I don’t have many Op friends I can talk about this with but one of my top ship tropes is when it’s established that Luffy is slow on the uptake regarding people’s relationships and even HE knows someone is in love and pining. Like, to make a point at how utterly obvious it is. Sanji cuts food for Usopp into little bite sized pieces? Luffy just asks him something that indicates Sanji and Usopp are in a relationship and the cook almost chokes. Nami tries to write a letter and is getting visibly frustrated at not finding the right words and he just looks over her shoulder like „Say Vivi I said hi!“. He witnessed Shank and Buggy finally meeting at laughtale and there is just a bunch of „I WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED YOU!“ „I never wanted you to leave!“ „YOU WERE A COWARD!“ „Why does that matter now?!“ „BECAUSE I ALMOST GAVE UP MY DREAM FOR YOU!“ and Luffy just looks at this insane display in front of him while his idol does a homoerotic sword vs dagger fight with a clown and just „Are you seeing this shit Zoro?“ like… congrats . You’re being such a lovesick idiot even Luffy is like „Damn bitch you got it bad“

Honestly, this is extremely in character and pretty much not far from the truth. Luffy, despite being a dumbass, is a very perceptive person when it comes to people's feelings. One of his best traits as a main character is that he's empathetic to the point of knowing how people feel or what they want without needing to know the background or the rest of the story. I actually hate when the fanon perception of Luffy gets simplified to "he's an idiot" because yeah, he might be reckless and stupid and he's very silly, but he's emotionally mature to a sickening extent. Savior complex much? (Not that he wants to be a hero, god forbid, he would hate that. I just mean that his constant need to save everyone so nobody he cares about dies on him or gets hurt again has made him really aware of his surroundings and people's feelings). And, well, tbh he has always been like that. Very honest and perceptive, I mean. He might be a bit slow when catching up to some things and he might not know why people feel what they feel sometimes, but he knows what they're feeling. Get me? Like he might be aware of Nami being mad at him, for example, and not knowing why, but being aware that he has to do something to change that.

What I want to say with all of this is that Luffy noticing romance within the crew is extremely canon because he knows how his friends act, and if he notices changes in a person towards someone else, he might be stupid but he's not that oblivious. Like, he knows something's up. And to him the whole concept of pining is so stupid because if you feel something, just let the other person know! But then again, his relationship with Zoro is just different from that, and not everyone can have a devoted long-term marriage without saying a word.

And his reaction towards people pining would be hilarious because the guy would be exhausted from the crew having crushes and not doing anything. A Sanuso trope I love is Luffy going to Usopp like "Hey, confess already because Sanji has been distracted lately, and if he stops cooking because he is sad and pining for you I will be very mad" and he says shit like this and goes away and leaves Usopp alone with that information as if it was the most obvious and normal thing to do. But, you know, Luffy gets things done around here, at least.

me becoming a gortash apologist apparently

i never thought i'd say this. i am thinking about Enver Gortash. i'm usually not one of his apologists but... i've had brain rot for my Durge lately, and i think a big moment of developing your Durge is how you react to meeting Gortash again, yeah? you may or may not be close with Karlach but the party and Durge especially have all faced similar trauma of betrayal and exploitation nonetheless (and so has Gortash), he's already been introduced vaguely at the end of Act 2 as a threat/main villain, he worships Bane, he has general edge lord vibes (remember that bit where I'm usually not a Gortash apologist djdjdjd); what i'm trying to spit out, is there's a lot to sway you against Gortash in that first meeting. and I'd argue even a little further, as someone that followed Orin's plans of betrayal against him in my first Tav run, (just because her audacity is so damn funny.)

But anyway. Meeting Gortash. Finding out you used to be close. Perhaps homoerotically, perhaps in a strange platonic manner, or some other third thing, but nonetheless, Durge is assumably the only person Gortash has ever truly liked. He just really goes out of his way with praise at meeting again, the use of the word favorite is notable, and if Gortash had anyone worth elevating, he would, right? That was how Ketheric got here, Orin wants more credibility for herself and the Bhaalists, and Gortash... just enslaves his parents in their old home/business. But he liked you. He's really so similar to Astarion (it's nothing, you're just the only person I've ever truly cared for); he's just already a touch too far gone in his power hungry search for security. He's already repeated the cycle, years and years ago with Karlach as the main example and just the inevitability of being Bane's Chosen. And yet - Durge comes marching through the door again with this band of misfits and his old lackey he wronged, and he's willing to make a true bargain.

And I know it's just in Gortash's character to scheme, but l think playing as reformed Durge makes Gortash's potential deal all the more devastating, since he will truly follow through on his word (or, at least he would.)

It's so funny to show up dating Astarion or Shadowheart, and imagine them teasing you later that night, saying they thought you'd have better taste. Or the bitterness of being with Karlach, knowing that you seemed to be in such deep kahoots. And so on. The point is not valuing that past relationship with Gortash. Focusing on the shiny and new.

And like whatever. Gortash isn't ever going to publicly present that his feelings are hurt but like... wouldn't they? Your past lover or at the very least, only close friend struts in, now thinking they're some big shot, so beyond everything you two had ever done... when you always lived in their shadow beforehand, frankly. Gortash adores how this flawless plan was majorly Durge's, critiques Orin's sloppy manner of filling your place, how Ketheric was just a means to an end. But he liked you. The person who helped him raid Mephistopheles' vault, in turn helping him spit not only in the arch devil's face, but his past captor, Raphael's too (since Raph lives chronically in the shadow of his father, imo.) The person who thought they could formulate and enact this whole plot, and the only one he was willing to follow, to be an equal with, now coming to tell him what everyone always does, inevitably.

A final fuck you, or some form of betrayal, the same thing that caused his mess all those years ago when sold off to that warlock.

It would have to hurt, and while it's funny to imagine my little gnome Durge dying inside and cackling to the party about sleeping with an enemy and technically being the enemy... a little obssessed at the angst you could perceive of Gortash somehow falling for any crazy Bhaalspawn, nonetheless Durge, who was never one for morals, coming back renewed and not to come get him or work things out... but to slay him or turn against him. I'd send the Steelwatchers after our asses too.

In conclusion, Gortash, probably:

sigh. my bias against greasy little guys could never truly make me hate you, enver gortash. look at you, the man that you are.

don't mind me i'm thinking about how Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and Tom "Iceman" Kazansky are both CANONICALLY QUEER.

That's right folks, you read that correctly. I present to you the evidence:

Regarding Iceman, we all knew he was gay, because Val Kilmer himself literally confirmed it in an interview for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (he talked about his role as a gay character in the film and said that it wasn't his first; he admitted top gun was his first gay role.)

And for Maverick, the canon evidence was in the original Top Gun itself - in a scene that SO many people overlook. At the o-club scene, Goose tells Maverick when they're making a bet that Maverick "must have carnal knowledge, of a woman this time."

That line right there implies that Maverick has hit on people before that AREN'T women-- because if Maverick was completely straight, why would Goose need to specify that Maverick needs to hit on a woman this time?

The amount of queerness in this film AMAZES ME. And it's not subtle, quiet things only certain people can catch. ITS OUT THERE. So, with Mav and Ice being canonically queer, it's safe to assume Icemav actually had feelings for each other, from all of the very homoerotic scenes they had in the first movie and hell, even TGM.

Tldr: Iceman and Maverick are both canonically lgbt+ and Icemav is literally canon. Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

Light cone art so powerfully homoerotic someone (me) furiously pumped out a 6k word fic in 2 days. They're going to kill me. 🔗 : AO3

Extensive notes/ramblings below!

-

I have not recovered from the mental power I had to pool to write this lmao I couldn't do anything at work except figure these two out and why Aventurine looked so BESOTTED but the absence of the little white dots in his eyes in the light cone and in the leaked models made him look like there's such an edge to him (someone on twitter pointed out that he has no light in his eyes!) and it really fanned the flames like what the fuck is this GUY ON and why is it directed at Dr. Ratio LMAO (I mean why not Ratio is so pretty)

So then I thought, there is NO WAY Ratio is going to react surprised or scared for Aventurine he's going to be ANNOYED lmao. There are possibly 2 more chances in that cylinder before it's 100% in there and I was looking at the probabilities on Wikipedia and I was laughing at myself at how a gay ship was going to make me STUDY probability when I hated this type of stuff in university and I was like yeah Ratio will probably be like hey, you can't stop there, and pulls twice lmao

And I was thinking they would make eyes at each other homoerotically while doing so because wow sexual tension so potent you can taste it through the screen in the LC art and everything just went from there I really cannot get over how Aventurine seems so... sooooooo in love with Ratio and in my head Ratio is like this man is insane what is he on but he gets a taste of that and it's like wow it's actually a little good but Ratio is also cautious so he won't ride that wave too hard but Aventurine looks really down bad for a man who seems like he doesn't care

So initially I really wanted to wait until Aventurine came out before I start my hyperfixation train because we know so little about him other than key facts I have formed in my head-- -he's perpetual smiler (confirmed by a leak of the loading screen blurbs) and like, idk from his design it just suits him and even in his voice cameo with Topaz his VA sounds like they are smiling while they are talking ALLL the time idk at least I got this one right -mr gambling gambler who is very self-assured about his luck, mr smug man. when I wrote he'd win 99.9-0.1 he believes this and if he dies I think to him it would just mean his time's up for realsies anyway and whatever idk man is not very sane -there's some really weird leaks and I'm not sure if it's confirmed but he was invited to be a Masked Fool which made him ALLL the more interesting for me because as a Sampo Mr Scammer fan it doesn't mean if he joins the Masked Fools he wouldn't be able to amass money but this guy seems to really like the thrill being an IPC senior manager provides then which is like this guy is a lives fast dies young kinda guy -I HC from that neck tattoo he could have been an indentured servant (cough slave cough) or a prisoner of some kind, but eitherway it says he wasn't privileged in any sense of the word but the way his character design is so decked out in rings gold watches and even a bracelet it means he's climbed very far, so he is an ambitious man, lots of "material pleasures" as Dr Ratio puts it in my fic and he still wants more. That kinda guy makes for a very intense lover imo very "I get what I want" type, and I really wanted to balance that with his attraction to Dr Ratio and how he doesn't want to drive Dr Ratio away with his crazy but he's also very horny... Anyway I also totally underestimated his height difference with Dr Ratio I really should have pulled up that leak of them side by side but ahh being a short king dom top is so cute on him

As for Dr Ratio I really cannot see him top unless Aventurine power bottoms why but he's so "diligent" in all aspects but I see him being a pillow princess in bed

I also feel a little bad that I wasn't able to write more bickering between the two of them but I also feel like the normally talkative Dr Ratio keeps HIGH HIGH walls around Aventurine because it's hard to tell what this guy is thinking so he's thinking so hard trying to make sense of it all and he says little as not to give away anything that might be wrong

I feel like adding "all is fair in love and war" in Latin omina iusta sunt amore belloque was a little gratuitous but I also want to subtly sprinkle in that Aventurine is so obsessed with Ratio, so down bad for him, that he reads stuff about Dr Ratio a lot enough to come across a translation of the quote and I'm like no yeah way Ratio can deal with crazy-eyed Aventurine saying/declaring love while he's still computing the electric exchange they had so he's definitely like picking up on Aventurine's obsession/infatuation with him and he's like NOPE DON'T SAY IT and would rather kiss him to shut him up than hear it lmao

I honestly despaired at how I was going to start closing the scenes because it was like nighttime and I wanted to finish it already because they're killing me, so like, making Ratio fall asleep while Aventurine pours his heart out (I asked a friend who read it what he thought Aventurine said and they got it spot on so I figure it was conveyed properly on my end and I was really proud of this bit) seemed like a cute way to do it. The narration lied, Dr Ratio heard it but he got selective hearing and totally did NOT want to reply/acknowledge it. Poor Aventurine, but it's not as if he won't try again

I have waaay more ideas about them and I wonder if I can hold off until Aventurine releases or we get more crumbs idk but I want to write some kuudere Ratio (with a bit of tsun hehe)

Special mentions other than the lightcone art that fueled me: this art from Twitter that and this post that kinda made me think long and hard...

Iconic Homoerotic Betrayal: Round 1

Round 1 Directory

Context (they're really good very passionate):

Nagi/Reo (Blue Lock)

basicallt bluelock is a soccer program being funded by the soccer association (i swear i know soccer im tryna speed through this) theyre tryna make it so japan wins the world cup and to do so you need a strong striker. so they gathered all the young adults (hs graduates) and put them in this program, which, if you're eliminated, you dont have a career in soccer at ALL. they didnt know this walking into it :p. so reo and nagi met in school and reo saw him (rich kid, gets what he wants but doesnt really know what he wants yk) and said that he has to have him. or....... something. anyways, reo needed someone to learn soccer with and he chose the most antisocial sleepy guy on campus. and then proceeded to be an absolute simp (theres a scene he literally massages his back.) he also has canonically called nagi "good boy" (nagi said "yes boss" to him as well) context for the specfic betrayal was the game required them to be in teams of 3 and this is after reo and nagi's previous team of like 8-10 lost to isagi's team. reo and nagi said that they were going to go to win the world cup together. thats always been their promise. (theyve known each other for half a year i think. which is a short amount of time to be so attached LMAO.)

they also have a second betrayal which is honestly worse than this one, and reo's team loses to isagi/nagi's team and nagi tells him he's done with reo.

its a common theme of nagi never picking reo btw. reo was upset after the game because after you win a mtach you pick someone from the losing team to advance with and NAGI DIDNT ADVOCATE FOR REO HARD ENOUGH I GUESS AND ISAGI TOLD THEM ALL THAT THE BEST CHOICE WAS CHIGIRI. so they had another homoerotic fight that im never getting over. hope this meets ur criteria. they're in their exes era. its slightly better tho because nagi does feel bad/sorry for what he said.

(Other anon, I'll include your essay if they make it into the next round)

Geto/Gojo

"He was my friend, my one and only" ultrapowerful, one tried for it one born with it bitches but the twist is one was so consumed by the twisted horrible nature of humanity he went all Magneto but a lot more murderous while the other one only stays nonmurderous because he believes in changing the system by training the next generation. You don't understand he spared him, you don't understand, Gojo's devastation of knowing that he didn't do anything to help him as he slowly literally ate and ate and ate hate and pain to protect people that didn't protect his own. The devastation of knowing that there was nothing else to say nothing to do no way to help him bring him back he'd changed into someone he understood but simply couldn't support. Geto's betrayal, leaving everything and everyone behind because their way not only wasn't working but it was protecting those who wouldn't protect them. Geto laughed for the first time in ten years after all this when Gojo said something to him , the moment before he (Gojo) killed him, carried his body, refused to have it burned. Geto gets basically possessed and when Gojo sees not!him for the first time he freezes and gets captured, Geto almost breaks the possession momentarily whe he hears his name , he doesn't, Gojo gets captured, Geto is stuck, cursed , dead.

I usually like to imagine that Beast! Sskk's relationship is just as intense and, if not, even more tumultuous than than canon! Sskk, but the other part of me says they get together quicker (whether they work together as partners quicker or simply become boyfriends quicker, your pick) entirely because I find the prospect of the beast! ADA interaction with Beast! Atsushi so funny

Like on one hand, Atsushi is known as the White Reaper of the Port Mafia, one of the most terrifying and ruthless assassins. But he also has the personality of a very skittish cat that stands in corner of the room and does not talk to people aside from stare at them (its the anxiety) but since he masks his usual emotions so much he just looks really menacing.

And on the flip side the ADA cherishes Akutagawa; they trust him and they believe in his intuition, so if Akutagawa assured them that there is no harm in Atsushi's presence, then surely they have nothing to worry about, right? Yeah but they forget Akutagawa's weird as fuck and finds companionship in the most questionable people, so they should've figured to prepare themselves in advance

So now there are rules in the ADA regarding Atsushi when he is in their building:

1.) Akutagawa needs to stay in the room and keep atsushi company for everybody's mental health (so many weapons came out in the 3 minutes it took for Akutagawa to go to the cafe for a snack and come back)

2.) Dont stare tiger boy in the eyes too long he'll get defensive (at least he was kind enough to repair the broken wall in the agency office)

3.) Dont turn the lights off when he's in the room he blends too well in the dark (everyone had at least 2 heart attacks cause they couldn't see or tell he was there)

4.) Dont take photos of him he'll know when the camera is pointed at him (fukuzawa tried to video him playing with the trinkets and Akutagawa's desk and he got so embarrassed he left and ghosted everyone for a few weeks)

5.) Dont comment on the amount of sugar he takes (emotional support sugar packets for his coffee. Same incident as rule.4)

6.) If sskk does some out of pocket homoerotic enemies type shit, ignore them. They're not gonna stop. (Ada made a betting pool, and it keeps pooling in more money. Akutagawa doesn't know its existence yet)

Okay first of all Anon THANK YOU I LOVE YOU WITH EVERYTHING I'VE GOT LITERALLY NOTHING IS GOING TO EVER GIVE ME AS MUCH JOY AS OPENING MY ASKBOX TO SEE A LONG ASK TALKING ABOUT BEAST SSKK. DAY WEEK MONTH ABSOLUTELY MADE I LOVE YOU FOREVER.

Second of all Beast ada is SO unhinged, they all literally went “this is our little murderous wet dog of a new member and this is his doubly murderous catboyfriend”. I love the set of rules, in my mind Kunikida actually wrote them down and hang them next to the door of Fukuzawa's office, hoping it could help avoid confusion in the office as much as possible. They are updated occasionally. I love Atsushi being... Completely unstable like yeah that's literally everything Beast Atsushi is (on the verge of breakdown / violent panic attack 24/7). Like he IS a feral cat he IS going to launch at you and scratch your face. And I LOVE how Akutagawa's presence instantly calms him because??? It would??? Because they have this unmatched connection and Atsushi knows no one understands him as deeply as Akutagawa does, and that at least is comforting and soothes him and makes him feel safe. + major abandonment issues that will have him quietly (and then not so quietly) spiral into panic as soon as Akutagawa is gone and he's left alone in an environment he's not familiar with. I'm dying at the idea of Atsushi ghosting the ada for weeks on more than one occasion that's such a dysfunctional behavior and that's so him I love it. I love all of these brilliant spectacular showstopping thank you so much Anon I owe you my life

hello everyone, I made a series of doodles to put inside of my copy of MobyDick and I would like to share them :3 pls enjoy:

[ID: Two traditional drawings. Ahab shows off his new pegleg with a flourish. Ishmael infodumps about whales to a fond Queequeg. End ID.] [More detailed ID in ALT.]

New Leg Goofin is for chapters 108-9, when Ahab gets fitted with his new leg! it's right before a super devastating chapter so i needed to make myself laugh lmao

Wikipedia Page About Every Whale is for the whole goddamn book, honestly, but I chose to put it at the beginning of ch.32, Cetology, where Ishmael really does try to explain every whale ever

[ID: A comic of Stubb and Flask bursting into Ahab's quarters, thinking the Captain is in danger, only to find Ahab and Fedallah playing a game of cards. End ID.] [More detailed ID in ALT.]

This gem belongs to p.344 where Stubb wonders if Fedallah means to kidnap Ahab, which was such a baffling ridiculous concept that I couldn't help but make fun of it. literally Ahab snuck this man on board bro, what the fuck is fedallah going to do to him. they're playing uno. shut up

[ID: Two drawings, with the first showing Pip after being cast away, haunted and alone on the deck of the Pequod. The other shows Ishmael and Queequeg homoerotically grasping hands while processing whale sperm. End ID.] [More detailed ID in ALT.]

this goes out to chapters 93-95, because the UNREAL whiplash from "a child was just abandoned at sea" to "hey let's be horny about whale sperm" is still the most insane transition of all time. Ish, what the fuck

[ID: A simply doodled meme diagram for how to greet a fellow amputee. The "wrong" answer shows Captains Ahab and Boomer shaking hands, while the "right" answers show Ahab in a handstand and then kicking his leg up high, both times to cross his prosthetic with Boomer's. End ID.] [More detailed ID in ALT.]

this goes out to p. 454. every interaction between these two absolutely delighted me but my mental image for the specific line about them "crossing ivory limbs" got. very silly.

[ID: A small comic of Ahab asking the Harpooners to give him blood to temper his harpoon in. They stare back at him with varying expressions of confused, uncomfortable disbelief. End ID.]

the last one, for p.504. yknow that feel when your boss just walks up and asks you to bleed on his custom made harpoon??? yeah uh. normal workday things

anyways thank you for reading, I had a delightful time making these and am so very fond of them all, so yea :3

credit as always for the designs goes to the darling @pocketsizedquasar , as well as credit for pricelessly annotating my copy of MD and thus getting me to actually read it, love youuuu💙💙

Auuu...for the ask game: number 9 and/or 16 with starstruck or roxanix your choice

@enhanced-operatives-division

YEAHHHH I'll do both of these questions for both of these ships. I cannot be Stopped. ONCE again this got way too long so.. answers under the cut! [questions from here!]

JUNICRANE / STARSTRUCK:

9. soulmates by fate/chance or by choice? I think they're soulmates by choice! They had to work hard to get where they are right now...They didn't think they were destined for one another, especially with the circumstances of their first meeting (for Reggie at first, it was all but an impossibility: an actor falling for one of his fans? That's ridiculous! and a Zoraxis operative falling for an Agency handler..........)

When they saw each other as equals, when Juniper actively makes amends, that's when they felt things finally click. I think they'd both find it special because of the work they both put into getting closer to one another.

16. three to five non-sexual acts of intimacy. I think at the start Juniper would be the type to buy a lot of gifts for his partner...but since he doesn't have that amount of money by the time he finds Reggie (in my head) I think he finds intimacy in talking about anything (like flowing discussions), doing chores together, and sharing things about himself. Being open about himself and his interests is a struggle, but he finds Reggie so comforting he allows himself to be...well, himself! It's nice. He also likes the rhythm of domestic life To Be Honest. He could be physically affectionate too, like he's a bit touchy-feely with Reggie. He quickly finds that doing this without a script is infinitely more enjoyable.

Reggie, on the other hand, also likes to talk and talk and talk about anything and everything, so at least they're both enjoying that. The thought that Juniper's actually listening to him makes him feel content. Once in a while he'll vent to Juniper--it's a little strange, but Juniper reassures him that he doesn't mind...before he starts to trash-talk whoever Reggie's having trouble with (reassuring...?). He's also very big on cooking/baking stuff for people he cares about, so he does that a lot for Juniper.. his calories....And of course, the classic: falling asleep together in each other's arms. Lol and lmao look at these gay guys

ROXANIX / KINETIC MOCKTAIL:

9. soulmates by fate/chance or by choice? Soulmates by fate, in the sense that they were each other's fated rivals (what's more homoerotic than kickstarting each other's character arcs lol), but the road to friends and lovers was chosen on purpose. They chose to stick together and save each other.........like COME ONNNNNNN!!!!

Obviously it took some time for Prism to get around to that point, but for Phoenix it was a faster choice, more for the fact that they don't have an ounce of vengeance against her.

16. three to five non-sexual acts of intimacy. For Phoenix, it's spending time to understand Prism's interests so they can help her work. They're her little science assistant :'3 It's a little slow-going for Phoenix, but they understand the important parts..........well. kind of.........BUT they're trying okay?? There's also an added bonus of listening to Prism's sweet sweet voice while she infodumps on them, which they love to bits. Additionally, they lovee trying to pull Prism back into bed so they can cuddle more (and also it's an effective persuasion technique for Prism to get more rest than she allows herself to). They're also quite silly goofy, I feel like they love cracking jokes and making Prism laugh. The corny ones get her the most and Phoenix is always so proud.

For Prism, I mentioned it earlier but generally being able to infodump about her interests is something she considers really intimate, and she appreciates that Phoenix listens to her every word. Her passions have been either rejected or used against her, so it's hard for her to find comfort in that again. But...she trusts Phoenix. Phoenix trusts her. It's okay. She also likes to return their warm ass cuddles. They both do this a lot, Prism more so--she kisses their scars a lot...reverently, like a reminder that she loves every inch of them. I feel like Phoenix is still a little insecure about them but that melted their fears real quickly. She's also very big on comfortable silence as well... just chilling. you know. after all the horrors they both deserve a relaxing time in one another's presence.

Tsurune Character Songs Album Review

We had a lot of thoughts about these songs while working with the lyrics, so we decided to do a mini album review! Please enjoy listening to each songs as we reflect on the lyrics and composition~

Up Stairs

Mod Yumi: A very gentle, comforting song, as expected from a Minato/Seiya duet. The composers did an excellent job capturing the feeling of nostalgia; this somehow feels like a song I've known and loved for years. The lyrics are perfect--I love the references to the bridge scene from s1 ep10. The line "I had a place where my heart could relax" is so precious <3 Overall, I don't think it's the strongest song on the album, but it's definitely one of my top faves!

Mod Optimus Prime: A heartfelt way to start off the album! It's very sweet and mellow, which of course really fits the fact that, y'know, the song is about Minato and Seiya's relationship! It's more or less just a straight callback to all of season one, but it's really touching how (both literally and figuratively) they come together at the end there.

Crossover

Mod Yumi: This song is so excessively dramatic and I kinda love it?? It does NOT sound like a song that ties into a soothing, chill slice of life archery anime and I am here for it. But I'm also weak for synth horns; give me a cheesy overexuberant fake brass section and I'm sold. Bonus points for all of the archery references and unnecessarily homoerotic lyrics. (And special shoutout to Mod Optimus Prime, our resident FukuJun stan, for helping me with the color codes because I was completely lost lmao)

Mod Optimus Prime: Probably the character duo song with the most...attitude to it? And sass, which of course, fits these two incredibly troublesome boys. To me, it's almost like the two are having a back-and-forth with each other while also brazenly admitting to each other just how tangled up they are—admittedly a reoccurring theme for the duet songs, but that doesn't make it any less cute, I think!

Ari no Mama de

Mod Yumi: Very cute and wholesome, doesn't really do it for me in terms of composition though. I do think this is the most well-acted song on the album. Having heard both of these seiyuu sing as other characters (notably Suzuki Ryouta as Bisco from Sabikui Bisco and Yano Shougo as Mafuyu from Given), I was blown away by how different they both managed to sound! Changing your voice to that extent while singing is not an easy thing to do. I was also tickled by the fact that they both noticeably sang less well than I know they're both capable of singing, because it suited the characters better to do so. Listening to this song, you wouldn't think either of these singers are particularly talented, but that fact is proof in and of itself that they ARE talented. Mad respect for the skill displayed here!

Mod Optimus Prime: Unsurprisingly, sunshine boy Ryouhei and the other local cheery boy have an easygoing and slow duet! I can't really say too much aside from the fact that the lyrics are both just really cute and earnest—you can see Ryouhei's influence here, haha.

Growing Up

Mod Yumi: Very cute, very catchy! I enjoy this song a lot. As a side note, I find it interesting that besides Minato, Nanao is the only character to be featured in two songs. One of the things I like about Nanao is that he's characterized mainly through his relationships with other characters. Sometimes when we see this happening it's more to do with lazy character writing (and lbr, it usually happens with female characters). But in this case, it actually builds our understanding of the character, rather than just casting him into the side character role of 'only here to develop the MCs'. To me it's always felt like he's the most put-together of the team, watching over everyone else and giving them a nudge in the right direction, while blending in so effortlessly they don't suspect a thing, like the social chameleon he is. Oops, this just turned into me gushing about Tsurune character writing lol. The song's nice idk what else to tell ya

Mod Optimus Prime: Also yet another honest song—a rare thing for Kacchan! It's obviously about Kaito and Nanao's close friendship and the further development during season two, so it's fitting we also get to see more of Nanao's (somewhat hidden) stubborn side here. Not to meme here, but really shows how their relationship fits the, "the more things change, the more things stay the same," aka them supporting ("protecting") each other through thick and thin.

Gekkou

Mod Yumi: I'm not the biggest fan of the composition of this song. I can't put my finger on why, but the main melody isn't working for me (and doesn't work great for Asashin's voice either tbh). That said, the backing track lives rent free in my head, I'm OBSESSED. And I love the dreamy feel of the lyrics! Whereas the others feel more like a dialogue between the singers, this one feels like a poem. The ethereal quality of the music and the lyrics draws me back to Masa-san's introduction, when he was a cryptid/ghost (lmao) appearing in the dead of night to guide Minato back to archery

Mod Optimus Prime: I've only heard Asanuma Shintarou (Masaki's VA) sing in a higher register, so this was both surprising and pleasant—it's quite soothing to hear! It's also fitting that the only Real Adult™️ with bounds of experience compared to these young'uns gets a really poetic and dramatic song with, of course, lots of moon references.

Kyoumei

Mod Yumi: THIS IS THE BEST ONE. This song is a legit bop omg. Leave it to luck life to give us a character song that exceeds typical character songs! I also love the meaning of the lyrics; it almost feels like a new angle on the Shuu/Minato relationship in a way? Of course we know their history and their affectionate rivalry, but we don't really see either of them putting into words how they feel about each other (especially Shuu-- I had to laugh at the line "we didn't need mundane words"; like no dude we could actually use a few more words from you, given your track record of communicating approximately 7% of your thoughts smh). This song puts into words how much they mean to each other and how, despite their complicated history and rivalry, they still care about each other.

Mod Optimus Prime: Luck Life actually composed this song, which really shows in the style (that catchy guitar, anyone?)! I adore the constant references to "sounds"—while a bit cheesy and on those nose, of course, it fits these two to a T and calls back to that season one finale. Again, not that any of the songs are really subtle, but "We might be apart, but I believe we'll someday return / So we didn't need mundane words" really just sums up their unique friendship/rivalry. Also, love how the two only sing together at the end: really fits with the song's whole message/theme about the two being separated, but eventually reuniting! How sweet.

What do you headcanon everyone's sexuality to be?

honestly I'm very um. whatever about sexuality headcanons. I don't think monsters in undertale see gender and sexuality as we categorize them in real life, so things are a lot more flexible. that being said, i do have Some Thoughts:

alphys is bi. like just bi, she's the only one i have a straightforward headcanon for. she even has the lil pride flag stickers on her water bottle n shit.

i like the idea that asgore and toriel are so old that they still view sexuality as something you Do rather than something you Are, like people used to do back then. i mean asgore obviously loved rudy at some point in his life and toriel has some wild stories from her youth that she'll play coy about, but neither of them would describe themselves as queer. just because that's not how they think of sexuality As A Concept.

i... don't see sans as the kind of guy with a label ? i think when you get down to it, he would technically fit the definition of demi, but he'd zone out halfway through the kind of conversation that leads to that conclusion so he just shrugs it off when you ask him and makes a bad joke to change the subject. also it varies, i like ace sans and i like bi sans too, but straight sans still feels more accurate to me than him being into dudes lmao. he does joke about kissing the homies goodnight tho ("WAIT A SECOND... YOU NEVER KISS ME GOODNIGHT. AM I NOT PART OF THE HOMIES??" "i never kiss anyone bro, we don't have lips" "OH! THAT'S RIGHT!!! ...CAN I STILL BE A HOMIE??" "sure man, knock yourself out")

okay okay i know how it sounds, but y'know that action movie dynamic where the machomen hero duo fights together side by side and spends all the film having very high homoerotic tension with one another except they both have wives and play it off as a bromance because if it was truly gay they would alienate over half of their fanbase? PAPYRUS AND UNDYNE ARE LIKE THAT, BUT PLAYED COMPLETELY UNIRONICALLY. it is completely 100% platonic, they're both HUGE homos in opposite directions and it has no bearing whatsoever on their individual sexualities. it's just the kind of spontaneous homoeroticism that spawns from beating the same guy up every day for enough days in a row. but yeah they're both gay as hell. (also undyne feels like the "10 years ago i married my best friend. my girlfriend isn't too happy about it but me and papyrus were drunk and we thought we could get away with tax fraud" kinda gal).

oh and papyrus doesn't do romance at all. full stop. aro!papyrus my beloved

mettaton had his gender identity crisis already and when he finally worked it out and saw the sexuality crisis in the distance he just decided he wasn't gonna deal with any more of that bullshit

frisk is a baby. they grow up to be very bi and very flirty, tho. which surprises no-one.

- Bensus

- 2012 bw Mary

- Bluedas

bensus

oh my beautiful bouncing baby boy. he has so much pressure on him, and it's from every source possible. every one wants or expects something from him, even the people who he loves the most. he doesn't really take the time to take care of himself. he's burning at both ends, and is just on the verge of burning out completely

plagueddddd by nightmares. that's how he knows everything about his identity and everything that will happen. kind of like a psychic ig? that's how he gets all of his foresights tho, so he refuses to ever let anyone wake him up from them

stealing @feerz's headcanon, but he's bad with technology. so bad. he's like a grandfather. he has to have the apostles handle those aspects of the movement. expanding on that though, he writes the loveliest letters to everyone. they're so sweet. they always make everyone melt. and... y'know... since he knew he was going to die, he wrote final letters to everyone he cared about. the apostles found them after his death. judas' was never opened.

VEGETARIAN. HE'S VEGETARIAN.

2012 bway mary

she comes from a big family. she takes to the apostles quite quickly, and knows how to deal with them. they remind her of home

ALSO bisexual. bway poly is bi/bi/bi. she had a very intense homoerotic friendship with a girl back in magdala. the girl was a prostitute, very charismatic, outgoing, kind of zealot-esque. she was everything she was taught she shouldn't be, but mary still loved her. it crashed and burned in the end, but mary knows if it wasn't for her, she never would have followed jesus. she opened mary up. it's why mary can specifically empathize with judas as much as she does. (this headcanon remains for poly and just friendship eras!!!)

she loves the rain. she finds it purifying and peaceful. cloudy weather >>> sunny weather to her

after judas' and jesus' death, she tries to keep both of their legacies alive. she sees jesus' movement becoming something he never wanted it to be— specifically with peter erasing her from the narrative along with all the other women (after everything), john painting judas as demonic and replacing him as if he were nothing at all to them, people who didn't even know them twisting jesus' teachings to be about control and damnation when it was never really about that. she even writes her own gospel, trying to set it all right, but no one wants it. she decides to break away from them, fearing the corruption, living with her trauma alone. it doesn't stop her from feeling the devastation when she hears of each and every one of their deaths. she lives longer than all of them. she almost wishes she didn't

bluedas (i could write ten pages of bluedas headcanons. you do not want to get me started) (where to begin. obviously i'm stealing josh young's headcanon. he was initially studying to be a rabbi himself when he heard jesus and decided to follow him. he was the poster boy for the torah. he's pious, and he's proud of it. he loves his religion, he loves his country, and that's why his love for jesus is so conflicting. i didn't make this one so I'm not counting it, but THAT'S THE PREFACE FOR MY WHOLE CHARACTERIZATION OF HIM)

at first he's wary of the other apostles. they're very rambunctious and loud, and he's an only child, so he's not used to it. he's stand-offish, shy, a bit judgmental. eventually tho, they rope him into their mischief— much to his dismay— and he ends of covering for them more often than not. they pull him out of his comfort zone. in the end, he considered them his family.

he's the mom friend of the group, but he's passive aggressive about it. if he notices someone hasn't eaten, he'll just pass and shove something into their hands without saying as much as a word. if someone hasn't drank enough water, he'll glare at them until they eventually give in. he lets them sleep in, even if he says he'll ensure they're awake because he's always up before the sun.

his own mom is dead as hell. it's even worse bc he was def a mama's boy. she died when he was a teenager and it wasn't goooood (not spoiling my own fic tho lol)

he doesn't like doing the miracles himself. jesus only let him have the ability once, and it made him dissociate and his skin crawl. he refused to ever do it again, and told jesus to stick to peter, and to never grant him that shit ever again

mary is his bisexual awakening. he never had a single hetero feeling or thought before her. in fact, the whole thing makes him have a bit of an identity crisis, and why he seems a bit snappy to her sometimes even tho he loves her and knows it's not fair

he's thirty years old when he commits suicide

also peaches. no explanation. just peaches. and birds.

Poast about the "fucking some guy" saga behind the scenes because I can't shut up about it :]

The idea of this series started as just some Maul porn (possibly as a kinda flashback in what became They finally fuck each other this time) where he fucks a guy. Originally i was thinking of going with a twi'lek because they're what we see as sex workers the most in canon, and also the idea of them having two dicks (to match the two headtails) entertains me

As mentioned before, the base of They finally fuck each other this time is actually a wip I've had for Months and didn't know where to go with

There was a scene in the wip where Obi-Wan gives Maul a patdown to check if he's really unarmed, but it was not homoerotic enough and felt kinda out of place and out of character so I cut it

(There were also supposed to be more scenes with Bo-Katan, but once again. did not fit well enough.)

There was gonna be a scene like right after they fuck where Obi-Wan gets a call from the Jedi Council because he's been gone and out of contact for Hours so of course they're worried. and he's like. "oh don't worry I was just having a conversation with a slightly paranoid possible new ally. nothing much going on :) " [<- his neck is visibly covered in hickeys and bite marks]

[yoda voice] some bacta you need. terrible post coital manners your new friend has.

The original original idea continues well after where I ended the series, and involved Maul being imprisoned after Bo-Katan gets the throne except he's put in like. a ray-shielded apartment. and Obi-Wan has to live with him. because there's no way simple technology can keep a Force user imprisoned so they should have a jedi guard him, and Bo-Katan asked him so nicely, how could he possibly refuse to submit to the torture of living a domestic life with his nemesis with benefits.

And from then on it's all just. silly gay slice of life.

Like.

Very awkward jedi visits because everyone wants to see how Obi-Wan is doing but they're all distrustful of Maul even though he's just. vibing in his corner. sipping tea or reading a book. ignoring everyone staring at him.

VERY awkward Anakin and Padmé visit because he Senses she is pregnant and the children (he can feel it's twins) are Force-sensitive and he's like. well that's Interesting [<- doing his best not to bring up the topic of fucking jedi]

(the visit slowly turns into talking about the merits of leaving the Jedi Order for love and how that's totally fine and not a betrayal of one's morals and if someone wanted to stop being a jedi to go marry a senator and become a father that would be totally fine Anakin we would all be so happy for you. hypothetically.)

A mandalorian tries to "jailbreak" Maul but he's like. I'm fine where I am, so no thank you. and this probably happens like once a month.

Arguing about tea (it's like a hobby for them) (force help anyone who visits them during these arguments, they WILL force people to take sides)

And more!

Okay. The stars might be aligning today. Something might be working out in my favor and, perhaps, I can finally bring y'all in on. the absolute shenanigans that have finally taken shape between Alucren and Tyr.

Incredibly strong urge to ID him as 'the bastard man in question,' but. look, he is. I wouldn't exactly be wrong.

Anyway, in an attempt to be brief, Alucren is recruited to Imperial Intelligence when the class story's already kicked off. He's maybe three years older than Tyr and I need to establish now that that does not mean he's the older sibling. This will make sense in a minute. Perhaps.

So, he's designated Cipher Eleven and, largely, he knows Tyr by reputation as Cipher Nine, but they don't. really interact directly until they're some of the limited survivors of ImpIntel's fallout and Alucren becomes Tyr's Class-A Nuisance in Sith Intelligence. Eleven fucks with Nine because somebody's gotta see the guy loosen up, he argues. Which is hilarious because out of the two of them, Alucren is the one with the largely unbending loyalty to the Empire and the Sith.

[Everyone be thankful he wasn't the main subject of the Imperial Agent storyline. I don't think he'd survive the winter. Definitely not with his pretty aviator sunglasses in-tact about the galaxy and how it works, at least.]

The code I've cracked about this is that it is a largely one-sided mess fueled mostly by a lot of insecurities on Alucren's part. He's the only son of four children, and as loving as that family set up was, he still feels a responsibility to his family's name and legacy [and they have quite a long one in service to Imperial domestic interests; sidebar, Alucren's kind of a walking encyclopedia of Imperial history because of this. Let him take you on a museum date and tell you historical fun facts. Enrichment!]

And Nine has a whopping reputation as being one of the best Ciphers Imperial Intelligence ever trained. Of course, Alucren isn't... in on how much that also essentially turned Tyr's life inside out and wrung it out like a dish towel, but, hey! Details! And Alucren is, in a word, stubborn. And maybe a little competitive. And not all that certain of his own position in the service.

So, what's a guy to do but develop a homoerotic, one-sided rivalry with his essentially boss given Tyr's sort of right-hand man status to Lana? It's totally straight to think, "yeah, bet if I kissed him, that'd shut him up," right? Right! According to Alucren.

[oh honey you got a big storm coming, son]

Tyr is, largely, either willfully or just blatantly kinda... not on the same page about this. At least in Sith Intelligence. Alucren's whole attitude bit is a little grating, but Tyr's a professional and. mostly can afford to set aside the inconvenience of dealing with Alucren's smartassery to get their respective jobs done.

And then, in really short summary, the plot keeps happening. Alucren may or may not develop a bit of a crush on a Sith he starts serving [a smoking hot certain Wrath of the Emperor belonging to @hyrohkaah] (congratulations on the bisexuality Alucren!!!). It takes. a while for Alucren to really sus any of this whole Deal out about himself because he's very image-oriented. He has a Presentation to maintain about himself. Luckily for him, Tyr's a perceptive little shit and. eventually also not above throwing some of his stupid shenanigans back at his face.

Ultimately, there isn't any romantic attraction between these two fools, but Alucren still likes to take Tyr's patience and control for a spin around the block for the thrills and Tyr occasionally yanks back just as hard for the amusement. Sometimes this looks a lot more like indignant siblings arguing over their LegoCity build that's taken up the basement floor and sometimes it means are they flirting or fighting and the answer is yes.

And I'm also going to say Alucren's loyalty becomes... a lot more interesting for that sort of healed relationship between him and Tyr. :3 Alucren's a man that will always call the Empire home, so he'll probably end up serving it the rest of his life. But he also knows Nine is not a man to do anything by halves, and he does nothing without extremely good reason. And it'd just be a shame if I made them confront the possibility of shooting at each other. I mean. >.>

Spoiler alert: Alucren's probably not anywhere near as certain of his ability to follow through with that threat as he'd like to be. It'd surprise both of them, honestly. But you didn't hear that from me.

Anyway. He's a bit of a loser, actually, and I love him. Insultingly and affectionately. He's just.... a little like my pathetically sopping wet greasy alley rat. Unfortunately, he's adorable. And if someone punched him, he'd probably still deserve it.

And that, my friends, is the insane Tom & Jerry shit that has consumed me in the last two weeks or so about Alucren and Tyr. I'd usually say thanks for coming to my TED Talk, but this man's ego is already the broadside of a Destroyer in size and we just don't need to encourage that.

Episode Four: Hungry!

Full disclosure, it took me a while to warm up to Wolfwood.

I hadn't read the manga or watched the older adaptation. Didn’t know anything about him except his ridiculous gun and that he was a priest (hence the ridiculous gun, because anime). I couldn't figure out why he was present in the narrative, except... because he was in the manga and older adaption. It seemed a little indulgent; I wanted more time with Meryl. He wasn’t even a priest. Obviously Nick has plenty of homoerotic tension with Vash, but all due respect and sympathy to Vash/Wolfwood shippers, m/m pairings have always left me cold (to be fair, pairings generally do that irrespective of gender. Desire unfulfilled is more my speed).

Sad to say that I still don't ship Vash/Wolfwood, but I did definitely come to understand why people do and why they like the guy. Though am I the only one baffled that Vash gets cast as the virginal princess so often? After this look?

Whew. No wonder Wolfwood looks like he got hit with a two-by-four. Ahem.

This is a very necessary episode that feels maybe too "necessary", like they realised they needed to introduce everything it introduces and didn't leave enough time to integrate it all naturally. It's too tight, and Stampede is already a show so tight it squeaks. Still, I think blowing Wolfwood's cover before the day was out was, if not the only right decision, not a wrong one. Almost immediately this guy comes across as sketchy, half from that he's barely trying to act like he's not (which absolutely sends me; he really hates his job) and half that he's just... an awkward dude, angry and obviously hurt in a way he won’t admit to. And while we know there's more to Vash than his façade, it's hard to tell just how smart he really is, how perceptive, because this is Vash. Meryl is the type to show off her knowledge, because she's young and eager to prove herself. Vash is a creature of endless masks and insurmountable walls. He refuses to, as he sees it, burden anyone else with his thoughts.

So we do exactly what Zazie does in this episode: show Vash something wounded and vulnerable because he'd tear off his own skin if it would make things easier for someone else. Except instead Wolfwood is the one who feels a little too exposed, of course. It's so funny to me how obviously he didn't expect this? And how frustrated when he realises he'll have to drag this self-sacrificial lunatic all the way to July alive without becoming attached. I honestly think he failed in that latter part before they even got shot out of the Worm. Vash is just so loving, and so loveable.

Also, the Worm guys (as I mentally call them) might be my favourite minor characters next to Rosa and her offsiders. They're a hilarious audience to the madness. I’m glad they got so many dinners in one go.

And Zazie - what a great character, one I genuinely think is an improvement over prior incarnations rather than just being different from them. Nail game on point, entirely free of fucks given, and a sterling addition to the cast. I'll talk more about our buggy friend later, and I have more to say about Wolfwood besides that hitting him with the trailer forced me to pause the video until I stopped cackling.

Finally, the closing scene chills me in hindsight for a number of reasons, but what gets me the most is that it's a bookend. At the episode's start, Vash refused to eat. Wolfwood had to convince him to. And it's not that he can't use his Gate, it's that he's decided to keep it closed, so something will have to make him decide to lay bare his power once more.

And somehow, I can't imagine Knives asking nicely.

STAR IM DEVASTATED so i have a priv twt acc right w some irls and this stay from stayville req-ed me a long time ago and i was soooo happy that i was mutuals w someone from stayville and i THOUGHT everything between us was cool? but today they unfollowed me and removed me as a follower and im devastated i dunno why they did that :((( i don't think they had a problem w me saying nsfw stuff cuz they previously tweeted things like "cancelling someone over saying smth nsfw abt an adult is stupid" and also ive seen them interact w nsfw minsung posts so i dunno if me tweeting smth like "i wanna suck flxs cock sooooo bad" couldve made them wanna break the mutual??? i dmed them too and i was like "heyy is there a reason you don't wanna be moots w me anymore </3" and not even minutes later they turned off their message perms and im devastated. its STUPID bcs they'd barely interact w me Sure but it felt nice to have a stay be my friend on my priv twt that's usually just for my irls and i </3 it's ironic that they did that too bcs just earlier today (before they broke the mutual) i noticed that my followers went down (i have a very low amt already. like. 25. not even joking) and i tweeted "yall dont wanan be friends w me anymore </3" bcs like. my followers are QUITE LITERALLY only my irls + a skz writer so i was (i think rightfully??) alarmed that the number went down!!!! man im just Sad about it and SIIIGH i know i shouldnt care so much bcs at the end of the day they're just a person online but the least they could've done was dm me back and explain why and GHFSDDSJHFKJADDSDSAAAAA you get me!?!! also im sorry i dropped this on you randomly feel free to ignore LMAAOOAOAO can i be 💫 anon? thank yew <3

(Adding 💫 to the anon list!!! Also fun fact that’s my favorite emoji of all time. Slay)

I feel like I’m the LAST person who should be giving advice abt this bc one of my mutuals and a very good friend of mine who I’d been talking to every day randomly blocked me on everything this week after me literally being there to console this person for every little thing and playing into this pretend homoerotic friendship we had even though she was clearly looking for another boyfriend and would get mad if I even called another girl pretty (???) I wish nothing but the absolute best for her but like…. The double standard is WILD. to not provide closure to a months-long friendship is just genuinely a very mean spirited thing to do imo.

(If she’s reading this, best of luck with everything and I hope you know I cared for you a lot more than you think I did. I distanced myself because you were clearly looking for someone to fill a void in your life that I could simply not fulfill, and I didn’t want to lead you on, nor be kept around like I wasn’t allowed to talk to other girls either. Regardless, I hope you know I used to sleep with my phone on full volume in case you called, and I deleted a page worth of poetry in my notes app for you I meant to deliver on your birthday. I also deleted your number so I have zero way of contacting you, but I will always be here if you need me. Take care and I love you always, I hope you still see me when you look up at the moon)

It’s not the first time I’ve lost an internet friend to the magical world of blocking, but fortunately the attitude I’ve developed towards it is that none of this is real!!! These are people on the internet miles away you’ve never met irl and they have no real impact in your life whether they remain following you or not. I’ve lost internet friends nearly a decade ago that I don’t even remember anymore. Better ones will come along!!! Especially stays! This fandom has so many beautiful remarkable people who are actually worth following and they wouldn’t cut you off like that. Sending so many positive vibes your way and I KNOW that the universe will send you some better mutuals. In the meanwhile I will be your internet bestie and I would never unfollow you for nsfw content or without some form of an explanation. And I also want to suck Felix’s dick. 🩷🫶

(I love you, don’t be so hard on yourself!!!! You’re wonderful, angel 🩷 anyone would be lucky to be moots with you)

Friends to Lovers Tournament: Round 3, Side A, Match 2

propaganda under the cut!

Polyneed:

Okay so they were childhood friends who wanted to form a band together, but slowly drifted apart after Saki fell ill and was admitted. They formed their band again after Saki joined the school. Originally, Shiho was the only one who wanted to go professional out of all of them and was offered to play with another band who was going pro, but she hesitated because she wanted to continue playing with her friends. HER DREAM WAS RIGHT IN HER GRASP BUT SHE STILL REFUSED. The rest of Leo/Need also decided to go pro with her even though they had no previous experience, just because they wanted to be with their friends. They're constantly encouraging each other and take really good care of each other. They mean sm to me fr 💙💙 Also, some gay ass lyrics from their songs:

Please don't think you don't matter, love won't end this easily- NeedLe

Even if I smile so that I don’t cry Even if I walk so that I don’t fall The words we hide will never be conveyed There’s only one future that we can envision, So let’s see it with our own eyes-  1 For your sake, I shall sing my weaknesses For your sake, I shall realize my hopes For your sake, I'm laughing today May these feelings of ours will resonate with someone's- Order Made Overflowing in my voice, in my thoughts The yearning that I entrusted to you- Voices It's painful and lonely to sing, but If it's with you, then I want to sing for the world- the WALL

They sing an awful lot abt feelings if you know what i mean

Fuyupoly:

Submission 1:

they're from the winter troupe of the mankai company, and unlike the other troupes they're all adults. that said, they all have varying degrees of trauma and emotional stuntedness. it takes them some time to fully open up to each other bc they're all very cautious of each other's boundaries and don't want to cross any lines which initially led to some issues in the group's formation. over time they've learned to bridge the gap while still being mindful of hard boundaries. at one point they have a discussion about what exactly their relationship is (gay) cuz they were talking about how the other troupes have clearly defined dynamics (spring=family, summer=besties, autumn=rivals & teammates) but they don't,, and homare deadass says they're "people bound by a common destiny" which in and of itself sounds very Gay (like why are you as a man bound to other men by a common destiny), but it goes even further because homare starts spouting WEDDING VOWS: "In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, we shall share our laughter and our tears as those with an intertwined fate... How beautiful we are!" THIS IS A DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE GAME AND THE MC EVEN REMARKS "i can already hear wedding bells in the distance..." 

gradually they become closer, in individual sub-units based on who's paired up as co-leads for a play, and as a troupe overall. also two of its members are childhood friends who had a messy 'divorce' in their young adulthood and it took the game breaking its genre to introduce a timeloop for them to finally make up if that means anything to you. one of their troupe songs "precious to us ~bokura no kisetsu" has some pretty beautiful and fruity lines: "The many kindnesses born in me here / Never fail to breathe life into my chest / Even all the pain and bitterness / Have now become dear to me (Ah…Stay with me)", "No matter how many times our season passes / Let us keep living together / Holding our hands, without ever letting go / Let us open up the curtain of tomorrow", "There is no need for words, because once our gazes meet / Joy sparks a light in your eyes", "Our journey, may it be a brilliant one / As our breaths overlap as one"

a lot of their plays has a LOT of homoerotic tension between the two leads too. their first play has tsumugi and tasuku play angels, and it's heavily implied that tasuku's character has an unrequited crush on tsumugi's character. their third play has azuma play a vampire and tasuku play Just Some Guy and it's generally agreed in the fandom to be one of the gayest, if not THE gayest, play A3 has ever written. obviously the vampire thing is very fruity, but there's also how the vampire was longing to bite the human but was holding himself back, and when the vampire left the human in the end, the human was absolutely HEARTBROKEN over it and was swearing they would reunite one day. the stage play of this takes it even further by having the vampire embrace the human from behind and BITE his neck. the fourth play is a watered-down adaptation of Phantom of the Opera where they genderbend Christine into Chris among other things and change the relationship between Chris and the Phantom to one of friendship.... ostensibly so, because there's still a lot of homoerotic undertones in their interactions. i could go on but this should be enough of a sampling taste 

Submission 2:

the writers rlly said "let's take 2 normal guys who are childhood friends and have been into theatre since their school days and have them go through a pre-canon messy divorce, an eccentric poet with a potentially controversial haircut, an amnesiac sleepyhead who can only be awoken with marshmallows but is also somehow extremely athletic despite doing nothing but sleeping and eating marshmallows all day, a man who is so beautiful and mysterious he breaks gender, and a supposed android from a fictional south asian country, and throw them into a blender, oh and for good measure let's throw in some theatre and angst and gay and angst and gay" and the end result was marriage. i mean it took them a lot of awkward fumbling around and conflicts to get there but they got there and thats what matters. ok *technically* in-text they're all rlly good friends and kinda found family BUT they are found family via marriage papers i do not make the rules chief

Submission 3:

The reason why they are so friends-to-lovers to me is because their relationship is founded on quiet and unconditional acceptance of each other—regardless of how flawed they may be or how heavy their burdens and trauma may be. When the troupe first formed (sans Guy who was in another country at the time), they didn’t have any major clashing personalities at the very beginning and generally they were mindful of each other’s boundaries, unlike the other troupes that came before them. However, it’s BECAUSE they were too mindful of said boundaries that it was difficult for them to break down their walls and bond as a team—and there were a LOT of walls to break down, as all of them had varying degrees of emotional baggage and trauma.

In fact, it’s only three plays in that they finally truly start opening up to each other, with Azuma getting the ball rolling by opening up about the deep loneliness that haunted him ever since his childhood. It’s during this conversation that they also discuss what their relationship as a troupe is, because the other troupes have defined their relationship as a team (Spring is family, Summer is best friends, Autumn is rivals & teammates), and Homare goes on to declare that they’re “people bound by a common destiny” and goes on to spew wedding vows: "In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, we shall share our laughter and our tears as those with an intertwined fate... How beautiful we are!" I mean… it can’t get any more obvious than this, really. They are married.

But anyway, Tsumugi says he wants their relationship to be one where while they respect each other’s need for space, they’ll also be there for each other and share their pains and burdens—or in his words: “supporting each other when our burdens become too heavy to bear on our own”—which I think is really sweet because it carries this idea of quiet, unconditional acceptance; they don’t push each other to share more than they’re comfortable with sharing, but with whatever they ARE comfortable with sharing everyone carries the load and pain because pain is easier to bear when you’re not bearing it alone <3 

A later part of the story focuses on Hisoka, a mysterious amnesiac, being terrified of regaining his memories and facing some “sin” from his past that has led to another character, Chikage, trying to take revenge on him. When he confesses this to the rest of the Winter troupe, Homare asks, “How heavy is this sin you bear?” and Azuma suggests, “Perhaps it’s just heavy enough for the five of us to carry together.” (at this point Guy hasn’t joined yet). The stage play adapts this scene into a song called Key to Memory. The key (pun unintended) part is 1:27 where there’s a back-and-forth between Hisoka and the other Winter troupe members (sans Tasuku because he wasn’t in that particular play)

Hisoka: “I’m scared…”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “It’s okay.”

Hisoka: “My unforgivable sin…”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “Let’s carry it together.”

Hisoka: “I might not be me anymore.”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “It’s all right. We understand and we accept you, so let’s go together.”

And it ends with Hisoka singing: “I was afraid to open the door of my locked memories. But if everyone is here, I believe I can do it.”  In both the game and stage play, Hisoka fully regains his memories and reconciles with Chikage (long story). He tells Fuyupoly he can’t go into detail about his past with Chikage because it’s dangerous but he’ll tell them when the time is right, and they accept this saying that no matter what his past is, they know and love him as their Hisoka which obviously is a very sweet thing for friends to say, but it’s also very Marriage-coded to me.

Later, Guy is introduced as an android from Zahra (a fictional South Asian country) and joins the Winter troupe as a temporary member—because he’s stuck in Japan for the foreseeable future—until they find a permanent member to replace him. The other Winter members have a conversation among themselves and agree that regardless of whether he’s really an android or a human they’ll accept Guy for who he is and help him improve his acting, which again harkens back to the idea of ‘unconditional acceptance’. Eventually it’s revealed that Guy is in fact a human who has forgotten his memories of the past and his emotions. He recovers his memories all at once which shocks his system and causes him to pass out. When he wakes up in his room, he finds the rest of the Winter Troupe asleep around the room—which I believe is symbolic of their whole theme of “quiet acceptance”: they don’t want to push Guy to share beyond what he’s comfortable with, but they’re always there to listen to him and share his load if that’s what he wants. He opens up about the memories he recovered, and they don’t treat him with pity like he’s a lost child, but still extend gentle empathy and understanding. They also emphasise that it genuinely doesn’t matter to them whether he’s human or android because he’s Guy first and foremost. It’s at this point that Guy truly lets himself become part of the Winter troupe/Fuyupoly and not just as a temporary stand-in member, because he’s found a place where he’s found himself again and people who will accept who this “himself” is, whether that be an android devoid of emotions or a human brimming with vivid beautiful emotions.

[Mod note: There’s a LOT more but we’re afraid of crashing the post. I (Deli) summarised it the best I can since I’m familiar with A3, but if you want to read the full thing you can check it out on this google doc)