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thenextdawn-temporarilyclosed · 1 year

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Soul Secrets

Word count: 2.9K

Summary: the not so typical soulmate mark AU. You own a bakery, and your mark goes famous without you having no idea why or even who has it.

Warnings: bad writing. That’s it.

Pairing: Jenna Ortega X Fem!Reader

Started writing this a month and a half ago and finished it now on my laptop, I think it came out good? Idk you guys let me know!

———

Having a bakery was by far one of the hardest things you’ve ever had to do in your life. You had inherited this shop after your parents died in a tragic accident, and ever since you had been struggling quite a lot. Your shop was famous in Los Angeles, you had a lot of orders from celebrities and famous people, and you had enough money to pay the shop bills and pay for your nice dream house where you lived on your own. You also worked on your own, the shop had always been handled by the family, so you had to keep going on your own. It wasn’t a simple bakery where people come and go just to buy orders, you also offered bar services, where you wold sell donuts, cake pieces and whatever you could come up with.

Your parents always told you ‘when you find your soulmate, you’re gonna work here together and continue the family’s legacy’ and you were always up to that, if it wasn’t for the fact that you had one of the rarest soulmate marks in the whole world. A piece of braided hair on your right collarbone, just under your visible bone. Usually your soulmate mark represents a part of you, a part of your life… but you couldn’t find it a meaning, no matter how hard you tried. You never hid it, but you weren’t trying to show it either, and your friends… well, you didn’t have any. You dedicated yourself to your shop, it was the only thing you had left from your parents and you wanted to make it worth it, you wanted to keep the name high. So you never knew if there were other people around with your same soulmate mark.

On this particular day where the bakery has been less busy than usual, you were turned around listening to some music on the radio and singing along, when the door to the shop opened. “Hello and good afternoon! How can I help you today?” You said turning around and looking at who had just entered, it was a short brunette, shoulder-length hair and chocolate colored eyes, freckles all over her nose and cheeks… she was marvelous. You gulped as you met her eyes, silently gay panicking as you waited for her to speak. She smiled at you before speaking. “Hey there, I would like-“ she stopped when her eyes travelled from yours to your collarbone, where she saw your soulmate mark. Her shoulders slumped, and you gave her a confused look.

“You’re one of those people.” She sighed and looked away. “…what people?” You asked, “yeah I have a rare soulmate mark, is that weird?” You asked her again and she chuckled, was she mad? You didn’t know. She shook her head. “A lot of people had that soulmate mark tattooed because it is incredibly famous. Can’t believe there’s someone that would get to this point just for attentions” she seemed upset, but you weren’t gonna let a complete stranger talk to you like that. “Uhm excuse me? I have no Idea what you’re talking about. I was born with this mark, I’ve had it for as long as I can remember, hell I even have baby pictures of me with it! I don’t have social medias, I don’t go to the movies and I definitely don’t know why it even is famous. If you came here just to talk to me like that, then there’s the door, turn around and leave”

You pointed to the door, and the girl in front of you, who didn’t even introduce herself, looked at the door before moving to sit down at one of the tables, waiting for you to go get her order. You sighed and shook your head, you were about to close up actually because it was closing time, but something inside of you told you not to. Something inside of you told you to wait, get her order, her name and just get to know her. So you finished up what you were doing, and headed towards her, to take her order. “Sorry about… that. I just don’t like when people talk to me like they know me or they have an idea about me” you said and she nodded, seemingly understanding but she seemed distraught. However you didn’t know her, so you couldn’t interrogate her about that. “What can I get for you?” You asked, notepad and pen in hand as you flashed her a smile.

“What have you got? I’ve had a lot of coworkers tell me about this place and how good they eat whenever they come here” she said and that made you smile brightly. “That’s really good to know” you said “uhm, I don’t have anything fresh out of the oven, but if you wait a bit more I’m actually working on a new recipe fresh out of my mind” you said, “that is… if you’re not in a rush” you said and shrugged “isn’t it closing time?” You nodded “yes it is, I can still close and let you stay to try it?” You watched the girl think about it for a moment before she nodded, and you nearly jumped excitedly and went back to the kitchen. To the girl… this was actually really weird. You didn’t know who she was, you didn’t know that she was Jenna Ortega and that she was a famous actress and that she was your soulmate. You didn’t know that she had the same mark as you and that it was leaked in her new upcoming movie’s trailer.

She wanted to get to know you.

Soon enough you were back at her table, a piece of cake in a plate and the whole dish itself looked amazing. It was perfectly done, perfectly decorated… and she knew that it would taste just the same. Perfect.

And it did, it was perfect. You sat on the chair directly in front of her, watching for any sign of a reaction. The girl let out a grunt/moan of pleasure, and you couldn’t help the smile that forced its way on your mouth. “How is it?” No reply came out of her yet, but she took another bite. “God, this is amazing” she said and kept on eating it “what are the ingredients?” She asked and you smiled “it’s a vegan cake actually. I’ve had people ask me some but I’ve never tried anything, until now.” You said and watched as she went wide eyed “you’re telling me that this is not actually made out of milk and stuff?” She watched as you nodded “damn. You must be a really good chef” she said and smiled “thank you thank you. I uhm… I Don’t think I caught your name?” You said smiling.

“I’m Jenna” she said and held out her hand. “Well nice to meet you Jenna, I’m (Y/N)”

That, is how you met your mother- no wait. That is how you met your soulmate. Only… you didn’t know it was her. The more time passed, the more you two got to know each other and let me tell you, there was a connection that both of you felt immediately. You were just so at ease with each other, you made each other feel safe and happy and it was by far the best you’ve felt after your parents’s death. You had learned about her that she was an actress, that she had a new movie coming out soon and that she was now having a break, just being with her family and making time to relax, coming to your bakery especially at closing time and you let her. You knew how hard it must be being famous, if she ever came during the day she would be surrounded by fans so you let her come past closing time, you closed the shop and let her stay in so she could relax and try your new recipes.

It had now been a couple months and On this other day you had closed the shop, waiting for Jenna as you sat down at her usual table, managing the bills while a new recipe was cooking in the oven when you heard a knock on the door. You smiled brightly when you saw Jenna, unlocking the door to let her inside. She immediately smelled around before sitting down where you were just sitting. “Making me something new?” She asked and you smiled, nodding. “Yep! You seem like the cinnamon kind of girl so I’m making something cinnamon based” you said as you made your way to the kitchen, where a sweet cinnamon cake had just finished getting ready. “You know me well” she giggled and sat down, soon you brought her the sweet before sitting back down in front of her, eyes on the bills again.

“Managing bills?” She asked as she saw you nod and sigh, hands in your hair. “Yeah. I’m not really good at this stuff. It takes me hours and I’m glad I have company now” you said and tapped your pen on the table “don’t you have anyone to help you? Parents, friends, soulmate…” she said as she looked at you “well,” you sighed “parents are dead and I inherited this shop, friends I don’t really have any and soulmate… unknown” you shrugged “soulmate marks usually have a meaning in your life, but what does a piece of braided hair mean? I’ve never even braided my hair!” You chuckled at yourself before going back on your bills. “Random question uh, you remember that I told you I have a movie coming out?” You nodded at her. It was the movie where her mark was leaked, the same mark you had on your collarbone and that you didn’t know she had.

“Do you want to come with me to the premiere?”

———

Unlike your expectations you agreed. You were going to a Movie premiere, Jenna’s new movie. You didn’t usually get out of your eyes if not to go open your shop, you didn’t go to the movies as you had no one to go with but now you had her… and it wasn’t just a movie night… it was a freaking premiere. That day Jenna had her stylists and after you were given your dress for the night, make up artists started working on you, and you noticed that the first thing they did was use a really dense and strong foundation to cover your mark. “Why are you covering it?” You asked, looking at the woman holding the sponge. “Trust me, you don’t want anyone to see it” you didn’t know why that would be a problem, so you decided to stay quiet and not argue back. It took them A LOT both to cover the mark and actually apply normal make up, you had a very light skin color so it was hard finding a foundation color that even matched your skin.

When you were all ready and you got out of your apartment, you found a car that was already waiting for you, you were confused at first, but then you remembered Jenna telling you that she would come pick you up, so you quickly got in the car, where you saw her already smiling at you. Your Jaw nearly dropped seeing how pretty she looked, and you could see a small blush forming on her cheeks “you look… gorgeous” you said and took in her appearance and she giggled, gently punching your shoulder “shut up, have you seen yourself?” She said, making you blush “yeah I know I’m very pretty” you smiled and soon enough you had arrived at the premiere. You were about to get off the car when Jenna stopped you. “Wait, did the make up artists cover your mark?” She asked slightly moving your dress away from your shoulder so she could see if it was covered.

“Yeah yeah, they covered it, why is it so important?” Jenna wanted to reply, and you saw her hesitate, her mouth opening and closing continuously before she eventually sighed and shook her head. “Nothing, you’ll see later” you nodded in confusion and got off the car with her, flashes and cameras immediately pointed at the both of you as pictures were being taken. Surprisingly enough, you didn’t mind all this attention. You knew that this would be a great occasion to sponsor your bakery, even though it was already known pretty well. A few of the actors recognized you from your shop and form the TV spot and instagram posts about your bakery, you were more than happy to hear their opinion on your shop and you politely invited them to come over some times to try your specialties for a lower price. You were thriving anyway, so a lower price would mean nothing.

After Jenna was taken A LOT of pictures, it was finally time for you to get into the theatre and actually watch the movie. It started off amazing, Jenna’s acting was fantastic and you were stunned by both her beauty and how good she was at acting. She often turned around to see you with your jaw dropped open at her job, or maybe at how pretty she looked, or maybe both?

However, at one particular point of the movie, Jenna pur her hand on your arm, her eyes not trailing away from the screen. “Here it comes, look look” she said, it was the scene where her soulmate mark was getting revealed. A piece of braided hair on her right collarbone… same as you. As soon as it was revealed, she looked at you, only to see you… asleep. You had fallen asleep, and Jenna didn’t know how to react. You didn’t see her mark, you didn’t know she was your soulmate.

Jenna woke you up at the end of the movie, she didn’t speak a word to you if not just to tell you “we’re leaving” and “get in the car.” Admit it, you were kinda scared and felt like you were a kid who had just gotten in trouble and waiting for your mother to scold you. You didn’t know where you were going but you assumed you were going back to her apartment when she took out the keys to it from her purse. “Jenna, will you tell me what’s going on?” You asked her for the thousand time in 15 minutes. “Will you be quiet for just a minute?” Jenna asked, she was mad, but still being polite. “Are you seriously mad because I fell asleep? Jeez, I was exhausted! It’s not like I decided to fall asleep” you chuckled and didn’t even realize that you had gotten into her apartment.

You tried to complain yet once more after she didn’t give you a reply, but suddenly you were in her arms and you felt her lips on yours, it was all so sudden, so fast. You liked her that way, you really did but she never gave you any sign of liking you back… well, until now. “Jen-“ you said in between kisses, your hands on her waist and you didn’t know if you should bring her closer or push her away, ask her for some kind of explanation. You had questions, you really did and that’s why you pushed her away. “Jen, what’s the meaning of this?” You asked, you were still relatively close and the smell of her perfume was filling your nostrils, “(Y/N)… you’re my soulmate” she nearly whispered, and you looked at her in confusion. “What? But in the movie you had another mark-“ “the movie, (Y/N)” she interrupted you “there was a scene that you didn’t see, because you had fallen asleep, where my real mark was revealed”

You were even more confused now, your thoughts weren’t making any sense, and the only wan that had some was “show me” you said, in a few seconds Jenna took your hand and brought you to her bathroom, she took some lotion and wipes and cleaned the make up away from her collarbone, a piece of braided hair appearing as a soulmate mark. You were shocked, you were processing too many things at once and you were confused, considering that you had woken up not too long before.

“You’re my-“ you gulped. “I’m your…” Jenna giggled and you furrowed your brows. “Yes, we are soulmates” you took a few more seconds to process the new pieve of information, but when you did you walked closer to her, brought her close to you from her hips and pressed your lips against hers, and you felt a really satisfying cry come out from her. You were finally hers… she was finally yours. Nothing else mattered now, just the two of you.

You wished that the kiss could last forever, but eventually air was needed and you pulled away, being just a few inches away from each other you just smiled lovingly. “Why a piece of braided hair, tho?” You asked, your hand gently caressing her cheek. “I didn’t know until a few days before I met you… I got a new role, for a Netflix show” she whispered and looked at you. “And what is it?” You asked her.

“Wednesday Addams”

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catpriciousmarjara · 10 months

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Tell me: Is He Gay or In a Sherwani?

Imposition of western norms in fandom analysis of Asian characters

With the rising popularity of Indian cinema sparked by the recent success of RRR on international platforms as well as the easy availability of multiple streaming services, in addition to the appearance of South Asian characters in prominent roles in western, particularly US media, I've begun to see some concerning 'analysis' posts online. So I thought I'd address something I found common in most of these takes.

Guys, characterizing your blorbos as queer is great and all, love it, but you're making a fundamental mistake by making their clothing choices the foundation for your queer headcanons, especially when it comes to male characters. Do not apply existing western cultural ideas regarding male clothing onto South Asian characters and their dressing please.

The vast majority of the clothes being used by people in various online spaces as 'evidence' of a character being queer(gay or bi mostly) are just normal Indian clothing for men, like daily wear. A top being pink or a character's wardrobe being mostly pastel means absolutely nothing...cos Indian clothing tends to be colourful in general and the tendency to ascribe colours masculine and feminine qualities is considerably less in the subcontinent. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but generally not a concern.

There's also this pervasive idea that colourful clothing = flamboyance = queer and that itself is something many people have already pointed as a deeply flawed way of thinking and a stereotype. Furthermore, even if you do lean into the archetype of queer men being flamboyant, subscribing to the 'stereotypes exist for a reason don't they?' school of thought perhaps, there's also the fact that ideas of what is considered flamboyant change dramatically across different cultures. What is 'flamboyant' for someone might just be normal for others. Like maybe pink or purple or yellow might be considered too much, unmanly, emasculating etc in the US or something but they're just perfectly normal colours for men to wear in many, many cultures.

It's the 'Is he Gay or European?' principle. Did you characterize this Indian character (or any South Asian character really) as queer because of their canonical behaviour and portrayal, or did you just see their clothing and decide they're queer because being well groomed and having a colourful wardrobe is a character trait you exclusively ascribe to being queer?

Like guys, I like Chaipunk like the rest of you, but if you consider Pavitr queer just because his costume is a lot fancier than the others' (An actual take I've seen multiple times) without taking into account his cultural background....¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Let me make this clear, I don't think people need a ten page analysis to imagine their fave as queer. Headcanoning a character as queer can have any reason ranging from 'I said so and so it is' to 'this is my light character analysis that makes a masters thesis look shabby' and they're all valid and an integral part of the fandom experience. What I am annoyed at are these so-called 'well-researched' theories that did not make the slightest effort to look into South Asian culture and simply transposed their western bias onto Indian media and confidently make flat out wrong judgements and mislead other people. Clothing based sexual identity determinism is the least of it. That I can at least understand through the lens of a habitual process built through years of analyzing crumbs of queer representation available only through queer coded characters and symbolism such as clothing choices being the only way to see an aspect of yourself portrayed in an aggressively heteronormative media ecosystem. I do that too, because media is tragically heteronormative everywhere. But the rest? Its just straight up misinformation and misrepresentation touted as truth.

Its the same with relationships between men. There are plenty of cultures where skinship between men is not unusual and dynamics and nuances tend to be vastly different from western representations of male friendships. In xianxia and wuxia fandoms you can see this same problem in a different font when outsiders, most often the western side of the fandom, try to apply their own standards and morals onto the original work and try to interpret it through a lens it was never supposed to be interpreted through in the first place, except maybe for comparative analysis. This practice itself isn't a major problem, its natural for people to apply what is familiar to them to try and understand something new. But when this is also accompanied by them foisting their personal interpretation and analysis as the 'correct' one and trying to impose it on the fandom as a whole, it escalates into a powder keg situation as you can imagine.

Again, not saying that western parts of fandoms are the root of all evil or anything like that, gods know how toxic netizens can be. But in this specific situation, where people try to impose western ideals on to non-western content and assumes the universalism of their own principles and value systems? Indeed an issue to be addressed.

#ATSV #South Asian Characters #Desi characters #South Asian culture #Desi Culture #Fandom analysis #LGBTQ+#Brown culture #Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse #Pavitr Prabhakhar #Hobie Brown #Chaipunk #RRR #Miss Marvel #Tagging Miss Marvel and RRR only because they're in the intro-two pieces of media that are good examples of the increased attention-#on South Asian characters and Indian cinema #Not included in the body of the post except under umbrella terms like South Asian character/South Asian media & other such categories

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sarasade · 10 months

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The Dragon Prince & Queer Subtext - Fandom and Media Analysis of Sort

Lately I’ve been pondering about the ins and outs of Viren and Aaravos’s relationship and why they give off such a queer vibe. So I ended up writing this 2 and half Word document pages long little breakdown because why not.

I think what’s going on here is about the underlying elements of the story- subtext and how their relationship could be perceived through a queer lens. Note: my brain has marinated in queer subtext juices my whole life and I have no intent trying to prove my reading is the only right one.

That Sweet Sweet Gay Shit- A Fandom Perspective

There is a lot of queer subtext between them. Homoerotic subtext even. Their scenes together definitely activated the search function in my brain’s queer coded villain trope lexicon.

You know- mutual penetration with a phallic object (knife), sharing some kind of mysterious bond through blood magic, so, you know, bodily fluids are indeed involved, the classic slash fiction trope “we are close but we cannot touch” -gay pining because the mirror separates them. When Aaravos is shown for the first time in the mirror the camera does this Laura Mulvey Male Gaze 101 up-down pan shot of him from Viren’s POV. Something that’s usually reserved for female characters when male characters “check them out” in a movie. And then my personal favourite: Something that comes out of Aaravos enters Viren, comes out and then transforms into a creature with a toddler level intelligence- they made a freaky little metaphor baby together! Awwww!

And let's not even talk about the possession and Aaravos slowly taking over Viren’s body. The aesthetics of a toxic queer romance are all over their interactions.

No, Viren! Don’t express vulnerability as an intimidating male figure! Tumblr will babygirlify you!

Storytelling

So what about their interactions makes me perceive them in a queer way? By “queer“ I mean the broader concept of queer here; does the way the characters are depicted come across non-heteronormative and disruptive to gender norms.

I’m mostly talking about the season 2 here since they share their most intimate scenes together in that season.

1 Story Function

Aaravos and Viren’s interactions are supposed to have multiple purposes in the story: They move the plot forward, characterise both Viren and Aaravos, create emotional conflict and intrigue in the viewer etc. Viren observing Aaravos through the mirror is supposed to create mystery and spark the audience’s curiosity. Viren is a device through which Aaravos’s allure gets demonstrated to the viewer so of course their interactions come across pretty, hm, charged. Anyway there are layers of meaning here the audience can interpret in multiple ways both intuitively and through an analytic lens. The meaning naturally changes the more context we get. There are still three more seasons to come.

2 Gendered Tropes

There is a certain element of seduction present: Viren gives Aaravos more access to himself and his body little by little in exchange for Aaravos fulfilling his desires (for power). This could be read as having sexual undertones. Some of Aaravos’s first words to Viren are clearly something Viren wants to hear “How may I serve you?” Weaponising manipulation and seduction, where a character poses as submissive while having alternative motives, is something female characters traditionally do in stories. I don’t know about you but Aaravos’s character has a bit of a femme fatale thing going on if you ask me (haha!) There is something about him that defies gender roles that’s not just about his androgynous looks.

A traditional Femme fatale is often a tragic figure trapped in unfortunate circumstances. They are shrouded in mystery which prevents the audience from empathising with them or understanding their motives. The character often uses coercion to make their victim do what they want. And yes there definitely is an element of coercion and even a threat of violence present in Aaravos and Viren’s relationship. Their goals are aligned for now but what happens if/ when Viren decides to defy Aaravos? TDP makes me wonder (with horror) what it is that Viren has really agreed to.

3 How the Show’s “Camera” Portrays Aaravos

Even the camera emphasises him as an object of desire. Something he is from the story point of view as well. Viren desires access to Aaravos’s power after all. When the camera puts Aaravos on display in an objectified manner in the beginning of the season 2 it’s supposed to, in my opinion, heighten the feeling of Aaravos seeming harmless at the first glance. And by “objectified” I mean he’s portrayed without agency.

I joked earlier about male gaze and Laura Mulvey but I do actually think there is some truth to that. One of the biggest reasons behind me thinking Aaravos was a pretty pretty lady at first was how he was introduced in such a feminised way. And I wasn’t the only one. Just look at the comments under his TDP Wiki article. (Lots of het men being confused about their sexuality. Also shout-out to that one lesbian). This makes him appear less threatening so the story can build suspense around his true motives. It’s not evident that Aaravos is a completely sinister figure at first, at least compared to Viren who seems more like the main villain of the story prior to the seasons 3-4. Little did we know back then that Aaravos was the true alpha male of this whole sordid affair.

Aaravos in the mirror from Viren’s point of view, season 2, episode 3.

Why I’m not mentioning anything about Viren’s gender performance is because his story conflict is all about struggling with traditionally masculine gender expectations. Understanding how his character relates to hegemonic/ toxic masculinity/ emotional struggles men face in real life is a core part of understanding his character as a whole. That’s a broad topic and this post is long enough as it is so I’m going to leave it at that. (Maybe someone else has written about that already?)

4 The Audience Is Also at Aaravos’s Mercy

Aaravos’s submissive façade is supposed to fool both Viren AND the audience. The show plays rather cleverly with the audience’s expectations here. Slowly the roles are starting to flip until it’s clear that Aaravos is the one in control. Given Aaravos narrates the opening of the first story arc it raises even more questions: Is his control over Viren supposed to parallel his control over the whole world of the show? This circles back to the show’s themes of freedom vs destiny. It feels almost meta in a way how the story’s villain tries to gain control over the whole narrative.

5 Horror and Fantasy

The powerplay between the characters naturally creates a plenty of tension and it’s not unusual that this translates into something sexually charged in the audience’s minds. While this is the perspective I’m the most interested in, there are other layers to Aaravos and Viren’s scenes together.

For example this kind of breaking of bodily boundaries is common in horror as well. Aaravos is beautiful and mysterious but is also associated with repulsive things like larvae and blood and there is something very eerie about him in general. These kinds of emotional reactions of repulsion and attraction are essential to horror. The audience sees that everything isn’t definitely quite right about him but it’s also understandable that the audience (and Viren) find him fascinating. I think the key word for these scenes in the season 2 is “ambiguity“. Even if you aren’t invested in these characters this show would be much less fun without all the nuance their interactions have.

In a good story everything isn’t just literal. Especially since TDP is a fantasy story- A genre that’s traditionally been all about symbolism and intertextual references. I could go on and on about the genre traditions with similar flavour to what Aaravos and Viren have. Michael Moorcock’s classic sword and sorcery antihero Elric of Melniboné and his pact with the demon Arioch comes to mind.

Something Something Fandom

Viravos as a ship lives in the subtext but the subtext isn’t always black and white. Fiction uses metaphor and other storytelling methods to create meaning- To give a narrative experience. The queer subtext in TDP feels very elaborate to me and while I’m dissecting these scenes more analytically here my emotional reactions are the original source of that interest. No matter how much time passes I’m still a morbid teenage goth at heart and that part of me loves the dark fairytale aesthetics akin to TDP season 2.

I didn’t even touch on the element of Viren giving into a “forbidden desire” (literally his desire for power but- you know- multiple readings etc.) when making a deal with Aaravos. Something very typical to the horror genre as well. It’s a “deal with the devil” -sort of situation and those stories often paint the agreement as something corruptive and sinful and therefore transgressive. This post by Tiredsunrisesmeta got you covered on that. Also queer coded villains something something- Anyway, read Tiredsunrisesmeta’s blog for more.

Pictured: Yours truly

Last and Least

I remember when I saw a post here saying that “Viravos couldn’t be canon because it’d be too sexy.” and that’s just the funniest way to put it in my opinion. Their relationship feels a bit too, I dunno, mature? for this show. But what does “canon” even mean? Is a gay ship canon when two characters of the same gender kiss and declare their love? Get married? Have kids? Personally, I don’t want to see LGBT+ characters’ stories just copy straight romance tropes beat by beat all the time. I want something that feels authentic and what’s more authentic than Viren being a cringefail bisexual getting rejected by men and women and then getting his life ruined by the sexy femboy elf satan? Kinda iconic honestly.

#thanks for the canon mpreg tdp #viravos #tdp viren #viren #tdp aaravos #sarasade text #the dragon prince meta #tdp meta

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hazshit-hotel-hater · 2 months

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what really frustrates me that Vivzepop had these characters (the hazbin hotel cast) for YEARS and never really bothered to actually explain their backgrounds besides little info facts

we know Alastor is a radio host who also a cannibal serial killer but what was his life before that

we know angel and his siblings was in the mafia and angel did drugs but what was the reason for him to be a drag queen besides being a closet gay men

we know husk likes to gamble and was a alcoholic…and that’s really it unless there’s more to his character

we know niftty was a housewife that was obsessed with boys and that’s all we got

we know vaggie was a prostitute that got killed by a guy

AND PEOPLE WAIT FOUR YEARS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THESE CHARACTERS AND GOT NOTHING 😭😭😭

btw love your blog

TYSM!! Please enjoy a fat nuggets while I go crazy again!

So I’m neurodivergent we know this yes yes Rai you’ve mentioned it at least 4 times this week. Okay good. I am NUTS about specifics. Like. Like this nuts

(This is my collection of lore and data from every piece of Alice in Wonderland media I can get my hands on)

So I must say, not knowing jackshit about these characters backstories is driving me CRAZY.

I cannot believe I have to be like “I hope we learn more about the main cast after 4 years” because I don’t even know if Vivzie is going to touch on it in S2 and thats the only season we have guaranteed so like oh well!

For Alastor I am genuinely shocked we don’t know that much about him but then again they did allude to doing more with him in Season 2 so for that I guess we shall wait and see. For Angel I literally have no idea. My only headcanon I have about his living time is when he was 6 he hated vermicelli because it means “little worms” and he thought that was gross. For the drag thing. We haven’t even seen this guy in drag in the actual show yet and I am frankly pissed but idk where they’d fit that in with what we got so like okay I guess but as for his reasoning I think he either just liked it or yeah its just cause he was a closeted gay man. Husk I again have no clue. We know he was an overlord and then made a contract but that is literally it. I like Husk as a character he seems like a very sweet guy sometimes, but again, Idk anything about him. Nifty is just. Kinda there? Not that every character needs a tragic backstory but like im curious why is she like that. I didn’t even know that shit about Vaggie until I got this ask but that makes me wonder/worry if we’re going to see something in relation to that in the same way we did episode 4. HOPEFULLY not. At least we got the Vaggie angel lore but thats basically it?

I hope for so much in S2 but mostly just give us some fucking context dude. Not even the avid watchers know whats going on and I’m just some dude pirating shit so I sure as hell don’t either 😭

(I REALLY NEED TO GET BETTER AT TAGGING MILDLY.)

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see-arcane · 1 year

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Goncharov (1973): “Why an apple?”

I know Goncharov is drowning in so MANY themes. We have the Running Out of Time theme, the Cycle of Violence and Repression theme, the Can’t Fight Nature theme with all its animal motifs, we even have Ice Pick Joe’s criminally underappreciated arc about Humanity Doing Violence to Anything/Anyone Outside the Mold of the Cycle/What the Majority Says is Natural theme. Themes on themes on themes!

But the one that still keeps needling me in the heart is, of all things, the Fruit theme. Yes, really.

Sure, right, the whole ‘Forbidden Fruit’ thing is extremely old hat to cinema now, especially within media dealing with gay romances (rather, gay romances that Almost Were and Ended Tragically). But the way it’s played with in Goncharov seems to hit just to the left of the cliché and lets something new grow.

Or, in the case of our various doomed characters, lets it get mowed down.

It starts with the fruit stand. Katya and Sofia, two wives shopping for two husbands. They come to the apples. Sofia, with her serpent bracelet twinkling, stoops to help Katya pick up the fallen fruit that escaped her basket. Is the meeting orchestrated? Accident? Neither woman would ever tell, considering where both stand--where they recognize each other from. The worlds of men and murder they stand so precariously within.

Still. It is so hard to make friends in their worlds. And they are in public. And just for a while, just here, in the sun, they can pretend they are just two women who know each other from somewhere. Just making friends.

Apples segues to temptation, you know the drill--they even bring it up in conversation!

...A conversation that the cut to the far end of afternoon reveals has stretched all the way out of the market and into a bistro. Just two women, just two friends, just talking (in public). They bring up Adam and Eve and the Forbidden Fruit and--

Sofia: I never got why it had to be an apple.

Katya: What do you mean?

Sofia: I mean I don’t get it. Why an apple?

Katya: I don’t know. Because it’s always been an apple, I guess. It’s easier to pull off in art. All the painters and sculptors and everyone else who makes those kind of calls, they all just got together and decided, ‘An apple looks pretty simple. Nice, smooth, round. Easy enough to draw in a tree.’ And boom, everyone sees nothing but apples in the Tree of Knowledge ever after. So it’s always apples.

Sofia: The dullest possible produce. The Forbidden Fruit is supposed to be something off limits, something special. All the knowledge of the world and of each other and of the realization that these two fools are running around the Garden with their asses bare in front of the Almighty. Apples don’t seem right for that. It’s dull. It’s a thing for pastry and postcards.

Katya: ...What would you pick instead?

Sofia: Pomegranates. No question.

Katya: Why pomegranates?

Sofia: It’s the fruit that the God of the Dead uses to trick the Goddess of Spring into staying with him in the Underworld. She tastes the seeds and she’s forced to stay down there for half a year, every year, forever. A fruit so powerful it can trap a goddess seems like the kind of fruit that could banish humanity from Paradise.

(Cue that Very Telling pause. The unbroken eye contact. Then...)

Sofia: Tastes better than apples too. And it looks like a jewel when you split it open.

(Of course, when it’s time to order dessert, they split a pomegranate panna cotta. The scene closes with Katya licking her lips.)

Katya: I do like apples. But this? This is amazing. I’d go to Hell for this.*

(*There’s a whole other essay in describing Katya’s bisexuality, her partaking of apples and pomegranates in equal measure, the genuine hurt she feels in knowing that Goncharov cares for her, but not beyond the presentation they put on for his peers. Arm candy with benefits (and constant threat to her life). And it wouldn’t be so bad, she knows, if they were at least still friends like they were at the start--but all of that has gone to Andrey. The friendship, the love, the care; at least as much as Goncharov is capable of beyond his own issues. But I digress.)

We see this whole undercurrent play out through the film, in parallel to the hammered-in fear and resignation that comes with the characters being crushed by the mantra of You Can’t Go On Forever, Can’t Fight the Cycle, Can’t Fight Nature, Can’t Step Outside the Norm/the Nuclear Family (of the Mafia/the Mob Or Else).

Because it doesn’t have to be an apple.

They never had to worry about the time burning away their lives one miserable day at a time, unhappy and cramped with violence and expectations that are a wholly self-perpetuating horror show that humanity inflicts on itself. The characters compare themselves to animals more than once in the film, all unable to fight the inevitable. But as Andrey and Katya point out to their respective paramours, it does not have to be that way. It never did--it doesn’t need to be now. Please. Please.

They can have the Forbidden Fruit and it can be whatever they want! Let it be a pomegranate! Let them glut themselves on it! And, hell, why do they have to buy into everyone else’s rules about what is and isn’t forbidden anyway? They’re none of them living within the law in the first place. Blood’s on everyone’s hands. Can’t they sin a little sweeter? Can’t they admit the sin they want most isn’t a sin at all, no matter what lies to the contrary they’ve swallowed in the caustic hell they’ve found themselves in?

“We can grow our own garden somewhere,” Katya pleads with Sofia, smiling through tears trying so hard not to fall--the first tears she’s allowed herself in years.

“We can grow our own tobacco,” Andrey tries to joke with Goncharov, not joking at all. He still has that cheap scuffed lighter Goncharov gifted him years ago when they were both nobodies, and he grips it in his visible hand like a talisman.

Of course, we know the endings there.

Katya lives to leave, without husband or lover or friend, and mourn the fact that her beloved Temptation cannot be tempted in turn. Not with where Sofia stands. Rooted by cold blood as much as fear. This is what she knows. This is her world, her Tree, her Devil she knows, her Underworld to rule as much as any queen can rule there, unhappy but resigned. Go, Eve. Grow your garden alone.

Andrey pulls the trigger, and feels more pain in that instant than even Goncharov does with the hole in his heart. He walks away, mourning the man who is as much a victim of himself as the bullet; a stubborn Adam who spat out his fruit and insisted upon fighting the Serpent, who dies reliving a memory of two cigars, sharing a flame against a cold night--the light fading, fading, fading...

It never had to be this way. Not for any of them. Not really. But even with the Forbidden Fruits of their choice hanging in reach, free to take and run, it was not eating them that resulted in their respective tragedies.

The Forbidden Fruit is there to be eaten. To be learned from. To force you to grow and go. To step outside the boundaries made to keep you in.

But you just can’t make everyone eat.

#taking a break from ghouls to get in my two cents about Goncharov and the Themes #still holding out for my extremely late KatyaxSofia sequel Mr. Scorsese #goncharov #katya #sofia #andrey #ice pick joe #unreality

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roxyrondell · 3 months

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I realized with my last reblog about Ed and Stede’s first kiss that I was repeating myself with what I said. To put some context into it I’m someone who grew up without authentic queer representation in media. I spent years watching tv shows and movies that either didn’t have any queer characters or if they did they were a joke. The tragic outsider or side character. Rarely did I ever see a queer person as the lead character. I also spent years being queer baited by shows. Seeing something that to me clearly looked and sounded queer. Then thinking “ooh, gay?” Then nothing happens and I’m made to feel like an idiot for even suggesting the characters might be gay. Getting the bare minimum in representation that wasn’t even authentic and also being queer baited conditioned me into thinking that I shouldn’t get my hopes up about Stede and Ed. That the very clear chemistry between them wasn’t going to actually go anywhere. Then it became real and I find out that they intended for it to happen from the start and I find myself sobbing. So yeah that first kiss moment is life changing for me. No I don’t care how stupid that sounds to anyone. The amount of love and care being shown to me and everyone in the queer community by this show means everything to me. I now know that I can have actual representation in media. People do understand how important it is. So thank you David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, Rhys Darby and literally everyone involved in making OFMD happen. I am eternally grateful!

#our flag means death #stede bonnet #edward teach #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #adopt our crew #taika waititi #rhys darby #david jenkins #ofmd #this show means so much to me #the crew of the revenge #they are everything to me #somebody save my beautiful show #lgbtqia #representation matters

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cringengl · 11 months

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"Delusional fangirls": the 'never ending story' of the dismissal of byler being rooted in misogyny.

As someone who is passionate about both feminism and fandom culture, when I got sent this ask a little less than a month ago, it made me ask myself the question on why shipping byler has been viewed in such a negative light, and you'll never guess, but it's rooted in misogyny.

Even if this ask is a troll, it's clearly replicating what can be seen not just in the Stranger Things fandom, but in general fandom culture, showing the prevalence of this issue. Although this post will be looking specifically at byler, what I'm discussing in this post isn't an issue specific to byler, even if I will be considering some things that are byler specific, such as the likelihood of byler endgame.

Before we start, I just want to talk about why I'm talking about misogyny instead of homophobia (though homophobia will be discussed a little later but it's not going to be the main focus of this post). Homophobia and why people dismiss byler has already been talked about a lot (for example, I've seen posts about people saying that making byler endgame would be a 'risky' move and as Stranger Things produces a lot of money for Netflix, therefore they won't do it, the belief that they wouldn't/shouldn't break up a heterosexual ship for a homosexual one or the failure to put Will outside the 'tragic story of a gay kid that falls for their straight best friend' box).

The dismissal of byler as a 'valid' ship is just as much down to misogyny as it is homophobia and it's an issue that I haven't seen as talked about, likely due to how byler is made up of two guys. If anything I've seen way more people call the byler community misogynistic, and whilst these things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, I do want to open up the conversation about how misogyny deeply affects the public perception of byler and byler shippers as well as talk about how ingrained misogyny is in fandom culture.

The average dismissal of byler as a ship tends to look like this:

All bylers are teen girls.

All bylers are stupid and delusional.

The motivation to ship byler is born out of a fetish of mlm relationships.

Not only is this a summary of what that anon sent me in May, but it's also a rhetoric that can be seen across multiple anti byler statements/posts/comments etc. It's way more common than you may think.

So what is the fangirl stereotype?

A fangirl by Oxford dictionary definition is mainly characterised by the word "obsessive", which has been constantly portrayed in a negative light by the media, and isn't exactly a new phenomenon, with Beatlemaniacs being called "the dull, the idle, the failures" in a 1964 New Statesman article. In fact it hasn't been until the 2020s where the epidemic of constantly making fun of teen girls has finally been criticised.

The most common stereotype of a fangirl is someone who is screaming, crazy and rabid, with "rabid fangirl" having its own Urban Dictionary definition.

Even fangirls of fanbases that are most notorious for 'crazy, rabid fans' have come out and said that they have been misrepresented, such as the comments section of this documentary about One Direction fans made by Channel 4 in 2013.

The stereotype of having a fetish for mlm relationships.

Another common stereotype of fangirls is the fetishization of mlm relationships. Whilst this is a very real issue that needs to be addressed properly, I very clearly remember seeing women talking about "getting off" to scenes in Call Me By Your Name when the movie first came out, however this accusation is often misplaced, meaning it loses it's power as an accusation, leading to the perception that it isn't as big of an issue that it actually is.

Girls, women or even afab or feminine presenting people who ship two men together are often seen as people with fetishes and accused of such. Not only is this sexist as it assumes that women's interests are sexually motivated, but it also reduces women's intelligence by suggesting that the only reason that they are interested in it is because of a sexual factor. This also ties back to the oversexualisation of gay relationships due to traditional, religious, conservative roots- classic homophobia.

And whilst this might sometimes be the case, this ideology ignores something extremely obvious: not all fangirls are straight (which clearly shows why we need lesbian visibility day haha).

This era we are in right now seems to be the dawn of LGBTQ+ rep that seems to be more and more prevalent and the amount of mainstream movies and TV shows that have positive and well developed queer rep is growing day by day. However, queer representation had been previously very hard to find and even now is not perfect (remember that one lesbian purple cyclops from Onward that appeared for like 10 seconds, said the easily censorable word "girlfriend", and was then never seen again??).

Whilst fandom spaces with TV shows and movies such as Stranger Things may have lots of female or female presenting/aligned people, there is also an abundance of queer people in almost any fandom, especially one with existing queer characters or ones that claim to be "an anthem for the marginalised and imperfect", which of course leads to the abundance of queer women, and can also be seen in the byler tag.

However I do want to point out that obviously not all people in fandom spaces and the byler tag are female and/or queer, but a lot of them are and this does vary fandom to fandom. Furthermore, I really don't know the actual ratio of different genders specifically in the Stranger Things and byler fandom- however I feel that it doesn't matter as shipping and other fandom traditions have been associated with teen girls and women anyway. The suggestion that all bylers are teen girls is a sweeping overgeneralisation and the fact that it's used as an insult and a way to demean this ship is sexist.

Queer representation and shipping mlm ships- even if they are not canon.

So how does this link to the abundance of shipping male characters? This is clearly something that has been going on for a long time, as illustrated beautifully through this reddit post:

And you might be wondering that if there are a lot of queer women in these spaces, then why isn't there more sapphic ships? And of course the answer is misogyny.

Women in TV shows and movies are so often underdeveloped and fall victim to millions of sexist stereotypes that make them unlikeable and boring, such as 'damsel in distress', 'strong and unfeeling' or they just have a 2D personality. Furthermore, female characters in media are just less numerous in media. All of this is is we have measures of the Bechdel test.

This is also not helped by the constant cancellation of wlw shows after only one season, which does not allow for the development of the characters or their relationship (I Am Not Okay With This, Warrior Nun, First Kill, Willow, Paper Girls etc).

This idea is only supported by the arcane fandom, where the most prevalent ship is Caitlyn/Vi on pretty much every social media site and ao3, likely due to the focus and development on their relationship.

Moreover, male friendships often have a lot more focus on them than female characters and their relationships. This was particularly obvious and blatant in My Hero Academia, where despite Deku and Uraraka (the het ship) being set up to be endgame, the main relationship that has the most focus and development is the one between Deku and his friend turned enemy turned rival turned best friend (??) Bakugo.

Whilst positive and intricate male friendships are never a bad thing, it does become very annoying very fast when those pieces of media also push female characters to the sidelines (and then also oversexualise them, which is often seen particularly in anime and manga such as mha).

So it's no coincidence when mlm relationships become more popular through the want for queer representation, female characters being ignored and the male characters and friendships having better development (as well as the use of queerbait to bring in a wider audience). However, other fans with little critical thinking skills and the general audience tend to jump to the conclusion that the amount of mlm ships that include straight men (even though these 'straight' men are fictional and don't have confirmed sexualities) is due to fetishization and fans being "weird and delusional".

Back to byler.

So let's link this back to byler. One thing that drew me to make this post is due to how bylers have been called "delusional" which was a specific word I saw byler shippers being called a lot in the June/July era.

Even the word "delusional" implies a detachment from reality and one of the most common sexist views is that women can't lead or make good decisions due to their supposed inherent irrationality, which is apparently caused by hormones and being over emotional (despite testosterone being used as an excuse for cheating- high sex drive- and aggression issues as well as anger not being counted as an emotion. One of the biggest reasons that the stereotypes around fangirls are rooted in misogyny is due to the polar opposite treatment of male sports fans, which if you remember the insane violence that occurred when the fake Tubi ad appeared to disrupt the Super Bowl, this idea is insanely hypocritical).

It confused me as even from a general audience perspective, it would seem that byler at least had a decent chance of becoming endgame, so why is it being so easily dismissed?

It is because shipping, especially mlm ships, are strongly associated with fangirls and are therefore seen as weak, delusional and irrational, not something to be taken seriously and likely the product of a fetish.

Not only is this harmful for the perception of mlm relationships in media, but it also promotes internalised misogyny- distancing yourselves from "rabid fangirls" as soon as possible so that your not seen as one and are instead seen as more rational and sensible.

The powerful arc that Mike and Will have gone through for four seasons now doesn't matter, nor the fact that El's independence is linked with Mike's absence or even what the implications of mleven endgame for not just a queer audience but a general audience would be. None of that matters as ships like byler aren't taken seriously, they're dismissed, due to misogyny (and homophobia).

In conclusion, fuck the patriarchy, let's change fandom culture for the better.

Links to things I watched/read in order to help make this post (not including the misogynistic and homophobic is reddit/tumblr/twitter posts lol):

(Do bear in mind that these tend to talk more about music fans/fandom rather than TV shows)

Frailty, Thy Name Is Fangirl: Misogyny and Fandom Culture

Shaming Fangirls: A Practice Rooted In Sexism

How misogyny-laced comments, actions in fan culture can drive others out

Ted talk: For the love of Fangirls | Yve Blake

From Beatlemania to the Beliebers, What Makes a ‘Fangirl’?

The Channel 4 Crazy About One Direction documentary and the ad for the documentary

Fetishizing Gay Relationship: When Ship and Fan Fiction Turn Toxic

#byler #this also applies to why people think byler shippers wouldnt like byler if they were wlw #this post took ages omg #fuck misogyny and fuck homophobia and please re think what you type and if it falls into any harmful stereotypes #please continue the convo in the tags ajd comment section i love discussing this topic and would like to hear what more people think of it #stranger things #fandom #fandom culture #feminism #misogyny #homophobia

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estellaestella · 8 months

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The films will last, the gossip rags wont

Saw an awful clip today that gave me a bit more perspective to the sham relationships. Guessing there's some Hollywood folk who dont like Timo's androgynous/ bisexual vibe is one thing but watching them laugh at his "emo" qualities is quite another. Ron Perlman was making fun of today's men who are ok to wear lipstick, etc, citing Timothee Chalamet as an example. Ron Perlman laughed with the hosts, which seemed particularly ungracious, given that they were even in the same movie (DONT LOOK UP) a year or so ago.

It was quite a display of meanness but it was a good reminder that the shamming isnt for everyone - certainly not the most vocal part of his fanbase. Theyre probably 40 years younger than the people he's trying to appease. The older generations of Hollywood might be cool with a wide range of sexual tastes in private but in public they want their actors to appear ramrod straight. None of this in-touch-with-my-feelings type of modern masculinity.

Now, if I was the sort of actor who improvised lines like "Can I be vulnerable in your car" & I wanted my onscreen characters to be well rounded , soft, kind, decent people then I guess I would play along with PR shams. It's like the opposite of the Neil Patrick Harris// Barnie Stinson relationship; because Neil is gay in real life no one gave him hell for what his character Barnie did in HIMYM. So Tim's being a fuckboi irl so that his characters can be vunerable, cry, hug, etc.

Come to think of it, it kinda makes it a bit tragic now. He's sacrificing his good name, messing up whatever records people keep in their minds or put in the media, for the sake of what he wants to put onsceen. Coz through his fashion choices and what he's said in the past we know he doesnt care what people think of him personally, so it's literally for the sake of his art; to get the chance to do more NIcks, more Lauries, and more ELIOS 💔😭. Most people prioritise their personal reputation over their artistic legacy but not Tim...

I'm guessing he's thinking the films will last, the gossip rags wont. [gif by @sheisraging]

#timothee chalamet #timothée chalamet #its that thing capricorns have for history - he's decided his personal reputation can take a bit of a beating if his LEGACY is golden #he can deal w sm fans being disgusted w him coz he knows its in his power to make another movie like CMBYN & thats a heavy burden to bear #CMBYN walked so others cd run - Tim knows he's got another of those boundary pushing roles in him yet

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softpine · 4 months

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omg i love the choice of personal jesus for the griffinverse post. i can just see the frozen pines movie scene where on each beat it switches from one griffin to another until finally landing on the last one and just prolonging that intensity thruout the scene. like its so cinematic and intense and it makes me feel like i am being punched in the gut with asa each time we are faced with a new tragic version, like asa is putting himself thru the suffering that jesus put himself thru out of the same type of selfless, overwhelming love. and in the hugging slide he is literally touching his faith (gay people and their biblical, epic type levels of love go bestie go!!). and the way he disappears like jesus did when he peaces out to the sky lol (who knew the years of forced bible study would actually be useful lol). ik that the song also has a more literal meaning for sw griffin in that asa is kind of like this random mystic miracle man etc. but i love the implications for asa specifically. ig just the fact that it works for both is masterful and i love your incredible brain and how you are able to create this wonderful story in such vivid detail with such visceral emotions. hope ur having a good day brandi and happy new year!!

YESSSSSS oh my god this is EXACTLY the emotion i wanted to convey!! ;-; i so badly wish tumblr would let us add small, unobtrusive media players between pictures so you could hear what i hear in my head while i'm writing these scenes 😭 but knowing that you understood my vision so clearly made me SO happy

also i can add one more layer of symbolism in that finn (and all the griffins) have a complicated relationship with religion and sin...

his father and god are inextricably linked – they were meant to love him unconditionally, and yet finn could never hold onto that love. it was always slipping from his grasp. the only person who has ever truly loved, understood, and accepted him without reservation is asa. he is the only thing finn can believe in.

this version of griffin has never met asa, yet he knows, implicitly, that asa loves him. the feeling of unconditional, absolute love he's chased his entire life washes over him and it doesn't disappear with asa. he gets to keep it.

#I'M SICK why did i do this to myself #asks #anonymous #nonsims #brandi answers #religion tw

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etherealspacejelly · 7 months

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i feel like infodumping so here is my opinion of every new who companion!!

Rose Tyler

shes the og, shes That Girl, she is the moment! (lol, get it?) Rose was one of the best companions fr. her love story with the doctor is so beautiful and so tragic and honestly, he Needed her. ninerose >>> tenrose i said what i said. 9/10

Jack Harkness

very fun character! they kinda ruined him in torchwood a little bit. some of the earliest explicit queer rep in mainstream media i ever saw, if not the first! i loved his dynamic with rose and nine. 8/10

Mickey Smith

my sweet boy, my babygirl. he deserved so much better fr. dont get me wrong, i love Rose, but the way she treated Mickey was so mean. also the doctor hated his ass for no reason other than he was competition for Rose's affection. plastic Mickey was iconic. 8/10

Martha Jones

ICON!!! QUEEN!!!! i Love Martha soooo much. she was the only companion to Get Out and i love that for her, she deserved it. she slayed fr. however i do kinda hate that most of her character was simping for ten like. girl. stand up. 9/10

Donna Noble

Oh My God, incredible. cant wait to get her back!!!! the adipose scene through the windows???? hilarious, i can quote every word!!! she gave the doctor a run for his money and i love that for her. she was exactly what he needed after Rose and Martha, just A Mate. 10/10

Amy Pond

my favourite companion!!! eleven was My Doctor tho so thats probably why. every episode of season 5 is a banger. i love that she and Rory and River became a family to the doctor. love her. little Amelia is so cute and grown up Amy is a total badass. fish custard/10 10/10

Rory Williams

my beloved <3 hes so boyfriend fr. raised my standards as a kid. he waited 2000 years for her ;-; 10/10

River Song

hello sweetie :)

i love that her story was told backwards, very interesting narrative choice! knowing that she was always doomed to the library was so tragic. learning all of her secrets over each series was very fun and satisfying!! 10/10

Clara Oswald

hmm. not one of my favourite companions. she's ok i guess? the impossible girl thing was kinda cool but i dont really like her as a character. 5/10

Bill Potts

YESSSS! i love lesbiabs. lessbiens. women. her ending was super sad tho :(

she was cool and fun and gay 9/10

Yasmin Khan

hrm. boring. didnt have much of a personality, not really her fault the writing was just so shit. she had potential!! thasmin 4 lyfe! 4/10

Ryan Sinclair

yea. no. dont like how they made his dyspraxia a fun quirky thing that he just. magically got over somehow??? its a literal disability. my brother has it. it could have been so interesting to see how that manifested over the course of his travels with the doctor but its almost like they just. forgot about it?? also he was boring as hell. 2/10

Graham O'Brien

i literally didnt even remember his surname, i had to look it up. he was just kinda. there. a little more interesting than Ryan i guess?? but. still. 2/10

Concluding remarks

looking forward to Donna coming back and meeting the new companions!!! i hope the writing is better in this season :/ chibbers was Not It. anyway. thanks for reading my silly little ramble!! special interest go brrrr

#doctor who #rose tyler #donna noble #martha jones #amy pond #bill potts #clara oswald #dr who #special interest #robin rambles about his hyperfixations

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ms-moonlight-inn · 2 days

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5 Fandoms, 5 'Ships

Tagged by the talented @energievie to do this one. Vie, the can of worms you've just opened.

Let's go...

🛥️🛥️🛥️(get it, ships) lol

1) Jack & Sally (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

That's right, y'all the Pumpkin King himself and Sally the Ragdoll. If ever there were two more perfectly combined characters, these two are it. The arrogance of Jack, and the meekness of Sally –both seeking to break away from their circumstances. By the end of the movie they both have grown. Jack learns to be proud of who he is; Sally learns to speak her mind and be brave. And they do it all said to music!

2) Sgt. Milton Warden/Karen Holmes (From Here to Eternity)

I will never shut up about these two. Their love story is the epitome of hurt/no comfort, but in the best way ever. The story is set in World War II, in the weeks before Pearl Harbor. Not only do you have soulmates who have met each other at the most inconvenient possible time in their lives, But Karen comes from such a tragic backstory that you just have to wonder how she survived as much as she did. And the best part about this fucking movie, is that there is an additional side ship to swoon over. If you love tragic love stories, this is the movie for you.

3) Ian/ Mickey (Shameless)

Jesus, what can I say about these two that I haven't already said. I mean, I've written for these two more than I have anybody else and I think that's always going to be true. Gallavich has my whole heart. Period.

4) Prince Henry & Alex Díaz (RWRB)

Holy crap the first time I read this book, and the second time, and the third time... I can't even tell you how many times I read this book. And then when the movie came out? Mmm mmm mmm. Gay heaven, I tell you. Fun fact: the very first piece of fanfiction I ever wrote was for firstprince. Crazy, right? The absolute stupidity and assholeness of Alex, coupled with Henry's tendency to keep his feelings close to the chest makes for an explosive combination.

5) Catwin or Payneland (Dead Boy Detectives)

Ok, this is a new one for me, so I'm still exploring the dynamics. Right now I'm leaning towards a Cat King/Edwin as the OTP. Why? Oh man, I just don't have the bandwidth to put all my thoughts on paper, but it just seems to make sense to me. Especially when I saw that scene with the white lily.

Also, Edwin's friendship with Charles would be that much more special & important™ if he they are "best mates." Queer platonic friendships (or queer/het platonic friendships) are rarely shown in media, it'd be kinda nice see that.

🛥️🛥️🛥️

There are, of course, so many more 'ships I've shipped. So many beautiful love stories out there. But I'm sticking to talking about these 5 today. ☺️

Tagging, with no pressure to play, @stillbeatingheart @notherenewjersey @glitteryolks @wildxwired & anyone else who wants to play.

#tagged #5 Fandoms 5 Ships #Shameless US #The Nightmare Before Christmas #From Here to Eternity #Red White and Royal Blue #Dead Boy Detectives #gallavich #jack & sally #sgt warden & karen #firstprince #catwin #payneland #chedwin

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delistravaganza · 6 months

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I swear I relate to everything you have written about the enemies to lovers trope and lesbians.

it’s not even about lesbian representation, at least in fandom, of course that’s important but it’s not the point here, it’s about having wlw stories that are as...complex? Messed up? Intricated? as straight or even (in more recent years) mlm romantic storylines are allowed to be. I feel like I am constantly hungry of complicate stories with lesbian or bisexuals female characters involved in messy relationship. But almost every popolar ship that I meet on fandom or tv shows either is watered down, made all soft and sweet and not threatening and so not complicate enough to be appealing. (or in the fews that are not like that in the original media they get made in this way by the fandom- it’s so unnerving). it seems to me that’s it is either “tragic dead lesbian” or “soft sapphic story all is sweet uwu”. As someone who love stories with romance only when the romance is very complicated and not necessarily healthy and full of ambivalent feelings (don’t judge me as you said it’s just a matter of preference ashahaha) I sometimes read slash (mlm) fanfiction on ao3 that feature very complicate and not necessarily healthy dynamics and I go damn I wish that there was a fanfiction exactly like this but with two women instead of two men.

I get this 1000%. To be fair, I don't think it's just the wlw couples being UwUified in recent films and shows, this happens to all queer representation because of the pressure to create "good rep". To some extent, it's even happening with straight pairings because people are more aware now of sexism and what it really means to consent, though everyone still seems to be willing to let this knowledge fly off if teh guy iz HOT.

But there seems to be a particular issue with writing f/f interactions that are manipulative, dark or somehow more adult, not necessarily meaning sex but rather a more nuanced portrayal of the relationship. Whereas all the straight toxic romances went to specific (and thriving) genres such as "dark romance" (which at least seems to be more self-conscious as the Reylo fic I mentioned before), and we get glorious epics of m/m fanfiction stories (and books that feel like fanfiction), it sometimes seems like the women characters are treated as little girls.

Even in a dark, creepy, cannibalistic, adult-oriented show such as Yellowjackets, I found myself more interested in the hypothetical Jackie/Shauna pairing because oh boy that was complex! than in the actual lesbian pairings involving Tai, who is a great and somewhat nuanced character except when it comes to her (sanitized) relationships. Is it really just me favoring problematic and unhealthy dynamics or is there some truth to this? (It may be me.) Is Tai a bit tamed down because she's gay AND black?

Also, to be completely fair, I think that I have more expectations when it comes to wlw plots, maybe because I subconsciously think of them as more "me" than the others. I've read a lot about how women use slash to slip away from the narrative and write more freely, and the fact is - I've read a lot of trash when it comes to m/m. And I definitely don't remember it with the resentment I save for f/f media like First Kill ("you fucking set out to be everything I wanted and turned out to be a pile of dog shit!").

I have also read extremely interesting books featuring f/f dynamics on the latest years, which I could post here instead of whining à la Louis de Pointe du Lac, but the fact is that these books already set out to be a work of literary merit and weren't written to dwell on the romance or possible romance itself. I'm not even counting MBF here as I read it a while back for the first time, but it could be an example - I don't know, but it definitely wasn't written with UwUification in mind. I'm still thrilled at how much the marketing DID and DOES UwUify our girls and their relationship. Sometimes the marketing is like: Wouldn't you just love to have such a special friendship like these two? Uhhh what? No, thank you, I had my share of that shit?!?

Oh, and also - I'm not even sure it comes down to self-identification either. I said I identify with Catradora, but the fact is I don't necessarily identify with either Catra or Adora. I just identified with their feelings, and I felt empathy for them, and I worried and I suffered and I felt frustrated and I so, so, so hungered and feared for their fights and God, you should really check this one out because it's really on the edge between UwU and dark, and I think it's this mixture what made it work in today's world. It seemed to appeal to both parts of me - the one who lowkey wants the positive, young-and-healthy-oriented rep she didn't have as a teen, and the more prevalent one who prefers angst and twisted things. And yes, it's a cartoon. A cartoon did what many real, adult-oriented shows and books couldn't do with me.

But Catradora probably also worked because we, the audience, were purposefully kept in the dark about them, so we got to experience their story as it developed and without any clear expectation as what the end would be (compared to: here's your wlw romance of the day! Ship them! Hope they don't die!), something I'm sure you wouldn't be able to achieve now that all the info is out there.

Anyway, I'm rambling now and already taking too much time off work. But I find this topic fascinating. If anyone else wants to join in the conversation or point me somewhere that isn't Buffy/Faith or Catradora or Villanelle or Nicky/Lorna (YES I STILL SHIP THEM AND WILL ALWAYS DO) or our Neapolitan toxic friends, please do. And as always, nice talking to you. <3

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P.D.: Here's a long video analysis that I really liked that tackles why "good" LGBT representation is boring (not wlw representation exclusively).

#queer representation #my brilliant friend #yellowjackets #jackie x shauna #catradora #f/f #sapphic #first kill #wlw

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