Watching the first Clovis episodes of tcw again and UGHHH IM OBSESSED WHEN PADME AND ANAKIN FIGHT….CRINGEFAIL MARRIAGE

What are your ships in ddlc? I noticed you do all the ships- If you ship all then what’s your favorite ship?

Now, whoever you are how did you that i was thinking of talking about my ship opinions soon?? mind wizard

SO, here’s the thing : when it comes to ships in genera it takes a lot for me to actually have OTPs and stuff and this is especially true in ddlc for me. For me shipping is more of a “sure, i could get behind this” sort of thing, except if once in a blue moon i find that one ship that alters my brain chemistry but believe it or not that has not really happened to me with any of the ddlc ships. It has happened with the game as a whole, but not really with the ships. The only one that has come close i’d say is sayonika but that’s more bc they happen to be the characters that i think about the most

That being said, i’d say i ship every ship in the game, simply because i could honestly see all of them working out in one way or another. Sure, they’re are some i like more than others but generally all of them work. And yes, this includes the Mc ships even though i like them less bc the side stories blew it out of the park with the chemistry between the girls

Speaking of the side stories, they are the sole reason i got into the shipping side of the fandom lol. The base game, as influential as it was for me, never really ignited any shipping sparks ig. I actually could not care less for the shipping before the side stories, bc most of it felt kind of trope-y ironically enough. Like, Natsuri was the big one, which was only popular bc of the whole opposite’s attract thing (not that there’s anything wrong with that ofc, it just never really resonated with me). Sayonika was a victim of what i like to call the “leftovers syndrome” where two characters are shipped bc they are the only ones left to be shipped with.

And Mc.. well let’s talk about that actually. Mc x Yuri is well… how do i put this. They have absolutely nothing in common. I don’t necessarily hate this ship however, if i see it done right i can like it. Mc x Natsuki was alright, the banter was fun, they actually have things they can talk about, it’s overall a nice ship. I will say i prefer them as close friends, but if i was to see media (fan art, fics, mods etc) where it’s done right, i can appreciate it. Mc x Sayori is also a ship i can enjoy from time to time, probably the most out of any Mc ship. Again, i do prefer talking about their friendship more though but now that i’m writing this down i realise i’m just a slut for male/female friendships. Mc x Monika truly depends on what context the characters are given. Are we talking about non-sentient Monika x Mc? Bc that can be pretty fun. If we are talking about sentient Monika x Mc, i see a very interesting dynamic (not a particularly good one) where Monika is basically using Mc as a vessel for the player in her desperation. Can Mc feel this dynamic? Does he understand in some way that he’s the second choice, even if he doesn’t know the truth about their world? How does it affect him? Its fun to ponder about this ig, but it doesn’t really make for a healthy relationship

Then the side stories came out, where the characters evolved from their one-dimensional tropes into actual personalities with enticing dynamics between them and i was immediately sold. That being said, i still don’t really have an OTP per say, bc as stated before all of them could work out. Which is definitely bc of how we get to see each of them interact individually in each side story. In every side story, we see each character interact with the other and learn how to grow as individuals because of it. I could see each pairing happening individually, i could see them being a poly couple, maybe even a qpr, or just a very close friend group too! There is a lot of love between the characters, whether that is romantic, platonic or something in between im not 100% certain on, but the love is definitely there.

Anyway, you also asked what my favourite ship would be, and i’ll probably say Sayonika since most of the media I consume tends to be with them

WOW this was a long post. Hope i didn’t bore you too much. Thank you for the ask!!

Hey what are your avatar otps besides azulaang?

oh umm… I wouldn’t call them OTPs since that is exclusively Azulaang, but my bi Azula headcanon lives in a variety of ships. Azutara, Azuki, Maizula… not Tyzula tbh because that feels like… imbalanced? and not Tophzula because they are menace-besties but not romantic, but with any of the other girls I think it could be great. Azutara has the enemies to lovers from Azulaang but with more spice and less forgiveness, they‘d tear eachother apart first but that makes it even sweeter if they eventually fall in love. Azuki is kind of different because Suki is more rational and holds less of an emotional grudge, it‘d be difficult for Azula to earn her trust but she would not be openly hostile to her unless necessary. I imagine this one could only happen if Azula is already in the middle or post redemption though, because Suki would not put up with any EtL shit. I guess that is exactly why it intrigues me too, I feel Suki would be more willing to give Azula a chance, more than Katara for example, but at the same time it would be impossibly hard to win her trust and I‘d like to see if Zula can manage it. Lastly Maizula, and I prefer this one over Tyzula because I feel Mai is more capable of holding her own against Azula in a relationship. It’s a complicated version of childhood friends to lovers and I‘m kind of here for it. No idea how it would work though lol.

Aside from Azula ships, I think Zutara is pretty cool and works well alongside Azulaang. Kataang is kinda cool in theory too, but I don’t like shipping Aang with anyone except Azula, it feels wrong 🤷‍♂️ The only other Aang ship I can imagine liking is Zukaang, but I don’t talk about it much.

Oh and I have to give a shoutout to Sokkla, I don’t particularly vibe with it but they’re the sister ship to Azulaang and I do see the potential of the two genius strategists, so if Aang didn’t exist I would definitely ship Sokkla instead. Nothing but love to the comrades over there. 🫶🏼

edit: totally forgot this but I actually also love Tylaang aka Ty-Lee and Aang, it just has absolutely no fandom so it’s hard to get the ball rolling. I just feel they would be such a wholesome bubbly cute ship, and I dig the Ty-Lee airbender ancestry theory so she‘d love to learn all about airbender customs and they‘d have so much fun and probably a huge family 😅 anyway I think party of why I ship this is just because I think these two deserve the world and it represents my wish for them to be totally carefree and happy. you can also add Azula and make this a throuple, I think that would work because you have Tyzula as the polar opposites and Aang in the middle to bridge the gap.

speaking of throuples I enjoy the idea of… Azutaraang? (Azula/Katara/Aang) but it is very difficult to make work. The only way I can see it is if Azula and Katara fall in love first because nothing good could come of them fighting over Aang. or maybe I could see like a stranded on a deserted island AU where the three of them have to work together and learn to rely on eachother… idk, difficult but not impossible.

Oh and I love Zuki too (Zuko x Zuki) …damn I guess I do have quite a few non-Azulaang ships. anyway this is essentially a bodyguard AU and it’s actually my favorite Zuko ship (sorry Zutara) not much to say about it cuz I’ve barely engaged with it, but I love the idea and think they would just work really well together. I also can see this as a throuple with Sokka again. I don’t really vibe with Zukka on their own but if you add Suki then I love it, because Suki deserves two good boys and it’s more fun for everyone involved if those two good boys are in love with eachother too.

final edit hopefully: Sokka Azula Aang is good too, for the same reasons listed for Zuko Suki Sokka, I swear that’s it now. goodbye lol.

The Yiling Laozu’s Lost Spells part 2 AKA Chaos in Canon

 part 1 

Wei ying and mo xuanyu were originally planning to just run away, but alas, the Mo family plus the lans plus a freaky hand get in the way

Seriously, what was with that freaky hand? Mo Xuanyu’s used to working with weird stuff but nothing like that. Was that what normal cultivators deal with?

He tries to ask Wei Ying, but Wei ying is to busy freaking out over Hanguang-jun showing up, and what if he saw me???!

Mo xuanyu (excited to see his OTP happening): If you’re worried about looking your best, I can help with that.

Wei ying: I don’t want to look my best! I’m the fourth most handsome master! He’ll recognize me! I want you to make me look so different he’ll never guess it was me! Can you do that?

Mo Xuanyu, who both the soul of a theatre kid and literal years of petty frustrations to work out, was more than willing to take up the task. (But not too bad, he does want his OTP to reunite after all) Thus Wei Ying becomes his “Poor old senile grandpa.” Complete with artfully drawn wrinkles and a shawl for warmth.

Wei ying is having way to much fun pretending to be senile though, so Mo Xuanyu guesses he lost there. 

As they travel Mo Xuanyu asks him about the talismans. The Radishes, the release statements, the grass butterflies, he’s had literal years to study these talismans and he doesn't know how they work fully, he has questions. 

Wei ying is thrilled to see someone respects him for something other than his demonic cultivation or the sword path he can no longer follow. He is happy to tell him what he remembers, but its not much, he wrote most of them in a sleepy haze at 2 in the morning, and he kind of suspects Mo Xuanyu knows more than he does at this point.

Is Mo Xuanyu mad that his whole job is the result of a guy’s sleepy 2am ideas? A little. But at least the Yiling Patriach seems mostly interested in sticking around and helping him instead of going off to form his own cultivation path with all his fake-ass fans. Take that Xue Yang. They’re gonna do their own thing, and it’s gonna be awesome

Then they run into Jin Ling

Jin Ling does not take well to seeing his Uncle who one day was there, serving him tea with a peacock tail, and the next day was gone and everyone started calling an incestuous cut-sleeve. He didn’t even say goodbye!

 Wei ying does not take well to Jin ling not taking well, and proceeds to insult him. 

Mo xuanyu slaps a hand over his mouth and says to ignore his “poor senile grandpa”

Wei Ying: Yeah! Respect your elders kid!

Mo Xuanyu: shut up I am begging you

Wei Ying then tries to use a talisman to release little apple but grabs the wrong one

It was the peacock tail one

Mo Xuanyu tackles Wei ying

Jiang cheng comes into the scene to see his nephew and his nephew’s weird uncle have peacock tails, the latter of which is wrestling an old man under a donkey still caught up in the nets.

Jiang Cheng: ....Weird shit?

Jin Ling (nodding): weird shit

As if it couldn’t get any worse, Hanguang-jun appears to free Little Apple, and see Mo Xuanyu and “the old man” rolling around in the dirt.

There’s no way Mo Xuanyu can reveal to him who the old man is now, Not when he saw him rolling in the ground with the love of Hanguang-jun’s life. The assumptions he’ll make!

Mo Xuanyu: I”m taking my very old and totally senile grandpa back on the night hunt now! Bye!

Lan Sizuhi: A night hunt? With a senile elder? Are you sure you don’t want us to look after him until its over? We have Tea!

Mo Xuanyu (shoving Wei ying forward faster): NO thanks! We’re good!

They should have left right then, but they didn’t want to draw any suspicion. That was a mistake

“Did you make this?” Mo Xuanyu yells to Wei ying as they are running from the giant fairy statue.

“No! Why would you think I made it?” Wei ying yells back. “I don’t make every weird thing that happens to us!”

“Yes! Yes you are!”

The statue grabs Jin Ling, and to save him, MO Xuanyu pulls out his most dangerous talisman: the cooking one. 

Now the statue is trying to cook and use jin ling as an ingredient.

Wei ying summons Wen ning just as MO Xuanyu tries again.

Now Wen ning is hit with the cooking talisman. 

There’s a cook off, Wen Ning is winning. Wen Ning makes rock soup out of the statue. Wen Ning is now trying to force the juniors to eat it. The juniors are crying. So is Wen Ning.

Mo Xuanyu realizes one of the is going to have to hug the ghost general to make this stop. He is not doing it. Even if the ghost general is kinda hot for a corpse. He’s not risking getting fed rock soup.

Wei ying does it.

And jiang sheng comes in. Again.

Jiang Cheng: Wei WuXian! 

Mo Xuanyu: NO it was to release the spell I swear!

Jiang cheng whips Wei ying. Mo Xuanyu watches with baited breath, terrified he’ll have lost his friend before he even really got to know him. Hanguang-jun jumps in to Wei ying’s side but its to late, he’s hit. He goes down, But to the shock of all of them, Wei ying gets back up.

“You whipped me!” He says in his absolute worst old man voice. “Unfillital! No respect for your elders! Hitting old men who can’t defend themselves, what has this generation come too? Humph!”

Hanguang-Jun gently helps him to his feet, placing himself between Jiang cheng and wei ying. Wei ying blushes

“Oh now here’s a polite young man,” Wei ying leans into Lan zhan’s space. “And so handsome too! I could eat you up!”

Wei ying thinks he’s being that annoying type of elder who pinches your cheeks and makes lan zhan want to leave quicker. Mo xuanyu wishes Wei ying would stop flirting with his boyfriend before he gets them caught.

“Mark your words,” Goes Lan Zhan, sweeping up Wei ying in his arms.

Mo xuanyu wants to faint.

“why is Hanguang-jun taking that old man?” one of the juniors mutters

“It’s a cutsleeve thing!” MO xuanyu blurts out. “We like older men!” then winces at the very stupid excuse. 

“You would know.” goes the junior nastily. Mo Xuanyu wilts, remembering for the first time in a while what all these people think of him.

Jin ling proceeds to hit said junior in the back with his bow. No one insults his uncle but him. 

 “You’d better come with us,” Lan Sizuhi offers, slipping beside Mo Xuanyu. “You'll be a welcome guest at Cloud recesses, and you’ll want to be with your grandpa of course.”

“I’m allowed?” Mo Xuanyu asked, remembering that Lan Xichen was close to Jin Guangyao. He’d been certain they’d heard the rumors and didn’t want him anywhere near their precious pure cloud recesses. 

“Of course,” Lan Sizuhi smiles. “As if we’d ever ban the brave hero who saved Hanguang-jun and all those rabbits.”

“And the flowers,” Mo xuanyu reminds him, and follows. 

SHIPPING INFO // Answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

REPOST. Don’t reblog.

What’s your OTP for your Muse(s)?

I will have to go with Jo's answer here and say every ship I have has something about it that makes it my OTP, something unique to us and our partner/their muse. And I don't want anyone to feel excluded or unloved or less loved than anyone else. I do think because she was literally created side by side with @morgansmornings that they share a deep bond that is both familial and the deepest sort of friendship. They are family. They are transcendent.

What are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

Platonic, familial, and romantic are all on the table with discussion ooc, time, and development. I will do pre-established on the first two but Beth is demisexual/quoiromantic, with a leaning toward sapioromantic. Meaning it takes bonding with someone before she even feels anything 'below the belt' so to speak, and doesn't really understand/distinguish the difference between romantic/platonic feelings, treating them both in the same way, but she does have a very slight preference toward people who can engage her mentally, and seduce her with their awkward intelligence. Toxic ships can be a thing with huge boundaries. The boundary is how comfortable with you as a friend, ooc, regardless of what we are writing. Currently I will be willing to do toxic with: Mischa/Larry { @thebiggestlies }, My Dear Prince and Ionaka {and potentially Na Baron Feyd Rautha @nightmarefuele }, Shades of Ben { @kylo-wrecked }. And I live for the hate-ship of Lorcan and Beth with @macdiari, whose mun is totally one of my bffs which makes it funnier. We can have meetings about the rest. Dubcon/non-con, etc...has to be plotted to within an inch of its life, I don't care what Beth says.

How large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable? Age is not a really a thing with Beth when it comes to her significant other as long as they are a little over 'of age' {18-21}. She has literally one ship where this isn't the case and her paramour is 15 and she's 25...and it isn't what many people would assume, both of them are broken hearted. This a unique situation with @macdiari. Beth does have a penchant for older partners. Let the 'daddy issue' jokes commence.

Are you selective when shipping?

I would say yes. I only ship with chemistry. And by that I mean myself and the mun as much as the muses. Shipping requires a delicate balance between interest, trust, compatibility, goals... writing something fictional that isn't just pwp is not unlike building a real-life relationship. I want to get to know the other mun. I want us to have in-jokes, I want for us to be comfortable talking about everything and anything even if we might not always agree. I want us to be friends, first.

How far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

I guess I follow the TV guidelines. We can write up to a certain point but once there's body parts that you wouldn't see on network television, it should probably get a tag. I don't care if there's a read more {I will occasionally do that for terminally long posts}, if my partner is more comfortable with one, great. If they prefer it on a different blog, awesome. If you want to write it on discord? Go ahead and add me, fren. I try to faithfully tag certain things because Beth is just...wrong and a lot of her hobbies and interests tend to be really morally questionable at best.

Who are other muses you ship your muse with?

Beth tends to be drawn to people who are neurologically divergent, biologically divergent, other-worldly, empowered, and the like. She is drawn to those who are lonely, othered, or unusual because there is so much in them she sees in herself. And if Beth happens to fall in love, she is neither likely to mention it, nor does she expect for the feeling to be returned. For Beth, love is love. So if you see someone on my dash, unless it's brand new just met you, know that they are cared for, and will always be someone important. As I consider every mutual mun and their muse{s} as some kind of relationship {platonic, familial, romantic, or enemy...I can't really list *every* blog. Sorry.}

Does one have to ask to ship with you?,

I mean it's nice to be asked, so at least I know in broad-strokes what sort of relationship you, the other person, might like but also the fiction can often dictate the course of how things go :)

How often do you like to ship?

I am not gonna lie. I love watching and writing how Beth interacts with people. How she slowly starts to unfold around them and what leads her to becoming involved with other folk.

Are you multiship?

Yes. And multiverse, too. One of the best things is when you have a multi-verse partner and get to see how your ships and theirs change from friends to other things, depending what verse your in, and how everyone can make a community with that information.

Are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

Ship more or less. I love it as much as the next person but that's not the sole purpose of my blog.

What is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

I am still waiting for Olivia and Elliot to get married. IYKTYK.

Finally, how does one ship with you?

Let me know what you want? Be patient. We'll talk boundaries, desires, needs, and build it/grow it as it goes.

Tagged by: my darling @betwitchingbaker

Tagging: Heave ho, thieves and beggars....

Analyzing my ship taste recently

In the most surface-level way possible

XIAOVEN

The og, the lovers across centuries, my OTP in Genshin.

Very wholesome and angst-ridden ship, I classify it lightly as having the characteristics of “childhood friends to lovers” due to the interpersonal knowledge they (would) have of each other in this ship.

Childhood friends to lovers has always been that devoted ship, “I choose you despite all we meet and will meet, and in every hardship I will stand by you”, and the loyalty that one has for the other is the defining characteristic of this ship for me.

This is how I see Xiaoven. So, despite the fact they’re not actually childhood friends, it has that same timeframe of a long time knowing each other and utter devotion to each other.

Now let’s look at another example of one of my “old” fave ships in Genshin.

JEANLISA (…anybody think I was going for Shenjin? It works for this, but Imma put it at the end because this ship better proves my comparisons)

Jeanlisa is prob best fit for friends to lovers but it has all the same characteristics of childhood friends to lovers. (Coworkers to lovers works as well, but I think that dynamic is more flexible in what type of coworker they are—enemies? Begrudging allies? Married couple? Or friends…)

Friends to lovers feels more like the oblivious “childhood friends to lovers” version of the dynamic. Both of them act like they’re committed to the other, but it takes one moment of “Oh shit, I actually really like you” for everything to hit it off. One starts to realize they know more about that person than other friends that they start to naturally seek touch or crave touch when it isn’t given; maybe there’s a moment or two of seeing a couple and wondering what the difference is between that couple’s relationship and their friendship is—to only realize there is no difference other than the label or the intimacy (that they would be utterly okay with!).

Again, there’s a dedication there, but it doesn’t have quite the long timeframe—yet. It’s wanting to have those long years with the other person.

Jeanlisa has that vibe, but it contains a touch of angst with one life being cut short, and perhaps that’s the kicker of a moment that brings them together into the next step of their relationship.

All right, onto the new ships…

WRIONEY

I’m so stereotypical for this, but I love a good enemies to lovers ship. I was so wrong for only seeing the women (Furina, Arelcchino) for Lyney’s potential ships, only to have my mind blown with Wriothesley’s introduction. This a good ship.

Complete opposite of Xiaoven, there’s no devotion or loyalty here—there’s not even an ounce of trust! Destruction, betrayal, blackmail—everything to break down any spark of a relationship here. And yet, why is the ship so appealing?

Well, any enemies to lovers ship is about seeing the worst sides of two people, being confronted with the honesty in the hatred, and finding a weird sort of trust in that consistency—this person may hide their motives from me and their real life, but at least I know my standing with them. There’s no front of trying to make one appear to be the best version of themselves in order to impress; there is teeth gnashing and blood drawn and lots of high-tension moments of bringing someone to the edge and waiting for them to snap.

EXACTLY what we get with WRIONEY. So where does the romance come in?

It comes from the honesty. Hatred is only a coin flip from love as they say (LOL don’t take that too seriously), and I believe that, in seeing the worst of each other, there’s a stronger connection that can be built through the pain.

It takes the timeframe needed from childhood friends to lovers and cuts it into pieces with one pivotal moment that spotlights the other character’s true self—that shows everything that the other needed to know—and then it’s slowly rebuilding everything you initially misunderstood about that person into something that aligns with the true self you saw earlier.

And it’s devastatingly romantic.

Let’s take another example:

ARLEFURI

Gonna be honest, saw someone characterize this as toxic yuri and I’ve been in such a mood since I’ve been waiting for Heartbreak Studios to release The Lovers.

This is obviously enemies to lovers, but with a fascinating dynamic.

LOTS of power dynamics, high tension, and danger in this ship, and I’m really looking forward to more scenes to get a better pin on Arlecchino’s character and WHAT IS HAPPENING WHAT with everything going on with them.

The hints I’ve been given to what their dynamic could be like certainly starts as enemies, but usually enemies (in the ship dynamic) are more seen on equal footing to their hatred of each other and thus the poisonous remarks exchanged between the two should be equal (or, at least, what I’m used to seeing).

Arlefuri isn’t quite on that level—yet, or maybe you see that happening behind closed doors, without an audience in your headcanons. It’s certainly an “enemy that hates the other, and the other that hates them too but is also desperately scared of them.” You get the captor/captive dynamic that is fun in of itself to explore.

Usually, the breaking moment in these dynamics is the captor performing some action of excellent standing, either fully for the captive’s benefit or for what the captive loves.

For what changes the captor, in Arlefuri’s case, I see a moment of the captive defying the expectations of the captor.

Honestly, thinking Furina is a selfish, worthless archon is quite in line for typical captor/captive dynamics.. from what I’ve heard or whatever (LOL).

IN CONCLUSION,

I’ve taken a turn for high-strung ship dynamics with Fontaine 😏

Okay, but seriously, these complicated ships are absolutely my jam and it’s quite fun to see so much potential for exploration of individual characters in ship dynamics, and Wrioney and Arlefuri are scratching those itches nicely.

(Anybody have any interesting ships or friendships with Navia? 👀)

Anybody interested in Shenhe ships additional note:

SHENJIN falls closer to strangers to lovers with a longer timeframe of gaining that friends to lovers title, but it still holds under a more wholesome ship.

For strangers to lovers, there’s an added spice of getting to know someone you have no opinion of recently (really, any ship ever) but as adults and with Yun Jin’s interest in Shenhe’s true backstory, you have the classic slow burn with the angst being the fear of letting someone in and know the true you. Who do you trust with the most delicate parts of your heart?

In Yun Jin’s case, who do you let see the most tired parts of yourself, under the makeup and after the performance?

SHENLAN is closer to my current fave ship dynamics, another version of strangers to lovers but in very fun “let’s add some death-defying moments!”

It almost feels like it should be an enemies to lovers ship, but Shenhe doesn’t really have that vibe of creating an intentional enemy, and Yelan could make herself an enemy and absolutely push people away, but it more feels like a childhood friend you try to shake off but never do despite their dedication to you, without the years of dedication.

It gives more the coworkers/buddy cop dynamic: I have your back and you have mine, but I don’t want you to risk your life for me and I will pretend I won’t risk my life for you.”

Fun, right?

Then there’s of course the pivotal moment of “Oh no you risked your life for me and now I see we’re in it for real and can I take you on a date next Saturday and truly get to know the real you—which I tried not to do all this time since?”

Anyway, hope you enjoyed these fun little thoughts.

kanato cl endings!! this is my new favorite kanato route!! and for once, I think the good ending is more satisfying than the bad one lol

euphoria end:

in the church, kanato concludes that he just can’t ignore the sakamaki brothers. he has all kinds of feelings for them, including jealousy and contempt, and because of that, he won’t be able to part with them easily. (thats the most backwards way to say you love them I’ve ever heard, but I’ll take it!! good job, kanato!!) but outside, the scarlet and violet families are arguing over who gets to go inside and steal eve. ayato and laito are standing guard, and even though they’re SO outnumbered, ayato declares that they’ve got no choice but to stop em. and laito says it’s for his oniichan’s sake ^^

kanato… [wiping tears] …wants to go save ayato and laito. he can’t leave them, because they’re brothers who have been together since before they were born.

before he goes, he and yui stand at the altar and yui comments that it feels like a wedding, but kanato refutes that they can’t possibly have a wedding without wedding cake. they have a ring, though! because kanato bit yui’s ring finger earlier and it left a scar. so, because it might be their last time, they exchange vows and kiss.

…which is, of course, the key to leaving this place. everything goes white and they’re back in the real world. yui thinks ayato and laito are dead for a sec, but theyre just snoozin. karl heinz shows up, explains the whole thing, and gives kanato a pat on the back and tells him it’s time to inherit his powers.

kanato says, no way!! I won’t be king. I once thought that I didn’t care about those other guys, but I’ve just realized I have all these complicated feelings about them, and I don’t know what I’ll do if those guys are gone. so I won’t be all alone like you, father.

karl heinz is like “lmao…I’ll give u a little more time” and he disappears. time to go home. kanato jokes that they can leave ayato and the others behind, but he’s not serious >_> so they get to work waking em up. kanato says that he never thought such a day would come, but he misses how noisy the sakamaki house is. (awwww…!!)

back at the sakamaki house, the triplets + yui are studying together for a makeup exam. ayato and laito start goofing off after ten minutes, but kanato is SERIOUS because reiji hid all his sweets so he NEEDS to pass. he kicks his brothers out so he can focus, then grumbles that he should’ve left them at the miniature garden (LMAO) but yui’s like “aww, you’re totally having fun.” they make out and kanato says he loves her no matter where they are, and all’s well that ends well!! good for them!

labyrinth end:

yui confidently tells kanato she’ll trust whatever his decision is, and he’s like “okay. I want to murder everyone.” yui is all UMMM anything but that, please??? but he’s not listening. he sucks her blood till she loses consciousness

it suddenly cuts to carla whipping ruki and shin till they pass out, which is awesome but very unexpected. it’s the first we’ve seen them since they got captured lol. subaru arrives to tell carla that eve is at the church, so off we go!!

at the church, ayato and laito have gotten their asses severely kicked by scarlet fam. yuma also collapses and shu’s like “yuma….!” which is enough otp crumbs to keep me fed all week, thank you very much. carla arrives on the scene and starts shittalking with reiji, but then…!!

………..when yui wakes up, she sees kanato is covered in blood and she’s like “oh god we have to treat ur injuries!” and of course kanato’s like “dont worry, it’s not my blood ^^” he happily tells her that he’s almost finished taking care of things here, and he continues his unspeakable violence. he’s killed everyone and they’re the only ones left. he hugs her, and the blood he’s covered with is still warm.

well it doesn’t work; they don’t go home. (not that this would work anyway, but aren’t ruki and shin still alive in the violet dungeon? am I wrong…? did carla kill them? whatever.) yui faints and can’t speak, so kanato moves her around like a doll. they’ll live forever in this world, then, just the two of them. it’ll be awfully quiet.

back in the real world, karl heinz is like “my friend. did u get my sons killed” and socrates is like “sowwy :( I just didnt think it was worth it to lose my best friend to some immature adam.” karl heinz says it’s ok, and socrates suggests reversing time. karl heinz is like sure, yeah, let’s reverse time and have them try again. (EXCUSE ME???? EXCUSE ME????????????? COULD U DO THAT THIS WHOLE TIME. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING) so I guess they, uh, reverse time and try again????.?.??

Sorry I made you cry 🩷 aushaulsaha but it's true I've seen so many people jump out of the ship of the ship or starting to ship t*van that it make me nervous and scared that abc would choose the easy way with them and your blog helped me to center myself. Oliver recent interviews also helped a lot too, with the "I see what everybody sees. I watch the same show. I don't think buddie fans are wrong"

I can see it happening, Tommy being the one to make Buck realize, because it is so normal for Buck that he doesn't even question his feelings for Eddie anymore, and "it's Eddie" would be a beautiful way to close this chapter of that relationship and keep being friends.

I get it that Eddie's storyline needs more development, but I hope we get a least a hint from Eddie that he will get there in season 8, even if unconscious of him looking longing to B and T or being jealous like he was with Taylor.

It’s alright they were good tears mixed with some painful ones bc I’m recovering from a root canal lol. But thank you nonetheless 💜💜

Look I don’t get why some ppl were so quick to jump ships to whatever they’re calling the Buck and Tommy ship but I have never ever jumped ship. Buddie is it for me. It will always be my otp and I’m sticking to it. I don’t care what others choose to do bc everyone is entitled to their own opinions and shit. But whatever it could not and would not be me.

With thet being said, I get the worry but I don’t see it happening. Abc finally gave Tim the green light to tell the story he’s been wanting to for years now. And anyone who has basic media literacy can see that Tommy is a stepping stone and is here to serve a purpose and then leave. He’s not gonna be the endgame love interest bc even though people are enjoying him at this moment, a lot more people have been wanting Buddie for years. And they all still want mainly the same thing which is eventual Buddie. Tim and ABC would be crazy, in my opinion, to finally have Buck living his truth only to put him in a relationship with someone who resembles with Eddie. Honestly to me, a longtime fan and shipper, it would feel like a slap to my face. So hence why I’m being patient and understanding that things are happening for other bigger things to come afterwards. It’s all part of long form storytelling my dear.

Like I also mentioned, I think Tommy knows something and will eventually help Buck realize it too. But we still need to get through Eddie’s storyline. We need to have him explore and embrace his sexuality too for Buddie to actually get together. So in all due time I believe he’ll happen. One thing I’m almost certain of is that Tim, Oliver, Lou, and Ryan are all in on it. In on what’s really to come and it shows by all their answers to pr and shit. So yeah I’m choosing to remain hopeful as always bc Buddie is truly inevitable!!

Hey bean, do you do the ask game? If yes, I'd like to hear about Sif from hit indie rpg in stars and time

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

@these-detestable-hands you also asked for sif so you get to look at this too

favorite thing about them: their design is like a worm that has burrowed into my brain…… the hat…….. the cloak…… the constant :3…… what more can you ask for

least favorite thing about them: genuinely cannot think of anything. he’s my special little creature that can do no wrong. don’t look at act 5 don’t worry about that part

favorite line:

they canonically go ‘nya’ there’s nothing that can top that

OTP: for legal reasons (you Not Finishing The Game Yet) i cant show you a very particular scene but. just know. isafrin

brOTP: i think sif should spend an entire loop with the fishing one. they should be very weird fishing buddies. self-hatred be damned this enby can reel in a bass

nOTP: uh. with mirabelle? I guess? but then again any ship involving mirabelle is a no-go due to the. yknow. aro

random headcanon: they snap their fingers a lot. when they’re greeting someone. when he just wants something to do with his hands. when they’re listening to an absolute jam. Manu such cases (he’s just like me fr fr)

unpopular opinion: don’t. think I have anything to put here? idk

song i associate with them: let it be known you will get no in-depth song-lyric-character-connection shenanigans from me. best you’re getting out of me is me shuffling playlists until I come across a song that Just Sounds Like Them

annnnd wouldja look at that we’ve pulled Mysterious Place fron Crosscode! (PLAY CROSSCODE PLAY CROSSCODE HAVE I GIVEN ALL IF YOU YOUR DAILY REMINDER TO PLAY CROSSCODE YET) hey did you hear something

bit aside it’s a theme that plays in a very space-y place and you know sif’s whole stars and universe thing so :]

favorite picture of them:

lookit them. nod nod

TRYING TO SORT OUT MY THOUGHTS ABOUT LILY SHIPS BC LIFE AS A MULTISHIPPER IS HARD

jily

o.g. i love them an inordinate amount

so yummy; @maluceh’s art made me feel things

i really really love them like a lot :( esp them raising hari ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

i’m better at writing wlw ships that straight ships but for them i might try 🗣️🗣️

marylily

friends to lovers otp

the angst is insane 🫢

the jily to marylily to order of the phoenix drama to dead jily to obliviated mary pipeline

don’t know how to explain but they’re both so fiery with strong personalities. neither of them would back down when protecting their interests

lily would trade her life to save the wizarding world, mary would trade the wizarding world to save her life

right person wrong time :(

redpanda

SO CUTE 💌 pandora and lily study buddies

need to read more about them but they’re so cute (pls rec me fics if u have any)

there is potential for angst — jily and xenodora to redpanda, lily’s death, pan’s search for horcruxes with regulus, her death as well

idk yet. we will see

dorlily

been getting into this one recently

ACADEMIC RIVALS TO LOVERS

tbh i’ve always been more of a dorlene fan but they’re kind of addictive to read about

marlily (lilylene?)

it’s ok but there are better lily ships out there imo

might change my mind if i read more about them

jegulily

beautiful bc they’re all in love

good solution to people who aren’t sure whether to ship jily or jegulus or regulily

need to read more about them and figure out their dynamic but from what i’ve heard.. very good

regulily

not sure? i feel like regulus and lily are compatible but they also need james in the mix

if not romantic, they’d definitely be platonic soulmates

regulus and lily lend each other their poetry/philosophy books with little annotations ❤️‍🩹

narlily

i’m intrigued by this one and need to read more about it

they seem cute!!

mary/marlene/lily

idk their ship name

personally a no.. they are all best friends this is kind of incestuous

snily

i’m sorry snape went thru allat but i don’t think they’d be good for each other

snape was kind of obsessive and by the time he had a redemption arc i’m pretty sure lily was already six feet under 😭😭

relily

…nah

they’re strictly platonic

maybe. MAYBE dated for a few months but def not endgame

and i would just like to say:

fuck jkr; i do not support her bigoted views and i never will. i know my platform is very small, but i will continue to try my best at creating a safe space for the lgbtq+ community here :)

these are just my views! i’m still figuring out lots about character dynamics and trying to form my own opinions on them. everyone’s allowed to have their own views which are valid if they aren’t pedophilic or have some other disturbing power dynamic.

random question: what ship(s?) do you just not get the hype behind? just curious :•}

Getting my gay card revoked for this, but Dirk/Jake. I understand completely why it was a big deal- I wouldn’t call it revolutionary, but it was definitely the first time a lot of people had seen the gay guy “win” a bisexual love triangle, and that meant a lot to some people… But I don’t quite understand its staying power.

I genuinely do not think it is nearly as profound and well written as some people make it out to be. Hussie isn’t good at writing relationships, and Dirk/Jake is a really good example of this flaw. They’re not an exception, they’re Exhibit A. And that’s not me commentating on the fact that they had a troubled relationship- I don’t care that it was, they’re unsocialized 16 year olds with severe emotional issues, it only makes sense. It’s just that… If I recall correctly, we only really figure out they were a thing… When we see them break up?

I don’t know. As much as I’d love to, I just can’t get invested in them. I don’t think they were handled well. It’s all kinda clumsy. I don’t know how people who have it as an All-Time OTP live off of it, lol. No shade intended.

Roxy/John, too. They read entirely as just cute friends the entire time that I was apparently supposed to be reading them as having romantic feelings for each other… Lol. Was so hyped for the adorable little friendship going on that when the whole romance thing was stated it gave me genuine whiplash. It still does. It’s like a jumpscare. There’s nothing inherently wrong with them as a coupling or anything, they just… Do not feel like anything other than really good friends to me.

Also, John has incredibly strong Aromantic + Asexual vibes to me, so that doesn’t help. Lmfao.

I think the idea that MCD shouldn’t be a major archive warning alongside rape, GDOV and underage is a misunderstanding of what those archive warnings are for, and that they weren’t originally intended as “trigger warnings” in the way we think of them now, where it’s about shielding people with trauma around those topics. Trigger warnings got their start online on feminist blogs in the mid-late 2000s, which was before online social justice and fandom had much in the way of overlap, so correct me if I’m wrong but when AO3 was created, trigger warnings weren’t really a thing that was on most of fandom’s radar. Anyway, what the archive warnings have in common is they are all things that make fic “dark” or, for some people, “kind of a bummer,” and that the sort of “default” shipper who prefers things on the up and up (which varies across fandoms but I feel like in most, those people predominate and people who prefer darkfic/whump tend to be in the minority, at least that’s been my experience across several fandoms) sees as ruining the romantic fantasy they’re looking for in fic. I count myself in that category; I am not triggered by any of the archive warnings and in fact I’ve read plenty of original fiction that deals with each of them extensively, but I tend to go to fanfiction for warm fuzzy romance so both RNC and MCD are no-goes for me for whatever is my current big OTP: I want them to like and respect each other and not hurt each other (and also, not be rapists), and I want them to have a happy ending. And conversely, if you ARE into darkfic (which I am occasionally for some other fandoms, just usually not whatever is my current Big Ship), then you will want to know if some particular dark feature you might be looking for is in there. I hope I’m making sense here, I just get the sense that those big four are things that fandom tends to be sharply divided on in terms of whether they want it with a particular pairing or story or not, and so it makes sense for the four to be listed. But yeah, the idea that it’s somehow portraying character death as “triggering” to put that in that category, or that you’re so put-out by putting CNTW on your fic with a death you don’t want to spoil (which, well, as a person who actively looks up spoilers for original media and has read some great fics that gave away a death that still managed to be full of twists and turns and surprises, I’ll leave my thoughts out about that and “spoiler culture” more generally, but it is ultimately up to the author)…. I think that’s really missing that those were not originally intended to be a list of “triggering” things. Also, some other triggering stuff isn’t in there, because it’s not a common thing that fic readers tend either really want or really NOT want. (Like incest, which also is usually pretty obvious from the ship in question, or if they’re making two people related who weren’t in canon, from additional tags.) Anyway, the “but if I put CNTW on my fic they won’t know which one” whine is a problem with all four of the archive warnings. Maybe you CNTW for noncon but you don’t want people to think the character doesn’t survive. Maybe you CNTW for underage but are worried that people might think it’s nonconsensual. Idk, I think there are ways around that regardless via the author description. Also, sorry, but as someone who doesn’t like character death…. I like the idea that people who want to be coy about if it’s happening or not are forced to put a tag that raises that possibility! So i can just avoid it! If it wasn’t a major archive warning, a lot of those “don’t want to spoil” people would just not tag it at all, bumming their readers out if they feel like they weren’t anticipating it ahead of time. That’s a legitimate preference for readers to have!

--

We weren't consciously thinking of it in terms of "dark" fic.

Frankly, ye olde slash fandom was full of extreme hurt/comfort scenarios that nobody batted an eyelash at as long as the ending of the fic was happy.

These were simply a shortlist of things that are easy to enforce and that at least some archives and other fic spaces had had as important warnings in the past. MCD was like 100000000x more common than the others.

I deleted your comment because it made me so mad, but I need to explain why so you don't keep doing this. You shouldn't make queer characters straight, but it's fine to make straight characters queer because they are not a marginalised group. They are not an underrepresented group. HC-ing straight people queer is not the same as HC-ing ace people allosexual. Asexual people are ridiculed and ignored within their own community, so when we get canon representation, that needs to be respected. When the media is as saturated with ace rep as it is straight rep, we can revisit this conversation, but until then if you like the dynamic of two characters there's no reason why you can't take that and make something new with it. You don't need to erase ace characters in the process. Hope this helps

That’s a dumb thing to think, and I think you know it. Characters from marginalised groups requiring protectionist double standards I mean. They’re fictional characters, they exist to entertain. They aren’t real or worth protecting, no matter what their sexual orientation or lack there of is. I literally kill my OCs in the name of fetishisation on my blog. You don’t protect fictional characters, they’re tools, they exist to be used and exploited no matter who they represent.

That’s not even getting into the fact that you aren’t even talking about media representation, you’re talking about fanfiction. A niche close knit form of media that the majority of people will never even see. If you’re trying to influence how others think on a societal or systemic level, fanfiction is a laughable way to do it. You can’t dictate how an audience reacts to a character. You can’t control who people will ship with who or what they write about. Fanfiction is a hobby, it’s done for fun, out of dedication and passion. You should be grateful that people like the same characters you like and the same stories you like enough to want to invent new stories for them, being picky about those stories in an artistic sense is fine, but pretending it’s a question of morality? That’s just self-righteous. It’s just bossing people around and shaming them cause you think you know better.

I ship Gale X Astarion X Tav even though Gale isn’t poly and Astarion has some definite sexual trauma in his past. I ship Yuugi/Atem even though Yuugi is canonically straight. I ship tons of other things that are not even remotely canon. It’s not wrong or evil it’s creative license and it’s fun.

I should clarify that the post they’re so mad about they deleted was me essentially saying: “I ship Yuugi/Yami no Yuugi, even though Yuugi is canonically into pussy, I’m not sparing the straights, so why would I spare the asexuals?” I forget the actual wording, I don’t think I mentioned pussy in so many words. So just think of this version as a slightly more crass and dramatic reenactment.

Anyway I don’t even feel offended by being deleted this time because I’m too taken back by the need of OP to correct my supposed bad behaviour.

I’mma be honest guys, while I told this person I would lance the sacred cow of canonical queerness. I don’t actually have that many fanfiction OTPs I can think of that are straight despite being canonically queer. (Does Pomni X Caine count? An AI could be assumed to be canonically asexual right? But then the Moon is implied to get frisky so…yeah I don’t think I can determine this with just a pilot episode)

So not only am I sex repulsed IRL and thus the last person who needs to be told that life is tough for folk on the ace spectrum but the supposed “horrible” thing this person NEEDS to stop me doing I’m not entirely sure I’ve actually done. (I’ve read ALOT of fanfiction in my life though so I could just be misremembering.)

If anyone’s wondering why I’m so passionate about this though. It’s cause I want to be a proper writer one day and fictional characters as tools to be exploited is an inalienable right for writers. Does this mean I think getting attached to or empathising with characters is bad if you’re a writer? Hell no! But you gotta treat them like Sims characters and drown them in the pool without a second thought. I like my Sims, I empathise with my Sims and I still wouldn’t fucking hesitate to murder them in cold blood. And THAT my friends is the ideal attitude we should all aspire to when writing.

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.

Soft OTP prompts: #12 for pre-canon Homewell (kind of thinking about your hc that during his media-slash-being-normal-in-public training Madelyn was the one tasked with some of it)

<333 Can be as short and/or unstructured as you like. I'll take rambling hcs too!

12- Write about your ship going somewhere new together for the first time.

What are we?

“You can’t hold my hand like that.”

He looks at her, confused but not quite ready to let go of her yet.

It takes a moment until he has sufficiently collected himself to respond.

“Why not?”

The grip around her fingers tightens. He’s taken off his gloves, so it’s skin on skin, but it feels like she's locked in a vise.

This is going to be delicate business. Homelander doesn’t handle criticism well, no matter how gently it is delivered, and there’s a personal dimension to this now.

“You introduced me as your mother, remember?”

That doesn’t have the effect she was hoping it would. If anything, he seems more confused now, eyes blinking rapidly.

“But you suggested that I-”

Madelyn suppresses a sigh. When she told him he was ready to go to a restaurant with her, he got a little too excited, so she did suggest he introduce her as his mother precisely to keep any excessive displays of affection at bay.

“Of course,” she says, “There's nothing wrong with that. But holding hands is something you would do with your girlfriend. Mothers and sons don’t hold hands like that. You have to be consistent, you see? If you introduce me as your mother, you have to treat me like your mother.”

“Oh.” Homelander finally lets go of her hand. “I see.”

Madelyn isn't convinced he fully understands what the problem is. She'll have to explain it again, maybe pick a movie they can watch together that will show the difference. She'll think of one.

For now, she's glad she has her hand back. It feels numb and tingles as she kneads it back to life, but there's going to be no permanent damage.

Homelander is watching her rubbing her wrist, that vaguely terrified look in his eyes that he always gets when he thinks he may have accidentally hurt her.

“It's okay,” she tells him, “everything is okay.” But she's glad when the waiter interrupts them to take their order.

She's bought out the restaurant for the night. All the other 'guests' work for Vought, and the staff have been paid well for their discretion.

Homelander knows this, but it's the first time they're doing this little exercise outside of the Tower, and his voice shakes as he orders for both of them (Vought insists on raising him old school).

Still, he does a much better job than last time, properly conveying her order and picking a perfectly acceptable dish for himself. (The first time they did this, he ordered himself a slice of chocolate cake as his main course and almost cried when Madelyn told him he couldn't have that.)

She pats his arm. “You learn so fast.”

He's beaming at her praise, but it doesn't take long until that look is replaced again by the slight frown that tells her something is still bothering him.

“What is it?”

He hesitates, like he always does when he worries she might judge him or think he is stupid. “You’re not my real mother,” he finally says. “Just my pretend mother... Is that why I can’t hold your hand? Is it because we're... less real, and they know?”

His eyes look suspiciously glossy.

“No. No. Oh, God no,” she says. “No, that's not why. It's just that mothers and sons don't touch each other like that.”

He looks up and locks eyes with her. “We do though,” he says softly. “We do.”

Madelyn sighs. She's always known that mixing her roles would come at a price one day. You see, Vought told her, Homelander wants a mother as much as he wants a lover. Maybe this would be easier if you gave him what he wants.

She's given him tiny pieces of both, whichever role best fit her purpose at a given time. Of course, she’s explained to him that they’re just playing pretend, but the truth is, she’s not sure Homelander fully understands what that means, and Vought's advice has been utterly unhelpful for teaching him the nuances of social interaction.

“Yes,” she says. “We sometimes do things that ordinary mothers and sons don't do. It's because you're special. But you can't-”

“I can't touch you in public,” Homelander finishes her sentence. “Because you're not my girlfriend. Because you're not my real girlfriend... But you're also not my real mother.”

He's hesitating again, and his voice is dangerously low as he asks the question he's been meaning to ask: “But then what are we?”

There's a nontrivial chance things are going to go sideways from here and she's going to have to start this lesson all over again, something she can't afford on the tight schedule Vought has given her.

And so she smiles as she takes his hand. “You are the greatest super hero in the world. And I'm here to help you with some of that burden. The truth is, we can be anything we want to be. But other people aren't as special. Their minds are small, and there are things they won't understand. So sometimes, when we are outside, we have to act in certain ways because if we show them what we truly are, we might scare them.”

He's familiar with those words, she's used them hundreds of times before to explain to him why he can't do, say or ask certain things in public. She's never applied them to their relationship though.

Still, they work their magic. Homelander is nodding, perhaps relishing the words in his head, a small, conspiratorial smile on his lips.

“I understand.”

She knows he's truly understood when he withdraws his hand unprompted the moment the waiter returns with their wine. He smiles with newfound confidence when he's offered a taste, and sips it without making a face before nodding approvingly and telling the waiter to pour them more.

“Here's to us,” Madelyn says, raising her glass. “I think you're ready to go to a real restaurant next time.”

ooh for that question game, øde and leo?

oooh thank you!! i’ll do them both separately under the cut:

øde first!

favorite thing about them

oh there’s so many things i could say about him. his smile, his laugh. the way he coped so beautifully with being in the spotlight way younger than a person should be. the way he loves arsenal and the way he captains us. his taste in music and films (the intouchables is the best french film ever made). the way he plays when he’s having a good day. the way he sounds absolutely insane sometimes when talking about his training routines and has to reassure the interviewer that he’s alright when they get concerned 😭😭 also the way he interacts with his teammates definitely it seems like they get a completely different version of him than what we see lmao

least favorite thing about them

there’s really not a lot lol but probably his media training. lord, the day he lets himself speak his mind is the day i die happy.

favorite line

the whole of his players’ tribune because it made me cry 😭😭 also him pointing to the completely wrong place in his hood and confidently saying ‘the oil is… it’s here.’ lmao 

brOTP

oooh aaron/martin is very funny to me. aaron keeps switching between bullying him and acting like he’s god’s gift to the world every 5 seconds and martin is just eternally kind to him lol they have a cute dynamic

OTP

spent 5 years deliberating between a million ships (i have way too many rarepairs of this guy) but probably leo/martin they’re too cute man 💗 

nOTP

there’s none i dislike, but i don’t really care for martin/declan sorry! not for me and i honestly couldn’t tell you why, i just avoid it lol

random headcanon

he is the lightest of lightweights 😭 and that he plays piano to relax but would rather die than play in front of anyone lmao

unpopular opinion

not sure how unpopular this is but he was/is put on a pedestal wayyy too much. it feels like a decent match for him is an excellent one for any else, and a ‘shit’ performance by him is a decent one by anyone else. i get so irritated whenever i see him be criticised for not creating when he scores, and then when he creates chances he gets criticised for not scoring :,)

as a person though, i feel like people make him out to be much more calm and sweet than he actually is lol. less so nowadays but he's definitely an emotional person? but more angry and passionate emotional than sad emotional ygm?

song i associate with them

you’re on your own kid by taylor swift, amoeba by clairo, and bhasseraah by racha rizk 🫶

favorite picture of them

one of the first photos i saw of him and definitely my favourite. no contest. he’s such a loser i absolutely adore him.

trossibop here:

favorite thing about them

so many things here too, but definitely the way he looks exactly like a disgruntled raccoon all the time 😭😭 also how he manages to be so subtly catty all the time but gets away with it because his voice is sweet and he’s 5 feet tall. oh my god his voice is beautiful too. also he’s from maasmechelen which is basically in the netherlands so he’s basically dutch please leo transfer to our national te-

least favorite thing about them

sometimes when he plays i feel like tearing my eyes out (but ig that’s a given with this team) also the lack of dutch he speaks bro please 

favorite line

from this video where kt is bullying the host and he so sweetly says ‘5/10 he’s never kicked a ball!’ and proceeded to get jumped lmao

brOTP

hmmm probably him and ben they both mesh well with each other imo!! loved their interview together and they were both cute at brighton but honorary mention to him and kai solely bc they both look generations older than they should and their height difference makes me laugh

OTP

i already said leo/martin so i’ll go with leo/kieran this time because they’re so cute!! they balance each other out so well and they mimic each others movements like they’ve known each other for years which is so adorable to me lol

nOTP

saw him and eden hazard and recoiled so hard 😭😭

random headcanon

he was definitely an emo kid when he was younger. i know he hissed at people on the playground and that. in all fairness if i was born with a white streak in my hair and eyebags like his i would hiss at people too. similar vein but i know he pretended he was a vampire when twilight came out.

unpopular opinion

probably unpopular idk but i much prefer him being subbed on than him starting… he always does way better when he’s subbed on!

song i associate with them

there’s a beautiful song/chant on spotify of trossard on the wing by ario brady which is cute and also drank & drugs by lil kleine 😭 (just trust me if you’ve seen any videos of him drunk it makes sense) and try again by jaehyun!!

favorite picture of them

very old and low quality but he looks so cute 😭😭

i cannot express what this photo means to me. him in interviews is soooo amazing to me i have no idea why. love him.