#or this dynamic anyways but for that reason that trope for confession is why i like it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aha-chuu · 1 year

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Alhaitham ships I like and respect

I realise I typically only post about Kavetham but I actually love a lot of Alhaitham ships (my mans deserves all the love). Here's a list and my reasons for shipping them, because I just got home from uni and I'm bored. These are all ships that I like, the rating is just "how would this realistically go?".

1) Kaveh/Alhaitham

Getting this one out of the way cos <3 we know. I really enjoy their bickering dynamic and they both have very strong personalities, which I adore. That's why I feel the need to be more picky with the fics I read, actually, cos sometimes people write one of them very uncharacteristically just so they don't have to deal with writing two characters with uh *checks notes* personalities lol.

They are both babygirl and they are both Problems. I think their relationship would be undefined but exclusive - neither of them say they're dating, but they've also never sleep around with other people. I kinda like the hc that Kaveh got around a bit more before they met/started their situationship, but I also vibe with the idea that he lied and told Alhaitham he was "oh so experienced" just to one up him.

Rating: 9/10

2) Cyno/Alhaitham

Hehe this one's an oldie but a goodie. So here's the thing: back in 3.1, this was The Sumeru ship. Cynari was also there , definitely, but there was a loud fandom quite obsessed with the enemies to lovers trope. Which! Some people call Kavetham enemies to lovers, wrong, they never had a fistfight; they're just rivals and lovers.

Anyway, Cyno and Alhaitham are a great ship cos we have battle boyfriends with an eventual soft dynamic. I especially love in Act 5 of the archon quest, when they continue to disagree but they're on the same side - Cyno is very against Alhaitham's reckless plan. They have a lot of contrast in their approaches to life, but at this point they have mutual respect for one another that I think could develop beautifully.

The only issue i have with their dynamic is that I struggle to imagine how they would end up together. Maybe after a fight, one of them almost dies and so there's a dramatic kiss?? I don't think Alhaitham would be so romantic tbh, and Cyno is more likely to be very straightforward with a confession, but I think he might not be honest about his feelings in order to focus on Justice™.

Rating: 7/10

3) Dehya/Alhaitham

Yes. I also occasionally like f/m ships. My issue with this one is simply that I ship Dehya with Dunyazarad more, so I think this would be a more one sided crush on Alhaitham's part. I have a hc that he's just, into claymore users. Dehya serves cunt and beats people up and Alhaitham is like "pls come back to the Akademiya, you're so so cool <3".

Maybe I have a crush on Dehya. Maybe that's the issue hm.

I can't see Dehya dating him or Alhaitham really wanting to date her - just a little crush and then a good friendship.

Rating: 10/10 for vibes, 3/10 for practicality

4) Nilou/Alhaitham

Consider: Nilou is cute. Alhaitham is cute. She thinks he's a cool treason-man and he thinks she's the only person as crazy as he is for immediately agreeing to the dangerous plan everyone else took 80% of the run time complaining about.

Would they actually ever date? I think they'd hold hands once, but then figure out very quickly that they have almost nothing in common. Alhaitham would want a more headstrong person to counter his bluntness, and Nilou would find his introversion frustrating in a dating context.

Rating: 4/10

5) Tighnari/Alhaitham

I sort of see this dynamic as the healthiest version of opposites attract on this list. Now, they're both stubborn bastards, however - where I think Alhaitham and Kaveh lose all braincells upon being in the same room, I think Tighnari and Alhaitham maintain their intelligence.

I like the idea that post archon quest they shared an infirmary room in the Birmastan (Alhaitham via head trauma, Tighnari for his untreated lightning strike lol). They both quickly get fed up with their friends' overprotectiveness and kick the likes of Cyno and Kaveh out. They are both Akademiya graduates who've kind of denounced the Akademiya, Tighnari by quitting to become a forest ranger and Alhaitham by phoning in his entire career :')).

So they get to talking since they only really knew each other through Kaveh previously, and then they vibe doing their own thing when they get bored of conversation. I think they'd understand each other pretty well, and Alhaitham would brush off Tighnari's nagging and Tighnari find Alhaitham's abrasiveness endearing, since he's not an idiot.

Rating: 7/10

However, the context I most like them in is -

6) Kaveh/Alhaitham/Cyno/Tighari

I am an 4ggravate girlie. I love a good poly ship and these guys work very well.

Basically just a combination of everything I've already said:

Alhaitham & Kaveh and Cyno & Tighnari are both in situationships. These are open relationships.

Alhaitham and Cyno (who didn't previously know each other well) start seeing one another in a new light when they're stuck in the desert together for a month fighting against the sages. Feelings ensue.

After the drama, Kaveh realises he wants to make the situation with Alhaitham more concrete because he was worried. He also hangs out with Cyno a lot after Alhaitham and Tighnari kick them out of the infirmary.

So many high stakes and the close companionship makes it so they're all sort of on board with trying a poly sitch. Tighnari seems the type to bring it up first, to Cyno and then to Alhaitham and Kaveh.

Cyno likes the idea but worries a bit that Kaveh and Alhaitham's dynamic would get in the way of an actually healthy relationship.

Alhaitham is a bit iffy cos like - free time, introversion etc, but he does think it would be a good idea to test it out.

Kaveh is pretty totally on board cos all his friends are super hot, though he says "I should have tried using a foursome to force Alhaitham out of his shell ages ago" which actually delays the process quite a lot :'))

Rating: 10/10, Alhaitham gets three boyfriends I cannot see any issues

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sasaranurude · 1 month

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For no reason other than I like the sound of my own voice (...sight of my own typed words...?) here's the character dynamics in 18trip that have managed to intrigue me from just the promotional content. Some shippy, some not. In no particular order

Akuta and Kiroku. Oh my gooodddd the sunny one and the gloomy one are friends... No way... And the way Kiroku smiles so softly when he talks about depending on Akuta for support!?!?!? Adorable!?!?!?

These two were simply made for the softest silliest slice of life shipfics. You know in your heart that they should be written walking around town getting ice cream together and having almost-confessions that get interrupted by a seagull stealing Kiroku's ice cream so Akuta tries to chase it down and get the ice cream back.

Renga and Liguang. They seem to have a bit of a rivalry going. Renga in general seems real fun as a character since he's trying so hard to be such a haughty celeb but even in his two minute interview he failed so bad at it, fumbling over his words and struggling to do basic celebrity things (bro you should be able to give some fanservice lol? The high schoolers are beating your ass). Love the bit about how he wants to live up to part ward mayors, he seems like a guy who desperately wants to be more than he is but doesn't know how to. Liguang is said to be the type who sees through facades to discern someone's competence, so there's so doubt that's why he's zeroed in on Renga. Excited to see where that goes--I hope we get Liguang tearing Renga to pieces so that Renga can build himself back up more confidently. That kind of dynamic can be super fun.

Kafka, Yukikaze, and the MC. I love that the MCs have a preexisting relationship with Kafka and Yukikaze. And it's both of them! Because they're siblings! I love that! Kafka can absolutely be a childhood friend for both of them! And obviously Yukikaze would be a cousin to both of them LMAO. (I don't know if we have concrete ages for the MCs, other than the male MC Kaede being older than the female MC Momiji, but I thiiink--just to make the writing smoother between gender choices--they'll probably put both of them in the 21-24 range between Kafka (20) and Yukikaze (25). I'd guess Kaede is 23 and Momiji is 22 bc again, the closer in age they are the more similarly they can be written so it's just for the sake of expedience, but I'm pulling these numbers out of my ass.)

ANYWAYS, ages provisionally established because those few years gain a bit more importance when you deal with characters who knew each other as kids... about the dynamic--Kafka's quotes in his quiz results MAKE this one. He likes the MC lots ("you're my number one, too", "guess I'll have to plan a strategy to become your number one") to the point that he's competitive about it with Yukikaze, their older cousin. Just, ohmygod, sickly little Kafka who cares about his childhood best friends so much, watching them look at their successful pro figure skater older cousin in awe, hoping to god they'll look at him with that much admiration and affection, and when a risky surgery finally saves him and he can get out there and be successful--he'll do anything to get his friends to look up to him the same way he used to look up to them, the way he saw them look up to Yukikaze--IT'S GETTING TO ME. We don't know how Yukikaze feels about any of this, but I kinda suspect it's a one-sided rivalry on Kafka's part lol. We'll see, it could be fun if it's a mutual rivalry for Kaede & Momiji's affection too. Also, mentioning it at the end since I know it squicks a lot of people, but the "cousin as first love" trope prevails in Japanese media, so there's also a reading of this situation wherein Kafka sees Yukikaze as a romantic rival. If this game takes off you will certainly see doujinshi where it's a love triangle lol. Since both siblings are around I like the idea of Kafka having a bisexual crisis because he realizes he's in love with BOTH the Hamasaki siblings, WHAT DOES HE DOOOO!! The more I write about Kafka the more I like him.

Muneuji and Ushio. I mean, I just spent way too much time talking about some childhood friends so I'm certainly not going to ignore the OTHER childhood friends. I like how both of them play around a bit with gendered expectations, with Muneuji looking feminine and speaking softly but wanting to hide his appearance entirely via his interests (space), while Ushio looks and acts like a rough lil delinquent but his main interest is being a patissier and fudanshi. Oh my god they're narrative foils, ykwim. Other than them depending on each other lots, we haven't seen how their dynamic will play out, so I'm interested to see how that goes. Like, does Ushio take Muneuji's helmet quirk in stride? Does he try to make him remove it, or maybe the opposite and will protect him from the fangirl helmet-removal gang to get his helmet back on? Either could be cute! We'll see! Oh, and I'm not sure how to word it, but there's also something I like about how their interests clash--space is, while, space, it's out there, can't get much farther from earth than space, and Muneuji engages with it by hiding himself and separating himself from the world. Sweets on the other hand are very much an in-your-body thing, forcing you to sit down and experience your own senses and be a part of the world. There's something nice that could be done with that contrast. Basically, what I'm saying is that if you wrote a BL about just these two, it could be SO thematically rich.

Toi and Ryui.

Yeah. Also on top of the codependency their theming goes crazy. An angel fortune teller with psychic acuity and a devilish charm-maker who's possessed by a ghost... Bro...

Nanaki and Kuguri. WHAT IS GOING ON BETWEEN THEM THAT NANAKI CALLS HIM KUGU-NII

KUGU-NII?? KUGU-NII?!?!?!?!?!? LIKE ok Nanaki is a musician from a musical family and Kuguri is an accomplished pianist. So it's not hard to imagine how they met. But becoming close enough that Nanaki relies on him and calls him Kugu-nii... Oh my god... I need to know...

Lightning round "character pairs I'm excited see interact but I have either very little or no basis at all for wanting that"

Nagi and anyone. I like Nagi. I like how he makes jokes with a flat affect. I want him to say strange things to people.

Netaro and anyone in day2. He's weird. I want him to interact with the children just for funnies. Especially Muneuji, I wanna see how the space kid and the alien get along.

Kafka and Toi. It's interesting that Kafka likes fortune telling. I won't psychoanalyze him about it again, but I could.

Netaro and Kinari. It's the engineer and the android and I need it. TEAR THAT ROBOT APART! PULL HIS GUTS OPEN AND SEE WHATS INSIDE!!!!!!

Chihiro and Toi. Toi's admiration for Chii is adorable. I wanna see how Chii interacts with a fan.

Chihiro and Ryui. Ryui, you're allowed to kill Chii if you get jealous of how much your brother likes him. I give you permission.

Liguang and Yukikaze. I want Liguang to treat this professional athlete who's older than him like a pet bunny. Who said that

Yodaka and Liguang. I like that they play mahjong together.

Yodaka and Netaro. I think if they talked the conversation would very very quickly leave the realm of the waking world and would simply not be comprehensible to outsiders. But they understand.

And ok eh yeah that's enough for now. Who knows if any of these will end up going how I'm thinking about them, or if more sides to the characters will be revealed that change my assumptions :)

#suchobabbles #18trip

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wonipeun · 2 years

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༉‧₊˚ enhypen as romantic tropes !

pairing: non-idol!enhypen x gn!reader | genre: fluff, bit of angst warnings: mention of break up (? (please lmk is there's more !!!)

a/n: i'm back 😃 omg- i'm so sorry for this ETERNAL wait, i know it's been a while, i hope you can forgive me. thank you so much for all the support i get daily!!! i will try to update more often from now on :)))

ps: not very proud of this post,,, anyways- still hope you like it!

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이희승 · lee heeseung ‧₊˚

boy next door. you could hardly believe it when your annoying neighbors decided to finally move out, but it was a thousand times more shocking to see that the person who would be living next to you from now on would be that tall black-haired handsome boy with shy bright eyes.

no, he didn't knock on your door to introduce himself. and no, he didn't leave the house much so you could hardly see him (much to your disappointment), but somehow the constant meetings in the elevator and many attempts on your part to strike up a conversation got heeseung starting to having a crush on that cute person living next to him.

it was fun to hear his screams of frustration on the other side of the wall when he lost at games, yet you would always prefer the nights he rang your doorbell with any silly plans to hang out together. who knows… he may one day get up the courage and ask you out, but please be patient, he is doing the best he can!!!!

"have you ever been to that italian restaurant near here? you haven't? that's a shame, it's really good! we could go for lunch together someday if you want… and you know, get to know each other better."

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박종성 · park jongseong ೀ

one-sided love is finally reciprocated. your friend jay has been in love with you since you were little, so you grew up with his constant confessions of his everlasting love for you and his thousand and one attempts to get you to go out with him. you always thought it was the dynamic of your friendship and that jay really got over his crush on you a long time ago, just wanting to continue the joke.

but the truth is that jay never stopped loving you for a single second. he grew up next to you, and along with his height, his feelings for you grew as he saw you become the most precious person in his eyes. he had confessed so many times and in so many different ways that he didn't know how to make you understand that the only thing he wanted was to be with you for the rest of his life.

and you were… confused. you didn't know at what point it happened, but your heart started to race when he was around. that's why one day you simply decided to… reciprocate one of his confessions. the last one, specifically. from now on, he could confess his love by calling himself your boyfriend.

"wait… are you serious? are you agreeing to date me? don't lie to me, i won't let you change your mind later!"

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심재윤 · sim jaeyun ˖ ࣪ ⭑

brother's best friend. jake had been your hallway crush from the moment you laid eyes on him. his brown hair and adorable smile made you fall for him instantly, however him being one year older than you made it much harder to see him.

that's why the surprise was enormous when you saw him enter your house for the first time accompanied by your brother, and let me tell you that he thought exactly the same thing about you.

jake liked you, a lot. and as much as he wanted to respect his best friend, he knew it wouldn't be possible having you around much closer than usual. he'll probably go to "drink water" at the same times as you and "casually" start a conversation in the kitchen. he will try his best to hide how nervous he is and even flirt with you when he feels it's opportune (respectfully, of course). little by little jake will be coming to your house more and more often, and we both know that the reason has nothing to do with your brother.

"from one to ten, how likely is it that your brother will kill me if i kiss you right now? (...) it's okay, i can take it."

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박성훈 · park sunghoon ⊹ ࣪

athletic rivals to lovers. in ice figure skating, only one can be the best. only one can represent the country as "the nation's best ice skater" at the olympics. and for several years, park sunghoon had been the only opponent who had made you doubt your abilities to become that.

he always managed to get on your nerves with his perfect way of doing every single move with that stupid pretty face of his. the feeling was mutual, of course. sunghoon also saw you as his rival from the moment he saw you on the ice ring, unable to help but judge your posture and facial expressions. who would have thought that you two would end up being paired for a duo?

you hated skating next to the perfect park sunghoon, especially since you couldn't help but stare at each and every one of his features closely the moment you were near him. why did he have to be so good-looking? he also hated skating with you, because even though his mind lingered on the feeling of hatred, his heart couldn't help but race when your bodies came closer, intertwining your fingers.

it was all about practicing a performance, but why didn't either of you wanted it to end?

"you've done it wrong again, how can you be so bad? here, take my hands. i'll show you how it's done".

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김선우 · kim sunoo ౨ৎㅤ۫ ㅤ֪

first love. there is no love purer than the first. you and sunoo fell in love at the same time, but it was him who took the first step and decided to confess his love with a beautiful handwritten letter. of course you reciprocated his feelings.

your relationship was the desired relationship of many, especially because you were both perfect for each other. you complemented each other perfectly and everyone envied it with jealous glances, although you were so immersed in your own bubble that you hardly noticed what was going on around you.

sunoo loved you, loves you and will love you as long as time will allow. he wanted that feeling in his chest when you were together to last forever. because he was your first love, and he certainly wanted to be your last.

"stay with me, forever. i promise i'll make it worth it"

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양정원 · yang jungwon ׅ ࣪ ✧

love triangle. jungwon had fallen in love for the first time, and unfortunately it had not turned out as well as he thought it would. especially because of the fact that in your love story of two, there was a third person interfering. and worst of all, it was his best friend.

his friend spent weeks and weeks telling him about you, how nice you were and how much he liked you. he kept insisting for several days to jungwon to help him get your number, and in the end he finally agreed. jungwon went over to ask for your number, and even though he succeeded it, he couldn't help but lie to his friend and say that you rejected him, falling in love instantly and wanting to keep your number all for himself.

he felt terrible for texting you behind his best friend's back, but the rapid beating of his heart when you texted him back made him forget all his worries. maybe he was a bad friend, but he didn't care much if that meant he could be the best boyfriend for you.

"i may have taken longer to realize what i feel for you, but i know i'll treat you better than him. choose me, y/n."

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にしむらりき · nishimura riki ♡ ֺ ׅ

second chance. you and riki, despite being young, had dated for a while a little over a year ago. it was no surprise to anyone that it didn't work out, especially because of the immaturity of both of you and your lack of experience in love.

the relationship ended after a few months and sadly you never spoke again. it was a relationship of immature teenagers, but it was still sad to see the genuine love you had for each other slowly fading with each passing fight. you and riki loved each other, of course, but you didn't love each other in the right way.

you both ended up hurting a lot more than you expected, the days getting harder and harder. you learned to deal with the pain, but ni-ki didn't. he showed up back in your life a year after the breakup, promising to take proper care of you, to love you and talk things over like adults. he couldn't be without you, and losing you helped him realize that he was a big part of the reason for the breakup. he forced himself to change. for both of you.

"please, fall in love with one more time. this time we'll do it right."

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taglist! (open): @love-4-keum @zeesondiary @tyunni @lovr4lix

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sneezemonster15 · 2 years

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Hi! What do you think about this?

Is it true? Or ss shippers spread lies as always?

Hi.

It is legit. And he isn't wrong. However, Sakura is not really the heroine in this story, Sasuke is. One of the anime's directors also said this btw, lol. It's very hard to not see it. But Kishi obviously cannot say that in his interviews. He can't openly talk about the gay love story that he wrote in shounen. Sakura is a girl in the same age bracket and in the same team and she is used as a plot device to develop Sasuke and Naruto's dynamic. So she is given the epithet of heroine when the truth is that Sasuke gets all the tropes and visual imagery that a heroine gets in a love story. Naruto and Shippuden are love stories. And that's just a fact.

Kishimoto also said that he wrote team seven as a love triangle. SS think that Sakura is the centre of this love triangle when the very evident truth is that it's actually Sasuke. Lol. But they just conveniently skip anything that does not act in their favor, they are cute like that. They twist everything in the manga to suit their insane theories and when that doesn't work, they use novels.

Anyway, the excerpt of the interview you shared doesn't really speak in favor of SS. All Kishi is saying is that he felt embarrassed writing that scene. Honestly, Sakura WAS very cringe in that scene. She is obviously a fangirl, always was. She rebukes Sasuke because he doesn't share a single word with her, doesn't tell her anything. I find it very funny when people hype up team seven dynamic when one of the members doesn't even willingly talk with the other but is always ears for the third one ie Naruto. I don't know what makes SS feel so proud because the truth is Sasuke doesn't show a willingness to talk to Sakura at all. It's Always Sakura who tries to get his attention or get in close physical proximity with him.

Regardless, at first Sakura does seem like she is handling it maturely, without trying to manipulate him.

She is right when she says revenge in itself won't bring Sasuke happiness. Sasuke also understands this, and it thaws him a little towards Sakura. Which is why he relents and explains in more words than he has ever said to her, that his goals are central to his existence and he must do everything to make them materialize.

Kishimoto deliberately makes it cringe after this though. Sakura keeps talking about Sasuke as if they were a couple. Sakura says - "Revenge won't bring anyone happiness, neither you Sasuke, nor me."

Lol. How exactly does she figure what she feels is important to Sasuke when he doesn't even talk with her? Lol. Why and where does she think she fits in this whole equation? Sasuke is right, him wanting to avenge his clan has nothing to do with Sakura. Or Naruto. Or Kakashi. So why does she think it would matter to Sasuke how she feels about it? And so he tries to explain it to her because he is a kind boy and doesn't deliberately want to hurt her feelings for no reason.

But she really makes it worse after this, by making it all about herself.

She compares her loneliness, she who has parents, friends, and teachers to care for her, with Sasuke's loneliness. Who has no family. And none of the people in Konoha understand what he has been through, no one was there to care for him when he went through hell, all alone as an eight year old. Being with Naruto starts to heal him, like Oro notices very keenly, but then Itachi's visit happens and everything is unraveled.

She compares her apples with his oranges. Seriously, she has no sense of proportion, does she? What an insensitive thing to say to an orphan. And then, when Sasuke is not affected at all, she confesses to him. So. Much. Cringe. First time I saw this scene, I was like, haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? I was just trying to reconcile to the fact that you mocked Naruto for his orphan status, and then you say this to Sasuke?

I am sure everyone here knows people like her who make everything about themselves. It's quite exhausting to talk to them. But Sakura reminds me of this character, hardship one upper. Lol.

Kishi is such a sensitive writer when it comes to writing emotions, he writes the emotional scenes, especially with Sasuke, with such nuance and delicacy. And then here's Sakura, just crowding up the station with her freight train like confession that morphs from caring about Sasuke's feelings to caring about her own.

It started with - Sasuke you won't be happy even if you got revenge.

To - I won't be either.

To - I won't be happy if you left because I would be as lonely as YOU if you did. (And no, it's not the same as when Naruto tries to stop him from leaving, because for one thing, their love is mutual.)

To - Because I love you. So stay in the village for MY sake.

To - Or take ME with you.

Which is really sad. Because the reason why Sasuke mocked Sakura and called her annoying in chapter three in the first place was because she compared her predicament with Naruto's. She really has no sense of proportion, does she? What does she even know how it feels to be in Naruto's or Sasuke's shoes?

Which is exactly why Sasuke mocks her back. Which she remembers and even reminds Sasuke about it.

This is so ironic. It's her core memory about Sasuke and yet she really learnt nothing from it. Nothing. Sasuke schools her about the difference between her predicament and Naruto's back then.

And he schools her even in this scene.

Sasuke realizes that Sakura has not changed at all. She does the same thing here that she does in chapter three. She fails at understanding both Naruto's and Sasuke's feelings. And makes it about herself both times. Well, she is consistently portrayed as a self absorbed, narcissistic and entitled girl, who must acquire whatever she wants, even Sasuke, who doesn't want her back. Because blimp sized ego. She was trying to manipulate Sasuke so he would stay, for Her sake. She constantly overestimates her importance to both Naruto and Sasuke and fails every single time. Lol. Like when she fake confessed to Naruto thinking Naruto would jump at the chance to get it on with her and quit Sasuke and then she gets rejected lol after which Naruto confesses to Sasuke on the bridge and pledges to die with him. She again attempts to confess to Sasuke at the end of war arc and she again makes it all about herself. Because Sasuke's wish to get justice and reform the world is equal to her wish to have him stay with her because she can't help loving him. Lol. She is such an embarrassment man.

Finally Sasuke has had enough, this was a very satisfying panel btw. Idc if people take offense. But it's not a coincidence that every single time Sasuke gets triggered and calls Sakura annoying, it's always in response to her saying something very selfish, insensitive and disproportionate.

SS can give however many ridiculous (non) reasons, painfully twisted beyond recognition, but lol, they are just trying to cope.

Sasuke is a very perceptive person, deeply attuned to how different people think. He knows Sakura's true nature. He knows how shallow and self centred she is and that her treatment of people is full of artifice. That is why Naruto stands apart and one of the major reasons Sasuke likes Naruto is because there's no artifice in him. What you see is what you get, warts and all, his closetedness is also a part of his personality. Naruto is honest, raw, unrefined and gritty. He doesn't mix words, he is not really very skillful with them. And he doesn't care. Because what matters to him is his emotions, he wears his heart on his sleeve proudly, and Sasuke is in awe of his emotional generosity, just as Naruto is in awe of his intensity and resolve.

Coming back to the interview, Kishi is talking about how fans could perceive it (and SS have) as if they were lovers because Sakura gets so weepy and mawkish, announcing her confession in such a cloying manner. And this scene uses the common trope of the aspirational male character leaving the village to accomplish something and the heroine trying to stop him from leaving, punctuated by heavy emotional beats. But that's just the surface level reading of this scene isn't it? Kishi loves his parallels and his foreshadowing. He is very careful about the way he develops his characters and he won't write them to deviate from their characterization without a reason. Sakura has given Sasuke no reason to actually like her, in fact, she only underscores her inherently shallow and self absorbed personality with everything she says, which has undergone no change whatsoever till date.

Kishi painstakingly keeps her character consistently unchanged even in Boruto. She is the same manipulative, emotionally violent, self centred and egotistical person in Boruto, Gaiden at least, who treats her own daughter so badly when she asks Sakura uncomfortable questions about Sasuke.

Anyway, concluding this winding answer, this scene is quite cringey and Kishi is right in saying that it was embarrassing, because Sakura makes it so. Every. Single. Time.

It's so funny to me that fans simply ignore the fact that the emotional core of this story is based on the concept of truly understanding each other and empathizing. Sasuke doesn't give up till the end and only relents after Naruto lets him know of his feelings that finally resonates with Sasuke. Which finally makes him realize that he is not alone, and it makes him cross over to Naruto's side. Naruto makes a fine profession out of it for heaven's sake, his talk no jutsu being the tool of his trade.

Sakura never understood Sasuke. She never even attempted, she always kept on about her own needs regardless of how Sasuke felt about her or even generally. No one understood him, not Sakura, not Itachi, not Kakashi, no one. Until Naruto. That's why the story ended with their reconciliation. And not the war arc. Because the story is about them.

#ask #naruto #haruno sakura #anti sakura #anti ss #sns #sasuke #uchiha sasuke

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cloudmancy · 2 years

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you guys sent in SO MANY asks and I physically cannot respond to all of them so I’ll post (most) of them at once. I am like a little messaging service an anonymous ruehob confessions blog of a sort... you are welcome... discussion goes in the reblogs/comments

[ID: anon ask reading “ruehob isnt really a like concept of acutal partners to me its just an exploration of regency tropes and dynamics... like i dont understand making like fluff post-canon stuff for them because it feels like the relationship is intentionally pretty shallow because its more about the narrative tension than either of them as Real People in a Real Relationship. theyre here to check the boxes of a dramatic regency romance and that is very fun like i love it but its also not really ABOUT if theyre gonna have a good life after the show”]

[ID: anon ask reading “personally i like ruehob but its true its literally because people hate women and wuvvy deserves so so so much better... i was kinda sad that aabria didn't address wuvvy's side in the AP and just made it out to be like a "ooh fun and drama" thing but maybe it's bc she didn't want to dive deep into it yet and i REALLY hope wuvvy will like. get to make a statement to rue or smth because she deserves FAR better at this point. i know the wuvvy neglect from rue's side might be because the player's have way too many interactions to go through but LORD!!!!!!! its not even supporting womens wrongs at this point bc like wuvvy DESERVES to do at least that much if she's been treated like this :| anyway people will stay hating women and prioritising ~ romance ~ over all else its maddening to see”]

[ID: anon ask reading “could be my years of reading fanfiction but the miscommunication trope are the reason that ruehob are acting like middle schoolers with a crush who they have only talked to twice and saying "they love them" is why they feel like an unfulfilling ship”]

[ID: anon ask reading “not to join the crowd but thank you for putting words to my inarticulate dissatisfaction w ruehob 😭😭 it felt very sudden and maneuvered into place and narratively dissatisfying, like they were trying to hit tropes rather than craft a satisfying romance into the story. there was no buildup!! there was one scene that led to contrived drama for several episodes and now they love each other. it could have been a really fun narrative about an infatuation between two powerful fey and the hearts they trample on in the process, but it's not being framed like that (or, y'know, they could've given their characters a history together). you're right about wuvvy/binx though, i'm a simple lesbian ready to get deeply invested in this”]

[ID: anon ask reading “i gotta thank you homie, after scrolling through your blog it's helped me put my finger on why i'm not as about ruehobb as everyone else seems to be and also that wuvvy can destroy folks, as a treat tbh”]

[ID: anon ask reading “insane take maybe but the ruehob of it all isn't about the long-term relationship- it's about the experience of one person making you reconsider everything. rue and hob do fall fast and hard and their relationship is a catalyst for self-growth more than it is sustainable, which I kind of like tbh and find relevant to at least my queer experience. we don't know what hob (and rue to an extent) would actually be Like because he doesn't know that, because he's never given himself the chance. wuvvy is stable and confident in her identity in a way that rue and hob aren't, and so their dumpster fire mess of longing and repression looks insane and unappealing to her, but I do think it's compelling to watch from our perspective. the issue comes in when every fan acts like they are soulmates who are going to be together 4ever and it's like. we don't know! these people haven't been themselves ever, really, we don't know! I think in AP7 brennan said that he intentionally put a seed of growth in hob that he needed to confront his relationship with his court and duty, etc, and rue just happened to slot perfectly in. it's not about it being rue specifically, it's about the self-discovery of realizing you can be loved, that there is something deeper than orders, as he says. same goes for rue: it's not about the specifics of hob, it's about wanting something and Not putting cordiality and safety and appearances first”]

[ID: anon ask reading “remember when hob was like rue doesn’t actually love me i was just there at a good time. i was sitting here thinking man…i WISH, that’d be way more interesting. anyway to each their own but ruewuvvy rights”]

#asks #anon #acofaf

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mangacat201 · 2 years

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𝐓𝐀𝐆 (𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄) 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

Got tagged by @hedgewyse whom I was very happy to get to know better via this tag game, thanks a lot! Sorry it took so long to respond, I needed to get on tumblr on the laptop where I can actually type up text and I had a lot of things going on this past week that kept me LOL.

Favourite colour: Blue.

No explanation, not particular reason why, it’s just always been blue. All shades from deep purple to almost white. But I have a special place in my heart for the word ‘turquoise’, which I feel is just so the most.

Currently reading: Oh good gosh, my open doc reading list is so long, I will constrain myself to the most recent things...

“(Love is)The second oldest profession” The 9-1-1 Buck/Eddie pornstar!AU I knew I needed but kept for a special occasion

I’m also reading “Achtsam Morden” a national German bestseller and the first actual like physical book I’ve picked up in probably four years. It’s hilarious and murdery and perfect

I’m listening to “Blood & Paper” by Kevin Hearne (whom I recently got to meet at a book signing event when he was visiting here and a friend asked me to spontaneously tag along - best decision in ages) Love the audiobook version read by Luke Daniels, he’s a whizz with the accents.

“Hide the drums (there’s fire in the sky)” latest installment of the Magical Marriage Ribbons-Verse, the Untamed Mega Saga, for which the author starandrea has been posting a chapter every day since May 31st 2020, so 805 consecutive days as of now without missing ONE. It boggles the mind. (I’ve started reading when the verse was ... oh I think about three parts in, I haven’t missed one too since then)

Last song: “The Greatest Show on Earth” - Nightwish, it’s my soundtrack for my daily yoga practice (no I am in fact not joking), so it doesn’t really count last leisure listening was the soundtrack of ‘Robin Hood - Das Musical’

Last series: Ooofff... ok, so many balls in the air at the same time. I’m watching “The Sandman” of course, as you do and loving it. Also “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” which is THE MOST(tm). Recently finished my rewatch and catch-up of “Manifest” and rewatched a couple of episodes of The Devil Judge with a friend who just started and that I got into it, remembering why I can’t be normal about those boys (and how delightful it is to rewatch with someone experiencing sth for the first time). Of course went down the magnificent and batshit crazy rabbithole that is Kinnporsche. Also, “Tomorrow” which is definitely my fav K-Drama of 2022.

Last movie: Day Shift - Fun and a nice remix of vampire tropes that you don’t really see on top of each other a lot. But it felt more like a set up to a movie trilogy I don’t know if it’s made enough impact into getting, so the premise might have been served better as a mini series? ...The Gray Man, which was solid and enjoyable and absolutely bonkers with how hilarious it was to watch Chris Evans have a ton of fun playing straight up, no holds barred, unredeemable villian. Ryan Gosling can stay... Ana de Armas is queen bee.

Currently working on: My last day of vacation :sob: and of course my WIP/plot bunnie enclosure excel spreadsheet (yes, I do not do things by half until I halfass writing them). Anyway, actual words or plotty thinky thoughts were put into:

- The Devil Judge a/b/o PWP (that has, so far, about 5k of set up and no porn) with a Jung Sunah made them do it scenario and non-traditional dynamics (yeah, idek...)

- Vincenzo Inception fusion - Jang Han Seo wakes up from getting shot to a curious set up of sleeping people around him (really really wanna write this one but the premise is so vast I’m afraid of flaming out again)

- three separate 9-1-1 Buddie fics of varying size and scope that reaches from one’s in love the other isn’t and confessions make things complicated (or do they), the fall out from the truck bombing goes the other way for Buck & the “Eddie deals with his 5B-issues by discovering shibari”!AU (do NOT try this at home-therapy)

- The Untamed - Blades of Glory!AU

pheeeeew. hooookay, wow, that was interesting, hope your learned something about me. I’mma tag some people, but please, feel free to participate at your own leisure. @hattalove, @the-marathon-continues-nip , @iskarieot, @themostglorioushour, @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels , @fondofeveryprickle, @ahhhnorealnamesallowed, @sam-t-a, @b612sunsets

#tag game #get to know me #lol

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reachexceedinggrasp · 1 year

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I go back and reread your posts occasionally because I really resonate with your posts about Epic Romance that I think transcends some of the tropes fandoms evolve around (e.g. enemies to lovers) which I don't always find myself connnecting with. I am just a bit curious about something:

What do you think of the pairing Solas/Lavellan from Dragon Age? (I searched your blog for it just in case you already spoke on the subject but sorry if I missed it).

I don't know if video games are your thing, or if a Player Character changes the dynamic you're into, but I was curious because it's a mythic romance of quite epic proportions. I know you've mentioned you sort of don't like a blog that is into adjacent ships to it (I think when you discussed Raistlin/Crysania) or maybe I'm just reading into that hahahah, so I understand if that influences if you do/don't. What I like about it beyond the character of Solas is that it's a tragedy with potential for hope ('Our love will endure'), and I think that's something your speed?

If you are not interested in the pairing (though I'd be interested to hear why, especially because Solas hits a few similar archetypal boxes and the reason why you don't like the pairing is as interesting to me as why you would!) and want another question to respond to instead:

2. Are there any new ships you've got into recently, or old you've revisited?

Hope you are doing well and doing the things you love!

Thank you for the ask! Yeah, same. EtL is only rarely written with the dynamic that I like, so most of the popular ships are not for me. I think I've disappointed a lot of fellow travellers by having zero interest in rivalry or frenemies style EtL ships.

I do play games, but I've only played like five minutes of one of the Dragon Age games. I've seen a lot of people talking about Solas and know he's the wank magnet tragic murder boy fav of the franchise, but I haven't gathered much of anything about the ship dynamic. I don't know enough about his arc/characterisation to say whether I'd be interested. But for sure, if there's an element of enduring hope, tragic romance can be my thing (so I read 5437540 fix-it fics).

I'm sorry I really don't have any thoughts to offer either way! :( If I get around to playing the game, I will post any ramblings I have about it!

I'm developing a fic for my long latent and repressed Cosmo/Kathy shipping urges, but that's like a radical departure for me on several levels lmao. Yes, I confess, sometimes I'll ship a couple of wholesome cinnamon rolls who have zero conflict because the banter is spicy and the vibes are adorable.

It's so funny how people are always trying to compare B&tB ships (like Reylo, E/C, etc. with grotesques or tragic heroes) to the Bad Boy/Ingenue/Nice Guy triangle and dismiss redemption romance fans as silly girls who haven't learned their lesson about being attracted to Bad Boys, because any example you can name of a triangle where the love interest is actually a Bad Boy, I ship her with the faithful friend (not a Nice Guy, but a legitimately nice guy). Like, I watched Pretty In Pink a couple years ago and man it was obvious she was not supposed to end up with Blane. I felt so vindicated when I read about the intended ending lol.

But anyway, I've been crying about whouffaldi again lately, re-reading some E/C fics, thinking of fleshing out/finishing some very self-indulgent E/C one-shots I made notes for, still wanting to write that Oh Hyun Jae/Soo Young fic that I accidentally wrote a kind of weird 'humour' prequel too D:, and as always trying to finish my Lokane fic finally. It has 2-3 more chapters, tops, and it's killing me I can't just get it done. It already has its main emotional climax, so I'm not leaving people hanging too bad, but maaaaannn!!! I swore a blood oath with myself I wouldn't start another novel-length fic until it is finished and this has lead to cascade of procrastination where I use it as an excuse not to do other things while also making zero progress with it. Agjkdfhdfd.

Also, I kinda want to add that extra chapter to my Bang-won/Hui Jae fic because I looooooove him and it's such a great pairing and I was pleasantly surprised how well that fic turned out, but it would be hard to justify and thus hard to find an 'ending' for it. It'd just be some 'stuff' pasted on lol.

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bluebunnysart · 4 months

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Ok since this is where I post my fandom stuff now, I'm just gonna write it here. But I miss Sumikeke from LL Superstar so much lol

I just finished rereading one of my favorite fics ever about them and it's such a masterpiece. Still so amazing today. It contains so much yearning and feelings and depth that even though it's like at least 30k words long, it ends way too quickly and I'd happily read more and more.

It's not like I can't keep shipping Sumikeke now, but I was going through the tag again and another tumblr user put it really well: their dynamic and characterization was absolutely ruined in season 2, which is also why I felt really unpleasant watching it and had no idea how to react to the canon confession scene. It's nice that it happened at all, sure, but by that time, my love for the ship had already begun to fade (for reasons) and s2 seemed to just confirm my annoyances, frustrations, and fears.

I loved Sumikeke though. Don't get me wrong. I actually don't regret any of the time I spent on them at all, and I truly had so much fun indulging in this love of mine. They were great and brilliant, and I know people have different feelings about it (even going as far as calling it abusive :c ), but in my opinion, there was a method and an art to smkk that I tried to convey when I spent those times in college writing actual fanfiction for them lol.

First of all, and this is a big reason why I fell out of love with it, smkk is a bickering couple, but there's a line and nuance you need to have, otherwise it does turn abusive and boring and not romantic at all. When I first watched season 1, I was drawn in by how kind and gentle Sumire could be (big sister-like, taking care of Keke or giving her soft looks) and I latched onto that immediately. I dunno how fast it took to show up, but maybe by like episode 3, I was already eyeing them and wondering what kind of dynamic we'd have there.

As for Keke's antagonism towards Sumire, there was an obvious reason for that. Sumire was looking down on and using Liella to bolster herself, but to Keke, Liella and school idols were everything. It's a natural conflict that arises from people whose goals and opinions differ and who obviously clash over ideology and dreams. Keke would tease or snub Sumire, but it never crossed into actual bullying or anything, last I saw. Just the expected bickering between someone who actually might not like the other and Sumire, who knows she messed up and tries to make up for it, but it's fine if relationships aren't all sunshine and rainbows. Actually, I used to really love the tsundere trope and tsundere-like couples, so when I shipped smkk, I liked them in a more tsundere way. As the anime progressed, their relationship clearly improved and even had plot relevance and all that, and I was really impressed by all of it and fell in love and wanted to give back as a fan by making as much delicious smkk content as possible.

The method to the madness is Keke is childish, demanding, and even annoying maybe (I liked Keke tho lol), but Sumire loves her and since they're teenagers, they eventually grow out of such childish behavior/bickering but the fact remains that they love each other and it's really sweet and cute to see. Sumire was my fave Superstar chara (probably still is? idk), and I just looved her love for Keke and completely enjoyed coming up with story ideas that would showcase that. It's liking someone and having a crush on them even if they're kinda annoying but since you like them, you can look past that. It's that kind of love...!

But anyway. To be quite frank, the fandom ruined smkk for me, and I'm sad I let it happen. If smkk is like 50% arguing and 50% fluff (which is kinda a high percentage, I'll give you that), the fandom kicked it up a notch where it was like 90% arguing and 10% just deciding to make out after saying super cruel/dumb things to each other. I saw a lot of unpleasant things I really disliked (including straight-up immoral SA stuff) and I saw that my excitement from checking the tag eventually turned into aversion and eventually dislike/annoyance/irritation/frustration/anger.

Season 2 having them continue to bicker for bad reasons didn't help things and it felt like the anime was on the fandom's side in that regard. It's fine to give the fandom fanservice, obviously, but that's when I kind of lost interest for good and moved on.

But I truly had a fun time loving smkk, and it had so much potential and was so good. I really truly enjoyed it and that's why I miss it. I think with the release of SIF2 and seeing smkk in there, I was reminded a bit of my old fire (my old love), but in short, it's really unfortunate when fandom (or the show itself) ruins something for you.

I could say the same about my immense love of Shioriko and how I was really disappointed how they wrote and treated her (in the anime and side materials like Nijiyon too), but part of that's personal bias. The true Shioriko I like is probably SIFAS Shioriko and the other Shioriko's exist as their own entities, but since they're all supposed to be the same chara, it's hard to love her in the exact same way if you get what I mean, especially when I had such high hopes and expectations. It's ok though: such is life.

Anyway, I obviously like loving and affectionate ships a lot more than, like, bickering ships. Smkk was just special to me because when two girls act like that canonically, it's a lot easier to claim they're into each other or hiding feelings for each other. I also want to add that I liked the idea of Keke being embarrassed of her feelings for Sumire and that translating a bit into aggression-- obviously as Keke gets older or her feelings are reciprocated or her friends accept her for who she is, she gets less teenage-y about it.

That was a trip down memory lane though. I really care for LL, even though it breaks my heart sometimes. "Expectation leads to resentment", they say, so maybe I shouldn't expect anything at all?

I miss these girls and hope they get better writing. I'll still love yuri and shipping girls for as long as I live xD

#my rambles

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vanitasnocarteconfessions · 2 years

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“Another anime!Misha arc confession because since the finale came out I've been having too many negative emotions about it. The erasure of Vanitas and Misha's entire dynamic in order to push in Vanitas' choice of choosing Noe to help him die is completely... awful. They made it sound like something out of logic rather than trust. The I DON'T NEED YOU line directed at Misha just tells me the animators don't like him. That line wasn't in the manga. That line was completely unnecessary. Vani loves his brother and he's horrible at showing it. But he would never say that. He would never say such a cruel thing after such a cruel reunion. Vani is not cruel! As much as he likes to pretend to be. He's all bark, no bite. He's too good. We've seen that time and time again. Yet this anime decided to yank that complex brotherly bond for no apparent reason. They've destroyed Misha's character into a crazy little brother trope. They didn't include how smart he was. They didn't include the smugness of him being able to block bullets. The hints that Vanitas knew it wouldn't work but did it anyway to prove how serious he was to not bring Luna back. There's so many layers between these brothers that to erase it and rush the anime was uncalled for. They erased so much of the blue moon dynamic. They erased how Noe was overwhelmed with Misha's heartache during the fight which meant that he was only so violent at first because of those emotions. Misha is a traumatized child and the anime decided to go LOL LETS SKIP THAT, show he's crazy and toss it aside! Erase the complex dynamic Jun made and make the choice Vanitas made seem more out of cold logic rather than the TRUST he has for Noe and the WISH for Misha to never go through what he went through. To never have to kill his own kin. To not suffer any more heartache like that. But hey, the anime is really pretty, am I right? Why focus on the complexities at all! I'm sorry this is so long but the fact they changed this arc so much is completely heartbreaking to me.“

#vnc confessions #mikhail #vanitas #noe archiviste #negative confession #non ship confession #tell me if you want me to add extra tags

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shinidamachu · 3 years

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If sunrise tried to emphasize the love triangle, they did a terrible job! 😂 Like you said, even with all the nuances, it was so clear to me at least that Inuyasha loved Kagome and felt incredible guilt over Kikyo. When I was watching the anime for the first time, my sister was like "oh yeah the love triangle is not really in the manga" and I'm like, "wait, there's a love triangle?" 😂 I just didn't get it. My love for the anime will never die though, that's just me.

This is the part where you all boo me because I confess that I'm not really against love triangles in general. I know it's overused, I know it can be frustrating and I understand if it's not for you. I, myself, have a couple of tropes I always try to avoid. But I never had a problem with love triangles.

It's the way they are portrayed and then solved that dictates if they did or did not work. And by "work" I don't mean "the couple I was rooting for became endgame." I mean "the love triangle was essential narratively and, as a result, who the characters ended up with made total sense with the story, developing and finishing their arcs in a way that feels organic rather than forced.”

In my opinion, the love triangle in Inuyasha felt flat because it wasn’t really necessary. It looked like its main purpose was to refrain Inuyasha and Kagome from being together romantically so they could milk the “will they, won’t they” suspense. And I get why. However, there were more substancial ways to do that.

We’re talking about an interracial pairing, from (literally) different worlds, in the middle of an universe saving journey. After a rocky start, they finally managed to become friends. Oh, and the girl is the reincarnation of the boy’s former lover. How aren’t these more than enough obstacles to keep them from pursuing a relationship?

Maybe Inuyasha wanted to protect Kagome from the consequences of dating a half demon. Maybe they didn’t want to start a relationship knowing their days were numbered, since they didn’t belong in each other’s era and would eventually have to part ways when the quest was over. Maybe the time wasn’t right because they had bigger priorities. Maybe they didn’t want to risk the friendship. Maybe they weren’t sure if Inuyasha was truly in love with Kagome or just projecting the feelings he once had for his deceased lover into her reincarnation. Maybe all of that. But each and every one of those reasons could have been explored without the love triangle. It wasn’t needed.

Because ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ was essential to the story, but her ressurection wasn’t.

Now, if they were adamant about it even still, the least they could have done was to give ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ a fighting chance. If she had to come back, then Takahashi should have done it for real. No clay and graveyard soil body. Give me human, flesh and bones ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ. Give ɪɴᴜᴋɪᴋ an opportunity to truly try again, to sort out their issues, to actually be a “threat” to Inukag.

But with the way ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ was brought back, there were only two ways for ɪɴᴜᴋɪᴋ to happen. She either drags the main character back to hell with her like she first intended or they stay together even though she’s basically a walking doll and wasn’t supposed to be there. The audience knows neither one is really an viable option and therefore doesn’t expect it to happen, anyway.

It was never a choice between Kagome and ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ. It was a choice between love and duty. Love and grief. Love and guilt. Guilt for not trusting ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ enough, for failing her. But also guilt for being happily in love with Kagome while ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ is all alone, feeling angry, miserable and betrayed. Kagome doesn’t understand that and jumps to conclusions. To her, it means Inuyasha still loves ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ. She feels hurt and we’re compelled to empathize with her pain, but her jealousy makes her biased.

Inuyasha and Kagome were always making progress, while Inuyasha and ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ froze in time. Even the major problems in the ɪɴᴜᴋɪᴋ relationship were “fixed” in Inukag. ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ wrongfully put an arrow through Inuyasha’s chest? Kagome was the one to pull it out. ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ didn’t trust Inuyasha enough? Kagome trusted him blindly. ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ suggested to get rid of Inuyasha’s demonic side? Kagome told and showed Inuyasha she liked him just the way he was. Inuyasha put ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ on a pedestal? With Kagome, he never had trouble acknowledging her flaws and loving her all the more for it.

I’m not saying Inukag is perfect. I’m saying they had their own issues because they had their own dynamic because Kagome is not ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ. The difference is that they worked very hard to solve them, while we never really saw ɪɴᴜᴋɪᴋ doing the same even though they desperately needed to. So Inukag had great development and a fleshed out relationship while ɪɴᴜᴋɪᴋ kept running in circles.

How many times did Inuyasha run off to be with ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ? And how many times did those meetings actually brought meaningful changes to the so called triangle? It was always the same: Inuyasha goes to ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ, Kagome gets hurt because of it, nothing substancial happens between Inuyasha and ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ, Inuyasha goes back to Kagome. Repeat. It gets old real fast and when we know that drill by heart it becomes boring at best and annoying at worst.

It doesn’t matter how many times they make other characters say that Inuyasha and ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ are in love or that Inuyasha wanted to protect ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ forever, when the narrative itself shows us a different story. There was nothing stopping Inuyasha from going to ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ and staying by her side, but he deliberately always chooses to go back to Kagome because she’s the one he’s truly in love with.

And so, not only it wouldn’t have made sense for ɪɴᴜᴋɪᴋ to end up together with the way their relationship was portrayed, but is unfair to ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ’s character to be used as a source of angst for the endgame couple, dragged into a love triangle that brings nothing to the table when she had great potential to be way more than that.

What did Inuyasha get out of it? Letting go of his guilt and grief to get closure? What did Kagome get out of it? Realization that she was her own person and had her own place inside his heart? I don’t see how the love triangle was imperative for any of that to happen.

What did ᴋɪᴋʏᴏ get out of it? 10 seconds of being an ordinary woman in Inuyasha’s arms right before dying again? That’s why they dragged her out of her resting place? It was a beautiful scene and I understand the symbolism but it just didn’t feel worth it after everything she went through.

The thing she wanted the most in the world was to live as an ordinary woman. And since they brought her back, they should have granted her that even if it wasn’t with Inuyasha, instead of killing her off the second she finally got it.

#Thank you for your ask #Sorry I got carried away #As I do #Inuyasha #Kagome #Inukag #Kagome Higurashi

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ladyinbooks · 2 years

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the dynamic between samiel/jay and hess/dan is always so feral but touching... your honor i love your boys so much. how does inspiration strike for character profiles or your stories? do you have plans for another project in the future?

LOVELY ANON! 🤗

Firstly I love your description of Hess/Dan, but honestly you've made me so happy this evening reading you love my boys! ❤️❤️❤️

Inspiration tends to strike in a whole host of different ways. I apologise, I'm about to get a little rambling here:

So, IB came about from a long, long time plotting. There was a period where things were not always happy, and for me it was just nice to escape and think about fun little scifi/fantasy things. Plotting became a way to do something good, even when things were down.

IB was originally meant to be very different indeed. It was a love story, but it was far more about Lenian mythology, and far less about politics.

Which is to say: it wasn't about Samiel and Jay at all.

It was about Hird and Venndred.

Samiel and Jay were meant to be side characters. Jay in particular, was meant to be a slightly morally grey character, and one of those 'not sure if he's trustworthy' types.

However, I honestly can't tell you exactly what happened. Just one day, I was sitting on the bus thinking about things, and Samiel very gently, and very politely, made it known that he was in love with Jason Lane.

And he had a back story.

And it was a big one.

And actually IB was about him, and Jason, and everything they would do for each other.

I... couldn't really argue with that.

I mean, in short when it came to IB, I have to blame the whole thing on the fact that two character, who were absolutely meant to be side characters, just came up and politely told me who they were, and what they were willing to do for one another.

And then I had to work out the rest. 🤣

For P2P, it was slightly different.

I have to hold my hands up and confess: it started off (as quite often my plotting does) as a spite fic.

When I say 'spite fic', I mean there will be a particular genre, or trope, or even just a book, where I'll get a kind of itch. There'll be a horrible voice at the back of my mind, wailing: 'No! This isn't how it should be! Why doesn't the author take a risk and do this?!'

P2P was my 'enemies to lovers' spite fic.

I say that, because honestly a lot of E2L is 'mild dislike to friends to lovers'. Or even 'enemies to friends to lovers'. I wanted to have a fic that really kind of went for 'actual enemies, who become lovers'. It doesn't negate the enemies part - it certainly doesn't negate the horrible things they still do to one another - but they are awfully, dreadfully, appallingly in love with one another anyway.

And then I got to wondering about what exactly the setting of this fic should be.

I won't bore you with the details, but I'd finished some work where the concept of the Antichrist was touched on, and I think at that point my brain just went 'Well, why not that? Why not have an Antichrist who is desperately in love with a human?'

So it kind of went from there.

I will add, although in terms of sheer plotting IB was far more work, there are a lot of little easter eggs (pardon the pun of the day) in P2P. Names, roles, settings and mythology were all great fun to sneak into that world. I mean, there's a reason Dan and Hess have those names. 😉

All of which, lovely Anon, is a very long way of me saying: sometimes the characters just appear and beat me over the head, and other times I think my brain just kind of collects shiny thoughts until a plot appears!

I do have plans for future projects! Next up is Rarely Pure (space dragons!), which is set in the IB universe. Then Going Down (criminal underworld in the IB universe!). After that, I've got a fantasy plot that's currently simmering at the back of my brain.

All of which should keep me writing for, er, the next couple of years! 😅

#lady replies

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curioussubjects · 4 years

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come be a season 12 truther with me; or what if dean and cas got together offscreen

Originally, I wrote this post to celebrate “Galaxy Brain” airing as Berens & Glynn gave us “The Future.” It’s been a while since that episode aired, and some things have changed about this meta. As such, there are multiple versions of this post floating around, so make sure to go back to the source for the most up to date version. For all intents and purposes, this post functions as a meta manifesto not unlike shipping manifestos from days of LJ past. In keeping with that tradition, this post is a close reading of Dabb Era Destiel in which I argue that by using narrative gaps, queer coding, and romance tropes, Dean and Cas are shown to be in an established relationship. Although beyond the scope of this post, it’s worth pointing out that keeping Destiel mostly off screen was a way for the creatives to bypass network censorship while still remaining true to the characters.

This post is divided into three sections. Section I focuses on giving an overview of why earlier seasons of Supernatural aren’t as compelling as season 12 as a turning point for Dean and Cas’s relationship. That said, special consideration is given to 09.06 “Heaven Can’t Wait” as a potential rest stop in our journey due to it’s significantly placed narrative gap as well as themes in the episode. However, this post isn’t going to examine season 9 trutherism in depth, though it does coexist with and allow for it. Section II analyses season 12 and proposes a timeline and justification for the shifting Destiel dynamic. Finally, Section III will offer an analysis of how Dean and Cas’s relationship has changed dramatically from previous seasons in a way that is most like the shift from a “will they or won’t they” pairing to an established one.

Before I move to Section I, I’d like to note something this post takes for granted: Dean and Cas are the main romantic subplot of Supernatural, and, in fact, their relationship is elevated to main plot for both characters in season 15. This post won’t argue about the canonicity of Dean and Cas’s feelings for each other, therefore, and so won’t spend time looking at many Destiel defining moments. I’d also like to make clear that this post also takes for granted that Destiel is being intentionally developed by the writers starting with Carver’s Era, and more so in Dabb’s.

I. Why Seasons 4 through 11 May Not be It

The tl;dr. here is that while there are many moments throughout these seasons that Dean and Cas could potentially get together, none of those moments are ideal for a bunch of reasons that can be summed up as really bad timing. I also think the narrative is actively pushing them towards a moment that works. We get plenty of stepping stones, especially once we hit seasons 8 through 11 (and 11 most of all).

Seasons 4 & 5:

I know there’s been a lot of get together fics over the years set in this time period, but I just don’t see it. Do I see them being intrigued and drawn to each other? Yes. Do I think either Cas or Dean would act on it? Nope. I’m not arguing anything re: Dean’s feelings, but with everything going at the time I find it hard to believe he’d pursue anything with his angel friend. Most importantly here, though, is that during this time Cas was still very alien and other. There was too much angel in him, and while he obviously came to care about Dean (and Sam) very much, I just can’t see him navigating the realm of human relationships. That said, seeing human!Cas in “The End” is the first we see of potential developments for how Cas could behave without his angelness interfering. Being human changes Cas a lot, beyond even his experience existing among humans, though that of course matters too. This development will be important later /wink.

Seasons 6 & 7:

Before anything else let me just recognize that if we could see some sexual tension in seasons 4 & 5, these two seasons come with our first taste of romantic tension. The pining! Also note the difference between season 4 Cas and season 6 Cas in terms of behaviour. He is much less the angel we saw in that barn in “Lazarus Rising.” In season 6, we have a Cas making misguided decisions guided entirely by his emotions – namely, not wanting to involve Dean with the war in heaven – which is peak human, honestly. Put a pin on how sad Dean is in both seasons with Cas’s absence. Finally, put a pin on this being our first moment of Cas doing things on his own to spare Dean and it not ending well (soulless!Sam, Cas “dying” after Leviathan) because this is *the* hurdle in their relationship (along with Dean’s lashing out and self-worth issues). With all this said, the marked distance between Dean and Cas in these seasons negates the possibility of them entering into any kind of relationship. Much like seasons 4 and 5, there’s too much going on.

Season 8:

Ah, yes, the summer of purgatory. If you thought we had pining before…! I think we’re all very clear on season 8 being a turning point for the show, not only because new showrunner, but we also get the bunker. TFW now has an HQ, which pretty soon becomes home. Yes, Baby will always be home, but the bunker becomes the *unmovable* safe haven that Baby couldn’t be. The bunker is a place to coalesce, and for all the amazing things Baby is, she is not that. The acquisition of the bunker marks a shift in the psychology of the show: with the stable home space we can start to imagine domesticity, a place to come home to, the stuff of ordinary living. Most of all, the bunker is emblematic of security, of safety –keep this in mind, as we go forward.

This season also continues to see Cas go down the path of independently solving his problems instead of asking for help from Sam and Dean (his family in a way heaven never was) – note that the better together issue is at play in different ways with Sam and Dean also, but I digress. I also want to point out disastrous instance #2 of Cas’s insistence on figuring it out on his own: he loses his grace, and the angels fall. As for Dean, season 8’s focus for him has much to do with Sam, and them coming face to face with their issues with codependency, which hit catastrophic levels with the gates of hell and Gadreel plots.

So despite all the deliciously angsty get together purgatory fics and spec, there’s too much distance between Dean and Cas on Cas’s part due to his guilt over betraying the Winchesters in s6 plus slaughtering angels plus unleashing Leviathan. We do see Dean being more emotionally open with Cas and continue to voicing his wish that Cas would just stay with him and Sam, and let them help. It’s clear as day how much Dean cares. The timing is still bad, though.

Before moving on to next season, let’s take a moment to appreciate that this is the season Dean admits being kinda done with one night stands because “always with the adios.” Remember the bunker as a sign of stability? Yeah. I wouldn’t say Dean is craving a relationship, exactly, but I think we can see that he does want something more (ahem also I’m nodding to Cas refusing to stay put just cause).

Seasons 9 & 10:

The most important thing to happen between this two seasons is Cas’s stint as a human for an extended period of time. There’s been plenty of spec and meta written over the years about the effects of being human on Cas’s grace (a proto-soul now maybe?). What we can say for sure, regardless, is that Cas is much more humanized once he becomes an angel again. The understanding he gets from being human doesn’t go away once he regains his angel powers. You’ll notice that while we still see some of season 4’s characterization, Cas is not the same as he was – he is alien to angels now and is more intelligible to humans. Additionally, in an interesting reversal from previous seasons, we now get to see the depth of Cas’s feelings for Dean (thanks, Metatron) as well as seeing him be more open emotionally, while Dean does most of the pushing away (first because of Gadreel, then because of the Mark of Cain). In short, the timing is still bad as Dean and Cas are largely kept apart both physically and emotionally.

9.06 Heaven Can’t Wait

This episode is my white whale, friends. While I’ve come to fully subscribe to the idea that something did happen between Dean and Cas during the fanfic gap, I don’t actually think it’s feasible that it marked the start of a relationship -- be it sexual or romantic. My reasoning here is quite simple: the timing is bad. Were it not for external events (Cas regaining his Grace and Dean taking on the MoC), the course would have likely differed. Furthermore, Dean’s guilt over making Cas leave the bunker as well as Cas’s own hurt and self-loathing pose a significant and as yet insurmountable obstacle, which is easily seen with how Dean and Cas’s character trajectories go separate ways.

YMMV on what exactly happened between them in that Motel, but something definitely did. Perhaps one day I’ll have a proper s9 trutherism post to link to here for more details (likely won’t be written by me, though).

10.16 Paint It Black

From the point Dean gets the MoC until the end of season 10, anything between him and Cas is quite impossible due to distancing, to say the least. Again, yes, the fic is really good, but alas. One of the reasons I’m bringing up this episode in particular is because of the confession scene. One, it’s a rare bit of explicit emotional honesty from Dean, and two, it tells me that while he and Cas may be well aware of the Thing™ between them, it’s still uncharted waters. It’s scary, and murky, and they’re unsure how to navigated it or if they should even try. Makes sense, too, there’s been A LOT going on since s6. Anyway, he’s the full confession:

You know, the life I live, the work I do…I pretty much just figured that that was all there was to me, you know? Tear around and jam the key in the ignition and haul ass until I ran out of gas. I guess I just thought sooner or later, I’d go out the same way that I live – pedal to the metal, and that would be it. […] Now, um… recent events, uh… make me think I might be closer to that than I really thought. And…I don’t know. I mean, you know, there’s – there’s things, there’s…people, feelings that I-I-I want to experience differently than I have before, or maybe even for the first time. […] Yeah, I’m just starting to think that… maybe there’s more to it all than I thought.

Can I just say, first, that this confession keeps me up at night because we never actually see anything done with it explicitly? I mean, obviously, I think we do in fact see the effects of this confession in the show, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this behemoth, but still, like. Damn. Ok, so, remember when I brought up that thing in season 7 about Dean being kinda done with hook-ups? Here’s where that led us. We’re seeing a Dean here who wants more than what he has convinced himself he gets to have. He wants more than dying bloody. And when he talks about wanting to experience people and feelings differently, well, that says a lot not just on the queer coding front or the romantic front. I mean, jfc, Dean is accepting the idea that he can have more in life than just hunt until he drops, and he’s specifically talking about experiences at the interpersonal level.

Do you ever see a character having an epiphany and find yourself wanting to cry because this is it right here. Dean is just blatantly admitting he wants more and maybe he can make himself be open to that (!!!), which all culminates in season 11, so…

Season 11:

The pining is still here, but it’s worse now since it’s the whole plot? It’s been *checks calendar* 5 years of this. How are any of us still kicking I don’t know. Your slow burns could never. Cool worth noting points: Cas says yes to Lucifer (bad decision #2.5, lots of mitigating effects_I don’t actually hold it against him that much but Dean is another story & not entirely rational at this point); for the first time since the early days, Dean and Cas are on equal grounds: they’ve both fucked up a lot and have hurt each other. The issues this season are outside their dynamic. Amara and Lucifer here serve as externalizing forces for Dean and Cas’s problems: Cas checks out with Lucifer because he thinks it’s the only way he can help, Dean is caught up in the turmoil of Amara, the emblem of absence and avoidance of struggle. We do get something like an affirmation from the two of them to each other via Dean calling Cas his brother (and I want y’all to consider the historical queering of that statement, and Cas’s “I could go with you.” It feels like we’re headed to them being on the same page. By the end of the season, though, it feels like we’re getting a clean slate: Mary is back, nobody died, no end-of-the-world in sight, no interpersonal crisis. We’re also getting a new showrunner, so. No wonder. We’re gearing up for something, but I’m getting ahead of myself. What this season does that is super important is that it sets up the stage for the possibility of an actual relationship between Dean and Cas, something that has, up until this point, been pretty much impossible.

11.04 Baby

Y’all know what I’m about to quote here, right? That conversation between Dean and Sam about having something with someone who understands the life. Here we still have Dean reverting to the idea that it’s impossible, which is a direct contrast to the openness in 10.16. It’s understandable, though, considering there’s been little reason to think anything like that would be possible (see all the mess and poor timing from seasons past). The quote in question, though, marks a continuing development regarding the issues Dean is struggling with this season:

DEAN: Piper? That’s awesome. Heather. One-night wonders, man. Shoot, we’re lucky we still get that at all. SAM: Really? You don’t … Ever want something more? DEAN: I’m sorry, have you met us? We’re batting a whopping zero in domestic life, man. Goose eggs. SAM: You don’t ever think about something? Not marriage or whatever. But … Something? You know, with a hunter? Somebody who understands the life?

We wouldn’t be talking about this stuff all these years after Sam and Dean had a serious relationship if it wasn’t important, right? Also who else do we meet this season? That’s right! Eileen! And doesn’t that hit different with season 15 hindsight? And who does Dean have that understands the life? Whose stories have been intricately connected to his? Right now, this is all conjecture. A pipe dream Sam is revisiting, and Dean is skeptical about. Except, well. Look at what we get in “Into the Mystic” and “The Chitters.”

11.11 Into The Mystic

I’m bringing up this episode as a cross reference to “Paint It Black” as well as to complement the talk from “Baby,” and to show, again, that, for all the closeness between Dean and Cas, there’s still a marked distance they haven’t yet bridged. There’s still truths they haven’t told each other. Thanks Mildred for the delicious exposition:

Darlin’…If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years on the road, it’s when somebody’s pining for somebody else. […] Oh, don’t try and hide it now. Follow your heart. Remember?

11.19 The Chitters

And here we see some validation to Sam’s imagining of a possible future with someone else. We actually see hunters who not only are married, but they both make it out alive. Jesse and Cesar get their happy ending. They make the dream come true. And the reality of it important not just for Dean to see, but Sam too.

Dean: [with realization] Oh, so … [points back and forth to Jesse and Cesar] Cesar: Yeah. Dean: Okay, that’s… Cesar puts his beer bottle on the table and looks at Dean, while Jesse is being silent. Dean: What’s it like, settling down with a hunter? Cesar: Smelly, dirty. [turns to Jesse] Twice the worrying about getting ganked.

I’d like to point out, too, that the fear of getting ganked is thematic when it comes to the tension between Dean and Cas. More on this when we hit s13.

Alright, now, having said that, let’s take a look at season 12. Bear in mind, this is the official start of Dabb’s era, even if he kinda began taking over in season 11, and the change in vibes is obvious. In fact, 12 jumped out at me as a turning point, in hindsight, after getting smacked by the domesticity of seasons 13 and 14.

II. Why Season 12

[Out of date section. Update coming soon when spoons. After significant debate, I’ve altered the definitive start of Dean and Cas’s friend-with-benefits-with-mutual-pining relationship to between 12.02 and 12.03. I briefly explained why here, and yes it’s a shitpost--still true tho.]

Finally, the promise land, y’all. Getting right to it: what s11 was for Dean in terms of setting up the relationship stage, s12 was for Cas. In its initial beats, any way. That is, until the Kelly debacle, this was the longest Cas has been around the bunker and with the exception of seasons 13 and 14, it’s one of the first times we get to see how Cas might actually fit into the bunker-as-home. Things seem remarkably chill. Of course, we’ll notice that there’s still a lot of baggage hanging around because despite Dean and Cas being in a more stable place, they haven’t actually dealt with their interpersonal problems. I didn’t single out directly this episode, but do keep in mind Cas’s declaration in 12.09 First Blood as far as how much the Winchesters matter to Cas & how we also see Dean and Cas be particularly singled out with them seating together in the backseat of the Impala. What we also see this season is Cas trying to prove he is worthy of this family, his family. He’s not fighting for heaven or to right some grievous wrong (a la s8). No, this season he’s fighting to spare the Winchester, to bring them a win. To bring Dean a win. The major disconnect is that Dean (and Sam & Mary) already sees Cas that way, he doesn’t think Cas has anything to prove. And just maybe, Cas starts believing that too – or, at least, believing it enough.

12.10 Lily Sunders Has Some Regrets

This episode, oh my god, the goodness. In the wake of 12.09 we have Dean and Cas in a tiff because Cas mistake #3 (killing Billie and “cosmic consequences”), this is a pattern. Twice the worry of getting ganked, etc etc. But where this episode really shines is through the contrast between Ishim’s obsession with Lily and Cas & Dean’s mutual affection for each other. Ishim sees no difference here and, to him, Cas’s feelings for Dean are a human weakness. Returning to my point about human!Cas, this episode underscores that Cas’s increasing humanity is what puts him in the place where he can want what Dean wants instead of either being too alien to get it (see s4 & 5) or unable to experience it properly (Ishim).

12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You)

Cas’s trajectory culminates here with the whole I love you (@ Dean), I love all of you (@ Winchesters). Let’s note too that Cas is dying here, in a way that is much more human than going up in light. This declaration of different types of love is entirely human. It’s also a definitive step wrt to Cas and Dean’s relationship because of what happens in 12.19. This. is. it. Oh, and, of course, let’s not forget to point to Dean’s face when Cas says that “I love you,” and how terrified he is that Cas is dying. Might make one rethink some things, hm?

12.19 The Future

This episode is simply hella suspicious, and all the kudos to Berens and Glynn for writing it. It’ll haunt me forever. Consider watching it again and just questioning everything. So. Weird things:

1. Dean’s reaction to Cas no getting in touch as opposed to Sam’s. Dean is pissed, which is Dean-speak for worried out of his mind. Sam is very worried, too, and puzzled, but he’s mostly expressing his relief that Cas is back. But Cas has gone awol before, but this time Dean is much more worked up about it; Sam takes note of this, too. Now, let’s imagine that maybe the events of 12.12 led to something happening between Dean and Cas. Then Cas decided to leave to find a lead on Kelly, but eventually Cas decides to work with Heaven and goes radio silent. For days. Having taken a chance, and something having happened between them, how would Dean react to Cas just going poof and not contacting him – despite Dean having called Cas multiple times.

2. Cas knows about the Colt. Ok, nothing off there. But when he goes to Dean’s room to talk, right after Dean leaves we see Cas looking around briefly. Like he know Dean would keep it in there. Maybe Cas had looked other places already. Who knows. What we do know is that eventually he does find the Colt not only in Dean’s room, but under Dean’s pillow. Sam didn’t even know the Colt wasn’t in the safe. So how did Cas know?

3.“He came into my room and he played me.” So, this quote right there, makes it seem like some seduction for personal gain, right? But can you see Cas actually doing that if they hadn’t gone there previously? For Dean not to suspect anything and go with it? There’s plenty of plausible deniability here, but the gaps in time in the narrative make me question what is there in those spaces. The scene where Cas tried to give Dean the mixtape back doesn’t read like “playing,” so it’s about a different interaction. Hm. Hmmm.

4. Dean and Cas’s brief conversation in Dean’s room is clearly Dean just wanting Cas to stay, so they can work (and be) together – because they’re better that way. Which, yeah, truth, but also ow.

5.And most importantly: When did Dean give Cas that mixtape??? How did that happen?

Sequence of events: Cas tells Dean he loves him – Dean is clearly shook by it – Dean gives Cas a mixtape (romantic gesture, often a declaration of feelings; in true Dean speak too lolsobs) – Cas goes awol - Dean acts like he got ghosted by his new bf -?????- Cas somehow knows the Colt is under Dean’s pillow – "He went into my room and he played me."

What am I supposed to do with that, hm? Like. Y’all realize they probably had some emotionally constipated getting together moment, right? Something that Dean clearly initially thought meant things were gonna change, now. Something that Cas couldn’t allow to happen until he could give Dean a win. Y’all are seeing this, yeah? I’m not saying they slept together and were full of feelings, except that’s kind of what I’m saying. But YMMV, there are other possibilities beyond sex. The full of feelings isn’t up for debate, though, even if the whole thing is informed by ridiculous amounts of miscommunication.

III. Seasons 13 through 15 As Established Relationship

Regardless of what happened in season 12, exactly, I can’t shake the feeling that something did happen, and something did change. My reasoning here is actually really simple: in comparison to previous seasons, Dean and Cas’s dynamic shifts significantly come season 13. I know some folks have been disappointed with some of season 13 and then season 14 for having dialed back on the destiel side of things. And, hey, maybe there’s truth to that in terms of backstage stuff, but I also want to point out that...well, the dialing back isn’t quite dialing back is it? Let’s look at 13 a little more closely:

Season 13:

So I said the deancas dynamic changed, right? I also think that change caught us unaware because the pivotal turning point that would cue us in never happened on screen as well as being subsumed by Cas’s death and Jack’s birth. But if I ask you about deancas in season 13 what would come to mind? Grief arc? Brokebacknatural? How domestic Dean and Cas are? There’s just something easy about their relationship after Cas returns from the Empty. The tension we’d grown so familiar with over the years is gone. Actually, it feels like we skipped the getting together bit of their relationship and went straight to established relationship and parenting. Some of the most peak married deancas moments we see circulating? Season 13, (and 12.10). It’s a lot, and it’s different, and it’s amazing.

13.01-13.05

Dean’s grief mini-arc. He was acting like a widower. Here’s me vaguely gesturing towards the mapping of Jonh, Mary, Dean, and Sam onto Dean, Cas, Sam, and Jack. And the reunion? I can’t help but be giddy at the song choice: “it’s never too late to start all over again.” To. Start. All. Over. Again. I’m just saying.

13.06 Tombstone & 13.16 Scoobynatural

I’m not going at length about these episodes, I just want to point out that they reveal that Dean and Cas have a whole thing going on off screen: they watch movies together, Cas knows about Dean being an angry sleeper, Cas seems to have been aware of the Dean-cave before Sam was. It’s little things like this that are examples of the narrative gaps surrounding Dean and Cas that have cropped up over the years. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to wonder what else could be hiding there. And when did the movie nights alluded in “Tombstone” happen? Maybe in season 12 when Cas in hanging around the bunker? The same period when Dean and Cas seem to be coalescing into something safer and more stable? Something that we never see come to a head because plot happens and Cas dies? Something that is immediately taken back up once Cas is alive again?

Season 14:

Overall, this season is more of what we got during 13, but it had two high notes I wanted to single out before ending this already too long post.

14.15 Peace of Mind

Look me in the eye and tell me Dean and Cas talking in the kitchen about Jack doesn’t read like husbands talking about their child. Look me in the eye and tell me Cas just texting Dean to gossip about Sam isn’t couple-y as hell.

14.18-14.20

Ah, yes, the divorce arc. Awful. Terrible. The culmination of Dean’s problem in all this: he lashes out, he pushes Cas away, his anger is alienating. Cue all of us suffering. But while Dean is clearly in the wrong in how the deals with his feelings, let’s not pretend some of his anger doesn’t come from a long established, and unaddressed, rift between him and Cas, which had its last traumatic turn when Cas died in s12. Dean isn’t being rational here: he saw Cas doing something on his own, and he saw that his mother is dead. What else could happen? Why won’t Cas just trust they can work as a team? What if Cas died again? And why should Cas put up with Dean’s behavior without knowing the cause? How can any relationship work this way? But notice how caught in the middle Sam was during all this. Notice how Jack is running off and acting out. The whole family is falling apart. Divorce arc, indeed.

Season 15:

But what about what we’re building up in 15? That seems like it could be a getting together plot, too, right? Well, yeah. It could very well be. But I’d argue the tension we’re seeing isn’t a will-they-or-won’t-they because they already have. We’re are watching a getting back together plot! The tension is, instead, will-they-or -won’t-they use their words to talk about the baggage that has kept them from truly being confident about their relationship. That’s the crucial step in their togetherness that they’re still missing, which is also the bedrock of the divorce arc that spanned twelve fucking episodes -- y’all, that’s half a season.

And technically? We’re not even done with yet because Cas never let Dean finish his prayer/confession in purgatory. What’s more, Cas hasn’t grappled with his role in the breakdown of their relationship, either: that he keeps going off on his own and getting hurt (and getting other people hurt), and Dean has to deal with the fallout. The deep emotional understanding, the truly being on the same page is what we’re on the edge of our seats for. We’re waiting to see what else Dean had to say, and what will happen when Cas’s deal with the Empty comes to light.

Finally, could we still have this plot without Dean and Cas having gotten together off screen? Sure, but I think the stakes are higher if they already did have something between them. If they actually have an established romantic relationship going on. Something real and tangible and as of yet much too fragile.

"...you asked what about all this is real. We are."

#destiel #deancas #supernatural #spn #spn meta #this thing is gargantuan yikes #anyway enjoy? let's chat #my writing #this thing is half meta half my adhd unleashed

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galactichoneybee92 · 3 years

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Thoughts on BakuDeku

I’ve been lurking in the MHA fandom for a while now, just kind of silently watching, and I have a few observations that I would like to make. Just perspectives that I would like to put out into the universe. I am on the older side of this website, much less this fandom and so I am no stranger to fandom culture. And when I say old? I mean like I was an active participant on ff.net circa 2005 so like, I’m sure some of you are older but I’m getting up there. My point? I’ve seen things.

As far as fandoms go in general, the MHA is far from the most toxic that I’ve seen but there does seem to be a few points of contention and per usual it comes back to shipping. This is nothing new but lets speak a little on BakuDeku as a ship. I warn you now, it’s not always going to be things you want to hear, but I encourage you to read to the end anyway.

Horikoshi has fully admitted to having been a huge Naruto fan and it’s pretty easy to see the influence in his work. On that note, it’s pretty safe to say that the Midoriya/Bakugo relationship can be compared to the Naruto/Sasuke relationship. You can see other parallels (All Might = Iruka, Aizawa = Kakashi, etc...) but for the sake of argument let’s focus solely on Midoriya/Bakugo. Personally, I tend to prefer MHA to Naruto overall, as I just like the characters better and as such I like Bakugo a lot more than Sasuke. Horikoshi has taken more time to humanize Bakugo, and while he started off being a total dick, he’s also a dumb fuck teenage boy and he’s had a lot of character growth over the last 29 volumes.

In the Naruto fandom, much like in the MHA fandom, there were loads of fans who shipped Naruto and Sasuke romantically. If we are judging the probability of Midoriya and Bakugo becoming a cannon couple, it stands to reason that we can examine the author’s influences and infer that, no, they probably won’t. For one thing, homosexuality is still considered a controversial topic in Japan like in America, and even if the author wanted to make it romantic he would probably receive a good amount of push-back from publishers.

Now I don’t want you to read this and think that I am at all against it. I’m not. And forever ago when I was reading Naruto I occasionally wondered what would happen if an author published a Shounen manga, got millions invested, and then SURPRISE it was a M/M romance all along. I think it would be fun but I can’t say that I am realistically convinced that it will happen. But that isn’t really the point of this post.

My point, is that this fandom, like many others (And this website in general???) needs to learn the difference between actual queer baiting and a ship that just...doesn’t happen? And I’ve seen all the arguments, about how they clearly love each other and how their bond is so deep and how if either of the characters had this kind of relationship with a female character it would ABSOLUTELY be romantic. And I hear your points, but if I may provide a few of my own:

1. There are many different ways to love in the world and they don’t all have to involve romance and kissing and sex. Do you love your family? Do you have friends that you would die for? These are relationships that people have and their just as valid in fiction as in real life.

2. Yes, if they were opposite genders than it probably would be the central romance of the mange, but that isn’t proof of queer baiting so much as a general failure to accurately represent opposite gender friendships in media. There should be male and female friendships that are just as strong while remaining platonic so this is a failure but not the failure you thing it is. (If anyone likes Kdramas, Suspicious Partner is an excellent one that has not only a great romantic subplot but also some WONDERFUL platonic M/F friendships and it’s just beautiful) (That being said I also recommend the Taiwanese drama HIStory 3: Trapped for a wonderful M/M romance since if you’re reading this post that’s probably something you’re into)

I think that a lot of the problems come from the fact that good romantic relationships do build similarly to friendships. You get a lot of bonding moments, the characters getting to know each other better and coming to care for one another and since media tends to focus predominantly on romantic relationships it’s easy to just get into the mindset that like, all bonding moments are leading somewhere. And in a way they are: to friendship. And then sometimes that friendship leads to romance and sometimes it doesn’t but what I’m saying is that the two look very similar. You SHOULD be friends with your romantic partner, and I think that that is why it’s so easy to ship these sort of couples. Especially when they do have an especially deep bond like these two have.

As far as BakuDeku as a couple in general, yeah, I ship it. I’ve read my fair share of fanfiction and if it did happen I would be psyched. I didn’t always like Bakugo (He’s just doing THE MOST at all times) but I grew to love him and if he continues to grow in the direction that he has been I wouldn’t personally have any problems with it. They have an interesting dynamic that incorporates some of my favorite tropes and I think it would be cool if the manga went there. But if they don’t? That’s also fine.

There have been several ACTUAL examples of queer baiting in media that I can point to such as the Japanese ads for Sherlock (I didn’t necessarily find the show itself to be queerbaiting but the Japanese ads for the new seasons hardcore did) and while I tried hard to defend Supernatural (WAY too much of the fandom shipped actual brothers together for me to believe that they understood the value of any sort of platonic relationship) they kind of blew that out of the water with whatever the fuck happened in that last season.

I don’t see that happening here and while I know a lot of you are set for your ship to become cannon I just want you to maybe manage your expectations. Because in my experience, when it gets built up this big, if it DOESN’T happen the next thing fans do is start ranting about queer-baiting and insulting the series and the team and I don’t want to see that because it isn’t fair to any of them. I’ve seen it happen in other fandoms and it gets real ugly real fast.

Alternatively, if anyone has watched the reboot of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power you will know that the creators played their cards super close to their chest, doing their best to properly develop the homosexual relationships they wanted while keeping it subtle enough that they could prevent themselves from being cancelled before the last season aired. Then they went all in and made their homosexual ships cannon in the final season because at that point the whole show was out wtf was going to happen? They’d get cancelled? It was already over. So if you would like a serving of hope to cling to, that is a thing that happened. I just wouldn’t necessarily bet on it.

That being said, I fully support your right to ship anything you want. And if by some chance it does become cannon? More power to you. I’d be psyched. Horikoshis assistants ship the hell out of it and he clearly doesn’t mind so there is a point in your favor. But if it doesn’t? A lack of romance doesn’t invalidate the depth of their feelings for one another. Platonic love is still love and it’s still a powerful driving force in the story. Their relationship is still compelling even if there isn’t ever a kiss, or a confession. And hey, that’s what fanfiction is for.

Remember kids: Please ship responsibly.

#my hero academia #Boku no hero #boku no hero academia #BNH #MHA #Midoriya #Izuku #Izuku Midoriya #Bakugo #katsuki #Bakugo katsuki #Bakudeku #BKDK #bakugo/midoriya

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tundrainafrica · 3 years

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Hi, i saw some time ago you compared Royai to Levihan, would you mind elaborating more on their similarities? I ship both and looking at they compared blow my mind

YES. Beautiful ask anon! As always, sorry for only getting into this now, my inbox is still a mess I am currently trying to make sense of. But legit, I could talk about this for hours. Cause I’m that fucking simp who just randomly goes on Youtube and watches the Riza breakdown vs. Lust scene just to see some GREATTT acting and some great crumbs.

So anyway, will be moving on now to this really long and--mind you--uncurated rant.

Disclaimer though: Although I have watched all the fullmetal stuff, from the first anime, to brotherhood to the manga and have lurked in the fanfiction sites long before (like fam, this anime is literally my childhood it’s such a big part of my life that when I hear ‘mustang’ I think of roy mustang not the car), but at this point, the main story line for me is a blur and I probably just remember only the Roy scenes and the Royai scenes well.

I was not a big fan of Edwin for multiple reasons.

Warning: Spoilers abound for FMA so read at your own risk. And for people who watch FMA but not AOT, spoilers abound for AOT is well.

So there are a lot of similarities between Levihan and Royai and I think this is the reason why Levihan definitely appealed to me a lot as a couple. Royai after all was my OG ‘I think I wanna be in this type of relationship’ type of couple.

Military Setting

I’ve always found these types of relationships interesting cause I like to think, you’re in such a high stakes and very stringent atmosphere where you could die at any moment and you’re constantly doing such morally grey things. And with that, people have the tendency to either close in on themselves and just keep to themselves or just go crazy over time. Yet you have people who find the time to form CLOSE and almost ROMANTIC bonds with your fellow soldiers

And I just like the process of exploring how this happens. And you know what makes it juicier?

2. The commander to the subordinate dynamic (with a twist)

The boss to the follower dynamic because Royai and Levihan are both incredibly healthy and stable relationships but they both come from something taboo right? A commander to subordinate relationship? So we ask ourselves? How did they both make it work?

Well, what I notice is despite the implied respect Riza and Levi both hold for Roy and Hange respectively, due to their positions in the military, do you notice Hange and Roy still have respect over Levi and Riza’s opinions. I cannot remember all the scenes in both shows but remember that scene where Riza would just stop Roy half way into fighting when it’s raining because sometimes he does forget that he can’t do his fire thing when it’s raining? It shows obviously that Riza could undermine his decisions if she finds them completely idiotic or out of the blue. Or that scene where Roy was curbstomping Envy when he found out Envy killed Hughes?

So, the thing is Levi and Hange worked like this too. Even before Hange became commander, I think there was an already implied hierarchical difference between being ‘squad leader’ and being ‘team captain.’ Squad leader’s are generally in a higher position and command a much larger group and do you see how Levi approaches Hange? Like when telling her off about risking her life when trying to capture the titan?

And even when she was commander, that telepathy scene?? Can we appreciate, that when Hange became commander (compared to when Erwin was commander), Levi took the reins of a lot of the leading in the survey corps, as if he understood his job wasn’t just to follow Hange but to take care of her?

Like I’m sure Riza saw her job more as a caretaker to Roy more than his subordinate and seeing this in Levihan was just fantastic.

And another thing I love about both of them...

3. They were just the two competent level headed people

This is such a trope for me. I cannot handle couples where someone is just not competent or is so obviously underpowered compared to the other. Like I want them to be able to handle themselves without the other. And even when they’re alone they’re doing shit and you just find out later, by the way I have this bf/gf/partner who is equally competent. But when we’re together we just share one brain cell because we can practically melt when we’re safe with the other.

And the thing is since they’re in a military setting we don’t see them ‘practically melt,’ we can usually just pick out the crumbs (ehem 126), and the fact that these crumbs are such rare gems, makes it all the jucier.

And here’s the thing, in animes and in stories, this ‘competent people’ couple is usually supporting cast cause I dunno? Nobody wants to hear about the competent couple who just figured out they like each other and they just like hanging out with each other for some reason?

And most adventure stories are underdog stories where we watch people start of as dead weight and get stronger which is not boring per se but I dunno, these couples usually dont’ appeal to me fsr because I’m all for the power couple dynamic and the protagonists always have something going on making them doubt their strength so yeah. And there’s usually this token love interest who’s not as strong and tries not to be useless but is kinda dead weight.

4. Their special abilities?

Levi and Hange are a power couple the way Roy and Riza are. When these two couples were introduced into their respective stories, they were all well established as bad asses. We have humanity’s strongest, humanity’s smartest then in FMA we have the flame alchemist one of the strongest alchemists and we have Riza who’s crazy good with a gun.

5. They were never that in your face couple

As said above, I really love competent people ships but nobody really likes reading about people being competent and having their level headed shit together so these characters end up with more of supporting character energy who have their ‘big damn heroes’ moments where they swoop in and save the protagonist.

And the thing is, since they’re supporting characters, there’s so much more room to move when contemplating such couples because the crumbs are there? But at the same time they’re not there? And since I like exploring my own headcanons about those ‘boring’ yet incredibly stable and mature relationships, these tend to be my favorite characters to shoehorn into my spotify playlists.

Edwin and Eremika respectively have more ‘in your face’ crumbs and I dunno, their crumbs for me always seemed to be too obviously there where I was like ‘okay cute relationship’ but ‘I wouldn’t wanna be in a relationship like that’ kinda way.

And since main protagonist romantic subplots crumbs are already ‘in my face’ I end up thinking to myself, what’s there to headcanon?

And like they go through so much more problems romance wise since obviously they are the protagonist. But I guess for me, I never liked those couples who were so obviously together and go through problems that bystanders are aware of. Because I dunno, people might not agree with me but it doesn’t sit well with me when EVERYBODY knows about the problems between two certain people in a relationship.

I always liked those couples who just start off as two people hanging out together and then like five years you find out, they live together and have five cats and it turns out they’ve been married for two of those three years.

And power couples just make it work? Because the stories tend to focus on them being competent people more than being in love so when the coupling actually happens it’s like:

“Wow you live together and have five cats, you worked so hard for it, I’m so happy for you.”

Instead of you know, watching people go through like 3456 instances of miscommunication drama just to end up in a still seemingly doubtful relationship.

6. Iconic scenes for Levihan and Royai?

And here’s the beautiful thing about the crumbs of both of these ships, they are incredibly apparent when the stakes are high and this is *chef’s kiss.* This is literally the climax, the peak to such subtle crumbs. Like okay, fine it’s satisfying to see the main protagonist and their main love interest doing shit and loving each other when the stakes are high like in Season 2 of AOT with Mikasa thinking she’s gonna die so she confesses to Eren or maybe that Naruto and HInata scene in the Pain Arc where Hinata just pops in and saves Naruto and kinda dies in the process

But can we all agree that there is something very very very satisfying about seeing two people who are probably not or are probably dating just going crazy for each other when the stakes are high? Like yo, come on.

My favorite scenes for Royai: The Lust fight scene, the Envy fight scene and lastly, the scene where Roy opens the gates to save Riza and goes blind. Can we just appreciate the fact that Roy risked his Colonel dreams to save Riza by going blind??

And for Levihan? I’m sure Levihans are tired of hearing the chapter numbers but 115? That’s fucking iconic, Hange ltierally jumped into the river with Levi and please tell me that is not a parallel to Roy opening the gates for an already half dead Riza. Mind you, Hange did not even know if Levi would make it or not and she probably didn’t know if she would make it or not either. Any of the soldiers could have literally just shot into the river and nicked them with bullets. She just literally abandoned everything and wooshed to the river.

And I had this convo with a few other people and we were thinking about what if it was anyone else who found Levi. And we came to the conclusion that IT HAD TO BE HANGE. Because somehow, I feel like Hange would have been one of the only few, if not the only one who would have gathered up the courage to jump into the river and risk their own life to save Levi.

And for the next part... Disclaimer: This is just my opinion, please let’s not start a ship war.

Like with the war on twitter “Levihan vs. Eruri,” I started to reflect as well on whether or not Erwin would have saved Levi if he was there instead of Hange but I think it is less likely that Erwin would have saved Levi. Erwin probably wouldn’t have agreed with the rumbling definitely but I cannot help but think, Erwin approached his commander position like a chess master and with this, approached Levi as a superior while Hange approached Levi as an equal and a best friend.

So if, saving Erwin was just going to mess with plans let’s say to manipulate the Yaegerists for some greater purpose, would Erwin have just let Levi die?

7. The magic is no one fits Roy or Riza perfectly.

I had these same thoughts with Shikatema vs. Levihan and now Royai vs. Levihan. So comparing their dynamics, I just have to say, that none of them fit each other perfectly. Hange has Riza and Roy crumbs and Levi has Riza and Roy crumbs too.

Like Roy is some ridiculously strong (Levi) superior (Commander Hange) with a seemingly goofy personality (Hange). Riza is the subordinate (Levi) who’s equally reliable but not as overpowered (Hange) with a very strict but very obviously emotionally constipated personality (Levi)

Like if you put Levihan in some of the token Royai moments. Like the Lust fight? I think Levi would have done something similar to Riza. Okay, he wouldn’t have broken down right then but he would have done something similar to what Roy did when he found out Envy killed Hughes.

I’m convinced Hange would have had a breakdown which is more of an in between between what Roy (Envy fight) and Riza (Lust fight) had in their respective fights. I mean 115 is proof enough that Hange ain’t playing when her bebeluvs is in danger.

8. And towards the end of the series?

Okay this is where the comparisons just kinda diverge because this part makes me sad. In the end game, Royai worked together. Riza became the eyes of Roy when he was making shit explode in the final battle coz he was blind.

And Hange and Levi were completing each other towards the of the AOT end right? Not just with the jian bird references with having parallel injuries. In the final battle though when Levi was out of commission due to the explosion, Hange was the one fighting with the crew until 132. And the moment she died, Levi stepped up and fought right?

Like they had something similar going on, where these two were covering for each other and taking care of the kids. It’s just that compared to Royai who were explicitly working together, we have Hange covering for Levi right after he got injured and Levi stepping up to cover for Hange after she died.

AND I can’t help but think, literally post time skip just could not handle Levihan working together huh? Is that how competent Levi and Hange are as soldiers that Yams couldn’t let them work together just one last time? Like he knew it would mess with the story if he lets Levi and Hange lead at full power?

Which brings me to last point, and the point that makes me saddest.

9. About them being endgame?

Okay, so it wasn’t confirmed that Roy and Riza ended up together because Roy still had his fuhrer goals but AT LEAST THEY HAD A CHANCE? Like their last scene in the show was still them together? And Riza still at least got to follow him?

Levihan… They just… shit just happened and we all know what happened and now I’m reading fanfiction and crying over fcitoonal characters to pass the quarantine.

Anyway, if you reached this point, thank you for reading. And thank you for the question anon!

#levihan #meta #royai

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