Sokka

Zuko

Mako

Bolin

The Witcher (netflix show)

Jaskier

Good Omens

Aziraphale

Crowley

The Dragon Prince

Soren

Callum

Amya

Runnan

Ethari

Ibis

Arravos

Gren

Buddy Daddies

Kazuki

Rei

Blue exorcist (anime and manga)

Shima

Yukio

Rin

Bon

World of Warcraft (any expansion as I'm down to read lore)

Kalecgos / Kalec (distinction because maybe reader is unaware of him being a dragon

Illidan Stormrage

Genn Greymane

Anduin wrynn

How to train your dragon

Hiccup

Eret

Fire force (anime only)

Captain Obi

Vulcan

Viktor

Shinmon Benimaru

note: Regular requests are still open and I'm working on the ones I have, I ask that if it is a request for my pride event please make it known some how.

Edit may 10th:

newtthetranswriter

56m ago

Hey people, I just want to say I'm working on getting a lay out for this event and I would like some more ideas. Here's a screenshot of what I have so far. Just because a character is already on the list does not mean they are of the table for another fic, in other words i will write for characters multiple times during this event if requested.

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