DRAMA REC: So I feel like any real review of Thai drama Moonlight Chicken is hard without heavy spoilers because honestly I don't know how to talk about what makes me passionate about it without discussing all the character relevations that occur over the course of its 8 episodes. I'll try to be generic as much as I can.
The thing about why it's hard to discuss without spoilers is that the characters and their full baggage are revealed slowly episode by episode, because like in real life you often learn about new friends & love interests slowly as intimacy deepens...
But from what I can see online, it's very subjective for viewers - depends on the person if they find these themes and personal challenges compelling or not. This doesn't fit with the typical "BL asian drama" format.
My personal viewing stake: There's an otp that has TAKEN OVER MY BRAIN. I have been searching for this energy ever since finishing Lighter & Princess. Gotta confess that I couldn't care less about the second couple who are teenagers. Apparently MDL and a lot of tumblr only liked the teen couple (valid!), but I just skipped over them mostly because when my brain locks in on Real Adults with Adult Problems I often cease to connect to high school student storylines. But the age gap couple with a 39 year old character who is FEELING his age... Jim & Wen. I've watched all 8 episodes now and they are like cocaine to me.
Ep 1 setup: We're not in Bangkok! (gasp) Jim is almost-40 and runs a late night diner in the less upscale part of town. Wen, about 10 years younger, is drunk at his diner as he's trying to close for the night. They pick up on the unspoken signals, instant electric connection, and end up wandering back to Jim's place and having what looks like fantastic sex together (without exchanging names).
But then after that first night, in the remaining 7 ep of the show you get a slowburn build up from zero as Jim doesn't want a relationship - with anyone. This is truly, sincerely a 'it's not you, it's me" situation. He is mired in baggage and the angst is SO DELICIOUS to me. Angst and soft hand touches and late night conversation. There's YEARNING. SO MUCH YEARNING.
And then my darling Wen! Who brings almost the same energy as the Lighter and Princess FL. @dangermousie I never thought I'd see this irrepressible determination and tender, good humored patience again! He is deeply sure that there is something special here with Jim and is unrelenting about trying to scale Jim's walls. I know that sounds like psychotic SML material lmao but it's all about the tone and context. It's very clear that Jim is allowing Wen in his life and doesn't, deep down, want Wen to give up on him. He's damaged and scared but I always felt he wants Wen to be right - that they are falling in love and can build something real together. He just can't make himself take that step. I mean, in their 2nd meeting he is EQUALLY INSANE to agree that it's v normal and hinged behavior to let his 1 night stand start randomly showing up to work shifts at his diner as 'temp staff' he can't afford to pay because... um. Basically to stalk him? idk I don't think it's stalking when u have a mutual agreement?? 🤔
Wen falling deeper into Jim and KNOWING the feeling is mutual no matter how many times he's (so gently!) pushed back... can be sooooo personal. 😭😭😭 The vibes of this "we're Not Together™" but it's inevitable, I'm just waiting for the timing to be right... reminiscent of the last 10 episodes of Lighter & Princess. This building intimacy and tenderness that stretches on until as a viewer you feel like... They ARE in love, they're together but just without the sex. They just have to stabilize their lives first before committing whole-heartedly. THE BITTERSWEET PINGING. (screams)
One thing I've observed is many people seem to struggle to connect with Jim's character. The closest thing we have to a protagonist (?) Maybe. Anyway, I suspect it might be a generational thing. I found the drama incredibly compelling, but I grew up queer in the 80s and 90s. I'm well into my 40s, a bit older than Jim, but I think the generational queer experience overlaps pretty well considering the sociopolitical differences btw us/thailand.
The screenwriter is an older out gay man, so I presume that's also a factor in how he did a pitch-perfect depiction of Jim's struggles to find home.
Wen has his own baggage that feels very real and raw. I loved his storyline because I could personally relate to it also from my queer relationship experience.
I've blabbered on here before about how I feel like there's something different about queer stories being told to other queers, not targeted to straight viewers primarily - I'm not saying it's better than the big brands and popular international media including lgbt rep. It's just different imo and I do think it's valuable. I want to see stories about the complexities of the experience & about the gay community that can't just be mapped to straight people. Where the story would not feel the same if you flipped the sexualities. That's what Midnight Chicken was to me: the characters of Jim and Wen and their personal development & slow love story together felt very queer and the age gap was a relevant part of this. And that called to me. I could recognize parts of myself in them and my personal experiences as a gay woman.
I was impressed by the writing. Strong acting. The directing of individual scenes is excellent BUT the 1 big flaw is the editing. Very amateur, super abrupt scene changes! Just jarring. But whatever, I've seen some terrible editing in cdramas too. Also note the storytelling tactic is to show a series of meaningful moments & interactions over like 6-8 months of time. Events progress in ways we don't always see and it's not always spelled out to the audience, everything that happened since we last saw them. That may or may not work for the viewer.
[Plus there's a very sweet & wholesome teen love story that also gets a happy ending, if you're into that. One of the teens is deaf and there's no "cure the disability" nonsense, don't worry. I was adult-focused but I did appreciate the complicated family relationship subplot with Jim trying to caretake his nephew and their relationship to the mostly-absent sister.]
ok so now into spoiler territory. Letting the relevations come out organically would be a much better viewing experience BUT...
SPOILERS ON JIM & WEN BACKSTORY
Jim's whole deal is he had a big love in his late 20s-early 30s that fucked him up good. He grew up being told gay love isn't real, leaves his rural farming town with his sister in their teens, disconnected from his family... But even his sister, who loves him, had the perspective that it's Just A Phase. Jim expects to Prove Them Wrong. Then his boyfriend cheats on him.... With a woman. Activate that generation's internalized homophobia and self-doubt. And then before he gets to truly confront his partner, his partner dies in an accident. So he never gets resolution.
And he's stuck under a mountain of debt, on the edge of poverty because he didn't get any of the guy's assets when he died of course. No rights under Thai law. Partner's family takes it all but the old car & the cat. All he has is the small chicken rice shop they had bought and ran together and it's killing him, he both hates and loves it. He's this amazing member of the local community but doesn't see himself and his own worth clearly.
Wen is working through the guilt of falling out of love from his 1st gay relationship that lasted 5 years of his 20s. Broken up but still living together. Trying to stay in each other's lives (I've seen this a lot, because in small gay communities you don't just cut ties with good people you care about). But living together is toxic for both of them, despite the real care that's there.
He also feels disconnected from a community at the start. He has work collegues, all straight friends, and his now-ex boyfriend. But you get the subtle sense that his local ties are all with the boyfriend Alan's family and mutual friends with Alan who don't all know about the breakup yet and he doesn't know how to interface with them anymore now that he and Alan aren't the same. He's the one who fell out of love, so he's "the bad guy" here and the straight friend he tries to talk to about trying to co-habititate with his ex and stay close friends doesn't really get it, because that's just way more typical behavior for older generation queers - it's notable that when the situation is fully explained to Jim, he doesn't seem to find it bizarre at all (as said, I've gone through that myself, and known friends in that situation; found that subplot to be very well done.) (I read that many viewers were disappointed this wasn't a standard infidelity situation where Wen is just regular cheating on Alan, but I have to say that I feel the opposite. The subplot and how it played out felt very relatable to me. I didn't need a cheating angst plotline in this drama that could be transplanted into a straight drama. I wanted more stories that represented my lived experience as an adult lesbian, and Wen's narrative gave me that.)
Wen keeps searching for a home even while living with Alan and having loved him in the past. Which to me was a sign that he'd moved to this smaller city, living in Alan's condo and in Alan's life with Alan's extended family... He started eating beef because Alan did and following along. He doesn't know where HE feels at home, what Wen needs to be comfortable and happy. When he more & more starts to believe he can make this home with Jim, he's determined to make it happen.
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ST Ships Tierlist Tag Game
So. I did something no one asked for and that took a considerable amount of time to complete. I decided to make a tag game out of it so I didn't feel like I totally wasted my time (/lh).
I made three Stranger Things ship tierlists on Tiermaker, one for each age group. I'm a pretty huge multi-shipper and I was finding it hard to really convey all the pairings I liked and how I felt about them, so I spent the last week and a half doing this. I mainly just love seeing people be passionate about their ships, so here's an opportunity to put your faves on display.
The Tierlists
The Party Tierlist
The Teen/Young Adult Tierlist
The Older Adult Tierlist
Tag Game Rules
Do as many of the tierlists as you want. You don't have to do all three of them unless you really want to.
Download the image(s) of your tierlist(s) and put that into a post here on Tumblr. Can be your own original post or a reblog of this one. Though if you're going to make your own post, please link this post in yours so people know the rules, warnings and other info and know how to participate.
Tag at least five (5) other blogs (preferably within the Stranger Things community lmao) to keep the chain going. Although, you can just do this without being tagged if you want to.
As a general rule, no ship or character bashing is allowed for this tag game. Please be respectful to each other.
If you'd like, please also tag me in your post if you don't directly reblog this one! I'd love to see :)
Tiers Breakdown
ABSOLUTE OTP: These are the pairings you absolutely cannot live without. Your babies, your blorbos that kiss, the cream of the crop, etc etc. You're entirely abnormal about them and probably post/talk about them a lot. They consume your thoughts. Etc etc.
I love them abnormally: You love these pairings so so much. You're feral over them. You talk about them a lot and you might make content for them if you're a creator. However, they aren't quite in the top tier. Think of this as only a half-step down from the top tier. OTPs without as intense of an emotional attachment.
I love them normally: You love these pairings, but a normal amount. You aren't absolutely losing your mind over them, but if anyone asked you about them, you would probably say they were in your main ship list.
I like them: Exactly what it says on the tin. You like these ships. They're good ships and you'll enjoy content for them if you come across it, but that's usually as far as it goes. They're just neat.
I like them under certain conditions: You like these ships, but only in specific circumstances. Only in polycules, only if one of them is trans, only if they're completely removed from their canon stories, etc.
I'm curious about them: You don't actively ship these pairs right now, but the concept/dynamic is intriguing to you and you're open to the idea if someone can sway you.
No strong feelings: You don't actively ship these pairs, but you also don't have any strong feelings about them one way or the other. They just exist and you accept that.
They make sense to me, but aren't my thing: The dynamic itself makes sense to you, or you get why someone might ship these pairs, but you personally don't like them for one reason or another.
They don't make sense to me, not my thing: You don't understand the appeal of these ships, so you don't like them.
They make me uncomfy: The idea of these pairs makes you uncomfortable to some degree for one reason or another, so you avoid content pertaining to them.
Warnings/Disclaimers
If there's a character missing from the lists that you'd like to see added, you can DM me about it and I can see what I can do. I can't guarantee I'll be adding every character under the sun, but I'm pretty open to the idea adding a few more if someone really wants them. Alternatively, you can make your own squares if you have the means to do so. I think there's a way to add your own locally.
That being said, I have not added Lonnie Byers or Neil Hargrove, and I don't particularly want to for personal reasons. You can add your own squares if you have any ships you really wanna display involving them.
I cannot figure out what Gareth's canonical age is supposed to be, because this show fucking sucks at continuity, and the American education system has weird rules. He's also shipped both with the party members and with the teens/young adults. So he's included in both. I can't be fucked to try and determine what camp he should go in.
At the moment, there are only monogamous ships in these tierlists. This was mostly to conserve space and make sure all the pairings could get included, and that I'd have room to add more characters if I needed to. I bounced around the idea of making one or more for poly pairings, but the amount of effort that would take would be nearly double what this took. However, if people really want it, I might just bite the bullet because I love you guys. The same goes for a tierlist for crossover pairings.
My Tierlists
Tags: @californiaboytoybilly @shieldofiron @applewillowstone @lorifragolina @alicetallula @half-oz-eddie @harringroveera @ocalaghan @whataboutthefish @larkandcarry + anyone who wants to join in can say I tagged you
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[ Previous anon ]
I'M SORRY FOR WORDING IT LIKE THAT I played the Golden Deers, some of my favorite queer ship are with Deers and some of my favorite character are among the deers! My favorite deer ship is probably Leonie x Lysithea ( She litteraly say Leonie would make an incredible partner! Why do their support stop at B again?? ) and my otp is Hilda x Edelgard ( do not judge me I have REASONS ). And also, one of my favorite queer headcanon is trans aro-ace Claude! So I genuinely love the Deers as queers!
However, for me the deer and the diverse queer content around them is heavily a fandom thing. When I say the deer are "too straight for me", I meant it for the game directly. Like you have the Black Eagles where not only litteraly every characters is canon queer/has heavily subtext but has also its whole narrative drenched in queer metaphor! You have the Blue Lions where, while there's less "canon queer", you litteraly cannot say most of its members are straight with how heavy the subtext that's barely even subtext anymore is: there's 0 straight explanation for Felix crying more at Dimitri death than his wife, or him dying the same day as Sylvain because they can't live without each other.
But for the Deers... You have Hilda/Marianne and Claude/Lorenz as the most popular one but while their relationship are so fascinating, when you only look only at the game, they feel too platonic? Especially compared to a Dedue/Dimitri ( like a family in private. took up a post at his grave for the most of his days. BURIED BESIDE EACHOTHER ) or a Ferdinand/Hubert ( rare A+ support, with blushing, their own little surname, Ferdinand/Edelgard support changing just to mention Ferdinand drinking coffee ). Otherwise you have Leonie/Lysithea which stop at B. You have Raphael/Ignatz where they decided to just push the relationship to make their ending all about Ignatz with his sister.
Like really, the Deers manage to have less in game queer moment than the Church of Seiros, Rhea aside, of all things! We were so robbed! The rainbow house deserve better. I'm a lesbian and after all my playthrough Verdant Winds was my only route where I had to marry a man, all I wanted was a lavender wedding with Claude while I have a passionate romance with Leonie :(
To sum up: Lysithea and Leonie should kiss, Intelligent Systems are fucking cowards
For the fandom I'll have to disagree, I think the Deers have a lot a queer content and it's amazing :] My only thing might be how Claude has become the first character you think of when talking about bi fe3h character which is kinda telling how wlw are dismissed in the general fandom, but its better than some people insisting he's totally straigh so eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
( Also I big agree on Hilda support being gem, she's such a great character and one that's much more complex than given credit for!! )
Oh and I think I disagree with Deers being the more family found-esq ( saying that bc it's a great subject of I discussion and I want to hear more about your opinion on the matter )
The Lions is the family where they all stick together through thick and thin, following Dimitri to hell and back, but their relationship are complexe and not always healthy ( mostly at the beginning with like Dimitri & Felix or Ingrid & Sylvain ).
The Eagles are the found family where a lot of them bitch about each other at first but they end up with deep relationship where they take care for each other and stand together against the world, even sticking together during the time skip ( also because they kinda all killed each other dad ).
The Deers are for me more like an actual close group of friend: their life are not going to revolve around each other like it does with the other houses, but they won't hesitate to come for that 5 years reunion to see the other. It's kinda like you say they're so normal in a good way! They tease each other but they don't hate each other in the way of a Dimitri/Felix, a Caspar/Petra, a Ferdinand/Hubert ( except for Lorenz but like, it's Lorenz ). They won't kill the other dad, but they'll sure as hell support each other like Lorenz and Ignatz or Marianne and Raphael. They might not start a revolution together but they will listen to the other even when it’s total heresy ( Leonie & Claude, such an incredible support :’) ) and help the other to reach their goal… I do agree with you it’s linked to not knowing each other before, but on that, isn’t knowing each other before more of a Lion thing than not knowing being a Deer thing? I don’t know, the BE are kind of a middle ground.
( Sorry for my ramblings- It's so fun talking about the deers )
AA anon thank you for the long ask!! Okay I'm gonna take this point by point under the readmore!
"My favorite deer ship s probably Leonie x Lysithea ( She litteraly say Leonie would make an incredible partner! Why do their support stop at B again?? )"
INCREDIBLY fair and based of you, lol, I read Lysithea as gay and it's 100% because of the support conversations she has with Leonie and Hilda (which to me implies an ADORABLE crush--Lysithea seems to genuinely respect and admire Hilda which is not something you'd expect from like, a surface level reading of their characters).
I'm gonna admit my own bias here in terms of canon text endings--my favorite Lysithea ending is her paired ending with Lorenz. It really reads like a queer platonic relationship to me--I don't really get romantic vibes from either of them (gay as they are) towards each other, but the commitment and care they have for each other genuinely warms my heart. Especially the fact that like, Lorenz is SO determined to ensure Lysithea takes care of herself and the ending doesn't really imply that she dies young (only that her health is delicate/poor) in comparison to others, and she and her family get to live the quiet life they want. Of course, as an aro/ace disabled person, I think it probably hits differently for me than people who aren't just because of the fact that after the most recent time I saw their support chain/got their ending I teared up a bit (and also why I'm now adoring your trans-aro-ace Claude).
ANYWAYS, I agree IS are cowards and that's why Edelgard is the only Lord who can romance both male/female Byleth.
"For the fandom I'll have to disagree, I think the Deers have a lot a queer content and it's amazing :]"
I probably didn't word what I meant completely lol correctly-- it's not that the Deer don't have a lot of queer content, it's just that overall, they have less content in general made for them then the Black Eagles and Blue Lions.
I do ALSO love so much of the queer content made for the Deers! The Three Houses fandom is amazing.
"My only thing might be how Claude has become the first character you think of when talking about bi fe3h character which is kinda telling how wlw are dismissed in the general fandom, but its better than some people insisting he's totally straight so eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"
Okay, so I was kind of dancing around saying this to your last ask but you hit the nail on the head lol. I genuinely think the reason why the Deer might come across as less queer is because the "main ship" for them, so to speak, is the WLW pairing Hilda/Marianne.
Ironically when I think about bi fe3h characters my first thought is consistently Lindhardt?
"Oh and I think I disagree with Deers being the more family found-esq ( saying that bc it's a great subject of I discussion and I want to hear more about your opinion on the matter )
The Lions is the family where they all stick together through thick and thin, following Dimitri to hell and back, but their relationship are complexe and not always healthy ( mostly at the beginning with like Dimitri & Felix or Ingrid & Sylvain ).
The Eagles are the found family where a lot of them bitch about each other at first but they end up with deep relationship where they take care for each other and stand together against the world, even sticking together during the time skip ( also because they kinda all killed each other dad )."
Okay so I definitely agree with you that they're all found family, explicitly in the text lol. What I meant in my statement that they're the most found-family-esq is that you get to see the development of ALL their relationships and becoming that family together on screen.
The Lions (a mess, and I love them), are pretty heavily involved with each other at the beginning of the game. A lot of the intrigue with them is the fact that they all have backstory stuff going on with each other (save for Ashe, I think, but we kill his dad on screen so). Mercedes and Annette went to Sorcery School together, Felix/Sylvain/Dimitri/Ingrid are all childhood friends with intense complications, and the trauma and deliberate kindness that brought together Dimitri and Dedue makes me emotional.
Similarly to them, the Black Eagles all have a history with each other (save for Dorothea) as well. There's the insane and amazing devotion between Edelgard and Hubert, Lindhardt and Caspar's childhood friendship, the onesided rivalry going on between Ferdinand and Edelgard since they were kids and Hubert's judgement of Ferdinand for it. Petra and Bernadetta, technically don't have pre-established relationships with the others, but in ways that are deliberately intense. Petra is blatantly a political hostage in the Academy Era in a way that really informs her relationship with Edelgard and Hubert even before they get to know her. Additionally Bernadetta's isolation creates a kind of infamy between her and the other nobles.
The Golden Deer, on the other hand, don't really have as many intense bonds going in (and thus, in my opinion, makes it easier for Byleth to integrate amongst them as an eventual equal). There's the preestablished dynamic of Lorenz being suspicious of and wanting to best Claude, but it's a recently developed dynamic, as Claude only appeared a year ago. This would be a bigger personal issue if he was leading a house like the Blue Lions or the Black Eagles (noble heavy as they are), but it's barely an issue in the Deer and not just because of the commoners. Hilda, Lorenz, Lysithea, and Marianne are not close. In all his supports with the three of them, Lorenz is the one reaching out because of his belief that their time in the Academy should be used to form better and closer connections with other nobles. There is nothing to imply that there was any substance to their pre-existing relationships. The only two who have anything to their relationship before the game starts, are Raph and Iganatz, who haven't spoken in years, mostly due to guilt on Ignatz's behalf for what happened to Raphael's family.
So as a result, you get to see the bonds being formed and deepened with the Golden Deer from scrap. Obviously some development happens off screen during the time skip, but other than that the Deer's found family forms and develops completely on screen, which is why I think it's the most found family-esq of the three.
In fact, it's a huge part of Claude's story. It's something you don't really notice in his route, but it's really clear when you don't pick him. While Edelgard and Dimitri kind of can't function and literally can't without Byleth's support, Claude has probably the highest survivability rate when you don't choose him of any character save technically Marianne. He survives the Blue Lions route, the Black Eagles route (if you spare him), and is implied to have survived the Silver Snow route. When he doesn't have Byleth, he still survives, so not choosing him isn't as dramatic. But it's easy to see that without Byleth as a teacher, he doesn't open up enough to the Deer. Dimitri and Edelgard have assured loyalty from their houses (even Ferdie and Felix) becuase of these pre-established relationships and positions, but Claude has to earn it. That's why Hilda, despite being his vassal, is recruit-able so long as you don't choose Black Eagles (the only route where he can die). Without Byleth, although the Deer do grow close, they don't do it as quick or as closely as they do with the Professor. Claude is a character who's never been able to truly rely on others, even if they care about him, and being able to rely on Byleth allows him to open up and rely on the Deer and truly trust them. I mean, Claude's two most relied upon people in the Deer (as seen in 3Hopes when he goes against Dimitri) are Hilda and Lorenz. I don't think people talk enough about how insane it is that Claude trusts Hilda Goneril with his life, considering he's an Alymran prince.
That's also why I think the Deer are so good for Byleth. I don't think any of the other route's are bad for Byleth at all, but I think the deer provide something to Byleth that neither the Lions or the Eagles can bring to her: a single of equivalency. Byleth is only slightly older than her students in the Academy Era and is in fact younger than most of them in the War Era, and yet it's only really with the Deer that she feels like she's amongst peers (whether it be because of the commoner/noble ratio or that she's as much of a stranger to them as they are to each other.) I mean, Claude is literally the only character who doesn't call refer to her by her Profession.
Anyways, TLDR: I think they're the most found family because a huge part of the Golden Deer route is them getting to know and love each other from scratch, and being a found family is a much bigger thematic aspect for them then it is for the other two houses.
"However, for me the deer and the diverse queer content around them is heavily a fandom thing. When I say the deer are "too straight for me", I meant it for the game directly. Like you have the Black Eagles where not only litteraly every characters is canon queer/has heavily subtext but has also its whole narrative drenched in queer metaphor! You have the Blue Lions where, while there's less "canon queer", you litteraly cannot say most of its members are straight with how heavy the subtext that's barely even subtext anymore is: there's 0 straight explanation for Felix crying more at Dimitri death than his wife, or him dying the same day as Sylvain because they can't live without each other."
"But for the Deers… You have Hilda/Marianne and Claude/Lorenz as the most popular one but while their relationship are so fascinating, when you only look only at the game, they feel too platonic? Especially compared to a Dedue/Dimitri ( like a family in private. took up a post at his grave for the most of his days. BURIED BESIDE EACHOTHER ) or a Ferdinand/Hubert ( rare A+ support, with blushing, their own little surname, Ferdinand/Edelgard support changing just to mention Ferdinand drinking coffee ). Otherwise you have Leonie/Lysithea which stop at B. You have Raphael/Ignatz where they decided to just push the relationship to make their ending all about Ignatz with his sister."
Okay, so I definitely agree with you that those things are canon queer and subtext, and that it's a shame they don't push the Raphael/Ignatz stuff and focus on Ignatz and Raph's sister (which is admittedly adorable to me).
Again, I'm aro/ace, so for me, queerness doesn't necessarily require romance as a prerequisite? Which is why I like Lorenz and Lysithea's ending, lol.
Hilda/Marianne in no way reads platonic to me, so I really disagree with you there. Hilda treats Marianne completely differently to how she treats everyone else in game. Their support chain is focused on how Hilda, who manipulates her way out of doing anything she doesn't want to, chooses to consistently over and over again do things for Marianne that she can't, and refuses to let Marianne feel bad over it. She leverages this into Marianne buying her pastries and them having a lunch date together. Their A support consists of Marianne questioning their regular dynamic of doing this and Hilda reassuring that she enjoys it so much she'd feel odd if it changed. They compliment each other to the point where Hilda starts to get a little flustered, and Hilda's even able to poke fun a little at Marianne and get Marianne to poke fun at her back. Marianne laughs at Hilda, and Hilda textually thinks it's adorable and can't even get mad at it because it's so cute. Marianne seems so genuinely happy and herself (even in negative ways!) with Hilda, and can rely on her in a way that doesn't make her feel inadequate or a burden.
I can understand as being able to view Claude/Lorenz as platonic, especially since I will never diverge from my Claude/Byleth endings, but I think they can also still be read pretty textually clear and potentially romantic. Part of this is Lorenz, who just, is very clearly gay to me? But again, part of this is the fact that a huge part of the Lorenz/Claude dynamic is them being viewed textually as equals, which is something that will and can never happen with Edelgard/Dimitri and their rival characters. Their support chain is all about getting to know and respect each other as they grow to care for one another, and while it isn't explicitly as romantic as Marianne/Hilda, I think their paired ending really speaks a lot for itself, in that Claude trusts Lorenz to be Fodlan's face of diplomacy towards Almyra. He trusts Lorenz to help him achieve his dream in the most direct way possible, something I think you can absolutely compare to his relationship with Byleth in their S-Support. Additionally about their support chain, their A-support really is about affirming to the player how close they've become, how fond they are of each other, and how neither of them can imagine the future of Fodlan without the other one in it. While there isn't a lot of direct text between Claude/Lorenz, I think there is absolutely enough subtext that you could read them romantically, especially from Lorenz's POV. The hard thing with this game is that each character needs to be able to be paired with Byleth, so they can never be textually obviously/blatantly in love with another character save for Byleth until their paired ending, and I think that absolutely holds doubly true for Lord characters, which is why I think Claude/Lorenz relies more on subtext.
I do think it's a shame that Lysithea doesn't have any A supports with women in her own house. Leonie like you mentioned is an adorable one, and I think Lysithea has a huge crush on Hilda in the ones with her, and there is definite potential in the one she has with Marianne (which in my opinion is a kinder, more gentle version of her supports with Ignatz).
I also think there's a few other support chains where there is a queer romance blossoming, they just don't get the chance to have an ending. A big one for me, personally, that I think deserved more, is Ignatz and Lorenz. I also think Leonie and Marianne's support chain was very cute, and deserved an A.
This is kind of what I was saying when I answered your last ask, I think, wherein the Deer have queer romance, but because the don't have a big blow up mlm ship (Claude is more often shipped with Dimitri + a lot of people aren't as fond of Lorenz as I think they should be lol), they kind of get sidelined as their big queer ship is WLW. And unfortunately in most fandoms, wlw ships are rarely as popular or have as much pushing force.
And also, I think, that the deer are queer without having as much romance. Their romantic pairings are far less set in store then the other two houses, I think, and part of that is because a lot of their endings read really queer platonic to me. Plus, a lot of the heavy romance lifting in the explicit text for a lot of supports tends to happen in the A/A+ region, and a several of the wlw/mlm golden deer pairings only go to B, which I think is a shame and forces them to rely more on subtext.
Additionally, because they're not the revolutionary or chivalry aligned House, a lot of their endings aren't written as...dramatically? Like I adore Felix/Sylvain to death (I have a print of them hanging next to my Claude one lol), but their childhood promise is very much the product of living in Faergus, similarly to how Hubert and Ferdinand's relationship is defined by them living in the Empire. I think because the Alliance politics are far less dramatic (or are far more dramatic in a visibly different way) the subtext for Claude and Lorenz's Romeo/Juliet for politics thing doesn't come across as huge as two characters who promised to die with each other as kids and keep it (insane I love them).
That's why in my original post I talk about loving how normal the Deer are, and I think ultimately a part of that comes from their setting: the Alliance. In my first play through, I specifically chose having my loyalties lie (in the initial meeting with the Lords) with the Alliance, because to me, someone who had no real context for the game, the Alliance was the closest thing to a democracy from what little we'd hard of each nation. Politics informs almost every aspect of the Golden Deer; sure it's played for angst and importance in the other two routes (Duscur/Sylvain's Crest Complex/Felix's problem with the chivalry system for the Blue Lions--with the latter two never being things that are textually resolved in the Kingdom's government--and Enbarr/those who Slither in the Dark for the Black Eagles), but Claude actually has to balance what other lords want in the War phase, and it's his ability to be so good at politicking that enables the Alliance to consistently remain neutral in the war. So a lot of the subtext stuff comes to fruition through the realm of politics in a way it doesn't entirely through the other two, if that makes sense. It's a huge gesture of love that Claude can trust Lorenz with his dream.
"The Deers are for me more like an actual close group of friend: their life are not going to revolve around each other like it does with the other houses, but they won't hesitate to come for that 5 years reunion to see the other. It's kinda like you say they're so normal in a good way! They tease each other but they don't hate each other in the way of a Dimitri/Felix, a Caspar/Petra, a Ferdinand/Hubert ( except for Lorenz but like, it's Lorenz ). They won't kill the other dad, but they'll sure as hell support each other like Lorenz and Ignatz or Marianne and Raphael. They might not start a revolution together but they will listen to the other even when it’s total heresy ( Leonie & Claude, such an incredible support :’) ) and help the other to reach their goal… I do agree with you it’s linked to not knowing each other before, but on that, isn’t knowing each other before more of a Lion thing than not knowing being a Deer thing? I don’t know, the BE are kind of a middle ground."
I both agree and disagree with what you've said here!
I think it's true, that in any route where you don't choose Byleth, the Deer are textually viewed much more as just close friends rather then found family, whereas I think if you chose their route they end up much closer (as I said above). I think the Black Eagles and Blue Lions have their lives, by nature, revolve around each other since they're literally all Nobles and thus part of the governning system of this world (with the exception of Dorothea). I think the Golden Deer have to make it a much more deliberate choice, and I do think it's something they do after the War in any route (assuming the majority of them have been allowed to live) because that sort of thing just forms a life long bond between people that's hard to shake without deliberate effort I can't imagine any of them truly wanting to put in.
They are normal! None of them hate each other! They don't have that sort of intensity, but they do have a lot of complexity that lends itself very well to found family. I think a big part of that complexity lends itself to the lack of killing (although I don't really think any of their parents deserve to be killed whether they've alive or dead?). The fact that Lorenz's dad has Claude's uncle killed (which when combined with Hilda, again, being a fucking Goneril is INSANE my man's two best friends are people who have reason to kill him for BOTH SIDES OF HIS ANCESTRY) and thus gets Raph's parents killed is something truly heartbreaking, and yet I think it's because there's no violence amongst each other or against the previous generation that characters like Claude (has had violence perpetuated against him for his heritage), Marianne (has had implied violence perpetuated against her for her crest), and Lysithea (has had violence perpetuated against her to get her second crest) are able to feel safe amongst the Deer. Violence is an intense choice, but I think lack of violence should also be viewed as something deliberate and chosen, esp. in the world of Three Houses. I mean, throughout Verdant Wind Claude is constantly complaining about the perpetuation of violence caused by the War! He's someone who deliberately chooses direct harm reduction. Although, to in fact speak of violence, I think it's absolutely insane that Hilda "I refuse to die for my friends" Goneril will willingly die for Claude "DO NOT DIE FOR MY SAKE FLEE PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU RETREAT" von Riegan's sake.
I do think that the Golden Deer are the most similar to a modern queer friend group and thus would be the easiest to make a 1:1 comparison, but again the events of the game do kind of necessitate that they are found family because they go through a war together. Their group dynamics are probably the most influenced by Byleth (Dimitri and his relationships with others while "mad" of course, aside), and it's really hard to make generalizations about them because again, the fact that she is not there to facilitate these close bonds makes it a lot harder for them to be as close as they are before the war as they end up being, although even without Byleth I still think they're exceedingly close. But yes, I agree, they do not live in each other's pockets, which does not make them any less found family, but does, probably, make them healthier in modern context lol.
(As a side note about Byleth and the house leaders: I think what she visibly provides to Edelgard and Dimitri is a lot more obvious than what she provides to Claude. She helps the both of them in maintaining themselves and not loosing themselves to the burden of leadership and trauma. Claude, however, is a character who has been handling both of those things alone, and we are shown that he is capable of handling them alone without massive cracks appearing in Three Houses. Claude does not need Byleth to live, as the other two directly do. Byleth gives Claude someone consistent and trustworthy to rely on, which opens him up to being able to do it with the other members of his house far easier then he's able to otherwise.)
Anyways! I think the Golden Deer are very queer, just more subtextually so then the Black Eagles and Blue Lions. I personally view a lot of the straight endings, so to speak, as queerplatonic (again Lorenz/Lysithea and honestly Leonie/Ignatz). Romance is a pretty easy metric to view queer storytelling through, but I don't think I'd see Sylvain as any less of a queer character if he didn't have his paired ending with Felix because of how his story is written. In a similar way, I think characters like Ignatz (wanted to be a painter, but it's not what his family wants for him; yearns to be creative and is self conscious about people thinking it'll interfere in his duties and has to learn to accept himself and his true dreams) and Marianne (sees herself as a monster that other people won't accept if they knew the true her and what she's hiding) are also queer without needing to be in romances, which is why the fandom gets a lot out of them subtextually.
Acceptance, I think, can be viewed as a very queer theme, and I think it's a prominent one within the Deer.
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Do ur boy nahyuta for the character game!!!
Send me a character and I’ll list:
YESSS >:] thank you!!!
Favorite thing about them: Everything isn't really an answer, is it LOL. Uh! I don't know, I just love his personality a lot. I like how conflicted he is, I like how resigned he is to his fate to the point of willing to sacrifice himself for a scrap of assurance that his family will be safe even if he's dead and gone, I like his stubbornness and how smug he is, I just like his complexity. I also love his animations, they're very fun and charming and I like how many pertain to him messing with his prayer beads-- validating when I like headcanoning that he has OCD and uses the prayer beads a lot in compulsions.
Least favorite thing about them: Nothing. Except that he probably will not return in AA7 and I have to live with that knowledge.
Favorite line: "In all this time, not once did I reflect on my own conduct-- for I had believed it was my fate. Lost in my resignation, I was unable to wake from my despair." Just, UGH. So good, dude. I love him realizing he's wasted all this time destroying himself and harming others without thinking there was any other way to live or to protect his family and finally recognizing that it's time to start fighting back again. Mannnn. He's the best.
brOTP: Barring all his family (including Datz and Apollo) because I love his potential dynamic with Rayfa, I like a potential friendship with him and Simon. They still bully the fuck out of each other but they have an understanding of each other. I like imagining that they just weren't friends one day, then were the next and they never discussed what changed. They just got along and continue to chat every once in a while. I also had a fun idea for post-SOJ after Yuty gets all his old cases overturned or gone over, resigning and becoming a defense attorney, but asking Blackquill to help with the prosecutor's office because thyey still hadn't replaced all the people that resigned, went to jail, or fled the country. I think that's fun. They would have a great rivalry, don't you think?
OTP: Ema and Nahyuta like Skyemadhi is IT for me. I love them. I think they have a great dynamic, and Nahyuta clearly really loves and respects her during SOJ. I can't help but think he's got a crush on her and doesn't know how to express it initially, or maybe doesn't even know that's what it is because God forbid he FEELS things. Ema helps him open up and he wants to be a better person because of her, and he'll give her fucking Anything in return. Mainly opportunities for her to expand her scientific knowledge or getting higher positions.
Also when they get married I think they probably sprung for a double-barrelled surname (so Skye-Sahdmadhi) which, since Yuta has been restored to the royal family and she's marrying into it, their full surname is probably like Skye-Sahdmadhi Khura'in, but for ease, people just started calling them Prosecutor or Detective Skyemadhi for short 😭
nOTP: I don't get Apollo/Nahyuta at all. I know in the Japanese version they aren't described as brothers at all, so it's kind of a weird thing because in English they're explicitly read as brothers, but not in the original text, but it's like. I mean, I think it's fine I guess. Regardless of it, to me they have no chemistry romantically. At all. Their dynamic is so extremely platonic that I couldn't read it any other way lol. And I still view them as family myself, even though they may not exactly do so themselves.
I also admit I become less fond of Blackquill and Nahyuta romantically as time goes on, but it's not bad. I just don't particularly like it.
Random headcanon: I've talked about this one before, but I imagine that if things got so dangerous that Dhurke had to send Apollo away, that he eventually sent Nahyuta away too. Like I think he probably initially kept Yuty because he couldn't possibly put his blood son away, his only family in the whole wide world, but after Ga'ran steals Amara and Rayfa back a year or so after the Apollo thing, Dhurke finally caves and sends Nahyuta to live at a monastery for safety.
I like imagining that this was before Tahrust Inmee became the high priest, but he was still rebel sympathetic and allowed Nahyuta to stay safely at his little remote monastery. Then, around the time Nahyuta finished his ascetic training at 18, Inmee became high priest and had to move to the capital for his job, so Nahyuta was sent home because they didn't know if the next head monk would be so sympathetic to them, thus leading to Nahyuta pivoting and joining the Dragons for real and then starting his lawyer journey.
Unpopular opinion: Not only is Nahyuta overhated, he is a great character. Apparently that's controversial among AA fans KRKFN but like, other than that? I dunno. I don't think he's boring at all, though he's a bit underwritten and doesn't talk enough during some of the trials.
Song I associate with them: I made a whole playlist for him, but I should pick out one or two. I think Looking Glass by The Birthday Massacre and Empty Page by The Crane Wives are two great songs that reflect how he's bending himself to be whatever everyone else wants him to be, and that's nothing of him left, if there was any of him to begin with.
I also like What If by Emilie Autumn for the "escaping my abusive situation and changing" vibes for him.
I also like Abbey by Mitski for him.
I'll quit going on, you get the point KRKF
Favorite picture of them: Every time he's on screen I lose my mind. How am I to pick KRKF
One of my faves is the one in my icon. I love his lil smiles, he's so gorgeous it kills meeee
Also not to be deranged but. Um. JBNSD I like how he looked when he had a gun to his head. I liked the expression.
I could list any pose or pic of him though and it would be my fave probably though, lol.
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Character ask: The Grinch
This is for the Grinch of the original Dr. Seuss book and the 1966 animated special. I've actually never seen the 2000 Jim Carrey movie or the 2018 CGI movie.
Favorite thing about them: He's such a colorful, crafty, funny villain, whom it's easy to love to hate. Yet he has his sympathetic, relatable qualities too, from the start – especially to those of us on the autism spectrum who also don't care much for socializing or loud partying. And of course his redemption in the end is heartwarming and sweet.
Least favorite thing about them: Well, he is a "mean one" until his change of heart. It's certainly not nice of him to steal Christmas, especially since he takes not only the Whos' presents and decorations, but all their food too.
Three things I have in common with them:
*I can't stand too much noise.
*I live by myself.
*I like dogs.
Three things I don't have in common with them:
*I love Christmas.
*I don't steal things from other people's houses.
*I'm not covered with green fur.
Favorite line:
"For tomorrow I know all the Who girls and boys/will wake bright and early. They'll rush for their toys!/And then! Oh the noise!/Oh, the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!/There's one thing I hate!/Oh, the NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!"
"If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead!"
"Maybe Christmas... doesn't come from a store!/Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!"
brOTP: His dog Max, and after he becomes friends with the Whos, presumably Cindy Lou Who.
OTP: None.
nOTP: Cindy Lou or Max.
Random headcanon: His Who-ville is the same Who-ville from Horton Hears a Who. So he's actually a microscopic creature living on a speck of dust.
Unpopular opinion: While I understand why the 2000 and 2018 movies both fleshed out his character by explaining that he had bad experiences at Christmas as a child, I don't think he needs a backstory to explain who he is. He just can't stand all the noise the Whos make at Christmas. For a simple story like this one, that's enough of an explanation, and it's a sympathetic one, without excusing his villainous anti-Christmas scheme. Many people share the same annoyance at loud, garish, over-commercialized Christmas celebrations, and easily forget, like he does, that the holiday has a deeper meaning than all those trappings.
Song I associate with them: "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"
Favorite picture of them:
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Horizon Ask Game
Oioioi, thanks for all the tags, @maybirdie, @meg-noel-art, @nerd-artist and @xxxhellfireravenxxx
1. ride or die ship (your otp): To no one's surprise, it's Ereloy, precisely as it reads on the can. They snatched my heart back in 2017 and haven't released it to this day.
2. most annoying ship: There are no annoying ships. Next question.
3. second favourite ship: Tough call. I'll go with Avad/Ersa, because they 100% had SOMETHING going on. Starcrossed lovers my beloved.
4. favourite platonic relationship: I'm living for the friendship between Alva and Kotallo. And Beta's line about Erend visiting her in the server room and being "loud...but funny". A kingdom for on-screen interactions between the two. Erend can be like "is free little sister". ;;
5. underrated ship: Drakka/Yarra. The raw enemies to lovers potential there...
6. overrated ship: I don't see anything overrated in a genuine outpouring of one's love for two fictional characters.
7. one thing i would change in canon: Now, after two main games and DLC? Oh, a fair bit. Varl's unnecessary death, even admitted to by the writers as being there for shock value. Shock over the drop in narrative quality post-HZD, maybe.
Same as reducing Erend to everyone's punching bag without a single thought behind his eyes. Fantastic how everyone easily picks up reading English while Erend struggles with it when he's canonically the only member (besides Aloy and Alva) who knows how to read at all. He's the one asking Aloy in HZD where she learned to read Glyphs, something unique to the Carja who reinvented written language based on a book, and the Oseram who got taught Carja Glyphs for trade, which eventually developed into their own alphabet (they get differentiated as "Carja Glyphs" and "(Oseram) Glyphs" in datapoints. Erend can read both. Two alphabets. That's more than many bilinguals)
But sure, he's the dumb dumb who can't read, not the companions that start completely illiterate.
8. something canon did right: All of HZD. What a masterful introduction to a new game franchise, and playing through it the first time unraveling all its mysteries is why I'm still here obsessed with the series.
9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom: Probably the companion art piece for Love Games by my friend @maybirdie. It was incredible working with her as this beast of a fic came together and the friends that I made during that time are near and dear to my heart.
And of course, being on the artist team for the Horizon visual novel Focus On The Heart!
10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Without a speck of doubt, Gildun. What a bundle of unbridled joy.
11. the character i relate to the most and why: Beta. We both have crippling anxiety, literally never go outside, and are unfortunately Very Smol™
12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: The worst I can feel about a character is indifference.
13. something i've learned from the fandom: After having been in a fandom that crashed and burned over a decade ago and coming out with a general aversion to fandom...at the end of the day, people from all trades of life coming together to enjoy and create for the same thing that they love with all their heart is a precious thing and we're all richer embracing each other's uniqueness in this gathering.
14. three tags i seek out on ao3: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Sensual Fingerblasting (wink-wonk)
15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: Break In by Halestorm for Ereloy, and for favorite character (Erend) End Of Me by Ashes Remain
Tagging @emtazer, @imamandajulius, @souls-that-have-senses, @nmallenart, @bs-fangirl, @cranialgames
And everyone who sees this and would like to give a go~
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zadr for ship meme
What made you ship it?
Hyenakay's artwork back in the 2000s deviantART days. I first started watching Zim religiously back in 2002, and I didn't ship anyone back then. I just assumed (since it was still in production) that if any pair were to happen, it'd be ZAGR and DATR. But after seeing Hyena's ZADR just... hit different, man. Been a huge ZADR shipper since. Honestly, it's my longest and most prominent OTP, and I have no plans to change that or stop making art for it.
What are your favorite things about the ship?
Height difference - short king with tall weirdo. -chef's kiss- The fact that Zim assumes the role of caretaker/nurse to Dib because the guy can't take care of himself. Both emotionally stunted, but Zim would be considered more showing of his affection than Dib.. but you wouldn't really even be able to tell. Dib is an absolute wreck with or without Zim, and only Zim is allowed to be as close to him as he is. They're special to each other, even if it's a detriment to the other. Their relationship is pretty much 100% in the ZADE spectrum, and the romance is there... but just.. ya know.. Tolerance is a sign of affection, right? They are both stupid boys, gross and a nuisance to the other. Both want to kill the other guy, but damn if they could live without each other. Their love is a fucking curse; it's not harmonious or easy, but it's as raw and real as you can get. They bring out the worst and the best in each other.
Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?
I am a minority when it comes to how I enjoy my ZADR. Zim's has male genitalia (yes, a butthole and a dong - no balls tho, jfc lets not imagine that). He's also a top/dom - he does not like being bottom. Dib is a top/dom, but Zim brings out a side of him that makes Dib enjoy being topped. Both guys always have to fight for it, though, and during the case where Dib wins, Zim will serve revenge.
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See the things is. We know Louis is rich. He's filthy rich and probably has more money than he knows what to do with.
Which is why it makes sense that he can actively choose to price tickets really low and probably not make much of a profit from tour (or as much as he could) because he doesn't need this income to survive. Or to get through the day to day like some other touring artists do.
Many artists have been cancelling tour lately, for a variety of reasons including how they can't tour without losing money. I listened to a part of Stone's IG live the other day and they were doing the math on air about how it just wasn't feasible for them to do their own European tour because they couldn't afford it. And I doubt they're the only artists, big or small, who are doing these kinds of calculations about whether touring is possible or not (add to that how it's impossible to make decent money from just streaming, and there are big problems but that's a tangent for another time).
So fans talking about how Louis is touring in a lot of countries and isn't charging exorbitant prices for tickets and being grateful for it isn't "solo fans having a superiority complex". It's understanding that music is something that is supposed to be enjoyed by everyone, and not reserved for people who don't have to choose between buying groceries and paying rent or one single concert. And that Louis, as a millionaire, has the freedom to do this and not continue to fleece his fans* so that he can get richer.
And Louis isn't the only artist doing this. There were articles recently about how Tom Grennan was only charging around ~30 because of the cost of living crisis in the UK. Lewis Capaldi in his replies to fans talked about how he doesn't want to charge for m&gs and VIP sections (I'm not sure how much his tickets cost). Even OTP are charging as little as they can get away with to survive as a band. I'm sure there are many other examples of this too, but these are the ones that come to mind immediately.
What's gross is artists who can make it easier on their fans actively choosing not to because.. well. Anyways.
*we're ignoring what Matt Vines said about the merch for now because that man does not know what he's talking about
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So I was trying to explain my otp to my friend and thought I'd share
KawoShin is "I only just met you but I already know you" I know you like we were supposed to be together from the beginning but it went wrong somewhere and now I have you but
it's at the end of the story and there's no time left. It's "I know you because you're just like me and see you see and think and feel the way I do, and at the same time you're
different from me". You're different but you see and feel and understand the way I see and feel and understand or at least are trying to understand me. This is the first time
connection hasn't felt like an unbalanced fight.
It's "I only just met you and I already love you" I know it's too fast and we're too young and that this should have years to unfold slowly and beautifully and natrually but
we're out of time and we only have today and I love you and I'm telling you that now because there is no more time and I need you to hear it and know it because I'm the first
to give you that love and you're the first person to love me. And that's awful and not fair and not how it should be but that's how it is. And somehow it's still unfolding
naturally even if it should feel rushed it doesn't. If we only have time for the most important things then I need to make sure I tell you that I love you because you
deserve to be loved and I'm sorry no one has ever thought so before they were wrong for that. And I'm sorry that all of the people who actually wanted to love you were
too hurt and in their own heads to actually do it but I'm here and I love you and that's enough even if it really isn't at least for today it can be.
It's "Every second of this day is making up for a year we don't get to have". It's "all of forever in one day". It's spilling my guts to you because you're the only person who
has ever cared enough to listen.
It's "I know you and I love you because I never wanted to be here and you never wanted to be here and up until now life has been nothing but pain. But I'm here with you right
now and for the first time I can finally see this beautiful thing that living is supposed to be and I want you to keep having that. I want you to live and keep living and be
happy for the both of us because I can't be there with you." It's "my whole life I have had no choices and no point but now I feel like even if the whole point was this day
here with you that's enough and I'm content with that. If I get to choose the meaning my life has I am choosing you. I'm choosing you and you're choosing me and we are
choosing this day and all the happiness we can make in it."
It's "our story is already over but I am going to love you so hard that it echoes backwards and rewrites the narrative because 24 minutes is still enough time to undo everything
that has happened up until now and open up a path to something better." "Because we deserve better, because you deserve better with or without me."
And it's "I will tear out the throat of fate and crack the spine of time as I bend it around backwards to give us another chance, a better chance, a chance at what we deserved
to have at the beginning. Because trying is the hardest and most painful thing I have ever done but you give me the strength to try, you make me want to try again."
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Fic Writer 20 Questions
Thank you for the tag @insertmeaningfulusername! Sorry it took me so long, I was... well, I was adding more fics to my total 😂
1.) How many works do you have on ao3?
8 (hi, I'm new here)
2.) What’s your ao3 word count?
116,779
3.) What fandoms do you write for?
Currently I'm writing for Star Wars and Stranger Things. But who knows where the wind may take me!
4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?
Maybe 10% Better, Stranger Things (Steddie)
Trying to Escape What You Can't Let Go, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (genfic)
Plans, Star Wars: Rebels (Kalluzeb)
Less Talk More Rokk, Stranger Things (Steddie)
A Flimsi Excuse, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Fox/Quinlan Vos)
5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
Absolutely! I love hearing from people and I love the chance to expand on my thought process during writing. It's like people showing up on my doorstep asking for a live director's cut interview (in the best way). I could talk about that stuff for aaaages.
6.) What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
That would have to be my Jangobi fic A Mandalorian Comes Riding, which is tagged Major Character Death for a reason! Which is funny because I rarely read stories like that but... I wrote one?
7.) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
I mean, there are more than one. For Star Wars it's Trying to Escape What You Can't Let Go, and for Stranger Things/Steddie it's either Maybe 10% Better or my schmoopy Christmas fic, Our Kind of Advent.
8.) Do you get hate on fics?
Uh, not yet?
9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?
I do! Though I haven't published any yet; stay tuned for January.
10.) Do you write cross overs? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?
No, I only write dumb crossovers in my brain. They never have a plot, it's just me going "wouldn't it be cool if..." and then agreeing with myself that it would, indeed, be cool.
11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not to my knowledge...
12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?
Not yet, but I am open to it!
13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?
I have not! To be honest I have no idea how cowriting works in a practical sense and I don't know if I would actually enjoy it.
14.) What’s your all time favourite ship?
I have never been an OTP kind of gal, so I won't commit myself. I am changeable, like the tides.
15.) What’s a WIP you’d like to finish, but doubt you ever will?
I'm pretty new to writing fic so I don't have a mountain of WIPs (yet?) but I have a Foxiyo fake-marriage fic that I kind of over-plotted in the outline and now my brain doesn't want to sit down and actually write the story. Maybe one day when I've forgotten enough about it I will get back to it.
16.) What are your writing strengths?
I think I am pretty darn good at writing dialogue in general and banter specifically. I love a flirty and/or teasing conversation.
16.) What are your writing weaknesses?
I feel like I have to work very hard to remind myself to include descriptions of places. And like, metaphors. I don't really do a lot of metaphors.
17.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
I've only done a smattering of Mando'a so far, but I'm open to it! I speak French so that's an option, though I don't see it coming up much in the fandoms I currently write in.
18.) First fandom you wrote for?
Star Wars: Rebels; I wrote Plans in 2018 and then just yeeted it into the sun and ran away. Took me until 2023 to start "really" writing.
19.) Favourite fic you’ve ever written?
I'm very proud of Meet in the Middle, the RexObi fic that kind of felt like it came to me in a fever dream and expelled itself from my body without my input. It's kind of a strange little story but I like that it's a weirdo.
No pressure tagging @sexysmeagolshitposting @sankt-jesper @brooks-skirata (hiii!)
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ooh can i ask what story the girl turning into the spider is from? it sounds sweet!
oh uh... it's sweet in the sense that, even though pretty much everything goes wrong, some things still go right?
Tavra (spider girl) is a very stoic, somewhat blunt and socially awkward, generally grim, only ever laughs bitterly but will gently stroke your cheek and remind you to keep moving forward main supporting character in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance YA books written by J.M. Lee. (mostly in the third one, tides of the dark crystal)
(SPOILERS)
She's... kinda like the older sister figure / adopted mom / eventual one half of fav OTP to the three point of view characters? Her whole thing is being ready to sacrifice herself and her happiness for the sake of saving people, enduring pain without flinching even while telling others to be careful, repeatedly almost dying and smiling about it....
....except that she really, really, REALLY wants to see her girlfriend again, too. Especially after kinda sorta dying and getting spider-ed.
Her uncharacteristic rashness and nervousness when showing herself to Onica- and Onica's zero hesitation to reach out to the small spider that sounds like Tavra- is the first clue these two are A Thing.
They've been a thing for a loooong while. A forbidden secret romance kinda thing.
Onica turns out to be outwardly the sun to Tavra's cloudy day, except she's actually still VERY angry at Mayrin (Tavra's mother) for being a jerk, and VERY bitter over how Mayrin treated Tavra over their relationship- and while Tavra tries making excuses for her mom the best she can come up with in the end is a damningly faint "that was a long time ago". Which. Well.
Anyway, up till now Tavra has always taken on the role the Experienced And Steady Advisor and Guardian to her new younger friends, but once she's back on Onica's ship (Onica is a single crew sailing ship captain able to dream of things happening far away have i mentioned that?) Tavra starts finally relaxing enough to show some of the stresses she's been under lately, even going off and 'mope' when her attempt at teaching one young friend how not to get killed with a sword goes badly.
(moping is described as Tavra "just being Tavra") (her kinda new little sister is the one saying this) (Tavra can be recognized in any form by her dower frown) (especially funny when Onica is constantly described as laughing and chuckling and wearing a mysterious smile)
So blah blah blah, Onica is a the good kind of terrifying and almost dies, Tavra saves her via the power of gay flashbacks with the help of their new number 1 shipper-
Then Onica's bestie, who is in huge awe of Tavra, tries to push a traumatized depressed disabled woman in the body of a spider into leading all their people in revolution bc she'd be ideal for it- and Onica very pointed says that you can't help others if you don't take time to help yourself before going off to presumably snuggle her sad spider gf.
The two are last seen in the books as Tavra's sorta adopted teen son Kylan-
(who turned her into a spider to save while committing murder despite generally being a pacific presumably bc of the trauma of watch his birth parents get snatched away by murders as a child)
-decides to look at some runes, and Tavra says she and Onica will stay with him.
So. Tavra never gets her old body back, and her mom is murdered, and part of her soul is drained and eaten, and her sisters probably think she's dead- but she also does not die. By the end of the story she is happy with the family she has found, and finally fulfilling her and Onica's promise to someday live their lives as one.
Oh did i mention there's a parallel between her and Onica's secret forbidden romance and the more tragic example that kicks of the whole story?
Did i mention Onica calls Tavra "my love"?
And Tavra was a swordswoman before becoming a spider?
I don't know if you wanted or needed all this info and I don't care, there will never be enough stuff about these two written but by gods i will take ever chance to scream about them
And that's how my arachnophobia was cured!!!
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Tagged by @chocolatepot. Thank you, my v. dear!
Rules: Go to your published works on AO3 and list the first fic you ever published there, the last fic you published, any fic that you wrote for a fandom/ship only once, your favorite fic you wrote in the fandom/ship that has the most works, the fic you wish more people read, the fic you agonized over the most, the fic that sprang fully formed from your mind without any effort, and a work you are proud of—for whatever reason. <3
First fic: On AO3, that would be my drabble collection for Pet Shop of Horrors. Far from baby's first fic(s), but the first that I published where other people could see from way back in the hazy yesteryear of Livejournal. First fic ever was a Mary Sue self-insert Dracula fic. It was terrible beyond words.
Last fic: Last fic FOR NOW is When a Good Plan Comes Together. And frankly? I can't recommend it. I've been fighting myself about maybe taking it down for a week now, because it kind of makes me cringe to think that might be the first thing of mine someone reads. It's not that it's BAD, per se, but it is v. LAZY. I saw a prompt and wanted to knock out a response to it, and a quick one, because I'm currently working on three other fics that require a lot more mental energy. But that meant handwaving the titular plan and "fade to black"-ing on the sex scene, and that's not really up to my normal standards.
Only once: I tend to be fandom-monogamous, and, within my hyperfocus, OTP-centric, so the closest I've got fic-wise is Unbelievable, which is kinda Geoffrey Fettering/the allure of Stede Bonnet's escape to piracy, if you squint at it. Vid-wise, my first vid ever was for my wifey, featuring her favorite character from The Umbrella Academy, Klaus, and I've got a Stede/Hornberry set to "I've Got A Crush On You."
Favorite fic from the fandom I've written in most: Technically, I think I've written more individual drabbles for Pet Shop, but since they're all grouped together, I'll go with OFMD, in which case, it's Like I Want to be Awake. It's prolly what I would consider my best writing to date - funny but still earnest, the first sex scene I've actually found hot while writing it, and, I flatter myself, a solid Ed-voice with some v. creative cursing.
Fic I wish more people read: I mean, the answer is also "Like I Want to be Awake" because I love it so much, and I want other people to love it too. But other than that, my Stede Sonnets. I know, sweetie, I know. You had a bad English teacher who didn't know how to teach poetry, and prolly didn't really know how to teach Shakespeare, so now you hate all poetry, and ESPECIALLY a stuffy, restrictive format like sonnets. But I'm urging you to find it in your heart to give it another go. I think you might find that, because the subject matter is fandom-centered, you might be predisposed to give the slightest damn about what it's about, and able to relax into the format. And you might even find that sonnets don't have to be stuffy - they can be funny, or dare I say, even flirty and sexy.
Fic I agonized over: The answer is also also "Like I Want to be Awake". I'm SOOOO unendingly lucky to have a marvelous group of Discord friends that let me endlessly whinge on at them. It was supposed to be a silly one-shot companion piece to Footsteps in the Dark (just over 1K). Over the course of 3 weeks, it grew into a 16K monster. Mostly because the boys wouldn't shut the fuck up about matchbooks. I agonized whether including a Maori folk story was appropriative or a respectful allusion to the culture from which Ed's mother came. I found a story I loved that was thematically relevant to the rest of the story and wrote up my own version, and then decided to double-check for alternative versions, only to find it was labeled "Maori," but was actually written by a London-born white woman who was a teacher in Ateoroa in the late 1800s. So now that only lives on the Discord server because there was no way I could use it, but the writing was good. Then, after I'd found a different story, researched it, and THEN wrote it up, I agonized over whether just glossing over Stede telling the story of Snow White with Ed's reactions thereunto, since it would doubtlessly be more familiar to my readers, would be othering to the Maori story (that they might not be familiar with, and would therefore necessitate a full telling), or if I DID do a full retelling if that would be obnoxious. I agonized over whether it cut off too abruptly. About whether it counted as a downer ending when really it just dovetails back into canon. About whether the title too like that of a fandom juggernaut, or if maybe I should choose a different lyric from the Petshop Boys song from which I took the original story in order to link them that way? Like I said - I am SO lucky my buddies are so patient with me.
Fic that sprang fully formed: Definitely Your Achilles. I was about half-way through Beautiful and Useless when Ed's voice interrupted Loud and Clear and Insistent that his version be told. From then on, I was basically writing the two stories simultaneously.
Work(s) I'm proud of: Almost all of the above (not you, "When a Good Plan Comes Together" - you sit there and think about what you've done!), but also Advanced Maneuvers , because it was has the first sex scene I'd ever written, and, even though my brain fought me tooth and nail the entire way through, it's not half bad, Time Enough because it was my first time trying to write action, and I'm pretty pleased with how it came out, Under Par because it was my first attempt at a modern AU and I think it's pretty cute, and Dearly Beloved because it's a lot of fun.
A tag to summon (but no presh): @bizarrelittlemew @emi--rose @epersonae @nicnacsnonsense @poetic----nonsense
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A slight rant, I suppose. But it's more frustration than annoyance.
(under the cut because I don't want to spoil someone's day with this discourse)
I'm pretty much active in Twitter/X mainly because of the 1 Day 1 Hol Horse thing, but when I ventured deeper into the JoJo fandom, I realised the anti-proship discourse is just a huge WHY for me.
Like, why does this mess have to exist?
Why does one have the need to not interact with other fans in the same fandom, especially if they also share a similar preference?
Why can't everyone just like what they like, and leave what they don't, without harming actual fans, like sending death threats, trolling, doxxing, rallying hate etc?
To clarify, I've only known about this new definition of anti-proship about this year, when I got active again in the JoJo fandom. And it came to me in the form of being forced into a voting poll without my knowledge, and the fans that voted for or against my account labelled me a proshipper based on "problematic" fanarts from my Japanese friends and moots that I liked and shared.
It was the very first time I learnt what the bastardised definition of a proshipper is to these group of people.
Because during my anime/manga era, some good 20 years ago, proshipping basically means shipping whatever one likes and accepting that others may ship things one dislikes. We had terms like OTPs and NOTPs and BroTPs, and we use them freely to express love and acceptance, while also acknowledge what we prefer and what we don't.
Yes, there will occasionally be fans who will throw a tantrum about what others ship. They were the ones we call antishippers - the most intolerant of fans. They started ship wars, they send death threats, they doxx. They are the unhinged that most likely would kick a baby if given the opportunity.
Proshipper is actually a very positive word, and we love proshippers, because they're very tolerant, they work as middle men in ship wars, and by all things divine, most of them have really great artistic skills. Antishipper, nope, we don't want to be that. We hate that. We despise that.
But somehow the new generation seemed to shift the blame of all things bad on proshippers by changing the definition of it.
Depending on who you ask, proship could be a short to "proactive shipping", "professional shipping" or just "pro shipping" (as in pros and cons). All positive words. Now the new generation who most likely was never thought of how to explore fandoms at a young age, deemed proship as "problematic shipping".
The audacity to simply change the definition is palpable. Especially when I find out the kind of "problematic" things that they try to justify hating on.
Kids. Teens. Young adults. My dears.
Whatever "problematic" things you've seen in a fandom /ship /character now IS NOT NEW. It's not something that just happened to exist in a recent fandom to spite the younger gens. It has been there 20 years ago when I was underaged and older fans were making fanart of their favourites both "problematic" and not. Heck, probably way longer before for them as well.
If only you utilise some reading skills and maybe your library card, you can find the history of anime-manga was filled to the brim with "problematic" topics. It's a way of expression, it's a way of coping, it's a way of criticising certain factors like politics and people. Anime and manga has always been "problematic". That's a hard fact.
Virtue signaling especially if you're from the West is not gonna change that.
Also, I cannot stress it enough that fiction does not equate to reality. At best, it is an imitation of reality, in a form safe for consumption and indulgence that require no harm to real living beings. Once people can differentiate these, trust me, life will be so much easier.
While the definition of proship had seen a pretty twisted change, antiship didn't. They still did the same things, only now, the minors were dragged in.
Despite all, I won't deny there are absolute rotten eggs on both sides. There will definitely be proshippers who are so disturbing it scares even Junji Ito. There will also be antishippers who will do anything to spread more hate in the fandom, making it rather unlivable. And both sides have the capability to influence an attack on each other, or worse, take advantage of gullible, ill-informed fans, especially minors.
But if we stop lumping everyone into "proship dni" and "antis dni" lists, and openly, properly communicate and explore about likes and dislikes and preferences like old times, I'm sure complaints from antis like
"Why is this fanartist who draws / fan who like [insert ship] has to be a proship?"
"I like this fanartist's artwork but they are a proship, so now I can't see their stuff."
"There's not enough fanart of [insert ship/character]."
would be way, way less.
And I always wonder if these antis, who were mostly young teenagers of a sound mind, have a pending curiosity to explore something adult through fictional characters. Hence why, while they despise proshippers and anything not sfw, they still talk about it among themselves and draw lemony drawings, even to a detail I personally wouldn't share so openly. And why they still invade not sfw spaces even with a clear warning.
Because, I get that, I've been there, most likely as early as 12. Exploring sexuality is not wrong at that age, and it's already a correct method to use fiction for it.
But by pushing away people who had been there, who can actually help, is gonna continue making these antis be a hateful, intolerant bunch. And more easily influenced by actual real life predators.
And for the "proshippers", it's also pretty frustrating to see themselves being harrassed, blocked, and talked about behind their back from antis who never thought of maybe, just maybe, getting to know them first. Especially if they are not from the West.
So my advice to these antis and especially the antis who practically had no reason to be an anti, don't confine yourself into a small container and scream why it's too small. Fiction is there for you to explore reality and things that you can and will never do in real life. Exploring it is way better than suppressing yourself, as long as you know your own limits. Preference and discomfort are only evident if you communicate in a proper manner, not by bashing someone without them knowing and shift the blame of the discomfort you caused yourself on them when they had no intention to even present it to you.
We're in the same fandom. Sharing the same love for the same character and ships. I don't see why we should cut it down so meticulously just because one cannot separate fiction to reality.
As a pretty much seasoned anime-manga fan, especially in JoJo (I've been with the fandom since 2001, tbh), keep your mind open. Block and mute are always your friend if things get too overwhelming, but hatred shouldn't be the main motivator. Communication is key. If you want to know more, express your discomfort, discuss on characters / ships / fandoms...always communicate first. Never assume, never stab on the back. You might be surprised how helpful proshippers can be if you're just, for once, be nice.
That's all.
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11, 15, 29, 30 for the OTP questions for all three please <3
Thank you Skelly! This is probably going to end up obnoxiously long but I love the babies and I don't talk about them nearly enough.
Unfortunately word vomiting also means this is just shy of 1.5k words of such.
11. What is their love language?
chloe x jacob
- Chloe is an acts of service kinda gal, which is excellent for Jacob since words seemingly live to fail him when it comes to her. Their cabin is never low on firewood, even if neither of them have been there recently. She reads the 'I love yous' in every dinner, in the times hes gone out of his way for her time to be less shitty. Extra food, extra water. normal romanticizing captor things. (several peak story plot points are atrocities Jacob commits in Chloe's name). Jacob is words of affirmation, but Christ you'll never hear him admit it. Chloe has grown to note the little side smiles he thinks she can't see, holding them close to her heart. Listening to his heart race while she gives him her adoration is loud enough a proclamation.
theo x john
- Theo finds restorative love in quality time. Eden's Gate keeps him extraordinarily busy, especially as one of Jacob's Chosen. There is very little opportunity to sneak away, and having to keep things on the dl makes it more frustrating. Long showers with quality soaps and late morning breakfasts at John's ranch are treasured moments he doesn't know when he'll have again. John has a mix of physical touch and receiving gifts. He's used to giving gifts, but the thought that someone thought of him and wants to give him something, knowing he can afford to buy what he wants is so very personal. It's a delicate balance though, between flattery and insult. If the gift is something he doesn't actually like or think relates to himself, he rejects it- harshly. It stems from hurt and not feeling understood, rejecting the venerability.
pie x sharky
- Pie is a sucker for words of affirmation, she likes to see someone work for it. She is smart, and pretty, just a bit unhinged and she knows it. Doesn't mean she doesn't like hearing it, too. Sharky is physical touch and quality time. Some time with just him, the love of his life and fire? Absolutely nothing better. Until of course, the love of his life wants to touch some too. That is even better.
15. Why do they like each other?
chloe x jacob
- Tenacity. Any odds stuck against her, and Chloe will find a way. Jacob finds her fearlessness both annoying and intriguing. She's also the only person who's given him a compliment without a breath of pity or malice, something rare even from his family. The judges like her, even Haniel does and she hates everyone. He can blame wanting to study her as an interest all he wants, he cant deny the appeal of the vessel the intrigue comes in either. After their rough introductions and a few months of exhausting her, Chloe finds solace when Jacob is around. Thinking isn't so loud, things aren't so hard. She enjoys the challenge, learning to toy with him. On a more serious manner, she sees how hard he works. How much of himself he gives away and how hard he's holding onto both. His pride, his skeletons, how fiercely he loves and protects his own. When things go wrong and she feels scared, it's Jacob she longs for.
theo x john
- Theo makes everything fun for John. He's witty, smart, important to Eden's Gate, strong. He can handle John's humor, his sass, his anger. His plane has major plus points, and the loyalty seals the deal. Anyone willing to lie to Jacob to protect him, he trusts with his whole heart. Theo loves all of John, even the manic side of things. He can handle a little blood, tests of violence are far from unusual. He loves having a space to express his doubts, someone that understands the pressures of the Reaping, can help relieve some of that stress constantly building. There's security for Theo in being who John seeks for comfort, an honor in sinful thoughts. John also happens to be the most beautiful man Theo knows.
pie x sharky
- Sharky is in love with Pie in the most puppy way imaginable. Nothing compares to the way his heart races when they're together. Completely addicted- his woman, his inspiration, his private religion. She might be qualified to have worked at NASA but she never makes him feel dumb, not for real. He loves hearing her talk, about anything and everything. He learns so much from the way she views life and loves every creature. His absolute lack of self preservation slowly wore her down edges and they talked many a night of her fixing him and Hurk up after something stupid. She loves his bravery, even if its partially a lack of awareness. Admires his lack of fucks and drive to have fun, after having forgotten how herself for so long. No matter how sad she's felt, he's never failed to make her smile. Their chemistry is almost electric, a tangible feel in the air whenever their eyes lock. He makes her believe in magic, and there's nothing more precious than that.
29. Who said I Love You, first?
chloe x jacob
- Jacob did, as unexpected as that sounds. He'd been completely feral for 3.5 weeks at that point, looking for her. Chloe was taken into the Wolf's Den by Rook after being attacked by a bear. Jacob found nothing but what were once his chosen decorating his forest floor with no trace of her. When he finally got his arms around her again, there was nothing left to deny. The "I love you.." whispered as Chloe fell asleep in front of their fire, safe, and snuggling into a bear hide rug she couldn't quite remember being there before.
theo x john
- Theo said it first, although it was reciprocated immediately. Following an argument where John was bratting himself into a fight, stuck feeling like Theo was abandoning him as the Reaping began and work doubled for everyone. Angsty [nasty sassy] fight ensues, and ends in some very passionate sex outside. Peak climax sets free a "-so good for me, you.. do so, I- I love you..". John has known he loved Theo but refused to admit it first, out of principle, until that moment. John says it often after that.
pie x sharky
- Sharky!! Man is a SIMP! Absolutely the most husband. He's been in love with Pie for years and he's said it with his chest every time. Pie rejected him every time, focusing on her work and caring for her uncle.
30. When did they realize they loved each other?
chloe x jacob
- A bit hard to answer without giving away lots of juicy bits- but I'll summarize. Chloe's moment of realization hit her like a truck after she spared Jacob's life by taking.. another's with very little hesitation. She split in a mortified 'fuck, I love you' and immediately throws up. She managed to keep it to herself for the time being, thankfully. Jacob's smug self would've never dropped it had she not only killed an important person for him AND admitted he'd succeeded in ensnaring her psyche one go. Jacob at this point had been living his best delulu mindset until almost a month prior- he had to think a bear killed her first, conveniently. This was mostly so I could write a distraught 'fuck, I love you' from both povs if I'm being entirely honest.
theo x john
- Theo of course knew who John was, but knowing John is very different experience. Knowing all the bits and pieces, seeing him cry, seeing him angry, afraid? Really knowing him is a privilege. Sitting in the greenhouse Theo realized how much he likes when John leans on him, needs him, surrounds him.. Its altered a deeper understanding and he doesn't want to go without it. Maybe he can't, either way he's absolutely certain, he's in love with John. John has much more of a primal awakening, comparatively. They'd been flirting and teasing each other for weeks on and off, leading up to chosen initiation week dubbed 'pit week'. John was entirely purposeful in riling Theo up, pushing buttons to spike the tension. Standing on a balcony watching Theo beat the shit out of cocky newbies in mud was doing things to him at an alarming rate. Theo's eyes locked with his, face splattered with blood and John is aware he's completely unrecoverable.
pie x sharky
- One of the times Sharky blew himself up worse than usual, she went off on him about how she could've lost her best friend, one of the 5 people she's ever loved. Sharky manages to lift whats left of his right eyebrow, "How hard did I hit mah head?" (that ends in super cute fluff- in a wip atm). Sharky fell for Pie in freshman year. The only thing he regretted about dropping out was not seeing her as often. He missed his pyre, his spark. His Pie. She was so smart, and kind. He was always laughing at something she said. "Have I told you I love you before?". Pity the roller rink date went so wrong, but it ended in him sure he'd never love anyone else more.
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now for the chaos corner ( or part seven ) of the ask extravaganza, let's talk about my beloved little fennec fox felicity !! could i please ask after questions one, four, five, seven, and eight from that list of questions ?
can't wait to see the answers, and i hope you're doing well !! <3
Yeeessss, Lily, my sweet little baby!
1. What's an animatic about your OC / OTP that you've been spinning around your brain?
So, for Lily, I actually don't think I have a specific song animatic in mind for her, just general vibes. I feel like it would probably be an angsty one about childhood innocence and her relationship with Sanji, generally pretty happy and adorable and all, but occasionally you'll get scenes of her crying and throwing tantrums in fear... Delicious angst. Specifically, the main angst potential comes from the Whole Cake Island Arc. I know you know basically nothing about it, Dolly, but all of my OCs (except for Lux) have a deep and profound trauma from that arc, some more than others. That's because that arc is peak Sanji angst. Anyways, for some happy moments, I could see little montages of them training together, cooking together, Lily showing off her ballet skills, general crew shenanigans... It's about the contrast!
4. Give a full breakdown of one song on your OC or OTP's playlist!
*checks my Felicity playlist* Well, well, well...
I could cheat and do an instrumental one. I can’t do ones that are just there based on vibes because they're... well... just there for vibes. Most of them are just there for vibes, actually. So, we'll do this one:
"Have you heard from the news? / Clouds are falling from the sky / And everything that's pink is now blue."
... is about the scary things in Lily's life and how her world is coming apart, first because of Buggy, then because of Kuro.
"Have you heard from my mind? / We gotta find a way to cope / Or else things might not turn out so fine"
... is Lily's escapism, the way her brain cooked up the automatic response of age regression as a way to cope and make things fine again.
"And I start / To give in / To the sin / To the sin"
Lily puts up no resistance against this sort of escape but it's a "sin" because devil fruits are, well, devil fruits, and she's already a non-human freak without it, but even more so when it keeps changing her appearance in tune with her mind.
"And I start / To realize / Lullabies / La, la..."
... is Lily really falling into Little Space, the last two syllables being a sort of reference to baby speech - listen to how they sound in the song!
The chorus is filled with antitheses between childish, happy things and scary things you might encounter in life and that's also the world that Lily lives in. Sort of a childish bubble she has built for herself and the harsh pirate's life of death and fighting outside of it. There's one line that's special though and that's:
"Lollipops and cigarettes"
Lily, being half mink, has heightened senses, and she's also very emotional, so a lot of times, things just become too much for her. That's when she asks her dad Sanji for a "smoke break" which is code for "mom come pick me up i'm scared". Sanji is a smoker, so he has an excuse to just remove himself from a situation and go outside for a while and Lily copied that for herself. I think the first time she pulls this trick, it's and accident. She probably mumbles to herself "I think I need a smoke break" (copying Sanji, most likely) and everyone just looks at her as if their souls had left their bodies. But then Sanji smiles and says "You know, me too" and they leave and then this becomes actual code speak for them. There's only one thing that's an issue: Lily feels left out if Sanji is smoking and she isn't. She keeps bugging him about how it isn't fair until he gets her lollipops as a comprimise. Also fake cigarettes made of chewing gum or chocolate.
"Losing innocence is easy / But growing up is hard to face. / Give me something to hold on to / Or I'll slip right into little space"
The "losing innocence is easy" part is a reference to Lily losing her parents, an event that she can barely remember and never understood. In her eyes, they just disappeared, and she doesn't know what really happened or never quite pieces it together - because she was young, still is young and her mind refuses to recall what happened. So she just unconsciously refuses to grow up. And she doesn't have to. She's still so young but also she'd rather be this little kid again when her parents were still by her side and she doesn't want to face things like losing her second set of parents - ie. Kaya's - or getting kidnapped by Buggy or the chaos caused by the Black Cat Pirates. She needs someone or something to hold on to or she gets scared and slips into little space, basically becoming a nonverbal ball of fear.
"Remember all the rounds / When we sneaked in just to have a kiss / But now we need to keep the noise down"
In the original interpretation of the song, this is more of an allusion to puppy love vs sexuality, but in Lily's version, the last line is more related to violence and screaming, maybe also her sensitivity to noise because of her gigantic ears that she maybe wasn't so accutely aware of when she was younger.
"Remember sleepy eyes / When we see each other every day / But now this is our final goodbye"
This part is about Kaya and Lily who grew up like siblings for a long time. Granted, they are quite a few years apart, but Lily has very fond memories of just napping with Kaya and seeing her every day because they lived together, but her going out with the Straw Hats means she might never see her again - or at least not for a very long time. The "final goodybe" is also a reference to Merry's death, who was another of Lily's father figures and who was also part mink.
Chorus time! The final lines function the same way, contrasting fun, childish things and scary, adult things.
So yeah, the whole song might as well be interpreted as a look into how Lily's mind works!
5. What would your OC's tumblr blog be like?
I haven't decided on whether I want Lily to be twelve or thirteen yet, but I'm currently gravitating towards twelve and... yeah, she's too young for Tumblr XD
But if she did have a blog, I imagine it would be very chaotic. Ballet stuff, Barbie movies, children's shows, aesthetics, slime videos, kidcore, pastel stuff, Disney...
7. What's your OC's ___-core aesthetic?
Probably a soft and childish balletcore, mixed in with some more pastel-y kidcore. Also fennec fox. You cannot do Lily without a cute little fennec fox.
8. What are some TV Tropes that apply to your OC or OTP?
Oh, a lot! Here's just a little list: The Cheerful Child, Curious as a Monkey, Parental Substitute on multiple occasions (first Kaya's parents, then Merry, then Sanji!) and her and Sanji get a "Like a Son Daughter to Me" moment. She's also somewhat of an Innocent Prodigy when it comes to fighting and ballet, and Cheer Them Up with Laughter is how to stop her tantrums and breakdowns. Finally, Cheery Pink. That's it.
Sorry that this took so long. I had very little free time since Christmas and I've just been working on this whenever I had the time and frame of mind. Thanks so much for your ask!
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Taglist: @starcrossedjedis @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene @supermarine-silvally - let me know if you’d like to be added or removed!
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29 30 38 for martian :3
ooh these r fun! haven't lingered on Real Martian for a bit.. going to set these in the rbr era!
29. Who is more likely to jump in an elevator? Who freaks out?
mark jumps first, lightly, because he thinks it would get seb looking at him with an alarmed, deer-in-headlights kinda look, and his face is endlessly funny when his eyes go wide. seb would get over it quickly, though, and one-up mark by jumping higher, and landing harder. and mark, because he's a competitive little shit, would do the same--except, he's bigger, and heavier, and he actually breaks the elevator.
they manage to contact the hotel easily enough. seb, with no small amount of amusement, and mark, with a little bit of embarrassment for inconveniencing someone (obviously not for LOSING against seb, he didn't lose against seb, they weren't even competing for anything).
the hotel says eta for help is about half an hour while they wait for the mechanic to arrive. maybe it's the confined space of the elevator, the buzzing of the fan above, but they both feel inclined to fill the silence. seb sits on the floor, and mark sits next to him, and they have a conversation about things going on in their lives, places they've hiked, bike routes they've tried, and it's--
nice. it's nice, to talk to seb as a human being, stripped down to their natural selves without all the pretense of their race weekend environment.
30. Your OTP gets to pick out each other's outfits; what is each wearing?
trying to think of a situation where they'd do that. i think it'd be if they were already fucking and familiar with one another, or at least in each other's spheres enough? mark would probably dress seb one of two ways, depending on how intimate they are...
the first, if they're not fucking: in a skirt or dress, for kicks, and also because deep down, he's curious. seb looks pretty, though, and mark proceeds to have a sexuality crisis wherein seb is like, i like wearing this, but i'm not a girl. and mark is like, don't you think i know that. seb wouldn't do that, but he'd absolutely make mark do something ridiculous, like wear his red bull shirt and pants backwards and strut out in front of the cameras, or something.
the second, if they are fucking: mark dresses seb in his favourite hoodie, and just his favourite hoodie. it's oversized on seb's smaller frame, but he's adorable, almost swaddled in the fabric, with the sleeves covering his hands. it's nice and warm, too, when mark slides his hands underneath to hold seb's waist and gently thumb circles onto soft skin.
seb, for his part, would probably tell mark to wear something comfortable because he can't be arsed to do something like this, or else he'd choose a nice dress in mark's size and force him to confront Gender. i am making him confront gender regardless
38. Who is more sexually experimental? Who's more vanilla?
the obvious answer would be that seb's more experimental and mark's more vanilla, so i'm gonna play devil's advocate here.
seb likes it when sex matters. he loves the intimacy of it, the way he can be vulnerable with someone, and come back more sure of himself and his partner's affections. it's validation and security, in a way. plus, missionary is hot, especially when feelings are involved, whether he's fucking or being fucked. that's not to say he doesn't like it rough or doesn't like toys, but he's not going to go out of his way to make things super spicy in the bedroom if they're already special enough :)
mark's open to the kinkier side, mostly because he thinks seb would look really great in different positions, with different toys. but a smaller, deeper part of him knows it's because he thinks switching it up will mean seb doesn't get bored of him. he's older, not as spry as he used to be--he thinks he needs to keep seb coming back for more. little does he know that as long as he keeps making love to seb and treating him like the only person in the world when they're in bed, seb will melt in his arms every single time.
ask me about martian / nobody asks you questions!
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