#LIKE ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHIP DYNAMICS EVER

[lunerium]

Hello!

I'm happy to find some people loving this ship!

I read the manga a long time ago but I'd like to know your opinion : which arc do you think has the most or the Sebaciel content ? Do you think we'll get more in the manga when we come back to their story? Thanks for answering! ^^

Hello, @canonicallytrue heh. I'm glad you're taking an interest in the manga, and of course, in Sebaciel, again.

Now the question here is, which arc has the most sebaciel content?

It is a difficult choice, you see. Sebaciel is spread around the whole manga, constantly evolving in their dynamic, constantly changing. At first, Sebastian only cared about consuming Ciel's soul, rather than Ciel himself. Their dynamic was more predatory, and thus more attached to mere carnal desire. It was purely erotic but with no hints at the romantic. The most notable scene of that specific dynamic is the asthma scene

Sebastian only cares about the cultivation of that soul to satiate his hunger. The more he sees Ciel suffering, in pain, the more "cultivated" his soul will be. However, there are no feelings attached to it. Some people are particularly into this aspect of their dynamic, the predator/prey, the play in power dynamics. If that is the type of Sebaciel that the reader is looking for, the Circus arc would be the perfect example of this.

However, when looking at Sebaciel as it evolves in the manga, it's subtle yet clear that Sebastian starts actually taking to heart his role as Ciel's butler. not only that, but he starts caring about him.

When was this shift exactly? It is at the end of the circus arc when Sebastian sees just how powerful of an individual Ciel is. And when did he start caring about him, when he sacrificed himself for Ciel in the Campania arc. That pivotal moment marked the shift in their dynamic, from a mere predator eyeing his prey to satisfy his hunger to a genuinely devoted butler who cared about his master. It is in those moments where Sebastian is scared of losing Ciel, of having Ciel taken away from him, where his true feelings shine out. Ciel reciprocates those feelings, and he praises him. Sebastian is speechless, and then Yana draws their two silhouettes facing the sunrise, capturing a truly romantic moment between the two. The calmess after the storm, and the beginning of this new dynamic between the two.

So far, that shift in dynamics in the Campania arc makes it one of my favorite arcs for Sebaciel content, along with Sebastian's flashback which is purely the story of how he met Ciel. It was truly captivating.

But throughout the manga, several moments show the development of Sebastian and Ciel's relationship, some more subtle than others. This ultimately leads to that same change in dynamic, one where Sebastian slowly realizes that he is, in fact, bewitched by this human.

Chapter 117: in a conversation with Ciel, Sebastian hints at the fact that he doesn't just want to possess his soul, but his heart as well.

Book of Murder Side Chapter: In this fantasy AU, the hint of codependent possessiveness in their relationship is highlighted, as Ciel admits that, after all, he doesn't want to be saved from the devil. As his eye (aka. soul) already belongs to him. The devil is in his possession in the most codependent of ways, to the point where they have practically become one.

Chapter 130: In other times, the panicking and shock Ciel was experiencing here would've amused Sebastian, as the cunning devil he is. But here, his expression betrays him. The way his eyebrow is tilted upwards, the gleam in his eye. He feels empathy, and he is worried.

There are many more moments like these that hint at a more caring relationship between the two, but the post would otherwise become too long.

Of course, with this shift in Sebastian's actions and feelings, he has become more affectionate than ever. And with the recent occurring in the manga, now that Ciel has lost everything and is at his most vulnerable, Sebastian will completely show that caring side of him that until now has only shown subtly. Sebaciel in Brighton will truly be the nirvana of every Sebaciel shipper.

#sebaciel #sebastian michaelis #ciel phantomhive #black butler #kuroshitsuji #kuroshitsuji meta #meta #proship #character meta #character analysis #Sebastian was tamed by Ciel #in the most literal sense

[mariejordans]

my favorite limoreau crumb from this episode you ask?

at the very beginning when jordan is staring down sam, and we ALL know they could take him, but then they look at marie and she shakes her head no, so they let sam and cate go.

yeah…

#jordan said me when a bad bitch tell me to do something: 🫡 #ITS LITERALLY THAT ONE MEME WHERE EVERYONE TELLS JORDAN NO AND THEY DONT CARE #BUT MARIE SAYS NO AND THEY LISTEN #LIKE ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHIP DYNAMICS EVER #gen v #gen v spoilers #jordan li #marie moreau #limoreau #mariejordan

[lucaonthropy]

You know what an underrated animal-coded ship dynamic? Black cat x orange cat dynamic. It still has the opposite attract from the black cat x golden retriever but with the intentional no-braincell fuckery from the orange cat instead of cheer and happiness from the golden retriever. Like yeah the black cat would be silent in one corner melting to the shadow and the orange cat is hurling itself at a wobbly shelf with a) no plan, b) no foresight, and c) the meaning to fuck something up however it's done in the end. It's peak dynamic. To me at least

#character dynamics #shipping dynamics #ship dynamics #original characters #this is henrya actually #also im not trying to diss black cat/golden retriever trope at all #im just saying there are other interesting animal-coded ship dynamics that can be explored #also black cat/orange cat has my favorite thing ever: a bit of similarities in the midst of their differences #like yah sure one of em likes to brood and the other cartwheels down the roof but theyre both cats yknow #my second most fav dynamics aside from tiger x wolf #to reiterate once again: this is hendrik and arya. love em for that

[zabiume]

Abt your most recent post. How did ichigo hurt orihime? Genuinely curious bc my media literacy skills are a little lacking and I'm wondering if this is a "between the lines" interpretation, or if I missed something major bc of my dumb b*tch disease

chapter 193 in the manga, for example, but mainly scattered moments throughout the SS and HM arcs where he asks her to stand back a lot of times.

HOWEVER, i know people on all sides tend to get oversensitive about this for dumb shipping reasons so i'll reiterate: neither of them are really at fault here since they're both teenagers and behave like teenagers in that respect but also: this was a part of both their character arcs! ichigo being overprotective is treated like a character flaw by the narrative (where all his friends have been pretty mad at him for not trusting them), and orihime at this point in canon hadn't trained nearly enough to take on an arrancar all by herself! he's not wrong for wanting to protect orihime because a) he's afraid she won't be able to protect herself and b) he's like that because he's afraid of losing any more people in his life. however, orihime isn't wrong either because all she's ever wanted is to be useful and, no matter how well-meaning ichigo might have been (or even how right he might have been!), it still hurts her to be "useless" when all her friends are fighting. and ichigo isn't the only one! you might remember that uryu, urahara, and to a lesser extent chad, have encouraged her to step back when things get intense. orihime's internal voice at this time was not great, she was already in a bad headspace and to have her worst fears confirmed out loud (that she's "not needed," she'll never be an equal to her friends, never be able to contribute in ways that matter) by her own friends, especially ichigo, gave her self-esteem a major blow. they didn't mean to hurt her, but since this is something she's always struggled with, it hurt her nonetheless.

moreover, HM & FB arcs all run on the idea of trust between ichigo and his friends and we know that in his insistence on doing everything himself, he tends to build a big wall between himself and everyone else – one he works really hard to keep up. what's more, ichigo tends to be really irrational sometimes due to his overprotective behavior, and this is clearest in the HM arc where he does ridiculous things like throwing himself in between orihime and grimmjow's ceros when she already had her shield up, and saying ridiculous things (like telling uryu to protect her with his body if her shield doesn't work). orihime very obviously does not want to see ichigo killing himself to protect her, even if ichigo himself views self-sacrifice as a love language.

the reason all this works out is because orihime actually gets to talk to him about this during the fullbring arc, when this moment happens:

ichigo can be a little lost in his own head sometimes, but he's not unreasonable. seeing orihime's power boost and learning that she and chad have been training specifically not to be a drag on him in battle wakes him up and he's been more trusting of both of them since! he's matured a lot over time and you can see that most clearly in TYBW where he doesn't behave as irrationally as he used to when it comes to protecting his friends. and the reason ichigo & orihime's arcs-long conflict works out well is because it actually resolves in the end, with ichigo counting on orihime to protect him!

the great thing about this moment is that it's a BIG MOMENT for both of them. ichigo getting over his debilitating fear of losing people and trusting orihime (someone he was overprotective of) to protect him speaks to how much he's grown! and orihime, who was hardly strong enough to keep up in battle, is finally trusted to have ichigo's back. i don't think he'll ever realize how much that means to her, or maybe he does and that's why he finally asked her to go with him :')

#their sub-plot is actually one of my favorite long-running sub-plots in the series #but it's hard to actually enjoy it for what it is amidst all the noise that comes from shipping discourse #i know ih fans tend to get overprotective of ih & it's understandable considering just how loudly against orihime & ih people used to be #when the manga was ongoing - and maybe even now idk the wider b/leach fandom doesnt exist to me #but the great thing about ih has always been the set-up and the resolution. the conflict in their dynamic is believable for both characters #and it creates some great hurdles for them to get over together! #stories with conflict are interesting! #which is all to say please dont take this as me saying ichigo is a bad person! he's my favoritest boy & he deserves every good thing ever💖 #he just had a few road blocks along the way just like everyone else! #asks #ichihime

[izzehands]

#ofmd #izzy hands #ofmd critical #the amount of like psychic damage i’ve taken reading some of these takes #and i’ve done my time in the shipping trenches it’s not like i don’t understand the merit of this kind of analysis #but not here it just doesn’t fit here #and it feels sooooo dated to say ‘oh pirate is dedicated and loyal and devoted to his captain the only reason there could be for that #is if he also wants to sleep with him’ #???? #why is the common narrative here: if man has too many feelings he’s gay #do you guys realize how that sounds? #anyway #izzy’s my favorite character of the show and i guess it’s silly to complain about on tumblr but i get the sense people can’t enjoy him #unless they make him gay first #wild to me people aren’t frothing at the mouth for this kind of platonic captain/first mate #owner/guard dog dynamic #like they can’t appreciate it unless they insist it is absolutely gay in canon #wwhhhhhyyyyyy would the show not have just made it canon if it was #one of the weirdest fandom conspiracies i’ve ever seen #the izcourse

[00midnightrider00]

Who do you ship Kafka with?

I ship her with Blade

#this is the first ask anyone has ever send to me :0 #asks #i feel like i should expand on why i ship them #since there aren't many ships in hsr i actually enjoy #but i dunno that to say #there is so much #i guess it's mostly the appeal of two people with difficult pasts finding some comfort in each others company #the dynamic of a woman who feels no fear and a man who cannot die is also something that attracted me to this ship #then of course there is the fact that I just adore Stellaron Hunters #they might be my favorite fraction in the game #that one web event where they recreate movie posters #or the fact that they keep stealing blade's phone to text trailblazer if you pulled blade #on the more serious note there is the fact that Kafka can help Blade with keeping his Mara under control #there just seems to be a lot of trust there #since she could easily use her Whisper to make him do whatever she wants #but then in her companion quest she lets Blade go and do whatever it is he thinks he has to before leaving the Loufu #and the fact that she calls him 'Ah'Ren' in cn #which from i understand adding 'a/ah' in front of sb's name is an affectionate way to refer to them #tl;dr: idk i just really like those two

[theintelligentfool]

I have not thought about Rosemary in probably 5 years, but all of the rosemary posting has reawakened my fixation on this ship.

GAH THEY'RE SO GOODDDDD

#one of my favorite homestuck ships ever #actually i like janeroxy/cottoncandy better but no one posts anything about them ever it feels like #BUT YEAH ROSEMARY IS SO GOOD I LOVE THEIR DYNAMIC SO DEARLYYYY AUUUGH

[patchyworx]

I cant stop adding to my free draw roblox doodle page of Zhongli... i have drawn him so many times on there

#my favorite doodles are the ones where he's being silly (all of them) #and also the ones with Venti because they're funny #Zhongli and Venti's dynamic intrigues me so much #i love drawing my favorite dragon dilf scaring the twinky wind bard #the dumbasses ever <3 #patchy rambles #no i don't ship them but i do like drawing them together. usually Venti is getting hurt or scared by Zhongli in some way #or in eminent danger (by Zhongli)

[k8lynjoy]

I'm so tired of people telling those of us who are upset about the LA atla remake that we are "being too dramatic" or are just "finding things to be upset about". We are allowed to be upset that something that we love so dearly has been butchered, AGAIN. If you liked it, then that's your personal opinion, but don't sit here and tell those of us who didn't that we're the problem.

I personally think the CGI, costumes, and sets all look terrible. None of it is immersive. Sure, it LOOKS like atla, but it doesn't FEEL like atla. The heart of the og is gone, and people are allowed to be upset about this. They've altered characters to the point that they aren't the character anymore (looking at you Aang and Katara), which is a huge upset for me personally because Katara is one of my favorite characters ever. So watching her be turned into someone meek and docile is more than a slap to the face. Not to mention them removing her as the narrator as if Bryke themselves didn't state that Katara is the person the story is being told through. And before you start telling me that Aang is the same. No, he isn't. Major parts of his development through season 1 (him coming to terms with the fact that he's the avatar and embracing that role, and him also accepting the fact that he RAN AWAY and how he is never going to do that again, which is also pivotal to his character later on) are completely removed. And don't even get me started on what they did to Kataang. Regardless of whether you ship them or not, those 2 are deeply connected to one another from the start, and their relationship is a big part of the show, so to see that butchered is heartbreaking for me.

This isn't just about them "making some changes" or it not being a 1:1 adaptation. I'm fine with adaptations that aren't 1:1. What I'm upset about is that the changes they are making are VITAL changes to characters and dynamics between characters. They're rushing through the plot and condensing the story (and I will scream if I hear one more person say that it's because they couldn't fit it all in with their runtime. The runtime is an HOUR LONGER than the og, so yes, they did have the time). The changes they are making make it evident that they do not understand the og show, and if you don't feel like that, fine, once again, that's YOUR opinion, just as this is MY opinion. So stop telling us we have no right to be upset and that we just want to hate everything. That's not true. What is true is that we are expressing valid complaints about another bad adaptation of something dear to us.

Edit: If you also come at people who are upset bc they were expecting a faithful adaptation and didn't get it bc "its not supposed to be the cartoon," you're missing the whole point. An adaptation is ADAPTING SOMETHING from one medium to the other, not rewriting it. "Yall expected it to be just like the cartoon." No, I expected a FAITHFUL ADAPTATION and was met with poorly written fanfiction.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #natla #netflix avatar #katara #aang #kataang #never made a post before but it had to be said bc it was starting to make me mad #atla is my favorite show of all time #stop trying to dictate how i feel about the remake #there is no live action in ba sing se #anti natla #anti LA atla

[gloryofdawn]

Pretty much everybody on Tumblr seems to look at Garrus and be like, "Hm, yes, the optimal love interest." And that's fair! Garrus is great. Date him if you want.

But goddamn, have I just always had brainrot for Shepard and Garrus platonically. Their dynamic is just so flawless. I have never believed a game more when it has told me "These two people are best friends." They are the most found family siblings I've ever seen.

Every party member in Mass Effect 1 (who lives) goes on to achieve greatness above and beyond pretty much any party member introduced in subsequent games (except that I do specifically think the human party members are outstripped by Mordin), but you get to watch it happen with Garrus and Tali because they never leave you. Garrus starts off as "That loose cannon cop who signed on to help get Saren." After Shepard dies, he decides he's just going to casually end organized crime and is alarmingly successful. When Shepard shows up again, Garrus' reaction is to fucking shoot them and then joke about it when they finally make it to him. Shepard deflects Garrus' near death experience by calling him ugly. During his loyalty mission, you have the opportunity to have some absolutely raw conversations with him about ethics and morality that you don't really ever see with another companion except Jack, and she basically completely ignores everything you say until you see her in 3. With Garrus, he'll resist what you're saying, but you can see him trying to find the line between justice and revenge, law and chaos. If you put him in charge of the second team during the suicide mission, you can see how much he's grown with you as he effortlessly coordinates his team with yours. And all that is just in Mass Effect 2.

Once you get to 3, you really start seeing it. Garrus has made his way up in the Hierarchy and is leading their efforts against the Reapers, just like Shepard. When you ask him about it, he immediately starts talking about it as the shared work you've had since the first game. No other companion identifies themselves with you through this struggle. Sure, other companions will mention the previous games and what you did with them, but there's always something else. Liara is the Shadow Broker now. Tali has the Geth to worry about. The Virmire Survivor is bound up in the Alliance and becoming a Spectre. Wrex has the Krogan. But Garrus? Garrus is here with you. He's standing right next to you, giving the Reapers his full attention. And as you go throughout the game, he's consistently the one there for you. When you're struggling to get the Council Races to work together, he's there. When things go tits up on Thessia, he's there. Even you're going into the final run, he's there. When the two of you die, if Turian heaven is the same as human heaven, he'll meet you at the bar.

There is no Vakarian without Shepard. There is no Shepard without Vakarian. These two soldiers are bound together with blood, sweat, and the sheer Terminator-grade determination to save the galaxy, no matter how much it kicks and screams. There is no fire they won't jump into for the other one, and they'll make fun of each other the whole way. There's no other relationship like it.

I'm Glory of Dawn, and this is my favorite platonic ship on the Citadel.

#Mass Effect #commander shepard #garrus vakarian #brainrot #rants #platonic ship

[hijinks-n-lowjinks]

fic recs masterlist

since I was thinking about rereading some of my fav fics, here's a massive list of my favorites include haikyuu, jjk, bsd, etc

Haikyuu!

frankenstein's monster by starbeyy: sakuatsu fic where they both are diagnosed with OCD. this is the fic that is my instant rec, it's my roman empire. "you were the first beautiful thing i couldn't stop thinking about"?????????? this is a MASTERPIECE

the courtship ritual of the hercules beetle by kittebasu: THE iwaoi fic of all time, permanently altered my brain chemistry, my friend made me a gift of an embroidered hercules beetle and a quote from this fic and it's one of my most prized possessions

The Chosen One by moonyfest: one of my all time favorites, it's just so good and I love how their relationship develops, it's one of the fics that I reread every few months, nsfw in later chapters

Miya Atsumu, Adored By All (loved by some) by honest_pebble: the sakuatsu fic of all time, my inner atsumu kinnie came out while reading this and I cried multiple times while reading it but holy FUCK was it amazing, I reread this every few months as well, I have it downloaded on my phone lol

i wanna ruin our friendship by roseknight: highschool iwaoi fic, one of the first hq fics i ever read and it's very close to my heart because of it, make sure to look at tags for trigger warnings

i'm a house with no windows, you're the flowers on the front porch by miracleboysatori: a phenomenal childhood friends to lovers ushiten fic that has not been given the love it deserves, one of my favorite hq fics of all time, nsfw in later chapters

butterfly in the subway by bigspoonnoya: You've Got Mail au daisuga fic, a ton of background ships that are all super cute, I reread it all the time it's one of my favs!!!!!

the spirit of the resolution by starbeyy: this is my fav sunaosa fic of all time, osamu's complicated relationship with his self esteem really hit me especially when they're getting late night take out, i adore this fic and it's one of my favorites

can i be close to you by radian: kuroken fic where they don't know each other at first but slowly become friends and it's all lowercase but it's so good i promise, super fluffy

Vienna Waits For You by Pouler (poulerslashes): asanoya timeskip fic that's sooooo good in talking about what it's like to grow up and feel the pressure of the world on your shoulders and living up to your potential and expectations, nsfw in later chapters

Black and Blue by MTrash: daisuga au fic, i was obsessed with this fic when i first read it, it's really sad but really good, make sure to look at the tags for trigger warnings, nsfw in later chapters

you're the brake lines failing (as my car swerves off the freeway) by ghostpot: kuroken fic where kenma realizes he's in love with kuroo and spends the entire fic freaking out about it

campfire in your chest by deanpendragon: tsukkiyama fic where tsukishima realizes he's in love with tadashi before kagehina realize they're in love with each other and it's super cute, all of this author's tsukkiyama fics are so good

Liebesträume (Dream of Love) by emivance: sakuatsu rivals to lovers musican au, their dynamic this entire fic is so funny and they're obviously intro each other but are in deep denial about it, nsfw in later chapters

surfacing by meeks00: bokuaka au where they find out their bfs have been cheating on them with each other, one of my fav bkak fics they're so precious, nsfw in chapters 2 and 3

daisy rings and frivolous things (i am deliriously in love with you) by gabstar: bokuaka one shot that I am OBSESSED with, the way their relationship speed runs is my favorite aspect of this fic because its exactly what i imagine their relationship doing

Similar Creatures by h_lovely: iwaoi Pretty Woman au that's soooooo good, i really liked how their relationship developed and grew throughout the fic, nsfw all over this fic

Kiss Me (Like You Wanna Be Loved) by kazzydolyn: bokuaka friends w benefits fic where they fall in love with each other at the same time but akaashi doesn't know what to do about it, nsfw

Guiding Stars by daedalust: hiruhoshi fic that y'all will devour once we get more of hoshiumi and hirugami in the anime, they have one of my fav friendships in the series, hirugami is enamored with hoshiumi who asks for dating advice

Behind Bricks by DeathBelle: bokuaka au where akaashi is a sex worker and they become friends but bokuto falls in love with him instantly, a lot of nsfw obviously

Hard Times by mooifyourecows: daisuga au where olympian daichi pays con artist suga to be his fake fiance during a cruise, my FAVORITE daisuga fic ever, i was chomping at the bit for each update, nsfw in later chapters

Valor with Honor, Fealty with Love by radiantradish: daisuga medieval knight au, they slowly fall in love as rivals and it's suuuper cute yet angsty, mild nsfw in later chapters

In the Armpits of Spring by Paintbrushyy_Ducky98: iwaoi au where they meet in high school and oikawa confesses to iwaizumi before they ever really meet, iwaizumi's growing curiosity about oikawa is soooooo cute their relationship is developed really well

The Space Between Stars by leuralo_l: bokuaka fic where everyone but bokuto knows that akaashi is in love with him, I was so impressed with this fic especially since the author said it was their first fic pls give it a read!!!!!!

wait (I'm on my way) by viverella: sunaosa fic where they're both oblivious to each other's affections and are quietly pining, their relationship is super cute and adorable

Close to the Chest by darkmagicalgirl: kyouhaba fic where they bicker but slowly fall for each other during high school along with background iwaoi, i loved this fic it was so good, some mentioned and blatant homophobia

beautiful monsters by gravitates: ushiten fic with slight angst but damn did it make me feel emotional, ushijima is so soft and tender and loving to tendou, another one of my favs

Cool, detached, casual by fluorophoring: kuroken fic where they try to have casual sex but it doesn't really work and they both spiral lol, nsfw

Breakers by ftld: sunaosa 90s au, god I LOVED this fic and how obvious of a simp osamu is, it's sooooo good, some mentioned/blatant homophobia

Special Relativity and Years by buttonstuck: mega angsty iwaoi fics with the second being an alternate ending of the first fic that has a sad, bittersweet ending that made me cry harder than I have in YEARS, some mild nsfw in the first fic

your whole life on your play by emleewrites: kagehina proposal fic that goes exactly how i picture it would go in canon

make up your mind by sketchedsmiles: sunaosa fake dating au where osamu asks suna to be his fake bf in order to one up atsumu who's dating sakusa, i absolutely loved this fic lol

Jujutsu Kaisen

Caesura by cielelyse: suuuuuuch a good rivals to friends to lovers satosugu fic about their first year in jujutsu high together and the mission that made them friends, probably my fav jjk fic ever

And every day, it's changed since then. by BotanicalBites: inuokka college au where yuuta is an artist trying to escape from his growing fame in the country and meets farmer inumaki

What Instinct Can't Teach by kiyokosturtle: chosoyuki and it's sooooo good how to author develops their relationship before the smut lol, nsfw in the last chapter

The Long Con by lyrebirdswrites: an itafushi no curses au that isn't finished yet but is soooooo good, this fic is currently being plagiarized by another author so it's on hiatus for now but I'm hoping the original author gets everything worked out!!!!

Bungo Stray Dogs

where your loyalties lie by writingfromtheshadows: soukoku yakuza au, this is by far the best bsd fic i've read so far, their relationship is just so believable and their characters are wonderful, nsfw

the art of burning bridges by sanguinekitten: soukoku fic from chuuya's perspective about different times in their lives together, it's so good

i think he knows by sanguinekitten: soukoku 5+1 fic where dazai knows that chuuya loves him but the latter refuses to admit it

Threats Made in a Hotel Room by moonrice (moonyeyes): soukoku fic where dazai pisses of chuuya so much they start making out

A Lesson in Thorns by arkastadt: soukoku beast au fic where they're in an arranged marriage and slowly fall in love, similar premise to where your loyalties lie but an entirely different plot, I still have ten chapters left but I'm really enjoying it so far, nsfw

Miscellaneous

i'll be your biggest kept secret and your biggest mistake by sascake: mha tododeku fic that I instantly fell in love with, the way the author writes both of them is so well done, not finished yet, mild nsfw mention

sore must be the storm by Pouler (poulerslashes): mha tododeku fic where they're trapped in a collapsing building and they have a deep talk about their lives

Until my Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches by Reiya: yoi viktuuri au fic that I binged like crazy, yuuri and viktor's first interaction goes differently and yuuri is determined to hate viktor, nsfw in later chapters

seraph's nest by phile: csm akiangel fic where they slowly become friends and fall in love with each other over the course of the manga's plot

#can you tell i have a bias for hq #haikyuu!! #jjk #bsd #fic recs #jinx talks #jinx reads #iwaoi #bokuaka #satosugu #sakuatsu #daisuga #asanoya #kyouhaba #akiangel #viktuuri #tododeku #soukoku #itafushi #chosoyuki #sunaosa #kagehina #ushiten #hiruhoshi #kuroken #tsukkiyama

[theotterpenguin]

the performative accusation that shipping zutara (and occasionally this criticism is levied at jinko/zukka) is colonialist apologism has been addressed in some excellent posts, explaining the inaccuracies and problematic implications of this logic far better than i ever could - like this post and this one and this one and this one and this one.

and i know this topic has been talked about to death, but if you could indulge my contribution for a moment, i just find it interesting how this sentiment results from the cognitive dissonance of atla fans being unable to reconcile with the idea of their favorite show's political beliefs not lining up with their own.

atla is a largely philosophical children's show that at its core deals with themes of love, redemption, and destiny vs. free-will. atla examines these themes through an anti-colonalist, anti-imperalist lens that deconstructs the idea of racial divisiveness and the idea that people of different ethnicities are inherently different. this is message is pretty explicitly stated by guru pathik:

Guru Pathik: "The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same." Aang: "Like the four nations?" Guru Pathik: "Yes. We are all one people. But we live as if divided."

and also by uncle iroh:

"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements and the other nations will help you become whole."

this theme is developed across three full seasons, with the crux of this message culminating in zuko's friendships with the gaang - despite coming from different nationalities and different backgrounds, they have all had their own experiences being hurt by the fire nation and work together to take down the oppressive fire nation government. the question of destiny vs. free will is also explored through zuko's character - despite starting off as an antagonist, he develops into a symbolic representation of how the fire nation's oppression hurts its own citizens. he unlearns the fire nation's imperialist propaganda while simultaneously unlearning his father's abuse. rather than following misguided beliefs of what he thought his destiny was as the heir to the throne, instead he forges his own path.

thus, to claim that zuko can never form a deep and meaningful relationship with any of the gaang because of his nationality goes unequivocally against the themes of the show. and a major part of this is because these are fictional characters being used to analyze different theoretical questions within the show and in some cases, are used as symbolic representations of different philosophical ideas - their friendships and their character arcs serve a purpose within the text that cannot be easily transcribed onto real-life dynamics between people.

it's illogical to criticize fans who are choosing to understand atla at the level of the themes that are presented by the text - who are interested in exploring similar philosophical questions brought up by the show through the context of relationships.

if you don't like the themes of forgiveness and redemption that atla explores, your criticism should be aimed at the writing of the show itself rather than other fans. because you are giving far more thought to the "implications" of a close friendship or romantic relationship between someone from an imperalist nation and someone from an oppressed nation than the writers ever did. (and if you fall in this camp of people, i would hope you wouldn't be reblogging fanart of zuko and the gaang together while simultaneously claiming zuko could can never escape the sins of his ancestors and can never form a deep relationship based on trust and intimacy with katara or sokka or jin - because that would just be hypocritical).

and as a side note, people seem to apply this flawed logic to zutara far more than other ships solely because the show spends the most time exploring the complicated nature of fire nation imperalism in the interactions between zuko and katara in the latter half of b3. this is because they've been juxtapositioned against each other and paralleled with aang since the beginning of the show in ways that toph, sokka, and suki are not, who have mostly been used to examine different themes. there simply isn't enough time to explore these complicated themes with all the other characters, even if they theoretically exist in zuko’s dynamics with these characters, so the writers focus the most on zuko's relationships with katara and aang, and these relationships are given far more narrative weight, so have more content to criticize. but zuko and katara also canonically become friends by the end of the show. if you want to discount the existence of their friendship, claiming that it will always be tainted by the fire nation's oppression regardless of what is shown in the text, then you also have to discount zuko's friendships with aang, suki, toph, and sokka - because even if this isn't shown as a permanent barrier to their friendships in the show, it’s also not shown as a permanent barrier to his friendship with katara. if your logic is solely based on the idea that a person's identity in a relationship as a colonizer or a victim is fixed and unchanging regardless of character development, this would apply to zuko's friendships with everyone else as well.

#zuko #katara #zutara #i have seen people say that the zutara dynamic makes them personally uncomfortable and that's fine - to each their own! #but it's hypocritical to only dislike zuko's relationship with katara while simultaneously exalting his friendships w aang or toph or sokka #just because the show doesn’t take as much time to explore these issues with other characters doesn’t mean the same dynamic doesn’t apply #my post #my meta

[zykamiliah]

the many ways shen qingqiu loves luo binghe

this was more or less inspired by this post, but because this is gonna be a personal opinion and i don't want to make a thread of it and inadvertently contest with the other two's points, I'm going to make my own post.

so i wanna start saying that "the moment one falls in love" is a trope that's waaaay too overstated. in my opinion. specially because falling in love tends to be something that has to do with romantic love most of the time, and it pretends to establish a sort of timeline, a point of no return, for ships and fictional relationships.

when the stories surrounding the characters are more straightforward, i don't really mind, since it makes sense for there to be an "Oh" moment when the character realizes they are in love. like, we know the moment lbh started to see sqq in a sexual light, and we can roughly add to this that the events of the demon invasion and the nightmare scenario are what sealed the deal for lbh. it helps that he's more honest about his feelings and the sexual awakening had already happened, and we can easily assume that from that point on lbh's feelings have a romantic-sexual side.

it still has other sides... because lbh loves sqq as a shizun, as a parent, and this side of their relationship, the master-disciple and parent-child side, is intrinsic to their dynamic; it's a conflicting element during their prolonged conflict for most of the novel, but at the same time, it's their default when they want to approach each other, it's the "safe zone".

but when it comes to sqq I think it's a much more difficult thing to ask: when does sqq falls in love? when is his Oh moment? Is there one, a conscious realization that he's in love? Can his relationship with lbh be described as "being in love"?

he loved Luo Binghe The Character

—the way a reader loves a favorite character, and fanboyed about him plenty before and after transmigrating. the shadow of what the little sheep he was raising would became was ever-present throughout those first 6 years before their meeting in Jinlan City.

but he loved lbh the character in a fanatical way that wasn't actually real... it was meaningful to him because he liked this fictional character a lot, but it's a safe love from the side of a screen.

he was compelled by lbh the character, by his tragic backstory full of angst, and by the ways lbh the character did things: he "rightfully" took his anger out in the people who'd hurt him and paid back for it tenfold. in a way, sy as a reader was also projecting himself in lbh the character.

in short, he loved the Idea of luo binghe, but not luo binghe as a real person.

he loved Luo Binghe the White Lotus Disciple

—and he loved him like a parent loves a child. yet, as I mentioned, he always kept in mind that this boy would grew up to be a very attractive and sexual man, and thus sqq expected him to have romantic encounters with girls around his age.

i know some people shy away from talking about this because everyone is paranoid about your favorite character being called a pedophile etc etc, but really, sy could be nothing farther from that, and whoever who says that has a very, hmm, wide definition of the word and it's probably just using the buzzword to hate on the character.

the important thing is that, despite sqq being aware that lbh is a potential sexual being and will become very sexually active in the future, he does not in any way sexualize his and lbh's relationship. Like I said, sqq would never abuse his power in that way, and he'd never get it on with someone he sees as a child, his disciple. that lbh is very much viewing their relationship with romantic and sexual lenses is a complete shock for him because of this, along with other reasons and assumptions (that lbh was straight)

the problem here is, precisely, that he treated lbh like a child once, and would go on treating him as a child later, post-holy mausoleum: disregarding lbh's agency, making decisions for him and without asking what lbh wants, since as the parent he obviously Knows Better, and taking responsibility for lbh's "bad behavior". the endless abyss was a decision he made without consulting lbh. he self-detonated because he thought that would be best for everyone, and he intended for his death to (among other things like saving the city and escaping prison) "make up" for his mistakes. in maigu ridge, he almost kills himself again because he thought that would be better for lbh.

he's self-sacrificing, protective, caring, and overall parental/maternal towards lbh, which has it's good and bad sides. for a long time, he loves lbh like a parent loves a child, and though this side of his love for lbh is not lost in the extras, it's lesser in the sense that the power imbalance is nullified, and the parent-child, shizun-disciple side of their relationship turns more into a comforting, safe roleplay that allows them to access intimacy and express their feelings (that infamous "if i was your mother" speech) than the entirety of their relationship.

and the thing is, he always loved and will always love lbh as a parent loves a child. and i think people uncomfortable with this fact have to get around to accepting that lol

he is subconsciously attracted to luo binghe (bingmei) the Man

we all know this part. sqq's descriptions of lbh's beauty are numerous and far too difficult to quote them all, but one that really stands out to me, because it proves the point, is this one:

[Shen Qingqiu] asked, “The important person you’re talking about, was it…a good-looking young man?” When he thought about it, he decided against suppressing his conscience and clarified. “Not just good-looking, he’s very good-looking, especially good-looking. Fair skin, pretty face, tall. He doesn’t smile often, but when he does, it’s exceptionally dark.” chapter 9: borderlands

if he was unaffected by lbh's attractiveness, he wouldn't need to "suppress his conscience" about it. also this description is just... describing lbh's smile from his own pov? a personal feeling? to a stranger? he has it bad.

he's repressing his own feelings, so it's difficult to point to a specific moment as the moment he realizes he's attracted to lbh... because he never has a conscious realization, and he's in constant denial about it. all the way through to the last bingqiu extra, the wedding extra, he'll continue using the same narrative: the Protagonist is Beautiful and Irresistible, so what can sqq do but surrender to him? It's inevitable, really. (hahahaha he can't help but love and be attracted to lbh. it says more about him that he could ever verbalize)

so yeah, sqq really has the hots for lbh the man. but he'll NEVER admit it, he'll never had an Oh moment. Not even when he unconsciously called lbh "husband".

i want to make a clarification: for a character like sqq, who care about his pride and dignity way too much and has internalized homophobia and sexism to the detriment of his own peace of mind and fulfillment, admitting that he enjoys sex is way too shameful. he's never doing it. he mentions being "drunk with lust" in the showdown extra; in the deep dream extra he gets enthusiastic and proactive, initiating sex with lbh himself very smoothly; in the RoC,SoBQ extra he initially asks to do it doggy style and then changes his tune and wants to see lbh's face, DESPITE being embarrassed about it, and his desire is described as wanting the spot inside him to be rammed. all of this are subtle hints of how he really feels about sex, despite his inner struggles with his pride as a man.

another clarification: the way smut is written in western space is not the same as the way is written in chinese novels. for example, some chinese slang put the the top as the one "attacking", as if sex is a sort of fight. there's always this implication that the shou surrenders to the gong. there's a clear distinction of who tops and who bottoms and the roles of husband and wife made by this distinction; pleasure is described differently: phrases like "scalp going numb", "getting goosebumps" are not particular to svsss alone; the way the bodies engaged in the sex act are described, etc. (it IS a different language with a different culture) so it's normal that most of us come out of the extras thinking the smut is not enjoyable for readers or the characters themselves. what is the difference between the mdzs extras and the svsss extras? that wwx, being characterized as a "shameless" person, is very vocal about how he feels during sex. he has no shame around sex, unlike sqq, who is in the opposite side of the shame spectrum.

sqq is still struggling with that part of himself, and personally I think it's very understandable that even until the end of volume 4 he still has a difficult time with it; it's not easy shedding the believes one grows up with.

which bring me to,

he loves luo binghe the Man, "romantically"

—and it's a love that conflates his parental love, his attraction, too, but that starts to develop mostly post-holy mausoleum: it's when the hand-holding starts, somehow, though it develops fulling throughout the extras, when they finally become romantic partners and explore sex together. mxtx traces an arc that starts with the showdown extra, goes through the deep dream extra that has sqq telling lbh that "Tonight I feel like... I live you a great deal" and ends in the wedding extra with sqq calling lbh "husband" unprompted; despite previously agonizing about his loss of face and dignity and the humiliation of it, his actions speak louder than his words and inner thoughts. because of this, functionally, sqq can be read as a tsundere.

but aside from the sex, sqq enjoys domesticity and spending time with lbh; he likes teasing him, conversing with him and going out with him to see the world. post-main novel they're equals in their relationship and treat each other with respect and consideration, even if their shizun-disciple roleplay prevails. by romance definitions, I believe they mostly fit them, even if their relationship is unconventional.

as for when sqq fell in love with lbh? i still don't have a clear answer. he's always loved him; this love evolves through time, bringing him and lbh closer together. personally, i don't think it's not important. sqq loves lbh, and that's what matters.

#svsss #zykamiliah-svsss #bingqiu #shen qingqiu #shen yuan #had this post in my drafts. feel like now is a good time to post it lol

[morphodae]

Fragility

Yandere!Kafka x Fem!Reader

wc: ~1k words cw: manipulative themes, yandere, sad times all around, slightly suggestive (nothing happens, kafka is just flirty and touchy lol) a/n: butterflies have always resonated with me so peep the symbolism I added, also if you know about the meaning behind Ball Peonies in HSR, kudos to you ;) inspired by this post

Life has many forms of entertainment, yet never enough time to indulge in the splendorous display that each corner of the galaxy can offer you. As a child, you reveled in the entertainment that your own mind provided. As such, you never did enjoy playing with toys much. Lonely, dusty dolls laid untouched, the latest models that were limited edition and inspired by the trendiest media of your time – also left in the wayside.

To many, your lack of interest was skewed as ungratefulness.

To you, that was a sliver of vanity to pride yourself in. After all, nothing could ever erode the endless possibilities of the mind, no, not even age. Your mind was your own and no one could hope to take it from you.

It isn’t long before the object of your disdain stands in the doorway before you. She never could stay away from you for very long.

“You really should smile more, you know. Frown lines would ruin that cute face of yours,” she drawls out. A sharpened nail traces the edge of your cheekbone, lightly trailing down until it reaches the junction of your jawline and erratic pulse in your neck.

A warning, it seems. A deliciously dangerous, intoxicating warning that beckoned you in a never-ending push and pull dynamic. Kafka was always a master of that game. No matter how often you tried to read her, to outsmart her, to play into her hands and exhaust her options, your efforts never bore any fruit. In a way, Kafka admired the duality of your spirit, and found it endlessly cute. 

Fragility would always be the most beautiful thing to her.

“...but all beautiful things have one thing in common: they are fragile. The more fragile something is, the rarer it is. Maybe that’s what makes its mere existence so precious.”

As such, you get flashbacks of your first encounter with her on Belebog; long before you knew her true nature, long before you knew what she was capable of. You were, after all, a simple floral assistant that droned throughout your days. Yet, the monotony was always comforting. It kept you grounded in life, in a world that never seemed to change. Almost like the fairytale books you read as a child.

When you had met Kafka, she was captivating in the most severe sense; her mere presence drew in everyone around her. You’d never seen her before, never had her as a customer, yet her unmistakable charm drew you right into her carefully woven web. 

Her cute, fragile, little butterfly.

You never imagined that the skincare she gifted you was created from your own flowers; ingredients that contained a calming, drowsy effect. No wonder you were so compliant and limp. You were the one who sold her those flowers in the first place. Your naivety was your own undoing. You had no one to blame but yourself. Especially not when the woman inches closer, careful to close and lock the door behind her; hiding you away from the rest of the ship’s crew, from the rest of the galaxy.

Vast distance turns into closeness and suddenly, the flowers that used to be your favorite; sitting so pretty on the nightstand of your room – became repulsive. Kafka continued to use them on you, to keep you compliant. Yet, at the end of the day, you let her.

Kafka sits you both down on the bed, sprawling your legs out in front of her and situating herself so that her back may be flush with the steely wall of the ship’s room. Her nimble arms wrap around you, her pointed chin digs into your shoulder and she sighs in content. 

“A smart move,” she begins, “watching me.” Her grip around you tightens by a fraction. “You managed to figure out that the key card I carried was specific to my genetic code and that I was the only one able to unlock your room and others.” A poisonous kiss to your cheekbone. “You also managed to sneak a lock of my hair and find a fingerprint to recreate my genetic code in a futile attempt to escape. Heh, amusing but – we all know how that played out, right, my darling?”

Of course you remembered. Kafka switched the cards, changed the key codes, and reset all main codes so that you’d get caught before finding an escape. She’d anticipated everything and beat you at your own child’s game.

Kafka sighs and inhales the natural scent of your shampoo: her personal taste in shampoo that she forced you to use. “The ball peonies are growing well, aren’t they?”

You force a lump down your throat and nod meekly. Kafka turns you gently to face her, swirling lavender hues tracing the features of your eyes down to your lips.

“We should stay like this a while. Would you mind if I kissed you, sweetheart?”

A beat of silence. You hardly want to look at her, let alone answer this predatory captor holding you so closely.

“I need your permission. I need your words before I do anything.”

“You may.” Kafka stares deep into your eyes, scouring your expression with scrutiny before letting out a tiny chuckle.

“That’s my good girl. My sweet butterfly,” she leaves a gentle kiss on your forehead. “Now, lay down and let me take care of you.”

You allow her, boneless as you are; who are you to fight back anymore? Should you? Would your family want you to? Before you know it, a tear dribbles down your cheek and onto your jaw, falling and evaporating silently. Kafka kisses the spot on your upper neck where the tear remained while you stare up at the icy ceiling of your room. Wandering hands of hers were not felt, the chill of the room left you numb once your bare skin was visible.

Ball peonies were no longer your favorite flower.

ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅ઇଓ

#yandere kafka #tw yandere #kafka x reader #yandere kafka x reader #hsr kafka x reader #hsr kafka #yandere hsr #yandere star rail #hsr x you #hsr x reader #yandere hsr x reader #yandere hsr x you #yandere honkai star rail

[lolbital]

My hazbin hotel ship opinions!

• staticradio: my favorite, my obsession, my life. It is very obvious in the show that Vox is obsessed with Alastor. The most common opinion in the community is that it’s one-sided, but I like to think Alastor pulled away because he was afraid of his reciprocated feelings towards Vox.

•radiorose: This is my second favorite Alastor ship. They are super cute and they’re quite perfect for eachother. I just enjoy their friendship too much to actively ship them.

•radioapple: I only understand this ship because it seems like they have existing tension, but otherwise I don’t enjoy it. Alastor and Lucifer’s relationship was never expanded on beyond their immediate rivalry. Maybe if season 2 gives them more interactions or a backstory I will be able to get behind this ship a little more, but I really can’t see this as anything more than a boring rivals to lovers trope.

•staticmoth: It’s okay, but I don’t see them as much more than a sexual relationship. I don’t think Valentino is capable of genuine love.

•polyvees: I see Velvette as more of a younger sister to the other vees. To me the idea of her having two boomer older brothers is just funny. I don’t think this ship is necessarily bad it’s just not my thing.

•bombsnake: I think they’re cute. Unfortunately I don’t think Cherri really has returned feelings for Pentious. Based on their interactions she just seems interested in experimenting sexually with him because of his anatomy. I could be wrong though, so I’m very open to this ship!

•Charlastor: I see Alastor as a father figure or older brother to Charlie. Especially after the Hell’s greatest dad song, I just can’t ever see them in a romantic situation. I am not against the ship, but I personally don’t like it.

•Chaggie: I have nothing bad to say about them! Their relationship is healthy and I think they’re perfect for eachother. I particularly enjoy the fact that Vaggie was an ex-exterminator because it truly promotes Charlie’s idea of redemption. I am going to be extremely upset if Vaggie gets redeemed and gets seperated from her gf.

•radiodust: most people who ship this probably still have the pilot in mind. They don’t interact a whole lot in the show, and I see this as more of a crackship than anything.

•huskerdust: It looks like they’re going to be getting a slow burn relationship and I’m so happy about that. I like to think that Husk is refusing Angel’s advances because he knows he’s only doing it because of hypersexuality at first. I’m 99% sure that is what is canon too. I want to see their relationship grow.

•radiohusk: I am sorry but I can’t get behind this whatsoever. Husk absolutely hates Al, and Al owns him. There is no equality in this relationship, and it would get toxic very quickly.

•radiomaid: I love their dynamic but only as friends. I know Nifty is an adult, but she acts so childish and Alastor still owns her. I don’t like the power imbalance and maturity gap.

•alastor/lilith: if the theory that Lilith owns Alastor is true, then I am interested to see if we get a backstory about them, or what they might’ve been doing for 7 years. As of now I am neutral.

•guitarspear: these two menaces belong together. It seems like Lute really cares about Adam too which is an added bonus.

•Adamsapple: definitely a crackship. I don’t know what to say other than I find it amusing.

•valdust: I despise this ship. There is a very abusive power imbalance and it is proven that Anthony is nothing more than an object in Val’s eyes. There is no love here, just manipulation.

•royalhalo: cute, but even better if It’s poly with Vaggie. If emily becomes a fallen angel, Charlie could have two gfs and I stand behind that.

•lucilith: I hope they get back together. Lilith better have a good reason for leaving.

•Vaggie/Angeldust: most probably ship this because they were likely a longtime viv follower. I’m not against this ship necessarily, but I could never get behind it. Maybe I just adore chaggie and huskerdust too much.

#hazbin hotel #staticradio #staticmoth #radioapple #radiorose #alastor x lilith #radiomaid #radiohusk #chaggie #angel dust x vaggie #poly vees #cherri bomb x sir pentious #charlastor #radiodust #huskerdust #guitarspear #adamsapple #spidermoth #royalhalo #hazbin hotel ship

[chubs-deuce]

Part of why I ship Charlastor over Chaggie other than how one has more chemistry over the other, is that with Charlastor... I can literally see the building blocks for them to be a ship.

Like as Alastor helps Charlie with the Hotel and sees more of her, he would start to slowly fall for her. And it could also be that type of dynamic where they teach each other something.

Alastor teaches Charlie to embrace her power as the Princess of Hell and how to use it to it's full potential, while Charlie teaches him how to be a more decent person and let people in to help him.

Yessss

Though I have to admit that my favorite flavor of Charlastor is the one where Alastor doesn't even really change as a person, Charlie just becomes the sole exception to his personal rules and she embraces him completely for who he is 😩👌

Everything nice he does as a result would be exclusively for Charlie's benefit then if not for his own.

I also think it's a fun way to challenge Charlie's biased belief system of "everyone deserves a second chance and is capable of being better" by making her fall in love with someone who's an unapologetic, violent asshole to everyone but her but will behave if she asked it of him, who makes her feel loved, important and powerful like nobody else has ever managed to and has a genuine desire to help her in any way he can - including all of the immoral and fucked up ways.

I also love me some Alastor who's internally at war with himself - on one hand being in love with Charlie hasn't changed him as a person and she truly embraces him for all he is, but he still finds himself unable to ignore how she'd feel about certain actions and is desperate for her approval and attention, so she's still inadvertently influencing him and reduces the amount of violent urges he acts on by just being someone whose opinion he gives a shit about.

He both loves and hates it, she's his weakness and his greatest strength, his inspiration and muse and the bane of his fucking existence. He would move mountains, obliterate cities and fight god with his bare fucking hands for her if she asked him nicely, but she won't because she's a reasonable and sweet person who worries for his safety and wellbeing.

She's self-sacrificial and recklessly giving, but he's there to ground and catch her when she flies too close to the sun and will happily execute her will wherever she falls short.

In turn she keeps him sane, gives him something to genuinely want to fight for, someone to come home to without tying him down... She's love and light and goodness he never thought himself to be deserving of

Like. I know a lot of us will happily indulge in all the ways these two would be toxic for each other, but I also deeply adore their potential to be such a mutually beneficial, healthy relationship, much to the surprise of everyone at the hotel, including themselves!

#charlastor #radiobelle #anti chaggie #chubs answers