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#yall how many times do we need to go through this discourse
izzyshandz · 6 months
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I swear if i see one more mf say izzy has been 'redeemed' or needed a 'redemption arc' im literally going to scream into my pillow until i lose my voice.
redeem is such a black and white way of looking at his entire character and dismisses everything hes gone through and yall (izzy haters and others) are just so fucking snob nosed and ignorant to sit there and think hes a villain because of how he acted. theyre fucking pirates. theyre not perfect, none of them are. eds a villain, stedes a villain, if youre doing it like that. ed has killed so many people, stede literally left his wife and kids and also had a hand in killing people; it may be easier for them to change because of the perspective the show gives them and they had love but izzy did not. everyone hated him, ed, his own crew, stedes crew.
normalizing peoples reactions to things as something other than villainy and heroism is so god damn important in a show that's trying to accurately involve our perspectives in this day and age. its a tale as old as time, making someone 'completely in the wrong' because their perspective isnt the one you aligned with as much.
like the rest of the crew izzy had his own bad things hes done, he didnt need this 'redemption' everyones blabbering on about. he needed to be fucking heard, to be seen, and acknowledged-- not thrown aside and abandoned because of a whim. you all can ride up blackbeards ass because oh hes so hot, hes so pretty omg wow; but that wont ever change the fact his character is a fucked up person... youre allowed to love him anyways, why not izzy? we didnt see blackbeard before screen but how hes mentioned it shows he was a shit awful person, the only reason no one cares is because on hes fuckin gay for stede or whatever so the main characters get a free ride. ( i agree they all get a free ride, im just tired of this izzy isolation man )
why does he need to be redeemed in your eyes? just because youve seen what hes done? he was literally a product of his environment in season one he was a product of blackbeard's leadership. only with the loyalty and solidarity of the crew did he really begin to find himself, thats fucking hard to do that late in life. instead of calling it some bullshit black and white redemption arc, lets just celebrate izzy being himself and being fucking loved for once in his god damn life.
hes also way more fucking mature and put together than people give him credit for. love you izzy.
edit: thank you all for the reblogs and insights in every single one, i read them i promise i do. im just so mf heartbroken we have to tag things as discourse when its really just about people not being compassionate. (as a couple people have pointed out) i will said id reblog and comment on every single tag but this is my side </3 EVERYONE PLEASE READ THE REBLOGGED TAGS TOO / / theyre so real ! ive also opened up that ask box thingy i havent been on tumblr in yrs and have 0 clue how any of that works if anyone wants my perspective on anything izzy related. *or otherwise ofmd related
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hi ily. for questions, 1, 12, and 24? <333
HI OMG ILY TOO 😭😭 already know this is gonna take me a hot minute because u chose some deep questions but mostly because that’s just a me problem <3333 here we go!!!
what are 3 things you’d say shaped you into who you are?
dAng okay starting off STRONG hm for positive things i’d say first my middle school friends. my friend group coming out opened to door to my own queerness and created an atmosphere where queerness was the norm and we were able to unapologetically express that. it’s a little nostalgic looking back because since moving schools i’ve definitely had to suppress a ton more and talking about my queerness in any way irl has become sort of taboo for me which is a little sad. but i will forever be grateful for them for introducing that side of the world that i might have taken a long time to meet otherwise and ofc for being such a beautiful support system and lovely people <3 i miss yall second uhhhhhhhhh i’d say omg okay so listen this is gonna sound stupid but i am 100% serious when i say seaweed brain podcast. they not only reintroduced me to percy jackson and showed that it’s okay to still love this fandom when you’ve “outgrown it” (and that led to me re entering a lot of fandoms that used to bring me a ton of joy as a kid) but they’ve also taught me a ton, how to think critically about text you read and topics you hear about, how to love a text and see it’s faults, showed me a ton of new perspectives and taught me a lot of important lessons about like problematic parts of literature or tropes or ideas that as a kid i obviously didn’t catch but are so so important for me to learn about and start unlearned now. and ofc theyve showed me that it’s okay to have different opinions and to change your opinions and to share your opinions and have respectful open fun discourse about them <3 and always such a queer safe space for me before tumblr was in the picture and have let me live vicariously through their rants of how gay the books are with their guests :) so yes i would fr say they have shaped me a lot into the much more informed nerd i am now and help provide a support system and a source of comfort from irl <33 love u erica and carter lol keep slaying and lastly i’d say definitely joining tumblr <3 i first came on here last summer after a therapy session where my therapist was asking about my friends and was like ‘well do u have any online friends’ and i was like no my parents wouldn’t let me and also i wasn’t sure how to even find those friends. and then i remembered about tumblr which i had previously though was like an old app like i didn’t think it still existed 😭😭 and i was like well hm lets see if it’s still there and honestly *winks at camera* it was the best thing that i’d ever done no but seriously i was not doing so hot at that point and the community on tumblr—just the unapologetic joy and curiosity and passion and casual affection and community—it really helped me just to get through the day knowing i had a source of joy at the end of it! and it also gave me a space where i could be myself after a day of masking and conformity and finally god finally have somewhere where i could express things like hyperfixations or simple queer things without apology or criticism and ahhhh it’s helped me love myself so much more and encouraged my curiosity and helped me learn so much through so many resources! and ofc gave me many many lovely ao3 fics :) ily all so so much ty for being the best <3 tumblr for the win
12. what’s some good advice you want to share?
probably something i think a lot more people need to hear is that no one fits into a box. humans exist on a spectrum in pretty much every dimension of our life and trying to limit yourself to just one point on that spectrum erases so much of the beauty and potential and magnitude of just living as yourself. even though society might tell you that you’ll only be accepted if you look, dress, talk, act, believe, grow up, love, experience the world in one way, they’re lying. those are systems of oppression that have hundreds of thousands of forever of years integrating in our institutions and so yes they will make it hard for you to exist as you are no matter what. but they are nothing compared to the true complexity and nuance of being human. they cannot define you—literally no one can define you except yourself. and that’s another thing: it’s okay to be wrong about that definition. the journey of self discovery and throwing off the labels society has placed on you since birth is not. easy. but it doesn’t have to be, and it will never look the same for anyone, and you will probably make interpretations about how you fit into the world that you will disagree with later on! but the important thing is to find people who care about you and support you and love you not despite but because of who you are and if you are struggling to find those people, make sure to care about and support and love yourself!! because you are beautiful and strong and worthy for just existing in this world that is trying it’s damn hardest to make it difficult <3 i love you for all the wonderful confusing doesn’t make sense and doesn’t have to lovely rainbow of a human being you are
24. what’s one thing you’re proud of yourself for?
jesus u fr chose the hard ones bestie 😭😭 um i’d say one thing i am proud of myself for is how much i’ve grown over just the last year or so? i’ve found so many incredible resources and learned through research and communities and self reflection SO much about myself and about others!! i’m really proud of how much more informed and critically thinking and mature i am today, and how much i’ve learned about my own biases and those present in the institutions controlling our everyday lives. obviously still working on it but i think i can say i’m much more able to see things in a nuanced way and im more informed about a TON of things that i previously assumed i knew! i also love how this has really fed my curiosity and also allowed me to connect with other people like y’all in communities i never would have reached out to otherwise <3
well oh my gosh. would you look at this. kiri finished an ask response the???? day of?????? thank you so much for the ask bestie ilysm hopefully this unedited rant was understandable <333 have a slay day u icon
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biblicalhorror · 3 years
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Just saw an absolutely terrible take on tiktok that bi women who wish they had a gf are "fetishizing lesbians" and "begging for a crumb of oppression" and I just feel like I need to lie down
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shijiujun · 3 years
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[END 2020] My Top 9 Danmei Novel Picks of the Year
As a part of my Round Up post for the year, here’s my pick of favourite danmei novels, that I’ve read! This is sort of an accompaniment to my previous danmei rec list over HERE, so there may be one or two overlaps, but I’ve read WAY MORE after that and am prepared to like give more options here 
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Note: There should be English translations for all via novel updates if you do a search of the English name, but I don’t think most of them are completed.
If you wanna see my full reading and queue list (it’s all in Chinese tho, for my own records), it’s here.
I’m leaving out the usual MXTX and Priest ones, because they’re already good and we all know that and there’re many carrds and posts dedicated to them.
I am also a sucker for fainting but smart men, and not too overly angsty/complicated storylines, just putting it out there first, which is why I haven’t read a lot of some of the ones on my queue list.
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1. 一剑霜寒 | A Sword of Frost by 语笑阑珊
Summary: Jing Yan Ran is the Emperor’s brother and wields military power in the novel, and it starts with an object being stolen from the palace. Jing Yan Ran has to retrieve the item secretly, and so enlists the help of Feng Yu Sect’s Sect Master, Yun Yi Feng, who heads the martial arts world’s one and only information trading post. Yun Yi Feng does not deal in business that involves any royalty, but Jing Yan Ran offers him something he cannot refuse - the Blood Red Lingzhi, a rare and mystical herb that is rumoured to be able to treat his life-threatening condition. 
Yun Yi Feng was used by his shifu when he was younger to test out all kinds of poisons and cures, and since then, his body flushes dangerously hot and cold frequently, with bouts of severe coughing fits in between. Throughout the first mission where he spends time with Jing Yan Ran searching for the stolen object, he allows Jing Yan Ran to take care of him, and they fall in LURVE pretty much like 10 chapters in.
Of course, they have to uncover a plot and conspiracy against their enemies who are plotting to dethrone the Emperor, and also reveal the secrets of Yun Yi Feng’s birth.
My Thoughts: AN ABSOLUTE FAVE AND GEM, I’d say this is my favourite danmei novel ever. This is both hilarious and tears-inducing, to be honest, because for most of the novel YYF knows he doesn’t have long to live and so in the beginning he knows of his own feelings for JYR and JYR also shows him that he loves him, but he is unable to officially reciprocate because he knows his body is like weakening day by day. Halfway through the fear that he’s literally about to die as they are JUST about to find the cure is real, and damn I cried so much at that. Some highlights:
YYF falls asleep very easily in baths and everywhere actually, and pretty much within the first 10 chapters he gets used to JYR carrying him around (even naked from the bath, he’s like oh well, okay cool) and taking care of him, and JYR ALWAYS makes sure he is warm and toasty under his cape
YYF LOVESSSS RICHES, PLAYING THE ZITHER AND COOKING - He’s good at gathering the first one, but he FUCKING SUCKS AS THE LAST TWO - It’s so funny because he’s so beautiful and handsome right, and when he sits down at the zither everyone is like OH DAMN WHAT A DREAM- and then he plays, and everyone’s fantasies is shattered, he’s ABYSMAL at it, and the same goes for cooking
JYR doesn’t actually have the Blood Red Lingzhi, and throughout the first arc, he feels SO DAMN GUILTY because YYF even carved out a pendant that looks like what he thinks the herb looks like, and like carries it with him everywhere LMAO
Available: Novel Online and Manhua on Bilibili
2. 高能二维码 | High Energy QR Code by 青色羽翼
Summary: CEO Xing Ye’s brother Xing Shuo has just passed away at the age of 24, and nothing will make him believe that Xing Shuo died of natural causes despite autopsies and experts telling him that he really died simply of a heart failure. Xing Ye, who has impeccable memory, suddenly recalls the last time he saw Xing Shuo. His brother called out to him just before Xing Ye left for a business trip, and looked as if he had something to say, but ended up just wishing him a safe trip.
At that moment, there was a QR code on Xing Shuo’s phone, and the phone screen was strangely turned out towards Xing Ye, and Xing Ye, with his incredibly high IQ and memory, realizes that Xing Shuo wanted him to see the QR code. Quickly, he reproduces the QR code by pen and then scans it, and finds himself in a game world.
There he meets a narcissistic but also cute mirror which can speak, and finds out later that his name is Lu Ming Ze. Xing Ye’s mission is to clear the game missions in each round that is set by the black and white cubic game system, a system that continuously tempts its players into giving in to committing sins such as killing someone else, stealing and other things. He soon realizes that if he cannot stay on a path clear of these sins, he will never be able to triumph over the game system and return Lu Ming Ze back to his body in the real world. 
At the same time, he gains new teammates and friends for life, and also finds out what role his brother played in this game. 
My Thoughts: MY GOD I LOVE THIS. I LITERALLY JUST FINISHED READING THIS YESTERDAY, and honestly it’s one of my faves. I don’t like game systems very often (I’ve read three others so far, and this, and KOD are the only ones I’ve liked) but this one is *chef’s kiss*. So LMZ was born like with a really handsome face, like SUPER HANDSOME, and that’s why he’s like a harmless narcissist that cannot bear to look at ugly things LMAO, but he’s not spoilt, he makes sure that Xing Ye stays true to himself, and help him keep his head clear. 
THE ONLY THING ABOUT THIS FRICKIN NOVEL IS THAT LU MING ZE STAYS A MIRROR, LIKE DIFFERENT KINDS OF MIRRORS, in the first TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY CHAPTERS. I KID YOU NOT. I FRICKIN KID YOU NOT. I swear I was sooo touched starved at the end of the novel, because they couldn’t even kiss?!! Like Xing Ye kisses the mirror, and then uses his thumbs to like hi-five mini LMZ in the mirror back, they can’t even hug. Do you know how empty my arms felt when I read this book?!! And my arms have never been filled!!!!!!
I really like this one because each game world is set up in such a brilliant way, but it’s not so unnecessarily complex that you literally don’t know what the fuck is going on. Xing Ye’s intelligence as he outmanoeuvres every single one of his enemies and convinces his would-be loyal teammates to trust him is so satisfying, world after world, victory after victory.
Humour is also absolutely ON POINT. A lot of it is centred on Xing Ye getting caught in the real world kissing his handheld mirror (LMZ) by LMZ’s parents (who cannot see him in the mirror) and LMZ’s parents going like ???!!!!!!!! 
Available: Novel Online | Physical Novel is coming out on 10 Dec (freebies are, you guessed it, a mirror)
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3. 妻为上 | The Wife is First by 绿野千鹤
Summary: This is set in a historical setting where men can marry other men, but it’s usually reserved for sons who were not borne by the official main first wife of the patriarch of the family, i.e. a son born by a concubine in a family may be forced to marry a man to keep him from being able to become the next family’s patriarch for example. This is because any family’s next leader needs to be able to have children with a wife who married in as a zheng shi (lawful wife), and not a ce shi (second wife) or any other concubines/mistresses etc. Most of these men who marry other men have to take them as their zheng shi and lawful spouse in a sense, and the same goes for the royal family.
The story starts with third prince Jing Shao, who was forced to marry Mu Han Zhang, a Marquis’ second son, by the Empress and Emperor, thereby officially and effectively cutting him out of the race for the throne. He’s mocked by the public as everyone knows what this means, and for the next 10 years, he neglects Mu Han Zhang, blaming him for his predicament, and deliberately showers his three other concubines with affection in front of him, but 10 years later, when Jing Shao is accused of treason, everyone leaves him except for Mu Han Zhang. They are chased to the edge of the cliff by soldiers, and Mu Han Zhang dies in his arms having taken an arrow meant for him earlier, and Jing Shao jumps off the cliff with his dead body, and promises that if there’s a next life, he will do everything Han Zhang says, and love him.
He wakes up immediately on the night of his marriage with Han Zhang, and realizes that he’s been given a second chance to make everything right. Han Zhang is definitely afraid of him, humiliated and angry when he first wakes up after how rough Jing Shao was with him earlier on their wedding night, and he has no memories of their past life. Jing Shao then sets to SHOWER HAN ZHANG with affection, love and basically everything, because he realized that this is the only person who stayed by his side until the end, and then he falls in love with Han Zhang properly this time, and also deals with every single person who maligned and schemed against him in his previous life, with Han Zhang by his side.
My Thoughts: OKAY BEFORE YALL GO INTO THE ‘WIFE’ terminology discourse and everything, in this case they do use the term ‘wife’ literally, and it’s a position, that while men frequently fall into (there are a lot of male ‘wives’ in this story), is also used to cut off like sons from inheriting the family and the fortune, and even titles. Male ‘wives’ aren’t looked down upon in this setting, in fact, Han Zhang gets a lot of leeway as one, and in his case he was also able to rise up the ranks to be an actual official later on, but the sad thing comes from sons who are most of the time forced to marry a male ‘wife’ for whatever reason, and then they are neglected as the son goes and find concubines, women he actually wants to sleep with - this is sad af yall. I don’t know, on one hand, yay for equality in marriage in this setting, but on the other hand like, damn, must you use same-sex marriage like that argh.
ANYWAY THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVES TOO?!!! I mean, especially when Jing Shao literally just goes into doting mode 200% and Han Zhang is totally like wtf why is he so nice to me is he scheming or something? And then he realizes that Jing Shao is really, really gentle towards him despite his reputation as a cruel, dark military commander, and Jing Shao always smiles at him. In any situation, especially in the beginning, when Han Zhang thought Jing Shao would not stand with him, Jing Shao literally just protects him no matter what, gives him everything, and cries, I love it. 
Especially because Han Zhang is the son of a concubine and he was bullied a lot in the Mu family, and the official Lady Mu married him off to Jing Shao in hopes that he would be unhappy for the rest of his life, and I suppose that came true in the first life, but in the second, Han Zhang gets all the love, respect and support he never got before in this family with Jing Shao and that makes me WEEP.
Available: Novel Online and Manhua on Kuaikan
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4. 死亡万花筒 Kaleidoscope of Death by 西子绪
OOOH I intro-ed KOD here in my previous rec list. Still one of my faves and all-time re-reads, especially under the covers in the dark hehehe.
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5. 你的距离 | Your Distance by 公子优 
Summary: Ting Shuang is a student at a German university, and has this handsome professor Bai Chang Yi who he swears kind of hates him. He’s just broken up with his longtime boyfriend, and then goes on this dating app that matches a profile with him based on distance. The app can also show the matched profile’s distance from him once they enter the same area, and Ting Shuang starts chatting with this Chinese guy on the app, who he finds out later, is 36 years old, 187cm in height and wears glasses. 
The guy is a little aloof and cool, very mature in his replies on the app, and somehow Bai Chang Yi finds out who he is later, as Ting Shuang starts complaining to him about his professor to Bai Chang Yi. Instead of getting angry and offended, BCY is pretty much amused and finds Ting Shuang cute. A few days later Ting Shuang finally realizes who it is he’s been texting, and after getting past the initial embarrassment and fear, they start dating for real, and they really fall in love!!!!! 
My Thoughts: This is sweet and also hilarious af, if you need to like satisfy your sweet tooth, this is definitely one for you. It’s really funny because Bai Chang Yi runs in the same circles as Ting Shuang’s dad, who he’s estranged from because the dad doesn’t want to recognize a son who is gay, and then BCY convinces him later in the funniest of ways, and there’s a small subplot at the end in which Ting Shuang is pretty cool, and yep, short and sweet! BCY in the manhua is handsome af too guys ;-;
Available: Novel Online, Audio Drama on Maoer FM and Manhua on Bilibili, 
6. 神木挠不尽 The White Cat’s Divine Scratching Post by 绿野千鹤
Summary: Mo Tian Liao, a weapons forger and master who ruled the Demon Tribe, was hunted down and killed by other righteous sects in the region when he managed to forge an incredibly destructive weapon that could end the world. Before he died, he placed the only thing he loved, a white cat, into a hole in the tree behind him to protect it. The only thing he was grateful for was that he did not create a blood pact with the cat, Xiao Mao, because if he had done so, when he died, Xiao Mao would have died along with him as well.
Right before he dies, unbeknownst to him, Xiao Mao who is no simple demonic cat, wraps part of his consciousness around Mo Tian Liao, and MTL’s spirit ends up floating about for 300 years, until he finds a suitable time to return with a body made out of a special tree and its wood. The first thing he does, of course, is to find his white cat, but he’s poor, and the body he has isn’t powerful, so he joins Wo Yun Sect, the only sect that did not hunt him down that day hundreds of years ago.
There, he is chosen by Qing Tong shizun to be his direct disciple, much to the astonishment of other shizuns in the sect, and Qing Tong’s shixiongs. MTL has never seen a person as beautiful and gorgeous as his shizun, and if only he could find that cat (who’s actually his shizun, who recognizes him and protects him, even if MTL doesn’t actually need much protection).
My Thoughts: This was hilarious as well, and so romantic?!!! Qing Tong/Xiao Mao waited for MTL to come back, and the moment he came back, Qing Tong was there ready to grab him, and then before he went to sleep that night, Qing Tong thought to himself, “I’ve gotten my person back, I can sleep well now” and AHHHHH at this point they weren’t even like a couple yet? MTL ‘kidnapped’ Qing Tong when he was a young demon cat by accident because he likes pretty things (like his shizun lmao) and Qing Tong is attached to him because MTL never forced a blood pact on him, and gave him everything he wanted as a younger cat before MTL died. Gosh, a mirror in #2 and then a cat now with this one. XD
Available: Novel Online
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7. 破云 | Breaking the Clouds by 淮上
Summary: Three years ago, Captain Jiang Ting and his team of the Narcotics division perished in an explosion due to a wrong call of his, and he returns three years later under a new identity ready to deal with the people who set him and his team up. He’s caught in what seems to be a simple murder case almost immediately and meets Yan Xie, who’s Vice Captain and in charge of this case. Yan Xie realizes who Jiang Ting is shortly after, and begins to unravel the huge mystery surrounding the events of three years ago, and falls in love with Jiang Ting along the way as well.
My Thoughts: Okay out of the FOUR crime/detective/thriller danmei novels I’ve read, the poyun and tunhai (below) series is the one that MIRRORS actual narcotics division and undercovers the best. It has the complexity and depth of the drugs/narcotics world, and both this one and its sequel focuses a lot on the position of an undercover and mole. I liked this one a lot because there are SOOOO many twists especially in the last arc, like you honestly won’t see any of them coming until it hits you? And Yan Xie is such a confident, rich-ass narcissist, and he keeps asking Jiang Ting if he can “just touch” him ONCE lmao, he’s thick-skinned af, but that’s why he and Jiang Ting are so compatible ;-;.
Available: Novel Online, Novel Print, Audio Drama and Manhua on Bilibili
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8. 吞海 | Swallowing the Sea by 淮上
Summary: Sequel to Po Yun. Yu Wu is a young-looking new detective under Captain Bu Chong Hua’s narcotics team. Bu Chong Hua is Yan Xie’s cousin by actual relation, but brother in relationship because BCH’s parents died early and Yan Xie’s parents have been taking care of him mostly. He cannot stand Yu Wu, who seems to want to coast through at work and keep to a 9-5 work schedule. 
It’s only after an altercation and Yu Wu dumping his nonchalant facade to snarl at BCH that he realizes that YW is actually more interesting and mysterious than he thought, and he begins to try to get close to him, understand him. It turns out that Yu Wu is a famous undercover who nearly died a year ago during an operation, and due to various reasons, he was assigned to BCH’s team by higher ups so he can peacefully live the rest of his life out there. However, his past catches up with him quickly, and his enemies turning up forces him to rely on BCH. 
With BCH, Yu Wu’s resentment of having to be an undercover in the past and being so easily discarded by his team’s leaders, and of him being forced to be in the shadows while others can announce their achievements to the world, is slowly erased, because BCH sees him, knows him, and understands him more than anyone else.
My Thoughts: I actually liked this one better than the first one - Yu Wu is such a pouty, angry little thing?! And for good reason (there’s a bit of cannibalism in the book, not by choice when he was younger and in a poor village in Cambodia, where some militants forced survivors in the village to eat the meat of boiled corpses of other villagers, so YW is a vegetarian, like if he eats meat he gets really sick) and the twists here are even more amazing?! BCH really, really, devotes himself to YW the moment he realizes how much he likes him, doing a 180 degree turn. Instead of Yan Xie’s flamboyance, BCH is much steadier, grouchy, like an old uncle, but also looks at things even more clearly than Yan Xie does sometimes. Yu Wu is understandably bitter about what he had to go through, and BCH is the ONLY person who can calm him down, whom he listens to, which I LOVE. Some highlights:
Yu Wu grew up in a poor village and thus loves money, and he fights in underground betting rings to earn more money - The stash of hidden money he collects I think is half for his escape money, but if he happens to never need it, his dream is to donate the money to his village so they can open up a school there - ANYWAY because Yan Xie’s parents, and technically BCH’s ‘parents’ are soooooo rich right, Yan Xie’s mom shows her approval to her son-in-laws (Jiang Ting first, then Yu Wu), by giving them winter pants. It’s kind of like inside warmers, and usually meant for older ladies to wear LOLOL so Yu Wu was like staring at the pants when he finally got them and looked soooo reluctant until Jiang Ting told him it costs $6,000 AND HE WAS LIKE :333333 okie
He acts a lot like a kid?!! He likes eating like some snack but it’s really unhealthy for him, and BCH the mother hen keeps catching him in weird places like the toilet, where he’s hiding from BCH so he can eat his fave snack?! And the whole police station knows not to give YW what he wants in terms of snacks and smokes because once BCH finds out, he makes life very difficult for them HAHAHAHA
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9. 穿成反派如何活命 | How to Survive as A Villain by 伊依以翼
Summary: Rich and handsome CEO Xiao Yu An finds out he has a terminal illness (cancer), and dies while he’s reading this online novel, where a king mistreats the crown prince from a neighbouring state which sent him over as hostage after losing a war, and ends up being killed by the crown prince years later (SVSSS much?!). He wakes up AS THE KING, and afraid of dying, he immediately goes about befriending the prince, Yan He Qing. Yan He Qing falls in love with Xiao Yu An while being his friend/hostage/bodyguard, and Xiao Yu An tries to avoid all the deaths he read in the book, while making sure Yan He Qing manages to find his three/four wives, including Xiao Yu An’s sister.
Of course, because Xiao Yu An showed him warmth and kindness, Yan He Qing ends up falling for him instead, and Xiao Yu An is an absolute oblivious idiot because he REALLY doesn’t realize until much later. Yan He Qing ends up declaring war on Xiao Yu An’s kingdom because he is duty bound to do so, but doesn’t hurt Xiao Yu An, wanting to keep him by his side, but YHQ’s scheming uncle drives a wedge between them, and XYA leaves, breaking YHQ’s heart.
They meet again a few years later, where XYA is training to be a physician in a small village and chances upon a severely injured YHQ. There, he realizes that it was all a misunderstanding, and that YHQ actually LIKES, LIKES him, but before they can enjoy this short period of happiness, disaster strikes again.
My Thoughts: THIS WAS really enjoyable, and with the manhua visuals, it is *chef’s kiss*. I think this transmigration version actually delved into the part where XYA is unable to change everything, and if he saves one person, someone else is destined to die, and that moral dilemma devastates him a lot. In this novel he actually transmigrates TWICE, once into the king’s body, and the second time into a neighbouring state’s prince/king’s body, who looks exactly like his modern self after. YHQ is real sweet to him istg, and I like that the epilogues are SUPER EXTENSIVE, including an arc where YHQ and XYA transmigrate back to the real world and everyone who died is alive and close to them, and gets their happy ending ;-;
Available: Novel Online and Manhua on Bilibili
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justformyself2 · 3 years
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what is up with us and boats?
Happy Easter yall!!! This one goes out to the beautiful soul that gave the idea @alievans007​ thank you do much, i really hope you enjoy ♥
I don’t know if you guys ever watched “My Best friend’s Wedding.” but there is this scene were they are on the boat ride in Chicago, and i love that scene, this is sort of based on that. 
VIDEO FOR WHO WANTS TO SEE.  (CLICK)
KrasinskixReader/Fluff.
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(don’t remember where i got this gif from.)
"We need to talk." The worst type of message anyone could ever receive. 
Holding up a smirk, you start typing.
"Yes, we do."
"Could you focus? You know, for the love of God and everything. We still have to drive to Olivia's after this." Mariah interrupts whatever dance with the danger you were having with John over text.  
"Why is everybody so weird all of the sudden? First John and now you too, I mean, we are settling details here. The trip to Positano is all sorted."
She gets radio silent, making you look away from your phone. 
"Mariah." You call.
"What?" She answers, badly covering the stress in her voice.
"Everything is fine, right?"
She breaths out through the nose, clicking on the mouse rapidly. 
"Mariah." You call again as if an answer different than you were expecting would come out. 
The Positano trip was a huge deal, a huge, cryptic deal that Mariah arranged by herself through an old friend you never heard or saw. The client, by the name of Vince, was paying double to hire your company, and an undeniable request came, almost sweeping away all of your doubts. You would get to shoot a perfume commercial during the holidays at the place you always dreamed of visiting. It was embarrassing how fast the yes came out, almost in a scream towards Mariah's face, even though there was something off. 
It was true that in the past you worked for the big names, but since the decision to open your own company with Mariah happened, it was all new, too new to be receiving this type of offer. You decided to brush it off by 
trusting your business partner, Mariah had been in the game longer than you have, and if she claimed, more than once, that it was a safe offer and that she had under control then you should believe since her reputation was on the game too, but now get to watch her sitting in front of you, looking worried.
"Well, I'm going to make some phone calls, but don't worry, it is a quick fix situation. I will be right back."
She gets up from the desk, grabbing her phone, and leaving the space before you could say something back. 
Your mind wonders over the fact that your intuition should be listened to more often. It was a "too good to be true" offer, so if that would end up being right, and Mariah came back with the bad news, would it mean that you were probably right about John too.
You look at your phone, facing down on the desk, and decide to check the messages again. There must be something missing between the lines.
Inserting the pin you open up the new messages you received from your boyfriend.
"What do you mean with ‘yes we do’?"
"Tell me when I can call you."
"Damn. I think I'm not getting the week off. They are talking about reshooting some parts." 
"I will call you in 10 minutes."
And just as you read the last one, your phone vibrates. It was his call. Taking a deep breath, you accept it.
"Hey, babe, did you get my texts?"
You hear the many voices in the background mixing with his.
"Yes, I did... Are you on set right now?"
"Yes. I'm on a little break...I'm sorry, baby. I'm not going to make it to Positano."
The frustration makes your heart skip a beat even though you saw the message, hearing it in his voice had a different effect. You stopped counting the weeks without him because of the impact they had on your day, instead, in a very unhealthy way, that habit was replaced with you picturing him waiting for you at home, laying in the bed you shared or in the kitchen, trying to replicate whatever recipe out of Youtube just to prove that he could cook, just to try to impress you. He still wanted to impress you after all this time, he just didn't figure out how to be in two places at once. 
"Well, don't be. If I'm right I don't think this trip is happening." 
As time passes by without Mariah coming back, your guess was becoming a reality. It wasn't a quick fix thing.
"What are you talking about?"
His voice went urgent, and he quickly added: "I mean, it was a great offer."
"Yes, but it is a holiday season. It gets difficult with hotel reservations and flights, but Mariah ran away before I could get a word out of her. It happens."
"Wow, you sound so indifferent. I thought you loved Positano." 
You had to agree with him. You felt the apathy in your bones.
"I do love Positano, but the offer was out of touch like something was off like everything is off."
You hear him chuckle and frown to yourself, walking towards Mariah's laptop on her desk.
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. You were so weird when I dropped you at the airport as if you wanted to say something to me or pass out."
You reminisce his pale face and the way his hands were clammy on yours before the goodbye on the car. 
"Those are two very different things." You wanted to picture the face he could be doing right now.
"Well, I still feel like there is something you are not tell-."
"Baby, I need to go right now, sorry, I will call you later okay."
The interruption of a female voice in speakers was the last thing you heard before he hanged up.
"What the hell was going on?" You say to yourself. 
Forgetting about the phone you decided to check on Mariah's laptop for confirmations, but before anything was done she busted through the door.
"Did you fixed it?"
You ask, seeing her avid eyes shift between you and the laptop.
"What are you doing?" She asks and snaps out of the suspicion stare.
"What do you mean what am I doing? I want to help. Do you care to tell me what is happening, Mariah?"
Her phone calls her attention, and she rushes towards the laptop, answering quickly, leaving you only to watch again.
"Did you get my text? Yes, apparently a bug happened on the site, and our plane tickets got canceled." She discoursed to the person on the other site.
"I don't know if we are getting new ones on the same date, there is a lot of demand... Well, then we have to cancel for no-... Are you sure? Okay, no. I can do that, is way off plan, way less dreamy, really, way less, but I guess we can do it if you do this right now."
She pauses, focused on what was being passed down. "Okay, then it's the new plan. Okay, okay, bye."
Hanging up, she now seemed to be willing to share.
"Change of plans. I informed Vince's team about what happened, and a girl named J-Jannete said that we should meet to settle some details. They want to go for a studio since the deadline would get messed up because of the plane ticket debacle."
"Shit, why didn't you put on speakerphone? I know someone that could help us wit-."
"NO!..." She screams, making you back away involuntary.  "I mean, I already checked that, and we can't keep tapping on something that isn't working. They are already upset and we could lose even more time. Jenna set up a meeting with Vince himself...Jannete, at four, so you get to meet him, as you wanted."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . 
"Why are we on a boat ride again?"
You ask Mariah, who fanned herself with a flier they were distributing about the ride.
"Because we got bailed on and it has been a long time since I don't go on one of those."
She adjusts the sunglasses in an annoyed way. 
The day-star was starting to set, still, the weather was hot and humid as if it was peaking. You try to catch delicate hints of purple and pink on the mostly light orange painted sky.
"I haven't been on one of these since John asked me to be his girlfriend. It was our third date. He insisted on the boat ride and I didn't like it, but then the sun was setting so beautifully, in not time the only thing i could care about was the way he looked at me."
There is no interruption other than the sting in your chest, making you stop on the tracks of something you loved to remember.
"I think John is lying to me. I don't think he was on set." Voicing the thoughts made them too real, and suddenly you wanted to forget about them.
"Yeah."
Mariah twists her torso once or twice, looking back to the people who were still taking seats. You doubted she was listening to anything you said all the way here. She started inspecting the place, restless since the taxi dropped you two.
"Okay, are you waiting for someone?"
By impulse, you look back to pursue whatever her eyes were trying to find even without knowing, and that is when you spotted him, a vision that walked towards you, seeming to be out of breath. His mouth partially open turns into the smile you wanted to kiss.
"Son of a bitch."
The words flew from your lips and you hear Mariah's laugh.
Your eyes follow his movements with thirst, so much thirst that everything else is a mere blur in the background.
John comes closer, saying something to Mariah when she gets up and hugs him. She never hugged him. 
You swallow dry, seeing for a second Mariah give you a thumbs up before walking away.
"Hey." He almost whispers towards your face, taking the seat, and when his lips come closer to yours, you back away. He frowns.
"You were in LA."
"Yes, I was."
"Please, don't short answer me."
He gets up from the chair and grabs extends his hand towards you.
"Come with me, and I will explain."
Not thinking twice you accept his hand, being guided to the stern of the boat, walking in the middle of strangers and loud conversations. John drops your hand and reaches for your waist with smoothness as if he could be taking you to dance. Intuitively your arms laces around his neck.
His eyes trace a path away from you and straight to your mouth before he started moving.
"You are so difficult to lie to." He starts, smirking. 
A gust of wind blows the locks of your hair away, and his fingers are quick to adjust them behind your ear, sending goosebumps on your back. You missed his touch on your skin.
"But you did lie to me." You can't help to say, trying to focus.
"It was only because I wanted to this right, but I know I would blow it at some point. It almost happened when you dropped me at the airport."
"Do what right?"
His breath came out uneasy through his nose, and he licks his lips.
"Ask you to...marry...me."
Instantly you feel your eyes starting to water. There was no control or rational thought that could calm down the wave of feeling like the soles of your shoes weren't touching the wooden floor of that boat, and his arms were the only thing keeping you down.
"There is no Vince. It was a bait to make a surprise for you and get you to Positano without getting too suspicious, and I lied about not going as part of the surprise. I would do the whole thing right, bring our families, have a huge dinner, enjoy a couple of days there. Then your tickets got canceled, the Vince thing got way too suspicious, and I haven't seen you in almost four weeks. Next thing I know, I was at the airport, counting the hours to do this."
He captures your lips with his before you could comprehend. There are intensity and the passion you craved, and that only he could provide, he could devour you, and you would let him.
"Do it right now."
You ask, out of breath, after parting the kiss with his moan of reproval.
"Don't you want the real thing? You know, I can figure out the tickets, maybe call Clooney and ask if we can borrow his private jet. He will probabl-."
"I don't care where you are going to propose to me. I just want you to do it, that is the real thing. It could have been on the car, at breakfast, at the airport, or even in a replica of the day you asked me to be your girlfriend."
He laughs, kissing you again. He holds your face in his hands, parting the kiss to gaze at your eyes.
"Oh, I'm glad you remembered it. That is why I wanted to make something different this time. What is up with us and boats?."
"I don't know but let's get back into the program here. You were about to ask me something." 
He frowns, looking away theatrically.
"And what was the question, again?" John asks, setting his face close to yours. His lips touching your cheeks, coming closer to your ear.
"Was it something like. Do you want to marry me?" 
You could feel your neck hair getting up with the vibration of his low and deep tone affecting you easily.
"Yes."
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illfoandillfie · 3 years
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ok sorry but how many people do yall think rog has ever slept with cos i’m guessing four figures no lie
okay, i don’t normally respond to messages like this because, frankly, i dont really feel like its my place to speculate on roger’s sex life. Theres a difference between writing a fiction story with a character named after and inspired by him and discussing his actual personal life which i have no real knowledge about. What he gets up to in his free time is between him and the women he does it with. but i didn’t really feel able to ignore this one. please don’t take this as me telling you off or shutting you down or anything like that. If you want to speculate about roger’s body count thats up to you, go nuts with it. and i love when you guys message me and I don’t want to discourage you from feeling like you can talk to me or just send me your random thoughts or whatever about any subject. But I feel like I need to address why I disagree with this sentiment. Also so I can ask ya’ll to please stop asking me questions like this. 
So firstly, just to get this out of the way. 1000 is a lot. even 100 is a lot. I think if rog had slept with 1000+ people he’d have a least a few illegitimate kids and probably would have been checked into rehab for sex addiction (not to mention STIs and such because lbr people in the 70s specifically probs werent the most careful especially if drugs were involved). I mean even if we were going to say Rog got lucky with a different woman after every show we wouldn’t reach 1000. According to google, Queen played around 700 shows in their entire career. If we add shows played by The Cross thats only another 67 odd shows (according to wikipedia). 
now, i think there are 3 things that contribute to this idea of roger as especially promiscuous. 1. His attitude/demeanour/general way he sells himself. 2. the generally held conceptions about rock stars and rock star behaviour. and 3. what i’m going to call fandom dumbassery (but i mean that with a lot of love) 
So lets start with the man himself. Roger Taylor is loud and opinionated and not particularly humble. He knows he’s talented and attractive though for at least some time he was a little self-conscious about how feminine he looked. He’s always up for a laugh, likes to party and has admitted to enjoying his drink and his women. He’s had kids with two different women, who’s relationships “overlapped”, and is currently married to a third. At least that’s the perception we can gleam from his interviews, behind the scenes videos, and other public appearances. 
It’s easy to see how that image leads to accusations of being a womaniser and a cheater and basically a bit of a slut lmao. But here’s the thing. I think Roger, in part, markets himself that way. The thing is, if you look at his solo songs and the relationships he currently has with his kids and their mothers, and things other people have said about him/his relationships over the years, I think it’s fair to say he also has a bit of a romantic streak maybe? idk if thats the best way of describing it...he’s self confessed to not being a fan of marriage and the like but he’s not opposed to writing and singing love songs and seems to believe in ~love~ as a concept/power. He certainly cares deeply for those closest to him. Whether or not that translates to an agreement with monogamy I can’t say for certain. It’s hard to draw conclusions here because a lot of what we know of his personal life was fed to us through magazines and news paper gossip column articles and they were never looking for the truth, they were looking for scandal and sensationalism. 
For instance the whole thing with the overlapping relationships. I think most people who have read anything about roger and dom and debbie realise that it’s not as cut and dry as “he was cheating with debbie and left dom for her” even though that was the story being sold by the press at the time. The reality (or at least the version closer to reality since obviously no one outside of them and whoever they were closest with knows all the nitty gritty details) is that rog and dom had already split when they got married. it was a marriage of convenience to make sure her and the kids would be looked after financially etc even after he’d moved out. So while it looked to the public like he married one chick and 30 odd days later was spotted with another, there really wasn’t anything untoward happening.  I’m not saying he never had casual hookups or one night stands and i’m not saying he never cheated, but I do think some of it’s been exaggerated, whether by him to encourage the rock star perception or by newspaper/magazine articles.
Now, obviously, we have stories of rog, particularly in the late 60s and into the 70s, being with multiple women. There’s that bit in the Interview with a Queen “Groupie” (which is a fantastic read and i defs recommend checking it out if you havent already) where she talks about roger being a chick magnet and says that, at the time, it was pretty common to sleep about. But, she also says she didnt notice him doing it more or less than anyone else and seemed to mostly be with Jo (his girlfriend at the time). This is the same Jo that got a mention in the Queen in 3D book (”i think we all had the feeling that these two were together for life, but it was not to be”). Conversely, we have that quote (which i cannot find rn but i’ll link it when i do) about roger sometimes having one girl upstairs while another waited in the garage for them to be finished. I think it was about Rog in the mid-late 60s in Truro but whatever. Obviously he wasn’t anywhere near celibate and it’s likely was sleeping with people outside of his relationship(s). But one has to assume that as he got older those kinds of antics stopped happening, at least as frequently.
There is one potential story that I remember reading somewhere along the way about Roger cheating on Debbie while she was pregnant. But, take that with a grain of salt because I can’t find the article again and also I think it was from like The Sun or something equally as rubbish. The press was notoriously always printing mean shit about the boys and that might have been another thing they published to create scandal. Even so, if we assume it’s legit that is still only 1 story. Not to throw him under the bus but Brian is the one with multiple confirmed affairs, who literally wrote songs about it all. So why is Roger the one with sleazy reputation? 
This is where my second and third points come in. There is a pervasive idea about what it means to be a rock star. The whole trashing hotel rooms, sleeping with groupies, passing out drunk every night thing. And I’m sure that Queen was like that to an extent. I think it’s pretty common knowledge that all of them got up to shit on the road. Between innuendo laden interviews and songs, videos and accounts of their parties, stories CT has put online, and other stories like the one of Roger bringing out lines of coke as dessert when he was having dinner with motley crue. They definitely embraced the rock and roll lifestyle. And I think with Roger’s personality being what it is, it’s easy to link him to those traditional rock star tropes and say it was all true all the time. I also think Roger has done nothing to counter those beliefs. He’s been open about how he wanted to be a rock star since the minute he picked up a guitar, he’s labelled himself as a great lay in magazines, he’s joked about girls pulling their tits out over dinner in interviews (though he said he didnt take her home), he’s written songs like One Night Stand and Dirty Mind and Airheads which explicitly mention his preference for women and alcohol. I think it’s fair to say he’s kind of encouraged that view of himself. Whether it was just a side effect of being part of such a well known band and having such a boisterous demeanour/personality, or whether it was intentional as a version of promotion i don’t know. maybe a mix of them? I mean I’m sure it didn’t hurt sales and stuff. it’s the whole guys want to be him, girls want to be with him thing, right? Maybe that’s just me being cynical though lmao. 
Anyway, the fandom brain has taken all of that and compressed it into memes and jokes about rog being the band slut. Which i’m not complaining about, lord knows i’ve made the same jokes and reblogged the same posts and used those tropes in my fics. They’re funny and lend themselves to interesting fic concepts. Plus, i think roger is the sort of person who would probably laugh about most of it. But it’s an idea that keeps feeding into itself through fandom, perpetuating what is probably a misguided view of his personal life.
Again, I am sure he’s had his fair share of fun and I’m not trying to make out that he was always perfect or whatever, but I don’t think he’s been with as many women as the popular discourse would imply and I certainly don’t think he’s in the 4 digit numbers. 
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teamjacobthot · 4 years
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twilight saga character tag!
thank you sm @softtwihoe for tagging me <3 i feel like im still new to the renaissance fandom on tumblr even tho i never stopped being a twihard so shit like this warms my heart <3
now my spicy twilight takes………………...
1. Character you find most relatable to you as a person?
the love of my life, without a doubt, 100% leah clearwater. mfs tried to make her feel bad for feeling her feelings but she was valid in all of them. also its canon that shes a scorpio but yall aint hear it from me
rosalie bc we have similar trauma (lmao :/) and like to disagree with people. i also love big dumb men
edward. as a fellow whiny musical pissbaby who cant let shit go, i get it
2. Character that didn’t have a POV in the books or certain unfinished manuscripts, but you wish did?
ok maybe this is super underground but sue!!! mf!!! clearwater!!! she had allllllll the tea on the pack and tbh i really wanted to see how she and her family were before and after harry’s death. that event was a really big deal (outside of just bella and edward) and set shit OFF in new moon
billy bc he also had hella tea and i bet he was super fucking conflicted during the ENTIRE saga bc he couldnt say shit to charlie!!! that shit sounds rough!!!!!
quil bc he was the last to phase and i just wanna know what he was going thru. he would’ve had hellaaaaa jokes too but smeyer doesnt care abt nonwhite characters so :/
charlie, assuming he supports the black lives matter movement
i guess overall i just wanna know how EVERYONE was doing in new moon bc that story ran DEEP. i want a midnight sun for new moon but for every character
nobody asked but new moon is the best in the saga and new moon stans have the best pussy
3. Character that’s underrated and deserves more recognition?
the entire wolf pack but wbk
riley but tbh i think its bc i just loved xavier samuel in the eclipse movie
the denali coven!!!! their story was incredible imo and while irina was a snitch, i understand why she snitched. she didnt deserve to die. the denalis deserve so much better and while garrett is cool to have around, that doesnt fill the void that irina left bc the volturi decided to be a bunch of haters. i want them to heal so bad. 
tanya gets a bad rep for having a crush on edward but she deserves better too
i’d like to read abt the vacations that the denalis with the cullens too
oh and all thats just BESIDES the succubus legend that tanya and kate and irina started in canon!!!!!!!! like??????????????????? they fucked and killed human men??????????? thats the story i wanna READ bitch!!!! thats my jennifer’s body (2009) fantasy!!!!! smeyer is a coward tho
btw carmen and esme are girlfriends :)
4. Character you thought was unnecessary for the story?
ok besides the obvious, and nobody drag me for it, but bree tanner. I get she was there to show us how fucked up the volturi are and to sorta predict bella as a newborn but……...we already knew the volturi kill mfs just for fun. if the cullens werent gonna adopt her we really didnt need many details on her. and regarding the newborn thing, bree’s role as a newborn didnt really mean shit bc bella ended up being ~the perfect newborn~ anyway!!!! smeyer tried to sell us the short second life of bree tanner as if there arent other worthy characters of having a spinoff novella about like leah or seth or rosalie or emmett or charlie or resume from bella’s ovary. that being said………..
resume, for multiple reasons including:
resume literally shouldnt exist. vampires shouldnt be able to have working sperm and even then, edward shouldve pulled out. he could barely even tongue kiss bella so wtf made him think he could cum in her????? whyyy didnt he use his big vampire brain to consider that????? 
resume seemed totally unwanted and unthought of??? bella and edward were so mf absorbed in each other like regular teen couples (with 1000x the intensity but still) that it didnt seem likely that theyd want a baby after fucking like three times anyway. miss bella “fuck them kids” swan also gave no indication of wanting children. ever. EYE would have simply aborted and went on to live my best vampire life :)
resumes existence defeats the purpose of imprinting bc theres no way she’d be able to conceive with jacob. at all. but we know smeyer doesnt think shit through
smeyer writing in resume ruined jacobs character even more esp coming off the shitshow that was eclipse. periodt
5. Top 5 female characters?
leah <3
rosalie
bella
sue
angela
6. Top 5 male characters?
jacob (pre-eclipse but that’s implied)
emmett
seth
quil/paul (i love them equally)
edward’s dumb ass <3 sometimes
7. Character interaction that didn’t happen but you wish it did?
rosalie and edward but only under the condition that he finally stops being a misogynistic pissbaby towards her and accepts her for the sexy legend that she is. i feel like they’d get along well but smeyer is anti-hottie and anti-talent so i guess we’ll never know :/
leah and someone who loves her and respects her and validates her feelings :)
JACOB AND HIS SISTERS. OR EVEN JUST RACHEL. she literallyyyyyyyyyy came home after YEARS in breaking dawn but he was too busy simping over bella to acknowledge her??? huh???
bella and a licensed therapist
edward and a licensed therapist
8. Character that deserves more development?
the whole entire wolf pack but wbk
more specifically, embry. whooooom is his father???
emmett. like we get it hes funny and hot but like……….spare depth maam? any spare depth????
9. Character who is your total opposite?
jasper bc he fought for people who look like me to be ENSLAVED and the fandom lets it slide for whatever reason :|
10. Character you warmed up to after experiencing the Renaissance?
edward, in some ways. i relate to him when im feeling extra self-loathing but then i get over it lmao. he’s still stupid tho
i used to think alice was annoying af (and i still kinda do tbh) but as a fashion hoe, i get it
charlie, sorta, even tho he’s a cop. i wasnt there for the original conversation on here but do yall think he supports black lives matter? idk tbh but we’ll never know bc smeyer probably doesnt know what police brutality is. anyways ive really enjoyed the discourse on his relationship with bella and how he doesnt trust edward
jacob <3 he’s always been my heart, my soul, my baby, my fuckin cinnamon apple, etc. but i love the posts that other fans/nonhaters have been making abt how warm and kind he was before smeyer fucked him over and how he deserves so much better. its like yes im glad youre seeing all the things that make me a team jacob thot :)
idk if yall have already been tagged but im tagging @howlonghaveyoubeenseventeen @leahclearwaterdefensesquad @leahclearvvater and @bellas-dumptruck-ass! also anyone can fill this out and say i tagged them <3
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silver-wield · 4 years
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Final Fantasy 7R review
I finished the game this morning and I already have regrets that there’s nothing left for me to do besides replay and anxiously wait for news of the next installment. I want more. I want to not have finished it yet. I need to know what happens next, not just in the updated story, but with the game mechanics, too. I’m happy the team is taking their time to make the game as good as it deserves to be, but on the other hand I wanna throw a toddler tantrum demanding the rest of my game! 
Beware, spoilers.
The bad stuff
To be fair, not a lot from where I’m sitting. I’ve seen people bitch about textures and how the scrap yards don’t look dynamic enough and some stuff is flat, but seriously, why are yall looking at the walls? They’re the least interesting thing about the game and you’re just nitpicking. The graphics overall were amazing and I stopped multiple times just to rotate the camera and take in this massive city we actually get to really explore for the first time ever!
I have to admit a slight disappointment in the amount of space, verbally, that was happening. There were times where I expected characters to make comments and they said nothing. Things were overlooked or just not addressed and it wasn’t even anything plot related, just a point where there could have been dialogue and it didn’t happen. It wasn’t often, but those few times the air was left dead I noticed it. The most notable time was in chapter 17, right after Sephiroth appeared on the gangway. Now, I get them being too shocked to say anything when he’s right in front of them, but after, when they separate and fall into two groups? Nothing? No comment? Tifa, I definitely expected to say something in a shocked tone, but even after they found Cloud again, she didn’t mention it. It was like the moment didn’t happen. I know the other times nobody else but Cloud saw him, but this time they saw him, and he’s linked to Tifa’s past too, so she definitely should’ve had some kind of comment in that empty space.
That was the only major point, but other small ones were when people were talking and one character remains silent. The only one I expect to never speak if he doesn’t have to is Cloud. Because it’s Cloud. Everyone else should have something to say. Like when they climbed the stairs. If you took the stairs - I was all done in from so many fights and just wanted a break - then you got hilarious commentary from Barret, Cloud and Tifa. It showed how close they’ve become. Cloud made a joke! His second one of the game! If you missed the first, it’s likely because you obsessed over him going on about money all the time and saying that’s all he cares about when he’s with Tifa. So, yeah, after being shown how the group can talk to each other and banter I’m hoping Square adds more chatter to the next game. I know some people prefer less chatter, but this is a group of people who are supposed to be shown as friends, so conversation is important.
The other thing that got on my nerves was the mechanics of the weapons upgrade. Unless I missed a shortcut, having to go out of each one and then into the next one instead of just switching over to the next weapon’s skill tree. It took a long time to level things up and I wish there was an option in the auto to just unlock every skill one at a time, so they’d do it on auto without me having to go in there. And the ATB. That got on my nerves. I’m lazy af, so I’d like for action to just pause whenever someone’s atb fills so I can give them a command and then go back to the battle instead of having one eye on all the atbs. It’s probably more classic than Square wants to go with it, but having that as a battle option would be nice and a further throwback to the old style of gameplay.
The good
Everything from chapter 3 onwards. The intro chapters were good, too, but I really just wanted to dig into the game and that didn’t happen until chapter 3. The VAs killed it! Graphics were amazing! The weapon abilities were fun and added something different to the regular gameplay style of just grabbing the next strongest weapon. Side quests were enjoyable and I wish there was more of them, especially a save the citizens for after the plate fell. That really would've hammered home the tragedy.
The story
I’ve seen people - mostly OG fans - bashing the new elements. Sure, the whispers are a weird angle to come at it from, but the explanation for them, that they’re trying to maintain the OG storyline, made for an interesting twist on a 25 year old story. Sephiroth’s early appearance was just something that had to happen, along with a Jenova fight, because, come on, this section of the OG was like 3hrs worth of content and this is 40hrs, so ofc they had to include new things and it matches with the new storyline and I think people need to release their death grip on the OG storyline and enjoy this game for what it is. 
I found the ripple effect(?) interesting too. From what we learned, the OG happened in the future. If things hadn’t changed that’s the future everyone was heading towards. Ok, cool, pretty simple. 
This timeline had small changes. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie survived!? Or did Wedge finally get shoved off a building at the end, I really couldn’t tell if he bought it that time, but if he did I’m mad cause he was adorable. The plate falling didn’t have as big a casualty number as originally, either. And Hojo almost spilled the beans to Cloud early, but was cut off, and that’s the other thing Cloud ignored in dialogue afterwards, but it’s Cloud, so we’ll give him a security pass for that. The others ignoring his Ptsd induced freak outs isn't cool though and I expect Square to fix that level of callousness towards him from the others.
Those are the only two changes from the OG. Sephiroth showing up early instead of in Nibelheim doesn’t really matter. He’s his usual cryptic asshole self and his goal is unchanged. The team just knows he’s the big bad earlier now and have a solid goal instead of just randomly wandering after they leave Midgar. So, yeah, does Biggs, Wedge and Jessie living make a big difference overall? Will that ripple from them being alive make further changes?
We also saw that Zack survived because of our team, but the Zack in their timeline is still dead. I think we saw it this way because the planet is trying to find a way to prevent being hit with Meteor and ending up with geostigma, so the OG timeline, everything was still bad. Our timeline gives possibilities for a slightly better future and then the timeline behind it - the one with Zack - offers even better odds, not that we’ll see that. That’s the timeline I think Aerith will live through, so that way Square can say Aerith lives, just not in the game we play now.
Shipping
I’m not into wars, so if you love Aerith, cool good for you, I was focused on building affinity with Tifa and Square didn’t disappoint! There were so many romantic moments between them! And damn do they have chemistry! I squeed at such a high pitch the dog next door started howling! All the small touches, longing looks, affection, support, trust and OMGOSH IT WAS JUST THE BEST!!! They were so damn cute!!
I have no idea how the game changes if you focus on Aerith and to be honest I don’t want to. I think that’s what I love about the options for that. You can choose and no one can say your choice isn’t valid. 
One thing though, I would like an end to it because it’s 25 years of people arguing and it’s made the entire fandom toxic af and it’s actually the reason I avoid most of the final fantasy discourse because people can’t be civil to each other. Square should finally say once and for all that Cloud/ is canon and the other isn’t, instead of throwing a bone to them and being all “maybe if things were like this”, like no, pull on your big boy pants, Square, man tf up like Barret on a mission, and tell people who is the canon pairing in this damn game so people can just stfu and enjoy playing it without getting flamed.
This is why I want a FF8R because at least there’s no doubt who the couple is in that one.
Smol stuff
I’ve seen complaints about new characters being 1 dimensional, but they’re new characters in a game series that’s a trilogy, so they’re likely gonna appear again. Roche seemed added not just to give Cloud a boss to fight in the bike event, but also to show there’s other SOLDIERs beyond Cloud and Zack and the ones from Crisis Core, which not everyone has played.
Same goes for Leslie. I liked that dude and I’m interested to see him pop up again. His design wasn’t the typical bad guy henchman, easily disposed, thank you very much for playing. He has a story and I’m betting that’s not the last we see of him.
Again, same goes for Cloud’s infantry buddies. I’ve not played CC, but I get they’re from that, so will we see them again at some point? What about other CC characters?
Best Bits
Cloud in a dress. “Nailed it, thank you, moving on.”
Cloud dancing. Boy got moves and I wanna see him dance again!
Cloud/Tifa. Complimenting her like a smooth mutherfucker.
Cloud/Tifa Battle couple. They were my absolute favourite fighting combo and definitely kicked all the ass!
Cloud/Tifa. All the shipping bits, but especially jumping off the train and then trusting her to go kick Corneo’s ass. That’s how you show you know your girl
Wedge. Kitty momma
Biggs death. Damn you, Square, you got me all choked up.
Red. Specifically the bit where he highfived Barret with his tail lool
Barret. “Damn it, Red.”
Reno. Just Reno in general killed me. Love his conscience though and that he’s not a 1 trick pony.
Tifa/Aerith. Had more chemistry than Aerith/Cloud. Yeah, I said it. 
Barret and Marlene. Such a good daddy! His expression with her was like a whole different person!
Aerith bitchslapping a would-be rapist with a chair.
Cloud/Tifa/Aerith teamup to threaten Don Corneo’s balls - though I only include Aerith since she was there and she was about as threatening as a cupcake.
Conclusion
I want moar! I really hope the next one comes out soon! It’s not the same as OG, but has the best bits of OG along with something new to bring in a new generation of fans. The alt timeline angle feels fresh and open to possibilities and I’m excited to play this game for what it is, instead of comparing it and demanding for the OG like a crusty whisper lool
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jewishdragon · 4 years
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Ok re: the Artemis fowl sexism post thats got many fans a bit miffed at me
I Preface once more that I have now listened to the books 3 times back to back because I loved them so much. I’m a brand new big fan who, unlike most of you, experienced the books for the first time as a 24, recently 25, year old. So my experience reading them was very different than a lot of fans. 
And the post itself was me just voicing a random and basic opinion based on my experiences reading the books and 1 thought on the upcoming movie. And well. Y’all wrote small essays on what that story arc meant to you and why it was meaningful and important. Which unfortunately failed to change my mind bc the fact is, I was 100% aware of all that before making the post. I was very much aware, when i read the first book back in AUGUST 2019, how important a story arc about Holly as the first female LEP was/is to little girls reading the first artemis fowl book. And I did in fact appreciate it for that! 
but hey yall did get me thinking, or at least, got me thinking MORE so that my jumble of emotions were forced into coherent (ehhh semi-coherent?) words that I could type up. so here are those thoughts. Im not trying to start big discourse or discussion. But I think maybe this explains all the things that were going through my head??? 
I think Holly’s arc could have been much stronger in showcasing fairy society’s sexism and Holly dealing with/confronting it. The arc seemed so arbitrary and unimportant to me. A lot of just talk about how she had to be the best and be perfect and root believing in her and all that. A lot of talk and not much in story evidence in story showcasing her struggles. I think this may have been a case of needing more show and less tell.
Y’all read Holly as the first female LEP-recon Officer as this major character arc but in my reading it, it didn’t seem so major! I didn’t feel it had much weight to it. It felt like it had some pre-story weight that we didn’t get to see. Same with the sexism Opal experienced. It was mentioned in backstory. Not shown in current story.
I wish it had! I wish we had seen more female fairies* dealing with the same thing and seeing how important Holly being the first female LEP-recon was! But we got Vinyaya who seemed powerful and amazing and respected! And that kind of diminished Holly’s arc for me. It felt like it should have been important. And that’s partly why I was disappointed in it bc it didn’t end up being that important in the end.
The racism in fairy society felt very real and very much a problem. And I wish that had been confronted more too! There were other things about the problems of fairy society that conflicted with how much better they thought of themselves like crime and their criminal justice system. I felt like those were done a bit better. (though I wish those had been explored more too!). And just bc someone pointed it out, yes I did pick up on the fact that bc they are so long lived it takes more time for them to change their mindsets (especially compared to the rapid development of their technology.). 
*And now thinking about it, the fact that Holly was the first female LEP-recon meant that there were barely any other female characters (pretty much just Juliet and Opal) and THAT irritated me a lot. I wanted MORE women, but bc she was the first and basically only female Lep-recon and the fairies we got to see were mostly Lep-recon, there werent more women. and That probably contributed to my disappointment. If she was the first, where were the rest now that she was there? Where were the women in the academy that we could have met? The ones recently graduated and just joining the force?? Yes Root said she still had to be the one to prove women could do this, she’s the “case study” and in Book one I was FINE with that. but I wanted to see that to fruition in the rest of the series! (i was THRILLED with Fowl Twins when its now obvious that LEP is training more women! where was that in the first series!?) 
OH AND This is definitely partially due to me taking in the books as an entire unit and not separately as they were released! It wasn’t really an arc that developed past the first book!!! AND i can see how reading it as a kid, especially just the first book, this plot was exciting and meaningful. 
but i can also why I can understand the decision in the movie to make Root a woman. It’s the one decision I didn’t mind, while plenty of the others infuriate me.
im only tagging this with fandom tags bc the fandom saw my first post and most of yall dont follow me
and bc it came up, im AFAB, but no i dont identify as a woman/girl (i barely did as a child), but nor do I i identify as a man. 
TL;DR I think that taking in the entire series in one go, as an adult, made certain story arcs (that really resonated with people who read it as kids and probably more spread out) fall flat for me. Specifically the story arc about Holly experiencing sexism in fairy society and how important it was that she was the first female LEP-recon. (im bad at TL;DR so lol dont @ me if you only read this part). 
oh and yeah, i get these are childrens books so things wont be as deep and developed. I accepted that but the heart wants what the heart wants and more delving into the problems of fairy society is what i want. 
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dizzymoods · 4 years
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Like I said last night I’ve been peeved for a while now about the overemphasis on films needing to start  with story. and how if the images take more importance the film is lesser because of it. I want to talk about this first before looking at Queen and Slim. This is a broader problem that informs how lacking the Q&S discourse has been.
Why does a medium which does not exist without images have to start with story. What is so commanding about “First, then, meanwhile, & the end” that dictates primacy over the one element of the medium that it cannot exist without?
the conflation of substance = story and style = cinematography, editing and in addition that substance is a moniker of quality while style unshackled to story is indulgent and lesser is  fucking stupid. 
Movies are visual. You don’t have a motion picture without moving pictures. That’s very rudimentary but its true. To imply that cinematic images and how they are collated are not substantive is just dumb. Worse is saying they only have substance when “serving” the story, which has an inherent substance to it. Most cinematic stories are not substantive.Especially in the CIA propaganda machine known as Hollywood. The shit is supposed to be dumb so you get it. 
The relationship between image and story in film is more crude and elementary than that same relationship in a children’s picture book. What is written is also what is drawn. What is dramatized is also what is dialogued, shot, edited, heard. If that is the blueprint for how filmmakers, critics, and watchers can talk about cinematic images then we’re in trouble.
Eisenstein ~100 years ago laid out a very clear analysis of how images in conversation with other images communicate and how you can manipulate those relationships to particular ends. And this is not counting the broader history of visual art like painting. To dismiss images as just beautiful is a complete disservice to critical discussion of cinema. An image can be racist but if the lighting is good and the movement slick, it’d be looped into the category of good cinematography. 
If images have meaning then it stands to reason that both what the message of the image is and the clarity with which that message is articulated are (at the very least can be) substantive & the only way to figure that out is to critique it. Meaning investigating why such images work beyond just that they were pretty or distracting. Distraction is a tool many artists use so it isn’t necessarily a negative if the cinematography is getting you to notice it and not a particular story detail.
___________________________
So that brings us to the most popular discourse about Queen and Slim. Most of the critique is about how bad the story is and how corny the politics embedded in that story are. But, where people give it credit is in it’s “good” cinematography.
That’s where the general discussion ends. Maybe something about melanin that pops but nothing about the politics of the image. Nor whatever else the images are communicating and how. I haven’t seen Q&S so I can’t speak to that. But I can talk about the general trends of cinematic image making around modern black images.
Even to call the cinematography “beautiful” or “good” without describing what that means is folly. Where does your definition of beauty come from and how is this cinematography achieving it? Is a film’s aesthetic steeped in the tradition of cinema birthed by KKK propaganda? Is your notion of beauty? Or are they embedded in community and tradition?
This was the first lesson at Howard. If your story matters so much then why are you telling it with a language that was largely created by european colonialism and american white nationalism. Can you locate where your art is coming from?
Day 2 they sat us down with Chester Higgins’ Elder Grace and said if you don’t have the same passion and reverence for black ppl, especially our elders, in your cinematography as in this book then you might as well pack it on up and head home. i see little passion and reverence in modern cinematography as it relates to black ppl. most of it looks like a bad vogue photoshoot.
Everyone is biting off Belly. But Hype (dir), Malik (dp), Christian (gaff), and Sharyn (hmua) all did rigorous testing to get that look and had endless debates over the intention and politics of the images they were creating. All these belly-lite shows and movies are just slicking up actors in some oil, throwing up a rosco 74 gel, and calling it a day. all  without cooking in the lab.
Rooney & I had a convo on here before: a lot of this new black cinema has been lensed by white ppl and so much of the culture surrounding these images have their gaze embedded in them. A black director cannot meaningfully have the debates Hype &  company were having when their dp and gaffer are white. white dps can only have a technical know how of how to light and lens black ppl. & most of these images feel very technical in a way that is not so dissimilar to say eric clapton playing robert johnson.
Out of the whole slate of films that have come out shot by white ppl only one (1) single shot has moved beyond just replicating the black visual aesthetic that HU has laid out. And let’s not get it twisted. Daughters of the Dust, Belly, and Mother of George run modern cinematography. all with the dp and gaffer coming from or adjacent to HU. in each case there was the rigorous testing and debate.
This half-assed replicating of the past aesthetic (especially Belly) also points to a stagnation of culture. Brad, AJ, Malik, Christian have all moved on from those seminal films. They thought through and executed their visions and went back in the lab to cook something new. Or at least try again if it didn’t work out the next time. But there still a growth in that because they had to adjust ie do something new.
I saw a director on twitter talking about how important story is and how we are resting too much on good cinematography (Coincidentally they’re also loud about Q&S but their lil sundance film relies on the same performative blackness). When I tell yall that the ending shot of their film, which is held for a while, is the reason why Beyoncé said “you cant put black girls in blue light.” I mean to tell you that this shot is the reason why Beyoncé said “you cant put black girls in blue light.”
Beyoncé was wrong of course. Hype does it all the time. Beyoncé even started doing it. & its fire. But this black director and their nonblack DP didnt go to the lab and cook.
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radiqueer · 5 years
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Rai@Tired | raikamudapon
[link] Tbh the discourse around the term "fujoshi" is just motivated by shaming women for their interests and sexuality, and specifically trying to seem woke by taking Japanese fan girls down a peg.
Yalls need to stop with that orientalism and colonizer attitudes. 
[link] Ok so, One of the biggest differences of how I see Japanese people digesting media and how Americans digest media is the ability to separate oneself from the topic. 
Japanese people are used to living with duality. The culture of Japan is all about honne and tatemae, and while a lot of Americans think of tatemae as situational lying, it's a specific form of communication that adds a buffer of space between people. Sometimes that buffer is helpful and sometimes it isn't but that's not what we're discussing today. 
In the same vein, Japanese fans consume media with that buffer space, and you see the difference in fandom spaces very keenly. For example, Japanese cosplayers don't tend to roleplay. I feel like the community discourages it, especially in public spaces because the idea is that you are not acting as a character or placing yourself in the character, you are borrowing a character to temporarily express yourself. In america you see encouragement of becoming the character and more closely associating with them in a way you don't really see in Japan. With cosplay, a lot of original outfits with characters isn't as widely accepted, and people are encouraged to add warning tags to heavily modified designs or non-cannon outfits. There's often a buffer between self expression and character expression, and Japanese people in general tend to have a clearer cut between fiction and reality. Americans go the opposite direction, and put themselves personally in to their fandoms. Any criticism or portrayal of a character isn't about the character, it's about *them*. 
Bl for many fujyoshi is a way to explore various topics about sex and gender, and have that safety barrier of "this is fiction that has nothing to do with reality". Theres even a famous phrase in bl circles of Japan, which is "BL is fantasy." People arent consuming bl content because they want to it be realistic. With this genre, a lot of American's first exposure to this culture is through groups that carry these Japanese ideas, especially that fiction is not about reality. There's a strong culture in fujyo circles in Japan to keep fujyo media hidden from from minors and uninterested people. 
This isn't because gay adjacent media is shameful and should be hidden, but because aside from keeping 18+ content away from minors, the content is inherently not for the benefit of non-fujyoshi, or people looking for canon content. Bl is a fantasy exploration of pre-established media, an additional step away from reality. And you see this influence in american bl fans as well. Most responsible adults discourage 18 under people from interacting with 18+ content. It is going to be much rarer for 18+ bl content to be presented to minors with no prior warning then for het media or media that explicitly sexually objectifies women. 
 And I think in conversations about this topic is where you see not just misogyny and sexual policing of woman come in, but a lot of conversations and ideas revolve around how "gross" and "strange" and "foreign compared to woke Americans" the entire culture of fujyoshi is. 
Trying to insist that Americans determine what definitions of language around a culture not originating or centered in America and sentiments about bl are "appropriate" is colonizing attitudes. It stems from the belief that the cultural values of the colonizer are inherently superior to another country. And treating the norms of a foreign sub-culture that was not only established in Japan but continues to flourish and be the center of media produced by that subculture as gross or strange is honestly tinged with Orientalism of the "sexual far east". It's hard to say that the image that all fujyoshi are women does not influence these ideas as well. 
So let's delve in to relations between Japan and America for a hot second. Japan and America have a very unique relationship, especially for countries that are separated by the biggest ocean in the world. Without examining the entire history of the two countries, I want to focus on two points that I think shape the way Americans interact with Japanese media. First, America with it's "black ships" was the one to end Japan's Sakoku policy. They forcefully demanded Japan end it's strict regulations concerning interaction with other countries, start trading with various countries, and to open up to western influences. 
This *greatly* changed the structure of Japan, and honestly the unequal treaties and inability of the Tokugawa shogunate to manage their relations with the west lead to the end of 264 years of governance. (The Meiji restoration is exciting, please read about it.) 
The second topic you don't see many people discuss is the occupation of Japan by American(and English) forces from 1945–1952. While a lot of modernization and things that benefited common people occurred during this time, there was also wide spread instances of violence and rape. You still see generational hurt and mistrust in places like Okinawa, Sasebo, and Yokosuka where American navy bases were placed(and still exist today). If you can stomach it, I would recommend looking up statistics and reports, but I warn you the occupation was nasty business for women. 
So what does this all have to do with modern fujyoshi? So in both of these time periods, prostitutes and courtesans were an essential part of political interactions. Many Americans gained their stereotypes about Japanese women through these encounters. Specifically these interactions were sexual or tinged with the sexual availability of these women, and looking at the increased rapes during the occupation once American GI focused brothels were abolished, you can see how this lens shaped Americans opinions of Japanese women. The story of madame butterfly is only unusual in that it gives the woman in it any agency in their interaction with american men. 
So with this in mind, I think it's easy to see where a lot of stereotypes, specifically sexual stereotypes about Japan and Japanese women come from. America is used to looking at Japan as "the weird strange place of loose morals and loose women of strange sexual proclivities." This is shown how strong the influence of Japanese women as "geisha girls" is to this day, and it tints any conversation of about women and sexuality in Japan. 
In modern day, you can see this carry over in to how people look at Japanese idols and women in anime. I would even say that it's evolved to infantilize Japanese women and the view of how Japanese women are expected to behave. A lot of other people have written literature and reading about fujyoshi and how it relates to the sexual liberation of women(without necessarily involving men or gay men) so I won't go in to that here, but there will be links at the end of the thread. 
What I want to talk about is how historically America is used to putting itself front and center about any topic about the culture of Japan, and how the views Americans have about morality is considered to be "better" and more "woke"... even without context or how those sentiments shape the ideas of foreign people and foreign based media. But we also have to address how Americans have a huge problem with not being the expert voice in any conversation. 
Over the last week, a significant number of Americans have been extremely comfortable in putting the power to decide what Japanese words mean and what Japanese sub-cultures are in their own hands, sometimes even attempting to remove my Japanese voice and background from me in an effort to center their own opinions. And honestly this isn't anything new. Americans are so comfortable with thinking of Asian voices as less influential then their own, that it doesn't stop people from thinking they are the experts about a topic that *does not come from their culture*. You see it with food, you see it with fashion, you see it with everything from equating Asians to *white lite* to assuming that Asians don't exist as mixed people but simply as a monolith. 
There are so many people who were comfortable with placing themselves as experts in a sub-culture of Japanese origin that they knew nothing about, simply because they assumed it corresponded with one aspect of themselves. And it is hard to say that the confidence that these people placed themselves and their ignorance in the middle of the topic did not stem from Americans feeling of ownership over everything they enjoy. 
The people supporting these people may have thought they were being good allies by blindly supporting them, but I saw very few people bothering to further their knowledge past the loose collection of stereotypes and horror stories I saw from the internet. Some of these feelings of superiority probably stem from the fact that these people assumed that all fujyoshi or bl content consumers are women. Misogyny isn't just the expression of hate towards women, but also the idea that non-women inherently have a more valuable opinion then woman, or that women's ideas are inherently less valuable then anyone elses. 
I saw a lot of misogyny this week, both internal and external. There was hate from many people, for the idea that people they assumed women were thriving in a sub-culture that does not involve real gay men. I saw people who could not imagine that men were not at the center of a subculture created and supported by both women and queer people. I even saw examples of women bringing up their experiences as a gender they do not identify with in order to raise their voice against other assumed women. But the voices that attempted to de-legitimize assumed women grew even louder once they were speaking against Asian people, because there is an inherent assumption that their views are qualified, their opinions more valid, their morals better. 
And honestly, this isn't just an issue with white and eurocentrific supremacy, this is an issue of American supremacy. 
 And that is certainly something we need to talk about.
link: thread by @futekiya
link: thread by @dionysiaca
link: thread by @raikamudapon
please consider donating to @raikamudapon’s ko-fi
[reformatting mine]
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jcmorgenstern · 5 years
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Hey kid wanna cry Remember that kiss between Clary and 'Sebastian' in s2, after Clary says that Jonathan deserves to be saved? How desperate that kiss was. Now knowing the that for years Jonathan was clinging to the idea that somewhere out there theres a person who will save him, who will not hurt and abandon him puts the whole scene in different perspective 😢
you’re very right and you should fucknig say it anon!!
I’m trying to get over my annoyance with how much they’ve fucked Jonathan’s storyline (and my god, the timeline)–the demon clary kills in s1 at the EARLIEST appears at the most 2 months ago, which means Jonathan only learned she existed 2 months ago max. He then, in that time, made a deal with Azazel to get out of hell, walked to Paris, kidnapped Sebastian at a cafe, moved to New York, rented an apartment, knew enough about the goings on at the institute to steal the sword (Genuinely blanking on how he got the Cup to summon Azazel–i knew at one point but rn im anxious and caffeinated), summoned Azazel, infiltrated the Institute….like this is fucking insane on so many levels, and now he can’t even find a sword? ??? ?? ? ? ? like damn need me that kind of motivation on my finals
(also im pre sure aline mentions sebastian dissapeared more than two months ago but lmao what’s consistency)
I actually really liked the prince/princess thing, because it flips the very gendered script by having Jonathan wish for Clary to save him. and Clary IS that figure–she goes to insane lengths to protect and save Jace. I don’t think Clary’s horror at realizing she could have but didn’t save Jonathan is her being like “oh damn im a woman therefore it’s my job,” it’s that being powerless or failing to save a life is one of her worst fears, and she’s upset that yet another family member is “lost” to her. Her entire arc is unified by the theme of finding and wanting to keep her family and loved ones (both family by blood or by familial love) safe. It’s also a callback to the books (a thread that is completely dropped) where she writes a comic about a dark prince that she interprets to be “Sebastian.”
When Jonathan calls “you were supposed to be my princess” after her, he doesn’t mean “I was supposed to carry u away at the altar and we’d make babies in heterosexual union,” he means “you were supposed to be my knight in shining armor and rescue me from the dragon/evil stepmother.” In the context of the story as it’s told–Jonathan as Rapunzel (or Fiona LMAOO) in the tower crying for help, and Clary the knight with the sword only the chosen one can wield riding to his rescue–I feel that meaning is fairly obvious if you understand his character beyond “ew incest lol.”
To put it more academically: in the terms of a feminist reading of the fairytale, Jonathan understands himself not as Clary’s possessor, but the “princess” she as the (traditionally male) knight rescuer is entitled to after the rescue. It may actually deliberately echo the book line where Clary asks Jonathan “who do you belong to.” The script of Jonathan as the hyperagressive, masculine aggressor stalking the (artificially) agency-less woman is complicated by his dual role as the traditionally female victim of abuse waiting to be rescued by the traditional male rescuer. In just a quick few minutes we get a whole different dynamic where we realize Jonathan doesn’t feel he is entitled to her–from his (warped) point of view, he feels she is entitled to him. Jonathan views the act of receiving love in terms of his usefulness or how his identity/abilities/whatever can be exploited by whoever loves him (see: his speech to her about Valentine)–his confusion about why she doesn’t “want” him is because well, she defended him once as anon says, she saved him by giving him hope, she must love him–why won’t she take what’s hers?
This is the dynamic I’m fascinated by–I’ve always read Jonathan as an oddly feminized villain considering his other position as a hyperaggressive rapist–if I were to go full batshit on yall I’d bust out a “queer-coded men presented as often ineffectual rapists” reading but. ill leave that for another time.  or never. I feel the books made that reading very available by sexualizing his abuse by revealing his whip scars in a situation where he takes his shirt off and Clary is uncomfortably thirsty (and the audience is VERY comfortably thirsty). It’s also very surface-level and never really brought up again–something else you’d expect from a presentation of a female character’s abuse.
The show complicates it by presenting the product of Jonathan’s abuse as something to be reviled and horrific, but also kind of pathetically comedic. A male victim of abuse that actually lets the effects show is clearly something to be othered, pathologized, made into something charred and inhuman. The power and agency expected of a male character is restored to him in his rebirth, when the narrative invites you to consider whether he really could change; as that agency is slowly stripped away through imprisonment, a botched matricide attempt, implied (past) sexual assault, it’s paired with his implied descent into irredeemabe villainhood.
I fully realize I’ve jumped so far off the deep end I may as well have started burrowing into the ground of that metaphorical pool, but I think Jonathan’s dual status as feminized victim and masculinized rapist explains why some female fans find Jonathan deeply and fundamentally abhorrent and others find him sympathetic and relatable. Both, I think, are legitimate readings and reactions made available by the text–it’s a question not of whether people think rape is okay or not, but which of his dual gendered positions each person find more salient.
(I’d also argue the same could be said of Jace–do you see him as the typical heterosexual male jock, or the sensitive victim of abuse who struggles with his mental health? Honestly, this model applies to so many other characters–Tony Stark, for example, or Loki). I think it’s important as fans to appreciate, no matter your position or reading of a character, the alternate readings available–I understand why people hate Jonathan and are deeply uncomfortable with him, even if I don’t feel the same way. I don’t take Jonathan hate as a personal attack against my reading specifically, but against the person’s own particular interpretation of him. (I do often get annoyed if people deny the possibility of alternate readings, and probably get pissy in general, but shh).
anyway tldr this was actually just top/bottom discourse in disguise JONATHAN MORGENSTERN IS A BOTTOM thanks for coming to my TED talk haha gotcha
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littlebabycrybtch · 5 years
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like,,,, sld;fsld yall it really is as simple as you unfortunately dont make the rules, the oppressors with power make the rules, ie straight people, and they dont Want aces and dont get nuanced lgbt+ discourse and think we’re just another fucking flavor of lgbt and will treat us as such whether you want them to or not. like. you cant. change that aspect of it with discourse. you can ignore it every time we try and bring it up but ya cant make it go away. literally every time our erasure turns to visibility, cishets hate our existence (yes,.,, even cishet aces,,, bc of the whole ‘ace’ part,,, which isnt cis or het) and it becomes unsafe for us. lmao im so tired of this shit like you dont,,, have a right to talk over us and tell us that isnt the case or smth bc number fucking 1. Yall never listen to us and push us away so how Tf do u think u would even know how ace ppl experience life anymore, if u wont even occasionally let the narrow forced relatable meme personality drop for a sec to show genuine human emotion and think critically about your morals and rampant vicious actions towards a group most of yall can Admit is marginalized lmAo, and 2. you literally would not do this to any other group you viewed as human beings who werent top tier privileged oppressors like. and we have tried to explain soo many fucking times now why we dont have any fucking power over anybody!!! bc ffs on What Earth should we be considered a major threat when we are consistently forced to experience corrective rape and heteronormative prejudice and medical discrimination (ATTEMPTED CONVERSION THERAPY AND DENIAL OF TREATMENT, NOT JUST ‘do you perhaps have trauma?’ SHIT). like. you are the only other group that experiences these things in this way and is capable of providing the support we need to combat these things!!!!! not the group we’ve “chosen”, the ONLY GROUP. THATS WHY WE ASK FOR YOUR HELP. not bc we wanna ruin ur fuckin day and infiltrate the gay resources and say we’re EXACTLY as oppressed as you are, bc yknow what. nobody in the lgbt community is exactly as oppressed as the next! its not that complicated! it never needed this much of debate bc the most basic way to understand this is that if straight ppl dont fucking want us and if you’ve ever met a straight person you know they view anything not 100% straight as automatically gay, and we’re gonna stay struggling with that without outside intervention, what else are we supposed to Do when we experience injustices like this. how are we expected to just be completely okay living like that. smh dont you dare fucking say ‘get over it’ like. lmaooo, thats not how activism works. pls tell me you understand why a struggling group would want you to help them. struggle less. like. less injustices would be rly cool tbh. id like to exist in a not marginalized way bc i shouldnt have to. dont rly think im a bad person for that just bc it means making u go through the arduous process of trying to care about it. like lmfaooo a bad thing happening shouldnt have to be Ignored until you let it get bad Enough for your standard of trying to stop it. harm prevention is a vital part of human decency and if u just wanna wait till shit rly hurts before being sad about it later, 📣 ur not a good activist 📣
so anyways if u see an ace person celebrating pride this year and wanna pop a vein Maybe run the simple concept through your 2 braincells that truth be told we are not allowed to exist in any positive way literally at all besides the CHANCE of being accepted during lgbt+ pride events. it rly is as simple as; This is all we fucking have, as we gain visibility we only receive more hate and violence, oppression is a complicated system and for oppression to take place at one point in time a group is simply vulnerable and targeted as the system is built against them, so if you dont take the ‘in between’ state of not privileged, not yet oppressed as a mandatory time for intervention to prevent worse harm, you are part of the problem of letting these injustices happen. its basic critical and sympathetic thought to understand that you dont need to be bottom of the barrel oppressed to not just face ‘valid problems’, but ones that Deserve to be corrected. facing prejudice and major constant injustices is... not smth to shrug off and ignore, they are actual problems for the ppl that exist under them and we literally cannot just move past them. and tbh ranking these kinds of things slightly lower and trying to prioritize causes is one thing, but ffs there is literally No moral system that should say ‘well some injustices are ok and ppl should just deal with them theirselves'. expecting ppl to support themselves and get over injustices or stop talking about them for any reason isnt progressive! at all! stop letting ace people be constantly fucking miserable and realize we just want ur fucking help and that our basic emotional responses to injustices isnt cringey(TM) its human, 2k19
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astronomyparkers · 7 years
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The Upside of Falling Down {II}
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Warnings: Language
Pairing: University!Peter Parker x reader
Word count: 3.1k
A/N: Guys!!!! Thank you so so much for the positive response to pt. one of TUoFD!!! I’m so so so glad you guys liked it!!!  Just to let you guys know, I’m going back to university in a few days, so I won’t be as active as I’d like to be :( I made a full post about it here, so check that out if you want to know my update schedule and ask answering schedule.  Also, shout out to everyone who is going back to school this year, and I especially want to send all my love to everyone going into their freshman year at university!!! I get lots of messages from you guys asking for advice, and I just want yall to know that I am so proud of you for continuing your education, and I’m rooting for you!!!  You’re killing the game, yall.  And I’m sure university!Peter would be proud, too (didn’t know there would be so much discourse around where I decided to send him for university??? lmao oh well).  All my love.
{masterlist}
You had been in awkward car rides before.  There was the time that eight year old you threw up all over your friend’s cute older brother on a family road trip, or the time when you had accompanied your cousin and his girlfriend on a lake trip where she said no when he asked her to marry him.  Once, on a high school band trip, you accidentally gave a boy a boner the night before travelling home, and spent the rest of the next day avoiding him over the entirety of the bus and the plane rides with the help of your friends.  All of those experiences were sufficiently awkward, but, you had come to learn, none of them compared to the bus ride back to Columbia after you discovered that your biology partner was Spider-Man.
Each of you were tense in your stance, not allowing any parts of your body to touch the other, even on the small faux leather seat.  You kept your gaze glued to the scenery outside your window, watching as the trees by the side of the road flew by.  You were hyper aware of Peter next to you as he sat with his arms crossed, eyes firmly staring at his planted feet.  He hadn’t shifted since you had settled into your seats an hour and a half ago, and neither had you.  In your mind, you couldn’t help but reply the event that had unfolded in the cave, your discovery, and what had followed.
The moment the words, “You’re the Spider-Man,” had left your lips, you knew that you had crossed a line in yours and Peter’s relationship (a relationship that should have been over by the end of that field trip.  A relationship that shouldn’t even be big enough to have lines.)  As the boy stared at you with a mix of shock, anger, and fear, you had wished, not for the first time in your life, that you weren’t so impulsive and curious.  You had to know the answer to everything the moment you asked a question, and it had always gotten you into trouble; this, however, had been the first time that the need to know the answer had been at the cost of someone else’s safety.
“I knew this cave was a dumb idea,” Peter had started running his hands through his hair anxiously. “I knew this was going to end badly, I could sense it—”
“Is that your Spidey Sense?” You interrupted him before you could stop yourself. “I read an article on arachnids last year that mentioned how spiders can sense things with the little hairs on their bodies, through vibrations—” Peter had given you an incredulous look, and you bit your lip. “Right, sorry.  Not the time to discuss arachnid abilities.”
“Y/N,” Peter grabbed your shoulders, gripping them tightly as he looked into your eyes.  The fire raced again from where he touched you. “You can’t tell anyone.  No one can know about this.”
You had taken a step back at that moment, out of Peter’s reach, as you tried to focus your thoughts. “No shit I can’t tell anyone!  I shouldn’t even know!  Parker, seriously, this just made our relationship so much more complicated than it should be.”
“Are you really blaming me for saving you from a fall to your death?” Peter asked in disbelief, crossing his arms.
“No, I—” You took a deep breath and closed your eyes, pinching the bridge of your nose. “No. Thank you for saving me.  I’m sorry, but I don’t really know how to react in this situation, okay?  There’s no WikiHow on what to do when you find out your biology partner is Spider-Man.”
“How do you think I feel?” Peter had laughed once without humour, raking his hand through his hair again (it seemed to be a nervous tic). “Only three people in the world outside of the Avengers know about my abilities, and they’re all people I would follow to hell and back.”
“Well, how did they react when you told them?” You questioned, wondering if there was a correct response that you weren’t seeing.
“I, um—” Peter looked at the ground sheepishly. “Well, Aunt May and Ned kind of…walked in on me in the suit.  And MJ just…figured it out.”
“So you’ve never actually told anyone on purpose?” You scoffed. “Parker, for someone with such a huge secret to keep, I thought you’d be better at actually keeping it.”
“I—we shouldn’t even be talking about this,” Peter had glanced around the cavern, then at the passage behind him. “We need to go catch up to the class, but I need you to promise that you won’t breathe a word of this to anyone.  Seriously, Y/N.  Just…forget what happened in here, okay?  Pretend you didn’t see anything, please.”
You sighed in defeat. “Fine, I promise.  Lead the way out, Spider-Boy.”
Peter flinched, shaking his head. “Don’t call me that.”
 By the time the bus pulled up to the school, he still hadn’t said a word to you, and the moment the vehicle had parked, he was out of his seat and heading towards the front of the bus.  You stared at his retreating figure with a mix of curiosity and perplexity.  Despite thinking about the events of the day the entire ride back to Columbia, you still had trouble wrapping your head around what had transpired.
You made your way off the bus and back to your dorm, shutting the door tightly behind you. Yesterday, Peter Parker had barely been a blip on your radar, but now you couldn’t get him off your mind.  You knew that he wanted you to just forget about everything that had happened, but how could you?  You were curious and inquisitive by nature, and had to know everything about everything.  There was no way you would be able to make yourself forget about Peter’s secret, nor would you be able to stop yourself from trying to find out everything you could about how he got his abilities and what it was like as an Avenger.
 You passed the rest of the day in your dorm, researching Spider-Man and watching clips on YouTube. You’d seen many of them before, but now that you knew who was underneath the mask, it was like a whole new perspective. Like you’d only ever seen the videos through muddy, streaky glass, and now you were watching them clearly for the first time.
Whenever Spider-Man was hit or seemed to be hurt, you felt your breath catching in your chest. It had never occurred to you that there was a real boy in there—a bit of an annoying boy, if you were being honest with yourself, but a real one nonetheless—and knowing the face underneath the mask made you so much more anxious.
For the rest of the weekend, you tried to put that anxiety behind you, and continue with your regular routine.  You met with your study groups, you went for lunch with friends, you stayed up much later than you should have (with the help of three pots of coffee) to make study cards for an upcoming physics quiz—overall, a typical weekend in your life.  Who cared if you were now a keeper of one of the biggest secrets of someone you barely knew?  It was fine.  Everything was fine.
Except, it wasn’t, because it seemed that while you were dedicated to keeping things as normal as possible, Peter had decided to become dedicated to watching your every move. You could tell he didn’t trust you with the knowledge of his powers from his body language on the bus ride back to campus, but your theory was confirmed that weekend.  No matter what you were doing, or where you were, Peter seemed to show up.  He was sitting in a corner with a book and a coffee cup when you met your friend Sadie for lunch at a café on campus.  He was typing away on a laptop (and peering at you from over the top of the screen) while you and your study group compared notes in the library.  On Sunday night, when you opened your door at 11:30 to pick up more creamer for your coffee, Peter was standing outside, trying to act like he hadn’t just been standing patrol outside your dorm room.
“Okay, Parker, this is getting weird now,” You rolled your eyes and shut your door quietly behind you, trying not to disturb the other students in your building. “When your stalking was happening in public places, I could ignore it, but camping outside my dorm room is a bit much, even for me.”
“I’m not stalking you,” Peter shook his head and crossed his arms, following you as you began to walk down the hall.
“Oh, sorry, does it have a fancy new name now?” You raised an eyebrow. “Like how people are saying they’re ‘alt-right’ instead of Nazis?  What would you call this, non-consensual hanging out?”
“Surveillance.” Peter cut in front of you, stopping you in your tracks. “I need to make sure you’re not spilling my secret to anyone.”
“Listen, I’m not the Avenger here, so I don’t really know much about surveillance and secret keeping,” You shrugged your shoulders and flipped your key through your fingers over and over. “But I would think that surveillance is supposed to be more incognito than following me everywhere in plain sight.  And a secret doesn’t stay a secret if you keep bringing it up.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do?” Peter replied angrily. “A virtual stranger now knows the most private thing in my life; excuse me for being anxious about it.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” You questioned, crossing your arms. “That always helps when I’m anxious about stuff.  I’m down for talking about it, if you want.”
“I feel like that’s not a good idea,” Peter shook his head, causing you to sigh in return.
“Parker, come on, I already know your big secret,” You rubbed a tired hand across your eye. “What else could possibly come out from talking that could be more dangerous for me to know?”
Peter didn’t respond. You uncrossed your arms and held out the key card to your room.  The boy stared at the card uncomprehendingly until you spoke.
“Here, I’m room 29B, although it seems you already knew that.” You held out the key card until Peter took it, looking back up at you with confusion still in his eyes.
“What—?”
“I have to go get more coffee creamer, and the convenience store is only open for another—” You pulled out your phone to check the time. “Twenty-seven minutes.  I’ll be back in about ten, so just…make yourself at home.  I’d say don’t go snooping, but…I feel like I don’t have a right to say that?  If you did, at least it would make us even. Sort of.”
“Oh, yeah, because going through your panty drawer to find your diary is totally the same as knowing I’m a superhero.” Peter nodded his head sarcastically.
“Actually, my diary is underneath my mattress,” You began walking away, throwing a smirk over your shoulder as you left for the convenience store. “It’s my vibrator that’s in my panty drawer.”
 The convenience store employee’s name was Isaac, who was a fellow student.  He obviously seemed to be having a rough night, as he was slumped over the counter nursing a cup of coffee the size of your face.  You greeted him as you entered the store, heading to the refrigerated section.
“Hey, Y/N,” Isaac yawned as he scanned the plastic container you set on the counter. “Ooh, caramel flavour.  Splurging tonight, aren’t we?”
“What can I say; I live a life of luxury,” You smile wryly as you hand over a few dollar bills. “Keep the change.”
“Thanks, big spender,” Isaac took a sip of his drink. “See you in Calc on Tuesday?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” You picked up your creamer and waved goodbye, exiting the store.
 You made your way back to your dorm room as fast as you could, pulling your hoodie tighter around you in the chilly night air.  When you reached your door, you raised a hand to knock, but paused upon hearing Peter talking inside the room.  Intrigued, you pressed an ear to the door, trying to stay as silent as possible.
“No, I haven’t told Mr. Stark yet,” Peter’s muffled voice seemed irritated. “Why?  Ned, are you crazy?  Because he can’t know that some random girl knows about me!”
There was a pause, and you assumed the person on the other end of the phone call (Ned—that was one of the people that knew Peter’s secret identity) answered back.
“I just—I just have to make sure she won’t tell anyone,” Peter sighed, and you could hear him pacing slowly. “I’m kind of freaked out, man; I don’t even know her. It would be different if it was Liz or someone I was friends with.  When MJ found out, at least I knew that—hey, don’t tell her about this, okay?  I’ll never hear the end of—you already told her?” Peter groaned. “Oh, come on, Ned, whose side are you on?” Another pause. “I don’t blame you, man.  If I had to choose sides, I’d pick MJ, too.”
Deciding you had heard enough, you raised your hand to the door and knocked quietly a few times. Inside, you heard Peter’s pacing stop.
“She’s back, I have to go,” Peter whispered, but you could still make out his words. “I’ll talk to you later.  Good luck on your coding test.”
A moment later, the door opened up to reveal Peter, curls a mess as he stood back to let you in. You entered the room, surveying your home to see if anything had been touched or moved.  Everything looked to be in place…except for your diary, which was laying on top of your bed and opened to the middle of the book.
“Find anything interesting?” You asked, making your way to your coffee maker.  You began filling a coffee filter with grounds before starting the machine up and turning back around to face the boy.  Your diary was more of a venting space where you kept track of classes, exams, dreams, and events of the day.  You didn’t expect Peter to find any deep, dark secrets.
“Not really,” Peter shrugged, not bothering to pretend he hadn’t sorted through your personal items. “Except for the fact that you have really weird dreams.  What’s up with that one about the cat and—”
“I read a lot of books with talking animals as a kid,” You interrupted, crossing your arms as your coffee maker beeped from behind you. “Coffee?”
“Sure,” Peter sighed, running a hand through his hair (seriously, this kid was going to make himself bald before he was thirty if he kept doing that). “Cream and sugar, please.”
You made a cup for Peter and a cup for yourself, making sure to be very liberal with the cream and sugar (you actually didn’t like coffee that much, but it kept you awake). You handed a mug to Peter and sat down on your desk chair, surveying the boy.
“So,” You blew on your coffee before taking a small sip. “Tell me about your friends.”
“What?” Peter’s brow furrowed as he took a sip of the drink you handed to him.
“Look, I was happy to never be more than casual classmate acquaintances with you,” You rested your head on your propped up hand. “But then all this spider bullshit happened, and you decided to stalk me—”
“Surveillance.”
“—so it’s obvious that we are now in each other’s lives.” You finished, glaring at Peter when he interrupted you. “I’m worried about you in the suit, you’re worried about me telling people about you in the suit…we have to coexist somehow.  As annoying as it may be.  So tell me about your friends.”
“But why—?”
“Because knowing practically nothing about you makes this a lot weirder than it already is!” You snapped, setting your mug down on your desk. “Do you know what you’re supposed to know about acquaintances?  Their name and, like, where they’re from.  That’s pretty much it.  Do you know what I know about you?  Your name, where you’re from, and the fact that you’re fucking Spider-Man!”
“Keep your voice down,” Peter hissed, glancing around the room. “Dorm walls are fucking thin!”
“Like.  Full disclosure?  This entire thing is freaking me the fuck out and I’m trying to stay calm, but it’s still weird.  So, Parker, for the last time,” You inhale deeply and breathe out slowly. “Tell me about your friends.”
Peter sighed, took another sip of his coffee, and began to talk.  He told you about his best friend, Ned, who was in California majoring in computer science at Stanford, and his other best friend, Michelle (“But we all call her MJ.”), who was a political science major at Princeton (“Didn’t Michelle Obama go to Princeton?” “Why do you think MJ picked it?”). He spoke about his aunt, who had raised him all his life (you didn’t want to ask about his parents; you had a feeling it was a touchy subject.), and a little about the Avengers.  But just barely.
“Mr. Stark is kind of—” Peter cut off his sentence abruptly, glancing back up at you. “Um. I don’t think I should talk about that.”
“Whatever, Parker,” You twisted your hair into a bun and tied an elastic around it. “You should probably get going, anyways.  It’s late.”
Peter nodded and stood up from his seat on your bed, setting his mug down on your desk.
“So,” He began as he walked to the door. “I’ll save you a seat in class tomorrow?”
“Why?” Your eyebrows furrowed as Peter opened the door. “We’ve been sitting apart for the entire semester so far.”
“No matter how many cups of coffee you make me, or how many diary entrees I read,” Peter paused in the doorframe. “I don’t know if I’ll ever really trust you.  No offence, Y/N—”
“Some taken?”
“But I still need to keep an eye on you.” Peter walked through the door and set a hand on the doorknob. “So I’ll save you a seat in class tomorrow.  Sleep tight.  And don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
You watched in disbelief as the door closed in your face, and Peter Parker was gone.
{part iii}
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dancingwithour · 6 years
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Times Taylor Swift did THAT:
Red
okay so, in light of all this discourse I decided to make a post about songs I love of Taylor’s and my favorite lyrics. In this case, the entire red album lol. let me know if you want me to do any other albums sometime soon too and which ones! alright here we go:
State of Grace
“we fall in love till it hurts or bleeds or fades in time” RTRTRT
“we learn to live with the pain, mosaic broken hearts” that IMAGERY really just gets me man, my heart
“you’re my Achilles heel” we love an allusion to greek mythology
Red
“like the colors in autumn so bright, just before they lose it all” the true beginning of associating red with the fall time, an ICONIC moment
“forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met” what a lyricist I think about this lyric all the time it’s just an incredible way of describing how impossible it is to forget someone you loved and i’m gonna cry if I keep typing
“losing him was blue like i’ve never known, missing him was dark grey all alone” yes taylor painting emotions with color and it’s so vivid
Treacherous
“and i’ll do anything you say, if you say it with your hands” okAY TAYLOR
“and I, I, I like it” me being drawn in and loving situations that are risky and most likely detrimental
“all we are is skin and bone trained to get along” one of my favorite lyrics of all time it just explains itself
I Knew You Were Trouble
“I guess you didn’t care, and I guess I liked that” once again RELATABLE also a theme of remaining in situations that we been knew will end rough
“a new notch in your belt, is all i’ll ever be” ouch harsh reality
“and the saddest fear comes creeping in, that you never loved me or her or anyone or anything yeaaaaah OOOOOOOH”
cause it’s a beautiful lyric and that 1989 tour version NOTE THOUGH YES VOCALS
ALL TOO WELL
“left my scarf there at your sister’s house and you still got it, in your drawer, even now.” just cause give the scarf back jake
“and I might be okay but i’m not fine at all” just a reminder as to where she was then versus now we love a glo up
“hey you call me up again just to break me like a promise” one of my favorite lyrics of ALL TIME scream it
also where is the 10 min version i’m still salty
22
“it feels like a perfect night for breakfast at midnight” i’m feeling late night waffle house vibes
“we’re happy free confused and lonely at the same time, it’s miserable and magical” my sister says this is exactly how being 22 feels
“you look like bad news, I gotta have you” hmm a theme of bad decisions once again? can relate!
bonus: “who is taylor swift anyway? ew” I love taylor making fun of herself
I Almost Do
(is always slept on)
“I bet it never ever occurred to you that I can't say ‘Hello’ to you and risk another goodbye” so beautiful and i’m obsessed with this line’s melody
“in my dreams you're touching my face and asking me if I wanna try again with you. and I almost do.” I just started crying typing this lyric and i’m not okay wow
“and I hope sometimes you wonder about me.” I love when taylor’s outros mirror the first verse so powerful UGH
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
“when you said you needed space (what?)” lol her what is me with all boys always pulling the dumbest things
“like....ever” truly how I end all my arguments
“with some indie record that’s much cooler than mine” yes sarcasm tay and also 1989 tour version when she screamed this I got chills I was shook before shook was a thing
Stay Stay Stay
(my mama’s fave song of taylor’s!)
“no one else is gonna love me when I get mad, mad, mad” unconditional love got me thinking of joe SHE FOUND THE LOVE SHE WAS DAYDREAMING ABOUT GOOD GOD DONT TOUCH ME
“but you carry my groceries and now i’m always laughing” the way she says groceries I want on a loop as my ringtone
“it’s been occurring to me I’d like to hang out with you, for my whole life” yeah once again don’t touch me i’m not okay I wanna cry
The Last Time
(my child)
“put my name at the top of your list” yes make me your PRIORITY
“disappear when you come back, everything is better” and again, bad decisions that just feel so good
“This is the last time you tell me I've got it wrong,
This is the last time I say it's been you all along,
This is the last time I let you in my door,
This is the last time, I won't hurt you anymore” I LOVE A TAYLOR SWIFT BRIDGE also the harmonies on the “ohohohohoh” are to die for
Holy Ground
“back when you fit my poems like a perfect rhyme” y’all I love taylor swift lyrics I can’t even put into words they are everything
“and I see your face in every crowd” RETWEEEEEEEEEEEET
“but I don’t wanna dance, if i’m not dancing with you” I love it I love it I love it I love it that is some HOLY GROUND I think everyone can relate, honestly me with harry styles though. jk! (no i’m not)
Sad Beautiful Tragic
“words, how little they mean, when you’re a little too late” this can be applied to so many areas of life
“and you’ve got your demons and darling they all look like me” THIS. LYRIC. KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING IT AND TAYLOR SWIFT
“kiss me, try to fix it, could you just try to listen?” thank YOU taylor, when all someone wants to do is try and “fix” something but you really just need someone to listen to you I CAN RELATE @ all boys ever
The Lucky One
(I STAN IT)
“you had it figured out since you were in school, everybody loves pretty, everybody loves cool” screw the popular kids lol
“and your lover in the foyer doesn’t even know you” this lyric just gets me going I don’t know I get so aggressive at the industry and truly shout it lmao
“cause now my name is up in light, but I think you got it right” this lyric makes me feel emoooootions dude like it’s like her noting the moment she realized how brutal the media and fame is and the damaging effects because she’s living through it as she grows up :((((((
Everything Has Changed
“cause all I know is we said hello, and your eyes look like coming home” so cute, so real, the harmonies man, i’m soft!
“I'm feeling like I've missed you all this time” when you didn’t even know the person before but now you’re like, this is the piece that has been MISSING and taylor really has me in my feelings
“all I know is pouring rain, and that everything has changed” I love a taylor song with rain guys
Starlight
“we were 17 and crazy running wild, wild”
I just love that she had this magical idea from a picture she saw of bobby and ethel
“and we were dancing, dancing like we’re made of starlight, starlight” this song just feels sparkly and pretty. it’s just stunning and makes me happy
“don’t you dream impossible things” at the very end, the song fades out so glittery and pretty and I love love love it so in summation, starlight is an ethereal, sparkly, pretty song
Begin Again
“you pull my chair out and help me in, and you don’t know how nice that is but I do” cue the tears, she’s gotten used to people not treating her how deserves to be treated so the simplest gestures are amplified
“thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end but on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again” such a contrast from the rest of the album, I love how perfect this ending is. it shows that you will heal and pain isn’t permanent and wow i’m crying
“and for the first time, what’s past is past” YES SIS WE ARE MOVING ON WE ARE OPENING BACK UP TO BEGIN AGAIN YALL WE ARE CLOSING THIS ALBUM BEAUTIFULLY BECAUSE TAYLOR WEARS HEELS NOW OKAY
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blue-box · 3 years
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(posting again because why not, it’s election day. Be safe and good luck out there, yall. And most of all - - V O T E. )
“There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with Destiny.”
-Franklin D Roosevelt, 1936.
At the time that these words were spoken, the country was indeed in the middle of challenging times. While the crowd that was listening had well endured their fair share of hardship already, the days to come held much more adversity and they would in fact be facing their destiny. The first time I saw this speech was about a year ago while watching a documentary and I had to pause it, rewind, and watch it again because this moment gave me goosebumps. The clip that followed this speech was that of great crowd cheering. The crowd that was shown in this fuzzy black and white footage would soon go on to face one of the greatest wars the world would ever see. They, along with the speaker, would soon meet their destiny...and ultimately change the world for it.
And then it leaves me to wonder - what category does my generation fall under?
The world has changed so much since these words were said. It’s changed so much since just a year ago when I first penned much of this down in a journal. Perhaps it's naïve of me to say it, but I feel like if people slowed down a bit to truly listen to things like this - and I mean really listen and let it wash over you - that maybe one day we too would have a chance to meet such a destiny.
No one person elected can change it all. No one administration can instantly fix the damage and discourse that our nation has inflicted upon itself. No, it is up to us to hold any leadership responsible and accountable to their actions - and their words.
Words - Rhetoric. These things matter more than anything these days. These days where anybody can say whatever they want to the masses at the click of a button or a tap of the screen. A leader may say or even just imply something and it instantly turns so many against one another. Things that are said so quickly off the top of their head and then broadcasted to the world so fast that no one even stops to wonder if it was the right thing to say or not. No time to stop and wonder if it’s even the truth or hurtful to others. And then if it does backfire, it’s just simply brushed off as “sarcasm” or “just tellin’ it like it is.”
No. It’s not that simple. Speaking to and for a nation should never be as simple as that.
How leaders speak to us - the people of this nation - should matter a great deal. How they communicate with our allies and other nations of the world matter. How they address differences and speak to the opposite parties matter. Because even the “other side” is still a part of this nation, regardless of their political affiliation.
In the end, whatever is said, words matter and will resonate throughout history.
They will make an impact one way or another.
I tend to go through at least one or two drafts of whatever it is that I’m writing most days - and that’s just for work. Whether it’s to a client, a co-worker, or a boss, I try to put as much thought and craft as I can into whatever it is I’m working on. This isn’t a new concept, I’m sure many of us have experienced a similar thing - essays, letters, speeches, reports. Shouldn’t we hold leaders of a nation to the same standard of thought and care before speaking to and for us? What is said to us as a nation deserves to be composed with clarity of thought. No, we may not always agree with what is being said, but it should still be delivered with respect and taste to all. We the people deserve at least that much.
Words spoken can either inspire a generation to meet tough times head on and with hope and dignity, or they can destroy how far we have come and begin to tear us apart. Too often of late has the rhetoric been that of division. I’m not implying that FDR was a perfect leader, no leader is perfect. And I realize that it will take more than just one great speech to fix the problems that we all face together.
But it could be a start.
A start to try and bring us back together. A step in the direction of unity - to speak to everyone as a whole and not just to their devout followers. To address the country as one rather than pointing fingers to the other side. The words being spoken today will not touch the hearts of future generations as a speech did for me 84 years after the fact. The question now is - what words and speeches will be remembered 80-something years from now? What of what’s being said today do we want to be remembered?
However, I think much of what is said these days does not speak for my generation as a whole. Those are the words of others - those fewer in number who just so happen to have a better platform to be heard from.
No, I believe my generation may have better things to say. I cannot say that we’ll all agree on every topic. I cannot say with absolute certainty that we are or will be a great generation that will be remembered throughout history. But I do believe we are capable of a great and much needed change.
I just hope that when that time comes, whenever it may be, that we do not miss the rendezvous.
x---
“The defeats and victories of these years have given to us as a people a new understanding of our government and of ourselves. Never since the early days of the New England town meeting have the affairs of government been so widely discussed and so clearly appreciated. It has been brought home to us that the only effective guide for the safety of this most worldly of worlds, the greatest guide of all, is moral principle.
We do not see faith, hope, and charity as unattainable ideals, but we use them as stout supports of a nation fighting the fight for freedom in a modern civilization.
Faith - in the soundness of democracy in the midst of dictatorships.
Hope - renewed because we know so well the progress we have made.
Charity - in the true spirit of that grand old word. For charity literally translated from the original means love, the love that understands, that does not merely share the wealth of the giver, but in true sympathy and wisdom helps men to help themselves.
We seek not merely to make government a mechanical implement, but to give it the vibrant personal character that is the very embodiment of human charity.
We are poor indeed if this nation cannot afford to lift from every recess of American life the dread fear of the unemployed that they are not needed in the world. We cannot afford to accumulate a deficit in the books of human fortitude.
In the place of the palace of privilege we seek to build a temple out of faith and hope and charity.
It is a sobering thing, my friends, to be a servant of this great cause. We try in our daily work to remember that the cause belongs not to us, but to the people. The standard is not in the hands of you and me alone. It is carried by America. We seek daily to profit from experience, to learn to do better as our task proceeds.
Governments can err, presidents do make mistakes, but the immortal Dante tells us that Divine justice weighs the sins of the cold-blooded and the sins of the warm-hearted on different scales.
Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.
There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.”
- F.D. Roosevelt, 1936.
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