#you just like what a specific part of the fandom has chosen to interpret from it

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi , miss Raven

Their is something has been on my mind for while ;

In rook suitor suit vignette he Compose a flattering poem about Crowley

While Ace and Epel was talking about how rook would compliment anyone , rook insisted that he mean every word he say .

And there's this specific weird line

"if it weren't for your presence , I wouldn't be here"

Like what do you mean?????!!

Do you think this line is hinting at the fact that rook didn't join NRC via traditional way or he wasn't chosen by the dark mirror , since he is one of the light trio

Or To the fact that he transferred to another dorm smoothly without any problem?

For some reason I started suspecting rook recently 😭

The fact he was one of the reason vil overbloted by convincing him to watch neige performance and also he is the one who convinced vil to add Ace and deuce as part of VDC team while I thought lilia and cater was a better option

I would like to hear your opinion about it 👀

Ah, so if I'm understanding you correctly... You're theorizing that Rook might be an outside agent of some kind? One that Crowley intentionally brought into NRC to facilitate triggering overblots??

I’ll try to respond to one question at a time; hopefully this will make it easier to follow along! The post got quite long, so it's all below the cut~

Beginning with Rook’s poem, and, more specifically, “If it weren’t for your presence, I wouldn’t be here”. It’s funny that you mention this line, because when the vignette first came out (in JP; the terminology used is similar to “I would not exist/be here”), people interpreted it VERY literally. As in… “Rook is Crowley’s son because he literally could not be conceived without a father! They’re even both named after birds! They have to at least be blood related somehow!” Strange how in 2020, Crowley was suspected of being Rook’s father but now in 2024 Crowley’s being suspected of being Malleus’s father. The poor headmaster just can’t catch a break 😂

Personally, I don’t think that line is implying anything strange about Rook’s enrollment. As far as we know, he did not join NRC though any abnormal means, and nor did Silver. Of the “light trio” (a label that I must stress exists within the fandom but is not endorsed by TWST), only Kalim fits the bill. Kalim was originally homeschooled, but received an acceptance letter to NRC a month into the school year. Another month later, he transferred in. As far as we know, all students at NRC (save for Yuu and Grim) were chosen by the Mirror of Darkness, even the light trio. Again, I want to emphasize that TWST does not use “light trio” or a similar term to refer to or to characterize Kalim, Silverc and Rook. We’ve gotten no formal in-universe explanation as to why those three in particular have light cosmic magic instead of everyone else’s dark cosmic magic. (This is entirely separate from meta theories, which are out-of-universe explanations for why the “light trio” exists. The popular meta explanation is that it’s because Silver, Kalim, and Rook are not twisted from Disney villains but rather “good” characters like Aurora, the Sultan, and the Huntsman.)

On the subject of transferring dorms, the option is always on the table. We see mob students talk about transferring dorms as early as 1-14:

In 6-67 (part 20 with the Pomefiore group), Vil describes the transfer process as being tedious and involving a lot of “complicated paperwork and ceremonies”. Crowley also says the process is “burdensome” in 1-20, but this phrasing is quite vague and could mean any number of things. (Burdensome to whom, the staff or the students? Why exactly is it burdensome?) Overall, it seems like transferring dorms would take a long time and require various formalities, but not necessarily be full of problems.

As long as you’re dedicated and consistently complete what is asked of you to complete the process, transferring should be no issue. I don’t think it’s a given that you’d normally experience troubles in trying to transfer. It should be smooth by default (unless the student backs out, is uncooperative, and/or fails to complete the required steps). So following that logic, I don’t think the poem line is saying anything about Rook’s dorm transfer either.

While it’s true that Rook encourages Vil to watch Neige’s performance and advises that Vil pick Ace and Deuce for the VDC/SDC Tribe, I do not believe there was malicious intent behind these actions. It’s hinted throughout book 5 that Rook’s reasoning for doing these things was to help Vil recognize the value of his “beauty” is something he gains from himself, not from the approval of others.

This is most likely Rook’s motivation for suggesting Vil observe the competition or to consider freshmen for the team. It’s exposing Vil to the contentedness that can come with imperfection or not being at the very top, something Vil fails to recognize in himself until the end of book 5. Being as perceptive as he is, Rook would have realized that outright telling Vil the moral of the week would not sway his strong-willed friend’s mind. Thus, Rook devised a more roundabout plan and involved Yuu (who, at this point, has a reputation for settling dorm-wide disputes) and co. (unpolished and clumsy underclassmen that Vil could shape as well as potentially also learn from in a reciprocal manner). Maybe Lilia and Cater would have been more technically skilled, being members of a club band and all, but they wouldn’t have provided the same opportunity for growth that Yuu and Adeuce did.

Rook is someone who has always been portrayed as a supporter of Vil’s, a good friend and a trusted confidant. He does have a nefarious side and is 100% capable of deception (like the time in Endless Halloween Night when he quickened his heartbeat to convince Sebek he was also scared and therefore was not a traitor). However, I don’t think Rook would want to betray his friends by actively harming them and putting their lives in danger (both during book 5’s overblot and immediately after in book 6’s rescue mission); he truly cares for them and wants to see them happy and healthy. (One could argue he should have voted for NRC instead of RSA to help Vil achieve his dream instead of betraying him, but that’s another discussion entirely.)

There’s no reason why Rook would go out of his way to do innocuous things like helping Epel with his UM or imparting wisdom to Deuce unless he actually cared and wanted to see them develop. Beyond the scope of book 5, why would Rook do even more innocuous things like trying to make Epel feel welcome and assisting him with learning table manners? Why wouldn’t he go out of his way to provoke Vil more often? Did Crowley hypothetically have even all of these little details down and instruct Rook to do (or not do) these things??? It sounds too far-fetched to attach a hidden motive behind everything Rook says or does. It could be as simple as “he wants to be there to support his friends”.

Before we wrap up, I’d like to quickly touch on the suggestion that Silver and Kalim too were catalysts for Malleus and Jamil’s OBs, respectively. It’s true that they were, but I doubt Silver or Kalim were aware and did so intentionally. Both seemed genuinely ignorant as to the true stress that Malleus and Jamil were under, and Silver + Kalim do not present as toxic people who would want to inflame their friends’ negativity. Of course, there’s always the possibility that Puppet Master Crowley (™) is orchestrating everything from the shadows (but I’m not going to get into the “time loop to gather all the necessary information and learn what the correct choices are” theory here www). I just don’t think Rook is Crowley’s accomplice in all of this if the time loop + intention overblots theories overlap.

This is one of those instances where I see Rook as being very honest with his intentions and because of his… generally strange character (?), his peers and players alike still suspect there is a deeper meaning to his words. I interpret his poem as nothing more than waxing poetic to expressing gratitude to the one man that makes it possible for him to be at NRC as a student: Crowley. Rook states that he wanted to give an exemplary poem using a subject that both Ace and Epel were already familiar with, so he went with the headmaster. Furthermore, we know that Rook is able to witness many wonderful and beautiful things at NRC, as well as make meaningful relationships with interesting people like Vil. He would not be able to do any of these things were he not extended an invitation to NRC—and it is for this reason that it would make sense for him to genuinely be appreciative of Crowley.

Those are all my thoughts on this matter all for now ^^ Hope it was an interesting read!

#twisted wonderland #twst #Rook Hunt #Dire Crowley #Kalim Al-Asin #Silver #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #question #twst theory #twisted wonderland theories #twst theories #twisted wonderland theory #Cater Diamond #Lilia Vanrouge #Ace Trappola #Yuu #Deuce Spade #Vil Schoenheit #Jamil Viper #Malleus Draconia #book 7 spoilers #book 4 spoilers #book 5 spoilers #notes from the writing raven #rook suitor suit vignette spoilers #Epel Felmier #Pomefiore #Neige LeBlanche #endless halloween night spoilers

[y-rhywbeth2]

In your post about Durge's sudden normality you mentioned implied SA in the tags; would you mind elaborating on that? I don't remember seeing any implications like that, but I know I missed a lot of details in my first run. (Obviously if you would mind feel free to ignore this.)

Naturally this is going under a cut for discussion of rape, sexual exploitation and incest:

Some of it is mostly me reading into things and frowning, but Bhaal being able to violate Durge sexually and the intent of sexual exploitation (regardless of Durge's will) is canon and it does lend credence to the idea.

Durge is obligated to breed, and Bhaal can and will force them to; the original version of the feral ending in the dialogue files involves him forcing them into a state of sexual hyperarousal and forcing them to mate with a gnoll, in the same way he can force the urge to slay on them. Bhaal's intention there is to see if he can breed more monstrous Bhaalspawn. Some of the dialogue options are just Durge screaming in horror.

Durge has no memory of the actual rape; Bhaal forces them to spend the entire time thinking about him: "Your memory of last night's act is absent. In the moment of mounting, your mind emptied itself, and you could think only of Bhaal."

And knowing that, when I saw "I love you father. I'm a good [child], a good, good [child]" in the released version I had to go sit down for a bit.

We know that Durge is expected to have kids - it's a mortal sin that they haven't. It's also vague whether they tried or not pre-amnesia; they're described as "failing" not refusing, it could've gone either way. Durge may already have been exploited. Even if they don't disappoint Bhaal in game, this "duty" remains. It's not just the Tribunal making shit up; Sceleritas is your direct liaison to Bhaal, and he makes this clear to them as Bhaal's Chosen too.

We know that if Durge won't kill then Bhaal will force them to, and we know that he can force them to have sex too. It's entirely possible that Durge's only say in this is to either fuck partners they chose or have them chosen for them (as we all know, Bhaal has zero respect for his kids' bodily autonomy or desires past his use for them, and Bhaal wants more babies.)

At the very least, it doesn't seem to be a major part of Bhaal's plan for Durge yet, so Durge may have dodged this specific form of abuse for now.

Bhaal has also done this to Sarevok, it seems, who would probably have killed himself back in BG1+2 if he could see what would happen to him in his future.

Knowing that Bhaal has no issues inflicting sexual arousal on his own kids, those scriptures you find that explicitly refer to the pleasure he bestows on his followers when they kill as "erotic" unfortunately have little reason not to be applied to Bhaalspawn. It would also explain the necrophilia if Durge has been conditioned to see killing/corpses as sexual.

Not quite the same thing, but the thing where people think Durge fucked the Netherbrain is actually from a remark by Bhaal in the journal update, where he makes a crack that "That slimy thing in the Moonrise called you its fallen star. It was very reverent [...] apparently [you're] good at playing with tentacles."

That's not inherently sexual, but knowing that Bhaal is willing to sexually exploit Durge and that the fandom had already interpreted it as sexual, I did kind of stare at it in horror for a bit.

#Look I found more Durge-Astarion parallels #edgelord hours #/durge

[fourswordsannotated]

akira himekawa are unbelievably cool.

soooo here's the thing. i was looking at akira himekawa's website on a whim and found a public blog, with posts that go all the way back to 2009. many hours of google translating later, and i've developed an even stronger admiration of these two women and their exceptional career as manga artists. they share so much in these posts about the creative process, their thoughts on social justice, their connections with nature, and their most major original story, gliding reki, which seems to have always been a passion project in the midst of commercial work.

from what i could gather, reki is unique in that they were determined to do it in full color. and they did it, because after reading about their career, it's clear to me that when these women set their mind to an idea, they make it happen. see also: they just recently produced and distributed their own art book, because no publishers were offering to do it in a way that pleased them.

their stated goals for reki were to make something more adult than their previous children's manga, taking place in a city, involving a lot of mechanical art, and featuring stronger romantic and self-described erotic subtext. good for them. before i get into the four swords-related stuff, i'm sharing what i could find on the internet about reki.

more under the cut, because there's quite a bit to discuss :)

not much that i could find on the blog specifically references four swords, but they have many fascinating insights about nintendo, the zelda fandom, and the franchise as a whole. i can't know for certain because this information was surmised from translated text, but it seems as if their manga with chibi link made them feel a little stifled, which is why they took a long break before returning to do twilight princess. it's not lost on me that even a work like four swords, which they may regard as not their favorite or best, still has inspired and brought together so many passionate, creative, and diverse people. this is especially sweet because it seems as if they met each other, and formed their creative partnership, because of a shared fandom interest of their own.

honda and nagano have shared their thoughts and feelings on this blog for more than a decade, and they have a lot of thoughts and feelings. throughout their entire career they've made commentary on work-life balance, their experiences as women in a male-dominated field, and their desire to create original art while simultaneously enjoying some commercial work as well. they are passionate about social justice, particularly re: women and indigenous people, and offer insights on aspects of culture and history and the state of the world that really could resonate with anyone. and they really seem to appreciate fans of their work, and emphasize repeatedly the care and thought they put into their manga in the hopes it will inspire and bring catharsis to readers. they love animals (especially wolves), being outside in nature, being nerds about art they enjoy, a certain subgenre of romantic manga that appealed to and empowered female readers in the 90's and 2000's, and traveling around the world to partake in activities like horse riding and falconry.

the coolest part is, they're still updating the blog to this day :) in fact they seem to have recently returned to it, reflecting that twitter is not their preferred manner of sharing things online. they seem very familiar with and fond of older-school blogging culture.

there's a lot more i could say here about my findings, some of which do pertain to... certain ships 💜🖤 . but i don't want my genuine appreciation for these authors to be overshadowed by that kind of conversation. in addition to a link to the blog itself, i'm including a few translated posts of interests, which you can interpret and incorporate into your perception of the media however you please. at the end of the day, it's a really cool gift that these artists have chosen to share so much over such a long period of time. by making their personalities, beliefs, and insights more visible to fans of their work, i hope it brings new context to the stories we already love.

a modern-day insight:

re: the zelda mangas. these are from several points throughout their career. please note that they have so many fond things to say about zelda as a franchise and their work on the mangas, especially regarding the way they've affected fans. i encourage you to look for yourself, on their blog and their other socials!

re: gliding reki

re: the creative process (and in the latter two, the fandom that seems to have inspired them!)

re: their two goofyass adorable tiny dogs that they dress up in outfits while also loving wolves like a lot, they love wolves (both domesticated and wild), they really love wolves

re: wolf day (every day is wolf day,)

re: indigenous rights

re: painting serious works on commission vs their manga. i can't know for sure exactly what it means, but it really does kinda hit

re: a fan and manga artist in training bringing them art and a note

and a moment from a twilight princess manga interview i found very sweet :)

okay. you've made it to the end. i know you're wondering. here you go. please remember that this is and always has been a public blog, and these posts are actually from 2009 and 2010. also please remember that the point of this post is not to cause or fuel fandom discourse, but to appreciate these authors and the things that they choose to express.

(also, this is the column they were referring to in image 1. it's FASCINATING. give it a read if you'd like!)

the dots are there. you're welcome to connect them.

thank you for your beautiful work and insights, honda and nagano. please never change.

#akira himekawa #four swords manga #legend of zelda #four swords #loz #twilight princess manga #(yes there is v/dow stuff at the very bottom okay it's there just please read the rest)

[minggukieology]

편지- Letter ✍️

Now that the dust has settled, I found a peaceful moment in the afternoon to sit down in silence and listen to Letter while trying to unpack all my thoughts. This lengthy post will be more in the tone of my personal stance and connection with the song, omitting going into too much detail about the grammar and explaining Korean expressions but still I will try to explain how the song makes an impression with the specific language used.

My reflections:

From the beginning onwards, the song sounds very delicate, while Jimin is singing to us in the polite form and bringing up multiple themes that are characteristic for the ARMY fandom and our path with the boys over the years: the desert, the sea, the cold winter and a warm spring day... He is wishing us to be happier and for this to last forever, while promising to be there when you feel like falling and cherishing all the memories we made together.

In that way, I, as a listener, am in a headspace where I am reminiscing on our story with Jimin as an idol and all we've been through together with him (and trust me, if you have joined just recently, there has been a lot darker times)...

Though as the song progresses and as the refrain comes on, the urgency to express his emotions intensifies together with the instrumental. And this is where Jungkook's vocals come in too. Jimin with the help of Jungkook is suddenly singing in a casual (lower politiness) form as if directly trying to reach out to the person on the listening end individually, addressing every line with a higher intensity and more personally. It just feels more intimate, even more earnest and more powerful. Moreover, the lyrics and chosen words feel more targeted at an individual rather than towards a group (even the scrapped lyrics felt more like he was writing towards a single person in this section).

Whatever the reason for Jungkook's appearance in this part, it makes the emotional impact even more convincing.

....

No matter what angle you may choose, Letter is an incredibly heartfelt track packed with strong emotions. I believe it's a song for ARMY and at the same time it is a song for someone in Jimin's life that has been his lifeline and his strong heart connection to them prompted him to write these lyrics woven with thick emotions.

That being said, Jimin sharing this unique space with Jungkook to support him in his emotional expression with his hidden layered vocals and some more audible backing vocals speaks volumes. Just the fact that Jungkook is present on a track (and on the most intense and personal part of the track) where Jimin is earnestly trying to deliver a message to the listener from the depths of his heart is special, no matter how anyone subjectively wants to interpret the song and its content: Do you think they are singing directly to ARMY? Great! I'd argue having someone that shares the same love and commitment, understands what you're feeling and is able to channel the same emotions as you, and as a testament to your bond you let them contribute to your own artistic expression with theirs, is incredibly precious.

There are things that Jimin will never comment on, so I doubt we will ever find out how this song and Jungkook's feature came to be besides what we already heard. Jimin is incredibly smart in how he tailors his message and communication with the broader audience. Thus, while on the surface the public sees him dancing sensually with female dancers, a longer careful look would give you a view of the half-half makeup and other dichotomies in the choreo/concepts, specifically chosen pieces of clothing, specially crafted details in the performance sets, etc. And the same thing applies to the song Letter too. Only after listening closely, you'll get to uncover layer by layer what lies hidden in this "hidden" track. On top of that, Jungkook casually showing he learnt the chords for this song in a random live broadcast out of nowhere prior to the release of the album just shows there is more to the story than we'll be ever told.

Personally, I will be keeping this song close to my heart and holding onto it until their military service concludes. It has become my own lifeline to my life as a fan and getting to hear Jimin and Jungkook together delivering these precious words is something I will cherish forever 🙏

#jimin #face #letter #jungkook #reflections #민꾸기 #edited for typos

[parachutingkitten]

Why is Pixane So Queer?

Some thoughts on Asexual Romance.

[warning, long post below the cut]

The Ninjago fandom had a very potent reaction to The Quest for the Lost Powers repeatedly describing Pixal and Zane as being 'very close friends'. This seemed quite contradictory to many who assumed the confession of undying love at the end of the last season might have been a small hint at a romantic relationship of some kind. However, after closer examination, it turns out Pixal and Zane don’t ever actually refer to themselves as a couple, and the show has never once referred to them being in an active relationship.

But there’s something here, right? Sure, it’s not explicitly stated, but you are lying to yourself if you can watch them and tell me there is zero romantic subtext going on here. A lot of people got very defensive that the children’s book stated they were friends, especially when it also seemingly confirmed that the much straighter straight boy ship, Kailor, was apparently canon, despite being only implied as a possible future for ages now. But I find this backlash to be a bit strange. Sure, Zane and Pix aren’t exactly ‘just friends’ but, what do you want them to say? That they’re boyfriend and girlfriend? You want these two to say they’re ‘going out’ with each other? You think these two robots are ‘dating’ each other, like they’re just susin’ out the partner pool. Are those the words that fit this relationship to you?

I found myself feeling weirdly offended at everyone, and I think the reason was that these two love-droids haven’t chosen to define their relationship in traditional terms, and so everyone’s insistence that they should be boxed into some sort of traditional term seems inherently strange. It’s like when two elderly people are dating, it feels weird when they say “this is my girlfriend” because despite it being factually true, there’s so much baggage that comes with the word, part of that implication being youth, which is directly at odds with the immediate situation. It’s the correctness of the word paired with the incorrectness of the societal implications which forces you to assess if those societal implications should exist. And that- that is what makes this relationship feel queer. That’s why there’s this undeniably different kinda energy radiating off of it. It’s that rejection of the traditional labels, the refusal to be put into a box, which forces it to be a-typical. But, why? Why does Pixane have this rejection of labels radiating off of it? Their ages, while being literally whack, are presented as being your typical teenage to young adult age romance. Their genders present as a typical hetero pairing. And it’s not like they don’t follow your typical cliche love at first sight plot. I mean, Pixal was pretty explicitly created as a generic love interest character. So, what is it? Why is this queer? Spoiler alert: It’s because they’re asexual.

So, what is asexuality? Strictly defined, it is a community of people who experience little to no sexual attraction to anyone. This is distinct from aromanticism, which is a lack of romantic attraction, and sexual engagement or urges which are their own separate boat, but often have overlap with asexuality. However, for our purposes, we are focused on just the sexual attraction part. You can think of it as the difference between finding someone hot and finding someone cute. That’s the distinction that made it click for me anyway.

Now, as a disclaimer, I am not going to be considering other queer interpretations of this relationship. Not to invalidate them, because of course they’re valid, but specifically because I feel there isn’t precedent for them in the text, and I feel there is for asexuality. This deep dive is particularly about validating asexuality as being queer, and so to do that we have to eliminate any other outstanding factors. People are extremely quick to pin asexual queerness to something else, and that in itself can feel invalidating, even if it’s only attempting to validate other communities as well. Asexual romance is so easily read as straight romance, that any queer undertones have to have an alternate explanation, because asexuality doesn’t seem like enough to cross the barrier. Yes, enby interpretations of Pixane are great, and fantastic, and I would die for your right to follow those headcanons, but to pin the in text queer vibes on the fact that they technically don’t have biological gender, despite having very clear presenting and unwavering genders in text seems like a real easy way to dismiss the asexual coding which is staring me in the face. While things like non-binary or aromantic readings validate communities who have immense oppression and are continually called fake or confused, which is insanely important, asexuality, especially as it stands apart from aromanticism, is often confused as not being a difference at all. You’re just pure! You’re just wholesome! You’re just so sweet and innocent! And yes… yes, I am, but also, it’s more than that. It’s fundamentally something different about the way my brain is wired, and I feel a need to defend the fact that it, specifically, is queer. And in no way am I trying to say that the aces are the most oppressed actually, I don’t want to start the oppression Olympics here, and if we were to, I would probably argue quite the opposite, but I am saying that there is oppression, and it comes from outside and inside of the community, and it is a thing. It’s a different flavor of thing that’s maybe not as severe, but also sits differently. Maybe it’s not as much a pressing thing as other things, but… it’s my thing. It’s what I feel. It’s something I can speak on. So, I’m going to speak on it.

Perhaps one of the largest factors asexuality has to offer is the necessary separation of romance and sex. The packaging of sexual attraction and romantic attraction is so ubiquitous that the term ace is often assumed to be referring to aro/ace people, despite there being a term for that… aro/ace! Asexuality is not an easy queerness to explain, precisely because of this deeply held integration. It’s not a difference of experience necessarily, it’s a lack of a certain experience. I’m not saying this is something you can’t understand, because, unless you’re aromantic, I know you understand it! You are going to be able to like and relate to and feel seen by asexual romances, because the main component it requires is that you have romantic attraction- which is most people. And so many people get confused when you point to an asexual thing and go “I get that! This! This is me!” Because they just respond with “You’re not special, I get that too. Is this supposed to be different?” And, yes, it is, primarily because everything else includes this giant other thing as well, which is sexuality.

When vegans get excited about finding a meal which is especially delicious and also meets their food restrictions, they get particularly excited. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy that same vegan meal- no doubt it probably tastes incredibly delicious to you as well. But you likely won’t get that same feeling of excitement, because you don’t live under the same restrictions as vegans do. That’s the same thing I feel when I see an asexually coded romance. I can enjoy the full meal without having to pick things out or ignore vital parts. I have no doubt that others can thoroughly enjoy asexual romances, but you’re going to have to look at it in context of all the dominant romance stories in the world to understand why it’s so different and special to me.

Now, have I cracked the code on asexual romance in media? No. I only have my own experience with asexuality to lean on, and the very limited discourse on the topic I’ve come across while discovering my identity. All of this is simply a theory based on my own thoughts and observations, but these are some explanations as to what might possibly be included in a framework for an asexually coded romance, at least to me.

So, what makes romance asexual? It’s not simply a lack of sexual suggestiveness. Any number of romances aren’t sexually suggestive, but still glaringly heteronormative- especially in children’s television. And it’s also not a lack of initial attraction, as that would throw Pixane out of the running for sure. Well, I have a few things which I feel may contribute to asexual coding of a romantic relationship, and wouldn’t you know, Pixane is a great example of all of them.

Asexual romance may, as many have remarked, come off as more innocent. When you shove all of the focus of characters onto the romantic, emotional connection, rather than any underlying sexual tension, things end up feeling extremely innocent to the layperson. You get the sort of old married couple effect. Two people deeply in love, who just sort of stare at each other in awe, and that others can comment on how cute they are. Again, asexuals don’t necessarily find anything hot. Cuteness is the main operative factor motivating their attraction, so it follows that their interactions would radiate that factor back at observers. The characters might in fact be very touchy, have sex, enjoy that physical touch, but that’s not at the forefront of anyone’s mind in the story. This is an aspect of Pixane that can be read very clearly. Their romance is quite easily described as pure and wholesome by all who have the pleasure of observing them. The way they interact with each other is extremely gentle and supportive, and their level of old married couple vibes is by far the highest of any pairings in the show (aside from perhaps the actual old married couple of Ed and Edna).

Asexual romance, I find to often be less conflict driven. Take the classic enemies to lovers plotline- it’s built on a tension between an innate irrational attraction, and a perceived logical personality conflict. While romantic attraction is certainly not always rational, from my understanding, sexual attraction is often rooted in factors that aren’t at all related to logical compatibility or personality. This means the enemies to lovers plot is primed to work much better when sexually charged, because it presents a clear path to create the hate/love conflict. Not to say that asexual enemies to lovers is impossible, or that asexual partners don’t have conflict between them, but that it is less of an obvious threat to incorporate into asexual romance.  Because there are less factors and layers of attraction to get involved in, there’s less room for conflict and contradiction between them. It is much easier to get tangled up in a situation with more strings. Pixane is a relationship which certainly doesn’t hold much internal conflict. The one disagreement they did have is solved quite neatly with basic communication skills in the middle of season 8. Most of their conflict comes from external factors which separate them or cause misunderstanding, rather than conflict from within the characters themselves.

Asexual romance also has the obvious potential to challenge traditional dating norms. Because there is no impulse to escalate things physically, it makes sense that the progression of an asexual romance would differ from traditional relationships where that escalation is expected. Your asexual romance is bound to get emotionally intense with each other quicker, or at least have it be the focus of their story, because there is no other facet to deal with. Asexuals don’t commonly have sexual fantasies for themselves, but rather romantic fantasies. Not to say that most people don’t have romantic fantasies, but… that’s all we’ve got. And when your impulse is ‘let’s get married, and then maybe I guess we can kiss’, it might seem like things are progressing out of order to the average person. While asexuals don't all hate physical contact or even sexual connection, it isn't an attractive or motivating factor in the same way it is in most romances, so even on a base level, the level of physical contact is likely going to be less than average. Pixane progresses ridiculously out of order. Zane is willing to split his soul for her- it’s only at this point that they romantically hold hands for the first time. It’s the emotional connection between the two that comes first, and all classic tangible symbols of affection and romance that are secondary. The most pronounced physical contact we’ve seen is a cheek kiss, and their most common type of physical contact is enthusiastic hugging (which I’ll dive more into later).

Additionally, because physical affection is more of an afterthought, it would also make sense for labels to come slowly. If you have an incredibly close personal, soulful connection, but you haven’t kissed yet, it makes sense for people around you to assume you’re just really close friends, or perhaps just crushing on each other still. Terms like “girlfriend” and “boyfriend” invoke rather physical tactile images, and so to attempt to apply them to an asexual romance isn’t necessarily wrong but may feel a bit off putting because of this dissonance. Again, it’s this dissonance between the romantic meaning of the word, and the sexual undertones which forces discomfort onto the viewer. Pixal and Zane have yet to kiss each other after years of dancing around each other’s obvious romantic feelings. It remains unclear if they even are in an active romantic relationship at all, or are still mutually pinning, as no labels have been given to their relationship in show. I have no doubt part of this is the lack of planned dates or physical affection which are common outward signals of a traditional established relationship.

A lot of the saucy flirting which accompanies many classic heteronormative romances can seem rather pointless to asexuals. I would venture to say that asexuals are likely more direct and up front with their emotional vulnerability and feelings, because that’s the connection which they are seeking to make. To dance around it with innuendo and mind games is rather unproductive in achieving the end goal. There is less of a pressure to “perform” romance, and instead just be honestly romantic, because the romance isn’t a prelude to sex, or physical affection, it’s the end goal in and of itself. To only pretend to do it is entirely pointless. All of this is likely going to result in a romance which puts less focus on the “game of dating”. I mean, can you imagine Pixane ending up in a Jaya style love triangle? It’s almost an absurd pitch to make, right? There is no performativity to the Pixane relationship, it is exactly as it appears at first glance. And when Zane attempts more traditional, cheesy flirting tactics like in Ninjago Confidential, Pixal is nothing but confused and annoyed by his attempts.

The most prominent example which I feel exemplifies the inherently asexual coding of Pixane applies to many robotic romances- and it’s the characters’ relationship with skin. A lot of sexual suggestion and tension is based on skin. The revealing nature of skin exposure, the feeling of skin on skin being a sexual touchpoint, skin is essential to the sexual experience in most instances. This is part of the reason I love writing romance but have yet to write a kiss between anyone. The sexuality of a kiss is inherently uncomfortable to write for me because you’re encouraged to lean into the physical feeling of the touch of skin. Robots bring to the forefront the idea of this physical contact because their skin is often not exactly skin, and that in itself gives a sort of de facto distance from sexuality. There’s a moment which happens repeatedly with Pixane, and shows up in other robotic romances, like Wall-E and Eve, which I feel highlights this essential separation from the skin of sexuality. Pixane and Wall-Eve both have the ‘clink’ moment, in which intimate physical contact is made, (in Pixane’s case, all of their many hugs) and accentuated by the sound of their metal skin meeting with a loud clink. This sound not only highlights their lack of skin but serves to suck any sexual energy out of the interaction immediately and leaves it purely with the romance intended by the action. It’s not uncommon for people to find the sound humorous, precisely because of how desexualizing it is. It highlights the couples’ incapability of indulging in sexual skin on skin contact, and instead the closeness and companionship the act of touching provides.

And this is why I feel robots are in fact a decent candidate for asexual characters if done properly. Robots being coded as asexual can be a very negative stereotype, particularly when their asexuality is explicitly linked to their lack of emotion and feeling- but media about robots has been trending more positively recently. In fact, robots, if used correctly, may actually validate asexuality explicitly. Robotic characters are often used to explore the idea of what makes humanity human. If we give these robots human-like enough traits, when do they become human? Are they perhaps the most human? And it seems like fictional consensus agrees that sexuality is not required to achieve human status. Stripping away the excess human emotions may be part of what makes robots asexual (or aromatic, if your robot is also incapable of romantic love). The medium of robot literalizes the disconnect that asexuals have with their physical bodies, most notably their skin, and serves to put additional distance between the character and sexual contact, at least in the traditional sense. I mean, think about it, if you want your robot to be sexual, you need to go out of your way to establish that it has sexual capability, because no one is going to simply assume that your fictional robot was designed with that capability in mind. Why would it be, unless that was its explicit purpose? In a way, robots are sort of de facto asexual.

Pixane is queer because it’s asexual, and it’s asexual because they distill down only the purely romantic parts of a romantic relationship. They’re able to do this, in part because of their individual characterization, but also because of their robotic bodies, which make the separation between romance and sexuality just that much easier. They highlight the necessity to separate romance from all of the convoluted sexual layers which often accompany it, and so come out feeling distinctly untraditional and subversive.

That's the theory, again, all hyper based on my own personal experience with asexuality, which is of course not all encompassing. I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

#ninjago #pixane #pixal borg #zane julien #pixal ninjago #zane ninjago #asexuality #long one #parachuterants

[ctrl-alt-tahu]

The Everyman Problem

So, I've had a kernel of a Bionicle post rattling around in my for a couple weeks that I haven't quite been able to articulate, but I think I might have the angle to explain it now.

I'm an "old Bionicle fan": by which I mean, I'm old enough to have got into Bionicle in the "Mata Nui" era (2001-2003). A glance at the notes on my big [unfinished, looking abandoned] alt-canon fanfic shows that I'm old enough to have disliked the change of the Toa from Mata to Nuva... in 2002.

So, which that as background, remember that I'm old enough to remember a time when it wasn't known at all that Matoran, Toa, and Turaga were all the same "species."

Thinking back on it, I don't think I initially "noticed" the revelation that no only were the Turaga were former Toa, but the Toa (Metru) were Matoran before that--Takanuva too, but he was something of a special case. In 2004, I was really just absorbing that Vakama, Onewa, etc. were former Toa--that "Toa" might mean something other than "single demi-urgic hero of each element." I got there eventually, as far as acceptance goes, but it part of my age-related fade out of the Bionicle fandom.

2006, on the other hand, emphasized the other part that I'd ignored more during the LoMN/WoS era: that Toa came from Matoran. I still don't love this, but until last night I couldn't really lay a finger on how to express why.

I thought it might just be my habitual stick-in-the-muditude: you changed Jaller from Captain of the Guard! You changed Matoro from Nuju's stoic interpreter to a worry-ridden saviour.

I also thought it might just be the genre shift: it's all fantasy, of course, but it's a different thing from the island mythology-vibe of Mata Nui to the Lost City of Atlantis vibe of Metru Nui (and then the vibes beyond). I like the Toa more as unique elemental avatars than evolved Matoran, but that's not really it either.

Last night, though, I watched later era Marvel movie--it doesn't matter which one, because they all have this problem--and as the credits were rolling, I realised that the reason I don't really like the MCU is much the same as this "problem" I had with Bionicle: if just about anyone can be a superhero, you lose the "ordinary" members of the story.

Putting it another way, I realised I prefer "chosen one" stories to "X-men" stories. This is probably the Tolkien fan to some extent: you can have a world full of magic and heroes and super-powers, but if it also has "ordinary" folk, their specific importance in the story is that they ARE ordinary: Gandalf and Aragorn are heroes and amazing, yes, but Frodo never "levels up"--he is a greater person at the end of the story than the beginning, but it is the growth of an ordinary person.

Because superheroes are so common in the MCU (or DCU, etc), it's hard to have ordinary people be front and center--and harder still for them to stay ordinary people. And something like that is my problem with where Bionicle went that I don't think ever fully resolved for me: part of the wonder of Mata Nui, the whole storytelling point of MNOG is that the Matoran contribute to the victory too: they have no mask powers, no elemental powers, but they are there to help the heroes and do their part and its essential.

This already starts changing with MoL, it changes more with LoMN, and by the time we get to the Voya Nui arc, we've gone "Full MCU": everyone in the story can be a Toa.

I think, if the Inika had been "four or five" new characters and only one "already-known" Matoran, I'd have been much happier. But when you take the most prominent Matoran from every tribe and make them all Toa... who's left? The headcanons that the Chronicler's company become Toa too both satisfy and don't work for me for this reason. They satisfy me if they leave the Inika as Matoran, because I think that was a better way to go; they annoy me if they're BOTH Toa now, because that exacerbates what I think is the "problem" here.

It's not really a problem, objectively, but it is my subjective sticking point. And it's the reason that even though I might keep most of this lore, despite the grumbling, I'm willing to jettison completely and utterly the idea that "only some Matoran are destined to become Toa." Destiny is always a hard thing to make work in the story, but the Doylist result is that Matoran now come in two categories: Special Protagonist and Ordinary: and the Ordinary is now completely swept off the stage and I really don't want that: I want the story to include a real focus on some powerless, ordinary individuals.

So I'd rather it be that ANYONE can turn into a Toa: they don't, maybe, because the circumstances lead there, but every Matoran has that potential. Because if anyone COULD be a hero, then at least when they do become a hero, it's more ordinary.

But I'd still rather that none of them could--but I'm not sure that is a concept you could return to without retconning Gen-1 so far that you end up with Gen-2. And I don't think I want THAT either.

#Bionicle #Toa #Matoran #conundrums without conclusions

[sunlit-haruka]

Kotoko Yuzuriha and Love

Hello Milgram fandom ! So while I prepare my longer Kotoko theory post (the post about Pink-Shirt-Girl), I wanted to make a shorter post about something that has been on my mind for a while now, and I wanted to invite some discussion to it with this post !! Basically: Kotoko has a lot of references to love in her character. So many in fact that I really do feel like it might be relevant. Firstly, let's start with the most prominent example

Girl friend, what does this mean. From the probably hundreds of questions that were asked to Mikoto and Kotoko, this one was one of the twenty that were picked out. And considering how Mikoto's questions were used to foreshadow parts of his MV like the phone call with his mother, I feel like this could very well mean something important that will be explained later on Another thing that I feel is important to comment on is her cover songs, specifically her cover song in T2, Streaming Heart

(source: Vocaloid Wiki)

(source: Vocaloid Lyrics Wiki) Now to be completely fair, a large majority of Deco's library has to do with the theme of relationships, so it's not like Kotoko is necessarily special in that regard. But when you add in the fact that Streaming Heart could be connected to Monoprisoner, Mikoto's T1 cover, abd a few of the lyrics like > "You're a weakling, aren't ya?" (tfw useless weaklings won't shut up and let you protect them like how dare they /j) The choice feels very deliberate and I feel like it is meant to tell us more about Kotoko's character than we're made to believe. These next two points are a pretty big stretch, but I'm going to mention them anyway so I can gloat about being right if I end up being right /j So, Kotoko's birthday art.

I know. She is very beautiful. But more than that, the fruit associated with her cake is the Dragon Fruit, which on one hand is absolutely genius considering the first kanji in Kotoko's name means Japanese Harp (according to the milgram wiki) and that instrument, called a koto funnily enough, has connections to dragons and protection, which fit Kotoko very well (the urge to make a Milgram name meanings analysis post is rising) However, the Dragon Fruit also has connections to love

Now the most likely answer why the dragon fruit was chosen (especially since I could only really find this on one website) is the koto thing I mentioned earlier. But I did find this, so I thought I'd note it down And lastly, probably the biggest stretch of all:

Deep Cover's MV coming out on Mahiru's birthday...is probably a coincidence let's be real. But considering how much love has been foreshadowed for Kotoko's character, her MV coming out on the birthday of Mahiru fucking Shiina feels like something to note This post wasn't comprehensive at all and was mostly just a bunch of rambling about things I've noticed and thought about, but I would love to hear if anyone has any interpretations of what this could mean overall ! PS: I wrote half of this post dead fucking tired after an all nighter. if you see any typos, no you don't

#haru chats about milgram #milgram #milgram project #kotoko yuzuriha #yuzuriha kotoko #milgram kotoko

[amiibo-king]

i think the other thing that bothers me about the whole "asra/mc is power imbalanced" take that bothers me, besides the kind of ableist implication that mc having the magical equivalent of a TBI makes them basically a child, as well as the pretty flagrant mischaracterization of asra and general disregard for canon, is that it kind of pushes a specific characterization of MC that feels very presumptuous.

what i mean is, you can certainly argue that the mc and asra's situation *has the potential* for an unhealthy, imbalanced dynamic. certainly, all of the routes have that potential, its part of the point of their reversed ends. but, when it comes to two adults with equal political/social authority, whether or not a dynamic is unhealthy relies heavily on the personalities of the people involved. Just because a situation has the potential for an unhealthy dynamic doesnt mean one is automatically going to be there, and whether or not one forms is going to depend entirely on how both parties' personalities interact. in the same sort of way you can get an upright or a reversed end depending on the kind of mentalities you choose to encourage in your LI.

now, i would thoroughly disagree with anyone who claims that asra exhibits any sort of power over or manipulative behavior towards the MC even in his reversed end! but even putting that aside, the fact that the health of a dynamic is dependent on both parties personalities means that whether or not your MC's dynamic would be unhealthily balanced is going to vary from person to person.

Everyone brings their own personality to the MC, and I dont know about anyone else, but I personally have my own ways that I mentally bend the canon actions and reactions of the MC in my head as I read to better fit how I would react to things (because often i think, i would not react that way, but instead this other way!) and I think everyone does that to some degree. and I think where the people who make this argument are probably coming from is that they look at asra, and they look at their own MC, and they think, well, my MC would not have a healthy dynamic with them. which is fine, and they are allowed to feel that way! I frequently feel that way about Nadia's route because I have some discomfort with the idea of dating someone with that level of political power. but the problem is, instead of realizing that that is a function of their own MC's personality, and saying, "his route is not for me" they project that onto everyone else's MCs as well, and assume that everyone else's MC would have the same dynamic with asra that they personally would have.

And that bothers me, because you're welcome to have your own interpretation of the canon, even if I disagree with it. And you're allowed to have your own idea of your own MC's personality and dynamic with the LIs. But I would prefer if you didnt then try to tell me what the dynamic between *my* MC and their chosen LI looks like, because you can't know that.

there's more i could talk about, like the fact that the entire plot of asra's upright route revolves around mc and asra learning to flourish as individual equals, (to the point that i have to wonder if the people making this argument read his route all the way through) or my confusion about why the fandom latched on to asra/mc as the supposedly inherently unhealthy one when there are other routes with much worse potential for such imbalances, but this post is already so long as it is, so i'll end it here.

#this is not a discourse post please do not discourse at me #if u have things to say say them politely or i block u. thanks #the arcana

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

Um hi so sorry to bother you but I really love your writing!!

I think your work is very well written and funny and entertaining!

That being said Ive been wanting to write for a while but get too anxious over getting the characters wrong…

You wouldnt happen to have any tips to get over this, would u?

First off, thank you so much for your kind words!

As a disclaimer, I don't know that I'm much qualified to give writing advice. I have dear friends who are Writers with a capital W; at this point I see myself very much as the hobbiest version: Writer Lite if you will. I don't mean to devalue or discredit my own writing; I just mean to say that...I don't feel like I worry about the things a Writer is supposed to worry about, at least at this point. I write what I want, when and how I want to, and I will regularly and cheerfully sacrifice grammar and canon characterization and pacing on the altar of my own whims.

And tbh, if you're looking at starting out in fanfic specifically, that's probably a good place to start. The stakes are really low so it's a great space to get comfortable. No one is paying you. You don't owe anyone anything. Some people will like your characterizations and style, and other people won't. And (assuming you're a Yuumori fan because you mentioned my writing), the Yuumori fandom is a GREAT place to test the waters, because while the fandom is small and there's never a huge amount of engagement, it's a really polite fandom. Basically everyone here understands the principle of "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

Anywho, practically speaking: I really like to try to vary characters' voices a bit. Sherlock gets his incredibly-irritating-to-write attempt at a Cockney accent. William and Albert are posh but get to swear sometimes because I think it's funny. Moran is just kind of casual; somewhere between the Moriartys and Sherlock. And so on.

If you're trying to stick really closely to canon characterizations, doing some rereading/watching of the source material before you start can definitely help. But it's also worth noting that sometimes fandom has its own interpretation that's widespread but not really sourced from canon. Can any of us prove canonically that Albert Moriarty is bisexual, promiscuous, and a little bit masochistic? Not in the slightest! And yet for some reason a significant portion of us have just gone "yeah that sounds right," and you'll never get shot down for writing him that way. So there's definitely a lot of space to just have fun with it (though acknowledging in your tags/author's notes that something is OOC can help lol.)

Then of course it's just...just do it! Have fun! Make playlists to write to if you're anything like me! Fall down Google rabbit holes researching what Victorians ate for breakfast! Pretend to be confident but not arrogant (I admit, I will sometimes scroll by things where the author is self-deprecating in the summary: it kind of feels like clicking there is agreeing to do some emotional labour, which is usually part of what I'm trying to escape via fic. 😅) Engage with your chosen fandom, and you'll start to see those group-workshopped headcanons that we enjoy reading about just as much as actual canon characterizations; you'll also make friends that way who will be excited to read your fics!

I hope you have so much fun writing! 😊

#asks #fic writing #rambling #moriarty the patriot

[jewishbarbies]

I was looking for some cute lockscreens this morning and since 90% of what tumblr offers is Taylor Swift lyrics wallpapers I was forced to notice the basicness of her fans even with their chosen favorite lyrics from every song.

Literally dk how this fandom manages to always pick the worst lines out of every song of hers then use them as a "proof" of how great of a songwriter she is while using those same lines over and over in edits of any sort.

Like, I remember when folklore came out and the only song out of that thing that I actually liked was cardigan (it's the only one that sounds slightly different from the others inside of that one hour long boring nightmare) and as a writer myself I thought it had some pretty cool lyrics in a lot of bits, however which one did the fandom choose ad The Best Lyrics Of All Time™? That basic "you drew stars around my scars" bit when the song literally has that back and forth with "when you are young they assume you know nothing / but I knew you" which especially from the perspective of someone who's native language is not English sounds quite poetic but no, they picked the most aesthetic one and try to sell it as the proof that she's the best songwriter of all time (I swear I've seen fans using that specific line as a "proof" under posts where non-fans say she's not that good of a songwriter)

And today I've noticed how the pattern is the same with every song, even with Midnights where the bad lyrics are so many that it's supposed to be easier they still somehow manage to make edits with the worst and most meaningless out of them all.

I feel like The Cult itself is too dumb to catch the best lines to prove their own point, but it's not like they're missing much anyways. In my country we have an expression that could be translated with "as deep as a puddle", it's an expression used when someone tries hard to be deep but in fact sounds basic and/or closed minded with what they say, and I think Miss Swift is a lot like that in so many ways.

tbh with that lyric I like it when the whole line is included, so it’s “you drew stars around my scars but now I’m bleeding” though it’s still not incredibly good. there’s a version of the song going around tiktok that’s an instrumental with the backing vocals and that part gets me for some reason. the production on that song was great, probably bc it was the one they wanted to be popular and carry the album. 💀

I definitely agree that swifties don’t have good taste when it comes to her lyrics, they always pick the most basic and “sometimes the drapes are just blue” verses. it’s just another example of “if you have to have fanon interpretations to like something, you don’t actually like it.”

#Asks #anonymoose #anti taylor swift #swifties dni

[matan4il]

Hey so I’ve had these thoughts about all these “shovel talk” fics/posts in which Bobby, Maddie (tbh, I understand it with her, she’s off the hook), and firefam warn Eddie not to hurt Buck…but each of the firefam has something in common with Eddie that should make them protective of him as well: Bobby’s a widower, Hens a parent, and Chimney had a partner leave him with little warning. Idk, I just don’t find it as cute as some people that they would only think about little baby Buck. Eddie’s a single father of a special needs child, and there’s no doubt that Buck loves them, but I think somebody needs to have a talk with him about what that kind of commitment really means, and how much it would harm the Diaz boys if he really wasn’t ready for all of that. Maybe it’s just me, but even if I was friends with both of them, knowing their histories, Buck should be given at least one shovel talk from the firefam on Eddie’s behalf!

Hi Nonnie, thank you for your ask!

OK, so I have two parts for this, one about this specific scenario and the other in general about fics. Just keep in mind, this is my opinion only. I have no monopoly on the truth, I’m just sharing my own thoughts.

Regarding this scenario, I tend to agree with you, I can't see the 118 giving Eddie alone the shovel talk. They absolutely all have something that makes them identify with him and his situation. But it's also that they're all a family. All of them. 'Shovel talks' are usually reserved for family members to conduct with strangers (or at least outsiders to an internal circle of a chosen family), and Eddie just... isn't a stranger. Which is why I also don't see them doing the opposite, having a 'shovel talk' with Buck alone. The 118 love and care about both men, and I believe they would want to be there for both of them and not do anything that might be interpreted as choosing sides. Also do think the 118 see both Eddie and Buck as capable of handling their romantic business. If no one gave Taylor the ‘shovel talk’ in spite of knowing what she was willing to do to Bobby in 206 because they trusted Buck can handle himself, and Eddie is a much better human being than she ever was...

Now admittedly, this is considered a 'cute' thing for people to do because TV has used it that way. It's been repeatedly used on many shows as a way of saying, "we love our family member and we are protective of them" as well as a way of demonstrating that the person conducting the shovel talk is aware and/or accepting of their family member dating this person (a fact that they were either opposed to or unaware of in the past). So it makes sense to me that people have grown to like it and want to recreate it for their own characters. I don’t judge people for wanting to see or for writing the ‘shovel talk,’ whether for Eddie or Buck. Whatever makes you happy is what fan fiction is for in my book. I also keep in mind that just because IMO something isn’t ‘in character’ - it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m right, and also, even if I am right, who says fic has to be in character? If people wanna see what they think of as cute, and it’s not actually harmful for anyone, I don’t mind at all. Or if it fills a need... Like maybe the author identifies with Buck, and the author needs to feel loved and cared about by their friends, and they get to experience it through Buck, I’m totally cool with it. Life is hard enough, I’m ok with fics giving people whatever they need.

There is that exception of stuff being actually harmful. I remember years ago, I did an AO3 search and came across a fic in a fandom I was not active in, but it was a historic AU set during an event with significance in Jewish history. The ship wasn’t cast as Jews, but Jewish people were a part of the setting for this fic. So as a Jew, obviously I wanted to read it. The author’s notes stated she really researched this event, so in I went, actually excited to read this fic. It was awful. Every single action taken by Jews was interpreted in the most negative light possible. The Jews did X? It’s because they’re bloodthirsty. They did Y? It’s because they’re bigots. Just. Everything was horrible. It started out bad and just kept getting worse. And it’s exactly the fact that the author clearly did do their research and did know the facts that made it worse. It made it evident that the awful interpretations weren’t a result of ignorance, they were a choice. It left me understanding that I, as a Jew, can’t get away from antisemitism, not even when I turn to fic. And maybe that’s a part of what shaped my very chill attitude towards everything else. Like, unless people are being intentionally harmful, I really am ok with people using fic to make themselves happy whether it is in character or not... 

Which is to say, whatever I think is in character for the 118, I am totally cool with those writers who want Buck to have his teammates be protective over him with a shovel talk, and I am totally cool if you wanna write your own version where they do it for Eddie! Whatever makes you happy, is what I want for you! And if venting to me about those fics that irk you helped, then I’m also happy about that, you can always come rant to me! *LOTS of love* xoxox

(and if anyone’s looking for it, here is my ask tag! xoxox)

#buddie #buddie meta #911 meta #911meta #911 #eddie diaz #evan buckley #edmundo diaz #evan buck buckley #buddie fic #buddie fanfic #ask #anon ask #jewish #jews #jewish stuff #911onabc #911 on abc #911abc #911 abc

[cosmicjoke]

Hello! Hope ur doing well.

I noticed a fellow anon's post here talking about that Smartpass regarding Levi's dream. I too relate with that anon about the fact some ppl really misunderstand his character after reading that short story. For example, Levi tells himself "I just need to protect them. They were prepared to take this step forward and I should at least defend that." , right? I've read manu fans' analysis posts regarding this specific line where they'd be like "Notice how Levi uses 'I should at least defend that?' it looks as if it isn't his dream to free humanity at this point and he done this only for the sake of his friends' sacrifices+Erwin's, Hanji's, etc orders. As if he's excluding himself from having the same wish" I personally find this interpretation very faulty. First of all, it's always been Levi dream to rid the world of titans both for the sake of the rest of humanity. We can see that clearly in the final battle where he fights tooth and nail to defeat Eren. On the other hand, Levi said it himself back in the uprising arc that he's ready do anything to wipe the titans and bring peace because the air outside the walls always felt different than that of which inside them. Lastly, we have Levi's monologue, where again he says The ideal world WE dreamed of didn't include trampling the lives and hearts of others (once again proving Levi compassionate side btw). So yeah, I don't get why this part of the smartpass brought certain arguments in the fandom. I would like to read your thoughts about those fans claims. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long ask 🙏

Hi there,

Well, I feel like I've pretty much already covered this to exhaustion, lol. Of course Levi wishes to free humanity. That shouldn't even be up for debate, and why it continues to be boggles my mind. I've spoken about how I think, because of the harshness of Levi's life growing up, because of the blunt and bleak reality he was faced with from a young age, idealism, and belief in idyllic dreams isn't something that comes easily to him. I think Levi knows, better than anyone, that what they (he and the SC) are fighting for is, in all reality, unlikely to ever be truly achieved. A peaceful world where no one has to die a meaningless death isn't, realistically, an attainable goal. And because of the brutal experiences of his life, I think Levi knows and accepts that, and always has, from the very beginning. What makes Levi so heroic, though, is the fact that he knows these things, he knows how cruel and ugly and violent the world really is, he knows what they're fighting for is an ideal dream which has little chance of truly being realized, and yet he still fights for it anyway. More than ridding the world of titans specifically, Levi wishes for a world in which people are able to live for themselves and decide for themselves. He tells his squad during the Uprising arc that even if people end up killing each other, that's better than them being eaten by titans, because at least then it's their own choice, their own chosen path.

Levi has no delusions about the nature of humanity, he has no fanciful notions about peace. He knows what people are. You can compare him to Jean and Connie and the rest of his squad before and after the fight with Kenny's crew. We see all of them devastated because they've suddenly been exposed to this ugly, horrific reality of having to kill other people. Up until now, despite the combat they’ve seen, they’ve actually lived very isolated, sheltered lives, away from that harsh reality of the world.  And now they're suddenly faced with having to question their own heroism, to question what it is they're fighting for, whether they're in the moral right or wrong. It was simple for them before. They saw themselves as heroes, and Jean specifically made the bold claim that he would never kill another person, no matter what, and condemned and criticized Levi for doing so. But then he was forced to see that the issue isn't anywhere close to the black and white morality he was peddling, and that Levi's actions weren't so easily dismissed as "wrong". Levi by contrast is calm and compassionate as he explains to them the concept of killing. He doesn't try to claim it as right or wrong. He doesn't try to moralize it, or justify it even. He simply states the facts, which is that if Armin hadn't killed that MP, then Jean and all the rest of them would likely be dead now. Levi is intimately familiar with the complex reality of the world, of human nature and violence. He's deeply aware of how moral questions of right and wrong rarely apply to that complex reality, because he grew up exposed to the ugliest that people have to offer.

Essentially, Levi is a realist fighting for an idealistic dream. It isn’t that he doesn’t care about freeing humanity.  OF COURSE he wants to free humanity.  It’s that he isn’t certain of its realistic chances of happening.  He's surrounded by comrades who believe in that dreams possibility 100%, and seeing that idealism, seeing that belief, Levi feels it's his duty to fight for them and that dream too. He wants to use his strength to help them achieve that dream, even as he himself has trouble believing in its attainability. He wants peace and freedom for humanity, and gives himself to that cause completely. Again, what makes Levi so heroic is that he does this even while struggling with the question of whether that dream is truly within reach. The freedom to live their lives as they choose is what Levi wants for humanity, and he deems it worth fighting for, even if it's an impossibility.

#Levi Ackerman #shingeki no kyojin

[thebreakfastgenie]

I think it’s something about the way he delivers the line, like the concern. It’s a delivery that says they he wasn’t just doing something superficially naughty like breaking an arbitrary rule, but something he’s real worried about other people finding out about that he thinks is Wrong. That’s why I think it’s very easy to interpret as referencing gay exploration but it could still easily be about any number of things and possibly was — but knowing there were other times rhe authors thought about going there, it could have been deliberate.

Anon, my buddy, my pal, my friend, you provided me with no context whatsoever. I think you're talking about Frank saying "Fred, do you think the principal saw us?" while on painkillers?

I mostly agree with your conclusion, but not your route of getting there. Breaking an "arbitrary" rule is something Frank thinks is wrong. Frank is characterized again and again as a snitch. He even says he once didn't snitch on his best friend for smoking and then later snitched on himself for not snitching. (This is, by the way, tied to his abusive childhood; "I think that's why I became a snitch. So I could talk to somebody," is one of the saddest lines I've ever heard and it makes me mad because it's so brilliant.) So average teenage naughtiness, like smoking or graffiti or just cutting class, is basically a mortal sin in Frank's mind. It's a pretty major part of his character that he takes rules very seriously and finds even playful naughtiness outrageous. In fact, I think that could be part of the joke. Frank also isn’t afraid of people finding out, he’s afraid of an authority figure (the principal) finding out. He’s loopy and regressing to being a kid who’s afraid of being caught and getting in trouble and of people seeing him get in trouble. Which also fits with his obsession with having an image as a perfect rule-following citizen coming from a strict, abusive father. He might just be terrified because if the principal catches him breaking a rule—even an arbitrary one—he’ll tell his father and Frank will get beaten.

I don’t think that scene plays as Frank accidentally alluding to some deep secret. He doesn’t seem terrified so much as childlike and a little pathetic. I think the main joke is just that Frank said something nonsensical and mildly embarrassing while out of sorts. There are a lot of jokes like that, both in MASH and elsewhere. It’s also worth noting this isn’t the only time we see a character age regress on the show; Hawkeye does it in Hawk’s Nightmare and I think the affect is similar. However, I do think there may be some deliberate ambiguity.

In The Chosen People, we get a scene that belongs in the one-sided phone call hall of fame, when Frank is talking to someone from civilian affairs. Frank then says something that could be interpreted as signaling that he’s interested in this man. Larry Linville does a great job of delivering it innocently, so if Frank is trying to imply anything he’s doing it subconsciously. But the other man is evidently interested and Frank is horrified. So there is one ambiguously gay Frank joke, and the original ending for George would have revealed Frank had once been attracted to another man. So it wouldn’t be unprecedented for the writers to deliberately make you wonder just what Frank and Fred were getting up to. There are plenty of alternatives that are equally plausible, but that’s one of them.

I will add that when I first watched that episode, my initial reaction was that it was gay, though that was immediately followed by doubting that was what they meant and wondering if it was a case of something that just appears that way with a modern perspective (several seasons later I thought the Swede storyline was going in a gay direction even though it wasn’t). This doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but my gaydar has a higher specificity than most of fandom and things don’t usually ping it, so I thought it was worth noting.

So to recap, I agree with you that it’s very easy to interpret that way and that was possibly intentional, but disagree with the rationale that Frank wouldn’t react the same way to something minor.

#mashposting #sorry to answer late I was in New York having the time of my life

[direwombat]

That anon again. Thank you for listening to my rambling. And if it matters any, Joseph gets plenty of chances to Suffer during my dep's canon. Because we're (plural because this is all from an RP verse my best friend and I have where she plays Joseph and a 'John fucker' GFH while I play my dep and John) bitches like that and can't let the Seed boys get away with being the worst without suffering for it. (1/?)

A major theme of Joe and Dep's relationship is 'be careful what you wish for' since he spends a good early portion of things wanting to change her to fit his whims (for her 'own good' of course), but oops, he gets attached to who she is but by the time he realizes it, his actions are already responsible for her having begun to change for the worse. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, Joseph. Now suffer. And I'm rambling again, but I had another question to ask. Two actually.

First: how did you first get comfortable with sharing Syb with the rest of tumblr? I ask because part of me is tempted to do this with my Dep, but the other part of me is scared of being perceived and judged for my dep, my interpretations of characters, etc. Two: With Augustine becoming Faith, did Joseph specifically pull this to punish Syb? Because I'm getting big 'you took my family member, now I take yours' vibes. And it sounds about right and petty and fucked up enough for Joe. (3/3)

f;lakdjfaldfkj that's TOTALLY FAIR i sure as hell don't let jacob off easy either fal;dfjkadf

and OOF well...to answer question 1: i've been shouting about my ocs into the void of the internet for the past several years (got started in the dragon age fandom, moved to the general dnd fandom, and ended up here) having friends already on tumblr/in the fandom space to share ideas and bounce off of certainly helps. it's for sure scary!, but tbh? the more you talk about them the more curious people will get. at least that's been my experience. and then of course, engaging with other people who have their own ocs, rb-ing their art/fic/sending asks for ask games and prompt lists are a great way to kind of find your place in the fandom/community and make friends! And to address your fear of being judged for your dep/interpretations of characters, i'll just say this: fandom would be boring if everyone had the exact same interpretation of the characters and it's ok to disagree with an interpretation as long as you're not a dick about it, yk? And, just like people irl, everyone's deputy is different and adds to the fandom!

my advice: do whatever you feel most comfortable doing. make your characters in picrews and do those uquizes! I normally open tag, so if you see one from me that you like! tag me! this includes wip wednesdays/whenevers too if you ever feel brave enough to share any writing you have! BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, you are your oc's number one fan! if (god forbid, and i've never seen this happen personally) someone doesn't like them and has the gall, the sheer audacity to say that to your face? block them. have fun with your oc is what i'm getting at. they're your little barbie/bratz/whatever doll that inspires the most nostalgia for you. we're all just playing little games, telling little stories and dressing up our personal blorbos however we want. :)

as for question 2:

ahh.. poor sweet Augustine. So, Augustine is a park ranger who was on duty at the Whitetails Ranger Station the night of the Reaping and was injured in a pretty nasty fall. One of his coworkers (another oc, Shaw) is one of Jacob's Chosen (who spent a lot of time undercover as a civilian), and after hearing that the Deputy escaped, he essentially lets Jacob know that they have a piece of leverage against her. He's sent to Joseph to heal, where he's very subtley and slowly indoctrinated into the cult. He keeps Augustine hidden from Syb and he also keeps it secret that Syb is the one causing misery to the Cult/newfound family Augustine has found himself welcomed into (as much as he and syb love each other, they're not perfect and uh...there are some abandonment issues there). anyway, i'm still kind of ironing out the details of it all, but essentially, after john and faith are neutralized (john dead and faith/rachel safe and getting clean) jacob and joseph are like, "alright, time to use our secret weapon." Syb knows they have Augustine at this point, but she's under the impression that he's a prisoner, not a member of the cult.

So they meet up on neutral ground (i'm thinking tanami island) only instead of a loving and wholesome reunion, Syb finds out that her brother drank the kool-aid and Augustine finds out that his sister is the one causing the "unnecessary" violence plaguing the Project (which also, Joseph is very careful to shield Augustine from the actual violence, and paints the Project as a much more peaceful organization than it actually is). Anyway, cult tactics win over in Augustine's head and he turns against Syb, and given the power vacuum in the Henbane and his *ahem* closeness to Joseph, he's offered the mantle of Herald/Brother Faith. And. Yeah. It's definitely a method to punish/break Syb, and it's also a way to reward Augustine for his loyalty. Even she wouldn't kill or arrest her own brother. That reunion with her brother is the beginning of Syb's breaking point, and everything after that is just her slipping into misery, helplessness, and despair. everything about this is exploitative as hell :)

#faldjkfadf i'm sorry this got so long. again i hope i answered your questions #i've been in fandom (both actively and lurking) since 2011 and i have very few fucks to give #which makes sharing 'cringe' things like ocs and x reader fics SIGNIFICANTLY easier #but i also understand that's not an easy thing for everyone #but genuinely: fuck what other people think and have fun

[hannaswritingblog]

Hey! As you're waiting for more fanfics from, me, I decided to launch another celebration. You might already see from the header what it's about - this blog now has over 200 followers! (To be specific, it's 207 followers when I make the last changes).

There's a possibility you rarely even see me on your dash, you don't really interact with my posts and just follow me not to lose my blog in the depths of Tumblr, or - on the contrary - I can recognize you from my notes or we even became good friends. Either way, I’m so glad to have you here! 💜 It took me a while to get here and it's not even a big milestone, but I'm still quite proud it happened, that's why I want to celebrate a little - together with you!

If you're here long enough, you might notice this celebration takes a lot from my 100 followers celebration, but I feel like the format has passed the test, so I'll give it a shot one more time, although be careful, since there have been some changes!

In order to take part in the celebration, send me an ask with an emoji from the list below and any additional info that the list mentions.

Everyone can take part in the celebration - new and old followers, as well as the people that already took part in my previous celebration mentioned above (you can even ask for the same things!).

You can send your asks both on and off anon.

You can request more than one thing from the list, but please do it in seperate asks.

You can send your asks from now until November 12th, which is 4 weeks from now. I’ll respond as quickly as I can, but please remember that I don't always have time to do it immediately.

💘 - ships!

▪ Besides the emoji, send me up to 3 fandoms of your choice from my list (preferably the current ones), your preference (whether you want to be shipped with characters that female, male or both/either) and your current favourite song, favourite colour and one other fact about yourself (of your choice); based on that, I’ll ship you with character(s) from chosen fandom(s).

~ I’ll write 1-2 sentences about why I ship you with a character; I’ll most likely keep them neutral/platonic but you can interpret them romantically if you wish ~ I might lean towards the characters I have on the fandoms list, but if I think about a different character when I read your ask, I will write about them, so don’t worry if someone you hope for isn’t there, you still have a chance ;)

💃 - character headcanons!

▪ Send me a specific character (not a fandom!) from the same fandoms list and I’ll tell you 3-5 random things I believe are true about them, even if they're not necessarily canon.

💭 - fandom thoughts!

▪ Send me one fandom from the same list and I'll tell you whatever comes to my mind about it - a backstory of what got me into it and why I write for it, my favourite characters, associations I have with the show or chosen characters, anything that comes to mind.

~ You can specify what you want me to talk about if you want - if not, just drop the emoji and the fandom in my askbox and let me talk freely :D

🧭 - free spin!

▪ Send me the emoji and any question that you have about me, my blog, my fandoms etc. that you've always wanted to ask but can't fit it into other celebration categories. Take your chance and let your imagination run wild, I think I can take everything. :D

#hannaswritingblog #hannaswritingblog celebration #hanna's milestone #200 followers celebration #200 followers #celebration #info

[kanmom51]

i don't get the significance of changing "and i still want you" to "but i still want you". i did read all your posts about it and everything else is now obvious to me. not the and x but change tho. could you help a clueless anon? lol thank you!

TTU last Seoul concerts 2019 was huge for me anon, you are so right.

I absolutely adore that song.  It’s sad and meaningful and their performances, even more so the live performances are so emotional and raw.  If I’m already at it, I would like to recommend you watch a specific performance of this song.  Other than the last performances in Seoul 2019, this one is my favourite.  Again, the raw emotions you get from them all, and V’s part, just wow.

They end the song JM’s back to JK.

Obviously I’m not the staging director and I don’t know for sure why this staging was chosen, I can only guess.  But what I see is that JM is singing alone “and I still want you”, he’s the ‘monster’ for this part, he wants but he can’t have, and he’s resigned to the fact that he can’t have it, hence the facing away.  Could be total bull, and obviously it’s up for interpretation, not to mention the fact that my forte is facts not literature and interpretations of poems and art, but there you have it - what I see in that specific staging and performance of that song.  Take it or leave it, lol.

That was the staging and performance throughout the whole tour, even when the stage itself and the costumes changed.  JM singing “and I still want you”, the last line, by himself, back turned to JK.

But for the last 3 Seoul concerts in October 2019 they decided to change it up, and the only part changed was that last line.  The lyrics, how it was sung and how it was staged.  And the changes, they involved only those two - JM and JK.

At the end, just before the last line that is changed from “and I still want you” to “but I still want you”  JM still has his back to JK.  And then, while singing, together, “but I still want you”, he turns and they both not only facing each other but looking at each other as they finish the song.

Changing it to "but I still want you" turning to each other, looking into each other's eyes is loud and huge and I think that if you read the song lyrics, if you see the meaning behind the song you will understand why "but I still want you" is so meaningful.

“…You know that I can’t Show you me Give you me I can’t show you a ruined part of myself Once again I put a mask on and go to see you But I still want you…

I wanted to give it to you After I take off this foolish mask…

But I know I can’t do that forever I have to hide Because I’m a monster…

I am afraid I am shattered I’m so afraid That you will leave me again in the end Once again I put on a mask and go to see you…

The only thing I can do In the garden In this world Is to bloom a pretty flower that resembles you And to breathe as the me that you know But I still want you I still want you…

If I had the courage to stand before you Would everything be different now…

And I still want you But I still want you But I still want you And I still want you”

There is so much about this song that makes me sad, especially thinking of the impact it has on anyone that feels they need to hide their true selves from others, from society, from their fandom. It's JM, JK or any other member of the LGBTQ+ community that feels they would be perceived as a monster if they show their true self.

The song is about wanting someone but the fear of exposing yourself to them, maybe they won't accept you.

Ending the song with “and I still want you” is, in a way, accepting things as they are...things are the way they are, and yet, I still want you.  Hence JM with his back turned to JK, resigned to things as they are - I want you, I have to hide my true self...

But then ending the song with “but I still want you” it has a boldness to it.  Not accepting things as they are, wanting them to change, in a way fighting for them to change.

It’s an ending to the song with a sense of defiance.  Like a child being told by a parent they aren’t allowed something, and try to argue “but I want to…”, not accepting the no, not accepting society telling them they are ‘wrong’.

That’s my take from it.

And them turning to each other, looking at each other when BOTH of them are singing that line - looking at each other and singing “but I still want YOU”, well to me that was a big WOW moment.

We need to remember, ALL the time, these are two young men in a supposed closeted queer relationship, living and working in a mostly homophobic society.  But not only their society is homophobic.  A big part of their fandom is too, and they are well aware of it.  They are aware of the fact that there will be army that would not accept them for their true selves, not love them if they took off that mask they are wearing and showed themselves for who they truly are.  And they want to.  They want to take off that mask.  They want to be true to themselves, be able to act naturally, not to hide not only who they are but also who they love.  But they also want, need, Army’s love, and there is a great fear of losing that love if they do take off that mask they are wearing. And that’s a daily struggle for both of them.

So, they kind of live in a push and pull reality.  Pushing the boundaries time and time again, sending these hints/messages to us, sometimes small, sometimes huge (hickey-gate for instance), for us to decifer.  They want us to know, they want to be true to themselves, they want to be able to shout to the world they’re in love and who with.  They can’t say it out loud, so this is their way of doing it.  If you understand, then you understand.  If you don’t or choose to ignore, so be it.  it’s also a way of testing the water, trying to see if they are supported, if the fandom would accept them for who they are.  And sadly, although there is a hell of a lot of support out there, there is a very big part of the fandom that still doesn’t and won’t accept them for who they are, who they love.  They know they are loved and supported by many, but they also know there are many that would not accept them, not for who they truly are and not for who they love.

And on that sad note I send, once again, my love and support to JK and JM.  We need to constantly show them, let them know, that they ARE seen and loved and supported, as individuals and as a couple.

#Jikook #Minkook #Kookmin #Jungkook #JM #Jimin #JK #The truth untold #The truth untold last Seoul concerts #Jikook and the truth untold