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penncilkid · 25 days

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Been thinking about my experiences as a POC within fandom while also being an artist and how much that sucks sometimes. This is primarily in regards to the Redacted fandom, but could be applied to any other fandom honestly.

Proper "fussing" under the cut (for those who would rather not see):

Sometimes, I really stop and think about what it must be like to be a white person in fandom, especially when you're an artist. To see yourself reflected in the spaces you exist in all the time. There are some exceptions to this, of course. For example, lack of body diversity is just as much of a problem in my opinion (Like fat people exist. Disabled people exist. Fat, disabled people exist. You can draw them, y'know? /rhet) But generally speaking, it's not difficult to find designs that probably look like you. There will be blondes, brunettes, redheads even— It's everywhere you look.

I don't think most people realize how isolating that ends up feeling though.

Because it's not just the fact that most of the art/designs you'll stumble upon won't resemble you. It's the fact that the prevalence dictates how everyone else interacts with fandom too.

Do you know how much it sucks seeing a post saying "So we all agree that Asher's blonde, right?" and knowing that most people are thinking of a white guy and nothing else?

Or noticing how Alexis, a generally "hated" character in the fandom, is the only vampire most people are willing to make visibly brown?

How about the fact that Gavin, the "thrilling" and "sexy" incubus, has so many black and brown designs— But I can count the non-white Lasko designs I've come across on my hand?

People can do whatever they want. I've said it before, and I'll continue to repeat it when I make these rambles. If you want to make every single design you have varying shades of white and never stray from that, that's your prerogative. But for the love of god, I wish I didn't feel like I was fucking crazy for talking about how much that shit sucks to see as a person of color.

On top of that, do you know how frustrating it is to watch white artists get praised for generic diversity when POC artists have been consistently bringing forth such compelling, stunning designs to table? Like I see the kind of shit that gets praised in this fandom and what doesn't. Racial ambiguity or the slightest addition of a curl gets treated like it's revolutionary— And that's only if it's the "correct" character. It has to "make sense", right? The same way Sam has to have sun-kissed, golden skin even after he's been turned, or the way Guy has to be white because there's no way someone with that personality could be anything but.

Do you know what it's like to be filled with such a sense of joy because someone made a design where a character had your skin tone or hair texture or facial feature? Like, I genuinely have a strong reaction whenever I find a black or brown design in this fandom because they're so rare in comparison to everything else. And when I really stop to think about that, I realize how fucked up of a phenomenon that is.

I love the designs that I've made, but I've also noticed which ones "do better" comparably. I don't change much of anything with how I go about posting or promoting them. The only difference is that some of them fit what is considered widely "canon" in fandom. And the others... don't. I go out of my way to make every design POC in some regard, and you can usually tell visually even without the addition of colors. I'm not gonna stop doing that because I know why I started in the first place. But fuck, it does start to hurt seeing white artists with the same general white designs get hyped up endlessly while I internally debate if I should even make another character look like me or not. If it'll even matter to anyone but me.

Some days, I just really wish it didn't feel like shit being black in this fandom. I hate knowing that I'm gonna post this, and I'll probably get responses for other people of color primarily.

But maybe putting this out will help that pill get easier to swallow.

#PK Rambles #Fandom Wank #If you feel “targeted” by this post: Maybe just ask yourself why? /gen #Because I promise you that your brief discomfort will fade with time #And my isolating exhaustion will continue to seep deeper and deeper into my bones #I'm just really fucking tired in a lot of ways

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neopetting · 2 months

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hit me all at once that jimmy jr.’s passion being downplayed by his dad perfectly parallels bob’s whole childhood and if this is ever acknowledged even slightly i WILL keel over and die. they’re both juniors!! they’re voiced by the same guy!!!!!!

#these two have barely interacted right???#bob putting aside his dad discomfort with boys tina likes to comfort a kid who’s a lot like he was……#help my heart i’m writhing on the ground #bobs burgers #bob’s burgers #bob belcher #jimmy pesto jr

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scooplery · 3 months

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ppl get so weird about it/its pronouns. everyone always wants to argue with u about it, as if they're doing you a favor. "don't dehumanize yourself like that" well that's exactly the point innit. i am an animal too, we all are. nice dichotomy idiot moment i guess

#what makes me so different and special #ppl read it as Animal Pronoun (derogatory) where i see it more as Animal Pronoun (honorific)#i am part of the ecosystem too #idk i would never tell anyone that they had to be ok with being called it/it's themselves #i do understand the gravity of it for a lot of people. it historically HAS been used in malice #i understand. but at the same time. those are my pronouns. i don't 'understand' neopronouns either #but i don't go arguing with people who use xe/xyr or whatever. you can be discomforted AND respectful

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goddessofroyalty · 3 months

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Fandom: One Piece

I wrote the dialogue for this in the ZoSan server while we were chatting about alpha!Zoro taking care of pregnant omega!Sanji but the two still bantering earlier this week and because I finished reading two of the four super long documents for work I needed to read by the end of this week I thought to reward myself by turning it into actual fic.

Pairing: Zoro/Sanji

Tags: mpreg, omegaverse, canon-typical slightly mean playful teasing

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Sanji leans back against Zoro when his mate comes up behind him, the swordsman’s strong arms wrapping around him so his hands can caress at his stomach heavy with their child. Despite knowing exactly what kinds of violence they are capable of inflicting Sanji never felt all that surprised at the gentle touch they managed when it came to what will soon be their first pup.

“Want me to take the weight for a little?” Zoro asks, resting his head on Sanji’s shoulder.

Sanji hums at it.

“Don’t ask stupid questions.” He blames the mosshead’s stupid genes for how heavy the pup is. And as such the bastard can take a bit of responsibility for the weight of them and give Sanji’s poor back a break.

His comment earns him a huff but Zoro’s fingers find purchase under the swell as he lifts their pup up and off Sanji’s hips.

“Oh thank fuck,” Sanji mutters. Melting in relief as he lets more of his weight fall onto Zoro. He knows the alpha can take it and it is becoming rare the moments where he doesn’t at least slightly hurt from the pregnancy. It’s all worth it, he knows, but the relief, even momentarily, is appreciated.

Zoro presses a kiss against his forehead and Sanji can feel the grin that forms next. Bracing for the inevitable dumbass comment.

“This all that’s giving you grief? This is nothing cook!” Zoro teases but he doesn’t move to let go of the weight he has taken. His thumbs rubbing against the bunched fabric of Sanji’s shirt where they rest.

“Nothing!?” Sanji snaps because even if he knows Zoro means nothing by it he still won’t let the insult slide. “You try having it on you 24-7 while your ankles have swollen twice their size!”

As much as it pained him, he had given up on his proper shoes a month ago and accepted life in slippers and slides.

Zoro is quiet in apparent, and possibly, no, probably, put-on, contemplation of what Sanji had said.

“Nah.” Is apparently what he decides on. Joined with a nuzzle against Sanji’s cheek. “You’re better at it than I would be.”

A part of Sanji wants to tell him to fuck off for once again trying to dodge some chore by claiming Sanji’s better at it just because he’s a fucking omega. He doesn’t - mostly because Zoro actually might leave and Sanji’s not ready for the weight to be back on him just yet.

“They’re only going to get bigger you know,” Sanji says. Because that’s what he’s been thinking about lately. Complete with the mourning of the sacrifice of his figure that goes along with it. “There’s still another month to go.”

Zoro gives a very articulate grunt at that.

“Guess I’ll have to do this more than. Can’t have you collapsing on us.”

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evilkitten3 · 1 year

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i think the reason i like todoroki and bakugou's dynamic in pretty much any kind of context is the contrast between their reactions. bakugou is over-the-top all the time, going all-out for absolutely everything, 100% maximum no chill. he's so shit with emotions that everything he feels gets turned into pure rage. he acts like a punk and has no social skills but is extremely strict about things like studying and having a healthy sleep schedule. meanwhile todoroki is also passionate but garbage at expressing his non-anger feelings. he has the vibes and backstory of someone who sits around brooding and thinking deep thoughts but if you zoomed into his head you'd hear shit like "i wonder if you can knit socks for worms".

todoroki has his whole "i'm not here to make friends" thing and then like two weeks later he's convinced that bakugou is his new bestie while bakugou screams at him for daring to breathe in his presence.

it's like having two kittens pushing things off the counter but one if doing it bc he hates you and wants you to suffer and the other is doing it bc he genuinely hasn't figured out that things fall when you push them. they're both so so so stupid and so so so smart and they have a hilarious dynamic as characters. they work together in a way that most of the other characters don't just bc their energies are so completely different and yet the story just keeps shoving them together (like that one drama cd lmao).

also they're just. so weird about each other???? like part of bakugou's post battle trial breakdown was bc he thought todoroki could beat him and then their next interaction is him being pissed that todoroki is paying attention to someone else, followed by him being pissed that todoroki didn't beat him. he's having all this complex emotional turmoil and todoroki's just thinking "ha. eat shit dad". and then they get paired up for the remedial lessons and something in todoroki's brain goes "objective: unlock Friend". and then there's all the shit with enji deciding to maybe try not being a dick so now todoroki is having emotional turmoil while bakugou is thinking "eat shit (directionless)"

and that's about where i stopped reading but i love them so much it's unreal. like this isn't even about them as a romantic ship or anything i just think their interactions are stupendous in general

#bnha #bakugou katsuki #todoroki shouto #todobaku #or. not that? idk it's sorta both #i know a lot of people don't like that shit but i really don't get why #i can understand the discomfort with dkbk and tbh i'm not a fan of that one myself but tdbk doesn't seem that problematic to me?#then again i don't really care about ship wars so who knows #i just think they're funny

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anonymouspuzzler · 9 months

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hi buck. boy have i got news for you buddy

would you all believe i did this by accident.

#anonymous puzzler art #anonymous puzzler originals #anonymous puzzler answers #ohklah0ma #i haven't been able to stop thinking about this yesterday i really did just accidentally design buck as Very Autistic.#man with encyclopedic knowledge of cars & lots of discomfort in social situations due to difficulty reading people & general overstimulatio #who also likes sticking to established routines and only finds certain clothes comfortable which he wears all the time #and who would very much enjoy if One Specific Guy Only put him in a panini press of a hug.#anyway i think we should get buck a weighted blanket i think it would be good for him.#Villain Coded comic

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perfectlyripeclementine · 11 months

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stopping what you’re doing to feel them push into your touch 💓

when they’re between “too much” and “more, please” and their mouth hangs open so you start again softer and slower 💖

when they tell you to ease up so you switch to a touch that is more tender in some other place and cherish them and tell them how good they’re being 💕

when you look up to them as you start doing something new and they give you that little nod and a guidance, like “be gentle”, “not too fast” 💗

asking them to beg for something they feel tender about when you’re doing it for the first time so you’re sure they truly want it and are not just going along with it 💝

all the little moments that are exploratory and center your partner’s pleasure and give them agency over what you’re doing even when you are in a more dominant role ❣️❤️‍🔥❤️

#that last ask had me feeling all kinds of tender #if u need sex to go very slow with a lot of trust building i love u #if u need to know the hands that hold u will be tender and sweet i love u #i love finding sweet and tender ways to explore pleasure together #i love making boundaries a place of invitation and safety rather than discomfort #i love being trusted to do things that people are nervous about #i love holding my trust firmly in both palms and doing my best continue earning it #this post is about queer sex #nblnb #genderless nsft #nb4nb #genderless #yearning

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hephaestuscrew · 22 days

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“This has both our names on it”: Viewing Fleet and Clara’s relationship in Victoriocity through a queerplatonic lens

TL;DR: By Season 3 of Victoriocity, Fleet and Clara have developed a committed emotional partnership that certainly moves beyond the purely professional. Whilst very much operating as a duo, they can be interpreted as often rejecting or subverting romance-coded elements in their relationship, instead embracing a unique dynamic that can be read as resonating with the concept of a queerplatonic relationship (QPR).

Buckle up because this is over 2,500 words long! If you'd rather read it as a document, you can access it here: Fleet & Clara QPR Google Doc

Disclaimer: I'm not making any claims about creator intent, nor about how anyone else ought to interpret Fleet and Clara's dynamic. It's also worth acknowledging that queerplatonic relationships are inherently defined by the people in them and any attempt to apply such terminology to a story set in 1887 is obviously anachronistic (although whether that should matter when said story also contains a cyborg Queen Victoria is up for debate).

With that said, if we define a QPR as a committed personal partnership which is not entirely captured by the typical expectations of either friendship or romance but may contain some elements typically associated with either (other definitions of QPRs are available), I enjoy viewing Fleet and Clara's relationship through a QPR lens, and I want to talk about some of the reasons why I think this reading works.

***Spoilers for all three seasons of Victoriocity and the novel High Vaultage***

Detective duos

Even before we actually get into Fleet and Clara's particular bond, detective / crime-solving duos as a general concept have QPR energy to me (which probably predisposed me to this interpretation). It's the Holmes-and-Watson legacy. It's the use of the word 'partner' in a non-romantic context (‘associate’ or ‘companion’ can also serve a similar purpose). It's the intense trust and reliance on each other. It's the sense of being a recognisable pair, always appearing together, known as a duo, with skills and attributes that complement each other.

Romantic assumptions

Moving on to Fleet and Clara specifically, one aspect of their relationship that can be read through a QPR lens is how they are often in situations where other people believe or imply that there is a romantic relationship between them. Sometimes this is a deliberate strategy of theirs, and sometimes it’s imposed upon them by others. But I’d argue that there’s never a point where they both simultaneously seem entirely comfortable with that romantic narrative for their relationship. Usually one of them will actively deny the assumption or react negatively to the implication:

When Mrs Hampshire interprets Clara and Fleet as a couple experiencing “young love”, Clara might be happy to adopt this as an effective cover story, but Fleet seems unsettled and keen for them not to be perceived this way: “No. No. You’ve misunderstood, we are not, that is to say I am…” (S1E2)

When Warden Hughes assumes Fleet is the new Warden and Clara is the new Warden’s wife, Clara says “I am certainly not”, with emphasis on the ‘certainly’. (S2E2)

Fleet definitely doesn’t sound enthused when he realises Clara has gone for a married couple as their cover story at the Grand Salcombe: “I am sure I’ll regret asking, but by any chance am I [Mr. Theasby?]” (S2E2)

When Titus Byrne tells the pair “I take it you're happy sharing [a room]”, Clara responds with a horrified “What?” (S3E4) (Obviously sleeping in the same room isn’t inherently romantic, but it is often perceived that way.)

Of course, fake dating and external assumptions of romance are very common tropes in romantic will-they-won't-they dynamics, and these moments could definitely be interpreted that way for Fleet and Clara. But I prefer to read these instances as reflecting a different kind of closeness between these two characters. They have a sense of emotional partnership that allows a marriage cover story to seem plausible to others and that other people sometimes automatically assume to be romantic (obviously with some period-typical heteronormativity at play). But to me, it doesn't seem like either of them are fully comfortable with their relationship being perceived in a directly romantic way. Perhaps they are a couple in a different sense…

Proposal via door plate

The way that Fleet asks Clara to be his business partner has always seemed to me like a platonic version of when people find personal ways to surprise their romantic partner with a proposal:

CLARA: You bought me a door plate for your office? [...] This has both our names on it. FLEET: What do you think? CLARA: I like it. (S2E7)

Fleet could have just asked Clara outright, without going to the trouble of buying a sign that would have been useless if she’d said no. If it was purely a professional business proposition with no emotional meaning behind it, I think he would have just asked verbally. But instead, he gifts her a sign with their two names paired together: Fleet-Entwhistle Investigations. There's something so intimate about that to me: about Fleet asking Clara whether she would like to be a duo with him in a more formally-defined but still non-romantic way; about him choosing to present this offer in the form of a gift; about the way he presents her with their two names joined together etched into metal and asks what she thinks; about the significance that this gesture attaches to their partnership; about him having enough trust that she'll say yes that the effort and vulnerability of presenting her with that sign seem worth it for him. And the gesture means an awful lot to Clara:

She thought about the door plaque he’d had engraved with both their names on it as his way of inviting her to be his business partner – typical Fleet, refusing to tell her so much as his favourite breakfast food and then to go and do something like that. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. (High Vaultage, p187).

Anniversaries

In the special episode ‘Murder in the Pharaoh's Tomb', Clara says “And you know what else is a big occasion Fleet? It's our one-month anniversary.” She wants to celebrate the anniversary of Fleet-Entwhistle Investigations. Their partnership holds a significance for her that means key dates associated with it are worth remembering and remarking upon.

When Clara first mentions their anniversary, Fleet nearly chokes on his drink, which seems like an instinctive reaction to the usually romantic connotations of an anniversary (see my point above about Fleet not being comfortable with their dynamic being perceived as romantic). But when Clara clarifies what she means, Fleet seems much more cheerful about the notion of their anniversary: “Ah, so it has.”

“Miss Clara Entwhistle, my partner”

I get extremely strong QPR vibes from this moment, when Fleet introduces Clara to the sailors at Grave End:

FLEET: This is Miss Clara Entwhistle, my partner - in business, my business partner. CLARA: I'm also his friend, but he doesn't like to say it. (S3 E3)

Fleet and Clara are partners, but not in the way the average person might assume from that word, which Fleet realises mid-sentence here. This is another instance of Fleet reacting negatively to the idea that their relationship might be interpreted romantically (see above). And yet, 'partner' (rather than, say, ‘colleague’) is the word that comes naturally to him in this moment to describe who Clara is to him. He then frantically emphasises the professional element of their relationship so as to avoid the romantic implication, but Clara is keen to proudly assert that there is a personal, emotional aspect to their dynamic too. They are first-and-foremost partners, and they are friends, and they do not want to be seen in a romantic light - this post basically writes itself...

“Her ridiculous detective.”

When Clara fears for her life at the display of the Lanterns, the narration tells us:

“she thought of her brother, her sister, her parents... Her ridiculous detective.” (High Vaultage, p172)

The fact that Clara thinks of Fleet in this moment of fear clearly indicates his importance to her, but I think the phrasing of this quote is particularly interesting. The narration lists Clara's immediate family: two of whom are dead (her sister and father), one of whom is publically mourning Clara's life choices (her mother), and only one of whom we have any real evidence of her having a positive relationship with (her brother). And then, separated from these complicated familial relationships by an ellipsis, the narration tells Clara also thinks of Fleet, “her ridiculous detective”.

Parents and siblings are familial relationships that tend to come with established expectations, in which the use of a possessive pronoun (i.e. her brother) to indicate the relationship is a norm. ‘Detective’ does not fall into this category; unlike ‘brother’, ‘sister’, ‘parent’, ‘friend’, ‘partner’ etc., ‘detective’ is not a word that inherently implies a relationship or that we'd usually expect to see preceded by a possessive pronoun. The idea of ‘her detective’ therefore stands out, giving the sense that there is a unique relationship being indicated here. The way in which Fleet is ‘hers’ is something that Clara has chosen for herself, something that they have shaped together. Who they are to each other can't necessarily be fully expressed using standard phrases that traditionally describe relationships between people. But Fleet is Clara's detective, of which she only has one, and who she'll think of in the midst of “the screaming of the heavens at the end of the world”.

Fleet is also the only one in this list of Clara's loved ones who gets an adjective - her love for him has detail. And while “ridiculous” might often be perceived as negative (it's certainly not a classic romantic endearment), it seems to me like there's such fondness in it in this context: the recognition of and affection for eccentricities, the idea that his importance to her is not (purely) based on his professional strengths but on Fleet as a whole - perhaps at times ridiculous - person.

“Settled”

When Clara and Fleet talk about Clara's mother’s expectations for her, they have this exchange:

"She's still living in hope that one day I'll settle down." "You're not settled?" asked Fleet. "I am." (High Vaultage, p259)

By ‘settle down’, Clara's mother of course means ‘marry’, ideally into “at least a minor baronetcy”. But Clara already considers herself "settled", just not in a way her mother would understand or appreciate. She's not looking to "settle down" into a lifestyle other than her current one. She is settled in a situation where Fleet is certainly her closest personal connection in London (and perhaps anywhere), and where the two of them work closely together, operate as a duo, and then go back to their separate homes. And this partnership with Fleet is a comfortable set-up that feels right for Clara exactly as it is, rather than being a precursor to, or a distraction from, the marriage ambitions that her mother wants for her.

I think this exchange also contains an implicit sense of the commitment between the two of them. Fleet wants to check that Clara is ‘settled’ in her current situation, of which working closely - and platonically - with Fleet is obviously a major element; Clara confirms she is. There's a subtle indication of their shared intention to be in this for the long haul.

As a sidenote, Fleet and Clara’s implicit assumption that their partnership is a long-term one can manifest itself in joking contexts as well as serious ones. Look at this exchange from S3E5:

FLEET: We're not bandits, we're just going to flag it down. CLARA: We'd be terrific bandits! FLEET: Let's just see how our current line of work goes.

I think it’s notable that, in this joking speculation, both Fleet and Clara use ‘we’ and ‘our’. The joke could have been phrased just as effectively if they were imagining only Clara becoming a bandit. But the suggestion is that, if either of them was a bandit, they’d be bandits together. Even if they changed their lives entirely, they'd still approach life together.

Inseparable

Fleet and Clara have become a nearly inseparable duo in a way which is noticed by others. For example, after Clara and Fleet fall out in High Vaultage, Fleet meets with Keller, who says:

"You're here with me instead of barrelling across town with her, so I'm just assuming there is some thickheaded puffinry for which you need to apologise to Miss Entwhistle" (p335)

Keller, hardly the most emotionally perceptive man in Even Greater London, automatically infers from the fact that Fleet is on his own that he has had a falling out with Clara, rather than that they just happen to be in different places. When all is well, Keller expects to see the two of them together, whether or not they are in a position to be actively working a case.

Going back earlier in their partnership, Keller makes a similar assumption about Fleet and Clara being inseparable in S2E6. When Clara shouts her name amidst Keller's anti-Vidoc booby traps, Keller asks "Entwhistle? Which means… Fleet?" Again, there's this idea that if one of them is there, the other is likely to be there too - they come as a pair. (It's worth noting that this scene takes place less than two weeks after they first met.)

“Like a friend might?”

At the end of S3E7, Fleet suggests that he and Clara go to the theatre together. It would have been easy for this invitation to have been explicitly framed as a romantic proposition, or even for the nature of the offer to have been left more ambiguous. But Clara says "Archibald Fleet, are you inviting me to a social activity? Like a friend might?" The use of the word 'friend' directly labels this as a platonic interaction. And it's with that platonic lens on it that Clara is extremely excited to spend non-work-related social time with Fleet.

“Maybe it'll just be my good luck charm.”

CLARA: My grandmother's ring, I don't suppose you managed to hold on to it? [...] FLEET: Oh, it's been crushed.. I'm sorry Clara [...] CLARA: No, you keep it. FLEET: What? No... CLARA: Keep it. Maybe it'll remind you not to run towards trains. FLEET: Maybe. Maybe it'll just be my good luck charm.

In S3E7, Clara gives Fleet a ring, which - as a gift from one person to another - is traditionally a symbol of a particular, legally recognised, kind of personal commitment. But when Clara tells Fleet to keep the damaged ring, down in the Underground tunnels after the destruction of the beast and Fleet's latest brush with death, it is quite a different situation to a wedding or a proposal. A married man would traditionally wear his wedding ring on his finger for all to see, but Fleet won't ever wear this ring like that. The ring itself has been bent into a different shape between the wheels of their misadventures, subverting the usual associations of a ring given from one person to another. (In a heteronormative world, those associations are particularly strong when the two people in question are a woman and a man.)

That ring is not an engagement ring, but it is Clara’s grandmother's ring, an inheritance from the blood family she never really felt she belonged in, now given to the man who might be a very different kind of family for her in London. That ring - with which Clara saved Fleet's life - is a symbol of their bond. And it therefore serves as a reminder for Fleet “not to run towards trains" and as a “good luck charm”. I like to think he'll carry that ring with him, perhaps in his jacket pocket - a little piece of his partner, kept close to his ticking heart…

Thank you for reading all of this!

If you’ve read all of this, I'm assuming you also enjoy the concept of Fleet and Clara as a QPR (unless you're really a glutton for punishment) and that makes me very happy! This was long because there's so much to say about them… And I wrote all of the above without even getting into: the potential to headcanon Fleet and/or Clara as aspec (which I don't think is necessary for QPR headcanons, but which is also fun); Clara's baggage around and discomfort with marriage in general; the speed with which Fleet and Clara become a ride-or-die duo; and the many other demonstrations of care, understanding, trust, respect, and affection between them that didn't feel as directly QPR-coded to me but are nonetheless wonderful. Please do feel free to share your own thoughts!

#victoriocity #clara entwhistle #inspector fleet #archibald fleet #high vaultage #I'm not really trying to persuade anyone who doesn't already vibe with Fleet & Clara QPR as a concept #I just enjoy digging into that interpretation #I don't have any lived experience of QPRs myself #I'm just an aro who occasionally yearns #which tbf is probably the demographic most likely to obsessively interpret fictional duos as QPRs #I tried to avoid straying into anything like ‘they are too important to each other to be *just* friends’#when writing this #because I deeply dislike that outlook #That's not what I'm getting at here #Friends can be that important to each other without being in a QPR #I just think Fleet and Clara are important to each other in a particular way that can easily be read as a QPR or QPR-adjacent #Ngl for me personally I was very happy that there was no explicitly romantic Fleet and Clara moments #in S3 or High Vaultage #I’m sure I would still love their dynamic if they did explicitly take it down that route #I’m sure it would be done well #But the fact that Fleet and Clara are platonic (or at least ambiguous) means a lot to me personally #A related thought to that bit on romantic assumptions is that under amatonormativity #even the denial of romance/attraction is so often treated as evidence for it #which can mean that there's no way to escape that implication #so that's another reason why I enjoy taking characters at their word #when they express discomfort over a dynamic being interpreted as romantic #I finished writing this on Wednesday and I've been so impatient about waiting until S3 is fully out to post it lol

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