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105ttt · 3 years

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Hi sorry if this was already asked before but could you explain a little further abt the things devsis has done?? I haven’t heard abt a lot of the stuff you mentioned I don’t mean to sound rude or anything I’m just genuinely wondering

I can tell you mean it genuinely, it’s okay! I’m happy to answer because you want to know. I’ll go through everything I said.

The Valentine’s 2021 fanart video, posted on the official CR YouTube channel, is a compilation of fanart drawn for Valentine’s Day that fanartists submitted. Some of the art submitted was chosen BY DEVSISTERS and put in the video, but not all art made it in. Two pedophilic ships, Red Bean x Snow Sugar and Roguefort x Walnut, were featured in the video. Red Bean x Snow Sugar was featured TWICE. Snow Sugar and Walnut are confirmed to be children while Red Bean and Roguefort are HEAVILY implied to be adults. Devsisters allowed the pedophilic ships to be shown in a fanart video for a holiday primarily about romantic love, therefore putting their seal of approval on these pedophilic ships. Despite fans saying it should be taken down, the video is still up as of today.

Related to the video and Devsisters’ promotion of fanart on official Twitter accounts, they are known to promote fanart that whitewashes the Cookies. This applies to not only Cookies like Cocoa and Mint Choco, who are clearly black, but also Cookies that are tan, like Alchemist. This approval of whitewashing has been going on for literal years, and when an artist was called out for a piece that Devsisters promoted, Devsisters sided with the artist and claimed that they should be respected rather than made to understand why whitewashing is bad.

Both the Dreamy Cookie Land event and the 2021 April Fools GingerBrave Trial contain sections that are known to harm photosensitive people by either giving them seizures or seriously hurting their eyes and causing immense discomfort and pain. While Devsisters altered the maps in Dreamy Cookie Land to make them less likely to hurt these people, the 2021 April Fools Trial has not changed. Devsisters should have made sure these maps were safe BEFORE publishing them to thousands of people (or more).

Devsisters misgenders its own characters on official Twitter accounts and in game notifications. Squid Ink Cookie was referred to as “she” on a Puzzle World Twitter post, despite this Cookie never having pronouns anywhere in the game. Mocha Ray Cookie was referred to with “she” in a game notification despite having no pronouns listed anywhere in the game, including cutscenes. Devil Cookie was referred to with “he” in a Twitter post despite the game canonically using only “they/them” for them. In addition, a statement from the Thai branch of the Devsisters team claimed that you can use any pronouns for a Cookie since they are born sexless (and they conflated sex with gender). This gives transphobes the “right” to misgender canonically nonbinary characters. Lastly, before the Guild update and before OvenBreak, Dark Choco and Cinnamon had no pronouns. After the Guild update, Cookies referred to Dark Choco as “he”, and in OvenBreak, Cinnamon’s Story uses “he” for them. This erases two canonically nonbinary characters, as cis people will see “he” being used for them and assume they are male rather than he/they nonbinary people.

Devsisters is not subtle about their homophobia, as well as their goal of appealing to cishets who hate gay people. They show their homophobia in how straight ships are treated compared to gay ships. Firstly, in the Valentine’s fanart video, there were mostly straight ships. I believe I counted only 4 or so gay ships, and 3 of these were either selfcest or pedophilia. Despite the majority of the art being shown being heterosexual, many people who regularly follow the CR tag on Twitter and Instagram claim that there was a lot more gay ship art submitted compared to the proportion shown in the video. The gay ship art shown was also ambiguous enough that cishets who hate gay people wouldn’t get mad at Devsisters, while some of the heterosexual art was blatantly romantic. Secondly, the treatment of ships like RaspRose and PrincessKnight, popular straight ships, is much better than the treatment of popular gay ships by Devsisters. For example, RaspRose got a merchandise item in a set of cups that also featured a cup with Sea Fairy and Moonlight and Orange and Lime. The RaspRose art on the cup is explicitly romantic. The art on the Sea Fairy and Moonlight and Orange and Lime cups are ambiguous or platonic instead, despite both of these ships being historically far more plausible and popular than RaspRose. Finally, Devsisters has been gaybaiting with Madeleine Cookie and Espresso Cookie in Kingdom, but they refuse to make them canon because that would be gay. Gaybaiting is homophobic in itself for using gay people as a way to advertise something without fulfilling the promise of gay representation. It’s also worth mentioning that they once gaybaited with Milk and Purple Yam on Twitter, but the art shown was not romantic at all, and only the caption hinted at a ship (and the caption was vague enough to be interpreted as the Cookies merely appearing in an art piece together).

Multiple black CR fans have spoken out and said that Purple Yam Cookie is a racist caricature of black men, ESPECIALLY when he is juxtaposed with Milk, a white man. Indian and Middle Eastern CR fans have spoken out and said that Yogurt Cream Cookie and Lilac Cookie are caricatures of Indian and Middle Eastern people. These are not debatable. Google the history of the portrayal of black men in non-black media, and you’ll see what I mean for Purple Yam. The evidence that Yogurt Cream is a caricature comes from the very fact that people compare him to Aladdin, specifically Disney’s version of the tale, thereby showing that their only exposure to Indian and Middle Eastern people is stereotypes in white media. Note also that Dark Choco Cookie is the stereotype of a solemn, lonely, strong black person, and this has leaked into the fandom so much that people draw them unrealistically buff and mostly draw them suffering from angst instead of having any actual character.

There was an IRL sex crime in South Korea perpetrated by a club called the Burning Sun, and a certain Guild named itself after that club and changed their usernames to the names of the people who committed these crimes. They were only forced to change their names by Devsisters AFTER people protested. They were NOT forced to disband the Guild or banned from the game. Keep in mind that these people named themselves after a REAL-LIFE SEX CRIME that harmed REAL WOMEN AND GIRLS, and the only punishment they got was a forced name change. Fuck Devsisters.

Lastly, the trigger joke. Back when Ion Cookie Robot and Cyborg Cookie were new, the official CR Twitter account made a Tweet captioned as “triggered”, and below that caption was a GIF of Ion Cookie Robot becoming angry and shifting to their Red Dread Costume, thereby implying that Ion Cookie Robot was “triggered” and became unreasonably angry. This was posted during the time when ableists were using the term “triggered” as a “meme”, which harms people with PTSD. The Tweet was deleted, and another Tweet was made that apologized for the previous Tweet, but this was only after backlash from fans. However, notice that Purple Yam Cookie is also a trigger joke. He has PTSD from being burned alive in the Oven for so long, and as a result he is easily angered (anger is his stress response). The game treats this as a joke and minimizes his suffering just because other Cookies were in the Oven (before coming to life). His anger is treated as unreasonable and unwarranted, and it’s treated as a joke. Does that sound familiar? Now take into account that his anger is juxtaposed with Milk’s “kind”, “gentle” demeanor. Yikes.

BONUS ROUND:

DevSam, a worker at Devsisters, once said that GingerBrave had a Costume in LINE that was a “sexy cat costume”. GingerBrave is a minor, and the Costume was literally not sexy at all. Why did they refer to him as sexy if he’s a minor??

Images from an official CR account showed a person dressed as GingerBrave giving gifts to a person dressed as Pink Choco Cookie, a Cookie associated with romantic love. This can be easily interpreted as romantic and is therefore pedophilic because GingerBrave is a child and Pink Choco Cookie is an adult. Why post this at all??

Buttershell Fox referred to Maple Panda with a word that was VERY close to a slur against black people in the original text of the Secrets of the Hidden City cutscenes. This was only changed when a popular Twitter user let everyone know about it and asked people to email Devsisters about it.

I can provide links and screenshots for proof if needed, but please DM me or send an ask to ask for these. I’m definitely forgetting other things they’ve done that are bad, but this already should be enough to raise eyebrows.

#no stupid asks please!#they will be deleted!#same for stupid replies!#do not defend corporations they are not your friend!#respect minorities and listen to them!

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chaoticevilbean · 3 years

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Atla Youtube Au, Sokka-Centric

1/?

“What’s up, ma dudes? Time for another session of What My Friends Have Put Me Through. This time will feature Lady, Warrior, Gurl, and Princess.” The male was wearing his Southern Water Tribe facepaint, and from his background, it seemed he was indeed in one of the Water Tribes’ territories. His hair was white for this particular video, long and pulled back into a tail. His irises were bright blue, and once again left no clues as to whether it was the real coloring or just contacts.

“Alright, so this story is a bit strange, as per usual. As you all know, my friends are activists and Lady takes that to the extreme. Well, they did it again. What do I mean, you new viewers ask? I mean they started another rebellion. Now, maybe it’d officially count as just a bunch of protests, but I personally believe that once the number of protests in a single city is more than five in as many days, it’s the start of a rebellion. And yes, I did say another. I’ve got it all in a playlist if you wanna look.”

The background behind the videographer changed as he presumably walked around as he spoke. Snow and a clear sky were shown, and there didn’t seem to be any other people in sight.

“Now, it all started because of a previous thing my wonderful Lady did. If you’ve already watched the video, noice. If you haven’t, pause this and find the one labeled ‘Lady Vs Old Coot’. Very inspiring. Anyways, so they came back here and thought that maybe at least that Old Coot had changed, but no. No, instead there’s been no change. Or there hadn’t been. We all came as a group, but only myself, Kuzon, Lady, Bluey, Princess, Gurl, and Warrior. Bandit, Ballerina, and Knife would’ve come, but they were all busy. Or Ballerina and Knife were busy. Bandit hates it here cause there’s no land. Nothing to see.”

“So, we’re all here, and we spend the day touring and exploring and stuff, and then we meet up for lunch. Well, Lady starts ranting about how they’re so disappointed in everyone, especially the Old Coot, and demands that we do something. Immediately, Gurl, Warrior, and Princess all pledge themselves to the cause, and then guess what they do? Guess what they flippin’ do?” The Youtuber gave a sarcastic and slightly pained chuckle, dark seal markings emphasizing his features as he looked around a little.

“If you couldn’t guess, they asked me, me, to help them plan their course of action. Now, these are my friends. Basically my family. I’ve been through a lot with them, from overthrowing corrupt organizations to taking down drug rings to literally being Kuzon’s father one time. And through all of these things, I’ve somehow become known as the one who’s really good at planning. But they asked me to help plan a stinkin’ rebellion. I do it, obviously, but the fact that they even asked.”

“But then, apparently they told all of these people who’re following them in protest that I helped organize everything. And no one decides to tell me this, so I keep helping from the sidelines. We reach day three of protests, and it’s lunchtime, so I think I’ll just walk on over and bring some food to these people who’ve been standing outside the Council all morning. I get there, and I get mobbed. Everyone’s either thanking slash congratulating me, or they’re complaining about the protestors. It takes me an hour to find Lady and ask them what the Spirits happened because of all these people just crowding around and yelling at me.”

“Lady apologizes, but the damage is done. The warriors are asking me to end the protests. I tell them I can’t. They get mad because I’m supposedly the one in charge. I am not the one in charge. I am the one who the people in charge asked for a favor and got dragged into this mess. No one seems to get it. Then the heckin’ Council calls me in and tries to make me end it all. I kept trying to say that it’s not my fault there’s a rebellion. It was the will of one person, aided by the wills of three other people, that inspired the hopes of everyone who’s protesting. I just helped them do the most damage so they have a big impact and this doesn’t take a year.”

“So here I am.” The camera turned around, and started panning to show the barren ice devoid of any life. “I’m currently out here attempting to hide from everyone. I have enough supplies to last me a week on its own, three if I make the most of it all.” The screen showed several bags, including a green Earth Kingdom satchel, a blue Water Tribe satchel, a black Fire Nation duffel, and a yellow Air Nomad backpack. A few items are attached to the duffel and backpack, though it’s unclear what. “I’ll wait out the protests, since Bandit’s giving me a play-by-play of the progress. Once that’s done, I’ll just head back and hope that no one’s still under the delusion that I’m in charge.”

“Thus ends this day’s session of What My Friends Have Put Me Through. I’ll be back in an hour after I figure out what else to video and get bored enough to post again. Hope y’all like junk food, cause that’s all I’m serving. That being said, I’m signing off. See ya.”

The video cut to a picture of a boomerang with ‘Boomeraang’ written in calligraphy on the flat side. The entire vlog was titled ‘Lady’s 75th Revolution’.

True to his word, another video was posted about an hour later, this one titled ‘Furry Friends and Shock’.

“Sup, dudes. I’m back as promised, and this time, I’ve brought friends. Say hello to Fluffster, Rookie, and Baby.” The screen flipped, and three wolves were sitting like trained dogs in front of the Youtuber. “The biggest one’s Fluffster, since he’s obviously the floofiest. The smallest one’s Rookie, he’s pretty young. You can tell because his paws are a bit too big for him. He’ll grow into that. Then Baby’s this lovely little gal, and she’s super sweet. Took forever to stop her from licking my face.”

The three wolves wagged their tails as their names were spoken, and people who had watched that far were already commenting about how either it was impossible to tame wolves, the canines were incredibly cute, or disbelief at how it’d only been an hour and he already did something weird.

“Now, these beautifuls are strong predators. Usually, they’ll avoid humans, but I’m alone and my facepaint makes me seems less like a threat. They approached me pretty casually, not stalking or anything. I didn’t even notice they were there until I looked around again. And they’re much more tame than most wolves would usually be. Again, it’s likely because I seem unthreatening. Please do not try to do anything like this without training. I literally just did this by chance. I named them and they understand their names, but most animals wouldn’t. I mean, Foo Foo Cuddlypoops didn’t. I don’t think he did.”

Avataratlast: Who’s Foo Foo Cuddly Poops? Another friend?

- Banditrocs: Probably an animal.

Keepitreal: how did this dude manage to tame three wolves? it’s only been an hour?! and why does he wear that makeup? i’m so confused, was this all planned? does he have a crew?

- Boomeranglife: You must be new here.

“So, I’m gonna sign off soon, mostly so I can give these three some love. I think the best course of action would be to answer some of my commonly asked questions, tell you all a bit about wolves, and then give you the official goodbye until I get bored enough that my resolve crumbles. That’ll take at least another two hours with the fact that Lemur somehow managed to sneak my notepad into my bag. I wasn’t gonna bring it because I left in such a hurry, but then I’m inventorying my stuff and find it. Lemur’s such a pal.”

“Alright, gotta start the answers so I get cuddle time with the canines. My frequently asked question get put in a list thanks to my subpar hacking skills. Don’t tell Knife I said that or they’ll make good on their promise to lock me in a closet. Let’s get to it.” The screen split to show a list of questions on one side, the wolves on the other. Some of the questions were blacked out, probably due to being inappropriate.

“So, if it’s blacked out, those are hateful, nasty, or have far too many swears. The first question is the same as always, asking what my name is. My response is the same as always. Smiley emoticon. The next is my age. Under 50, above 10. My gender? Male. Is this a profile or something? Seriously, all these are about my identity. Sexuality? I let the people theorize cause I don’t care about what y’all think, unless you’re a bigot, then get off my channel, pretty please with The Moon on top. Real hair color? Hmm, I guess I can probably give you that. It’s not white. Eye color? Not white, either.”

Actlikewater: is everyone getting this?! he’s giving us information!!!

rockbeatsfire: what r y’all getting hyped up for? he hasn’t said anything

- powertoBoomerang: have you watched these before?

- - rockbeatsfire: i watched that parkour one

- - - powertoBoomerang: one - watch them all. two - you need to be more specific, and three - he never says anything about his identity besides pronouns. we have information. we can figure this out!

- - - - CaptainSparky: Are you sure about that?

- - - - - powertoBoomerang: we can figure this out maybe!

“What’s my nationality? Theorize, ma dudes. I ain’t gonna say, so go to one of those lovely blogs. Boomeranglife is really sweet, they’ve got a bunch of videos all about this sort of stuff. Actually, it might only be about my channel. I don’t really know. I just saw one of their videos and started questioning if I really was a Spirit. Ask them, and give them some love. They a nice peep.”

“What is my favorite animal? Either sabertoothmooselion, flying bison, or flying lemur. Is that seriously a commonly asked question? Am I gonna get spammed with artwork now? Do I need to have a lesson on how to draw flying bison and lemurs and all that? I’m gonna do it anyways, and all artwork is accepted, so long as you keep it PG-13. I’m around kids.”

“Am I single? I don’t know. Really, I don’t know. I could be dating Warrior, or I could be stealing Kuzon. I literally have no idea. I platonic flirt with everyone, and I’m horrible at reading social cues when it comes to romance. Wheaty? Apparently had a crush on me until three months ago. They told me when it ended so I would relax and I had to explain my oblivious nature and crippling anxiety. Ballerina? We’re married according to a small town and soulmates if you listen to a certain nomadic troupe. I might even be dating everyone on the team, heck if I know.”

“Am I a bender? Heh, that’s a good one. Can’t believe you haven’t figured it out yet. Who am I? Hold up, Ima search this.” There was the sound of keys tapping as the screen showed the videographer searching himself up. When the screen loaded, there was a bleeped out sound and the three wolves rushed towards him in concern.

“Holy Spirits! Tui, La, Yue, and Agni! *bleep* I’ve got a Wiki page! They gave me a *bleep*ing Wiki page! I’m not even that popular!”

Livelovemurder: he knows we see this, right

- Boomeranglife: I’m still recovering from him mentioning me, but I don’t think he realizes he is a celeb here

Azulastan: someone get this boy some tea! His video from literally an hour ago already has thousands of views! someone call Bandit!

- SouthernChief: on it! I’ll spam the comments of that last video. Hopefully they respond!

- - UncleTea: Good man/woman/enby!

Livelovemurder: wow, our first reaction to seeing him hurting is to contact Bandit. didn’t she once launch him into a tree?

- UncleTea: that was the first time they were officially friends. now they’re best friends

“Alright, I think we all earned some wolf facts. Did you know that wolves can live over ten years? Pretty long for any wild animal, even longer for a predator in a wasteland like this. Wolves are also extremely expressive for animals, and they’re very social. Wolves can get much bigger than dogs, except polar bear dogs, and despite what most people think, they don’t usually hurt children. Even the really small ones. They’re more likely to adopt your kid than try to hurt them. I personally believe it’s because they’re a lot smarter than most people credit them. Comment #WolfRights below and I’ll see if I can start a movement.”

“Now, I’m signing off once again, so say goodbye to Rookie, Baby, and Fluffster. See ya.”

The second video ended. Comments were pouring in about the clip, and Boomeranglife had already gotten another thousand subscribers in the time it took for the video to be played twice through. SouthernChief did indeed spam Bandit’s latest video, and had the earthbender ignore them until they mentioned that the guy from Boomeraang didn’t think he was popular.

- Bandit: He what?

- - SouthernChief: he doesn’t think he’s popular

- - - Bandit: I’ll take care of it.

Time Skip 5 Hours

The next video was titled ‘Who Sold Me Out?’ The starting screen showed Gurl in their Hei Bai mask, very clearly holding the camera. They waved at the screen before flipping the view around to show what was in front of them. The Boomeraang guy was sitting squashed between what appeared to be several people hiding underneath blankets. He was glaring directly at the camera, face set in a scowl that was once again greatly emphasized by his facepaint.

“Alright, I only got a few minutes to get this out before the others get sick of hiding under blankets. Who the *bleep* sold me out‽ Just because I didn’t realize how popular I am doesn’t mean you needed to call Bandit! Seriously, who was it‽ I’m out on the ice, having the time of my life sketching Baby and Fluffster and Rookie, and then, out of nowhere, Bison is flying towards me with Kuzon and Princess. Then they practically drag me back and I can no longer feel my legs because there’s four people on them. Whoever it was, you’re on thin *bleep*ing ice. I was fine! I was more than fine! I wasn’t the alleged leader of a rebellion!”

“You done?” Gurl asked from behind the camera.

“Yeah, I’m done.” The screen flipped back to Gurl.

“The dude’s been majorly *bleep* off because someone tattled on him. You have the thanks of the rest of us and the anger of one squished Youtuber. He refused to come out of the house, so we all decided to stay in tonight. The protests are over for the day anways, thanks to the fact that the Council is starting to give in. We promised an afternoon of peace so they could discuss it all without worrying. And we’ll be bringing you rebounders to the morning rally as well. NO EXCUSES!” The last words were thrown towards the guy on the other side of the camera, and a loud groan was heard. “He’s gonna do his outro and then y’all are gonna say goodbye.” The view reversed again.

“Signing off for now! See ya, ya traitors!”

The screen cut out.

SouthernChief: i regret nothing

UncleTea: He looked like an angry toddler, OMS.

Boomeranglife: gals! pals! dals! I got big news!

- Livelovemurder: spill

- - Boomeranglife: the NWT is having a bunch of protests all across their cities!

- - - Tyleestan: do we know who’s leading it?

- - - - Boomeranglife: no, NWT is too secretive! i just heard it from a merchant that left as they were starting. we live about as close as you can get to the north pole w/out actually being there

- - - - - SouthernChief: sucks, dudes. next time, for sure

- - - - - - rockbeatsfire: next time there’s a rebellion? does that actually happen a lot?

- - - - - - - Boomeranglife: seriously, watch the videos. I recommend in chronological order instead of by playlists

- - - - - - - - rockbeatsfire: alright, alright, i’m going

#sokka #atla #atla youtube au #youtube au #avatar the last airbender #smellerbee #katara #aang #toph #azula #zuko #suki #haru #teo #appa #momo

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thesmalltowngal · 5 years

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Snowbaz 15- Romeo and John

Otp Prompt #15: Simon and Baz are both cast in Romeo & Juliet, but the roles they get are… interesting. (Prompt idea credit to @yellow-car)

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday or the day before! I went to a football game (and got home super late), and then I had a birthday party to go to, and I just got super behind on writing. This one is extra long, just because I really felt the inspiration with this one. 😂 Enjoy!

Somehow, Agatha convinced me to sign up for the Watford school play. (There’s only one every four years because we don’t often have time for extracurriculars at a magicks school). This year’s play is Romeo and Juliet (I’ve read this book once- didn’t understand a word). Agatha told me that I was a shoe-in for Romeo and she (of course) was going to be Juliet. It would work out perfectly. I suppose I would have been perfect for Romeo (other than my utter lack of coordination and my terrible singing voice) if bloody Baz of all people hadn’t decided to audition as well.

When we first got to auditions, everything was fine. Totally alright. We got in groups and practised our auditions songs (both Baz and Agatha said I sounded like a dying cat) and acted out scenes. By the end of the day, I was thoroughly beat. Exhausted on all accounts and ready to go home, even if it was with Baz. Of course he was flawless at singing, acting, and dancing. His voice sounded smooth and sweet. His feet moved like someone was moving them perfectly for him, and he acted as if someone else had entirely possessed him.

So the day after (today), everyone comes back to the theatre (a run down old thing- falling apart at the seams) to be given their roles. The theatre teacher starts listing off names one by one, stating recommended role and a secondary role that they could be considered for under certain circumstances. Of course Baz gets the role of Romeo with the secondary role of… Romeo. Literally the only role they would like him to play since he’s so bloody perfect. Figures. He looks over at me and flashes me a smug smile.

Agatha would be the last to be given her role since she’s toward the end, and I’m right before her. When the teacher finally gets to me, she says simply, “Simon Snow: Villager #3…” She hesitates before saying, “Or Juliet.” I nearly choke on my own spit, and when I look over at Baz he’s doubled over in laughter. Tears spill out of the corners of his eyes and he’s holding his stomach. His laugh his big and bellowy, and for some reason, part of me feels… satisfaction? At the fact that I made him smile for real and laugh so hard. Granted, it’s at my expense. Agatha’s eyes bulge out of her head and she turns a bright red. (Embarrassed to be dating a male Juliet, I suppose).

“Um, er- Madame? Pardon, but what exactly made you consider me for the role of Juliet?” I’m sure my face is bright red from embarrassment as I stumble over my words. Baz looks like he’s about to combust or pop a vein.

“Well, Mr. Snow, you have certain… qualities… that might make you a good candidate. Also, we thought perhaps more LGBT representation among the Watford theatre programme may be good,” Baz is practically choking on his own spit and his shoulders shake with laughter. He is just loving this. “In fact, you were our first choice, but we assumed you wouldn’t be interested, so we gave it to…” She glances at her list before looking back up at me. “To Agatha Wellbelove. If you want the role it’s yours, but-” I look over at Baz (who has abruptly replaced his laughter with a smug smirk) and Agatha who are looking at each other. Agatha looks excited, and Baz looks thoroughly satisfied at the fact that he would be getting to snog my girlfriend. Well, I’m not about to bloody well let that happen.

“Crowley, I’ll take it. I’ll be Juliet- but can we maybe change the name to something a… tad more masculine?” Agatha has whipped her head toward me so fast and hard that I’m not sure it didn’t give her whiplash. She glares at me and I can feel waves of angry magic rolling off of her. (Usually it’s me who overflows with angry magic). Baz has schooled his expression into one of surprise and curiosity.

The professor claps her hands together excitedly. “Wonderful! Perfect. You can be… John, yes?” I nod my head and she continues, turning to Agatha. “Agatha darling, you’ll be a perfect fit for Rosaline, the girl that rejects Romeo. Get ready everyone- we officially have all roles! Rehearsal for Romeo and John starts tomorrow!” She dismisses everyone and I immediately turn to Agatha. She looks bloody pissed. I suppose I’ll have to kiss Baz now (a fact that makes my insides churn), but better me than my girlfriend.

“How could you, Simon?! You get a lead role even when it’s supposed to be a girl and I’m the one who talked you into this in the first place and you knew that I wanted to be Juliet?” She’s turning red, but she has to understand where I’m coming from. The only reason I did it was so that Baz and Agatha wouldn’t kiss. I’m too worried that they’ll end up together if that happens.

“Aggie, I only did it so you wouldn’t snog my enemy!”

“Oh and it’s much better if you do?”

“Yes, yes it is!” Now I’m getting angry at her, and I can feel the magic rising to my skin- Agatha doesn’t seem to notice (or maybe she just doesn’t care).

“Aleister Crowley, Simon! You two have more bloody chemistry than he and I do!” What in the bloody hell is she on about? She throws her hands up in defeat. “That’s it, Simon, I need a break.”

“A break?” A break from what? From the play? From Baz? I support all of those things.

“A break from us, Si. I just… I need some space.” Everything goes momentarily red before I feel a strong, calloused hand clamp down on my shoulder and drag me out of the building, pushing and shoving me farther away from campus. When the person spins me around, I’m face to face with Baz. I lunge for him, but he ducks away. (Just as graceful as ever, the prat.)

“Calm down, Snow! You were about to go off! Crowley, you’re lucky I saved your bloody arse when I did. As much as I was enjoying the show, didn’t want you to blow us all up.” He sneers at me and I growl at him, but I can feel myself calming down. “Just breathe, Snow.” I take in deep breaths and close my eyes, trying to think about happy things. When I finally open my eyes, completely cooled down and ready to thank Baz, he’s gone. I look around, but I can’t see him anywhere. I suppose we’ll just pretend that never happened.

…

When I finally went back to our room last night after my near-meltdown, Baz was already in bed and asleep. (Or so he acted like he was- he acts like he’s asleep a lot, but I know when he’s really asleep. His breathing is different). This morning, he acted like him comforting me had never even happened, and everything went back to normal. He sneered at me all day, and I growled at him in turn. Name calling. Truth be told, it all just feels routine now. Like I’m just going through all of the emotions of despising him… but I’m not totally sure that I do. Not after last night. Even though it would have been hilarious for him to see me go off yesterday, (he would think it was funny because he knows that I subconsciously protect him when I go off. I can’t even help it) he helped me calm down. In fact, he even stopped me from making a huge mistake by yelling at Agatha, which isn’t like him at all.

So now I’m here at rehearsal, trying not to stare at my arch-rival. Agatha went through with her promise of being on a break, but if I’m being honest, I’m not all that mad. I think I’ve been thinking (well, as much as it’s possible for me to think) about breaking it off with her for a long bloody time. I just… kind of filed it away under the things I’m not supposed to think about. As with my hatred of Baz, I just feel like we were just going through the motions of dating. I love Agatha, but I don’t quite think I’m in love with her. I suppose Penny was right. Right now, Agatha is ignoring me completely while we learn stage directions. There aren’t many songs to sing, but there is a party in which people are supposed to dance together- I have to dance with Baz. But for now, we’re learning the very beginning of the play, and we aren’t quite ready to learn the dances yet.

The whole rehearsal, Baz and I are separated, because our two characters don’t meet yet- we’re in completely different scenes. Romeo and Juliet (or Romeo and John, I suppose) seems like a silly concept. The whole bloody forbidden love thing doesn’t seem very realistic; if you love someone that much, it’s not going to be horrible, yeah? I mean, Crowley, if a romance was really forbidden in the real world, surely the ‘main characters’ would be like ‘screw this, this is absurd’ and then they would ride off into the sunset. But these two both end up dying. Over love. What a cliche. (I don’t know how Agatha talked me into this). But anyway, Baz and I don’t see each other for nearly the whole rehearsal, except for at the very end when we’re all seated around the professor.

We’re going over every act and every scene in our scripts, reading the lines all out loud. The only problem is that the professor has Baz and I standing in the middle of the circle for ‘practise acting together’. The good news is that no one seems to be looking at us- everyone is just staring down at their scripts.

In a few scenes we have to change pronouns since the lead (me) is now a male, but they’re easy fixes. When we get to the party part in the script, Baz looks up at me, but keeps saying his lines. (Of course the twat already has lines memorized). Our characters just talk to each other for a while (I fumble on a few lines because bloody hell Baz is staring me down) before dancing. We skip that part because we haven’t learned it yet. When we get to the first kissing scene, I feel myself blush for some reason. Just the fact that I have to kiss my nemesis is weird. But if I have to do it for the play, I suppose I will. But not now. We won’t do the kiss until opening night- the professor said so.

I don’t know how Baz is so good at playing this love sick character when he’s never been with anyone, as far as I know. In this scene, the two characters are falling in love with each other. Baz delivers every line with love and lust, portraying this forbidden love thing far better than I am. We make eye contact as he delivers a line. “Prodigious birth of love is it to me that I must love a loathed enemy…” He sounds so genuinely said that for a second, I nearly forget that it’s just the character that he’s playing, and not Baz himself. Baz would never stand to pine someone- he’s just not that kind of person.

Throughout the whole rehearsal, it was weird to see Baz interacting with people. Actually laughing. It’s like he really comes alive when we’re all working for the same thing. In fact, he’s actually tolerable. He cracks jokes himself, and I even caught him laughing at a few of mine. It’s so unlike him that it’s slightly disorienting. In fact, when we’re finally done with rehearsal, he doesn’t speed up out of the door to get ahead of me. He walks with me. Well, maybe not with me, but a few feet beside me.

“You sound like a robot, Snow,” I look over, expecting to see a sneer, but instead I see a small smile. “Work on sounding more love sick.” He says it like it’s so easily- then again, everything seems to be easy for him.

“I don’t even know how to do that,” He raises a curious eyebrow at me, and I walk a little closer to him so we don’t have to yell across the whole bloody field.

“Didn’t you and Wellbelove just break up?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“Well you must be hurting then, Snow. Tap into that. Acting is just… drawing upon experiences and feelings, no matter how deep down they may be. Crowley, just work on putting some emotion into your lines!” He shoves me (but with no aggression… which I don’t know what to make of) and I realize that for him to draw up those emotions, he must have some love sickness for himself.

“So then… how do you draw up love?” He scoffs and rolls his eyes, like he thinks I’m taking a stab at him. “No, really. What do you draw from?” He looks at me funny for a moment before changing his expression into his usual one that he saves especially for me- a sneer and venom in his voice.

“We’re not friends, Snow,” He spits out my name, and I just want him to go back to how he was acting before. Actually pleasant for once. “That is none of your bloody business, you twat.” He speeds up, passing me and jogging toward Mummers House. I make a feeble attempt at trying to call out to him, but I suppose having fun with him was only meant to last a moment.

…

Baz ignores me whenever he can. He ignores me often, but it’s different this time. He always takes a chance to make fun of me and poke me until I go off. Maybe brag about stealing my girlfriend. But now he’s not saying anything. I’ve tried provoking him, just to get something from him, but it hasn’t worked. He just ignores me, not even throwing the occasional sneer my way. Yesterday at rehearsal, our characters still hadn’t met, so we didn’t interact much. He was perfectly fine with everyone else- joking around (as far as joking goes for him, anyway) and laughing. It felt odd, feeling a bit sad when he would stop smiling when he looked at me. Like my face made him sad.

Tonight at rehearsal, it’s time for everyone to learn the dance for a party scene. Everyone partners up- including Baz and I. The choreographer teaches us the basic steps, and I’m certain that I’ll trip over my feet and piss Baz off even more. But we set up nonetheless. I’ve never been a good dancer, and I’ve certainly never danced with a bloke. But it seems like Baz has done this before, because he takes control. He grabs one of my hands, lifting it up (he has very rough hands, but they’re oddly soothing) and wraps one arm under my armpit and sets his hand on my back. I follow his lead and rest my arm on his, letting my hand settle on his upper back as well. He doesn’t look at me once while we set up. Crowley it’s weird to be this close with Baz. I can feel his breath, and smell his overwhelming scent of cedar and bergamot.

Looking up at him (he’s always been taller than me by at least three inches- and he never lets me forget it, either), I see that he looks tired. He has bags under his eyes, and his hair is falling from it’s usual slicked back state. His eyes are a stormy grey (bastard always had better eyes than me, too). As soon as the music starts, he begins to move his feet all around. He has the perfect posture while gliding around the floor, and I can only just follow his lead. He’s so graceful. His back is strong (and oddly tense) under my hand, but the hand that I’m holding is loose while it holds mine. In the scene, we’re never supposed to break eye contact, but he seems to be looking anywhere but at me as we dance. He spins me around many times, but we’re only halfway through the dance (it’s killing me- I don’t know how Baz is still breathing normally) when the music stops, as well as the other students.

The professor walks up to us, clicking her heels and stops right in front of Baz. She leans in to whisper something in his ear, and then promptly turns on her heel back to her spot in the audience when he nods. He rolls his eyes as she walks away, but he readies to dance again as the music starts. This time, he’s looking right at me. In the play, his character should be looking at me as though he was falling in love with me, but Baz looks like the exact opposite of that. He just looks… bored.

I lean forward until my lips graze his jaw as I whisper, “I know you hate me Baz, but Romeo is supposed to be falling in love with John… act.” When I pull away, I see that his face has changed to (a very real looking) fake smile, and his eyes have softened. I don’t know how he manages to fill his eyes with love (I didn’t even know what that would look like- now I know that it looks like this), but he does. He really looks as though he’s falling in love. We glide across the floor with minimal tripping as we finally get to the end of the song. When it ends, Baz springs away from me and sneers. Oh how quickly things change.

…

The next rehearsal is the kiss scene. Baz and I take our places (we’ve been assigned to memorize these lines- I wanted to practise with him, but he laughed in my face) facing each other. He begins, standing right in front of me, eyes pleading, taking one of my hands with his. (The text was altered to make more sense in modern times, so we can actually understand what the other is saying).

“Your hand is like a holy place that my hand is unworthy to visit. If you’re offended by the touch of my hand, my two lips are standing here like blushing pilgrims, ready to make things better with a kiss…”

“Good pilgrim, you don’t give your hand enough credit. By holding my hand you show polite devotion. After all, pilgrims touch the hands of statues of saints. Holding one palm against another is like a kiss.” I say in turn, pulling him a little closer to me. (It’s not in the script, but it feels right for this scene).

“Don’t saints and pilgrims have lips too?” “Yes, pilgrim—they have lips that they’re supposed to pray with.”

“Well then, saint, let lips do what hands do. I’m praying for you to kiss me. Please grant my prayer so my faith doesn’t turn to despair.” I’m so lost in my head (thinking about Baz saying he wants me to kiss him, even though it’s just his character), that Baz has to squeeze my hand to remind me that we’re still in the scene.

I shake out of my stupor and reply, “Saints don’t move, even when the grant prayers.”

“Then don’t move while I act out my prayer,” He responds, leaning in. I stay stone still while he presses his lips to my cheek (for the real showing we’ll do a real kiss, but we’re marking it for now with cheek kisses. Saving the real one for the showings was Baz’s idea- marking it with a cheek kiss was mine). His lips are cold and soft, and after he pulls away, I forget for a moment that we’re not alone in the classroom. I look around to see everyone staring at us. I’m red from head to toe. “Now my sin has been taken from my lips by yours.” He smiles as he says this, gazing into my eyes.

“Then do my lips now have the sin they took from yours?” I smirk at him, mostly because that’s what my character would probably do. I try to push any love that I have inside me to me eyes, showing the fact that I’m falling in love (in the play).

“Sin from my lips? You encourage crime with your sweetness. Give me my sin back.” It sounds like such a Baz thing to say that I’m caught off guard (for the tenth time today) for a moment.

I lean forward and put my hands on the back of his neck, pulling him to me (because he’s too tall for me to just reach forward) and placing a kiss on his cheek. It lasts a bit longer than the first one, and people start catcalling. I roll my eyes and blush as I spring away from Baz. The move felt so natural. Like I had taken him by the neck before- but I haven’t. Not even to get in a good punch, to my recollection.

I spend the rest of the night thinking about his lips on my cheek.

…

It’s been months since our first rehearsal for Romeo and John, and tomorrow morning is the first showing. Over the months, Baz has gotten less defensive, and we’re mainly back to normal. But for four hours of every day, we have to act like we’re falling hopelessly in love, which I suppose isn’t normal. Tonight was our last rehearsal, and we ran the whole thing through twice… except for the kisses. We have the dancing and acting down no problem, but I’m worried about the first kiss. Not just because I have to snog my enemy of all people, but because it’s a huge climactic part of the play- the moment where they’ve realized that they’re falling in love. Baz and I have fought for the past seven and a half years- how the bloody hell are we supposed to snog like we’re falling madly in love? Crowley, I’m nervous about it.

So nervous, in fact, that I sit bolt upright in bed and spell the lights on. I swing my legs over the side of my bed, turning toward Baz (I know he’s up- he’s breathing his awake and thinking breathing) and say, “Baz, get up.” He groans, but sits up nonetheless. He doesn’t look tired, exactly, but his sneer falls flat when he tried to throw one at me.

“Aleister Crowley, what is so important, Snow?”

“I’m nervous about the kiss tomorrow.” He rolls his eyes and runs a hand over his face.

“For Christs’ sake, if you don’t want to do it that much, Snow, we’ll do a kiss on the cheek.” He turns slightly pink, like this conversation is making him uncomfortable. (He must’ve just eaten).

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” He quirks an eyebrow at me, but I continue on. “It’s just that we’ve never actually done it before, and I’m bloody worried that it won’t be good enough.”

“So what would put your dimwitted little mind to rest?” I think for a moment, and I think I know exactly what will make me feel better about it.

“We need to pratise- just once to make sure it will be good enough for the stage.”

“You’ve gone right loony, Snow.” He shakes his head and sneers at me. (A real one this time, not one that falls flat).

“Please, Baz? We’ll be doing it for the next week anyway. What’s one more?” He rolls his eyes, but stand up anyway. I stand up too, so we’re facing each other now, close enough that I can see flecks of blue in his grey eyes.

“Fine, Simon. One time.” He looks annoyed, but I’m thrown by his choice of words. Simon? My heart flutters with something that I don’t quite recognize, but I’m startled from my thoughts when he snaps three times in front of my face and raises an eyebrow.

“Okay, so… how do we do it? Do we start by saying some of our lines, or just-” I’m cut off when Baz’s face turns soft for a moment before he cups my face and presses his lips to mine. I gasp and then sigh against his mouth, running my hands in his hair and on his stomach. My mouth opens to let him in, and his does do. We’re breathing heavily and I can barely even think. His mouth is cold but in a wonderful way. Even though he’s a bloke (and my enemy), this might just be the best kiss I’ve ever had.

It feels like fireworks. Like one of those kisses in the movies where the camera does a circle around them and zooms out and in while they just grab at each other. He grabs a fistful of my hair and I can’t help but sigh against his mouth. Our noses bump together, and it’s just so desperate. He’s my enemy and I’m supposed to hate this… hate him. This kiss is magic. This kiss is… forbidden. Now I understand what Romeo and Juliet is about.

When he finally pulls away, we’re both breathing heavily and he simply says, “Good enough for the stage, Snow?” I just stand there, mouth open and eyes trained on him as he lays down in bed and spells the lights off. I stand there, slowly nodding, for what feels like hours before I eventually find my way to bed.

I am screwed.

…

It’s opening night tonight. This morning, Baz just went about sneering at me as per usual, but I couldn’t bring myself to growl back. Because that kiss just kept replaying itself in my mind over and over again. The way we clawed at each other… the desperation that I’m sure we both felt at that moment. This morning, Agatha told me she was ready to get back together, but I couldn’t let it happen. I just don’t love her like I thought I did. And after that kiss… nothing feels the same. Not for me, anyway.

All through the first act, everything goes smoothly. I can’t stop staring at Baz. When we get to the dancing scene, it feels like everyone else just melted away and it was just him and I… floating across the stage. I kept staring at his lips, and in his eyes. I never wanted to stop. That kiss had to mean something to him. It meant everything to me.

When we get to the kissing scene, there aren’t bloody butterflies in my stomach- there are birds. I try to deliver all of my lines without my voice hitching. When he first kisses me, it’s not open-mouthed; it’s not supposed to be. But for the second one, when we both lean in to kiss each other… it can be as desperate as we want it to be. As soon as his lips touch mine, I’m consumed by him. Everything just melts away and it’s just Baz and his bloody mouth. We claw at each other, and I can barely even hear the applause from the audience- it all just seems so far away. It’s the end of Act 1, so the curtains close, calling for the end of the scene; and the kiss. But I don’t want to stop. We stay like that for two full minutes after the curtains close until eventually Agatha comes to rip me from him. As I walk off stage left, I look behind me and see Baz looking at me, looking as confused as I feel.

“What the hell was that, Simon?!” She’s raging in my face, but I can barely focus on her. I’m ready for the next kiss scene.

“What was what?” I ask like I don’t know. I know exactly what she’s talking about. What was that kiss with your mortal enemy?

“You and Baz basically devouring each other in front of everyone! It was so irre-” She’s cut off by the professor coming around clapping and shrieking like a banshee.

“So spectacular! That was wonderful! You could see the love- the longing! Brilliant! In all of my years of teaching drama, I’ve never seen such great actors with such feigned chemistry. Bloody amazing!” She keeps on about what amazing acting it was… but I’m not so sure that it is just acting anymore.

…

The rest of the play goes by without a hitch, and every scene I have with Baz is magic. I can feel the electricity when we kiss, and I can see the sparks when we just talk. It feels so forbidden, and I suddenly have a newfound respect for this play. At the end, Baz and I walk onto the stage together, hand in hand, bowing for the audience as they cheer and throw flowers at us. (There’s no way they actually brought the flowers- not many grow around here, so they must’ve just spelled them). Even as we exit the stage, I don’t let go of Baz’s hand. We walk back out with the rest of the cast and do the bows. The audience goes crazy, but all I’m focused on is the feeling of Baz’s hand in mine.

As the curtain finally closes, everyone is cheering, and the cast on the stage is brimming with joy and excitement. I turn to Baz, grinning as I see that he’s smiling, too. “We did great, Baz!” He looks at me as though he’s still in character- with love in his eyes. I look back up at him (with love in my eyes too, I’m sure- there’s a lot to draw from at the moment), but I don’t have to act when I smile at him; it’s genuine.

In the middle of all the chaos, there we are. Baz and I. Romeo and John. Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch and Simon Snow- what have you. In the middle of everything, here we are, two boys with conflicting feelings, being told that we can’t be together. Being told by our friends and family that we were destined to kill each other.

Everything goes quiet as the Love Story of Baz and Simon comes to a riveting conclusion (or maybe beginning), when I pull him closer and kiss him like there’s no tomorrow. Everyone is silent, but when we finally break apart, looking at the cast, everyone erupts in cheers. I laugh for just a moment before I’m pulled back into Baz. Suddenly I know how I managed to draw up the emotions of love in order to act…

Because in the middle of everything- all of the chaos, drama and heartbreak…

I have Baz. And that’s all I need to feel all of the love in the world.

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sobdasha · 4 years

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i got caught up with this not because i did better but because i’ve had no time/watched some tv

War for the Oaks, Emma Bull I began reading this book at the same time as The Innkeeper's Song, listed below. I started out dragging my feet on this one and racing through TIS. But one book got progressively more amazing while the other book got progressively less impressive and my better book is this one. This was the roomie's first brush with urban fantasy, and one of her friends got her a second-hand first edition paperback, and so she talked about it a lot until I finally picked it up and she said "Uh but also I haven't read it in forever so I uh. Don't know how it holds up." (She rightly fears me because as you will have noticed I am a Very Particular Reader.) Reasons I disliked this book at first: - fashion choices that scream "1980s" and fashion choices that scream "lesbian" are incredibly similar and guess which of the two I am not getting, seeing as this was published in 1987. - Eddie is breaking up with her garbage boyfriend which is good but she has an incredible amount of chemistry with Carla which is disheartening given that I know I won't get sapphics and Eddie will end up dating some other boy with whom there is no chemistry. - This is a book about rock-n-roll bands I don't know any of these songs (okay I might know these songs but I don't know artists or titles so I may as well not know any of these songs) it's kinda wasted on me. - oh boy I'm so excited to watch her and the phouka fight like Kagome and Inuyasha or any other pair with this dynamic yaaaaay /sarcasm Reasons this came to be a Good Read: - Everyone dresses so goddamn queer in this book that you know what, everyone except that jerkass Stuart is queer. He's garbage so he can be straight or whatever. It's my reading experience I do what I want. There's no way these people aren't bi. Also it's canon because everyone takes one look at the phouka and assumes he's gay. …………………………with slurs but still. - Good supporting cast. - I both failed to give the phouka a deep voice and also to sustain a Stereotypical Gay voice (which, the dialogue will totally 100% support), but I did accidentally voice him with Tatum's dub of Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss which was completely appropriate in the "vaguely gay vaguely British unambiguously prissy" department, and also entertaining because it reminded me of the dynamics in that anime but, y'know, better. - I almost gave up when the romance hit hardcore but it turned out later that was actually a fake-out that was meant to be garbage and set us up for the endgame much later, by which point Eddie and the phouka actually had the same level of chemistry as Eddie and Carla, so I could actively enjoy the ship. A win! Anyway it was fun. It may not have aged the best in the sense that it strove to be accurate to time and place (see: homophobic slurs), but the character dynamics held up pretty dang well. I would definitely read this again and enjoy myself; in fact I plan to.

The Innkeeper's Song, Peter S. Beagle I was very excited to read this because I was so blown away by The Last Unicorn but the more I read the more disappointed I got. Half the time I feel like that weeb who is like "hello I only like your fanfic you wrote when you were 13 and high on pixie stixs, all your stuff now sucks", and half the time I tell myself, "Maybe there is a reason I've only ever heard of The Last Unicorn and had no idea he'd actually written other books." As you have probably picked up by now, I have a knee-jerk dislike of first person PoV where it must prove itself worthy to me first, despite the fact that I like plenty of things written in first person. I also have a knee-jerk dislike of "I will change the narrator every chapter and announce loudly who it is instead of doing it subtly but unmistakably in the content of the text itself." This book had both. Despite all my harsh judgment, it would be incorrect of me to say that this writing choice is not valid. That this writing choice cannot be used to amazing effect. I do not believe that is what happened here. I did not feel it was adding much to the story to begin with (other than being the shortest and straightest path to advancing a narrative with many fronts), and I was definitely unimpressed when we got to the string of chapters, all of them less than a page and some no more than a paragraph, during the orgy scene where the 3 women have sex with 1 teen boy who's been thirsting after them, and they pay him a lot of worshipful attention in the orgy even though none of them actually like him, and also this is when we reveal one of the women is a man in disguise in the most confusing way possible so my cringe got even deeper as I waited for Beagle to fuck up a trans storyline. (It was literally just "I'm on the run so I'm magically dressing as a girl" but it took a really long time to clarify that after.) In addition to not liking the narrative structure, I just wasn't interested or invested in the actual plot. It didn't feel very urgent or important and at the end I was like "what even happened and also why did it happen." I was underwhelmed. I was definitely the wrong audience for this book. Oh also because I was not enjoying myself I started to get really irrationally annoyed by the way fantasy fauna and flora would have fantasy names and they would be italicized. In a first person PoV. Where the narrator is literally speaking the language that this word is native to. It half felt pretentious, and half highlighted what felt like a loose thread: everyone is literally narrating to someone (presumably collecting the story, after everyone has gone their separate ways) and this has all been woven together into a proper narrative, but our story collector is absent despite addresses to such a person. What purpose does this serve? Does it make it more ~authentic~ fantasy? Because I don't buy it. Now my suspension of disbelief is snapped; I'd have preferred it was either left out entirely, or made into a brilliant framing device like in The Name of the Wind.

Giant Bones, Peter S. Beagle This one was short stories "set in the same universe as The Innkeeper's Song", which basically meant some city names were reused, as well as all those italicized fantasy names and the "I am narrating my story to an audience in-story" frame. You know, all the things I didn't particularly care for. I pressed on to see if there was anything I might like, but since I can't remember, I assume there wasn't. Because this left me wanting, and the title was Giant Bones, I went to reread Conservation of Shadows by Lee instead, starting with "The Bones of Giants," which was greatly preferable, so much more my speed. That's when I did the write-up for the last round of books lol.

Nimona, Noelle Stevenson This has been on my list for Forever but I'm bad at reading new books. Anyway! Nimona was very good!! It felt, hm, very self-indulgent in the way that is amazing, where the creator gives themself whatever they want and the work turns out brilliantly because of it. I didn't think I was into friends to enemies to lovers but apparently I love it wen Stevenson handles it (see: She Ra reboot). Speaking of She Ra, I probably would have figured out where the end game was going if I'd read Nimona before looool. I know people referenced it when they talked ships but I just….didn't...pay enough attention. There was found family stuff I enjoyed, dad stuff, I'm finding that I am liking a lot of takes on monster girls, etc. Anyway it gave me a lot of feelings, it was funny, it was good, I need to get a copy.

The Dragon Pearl, Yoon Ha Lee The first time I talked about this book I mentioned something about the pacing and suspending disbelief or whatever, but I want to note that this time the pacing felt perfect and the plot didn't seem weird at all, it flowed very smoothly. I don't know if that's because it was a reread and I knew where it was going, or because I just read it awkwardly the first time. Anyway. Something that stood out to me this time is that, near the end, I realized this story is a bit animated Disney Mulan. There's even the "you broke this you broke that you impersonated a soldier but also you saved China so thanks" bit. Where The Dragon Pearl is wildly different from other Mulan-type stories that I like (see: Monstrous Regiment) is that it is entirely ungendered. (There are some mentions of gender in the book. These amount mostly to, "most foxes choose to be female because Tradition but one of my cousins decided to be male like my brother and no one mocks him for it" and "official name tags also include handy signifiers of which personal pronouns a person prefers.") What I'm trying to say is, a lot of other stuff when dealing with/trying to deconstruct gender stereotyping, ends up reinforcing it in a way. In order to illustrate why the stereotypes are wrong, they end up repeating the stereotypes a lot in order to argue against them. The Dragon Pearl, on the other hand, is genderless in a way that doesn't reinforce the gender binary. There are no gendered clothes. There are no gendered bathrooms. There are no gendered hairstyles or accessories. There are no gendered actions or emotions or stereotypes. There are no gendered bodies (the differences highlighted between Min and Jang-who-she's-shapeshifting-into are of build ie, height, center of gravity, not of private bits). No plot points revolve around the maleness of the person Min is impersonating; no plot points revolve around the femaleness of Min. And they/them? It's never explained why any person uses that pronoun. They just do so that's just how it is. I just think this is amazingly neat and I wanna applaud Lee for this finesse.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, Mackenzi Lee I put this on my list because Queer and people were recommending it, but it was not well-advertized to me. I was expecting shallow teen romance, but dressed in historical clothes and unsubtly, unabashedly, unashamedly GAY. So I was expecting some gay. I was not expecting gay pining I actually enjoyed, I was not expecting call-outs for privilege of wealth and class and sex and color, I was not expecting the drama of the romance to not be stupidly fabricated misunderstandings but instead be driven by the need for character development and personal growth, I had forgotten I was expecting people of color, people with disabilities, badass women, I was not expecting a nuanced call-out of ableism ("I don't believe I need to be well to be happy", etc). I was not expecting a reversal of gender stereotypes that avoided saying "X gender is bad." Like, Monty is the team weakest link. Monty faints at the sight of blood. Monty is romantic and emotional and swoons at the slightest provocation. Monty uses his wiles to seduce people, that's the main skill he actually brings to the party. Monty cries. Aside from probably Monty's asshole dad who hates him for being gay, no one else nor the narrative calls these traits out as being Feminine (And Therefore Bad). Like, haha, We All Know These Are All Stereotypes Of Women At The Time, but no one says it. I find there's something really nice about no one saying it. Meanwhile, Percy and Felicity are competent and cool and I heart them. (What the hell, I heart Monty too. He really grows on you. He's so soft and in love and pathetic.) Anyway going back to the privilege thing, I love that Percy and Felicity and others constantly call Monty out on his privilege and refuse to coddle him over it. But they also care about him and they are very tender to him, not because of his privilege, but because he is a person who deserves basic person things, when he has his own issues. Your issues don't excuse your behavior, but yikes we deeply underestimated the sheer depth of your PTSD and we're gentler with you because of it. So try to stop being an ass. This book is just super wholesome and I can already tell this will be one of my new go-to's when I need a comfort book. Like Ancillary Justice etc.

The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky, Mackenzi Lee This is not a fanfiction in the sense that is it written by the author and not a fan, but you need to understand, as part of me selling this to you as earnestly as I can, this is a fanfiction set after The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue which involves hijinks as Monty and Percy try and fail hilariously to have their first time having sex together, Felicity tries to wingman, there are miscommunications and nervous breakdowns and tender resolutions and it is absolutely a perfect indulgence. Because it was written by the actual author everyone is 100% in character and the narrative voice is spot-on. Kudos!

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, Mackenzi Lee Ace/aro Felicity???? ACE/ARO FELICITY!!! TBH I only vaguely remembered the descriptions for this one, ie "this time it's lesbians," and I was reading this going "there is a suspicious lack of lesbians but so much platonic vibes and also…..maybe…..maybe…????" and like I got both lesbians AND ace/aro Felicity????? Lee wrote this book? As a gift? For me???? I cannot believe I was blessed with "not like other girls"!Felicity as a vehicle for calling out the internalized misogyny inherent in the Not Like Other Girls mindset, and it is glorious. You can like pretty dresses and running around doing science, or you can hate dresses and only love science, or you can only like pretty dresses, or you can like whatever the heck you want in whatever combo, doesn't matter you're still a girl you're still valid and this shit isn't mutually exclusive. Much as I don't wear makeup (I've slowly learned to wear dresses again) in real life, gosh I love Johanna for being like "I love dresses and I love science and what if I was a badass adventurer but also got to be rescued a lot" because that was bitty me. Gimme a princess dress and a sword and a bow and arrows but also a tower to be rescued from and then various adventures. I want it both ways! And that's okay!! Also this is a critique I have apparently wanted since at least 3rd grade, see this proof from my daily journal prompts, I apologize for my lack of attention to spelling and forming letters: "Girls are what ever girls are. Girls like different things so I con't judge them all. Some girls like barbies. Just becaus you my not like barbies dosn't mean those girls aren't girls, it means they like more things that hove barbies. I like nintendo and I'm a girl." Apparently I was a Not Like Other Girls who thought Other Girls were still extremely valid. (that's kind of hilarious though because like, child, you had Barbies and didn't hate Barbies, you are just bad at playing with dolls and props. You're also bad at playing Nintendo.) Other stuff specifically, hm, it was refreshing to not have "I am skinny and perfect and clearly ugly" or even "I am legitimately ugly." Instead we have, "You do realize my torso is a solid rectangle, it laughs at this corset which I guess we are going to put on anyway, also my football player shoulders are going to literally pop the sleeves off that dress" and "I am built like a corgi dog, this is simply a fact of my proportions." Like, Felicity definitely has Issues with her traditional femininity and lack thereof, but I feel like it was never specifically tied to "my body shape is ugly." Also to go back to this book being written for me personally. You know they always say to write things that only you could write, that are self-indulgent, write what you want to see? It's really hard to do without a template to follow. Right before I picked up this book I realized that maybe The Thing Only I Would Write would be saying "a Skadi-and-Njord marriage is in fact a valid happy ending," but I've never seen that before and I don't know what it would look like even if I kind of understand the concept. All the media I consume, if not ending in romantic soulmates, is at least found family. If you are a loner, if you like being alone, your happy ending is to get a manic-pixie-dream-anything (girl, grandson, grandma, dog, whathaveyou) and integrate back into being social. There are no happy endings where a loner stays alone, where you get married but live separately and see each other very rarely because you love them but can't stand to live with them and you need to be alone to exist as you. And Mackenzi Lee just up and wrote it. It's valid to want to live in a house by yourself filled with bookshelves and have friends. It's valid for a girl to marry another girl who is a pirate and sails around most of the time and only comes to visit on occasion so you don't get sick of her and you keep loving her. This is an okay thing for an ace/aro to want, and it's valid to be happy with this. I can't even, y'all. I'm still marveling. I finally have seen a picture of the life I know would make me happy, and it's finally been acknowledged that I can be happy. (The amount of time I've spent, knowing I hate being social, and wondering--how many years down the line, when I'm living alone and content, will the switch suddenly flip? How many bridges will I have left behind when it turns out that I actually feel loneliness, and I'm miserable and unable to make friends and it turns out there are no manic pixie dream whatevers in real life and I fucked myself over forever because I was wrong and I should have been maintaining these social ties now and turning into someone I'm sure I'm not? What if people like me, who don't really get lonely without people, don't actually exist??) Anyway representation matters. Also Felicity being blindsided with Callum's proposal was, wow, okay I should have caught on to ace!Felicity then because that was so very accurate to my life experience minus people cutting fingers off. Look I was quoting stuff at the end to a friend and she was like "maybe that's why there's aces on the cover" and I am a very stupid ace okay. Felicity and Johanna's intense queerplatonic friendship that they keep trying to take up again in among the same sort of "you need character growth" drama that Monty needed re: Percy is also just, chef kiss, god I love this book. I need to buy this book. I haven't yet so what I did is I renewed all the books so I could immediately reread them after I finished them the first time.

#sobdasha booking

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splashstar01 · 7 years

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142 REASONS MERTHUR IS REAL

HERE ❤

I wrote this list a looong time ago but life got in the way so I never finished it. It’s still unfinished but I figured I could share anyway, since I don’t think I’ll start on it again.

Long live the Merlin fandom!

(Document copy & pasted below in case link fails.)

Merlin said “I love you” to Arthur in 5.13

Arthur said it back.

Arthur pulled Merlin into an almost-kiss before he died.

They were holding hands when Arthur died.

In 5.13, while they were having a moment, the BBC Merlin romantic theme song played in the background.

Arthur waited 1500 years in Avalon.

Merlin waited 1500 years on earth.

Merthur-haters hated the finale because they said it was too centered around Merlin and Arthur’s relationship and not the plot.

They held hands four times in 3.12.

Arthur is going to rise when Merlin needs him the most (the dragon said for Albion, but after 1500 years, Merlin becomes the last remaining piece of Albion.)

Arthur is basically rising from the dead through sheer force of will because of his love for Merlin. He won’t do this for his wife, his knights, Gaius, nor his kingdom. Just for Merlin.

So.. Arthur loves Merlin more than Camelot.

Arthur loves Merlin more than he loves himself.

Arthur loves Merlin more than he hates magic.

Arthur loves Merlin more than he loves himself.

Arthur loves Merlin more than anything.

These feelings are reciprocated.

The creator said they “genuinely thought of the episode as a love story between two men… It absolutely is a love story,”

...and also that their relationship was “the heart of the show.”

So basically Merlin was all about their gay love story. Got it.

Katie McGrath said that the creator had “confirmed” Merlin and Arthur’s love after he called them a love story (haters, don’t kid yourself, their platonic love didn’t need ANY sort of confirmation.)

She also said that she was glad the big fandom debate was finally put to rest (hmm.. wonder what that was?? Oh right, the giant debate has always been whether or not Merthur was romantic..)

Merlin and Arthur are continuously called a love story (by the creator, cast, official ads… the gay is strong.)

In the middle of season 5, when Bradley was asked, “Way back in season one, you told us that you thought Merlin’s bromance with Arthur was way more important than Guinevere’s romance. Given the changes, is that still the case?” he said, “For the show, then yes, the bromance is more important. For Arthur, I think when you find someone in your life whom you love more than anything, you’ll do anything for them. And I believe that Arthur would do anything for them.” Bradley avoids directly saying Gwen is more important, even AVOIDING USING GENDER-SPECIFIC PRONOUNS.

Merlin is always looking at Arthur’s crotch. He’s a bottom.

Arthur is always looking at Merlin’s ass. He’s a top.

Merlin moaned Arthur’s name in his sleep.

Arthur moaned Merlin’s name in his sleep.

So.. they dream about each other.

And their dreams are vivid enough that they say each other’s names out loud. Ok then.

They look at each other’s lips a lot. In contrast, I don’t even look at any of my friends’ lips, ever, and I don’t notice any other friends doing it either???

When Arthur pictures his perfect life, he pictures it on a farm away from everyone with just him and Merlin (worth noting: when he enclosed this, it was to his girlfriend… on their date.)

He also wants to run away with Merlin to said farm. And yes, he told Gwen this, too. No, he didn’t imply that she would be there at all.

When Arthur proposed to Gwen, he had to have Merlin with him but because it would be indecent, he had Merlin hide behind curtains..

Arthur forgot his and Gwen’s anniversary,

even though Gwen reminded him a month before.

And even Merlin remembered his anniversary before he did and had to remind him..

But yet Arthur remembered exactly how many days it’d been since his best friend smiled.

Oh, and on the anniversary date, Arthur brought Merlin along. Of course. (You’d think he’d try to make it as romantic as possible since he y’know, forgot about it. But he can’t stand to be away from Merlin for even a second.)

They’re canon soulmates.

It’s also canon that Merthur is destiny.

Merlin routinely sees Arthur naked. When his girlfriend did, he reacted quite negatively.

Everyone in the castle treats Merlin like he’s Arthur’s mistress, and he gets the castle mistress privileges as well.

Arthur thinks Merlin is gay (in his mind, Merlin has the stereotypical gay traits-- feminine and a crossdresser-- and then in a scene that wasn’t played off comically, Arthur asked why Merlin was walking with a limp after going out with a “girl”-- he emphasized “girl,” not me), therefore Arthur must have known Merlin’s feelings for him, yet he continued to let his very gay best friend see him naked and dress and undress him.

Even when he thought Merlin was gay AND a horny virgin (“You have led a sheltered life, you have no social skills whatsoever, and Catrina is, I admit, an attractive woman. I understand completely”), he still let Merlin see him naked… knowing full well that Merlin, this apparently horny gay virgin, cares about him more than any other guy… Arthur’s basically asking to be boned. (C’mon Merlin, get the hint!!)

The night Merlin thought he wouldn’t see Arthur again, he missed him so much that he made a Pendragon dragon out of fire at his camp.

Merlin almost admitted his feelings to Arthur, saying “I know it’s hard for you to understand how I feel..” and it was only after Arthur made a very shocked and dismayed face, did Merlin quickly change tack and made a joke out of it.

Arthur admitted that Merlin could break his heart. And Merlin was crying. And it was super romantic.

So Arthur basically admitted he loved Merlin, because a heart can’t break if it never loved.

Arthur said that the knights were like his friends and brothers, but then he also said that Merlin was his only friend, in which he was effectively putting Merlin above the knights, above friends, and above brothers… So… what’s the spot above all that in which Merlin apparently inhabits within the King’s heart? (hint: g-a-y-l-o-v-e)

Arthur stabbed Merlin’s first love to death.. I sense some jealousy. ;) (Ok fine, I admit, he didn’t know who she was when he did it but it’s still kind of funny in a weird dark sort of way that’s actually really sad and not actually funny at all when you see Merlin crying. ;u;)

Arthur’s father said that Merlin and Arthur’s bond went “beyond the line of duty.” That’s so gay.

Arthur always listens to Merlin when he tells him not to marry someone, even if it’s last minute and the bride is literally waiting at the altar. I’m 10,000% sure if he’d wanted, Merlin could’ve easily convinced Arthur not to marry Gwen as well. Even when his Gwen was consistently upset about him marrying Elena, he was going to until Merlin told him not to. It’s almost like he doesn’t care who he marries as long as Merlin’s by his side and approves of the wife.

In the finale, Arthur had to choose between his wife or Merlin, and he chose Merlin, even giving Gwen back their wedding ring.

About that scene, the creator said, “There goes his heterosexuality.”

Arthur’s uncle asked him to give up on Gwen, so he broke up with her. Arthur’s uncle asked him to give up on Merlin, and he shut his uncle up mid-sentence. Gwen asked him to give up on Merlin and he said “You’re not going to change my mind.” No surprise there.

Arthur barely spends any time alone with Gwen and when he does, he turns almost every conversation they have into something about Merlin. Obsessed much??

All their sexual innuendos.

One time Merlin implied that he was Arthur’s true love (he said Arthur was a toad but that since magic was outlawed, he would never turn into a handsome prince, and we all know the toad gets turned into a prince only by the magic of true love’s kiss,... and Merlin was implying that he would have been the one to turn Arthur back.)

Merlin fondly calls Arthur “cabbagehead,” and in modern language that roughly translates to “sweetie-head.”

There’s an anime called Fate’s Stay Night where the main characters are King Arthur (a woman) and her male lover Shiro. In it, Arthur waited thousands of years in Avalon before seeing Shiro (BBC’s Arthur waited 1500 years in Avalon before seeing Merlin) and Shiro (again, Shiro is the lover, even though Gwen was also in the anime) was doomed to hopelessly search thousands of years for Arthur (ahem MERLIN)! This makes me wonder if BBC Merlin’s ending and the Merlin/Arthur love story (instead of Arthur/Gwen) isn’t all that uncommon in Arthurian myth.. Merthur coincided a little too perfectly with Arthur/Shiro.

Merlin would do anything Arthur says. Anything. With emphasis. (That scene is so filthy-sounding i can’t even rewatch it with parents around.)

Arthur can recognize Merlin by just his eyes but not his own sister whom he grew up with.

Merlin splashed pee into Arthur’s mouth and his only punishment was an “i will so kill you for this but will never actually do anything about it” glare. If that’s not true love, I don’t know what is.

They’re always doing super domestic stuff together.

Arthur associates flowers with romance, yet asked Merlin where Merlin’s flowers for him where..

And then while they were talking about these flowers, Merlin did magic in front of him and a scroll FLEW OFF THE TABLE, fell to the floor, made a pretty audible ‘thump’ noise, and Arthur (trained alert knight) didn’t even notice despite it happening inches away from him because he was so engrossed in this flowers talk.

When Merlin pulled Arthur’s pants down, he didn’t just pull down his pants, he (very unnecessarily) pulled down everything.

And unlike what he usually does, he didn’t need a spell to pull them down.. Almost like the act of unclothing his King came naturally to his magic?

After he married Gwen, Arthur began sleeping with his shirt on instead of off like usual.. Decidedly not the actions of a straight man.

But then whenever he’s with Merlin, his shirt just comes right off. Even Bradley said, “I’ll find myself setting out to do a scene and it’ll be a scene where I’m just having a chat with Merlin, and then one of the script editors will come down and say, “We’ve had a message from production: Bradley’s going to do this scene with his top off.” That’s what I call good writing.

Most of Arthur’s kisses with Gwen are super chaste, and even the longer ones aren’t all that passionate. Instead he keeps staring at Merlin’s lips.

Arthur is always staring at Merlin, especially when he thinks Merlin isn’t looking.

Merlin does the same thing.

And they have tons and tons of eyesex.

Sometimes they’ll look away really quickly when the other catches them staring.

Sometimes when they’re having a moment, it’s so powerful that Merlin is near-tears with the depth of his feeling.

Aithusa is basically their daughter.

Merlin and Arthur are really touchy-feely.

And they have lingering touches.

Arthur’s mind is in the gutter a lot.

Even when Arthur is told to go on quests and missions alone, he brings Merlin. Probably because he doesn’t see him and Merlin as a separate being. They are, after all, two sides of the same coin. Soulmates.

Merlin and Arthur are scarily co-dependent.

Which makes their waiting/separation even more depressing.

The entire series was only the prologue of Merlin and Arthur’s eternal love story.

The deleted scenes were mostly all Merthur stuff. Almost like their own mini-series in the behind-the-scenes.

When Arthur was dying, it seemed like he didn’t even remember Gwen. He didn’t mention her or ask Merlin to get a message back to her, nothing. In his mind, it was just him and Merlin at the end of it all.

Bradley and Colin purposely, intentionally played Merlin and Arthur as homoerotic gay closet cases. Some things Merlin and Arthur did was attributed to Brolin, but there are other things that were just in no way not intentional, because Bradley and Colin are PROFESSIONAL. ACTORS. They know and control every little part of the slightest twitch of the lips to a crinkle in the eyes to match their characters. Some things are Brolin, but other more obvious things (like staring at lips for example) were likely done purposely, because I think Bradley and Colin are good enough as actors to know exactly what they’re doing.

Arthur are Merlin are listed officially as tsunderes on tvtropes.org… and 99% of the time, tsunderes are people who treat the ones they’re in love with badly in order to hide their true feelings (Arthur is a Type A tsundere-- which is the typical type-- and Merlin is Type B, meaning he is generally sweet and friendly but his hidden angry side is triggered by the love interest.)

On the site, it says that Type B tsunderes tend to appear in a relationship of the “Belligerent Sexual Tension” types. Those relationships are defined as such: “There’s a couple, usually a sometimes sweet, sometimes grouchy female paired with a secretly-kind jerk, who are not able to admit their feelings. At the top of their lungs. Despite the conflict, there is an attraction. This is usually obvious to everyone around except the couple. Confront them with the obvious, they’ll deny deny deny. Sometimes they will progress to admitting their friendship but insist they are "just friends.” Eventually, they can admit their feelings to practically anyone except their loved one. It ends up where both characters dance around admitting their feelings as if the words “I love you” are some sort of death curse, much to the frustration of the audience and the other characters. If there is a Love Epiphany with one of these characters (hmm…such as when Merlin and Arthur held hands?), expect it to change almost nothing, at least in the short term. Expect this couple to be popular with the fandom.“

No matter how many times Merlin saves his life, Arthur never knights him, probably due to thinking that Merlin is only tiny and always wanting an excuse to have to protect him and never let Merlin out from under his wing.

Wanting an excuse to protect him is probably why Arthur usually doesn’t give Merlin a sword on their quests.

Merlin once said to Arthur, “Look what we’ve got.” Arthur asked, “What..?” And he replied, “You and.. (long pause for dramatic gay effect).. me?”

Under Arthur’s character on wikipedia, it says, “There are even indications of him being in love with Merlin although the writers denied it throughout the filming of the show.”

The gay in Merlin isn’t played off as comical.

And it isn’t made fun of.

And characters always acknowledge their beautiful relationship.

After seeing them together for only a couple days, Merlin’s mom told him she thought they were soulmates and needed to stay together. Merlin agreed. (This was freaking season one.)

With the creator’s final comments and with everything we know, it’s more than safe to say that Merlin and Arthur had a happily ever after, had lots of mind-blowing sex, got married, and all that other good jazz.

It’s kind of telling that the first time Merlin disguises himself as a girl, he immediately takes this opportunity to flirt with Arthur.

That’s pretty solid proof that if Merlin had been a girl, he and Arthur would’ve gotten together so fast. Haters that say otherwise couldn’t be more wrong.

When Merlin and Arthur were stuck in that net together, they probably had boners for hours, which would be the only explanation as to how they both forgot Arthur’s sword could cut rope until night time.

And when Merlin said, “Don’t put your knee there!” it was probably on his raging boner, because then right afterward he was moaning pretty sexually.

And then they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

In the night, Arthur was faced towards Merlin, and Merlin was facing front, but in the morning they were both curled in towards each other. Awwwww.

Merlin and Arthur are a lot gayer in the books, where you can actually read their thoughts. Sadly the books don’t go past season 3. So basically, imagine everything and all the feelings you know they have for each other x50.

Merlin can literally get away with anything when it comes to Arthur, including punching and slapping him, throwing poop in his face, splashing Arthur’s own pee in his mouth, calling him all varieties of names, give him orders and make him obey them, and so much more.

Arthur has never actually tried to hit-hit Merlin.

Merlin gave Arthur his blue cloak as a temporary disguise all the way in 2.02, and Arthur kept it throughout the whole series, despite initially complaining about its smell and also being aware that Merlin barely had any clothes. (Perhaps it had some of Merlin’s natural scent and Arthur just couldn’t give that up? ;))

no but let’s honestly talk about the fact that arthur heard merlin warning him of morgana’s attack ~in a dream~ and he still sprang out of bed and took action. let’s talk about the fact that arthur trusts merlin that much, that he holds merlin in that regard. let’s talk about the fact that he didn’t even question hearing merlin’s voice in his head, guiding him to make good choices. let’s talk about the fact that arthur probably just thought it was his own voice of reason. let’s talk about the fact that arthur’s voice of reason sounds like merlin. Let’s talk about the fact that he ditched his wife because he heard Merlin

Arthur gave Merlin a comfort blanket. http://splashstorm.tumblr.com/post/86506542798

In a deleted scene, Arthur shows his rampant homosexuality by saying that Princess Elena is “too girly” for him despite the fact that she is a tomboy. As http://hunters-in-the-sherlocked-tardis.tumblr.com/post/85503085327/are-you-seriously-telling-me-merthur-isnt-real put it, “she’s manly yet not manly enough for Arthur.” Maybe he needs a… real man?

Because we’ve already seen it. The beautiful scene in ‘The Wicked Day’ where Merlin waits all night is exactly what will happen. And all though i’m upset we didn’t even get the tiniest hint of Arthurs return in the finale, if I think back to that scene, I just have to place it in the future and it is Arthurs return. http://splashstorm.tumblr.com/post/85231927358

in 2x08 Uther locks Arthur in his room and has some guards watch the doors and Merlin walks in in the middle of the night and helps Arthur get away through the window. and in the morning Uther tells the guards “you’ve been guarding an empty room!!!1!” and doesn’t it make you think though.. they just see Merlin come into Arthur’s chambers at 1 AM and time passes and the sun is raising and Merlin hasn’t come out and they just exchange this knowing look and smile a little http://splashstorm.tumblr.com/post/81567225997

Arthur talking about what should we do when he asks merlin about things that concern the kingdom #IN OTHER WORDS #MARRIED http://splashstorm.tumblr.com/post/80662558768

Merlin watches and gives Arthur baths and routinely sees his cock.

Arthur never believed Merlin was a sorcerer because he thought sorcerers were evil and Merlin was the nicest purest thing he knew.

Our boys pine. A lot. Google “pining fic” and they’re all over the front page.

Arthur uses his body to shield Merlin during times of danger. He is subconsciously saying, “NO DON’T HURT MERLIN’S LITTLE BODY, HURT MY BODY INSTEAD, MYYYY BODY.”

Merlin can heal without contact but puts his hands all over Arthur’s body anyway. http://splashstorm.tumblr.com/post/128837955978

When Uther died, Merlin waited up all night for Arthur. Not the girlfriend. Not his knights. But Merlin.

A new study that came out in 2015 says you should marry your best friend. Merlin is Arthur’s best friend.

There’s not as much meta for Merthur as there are for other slash ships… because a lot of things are just so obvious there’s really no need to meta them to see it.

Arthur probably watched Merlin from Avalon counting the days between his smiles.. http://splashstorm.tumblr.com/post/110726596038

When Gwen and Merlin went missing for a few days, Arthur was more happy to see Merlin.

Merlin always said he’d die for Arthur but in the end he lived for him. http://splashstorm.tumblr.com/post/102764131518

Arthur ruffles Merlin’s hair. ‘Nuff said.

They caressed each other’s faces. http://splashstorm.tumblr.com/post/98476166938

Merlin gave up EVERYTHING for Arthur. It was probably really unhealthy but so gay. He was willing to put aside everything, including himself, and even at the expense of others, all for Arthur.

Arthur could’ve dressed himself. He just didn’t want to. Even as his wife dressed him, he was complaining about wanting Merlin instead.

Even though he gets to see Arthur naked all the time, it’s clearly not enough because Merlin still keeps sneaking looks at Arthur without his pants or without his shirt. And Arthur totally lets him without ever saying anything about it.

Despite saying that with Gwen, he can just be himself, Arthur stays super polite and super formal with her throughout the entire series. Anyone would think they had an arranged marriage or something. But with Merlin he shows all sides of himself-- even when he’s being rude, overly boisterous, annoying, nervous, weak-- every side, Merlin has seen and Gwen hasn’t. Gwen loves him for who he acts like with her. Merlin loves him for who he is.

Gwen’s first choice isn’t Arthur and Arthur’s first choice isn’t Gwen.

Bradley agrees, saying, “The two pairings I suppose that are destined to end up together in a..you know in a different way. Lancelot and Guinevere. And Arthur and God forbid Merlin.”

Merlin and Arthur made each other better people.

Merlin and Arthur are pretty obsessed with each other.

Merlin sees himself as Arthur’s caretaker. Arthur sees himself as Merlin’s caretaker.

When Merlin got his first battle wound, Arthur did the romantic boyfriend thing and ripped a piece of his own clothing to tend to the wound.

Arthur likes putting his fingers wayyy too close to Merlin’s face…

Nothing could come between them.

Merlin asked Arthur to buy him a drink. And in a different episode, he did.

And last but not least, just all of this.

#merthur #merlin #arthur pendragon #colin morgan #bradley james

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yuriyuu · 7 years

Text

About me tag game

Tagging game - About me

Tagged by @grievingcain

The rules: You must answer these 85 statements and tag 20 people

Tagging: @otabekismybff, @faeyuri, @unzan, my moms @godtier1 and @alliechick, whoever wants to do this really idk

long so putting under a read more

The last…

1. Drink: mango juice 2. Phone call: dad 3. Text message: my friend Tilda 4. Song you listened to: Syphilis - Fleshgod Apocalypse 5. Time you cried: uhhh I think when I was at my last con like a year ago. I was a bit drunk and my friend showed me dog videos and I started crying lmao. The last time I cried sober was years ago when my dog died back in like, 2014. I don’t cry very often tbh. 6. Dated someone twice: Nah lol. I’ve officially dated one person in my entire life. 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: lol yeah. 8. Been cheated on: you can’t be cheated on if you don’t date. (i’m keeping cain’s answer bc it’s perfect) 9. Lost someone special: my dog. 10. Been depressed: i’ve been depressed since I was in my mother’s womb lmfao. 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: More than once D:

Favorite colors… 12. Teal 13. Black 14. Purple

In the last year, you have…

15. Made new friends: Yeah 16. Fallen out of love: If by fallen out of love, you mean realized the people I was emotionally dependent on for years were giant pieces of shit, then yeah. Kinda had to force myself to fall out of love with them for my own sanity, even tho I still look back on them very fondly despite the trauma they’ve caused....>.> 17. Laughed until you cried: Yeah. 18. Found out someone was talking about you: Lol yeah. I’ve had some pretty wild rumors made up about me. 19. Met someone who changed you: Yes, in both good and bad ways, mostly bad lol. 20. Found out who your friends are: Uhhhhh I guess??? 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: LOL I READ THE QUESTION WRONG. no I haven’t. I have not kissed anyone. The last person I kissed on my facebook list was back when I was 11 way before facebook was a thing hahaha. We still good friends to this day.

In general…

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Pretty much all of them. I don’t add people I haven’t spoken to IRL with a few exceptions. 23. Do you have any pets: No. :( I used to but he passed away a few years ago. 24. Do you want to change your name: hah I already did. 25. What did you do for your last birthday: Nothing 26. What time did you wake up: lol i dont’t sleep. 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: I have literally no recollection. 28. Name something you can’t wait for: to be surrounded by big beautiful dogs. 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: like 10 mins ago. 31. What are you listening to right now: Nymphetamine Fix - Cradle of Filth 32. Have you ever talked to a person named tom: dude my dad’s name is tom. also I was friends with Tom on myspace...yeah...tom on myspace was my buddy. 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: the universe, myself, the fact I don’t have a dog, my OCD, my PTSD...just everything really. 34. Most visited website: Tumblr and twitter. 35. Hair colour: right now it’s blond but it’s naturally dark brown. 36. Long or short hair: I consider it short, but it’s fairly long for someone who’s male-identified. 37. Do you have a crush on someone: lol 38. What do you like about yourself: lol, but bigger. 39. Piercings: I have 3. I have 2 on the left side of my lip and my septum pierced. 40. Blood type: idk. 41. Nickname: Kiichan, Keagasaur 42. Relationship status: single forever. :’) 43. Zodiac: Scorpio 44. Pronouns: he/him or they/them. 45. Favourite tv show: Probably Jojo’s bizarre adventure. I love YoI but there’s a lot of things that disappoint me about it so Jojo is probably my fave show. 46. Tattoos: Yeah I’ve got my dog’s pawprint tattooed on me. 47. Right or left handed: right. 48. Surgery: I’ve had a few. 49. Piercing: Didn’t u ask this already. 50. Sport: look i’m a lazy piece of shit i don’t do sports lol. 51. Vacation: I hate traveling and being away from home. vacation is stressful. 52. Pair of trainers: what

More general…

53. Eating: I just ate tacos? 54. Drinking: Nothing 55. I’m about to: Work on fanfic probably... 56. Waiting for: the antis to finally notice me. 57. Want: the ability to get shit done. 58. Get married: Yeah I do. :( like really bad lol. 59. Career: can I get a career in petting dogs

Which is better?

60. Hugs or kisses: Neither i’m extremely touch repulsed. pls don’t touch me. 61. Lips or eyes: Eyes 62. Shorter or taller: taller!! I’M A SUCKER FOR TALL BOYS. <3 63. Older or younger: Older def lol. Everyone i’ve ever liked or kissed has been way older than me. My first ever crush had the same age gap as Yuuri and Yuri LOL. I was around Yuri’s age too haha. man I miss him, I wonder how he’s doin’... 64. Nice arms or nice stomach: pls i’m a leg guy. 65. Hook up or relationship: Relationship 66. Troublemaker or hesitant: idc.

Have you ever…

67. Kissed a stranger: no lol i hate being touched by people I actually like, never mind some rando. 68. Drank hard liquor: Yep. 69. Lost glasses/contact lenses: This is the story of my life. 70. Turned someone down: Many times. 71. Sex on the first date: i’m sex repulsed. 72. Broken someone’s heart: Yeaaaaaah. 73. Had your heart broken: Yeah, but only bc I become emotionally dependent on people who treat me like shit bc i’m stupid lol. 75. Cried when someone died: I cried when my dog died? 76. Fallen for a friend: yeah. never again.

Do you believe in…

77. Yourself: LOL. 78. Miracles: not really. 79. Love at first sight: I barely believe in love even tho i wanna get married one day. 80. Santa claus: ofc. 81. Kiss on the first date: uhhh I don’t kiss people but I guess? 82. Angels: no.

Other…

83. Current best friend’s name: Siobhan and Tilda. 84. Eye colour: brown 85. Favourite movie: shit what’s a movie.

#tag meme

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transboyurameshi-blog · 7 years

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x @frogopera I didn’t wanna spam your inbox so here’s a list of recs, there’s anime in there as well bsjskqjdrjejqjr anyone is open to reblog this tho idc think of it as my official rec list pff tf t if you have any triggers I’d be happy to go through and let you know if they have them

Bojack Horseman: you’ve possibly already seen this but I would do a disservice if I didn’t include it. It’s genuinely the best animated series I have ever had the joy of watching and the pinnacle of adult animation. It’s inclusive, smart, very heavy and bojack is…he the kind of main character you don’t wanna relate to but you will • tw for drug and alcohol abuse, mentions of and implications of child abuse, and homophobia (gay character is fired and contracts prostate cancer ), and slight pedophilia ( bojack almost drunkenly sleeps with a teenager, technically legal in that state and she was sober but ewe no to the shows credit it’s painted as a BAD thing )

Home: the adventures of oh and tipp it’s a 2d animated series based around the dreamworks movie and it’s actually incredibly cute fun decompression stuff • tw for transphobia I think? they make some jokes about the alien races genders and like…..I can’t tell if it’s a transphobic joke or trying to teach kids pronoun usage tbfh

The batman idk how you feel about superhero stuff but the batman is a pretty stylish and interesting take in batman mythos and the art style is that kind of awkward but captivating and interesting. it really stands out if that makes sense

my little pony: equestria girls movies: okay hear me out, they’re actually pretty good ( so is the show in my frank opinion but the movies are a good jumping on point ) the movies take place in a more human world and rainbow rocks is legitimately fucking awesome with kick ass music and they’re all S U P E R gay with butch lesbian supreme sunset shimmer

the tinker bell movies: they’re centered around a whole world of fairies and like I’m psure they might not be 2d animation but they’re honestly worth a watch, just pure and fun.

lolirock:

cute french based cartoon about three magical pop star princesses and it was the show everyone was excited about because there’s a black magical girl. it’s just super beautiful and sweet and bubblegum but it’ll get you in the heart too

Glitter force:

it’s one of the few precure anime we dubbed and it just …. it’s silly and kinda dumb but if you just want pure cotton candy and sparkles this is the anime for you. the main girl has a deep love of fairy tails and happy ever after like 💕💕

Winx:

again a little shallow seeming and the art style takes some getting used to but it’s a big organic world of magic and wonder that will draw you in and genuinely surprise you in some places

Horseland:

it’s a pretty diverse show about a bunch of young girls and their magic talking horses they don’t know can talk. it’s again more feel good kid stuff but it tackled native cultural appropriation and litterly called out the white girl wearing native headdress so it gets bonus points from me

the last unicorn:

*clutches chest* it’s just beautiful and amazing okay

justice League / justice League unlimited:

both fairly awesome superhero series that helped start the dcau and are just fucking brilliantly written and still hold up today

batman beyond:

this show is dated af and is about future batman in the fuuuture man sjjzjqjejriejr it’s super great though and is just a nice take on a young batman still balancing school and life

the goofy movie

just a really nice hilarious movie that gets a lot more on the nose the older you get plus I’m still not over Roxanes character design it’s really aces

Balto;

again a lot of my love for this movie comes from its animation but it’s a pretty heartwarming story about what someone can achieve for those they love

I’m sneaking in Wendy wu homecoming warrior despite it being live action because it’s an actually fascinating Disney movie with a really cool mythos and ACTUALLY HAS A PREDOMINANTLY ASIAN CAST go figure sjsjsjdje

Atlantis:

I have a deep love for this movie and it doesn’t get near the recognition it deserves. it subverts the damsel in distress trope without being patronizing about it. we get a lovable scrawny nerd that’s actually respectful of the cultures he studies and his goddess of a future wife and like it was a movie written by mostly white people that managed to portray a tribal element without seeming racist

lucha Libre and really cute oft forgotten cartoon about latinx children in training to become luchadors like their parents

ao no exorcist:

is a really intense anime with catholic themes that really goes deep into the concept of nature vs nurture and has a pretty gay coded protagonist and focuses more on his familial relationship with his brother and the strain it’s gone under vs his possible romances

ruroni Kenshin and samurai champloo are good old classic anime if you’re looking for that old school feudal Japan feeling and adventure and rag tag looser building a family

K is a pretty fascinating anime in that if I explained too much I’d ruin the fun of discovering it yourself tho hey more queer coding

detective conan is a fucking awesome mystery anime but at like eight billion episodes and counting I wouldn’t worry too much about it sjajhdejskkf

Karneval is a really cute and funny, pretty anime following a sweet amnesiac child as he joins the circus to find the one he loves, and yes more queer coding like haRD

yu yu hakusho:

literally my favorite anime ever in existence and I’ll just keep this short it follows a demon hunter as life continues to screw him over and he survives

assassination classroom:.

is actually a very weirdly heartwarming story about a bunch of kids tasked to assassinate their teacher ( I swear it’s weirder than it sounds ( but it’s definitely not a book to be judged by its cover

Majin tentai nogami neuro: is a very interesting and in depth murder mystery anime about a demon who literally eats mysteries and enlists the help of a human girl to open up a detective agency. warning tho shit gets DARK near the end

petshop of horrors:

this is an ova series so it’s just a couple episodes but it’s a hauntingly creepy and fun look and an eccentric pet shop owner that offers his clients … dubious pets that would be fine if these guys would just follow the rules of ownership he gives them

xxxholic:

again kind of a mystery anime but with far more magic and I’m pretty positive it’s canon one of the male characters is unrequitely in love with the main guy, and the art style is definitely an aquired taste but it’s worth it

death parade:

THIS SHIT GAVE ME A CRISIS OF SELF AFTER FINISHING IT, DO NOT LET TYE HAPPY INTRO FOOL YOU IT’S OUT FOR YOUR BLOOD AND TEARS YOU WILL FUCK CRY

#text #ok to reblog

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