#OTP: I would have still followed you | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

maddy-ferguson · 9 months

Note

El and Will's characters get nothing being in a relationship with Mike. Idk why milvns think El breaking up with Mike and being an independent character would be bad for her when it is like one of the best things that will happen to her character. She is so lucky.

i don't feel like arguing because i'm obviously not gonna convince you of anything but i just wanna say that even if mike was the great boyfriend people thought seasons 1 and 2 set him up to be el still should never have been with him when she was coming out of a year of isolation and twelve years of abuse in the lab. it's literally a horror story like mike being one of the people to socialize her and her main introduction to the outside world is so gross her first boyfriend taught her the concept of privacy like ewww👎👎 it's a good story though. just not in the way mlvns think. and it would be gross even if mike had gone on to sign all his letter love, mike. and mlvn breaking up being good for el isn't even about el being independent in a girlboss she's better off not having a boyfriend ever because girls being single is feminism way it's about her identity being so tied to her relationship with mike because, again, he's the first person she formed an emotional bond with when she got out of the lab where she was abused constantly, and about her growing out of that relationship and having a sense of identity outside of it. it's so insane that people call you a misogynist for suggesting that she should have had other experiences before getting a boyfriend and just go well you can grow as a person while being in a relationship as if el had a normal upbringing when six months into their relationship she didn't even know what she liked! she didn't even know she was allowed to like things!!! besides being a hater what was hopper doing bro

#like yes girls don't have to choose between having an identity and being in a relationship. your three-year-old sister says more is a #sentence that's used to describe el five days before mike kisses her and sets the tone for the next three years of her life. also she's 14 #this is a middle school relationship like #otp: i guess it's not #i said the girlboss no bf thing even though a girl not having to have a (male) love interest is still a big deal and el being single at all #at the end of the show mlvn being a bad relationship mike being gay aside would still be a wow thing but like ykwim. maybe #but like even if you hate women and don't enjoy the el not being defined by the male figures in her life (brenner hopper mike) thing the #kid who didn't know anything about the real world being asked to a dance and not knowing what that meant and being kissed by a boy she #thought would be her brother five seconds prior to being kissed is just insane. she didn't know about privacy and her future bf taught it #to her #yes i'm always bringing up the privacy thing. because it's the best example of how messed up it is #or would've been (well no. is) like mike is a normal and yk good person but it just shows how much influence he had on her and how much #power he had over her. well it's just bsy junior bpy #isn't it crazy that i have mike haters following me #ask

10 notes · View notes

alirienn · 1 year

Note

do elaborate on ness & kurona…..

the '''red''' sidekick (ik ness is purple, but it like, inches towards red, it's a reddish purple)

both play supporting roles and don't try to score for themselves

no eyebrows lol this one's a joke

very devoted to their respective partner (kaiser / isagi) at the expense of making their own goals (and a lot of charas' ego revolves around that n stuff)

starting to be a bit delusional here but i do think its possible their egos awaken at the same time, maybe not Bc of each other but it certainly could mirror (or they do see a reflection of themself in the other since their current role is to be support, they realise u need individualism to be an egoist or something like that

and then u get an interesting contrast where even tho they have similar roles, for a lack of better words, ness is unhinged and kurona is just trying to help

i think ness would hate seeing kurona is like him, even tho he's the same (bc they're the same)

i can also see ness taking his anger out on the person most important to isagi in this arc, the other half of his planet hotline, bc i believe in him getting worse (positive) (not the word im looking for but kaiser is... fair?? to an extent, like he'll acknowledge that his opponent is skilled, but ness? he won't agree no matter how hard u squeeze his headー tl;dr i can see him doing underhanded... things)

i consider any ship with my fav

i like their height difference, even tho we dunno what their heights are we can use my Isagi Yoichi Height Ruler™️ aka kurona's shorter than isagi, so ofc he's gonna be shorter than ness

i like the idea of ness bullying him, bc i like seeing my fav get bullied and also ness is like that, but at the same time i dont think kurona would take that sitting down so i also want to see him bite back, i want them to figuratively bite each other and fist fight

tl;dr i think they (can) mirror each other, if only they'd talk to each other 😔

this got so long i dont even know what i wrote , there might be other stuff i forgor about , it is what it is but i just think they could have an interesting dynamic mostly and i like any ship out of these four like i mentioned in my tags

also warning there's SO many tags on this one oh my god

#i dont know how to words as usual #theres just....theres just stuff you can do here and i can see it #id be the clown of this story if im way off and kurona never actually gets anything hahahahaha(negative #jk about being way off. who knows whats going to happen #im srs about kurona never getting any spotlight im like. legitimately worried about that but thats another thing #his role.... from a meta perspective.......... anyways #also #i would say kurona is selfless vs ness is selfish (as in his devotion to kaiser is to make Himself feel better #self inflicted dependency? i still dunno how to word this) but u could argue that kurona is only following isagi to be able to play HOWEVER #for the sake of playing i'll follow you) during the match it became real and it wasnt just about being able to play anymore #oops tangent that's a differnet pair(#ness/kurona mirror as a result of kaiser/isagi is entirely possible #i want to make it clear i dont ship them bc theyre 'leftovers' from kaiser/isagi. thinking about it like that makes me sad.#or mildly annoyed but not to a serious extent #its one of those things where if they were shipped bc they happened to be alone bc kaiser/isagi already exists then. i dont want that #anyway #i actually started writing a short fic about them where ness is just terrible #idk if i can get very far bc i usually have the most motivation writing for my otp #mailbox

4 notes · View notes

evilminji · 8 months

Text

Okay, as I have mentioned, I'm Ace AF. And you know that plot line in kids cartoons where the alien or foreign Warrior Royalty just sort of *violently kicks down door in full armor* "We Will Marry."? I?? Always said:

"Sure!" (#OhThankFUCK!)

Like what do you mean "No"? The powerful, attractive, monarch that is very into you has travel a great distance JUST to marry you! Now you don't have to date! They seem nice! You can skip the whole "trying to find a life partner" awkwardness.

So, Sudden New Fiancee(tm) how we doing this? Blended customs? Two weddings? One in your peoples traditions, one in mine? Should we invite your family? Tell me more about yourself.

God, this solves just... SO MUCH for me? No having to make small talk. No "do they like me?" Or "am I reading the signs here right?" No failed dates! It's positively ideal! AND they announced why they were qualified, in a VERY impressive show of power and prestige, when they arrived! Good lineage AND accomplished!! Very nice.

Don't get why everyone's so upset.

Sure the "we leave at once" thing that usually follows would have to be discussed, but that's what you DO as spouses. Really guys, it's like you think I'm incapable of common sense here.

And you know who probably agrees with me? Damian Wayne.

Hell is other people, INDEED. You expect him to just... randomly go up to people and try Courting them? What do you MEAN it's "creepy" to compile portfolios on eligible individuals of worthy bloodlines? How ELSE is he supposed to know if they are worth attempting to talk too?!

There are BILLIONS of humans on this gods forsaken rock, Richard! Is he supposed to just GUESS? Gamble and hope for LUCK? This is a MARRIAGE not a "best friends club"!

Then? Danny showes up.

Gotham heard her baby talking. Heard her KING being harassed by clearly plotting Observants and power hungry ghosts MANY times his age. Connected some dots. Formed themselves a new OTP.

Danny says "Fuck It". Worst he can say is No. According to Gotham, he is neither Shy not the meek obedient sort. Is in fact, VERY stabby. So if he's not interested he'll no doubt be BRUTALLY clear about that.

So? Danny gets Fright Knight. Go get him a horse. Someone fetch Cujo some armor. He's been told the guy like weapons and animals.

TIME TO BE IMPRESSIVE.

He goes FULL Regalia. Armor of solid night sky. Cape of frost and stardust. Crown like crack in reality itself, through which the cosmos gleam and shift. He gets a horse from the far frozen. They're wooly and carnivorous. Gets THE most impressive sword he can find to wear.

It's gonna be a gift, since he doesn't need it.

He does the whole "rend the skies open" thing. Fan fair and knights. Every title he's ever been given, no matter how embarrassing he find them in reality. And announces his intentions. Declares that ONLY Damian Wayne, aka. Robin, is WORTHY to Marry Him. And (in the traditional Ghost proposal of "either accept or tell me to fuck off" /w violence) Demands Damian accept his offer of Marriage.

Right there.

IN THE WATCHTOWER.

In front of EVERYBODY. And yes, ESPECIALLY the Bats. Who are making glitching, vaguely threatening DEMONIC NOISES. Because? You... you THREATEN the BABY? Death. Ten thousand years DEATH.

People are :O ing and backing away from the visible heatwave of unadulterated FURY being put off by Batman. Danny is nano-second from every bone his ANCESTORS had being reduced to a fine paste.

Then? Damian consider him... considers the sword being thrust in his direction, still held aloft in a steady and armored hand... contemplates those titles for a second...

And goes: "Acceptable. Very well, but I have demands."

N..... Nani the FUCK? Says local Bat-Dad. No??? You are NOT GETTING MARRIED.

Try to stop him. He very obviously IS, according to Damian, the man brought him a kick ass sword and has a giant green dog. Is the king of an ENTIRE REALITY. Yes, he realizes he probably COULD do better... but frankly? This one's cute. But if it upset you so... extended engagement. There. Happy?

NO! Because the JLA Dark are LOSING THEIR SHIT. Damian is still UNDERAGE. We don't even know how OLD this being is! NO MARRIAGE.

Damian is unimpressed. A whole six months? That he's likely already LIVED thanks to various timeloops, temporal shenanigans, and reality warping bits of fuckery? You're reaching.

Just? Marriage Meet Cute.

@hdgnj @ailithnight @the-witchhunter @nerdpoe

#dpxdc #dp x dc #dc x dp #dcxdp #dc x dp prompt #marriage meet cute au #danny phantom #damian wayne #bruce may break his no killing rule #dick DEFINITELY about to break the no killing rule #tim is making out with Kon in a closet and misses most of this #good for him honestly

4K notes · View notes

steviesbicrisis · 8 months

Text

Thinking about YouTuber Steve who’s gaining a lot of popularity with his weekly vlogs. The routine is very similar: he goes to work, hangs out with friends, acts silly for the camera, cooks for his roommate, watches movies with his roommate, goes out with his roommate.

His roommate is there a lot.

His new growing fanbase doesn’t take long to divide into factions regarding Steve’s dating life and sexuality; There are ships, OTPs, people who want him single so they can date him, and a surprisingly small portion which questions his heterosexuality, which gets always shut up by the following compelling arguments:

“stop assuming he’s gay.”

“Steve doesn’t look gay. He’s just a guy, a former jock, who loves to cook and hangs out with friends. A friend more than the others, but it’s his roommate so it makes sense, right?”

“And yes, they do cuddle while watching movies, but who doesn’t love a cuddle? You don’t have to be gay for that.”

“Sure, they hold hands when they go out but the city is crowded and they might lose each other.”

“Since when two male friends can’t be close without assuming that they’re gay?”

“Have you ever seen them kiss in ten minutes of weekly vlog? No, so drop your gay agenda already.”

And Steve Harrington, who started the whole vlog thing in the first place because he wanted to update his friends who live miles away and still doesn’t know how he got this much heteronormative bullcrap in his comments, has had enough.

One day, Steve Just-A-Guy Harrington, wakes up and chooses violence.

He replies to a tiktok comment that says “stop assuming he’s gay” with another video.

It begins with Steve glaring at the camera “oh yes please, stop assuming I’m gay.”

Then there’s a quick motion and Steve is pulling a curly haired guy into frame: Eddie, his roommate/platonic friend/totally not his boyfriend of 5+ years.

Eddie yawns, looking sleepily at the camera “are you vlogging?”

“I’m proving a point” Steve replies, then kisses him. They almost get lost into it, but Steve is a man on a mission, so he pulls back and turns to the camera.

“This is Eddie, my boyfriend. Not a friend who’s a boy, you delusional homophobes, we are together, a couple, in a relationship. We haven’t been just friends for over 5 years. We live together, he isn’t just a roommate.

And even if he was just my roommate, do you think I would live with this” he squeezes Eddie’s cheeks between his fingers and zooms in to show his face up close. Eddie blinks a couple of times, but let’s Steve do whatever he wants.

“Do you seriously think that I would live with this 24/7 and stay straight? Like, are you insane?” He gives Eddie a quick smack on the lips, leaving him blushing and more confused than ever.

Usually, it’s Eddie the one getting almost feral over Steve, not the other way around.

He doesn’t complain.

“So yeah, stop assuming I’m gay. Because I’m bi, you homophobic little shits.”

The video ends with Eddie pulling Steve for more than a quick peck on the lips, and Steve throwing the phone on their couch, face down.

Somehow, under Steve’s video, there’s still someone that comments “I mean, this doesn’t mean anything. It’s just bros helping bros, right?”

Steve is too busy making out with his “bro” to read it.

#idk what is this #but Steve will not stand heteronormative bullshit #sometimes the queerness is painfully obvious and ppl still refuse to see it #and if they have to they would just assume ‘gay’ and nothing else #because all the other letters in LGBTQIA+ are silent apparently #idk what got me in this mood lmak #I’ll go work on my other queer shit now #peace #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve and eddie #stranger things #steve x eddie #bi steve harrington #sbc writes

3K notes · View notes

chrollohearttags · 9 months

Text

writing silly prompts with my OTP so you don’t have to • part one

content warning: exactly as it says, voyeurism, exhibitionism, reverse cowgirl, squirting

📝: I cannot explain this even if I wanted to. Sometimes, I have a lightbulb in my head, constantly flickering and other times, it’s nothing more than wind and baked beans up here so I need help jogging my brain muscles and reviving my creative spark. Don’t get me wrong, I love you guys’ asks and I’ll get to them, as well as the commissions, I swear but I need to get my juices flowing again 🫶🏾

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Ahh! Shit…mmphm. Gonna make me come..”

“Go ahead, princess. Nut on this dick..better keep quiet though. You don’t want us to get caught..”

another peaceful Sunday stroll down South Beach’s Design District turned to a rather eventful outing. Of course, that was nothing out of the ordinary for the infamous couple. It wasn’t rare for the two of you to spend your very limited free time enjoying relaxing walks through the various shops in the heart of downtown..where you may have frequented your favorite stores and restaurants as a bit of routine in your very chaotic and ever changing schedules. It was the one constant that you could bet on in your hectic lives. However..as soothing as the mundane was sometimes…you both still craved that thrill. The excitement that came with doing something you had no business. That rush only grew tenfold when you considered the fact that you weren’t exactly inconspicuous..everyone in Miami and the world at this point knew EJ the Don and (y/n) (l/n). Everyone was looking for an excuse to photograph you two. So it was insane that you were so casually perched atop your man’s dick at a popular lounge on Ocean Drive; enjoying some semblance of privacy as you had rented out the rooftop area for yourselves but even so, if caught, you’d find yourselves front page on somebody’s blog. Right now, you just couldn’t be vexed to give a fuck. Instead…

“Fuck! I don’t care who sees, I just wanna keep—“

your words trailed off into a high pitched yelp as that tip poked the inner corner of your sensitive core. Being fucked up into like a jackhammer into concrete. A tattooed hand on your clothed tummy and inked fingers stroking your clit. All of this because you just had to wear..it. A regular, run of the mill sundress that you had probably gotten as part of PR from Fashion Nova or Shein a year ago and just decided to throw it on to combat this horrendous heat. And yet, it was getting your pussy pounded! Strutting around without so much as a thong on underneath, just in case the mood struck you. Of course, it didn’t take long for your husband to follow suit when saw the fat of that ass swaying from behind the clingy material and watched you bend over to retrieve something when that hem raised and that plump little cunt became visible..from there, neither of you could contain yourselves. Up and down with your legs propped onto the pool chair you went..rutting your hips in slow circular motions as you performed tricks on that dick. Smacking, wet noises filling the summer air. You were certain some attendee or waiter was lurking in the shadows, possibly jerking off or even filming you two but it didn’t even matter. Your only concern was coming all over him! That deep voice growling in your ear as he held you close to his chest and let you ride out your orgasm. Even shortly after, bending you over again so that he could see that ass moving against him. Shouting off expletives at each other..

“Give it to me! Fuck this pussy, daddy. Right there!..”

“Hold still, baby..gonna nut all in this shit!—“

before he could do so, you were already reaching a climatic high..clamping down on his shaft before springing up and spraying him with those sweet, divine juices. Groping one of your tits, Eren would cackle as he watched you come undone for him. Squirming all over the place with uncontrollable trembling from that powerful peak. You were still shooting out tiny streams of that squirt afterwards. Having been fucked so roughly with such impact but of course, it couldn’t be helped..

“Sorry, princess. You know what happens when you wear that shit around me. Can’t help myself..”

1K notes · View notes

conundrumoftime · 7 months

Text

Fandom grandma tales: how I survived canon ruining two of the ships I liked.

(Written after a discussion with some of my TROP fan pals about how canon can break your heart re: shipping, and how fandom manages. There are spoilers here for the entire run of Babylon 5, and for one story JMS wrote after it. yes, that story. sorry.)

Babylon 5 was a sci-fi space opera show that ran from 1993 to 1998. It is sci-fi of the era of 22-episode seasons, of huge ensemble casts with characters who get their own B- and C-plots, with an effects and casting budget that doesn’t always match its ambition, and - something it was quite pioneering in, at the time - grand pre-planned story arcs.

It’s the first fandom that I was involved with in internet spaces as it was running, or at least when its final season was (there’s Discourse and drama from earlier years that I missed). Its showrunner, J. Michael Straczynski - ‘JMS’ - was very active in (non-fanfic) fan community spaces, and you always knew exactly what he was thinking about things because he was part of the discussion around them. There was also fanfic, which he didn’t stop but didn’t go near on the grounds of legal liability for story ideas.

Most of the fanfic in the early days as the show was airing was focused around two big ships, of which one was canon endgame (Delenn/Sheridan) and one was canon all-ends-in-despair (Marcus/Ivanova). I, as a teenager discovering a developing online fandom for the first time with all the overwhelm and excitement that causes (ask me anything about what reading fic was like before the days of tags/ratings/warnings!) got into Marcus/Ivanova and also into one of the minor ships, Delenn/Lennier.

Delenn/Lennier was never, ever going to happen in canon. This is obvious; it clashes with Delenn/Sheridan which was JMS’s baby darling OTP, the show’s big love story. Delenn is married for the later part of the show. Lennier is her diplomatic aide, is absolutely devoted to her, and they have a very intense mentor/student relationship, which it seems is kind of standard in their culture (when Delenn’s own mentor died she went briefly insane with grief and started a genocidal war over it) but is still Very Intense. He is canonically in love with her, but that’s as far as the explicit canon statements go.

However. HowEVER. Canon also gives us, for that relationship, some wonderful ship fuel. Lennier knows about every bad thing Delenn has done, including all the stuff she doesn’t/can’t tell her husband. He’s her link to her previous world and culture and stands by her even when they kick her out. She says at one point, “without him, I would stumble and fall and never get up again.”

And then… we had Season 5, the final season.

Season 5, for various complicated production reasons, was operating a little outside of pre-planned story arcs and in this season the Delenn/Lennier stuff ramped up about three gears in one go. It was still very obviously never, ever going to be canon, and was almost certainly not intended by the creator (who wrote most of the episodes himself) to look like there was even anything there. At this point Delenn is married; any relationship with her aide would not only be going against the show’s OTP, but going against it in the sense where she’s cheating on her husband, and there is Just No Way JMS would have gone there. And yet! Season 5 gave us:

A scene where Lennier says he can’t stay, it’s too painful to be around her now she’s married, and she’s devastated and has the following conversation with her husband about it:

S: I got your message about Lennier. Is there anything I can do?

D [snapping]: Almost certainly not.

S: Is it because of me?

D: In part, I think so.

S: Yeah, I was afraid of that. Well, as we say back on Earth, three’s a crowd.

D: On Minbar, three is sacred.

S [slightly uncomfortable laugh]: Well, I don’t think I’m ready to handle that one, Delenn.

Delenn then calling Lennier back to the station to do some secret mission thing for her, which involves her sneaking out of her bed while her husband sleeps to meet Lennier in a darkened alley behind a bar, where she tenderly strokes his face and they have a whole conversation about whether her husband understands her or not.

A scene where Lennier comes back from his secret mission to meet both Delenn and Sheridan, Delenn goes to greet him with a hug, and Lennier does this very pointed step back and nod in the direction of her husband, and she pulls back and just sort of pats him on the arms instead.

I MEAN.

But, the issue here is not what fans did about it but what canon did about it. Canon did the canon equivalent of dragging that ship outside and shooting it in the head.

In the final few episodes of the entire series, Lennier tries to kill Sheridan, runs away in shame, and then someone finds his diary in which he’d been writing for ages about what a bad decision he thought Delenn had made and how her whole marriage was an awful idea. Even to this day, it’s fun/awful watching people go through a first-time watch when they get to season 5 and hit that. ‘Character assassination in the form of a diary’ was a whole thing for a while. It’s been 20+ years and the actor who played Lennier is stilll mad about it (not because of shippy stuff, but because he - correctly! - thinks Lennier absolutely would not have done that).

What *fandom* did, on the other hand, was Fixed The Problem.

Delenn/Lennier was not at all a big ship when the series was airing, and for a few years after. Then the fandom dynamics started to change. With less pressure on what canon was going to do, it felt like fandom had more space to play around with things it didn’t do. Fanfic got less interested in trying to fit within the overall story being told and started spinning off in all its own directions. And *this* ship started getting bigger and bigger. People did really interesting things with it, canon divergence went in all directions, everyone wrote a fix-it story of some variety, some authors did a great series of connected stories based on an idea that Minbari have three genders, the quality of the writing has been brilliant. And I think without that absolute whiplash feeling of what happened in canon, there would never have been this feeling of “well I’m not having THAT” which led to all this.

We did not need canon! Canon had done its thing. And canon had broken our hearts enough ways with many of the other stories it told (entirely on purpose) and we weren’t just going to sit back and let it ruin us forever.

By comparison, the other ship I was into was Marcus/Ivanova. This is entirely doomed. Susan Ivanova’s love life is just perpetually doomed. The first partner of hers we meet is an ex who’s interested in getting back together, but then it turns out he’s just using her to infiltrate the station for the fascist terrorist group he’s secretly joined. Then she falls for an archrival of hers, Talia, who works for Psi Corps, the organisation she loathes most of all things - but it’s okay because it turns out Talia is starting to question them too! Maybe these crazy kids can make it work! They have one night together and then OOPS turns out Talia was being secretly controlled by a sleeper personality implanted in her by Psi Corps the whole time. Ivanova’s love life is doomed.

So for two seasons, she has this sort-of-flirty, sort-of-bickery, sort-of-friendship going with Marcus, who is on the surface of it very much “why not fall in love at first sight like a true romantic, YOLO!” but it turns out is actually deeply messed up himself and full of survivor’s guilt and pain and, you get the clear impression, would have died of shock if she’d actually called his bluff on the OTT flirting and said “yeah, let’s go for it”. And then he sacrifices himself to save her life. It is a very tragic ending, it is absolutely the way he would have wanted to go, she wakes up both furious and absolutely distraught, says that the last thing she heard was him saying “I love you”, says she wishes she’d at least slept with him once, and says that in a way all love is unrequited. PAIN.

So, lots of fix-it fanfic, lots of ‘Marcus comes back to life’, lots of canon divergence AUs where he doesn’t die and they live happily ever after and both get over their huge levels of unresolved pain. Pretty standard for that kind of pairing. And as a pairing it doesn’t get in the way of any big canon pairings, it doesn’t imply anything icky like mentor/student power imbalances or adultery. And JMS clearly quite liked it. So that’s better, right?

NO. It was WORSE.

JMS wrote an Marcus/Ivanova story himself, published in one of the sci-fi magazines, to try to give them a happy ending. This happy ending involves Marcus, many many years in the future, waking up from the cryogenic suspension he’s in (it’s sci-fi, keep up, keep up). Ivanova is long dead, but he isn’t about to let this get in the way, so what he does is to *create a new Ivanova* by getting some kind of DNA + computerised memory/personality bank thing, finding a doctor who will clone her, putting himself back into animated sleep until the clone reaches the age Ivanova was when she died, then - THEN, I’M STILL GOING - takes her to a distant planet where, with her memories wiped and their spaceship having deliberately been crashed BY HIM so there’s no way back, they live out their lives in peace.

WHAT.

That pairing still does okay in fandom but it’s not really taken on a post-show world of headcanons and riffing on other people’s ideas and tropes in the way that Delenn/Lennier has (and we all just pretend that story never existed).

So! This has been my experiences in the field of What We Do When The Show Has Thoughts On That Non-Endgame Ship We’re Into. Fandom manages. Fandom will see you through. And in the words of Susan Ivanova:

Babylon Five was the last of the Babylon stations; there would never be another. It changed the future, and it changed us. It taught us that we have to create the future, or others will do it for us. It showed us that we have to care for one another, for if we don’t, who will? And that true strength sometimes comes from the most unlikely places. Mostly though, I think it gave us hope that there can always be new beginnings - even for people like us.

#fandom grandma #fandom history #non-endgame ships #shipping #canon and non-canon ships #babylon 5 #delenn x lennier #marcus x ivanova #that story's not canon if I say it's not canon #b5 #what in the actual hell was that diary anyway #snarky bill mumy interview forever in our hearts #never have I seen a more perfect ot3 setup and YET

291 notes · View notes

therainscene · 1 year

Text

I’m obsessed with @wheelersboy’s theory that Mike thinks Will is in love with El. It’s one of those takes that’s so simple, yet so perfectly explains every odd little detail you couldn’t quite account for before, that you know you’re on to a winner.

I always thought it was bizarre that the Willel reunion at NINA was framed in blatant love triangle imagery:

If this was supposed to be yet another reminder that the sad widdle gay boy has fee-fees for his best friend, we’d expect him to be gazing at Mike or otherwise looking conflicted at both of them. But he isn’t. His steady, adoring gaze is for El only. Yes, he loves her, but that love is strictly fraternal, so why the romance symbolism?

Is it straight-bait? This scene comes after his thinly-veiled love confession to Mike (in the same episode, no less), and the Duffers and Noah both made a point of confirming that Will was gay in post-vol.2 interviews, so making the audience think that Will is in love with El clearly wasn’t the intention here.

The Willel romance-coding isn’t for the audience -- it’s for Mike.

We often joke about Mike being crushed that Will didn’t laugh at his vomit green socks, but follow Will’s gaze -- it’s a little hard to see in the still image, but he’s staring at El, checking to see if she’s going to heed his advice. Mike's discomfort isn’t because he’s upset that Will didn’t like his joke, it’s because he doesn’t understand the weird tension between these two and is frustrated that his attempt to lighten the mood didn’t dispel it.

Mike’s smart enough to correctly connect the dots by the time Will starts sobbing in the van though: Will is destroying himself in his efforts to be supportive of the relationship between his best friend and the person he’s in love with.

But heteronormativity and a severe inferiority complex lead him to draw the wrong conclusion -- he thinks he’s the best friend and El is the one Will’s in love with, and that gets confirmed in his mind when he catches them making goo-goo eyes at each other at NINA.

And not once, after figuring it out, does he get jealous about it -- he guides El into Will’s arms at NINA, he looks conflicted as hell during the “I love you” monologue as Will hovers over his shoulder -- he just wants them to be happy and is prepared to put his own feelings aside to make it happen, even though it would hurt him terribly to do so. Exactly the same fucking thing Will is doing. It’s utterly farcical. I love this theory so much.

I’d like to springboard off this by taking a look at what it implies about S5.

Between Will’s history with Vecna and the Wonder Twins foreshadowing--

--it’s looking pretty likely that Will and El are going to be spending a significant amount of time together next season.

So we can already see that conditions are perfect for Mike to go through a similar arc as Will did in S4: being a third wheel between his best friend and the person he’s in love with and feeling like he can never truly be more than a third wheel, leading him to sacrifice himself in an effort to support what he thinks they have together.

Mike is very much at risk of doing something stupidly self-harming in S5 -- this is the same kid who jumped off a cliff to protect Dustin’s baby teeth, after all. He feels like he has no value if he isn’t needed by Superman. And there’s a goddamn mind-reading despair demon stalking his friend group.

Of course, it’ll all work out in the end. He’ll be saved at the last moment, the truth will be tearfully revealed, and we’ll finally get that big, dramatic, affirming kiss for our OTP.

You might have noticed that everything I’ve said in this analysis so far is consistent with either Byler or Milevn being endgame.

Many Milevns and GA members don’t just believe that Milevn will triumph over Byler -- they believe there isn’t any conflict between Milevn and Byler in the first place. The lack of evidence that Mike isn’t into boys is meaningless to the heteronormative mindset -- he’s the protagonist and dating a girl, therefore he’s straight, therefore Will’s hopes are dead in the water, therefore Mike has no romantic dilemma to solve.

By introducing a misunderstanding in which Mike imagines that his best friend is competing for his girlfriend -- couching his dilemma in relatable heterosexual terms -- the audience will be forced to accept that Mike is experiencing a distressing internal conflict involving Will and romance that won’t be resolved until the queer truth comes out.

The GA felt bad for Will in S4 because they assumed there was nothing he could do about it, but they’ll be tearing their hair out with frustration at Mike in S5 -- “you’re wrongly assuming he’s straight, you idiot! Just talk to him and this will all be cleared up!!”

It would be an absolutely genius way of getting the audience to question heteronormativity without them even realizing they’re questioning heteronormativity.

Once Mike’s queerness is revealed, the parallels between his arc and Will’s will suddenly become clear, and the audience will realize that, despite his straight-passing invisibility, Mike was just the other side of the same gay coin Will was on all along.

[Part 2]

#stranger things #willelmike #byler #willel #elmike #mike wheeler #will byers #el hopper #analysis

488 notes · View notes

olderthannetfic · 5 months

Note

I remember when I was first getting into kink, I really fell for the "slippery slope" nonsense. I would find something in fiction that I thought was the coolest hottest, most extreme thing I'd ever seen and I'd love it, and then I'd follow a trail of links from that to something a little more extreme and thing that was the hottest, most extreme thing I had ever seen and I'd love that. Etc etc.

So I started wondering when does it stop? Surely, I'll just keep ramping up the extremity until I'm wanking to stuff that's well beyond what I actually think is hot, and surely at some point the only remaining threshold of extremity will be to take it into real life and start doing hurtful things to real people.

But it doesn't work that way. The escalation I was seeing was simply a discovery process of starting low and working up until I actually found my comfort threshold, and it didn;t take any effort to stop there because once I found it that was where I settled in.

It turns out that nothing is really too extreme for me in fiction (barring a few odd squicks that have nothing to do with extremity) and that I enjoy very light BDSM in real life. The "slippery slope" was just a methodical, no-surprises way of figuring that out.

Hah. Yes.

It's also really funny to me because I think 99% of shippy fic is basically the same template with different set dressing:

The OTP does some kink that they're both into or at least both into by the end of the fic. Everyone ends up okay.

Or maybe it's about trauma, but it's very much in that woobiefic way where the reader and author are clearly super into the character and like watching them hurt because that's their fave.

Many a normally-squeamish fan is shocked, shocked I say, to discover that they like extremely bloody stories as long as they're about Deadpool or Jack Harkness doing freaky things with no consequences. Turns out, it isn't snuff or maiming that's the issue: it's sad endings.

But show that same fan some of the brutal superheroine depowering noncon from amateur erotica sites far outside of AO3's sphere, and they'll often recoil. Here, the vibe is sometimes that the audience likes watching the protagonist suffer because they hate them instead of because they love them, and ending in trauma and horror is the point. (Still doesn't make you a serial killer, but the vibe is definitely different from your average AO3 fanfic.)

A n00b to kinky stuff will often focus on the presence of blood or piss or a technical lack of consent more than on the underlying psychological aspects and so will see certain stories as radically more extreme than the last where I would see basically the same dynamic at the same intensity with slightly different props.

121 notes · View notes

onehopefuldreamer · 8 months

Text

Challenging a Queen - a love letter

Look, at first this post was going to be about Look into me (my first love when it comes to this game's soundtrack and still one of the songs I adore the most).

Then I wanted to wax poetic about You and I and You and I reprise (three different versions of the reprise depending on what you do with the throne and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's glorious voice, yes, please! Plus Persephone and Grace is my personal OTP).

After that I moved on to The Throne because I think it's both absolutely awesome and absolutely bonkers you get two themes to mix and match there instead of only one (1st theme based on your first choice and the 2nd on your answer to Orpheus' question). It's still a huge, HUGE personal favourite.

(I will still write love letters to these three songs eventually.)

But then I read Austin Wintory's commentary on the Pantheon version of the soundtrack he posted on YouTube and it caught my attention that he called Challenging a Queen the most complex song in the game. Previous to reading that I had thought it was the same as a lot of the other songs - three main themes that you just get to mix and match but aside from that nothing much changes. Oh, how wrong I was!

Reading that comment made me curious about trying different combinations to see what would happen and once I started doing that I was completely blown away. Because it turns out that this song is anything BUT simple! The choices are even more interlinked here than in most other songs and the possible combinations that lead to different outcomes are so, SO many!

Based on my experimentation (8+ hours of gameplay that's only replaying this one song) I have discovered the following:

1. The first choice you make directly influences the second. So if you go from Green to Red for example you get a completely different outcome than if you had gone from Red to Green.

2. The first choice also influences the third/middle one. BXGXX is not the same as RXGXX or GXGXX (X stands for any colour). In the case of middle Red, I think, there's the most possibilities because there the second choice also comes into play. For example the banter between Grace and Persephone is different if you go with RBRXX (which is the same as RRRRR) or RGRXX.

3. Then the third and fourth choices also influence each other and lead to different combinations. Say, XXBRX is decidedly not the same as XXRBX.

4. Last but most certainly not least that pesky first choice continues to have an effect until the very end. The combination between it and your fifth or, sometimes, fourth and fifth choice/s is what leads to all sorts of different and unique endings you can get.

That's already a super complex song structure that I'm still not sure I have figured out completely, to be honest. I continue to experiment with different combinations and plan to try to see if I can compile a guide to all the possibilities here. I'm very much not statistically or mathematically inclined so this has been a bit of a struggle but I'm also having so much fun trying to pick apart this song that I don't really mind.

I've never experienced anything like this in any game before and honestly playing around with this song has been a revelation. The amount of screaming I have done in front of my laptop every time I come upon something new is insane. I've come to a point where I have bits and pieces of Challenging a Queen rattling around my head at all times and I LOVE it! Because, as weird as it sounds, I have not become bored with this song even after so many hours of listening to it. I happen to love all the different permutations and listening to Laura Bailey and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn try to outperform each other is far, FAR from a hardship. In fact it's an absolute joy.

I'll leave you with what's probably my most favourite discovery about this song: there are 17 different endings you can discover. 17!!! That's insane! Or at least that's as many as I have personally discovered and I am still very much in awe. If you're curious about checking them out on your own, here goes:

1-4 - RRRRR, BBBBB, GGGGG with a Charming Grace and GGBGG or GGRGG with a Clever or Kickass Grace. These are what I call the regular or classic endings. You're pretty much guaranteed to discover these.

5-8 - BXXBG, RXXBG, GXXBG with Clever or Kickass Grace and one extra XXXBG ending for Charming Grace. The first choice does not matter for Charming Grace, the ending is always the same no matter what.

9-11 - BXXGR, RXXGR and GXXGR

12-14 - BXXBR, RXXBR and GXXBR

15-17 - BXXRB, RXXRB and GXXRB

What I find impressive (aside from the huge number of endings) is that the endings from 5 and onward are all genuinely combined endings. They're not just alternative versions of the RR, GG or BB endings, they're a combination of approaches and/or musical styles and I cannot even begin to express how much I adore that.

I'm not going to lie, doing the experimentation for the GR, BR and RB endings in particular hurt my feelings a whole lot because I'm a Persephone stan and hate to see her trounced by Grace so thoroughly when I know she's actively grieving Calliope. But what really broke my heart (again as a Persephone stan) is those BG endings. Those have made me cry actual tears (the only other ending that's had this effect was GG with Clever or Kickass Grace). They're also the only endings I've been able to discover that have the camera panning down instead of sideways and come with their own backdrop. Discovering my first version of them had me squealing like mad and feeling like an archaeologist who'd discovered priceless ancient treasures. They're probably my personal favourites, all of them. Both because they're so unique and because I love how compassionate Grace is in them. As much as I do think Grace is badass when she wins, I love her being soft and understanding towards Persephone a whole lot more.

I'll stop here because this is already a wall of text for which I'd apologise but this is not even all my thoughts and feelings on this song. I just have so many! Now off to listen to it again and work on my guide.

#stray gods #stray gods: the roleplaying musical #stray gods grace #stray gods persephone #nad talks about the things she loves #song analysis #sort of #long post

148 notes · View notes

suemooon · 6 months

Text

Origins of the Oncest ship: the history

Travelling in The Once-ler's fandom history | by suemooon

Welcome Oncelings!

to one of my most serious researchers I have ever done before, now, here’s a little explanation:

I wanted to make a fandom analysis using old posts, the way back machine, and other stuff to try to compare the once-ler fandom in its golden age and now, trying to suppose how it was and trying to see what happened there, but it would be later. Because I got a really interesting capture that I got while I was checking the Oncest tag in the wayback machine, and I got this:

IT QUICKLY GOT MY ATTENTION

Someone saying that they were the first ones to show the Oncest ship term.

I wanted to see if it was real and not a joke or something like that, so I copied the url of the tumblr and desired that the blog is still up, and I got it!!!

I explored their tumblr for a little while, and I noticed another thing, there’s a bunch of photos of the once-ler BEFORE the movie of the Lorax came out, this of course means that ye, there was some people who found the once-ler attractive and begun to share his pictures in tumblr (without any tag, if it wasn’t the help of this blog and some other ones, I probably couldn’t got them).

This makes a lot more sense than saying that the once-ler fandom was born after the came out of the movie I can say.

Those pictures belongs to all the Lorax trailers, in which ONLY appears the gray once-ler, not greedler. So we can say that the people who find him attractive in the beginning, the greedler was like a kind of “plot twist”

But the topic of the whole fandom will be for my another analysis, now let’s try to focus on Oncest.

2. Possible date of apparition

In my research, it seems that Oncest was born between 19th March, 2012, but where did I took this supposition?

Checking the dates between their first Oncest mentions (and also checking other old inactive once-ler’s blogs), there’s some important dates to make a highlight.

link to post: https://theambernerd.tumblr.com/post/19771248254/thank-you-all-you-lovely-people-for-following-me

In this screenshot, someone responds that this pairing has a name, this is from March 22, 2012, so the ship already existed and had a name too, so let’s check out the other blogs and their archives.

temporarilycheating

squidmama

Suddenly we see Oncest fanart.

The dates are between 19th and later, is this the origin of the ship?

Of course this is just a supposition, I had to see it at that time to prove it, but it’s not the case. All I can do is make suppositions.

You can take it as something true or fake, that’s your opinion.

3. Who was the original person who brought up with the Oncest idea?

This one was one of the most complicated things that you can try to research, we are talking about something that is 11 years old, so some pretty amount of information got lost with the time.

In words of temporarilycheating.

IT’S CALLED ONCEST BECAUSE I SAID SO! Lol but really…actually, I’m kinda the one who came up with the name in the first place… The pairing existed, but I think it was originally called twincest or something… But anyhow, in month one of the fandom, back when Sirsteeve made some of the first oncest fanart the fandom went CRAZY over the idea…and so did i. So I was sitting in my living room having a feels moment over this new OTP…but since the fandom didn’t really have a name for it, it made me think… It came to my mind that the fandom was somewhat dividing the once-ler into two seperate people of the same relation-oncie and greed-ler. To me, it sounded like incest. So I played around with that idea a bit in my head. And after saying incest repeatedly in my head I noticed the ‘ce’ in the word. I came to the conclusion to 'once’ in addition to the 'est’. thus 'oncest’. I had a fangasm and posted my idea to tumblr ASAP. Apparantly, it caught on cuz it’s still called oncest today and is widely known C: That has to be one of my greatest achievements in this fandom.

link to post: https://temporarilycheating.tumblr.com/post/25857778616/why-is-it-called-oncest

There's a small mention to someone named "Sirsteeve" who explains that were one of the firsts ones to draw Oncest.

I searched and their oldest Oncest post I found is this one.

Date: March 19th, 2012 by: sirsteeve ( hour - 5:22 PM )

So we have in our eyes one of the first Oncest post ever.

Is that the original Oncest post? I don’t know, it only says that is ONE of the first persons in the fandom who brought up the idea. Is it made by one person or a group of people? I don’t know.

Other very first posts about Oncest:

Date: March 19th, 2012 by: cartoonjunkie ( hour - 10:39 PM, 5 hours later after sirsteeve )

Date: March 20th, 2012 by: owlapin

Date: March 21st, 2012 by: rutella

4. Who gave the name of "Oncest"?

GUYS!!!! I KNOW WHAT TO CALL THE PAIRING!!!!! Y'know, once-ler/green suit once-ler!???? IT SHOULD BE CALLED ONCEST!!!! GET IT!? Its like incest, but with himself! :D WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK!? If you like the idea, reblog this to spread the word! :D

Date: March 20th, 2012

It seems it’s true, temporarilycheating was the one who created the Oncest term, we should give her more recognition for it!

link to post: https://www.tumblr.com/temporarilycheating/19650360910/guys

Conclusion

Second part? who knows. But the only thing I can say is… this one was one of my most complicated things to find, but now I got some important information. I'm here for you to share my knowledge!

I must say, I’m very proud of me for this, you guys have no idea how excited I got when I found these photos and data, maybe is not too much but I think they’re really important yet; this information forms part of our fandom history, and I think we should keep that information up and don’t lose it.

As a reminder too, as I already said once…

Oncest is like an icon for our dear Once-ler Fandom, whether we like it or not.

We can’t deny its existence, we can’t blame it, we can’t try to delete it, it always will exist as always the fandom will exist and some people like it.

And… My opinion about Oncest?

Well, I don’t hate it, I don’t love it thou, but I can like some posts about it, I can appreciate art from this ship, and it’s idea too.

Any reblog, like, and comment it's appreciated!

127 notes · View notes

a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual · 5 months

Text

Hey.... Heyyyyyy.... How y'all doing.... take the Nimona headcanons that have been rotting in my notes app for the past four months

Ambrosius has kept track of the weirdest things he’s signed for a fan

At the very tippy top is a dinner plate a dog crate and a baby

And by baby I do mean living breathing crying baby

He tried really hard to find something else to sign but for some reason the parents were really insistent on it being their baby

And for some reason he did it

There are hundreds of photos of this infant with a signature on his forehead

And that kid to this day will whip out his baby photos and show people that he was that baby

Multiple knights (cough cough Todd) tried to recreate that situation but it didn’t have the same effect

I feel like Bal gets really bad migraines (which kind of comes with the territory of using your head like a bartering ram)

And when they do happen Nimona and Ambrosius do everything in their power to make sure that it doesn’t get worse

I feel like Ambrosius is stupidly good at video games

I have this little headcanon that books and games were kind of an escape for him

His own personal little oasis from being the golden child with a million expectations and responsibilities on his back

He's not very good at playing with other people tho because he was always scared people would figure out who he was just based on his voice alone (and he’s not wrong for thinking that)

Nimona is also really good at video games (I mean she’s also half of the reason they were invented but that’s a long ass story)

So because I’ve been away for so long I wanted to bless you with my friend's reaction to the movie

Just for some context tho it did take us months to finish because we all have work and school and we couldn’t see each other for a while so if I missed some stuff I’ll add it later

“Aw boyfriends” (When they were on the catwalk)

“Why are they so cute” “they’re literally my otp” and “they have cute banter” (The entire time before the knighting ceremony)

JB: “Oh she’s got Daddy issues huh” Me: “why do you say that?” JB “cause why else would she follow a man”(As they’re walking through the kingdom)

JB: “God what a fake fucking bitch I hate the way she talks” (As the director is scolding the knights)

“He knows him so well”(He hates freestyle jazz)

“It’s his boyfriend” “aw bae why’d you throw a smoke bomb at me” “look how frantic he is to find him” “he can’t shoot look at that face” (the entire subway/market scene”)

JB: “I think this scene is curing her daddy issues and yours” (the alley scene)

(Same scene) KO: “why is he acting like it’s hurting him more?” Me: “Cause that’s his kid” KO: “wow this really is healing your daddy issues”

JB: “What am I even watching?” “I fucking knew it she was such a fake bitch” (The squires video)

“Oh my god he’s so embarrassing” “is he really jealous of a kid” “oh my god the director really doesn’t give a fuck huh?” “He didn’t say that out loud” “but does she?” “No” (Ambrosius freak out)

JJ: “oh my god this is like Archane” Me: “shut the fuck up about Archane” (in my defense he kept mentioning Archane the whole time)

“If I could turn into a dragon I’d never turn back” “same I’d love to breathe cereal” (during the fight)

“He’s so embarrassing why is he dying that dramatic” (proceeds to make fun of Ambrosius' “death” the whole time)

“Did they really upload her confession to their version of YouTube” “is his account name really BalliSTAR?” “Why are they dancing?” “His username is Loins_of_gold? Why is he such a dork??”

JB: “Awe nachos are totally their thing” “he remembered he’s allergic he still loves him!”

JJ: “he’s a knight?” Me “have you been watching this movie with your eyes closed?”

And then we freaked out about Ambrosius saying I love you and Bal not saying it back

We said nothing when Bal pulled a sword on Nimona they kind of just sat shocked

JB kept mentioning the flashback and after it happened all I said was “you wanted the flashback there’s your fucking flashback” while she sat in sad silence

They also just kept saying in shock “that’s her? That’s Gloreth” while I laughed

We kind of spent the rest of the movie in silence until Bal and Ambrosius kissed at the end and then everyone collectively lost their shit

They lost their shit again when Nimona showed back up and JB went upstairs because even tho Nimona came back to life she was still sad

123 notes · View notes

lavellenchanted · 7 months

Note

Otp: I want the whole damn thing & 5?

5. Angry Kiss

“April, what the hell are these?”

Jackson’s voice isn’t quite angry (not yet, anyway), just flat and tight, like he wants to sounds neutral but just can’t manage it; but when April turns to look at him, there’s bewilderment written across his face more than anything else as he stares down at the iPad she has so very stupidly left on the kitchen counter open and with the screen on.

A screen that is currently showing house and apartment listings around Boston.

Slowly, Jackson’s eyes lift to meet hers and she feels a guilty blush steal across her cheeks – which is almost immediately followed by a surge of irritation, because she doesn’t have anything to feel guilty over. And she finds it incredibly galling that he would look at her like that, with his eyes soft and confused and betrayed when he’s the one who –

“I was just browsing,” she blurts out, because she doesn’t want to think about that. Except that she already has, which is probably why she sounds so snappishly defensive. “I mean, I’ve got to look at some point, right?”

“What are you talking about?” His eyebrows are drawing down into a frown, and like a mirror of herself she can see the irritation building in him as well.

They’ve always been too good at that, reflecting their worst emotions back at each other.

“This was only ever temporary.”

April waves a hand, a gesture meant to encompass not just the kitchen but the entire house. A house they had started sharing when they first moved to Boston because that was easier than trying to find two places at the same time, but which was never meant to be her and Harriet’s permanent home here. Just his.

Except that it has become her home. Worse, it’s become theirs. It feels like cutting out a part of herself to say it isn’t, but how can she stay now?

“Did I do something? I know you’ve been mad about something for a while.”

She almost wants to laugh because of course he knew. No one has ever been able to see through her quite so easily as Jackson can. It used to frighten her, the way he seemed to strip her bare and see everything, all her fears and insecurities and hopes and dreams, with just a single glance. It also thrilled her, though she tried to deny that for the longest time.

At this particular moment it’s just making her angry, because how can he know her so well and still not understand?

“No, you didn’t –” She lets out a frustrated sigh. “I’m not mad at you.”

It’s mostly the truth. Okay, maybe she’s mad at him a little bit, but really she’s just mad at herself.

Because she thought that maybe they were –

But she was wrong. Of course she was wrong. That was made very clear last week, when she saw him looking cosy with some annoyingly long-legged blonde woman at the Foundation.

Intellectually, she knows it’s not Jackson’s fault. She may not have done anything wrong but neither did he, not really. They’re still divorced, and neither of them have ever mentioned dating or getting back together or anything of the sort. A few lingering looks here and there or flirtatious remarks don’t mean anything. They aren’t promises or declarations.

Still, she feels so stupid that it makes her want to scream with an anger that’s sharp and bright and far preferable to focus on than the hurt drumming at her insides.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Jackson says drily.

April glares at him. “I just thought that it’s about time Hattie and I found somewhere else.”

Jackson’s jaw tightens. “So when were you going to tell me? Or were you going to tell me? Was I just going to come home one day and find you both gone?”

“Of course not! I was going to tell you when I found a place. Why are you so pissed about it anyway? I thought you’d be glad to have some space back. Then you could bring all the blonde friends you want back here without us getting in the way.”

The words have spilled out before she can stop them, bitter and jealous. She bites down on her lip to stop herself saying any more but it’s too late. Jackson’s staring at her, his expression growing darker, and then suddenly he’s striding across the kitchen to stand right in front of her, towering above her so she has to crane her neck to look up at him.

“Blonde friends?” he says furiously. “That’s what this is about? I don’t know what makes me more angry, April, the fact that you saw me schmoozing someone who is considering making a huge donation to the Foundation and assumed I was hitting on her, or the fact that you didn’t talk to me about it and just decided to deal with it by moving out. I thought we were past this, the not talking to each other about things.”

April blinks, thrown for a moment by this new information and desperately trying to ignore the sudden, painful burst of hope radiating in her chest, then feels her cheeks warm as her thoughts catch up to what he’s saying.

“Oh, like you talk to me? If I made assumptions, maybe it’s because we’ve been in Boston for eight months and I still don’t know what you want from me, Jackson! You asked me here but I don’t know if it’s just because you didn’t want to be that far away from Harriet, or if you actually want me around –”

She doesn’t get a chance to say any more because Jackson cuts her off, catching her face between his hands and covering her mouth with his. It’s not a gentle kiss – they’re both still too angry for that – and his lips are almost bruising, insistent, each stroke of his mouth delivered with deliberate passion, like he’s making a point and wants to be very clear about it.

Maybe he is; she curls her fingers into his shirt and pulls him closer, kissing him back with equal fierceness, running her tongue over his bottom lip and then catching it between her teeth. Her heartbeat is roaring in her ears and she can hardly breathe, but she doesn’t care. She doesn’t want to breathe right now. She only wants to keep kissing him, to feel the fire that’s burning through the veins as she presses herself against him and gives in to the hunger and the longing that she’s been trying to bury for months.

Jackson lifts his mouth briefly, tilting his head the other way and between kisses he’s saying, “I want you. I have always wanted you. I will never not want you.”

She brings her arms up to wind them around his neck and whispers back, “I want you too. I want you so much, Jackson.”

Finally, when her head is swimming and her legs feel weak and shaky and like they might collapse any moment they break apart, though she keeps her arms around his neck and he brings his hands to her waist. They’re both breathing heavily, their eyes locked on each other, and April can feel her heart pounding against her ribs.

“I guess we both still need to get better at the talking thing,” Jackson says. “But let me start with saying that I don’t want you to go. I want you to stay here with me.”

April smiles. “Then I’ll stay.”

kiss prompts

#thanks anon!!#jackson avery #april kepner #japril #otp: I want the whole damn thing #my fic #kiss prompts

88 notes · View notes

ichinoue · 2 months

Note

Do you feel that the weird IR filler/IH erasure especially in the canon storyline of the anime was less of a problem after the Soul Society arc? I might be remembering wrong but I think it got better once Kubo started supervising the script, I don't know if IR was pushed after that? All I can come up with is that one ice skating scene and personally I don't view that as some kind of 'agenda' rather a tame interaction between two friends.

Yeah, I think things got better after the SS arc. I think once the arrancar arc started with all the Orihime/IH-centric scenes, the animators just couldn't ignore it anymore. It was becoming too obvious for anyone who didn't already have a strong IR bias that IH was where the romance was (the vow to protect followed by a love confession, etc). If you watch the AotS and SS arcs, it feels like the animators were intentionally cutting Orihime out and downplaying her importance, taking moments where she talks about Ichigo and having her talk about food instead, etc. while super embellishing canon IR scenes by adding in a bunch of flowery backgrounds and soaring music, on top of all the IR filler they added in (like the random filler shinigami guy who asks if Rukia and Ichigo are dating, and Rukia's just like "that's none of your concern" pffft.) I think the animators thought that Bleach was going to be a typical boy meets girl, main male/female duo that fall in love and that Orihime was just some bimbo who would never become important to Ichigo or the story as a whole (and interestingly, a lot of anime-only fans seemed to walk away with that impression as well). Things got better over time (albeit it still wasn't great), but I feel like the damage from the first two arcs was already done. People had already declared IR as their OTP in chapter one and were reluctant to jump ship (especially when it meant jumping to a ship they had already spent years hating on).

35 notes · View notes

shyvioletcat · 7 months

Text

ROWAELIN MONTH: DAY 18

~ Aelin and Hawk Rowan ~

Just something silly and sweet for our beloved otp

~~~~~

The world passed by in a blur, Kasida’s stride eating up distance over the grassy plain. Each hoof beat resounded through Aelin’s body, the fast paced rhythm creating a symphony that only added to the thrill of the ride. Aelin trusted her steed completely, knowing she had the care for both their safety and avoiding unsteady ground. And they were not alone.

Rowan swooped, his wing brushing her cheek. As much as she loved the gesture, it was distracting, and Aelin almost missed the turn onto the forest path. Bastard, he was trying to distract her. Kasida slowed just a little, her sure footing not faltering as the path was swarmed with vegetation. Aelin assumed Rowan flew above the trees to avoid entanglement in the branches. Their little race was almost over and she hoped she could rely on the thick, overlapping boughs to help her win.

An obligation free morning had presented itself and tired of courtly nonsense stealing her away from him, Rowan had insisted they flee the palace. And he always complained about her affinity for dramatics when at times he was equally so. He had told her to dress for riding and meet him at the stables while he would sort out the rest.

Aelin had taken the time to brush and saddle Kasida herself, basking in the simple and ordinary task. Sometimes it was nice to pretend that she didn’t have the weight of an entire kingdom on her shoulders. It had barely been a year since the war had ended, her country was still rebuilding and there was so much to do. Still, she needed to take time for herself or she might go insane. Aelin had Kasida fully tacked when Rowan appeared, a pack on his shoulder and a wide grin on his face. Then he’d told her to meet him by the stream and shifted.

To get out of the city Aelin had used a small gate built into the outer wall, only for secret royal usage. Rowan had circled above her while she warmed up her steed, the mare impatient to run. When she was ready, Aelin turned Kasida to follow the edge of the Oakwald. And then they were off, Rowan’s screech of approval echoing. He understood her intention, this would be a race.

He gave another such call now, letting Aelin know he was still wth her. She was almost at the stream. With the thick foliage overhead she might just win. It would be hard for him to find a way through without risk to himself. Her fae senses picked up the sound of the stream, the scent of the damp soil. A few more moments and she’d be there. The trees parted, the stream was in view, and then there was a bright flash of light that had the over excited horse shying in surprise. Rowan stood there, leaning against a tree like he hadn’t a care in the world.

“I win,” he had the gall to say.

Aelin was nearly panting as she dismounted. Flames simmered at her fingers, the thrill of the ride and the indignation over what her mate had said only adding to the fire.

“I was here first,” she protested.

Rowan just smirked at her. “I would say otherwise.”

“Of course you would.”

“Because I won,” Rowan reiterated.

Aelin groaned in frustration, quickly tending to Kasida so she could graze but not wonder off. Then she was storming over to her husband, embers flying in her wake.

“You cheated,” she accused. “You tried to distract me.”

Rowan dropped the pack to the grassy floor, standing a little straighter, no longer using the tree to take his ease. “I did no such thing.”

This time Aelin growled at him, baring her pointed canines. Rowan just continued to smirk at her. The insufferable, cheating bastard.

“Fireheart, it was only a little race.” All his words did was antagonise her further.

“It’s never just a little race.”

Rowan chuckled softly. “My apologies, milady. I must have forgotten how competitive you are.”

Aelin was right in front of him now, nearly chest to chest. “Memory problems tend to persist in old age.”

Before Aelin could even think of a new argument, Rowan had reached for her shoulders, and spun them so that her back was against the tree. His body crowded around hers, but Aelin was not ready to give in. She just kept looking up at him, defiance all over her face.

Her mate ignored every ounce of malice she was sending his way, and lent in closer. “Are you going to waste our alone time talking?”

There was a hand on her waist, and Aelin couldn’t help but arch into the touch. As it rose higher her breathing quickened at it had nothing to do with the exertion from the ride. Rowan moved closer, his nose brushing against Aelin’s in a teasing gesture. She was about to demand he do something more when he finally kissed her. She surrendered to it, loving the privilege of having Rowan so close. They saw each other every day, but finding time to truly be with each other was hard to find some days.

She couldn’t help herself though, that fire of mischief still burned. Aelin broke the kiss, taking joy in the annoyance that entered Rowan’s green eyes. “And another thing—“

It seemed Rowan had had enough of her antics because he tugged her against him for another kiss, smothering her laughter. They stayed like that until they were both breathless and the only reason they broke apart was to catch it. Rowan’s hands weren’t idle though, they worked on untucking her shirt from her pants, touching the bare skin on her waist. That let Rowan recover and his breathing evened out, but with each insistent sweep across Aelin’s body her breath was hitching. Especially when those hands moved higher.

“Once upon a time I promised the first time I would take you wouldn’t be against a tree,” Rowan murmured onto the skin of her neck. Then he pulled back, watching Aelin’s face as he pressed into her firmer, so she could feel every hard line of his body. “It’s not the first time, is it?”

Aelin shook her head furiously, anticipation getting the better of her. They kept eye contact as she looped her arms around her neck and Rowan's hands slid down to her thighs. Cheating or not, Rowan had a point. She could argue this again later when they had more time.

Aelin arched into him, inviting him to take more. “I’m waiting, buzzard.”

Rowan laughed and kissed her again, and this time they didn’t stop until they had both unraveled completely.

~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed this little bit of canon silliness

@rowaelinscourt

#I should have a minimum two more canon works ready in the next 24 hours #rowaelin month #rowaelin month 2023 #throne of glass fanfiction

71 notes · View notes

kyouka-supremacy · 24 days

Note

Atsushi for the ask game.

ATSUSHI HERE WE GO THANK YOU FOR HEARING MY PRAYERS

Favorite thing about them: HIS SELFISHNESS. It's so so delicious to explore. Can you imagine a protagonist that saves others not out of simple good will, but because of egoistic self-preservation motives? It just feels counterintuitive for me lmao, and I found it quite messed up when I first watched the anime, but now it's so compelling to explore. His whole “everything I do is in order to gain the right to live” is crazy fashinating. Because lol, that's entirely nonsensical to me! There's no such thing as “gaining the right to live”; all humans, every person in the world is inherently deserving of life. All. No exception. So there's no level of “weak” or “worthless” that would make you lose that right. The fact that's it's a vision so distant and absurd from mine, idk, it just makes it very compelling to explore? “What if there was a little fucked up guy who believed the right to live had to be earned” just sounds like a very interesting premise.

Least favorite thing about them: When I first watched the anime, I think I found him low-key annoying? I just... Don't do very well with self-deprecating people and people who complain a lot in general, I usually suffer in silence and tend to (wrongly) assume others should do the same (this probably makes me sound pretty mean, I swear I try to be understanding irl). However, it doesn't bother me as much anymore, I simply think it's more of a distinctive trait of the character that makes him multilayered and unique. As of now, I can't think of anything I don't like about him if not the fact that I wish he'd rely on Dazai and others in general a little less. I know that has to do with his lack of self-worth, so maybe it makes sense,, but as of now he feels kind of stuck. I just wish we'd see him grow more on that front.

Favorite line:

There may be better ones, but I really like the delivery of this one.

brOTP: KYOUKA AND ATSUSHI they make me go insane. Already talked about this in the Kyouka post but just to reiterate: in my headcanon Kyouka really is the only person Atsushi feels genuine, selfless affection towards. It's very sweet. They're siblings. Kyouka's happiness is really important for Atsushi. They really do have that feeling of people who got out of an abusive environment learning what normality is supposed to be like together. I also really like how they compensate for what the other lacks, be it decisiveness and coolhead for Atsushi and empathy and positivity for Kyouka. Although plenty shipping them romantically, I really like platonic sskk and atsulucy as well.

OTP: I really like sskk eheh. I think they're neat. There's a thousand and one reasons why I find them pretty great. They're objectively the only reason why I got invested in bsd as well as the only thing that has me keep up with the franchise to this day. Right now, I feel like the one thing I really appreciate about them is how you can be the worst person in the universe and still somehow be loveable to someone. I think it's sweet. I also find it very fun and enterataining to explore their various soulmatism antics. They're both very complex and multilayered characters with something deeply wrong with how their minds work that makes them very fun to analyze both by their own and in the complexity of their relationship. Their collective story arc and canon relationship progression is extremely engaging and nice to follow, too. I love dazatsu and atsulucy as well!! Both were ships I wasn't particularly invested when I read the manga for the first time, but really grew in me in the last six months or so. I really dig akuatsulucy as well!!

nOTP: Nothing?

Random headcanon: He really likes reading. There's some real meta-analysis to be made here I actually had written this is probably not the right place to talk about, but in a work that's all about literature, he's the character who reads.

Unpopular opinion: He's the hardest character to write / characterize. That's why people should probably go easier on other fans when they mischaracterize him. He's just very multifaceted and genuinely hard to get. I keep seeing people being like “Stop babyfying Atsushi he's an independent adult!!” then turn around to say “he can't be shipped with Dazai because there's too much unbalance of power :// [somewhat implying Atsushi can't make free decisions for himself]”, or “Stop making of Atsushi a soft baby who never did wrong in his life!!!” then turn around to say “Atsushi is the happy puppy of the agency who gets treats and pats from everyone ^^ ” like. At least to me, a lot of people's arguments sound self-contradictory all the time; but that doesn't mean people should stop having fun and characterize the characters as they like! Just, let's stop being mean to each other and try to be a little more accepting towards others' takes, shall we? And yes that also includes letting people find Atsushi annoying if they find him annoying (although like, I've NEVER found anyone call Atsushi annoying ever, so really, what remote fandom spaces is everyone visiting? Why are you looking for clothes (good takes) at the soup store (Tik/tok I assume?) ).

Song i associate with them: Common World Domination by Pinocchio-P, HIBANA by DECO*27, Ghost Rule by DECO*27, so on and so forth.

Favorite picture of them:

Favourite panel from the manga:

Favourite illustration: Look, there's too many beautiful illustrations, I can't chose. Here's a very good one though.

Favourite illustration in the anime art style:

But also:

Favourite Mayoi card:

Send me a character?

#Btw I think the author does truly believe that people have to earn their own right to live and that #“people can't live unless someone tells them ‘it's okay to go on’ ”#Which is all sorts of fucked up for me and just goes to the encyclopedia titled Reasons Why I Strongly Disagree With Bsd Morals #But taking the character Atsushi on its own out of the context of which worldvies bsd does or doesn't enable.#I think it's very compelling to explore a character who thinks like that!!#Of course‚ feel free to disagree with my interpretation of the text #atsushi nakajima #bsd #mine #people asks me stuff #I feel like with this more than others I have more to say that just didn't come to me...#I have so many headcanons and opinions about Atsushi how can I only pick one!!!

26 notes · View notes

basu-shokikita · 2 months

Text

Dethentines 2024 Day 6

OT3

As it has been made exceedingly clear by now, Skwistok is my OTP. My one and only, my endgame, the only pair I can see romantically in Metalocalypse, etc...

Even so, I have a number of ships I enjoy in very particular ways and I thought today would be a good day to dip on that. So, for day 6 of Dethentines you're getting a Skwistokface extravanganza because I like it and I think it's underrated! God bless!

It wasn’t everyday that Murderface felt inspired, but when he did, it made up for all the other days. He was overflowing with inspiration and creativity, stimulated unlike any other, capable of writing the sickest solos and providing the most important contributions to the…

“Gods damns it, Moidaface, dat amsnt hows you plays de F sharps.” Skwisgaar interrupted him for the upteempth time. “I tolds you, you gotsa be on de fours frets.”

Murderface frowned. He honestly didn’t know why he had to convince Skwisgaar for his idea to be approved. It’s not like he was his boss, was he? They were all equal in Dethklok, right? Except for Toki, obviously, Toki couldn’t do shit.

But Murderface was an original member, he should have a say, just like the others. It’s not like Pickles had to talk with Skwisgaar first before Nathan heard him out. So, why did he have to do that? What, so because Skwisgaar was fucking hot and talented that made him better than the others? Was that what was happening now? Was that the band Murderface joined?!

“Soes…ams you gonna plays ors?” Skwisgaar asked, raising his one particular and condescending eyebrow. “I gots stuff to does.”

Like what? Bang old ladies and fret the guitar all day?

He was going to say that when a Dethphone started ringing. Before Murderface had the time to check if it was his, Skwisgaar had already pulled his own from his pocket. “Hullos?”

God. Now he was going to have a whole conversation when Murderface was trying to show him something amazing. He started replaying his solo while Skwisgaar mumbled on the phone.

“Ja…Ja, I ams with Moidaface. In de studios.”

Murderface was really getting into this solo. This shit was fucking great! What the hell was Skwisgaar talking about?!

“We ams playi- whats? Rights nows?” Skwisgaar glanced over at Murderface and then at his bass. “...Shores. Byes.” A click indicated the end of the call.

“Who wasch it?” Murderface asked while still playing, trying not to seem too interested. Was Nathan asking how they were doing? Pickles, maybe? Were they secretly excited to know what he was cooking up?

“Toki.” Skwisgaar said in a deflated tone and Murderface cursed at the guy in his head.

Fucking…Toki.

“...And what did he want?”

“He wanteds- Moidaface you ams screwingks de F sharps again!”

“Okay, scho why don’t you teasch me how it isch, schinsche you know scho much!” Murderface said defensively. He was starting to get really tired of Skwisgaar’s attitude.

“Dats whats Is beens…” Skwisgaar leaned forward and pressed Murderface’s finger against the third string on the fourth fret. “Just stays- Just stays…” He pressed Murderface’s finger harder but Murderface kept pulling it off. “Just keeps pressingks deres!”

“It fucking hurtsch!” Murderface yelled.

“It wouldn’ts hurts if yous actuallies prascktiscked!” Skwisgaar countered

Murderface glared at him with disdain. “Your teaching schuschks.”

Skwisgaar’s eyes went wide for an instant and then he got up. “Alrights, dats it.”

“What?”

“Ams gonna makes you plays dats notes.” Skwisgaar looked down at him. “Gets up.”

“Why?”

“Gets up!”

“Okay, fine! Jeschusch!”

Skwisgaar frowned at him before he started surrounded him.

“Wait, what are you-”

“Just stays stills, Moidaface.” Skwisgaar said from behind him. “You mades me do dis.”

“Do wha-” Suddenly, Skwisgaar’s arms were surrounding him and, little after, Murderface felt Skwisgaar’s chest press against his back. “What the-”

“Just follows my fingers.” Skwisgaar said in a low tone, his face next to Murderface’s. This time, his fingers were gentle when they pressed against his. “Dere you goes…and dens you can does dis…” He moved Murderface’s hand with his own. “Ja, dats good…”

Unfortunately, Murderface could hardly pay attention to what he was playing, as good as it was sounding. The closeness, the almost intimate way with which Skwisgaar was touching him, his voice in Murderface’s ear...

Murderface couldn’t think, he couldn’t think, and it’s like the room was getting hotter all of sudden. Like the temperature had dropped to hell-like levels. Did he have a fever? Was he getting sick? Was he dying?!

“Sees how easies it ams whens you listens to me?” Skwisgaar said so smugly but Murderface was already sweating, unable to come up with a retort, unable to move even. “...Moidaface?”

“Ah!” A voice shouted, and Murderface raised his eyes. It was Toki standing at the door in shock, eyes like they were about to pop out of its sockets, his jaw dropped to the ground.

“Oh, Tokes.” Skwisgaar straightened up. “I was just teachingks Moidaface hows to-”

But Toki wasn’t listening, walking fast towards them, an expression of unbridled anger in his face. His guitar, hanging from his neck, knocked against his thighs with each of his steps.

“Toki?” Skwisgaar called him with confusion.

“You!” Toki pointed an accusing finger and Murderface began to flinch. “You rats!”

“Whats?”

The veins on Toki’s face were terrifying. Oh, shit, he was furious, and Murderface never wanted to be near that. He closed his eyes in fear, awaiting for the impact.

Yet nothing arrived.

Suddenly, there was a pull from his arm. “You ams tryings to steals Moidaface from mes!” Toki exclaimed childishly.

He opened his eyes in surprise and saw it was Toki’s hand grabbing him from the arm.

“Heugh?” Skwisgaar raised both eyebrows. “No, I ams teachingks him de notes.”

“No, you ams stealings hims from me!” Toki insisted with a pout. He pulled from Murderface again. “Let’s goes, Moidaface.” He was strong enough that he was going to drag him away from sheer strength alone.

“Noes.” Skwisgaar was now grabbing Murderface from the other arm. “We ams goingks to keeps prackstickings.”

“Noes!” Toki yelled. “We ams goings to plays! Comes on, Moidaface!” His grip on Murderface was getting stronger.

“I saids noes.” Skwisgaar was frowning now. “We ams prackstiskings.”

Toki turned to him, offended. After a few seconds glaring at each other, he asked. “Why you gots to copies me?”

“Seriouslies?”

“Ja! Yous always copyings me!” Toki argued. “Yous always doings whats I does! And nows yous tryings to steals my friends! Gets yous owns!”

“Toki, Is never once copies you, ams you kiddingks me?! Yous always copyings me! Yous! And yous copyings me right nows against! Goes gets someones elses, goes!”

“Noes, I wants to plays with Moidaface!”

“I don’ts cares! We ams goings to prascktice!”

“Stops copies me!”

“You stops copies me!”

“Stops copies me!”

Caught between the bantering and the pull of two different people, Murderface couldn’t think. He couldn’t process this. This was perhaps the first time in his life two people were fighting over him. And it was pretty flattering, he didn’t know Skwisgaar and Toki liked him so much. Could it be that he was underestimating his popularity all along?

Nice.

“Fucks you, Skwisgaar, he ams comings with me!” Toki spat, pulling harder from Murderface.

“Fucks you, Toki, he ams stayings with mes!” Skwisgaar retorted, pulling just as hard from Murderface.

“Noes, he isnts!”

“Yes, he ams!”

“Ladiesch!” Murderface raised his arms, smugness all over his face. “No need to fight over me, there’sch plenty Murderface for everyone.”

Skwisgaar and Toki stared at him, then at each other. Then, they got more aggressive.

“You ams just jealous Moidaface ams mines best friends and favorites evers!”

“Oh, ja?” Skwisgaar challenged him. “Wells, he ams my favor tits too, and he ams also mines new rhythms guitarists!”

“Whats?” Toki was baffled. “You cants do dats!”

“Oh, yes, I cans!”

“Wells, I loves him!”

“Noes, I loves him more!”

“Stops copies me!”

…

…..

……..

Skwisgaar stared at Murderface’s unconscious body on the floor. “You thinks he ams dead?” He glanced at Toki.

“No ways.” Toki said. “He ams laughings, sees? Totallies alives.”

Skwisgaar leaned in to inspect Murderface’s face. “Oh, ja, he is.” He straightened up. “Whats weirdos.”

“Ja, he alls be fines.” Toki sounded disinterested.

“Soes, eugh…” Skwisgaar gazed at the guitar Toki was still holding, almost apprehensively so. “Whys you knocks him outs whens you arriveds?”

“Oh.” Toki’s face turned inexpressive, though if Skwisgaar had been any closer, he would’ve been the pink tinge on his cheeks. “I don’t knows. He ams just pisseds me offs.”

“Eugh…”

“Wants to prackstice?” Toki suddenly asked. “I brings my guitars!” He lifted the bloodied guitar.

“...Ja, shores.” Skwisgaar followed Toki. “Since whens you wants to pracsticke?” He asked with skepticism.

Toki shrugged and smiled at him. “It ams a good days, rights?”

“Rights.” Skwisgaar reluctantly agreed. As Toki cleaned the blood and dust off his guitar with his shirt, he wondered.

What were the odds that the two laziest members of the band suddenly felt like working on the same day?

#dethentines #dethentines2024 #metalocalypse #skwistok #skwisface #murdertooth #william murderface #skwisgaar skwigelf #toki wartooth #skwistokface #my writing #no beta we die like men etc #i had lots of fun writing this tbh dfjsjhdfjsd

40 notes · View notes