#but what does that mean romantically?

[formless-entity]

thinking about romantic love...

#i had a dream i was searching for a lover in my apartment and no matter which room they were in. i couldnt find em. #in my grasp yet nowhere at all #unattainable #what does that mean for me? am i unlovable? is romantic love impossible? an itch that can never be scratched? #love is a dedication #but what does that mean romantically? #is there a difference between platonic and romantic im not getting? understanding? #same text different color? what a greenapple is to a grapefruit? #why do i dream of a lover and her kisses when kissing is gross and i viscerally cringe at the thought of sex? #what does it mean... #mumble mumble #a bit personal... #'ew that was cringe whyd you post your thoughts on a dream lol delete it' agent in the future will think

[aq2003]

really love how throughout a lot of smith and jones martha is really skeptical and apprehensive towards ten (+ one of my favorite exchanges between them - "what, people call you 'the doctor'?" "yeah?" "well, i'm not. far as i'm concerned, you've got to earn that title."), not taking everything he says at face value, even doubting the fact he's an alien until over halfway through the episode.. And like. i really truly think the thing that wins her over isn't him kissing her or any of the other insane mixed messages he manages to send, it's this scene here, where he /earns that title/ in her eyes:

(+ david's bit in the commentary, where he says: "[the doctor] has actually sacrificed himself, and - i would say, that that final act of selflessness is what finally, eventually, welds martha to him. [...] and she now returns it. she returns that act of selflessness.")

this is what their relationship is built on. it isn't about martha being the second-best replacement to rose or a rebound or whatever. bc it isn't really about rose. it's about doctor-in-training martha meeting someone (quite literally, "the doctor") whose ideals she aspires to, and doing her best to be the same person to him as he is to everyone else. it's about ten in return admiring her intelligence and inquisitiveness and how she cares for human life, recovering his compassion, letting himself lean on her for support - and then remembering at the most inopportune moments that he's supposed to not need anyone and be on his own forever. And around in their little nightmare loop they go where they save each other over and over until one of them breaks

i've seen ppl look at martha and go "why she does she admire/why is she so in love with ten if he acts like that to her?" or something along those lines and like. it's not just the fact she's in love with him (in fact i'd argue she actively tries to push it aside post-gridlock). it's the fact that she knows he's the kind of person to put everyone else's lives/well-being over his own. she trusts him to save her when she's in trouble even though it's been like two days at most that they've known one another bc she recognizes that same "deep all-encompassing drive to help others" in him. and she also recognizes, much much earlier than him, that he needs someone to save him, especially when he's unwilling to save himself. and yeah for a bit she thinks he returns her feelings and is just playing hard-to-get, but she realizes pretty early on that this probably isn't the case, and i think that realization fully solidifies here:

(this is when she's listening to ten talk abt gallifrey). And idk it might just be me but i think this expression isn't just her empathizing with his loss. it's also guilt, for wanting something from him that he's clearly unable to give when he's wracked with so much grief. (and you see it in the next episode, where tallulah asks if they're together and martha says for certain that they're not, and that he doesn't know about her feelings for him. she keeps everything to herself bc she now knows that when he shut her flirting down at the end of 3x01 it was the genuine reaction of someone who a) isn't interested and b) is scared of getting close with someone else again)

freema described their dynamic as "she's keener than him" and i think about this all the time. martha doesn't really take what ten throws at her. what she does instead is constantly poke holes in his already-failing front of "i will show someone the wonders of the universe so i can ignore what is wrong with me". what she does is stand up and fight him when he tries to go off on his own. what she does is put aside her well-being in favor of helping someone - just like what she saw him do for the people in the hospital when they first met. tldr, that's the doctor and his doctor and rip martha you would've loved who's gonna save u now by rina sawayama

#THIS ISNT ABOUT ROSE WE CAN STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT WHITE GIRL FOR 1 SECOND. IDC #ALL SHE DOES W REGARDS TO MARTHA IS REMIND HER THAT TEN ISNT GOING TO FALL IN LOVE W HER. #ALL SHE DOES W REGARDS TO TEN IS REMIND HIM THAT EVERY TIME HE LOVES SOMEONE HES FATED TO LOSE THEM. WE CAN IGNORE HER PAST THIS. GBLESS #martha jones #tenth doctor #dr who #ten and martha #'theyre like a rebound' shooting you with my laser eyes sorry. martha says it when she still thinks he's taking her on dates #if he hadn't opened up about gallifrey she would've been totally fine w him taking her back home #and meanwhile ten is very unaware of any kind of romantic element until like the fuckinn. last possible moment lmfao #they are doctor and mentally unstable bus driver. Or perhaps grieving man (genderneutral) and their One (1) friend that has to support them #um idk what this post is. i wanted to pick apart martha's brain for a hot second. #edit: #it's not like 5 am and i'm reading these tags and they're a lot more mean than i meant to put them down as #Not changing them bc i already wrote so much it's out there in the world already sorry. just imagine i'm saying this all nicely #10 era

[otaku553]

The eventual kazuha and sanemi dynamic

#kny crossover #genshin impact #kaedehara kazuha #shinazugawa sanemi #one day I’ll finish writing the first chapter. one day #anyways I love thinking about these two #i think platonic relationships are so fascinating #like you could definitely construe so many different friendships as romantic ships but to me these two as friends has so much potential #sanemi canonically dislikes Giyuu because he gives off a ‘better than everyone else there’ vibe that is purely unintentional #and canonically is friends with Iguro for reasons I still cannot figure out #sanemi’s so interesting because it’s not like he’s a purely chaotic character despite what his first appearance would suggest #the manga and genya’s memories clearly show that he has a lot of respect for oyakata-sama because oyakata-sama is not high and mighty and- #does in fact understand every sacrifice that goes into the battles that they fight that he must sit on the back lines for #sanemi is a very loyal person I think once someone has earned his loyalty even though he owes about showing this in very aggressive ways #I think he goes off against genya especially because genya fighting as a demon slayer goes against everything that sanemi has fought for #since they lost their happy lives sanemi has been fighting for at least one of them to still be able to live normally and he probably thinks #that Genya spat on that sentiment by becoming a demon slayer anyways #anyways I think sanemi and kazuha would have such an interesting dynamic #sanemi has the authoritative upper hand as a pillar but kazuha isn’t even a demon slayer which means sanemi’s position doesn’t do much #beyond acting as an indicator that he is one of the strongest of the corps anyways. #they’ve both lost a lot but sanemi still has someone to fight for whereas kazuha is holding onto the last embers of a corpse’s wishes #and I think them having a talk about their motivations would be very good #because I don’t think at this point that kazuha has very much reason to live beyond carrying on Tomo’s wishes #if the swords are parallels to visions I think Kazuha’s turning point will be when he receives his own nichirin sword #sorry for the long tags lmao

[daily-hanamura]

#p4 #persona 4 #p4g #persona 4 golden #hanamura yosuke #yosuke hanamura #god do i have so much to talk about in this scene #first of all yu's hug kills me because thats a very intimate hug thats not a bro hug where you put your arm around their shoulders #thats a hug where he put his arms around yosuke's waist!!!! #when yosuke says that's for girls... i kind of see what he means? personally id only hug my romantic partner the same way but hey #second of all and more seriously i think this is a really good example of how Yosuke's words frequently fail to match up against his action #yosuke might complain about how the hug is for girls but it doesnt stop him from holding on #the scene fades to black and yu says they stayed on the riverbank until yosuke calmed down #so they mught as well have hugged for the whole time? #idk im personally obsessed with the contradictions between what yosuke says and what he does because expressing himself is not his strength #Yosuke's words cannot be reliably taken at face value but i think his friends - and yu especially - come to learn and accept that abt him

[yeetlegay]

What gets me lately is how Vegas is always trying to outdo Kinn both professionally (mafia-ly) and personally, and yet Kinn is the one who has a kiss embargo out of a fear of it being a gateway to real intimacy and vulnerability. Of the two, Kinn is actually the one who’s fallen in love before and knows what barriers to put up to keep it from happening again. He knows how to keep people out, when he wants to.

But Vegas doesn’t have that experience to jade him about what intimacy is emotionally dangerous for him. He throws himself right into kissing Pete, fucking him, lying in bed with him, completely oblivious to how thin a line he’s treading. He’s fucked up and traumatized and repressed, but where Kinn’s walls are carefully, meticulously built and designed to leave no weakness, Vegas built his walls for show, to intimidate people so much they’d never bother trying to knock them down. It’s no wonder he crumbled the second Pete made the barest effort to find the way in.

#I just….like when you watch that scene from ep 12 it’s so striking how Vegas just GOES for it no hesitation #no ‘what does this mean’ or ‘oh no a romantic epiphany’ bc he has so little self-awareness it doesn’t even click for him what’s happening #he’s that line from pride and prejudice: ‘I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun’ #kinnporsche #vegaspete #mini meta I guess lol #tiiiiiny

[yencirilla]

i think it's so interesting how people have just decided fearne has serious feelings for certain characters just because They ship it when i have yet to see fearne give any sort of hint to that in the game?? NOW if we're talking about people fearne treats differently/cares for differently, i think we should have a discussion on how gentle fearne is with imogen temult i think we should talk about fearne screaming imogen's name, fearne tying her and laudna's ribbons around imogen's wrist, fearne being so opposed to imogen giving in to the storm because she doesn't want to lose her. I think we should Discuss That.

#it's always bothered me how people just assume fearne has romantic feelings for someone purely from headcannons? #like how you interpret a scene does not mean that is what is happening #and it's always with a specific ship #idk sorry #imogen and fearne truther i think fearne has the biggest crush #but doesn't say anything because she's scared of ruining what laudna and imogen have #fearne talks to imogen so differently from anyone else #she is so GENTLE with her #also just funny how no one is even thinking it may be about chetney #i don't think it is but damn he really just is not a thought in some people's minds #not me tho #that's all thank you for coming to my ted talk #fearne calloway #imogen temult #critical role

[keekeenuggets]

People act like shipping Alastor with anyone is a crime when like. There are literally aroace people who date/have relationships/have sex/etc. It may not be the majority, but there's nothing wrong with it. So like, people can ship what they want, just chill lmfao

#posts by 📲 #I'm not sure if him being aro is even canon but #the ace community is pretty bad at making ace people who have sex feel bad #or making it seem like asexuality inherently means being sex repulsed #but it does not! #so anyway #I ship staticradio/radiostatic 100% #a couple other Alastor ships are good too #people don't like acknowledging that sexual/romantic identities are NOT cut and dry #hazbin hotel #radiostatic #staticradio #also people can ship what they want regardless but it's still infuriating that people act like ace people can't or don't have sex #disclaimer: the majority of my system is on the aroace spectrum(s) #discourse

[ilovebeingaturtle]

I don’t really ship 87 Ramona (although I do love the idea of them in a QPR) but. If they did feel romantically for each other it would take forever for them to actually get together, if they even do, in sharp contrast to the 2012 “we’ve known each other two hours now we’re committed for life” speedrun. Raphael would have fallen in love years ago but would not recognise this fact once. Mona Lisa is also part of the problem. She has a layer of superficiality she always uses as protection over her true feelings, so how does she even know her flirting is sincere? How would Raphael be supposed to know? She’d overthink it. Also she’s a lesbian so falling in love with your best friend is like mandated and agonising. She’d have accepted her fate and already resigned herself that it’s never going to happen. She’s just happy they’re close to each other. Meanwhile Raphael thinks “huh, I want to marry her” then goes about his day. This realisation occurs multiple times but he never reads into it.

#tumblr user bulbabutt got me brainrotting about the blorbos again sigh #87!Raphael being aroace means so much to me but he can find his best friend pretty. as a treat #like I think no matter what Mona Lisa is someone who makes him happy in a way no one else does #he sincerely cares about her and thinks highly of her #whether that’s romantically or platonically is second to just have a sincere connection #they’re on the same wavelength! #Raphael has the autistic instinct to view the perfect someone you could do an improv comedy tour with as his forever life partner #also he thinks she’s cute 💖 #I can ramble forever about my thoughts on Mona’s perspective on this too but I should probably just save it for a proper post one day #or the fic I’m working on #whichever comes first AHA

[sparkdoesart]

Happy valentines day i guess!!! Its a day today!!! Thought i should do something so i did this real quick. Happy love or whatever?? Or happy no love. Happy Wednesday

#my art #valentines day #demiromantic #demisexual #wooohooo #ough #the posts today have been #slightly exhausting #so much love loses #and i dont think people know what demiromantic means.. #that tag always gets included in like romance repulsed posts or just people who dont care for it #but thats not what it is?? #thats why i dont care for the aroace posts showing up on my dash #not that i dislike these people #just #annoys me a bit i guess #i unno #also love wins because love does not have to be romantic #or it loses. because some people are loveless #in that case continue with your victory over love #oc ghost #forgot that one

[try-set-me-on-fire]

Me: this one will be a slow burn I think

Eddie Diaz: no actually i need to tell him i love him immediately

#calm down sir #i was driving home thinking about how to continue the scene i just posted and was like well what if Eddie’s like. #we’re partners in every other way why not try romantically. haha. (so nervous he’s about to vomit) #you dont have to raise this kid alone because i didnt have to raise my kid alone. i had you. #and buck is like Eddie. Eddie…….. #you have to know I love you but i dont know if i can do that right now #if I’m about to adopt a child- #i mean first i haven’t even been approved yet and I don’t know what a new relationship does to my chances #second everything’s going to a mess for awhile i dont want Us to immediately be put under so much pressure #and they;re just like :( at each other #and buck’s like is it awful to ask you to wait for me #and Eddie’s like of course not. of course i will. #and you’re still not going to be alone. I’ll be here for you however you want me. #and then they have to go back in to the dinner party and try to be normal! good luck!

[variousqueerthings]

there’s so many ways that queerness exists in texts, unintentionally and intentionally, coded and uncoded and partially coded and baited and confused and limited and expansive, and then there’s whatever is happening with Hawkeye Pierce, M.D. of the 4077th MASH unit

#hawkeye pierce #MASH #there is of course also the constant mist of gender/sexuality queering that hangs over the narrative because of its structure #its structure as comedy (often subject to whimsical departures from acceptable gender/sexualities) #its structure as anti-establishment and anti-conformity #its celebration of non-conformist personalities and lives and its redefinitions over and over of madness and mutual aid #its structure - of course - as found family #its structure as an island in a sea of militant and fascistic surrealism and answering the questions of: #well what does the alternative to that violence look like? #so the idea of intentionality/unintentionality sort of doesn't matter #because it's creating a manifesto/ethos of sorts that speaks the same language as queerness #and it's down to the DNAs of its structures #(not even mentioning the structures of echoing the realities of those making it -- ethnicities - romantic lives - cultures and religions - #friendships and political beliefs - family structures created on the set of the show itself) #but yes hawkeye pierce is depicted as fascinatingly overtly queer and comedy is (like horror... which....) an acceptable space #for him to be this #(which -- when the horror and tragedy takes more of a front seat his funny-man queerness is somewhat diminished #but a. still very much present b. given an air of drama that legitimises it further c. underpinned by seasons and seasons of existence #d. embedded in that self-same DNA of the structures -- he IS the main POV character #which means he's carrying so much of that idea of non-conformity/civilish disobedience as good and right/whimsy/gender-and-sexuality/etc #so you see... there's whatever is happening with hawkeye pierce M.D.

[obsob]

also i am....tentively........exploring....th idea of being aromantic uhehehh......if u r aromantic but still hve a partner i would lov to hear ur experience!!!

#barks #for me its like. i lov my partner but its not. its not romantic. like theres a lot of it n its love but its like Something Else #like im not all lovey dovey th thought of being all like that is . odd to me. #like we r jus people hanging out !!!!!!!! #hes so good this has been making me so stressed n hes like as long as u love me n we r happy 2gether what does anything else matter #and hes right!!!!!!! #from what i can see aromantic stuff is like . very fluid and quite unique 2 th person #i mean. i might not b aromantic..but i lov labels and thats what seems to fit rn uehueueueueue

[polite-pandemonium]

Me to me: don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes you toei has burned you so many times before you know better than this don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes DON'T GET YOUR HOPES UP

Also me: Hopes? High. Delusions? Strong. Theories? Brewing.

#what I want this to mean: you see the movie in a new light cause the audio reveals they are SECRETLY DATING the whole movie #what it probably means: idk something I probably don't care about at all #BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN? #Toei you are the villain in the narrative of my life constantly dangling this carrot in front of my face for 20 years! #i'm gonna lose it! #let me be free! #(one could argue that they already let me be free with that 02 epilogue but NO I SAY NO - they have been reigniting hope since 2015!) #ughhhh please I just want some small 100% romantic canon interaction between them please #pleaseeeeee #these dramas are being released in stickers at the theatres #and I think I am going to miss the week this one is being given away by a HAIR #which is so annoying #also last thought but when was the last time we got PURELY takeru and hikari content? #like episode 13 of 02??? #goodness #anyway #watch me be crushingly disappointed #digimon #takari

[transmascutena]

thinking about how akio sees his younger self in utena and wondering if there's any fondness there. doesn't change the horror of what he does to her obviously but i do wonder

#akio and utena #m #long ramble in the tags sorry: #the thing about akio is that he's so evil bit he's also so human #he has feelings. i just don't know what they are (if anything) toward his victims #he loves anthy at the very least i'm sure of that. even if he hates her too. just like she loves and hates him. the lines are blurry. #and i just. i have to wonder whether any of that extends to utena at all. we know anthy at times feels similarly about utena and dios #(and akio by extension.) the simultanious love and resentment. so it's not too unlikely i think. #like. even though he never had anything but bad intentions in getting close to her #i'm not sure it's possible to do everything he did and feel nothing #not that he has any meaningful amount of guilt or remorse for it. i don't think that. #and i obviously don't think he “loved” her in any of the ways she might have thought he did #but did he not care at all? did he not feel any kind of fondness or sympathy or just. idk. pity? for her? #whatever the case it wasn't enough to reconsider having her killed so you know. how much does that actually matter anyway #idk. i think about it a lot. how abusers are rarely entirely indifferent toward their victims #the role he's playing in her life is so fucked up but it IS a role he's playing and i wonder how much he you know... internalizes it? #how much does he believe the illusion of family that he invites her into? because akio DOES often buy into his own illusions. #(similarly i think it's possible that akio is fond of touga too. their mentor-protégé relationship is horrible and abusive #but that doesn't make it less real. you know? maybe real is the wrong word.) #when he talks in episode 25 about wanting utena and anthy closer that's obviously so he can continue to groom her #but is there something genuine there too? i don't know. #again. it obviously does not make anything he does better or even different. but it is interesting to think about to me. #on the other side of that coin does seeing his own past youth and naivete and desire to do good that he (maybe) once had #reflected back at him through her mean anything? #is there resentment there? that she is what he couldn't be? or more likely he just thinks that idealism is stupid. #either way it's something he wants to take from her. anyway ramble over. #i talk a lot about utena's feelings toward akio (familial vs romantic love and the way the two are intertwined in fucked up ways) #but not much the other way around. probably because utena is actually a sympathetic character whose feelings the show very clearly #wants you to analyze and think about. #which is... less true for akio i think. though he's still a complex character with complex motives. he's just harder to get a grasp on.

[tomurakii]

Dude I know I'm deep into my Gale obsession when seeing people's dumbshit takes actually makes me angry. Someone on instagram called him easy and a gold digger??? How do you live with yourself.

#had to turn off my phone and sit with my thoughts for a sec after that one #like what the FUCK do you mean #I just don't understand how people think GALE is the 'sleazy' one. and they're always the Astarion simps lol #like Gale. a fuckboy. GALE. who is so fucking dedicated and loving and poetic and straightforward #compared to Astarion who ACTIVELY. CANONICALLY. USES SEX TO MANIPULATE THE PLAYER. and he has his reasons for that #but between the two you're saying GALE is sleazy??? #or easy? when the only way to trigger his romance is if you initiate in the weave scene and reciprocate his flirting in the shadow curse #like he straight does not come on to you at all. if you heard the narrator say the moment is intimate and them imagined a “romantic walk” or #“kissing him passionately” and thought that was the platonic route then buddy it is definitely you with A Problem not him #anyway #bg3 #gale dekarios #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #gale of waterdeep #baldur's gate #baldurs gate

[angelnauseous]

the hannibal franchise fucking sucks <- is enjoying the hannibal franchise quite a bit actually <- is just very mad that clannibal is a thing that exists

#if a clannibal fan finds this post: Cry about it i do not care :D #do not get it mixed up! it is not because im a hannigram stan or whatever! just. just from my perspective as someone who really likes #clarices whole arc of proving herself to be better than the men around her i dont. why does. CALM DOWN SU CALM DOWN. FUCK #why is clannibal a thing. 'hannibal recognizes her potential and abilities as a smart and brave fbi agent' Okay and? And? #idea: what if he means nothing to her. what if. what if thomas harris was a good writer. i just. SIGGHHHHHHHHHHHH #WHATEVER. WHATEVER MAYBE THERES SOMETHING IM MISSING MAYBE CLARICE AND HANNIBAL AS A ROMANTIC THING HAS MERIT TO IT. I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT #DOES BUT HEY MAYBE IM WRONG AND I JUST NEED TO SHUSH ^_^ #I DONT KNOW MAN. FUCK i need to stop getting so angry abt this i have productive things i could be doing (TT U TT) Like killing hannibal le #just kidding <3 no im not #angel's mouth #hannibal