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sudenlyanime · 7 months

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Taigen’s love confession NEEDS to come before he finds out Mizu is a woman.

Listen. I have given this a lot of thought and the more I think about it, the more I’m sure. When looking at Mizu and Mikio’s marriage, we can see how Mikio was in to the idea of a strong woman only so far as he was still stronger than her. This is clear when Mikio insists that he wants to “see all of [mizu]” and insists that they spar; Mikio doesn’t unsheath his blade even though Mizu tell him not to hold back. He assumes he is stronger than her and when this is proven false, like the beta bitch he is, he bails.

But with Taigen it’s different. Mizu and Taigen’s relationship has been a power struggle from the start. Taigen wasn’t introduced to Mizu as a woman or a wife. Taigen has always seen Mizu as a swordsman first. And when the hostility between the two starts to cool, it is because of their mutual admiration of the other’s skill. Mizu’s strength and boldness are what win Taigen over in the first place.

We also see a very important juxtapose between when Mizu pins Mikio to the ground and when she pins Taigen to the ground. In the first instance, Mikio pushes Mizu off him and calls her a monster. He feels put off and emasculated by being overpowered. In the Mizu/Taigen scene, however, once Mizu has Taigen pinned, he stares, awestruck, into Mizu’s eyes and gets a raging hard on. Instead of feeling emasculated, Taigen get so aroused that he has a full blown bi awakening.

So we know that Taigen is different to Mikio in that he is attracted to Mizu BECAUSE she can kick his ass, not in spite of it. But Mizu has been burned before. Badly. So if Taigen were to confess his feelings and tell Mizu that her strength is what he adores most about her, she’d be like, “right, sure, heard that one before.” And that’s why Taigen needs to confess his feelings BEFORE he finds out what’s in Mizu’s pants.

In my daydreaming about a Migen love confession, I find myself reminded of this quote. How Mikio was like the exotic bird collector. He only liked the idea of Mizu knowing her way around a sword so long as at the end of the day, he can still put her back into the caged-in roll of the house wife.

Taigen is also guilty of this with Akemi. I sure there is still no small amount of attraction and love between them, but I think Taigen pursues Akemi mostly out of the personal fable he has written about himself; the poor fisherman’s son who raises himself up to be the star of his Dojo and then marries a princess. He might not have wanted to cage Akemi as much as other men would have, but he still sees her as the exotic bird. The prize. And thats why I can’t ship them.

But with Mizu it’s different. Taigen even admits that Mizu is a better fighter than him. He KNOWS he could never cage her and by the end on the first season he strops trying, opting to stand beside her instead of against her (“it’s your fight, so it’s mine” 😭) So when he does confess his feelings, he has to do is as one man to another and make it clear to Mizu that her strength is what he loves most and that he would never want her to be anything less then the superior swordsman she is.

Only then will Mizu have a chance of believing that Taigen wants to be with her, not to subdue her into a wifely role, but to stand beside her in all her greatness. If Taigen’s confession were to come after he finds out she’s a woman, Mizu might just think, “oh, NOW you want to be with me, cause you think just because I’m a woman I’ll eventually submit to you.” Mizu needs to know she is loved AS SHE IS.

Also, I just think it would be HILLARIOUS if Taigen confesses, and Mizu is like, “ well then….. I guess I should let you know…” and then Taigen spends the rest of the episode with his mind fucking BLOWN and complaining that he has spent the last several months coming to terms with the fact that he is attracted to another man only to find out the man he is attracted to is a woman! He goes through a whole bi awakening for nothing!

#blue eye samurai #mizu #mizu x taigen #taigen #mizu/taigen #blueeyesamurai #mizugen #blue eye samurai spoilers #tv: blue eye samurai #akemi

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ambrosiagourmet · 3 months

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Has anyone requested Marcille for the ask meme? If not then pls

Marcille!!!!!!!!!

First impression

Gay? Interesting elf girl with a really good design for a female character oh my god thank you. She gets to wear pants!!! It's a miracle!

Impression now

BELOVED HALF-ELF OF MY HEART... most determined member of the party, maybe second only to Laios. Not that it's a competition.

Girl who carries the weight of her existence in her heart everywhere she goes. Girl who doesn't know how to just exist because that would mean surrendering to the things time will take away from her. Girl with bloody knuckles who clings too tightly to the things she loves because she remembers a time when she didn't realize what they meant to her.

Girl who must shape a life too big to hold all at once. Who stares into that impossible task so unflinchingly that you kind of want to tell her to run away from it for a bit. Be a bit more of a coward, Marcille! But she doesn't have time to be a coward!! She's hurtling towards her goals at terminal velocity. But the same love that keeps her tumbling forward also pulls her back from the brink. Because she's still figuring out the balance.

Favorite moment

Rabbit chapter... my god rabbit chapter.........

Genuinely maybe my favorite chapter in the whole manga. It hits such an incredible peak of humor and raw emotion and impossibly ridiculous situations and grounded believable character writing. And no part of it is separate from the others.

What a fucking chapter. And what a fucking thesis for why Marcille is such a good character. Her being ridiculous and her being incredibly determined and her being powerful and her being scared are ALL part of her. Man. Marcille. She will do anything to pull through for her friends.

And then on top of it the way the Lion takes advantage of this moment to pull her strings. Which is just. So horrifying to watch because you want someone to give her a hug but all the people who would give her a hug are currently DEAD and she's left in a room along and exhausted with a manipulative, abusive, hungry opportunist. God. God. I love Rabbit Part II So Very Much.

Idea for a story

Umm hi sorry I am still busy thinking about Rabbit Part II. Please enjoy some shameless self promotion while I go lie down for a bit.

Unpopular opinion

She's bisexual!!!!! Normally I don't hold so fast to like "well canonically this character was into A Man so she can't be a lesbian blah blah blah" but it does bum me out that people ignore her succubus because I really do think that bi Marcille deserves more love. It doesn't make her any less into women sheesh.

Favorite relationship

Sorry I was thinking about Rabbit Part II again what was the question? Favorite relationship?

Yeah I dunno maybe Marcille and Laios? I kinda like the part where they rely on each other because there is no other way through and share an unnamed intimacy born in blood and bone and the way that they place impossible burdens on each other and owe each other their lives many times over and neither holds it against the other or asks for the repayment of debts that can never be repaid, choosing instead to keep walking into the future by each others sides because what else can you do. What else can you do.

They are pretty cool I guess. I'm normal about them though. Haha.

Favorite headcanon

I imagine that castle staff help Marcille with her hair on a day-to-day basis because leaving it just to personal friends and family would probably be impractical. But also I think Chilchuck, Laios, Falin, and also especially KABRU all learn enough to help her with it. I think that the first three learn some basic nice stuff but I think Kabru would get really into it.

That man could absolutely intensely hyperfixate on something like "nice hairstyles from another culture" for three to six months and come out the other side an expert.

#ask #ask meme #thank you for your patience!!!#and sorry it has taken me so long to get around to finishing these 😅#I love Marcille so very much

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luffyvace · 4 months

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Tanjiro x male reader<3

Tanjiro x male reader won second place in the poll!! :) enjoy tanjiro stans<3

Starting back at the final selection let’s say that’s when you met

just to clear things up

and you two started dating some time after that

of course eventually making it official

tanjiro was quite flustered when he realized his sexuality might be different from tradition

but he wasn’t afraid to be bi/gay/pan or anything

he just thought- ..! Actually he never really thought of that type of thing..

I mean he was kinda too young

but now that your together!

he has time to figure it all out :)

tanjiro is such a sweet lover!

and helpful!

and caring!

(Really he’s a ball of love)

if you feel tired he carries you

(Even if your both beat up after a mission)

if you need water he’ll spare you some of his or go fetch some

And he’s always down to spar at any type of day!

I will say he’s not thinking about you in that way when you take your shirt off

but when you do he definitely admires you!

you might have abs seeing as though the demon slayer corps has………...harsh (brutal) training 😅

if you do then he sees it as a result of your hard work!

same with scars!

especially with scars<3

he can 100% relate and you two share stories about each one

if you have any—you probably trauma bond

you guys just end up talking all night long about your past, everything that happened, your pain, whether you want revenge or not and so on!

It strengthens your trust and relationship with each other

btw if anyone asks why your together as two males or how you know you actually like men..

tanjiro will humbly and politely educate (lecture) them on how important you are to each other, how you met, why/when you started dating and even if they don’t like it, it’s simple to walk away instead of disrespecting your relationship!

I hope y’all don’t run into uzui..

(y’all do)

that man has THREE wives why wouldn’t he question when he sees you two?? 😬🧍‍♀️

tanjiro had to hit em with the quick fix cuz when I tell you he did not let that slide 😂

especially with how slick uzui mouth be gettin..😒

Tanjiro also has learned to adjust to scavenging for food (he grew crops with his mom)

as well as inosuke (he grew up in the wild) and zenitsu (he used to have crops with his sensei)

so if you can too, great!

if not the 3 of them work together to make the 4 of you meals

and after they learn how to stop burning them

theyre pretty tasty too!!

don’t expect inosuke to share.

do expect inosuke to take

-note to self, m/n.

zenitsu doesn’t see the attraction to males instead of females

he won’t judge but will ask you two if your sure your into males

and after tanjiro gives him that lecture about being respectful-

he doesn’t question it again

LOL

inosuke straight up don’t care

he doesn’t really view relationships in a romantic way

its more so between “they’re beneath me” , “they’re above me, I must beat them”

so no worries about him judging either 😋

if nezuko doesn’t like you

it’s not to say tanjiro won’t date you because of it

but I’ll honestly say it plays a factor

If sweet nezuko doesn’t like you it prob means something..🤨

she has good instincts so tanjiro might start to assume you have ill intent or smth 😬

he’ll try to get her to like you and if she warms up to you he assumes it might’ve been personal 😂🤷‍♀️

but if she doesn’t..

he finds you like 30% less attractive🧍‍♀️

if she does like you from jump, she starts to protect you as well

and loves to spend time with you when she’s outside her box

tanjiro adores this and you three cuddle or play in each other’s hair whenever you have the time

It also makes him happy if you accept nezuko as a demon quickly

after missions tanjiro finds you, nezuko, zenitsu and inosuke

then cries

like your all just a crying mess tbh

i mean unless your like emotionally unavailable..

BC I DON’T SEE HOW YOU COULD NOT CRY AS A MINOR WHO HAS TO KILL LITERAL HORRIFYING BEASTS FOR A LIVING?!?!?!?

Tanjiro will help you achieve your goals as you likely help him achieve his

even more so after that night you had where you opened up to each other about your past

(again, only if you have truama)

tanjiro is really grateful for you

before all he had was nezuko

and aside from zenitsu and inosuke

now he has you!! 💗

tanjiro’s love languages are acts of service, quality time, words of affirmation and (shy) physical touch

actually maybe some gift giving when he can too!!

so all?!

such a green flag 💖

for acts of service as I said he’ll genuinely do any sane thing you ask of him

he cares about you that much

he won’t bother to complain about being tired either

he automatically assumes your either doing worse or he’s fine

as for quality time he gets really relieved when he gets sent on missions with you

at least he can be there to see and protect you

(or maybe vice versa 😂)

he’d beat himself up about not being able to protect you more if you get serious injures

tends to your wounds everyday then trains vigorously

to get stronger and protect you as you fight along side him when he fights muzan

if your gonna fight along side him in that battle? He’s gonna need to be strong enough to protect you.

he doesn’t want to loose you.

especially not to that man.

he lost everything to him.

he won’t let it happen again.

💗💕💖🍡♥︎

for quality time outside of missions ✌︎('ω')✌︎

tanjiro likes to train, cuddle, go on walks, go shopping, chit chat :)

All that good stuff <3

with words of affirmation he really just praises you all the time

”you did your best today in training! I could tell! :D”

“You look great today m/n!! I’m glad your wearing the (favorite men’s jewelry piece) I got you!”

”I can definitely tell your getting stronger, m/n!!!”

it can also be

“get a good nights sleep, m/n! I love you!”

”be careful on your mission okay? I love you, m/n!”

“thank goodness we surviveeeeed!!! I love you m/n!! I love you so much!!”

now lastly for (shy) physical touch

he is nervous to touch you

he doesn’t wanna make you uncomfortable, yes that’s the last thing he wants

he doesn’t know how to execute it so he ends up either asking or making it very obvious of what he’s trying to do

that way you can shut him down early on just in case

and you won’t feel pressured to let him if you dislike affection

which mind you he does asks if your okay with it first

so that’s likely not the case

if you did mention your distaste for physical affection, however, it’s duly noted in his mind and will keep it to a minimum

your gonna have to discuss boundaries or else he’s gonna act like you have the plague trying not to upset you 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Tanjiro doesn’t dislike pda or anything

he’s just a bit embarrassed about it

maybe if it’s more subtle like resting your head on his shoulder, then yeah that’s okay!

hugging too!!

but direct kissing or hand holding?

his face is a cherry and he’s apologizing to the passerbyers for disturbing them

even if they don’t mind

he’s self aware when it comes to not disturbing others

tanjiro can be a little flustered/shy about things but he’s certainly isn’t embarrassed about your relationship!

he’s quite proud, actually!

will happily tell/correct anyone that asks or misjudges♡♡♡

It’ll make me happy if you enjoyed this, so hopes to you did!

(apologies for the procrastination, and thank you for your patience lovelies!)

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flints-black-spot · 1 year

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I've recently seen a few people talking about media literacy in relation to Flint's sexuality and labels and figured I'd throw in my two cents on the discourse that seems to pop up every few months.

Because, I honestly think it does a disservice to Black Sails as a whole to focus on "gay vs. bi Flint" because like... does it matter? if Flint only has attraction to men, that doesn't change the fact that he's canonically, willingly, had sex with women (namely Miranda). But, on the other end of the spectrum, it's just as important to recognize how, societally and culturally, gender is a construct, which will inherently mean that sexuality is fluid! Flint can be a gay man with some level of attraction to women (hell, the majority of the fandom agrees that Anne is a lesbian, yet she's clearly in love and has sexual attraction to Jack, and that doesn't take away from her lesbianism!), and that attraction doesn't make him any less of a gay man! Or he could be bisexual, and that doesn't take away anything from the overarching narrative of his queer relationship with Thomas! The focus on a single 'correct' interpretation of his sexuality, in my mind, takes away from what the show is really trying to say about sexuality, which isn't the "this way" or "that way" to be queer, but the overarching connection that struggle and strife can bring to a community. (For a similar issue, see James Baldwin's response to critics arguing whether the main character from his novel Giovanni's Room is gay or bisexual, his response is incredible.)

And, on the other hand, it's also not entirely accurate or even fair to try and ascribe modern labels and perceptions of queerness to a character that existed long before those terms were even coined? In Flint's time, homosexuality was something a person did, not who a person was. While, yes, his queerness is inherent to his journey as a character, and he very clearly views it as a part of his identity, it's also very much worth noting that two things (homosexual love and desire, and heterosexual love and desire) can coexist, and not either way take away from his narrative as a whole.

Finally, then, there's the common thread of 'media literacy' in determining Flint's label (which, again, I honestly think is just a non-issue because it has such little impact on anything in meta discussions?). To present an opinion like "Flint is gay" is an example of an interpretation, one which can and should exist among others! To have a single, 'correct' interpretation of a piece of media, especially one like Black Sails, is an inherently flawed idea, because every interpretation should have its own merit on its own. Flint can be both bi and gay, and both arguments have perfectly equal weight, but in the end, it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of Black Sails meta. Either way, Flint is queer, and that queerness was a defining feature of his character for the rest of the show. To assign such importance to "gay or bi" just feels unimportant.

#this is about the meta interpretations of flint #not personal headcanons #black sails #black sails meta #pip talks black sails #james flint #captain flint

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atthebell-moved · 9 months

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People calling q!Bagi, played by a BISEXUAL WOMAN, a lesbian is annoying me so much. Like I hope this doesn't come off wrong because I don't hate lesbians or headcanoning characters as lesbians but the irl creator is bi?? Let's not erase that she is bi???? Idk it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth when people treat bi as discount lesbian or discount straight and like women who express attraction towards any ONE gender means they are ONLY attracted to that gender

yeah no it annoys me whenever people do this with bi characters/characters portrayed by bi ccs like. it's very obvious people don't care about bisexuals and also its usually in service of avoiding shipping women and men together, so typical fandom misogyny. and bagi can be a bisexual woman and still date women, first of all, as is the case for all bisexuals, and secondly if she decides to start a relationship with a man on the server it does not make her or him any less queer, nor does it mean she's getting in the middle of m/m ships. bi people exist! we are queer no matter who we're dating! in fact most queer people are bi! (60%!) we are not discount straight nor discount queers, like you said, and portraying a character as attracted to one gender does not preclude them being attracted to other genders.

it's so frustrating, and its difficult because i don't want to tell anyone off for headcanons, but people so often treat their headcanons like they're facts and also i prefer my headcanons actually have some basis in canon and that they don't override a real creator's marginalized identity. bi women especially get so little rep in mcrp that i really wish people would knock it off with this stuff

anyway bi ppl i love you and i love bi bagi everyone should love bi bagi

#asks #anons #discourse #time to make a new pfp actually brb

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hereforthefunnyguys · 21 days

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yugioh characters sexuality (long edition):

yugi: bisexual and possibly aromantic. In the case of the last one it took him forever to admit it to himself because he associated it with the usual "I shall be unlovable and monstrous forever" schtick. Also he's nonbinary

atem: asexual and biromantic (is tag-teaming with yugi. Covering each others bases) doesn't know what a gender is and is slightly perplexed by his partners complex relationship with it

joey: I like how we have all agreed he’s bi. Has a slight preference for men (55-45 ratio about) and simultaneously a preference for more feminine looking people. outside of gender terms he's a leg man don't @ me

Anzu: also bisexual with a preference for men (60-40). Tgirl Anzu that is hustling to pay for estrogen and bottom surgery and does dance partially because it gives her gender euphoria my beloved

Honda: gay sorry miho. Took longer to admit it than Joey but is dealing with it better than he is tbh. Give him a good boyfriend for his patience please

Ryou: we’re not sure actually. He’s not even sure. Likes guys… probably. May not like women… maybe? Likes ghosts. Whether or not he's a tboy is a 50/50 toss in the air

Evil(tm) Bakura: he came from a time before pride pins existed but mostly likes guys yeah. Not actually as horny as people make him out to be. Tkb has no rizz I will stand by this he was a feral child that was mostly focused on vengeance and food all the time.

Pegasus: straight in a gay way I won't be elaborating. Might be a lesbian.

Kaiba: Blue Eyes White Dragon with left homophobia regardless of any actual attraction he experiences.

Duke: Bisexual but he does not know how to be normal about it. There is a difference in his mind between exploiting sexuality/flirting and actually engaging in it on a personal level. The first he is good at the latter less good at. He will have a gender crisis once and return with his new gender, Cis+ and/or genderfluid.

Marik: Sometimes a man is misogynistic enough that he becomes gay (real talk he is gay and the idea of needing to Procreate for the sake of the tombkeepers lineage has haunted him from day 1). Also he might be transfem but probably will never know that due to internalized self loathing and various other issues (is tempted to just stay a cis guy because everyone assumes hes a girl because of how he dresses and that was just like. Normal Guy Clothes for him growing up)

Yami Marik: technically the same thing as normal marik but also he couldn't gaf about something as stupid as 'gender' (his or others) in the long run because he has better things to do, like murder people and lick random surfaces

Ishizu: Lesbian and was not looking forward to continuing the bloodline of the Tombkeepers Heritage (tm). Is going to have a gender crisis at age 23 and her siblings are going to be very supportive of her while she cuts off all her hair and starts wearing exclusively wearing business suits (may or may not stick)

Rishid: The only relationship i care about is rishid x therapy. Someone a while ago said nb lesbian rishid and i support the vision

Mana: Girl :) (no further explanation in her head). She is putting off marriage for as long as possible, a difficult feat for your average well-off teenage girl in Ancient Egypt.

Zorc: Zorc 𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙!

#ygo #i aint tagging all these #anzu mazaki #marik ishtar #duke devlin #yugi muto #yugioh

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slocumjoe · 1 year

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Do you have any random headcanons about any of the comapnions that you want to get off your chest?

Oh, 100%. A lot of this is mostly inter-personal headcanons, how they react to each other. Very found-family based, heavily pushing my "Hancock and Danse become besties" agenda. Less based on the individual. Oh, and follows the "all move to Sanctuary" thing, so people who don't like that might not buy in to this.

Companion Headcanon Grab-bag

Cait; Really confused about her sexuality internally. Has changed her mind on her labels so many times. Is she gay? Bi? Pan? Straight? Ace? Sex-repulsed? Hypersexual? She likes sex sometimes and other times she hates the concept. What's her type of person, if any? What does she want out of a relationship? Just sex? What would she need in a partner? Tries to not think about it, so damn confusing. Just follows her whims. Would get on great with an elder queer person, really needs some guidance there. Also, has a fear of monkeys, apes, etc. Jangle toys and those cymbal monkeys. Fucking horrifying.

Codsworth; Babies the other companions like a mom. Putters around the bunkhouse making sure Piper eats something before she's out the door, cleaning up after Hancock's midnight snack, picking MacCready's coat off the back of a chair, hovering to block Danse's view of the coffee pot as Nick adds honey and sugar for him specifically. It's one house with a dozen adults of questionable emotional and mental stability. It's a robot butler's Olympics. Outside of the others...has spent two centuries trying to kill one single radroach. Its the same one, he's sure of it. It lives under the bridge and appears only under a full moon. It is his mortal enemy.

Curie; The most intimidating girl in the bunkhouse, not Cait. Because Curie doesn't put up with any bullshit. You look pale, come here and let—come here and let her feel your forehead. Too hot, you're taking the day off. She'll make you some tea—no, Danse, she doesn't care if that one joint on your Power Armor is bugging you. Bed. Does she need to go get Nick? She'll get Nick. Excellent! What kind of tea would you like? Curie is very sweet and caring, but she’s a hardass when it comes to the health of her compatriots. And you can't just...refuse. Maybe you could, but...no one's ever tried. Even Gage gives up once she smiles and tilts her head, but narrows her eyes. Fucking Gage.

Danse; You can tell he's feeling under the weather, be it mental or physical, if he hides from Curie. Danse ends up getting on pretty well with Hancock, Nick, Cait, and Preston once he's better from BB. Hancock reminds him a lot of Cutler, in some ways. Cait reminds him of many Initiates, hotheaded and eager but lost on their place in the world. Nick mentors him on the synth thing, and he and Preston are very similar. Once he's mostly adjusted from everything, adopts a...questionable wardrobe, things he would have worn in the Brotherhood if not for the uniform. Adores gaudy, odd-patterned shirts, bright colors.

Deacon; After the Institute is dealt with, by any means, and he has something of a support group with Sole and the others...goes back to Deacon. Its hard, it takes a lot of time, but he stops the home-grown identity crisis. He grows his hair out again, gets a charming grey-red stubble. Still likes costumes and such, but he tries to stay the one person, not fake anything. Again, very difficult. But he tries. Has an odd kinship with X6-88. X6-88 tries to figure out his identity, Deacon tries to relearn his. Also gets along better with Danse and Hancock, understands the "who am I" thing. But the real pals? Deacon and Jun Long. Jun's hype man. Gets what he went through; University Point was destroyed long after Deacon left, but that was still his home. And losing his son...Deacon respects that Jun kept chugging. Tries to help him regain his confidence.

Gage; This is a domesticated Gage, as much as Gage can be domesticated. Always has a horrific story that he likes to pepper into conversations. Deacon tries to one-up him, but Gage always wins, partially because Gage is telling the whole-ass truth. Never says anything about himself, though. Socially hovers around Longfellow, really curious about all of his stories. But Gage keeps his distance far, faaaar from everyone else. Marcy Long swung a folding chair at him, his first day visiting Sanctuary. Thinks little of Preston at first, but the moment he notices that they're almost the same person, just on the other side of the coin, has a crisis. Catches himself not criticizing Preston at one point, when he could have, and has to start a fistfight with him to feel better. Gets along great with Shaun and other local kids, who are into his raider stories. Marcy keeps hunting him for sport, though, so he only has a few minutes to talk before a rake goes for the other eye.

Hancock; Opinion of Danse does a complete flip the very second Danse apologizes. Hancock rubbed it all in his face, took schadenfreude in it. Then Danse's mental health dissolved into goo, and it stopped being funny. And then Hancock felt like fucking shit when the racist technofacist was the bigger man who felt terrible looking back on everything. It took time for their relationship to go from hostile, to civil, to friendly, but Hancock is basically a sphinx cat that wants to drape himself over Danse and cuddle all day. Danse, for his part, is grateful that Hancock could forgive him at all. Also, considers MacCready a brother, no exaggeration. Bobby is his little brother, Duncan is his nephew, blood be damned. It's good for him, after what happened with McDonough. Still refuses to process that. He never was on good terms with him, anyway, but...nope, not thinking about it. Doesn't do chems around Duncan, knows Bobby is iffy about it.

MacCready; Really didn't want to introduce Hancock to Duncan, for fear of Duncan having some...lingering memories about Ghouls. Nope. Duncan loves Uncle John to the moon and back. If Hancock isn't hugging on Danse, he's hugging on Duncan. Also befriends Jun, though he feels some guilt at his baby having survived. MacCready spends a lot of his downtime trying to educate himself, reads. Does those school workbooks if he can find them. Is really entertained by the notes left from the students using them, then gets miserable when he thinks about what happened to them. Incredible at any accuracy-based game. Don't challenge this man to ping-pong.

Nick; Resident therapist. Has, in earnest, considered installing a confessions box in the bunkhouse. Just when he thinks he's heard the worst of their lives, Hancock will remember that his brother buried him alive, or Piper mentions that her dad kept twitching at the funeral as they burned him, or Gage says one sentence about an ex-boyfriend. Then he reminds himself, yeah, these kids are Traumatized with a capital T. Wishes he could drink. Has a list of people to check on in order of priority, every week. Preston is first, Gage is last. Both reasons being, both have so many issues, but won't talk about them. Bangs his head on a wall when he notices this. Sits with Codsworth some afternoons and they share a private nervous breakdown. Has considered getting a gen 3 body, but...he'd want a custom, not someone else's, like Curie's situation. And not like OG Nick, either. Himself. Whatever that looks like.

Piper; Not over her parents dying and never will be. She was 14 when her dad died. Mom died giving birth to Nat. Had to be a mom, and then a mom and a dad, when she herself was a kid, still. Clings to the newspaper because it was all she had, her only power as a little girl alone in the Commonwealth with a toddler. Things get easier, but never less painful. Relocating to Sanctuary made things a bit better, especially since McDonough couldn't threaten to throw them out anymore. Jumped and screamed in place when she was proven right about him. Stopped when she noticed Hancock upset. Continued when she was out of his view, but quieter. Befriends everyone to some extent, but Gage. Gage has some...irritating opinions on the press, chief being, "Hey, you got everyone to kill each other, sounds like. What, that weren't the goal?"

No. What kind of name is Porter, anyway? Ugh.

Preston; So much pent up anger and frustration. Will never let it out. The restraint it takes to keep from maiming Gage like a fucking alligator could hold up the Prydwen if made a physical force. Very confused on what Gage thinks of him, though. Seems to change daily. But hey, he's always down to throw Gage out of a window. 10/10 way to spend an afternoon, eagerly looking forward to next time. Goes drinking with Danse often. Keeps an eye on Nick, sends Sturges his way if he starts making odd noises when he moves. Tries to keep some distance from the others. He lost people he thought family on Quincy...and some them, they didn't die. That was the bitterest thing of all, that they lived before anyone else.

X6-88; Has an interest in art but loathe to act on it. Very attached to his coat. Had a father figure in the Institute, was his personal servant. That man was killed by a rogue synth. X6-88 joined the courser program after the funeral. Protective of Shaun, ends up being popular with his child friends/classmates, who are all curious about the tall, dark man who doesn't speak much but holds Shaun's hand. Privately, X6-88 considered himself a child, young, once. Shaun is literally a child synth. That has to be confusing, being the ghost of dead man, made for his living parent. Dislikes Gage the most, dislikes Piper and Danse the least. Learns to respect Preston, even if he disagrees on his philosophies; at least someone on the top was trying to restore the world, even if it wasn't quite working. Has a fondness for sour apple candy.

#fo4 #fallout 4 #paladin danse #preston garvey #piper wright #nick valentine #x6-88 #robert joseph maccready #companions react #porter gage #codsworth

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thewritingofspencerrose · 5 months

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Bicon (Bi-Icon)

Jack Hughes x Bi-sexual! OC

Inspired by the Pride night that the NJD just put on!

"Okay, Jack and Ms.Jackson-"

"Admin, you know you can just call me Shea, you've been around the NJD almost as long as I have," I can't help but interrupt, Jack at my side on the stools that the social media team set up for the purpose of this interview.

The girl a year or two older than J and I looks up from her notes with a blush, laughing quietly.

"Right, sorry Shea. So, let's start this again, Jack and Shea, thanks for sitting down with us today. The way we're going to run this is that Jack and you are going to ask each other questions that were submitted to our social medias. Sound good?"

"Sounds good," Jack nods on our behalf, us taking the cards we were given and handing me my own. "Ready Baby?"

"Born ready!"

"Hey you guys, it's Jack here-"

"With Shea!"

Jack laughs, unable to not at the little interruption and carries on, taking his girlfriend's hand in his own.

"Yeah you guys, my girlfriend Shea is with me and we're here doing a segment in honor of Pride Night at the Rock comin' up, so we're calling this Bi-conic, where I will ask Shea questions about being a bi-sexual wag."

"And I'm an open book, so let's get going with it!" she exclaims happily, clapping her hands, the love Jack has for his girl evident in his smile.

"Okay, first question," Jack begins, glancing over the card in his hand. "How do you identify?"

"I am proud to say I identify as a bisexual woman," She answers, nodding diffinitively.

"And what does that mean?" He knows what it means, but he also knows that there is a lot of confusion surrounding what it means to be bisexual.

"What it really means is that I feel romantic or sexual attraction towards both two genders, in my case, men and women," Is the explanation he is given, him nodding as a way to suggest she glance at her own cards.

"Has my attraction to women ever made you worry or feel jealous?" She reads, and the question one she had struggled with a lot at the start of their relationship.

"Not once," Jack responds, the hesitation in the near immediate answer. Looking to the camera, his eyes are less than impressed as he looks down the social media team. "That's like asking me is I ever was worried that my straight girlfriend would get with another man. But I know Shea would never, so I've never felt the need to be jealous."

And it makes her heart swell, knowing just how deep in him his trust of her goes.

"Okay, next is due you believe bi-wife/ bi-girlfriend energy is a real thing?" She asks, giggling before he can even answer because she knows she can be hyper from time to time.

"Absolutely," Is his answer, head tilted to the side in thought. "Although only like, half the time it's actual energy and the other half it's like, your vibe, you know? Like what our dates are themed as and how you dress," Is the elaboration offered.

"What do you think of becoming the face of the bi-sexual army that attends games at the Rock?"

"I think, no- I know, I'm honored to be a face these people can related themselves too. I think it's comforting for them to know there's someone like them keeping an eye out and pushing for a safe environment," She explains, smile larger than it's been the whole interview.

And he can't help but smile back before looking at the camera. "I remember it was last month against the Canadians that a little girl, maybe 13 came up to Shea while we were leaving and just gave her the biggest hug and thanked her for being so nice and such an inspiration," He explains, the memory making even the crew smile.

"I couldn't be prouder to be her boyfriend."

And with that the camera is off, we're being dismissed to go about our business, Jack to prepare for the game while I head to join the WAGs.

Jack pulls me to the side as we leave, placing a peck to my lips with so much love in his eyes the sheer power of it may make me cry.

"I love you and your bi-sexual powerhouse energy, you know that yeah?"

"You have never once let me question it," I assure, kissing his nose. "I love you too, now you have to get down to change up before Nico storms up here."

He laughs but nods, kissing me quickly before walking backwards, a cheeky look on his face as he does so until he turns quick, jogging off to the staircase down the hall.

And all I can think about is how much I love this man.

liked by shea_jackson, nhl, lhughes_06 and 207,841 others

jackhughes it's bi girlfriend energy that i love so much

#original character #the writing of spencer rose #nhl fanfiction #best friends to lovers trope #jack hughes x oc #jack hughes x reader #jack hughes imagine #jack hughes fanfiction #the rock pride night #pride night #new jersey devils #bisexual

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westofessos · 1 year

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So I just finished Gilmore Girls for the first time and boy, do I have some thoughts:

First of all, I love this show so much. More than I ever thought I would. It’s just so comforting. I totally get it now.

Now, for specifics.

Lorelai:

I love Lorelai. She does make some dumb choices, but in the end, she’s just so loveable and fun, I can’t help but adore her.

Rory:

I do not get the hate I’ve seen for Rory! Yes, like her mom, she makes stupid decisions, but she’s so wonderful. Maybe it’s just because I relate to her so closely, but I love Rory so much.

Luke:

Ughhhh I love love love Luke. He’s so unexpectedly hilarious sometimes?? I did not foresee that when I started. Scott Patterson is also strangely one of the best actors on the show, which I also did not expect. Luke is a gem, we love him.

Luke & Lorelai:

How could you not love these two together? They’re absolutely perfect for each other and the pining, especially on Luke’s part, makes for incredible television. I do think their dynamic kind of lost the really special ‘will they, won’t they’ tension after season 1/2, but I still ship them. So glad they ended up together. When she was still with Christopher near the end of season 7, I got a little worried.

Paris:

PARIS IS GAY. I will accept nothing less. She is queer in some way, whether she’s a lesbian or bi. She had absolutely no chemistry with any of her love interests but so much with Rory. Also she’s just amazing all around. I fucking love Paris. Make her queer, cowards.

Lane:

How could you not love Lane? She’s the absolute shit. Cool, supportive, loyal, and a fucking rockstar. I didn’t mind her with Zach to begin with (even though I thought it was a bit strange how they all of a sudden liked each other), but when they got married and had kids, that was a big nope for me. Lane Kim deserved to be a famous rockstar.

Emily & Richard:

I went back and forth on these two. On one hand, they’re very entertaining characters and I do believe they’re trying to do what they think is best, but on the other, I think in the end they do more harm than good. The way they dismiss Lorelai’s trauma, and completely disregard everyone else’s opinion because they assume they automatically know what’s best, just rubs me the wrong way. Not to mention the manipulation and the going behind people’s backs. I think there should’ve been an arc at the end where they finally listened to Lorelai and acknowledged what they’d done and tried to change for the better.

Sookie:

Melissa McCarthy is great in everything, and this is no exception. She’s so sweet and lovable, and such a good friend to Lorelai. I love her. Plus her relationship with Jackson is just lovely.

Michel:

He’s such a sarcastic bitch and I love him. I think that’s all there is to say.

The Townies and Side Characters:

Kirk - Kirk is maybe the funniest part of the show and such a little sweetheart, I love him so much.

Babette - aka the best neighbour ever. We deserved even more of her and Morey than we got.

Miss Patty - same goes for Patty! We need more Patty!

Taylor - annoying and obnoxious but the show wouldn’t be the same without him. Irreplaceable.

Gypsy - again, we needed more!! Gypsy was so funny and I just wanted more!

April - I love April! She’s so sweet. I don’t, however, like what her arrival did to Luke and Lorelai’s relationship, and I fucking hate Anna.

Christopher - I don’t hate him, but he’s definitely not one of my favourites. I think it would’ve been a lot better if he and Lorelai had just been really close friends, or if he had just been fully out of the picture.

And finally, the boys:

Dean:

FUCK. DEAN. Do I need to say more? He’s a toxic, possessive, asshole and I hate him. He was okay in the beginning, but the ‘50s episode really clinched my hatred for him. Huge nope from me. What a dick.

Logan:

Man, do I hate Logan. Obviously not as bad as Dean, but he’s such a douchebag!! I genuinely cannot stand him or put up with any of his bullshit. I thought he would grow on me as the show went on but no, I only hated him more.

Jess:

Best for last. My love for this man knows no bounds. Obviously the best fit for Rory, I love them together, but also his relationship with Luke is so great. Also, justice for his and Rory’s relationship while they were dating!! Why did we only get to see it when shit hit the fan? They kept mentioning how they were going to hang out, that they were meeting up later on, so why didn’t we get to see any of it? Why did we only get to see them when Jess fucked up? I hate that. I also hate that they didn’t end up together, even when Jess grew and changed and bettered himself. Anyway, I just love him. I could talk about him forever.

A Year in the Life:

They tried to fit 22 episodes worth of Gilmore Girls into 4 episodes, and it didn’t work. The first episode did an okay job, and I did kind of love the last episode (the wedding!), but the middle two were. . . yikes. No theme song/opening titles? No transitions? NO SOOKIE EXCEPT FOR ONE SCENE AT THE END? Michel thinking about leaving the inn and Lorelai being abandoned by both of her friends? No Jackson? Rory being with an engaged Logan? Basically no Jess except for a few scenes, one of which broke my heart? I could go on forever.

That being said, they should make more after the cliffhanger they left us on. I’ll take whatever I can get, even if it’s subpar.

Anyway those are just a few of my many thoughts about this show. I can’t believe I waited until now to watch it. I need someone to talk about this show with so if you see this and want to talk, DM me.

#gilmore girls #lorelai gilmore #rory gilmore #luke danes #emily gilmore #richard gilmore #paris geller #lane kim #jess mariano #literati #logan huntzberger #lauren graham #alexis bledel #scott patterson #milo ventimiglia #liza weil #keiko agena #sookie st james #melissa mccarthy

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ididntwanttohavetohauntyou · 8 months

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On the double standards of Taylor’s love life and Swifties’ role in Taylor’s reputation

{Fair warning: this is kind of long and I actually originally wrote it during the Ratty stuff but it’s relevant now and this post from @9w1ft (specifically the tweet) made me think that maybe this needed to be really laid out there. }

Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming to know what Taylor’s sexuality is definitively, nor am I suggesting that every relationship she’s had with a man was fake, or that she is a lesbian. I myself have experienced enough bi erasure and biphobia to know better, but I had to put this out there explicitly so hetlors don’t have that as a “gotcha”.

Swifties have the lowest possible standards for whom they consider to be a boyfriend of Taylor’s.

Their standards are a) the media has to stir something up b) they have to interact distantly in some public capacity before they c) walk around together (holding hands or not).

I can give you the names so many women with whom Taylor acted like that, often for longer periods of time and with more interaction than a couple dinners and pap walks or whatever she’s done with those men. And that’s without time to go do research which would doubtlessly turn up more names.

To name some examples:

Karlie Kloss, Diana Agron, Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Blake Lively, Cara Delevingne, Martha Hunt, Sophie Turner, Lorde, all three Haim sisters, Zoe Kravitz, Emma Stone, Camila Cabello, Lily Aldridge, Lily Donaldson.

(To be clear, I’m not suggesting that Taylor dated all or most of those women.)

Now, I have no doubt that if most swifties looked up photos of Taylor with a lot of those women they’d go “they aren’t even doing anything in that picture” or “they’re just walking side by side” or whatever else.

THAT’S THE POINT

I’m 1000% sure that if you photoshopped a man into basically any of those pics people would assume they’re dating because they’re walking together.

Almost all of Taylor’s supposed boyfriends have had significantly less interaction with her than those women, but people don’t hesitate to say she’s dating the men. Her team can and will deny it, but swifties will add a name to their list anyway, and that creates a whole other problem.

The sl*t shaming:

In my opinion, the sl*t shaming that Taylor has experienced for about the last 15 years has been, at least in part, because of swifties who jump to conclusions about men she’s seen with. When her own fans believe she’s dated however many guys, it’s that much easier for the media to repeat that and twist it to be negative.

If you wouldn’t look at a random guy and girl standing within a few feet of each other or walking together and come to the conclusion that they must be dating, why do you assume that about Taylor? Or, for that matter, does every person of the opposite gender that you associate with have to be your SO?

[And yes that can easily be turned around on Gaylors, but the whole point is that we aren’t solely using proximity to link potential exes or lovers to Taylor. We actually do the analysis of the lyrics, we break down the connections, we do the research.]

My point is that swifties have contributed on a large scale to Taylor’s sl*t shaming in a way that should make them think twice about who they claim she’s dating. Unfortunately as we’ve seen with this M*tty situation {and now the football guy}, they don’t seem to have the self awareness to realize how they’ve aided such a disgusting campaign of hate.

One more thing: you can say that no one will say those things now anyway because Taylor is on top of the world and they wouldn’t dare sl*t shame the Queen of Pop or “The Music Industry”. You might even be right. But if you do this and feel no guilt or shame over how your actions may have played a part in the several intense periods of sl*t shaming that Taylor has gone through previously, you need to think about why that is.

Taylor said it best in her speech at the Grammy museum in September 2015. She was introducing Blank Space and talking about the situation that made her write the song.

“In the last couple of years the media have had a really wonderful fixation on kind of painting me as like the psycho serial dater girl… It got pretty out of control there for a couple of years because… every article would be like, Taylor Swift Standing Near Some Guy. Watch Out Guy!”

That sounds insane, and it was definitely worse then than it is now, but the fact that it’s happening right now at all is ridiculous. Swifties need to stop helping the media tie Taylor’s name to men as if that makes her relevant. She’s a highly awarded singer, songwriter, and performer who has set and broken records (and then broken the ones she’s set) countless times. Swifties need to stop pretending that dating someone is what makes her interesting or we’re no better than the people who think she only writes breakup songs.

#sorry that this is so long #I’m sure I left stuff out though so definitely feel free to add #okay i’ll shut up now #kaylor #gaylor #gaylor swift #lgbetty #friends of dorothea

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chaifootsteps · 7 months

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So I used to follow Vivz work since the ZP era and I used to be pretty neutral towards Angel Dust until the pilot dropped. I remember he was both a mobster but also he liked crossdressing and doing porn which made other people think less of him for being feminine and this being perceived as a weakness. This made Angel a stronger character to me because he balanced both aspects of his life and work. He can wield six machine guns and absolutely destroy you, yes he also likes wearing dresses and make up what about it? He was confident in who he was.

The sex worker aspect of the character was okay when I thought his career in porn was HIS choice.

When the pilot came out it we learn that not only does he have a pimp but he was raped by said pimp. So I guess it's not his choice exactly or at least not 100 of the time. What if he's not feeling up to it? What if the client wants him to do something he doesn't want to do? Is Val, a demon that clearly doesn't give a shit about Angel's consent going to let him off the hook? Don't think so.

I'm sure Angel enjoys sex and is a very sexual person and likes flirting with people and sleeping around because that's the kind of personality he has. All of that is fine. But now that we know he's being exploited his job activities specifically seem much more sinister...

Suddenly the official art of him shooting vids or doing anything for his "viewers" feels kinda gross. Like I'm being forced to be the audience that sexualizes him regardless of his consent.

Don't even get me started on the way Viv and her crew make merch of the rapist himself. Those pins where Val has Angel by a neck chain are fucking awful. The nsfw fanart of Val and Angel where he looks in discomfort is disgusting but then again Viv has fostered this kind of content amongst her own community.

Imagine a male creator makes a female character that's a porn actress who's forced to work for a pimp who also sexually abused her and said male creator drew a bunch of nsfw of that woman with the clear purpose of making her look alluring and fuckable to his audience even though she's being abused. People would cancel this person so quick! But I guess since it's a bi white latina doing it to a feminine man it's okay.

It sucks because that's one of the things that drew me to Angel in the first place, the duality of him; that he could wield six machine guns and spoke in a heavy Brooklyn accent but also loved make-up and crossdressing, that he loved sex and even sex work but was in an abusive relationship that threatened to kill that light for him.

The way Vivzie treats him however, always pushing sexy art and merch of him and sometimes him and Val together, makes it feel like he's got two abusive pimps instead of just the one.

#Anonymous #actual blog post #vivziepop critical

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jerzwriter · 1 year

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You are so fucking disgusting Elsa. Using your bland ass straight white bitch MC to be the MC of the Month for Pride Month.

You’ve gone really low

Good morning, Nonny.

I'd like to say hope you're having a good day, but clearly, you're not.

I was 50/50 on putting this in my "delete because Nonny is a bitter troll who doesn't deserve the attention/exposure they desperately crave" file. But this anon goes beyond the usual "I'm a pathetic human who hates someone on the internet who has zero impact on my life so much because of (insert stupid/insane reason here), so I'm going to be a vile bully and send them anonymous hate because - IDK - I can't find a good therapist? I'm off my meds? I'm just a vile piece of shit?" See, I no longer waste my time or energy on those.

But I decided to answer this because a) you're wrong, and b) you're engaging in bi-erasure - something that happens in the fandom and in real life every day, and I'm not going to pass up a chance to educate your ignorance and address your bigotry.

Casey was picked at random - the same way all MCOTMs and WOTMs are. I grappled with the decision to highlight her bisexuality... because of people like you. In the end, I decided to be true to the character. I've been dealing with people like you my entire life - in my personal life - never mind fandom. So let's educate.

Bisexuality is real - people.

Your ignorance in understanding it doesn't make it any less real. I am proudly bi, but trust me, it feels like a pretty shitty thing to be at times. You're never queer enough for many in the queer community, but you're too queer for those who aren't. There is no real safe space outside of a precious few who get it. And I mean few.

Your straight friends talk shit about you "doing this" to be "cool/get attention" or whatever... and they're "relieved" when you're in a hetero-presenting relationship. Your queer friends are happiest when you're with a same-sex partner, and if you're not, they accuse you of lying about who you are or "hiding." It's awesome. You know, instead of just having friends that are fucking happy if you're happy. People CAN BE and ARE attracted to more than one gender and the feelings/love we have toward both are real, valid and do not have to be explained to anyone.

Anyone who follows my MC (and I don't believe Nonny has) knows that Casey has been presented as bisexual from the day I entered this fandom. If some choose to ignore that, that's on them, not me. The fact that she is half of a pairing that is hetero-presenting does not make her any less bisexual. How ignorant are you?

Her profile clearly states she's bi. I've written about her being an activist for LGBTQ rights and about her reluctance about coming out to her parents (because she doesn't believe she should have to "come out," why is straight the default?). I've introduced her ex-girlfriend, Jessica, in fics and text fics, and discussed Casey's identity at length in numerous asks over the years.

So, yes, her current partner is a man, and he ends up being the love of her life. GUESS WHAT! THAT HAPPENS TO BI PEOPLE! And, TRUST, we know the privilege that comes with being in a hetero-presenting relationship. I've never once had someone throw something at me or hurl slurs when I've held a male partner's hand in public, but I've had it happen when my partner is a woman. But no one bi is "suddenly straight" because of it! And asking us to parade as hetero just because we're with an opposite-sex partner is pushing us into a closet - and I'm sorry, but fuck you - because no one belongs there.

Last June, I deliberately avoided all pride-related events in the fandom (NOT in real life). I did so because I was coping with the guilt that is tantamount to being bisexual. The "Should I put it out there. I mean, there are others who are more queer, right? I have no right to do this? Their characters are more important than mine, right?" And yeah, I've felt that way in real life, too. THIS is what it's like being bi. I'm out for decades, I'm comfortable and proud of who I am, I counsel younger people in the community that they are valid - and I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes right now because with all of that, THIS SHIT STILL CREEPS IN - largely because of s-bags like this Nonny.

So you know what, I'm not grappling with it anymore. It's pride month, and in real life, I'm celebrating to the fucking max. And you know what - I'm doing it in the fandom too. Casey is going to be as out and fucking proud as I want her to be, and if it makes your ass uncomfortable, well, that's not my fucking problem.

Re-read your ask, Nonny. The only disgusting person in this exchange is you. Do fucking better.

#playchoices #choices fandom #bisexuality awareness #bi erasure #hate anons #open heart choices #do fucking better #your ignorance is showing #pride

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aemiron-main · 2 years

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this show makes me insane the gay Mike analysis makes me insane the way that el’s character form the very beginning aligns perfectly with an arc about Mike being gay/having never loved El romantically is INSANE because it would never work with any other character/girl that isn’t El especially not without ruining their friendship in the end.

But long story short (gonna talk about this at length in the analysis) because El is who she is and is the character that she is, raised in a lab but still loving but also knows how to hold her own etc, she’s been raised outside of the typical heteronormative homophobic society, narratively she’s PERFECT for gay Mike in a show where you’re not supposed to hate people for being gay. Because in the end, when El and the audience find out that Mike never loved El romantically because he’s gay (which imo is very much already demonstrated regardless of s5), El isn’t going to hate him for being gay or be upset that he’s gay the way that somebody who was raised in a heteronormative/homophobic society and then had their heart broken by a gay man likely would. El isn’t going to hate him for anything imo but she’s going to be upset with him but NOT not going to be upset with him because he’s gay/never loved her: she’s going to be upset with him because he lied to her and his from her.

I’m sure she was upset about him not loving her at first, esp before she starts to get an inkling that’s he’s gay, as we see with the bedroom fight in s4, but even in that scene, she’s more upset about the fact that he’s lying to her, that he denies that he never says it. She’s upset that he doesn’t say it/write it, sure, but the main upset imo comes from him lying about it. Especially since even in s3, El was upset, sure, that Mike couldn’t come over to make out the day after Hopper threatened Mike. She was upset about that lack of love/affection! But she was more upset about the lying. She broke up with over the lying, not over him not coming to see her/display affection. Especially since when Mike explains why he couldn’t come over, because of hopper’s threats, if El was still solely focused on Mike loving her/that affection, she would have blamed hopper, as she’s done in the past, and let Mike off the hook. But she doesn’t. Because that’s not what she’s upset about- the lying is.

And I think that especially once El realizes that Mike not loving her had nothing to do with her, and everything to do with him and being gay, and that it’s not that he just loves Will more than her as a person, it’s that he could never love her at all, by NO fault of her own, she’s going to be more understanding.

Again I love bi and unlabelled Mike truthers but NARRATIVELY ALONE bc even tho messy situations like that DO happen irl, I feel like explicitly gay Mike works better because that way, El isn’t pitted against Will. It’s not a matter of actual choice between them, or who Mike loves more. It’s about never having loved El at all, by no fault of her own, because he was unable to. Somebody like El, who feels unloveable, getting an ending where Mike reveals that he just loves Will more? Even if he did ever love her? And even if he never loved her but is still bin, that still shows that there’s something about El as a person that Mike does not love. But if Mike is gay, then it’s not about El at all. It’s not about her being unloveable or loved less compared to Will- it’s about Mike and who he is able to love and his lack of attraction to women.

That’s one of the big things for me about gay Mike from a narrative standpoint and why I believe it’s been set up from the beginning ESPECIALLY in regards to his relationship with El and why El is written the way that she is- it immediately recontextualizes Mike and el’s relationship both for the audience and for El. It shows that El, who has felt unloveable, felt like a monster, felt that she can only be loved as a superhero, and never loved for herself, is not unloveable. It’s that Mike is incapable of loving her. She is not incapable of BEING loved, Mike is incapable of loving her.

If Mike was portrayed as attracted to women and genuinely romantically in love with El at one point, then when Byler becomes canon, it’s about a choice of El over will, which again happens irl for sure, and Mike would not be wrong or bad for making that choice, but NARRATIVELY because these are characters who have themes and arcs and allegories, Mike being anything but gay imply that there is something about El as a person that he doesn’t love, that he won’t love, that there is something about El that is unloveable, which feels like a poor way to address the arc of a character who has canonically felt unloved for the majority of her life and feels unloveable.

But once Mike is confirmed to be gay, it’s not about El at all. It’s about Mike. It’s not that she can’t be loved, it’s that HE can’t love her. He is not physically capable of it. And absolutely, Bi people are MORE than capable of not loving certain people, that they can’t love them because they don’t like who they are as a person, or aren’t attracted to them as a person physically and personality wise, but if Mike is gay, he also literally CANT love her but not because of who she is or what she looks like or anything to do with El- it’s because of who MIKE is. Millie even said herself that Mike Can’t love El in the way that she wants him to. It’s not that he won’t or doesn’t want to, it’s that he can’t.

Like I said, I know that messy situations about falling out of love with someone happen irl, and Mike wouldn’t be wrong or bad for that, not at all. (he’d be wrong for lying about it though just like how he’s wrong for lying about not loving El int he context of being gay). But narratively, if Mike is anything but gay, then there is SOMETHING about El as a person, physically or personality wise or both that he does not like. Which again is valid and happens irl- but when it comes to el’s narrative as a character, as someone who’s centered around feeling unloved for who she is as a person, it’s not the best way to handle that narrative imo, especially if we still want Mike and El to be close/friends the end, which I think is what the duffers are going for, esp since like I said, due to her upbringing and unique character, El wouldn’t hate Mike for being gay/be upset with him because of that. But she IS upset about the idea that there’s something about HER that is unloveable (see: the way she tries to change herself and act like someone she’s not at the airport and rink o mania) and she IS upset about Mike lying to her. So if Mike just doesn’t love HER/loves will more, which, if he’s anything but gay, is the case, then it’s hard to resolve things between Mike and El in a positive way because they get hit but a.) El’s upset about Mike not loving her for who she is/feeling unlovable and b.) Mike lying to her. But if Mike is gay, then a.) is removed, and it’s just upset about Mike lying to her, which, him lying to her about being gay, like I said, is something that I think that El could understand without hating him for it, without being homophobic towards him because of her unique character and upbringing.

And I think that’s the big thing about Mike and his inability to say “I love you” to El. It’s not that he won’t say it or that he doesn’t want to, because then why not just frame it around Mike not being ready to grow up and say it? It’s that he can’t, it’s framed that he can’t say it, he physically cannot get the words out during the aisle scene in season 3 or during the bedroom fight scene. He only manages to say it when El is dying- the only reason why he CAN say it then is because he’s not saying it to El when she’s conscious, and because of something I’m going to explain here but also more in depth during the analysis:

If Mike not being able to say I love you = Mike being gay, and, as I’m going to talk in my analysis, Mike throughout s4 likely knows he is gay/is figuring it out for sure throughout s4 but is trying to decide whether to be in or out of the closet. So, the monologue is his ripping off the bandaid, his “I’m not going to come out as gay I’m going to hide this forever, as far as anyone knows I’m not gay” moment. And that’s why he can say “I love you” (in addition to the fact that he doesn’t even know if El can hear it), because in that moment, for the rest of his life, he thinks he is going to be not gay (gay = not able to say ily, not gay = can’t say ily). But just like other parts of the monologue, which are verifiably untrue, it’s not true. Mike is gay and isn’t going to be in the closet for the rest of his life, regardless of what he thinks. His monologue/attempt to make that choice FAILED, it was full of lies. Mike is lying to himself and to El in that scene. He’s not going to stay in the closet forever. He doesn’t love her.

Again, like I said, Mike is framed in a way where it’s about the idea that he CANNOT say he loves her, like PHYSICALLY CANNOT rather than the idea that he’s not ready, or doesn’t want to. Because he does. That’s the thing. Mike, part of him WANTS to love El, wants to be “normal,” wants to love her in the way she deserves and feels guilty for not being able to do so. We see this in his character. Part of him WANTS to love her, part of him he WANTS to say it but he CANT. They’ve framed it not as personal choice, not as him not liking El/hating her, because he DOES care for her as a person, he DOES idolize her even and DOES care about her, genuinely. But he CANT love her romantically. It’s not that he won’t, or doesn’t want to because there’s something he doesn’t like about El as a person- it’s because he CANT, because he’s gay. It’s not about El at all.

He CANT say it until the monologue. And when he does, like I said, it’s tied to lies about himself and about trying to ‘choose not to be gay/come out of the closet’. He CAN say it in that moment because in a weird way, in his mind, he’s “not gay anymore” because he’s choosing to stay in the closet forever (which is NOT how it works you can’t choose it of course but MIKE needs to realize this, realize that being in the closet forever and acting as if he’s not gay doesn’t make him able to love El, doesn’t make him not gay, even if it makes him able to say it, and even then, he can’t say it to be conscious face and again it’s tied to other lies.)

Narratively, if Mike wheeler is explicitly gay, then it’s not a choice- what isn’t a choice? Not loving El is not a choice. The love triangle is not a choice. The ‘choice’ between Will and El isn’t actually a choice. There IS NO LOVE TRIANGLE. THATS THE THING THE LOVE TRIANGLE DOES NOT EXIST!! BECAUSE EL IS NOT A VIABLE OPTION FOR MIKE!! WILL AND ELL ARENT PITTED AGAINST EACHOTHER BECAUSE THERE IS NO CHOICE RHERE IS NO LOVE TRIANGLE!! Just like how being gay isn’t a choice. And even though el’s an “option” in the sense that Mike could choose to stay in the closet, choose to try and act like he loves her, choose to be her boyfriend, it’s called a LOVE TRIANGLE, not a RELATIONSHIP triangle.

It’s about LOVE, it’s about Mike’s feelings, even if Mike and El stayed as boyfriend and girlfriend until they died and in this exact “love triangle” scenario they’re in now where Mike so with El but had feelings for will, there would still BE NO LOVE TRIANGLE because Mike CANNOT LOVE EL. ITS NOT A RELATIONSHIP TRIANGLE ITS NOT ABOUT WHO HES IN A RELATIONSHIP/CHOOSING TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH!! THE RELATIONSHIP TRIANGLE COULD EXIST!!! SURE!! BUT ITS CALLED A LOVE TRIANGLE BECAUSE ITS ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL AND WHO YOU LOVE AND MIKE CANNOT LOVE EL BECAUSE HES GAY!! EVEN THOUGH HE HAS TO CHOOSE WHAT RELATIONSHIP TO BE IN, HES NOT CHOOSING LOVE. RELATIONSHIP DOES NOT EQUAL LOVE!! MIKES CHOICE IS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS NOT LOVE!! HIS LOVE IS NOT THE CHOICE!! Because if it was, if mike was anything other than gay and his love was a choice between Will and El, choosing betwene his love for both of them, like I said, it’s way more difficult narratively and more importantly, difficulty aside, because ST does not shy away from difficulty, does not align with the narrative as a whole, nor the arcs and underlying themes of each individual character, such as things like El’s arc regarding feeling unloveable.

The love triangle does not exist! There is no choice! I’ve seen people frame it as “the GA needs to realize that Will is a viable love triangle choice for Mike,” but I think that people may want to try looking at it with the lens that it isn’t true that Will is a viable love triangle choice for Mike, the GA are right in that weird regard, although not in the way they think they are. Because the love triangle does not exist because El is not a viable choice for Mike either. Will is not a viable choice for Mike!! Because there’s no choice!! If the love triangle was between Mike and two other men, then Will would be a viable choice. But it’s not. Will is not a viable choice because there’s no choice at all. Even if Mike didn’t love Will as a person in this current in-show love triangle scenario, which he does, there still would be no choice between them because the only option would be Will. So he’s technically not a viable choice in the love triangle because THERE IS NO CHOICE!! He’s a viable choice for mike’s love, sure, in the context of Will versus other men. But not a viable choice in the love triangle because THERE IS NO CHOICE THERE IS NOBODY EXCEPT WILL TO CHOOSE FROM WITHJN THE WILL EL MIKE LOVE TRIANGLE!! Will is not a viable choice and El is also not a viable choice because again, there’s no choice at all because Mike is gay.

Like cmon! The duffers LOVE flipping things on their head, and how would a love triangle be any different? The flip is that IT DOESNT EXIST!! The “choice” that’s inherent to a love triangle is not a choice at all! And I think that’s part of why they showed us the stancy jancy love triangle in s4, to show that Nancy DOES have to make a choice, unlike Mike, who is not making a choice because there is no choice to be made.

Anyway this is a ramble and I’m still refining my thoughts, but I’m gonna address it fully in the analysis.

#stranger things #byler #mike wheeler #gay Mike wheeler #I’m so excited to finish thsi analysis #i know it seems like it’s taking a stupidly long time b it THATS bc #i want it to be perfect and I have SO much to say like this is gonna be my biggest analysis I’m proud of it ok #again bi Mike and unlabelled Mike truthers ily and you’re valid this is just #my (pretty firm) opinion and analysis on the subject just like how you guys are totally entitled to yours!!!!!#our analysis and thoughts can coexist even if we disagree!!!

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spaceorphan18 · 8 months

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Okay guys! I have watched all of Hearstopper -- as picked by you!

And here are my thoughts!

I'm going to put it under a cut -- Idk if people are worried about spoilers? Idk.

My overall, quick thoughts are that I liked it! It's a well done show, and I'm glad that there's a celebratory LGBT+ youth show that isn't reliant on trauma porn in the way that Euphoria is. (I haven't seen Euphoria - but based on what I do know, it'd be too much for me.)

I think, though, I have some complicated feelings about the show, though, more so concerning my place in life and less about the show itself. But I guess some reflecting is at hand.

I liked the first season more than the second. Part of it, admittedly, might be because I spent the whole day binging it. And sometimes that's a hard thing in general. I had a nice day -- and as afternoon slipped into the evening, it kind of felt like one of those relaxing days where you curl up with hot cocoa on a snowy, winter day. It's comforting. I enjoyed my day - but it was probably too much by the end of it. I was getting antsy about moving on, so that's on me, and my issues of not being able to parcel things out.

I think the other part of it is the realization as the second season was playing that I've spent the last thirty years watching some kind of variation of the stories being told. And while I think it's great that Gen Z has this, and that the LGBTQ+ community has this, I feel like I've seen it all before. This isn't a criticism of the show -- it's more so that I don't think I'm invested in these kinds of stories anymore. It's kind of interesting, in a way, that it doesn't matter sexuality or gender or what age you're growing up in, there are some themes that are universal.

Alright - so some more specific thoughts:

I do like the Nick and Charlie pairing. They're very sweet together, and I think the show does a good job of exploring it as a growing, awkward teenage relationship.

I also like the way they've handled Charlie's eating disorder. I usually hate eating disorder story lines in media -- and this one was handled in a really nuanced way, and I think that's really cool.

I think one reason I didn't like the second season as much as the first, though, is that the first is a real exploration of Nick and Charlie -- with everyone else as a supporting cast. And the second season kind of falls into the pitfall of being a little too bloated as they try to expand on everyone. As well as -- making it about everyone coupling off and less about the friendship. Don't get me wrong, they make sure to show everyone as a supportive group, and that's great, but friendship dynamics just didn't factor as much, and I hate when shows get so caught up in romantic dynamics that that's all it focuses on. Plus, Nick and Charlie almost got pushed to the background of their own story.

I have never read the graphic novels or the web comic so I have no frame of reference -- but Charlie's sister is straight out of a comic strip. I don't know if that works as much on screen, but man you could tell. (I felt that way about early Tao, too.)

The family dynamic stuff of the second season was... fine. But, I really do love Olivia Coleman as Nick's mom. She does a lot with a little.

I like Tao and Elle as characters (and really like that being bi-racial and trans is part of her identity but not her whole character), and while their romance was telegraphed early on, I can't say that I'm all that interested in it. And I feel like across all media, the cliche of one person wanting to choose their career and their romantic partner has to deal with that just feels... tired.

(Honestly - I think there's a story here about how you think you are in love with someone - and you try to date them only to find out you're better friends, is a more interesting angle, but I knew it wasn't going to go that way.)

I do love Tao's mom though. She is a delight and I love her.

Okay, here comes probably my most controversial opinion. I really wasn't a fan of the f/f story. The problem is, unlike Nick and Charlie who get to be nuanced, real characters. The girls identities and story are completely tied to the fact that they are lesbians. They really aren't developed outside of their lesbianism and I find that really unfortunate. I'm glad there is a lesbian couple on the show - I feel like they're underserved in media as a whole, but I really just don't like this story line or these characters very much.

That said - I'm really glad that there's so much f/f friendship on the show, and that there are a lot of instances of females supporting each other.

And then there's Isaac. I really love him as a character, and I absolutely LOVE that they put asexuality on the show -- seriously, as someone who is borderline asexual, it's so, so refreshing to see a teen going through a lot of what I went through as a teen. My one problem is that as the show erases a lot of the friendship dynamics for romantic ones, Isaac gets a little lost. Isaac is on his own? Oh that's fine -- he has his books. Geez, c'mon show. Let him have one conversation with one of his friends about how he feels -- and less of his melancholy, balcony brooding. (Again - there were definitely group scenes where they made sure he was included - but let's face it, Isaac is still a third tier character.)

Okay, and then there's another big issue I had overall, which, again, is less to do with this show, and more to do how certain things are portrayed in teen media. I really kind of hate the notion that your troubles will be your troubles until you find a magic partner who makes all those troubles go away. The world... just doesn't work like that, and you will have so many people in your life who will love and support you, and I wish these shows didn't zero in on romantic relationships to save or fix you. I know the narrative wasn't trying to do this -- but sometimes I roll my eyes when it feels presented that you aren't worthy of being you until someone romantically interested validates you.

The kind of background love story of the two teachers I found amusing. They're both great minor characters -- I would totally watch a show about them. The rugby coach, too, is a fantastic character. I'm glad the adults in this show aren't complete buffoons.

Overall, the show, on a technical level, looks really good. I did love the little added animations that popped up -- in a way to show the graphic novel origins.

So yeah. Look. This sounds like I hated the show when I really didn't. It is very sweet, and I am looking forward to a third season. But I'm being nitpicky of things I've seen over and over in teen media for the past thirty years that, honestly, did detract my viewing pleasure. That said -- I do think stand by what I said earlier in that it's something great for people who are of the correct age, and who are experiencing these stories for the first time. There are so many worse alternatives that I enjoy the fairy tale-esqueness of this one.

#heartstopper #as chosen by you guys

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problemswithbooks · 3 months

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More Dain Stuff

So I'm still thinking about Dain and more so, who he might end the story with.

Now, I'm 98.9% sure Violet will stick with Xaden. Not saying it couldn't be interesting if, after the whole Venin thing and their already rocky relationship they broke up, but at the same time that's not how romance novels are written. The story might have dragons, but it is primarily a romance book. Xaden has always been the main focus of Violet and they got together in the first book--just like other fantasy/romance books; think Edward/Bella or Alina/Mal. Plus, most of her audience really like them together; not having them as end game would be alienating her readers.

So Dain's not ending up with Violet. To be honest he could end the story single if he survives, but I'd be a little surprised. Many authors even outside the romance genre have a habit of pairing up their characters at the end. It would be nice if the series didn't go that route, especially if it didn't have a time-skipped epilogue, but I'm expecting at least the main side characters to get paired up to some extent since it is a romance book.

That leaves the question of who he could be paired up with. It's hard to say at this point because he hasn't had many interactions with anyone besides Violet. The few times other characters mention him, most don't really like him. They're are Violet's friends or Marked, so they already have a poor opinion of him or hate him for Liam's death.

I'm not saying that Yarros couldn't have those characters change their opinion of Dain in later books (I really hope they do) and then pair him off with one of them. The issue is that I think most of Violet's close group have been given hints already to who they'll end up with. Sawyer is crushing on Jesinia, Imogen on Garrick. Rhiannon is with Tara, who will hopefully get better established as a character in later books. Though brief Sloane and Cam have some flirtation and in a lot of ways it would make a lot of sense to have them end up together, particularity if Cam becomes King. It would fully show the Marked ones are apart of the kingdom again and fully trusted.

Now, Ridoc is a possibility, but only if Dain is established as bi (which isn't impossible). The biggest hurdle there is that Ridoc is the exact opposite of Dain in a lot of ways. He's the goofball, while Dain is portrayed as a strict. Ridoc doesn't like him. It's really doubtful they'd get along. That could change as the series goes on; Ridoc could show a more serious side, while Dain could lighten up. Violet said he used to smile and laugh a lot, be less of a rule follower. Maybe Ridoc could bring that back out. I think it could be pretty cute and honesty it'd be cool if Yarros put an end to a love triangle by pairing up the spare with another guy.

One possibility though that I really find interesting and I could see is Cat.

First of all she also needs paired up as that failed third wheel of a love triangle with Xaden. There is a man in her Gryphon Flier group that likes her, so that might be who she gets put with in the end, but if that does happen I hope he gets a bit more screen time given how important Cat has been at least during Iron Flame.

Second, their powers complement each other. Dain can see memories (pretty much read minds to an extent) while Cat can manipulate emotions as long as they're present. I could easily see these two using teamwork to get stuff done. Cat could get someone upset enough that they lower their shields so Dain can read them, or Dain could read someones memories and give Cat the best ammunition to get them into the state of mind she needs to manipulate their emotions. Physical fights wouldn't change much but in intelligence work they could be really good as a team.

Third, I want a Flier/Rider romance and Cat's the most prominent Gyphon Flier we have as of Iron Flame. She's third in line for the throne which is interesting and could mean she ends up as Queen. Giving her a dragon Rider partner could be a good way of showing that even once the Venin are gone Navarre and Poromeil are still allies. Also would be interesting to see how a relationship like that was seen by the dragons.

Fourth, it'd be a bit funny. Cat is Xaden's ex, while Dain was Violet's first crush and childhood friend. I doubt Xaden would care much, since he never cared about Cat, but I think Violet would have many conflicting feelings about it which would be fun to see her stress over. By the end of Iron Flame she seems to have grown to respect Cat and Cat respects her in return, but I it wasn't that long ago she hated her. Meanwhile, although she was furious at Dain, he was her best friend for fifteen years.

It'd just be funny to see Violet struggling with that sort of roller coaster of emotions and perhaps catching herself thinking similar things Dain said to her about Xaden. I mean I could see her first thought being Cat is getting close to Dain to mess with her, since she can't get to Xaden anymore. Having her catch herself and realize she's making snap judgments could lead to some interesting conversations with both Dain and Cat or even Xaden talking to her more about his past with Cat. Just cool character interactions all around!

Fifth, character development. Dain is seen as Mr. By the Book, and although there probably isn't some rule against Flier/Rider relationships (because they've never worked together before) it could still be seen as wrong. They might be working together but they were enemies for hundreds of years. Dain picking Cat despite it being seen as against the spirit of the Codex continues his growth as getting over his issue of putting rules before people he cares about.

Meanwhile Cat, although tackling her anti-Dragon Rider hate and working with Violet has another flaw the one that was probably the biggest reason her and Xaden broke up. She wanted a crown. Now, I actually don't think this is a terrible thing for her to want given what we know of her and her situation. Poromeil has been essentially left to die by Navarre for hundreds of years. Frankly it makes sense Cat would want political power so she could use it to form an alliance with a Kingdom that might be strong enough to save her home.

Still the story makes it appear to be a flaw--that she wanted a crown over love. So, in that sense picking Dain, someone who isn't a prince or king, and has very little sway with anyone with power (Xaden hates him, and he deserted the army so he doesn't have any allies on that front either--dude is not getting a good job no mater whose in charge) shows she'll pick over over a crown. Even if afterwards she still gets the throne of Poromeil for whatever reason, it'd still prove she picked Dain over power.

So, that's my essay on possible end ships for Dain. I sort of still think he'll die--I'm always prepared for a character I like to die. But if he does live and get paired up I'd say it'd be Cat, with Ridoc as a runner up.

#fourth wing #iron flame #iron flame spoilers #Dain Aetos #Catriona Cordella #I actually forgot Ridoc had a hook up with a guy #until I started writing this post #and i think it would be cute actually #goofball with serious partner who has to keep them inline sometimes is adorable #and it would be cool for Yarros to end a love triangle with the dumbed guy getting together with a man for once #but I don't think it's as likely as Cat #Yarros doesn't seem super good writing lgbt+ couples since both queer couples she has are flings/ with partners who are not fully introduce #so id be surprised if we got two decently fleshed out characters in a queer relationship in the end #I mean I'm just hoping Rhi's girlfriend gets more fleshed out by the end #and from a writing perspective Cat/Dain has more to offer in way of compelling story-lines #mostly because they're both connected to Violet and Xaden in interesting ways then Ridoc is #And I've seen people think Cat will be with Cam (cuz he's the prince) but I think Sloane is a better choice there #Even if Tyrrendor becomes independent it'd still be nice to have Cam/Sloane to show the Marked Ones are fully excepted and safe in Nararre #Also I think it makes more sense since Cat being third in line is brought up alot #so I sort of expect she'll be queen of Poromeil by the end #which make Cam being a prince unneeded #unless the book ends with the two kingdom's uniting #which it could i guess #but sort of doubt #frankly id still like violet/Xaden/Dain as end game--u could even shove Cat in there

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