#this is just my hot take but people find a way to discourse about EVERYTHING my god

[lunar-years]

I think swifties way over blow most problems but fans traveling internationally to see a show has never been and will never be the huge issue people make it out to be. The reality is that a veryyy small percentage of Americans are traveling out of country to see the eras tour. And like, I think it’s good to be aware of and try to avoid cities/areas that are getting very few shows or that have never hosted Taylor before, such as LATAM or Switzerland or Poland, because yes those fans should have priority. But a few hundred Americans going to Wembley, with its capacity of 90k, where she is probably going to play SIX shows, in a country that is also getting other shows elsewhere, is not a big deal and is not “taking” heaps of tickets away from locals. Come on.

#this is just my hot take but people find a way to discourse about EVERYTHING my god #international fans came to the us for shows too. btw. #I would so much rather have international fans get tickets than scalpers!!! which is who this energy should really be directed at #it’s the same kind of thing as people going to multiple shows. like it’s not the issue people assume it is bc the internet told them it is #ts #eras tour #Taylor swift

[romana-after-dark]

Dead Dove December 2023 Masterlist

Hello everyone!

So sorry it took forever to get this out, but it took me 5ever to read through these fics bc I was expresso depresso and working a lot LMFAOOOOOOO

Anyway, THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH FOR EVERYONE ENTRIES!!! I adore you so so so so much. I am SO HAPPY with how this worked out and the amount of response! I hope to hold another event this March with @for-a-longlongtime at @triplefrontier-anniversary for the TF anniversary over at my main account @romanarose, and an event in June for pride, so if those interest you, follow my main page or this one, or @romana-updates

NOTE: I was unorganized so if I forgot someone's fic, IT WAS NOT ON PURPOSE. I know right now there discourse right now the Pedro fandom specifically, about different people not liking others or small writers or big writers ETC, but I want you to know no one was left out on purpose!

Note 2: If I put your fic here but forgot to reblog LET ME KNOW! I want to make sure everyone gets a chance to shine.

Without further ado, the fics and art!

ALL OF THESE ARE DARK SO SOME DEGREE FROM CNC, DUB CON, TO VIOLENT NON CON! HEAD WARNINGS!

The Last of Us

The Burglary by @aurorawritestoescape and @milla-frenchy: Two men break into your house and take more than just your valuables.

Fight Club by @anama-cara : Post outbreak set in the Boston QZ. You decide to go against Joel in an underground QZ fight club for some extra coin. Joel doesn't take kindly to the competition and decides to punish you in his own special way.

Deja Vu by @milla-frenchy : After a bad experience with a former boyfriend, you meet Joel who makes you trust him fully in the bedroom

Silent Night by @kewwrites : Despite the way he always acted around you, you find it hard to say no to Sarah when she invites you home to her dad's house for the holidays. Surely nothing would happen while she's with you.

Training Day by @koshkamartell : Set in AU, no outbreak. You get more than you bargained for after trying to make Joel jealous.

Code Broken by @auteurdelabre : You only wanted to pull a silly prank on your neighbor, Joel. Who could have seen it ending up like this?

The Art of Breaking by @corazondebeskar-reads : Your meeting is happenstance, but everything that follows? Well, that’s all Joel. He just knows you’re going to be his perfect little toy. He just has to show you how.

Cry Harder by @romana-after-dark : While keeping you captive, Joel's sex drive is insatiable, and the sex seemed to be never ending. You tried to warm him you needed to use the bathroom... he didn't listen.

Nightmare Before Christmas by @katiexpunk : As an escort, you’ve found yourself in some pretty fucked up situations before. Years of experience have taught you to navigate such situations with a combination of tact and assertiveness. Most of the time the men who exude an air of sleaze shrivel back into the corner, embarrassed and limp dicked.  Most of the time.  Tonight is not one of those times.

Locket by @toxicanonymity : Dark!Reader dugs her friends hot dad Joel

Run, Rabbit by @justagalwhowrites : It was just over a year after the world ended that you were captured by Joel and Tommy Miller. They're harsh, they're cold and they're killers. But, as a nurse, you're a valuable person to have around and they're not the worst thing wandering the wasteland that was the United States. And there might be more to these men than meets the eye.

Godless by @javier-penas-wifexx420 : You work at a brothel that operates above a saloon in your town. Joel is the leader of a group of outlaws that come periodically to collect payment and wreak havoc. One visit, you catch Joel’s eye and he decides he has to have you.

Across the Spiderverse

After Dark by @runa-falls : He wants you. and he knows you need him.

Triple Frontier

Deep Seeded Issues by @djarinmuse: Summary: At an N.A (narcotics anonymous) meeting you recall a dark and embarrassing memory, not knowing the connection in the room.

My Blood Would Teach Me How to Love by @winniethewife : Santi finds you self harming, blood kink ensues.

Room's on Fire by @romana-after-dark : Cult AU, Pope, Frankie, Will and Ben are cult leaders and need a virgin to breed who will birth the savior: the Madonna. Initially honored to find redemption, the Madonna has to learn how to navigate all four men and a circle of other people at the house.

Goodnight, Princess by @melodygatesauthor : Your dad's best friend accidentally discovers that you're a sex worker. He tries to let it go, but it eats away at him until things go way too far.

The Card Counter

Bad Bet by @boredzillenial and art by @lunar-ghoulie4art : William beats you in a poker tournament, but you just can’t accept defeat, not yet…

Getting Whats Mine by @winniethewife

Lightening Face

Puppy by @darkuselesssomebody : In which the reader is a manipulative bitch - and basil snaps because of it

Mojave

Cruel Intentions by @hon3yboy : You're on a soul seeking journey, just another young, pretty, thing. All alone and stranded in the desert, ripe for the picking and ol' Jack has his eyes set on you.

Moon Kight

Death to Dignity by @juneknight : An intruder (Marc) breaks in to your apartment.

*************

I cannot thank you enough for your support and interaction for htis series!!!!! I had SUCH a good time reading all these, you are all so talented!!!

I hope to do more events soon as it's really helped me make some friends and get to know people here!!!!

Please remember to reblog these authors, and if you're tagged here, be sure to check out more! Lots of great content here!

#deaddovedecember2023 #dead dove do not eat #dddne #Joel Miller x reader #Tommy miller x reader #the last of us fanfiction #Dark!Joel miller #dark!tommy miller #santiago garcia x reader #ben miller x reader #frankie morales x reader #Will miller x reader #jack jackson x reader #mojave movie #william tell x reader #triple frontier #marc spector x reader #moon knight #across the spiderverse #miguel ohara x reader #miguel o'hara x reader #basil stitt x reader #lighteningface #the card counter #dark santiago garcia #dark!fic #dark joel miller #dark marc spector #dark francisco morales #francisco morales

[pyrrhiccomedy]

the one thing I have heard probably the most consistently, from the most people, since being diagnosed with breast cancer, is that I have a "good attitude;" meaning, that I make jokes about having cancer, which makes whoever is listening to me feel better about the fact that I have cancer.

Here's the thing - the worst part of having cancer (so far, in my experience - I'll update as this progresses) is having to live with the constant, oppressive dread that right now, somewhere in my body, a cancer cell is taking root in my bones, or in my lungs. That it will silently grow, and spread, and eventually become rampant and untreatable, killing me decades before my time, and I won't know that I'm on that course until it's too late to do anything about it. That I will have to leave my wife alone, that she will have to watch me die painfully and without dignity, and that I will leave this world without having had the time to see so much of what makes it beautiful and strange.

this is not a funny thought!

However, the second worst part of having cancer is - okay, so they removed the tumor, right, and at the same time, they also removed a clump of lymph nodes in my armpit. They do that to test whether or not the cancer has spread. So coming out of surgery, I have two incision sites: one above where the tumor was, and the other one on my trunk right about where your bra passes under your arm.

And that means I'm not allowed to wear deodorant for ten days.

Imagine me: stinky, in my bed. I am an adult woman with a beating heart. I will not claim I have any greater share of dignity or wisdom than a typical example of my cohort, but I have lived and learned and erred, and amassed a small collection of accomplishments which I would not be ashamed to present to God at my reckoning, should such a being exist, and should such a reckoning take place. Times when I have shown meaningful kindness to someone when it would have been more convenient or popular to do nothing. Times when I have told a necessary truth to my own painful detriment. Things I have made that possessed, to at least a meager measure, a glimmer of genuine beauty. Trust I have earned, and not betrayed. I'm not a saint, but my soul is not nothing, and as I am forced to reckon with my own mortality in a way that few people my age ever do, I, like - I smell pretty bad? And like - my armpit is, like, clammy. I mean, how long has it been since you didn't wear deodorant for multiple days. There's a change in texture that I was not expecting. Just in the right armpit! The left armpit is fine, she gets to have deodorant.

But like, stress makes the B.O. situation not so hot, and I'm medically prohibited from doing the one thing that would rectify the situation. I own deodorant. It's right over there. I can see it from where I'm sitting. I am sure you understand of course that I am immersed in greater miseries. Even aside from the existential dread of having cancer - the incisions are painful. I'm very tired. I have two blown-out veins from when the anesthesiologist struggled to find a workable injection site before the surgery, so I have some wild bruising, and I can't really bend my left arm. But these are afflictions with some dignity. To have pain or fatigue after surgery is rather ennobled in the common discourse. But - do I have to smell like ham, too?

Must I smell like rank ham?

Of course the solution to the ham smell is just to take more showers, but bathing after surgery presents its own category of woes, which are also not particularly dignified. And it's here, caught betwixt the Scylla and Charybdis of 'smelling like old meat' and 'unwinding my boob from its surgical sling to take another ride around the wet room rodeo' that I find the humor in my situation. The feeble ape rails against her trivial but intractable stink!

And that humor spreads - much like cancer! - to everything else that it touches. It is, actually, very funny to tell someone that the joke Christmas gift they got for me is probably what gave me cancer. It's funny, when people find out I got my diagnosis on January 2nd, to blandly follow that up with "--So, 2024, not off to a great start, but 2025 is going to be my year." It's funny, when someone invites me to something we both know I probably don't want to go to, to suck air between my teeth and go, "Ooh, I would, but, you know--the cancer. Yeah, I can feel it flaring up right now. Maybe next time."

Things are funny when they subvert your expectations. People expect you to treat your cancer diagnosis very gravely, and so it's funny - to them, and to me - when I don't. And then they tell me I have "a great attitude."

"You'll be fine," I've heard over and over again. "You have a great attitude. That's the most important thing, in this kind of a situation - keeping a great attitude."

I certainly hope that's true! There is definitely plenty of science to support the idea that a positive mental attitude has an impact on health outcomes. I think the effectiveness of modern chemotherapy drugs, and the extent to which my particular cancer responds to them, will have a significantly larger impact; and that moreover, it's probably prudent to remember that people with great attitudes die of cancer every day. But I will not turn my nose up at a percentage point or two perhaps coming from the willingness to crack jokes about all the cancer I've got, and how surprised I was to learn that I'd got it.

As I suggested up top, I know that when people say "you have a great attitude," they sometimes genuinely mean that they are pleased to find me in a mental state that might increase my chances of recovering from a deadly disease, but mostly they mean "thanks for not being a huge bummer about your cancer. I appreciate you for not ruining my day about it." And I'm completely okay with that. Like, yeah - I am deliberately sparing you from the burden of having to Take Seriously my life-threatening condition. You're welcome. I, too, would rather avoid this conversation on one of the finite number of Thursdays God has seen fit to grant unto the measure of our lives. What the fuck are you supposed to do about any of this?

(Shout out to my one good work buddy who, on hearing the news, instantly responded with "Oh my god, Geri Hallwell aka Ginger Spice also got breast cancer young! You're like twins!" Thus far he is the only person who has said something in response to the news that actually made an immediate, positive impact.)

So anyway, obviously all I ever say in response to "you have a great attitude" is "Thanks! I'm just focusing on the positives and taking it a day at a time." Because that's true, and moreover, it's all anyone needs to hear.

What I'd like to say - not to them, because there's no point in burdening them any further than the embarrassing reminder of death burdens anyone - but maybe to someone, maybe just to You, maybe that's why I'm writing this -

What I'd like to say is: dogg, you have no idea how subverted my expectations have been lately. How could I not find this funny?

How profoundly alienated from the absurdity of death would I have to be to not laugh about this?

Like - I know this is so stupid, but listen: I could die. No, no - listen - no I know everyone dies - but like - are you listening? Are you actually listening? I could die. I could die. I could die. I could die.

Isn't that so funny? Isn't that actually so funny?

And this - this attitude that I'm in, right now, this one right here, where shaking my head ruefully and marveling at the - maybe belated, but I think probably actually quite premature - realization that oh no, 'everyone dies' means for me too, huh - and laughing at myself for never, apparently, really grasping that until now, and laughing at the incredible statistical unlikelihood my cancer - I've never won anything before! - and laughing at how woefully ill-prepared most people are to respond to news like this, and laughing about how, of everything terrible about cancer, the actual number-two-on-the-list worst thing about it so far is that I can't put on deodorant -

Is this the great attitude you're talking about?

I'm not angry, I'm not resentful, I'm curious, I'm really curious. Do you understand why I'm laughing?

[olderthannetfic]

The hot take that gets the HP haters and lovers and people who have a lot of intense feelings about you if you have/haven't read the book mad is the most honest:

It's mid. It's not the worst thing I've ever seen, but it's a long slog with under-developed characters and clunky, incomplete worldbuilding. Nothing so horrible I couldn't finish it. Nothing good enough to prompt a second read.

And for those of you about to go "oh so you're a snob who thinks you're better than all of us": one, no I don't, my ass writes and consumes things way less grammatically sound and lengthy daily, and two, y'all really need to read another book series. I'm dead serious, please go read another fantasy book, or just another book in general. There are so many wonderful book fandoms out there for canons that are well-written and deeply compelling, I cannot stress enough to you that you will be happier engaging in fandom than judging others for their liking/hating/reading/not reading one book series. I understand that it was a big part of childhood for a lot of you, but you're old enough to run for POTUS now, so it's time to move on.

It meant a lot to you. It was mid. Everyone liked it at the time. That trifecta is not rare or special. That's just the way things are. Continuing to put extra focus on it as if it's a once-in-a-lifetime event is making 0 people happy.

--

TBH, I find everything about HP and HP discourse boring. I was very over the series years ago, but not in a grudge-holding way. Just... literally over it.

[beanghostprincess]

Why is shanks/buggy so underrated in this side of fandom? It’s much more loved in Japanese one, one of the most popular for shanks. I feel like this one prefers other mlm options for him and I don’t get it. It got better after OPLA I think but still. Sorry for my English!

Oh! This is actually such an interesting question. I was talking about this the other day and I came to a conclusion with my friend about this. Basically, there are a lot of things to take into consideration here. The screentime, the age of the characters, the chemistry, how they're perceived by the fandom and canonically, etc etc etc.

The first thing I thought about was the screentime, honestly. Shanks and Buggy grew up together and they have a deep bond, however, we've only seen that through flashbacks (one in quite literally episode 8 of the anime, another one in Wano that isn't even about them and they're just side characters in this flashback, and in chapter 1082 of the manga. But it's not even a proper flashback because we already saw that when Shanks talks to Whitebeard about Buggy, it's just Buggy's interpretation of it) and we only have like one scene of them together that isn't even two minutes long. So, quite obviously you'd think "well, the ship isn't as popular as other ships because they barely have any screentime" and I think it's correct but also not quite. And also, this would also have to apply to the Japanese fandom at the end of the day. Fandoms don't give a single fuck about screen time if the chemistry is right, really, but there's always this factor, y'know. Lawlu has less screentime than Zolu and yet it's more popular somehow because people absolutely love their dynamic. Then, if you stop to think about it, both Satosugu (Jjk) and Soukoku (Bsd) have the same dynamic and concept as Shuggy, but they're by far the most popular ships in their fandoms. They're basically the same ships but Jjk and Bsd give them proper development and story because they're shorter series. One Piece is a long show and we still have many things to see, even if we know it's gonna end soon, so I guess that we'll still have to wait to see more of Shuggy. Once we do, I'm sure it'll become more popular. Also, Shanks' personality is very diverse because he's all mysterious and all, so I kind of understand why people don't want to make content because they still don't have him figured out.

But then again, screen time isn't really the problem. It's just one of the factors. If they had more screen time, they'd be more popular for sure, yes, but it's not exactly what makes them less popular in this side of the fandom. Otherwise, it'd be equally as popular on the other sides too. The Japanese side of fandoms is different from this one and tbh they often don't take into consideration things like cancel culture and proship discourse or the standard beauty regarding age because they just post whatever they want and scroll past what they don't like (god I fucking wish we were like that because I am so done with these things). Besides, isn't Buggy like a very beloved character over there, aside from Oda's favorite? At least from what I've seen, they take his character way more seriously than this side of the fandom does, honestly. And it bothers me because he's such a complex and great character, and people never see it because they use him either for memes or to keep saying "omggg turns out the clown is hot!! Can you believe I want to fuck a clow-" yes, Samantha, we know you want to fuck the clown. It's not weird. It's not new. Do you even like the character, at least, or you're just using him to say how kinky and quirky you are? (And I don't even care about the sexualization of characters because, again, fictional characters are fictional characters and you don't have to take everything so seriously. I have tons of characters I don't like that much but only stan because I find them hot and that's alright. But damn, it bothers me sometimes).

Anyway, with this, I wanna say that there are other things to have in mind when talking about this.

Recently (I know it's not exactly new but in fandom years? Recently) there has been a huge thing surrounding the term "old men yaoi". People are so down bad for middle-aged men and they see two of them together and they instantly go "omg they're soo married" but that's- That's it? That's just it. They don't even ship them, they just find the concept of older men hot because "omg he's such a dilf" and they want to fuck both of them. But they never end up doing anything with it. They try to be so groundbreaking like "ohh I am SO woke by shipping these two old men! See? Breaking stereotypes!" because both irl and online, age has always been a very stigmatized thing. Apparently you can't be in a fandom if you're older than 25 because then you're weird, and if there's an actress older than 50 she's instantly useless for the industry.

What I want to say with this is that most people in the fandom are young. They're young and they like attractive, young, hot people and they don't want old, unconventionally attractive men. They don't want them unless it's to give a "hot take" and to be super progressive and woke. Do you know what they like? They like Dilfs. They like Shanks because he's conventionally attractive and good with kids and he's the standard for a Dilf. Because he's hot and mysterious but also silly and quirky and "he's almost forty that is so hot something something daddy kink". And they don't want to see him fucking someone his age because God forbid this man has a personality outside being a Dilf. Younger people in the fandom constantly read y/n fics regarding Shanks because they want him to fuck them and not Buggy. And they can't project in these old men, so they publicly say "oh, Shanks and Buggy are so married" because it's just a fact the fandom made clear, but they don't really like the content. Because liking Buggy sexually, apparently, is just so weird. Or as a character. Nobody wants to say their favorite character is the failguy clown. It's a hot take when you say that Buggy is hot because people keep being all weird about it when... Uh... He's- He's just a clown. Guys. It's not weird. Or bad. Who raised you to think that? God, I find Monet extremely hot and she's half-bird. Could we please normalize these things? They're fictional characters. And also, stop reducing Buggy to his jokes or the fact that he's a clown because his character is GREAT and complex and it just bothers me so much.

This makes me think about this whole "background couple" thing. Which are basically couples that are canon or that are so popular and obvious that people, instead of making content for them (because why would you make content for a canon couple?) just place them in the background instead. There are so many fanfics in which Shuggy is a background couple. Or studies in which, instead of analyzing them, they're used only for parallelisms. This happens with, idk, Saboala? Frobin? Yamace? People don't like couples that everybody agrees on. They don't like m/f ships because they can't be woke!!!!! And queer!!!! (when they easily could but whatever). They don't like ships that everybody likes because!!!!!! They're canon already and why would you write about them???? And so, Shuggy stays a bit more as a side couple instead. For being old and unconventionally unattractive and not having much screentime, but being extremely popular. Not in a "content" way, but in a "knowledge" way. Even the general audience thinks their bond is crucial to the story, c'mon.

One of the differences that this side of the fandom has with the Japanese one, as I mentioned before, is the cancel culture and proship discourse thing. They just don't have that concept. And that's perfect, honestly, I wish we could just scroll past what we don't like too and live peacefully because the discourse is getting tiring. And also you have to admit that, because of the anti propaganda going around, now fandoms have turned into the most puritan thing in the world. Beware! Sex! Age difference between fictional characters that have a consensual and healthy and mature relationship! Oh! God forbid teenagers have sex with people their age! Ohmygodjustshutup. And so, Shuggy isn't a problematic ship. Not even close. But inside the OP world, people do say they are brothers. They keep talking about each other like that, too. And I don't even think it's the typical "we say they're like brothers so you don't think they're gay because they're both guys and guys can't kiss" (I am having flashbacks from the IT fandom). They do have the same parents. Like- We all agree Shanks and Buggy were both raised by Roger and Rayleigh and they consider them, if not their dads, parental figures at least. Right? And you're aware that doesn't make it incest, right? Both things can coexist. Foster families are a thing. Lots of people who grew up together and consider the same people their parental figures end up dating because they don't see each other as siblings. Well, most people don't see it this way and hear the word "brother" and run from it like it's a fucking virus. The Japanese side of the fandom doesn't give a fuck because they're fictional and because they're y'know, not brothers? And even if they were, cancel culture and proship discourse is so fucking stupid to them because they follow the "don't like don't look" thing. But on this side of the fandom, a lot of people see them as brothers and the other half sees them as a divorced couple and apparently nobody knows how to fucking read this manga and have a proper fandom experience without jumping to each other's throats at the minimum disagreement.

So, to summarize: People on this side of the fandom don't like Shuggy THAT much and it isn't such a popular ship in comparison to the Japanese side, because young people don't like older men together, they don't focus on unconventionally attractive characters, are afraid of any little possibility of cancelation, and also, well, Shuggy doesn't have much screentime anyway so there's not much we can do with that.

#oh shit this is long #and i think i got a bit carried away #but yeah i am surprised the ship isn't more famous tbh #also have in mind that people read the manga but a huge side of the fandom are anime only and chapter 1082 is quite important for shuggy #and please PLEASE if you start discourse right now for the proship/anti thing i am going to jump off a bridge do not do that it's dumb #i got a bit angry at the end i am sorry #one piece #shuggy

[rhoorl]

🎃 HallowReads Celebration 🎃

Happy Halloween! @pedrostories is hosting a HallowReads Celebration and I wanted to join in on the fun. It was so hard to pick one fic per category. There are so many talented writers and I could have easily filled each category with at least 10 more fics off the top of my head. With that being said ...

My favorite fanfic I read this year

The Layover by @goodwithcheese

Description: A very simple series summary … One night can change everything.

My thoughts: Oh, where do I start with this fic? It is so special to me for so many reasons. 1. I love the way Megan writes Frankie. 2. This story has fluff, smut, and fun side characters with a heavy dose of amazing dad!Frankie. 3. A scene in this inspired me to write a story of my own, and I’m so grateful Megan was so supportive of me running with the idea. 4. Because of The Layover and the discourse around it, I met so many amazing people. I think that’s my favorite part and the reason why this will always hold a special place in my heart.

A beloved fanfic with my comfort character

Shared Breaths by @frenchiereading

Description: Frankie is a single dad and develops a connection with his daughter’s teacher.

My thoughts: Frankie is my comfort character for sure. I just love him and all of the discussions we have about him on here. This fic is equal parts sweet and hot and I’ve reread several chapters because they’re just that good. 

A fanfic I wish more people knew about

Sunsetz by @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin

Description: Young Frankie is about to ship off for basic training and he makes a bold move with a childhood friend.

My thoughts: I just realized all my recs so far have been for Frankie - can you tell he’s my favorite? 😆 Anyways, this is fluff and smut, and Frankie is a menace per usual. I just love when Frankie finds his happiness because he deserves it. 💗

A fanfic with my favorite trope/AU

Visiting by @ladamedusoif

Description: OFC Lydia is a visiting professor at the same university where Ben is a professor. The two develop a friendship...and more.

My thoughts: I think it’s so cool when authors take a small character and build an entire world around them (looking at you too Tim Rockford). The Mr. Ben sketch is like what, five minutes tops? We don’t really know much about him and yet that’s the beauty. It allows for creativity to run wild. I love this whole college professor Ben AU, it’s so good and Ben is super cute. And Lydia is a great OFC - so relatable and I root for her. As I mentioned above, I love well-written side characters and this fic has them in spades.

Like I said, I could easily rattle off so many more authors and fics! I always tag my recs with #rhoorl fic rec if you're ever curious what I recommend.

Happy Halloween 👻🎃

#pedrostorieshallowreads23 #pedrostories #pedro pascal fandom #frankie morales fanfic rec #mr ben fanfic #rhoorl fic rec

[theslowesthnery]

magpie-come-east:

I hope it’s alright to reply, but this is really spot on. I love Morgott and Mohg a ton. Personally I see just about every other month some hot take ‘discourse’ that basically goes: “Morgott is ugly and and gross so anyone that finds him attractive is a degenerate”. He’s not ‘niche’. Liking him isn’t ‘odd’. It’s degenerate behavior. And I’m sure it’s worse for Mohg. But I can’t even get tooo deep into fandom spaces for him because I’ll have to wade through defensive jokes about how hate-able he is

wow, i had no idea morgott got that as well - i thought everyone liked him! like i've seen the occasional "lmao why is morgott so popular with women, what do they see in this dirty old hobo" comment but they haven't been like super mean-spirited, mostly just confused. that sucks, i will never understand this need to put someone down for liking a character you personally don't. like why do people care so much that someone likes a character they personally find ugly? how is that any skin off their back? ughhh

and yeah, to like mohg you have to have a pretty thick skin (which i most definitely do not always have) and have to learn to just ignore the shit people are constantly spewing his and your way. morgott at least, regardless of what one thinks about his appearance, is perceived by pretty much everyone as a good, noble, and admirable character, whereas mohg doesn't even have that going for him (and appearance-wise he's even more inhuman-looking and uglier than morgott)

frostfall24:

unfortunately i dont know any mohg-dedicated fics, but rowa berries and royal blood and ageless bond are morg/tarnished fics that both include/are going to include some very loveable mohgs. neither are miq/mohg but they are friendly with eachother in both

thank you for the recommendation, unfortunately canon character x oc (which i consider the tarnished to be) stuff really just...isn't for me. like all the power to people who like and create that stuff, they're awesome, it's just so very much not my cup of tea. and to be completely honest, i just don't want to wade through 50-chapter fics of stuff i'm not interested in for the occasional mention of my fave, especially if mohg's clear canonical love for miquella is going to be erased (and as is the case of ageless bond, if not only is his love for miquella erased, but he's then paired with a woman. i'm not saying mohg can't be bi/pan but if you both erase the love he has for a male character and then also give him a female love interest, i'm gonna be a little 🤨 about it)

also i. i don't really know how to put it into words in a way that makes sense to anyone else, but i don't want mohg and his actions to just be whitewashed - i want there to be conflict between him and morgott, for example, i want mohg to be angry and bitter and vengeful, i want him hating the golden order and wanting it to be destroyed, i just want him and why he is the way he is to be understood and not just waved off with "he's evil because he just is, he was just born that way and has always been that way, that's all there is to it". i want people to try to understand why he turned out the way he did, what things might have happened in his past or how he might've been different from his brother as a child to choose such a completely different path from morgott. i want people to stop assuming that mohg was always the bad child, that mohg is personally responsible for everything bad happening and for him and morgott having gone separate ways, and for their relationship having gone sour. i want people to try to understand why mohg would choose the formless mother besides just "he wants power duh", how the formless mother might be using him for her own means. i want people to stop portraying him as a one-dimensional cruel, uncaring villain who just wants power for power's sake, and who treats everyone - including the people he loves - like shit. and i want people to stop having the solution to the mohg issue to always be "he's evil, kill him". he's just as traumatized and deserving of kindness and understanding and healing and love as morgott, and i want people to have the same compassion and understanding and wish to heal him as they do for morgott.

tl;dr: i don't want the solution to "stop writing mohg as one-dimensionally bad with no nuance and no compassion" to be "sand off every edge of mohg's and erase everything difficult about him"

but i also realize that i don't get to make demands, that people are gonna write what they want to write (as they should), and most people just don't want to write a nuanced mohg. so i'm just gonna sit here and wish that i could write, so i could be the change i want to see in the world ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#elden ring for blacklist

[darkangel0410]

this might be the best asks of all time bc our DMs are nothing but hater-nation and we are ultimately the correct ones. SOOOOO; 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 16, 18, 19, 24 - i had to ask so many bc your opinions are my FAV lmaooooo but feel free to *not* answer any you dont want!

We ARE always the correct ones - eventually people will realize it 🙄

the character everyone gets wrong

Listen, I have a list of players I'm going to take away from fandom because of crimes of mischaracterization and the list includes, but is not limited to: Matthew (Tkachuk), Jack (Eichel), Trevor, Jamie. Sometimes I swear people haven't ever spoken to a real live boy when they write the convos these guys have in fic

2. a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

I'll be strong and not turn this into an opportunity for my bottom!Jamie agenda, and instead say: Jack Eichel isn't a top - he wants to be fucked often and well, and would also like a few smacks on the ass before and after, thanks. He won't hesitate to tell whoever's fucking him what they're doing wrong, either.

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

THERE ARE SO MANY WRONG TAKES ON HERE, WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE???? but easily the worst take I see on any given day is every single take about Matt (Tkachuk) and how his dad hates him and how he needs a fake gf because his dad's is ASHAMED of him or whatever the fuck people have decided is the new hot trauma to put him through - they've turned Matt into the fandom crier and I hate it with every fiber of my being

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

for me, personally, it's any x reader/ yn or whatever writer who doesn't put their shit behind a read more (Also Nolan Moyle is not a dom, like come the fuck on people)

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Crosby, full stop. I cannot stand the way fandom is with him and I can't even watch him play hockey and enjoy it any more

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

The Knights. Just. The whole roster lmaooo

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Rule 63, full stop. I don't get why people write it, why they never put in any actual character work into it when they do, and it gives me homophobic vibes (like in general, as a trope, not a specific fic). Like you change everything about someone, and the way the world sees them, the way it interacts with them, and I'm supposed to believe that every single thing happens exactly the same???? Pull the other leg, it has bells on

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

Alex Turcotte, My Beloved - truly he's so pretty and sweet and plays good hockey and is just someone fandom needs to pay more attention to

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

I don't do shame, but I do find it kind of funny how much I love a/b/o now because I used to absolutely hate it when it first showed up lmaooo

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

Censorship, 1000% because besides being gross on it's own, it's always dragging purity wank in with it and I've seen so much of that shit, I hate it

*

Thanks for asking bestie!!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ (choose violence ask game)

#q & a #hard4softthings #meme #that's hockey baby #the fandoms change but the people don't

[eastgaysian]

Hey, I wasn't sure if I should say so or not in case it would be upsetting to you, but since you brought up the idea of a survey I thought I'd say that I have lost a parent & like you the current season of Succession has had a cathartic effect on me. I've also seen one person on twt say that's the case for them too, so I'm willing to bet a lot of ppl who've lost a parent feels similarly and like... Regardless of if it's a "good" season or not, I think media that helps me process my grief is a positive thing, it has value, or what have you. Obv it's fine for ppl to dislike the season, & ofc I don't wish others could exp that kind of loss, but like 🤷🏻‍♀️ sometimes things don't resonate with you until you've experienced smth, & sometimes that happens when you're 0-10, sometimes when you're 50-60

yeah, i started noticing a gap in reactions after connor's wedding between people saying 'that felt far too much like my own experience with a parent/family member dying' and people who acknowledged the skillful execution of the episode but didn't seem to personally connect to it (which generated a couple takes on logan's death and the perceived indignity of it that rubbed me the wrong way, lol). on the one hand my continued posting about the Discourse is because it's aggravating to me, like why is the hot topic of fan discussion 'is the show we're all watching even good?' ??? but on the other, it's genuinely just confusing to me and i'm trying to understand what i'm missing. the minor criticisms that people have cited as the root cause of their dissatisfaction don't add up to me. they feel much more like things that are only noticeable/irritating if you already have some fundamental issue or disconnect with the season.

and i think it really is that this is a season about grief and only about grief, there's no space for anything else. the emotional arcs in other seasons were usually related but distinct - you could focus in on what you liked in particular, whether that was kendall's mental breakdown, roman's freudian mess, shiv's struggle to be taken seriously as a woman, shiv and tom's failmarriage, tom and greg's weirdness, and there'd be enough material for you to chew on and have a good time without worrying all that much about everything else (although i do think being able to understand how all of these connect improves your experience of the show immensely, but i digress).

s4 is about grief. everyone is reacting to logan's death in different ways, but it all comes back to grief. if you're interested in talking about grief, there's so much to explore. if you don't find that engaging, then you're out of luck. it's fine to not find that engaging because you wanted something else out of the season/show, but that doesn't make the season objectively bad or subject to flaws that weren't already present throughout the rest of the show. and yeah, based on my reaction and the reactions of other people i've seen who have that personal experience with death, i think it's a really spectacular depiction of loss and grief that handles all the complex emotions involved with more thought and care than i've seen in other media. it would not be as accurate or impactful a depiction of grief if time and space was spent on something completely unrelated.

i don't think you need to have lost a close family member to connect to the storyline, but i also don't think you can understand what it's like until it happens in your own life. it fucked me up badly when my aunt died in middle school because she had been a major part of my childhood, but the degree to which my dad dying fundamentally altered my life is just incomparable to anything else. you really cannot experience grief as a concept or thought experiment, a person's death is real and permanent in a way nothing else really is. which sounds obvious but it's just true

#mingbox #probably won't be talking much more about this/responding to more asks on the topic bc i feel like i've gotten my thoughts out #some things i could elaborate on but i kind of don't care enough to LOL. i just don't see how the show/season could have gone another way #if i was still a person invested in tg i'd be really disappointed. but i'm not. they were a definite part of the show but not the #center of it. they were cut off. and i am fine with that because i really do not think there was another way. you can't have another season #where logan doesn't die and you can't have logan die and then tom and greg suck and fuck. and jesse armstrong voice tv is just really hard #alsoooo while i do still think greg had the potential to be a significantly more interesting character. i understand why he isn't #and i'm fine with that lol. die white boy

[eirian]

not to be that guy again

but i also dont fuck with anybody who talks about "anti culture" or anything like that when it comes to how shit's portrayed in fiction. i super try to stay out of "proship vs anti" discourse bc its stupid as shit and i have other things to worry about than internet discourse. but i still cant help but express my beliefs which relate to the core argument

dont make me tap the sign. fictional exploration of pedophilia/incest/abuse/etc at all isnt the problem, its the way its portrayed. if youre out here portraying that shit as bad and inexcusable, then youre fine. if youre exploring it in a way that doesnt defend it, then youre fine. if youre out here saying that a 40 year old man getting it on with a 14 year old is cute or sexy, or that two brothers having a sloppy makeout is hot, then yeah im going to burn your house down with you in it

the thing about the "what about fictional murder??? ppl romanticize that all the time and you dont see people turning into murderers irl!" argument is that. well. people dont groom people with murder fics. ppl dont show others art of their favs getting murdered and then try to use that to justify them murdering someone. that just doesnt happen. what Does happen is that ppl use incest/pedophilic ships and art portraying it in a "cute" or "fun" light and they use that to justify their grooming actions. that does happen. ive Seen it happen.

and no, im not saying that getting rid of this depiction of these subjects in media or fanworks is going to Stop All Grooming. thats silly. i know that if theyre going to groom someone theyre going to find a way to do it anyway, im not an idiot. but all im saying is that this shit makes it easier, makes it more accessible, and may even make it more normalized, which i hope you can agree is a bad thing.

exploration is one thing! lots of gothic media has "problematic" shit like that in it. lots of fiction has gross shit that the author doesnt condone irl, theyre just exploring it through writing. however, romanticization is another thing. portraying it as cute and fun is another thing. trying to excuse it by saying its fiction is another thing. thats when you ascend to freak status in my book.

youre not ~making a statement~ by declaring yourself a Proud Proshipper--at least not the one you think you are. youre giving me the signal that you dont care about how certain subjects are portrayed even if theyre harmful, and youre telling me that i should stay far the fuck away from you.

last thing i'll say on this is that for the record i am also against purity culture. i dont think ppl should be watering down media to be Acceptable and Pure all the goddamn time. i dont think ppl should stay away from "problematic" media entirely as long as they can use their brains and be critical and not excuse or defend said problematic content. everything is problematic bitch lets get you some fruit. yknow? theres nuance and context to everything; things arent black and white. trying to take the problems out of everything is a waste of effort and frankly makes everything boring as shit. having said all this, the way things are portrayed and how you interact with them are still important factors and i will stand by that

aight rant over o7

[nolongerexistingsadcatface]

What are your top 5 hetalia/Nyo America hot takes >:3 ?

This is sooo tough... Pft I've never even thought about nyo america for more than 5 minutes, idk how I’m gonna do this

Ok fr real time: I think everything i post about america is a hot take atp HAHA But I’ll try to think of some kooky ones for u 😜

1. DON’T HATE ME GUYS. But I like humanities girl America more than stem girl America…… 🫣 I think my purpose in this life is to spread the good word about American art throughout history cus WOW is it good AFFFFF… I’m just sick of seeing no posts that aim to celebrate american authors 💔💔💔💔 The only time I see American literature posts from non literature freaks (affectionate) are when they’re being made fun of 😭😭 Like ok you guys just don’t understand it…. you don’t understand the genius that is the early 1900s American novel….I LOVE AMERICAN CLASSIC LIT IN CASE YOU COULDNT TELL And also I am shit at science, like so shit, and I’m sick of seeing Hetalia stupid meme posts that require a gawdamn master’s degree in chemistry to even begin to READ the post, let alone understand the joke….

2. Quaker/pacifist Nyo America, y’all already know

3. Idk if this is a hot take per se, but I don’t use Amelia for Nyo America cus I think it binds her too closely to canon/fanon nyo america

4. If she’s not naturally asexual, she’s. becoming isnt the right word, but it kind of is? Idk…… Like she isn’t ACTUALLY asexual—she would be fine w sex if she didn’t have issues—but now she finds it near impossible to feel sexual attraction because of past trauma. She skipped being hypersexual and went straight to abstaining cus she couldn’t take it anymore </3

5. Redhead , I think we all know that at this point, it’s my staple

6. I DON’T THINK SHE’D HAVE PERFECT TEETH?? Blah Blah YOUR America can be a representation of American stereotypes, MINE is a representation of wider American people and culture <3

Ok onto actual general hot takes………… ⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

7. I DON’T THINK ENGLAND LIKES KIDS…. Like idk, to me, that mf hates babies and kids and thinks they’re gross and icky. He’s literally the youngest child, there’s no way he had any introduction to/interaction with babies that was influential/long enough (INCLUDING RAISING AMERICA COUGH) for him to view them as anything more than nuisances who shit and cry (i wuv babies dont get me twisted. this is uhhh free indirect discourse )

8. Scotland and Ireland aren’t brutish dickheads sawrry. Or at least, if they Are dickheads, then ALL the UK bros r dickheads, not just those two #slay

9. Sealand’s existence annoys me . All micronations’ existences basically, like they don’t exist in my canon srry

#i hate pc formatting #so much work #tumblr mobile my beloved <3 #yeah fuck it i went back to my phone #didnt even make it past the intro before i gave up on my computer 💀 #HELP i was having trouble thinking of some then all of a sudden i had to hold back from putting down like 12 #i was gonna add the prohibition one but i’ll save that for a post with effort 😉🤫

[treeofnonsense]

Talk to me about ace friendo - 1, 8, 20, 21, 28, 33, and 34 🤍💜

THANK YOUUUUU I GET TO RAMBLE IT'S GOING TO BE LOONG

1. Which labels do you use?

Asexual and aromantic cis(???how do you define cis???) woman. There are probably some microlabels under the ace/aro umbrellas that could describe me but I don't tend to dive into microlabels anymore - I've found that defining myself by those feels more like cutting myself up to fit into little boxes rather than finding a space I'm comfy in. I'm okay with being referred to as gay when it's a joke or as part of a group (ie "one of the gays" "gay people in your phone") and I'll count myself as a member of the LGBT community if directly asked (though I'm always a little hesitant because they don't always want to include me back). I don't use queer because I've never had it thrown at me and don't feel I have the right to reclaim it.

8. Describe your gender without using any words traditionally related to gender:

I don't know how, but you got the right answer with the wrong equation.

20. Do you feel like you "fit in" with the queer/Pride community overall?

Yes and no. I'm very thankful for the community because it's the only place I've felt able to be my full self, but on the other hand there is definitely a disconnect for a few reasons. One is that I live in a non-urban conservative area, and a lot of Pride stuff seems to default to urban and liberal. I've never been to a Pride parade - not because I want to but because there aren't any where I live. People forget those of us who live in the boonies I think - or they actively look down on us, which sucks. Sometimes the discourse feels so above my head - they're talking stores taking down their Pride decorations while I haven't even noticed the change because they NEVER do that here in the first place.

The other thing is that there was definitely a pushback towards asexuals specifically being considered LGBT a few years ago. Don't know the exact timeframe (I thankfully wasn't around online during that time) but the ripple effects can still be felt. I think the idea is that we were actually just heterosexual imposters in disguise or something - it's stupid - but it's made me very nervous about joining any LGBT groups. I always have to check to see if the LGBT+ actually includes the A, y'know? Add to that the fact that the LGBT community naturally talks a lot about sex and romance (understandable, I'm not trying to change it, on a logical and ideological level I think talking about these things frankly is good) and I can sometimes feel alienated there. Some LGBT people seem to think that sexual freedom means "everyone should have sex all the time" and like ... no. It means the freedom to choose whatever you want. If you're forcing something on me you're just as bad as everyone else.

21. What message would you give to your younger self?

Measure your life's value in happiness, not money.

28. Do you experience both romantic and sexual attraction? Do you experience them the same across any gender(s) you are attracted to?

I definitely do not have the sexual attraction, for anyone. I can tell generally when someone is supposed to be hot, but only because I've learned from experience what is socially accepted as "hot". I can definitely find people beautiful but it's in the same way I'd find a landscape beautiful - I want to stare at it, maybe I want to draw it, but nothing else. I've noticed I tend to find women beautiful more often than men; I don't know if that's because I'm more familiar with the biology, because women tend to dress up more due to societal pressures, or just a weird preference. But again, it never progresses beyond aesthetic appreciation and there have definitely been guys I like to look at too so it's not 100% reliable.

Romantic is harder. When you take out everything physical, I have a hard time telling the difference between a romance and a close friendship. I'm dense as a brick when people flirt with me because I literally cannot tell they're not just being friendly. I know I'm not upset by being single like some people seem to be, but I do get lonely without friends. There are people I want to get to know better and do stuff with - is that wanting friends? Romantic attraction? I DUNNO MAN! Most people do not seem to have this problem, so I assume I'm different and slap the aromantic label on myself. It works.

33. What about your LGBT identity do you feel proud of/want to recognize/celebrate?

I'm proud of my own independence when it comes to relationships. I don't need a significant other or a sexual partner to be "complete," contrary to what the world says. If you want those things, by all means, but for those people who are ace/aro, who aren't ready for a relationship, or are learning to just exist as themselves alone for the first time, I want to be living proof that it is possible to be happy on your own. You are not half of a person if you are single. You are a whole person. Just you is enough.

34. What are you needing most right now (what would make your life easier or more fulfilling in regards to existing as queer)?

I need a new wardrobe. Been having Gender Thoughts(TM) thanks in no small part to some of my mutuals going through it and I'm now realizing that a lot of my clothes don't really fit who I am in my head anymore. My family was kinda poor growing up and I learned not to waste things, so I have a lot of old clothes and hand-me-downs still left over, many of which are pretty classic feminine. I want to try getting some more masculine stuff and see how that feels. (if uh... if any of you have advice for going slightly more masc please let me know, this is new to me and I am confuzzled)

Living in an area where I don't see Trump 2024 signs, blue-line cop stuff, and Confederate flags every four feet would be nice too, but that's a longer-term goal.

#pride ask game #thank you kya! #accidentallyadorable #long post

[buddyapologist]

local nonbinary guy complains for too long about gender

i feel like so much discourse would be less of a headache if we really acknowledged that to the vast majority of people who see you on a regular basis, your actual sex/gender/sexuality doesn't define how they treat you, it's your presentation/appearance. the person who takes your order at a restaurant just sees what you look like and hears how you talk. they do not know you. maybe if they say mister and you're brave enough to say "actually i'm a miss" your identity will supersede your appearance and they'll say "sorry miss" or maybe it won't and they'll just go uh huh. like i'm just thinking about myself as an example because i'm 5'1 and feminine and multigenderfluid and transmasculine and i get addressed as a cis woman because i look like one. sometimes i work up the courage to correct someone if i feel like i'm in a safe environment. usually i don't. and if my boss doesn't give me a raise because he doesn't think women deserve raises, me going "actually i'm almost never a woman, i cycle through genders on an unpredictable basis so nonbinary is a pretty decent catch-all, i just dress like this because i like these clothes" isn't going to make him go oh i'm so sorry SIR, here's a 400000 dollar raise. you know? i'm treated like a cis(het) woman because i look like one. our presentations/appearances may not match up with our real genders, for better or for worse, and we're treated how we look. but it's not even that simple because if you're trying to pass but someone thinks you're the wrong gender anyway that plays into it too. like idk maybe i'm being reductive but so much of how we go about the world and interact with people is based on how we LOOK. why isn't that discussed more? (some) social media is the only place where you can find out someone's true gender/sexuality before seeing what they look like. are yall so terminally online that you think that's how it always is?? like obviously it isn't always based on looks bc some trans people will get deadnamed or misgendered no matter how masculine or feminine they look, but that's when the transphobe knows they're trans. if they passed them on the street and perceived them as cis they would treat them how they would treat a cis person. i have similar beef with sexuality labels bc throw in ATTRACTION to the mix, SO MUCH of which is based on looks, and it makes everything so stupid because sexuality labels are based on identity not appearance when that's not how it WORKS!! i'm bisexual so this doesn't even apply to me as much as it would apply to monosexual people but like my bf didn't think i was hot and then see that i use they/them and go oh nevermind i'm not attracted to you because i'm heterosexual which means i, a man, am attracted to women. he was attracted to how i looked, my identity didn't matter! it's just so stupid. it's all stupid. why does queerphobia have to exist at all. why did we have to establish this bullshit gender binary in the first place. we have to live and sit in anger and resentment and sadness because some fucking idiots thousands of years ago decided for some reason that this is the only way to exist. if i think about it for too long it makes me so fucking mad. im going to bed

#avery.txt #WHATEVER. it's so hard not to get frustrated. i am just going to sleep and continue writing my fun new thing tomorrow.

[vmures]

Thinking about Teen Wolf and it's funny (funny-strange, not funny-haha) to me how vicious some of the meta and discourse gets and how defensive people get over their favorite characters. Then you add in fanon and fandom creep with a nice dash of "this is how I understood that scene and that is the only way it can be understood (aka my headcanon is canon)," and you get a hot mess of ugliness.

Of the episodes I've watched, pretty much everyone on the show is a dick at one point or another, which tracks because they're teenagers and I remember the horrors of puberty and emotions all over the place. I find most of the fully adult characters worse because they don't have the excuse of youth--with its general lack of experience and fluctuating hormones. But there is not a single person who doesn't have several scenes where you go "wow, that was a dick move." And if you really look at the actions and words of the characters, there isn't anyone particularly nurturing either.

Stiles has those he considers his and he'd probably burn the world down for them, but most everyone else he can care less about. We do see moments where he does go out of his way to help someone not necessarily his (the scene in the library with the kanima and him running over to check on Erica comes to mind). Scott does try to look after others, even strangers, but also has moments where he blatantly manipulates those around him for his own gain (he blatantly uses Danny at the dance in season one to keep Finstock from kicking him out of the dance and the implication, at least to me, was that he knew Finstock wouldn't make a scene about kicking out Danny's date for fear of seeming homophobic). You can find examples of kindness and assholishness from each and every character is this show and the tendency trends towards asshole for all of them. Different types and varying levels of assholes, but still assholes. But you know what? That is okay. They're very human characters in that regard. Every single person on the planet has someone who thinks they are an absolute dick. Their complexity makes them fun to write.

But just because they're all assholes in their own way, doesn't mean I have to like them all. Just like shows that are comprised of characters that flip this metric (mostly nice with moments of dickishness) can have characters that just don't vibe with you. Just like in real life there are foods you don't like, music that isn't to your taste, and people who just grate on your nerves for one reason or another. It's just a matter of personal preference. The world would be very boring if we all liked the same things and reacted the same to everything.

So some people like some characters and focus on those points of view and their takes on the characters may be wildly divergent from your own, but it doesn't necessarily make them wrong. Where it gets even more tricky is the fandom creep and headcanons as canon additions. Because if you are willing to debate the merits and behavior of a character and you cite something that doesn't ever happen on screen, some are going to get frustrated because they don't see that as canon. We all have to add conjecture about what happened off screen to make a story make sense, but that is still conjecture and it's going to vary widely from person to person since everyone views a story through their own experiences and issues.

Sadly we seem to have culturally misplaced the art of debate and the notions of civility. In particular the "agree to disagree" notion where each side acknowledges that they are unlikely to persuade the other side and people move on to other things rather than rehash the same material over and over or devolve into outright harassment and suicide baiting. Muting tags and blocking people who frequently have takes you can't stand is so much better for your peace of mind.

So that's my take. I do not think this is the only way to interpret things, but it is one of the ways you can interpret it and it's what shapes my headcanons when I write. You can have different takes, but I am not required to agree with them and you are not required to agree with mine.

#v's musings #long post #rambles

[sorrel-scribbles]

So since Sherlock Holmes is apparently in the public domain today (tumblr trending told me), I've got to make a post about it, and by that I mean I'm going to ramble about Enola Holmes for a hot second.

(500+ words of analysis below the break)

I am not a big Sherlock Holmes person. I don't keep up with every single adaptation. I've read a couple of the books and watched Enola Holmes, and before Enola Holmes 2, I was never a Johnlock person. Aroace Sherlock is something that's very important to me, so I don't seek out adaptations where he and Watson are implied to or do feel something for each other. It's just wasn't my cup of tea, but I didn't care if it was other people's. I just wanted a Sherlock who didn't need romance (and I still do tbh, but that's not what this post is about). That's part of the reason I watched Enola Holmes (1) and loved it. Besides Enola herself and the story (both of which I absolutely adore), we get a Sherlock who's got only his two siblings and is doing just fine (yes he needs friends, but you get the point-).

Then I watched Enola Holmes 2.

A big part of the lesson Enola learns in this movie is that she can be independent and hold her own, but it's also ok to ask for help when you need it, and to let other people in (both literally and emotionally). Some of this involves Sherlock and Edith, but mainly, it's about Tewkesbury. It's about the fact that having a person to lean on and a man who you love doesn't take away your agency or your sense of self. Enola learns this, and everything is all sparkles and sunshine for her post-case...and then they introduce Watson. The whole time I was watching the movie, I interpreted the hints being dropped about Watson to be teasers for the next movie that will hopefully be made, but then he shows up at the end of this one.

Intentionally or not, they've created a narrative parallel. There are little hints dropped throughout the movie about Enola's feelings for Tewkesbury. She's suppressing them, hard, but you can still tell. The movie also focuses on Enola and Sherlock's relationship, and how similar they actually are, to the point where Sherlock invites her to be his case-solving partner. They also tease the introduction of Watson, who anybody who knows anything about Sherlock Holmes should know is his closest ally. The movie also clearly establishes that Sherlock hasn't learned Enola's lessons yet. He still needs to find his person, and unlike the first movie, this is a role his family can't fulfill for him. Enola herself recognizes this and sets him up with Watson as a new roommate. And where does she go while all this is happening? On a date with Tewkesbury!

Call me crazy, but they're basically saying "Tewkesbury is to Enola what Watson is to Sherlock."

That sure looks to me like something romantic is being implied.

And no, this isn't me saying "Enola Holmes 3 WILL have canon Johnlock," (because, to be honest, I doubt it, and I don't want to start discourse) I'm just pointing out the narrative parallel they've established lends itself well, and that I'm not biased in pointing it out because I'm not a Johnlock shipper. I would actually like to see an "our platonic connection is just as important as your romantic one" storyline, because that's the type of Sherlock Holmes media I connect with, but they have set themselves up for a Johnlock storyline here, and I would love to see that come to pass as well.

(Enola herself should, of course, remain the main focus of the movies. Ultimately, it's about her and about women and about the Holmes family and I wouldn't want it any other way.)

#mine #enola holmes #enola holmes 2 #sherlock holmes #media analysis #johnlock #enola johnlock

[seeminglyseph]

My mom was talking about my sister feeling self conscious about her body, and like. I think part of it is she has for some reason a lot of oddly petite friends. Like. For some reason they’re all really short and she’s been friends with them since they were kids and some of them have that like. Unusually skinny body type that like… look some people don’t gain body fat I’m not shaming but those of us who do gain body fat do get shamed all the time constantly so like. Extremely skinny people for some reason get set at the status quo when they like. Really really aren’t. And that’s mostly the weird part honestly. And the fact that like y’all bodies work so fundamentally different than mine that it’s like. A little mystifying sometimes.

My mother is one of these people honestly and it I think causes serious conflict. Because like. She is literally 110lbs. Like. The last time I was 110lbs I was like. A teenager with an eating disorder. Like. It was a fucking bad situation. My mom is in her 60s. I’ve weighed more than her since I was a teenager. And I am a few inches shorter than her. My sister’s like half a foot taller than me, and like. I guess thick fit? Though more on the fit than the thick? And generally just kinda average slightly curvy human woman? But also I always considered her like. The hot one? Not in the weird way but like. How in Daria there’s the weird introvert sibling and cool hot sibling. There’s always the nerd sibling and the hot sibling in sitcoms and I was a latchkey kid raised on TV. I think my sister is objectively an attractive woman who men should be proud to date?

But I also think while I have a shitton of body image issues that I definitely got from my mom being. Fucking weird about my body. I wonder if my mom being absurdly tiny and like. Worrying about it so much, and doing things like “wear the spanx it will make you look less fat” and whatever. Like. I don’t know how much of that stuff she did specifically to my sister because my sister was never as much of a “problem” as I was. It always seemed to me like she was the one doing everything right. But even if she wasn’t the one getting criticized, watching me get dragged over the coals could’ve just given her a complex about like. “I never want to be in that position”

It’s hard being a dumb broken shithead trying to be empathetic because it’s like. “I want to be open and understanding with my family” and then I do that and then like. In two months I’ll be vulnerable and it’ll blow up in my face because like half my family is absolutely garbage at emotions.

Also I may have accidentally implied to my mother that I think my sister is a dom and should try to find a nice sub to settle down with, instead of these alpha males she keeps trying to date. Because I think kink dynamics are generic and normal enough to just be sub categories I can expect to be relatable in conversations about normal basic heterosexual…. Stuff. I don’t know anything about this. She might just be an emotionally unavailable bitch. I might just have Eldest Daughter Trauma.

I don’t know. It’s already weird trying to be like “no my sister’s an attractive person objectively. I’m not attracted to her because ew, but also not my type but also ew, but she is an objectively attractive person.”

You grow up with a negative sibling relationship, complimenting them is unfamiliar territory. And then the whole “the internet loves to take anything you say in the worst way possible” paranoia my brain is like. “Literally the very concept of there being an incest angle is revolting. I think I would rather bite off my fingers and die.” I’m literally pulling a “no homo” but because of how weird I’ve seen some stupid internet discourse go off about dumb shit and I like. Hate the idea of having someone take this in that direction considering how distant my sister and I are and how hard it is to deal with actual sibling relationships without random people taking things the wrong way maliciously.

I took a sleeping pill and it’s the wrong side of 4am and my sinus headache is fucking demolishing me. I really wanna work things out with my sister one day, but there’s a lot of trauma and resentment built up. And it’s hard to know how much I can open up or trust her a lot of the time. Family is complicated.

And I am constantly plagued by the fear of running out of time. Dunno what to do with that.

#my life