no lube, no protection, all night, all day, from the kitchen floor to the toilet seat, from the dining table to the bedroom, from the bathroom sink to the shower, from the front porch to the balcony, vertically, horizontally, quadratic, exponential, logarithmic, while i gasp for—
listen up bitches (gender neutral) (affectionate) i’ve been cooking this for an incredibly long time and i’m very very excited to share it but it is gonna be long so i’m putting it under a cut
my theory is that there has been a new set of archetypes created by popular m/m media either in canon or coding and i would love if it was more widely recognized by a distinct name so here we go:
I present to you: The Mirrorball x Running Up That Hill Boyfriends™️ Theory
i need to preface this by saying that i am absolutely not an english major or expert but i have done so much analysis that i’m 98% positive i’m on to something here
so usually mlm ships- at least in my experience- get boiled down into typical Grumpy x Sunshine, Golden Retriever x Black Cat, or like. Babygirl x Badass. and i hate that because those are like really watered down hetero romance stereotypes and i think queer people deserve to get our own archetypes instead of trying to force queer characters into prepaid boxes but that’s a story for another day so:
basically, all content with widely accepted mlm ships (even if they are more in coding than in canon) has this pattern with the ship that fits into Mirrorball x Running Up That Hill
(name pending- open to suggestions)
Boyfriend No.1 of course is the epitome of Mirrorball by Taylor Swift (i know, i know. bear with me here). He’s constantly trying to prove himself and his worth and usually he’s driven to hide or overcome 1-3 specific and intense insecurities/character flaws. He often has innate loyalty to a system or person who has repeatedly abused/neglected/abandoned him and thinks that this treatment is a result of his own character rather than a reflection of the abuser. In relation to the plot and audience, this is the “more dangerous” of the two because he’s so desperate to hold onto the status quo that he’ll often act in a way that makes things more difficult for himself, often by leaving Boyfriend No. 2, sacrificing himself, or doing “the wrong thing.” He also commonly has an older male figure that is breathing down his neck constantly, haunting his perceived inadequacies, and fueling his self-loathing. He’s constantly mischaracterized because he’s either boiled down to “the silly one” or a visage of his trauma and the people that relate to love these characters are usually extremely sad people. Usually this character is also the “mean girl” of the couple.
Examples of the Mirrorball boyfriend: Dean Winchester, Aziraphale, Stede Bonnet, Lucius Spriggs, Sherlock Holmes, Eddie Munson, Mike Wheeler, Prince Rupert, etc.
Boyfriend No. 2 then, is the Running Up That Hill Boyfriend, based of course, on the song by the same name by the perfect Kate Bush. He’s the one that’s seen The Horrors™️ and gained a layer of cynicism that Mirrorball doesn’t have. He was once loyal to something that used/hurt him but he rejected it and used his newfound freedom to restructure his entire personality and reach his much higher potential. Usually, he has passed so far from having a few insecurities to perceiving himself as utterly worthless and unlovable but he’s so convinced that it doesn’t even haunt him, he just goes with it and usually comes off looking overly-confident or cocky. This is The Bitch (affectionate)™️. There’s probably a scene of him covered in blood. This is The Girls’ favorite blorbo and ultimate whump. He tends to be really good with kids and he’s the kind of character that would and often has to CLAW a life out for himself by his fingernails.
Examples of the Running Up That Hill Boyfriend: Castiel, Crowley, Ed Teach, Black Pete, John Watson, Steve Harrington, Will Byers, Prince Amir, etc.
unfortunately i haven’t seen a lot of popular queer stuff so if you can think of other mlm or mlm shaped characters that fit into these archetypes please please please tell me
i’m specifically curious about:
-Hannigram (Hannibal)
-Buddy (911) (@criminally-obsessed if you would mind weighing in but obviously no pressure)
-Lokius (Loki) (@henderdads same thing)
-Any of the marauders but specifically WolfStar
-Stucky (MCU)
-RWRB (i’m so sorry i don’t remember the guys’ names)
-Nick and Charlie (Heartstopper)
-What We Do In the Shadows has one I think?
-literally anyone else please and thank you 🙏🙏 love you all
if you want like explicit examples of each piece for a character lmk for sure because i could talk about this all day long
yall think the team has started to go numb to losing someone by now? its happened so many times (jay´s had it the worst oh gosh)
an odd sort of numbness from knowing all too well this is exactly what theyve signed up for, a feeling hollow and cold but also eerly calm, worry, restlessness bubbling beneath everything
but the need duty to keep moving, keep fighting, you still have a world to protect (no time to fall apart, use the pressure to keep yourself together)
make their sacrifice count, and pray that if they come back, theyre still recognizable...
rewatching destiny is so funny but it also HURTS !!!!!!!!! jay has to hear his dad say he’d kill the destiny gang members, which includes little destiny, and i’m sure that finn would be understanding of jay and ld’s relationship but naturally since they’ve kept it a secret finn doesn’t fucking know and it clearly upsets the poor kid ,,, crying throwing up