#all my other ships are together or open to possibility and then theres THESE TWO AND THE NARRATIVE DOES THEM DIRTY

[elephant-in-the-pride-parade]

ask #2 what head canons do you have about Tom and Mary's relationship

OHHHH A DOWNTON ABBEY QUESTION

Okay okay so i need to acknowledge how feral I am about these two. Also i sorta checked out after the show shoved Mary and skinny chad number 7ish down the aisle (Is his name Henry or something??? the race car driver whatever, fuck him 😆)

(I still dont understand how they expect me to believe that the love of her life dies in a devastating car accident but she would willingly re-marry a race car driver. brain does not compute)

I digress. I think Tom and she develope this insanely deep emotional bond in that first year without their spouses as a result of their shared grief. They each married for love at a time when few others of their social group would have had the chance to do so (Tom is extra isolated on account of he isnt yet accepted into that social group). I think they really heavily depend on eachother in the beginning. someone else who just gets that grief. and also was close to the spouse who died so it's two sides of a coin. they gravitate towards the one other person they feel fully understands them and they help the other A. remember the love who died and B (more in Mary's case) remember what kind of person that love inspired them to be.

And i headcanon that by the time they might be ready for romance again theyve fallen into this inexplicable deep emotional entanglement with the other. it would be incredibly hard to find something more fulfilling. at the same time, transforming that connection into romance would probably be terrifying (would the other want that? would it be a betrayal of Matthew and Sybil to move on together) oodles of grief there.

I think Tom actually goes to Boston at all because he realizes whats happening and it scares him. on the one hand he thinks it isnt fair to mary to hold her back from a romance. on the other hes not quite sure if he could ever move on from Sybil. (And of course be comes back because he cant bear to be away from Mary and figures he can find a way to control the attraction. maybe by committing himself to helping her find new love.)

Which is about where what I headcanon and what the show does diverge. I cant wrap by head around her marrying skinny man number 7. i just cant. Husband material is right there at the breakfast table with her. Why would she go for Henry when she already has Tom?

I also think theyre good for eachother okay! they encourage and empower eachother. She helps him navigate the code switching he needs to do to be a part of the peerage. he helps her find her way out of the constricting box the peerage has always pressured her to conform to. Him being estate agent opens the door for her to take control over it. theirs is a partnership. running the whole thing together. beause he respects her opinion and welcomes her to the table as an equal, it effectively gives her the control over her home shes always felt like she cant have due to her sex.

So in my headcanon she either dumps skinny man or has an unhappy marriage to skinny man that prompts Tom and she to have a conversation about what they really want. And then they would get together And i could frankly read stories about them getting together foreverrr.

#downton abbey #mary crawley/tom branson #also honestly i would love for her to tell him what happened with Pamuk in the pilot #because if anyone was ever going to be able to tell her it wasnt her fault it would be him #Also also also Mary has been pressured to marry for status or money or to secure the line of succession at Downton her whole entire life #even skinny man comes with new money and a kind of nouveau rich prestige that tom doesnt #and so i would love if she finally got to embrace a love that was not thrust upon her from the outside #and i would love for him to have someone who respects every part of him and who has been there for his whole journey #all my other ships are together or open to possibility and then theres THESE TWO AND THE NARRATIVE DOES THEM DIRTY #if Downton werent trying to keep up the drama of Mary's lovelife #Tom and Mary would be married by Season 6

[sillyyuserr]

A longer, more in depth (9 parts all in one) terukane analysis, and/or everything i could find, compiled (one of my better pieces of work imo) ⭐️

Ok so it might be the fact that i ship them so i see alot of things they do as possibly romantic even when theres no romantic undertones, but the amount of times it feels like AidaIro seems to be implying that teru likes akane is getting to a suspiciously high number. Like lets look at this from a non-shipper’s pov

Item A: teru looking at akane

If you told me (with context) this was a STRAIGHT man looking at another STRAIGHT man, i’d be a little iffy (for lack of better words). Without the fact that he’s looking at akane, he genuinely looks like he’s showing something of raw emotion, unchanged by his “fake persona” but a genuine reaction. I mean i wouldn’t say “omg hes so in lovveee!!!” But considering he doesn’t really open up to like anyone, i think this is definitely something.

Item B: them going together on a romantic outing

Yes i did make it sound much more compelling then it actually is but cmon man. The school festival is considered a “romantic event” and these two spent the entire time hanging around the school together. Giving the excuse that "it's our job being in the student council" (which i guess it is) but in reality it was because no one wanted to come with them.

Which i mean they also did technically go on an actual date together

also nene looking like a hamster 😭😭

Item C: teru trusting akane more than anyone (?)

Teru likes talking to akane, trusts his intellect, and considers him someone he can rely on but doesn't like it when his whole world starts to revolve around aoi. My guy, that's jealousy.

He is shown to trust him and even show his back to him in multiple instances, knowing he wont hurt him, and he’s someone he can trust (lets ignore what happens on the literal next page)

Even literally being one of those “i fight alone” type of people but when akane’s there, he’s never fighting alone

Item D: not sure if thats whats happening here but im pretty sure he tried rizzing akane(?) even blushing n shit like ‘oh no mr judge im not guilty🥺💄💋’

And then got agitated when it didn’t work

Item E: akane knows teru better than we think

When kou and teru were fighting, the reason teru even walked out in the first place was because of the fireworks. And whos idea was that?

Akane’s. He knew he liked fireworks and that they’d lure him out of his room. And again, he was right

Item F: valentines day event

i dont think i even need to break this one down. Its a picture of JUST them TOGETHER posted on VALENTINES DAY. 2/14/24. THE ANNUAL HOLIDAY THAT CELEBRATES NONE OTHER THAN ROMANTIC LOVE. Also teru’s color being used as akane’s sparkles and akane’s color being used as teru’s sparkles kinda shows that AidaIro arent just showing us two characters, they’re showing us TERU and AKANE, TOGETHER. If it really could be anyone im sure they’d put them in a general setting, but with the paired colors i’d say that says otherwise.

some might say they’re looking at eachother

Item G: possible fruit symbolism

first off, this picture.

First lets look at hanako’s. We can see he has two drinks, both red + with strawberries, along with a red straw. While also being pictured near other red fruits.

In this picture, nene’s flower(s) are literally strawberry flowers, putting the association between strawberries + nene out there. Meaning the strawberries in his drink could be purposeful, along with the red undertones. (red being her eye color) (sorry for quality im doin this on iPhone)

Moving on to teru’s, he has one drink, being yellow-ish with pineapple on the side, and chunks in the drink itself. Whilst his straw is orange, while also being pictured around a ginormous pinapple

And this isnt the first time we’ve seen him pictured with pineapples

This god awful picture unfortunately exists so im adding it as proof/evidence for my argument. (Oh and not to mention akane has green pants on so everyone’s a lil funky igs)

notice how as soon they got to his house his outfit changed? This is him when they got to his house (clearly in a long-sleeve shirt, not the hoodie)

this is him with akane + nene going on a date

All within the same chapter i think, but him changing outfits i feel like says something. Like we’re supposed to associate that with something other than aoi (them talking ab how to save her at his house) or his family. Like aidairo are shoving it in your face ‘disassociate teru w aoi!!!’ He even straight up left when they started talking ab how they missed aoi at the karaoke place. (More or so when he left they started talking but ykwim) Since nene is being associated with strawberries it leaves the only other person to be akane, this also making sense also because of the straw color. (The straw being orange; akane’s rep color being orange, as nene’s is red)

also the fact that fruit is literally associated with the queer community

Item H: triangles + queer symbolism

Quick history lesson, A triangle has been a symbol for the queer community, initially intended as a badge of shame, but later reclaimed as a positive symbol of self-identity. In Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, it began as one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, distinguishing those imprisoned because they had been identified by authorities as gay men. In the 1970s, it was again, reclaimed as a symbol of protest against homophobia, and has since been adopted by the larger queer community as a popular symbol of queer pride. More or so, the upsidown triangle. and guess whos ALWAYS wearing a fucking upsidown triangle

My guy has one for EVERY OUTFIT 😭 he’s just ab the only character to have this. Aidairo finds a way to sneak an upsidown triangle in all of his outfits

Item I: extras

This picture. Him holding akane’s shirt and aoi’s bag really shows that AidaIro REALLY doesn’t want us to know which one he likes 😭 (if you’re confused, to sum it up AidaIro did a really good job keeping teru’s stance on the “love triangle” between akane, teru and aoi, ambiguous. If you are STILL confused go check out my other analysies i only have like 5 other posts, they go more in depth ab it)

Him looking at akane after he ate his “home made cooking” 😭 ALSO HIS EYES?? Dude they’re glistening. And the slight blush too

In the “kiss comic” part of the art book, not only are teru and akane’s on the same page, but they also look like they go together

Thats all i got for now (´-ω-`) MAN this took me like 5 different consecutive days. I wrote like 3 parts on one day, 2 more parts the next, and 1 more part today. 😭 hope you enjoyed and this re-gave you faith that terukane might be canon one day 😔 fake it till you make it

Feel free to comment and tell me ab anything i may have missed!! :3

#aoi akane #minamoto teru #akane aoi #aidairo #tbhk #terukane #analysis #real

[sadko101]

unpopular opinion: all bg3 origin ships are great (and as platonic too)

gale x astarion: "enemies" to lovers they have great chemistry and has plenty of room for fluff and angst, plenty has been said about them i dont think i have much else to say.

wyll x gale: theirs plenty of danger in being the blade of fronteirs/avernus and we all know what gale is into. also they are two of the more good leaning characters. + gale is very "being a warlock sounds rough" and wyll is "that man is wayyy to faithful i dont want him to blow himself up". dancer x man with poor knees. (i could yap for ever i love them)

karlach x wyll: PERFECT, their stories intertwine while they have this unyielding care for each other. both platonically and romantically this ship is amazing! i just have no words for how good it is

karlach x shadowheart: karlach calling her shads is adorable and shadowheart is just straight up smitting for karlach the moment they meet. also when you play as origin shadowheart karlach is super sweet about the hairchange i love them.

gale x laezel: good leaning frail human wizard x GITHYANKI WARRIOR. theyre conversations are amazing with a mutual sense of curiosity for each others past and possible future. laezel falling for somone as soft as gale as well. ugh its soo good.

laezel x shadowheart: NOW THIS! its the true enemies to lovers of bg3. kinda "toxic yuri" in the begining but as the story goes on and laezel rebels against vlakith and shart against shar theres a real parrelel to there stories and a sort of understanding that they can find in each other.

gale x shadowheart: an intresting dynamic given them both being incredibly faithful to two gods who arent super fond of each other... as shadowheart strays from shar she encorages gale to relise the power mystra had over him, just a lot of support and love for each other is what im imagining. (definitly a ship thats develoupment focused)

karlach x laezel: now i havent had both of them in my team much, but the dynamic feels close to "grumpy x sunshine" laezel really opening up and being nice over time while karlach is open and happy from the begining.

karlach x gale: wizard x barbarion, (also "idoit" x genuis) is just great, gale and his magic could probably help to cool karlach down temporarly! i hc them both as autistc and i like nd x nd ships. also if you let gale ascend to godhood (loser) and play as karlach he can actually fix her engine heart which adds a sweet motivation to his godhood.

karlach x astarion: now i love these two platonically but i also love them romantically. astarion is enthusastic about recruiting karlach and comments about supporting her. he jokes abouthow strong she is which is cute. if youve ever played karlach origin and romance astarion they have a sweet scene together.

wyll x astarion: monster hunter x monster, wyll loves to tease astarion but he cares about him. he has faith in astarion to be a better person and its just MWAH. astarion is a bit of a simp for wyll (me too) he is very nice about the horns in wylls origin too (i love them)

wyll x shadowheart: they tease each other in a super endearing way. they kinda immideitly clicked and i know that wyll would support shadowheart through her whole crisis and shadowheart will help wyll in his self sacrafising tenancies (these little shits reciting porn together at the docks)

shadowheart x astarion: these two could be evil together, but they also could help each other heal and become better people

laezel x astarion: theyre very differnt views of love and affection. i think laezel would help astarion in his journy of reclaiming his own sexuality. (i need to think about these two more)

durge x anyone is great

i speedran typing this sorry for plethera of spelling erros

#baldurs gate 3 #wyll x gale #bladeweave #astarlach #shadowheart x lae’zel #shadowheart x astarion #shadowheart x karlach #karlach x wyll #i cant be bothered to tag all the ships

[boyinthevoide]

this might be very obvious or like well known but one thing i think goes kind of unspoken about and i think is really interesting is how when eridan does his whole "fight sollux and kill fef and kanaya" thing, he does not initiate the fight. he doesnt show up with the intention of fighting, and he certainly doesnt show up wanting to kill two people.

(its under the cut because there's a LOT of images, i wanted to make sure as much stuff as possible was in context.)

first, kanaya, because it's short.

when kanaya tells eridan about her plan to restore the troll race, this is what he says:

[Image IDs: two screenshots from returniabound, where eridan is angrily saying "if theres goin to be any sort a hope for our race as the prince of hope i demand to be involved so dont go anywhere without me got it".

End ID.]

firstly, this implies he isn't literally on his way out and stopping to get feferi. this also makes it very clear he didn't start out wanting to kill kanaya, because if he did, he wouldn't've gotten involved in her plan. obviously. she wouldn't be able to go through with it if she was dead.

then, feferi and sollux, because he talks to both of them at once.

the thing is, the way eridan and sollux's interactions work at least to me is that they're both just vaguely annoyed with each other, then when they interact they basically just provoke each other the whole time (i dont ship erisol it just doesnt fit to me). their interactions here follow this formula.

[Image IDs: a conversation between eridan and sollux. it goes thusly:

sollux: "oh GOD it's him. [feferi] can you tell him to go away, i don't even have the energy for this."

eridan: "hey finless this doesnt concern those with mustard sludge slippin through their veins [...] so keep your mouth closed or ill slit you open over my next meal"

sollux: "w/e bro, not interested".

End ID.]

admittedly eridan isn't exactly fond of sollux, and he is threatening him, but eridan does just kind of talk like that. they're both just pretty hostile towards each other.

and to feferi, eridan says this:

[Image ID: eridan saying "all i want to do is have a word with you" End ID]

this is just an honest statement. he has no reason to lie about this.

then, theres the actual thing that causes all the problems.

[Image IDs: a conversation between eridan and feferi, that goes thusly:

eridan: [...] so im gonna ask you this one last time and give you the chance im about to go please come with me

feferi: Go with you? Eridan, you weren't really serious about going to find Jack, were you?

eridan: of course i was and we should do it together

[...]

feferi: Jack Noir is INSANELY powerful Eridan! Please, I don't want to see you doing anything foolish by trying to fight him.

eridan: fight him are you fuckin nuts [...] im goin to join him and youre gonna join me in joinin him too fef come on lets go [...] only thing left to do is serve him and hope he spares us and im extending the invitation to come with me cause even though you dont think so i really do care about you

End ID.]

then there's some more dialogue and feferi resolves herself and sollux to stopping eridan.

[Image ID: feferi saying "That's it. This makes me sad, Eridan, but now we have to stop you. We can't let you find Jack and risk you leading him to us." End ID.]

eridan didn't want this to happen. he wanted feferi to agree and leave with him. he didn't not want to fight sollux but it doesn't seem to have been part of his original plan.

but here's the thing. eridan doesn't kill sollux.

[Image ID: sollux lies against a wall he's just been blasted against. there's blood trickling from his mouth and in a trail down the wall, and there is text on the right reading "KO'D." End ID]

he ko's him.

and that's important, because the move he uses is a very similar/more powerful version of the move he uses to kill feferi and kanaya.

[Image IDs: three images of eridan using hope magic to laser someone. in the first he engulfs sollux with it, in the second and third he is blasting feferi and kanaya respectively with it. End ID]

i have no trouble believing he could have killed sollux, but he doesn't. he doesn't want or need to. maybe it's just energy conservation, or maybe...

[Image ID: eridan saying "im not going to very well kill you am i that would be fuckin unconscionable what kind of friend would i be"]

...he just doesn't want to kill his friends?

because he only turns to killing after this set of panels:

[Image IDs: three panels from homestuck

panel one: feferi stands over an unconscious sollux with a horrified expression. eridan lurks in the background.

panel two: feferi turns to eridan with a furious expression.

panel three: feferi lunges towards eridan with 2x3dent in hand and still looking furious.

End ID.]

maybe feferi didn't want to kill eridan. but lunging towards someone with a murderous look and a sharp object does tend to have that sort of implication. eridan for this whole time is literally just standing there. feferi is the one to escalate it to possible attempted murder.

he then kills kanaya, who only actually attacks after he destroys the matriorb. fair enough! he had no reason to do that! but at that point his ex-moirail/flushed crush had just tried to kill him and he'd killed her, so it's safe to assume his emotional state wasn't exactly stable at this point.

so as a recap/TLDR:

eridan didn't start out the conversation wanting to end up killing/maiming three people. he made a plan with kanaya that basically requires her to be alive, he has every ability to kill sollux in the duel and quite specifically doesn't, and the entire reason he's here in the first place is to protect feferi and keep her alive. he doesn't initiate the fight, and he doesn't escalate it to murder.

basically he would be correct to go "they started it"

#i dont know why i made this ill be honest #i just noticed it and thought it was neat #eridan ampora #feferi peixes #sollux captor #homestuck #homestuck theory

[gendrie]

Realistically, what note do you think or hope the books will end in regard to Arya and Gendry? I don’t expect fanfic wish fulfillment but Grrm seems to have a soft spot for them so maybe a vague romantic suggestion that leaves their future open to interpretation? Which I realize is not much different to where we’re already at lol but I just can’t imagine how their relationship would develop.

when i consider what arya/gendry will look like in the end, or just the future in general, i think about whats already in the text. the elements of romance and even sexuality within their interactions are more than a lil suggestive. ie: the two of them rolling around together is not subtle lol. the phrase "between his legs" is used twice in that paragraph. grrm wrote an exclusive to a/g love song and had the singer wink as he sang it. he introduced not one, but 2 characters mostly just to fan the flames here. gendry explicitly threatens to have sex with a girl to try to make arya jealous and he visibly dislikes a perceived rival for her attention. ect! this isn't some obscure aspect of the story. its a legitimate side plot.

so i wouldn't even describe their existing canon interactions as "vague" therefore i don't assume their future ones, endgame included, would be left entirely up to interpretation either. are they going to get married on page? and consummate the union? no. but i do expect their future interactions to continue to be obviously romantic in nature. esp now that arya is older (and gendry seems to be younger)

with all that in mind here are my realistic thoughts:

when arya returns from braavos she will rekindle her friendship with gendry and realize she's attracted to him. gendry, having endured the loss of arya, will be willing to commit to her regardless of the issues that forced them apart previously. its all going to be pg-13 and tame by asoiaf standards but they will be crushing and it's not going to be a secret. not to the readers nor anyone who happens to witness the two of them together.

as i see it theres two potential outcomes: the class difference is still insurmountable and they remain apart or they end up together in some capacity. this will probably be a controversial claim, but a/g have less barriers to being together long term than any other ship imo. consistently, throughout their relationship, gendry being "too bloody lowborn" for arya is THE issue. its the source of all the conflict between them and its the thing keeping them apart. other than that? they clearly like and admire each other. arya trusts gendry, values his perspective, and confides in him things she tells no other character. she wanted him to come home with her, to be a part of her pack.

and i want to emphasis that arya values gendry's counsel specifically because thats one aspect of their dynamic that feels very relevant within the context of their potential as a grown up couple. they make a good team and work well together. they've already endured the bleakest possible scenarios by working together. gendry is presented as a really fitting partner for arya which i think is intentional tbh.

but ultimately, can the class difference be overcome? i think it can. and not only that but i think arya and gendry ending up together can be reflective of the changes we're going to see across the board with westeros' political system. they're not going to abolish the monarchy, but there will be major changes with how the kingdom is run.

the end i envision for them is fairly understated despite all my arguing that their relationship isnt all that subtle. arya asking gendry to come home with her to winterfell (again) would be enough, but thats not vague to me either. the meaning will be clear.

all that being said HEAs are not going to plentiful in asoiaf. grrm likes "we'll always have paris" type romances where two people meet and change each other, but go their separate ways. it could be that is what happens with arya and gendry. im realistic, if not bordering on pessimistic, so i want to embrace that possibility! but everything on paper is telling me they're supposed to end up together. not least of all bc in order for this romantic build up to actually come to full fruition they have to be grown which won't be until post series.

i try to keep my expectations low too but is it wish fulfillment to expect substantial pay off? idk.......grrm has been teasing love, sex and even marriage with arya and gendry for like the entire series actually. since that "arya has the hands of a blacksmith" comment in the first paragraph of her first chapter. he better do something!!!

#ask #gendrya #this got long lol #hopefully its coherent i got a lotta thoughts #i felt like i couldnt address the end without getting into a few other points

[carltonnotburke]

I wanna be yours

(At least as deep as the pacific ocean 😏)

Levi Ackerman x reader

warning: smut or something, idk, sexual activities?

The reader has she/her pronouns and a pussy, do with that what you will.

GUYS I JUST FINISHED AND REMEMBERED THE LIBRARIAN FROM MY SCHOOL KNOWS ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT AAAAAA

Y/n and Levi have known each other for a while now, but they've not talked often for some reason. The two get along perfectly, they go out on missions together and return successful every time. But for some reason they won't talk outside of those occasions, and Levi's squad and Y/n's brother's squad, AKA Mike Zacharias' squad, are getting ideas; that are they really into each other? Y/n has begun to hear the chats about the two, and has heard the word 'ship' a few times, so he decides to go to Levi for answers. He knocks on the door to Levi's office.

This was unexpected. Levi looked up from his desk with a somewhat surprised expression. What could Y/n possibly want? He stood up and walked over to the door and opened it; now, he was even more surprised to see Y/n there, “...Y/n? Is there something you need?” Y/n raises an eyebrow, keeping up her usual facade for now; strict, stern in a way. "hello to you too, Levi, but I just need to ask something if I can come in?" she asks, voice soft so no one hears, but not emotionally soft, they has the same hardened tone as usual. But theres something different now that the two are alone, but Levi raised an eyebrow. The change in y/n's usual demeanour was subtle, but still noticeable. He let out a soft laugh. “sure, sure, Of course, Y/n.” He stepped back to allow Y/n to enter his office.

They nod, a bit suspicious of the laugh, but she steps in, and one Levi shuts the door she asks; "what does 'ship' mean? As in two people?" Levi looked at them again, wondering if he'd heard correctly or not. 'Ship' wasn't a common term. Not in his usual circles, anyway. “It’s basically a word created by fans to link two characters together in a romantic context. ‘Shipping’ a character with another, as in, to have them in a relationship. It's often used in fan works, mostly fanfiction, but also in fanart. "Why the question?" Y/n was quick to answer, wanting this conversation to be done an over with as quickly as possible "can it be with real people too?" her reply was short, but hercheek bones have adopted a red-ish hue to them now.

Levi felt a small smile spread across his face when he saw the blush on Y/n's face. His suspicions had been confirmed, now he just needed to know if y/n felt the same—which seemed apparent considering the reaction. “Yes. People can ‘ship’ others in real life, too. But mostly, it's a term we use to describe pairing two fictional characters together romantically.” He took a few steps closer. Close enough that he was able to smell the subtle bouquet of Y/n's perfume. His own cheeks flushed faintly. Y/n's blush deepens, turning into a more deep, dark red than any, which makes Levi's lips form a slight smirk, one that only just tugged at a corner of his lips. "What?" Asks Y/n, trying to pretend she isn't flustered at all, pretending isn't something she's good at, "Oh, nothing.." Levi replies, answering her question with a lie, which as clear by the way that his eyes mischievously shined.

After a while, Y/n decides to come clean, knowing that the captain probably already knows and all, so she once again knocks on the door to his office and steps in, closing the door behind her. "What can I do for you. Y/n?" Levi asks, busy with paperwork, oddly busy with paperwork, "uh... I just wanted to ask, Levi-" she begins, but quickly gets interrupted with: "Im busy, if it's not urgent I can't help, not even for you." Which catches her off guard. She hesitates, but soon continues ner sentence, explaining how her feelings have progressed into much more than cadet and captain for her, but into so much more. Levi pauses, looking up after a moment of thinking and hesitation "And you're sure you feel this way?" He asks, raising an eyebrow before putting his pencil down and leaning back in his chair, "uhm... I think so, yes. May I ask if you feel the same way, Captain?" she quickly gets interupted, once again, by Levi "yes, I do feel the same way, though..." his gaze trails off to the side as he think, speaking softly to himself. "This will have to be kept secret for quite some time, since im a captain and you're a cadet... but you're nearly my age, so.." he furrows his brows, a bit confused what to do in this situation. "Captai- Levi?" Y/n asks, thinking she did something wrong, to which Levi responds "you didn't do anything wrong, Y/n, im just thinking. Do you really think this is a good idea?" Y/n nods, "alright, meet me here at 8 tonight, don't be late.

It eventually reaches Eight, and Y/n steps into Levi's office again, seeing him reading a book. He looks up and puts his book down, looking over the cadet's body thoroughly before chuckling "Hello again, darling.." he smirks, getting up and walking over to her, gently putting his hands at the sides of her hips, to which she replies "Hello, captain," with a chuckle. Levi discusses how he's been waiting for her, and how eager he's been to "feel and claim every part of you," which only makes Y/n flustered, an average reaction for a confession so intimate. "So, where is this going to take place..?" Y/n asks, her face growing hot and adopting a red hue "Oh, that's going to happen right here, right now, mon amour.." his voice drops into a tone more dominant, seductive as he leans in closer, then he kisses her. Both of their eyes close, Y/n's arms wrapping around the veteran soldier's neck, wanting more, deepening the romantic gesture, making Levi moan softly. Levi's actions grow more desperate, his hands slightly shaking as he grips her hips, pulling her closer and slightly grinding his hardened member against Y/n's core, making her moan, her head gently throwing back into the awaiting free hand of Levi, who curls his fingers into a fist, pulling at her hair.

Soon enough, Levi pulls away from the kiss, the two of them breathing heavily, "Oh, come on!" Y/n whines slightly, making Levi chuckle. "Oh, but chère, don't you want more of this? To feel my slender fingers deep in your pussy, stretching you out before they are replaced by my thick cock?" He teases, making Y/n blush once again, but she nods sheepishly "I guess so, yeah.." she admits, the captain taking this as consent, which it is, and using the hands already on her hips to lift her up onto his desk, discarding the remaining papers and moving them out the way. They could wait. He hurriedly moves the skirt Y/n is wearing up her thighs, revealing her lace panties and, beneath that, her desperate hole, eager to be filled. "Oh, fuck.." Levi's voice grows husky, but he pauses, looking up at her for one final sign of consent, a nod, which she gives, before he rips her panties away and reveals her lush pussy before him. Y/n bites her lower lip, her cheeks growing red once again, "Go on.." She encourages him, signalling for him to do whatever he wants with her. And he does. He dives into her, beginning to eat her out, which gets a gasp and moan out of the cadet, who's back arches, seeking more "Oh my, Levi.." she moans his name, causing him to groan against her folds and move his tongue faster, two shaky fingers soon finding their way inside of her, stimulating and preparing her body for him.

Levi sighs shakily, removing his fingers for a moment to unbuckle his belt and pull down his trousers, his cock springing out, the tip a deep crimson from the blood that has rushed there. He lines himself up, then looks at Y/n, who nods, then he thrusts himself into her, causing Y/n to moan loudly and arch her back again, looking away, and Levi to groan. "Oh, fuck, you're so tight.." Levi admits, hands on her hips as he, at first, slowly thrusts into her. Y/n quickly turns into a moaning, submissive.. She's not yet a mess, so not that, but something along those lines. They continue this intimate act, with Y/n holding Levi's shoulders as he holds her hips, pounding into her at a steady yet rough rhythm, "shit..." Levi breathes, finding it difficult to move without going as rough as her like to, but knows they need to be slow for their first time together. Levi's breath is very much laboured, making Y/n chuckles softly, then Levi scoffs, "oh, shut up..." With a husky voice, laced with a pleasure he tries not to reveal too much. Y/n looks at him, the two now at the same height due to her sitting on the desk, and smirks "You want me to shut up, do you? Tell me why." She orders, trying to be the dominant one with a rush of the sort of adrenaline. Levi hesitates, wondering if she should really give in this easily. But she's so hot like this, and he needs her so badly. " I... I don't know, I just said it... " He looks away, a bit embarrassed, making Y/n chuckles softly "What do you say now?" she asks, voice soft as if talking to a child, " Sorry... " Levi murmurs out an apology, but Y/n raises a eyebrow "Sorry who?" Levi pauses, confused for a moment before blushing, eyes widening momentarily " Sorry, mistress... " He finally replies, making Y/n laugh softly "Ah, yes, call me that..." She finishes for a moment, thinking before continuing her praise " Good boy. "

Levi's eyes widen, then he nods and continues pounding into her, a newfound desperation found in his movements. Moans and groans, the slapping of skin, all bouncing on the thankfully soundproof walls of Levis office. Y/n gasps softly, whimpering quietly. "Levi, I'm gonna cum..." she breathes, holding his shoulders as waves of pleasure flow through her privates, making Levi smile slightly "Soon?" He asks, staying at the same pace just in case. Y/n sighs, knowing he's just taking the piss now "Levi..." she warns, but with a moan, making him chuckle and continue "Fine, cum." He kisses her shoulder, Y/n groaning before gasping, breath hitching as she cums "Fuck!" she exclaims, Moaning loudly, back arching, walls tightening around Levis throbbing member. Levi groans gently, eyes going blank before he shoots his cum inside of her. After a few moments, they both sighs and look at each other before laughing softly, "Sorry, sorry, i- let me-" Levi tried to speak, more lizard brain than anything, absentminded. He pulls out, his cum oozing out of Y/n's pussy, Levi fingering it back in "Stay..." He murmurs, making Y/n giggle softly "You okay, 'vi?" she asks, tilting her head slightly, to which Levi replies "Bath, you need a bath, I'll get a bath started."

Levi gives her aftercare, which includes a warm bath, Y/ n between Levis legs and being praised and complimented by him too, the two soon laying in Levis bed together. His room is connected to his office, the way into his room being through the office and vice versa sort of. Levi is resting his head on Y/n's chest, her turn to give aftercare, as he slowly falls asleep for a nap, but won't get long due to insomnia. "Goodnight, Captain," Y/ n whispers to which Levi replies "Mhm... G'night, Cadet..." Making Y/n laugh softly her hand in his hair helping sleep. "I'll see you in the morning, Levi. " Y/n murmurs, soon falling asleep herself, Levi not waking up in the night for once. Together, happy.

#attack on titan #levi aot #levi x reader #levi is hot #smut #aot smut

[girl4music]

Theres one word to describe WayHaught that is unlike any other WLW ship that I’ve ever seen - “passionate”.

I have never seen such passionate physical AND emotional intimacy in a WLW ship. In fact this is the only WLW ship I’ve seen that even provides both. It’s enrapturing when I watch their intimate scenes. Emily, Dom and Kat really managed to provide significant WLW representation from all angles so that they seem as realistic, natural and authentic as possible even in a supernatural/fantasy world. Not only did they give us both physical and emotional content in full main textual canonship. But they also managed to interweave both the physical and emotional content so seamlessly so that one complements the other to make this ship the greatest ship I’ve ever seen since Xena and Gabrielle. It’s not nauseating to watch their physical intimacy because they have all the narrative foundation that makes all the physical content justified. It’s not difficult to watch their emotional intimacy because their relationship is so deep and intense that you would expect them to be physically intimate. It wouldn’t be appropriate that they’re so ride or die for each other if they weren’t very sexually involved with each other. I mean no one ever said that Xena and Gabrielle weren’t sexually involved as a committed couple (and the fanfiction for them proves it.) It’s just we couldn’t get to see it on-screen the way we can with WayHaught because it wasn’t allowed.

WayHaught are a well-written and balanced WLW ship. Everything they have between them is woven together so seamlessly. I am honestly really impressed with what was achieved with them even though it’s a relatively short show compared to what I’m used to. They may be my favourite WLW ship after Xena and Gabrielle. They’re certainly the closest ship I’ve seen to them - majorly down to the level of chemistry that Dom and Kat have being at the same level of chemistry that Lucy and Renee have. But something I get with Waverly and Nicole that I never got with Xena and Gabrielle is full main textual canonship. I mean it never really bothered me that Xena and Gabrielle weren’t fully main textually canon because I could always interpret them as that for myself. But it was always really frustrating for me that despite Xena and Gabrielle being the greatest WLW representation that I’ve ever seen in TV art/entertainment that they were never fully main textually canon in the eyes of the general public. I mean they were never in the “greatest WLW (or sapphic as some would rather refer to it as) ships of all-time” lists because they were not confirmed as canon. Whereas I would rank them at NO.1 because they were the blueprint and greenlight for all the OG WLW (or sapphic) ships in TV art/entertainment that were. I mean we wouldn’t even have a WayHaught or Tillow or TiBette or Brittana without Xabrielle. All the ships heralded as the OG WLW ships of the 90’s/00’s/10’s. They opened the door wide up for every one of them. Made it possible for those OG WLW ships to have walls broken down. I’m not saying the first should be the greatest. But I mean - if you watch Xena, you really can’t deny that they are because they go so damn hard in really showing what ‘love’ looks like between two women. Or, for me, what ‘love’ looks like in general even if the “making love” parts were censored or edited out of it.

I mean I feel like if I had never seen what Xena and Gabrielle have, I could have never appreciated what Waverly and Nicole have because I wouldn’t “get it”. You know what I mean? I had to see it in Xabrielle first before I could truly see it in WayHaught because I know that the only reason why I prefer emotional content to physical content is because I had it first - and their love, regardless of it being romantic or platonic in nature, is all-encompassing. Xabrielle is the greatest love story that I’ve ever seen in TV art/entertainment to this day even though it is not fully main textually canon like WayHaught is and got to be.

I see so much in WayHaught that I see in Xabrielle. All that was really missing was all the physical intimacy - which just wasn’t and isn’t a key thing for me anyway. But I’m never saying that they didn’t have that too. Just that I never was able to get to see it in the show. But I know with every fiber of my being that they would have been just as passionate as WayHaught.

At this point I think I should print on a t-shirt the phrase “Xena and Gabrielle walked so Waverly and Nicole could fly” because it really is so damn true.

In fact I feel like Xena and Gabrielle existed in TV art/entertainment so every OG WLW ship could. Not just WayHaught. All of them. Every. single. WLW ship that provided proper and significant WLW representation would not be if Xena and Gabrielle had not been first.

Fuck what’s canon and what isn’t. If you see it, you see it. And there’s no way that I cannot see it now. They’re fundamental. They’re the true beginning.

Please watch ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’. I know there isn’t much physically intimate content with them where it is 100% clear that they have a sexual love.

But you would not have physical intimacy like this, where the sexual is very much intended to be visible:

without physical intimacy like this, where sex was subtextually implied but not made explicitly visible:

#wynonna earp #wayhaught #waverly earp #dom pc #nicole haught #katherine barrell #xena warrior princess #xabrielle #xena #lucy lawless #gabrielle #renee o'connor #physical intimacy #emotional intimacy #physical chemistry #emotional chemistry #wlw representation #queer representation #Youtube

[japeneselunchtimerush]

Ship tier for Murasakibara? :)

Lovers: I have to admit I don't really think about MuraHimu a lot(it should be obvious who is on my mind 99% of the time) however I really like the fact that it's so much more than what it seems. You can take it at surface level and say that Himuro is nice to him and kinda acts like his big bro/mom but it's so much deeper than that?

Like their relationship is great because they are so different. Murasakibara is a player made from talent, its even been confirmed that until high school he was pretty much relying on instinct to play while Himuro is nothing but hard work. Its not just in basketball either but also in academic areas. Himuro resents murasakibara's talent and murasakibara doesn't get why he even cares and even though they are so different they do love each other a lot and that's very cool.(This became very long sorry)

SS+: Because I already talked way too much in the other one I'll keep this one as short as possible. I love how Akashi spoils him so much(giving him snacks he won at the festival, giving him his popsicle so that he doesn't but more etc) but also cares about his health its really cute. Also the scene in last game where mura helps akashi(bokushi) up is very heartwarming and its a very touching parallel to teiko. I think they're very cute.

I shipped it as a joke but I dont think its a joke anymore: Okay yeah at first I shipped MuraMido because lmao but then I started looking into it and now I can actually see it. Despite their differences and how much they bicker(let's be real bickering is its own love language) they are still pretty good friends actually. Midorima lends Murasakibara books quite often according to the psp game and Murasakibara compliments midorima quite a lot there too. When Midorims was complaining about wearing a women's kimono Murasakibara intersects with a "But you looked good in it though" his words not mind. And this was not in a mocking way btw.

Brothers in Spirit: I don't know what I mean by the tier name honestly but it works ig. Kuroko and Murasakibara have very different ideals and also disagree a lot but the love is there. I really do see them as siblings tbh. I can see Mura lying down after practice and Kuroko collapsing on top of him and then they just lay there together until someone(Akashi) tells them to get up.

I read one polyam fic with MuraHimu: Yeah I actually did read a couple of drabbles with MuraHanaHimu and they're all actually very sweet. Still don't know my opinion about this ship though but Im open to it.

They eat together: Honestly MuraKaga just seems so funny to me. Like all these two would do is eat then bicker then eat then bicker then eat again theres a touch if basketball in there somewhere too dont worry. The eating periods are like temporary truces until Murasakibara reaches over and grabs one of Kagami's burgers and then all hell breaks loose. And Himuro is between them trying to keep the peace and failing spectacularly.

Cute but not my thing: Idk Im not into this ship purely because the KiyoHyuuRiko is too strong within me.

#murasakibara atsushi #sorry for the late replie😔😔 #But i had tons of fun thinking about it #murahimu #muraaka #muramido #murahanahimu #murakuro #murakaga #murakiyo??

[beaulesbian]

No bc Mike getting vecna'd is such a good idea if byler endgame is the goal. Like his regret/shame would be the fact that he can't say ily to his gf and the fact that he's in love w his best friend but repressing it. Then will could confess and this would remove some of that shame thus possibly saving him?? Cause people saying will gets cursed has me wondering what his regret would be (other than his love for Mike, which he seems to be relatively accepting of, whereas Mike (if he is in love w will) is repressing it much more and prob thinks it will hurt el whom he really cares about)

(this got a bit longer than i first wanted, but i have too many delusional theories 💖)

exactly, i see this more even as a great tool for their respective character developments than even for the ship itself, but ofc that would be best outcome if this all happened.

in my opinion if will gets vecna'd it would just be too similar to what hes already been through before, it would be unnecessary repeating. what we need is to see will have some connection to the upside down, that will help by the end to defeat vecna or whoever else in s5.

meanwhile it would be much more interesting to see this with mike. bc overall its a bit more difficult to see what hes really thinking, if we only see the surface level emotions.

first, he cares about all his friends beyond anything. and while will and el and max went through such trauma that was very visible, (and theyre still dealing with that, we still dont know much how mike is dealing with anything.

we only see how he changes depending on whos around him and how they interact together (dustin and lucas, eddie, will, el, his family - i feel he acts very different around each of them)

In season one his best friend went missing, was pressumed dead and had a funeral - mike thought, even for a while, he lost him permanently.

In that time el appeared and was helping find will, his friends suddenly think he likes her more than a friend (its whats normal, right? Ofc he should like her before he even knows himself...)

He fights with lucas about el in s1, and one of the things he said (i cant remember exactly now) is how he feels guilty they fought about it, "if only he could have said something more, something better, its my fault"

i think he said something similar in different situations during the first three seasons, and then in s4, when hes opening up to will about this, he tells him similar thing twice "if only i explained myself better, i should have said something more to el, do something better"

from that i get the feeling hes always trying to do not just the best he can, but whats expected of him. and when he finds he doesnt have the power to stop something, or physically cannot make himself say something thats probably not true, he blames himself afterwards.

S3 is such rollercoaster for him, hes with el but cant be with el bc hopper, and then cant say what he feels - or maybe he doesnt know whats hes supposed to feel. And then el and will are leaving. Two of his most important friends, and i think thats what made him all the more confused, bc what if he misses will more than el?

Why did the promise of will wanting only play d&d with mike made him smile so much, but then the kiss with el made him all the more confused?

theres two such contrasts in his personality, where one of his main beliefs is "friends dont lie" and he does as much as he can with honestly, but at the same time he pushes something inside him down and pretends it doesnt exist (his complicated feelings towards.. romance, lets say).

Back to the vecna theory - this is why i think if mike gets vecna'd it would add more perspective to his character and for us to see what all hes been going through in the past seasons.

Same as his feelings towards will, its been there building from s1.

It could be few flashbacks and memories telling the audience the scenes that already happened from mike's point of view, how he struggles at home,

how he regretted the words he said to will in s3 (its not my fault you dont like girls), bc it was more directed at himself than will, but he didnt realize that yet.

how finding eddie and playing in d&d club could mean hes slowly finding himself (and with d&d being like a connection will again, bc its something they both loved playing together).

And how all of this is so confusing, especially for their time in the 80s, and hes still trying his best, but slowly, more and more cant ignore that his heart wants something (someone) else than hes supposed to be with.

Its just all these things that will go either unnoticed and unmentioned in the series, which i think would be a shame, or it could be addressed in the way with vecna who would manipulate his fears and nightmares, and if others can save him (which im sure they would), he could start process it in a better way, more honest to himself as well to others. To accept himself, and by that also will's feelings (if he noticed those, which i dont think he did, i think will noticed mike's confused ones, if anything.)

#ok posting it like this theres probably a million mistakes but i could only write this during work half thinking about other things shdjnf #byler #my ramblings #i hope this wasnt totally confusing i just have too many headcanons and theories about mike and his character #at the same time i wanna hug him but also.. boy you need some vecna therapy sorry about that #stranger things #spoilers #mine #byeler

[riceofchaos]

Ohh! If you're doing ship headcanons I'd love to see you ramble about compale x signol x shallare!

ooohh,,!!

the lil polyculeeee :>

°•○◆★◆○•°

ahhh--I always like thinking about them all trying to introduce eachother to their favorite hobbies, since they all sorta...have their own lil things going on?

like if Compale tried teaching Signol n Shallare how to ice skate, or if they all attempted to make a snowman together--I imagine it'd be a little chaotic, but cute-!

there's also Signol trying to do karaoke with the other two, albeit I'm unsure how many songs would have 3 roles involved--buttttt I think he'd be amused with trying to get Compale and Shallare to sing together-!

I imagine Shallare works with moreeee...machinery, I suppose? I highly doubt they'd get the other two to attempt anything complicated like that,, but theres always going on little hikes or arranging mini scavenger hunts for fun-!

hmmm...there's also the idea of them trying out going camping all together, too? Shallare would likely be able to set stuff up, Compale could pack smaller things like lights and snacks--and I'd imagine Signol would plan little games or campfire tunes,,!

there's alotta possibilities in those sorta regards honestlyyy--and I love it-! brrr,,

hmm..I imagine Signol tries to be more flirty and open with both of them, but probably just--shortcircuits and gets really flustered if either of them ever did it back

I think it'd also be pretty cute is Compale was surprisingly rather snuggly with the two, at least in private n stuff--since I kinda doubt he'd be too big on PDA, but that's just sorta my opinion-?

ahhh--I like the idea that Shallare would be the most likely to be easily flustered, but try their best to return the affections as much as he can,,

prolly show his affections best by making lil things for the other two, or simply from interesting-looking stuff he finds outside

something tells me Signol writing songs, dance routines or even making lil playlists for the others feels more like a given, considering how they're like n all

though get all frustrated whenever it feels like it's not turning out right, while the other two try to encourage them or even simply pull him away from it to take a lil breather--to refuel those creative juices, so to speak-!

I also like the idea of Compale likely hanging out with either or both of them while they're busy, n..yknow--just sorta keep whomever he's with company, likely enjoying simply watching either of them working perhaps,,

°•○◆★◆○•°

ohhh god I could ramble on practically forever if I think long enough on it--please don't do this to meeee,,

I'm gonna stop this here for now thoughhh, yesyes

#orca rambles #adventure forward 2 #signol #shallare #compale #shipping headcanons #polycule #whathaveyoustarteddd #pleasesendhelp #mentallygay

[onewomancitadel]

If Jaune helps redeem Cinder I don't see how Knightfall wouldn't happen. I mean Idon't know about other girls but if a man saved my life in such a way I'd never be able to stop thinking about him. And for a girl like Cinder who has NEVER received that level of kindness from anyone? You cannot even begin to convince me that she wouldn't be utterly obsessed with him after that. Lol. Theres just no way they dont get together if he saves her.

Hi, thanks for your ask.

I really do need to say that I appreciate getting an ask like this but the original asker trying to stir shit (I really don't want to go back and find the post right now, sorry) doesn't seem like someone that responds to reason or is interested in hearing a refutation, that was why they ignored everything else I wrote and haven't read anything on my blog before they decided to share their unwanted opinion/try to change my mind and make me feel bad. It's really not worth wasting time on people who aren't having the same conversation as you are.

It's pretty demoralising for me, because I genuinely care about writing out my responses (like many Tumblr users! It's what makes the site so fun to use) and hoping that, irrespective of personal taste, I can share something interesting (and different). Really, when I think about my blog over the past ~year, there have been a ton of anons who've challenged me or given me things to think about. I just had my inbox open as a default, and had a lot of people early on my messaging me about my fic, so I didn't expect my blog to take this direction lol. I'm in the corner wearing a dunce hat etc.

If Jaune helps redeem Cinder I don't see how Knightfall wouldn't happen.

I am going to quibble a bit. I have written that I think Jaune is a key structural part of Cinder's redemption, but when I think of redemption arcs, I look at it from a more active character perspective as opposed to a passive one. I know what you mean, but I just don't want drive-by readers getting the wrong idea.

You can read more about my opinion on Cindemption and redemption arcs under those two tags, where in the former there's a lot of crossover with Knightfall. I really do think that you need some sort of answer/redemption of the people that failed Cinder, and I really feel like Jaune's the right fit to kickstart that lol.

And for a girl like Cinder who has NEVER received that level of kindness from anyone?

I think the distinction here is that it would be sincere and earnest - and unapologetic - even in the face of everything she's done. It's why I really don't understand people who think Emerald will play a major role in helping Cinder. If that were possible, we wouldn't be in the position we are narratively lol. I think that the Emerald-Cinder partnership is written in such a way that prevents all true connection (because transactional partnership/cynicism reasons/side of Evil is where goodness can't blossom) and demonstrates - to me - superficial overtures of the Power of Friendship aren't enough. I really felt that throughout V8 as well (where Cinder pretends to be friendly, no less).

To me, I'm not sure how you could write Jaune into being a position where he empathises with Cinder and have that not lead to romance. It's too romantic of a set-up, it answers too many things about their characters, it's too much effort for connecting their characters together like that not to do it. Either you commit to the idea that she can redeem herself and go beyond what she's done - thereby a romance is acceptable - or she's not. There's really no half-measure for something like this.

I also feel that the one-sided romance redemption with Ilia and the potential, softer enemies-to-lovers Emerald/Mercury are both structural foreshadowing/set-up for another enemies-to-lovers ship involving someone else who has a much more major redemption arc (Cinder). It's really just asking for it. Then once you get into that, you're already in Reverse Ozlem territory, anyway, my Knightfall masterpost is here.

But once we're appreciating something from a narrative and thematic perspective and the kind of spectacle that emerges from it, it's a completely different approach to somebody who thinks their personal taste is universal and that Jaune could or should somehow kill Cinder because they clearly don't understand him or any of the themes or anything that has pretty much happened in the story, ever. (I also realised recently that her being killed is rejected both by Jaune in V5 and Raven, because Raven trying to kill Cinder is bad/not heroic. It's later positively answered by Winter vs. Ironwood - same Vault fight, same maternal/paternal figure involved, plus Cinder-Winter foiling - where Winter manages to win).

This difference in perspective is something I actually don't know where to begin, because it's not something, I think, that can be bridged overnight. Narrative literalism/cynicism is something I can't really help. It's like the assertion that, "Ben Solo cannot be redeemed because he murdered his father," is very different from, "Symbolic paternal sacrifice showed Ben Solo that his father really would do anything for him when he needed it, and that's the breaking point - something that you would think is the thing that damns him is ultimately something that saves him." Tfw narrative irony. That was something that they did almost get right in TROS (Rey is involved too, because she's the protagonist, but I'm just demonstrating that a damning act is read as a salvific act, depending on your mode of analysis - for Star Wars, the mythic/metaphorical feels more tonally appropriate).

Never the twain shall meet, though.

Ironically, the exact same dispute over Pyrrha's death is held, except it's like the majority of the fandom vs. me talking to myself. You wouldn't get the same tone of Cinder's redemption without it, and you wouldn't get Jaune intimately linked to Cinder without it.

So, I have gone on record many times before I think there's a structural key to Cinder's redemption and it's suspicious that Jaune's been put in a position of narrative empathy with her (Penny). There's no way you can feasibly get Ruby to help Cinder (or Cinder to let her help) without something in between. I don't necessarily know what that's going to look like in canon; I can only speculate in my fanfic.

Enemies-to-lovers involving romance is a rather obvious conceit. Some people don't get it and are incurious by nature.

But again, it's not really about whether Cinder's redemption is possible (see my most recent post about redemption), whether Knightfall is possible, whether it's tonally appropriate, whether xyz could happen, whether Tuesday could be Thursday instead. It's nonsense. I've been subjected to this shit for years, with other pairings - not all enemies-to-lovers, just disliked for whatever reason, like threatening the fandom hegemony or involving a character some people don't like - and it's really rarely about the discourse you think it is.

Reasonable people with interesting and worthwhile concerns behave very differently. They don't send whiny messages on anon, for one, and most of us know how to respect each other's spaces.

If you're new to my blog, sorry, this is the usual length of my ask responses. In addition to that, the topic of Knightfall and Cindemption is something that my blog is pretty much predicated upon, and I spend a lot of time writing fanfic about it. It's one of my favourite hobbies.

Cinder's redemption is a very interesting topic for me, because there are more obvious hoops to jump through, keys needed, and questions asked about it, compared to other redemption arcs in the show. It's why I think it's something that will occur in totality towards the end of the series, and V8 - rather than the end of the possibility - is potentially the time they've decided to start flagging it for the General Audience. To me, who is an uberfan, it seemed structurally obvious as far back as the end of V3 (giving Cinder that dialogue with Pyrrha, and some other details; a bigger bad than Cinder) and the beginning of V4.

Anyway, I still think Knightfall is both the most hopeful/funniest thing to possibly happen, if it does.

#seraphina's asks #user: anonymouse #knightfall

[kittymanya]

Who's your favourite OC of yours and why? =]

Killing me with the hardest question possible i see...... dgfhdgdjhdf

Really though that is super hard, i have wayyy too many ocs and my favorite sort of swaps around every few months or so. sometimes it just cycles between the same few for a year or two though.

I would sayyyy right now? Probably anybody from Mary's whole squad. Which would be her (Mary-Anne Cassia), Samiel, Roberto Yun-Capo, Hale-Bopp, Puss in Boots (aka Danyel Mewette), and Winter Adams. All of them are here in this photo! (Hale in the star, Winter in the heart, Roberto in the triangle, Puss in the square, Mary in the circle, and Samiel in the..whatever you call that shape. He has the gun)

To narrow it down even further, specifically my top 4 are hale, mary, puss, and roberto. And then out of that Mary and Puss are probably the two im currently most focused on (but again the whole cycling thing applies here ahjgdjhfg for all i know next week ill be back into being obsessed with roberto)

I like them mostly because they're my first ocs that are actually in a sort of sci-fi setting, which is something i always wanted to do but struggled to! But then i watched Wander Over Yonder again and i was like damn....i could do this but with insane people.

All of them except for Hale-Bopp started off as either Lobotomy Corp OCs or just straight up LC characters that i just..yoinked and changed up a bit, because me and my girlfriend have a Lobotoym Corp rp and their personalities had developed enough to basically not be themselves as they were at the beggining anymore. Samiel was Der Freischutz, and Puss in Boots is.....Puss in Boots. Although he was never actually in the game, he was cut content that we decided to bring in for the rp, so everything about him is still, essentially, about 90% my own creation, since the only thing he had in his cut content was art and some flavor text.

I really like Mary in particular because i think she is just, a horrible human being, but in an interesting and somewhat sympathetic way. Which is something done a lot I know, but i mean hey there's a reason those sorts of characters get so popular ajhgdhj. She does awful things and doesn't let herself open up genuinely to anybody, but she's masks all of it under multiple layers of joking around and being weird in general. She's extremely emotionally stunted, refuses to allow herself to experience genuine connection despite desperately wanting it, and she makes this into everyone's problem. But she's very good at what she does, and extremely competent in other aspects, which is what manages to keep the whole group together.

Puss in Boots on the other hand, is also an emotionally stunted character but in a different form. It's not quite as bad as Mary, who can't handle emotions in herself nor with others very well. Instead Puss mostly struggles with handling his own thoughts and feelings while being excellent with other people. Sort of. He's great at reading people, and he isn't dumb, he often has great advice, but what he is, is PUSHY. He doesn't know how to let things happen naturally, and so often makes things worse instead before theres any progress. I think that the dynamic between him and his (unwillingly, on Puss's end) estranged brother is fun to explore. He has a very strong sense of justice and has lots of conflict with Mary, because she's one of the few people who he can't read very well (Samiel being another one, but he's still easier than Mary) He can't tell if he despises Mary or if he's just concerned for her, and it keeps him around on the ship out of fascination, like a pet project. He hates everything about most of the crew (except winter, and somewhat okay with Roberto) he hates their behavior, their jobs (3/6 of the crew being hitmen/assassins) and most of all he can't stand their morals, or lack thereof.

It'd be a LOT to go into further detail ajhgdhjdf so i think this will do fine as a start bc its. um. 7AM where i am and i have not slept. Oops! But if you want to ask any further questions about them i have most of their info on my website!! (except samiel, who's page i have not finished yet. it's mostly finished, just that his backstory page only has the TLDR section filled in and not in full) https://kittymanya.neocities.org/art/ocs/oclanding

I can't link directly to their pages bc i set up my site weird and im not sure how to fix it really without recoding the whole page, but if you go to the 'sintane' tab theyre all in the first section! They're the first 6 characters that show up in the list. So theres a lot more info there and if you have any more specific questions about them i would LOVE to rant about them :D

#Anonymous #not art #asks #mary (oc) #puss in boots (oc) #not tagging the rest bc theyre barely mentioned dghgjdf #sintane #ocs

[echoalyssa]

Hi! I wanted to ask you if you could rewrite the Cheating Chase request a made a little time ago but with Jaden with the reader being famous just like him and the whole situation havin' an impact on internet and with their (shared) friends or you could write a part 2 for Cheating Chase request but only if it's not gonna bother you in any way...

❤Thank you!❤I LOVE YOUR WRINTTING❤

Warnings: Some naughty time is inferred in this!

Jaden’s music is pounding through his surround sound speaker system. He’s throwing another party. One of his signatures. Bryce is chanting “Shots shots shots!”

Jaden’s busy making out with his girl. He’s got her pressed against a wall.

“Wanna ditch my own party?” He murmurs into her ear. 

She giggles and begins to lead his girlfriend to his bedroom. A girl bumps into his shoulder hard but he barely notices, just continues steering his girlfriend to his room.

When they’re done and getting dressed he wonders where his phone has gone. It had been in his back pocket before...

A knock on the door startles him. It’s the girl who had bumped into him earlier. At least he thinks it was. He’s really not sure. He doesn't look at anyone who isn't his girl.

“You dropped this. Bryce said you were up here.”

Jaden vaguely notes her creepy smile but quickly forgets once his phone is back and his girl calls for him.

~~~ You’re barely home from Jaden’s party when your phone begins to blow up. IT vibrates almost continually, calls and texts filling up the screen. All want you to check Jaden’s instagram.

You plop down on the couch and answer the call from Mads, your best friend.

“Have you checked!?” She shrieks, loud enough that you have to take the phone off of speaker-phone for a second.

“I’m checking now! But what can possibly be so urg-”

No. This can’t be right... it can’t... there, one of his most recent posts, theres no way.

It’s a set of nudes, captioned ‘my beautiful baby girl’ with a kissy face emoji. Except.. those aren't your nudes which means... not that you'd want your nudes posted but...

Mads, taking your silence as an answer whispers, “Y/N I am so sorry.”

You can't speak, your fingers go numb. Your phone falls from your grip and clatters as it hits the floor and bounces.

Mads is speaking but you can't hear her. Your heart feels like its beating a mile a minute.

There had to be some sort of explanation, if you just called him he would be able to clear this up. Right? Right!?

So you pick up your phone, Mads is saying that she’ll make the friend group unfollow him. You excuse yourself, hang up, and dial Jaden. It rings, and rings, and rings, Then, “Hey it’s Jaden. Hit me up later!”

You try again. And again. And again. You get his voicemail every time.

Somehow you’re all the emotions at once. You pull up his instagram, and this time your notice your name is no longer in his bio the way it had been for so long.

‘That’s it.’ You think. 

You unfollow him on instagram, remove his name from your own bio, and delete all the pictures of the two of you together. 

Then you go to Snapchat and un-add him. His contact gets deleted, you unfollow him on twitter and delete his face from your camera roll. 

Satisfied as you can be, you fall into bed and let the tears come.

~~~

By the early afternoon of the next day the gossip is at full roar. You venture on to youtube, and right there, the first video you see is by ‘annaoop’ who is almost the most well known gossip youtube channel focusing on tiktokers.

‘Jaden Hossler cheats on Y/N L/N’ the title reads. Something within you compels you to click on it. 

Her voice rings, talking about ‘tea’. She shows the censored versions of the pictures from his instagram. They’re basically just one blurred skin colored square. 

“How dare he? He hasn’t commented on it at all... Y/N deleted photos of the two of them such as this one from their trip to Bondi Beach.”

The series of photos she displays make your heart clench. ‘Annaoop’ then begins to pull up the followers page on Jaden’s instagram. 

She informs you and the rest of her viewers that Mads, Nessa, Thomas, Petrou, Chase Hudson, Charli, Mia, and others have unfollowed Jaden’s instagram, and sided with you.

From the way she narrates you can tell she’s on your ‘side’. Apparently, Bryce has unfollowed you and written on his Twitter that Jaden would not be making a statement until he talked to you. Except he wasn't even trying to talk to you.

Your fans are going after Jaden, and from the screenshots some are getting ruthless. Some fans have even jumped ship from Jaden to you.

And then theres the die hard Jaden fans of his that are trashing you for not being good enough to him. It had already been established that it wasn't your body because it had a tattoo that you didn't.

Your phone is still blowing up but you don't truly want to talk about it. So instead you post a statement to your instagram and twitter. 

‘I haven’t been able to reach Jaden. We are no longer together because of the incident. Just because this happened does not mean I want or condone you attacking him or any of his friends and family. I love y'all and I will be okay <3 Y/N.’

No sooner than you had posted the statements, theres a loud pounding at your door. Very reluctantly, you open it.

It’s Nessa, she rushes in gushing. “Jaden’s coming here. I heard from Josh who heard from Blake, who heard from-”

“Nessa!” You interrupt, “When?”

“Well you know how bad at math I am but hypothetically, I mean technically he should be here soon!”

And as if right on cue, there’s the sound of your doorbell followed by rapid knocking by a heavier hand.

“I’ll go out the back door so he doesn't see me. Good luck, I love you! Call me if you need anything!” She gives you a quick and fleeting hug and then darts off.

He’s still pounding at your door. And having no other choice, you let him in. As soon as you do he's speaking so quickly that you can barely understand him. 

“Y/Nwhyhaventyoubeenansweringmeivebeencallingandcallingandcallingyouandyouhaventansweredandisawyourannouncementthatwerebrokenup-”

“Did you also happen to see the pictures you posted on your instagram?” You cross your arms.

“Ofcoursebutisweartoyouandeverythingreally-”

“Slow down or we can’t have a conversation Jaden.”

He gives you one sharp nod and takes a few big breaths. “Do you remember at my party when I got knocked by some girl?”

You frown, “No, and I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“Well, thats the thing. It was orchestrated to look inconspicuous. She must have taken my phone then because after we were alone... y’know... well she showed up. Gave me my phone claiming I dropped it and Bryce told her where to find me except he didn't. She’s been stalking me Y/N. That’s how she found my room, knew my password. You know I have more respect for women than to post their nudes. You have to believe me! She blocked you from my phone, thats why nothing went through!”

It made sense... and you should believe him but what if he was just a really good liar? So many people were involved in your relationship and now this drama. You’d always tried to keep the private details of your life well... private. But life in the spotlight often prevented that. Maybe the damage had been done. Maybe it was too late. You just didn't know.

“I need to think about it Jaden.”

#Jaden hossler #angels and demons #angels x demons #hossler #tiktok #tiktok stars #sway #sway house #jaden #Jaden x reader #Jaden hossler x reader

[selinakidreams]

pairing: merman! dabi x gn reader

warnings: nameless character deaths, a singular mention of nausea + throwing up, unfortunately a lot of blood mentions, near death experiences, SHARK! THERES A SHARK IN THE WATER ! (I SWEAR this is supposed to be pretty but the warnings make it seem otherwise) slight soulmate au?, dabi had a SINGULAR moment of softness.

a/n: guys I don’t even know what this is and it’s unedited,, but welcome to my contribution to mermay ! I had two scenes plain as day STUCK in my head and I just needed to get them out,,, honestly this was just supposed to be a short lil thing but I’m invested,, so here this is

ps, though this may not be edited... I would like to thank all my monster fucking moots who helped me to piece together the perfect mer version of dabi— I love you guys so so so much.

looking out into the darkness of the night, unable to locate the horizon from your position at the edge of the ship- you lift your gaze to the sky with a small sigh.

an unimaginable amount of stars litter the atmosphere, the clear view above could never be tiresome.

the city was no place for you; too crowded, full of men who were trying to court you for your fathers money and your beauty, not enough adventure. the ocean offered a type of freedom land could never- granted, the ship wasn’t much different from the bustling towns in the sense that all the soldiers would eye you like you’re a slab of meat.

the only difference given at sea is that you’re able to put those undesirable fuckers in their place. given your ranking, your power obsessed father wasn’t completely useless.

escaping to the empty deck had been your big feat today; everyone below was gulping down wine by the barrel when you managed to slip out. it was much colder out here, the chill of the salty wind was refreshing, sobering you up quite a bit- but still mentally fuzzy enough to tempt yourself into discarding edict and loosening up your tighter garments.

your drunken attention span shifted from fiddling with your bow in the back to the inky deep water...

what was that?

ripples were quietly dancing on the surface, the warm light reflections coming from the ship’s sconces moved along with them.

it had been really fast, so fast that you were almost left to wonder if you had actually imagined the most vibrant blue eyes you had ever seen... bobbing in the ocean.

two days. it had been two days since you had first “spotted” them and absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. the sailors still went about uglily gawking at you, your captain of a father was still behind the wheel, barking orders at everyone, while you went about your business. Sighing, the image of the eyes still fresh in your mind, you prepared to be lowered into the shallower sea.

upon hearing that there was a small island not too far from your current coordinates, you commanded a stop be made, needing to take some time away from the close knit quarters you constantly share with those horrific pigs. thankfully, no arguments surfaced and you headed straight for the dinghy. it had been surprisingly easy.

the trip wasn’t too long; you patiently waited for the tip of the boat to breach the soft sand, excited for what awaited you. it was such a lovely sunny day, big puffy white clouds dotted the expansive blue sky while the palm trees at the base of the beach greeted you with a steady sway.

once your boots sunk into the wet sand, you turned to the two other men who had escorted you and informed them that you were not to be followed- but to wait right there- which in retrospect, was not a good idea. that was too much trust and responsibility that was placed in their incapable hands.

you wasted no time trudging through the lush greenery to get to the other side of the island, wanting to be as far away from the crew members as possible. 

it couldn’t have taken you more than two hours for you to reach an elaborate array of tide pools sporadically placed on a flat uneven rocky surface, some being lapped over by waves while others sat calmly- living in their own little world.

you had to look in each and every one of them.

wide eyes and mouth open, looking at all the lives in the crystal clear pools was an absolute marvel. some only held a few small sea anemones of different colors while others not only held the soft flowery plant but also housed fighting crabs of all sizes, large chunky starfish, and even a fish or two!

you took careful steps towards the end of the rocks, towards the ones where the waves were constantly restocking the pools with new life, your heart flipping in your chest at the colors of the crashing waves.

peering down into one of the deeper ones, you found it hard to take your sights away from the glistening sun streaks that cut through the water; a small gateway to the open ocean was at the bottom of this pool. it’s like you were hypnotized. making yourself comfortable, you laid yourself down next to the glistening water and began to break the calm surface with your finger tips, eyes trained on the tiny ripples.

“they left you, you know.”

you felt so at ease with the sound of the waves crashing around you, you almost didn’t hear it. it wasn’t until the nagging feeling that you weren’t alone hugged you in all the wrong places, that you looked up... only to be met with nothing.

scrunching your brow, the tranquility you were feeling before suddenly slipping through your fingers. you sat up, but not before you held a lingering glance at the glowing water once more. that’s an image that will stay in your mind; you almost wish you had your sketch book.

your mind went blank when you saw something block the light as it swam by... something big. the next few minutes happened in a blur. after scrambling up to get away from the pool, a huge body washed up on a nearby rock plateau and by no means was it graceful. your heart dropped to your stomach as you watched the lifeless body get smacked with harsh waves.

he was wearing your ship’s uniform, now drenched in blood.

nothing came up when you fell on your knees and lurched over, your eyes squeezing shut- the gruesome image of the crew member engrained in your mind.

“they got what they deserved.”

this time when you whipped your head up to follow the velvet voice, you fell into an almost trance. those breathtaking turquoise eyes you had seen a few days ago were now staring right at you, not too far away.

you couldn’t help the gasp that you inhaled as you fell back. looking at him in his entirety- you must have been hallucinating. growing up hearing the tales of deep sea monsters and nasty magical land creatures could never have prepared you for what laid in front of you.

it was such a drastic change; going from looking at something so appalling to something so... flawless... it was indescribable.

on display, your eyes followed the curled figure- wet white hair flopped against a pale forehead, the tips of his pointed finned-ears peaking out from the wet hair. there were deep dark purple markings starting underneath his eyes, slightly mimicking bags that then restarted at the bottom half of his face- all the way down his neck, ending at just the top of his chest. the markings then continued down his arms, right up to his knuckles contrasting the pale thin slightly webbed fingers that merged to sharp claws, gleaming in the sun. his toned chest eased into a pearly type of color around his hips before submerging into a black ragged tail- but it did the strangest thing. when the sun reflected off of it, a blue so royal- that you’ve only seen it on the most expensive of garments- came to life. the dorsal fin looked just as rugged as the tail did, but his odyssey fluke was splayed out so beautifully, you didn’t give it a second thought.

it wasn’t until you took a second glance that you noticed there was a red tint to his claws that you put into context what was said earlier.

“did you- di- you killed that man?”

his voice came out as smooth as silk, “I did.”

how could you be so dense? this was a creature that came from the sea- a ruthless underwater world. he was a predator. but wait-

“you can speak- you s-said.. did you kill them for me? are you going to-?”

“I killed those men because of all humans, the ones who betray others for their own greed serve no purpose.”

he didn’t tell you more than necessary in his opinion, but he was smart enough and old enough to know that you’re still going to ask more.

it seemed you were sitting on quite the pile of questions but he wasn’t going to be the one to break the silence. it was clear that you were mulling over what should be said first.

“was it you I saw at sea the other night?”

out of all the things you could ask, that was the only thing your mind had on repeat- the only thought present.

“and if it was?”

after receiving two similar vague reactions, something in you was screaming for something to happen. the interaction seemed to be going nowhere and here you were, in front of a creature that you’ve heard so much about but never actually met- a drastic change in interaction was calling, and who were you to ignore it?

in hindsight, it was a terrible idea.

one minute you were on land, next you were shedding your heavy, restrictive clothing- the mer watching with a slight smirk and a heavy gaze- then seconds later, were in the violent push and pull of the ocean. luckily you were far enough to be out of the rocky reach, but the current was too strong. you were being swayed back and forth with too much force.

if it had been your first time in the ocean, you would have been a goner- you would have washed right into the sharp jagged edges; a terribly painful way to go. but thankfully, flowing with the ocean had been your specialty since you were young. incredibly masculine and dirty, but you simply couldn’t stay away. the watery depths have lured you in and there was no escaping the spell it had casted on you all those years ago.

maybe that’s why you dove in. or maybe you wanted to see what the mer would do. whatever the case, there you were in the lull of the tide and running out of air. breaching the surface was your main goal, urging your arms and legs to snap out of the shock of the cold water.

eyes on the bubbles traveling upwards, you finally get your arms to push through the current almost missing the dark shadow swimming closer and closer to you, getting larger and larger.

a quick sideways glance in the clear water showed something large with many many rows of teeth out on display, heading toward you and gaining momentum.

a shark.

a... shark.

of all the ways you possibly thought you could go... this was not one of them. it’s almost ironic- the one way you thought you wouldn’t go would end up getting you.

breaking the surface, you gulp your last breath of air- painfully waiting for the horrifying moment when powerful jaws clamp around your body... but it never came. all you felt was a strong current zip past your feet, slightly pulling you along with it.

you’re heart was pounding; adrenaline coursing through your veins, breathing choppy as you whip your head in every which way to see what was going on in the water beneath you. then you saw it.

blood.

just then, the gory image of the crewmate’s body flashed into your mind. there had been another sailor... the mermaid didn’t pull up two bodies- he wasn’t the only predator in the water.

before you could evaluate further, you were pulled by the ankle under the water and into a place where the blood hadn’t seeped yet.

not enough air was sucked in before you submerged, so you frantically searched for ways you could reach the surface again- not even thinking about the now-absent steady grip that dragged you under.

then you felt it. pointed claws lightly tracing up your sides before his handsome face was leveled with yours. if seeing him on land wasn’t good enough, seeing him in his element was nearly heart stopping.

but your lungs were going to collapse before your heart could-

or so you thought.

he flattened his palm around your waist, cupping it gently before he inched his face toward yours, lips slightly ghosting yours, as if asking for permission.

with his toned body pressed against yours, it was hard to think straight, but the most prominent siren going off in your mind was the fact that you were loosing oxygen, and quickly. you found yourself panicking in his grip. was this really the time?

his lips were on yours in less than a second, your struggling becoming more and more apparent- but it was when he got your mouth to open that you realized what he was doing.

A mermaid’s kiss gives you the eternal breath; the ability to breathe under water.

pulling away, he watched as your eyes went wide, the small smirk you’d seen before had appeared once more.

the sensation was otherworldly; though there was a heavy pressure in your chest as the water was filtering in and out of your system, you were breathing underwater.

slowed down by the new density, you lifted your head to look up at the mer- no doubt the most excited and bewildered expression on your face, just to realize the size difference. he was huge- how had you not noticed this on land?

the more human half of his body had to be around the six foot range, his muscular tail roughly adding another ten. the massive figure floating around you was... beautiful.

he had the softest gaze when looking down at you, it nearly shocked you more that the new incredible ability had. he didn’t seem like the type to be full of expressions; it was such a warm and familiar look, something that you hadn’t seen in a long time- and one you typically didn’t see on a stranger’s face, much less a merman you had only just met.

opening your mouth to say something-if you could, that is- his expression changed in a blink, fear now contorted his features.

everything was so fast with him; his arm wrapped around your waist in mere seconds before speedily guiding you through a passage of underwater tunnels that lead to somewhere you assumed to be in the middle of the island- a lush green grotto.

once you resurfaced, you inhaled a breath you didn’t realize you needed; the new air burned your lungs- you almost didn’t want to breathe.

“just keep breathing. it will get easier over time.”

he almost sounded... bored? a complete one 180 to what you had just witnessed in the water.

the mer guided you up to the pool’s edge, lifting you with ease until you sat with only your legs dangling in the water.

outwardly, it stayed quiet for a while. there wasn’t much noise around besides the occasional bird call and the delicate sound of waded water.

your breathing had slightly evened out but you weren’t too confident in your voice, so keeping your mouth shut seemed like the best option.

what now?

tag list: @zhongh-li

#she dreams ! #I think I should have realized when the only reason I would watch PotC: on stranger tides was for the mermaid content #Serena really hit different #i actually contributed to mermay... i can't believe it #dabi x reader #dabi x you #dabi #bnha dabi #dabi drabble #toya todoroki #touya todoroki #bnha toya #bnha touya #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha x reader #mha x reader #siren au #mermaid au #1800’s au but like... my way #dabi x gn reader #dabi x gender neutral reader #mha toya

[hamliet]

when does a relationship become queerbaiting? theres a book that i really like and the 2 male leads characters have a lot of storylines and arcs where they get closer and i think some of the tropes used can be similar to the typical romantic tropes, neither of them end up with anyone at the end of the story since its more about found family and the long journey the whole cast goes through. they even get shipped by another character as a running gag. personally i always saw it as being open to interpretation but recently the revised edition of the original novel came out and there were several lines those 2 characters had about each other that were kinda toned down, i didnt think much of it but i saw a post about how it was clearly baiting and the author was being homophobic for toning it down. i didnt think it counted as baiting since as far as i know, the novel was never advertised as anything with romance and the author never pretended they were gonna end up together. i am definitely a little weirded out by the decision to change those specific lines but a lot of the story stayed the same, including a lot about their relationship so idk what to think.

i guess im more confused on if it counts as baiting, or even substext??

Sooooo I am not the best person to ask about this, because I’m a cis woman who has thus far in life only been attracted in a romantic sense to cis men. I can talk a bit about baiting as a general concept in fiction, but you should definitely take it with some grains of salt. 

Baiting, for me, is like deliberately playing up an aspect writers have no intention on delivering on. Usually this is done for ratings, to tease fans, fanservice, etc, but without payoff, it is just bad writing. Red herrings are good in writing, but only can be successfully used if the actual result is more satisfying than the herring. This applies to writing in general, not just to romantic ships. However, when the baiting involves historically underrepresented groups for no reason other than to get fans to spend money consuming the story, I think we can all agree that becomes something more grotesque than just bad writing: it’s insensitive, socially irresponsible, frankly hurtful. 

Some common examples are Bridgerton which has a gay character, who is extremely minor, yet they played up this character in advertising. Also, Rizzoli and Isles I think actually had its producers mention deliberately playing up the lesbian subtext to hook the audience without ever intending on following through. 

That said, context also matters. Like, there are aspects of the culture of the work’s author, the target audience, and such that come into play here also (so like, romantic tropes differ by culture. For example, enemies to lovers is common in Asian stories but less in the west, and the “girl who pursues a guy” is extremely common in Japanese shonen in particular, while it is very much a cringe trope that almost never results in romance in American fiction. So if a writer reads, say, tropes that are common in America into a Japanese work and says it’s baiting, that’s quite possibly not the intent even if it may have been the experience of the reader. So even if there was no intent, there can still be hurt, and that hurt can be real, if that makes sense. 

The definition of what constitutes ‘baiting’ varies. I do think that, in true Tumblr fashion, the term gets thrown around a lot and loses its intended meaning, or is so rigidly defined that creators can meet the letter of the “not a bait” requirement while ignoring the spirit of it.

To start with the latter: regarding something hitting the letter of what most wouldn’t consider baiting yet not really the spirit, let’s look at The Rise of Skywalker. This movie had a genuine lesbian kiss in it... between two characters we’d never seen more than a glimpse of while others are celebrating around them. Since it has a kiss, it’s not baiting, right? Well... the director deliberately said in the lead-up to the film that he included it because he “wanted LGBT people to see themselves in the film.” If “see yourselves in the film” is like a nanosecond of background, then, like... idk. Baiting or not, it feels icky, and I know some people consider it baiting and some don’t even if they don’t like, love that representation. But I think this is more queerbaiting than like, Nobara and Maki, who don’t have explicit romantic coding. 

Going back to the former, in terms of ‘queerbaiting’ losing its intended meaning... I think there are a lot of really poorly written romantic ships out there, often het, while a lot of same-gender relationships are really well written regardless of whether there’s romantic coding within the text. The main emotional energy in stories with 90% male characters (as frankly many if not most stories are, great job world) is probably between two men. There’s just so much more potential with well-written characters who share a lot of screen time, so of course people are going to ship them. In my opinion, this does not inherently make it baiting, but it certainly creates an environment that lends itself to baiting even if the writers aren’t intending to do this. 

Like, you could say the main emotional energy in BNHA is Bakugou and Deku. However, Bakudeku is 100% not queerbaiting. It’ll never be canon romantically (I don’t even ship it lol). There has been nothing to imply romance between them even if the main emotional message can be seen in their development. Deku/Ochaco is likely to be canon, but there is a significant lack of genuine emotional energy between them (the story’s plots and themes don’t coalesce around their relationship), so it’s probably going to feel forced. In contrast, Naruto/Sasuke had an actual kiss in canon, which while played for laughs is a lot more direct romantic coding than anything between Bakugou/Deku. I actually don’t think the majority of Narusasu is baiting, but I definitely think that one moment in chapter like 3 was really poor fanservice for yaoi fans, and has not aged well at all. 

It is also the case that fans can confuse headcanons with what is actually in the text, and that just never ends well. For example, Clover and Qrow’s ship in RWBY: a lot of people read Clover as gay, which led to “bury your gays” outrage when he died. A member of the crew stated explicitly they had never intended for Clover to be a love interest for Qrow, and truthfully here was nothing strictly romantic in their relationship--nothing like a kiss or a declaration of love or a parallel to another romantic couple. Hence, I don’t personally consider it queerbaiting or bury your gays, but a lot of fans felt that it was and their pain is legitimate even if I think textually the argument isn’t there. The one thing I do think is true about this in particular is that there was also no strict platonic coding, which encourages headcanons. Clear writing, yo. It can help. 

Note the word “can” not “will,” because strict platonic coding doesn’t always fix things, either. In what was probably a reaction to the outrage over Clover’s death, you had extremely blatant platonic coding of Ruby and Penny’s relationship this season leading up to Penny’s death. Ruby refers to Penny as “our friend” three different times, wherein “friend” sends a platonic message and “our” sends an even stronger message that it’s not about the two of them despite the fact that their friendship is one of the sweetest and most interesting in the show. A lingering Ruby-Penny hug then is followed by a lingering Penny-Weiss hug, then Yang, then Blake, etc. The writers went out of their way to hit people over the head with “platonic” and yet they have still gotten accusations of bury your gays and queerbaiting because people will see what they want to see in a story. 

Seeing what you want to see in a story also isn’t inherently bad. People who are underrepresented are going to have to read themselves into stories because Lord knows writers ain’t incorporating them well enough if at all. It’s why “Mary Sues” are common in fanfiction, which is primarily written by people who are not straight white men: because where the hell else are we to see ourselves in fiction? So essentially the macrocosm of culture creates this problem, both in terms of baiting and the misuse of the term, and the only fix is a shit ton more good representation.

#ask hamliet #writing stuff #Anonymous

[hello-yue-here]

About your atla ship songs, I have a couple of questions (sorry if my phrasing comes out wrong, english isn't my first language and I worry it might across as accidentally defensive): how did you end up with the choices for zukka, jetko and yuekka (note: I haven't seen the great comet, so feel free to obsess over it, I'm intrigued now and the hype is appreciated!)? Sidenote: I think the mailee choice is HILARIOUS and the tokka one just make me sad, I didn't expect to be attacked like this😭

kdjfha;s i love you im gonna obsess SO HARD over great comet now. you may regret this

this is gonna be so long so the rest is under the cut whoops

yuekka: no one else from great comet

where do i even begin. WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN

okay so background information on this show: it's based off of a 76 oages excerpt from war and peace and its centered around a woman named natasha (and this guy pierre but he's irrelevant to this song so we wont worry about him) and natasha's bethrothed is off fighting in the war right now. she hasn't seen him in a while but she is in love with him.

every single lyrics of this song SCREAMS yuekka to me. the innocence and purity of their love. the love at first sight. and even the melancholy ending just- i go apeshit for this song. i love this song so much. and denee benton's voice??? kljsdhflwksugf please listen to this song if you haven't already. listen to the whole show. your life will be changed forever.

onto the lyrics (i stg this is ab to be the whole song whoops)

"the moon"

THOSE ARE THE FIRST WORDS ON THE SONG. natasha and andre (her bethrothed) met underneath the moonlight. Sokka and Yue first spoke to eachother at night and always met each other for their most intimate moments under the moonlight. also yue is LITERALLY the moon so like: right of the bat with those two words it's yuekka.

"and i saw your eyes / and i saw your smile / and the world opened wide"

sokka fell in love with yue the moment he saw her in the canal. she literally enchanted this motherfucker. everything about her made his heart go crazy. and 'the world opened wide' to me is from yue's perspective. Yue had never left the north pole and sokka had seen a good chuck of the world at the point. He took her on appa, he told her about his adventures. he saw the world yue wished to see and you know damn well that Sokka would have done anything to give it to her.

"oh the moon /oh the snow in the moonlight / and your childlike eyes and your distant smile / ill never be this happy again / you and i and no one else"

natasha sings fondly about the moon and the snow, seeing as it was where she fell in love with andre. yue and sokka LITERALLY fell in love in the same place: in the snowy nothern water tribe under the light of the moon. childlike eyes: THEYRE CHILDREN!!! distant smile: this is where it gets a little sad. theyre both children with way too many duties during a world that has known nothing but war for the past century. they want to be happy but yeah, theyre smiles are distant and far away because happiness seems out of reach for them most of the time. i'll never be this happy again: the moments yue and sokka shared together were probably the happiest either of them ever were. they were able to ignore the war and the world in the moments they shared together. and with no one else. no one else would be able to give each other this sense of peace and happiness and love.

"joy and life inside our souls / and no body knows just you and me / it's our secret"

Yue and Sokka had to sneak out in secret at night to go and see each other. Yue and Sokka couldn't be together for real because Yue was already engaged, but they were literally in love so she decided to see him anyways in secret. kasdjfhklasjd im losing my mind over them at this point.

"this winer sky / how can anyone sleep / there was never such a night before / i feel like putting my arms around my knees / and squeezing tight as possible / and flying away"

these are my FAVORITE lines in the entire song. yue and sokka had never felt this strongly about anyone before and that's why they are so drawn to each other. they had never experienced love before and they wanted to hold onto it for as long as they could even though they knew they couldnt. Sokka takes yue up on appa and she is wistful and wishes she could live like he does every day: ie flying away. oh my god these two deserved so much better. so much fucking better.

now for the saddes part. the saddest fucking part.

"maybe he'll come today / maybe he came already / and he's sitting in the drawing room / and i simply forgot"

natasha misses andre so intensely at this point. when i first listened to this show and heard this song i was like "wait a min... is andre like... dead?" and im sure i wasnt the only person who assumed that this was why natasha felt so sad by the end of such a beautiful song. (spoiler alert andre is fine)

but this line really exemplifies how sad natasha is, and hints at the fact that andre may never come back. it implies that their relationship is doomed (at least in my opinion) and that's all yuekka. Sokka misses yue intensely when shes gone. Yue accepted her fate almost immediately but sokka was in denial. he thought there had to be another way. but in the end it wasn't meant to be. and sokka will go on, loving yue, wishing for her back, even though it's not possible.

fuck im gonna cry.

zukka: all i've ever known- hadestown

"i was alone so long / i didn't even know that i was lonely / out in the cold so long / i didnt even know that i was cold"

sokka is from the swt so theres where the cold comes in. also in the gaang (initially) it was just him katara and aang. and katara and aang were much closer to each other than sokka was with aang and the two of them were benders so sokka was kind of an outsider with the two of them. He also represses a lot of his emotions and feels the need to do everything himself so i do see a lot of loneliness in sokka. and the fact that so many people in his life have left him (his mom, yue, his dad, suki briefly, etc...) he is known to keep people at an arms length. i see a lot of loneliness in sokka.

zuko's loneliness is a lot more obvious: he has literally been cast out and abandoned by everyone except iroh. and even then he still feels the need to be alone (remember zuko alone? thought so) these boys look after themselves and push others away and revel in their loneliness in order to keep themselves from getting hurt. at least in my opinion on canon and also some fanon because id be a liar if i said fanon didnt influence how i view ALL my ships (not just zukka)

"all ive ever known is how to hold my own / but now I wanna hold you too"

COME ONE MANNNN, they just wanna hold each other. theyre both very big protectors as well and kljhflkasdhg they wanna protect eachother like kljdhfl im gonna lose it rn.

"You take me in your arms / And suddenly there's sunlight all around me / Everything bright and warm / And shining like it never did before / And for a moment I forget / Just how dark and cold it gets"

SUNLIGHT SYMBOLISM. zuko is literally powered by the sun. i don't think i even NEED to elaborate on this one anymore lol. They find comfort in each other away from all of their trauma. when they're together nothing else matters and i personally love that for them. they both deserve love.

"I knew you before we met / And I don't even know you yet / All I know is your someone I have always known"

these two are extremely similar in canon. many parallels. older brothers overshadowed by their prodigy little sisters. longing to make their fathers proud (granted one dad is good and one is fuckin evil), both are pretty bad with emotions. both are seen protecting others before themselves (sokka protecting suki during the serpant's pass, sokka protecting toph on like multiple occassions, zuko protecting katara in the final agni kai), the list goes on. they know who the other is because they see themselves in the other person. they already know each other because they are each other (in a way, not entirely, but the similarities are strong in my opinion)

"I'm gonna hold you forever / The wind will never change on us / Long as we stay with each other / Then it will always be like this"

i just think this line is so cute and sweet (ignoring all the symbolism and foreshadowing that comes with the last line in the musical itself. im gonna pretend this is nothing but happy) and i think these boys deserve happiness so yeah. this song is zukka to me lol.

jetko: thrill of first love- falsettoes

if you've never listened to this song go an do it now. you will know INSTANTLY that it is jetko because of the dynamics alone. marvin and whizzer are pure jetko and i take no crticisms.

marvin and whizzer are both extremely stubborn, and they don't always get along, and they fight a lot, and they get mad at each other a lot, and they are both passionate as hell, and they will bring this passion into everything. they love each other that is without a doubt, but they arent perfect and they are once again stubborn and determined as fuck.

sound familiar? it's literally jetko.

the lyrics aren't what remind me of jetko, but the dynamic itself. the lyrics are too on the nose for a gay couple in 1970's america so that rlly cant apply to jetko all that much. but the way these two characters bounce off of each other and get annoyed with each other and argue with eachother reminds me of jetko. because let's be honest: these two are the most stubborn characters in the whole show. they will fight for what they believe and it will take literally everything to change their minds.

i love jetko but i think they would have petty arguments all the time and get aggravated by one another so easily. and this is even seen in canon: they work so fucking well together but they did not even HESITATE to fight one another after neither of them would give in and let the fight about whether jet was right or wrong about zuko being a firebender. like i cannot say it enough they are stubborn as fuck.

but underneath all that stubborn pettiness and bickering: marvin and whizzer still love each other. and jet and zuko would still love each other. because even though they are stubborn when it comes to arguments, they are even more stubborn and determined when it comes to each other. these two passionate motherfuckers are in love.

(now when i chose this song i decided to ignore the fact that this song literally spells out the fact that marvin and whizzer's relatinoship is doomed because they literally say passion dies. thats the difference between jetko and whizzer and marvin because i dont think passion dies. i chose this song strictly for the bickering lmao)

and i know you didnt ask about tokka but,,,,

i rlly wanna talk about the tokka one

so im going to

tokka: on my own- les mis

look. i KNOW this song is about unrequited love and i love tokka as a couple but,,, the unrequited love in this song just SCREAMS unrequited tokka to me so thats what i went with.

eponine is a girl who has neglectful parents who lives life by her own rules: toph. eponine is shown to be tough and confident and spunky to others but behind all of that she has emotions, she feels love, she hides her vulnerability so much: toph. she is in love with a guy she cant be with because he loves someone else: TOPH

eponine is toph to a t and toph is eponine to a t. this is not up for debate lmao

"without him i feel his arms around me"

toph is always seen grabbing onto someone (and its almost ALWAYS sokka) when she's somewhere where she can't use her feet to see. FEEL and ARMS cmon. look at it.

"and i know / i know that he is blind"

COME ON. IMAGINE TOPH SINGING THIS LINE. this line is already powerful enough in les mis but having toph, a blind character, sing it just makes the symbolism even deeper. toph sees the potential relationship they could have together. toph sees that sokka is oblivious to this. toph is not blind to the truth or the potention, but sokka is blind to her feelings. im about to lose my mind over this line.

"I love him / But every day I'm learning / All my life / I've only been pretending / Without me / His world will go on turning / A world that's full of happiness / That I have never known"

i need to sit down for a moment. toph grew up in a household where her parents did not understand her. she has learned to hide her true emotions and vulnerabilities from everyone. and its the fact that toph knows that she and sokka will never be together and the fact that she still loves him in spite of that is what makes this even more heartbreaking.

"but only on my own"

TOPH AND EPONINE SWEETIES I LOVE YOU

thank you for indulging my theatre kid nonsense. you are very sweet and kind and lovely and awesome and i hope you have a lovely day bestie :) <3

ask me why i think these songs go with these ships

#asks #liv is a theatre nerd #liv is an atla nerd #yuekka #zukka #jetko #tokka #ask me about my ship songs