Every time I see someone use Purple Haze Feedback for 'UwU FuGio real!!' or paint Giorno as a coldhearted sadistic master manipulator I feel myself coming closer and closer to snapping

While I am not in the least shipping Chu Qiao with YY this time around, I do like him as a character a lot. And I think the main reason is he is a rare person who accepts responsibility for his fuck ups and outcomes of his actions or inactions.

Think of the scene when he visits Yan Xun in jail. YX, desperately, keeps asking him whether he did X, Y, and Z - all actions that contributed to the platform tragedy (not warning him, preventing his escape etc etc etc.) And YY admits to it all even though there are explanations or excuses for each and every one of these.

He provides none of those explanations or excuses because he gets something most people do not - that all those explanations and excuses would be insults to Yan Xun, that all they would be is attempt for YY to justify himself as not that bad, but none of them would change the ultimate fact - his actions and his inactions (even if different in gradation or kind from what YX believes they are) all led to Yan Xun on that platform, being broken over and over. Trying to justify himself would be trying to go "I am also suffering! see, I also have pain" to the actual victim.

The closest he comes to that is this:

But he stops after that one sentence escapes him. Because ultimately whatever he did or didn't do, he realizes it all comes to this:

He protects them from outside prison (the only way YX and CQ survive the waves of assassins is because of him) but once again, neither knows because for all his coldness, for all his passivity, YY understands what is fair and what is deserved for him, and does not deviate.

PS As I was telling @aysekira, I have pictured LGX as my Mo Xi from Yuwu for years and years but never could figure out who I wanted for Gu Mang. And now I am going - aaaaaaa just have Shawn Dou be Gu Mang in my head cast. The look, the vibe, hell even the fact that he's a little shorter than LGX all work. And hey, they totally were great at both jumping into beds or fighting to the death. So mmmm.

PPS I normally loathe love triangles, but rewatching PA made me realize something - I don't really hate the trope, it's just that it's almost never done to my satisfaction. It's always ML and SML clearly delineated so you know the outcome/importance so what is the point. Also, it's either an OTP and an annoying interloper who has no chance or FL is waffling and if she doesn't care enough to pick, why should I? BUT!!!!! The very few times it's done right, I lose my mind - this, Bu Bu Jing Xin, Lost You Forever. By that I mean, both choices have to have equal narrative importance and arcs and time (PA for example, is definitely a dual ML drama in the traditional, not "we are putting a fig leaf over a danmei adaptation" form), but also I am a sucker of there is a possibility for either depending on reactions and the world and/or FL loves both differently for different reasons during different points in her life. This is vvvvvvvv hard to pull off right but when they do, mmmmm!

PPPS I don't usually go "threesome would solve all your problems" (and here it definitely won't since YX's issues are not of the type to be healed by love) but it would be at least worth a try? Chu Qiao definitely has enough energy for both of her dudes, YY is icy enough he needs two people to melt him and clearly poor YX needs double the TLC. win win win, say I.

Tekken — Random thoughts

Okay, but Nina and Jin in Tekken 6? I simply love them. Tekken 6 gave (not just me but some other people too) the foundation for an amazing ship.

A respectful relationship that started with work, and the Scenario Campaign showed their closeness and confidence, without losing their professionalism and focus on Jin's goal.

Story-wise, Tekken 6 is… interesting, to say the least. I don't know, I still have mixed feelings about the direction they gave Jin's development and what he was like since Tekken 3.

I can't say that I like that in Tekken 6 he became a war criminal and did such aberrations, when Azazel's problem could have been addressed in another way; because actually, I don't like it at all.

But on the other hand, I don't totally hate the concept itself. I just find it a little hard to digest.

What I can save (or at least try to) is that, from a personal opinion, I don't think he did it because it's the destiny of bearers of Mishima blood to be corrupted. Because, in fact, I don't think Jin was corrupted by having Mishima blood or by the influence of the Devil Gene.

I think he did everything out of his conscience. A twisted, fucked up and terrible way of doing things, but by conscience at the end. Because if we go to the fact, he always struggled and fought against the influence of the curse, and tried to keep it at bay as much as he could (in despite of his T3 and T4 endings, in T5 vs. Hwoarang, in T7 in the desert)… well, in the end of Scenario Campaign we could see how Jin consciously used the power of the Devil Gene (without turning into Devil) to defeat Azazel.

It's a bummer that they "ruined" Jin like that, but it was an interesting chapter in Tekken history.

Anyway, before starting to wander more than necessary… I know that Tekken: Blood Vengeance and the Tekken Comic by Titan Comics aren't canon either, but Nina and Jin roles in each one are a good addition for this dreamy ship (especially in the comics).

And no, my point isn't that the base of the ship has to be that the woman has to do the whole work and being his support 24/7 (a thing that usually happens in the Japanese culture: the female character being just a bland sidekick with no depth and the protagonist's love interest; just as in mostly of shonens, for example), or because it's just the job she was hired for… But because both of them could relate to each other: both suffering child abuse from a close family member, both having family members they dislike, both having lost a family member they loved, both having suffered and survived Ogre's attack, and both having a mostly lonely path in life… because they know they're not the best company and their methods are very questionable.

Feelings aren't part of their lifestyle and not allowing themselves to open their hearts (because having feelings means their goals be compromised), is a fact. And it's a fact that a ship like this will never happen in canon, yet I always loved their genuine mutual trust and respect. It's far away from the Japanese culture's typical cliché of the badass lonely boy and the cute submissive girl who has a huge crush on him, is ghosted during most of the series and wants to "save" him but just meddles, resulting annoying most of times. It reminds me to someone… Wait!!

Alright, speaking more seriously now… Tekken 6 turned 14 years some days ago (especifically for PS3 and XBox, on October 30th), and this was a good opportunity to talk about an underestimated and unapreciated OTP.

I'm very intrigued about what's going to happen in Tekken 8, and the path of both of them when Bamco already revealed the roster's bios. Nina working for Kazuya doesn't make sense if we take into account her relationship with Jin during Tekken 6, the fact that she failed on purpose for Lars and Lee to protect Jin from Heihachi and... taking as bonus the non-canonical comics and BV.

Possibly developers will take the path of Street Fighter x Tekken's story? Nina working with Kazuya but undercover, for Jin's instructions? Because no one can deny how amazing was Jin trusting someone since the beginning, spending time with that someone and being able to share thoughts... even if it's just professionaly.

P.s.: I feel the luckiest guy alive, since I have the privilege of writing this wonderful ship on Twitter... I mean, X. My dearest friend @carade0jete and I roleplay as Nina and Jin, respectively, since almost five years. An amazing journey that still goes on and will last until that app is either ruined or closed by El*n M*sk. Love you, bb. ♥️✨

flynn for the ask game!! or if he's already been sent, then isabeau!!

favorite thing about them: While at first I found it a little jarring, going from a completely silent protagonist to one speaking, I'm really endeared to Flynn's gentleness and soft-spokenness. And actually it suits him really well, having once been a silent protagonist. Nor is it even out of left field -- NPCs in IV comment that Flynn is very reserved and quiet. So I'm really glad that IVA kept that even while giving (the real) Flynn a couple speaking lines. I also really, really like that he (the real one) stays humble and reserved in IVA despite his celebrity status. When I first played IVA, I had only done IV's chaos route, so I found everyone praising him to be really jarring. But now having done the neutral route, I can see why and it makes me appreciate Flynn's modesty all the more. Not to mention, it makes the distinction between him and Shesha Flynn's radical "personality shift" all the more apparent. That's good!!

least favorite thing about them: Having said all that… This is more an issue with IVA's writing and pacing, but I do wish that (the real) Flynn got more moments to express himself and really show his own character. Flynn suffers from the same problem that Toki does -- we don't get to see their actual character for the majority of the game and their potential and own development suffers for it. I'm very happy with Flynn's personality in IVA, but the rest of him only serves as a foil for the plot and especially in handing Nanashi the torch.

favorite line: My favorite line WOULD be his comment on Issachar's fishing hook in the bonds route, had I not permanently missed the fishing hook in my first playthrough 😭

However, I do really like his surprised, saddened reaction when he sees Jonathan's and Walter's spirits in YHVH's Universe. I was actually surprised that he even reacts to them in the massacre route even after becoming a semi-mindless puppet, especially when…he no longer has any attachment to the fishing hook in that route aaaauuughhhhh 😭😭

brOTP: EASILY Flynn and Issachar being the bros for life and eternity!!! And he's totes bros with the whole Samurai cast, for sure for sure!

OTP: I like a lot of Flynn ships (minus my NOtp), but Flynn x Isabeau are truly best for each other. I love that Isabeau cares for and is devoted to Flynn, but without sacrificing her own convictions. I do wish though that Flynn showed some attraction to her (again, an issue with IVA's writing).

nOTP: Yeah uh, I really hate seeing Flynn x Nanashi and I hate how popular it is in the Japanese fandom. Big reason why I don't engage a lot with the IVA fandom cause I'm just so tired of seeing that.

random headcanon: I too also lowkey fancy the headcanon of Flynn being a transwoman, based on dialogue demons can give in IV~ We support trans headcanons in this house!

unpopular opinion: Like aside from how certain sides of the fandom treats him with respect to other characters, and what I've already voiced about his writing in IVA, I don't really have an unpopular opinion on Flynn? Kinda hard to when he's mainly a player avatar. He's good that way.

song i associate with them: I'm so sorry, I'm just not good with song association questions. 🥹 I listen to a lot of music but if you asked me to pick one, I'll pull a blank lol.

favorite picture of them: Def the artwork Doi did for the Sound & Design extra! It's so so good to see BOTH Flynn and Isabeau dressed in different clothes! :) Plus, I actually really like that armor Flynn has so it's SO good to see official art of it.

Thank you for the ask!

for the OTP ask meme: 14 and 51 for Webgott (or whichever ship where that's an interesting question/whichever you want lol)

[Ask me about my OTPs]

Thanks for the ask :D I love the questions you picked, they're difficult but in a great way :3

14: How do their personalities compliment each other? How do they clash?

So to me, the way David is portrayed in the series makes him seem like a guy that's even-tempered enough people may wonder if anything actually gets to him, who can definitely be oblivious to how things and people work (I mean, the guy is out of a war for 4 months, comes back, and it apparently doesn't occur to him that the guys he doesn't see right away might be injured or dead? Come on.) In my headcanon, part of this even-tempered-ness exists because he got lucky and is just like, emotionally solid, so to speak, but another part of it is also that I headcanon him as someone who doesn't always realize he has Feelings about Stuff, until they bubble up and he finds himself snapping about it.

(Full disclosure: my headcanon of Web is a little bit autistic-leaning, but I think his spot on the spectrum would be one where he'd go under the radar until and unless something made it impossible for him to arrange his life in a way that accomodates his needs)

Meanwhile, Joe definitely knows when he feels things, he's just generally not happy about feeling them and has a tendency to make it everyone else's problem. (Or Web's, once they get together.) I think, in a way, the reason he ribs Web constantly (seemingly especially after he comes back from the hospital?) is because he can't wrap his head around the concept of a guy who's been living the same shit Joe has and seems to be as affected by that as a a dog is affected by the theory of relativity. I think it just doesn't compute, and at least his earlier niggling is partially a scientific experiment to see if he can Make This Guy Emote.

Which of course, to Web (who is oblivious and doesn't realize his apparent mental stability in the face of Everything is odd) probably feels like gratuitous targeted harrassment until he figures out how to read Joe and realize that actually this is just an elaborate form of pigtails-pulling (or at least it becomes that after a while)

So, like. Overall I think Web and Lieb compliment each other in the same places they clash: Web doesn't know what he feels most of the time but has no issues talking about it when he does, which Joe finds both fascinating and frustrating because who the fuck rolls over on their back and bares their chest like that on a regular basis, am I right? He thinks it's breathtakingly brave stupid.

Meanwhile, Joe will bite your head off before he admits that he like strawberry cake over chocolate, actually, but because Web is already used to having to retroengineer his emotions from context clues (and he's trying to figure out why Joe hates him specifically) he ends up accidentally figuring out a whole lot about Joe that other people don't, which then gives him the necessary insight to respond to what Joe is externalizing rather than what he's saying which in turn makes him possibly the best person for Joe to hang out with.

51: What’s a non verbal way they say I love you?

Honestly? All the ways. As in, I think they probably go like, ten or twenty years without ever actually using the words, mostly because again, Joe is allergic, and by the time Web realizes it he's already been showing it for a while anyway.

I would say the most deliberate way Web says this to Joe is to get him food, especially greasy or sweet food on a semi-regular basis. Forget flowers: David knows that as far as Lieb is concerned, love is stored in the butter.

For Joe, I think when he actually tries to show affection he does it by seeking out activities that are relevant to David's interests (though not without complaining, of course). This ranges from spontaneously giving David his gracious permission to drag him to the sea so thay can go sailing, to saving for three months so they can drive up to that conference about sharks two states over.

i saw this post today where this person was talking abt fandom racism and was pointing out some real issues within my fandom and favorite ship that I too had noticed… but then kept bringing it back to the lack of one particular other ship they liked, when it's like, no that's not the problem, and that ship is unpopular because those characters have zero romantic or sexual chemistry and barely any scenes together. (it was really funny that someone had reblogged this to take their 'lack of seeing this one character in a sexual way in fic miiight be racist' complaint to be like 'i think you're right! we should have more fic about [a long list of different ships involving that character with people they have ACTUAL chemistry with].' it was really funny. ofc op totally missed the point they were making there.) anyway i just feel like way too many useful conversations about this stuff are ruined by people making it about shipping or other really subjective fandom preferences. i get that this is because something like 'number of fics X ship or character has on ao3' is an objective measure, and something like 'level of orientalism in how a lot of people are writing this desi character' is not, but i wish people would realize it tends to alienate more people that it converts. and ime, it's often the people who maybe would most benefit from hearing those criticisms (e.g. are writing unintentionally racist stuff in their works, and are someone who would want to know about that and how to do it differently) who tune it out the second you make it into insulting their shipping preferences.

i mean, there WAS some real racism in the star wars sequels fandom, including among the fanfic/shipping side. not just the shitty dudes harassing kelly marie tran. we saw the really bizarre 'predator' language people directed at john boyega just for making some joke posts on instagram about disliking reylo and its shippers. it was the very classic racist thing where people see something as automatically more threatening when a black man does it. ....but how many people had already tuned all that out because the people most outspoken about the racism in the fandom kept reducing it to 'if you ship reylo over finnrey, or kylux over finnpoe, you're a racist'? it's like a boy who cried wolf thing. if you've shown that you can't uncouple serious discussions and concerns from just being pissy that your otp is not more popular, people are going to see you as someone who can't be taken seriously and then ignore you when you do have a real complaint. it's like how i'm sure that some of stitch's essays are thoughtful and important, but i have no desire to read stuff by someone who is infamous for harassing people just for what they ship. i don't feel like i can take any of that person's judgments about fandoms i'm not in, for instance, seriously.

that's not to say fandom preferences in shipping can't ever be influenced by racism (or other 'isms') but is it ever really *that* specifically that is the problem, or the broader pattern it is part of? and i feel like 'maybe fandom is a little too focused on het and slash ships between two young skinny conventionally attractive white people' is a message more people are open to than 'your specific white M/M or F/M otp is racist'

anyway it reminds me of the stuff i've seen sometimes in academic fandom studies about how you can't really honestly study a fandom where you're deeply mired in its discourse - you need to focus your work on fandoms that you're familiar with but not in that way. and i think that maybe also applies to some of these discussions about fandom racism and misogyny. maybe you're just going to have better takes on something when you're not deeply invested in other unrelated arguments about it, like about which ship is the most popular. like i could not care less about star wars shipping and have zero take in reylo vs. finnrey, so that's why i feel like i could trust my perception that the way a small minority of reylos were posting about john boyega's instagram posts was racist. it didn't matter if he was genuinely being a jerk to them or about their ship. he obviously wasn't a 'predator' and it was pretty telling language for a group of largely white people to use about a black man making fun of their ship on a different social media site.

--

The laying pipe thing was blown so out of proportion, yes. Call it sexist, sure, but it wasn't fucking predatory.

my stance on ships & shipping culture - a quick note

(please read before interacting!)

I'm seeing discourse in the AOT Tumblr niche ramp up once again (what would the AOT fandom be without harassment and discourse /s), so I want to put up this quick note to be linked in my pinned navigation post. Therefore, from now on, if someone sends an ask about ship discourse, it'll be clear whether or not they've read this post. Therefore that'll make it easier for me to see who respects my boundaries and who is and isn't worth my time.

This blog is primarily a Levi x Reader-insert/OC-insert/Self-ship blog. If you have a problem with this, save us both the time and energy, and just block me. If you harass me or anyone else who enjoys this type of harmless content, I will block you. This is not up for debate.

However, I am also a multi-shipper. You'll occasionally find that I reblog fanworks of Eruri, Levihan, Rivetra, Levifar etc, and that I tag all ship content so you can filter out the ones you may not like. I’m not a ‘proshipper’ though; for example, you won’t find any reblogs of fanworks involving a veteran character being with a recruit character in a romantic or sexual sense. However, I will never harass anybody for shipping a ship that I don't like, so I expect everyone from every corner of the fandom to return that same courtesy.

So please do not bring me into any ship discourse, I’m not interested in entertaining pointless debates over ships. I do not and never will condone harassment over people's opinions on fictional ships.

If somebody doesn't ship your OTP, or they ship something you personally do not like, that doesn't mean you have the moral high ground over them, and that certainly doesn't mean you can falsely accuse people of awful things or leave anonymous death threats in people's inboxes. Additionally, it's okay for your OTP to be fanon. The canon/fanon status of a ship doesn't make it better or worse than another ship. The sooner people accept this instead of twisting canon to suit a false narrative, the better. On that note, please don't send me long-winded, unsolicited asks about how a fanon pairing is 'actually canon if you read the subtext' whilst quoting 'facts' with no or incorrect sources. Let canon be canon and fanon be fanon. There's a difference, and a reason why they have separate labels. I'm not saying that you can't have a different interpretation of canon or the subtext, but I'm saying that not everybody will agree with you, and it doesn't automatically make your opinion the right or 'true' one.

I should also point out that the actions of a few bad apples is not representative of an entire ship community. For example, I have seen some people falsely assume the entire Eruri community are toxic based on the recent anons harassing Levi-centric blogs. This simply isn't true. The majority of shippers are very chill, but the toxic minority just happens to be the loudest. Let's not make assumptions about Eruri shippers or insult their OTP, because I have seen a few people do this in response to seeing the harassment, which I find incredibly hypocritical and unhelpful. Don't lose sight of the bigger picture - which is that we're all fans of the same thing and we all want to have fun in whatever way appeals to us.

Fandom is supposed to be fun, and I believe you should be focusing your energy on what you like rather than what you don't. Personally I think it's strange that these weirdo anons and harassers spend so much time and energy harassing people who don't ship their OTP, rather than using that time and energy to support creators who make fanworks of their OTP, or even creating some fanworks themselves. They care more about making other people miserable rather than fostering a positive community around their ships, and that is something I absolutely do not support or condone.

If you've read everything and have reached the end of this post, thank you for your time. If you fundamentally disagree with my stance, fine, but don't debate me on it. I've made it clear I won't change my mind on it, and you probably won't either, so I suggest you block me instead of starting a futile argument.

I agree that Yeehan fans on TikTok are often toxic. But to be honest, I'm becoming pretty unhappy with the Yeehan fandom in general, because I see them engage in a lot of stereotyping of both gay and Asian men. :/ I don't think they all do that, and I don't think it's always very overt, but it feels normalized by the community. For example, people will say Hanzo is gay, and their 'reason' for it is something about him that isn't traditionally masculine.

I've been wanting to talk about this but I wanted to wait for an ask like this to do it.

I used to be a Yeehan shipper, like full blown that was my OTP, back when Overwatch was first popular. I still ship them today but my like for the ship has slowly deteriorated over time and it's not because of the ship itself, I think it has a lot of potential.

My problem with it is how oversaturated it's become, how flanderised it's become. Cassidy isn't just a flirtatious cowboy and Hanzo isn't just an emotionally constipated archer. At least Hanzo has fics that explore his dynamic with Genji, Cassidy just has fics where he's either pining over Hanzo or in a relationship with Hanzo. Where are the fics focusing on his relationship with Pharah? With Ana?

Not only that but at least with other popular ships, other ships get explored too. Like even though it's still a big margin, Pharmercy has over 2000 fics on ao3 while Gency has over 900. Now that may seem like a big margin but....

Yeehan has over 7000 fics meanwhile Spuriken has over 2000 and Cashe has under 200 (and don't get me started on Bapssidy). That's a big gap compared to the other ships I see. I wouldn't have a problem with this if it wasn't for the constantly repeating plot points, I know the dynamic is popular but at least spice it up a bit-

This is why I avoid posting about Yeehan on my page, there is already so much Yeehan content floating around. I want to give attention to other ships and relationships that go unexplored.

Now with the stereotyping that also puts me off the ship. I swear every time Hanzo calls Cassidy "cowman" I loose braincells, also people dumbing down Cassidy, I know he wouldn't be that smart academically but he isn't the dumb American stereotype. As Cassidy says himself "I'm a cowboy, not a clique".

I also absolutely agree with the stereotyping of sexualities thing. Personally I headcannon Hanzo as unlabeled, I don't think he'd know exactly what sexuality he is but he'd know at the very least he isn't straight. As for Cassidy I think he'd either be Bi or Demi, for me it seems that he'd seem to get to know someone before he started liking them romantically.

But as you see I have reasoning that go beyond the characters outward aesthetics. Also saying that Hanzo is gay just because of how he looks is ignoring the fact that Hanzo is an archer he needs lose fitting clothing. I once saw someone who does archery comment on Hanzo's design and they said that was one of the more ideal designs for an archer that they have seen. (I don't have an explination for him having his left tit out though, I think that might just be a Shimada thing-)

Anyway, I do still like this ship. I wouldn't have posted my headcannons or even discuss them on my page otherwise. It's a ship with a lot of story potential but a lot of that potential is ignored in favor of just repeating the same plot line over and over again with the same tropes and cliques. It get tiring to read and tiring to look at.

Let's see... 1, 9, 12, 13 for the fandom ask games? :)

Oh hey Pixel! Thanks for asking.

OTP? 

Probably Sasharcy (of course in the context of Sashannarcy). I absolutely adore all variants of the Calamity Trio but I just tend to drift towards them. My guess is that the personality contrast, and possibly just how much they both need to grow and forgive each other. I don't know it just intrigues me.

I also really like platonic Zelink from the BotW/TotK iteration.

9. Write a recommendation of someone else's fic you enjoyed!

Hmm... Pixel go read your own fanfic! Joking, probably

And I Know I Kissed You Before (But I Didn't Do It Right) - BearerOfTheBitterMoon (liminal-lesbian on here) - Okay I could put all of Mara's fanfics on here. Her writing style and story concepts are just amazing. But we'd be here all day, so we're not going to do that. This one specifically though, was just such an emotional rollercoaster (without leaving with permanent emotional trauma, ex: The Three Body Problem). It's very sweet, it's very sad and it all just feels so real. If that makes any sense

A Witch In Wartwood - Disect - I haven't finished the sequel fanfic yet, but I love this story. It had a very creative take on a Swap AU, and it did a really good job at capturing the essence of the original show while also completely being it's own thing.

Pinpoint - i'm-at-my-limit - Okay, I need to get caught up on this one, because I love the concept and I find it's characterization really interesting but I'm also behind by like two chapters because I wasn't reading as much for a while.

Across The Seven Seas - Heart_Wit_Strength - Did I successfully trick you into thinking I wasn't going to say this? Did it work? Seriously though this is one of those fanfics that I read, immediately reread and proceeded to think about for the next three days. I actually have fan art of it that I need to complete some day. I don't know what you did, but you succeeded at it.

Then there's this one fanfic about Sasha that I really like, but I cannot find it or remember what it is called.

(I have quite a few others that I really liked, these are just the four that were in my brain apparently)

12. What's the funniest or craziest AU idea you've ever come up with?

So the same week that I created Daren, I also created what I call that Devil in the Details AU. Which is one of those AUs where it could be angsty, but I decided it was way funnier to write absurd shenanigans.

Basically Marcy, a lonely and aimless college student, opens a music box (gifted to her by her academic mentor, Andrias) and ends up with Darcy as the devil on her shoulder. Then Anne and Sasha are sent by heaven to prevent her from becoming corrupted and taken over by them.  

Of course, it’s a massive train wreck. 

Darcy is trying to convince Marcy that she should trust them. But because Sasha and Anne are almost always there they can only accomplish this through underhanded life coaching. (Though when Sasha and Anne aren’t there it’s manipulation is more direct).

Sasha is a nearly fallen angel who has taken to giving beneficial but selfish advice and also physically attacking any devils that she ends up paired with. 

Anne is just trying to get Sasha back on the right path and to find a way to get rid of Darcy so Marcy can go back to a normal life.

Then Marcy who was incredibly lonely finally has a social life and people that she can get engaged in her interests. So she’s convinced this is a great thing and is scheming to make it permanent. 

And from this queue all of the comedic shenanigans that could possibly come out of it. But also Anne and Sasha helping guide Marcy into making a life for herself that she really wants rather than what everyone kept telling her she wanted. While Darcy of course tries to counteract that because they assume she searching for a very specific type of success and do not understand any other idea.

13. What's a character or ship you haven't written/drawn yet but would like to some day?

So ironically the answer here is also Sasharcy. I’m not sure how this happened but we have two Sashanne centric AUs (TOH and BotW) and two Marcanne centric ones (Witch Marcy and also BotW). But none of them have focused on Sasha and Marcy specifically (aside from post breakup in the Witch Marcy AU). It's a really interesting occurrence

For the ask thingy... I have a feeling I might know some of the answer to this, but here's a two-fer. Take your pick (or answer both if you're in the mood): - OpStar -OpFire

OpStar: Don't ship it.

Why don’t you ship it?

Well, for starters, there's Optimus laughing at the idea of Megatron doing horrible things to Starscream. Bit off-putting, that.

More generally, Optimus has a... morality thing. Specifically, his own view on morality, which he pushes onto anyone in his vicinity. Which, y'know. Starscream is a villain, you kinda have to redeem him if the ship is actually going to work, right? Or file off his rough edges and make him Secretly A Good Person Actually, or a generally good person/helpless victim who just needs to See The Light.

Two problems with this: first, I prefer corruption arcs. Let Starscream bring people to the Dark Side, darn it. And second, Optimus does not practice what he preaches. One might even call him a hypocrite. Case in point, mind control is Evil when the Bad Guys do it, but he was perfectly happy to try controlling the Constructicons - and through them, Devastator - in The Core. And if mind control is an acceptable approach to turning people to your side, what does that mean for the ex-Decepticon you're looking to bed? I wouldn't trust any canon Optimus to treat Starscream with legitimate kindness, save for Armada Optimus. Because he actually did that. And maybe EarthSpark, but we only have a couple lines of dialogue to go on so far, so I'll reserve judgement there.

(Note of clarification, most of my Optimus Problems apply to G1 versions of the character. I actually kind of like other Optimii. Still don't ship him with Starscream, though).

As for Starscream, he's not going to do a 180 and suddenly be a loyal and obedient follower just because he gets some praise once in a while (if he does, that's incredibly unhealthy and he shouldn't be in a relationship with someone who could very easily take advantage of him). Starscream has opinions and ideas. And when he sees someone doing something stupid, he's going to call them on it. But Optimus does what Optimus thinks best, and if Starscream thinks differently, they are going to fight. And Optimus isn't going to listen to him, because he doesn't listen. Doubly so if Starscream's opinion can be construed as immoral.

Tl;dr: they would be horrible together.

2. What would have made you like it?

I think TFP is the only place where they would have had a chance with me, so... Maybe if Optimus had tried to reach out to Starscream after Arcee chased him off? But the irony is, if Optimus was the kind of person who could be trusted with Starscream's well-being, he would also recognize that his status as a powerful authority figure makes him someone Starscream shouldn't be in a relationship with. So it still wouldn't work.

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

It's fun when they argue. Which has nothing to do with them as a pairing, I just enjoy when their dynamic is ruthlessly antagonistic.

-

OpFire (just gonna lump Jetfire in with Skyfire): Don't ship it.

Why don’t you ship it?

I ship Skyfire with one (1) person. Irrationally uncomfortable seeing him with someone else. OTP in the purest sense of the term.

Optimus is not that one person.

2. What would have made you like it?

Might need to rewire my brain, tbh. First, I'd need to be comfortable shipping Skyfire with someone else. Second, I would need to like Optimus enough to ship him with anyone. Third, they would need to have enough in common that I could ship them specifically.

Impossible task, I would say.

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

I had a roommate a few years ago who really liked anime, so I decided Armada would be a good way to introduce them to Transformers. They came away with a few ships, including Optimus/Jetfire. And they decided the ship name was Flying Fish, because of how the pair's combined form looks.

So that's a fun little story.

For the ask thing- Revolutionary Girl Utena- I saw you like it and I need more people to scream with lol

Yessss, Utena's a perfect media, haha!!!

Favourite Character

So difficult to decide! I think it has to be Anthy though. I love her, I love how vicious she is, I love how petty she is, and I love how funny she can be. I find myself always so excited by imagining the future, what Anthy's personality develops into when she leaves the garden.

Least Favourite Character

I mean. The correct answer is Akio, but actually, I think Ruka. Ruka is all of Akio's manipulation and lies, but he's stupid enough to actually lie to himself that the girl he tried to break for two episodes actually could fall in love with him. At least Akio never deludes himself into that.

5 Favourite Ships

Utena/Anthy - Duh. No notes, 10/10, liberatory lesbian love

Juri/Wakaba - I really like the idea of Juri finding real kindness and joy in Wakaba, and Wakaba finding somebody who thinks of her as her most special thing.

Juri/Anthy - Not as one of those ships that's cute and good, but one of those ships where they would be a destructively horrible trainwreck, but I find myself fascinated by it. My characterization of Juri is never good enough to do this, so the past three Yuletides, I've been trying to get my gifter to write me the year that Akio decided Juri would be the one who keeps Anthy as a Rose Bride? I think that would have been an unmitigated, fascinating disaster.

Saionji/Touga - Honestly, this one goes either way, in that I like the idea of them maybe leaving Ohtori themselves at one point, and learning how to have a non-toxic relationships to each other? But also, I LOVE the idea of them just stuck in Akio's nightmare play, getting worse and worse and being more and more horrible to each other.

Nanami/Freedom, get her out of there. Be free.

(bonus) Nanami/Kozue - Two things make me consider this intriguing pairing. One, the contrasted imagery they both have, where Kozue is the free bird, the wild animal snarling her way out of the cage, as Nanami as the cow, the domesticated. What does it mean for Nanami to encounter Kozue's philosophy? But also Nanami who drowns the kitten that draws Touga's attention, and Kozue as the one who saves the baby bird, even at her own expense. Something something, compassion, adoration, self-preservation. Fun contrasts! I feel like they would hate each other at first, but find something genuinely transformative in the other. Also they both love Miki.

Character I find most attractive

Juri. The long hair, the fencing, the way she can go both high-femme and pretty butch? Queen.

Character I would marry

Wakaba. I feel like she'd genuinely try to take care of me, and also I would fucking adore her. She's so cute. She's the sort of person you could hang out with for a really long time, and I value that in a person.

Character I Would Be Best Friends With

Tragically, probably Miki. Very similar interests, and as much as I would shake my head at the way he places the girls he likes on pedestals and then demonizes them if they ever tumble off that pedestal, he would also shake his head at my tendency to avoid all my problems like the plague.

(Canon OTP is obviously Utena/Anthy, and non canon is Nanami/Kozue.)

Pairing I Am Not a Fan Of

Obviously, all of the incest ones, but honestly, I'm pretty meh on Shiori/Juri. A fascinating dynamic when done correctly, but when people write stuff about them in the future where everything's fine and they don't have tension between them...IDK. I think it's important to me that even without the homophobic pressure of Ohtori trapping them both, that Juri has created this false image of Shiori in the same way that Miki does for Kozue, and that Juri doesn't really know Shiori very well, in the end, because of her inability to ever really recognize Shiori's jagged edges. I think that would haunt their relationships, even if they tried to be together, how much Juri doesn't actually see or understand Shiori's inner personality.

Most badass character

Anthy.

Character I feel the Writers Screwed Up

Mikage! While I LOVE the aesthetic and thematic focuses of the Black Rose Arc, I think they don't quite knock it out of the park with Mikage. I wish Mikage was a more interesting mirror to Utena, but his devotion to Mamiya just doesn't feel like it's in a strong conversation with Utena's relationship to Anthy, which I think was a missed opportunity! I would have loved to see more about Mikage's obliviousness, where he knows something is wrong but shrugs it off for one more day. Or I feel like pushing further into the idea of Mikage being a prodigy who is out of his depth as a parallel to Utena which doesn't get explored very much. Idk...after such an incredible slate of character episodes, I remember being pretty disappointed at the climax of Black Rose Arc!

Favourite Friendship

Miki&Nanami! I think they keep each other mostly in check! Miki can sometimes shame Nanami into not showing off her mean girl instincts, and Nanami's a lot more savvy and cunning than Miki is, which helps keep him away from self-loathing spirals, or being taken advantage of. They're fun together!

Rare Pair Tag Game

Rules: List the top rarepairs that you like outside of your OTP, and why you ship it! (Criteria for what makes a rarepair is up to your own discretion.).

Thanks for the tag @writcraft!!

Tagging: @perverse-idyll, @lizzy0305, @fleetingdesires, @cindle-writes, @serenaew, @tackytigerfic, @sweet-s0rr0w, @broomsticks, @lumosatnight, @indigo-scarf, @the-paper-monkey, @maesterchill, @snapesnailtape, @kellychambliss, @givereadersahug, @coconutice22, @likelightinglass, @crazybutgood, @sugareey-makes-stuff, @anaxandria-writes, @greenmegsnoham, @siriusly-sapphic, @thistlecatfics, @vdoshuand anyone else who wants to play! But no pressure to anyone I tagged, either! 💛

Now....onto the ships!

OTP is Snarry of course! And most of my rare pair loves, or other ships in general, feature DRACO my beloved!

Draco/Sirius: top tier for me because of that juicy, juicy age gap. And a hint of incest for extra flavor, but also isn't too close for comfort. There's the Harry connection (Sirius as the godfather and Draco as the rival), and the war connection (Sirius in the Order and Draco as a teenage Death Eater.) Lots of room for tension. But they're both also very bright and gifted. Sirius is rebellious enough to catch Draco's eye (very "bad boy" of him) and Draco is sassy enough and quick enough to keep Sirius entertained. Plus I see them both as being a bit vain and will both especially love how good they look together. 😉 Basically: lots to explore and lots of potential that I am DYING to play with, and to see played with more! (Really need to do a rec list for them soon....)

Draco/Remus: also really up there for me. Again: the age gap. But also! More to play with. There's again that Harry connection and the war connection we see with Sirius, but the whole dynamic changes with Remus. The pureblood boy raised in pureblood culture and Remus, who is not only a half-blood but a werewolf! Also: poor. Everything about Remus should be "wrong" but I think they could complement each other well. Remus is very smart and has lots of experience with troublesome Marauders....Draco's not going to give him any problems! Remus is patient and experienced and while he is capable of temper, and capable of mischief, he also has quite a stable and reliable presence to him that I think would appeal to Draco. Remus feels like a "safe" choice on a personal, one-on-one level, though their relationship itself would get all sorts of heat from all sides. Remus will find Draco to be endearing, even with all his sass and drama, and in Remus Draco will find love and acceptance he's never truly had before.

Draco/Ron: ah yes my enemies to lovers + opposites attract loves!! Both purebloods, but raised on opposite ends of the spectrum, Draco with the blood supremacy and in high society, with the Weasleys as "blood traitors" and poorer. Draco is the spoiled only child, Ron the sixth of seven children. The Gryffindor & the Slytherin, the Order vs the Death Eaters, and so on and so forth. Both very smart, both pretty temperamental, both pretty competitive. A lot of tension and a lot of fun. It's all SPARKS between them and I can see them both realizing how attracted (if not connected) they are waaaaay too late and being horrified by it which is hilarious. There's a lot of humor potential here, too, with two quick witted men! Also the aesthetic! Red hair and blond hair, blue eyes and gray eyes! 😍 (Listen, I can't lie, the aesthetic is just too good!)

Draco/Charlie: this is a fun one! A lil baby age gap. Plus Draco being the dragon, and Charlie being the dragon keeper. It's obvious but oh so delicious. There's the idea of some initial tension due to their families' history, but one easily moved past since they don't have personal history between them. Plus I see Charlie as very like Remus in being a sorta patient and stolid presence, and someone who can put up with all Draco gives and provides a safe place for him to be himself and be accepted and cared for. Also all the fun potential of postwar Draco escaping England and going to the dragon reserve and training as a healer there!!!! I'm a sucker for those stories, not gonna lie. Charlie is so fun and adventurous and I think he can really brighten Draco's life and help Draco find more of who he is in a safe and non-judgemental place.

Draco/Albus Severus: age gap galore! Dating the son of your childhood nemesis who looks like a mini him?? Too much fun I can't lie. (Also and this is very specific to me, but c'mon....Snarry + Dralbus???? Harry being horrified but also his son is just in the position he was in many moons ago!!!!) (I'm writing a fic like that right now, it's just slow going, but one day!!!! One day it will exist in the world.)

Neville/Percy: This one is hard to explain but like....the awkward romance vibes! Uptight Percy and chill but shy Neville. Neville can respect Percy's rules and standards I think, while Percy can appreciate Neville's strength and skill. Both are people whose contributions are often overlooked or belittled so them appreciating each other and finding that support and respect in each other would do them both a world of good I think!!

Neville/Remus: Age gap! Soft sweet bois. There's not enough of these two out there I swear, and they're both characters I have so much love for!! They're strong and decent and they've both overcome so much in life, and I think they'd have a nice steady and comfortable relationship once they got together.

Hermione/Ginny: It's so hard for me to find fics of these 2 that work for me but I still have so many feelings. They're such competent ladies. Very individual and independent and confident. I love the idea of Hermione being the brains and Ginny being the brawn haha! The bookworm and the athlete!! 😍 All the awkwardness of dating a friend and extra awkwardness if we keep Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione as temporary relationships (until everyone realizes they're gay, of course.) Ugh. There's just so much potential here and I need it!!!!

Ginny/Gwenog: mega rarepair but oh god I love them. 2 athletic ladies!! Plus age gap, at least some sorta age gap. I also love to headcanon Gwenog as a Slytherin and a bit arrogant and playing the story of "don't meet your heroes" with Ginny hero-worshipping Gwenog until they meet and get off on the wrong foot!! But then obviously fall together!!!! I need it I swear. I need to write more of them, maybe in the same universe as Red All Over...🤔

Fleur/Hermione: god I love them. Like with Hermione/Ginny it's putting two very skilled and competent ladies together. Brave and strong and sure in who they are and also their values. Fleur is also pretty dang badass. She was a champion!! I especially adore the idea of Fleur being a good role model for femininity and how it's okay to be fashionable and get dolled up for oneself, but also how women can still be capable while being attractive, and even if she's a little vain there's more to her than just that. And Hermione having to face her own prejudices against more "girly" things. And maybe Fleur having some disdain for Hermione's "know it all" attitude, and them working through bad first impressions and finding someone they can really connect with and have as a teammate in life. I really love the idea of them bonding over activism and Fleur being impressed with Hermione's passion, and sharing her own struggles as being part-Veela and the struggles her Veela family members have dealt with.

Severus/Filch: Age gap! Also: caretaker/student? Yes please. Something about this pair does it for me. Not as a forever love kinda thing, but definitely a special connection for two men who are starved for connection. Think about it: Filch is a Squib working in a magical school! No wonder he's so bitter. And the students don't treat him much better than he treats them, really. Then we have Severus, who is so skilled and so intelligent and so under-appreciated by practically everyone around him. By his peers. By his teachers. Even at home (whether or not Filch knows this), between Tobias not liking magic much, the abuse at least between Eileen and Tobias, but also I like to see Severus as being too bright as a kid and his parents not really knowing what to do with him in general. And then Severus being bullied at school for not being handsome enough or charming enough or having the right connections or having money, etc. And Filch sorta seeing something he relates to, not being appreciated, and himself learning to appreciate how sharp Severus is and how independent and capable he is. And Severus having someone who looks out for him, and who sees him, and having a safe place to be.

(Originally this was numbered but Tumblr tells me I exceeded the character per block limit 😒) (Anyway this next one is number 12 which is a good number to round off on.)

Harry/Scorpius: I've said it before and I'll say it again: Snarry is my husband and Scarry is the hot pool boy I fantasize about. I legitimately feel like I'm cheating on my OTP when they're in other ships but something about Harry/Scorpius draws me in! Part of it is, much like the reason I ship Snarry, I love both Harry and Scorpius so much. And this is Cursed Child Scorpius, the Cinnamon Roll, who is beyond precious and I adore him. Plus you know: age gap + "child of my school nemesis who looks just like him" and you know....+ son's best friend. It's so wrong and awkward and fun!! Especially when it's Scorpius having a massive crush on Harry from basically childhood and Harry eventually seeing him in a new light. PLUS with Snarry being forever in my head and heart, it's the idea of having another love so different from his first, which is softer and sweeter and both are really good but in different ways. And maybe Severus and Scorpius can each hold their own special, unique place in his heart (though I don't dare think long on why Severus might not be in the picture anymore...) Anyway idk Scarry just does it for me and I'm obsessed, but please don't tell my husband (Snarry.)

.....if you made it all the way through this, 10 points to your Hogwarts house.

002 for Shino please 🙏

For this ask game. Major spoilers herein

How I feel about this character: 

What a perfect dummy.

Norba Shino is the living embodiment of why we care about Tekkadan. Because they are, despite their profession, just as capable of warmth, enthusiasm, care and love as any other bunch of kids. And of being idiots, of being horny, of committing all the mistakes and stupid arguments you'd expect from teenagers.

Which is why it's the right move for him to be the first major casualty as season 2 races towards its inevitable conclusion. All those things -- all that humanity -- leads to Shino's rash attempt to kill Rustal Elion, to him throwing his life away on something that serves very little purpose beyond making everyone feel better about having tried. It's prideful, stupid and reckless, driven by a desperate need to be taken seriously. Everything that makes Tekkadan what it is.

Also he's bi as hell. I adore the great big jug-eared lunk.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: 

Hmm. See, sexually, I could ship Shino with practically anyone. My man is not fussy and he has the kind of personality that could mesh well with most of the cast, frankly. But romance . . . I dunno. I don't actually think, at the point he is in the show itself, Shino is very much capable of romance.

Regardless, current run down of slash-pairings I have written/may write:

Yamagi/Shino = 'I finally got a clue and also PTSD'

Yamagi/Shino/Eugene = 'hey, did you know I'm allowed to sleep with my friends?'

Yamagi/Chad/Shino = 'my partner's boyfriend is having a bad day'

598/Yamagi/Shino = 'that kid we met once grew up hench as fuck and just blurted out 'you're really pretty' at Yamagi while half-drunk - let's go!'

My non-romantic OTP for this character: 

Shino and Eugene are best buddies for life. Poly-shipping aside, I see those two as joined at the hip forever, with their friendship long predating Orga and Mika's arrival at the CGS.

And yes, Shino's been winding Eugene all the time they've known each other but 1) Eugene needs people to call him on his ego and 2) the way he's still prepared to be vulnerable around Shino anyway means something, you know?

My unpopular opinion about this character: 

OK, I don't know if this is unpopular, but I stand by the idea Shino is not actually a fundamentally nice person. That is to say, for all he's an unabashed cheerleader for his friends, a walking bear-hug of a personality, and generally quite sweet in his ignorance, he's also completely at home with violent behaviour. Of all the mecha pilots on Tekkadan's side, Shino is the one who most readily gives the impression of *enjoying* the fights. He's eager for it, wants to prove he's capable of winning, and readily lashes out when he's angry. He is, to my mind, very much a product of being socialised in a military setting and has absolutely no issues with solving problems via beating the tar out of them. A hell of a friend to have at your back but you do *not* want to be on his bad side.

Though obviously my actual unpopular opinion is it 100% took him that long to notice Yamagi was into him and didn't consciously consider being attracted to the guy until then. The pining was *never* mutual.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

*stares at the 600,000 words of fanfic predicated on him surviving his suicide run against the Arianrhod Fleet*

Funny you should ask.

No but seriously though, I would have liked his bisexuality to have been referenced outside the context of Yamagi. Like, it is pretty definitively text that Shino *is* bi, I just think it'd have been funny to establish that, no, he's capable of being attracted to other guys, he just genuinely had it fixed in his head that because Tekkadan were family, sex between them was off the table.

my OTP:

I mean it's not like I'm *not* a total sucker for the doomed in-canon pairing, is it?

What I think it is, is that it's established very quickly that Shino sees Yamagi as a friend and respects his abilities. To an extent, he even thinks Yamagi is really cool! Which, well, he thinks that about all his friends, but it establishes Yamagi isn't pining for nothing. This isn't a 'barely knows I exist' kind of crush, it's a 'I cannot spit out what I actually feel despite the fact the other guy likes hanging around with me and is never less than friendly and complementary'. It feels very 'normal teenager' in a way that, similar to Mika/Atra/Kudelia, contrasts poignantly with the situation everyone is in.

But there are also layers to it, or at least enough attendant details that allow for the possibility of layers. Shino has moments suggesting a fatal lack of self-confidence, for all his bigging up Tekkadan as a whole. He doesn't congratulate *himself* much and he reacts really badly to his skills being doubted, and to letting everybody else down. He's also not a pushy person which sits a little strangely with his otherwise loud, extroverted personality: despite having basically had Eugene confirm Yamagi is into him, he still makes space for the whole 'drinking the night away' thing to be an invitation rather than an assumption.

Yamagi, meanwhile, is blatantly not a shy person in general. He explores ideas off his own bat and presents them to Yukinojo, he's in his element ordering Dane and Hush around, and he gets to be a sarcastic little jerk more often than he pours oil on the troubled waters that are Takaki and Ride. Furthermore, while he lets his crush on Shino show blatantly when it can't be seen, his go-to reaction when observed is to become quite curt and cold. Shino jokes that Yamagi is 'scary' and it's clear the kid knows how to make his displeasure known. Plus, of course, Yamagi rejects -- off his own initiative -- a yearning to have died alongside Shino in favour of picking up where he left off, protecting Tekkadan.

There are angles there, is my point, to explore their similarities and to have their differences run counter to assumptions about who they are based on first appearances. I'm too deep into writing my version of this to be be objective any more but I really do think it's interesting to posit that Yamagi has the more durable personality and Shino a far more vulnerable one, ill-equipped to deal with, say, thinking his failure caused all his friends to die.

In the show, they're a could-have-been. They don't get their chance to be together and if they had, and things had generally gone better, it might not actually have lasted. I don't know how well Shino would have done in a first-time relationship after years of growing up too fast, and I don't know if Yamagi would have gotten what he was looking for out of it.

But give it a few years of Yamagi trying to live up to a Shino-shaped hole in the world and of Shino trying (failing) to live with himself over what happened and they become this wonderful, spiky ball of love, trauma and an enthusiastic openness about sex that comes of learning the cost of taking things too slow.

my cross over ship:

I'm semi-allergic to crossovers (they're just usually not my thing) so I really don't know . . .

a headcanon fact:

I already posted the one about how the thing he wanted to shut Zack up about was getting turned on by a dominatrix so let's go with . . .

Shino is from a big family. Like, over half a dozen kids stuck in one household with over-worked/struggling/absentee parents. That's why he tends to gravitate towards sharing space with the younger boys: it's what he's used to, since he's played the roll of an additional care-giver from the age of too-flipping-young-to-have-that-kind-of-responsibility. He is *really* good with kids, albeit more in a 'on their wavelength' kind of way than actually being anything like a responsible adult.

This is not the tragic part, at least not dramatically so since this is probably the case for a not- insignificant fraction of the Third Group. No, the kicker is that one day Shino's family upped and disappeared and he has absolutely no idea what happened to them. He was off earning money at the CGS and then the next time he went home, the building had been entirely cleared out.

He never talks about it.

------

Well that was probably an unnecessarily sad note to end on. But I really enjoyed writing this! I think I like this ask game :)

OTP PROMPTS ೄྀ

If you're brainrotting, here are some situations & scenarios that can help with writer's block, or just are fun to imagine!

A = Typically the character struggling in angsty prompts, perhaps the stubborn person in the relationship. Usually the main focus in a 3rd person POV!

B = Typically a stoic character. May be better at hiding their feelings, or have a complex psyche especially. Usually the perspective in a 1st person POV!

[ Whatever characters you envision never have to fit these tropes, they're just a general outline as to what these prompts work best for! The roles reverse occasionally for ships with other dynamics or dynamics where both characters share the descriptors listed. You're more than welcome to use a prompt here without credit, but I'd love to see anything made based off these prompts! ]

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A comes out as [identity/sexuality]. This idea can be elaborated upon in many ways! Perhaps it makes B realize they actually have a chance, or that they don't know A as well as A knows them. Did A not have a choice? Perhaps B could be comforting A after being distraught that they had been outed. Was it a drunk confession? One that only happened after a series of very 🌈 things, and/or is very overdue? The possibilities are endless! If you're more of a hurt/no comfort person, consider if B didn't like them that way or was discriminative. Or A was murdered or hate crimed for it, bullied, etc. Think about how A would handle it, and how would B react to A's reaction?

The gold ol' sickfic in which A falls ill. A great fluff, angst, hurt/comfort or even a hurt/no comfort. Fuck it, a smut fic in some cases! Consider what reasons your character probably got sick; Overworking, laziness (not being hygienic), staying out in the rain too long, just getting sick during that time of the year, having a weak immune system, mental problems that had/have physical symptoms, was unlucky and got a chronic illness, eating habits, family genetics, perhaps even faking being sick for B's attention! Consider how B would react to this information- or if they'd even know this information about the other, and if A would tell them. Would B pick up on the clues, or be oblivious to the other's sickness? How would B care for them? Would B be more soft, or be angry with them for getting sick? What stage of their relationship are they in? If you struggle to write a sick character, I suggest scrolling through the sickfic tag!

Note: While most sickfics show a dynamic where B is a caretaker and only listening and tending to A, there are lots of other possibilities! B could get into an argument with A because A refuses to rest, or argue because B doesn't know how to explain that they're in love with A and that's why it's important to them that A is happy and healthy without confessing. A could feel burdensome and force themself to get better (which could backfire), or B could be absolute dogshit at caretaking (babe I made you soup but I burnt the everything) (shit this ice pack is warm as fuck) (I'm sorry dude I fucked up your assignments while you were resting), etc.

Jealousy. While it's a overused trope, it is still a good one! Typically portrayed as B being protective over A, I find it is more fun to write when both are jealous for each other. Or when the jealous character hasn't come to terms with their feelings ("I'm not in love but when my "friend" flirts with someone else I feel really mad for no reason at all hahaha what"). Did A make B jealous on purpose, or by mistake? Maybe A is the emotional hotheaded one, or the jokester, whilst B is more reclusive and gentle, making their uncharacteristic anger (read; jealous) that much more evident. Or it could be A whose jealous, as B is simply chilling and talking to someone, and now it isn't a joke when A comments that "don't get too friendly I might get jealous!" They could also be rivals if you like ETL, making their jealousy even more confusing for them because why would I ever feel jealous about them..?! That's so weird whattt...

Jealousy is used a lot in every aspect of fanfiction. I find it best enjoyed as angst, but wholesome reassurance fluff is also a huge fan favorite of a lot of people I know- ("I only like you, so don't worry", etc.) Smut, of course, plays on jealousy as well. But make sure to keep in mind jealousy isn't the same as possessiveness! Protective characters can be more prone to jealousy, using B as an example, who wants to protect their loved ones, but then why does it hurt when someone is protecting A, and it isn't them? Humor is also used in jealousy, as watching a character slowly get hotheaded or act stupidly or comedically from their jealousy is also fun to read. Do consider when writing (if you want to!) if B comes off as overbearing or jealous, or both? Write them the way you want them to come off, as readers can feel uncomfortable if possessiveness or other toxic traits are passed off as jealousy. And it's also interesting to read about a character who thinks it's just jealousy! However, make sure to properly tag your works if on ao3, or add TWs on other platforms so they know what they're reading :)

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That's all I have right now! If this gets a lot of likes or if anyone wants more tropes / ideas like this I'd be happy to make a part 2. I've been brainrotting so much I've run through these scenarios like 30 times over, so I'm making this guide for myself as well so I can stop repeating the same fanfic in my head (>_<)

@ 4234:

Not sure if they're checking for any responses, but mostly I wanted to agree. I haven't been in many fandoms, but even the main one I'm in now is alot more "cliquey" compared to years ago when RP and ask blogs were still really common. Now, alot of RP is mostly in Discord, and while I agree the messaging is easier/better than on Tumblr, Discord groups feel more closed off and gatekeepy at times. Plus my OTP is a NOTP for alot of people in the fandom, and I'm not interested in the juggernaut ships, so I get left out of alot of fandom events.

Tbh, I know it's not for everyone, but I've done better in a multi-fandom server I joined compared to any of the servers that are specific to the fandom I'm in. The one I joined I only did,cuz the admin is someone I already knew from my main fandom. I knew they were fair and kind, and they had modding experience in other servers, and it's been overall a great experience, until the server unfortunately died a while back, just due to the admin and other mods having irl stuff come up and take up all their time.

The only other server I've had a good time in was one that's specifically for fic writers in the fandom, which has events and showcases fics of people in the server, so it's alot of us pumping each other up and infodumping about our ideas and AUs.

Something I've had to learn to look out for when going into servers is in rules. Channels that state people's triggers and squicks is well-meaning, but unfortunately, in every server I've been in that had that turned into a wankfest sooner or later, usually with 2 or 3 BNFs in the server attacking each other or smaller creators in the server, using things in the trigger and squick list to harass or claim they were being harassed. Similar wankfests happened if the server has a list of topics and/or ships that aren't allowed to be talked about. Even if someone doesn't mention a forbidden topic/ship in the server, if they post stuff about it on Tumblr, Twitter, or ao3, they usually end up getting attacked in the server or just straight-up banned.

The servers I had/have good times had few if any forbidden tropes/topics/ships. If anything, it was only asked they only got mentioned in certain channels. The few times any wank came up, it got shut down within the same day.

Unfortunately, I don't have any advice for navigating fandom on Tumblr (and I avoid fandom spaces on Instagram and Twitter). I tend to just keep to myself on here, only ever talking to 2 or 3 people and not even all that much.

I hope you're okay, #4234. I'm in a small fandom, too, and I know that gossip runs rampant, so people end up hearing about callouts, even if they don't see the actual post. I've never been in that situation, so I don't know if this is good advice or not, but I'd suggest only sticking to talking to a few people for now. There will be some people who will refuse to interact with you, but even if others aren't actively reaching out, there are others who don't believe the callout, whether cuz they know the person posting it isn't credible or they've become skeptical when it comes to callout posts in general. So there will still be people willing to hear you out, if you choose to stay in that fandom and try making friends in it again.

Definitely close your asks (or at least close anon) if you haven't done that already, and depending on the level of harassment you're getting, I'd suggest making your posts nonrebloggable. I'm not sure if you're a creator in the fandom, so I know it can hurt to keep creating and not get any notes, but it's better than people reblogging your art, edits or writing only to add hurtful comments to keep harassing you.

I might not know who you are, but I'm rooting for you and hope you'll find a space in fandom (current one or another fandom if you decide to move on) that welcomes you.

Posting since this is a response to a previous problem.

Out of curiosity, thoughts on Scriddler?

i thought, that one day, i’d might be asked this lol. 

i’ll be frank, the nature of popularity of that ship kinda confuses me to this day. not in irked sense, i just generally was surprised to see so much stuff for them. like, i don’t remember them interacting in anything, that i’ve watched / read. which tbh, doesn’t say much, since i’m very picky about what i engage with, when it comes to superhero media outlets. so maybe, it did happen somewhere an’ i just didn’t see it. i remember casually browsing a few of accs, who shipped it, curious, if they had some specific comic strip or cut scenes from the game, which depict those two together an’ that’s what lead them to idea of this ship. but i saw nothing of sorts. an’ it’s not a problem, naturally. but for me, an outsider, who ships a completely different thing, it was a bit puzzling. just how it came to be this broad, if there wasn’t any huge kickstarter. or well, not the one, that i’ve glimpsed. 

either way, i’ll begin with saying scriddler doesn’t personally work for me. nor does it have smth, that i seek in my otps. with this in mind, i have no intention to belittle anyone with what will follow below. it’s just my own whimsical outlook on it, based on many individual criteria, that might be vastly different for others, who see things in that ship, that i’m incapable of. similar to how i see things in my rare ships, that i know would make many folks quirk a brow as to why ‘that’s even a thing’. 

now, about jon an’ edward. a pair that might sound good on paper, depending on what you include in said paper, but for me it’s like putting a hardcore dnd fan into a pit with hardcore bookworm, an’ expect them to get along swell, just bc they’re both outcasts. ignoring how the first one is more show-offish an’ loudly proud of his abilities, an’ the other one is kinda shut-in with occasional god complex lol. one of them tends to throw ugly tantrums, the other one prone to meltdowns. both are sociopaths, who have little understanding of ‘how to human’, unless they need to pretend *for small periods of time*. 

in short, i cannot see them having enough patience to handle one another in almost 95% of their interactions. i can’t imagine antisocial, snappy jonathan to be able to tolerate edward’s endless need for praise an’ attention. more so, i struggle to picture jon even knowing how to react in those situations, or being willing to put aside a book, an’ listen to nygma’s newest scheme, if he’s not in the mood for it. or see edward going along with whatever crane has cooked up *some fear plan*, if he already has his own in drafting. it doesn’t help, that they’re also a slightly different ‘breed’ of villains too. 

indeed, they’re both operate more on intellectual level vs brute force *not without use of it tho*, but where riddler’s tick is the actual level of intelligence or level of knowledge, the scarecrow is a mindrape kind of villain. nygma likes building traps an’ labyrinths, giving quests an’ a chance to ‘win’, even if it’s all be a faux in the end. jonathan, on other hand, is mix between being sadistic an’ pragmatic. they both want / need a very different things *usually*, when they kick bruce or whoever else around. or in other words, they’re kinda useless to each other’s obsessions an’ it’s hard to imagine them functionally combining their efforts, without smth going wrong or one of them getting pissed off at the other. which was one of few reasons why jonathan got fed up with the joker, when they had their team-up *during the bane era*. crane doesn’t play well with others, an’ he also has a short temper, when someone keeps doing things, that he views as useless or silly. an’ nygma being prideful as he is, most likely won’t just swallow jon’s critic, esp bc he would have some of his own stored as well. neither of them is actually a team player. so here goes their supposed villain team up for me, like even from a technical aspect. they don't strike me as villains, who can have buddy-buddy relationships, even in part bc of their 'big personalities'.

an’ circling back to their obsessions, it’s pretty much a core of their persona. the root of their disease an’ addiction. an’ also a thing, that usually pushes them to engage with anyone in a meaningful way at all *at the very beginning, at least* an' it’s kinda clinical in that regard too. i don’t think that jon would be engaged with riddler’s fear in any intimate fashion, for one. i don’t think, that past abuse or trauma or hardship is enough for him to get obsessed with a person. in fact, i think that he usually simply gets pleasure from making someone feel awful as simple as it sounds. unless, they’re his bully or someone, who has wronged him, he seems to just forget about those, who he hurt along the way. it’s unflattering aspect of the antisocial brain, but that’s just how it is. nygma’s past won’t be able to be memorable for him, partly due to crane’s general lack of ability to relate to others, without it being very heavily connected to his own woes. an’ even then, he tends to misunderstand it. an’ in return, doubt that nygma would understand why jonathan was that affected by bullying, considering that in edward’s eyes, it’s an attention *no matter what kind* an’ attention is good. after all, he did say that people usually literally looked past him, not even jocks were interested in tormenting him, until he became smth ‘worthy’ of their aggression. so from his perspective, he might think that jon being dramatic about it, since crane was on opposite side of the issue, he always attracts attention to himself. a very bad, bad kind, but attention anyhow. meanwhile, nygma *in his own eyes* has to fight tooth an’ nail to get any. an’ it might start as one time fight, but it will be an always looming issue, that eventually would blow into their faces. there is no denial, that it played a huge part of what made them so dependent on their gimmicks in the first place. the way the world around them engaged with them or in nygma’s case, the way, it did not. so yeah,  it’ll be a big ole mess, an’ neither would be able to navigate such a situation. 

from what i saw, people tend to depict them as ‘two evil old men in relationships’, an’ it feels like they both more put together in those set ups, than they usually are. or like jon is very receptive toward edward’s attempt to befriend him, an’ nygma actually is pretty good at figuring out what scarecrow might like an’ what not. an’ the problem with it is that i don’t see edward being this thoughtful about anyone. ever. period. in most cases, his disorder just won’t let him be this considering, even if he would have wanted to. like, even if we take newest batman 2022 movie, in there riddler is very-very delusional about the bat, an’ it doesn’t even occur to him, that bruce might have different needs / goals vs what edward imagined him to lol. an’ jonathan is this, but even worse. he openly tends to dehumanise an’ objectify others, seeing them only as tools or props to get what he wants. i don’t think that such person would suddenly act differently around nygma, who on top of everything is also clingy an’ needy. for jonathan, who doesn’t have any experience with companionship at all, an’ who lived most of his life alone, that’s be overwhelming an’ confusing, an’ also annoying. whatever good qualities they have, an’ whatever we love them for, it’s given that both jon an’ nygma be hard to be around in long term, an’ would at times get hella unpleasant too. picturing them trying to mend things in 'normal' ways, or talking about it like normal people is smth that i personally cannot invision at all. or in other words, from my perspective, they’re too mentally ill for each other. in fiction, it's often be a positive thing. like, that two mavericks with huge problems can make it work together, but my personal experiences pretty much prevent me from seeing it this way. unless, one of the two is at least somewhere leveled or tries to be, there is just no way for such relationships to hold on for too long. in jon's an' riddler's case, we talking about an actual extremes on top of all, so it's be even harder for one of them to pull up the other, when they themselves unwell. one might argue, that there is potential for them to make each other worse, then. but they already *objectively* suck on their own as people. the corruption only works if there is smth too corrupt to begin with. some versions of the scarecrow an' riddler are already too far gone, for anything else to make them suck more lol. an' once again, they don't share gimmick, they don't share worldview or have the same goals, so it's hard to picture them infecting the other with their own desease, so to speak.

there is kinda more, that i can say on the topic, but it’s getting hella long already, so i’d skip a few things an’ will go straight to my next point. i suppose, that i already gave an outline of why i cannot see them working together personality wise, so next i’d get to their general aesthetics or visuals. the surface stuff, if you may.

i love their general designs *some more than the others, naturally*. but when i look at them side by side, i’ll be honest, i just see two bottoms lol. an’ while yeah, there is such a thing as switching, i kinda rarely vibe with it. an’ with jon an’ edward, it’s just that. they're purebred bottom cocksuckers in my eyes. them havin’ twink on twink sex isn't very sexy or hot to me. i feel like they both would want or at least have that not-so-secret fantasy about being domed into ground by a 'superior man'. bottoms fighting each other about who should top is more of a comedy set-up in my eyes, than anything else. esp bc they both will be like 'you should top' vs 'i wanna top' lmao. i also will add, that i hc both edward an' jon as kinda shallow in sense of who they find attractive. i picture them pawing after men, who are *technically speaking* out of their league. my personal joke about them is that they're both middle aged virgins with hilariously high standards, who won't beat it just to anyone or anything. they pick misery over everything else lol.

an’ that’s all that i’ve got on the topic of scrridler, pretty much! hopefully, this mini essay did explain my view on the pair. an’ i also hope that it was at least, kind of entertaining to read as an outsider's pov. in the end, if you ship it, i do encourage you to just see this as some rando sharing their opinion an' nothing more.