#(which i love their relationship too. they're very like-minded and spirited in a way the others don't fully understand)

[autumnoakes]

since playing twilight princess again i cannot get behind the lu fandom characterization of twilight and wild i'm sorry. like i think twilight would be an overprotective big brother figure towards wild, absolutely. but wild doesn't take that sitting down. he doesn't like being coddled, and it's pretty clear (side note: i do really appreciate the analysis posts about wars and how hard he's been on wild potentially pushing wild closer and closer to a rather big memory. you can sort of see how twilight is not happy with how warriors is acting, but he's not saying anything right now. probably because it's not his place to, and also probably because wild wouldn't want him to right now).

i think that twilight and wild have a very different relationship to what most of the lu fandom thinks. they're close - that much is obvious from how they react when the other is hurt, and how twilight pushed through the rest to get to wild during the memories comic. but i think that a lot of the time, it feels like wild only exists around twilight, or he can't be left without twi otherwise he'll "do something stupid" or whatever. wild doesn't exactly appreciate twi's protectiveness or his advice all of the time, but he still looks up to twilight. despite whatever went down when they first met, wild worked to gain twi's trust in order for them to be so close. they're equals - just like the rest of the chain are equals. and yes, wild does a fair amount of dumb things and he's impulsive about it, but i would like to argue that twilight also does a fair amount of dumb things (in game and in comic)

(i think it also kinda feeds in to how wild is sort of infantilized by the fanbase. he's already not exactly trusted by the rest of the chain (legend especially, for some reason), and i think i'd like to explore that and how his relationship with legend formed. they seem to think he's sort of a loose cannon, especially after the previous arcs. wild hasn't seemed to realize it yet, but i do think something is coming, especially with him and warriors)

[nymphia-tarot]

Your relationship with them [18+] PAC

pile 1 ----> pile 2

pile 3 ----> pile 4

🍂 meditate on the pics and pick whichever one calls to you the most. this reading is divided into two parts: your general life dynamic and your sex-life. you might feel drawn to more than one pile, which means you may have messages in other piles for you as well! if you don't feel particularly drawn to any pile, the messages in this reading might not be intended for you. since this is a general reading, take what resonates! 🍂

🍂Pile 1:

ᯓ★ General:

I'm getting your person is somewhat ambitious and a planner. They may have come from humble beginnings and thus, they know the value of hardwork and pragmatism. There's probably a lot of LGBTQ+ individuals in this pile. I'm getting a lot of sapphics in particular?

I'm getting your partner embodies the more "dominant" or active energy in the dynamic here. They're probably just used to being the one who does most of the doing in their life. I'm getting workaholic vibes as well. Your person feels like you really pull them off their balance. Or like, you can easily shake them off even when they try to hold themselves together. I feel like for a lot of you it's probably unintentionally too which kinda frustrates them lol.

If you lived together, they might probably be really busy all the time due to their nature as well as circumstances. I feel like work and responsibilities may be overwhelming in the relationship. There might even be arguments due to a clash of values or perspectives about some matters. They might not be able to meet your emotional needs at times due to them generally being more head-oriented. I'm getting warnings from spirit regarding communication. All relationships are built on trust and healthy communication, so don't be discouraged! With time, I feel this could be a very mature and deep relationship based on security, trust and hardwork overcoming obstacles together. However, if issues exacerbate and you find that they're not the right one for you then the choice to decide on the future is always your right.

ᯓ★ In the bedroom:

Your person finds you extremely tempting and irresistible. They may even have been lusting after you for quite a while before you guys got together. I'm getting that they were pining after you heavily and being extremely downbad lol. They love watching you and they may even start fantasizing about you midday whenever they look at you 😭💀 They might do it solo a lot with you in their mind. They might be lowkey afraid that others might feel the same about you and it makes them a bit anxious even though I feel like they might hide it outwardly.

There's a lot of passion in the bedroom between the two of you. Their feelings towards you are very intense, almost as if they're directing it all at once with a laser focus. They might get very consumed in the bedroom, like nothing else exists in the moment except the two of you. They might like receiving oral from you a lot or at least they fantasize about it quite a lot of times. They might even be dominant in the bedroom and have fantasies of you submitting to them. I feel like they're the possessive type, and this might even show from subtle things in the moment like the way they grip you just a bit harder, almost as if they don't want to let you go.

A lot of yall in pile 1 might be pillow-princesses. I feel like you also love teasing your partner, not usually in an overt way but through more subtle mannerisms. Your partner notices this and it drives them craaazyy lol. Overall, I feel like you really satisfy each other in bed and you might also subconsciously soothe a lot of each other's insecurities and deeply-rooted fears. Sometimes, the sex between you two might get so intense that you both lose sight of everything else-- maybe you leave your room/house really messy everytime you do it too. They might like to get rough with you in bed but there's also aftercare and I feel like a lot of you really enjoy the aftercare sessions a lot, almost like that's the main "treat" you're after even though the sex is good.

🍂 Pile 2:

ᯓ★ General:

I feel like quite a lot of my pile 2 individuals are very idealistic people and hopeless romantics. Maybe some of you are even inexperienced in the matters of love and might have a lot of ideas and fantasies about the perfect relationship, which might even be unrealistic at times (hey, nothing wrong with it as long as it's not negatively interfering with your life). I feel like this relationship will be nothing like you've dreamed of, and that's not necessarily in a bad way. In a way, it'll teach you valuable life lessons and give you a more grounded and mature perspective about the reality of relationships.

Your person is a very free individual and they're the type who doesn't hold anything back. Maybe their boundaries are very expansive, and they might appear extremely open and accepting. They might be very materially prosperous and abundant as well. I feel like your person is very sociable and might be someone who belongs to "high society". I'm getting Gatsby vibes-ish outwardly. Very composed, elegant and smooth as well in their exterior-- almost like they have it all together, a social chameleon and a charming influencer.

However, I'm getting that there might be a duality to them. They might even be depressed lowkey. They might not have the healthiest relationship with their emotions. It's like, they were never really taught how to handle pain and they might even keep that aspect of themselves neglected, which might lead to detrimental consequences as a result. Perhaps my pile 2s were drawn to the outer brilliance of this person because they do appear really bright, like a treasure. They seem like the ideal prince of your dreams who could fulfill all your needs initially. However, as the relationship progresses, you discover more and more aspects of them that aren't entirely beautiful. This relationship comes with struggles, especially mental health struggles for a lot of you, and it might even be harder than you initially expected. However, at the end, you will also find a lot of growth individually. Also, I'm getting that some people here in this pile were attracted to both pile 1 and 2 and found overlapping messages relevant to their situation in both piles?

ᯓ★ In the bedroom:

Your person might have some kinkier desires when it comes to the bedroom that they don't just allow anyone to know. I'm getting it might be a bit shameful for them to admit, that's why it's mostly secret. They might even take you to a sex dungeon to do it at times so that you can fulfill that desire.

For your person, sex is a very intimate thing and they might really like privacy in the moment-- in the sense that they're allowing you and you alone to see something noone else is allowed to know. It takes a lot of trust for them to open up, and I'm getting that a major overarching theme in the dynamic between you two is the merging of boundaries and letting yourself go, as if holding nothing back out of a decision to trust and find security in each other.

I'm getting that they might think of themselves as "hideous" deep down, not necessarily in appearance but just as a general feeling. They might see you as something "pure" that they're tainting (kinda depressed vibes yeah). Reminds me of that one Nine Inch Nails song: Closer. Perhaps they even see you as "above" them and might feel undeserving of you deep down. I'm also getting that they really like your chest. They really enjoy sucking them too. Perhaps you might take a more nurturing role in the bedroom for them, soothing them and making them feel loved and safe. You might take control more often than them in the bedroom and they also enjoy getting tied up while you're free to do anything to them. They might like being more on the receiving end of sex. They might also idolise you a lot.

🍂 Pile 3:

ᯓ★ General:

For my pile 3s, what I'm getting is that when you start a relationship with your person you might be in somewhat of a pinch financially. Maybe you or your partner might be having a hard time finding employment or maybe your job will face some problems where it'll be difficult to get by with simply wages. I'm getting that you guys will start a creative partnership. It'll be something decided on a whim, maybe you will just decide to go "fuck it" and take a leap of faith to see where fortune takes you and start a creative outlet, perhaps a new business venture. You (plural) might be full of ideas and innovative spirits.

This relationship will be more of a mutual partnership and you guys are like best friends who are also lovers kinda deal. There are a lot of different people here... for some, I'm getting that you might get an offer for help from the other but you will reject it due to a possibility for imbalance in the relationship and you will choose your freedom and pursue an independent path, which you'll be successful at in the end anyway.

This relationship will lead to a sort of rebirth for both of you as individuals, mostly your person though. They might go through a major transformation in the future of this relationship. In the future, there's a lot of worries and anxiety coming from your end regarding your ability to manifest your dreams. A lot of you are people who like to dream big and have high hopes. So maybe you're afraid that you might not succeed and the circumstances surrounding you will start to weigh on you a bit more than you can handle. However, I'm getting that the hurdles present in this relationship are not only yours to carry alone. This relationship seems very balanced mostly and it's one of those relationships where you both go through troubles together hand in hand to support each other through thick and thin.

ᯓ★ In the bedroom:

I'm getting a lot of emphasis on your bottom. Maybe it's your person's favourite part of your body for them. They really enjoy giving you oral, doing it while watching you from behind or just watching that part of you. The sex between you two might be something that feels really transformative. You might do it a lot to release mundane stress and tension from daily life and it really helps soothe you at the end of the day. They might also enjoy giving you oral from below while you're preoccupied with some work at your desk.

You guys might also indulge in semi-public sex. You might do it in situations where there's a risk of being seen by others. I'm also getting sex in the park lol. You or your person might be into voyeur fantasies as well where there's a third party involved to watch. Or maybe they'll introduce a third party in your sex life as well. However, the focus is more on pleasing you than them and that's what the third party is for. Sometimes, they might even show up at the workplace secretly and have sex with you lol.

I'm seeing that your person genuinely has a lot of deep feelings for you and wants you to be cared for and happy with them. They might express this through sex where they'll focus more on your satisfaction than theirs. It's like, your satisfaction makes them satisfied and turns them on. Sometimes, they might even be really worried that you don't want them as much as they want you. They have a tendency to not voice their discomfort and it might lead to some repressed resentment so an advice I'd give out is communicating your boundaries with each other in a healthy manner. Honestly, deep down what they really want is your attention while you forget about everything else and just focus on them. They lowkey love being pampered and are kinda needy.

🍂 Pile 4:

ᯓ★ General:

For my pile 4s, I'm getting that there's a certain sense of imbalance in this relationship. Your person might be in a position (whether socially, financially, professionally or elsewhere) where they're above you and you guys aren't on equal ground. This might create somewhat of a power dynamic and they might hold more than you do. Be careful, because for some of you I'm getting that there's a potential for abuse here, or some other form of exploitation due to how severely skewed the dynamics of the relationship are.

I'm seeing there's also a good potential for marriage. They might come to you with a marriage offer and do their best to woo you. You're like a wish-fulfillment to your person and they really desire you as someone that seems special and magnetic, like a distant star. For some, I'm getting that you might even be younger than them, or you have a more youthful and bright energy to you that they really admire and look at fondly. It's because you have this spark to you that they find really rare and you pull them in with your brightness. I'm also getting that your presence gives them a lot of hope.

For this relationship, I'm getting that your person likes to hold control over the dynamic. They might lowkey have a manipulative streak in that they make situations go a certain way in subtle manners so that it leads to the ideal outcome they want. I'm getting that a lot of my pile 4s are very intelligent and you might discern them more easily than they think. You two might enjoy playing mind games with each other a lot as a form of stimulation. I'm getting that one anime "kaguya-sama" vibes where the couple did a lot of silly shit to get each other to fall for them lol. Maybe a lot of yall are sapiosexuals as well.

ᯓ★ In the bedroom:

The two of you have really intense chemistry and the sex is extremely passionate as well. It's like when you're together, you tend to drown in pleasure and forget everything else. Really rough sex, intense positions and hot and heavy movements, etc. You guys really get into the moment when you're together and due to that you might end up somewhat sore or just really tired afterwards when you're done.

In a way, I feel like both of you are more focused on your own sensations and pleasure and focus everything to whatever you're feeling in the moment. Not that you don't please each other or don't care about each other at all, but it's more like the feeling of pleasure is the main focus when you're in the bedroom. Something lowkey Dionysian about the moment you're together. You two might both enjoy how messy it can get in bed. You're both very downbad and like to do it anywhere.

Your person enjoys it when you ride on top of them or when you wrap your legs around them. They also really enjoy watching you move violently or roughly while your face is twisted in pleasure while they're going at it. It's the animalistic impulse that really turns them on. Sex for them is a way of touching upon that primitive part of yourself and letting it lose. That's why your sessions can be a bit uninhibited. They might even enjoy gripping you tightly and get stern during sex. They'll always make sure the both of you orgasam and achieve pleasure though. They also love embracing you and touching you in general. They think of you as a queen/king in the bedroom and might even treat you like one in their own way. They're also really into spanking and punishments (either to you or for themselves). Both of you can be very vocal during sex. A lot of people might even gossip about yall.

[ns-media]

Incredibly long analysis on Oda's thoughts on romance, way of portraying romance and LuNami in One Piece

Okay, so I want to make a LOOOOONG post about something interesting that's been on my mind for a while, about romance in One Piece. I was originally going to post it on Twitter but this post is way too long for that platform. I always preferred posting here, but not too many people are here nowadays. Anyway, onto the main topic here. I'll be talking about Oda's portrayal of and thoughts about romance, how he views it, why he puts a good chunk of it in "non-canon" material and so on. This post is to understand Oda's perspective on romance and why he goes about it the way he goes about it. I'm a LuNami fan, so this is also to make a point about how he decides to portray them.

Do not read this if you don’t want to see me express unfavorable opinions (and also factual information) about LuHan and other ships I just don't see working out, as they basically don’t fall in line with how romance works in Oda’s work. I'm not mean-spirited about it though. (Also I'll be bringing up SanPu for a bit too, in a favorable way) I am guaranteed to get at least one eyebrow raise or a "What the fuck are you talking about?" from any person reading this whole thing, but that's fine. I'll only tag LuNami because this is for LuNami fans.

Anyhow, in an interview with Aoyama back in 2022, Oda stated how he doesn’t want to include actual romance into his story and how he’s fine with one-sided stuff. His reason is because he fears he would lose certain fans for doing so. This is an interesting statement.

First, if you read this up here, it essentially confirms how Oda doesn’t see one-sided affection as romance so there’s no reason to think that Sanji or Boa’s affection are hints when they’re both for comedic effect.

The reason they're one-sided in the first place is not because he's teasing you with the idea that the other might return that affection one day, no he treats it as a joke, it's as straightforward as that. I don't understand how people try to act like it's not purely for humor. If he intended on making something like Boa and Luffy’s relationship as something to seriously consider being “romance” then Boa wouldn’t be so humorously delusional even after being rejected twice in back to back chapters, she’d be taken aback at the very least. But doesn’t. Why? It’s a joke.

I mean for heaven’s sake, whenever this gag is used with Nyon around, she’s the voice of reason, y’know, a woman who also experienced the same kind of delusional love once? Again it’s all a joke, the entire point of Boa’s gag is that it’s love that’s supposed unreciprocated.

Also, the second time he rejected her was him rejecting her before she even got to ask anything...

This lets us know that Luffy knows how persistent she in trying to get with him and also implying that Luffy is going to say no, no matter what, as he knows how desperate and persistent she is about it. Now that I think about it, Rayleigh left Luffy to train by himself for 6 months before the timeskip fully ended, Rayleigh's supervision made it to where Boa couldn't get to Luffy, but after he left, was fully capable of doing so. I mean just look at Boa down here:

Yeah she said she won't go and remain strong for Luffy's sake, but with her being the way she is, I wouldn't be surprised if Boa in those 6 months went to the island and was asking Luffy multiple times which was how he was able to reject her before even knowing. If what we saw in Chapter 598 was the first time he rejected her, he wouldn't be so quick to know that she was gonna ask it again when he rejected her the 2nd time on panel. We know that the Kuja girls KNEW that Rayleigh left half a year ago as well, meaning they must've gotten to the island itself if they found this out. Unless Rayleigh told them directly, which, to be fair, is likely, but if he didn't, this implies that Boa has been talking to Luffy on the island in those 6 months, and if so, would definitely have brought up marriage at least once, or a lot, honestly, thus explaining Luffy being able to shut down her marriage request before even knowing what she was going to say, because he already heard it THAT much in those 6 months. Now, I don't truly believe that Oda thought of it like that, but it does make logical sense so I figured "why not bring it up".

Also, in a 2014 interview with Fuji TV about the 3D2Y special, Oda's editor mentioned that not only Buggy but BOA bring in the comedic elements into the arc and how they're comic relief characters, again making it obvious that even his editors understand that Boa’s infatuation is a complete joke for the sake of comedy. Same with Sanji. Being a gentleman is part of his character but he tries to score every woman. Why? Jokes.

Even if you somehow use the argument of “Oh but this behavior of his is even stronger towards Nami specifically” I don’t see how any of that can be seen as a “shipping hint” and not a gag that’s exaggerated even further, cause he’s still hitting on every woman. Besides, the first time he actually got his heart broken by a woman was by Pudding, and never Nami, Robin and every other woman despite getting rejected a billion times by them. Why? Because the Nami/Robin affection is for comedy while the story between Sanji and Pudding is supposed to be taken seriously.

It's why Oda went out of his way for Sanji to write a dedicated story between the two, with Sanji getting genuinely sad when Pudding talked shit about him only for everything to turn around by the end where she actually likes him. THAT is a romance story with substance behind it, and Oda clearly wrote it like there is merit to it. There is obviously a story written here with a beginning to an end, Sanji acts no different towards Nami in Wano than in say, Punk Hazard. Beginning of Whole Cake vs end of Whole Cake Sanji is on entirely different terms with Pudding and she is on entirely different terms with him. There is development, a plot, a purpose that impacts the plot. Not just "Haha jokes".

Soooo yeah that’s the first thing I wanted to address regarding that statement.

Second, Oda saying “I don’t want to include romance because I don’t wanna lose fans” may seem like an odd thing for him to say at first given how Oda post-timeskip portrays actual romance in his story, and plenty of times, I might add. This was when Oden/Toki was relatively fresh too so there’s no way he forgot he did so. Because of that, Oda is referring to romance for specific characters rather than for the characters he’s already written romance stories about.

So this basically means that Oda’s fear of losing readers obviously doesn’t stem from the romance stories he has already written, it’s very clear from the interview that he’s hesitant to write romance out of fear of losing some of his readers. But of course as we know, he clearly has written blatant romance already, primarily with non-main characters like Rebecca’s parents, Rouge/Roger, etc. It makes plenty of sense for Oda to not be afraid or hesitant to write romance stories/romantic elements for those non-main characters.

Because well, those stories written are basically all backstories that are over in a few chapters (Senor Pink/Russian) or briefly talked about (like the aforementioned Rouge and Roger.) As such, there’s no long-term impact on the story.

Notice how in the only case of a STRAW HAT having a blatant romance story (Sanji/Pudding), it is a character who's most defining character trait is his lovey dovey/romantic behavior? Oda most likely felt more comfortable giving a romance story to Sanji specifically as that goes with his personality, and likely felt he would not be getting backlash for giving the LOVE cook a romantic story. (Because again keep in mind he clearly stated he's hesitant to include romance due to losing fans of the characters getting romantically involved)

But STILL, even with all of that, the impact of this love story from Sanji's perspective is just erased entirely as Pudding erased his memories, as if Oda is being particularly protective of the Straw Hats getting impacted by any obviously permanent romantic development. (Because as I said SanPu is on entirely different terms from the beginning to the end of WCI, so their romance plot had impact on the story.)

So, because of how romance in One Piece is basically all deceased/minor characters having short backstories or in the case of the one Straw Hat who got a blatant romance story, (I said blatant cause you could say Usopp/Kaya, but it’s not super obviously blatant the way SanPu is) erased from his brain, there’s no obvious long-term impact that romance seems to have in One Piece.

I very much think that this “obvious long-term impact” is what Oda wants to avoid so badly, particularly for the Straw Hats (the main characters of the story). This is because this long-term impact would make it apparent to his readers that romance has a fundamental and established role in the story of One Piece as something important, which goes against his target audience of boys, who, from his point of view, don’t like it.

This idea Oda has stems from how Jump used to be when he was a kid, as clearly stated in the interview with Aoyama. It’s his own experiences with how boys manga are “supposed” to be coupled with his insecurities about being embarrassed to write romance that makes him hesitant to do just that.

This is why I scoff at the idea of “No romance in the crew” being used as an actual argument. People use that argument as if Oda himself is completely against the idea of anybody in the crew getting together, despite the painfully crystal clear reason for “no romance in the crew” being to not alienate readers and lose said readers as he is under the impression that boys won’t like that because of how he thinks that everyone still has this idea that they should be segregated due to how it was when he was a kid himself. It's why he said "People are so supportive of couples!" all surprised in the interview with Aoyama, clearly being surprised about the positive reception it gets that he didn't think it would get. It has nothing to do with him hating the very concept of romance, it's him being under the wrong impression on what his young male readers would find acceptable or not.

There is a reason why almost every single time that he brings up or hints at any, ANY hesitance or opposition towards romance in the crew, he brings up his readers. ALMOST. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. He tries to please his target audience. “It’s a shounen manga” or “the readers” he keeps saying, despite not even being asked about his readers' opinion. "I don't think there will be any romance in that crew" is said clearly because "It's a shounen manga THEY won't be interested" not because "OMG WTF I HATE ROMANCE BETWEEN THEM GTFO!" the way people intentionally misconstrue this to be. He even says "Nami probably sees all the good aspects/qualities of those guys, BUT One Piece isn't a romance" So he LITERALLY says that his reason isn't "She does not like any of her crewmates in a romantic way!" but instead says "Well it's not a story about romance and I think only girls care so I won't show or depict it because I think my primary young male audience wouldn't give a shit". Nothing about himself. Legitimately nothing about his own opinions about supposedly being disgusted with nakama romance. Gotta love the made-up narrative being presented as a fact to the fandom at large.

Oda's "but" could have EASILY been followed up with something like this: "Nami probably sees all the good aspects/qualities of those guys, BUT she doesn't see them in a romantic way and I don't want it to be that way" or something, but instead essentially opted for "Nami probably sees all the good aspects/qualities of those guys, BUT think of my young male audience! They don't care about romance. They'd probably hate it if I decide to capitalize on Nami seeing their good qualities as romantic, right? After all, only girls want it! It must only be them for asking this!" What I am saying isn't even me grasping at straws, it's RIGHT THERE. "I don't think there will be romance in the crew cause boys will not like it". Bam, that's all it is. I know I am repeating myself but it seriously bears repeating because of how so many people see that one answer in particular as the ultimate evidence against Mugiwara romance. Oda seems like he's being evasive on purpose with that answer, talking about how concerned he is about the opinions of boys while not once talking about whether or not he would like to write it or not.

Also for the love of everything can we get someone who has the untranslated version of this answer? Given how Japanese language works I would not be surprised in the slightest if he's even more evasive than in VIZ's translation.

How people come to the conclusion that he’s disgusted by the very idea of a Mugiwara couple being a thing is beyond me when it’s as clear as day that he opens his mouth about “his readers” and “his audience” for a reason.

I mean hell, Strong World was originally going to be a movie about Nami’s past and the reason he changed it was because of how he kept his TARGET AUDIENCE in mind. He kept the young boys he appealed to in mind despite clearly wanting to write something else at first.

Him pleasing his audience doesn’t equal “I really don’t want this to be a thing”. If anything, he restricts his desires purely on the basis that he thinks whatever he wants to write is not what other people want, why the hell wouldn't you think this applies to the idea of "no romance in the crew" when he literally spoonfed us the reason being exactly that in the earlier photo of the Jump Fests '09 interview?

He clearly wants to avoid it because of this idea that his male audience will take issue with it and not because he doesn’t wanna do it himself. This why he said “Seriously!?” all surprised when Aoyama said he wouldn’t leave if he decided to implement romance into his story, and he was saying this to a man who writes romance and has already said “I love romantic comedies” 2 sentences ago. Oda is THAT unsure of himself and he's THAT much under the impression that males have no interest in romance. I rarely if ever see people bring this up.

There's a sense of insecurity Oda has on the topic of romance. When Aoyama said “I guess you have no interest in love comedies” Oda didn’t say yes or even imply that he's right about that being the case. He just said “I’m not confident I could draw those, it's a bit embarrassing” Again, he's insecure about it. Not AGAINST it. He basically spells it out for you. But many people still pretend as if he's saying all of this because he's supposedly disgusted by romance among the crew being a thing, only because that made up narrative supports what THEY want to be the case, instead of looking into the actual reason for as to why he's saying all these things.

As I said before, almost every single time he is hesitant to write romance he mentions his audience, but in the situations he doesn't bring up his audience, he instead mentions how he's embarrassed to do it. I mean when asked in a 2019 interview with Oda, he was embarrassed when asked if he incorporates arguments with his wife into how Nami argues, perhaps showcasing how he's embarrassed to talk about his wife (ya know, the person he loves) in other words, the person he's romantically attached to. This is definitely a stretch so I'm not saying that I seriously think that this is more proof on how he's embarrassed/insecure about romance, but I figured it was worth bringing up. But embarrassment aside, he also cares a lot about his manga keeping face to his boy audience.

This leads me to the next thing… Oda’s involvement with the movies. Notice how, every single time he’s involved with writing the plot there’s always some LuNami stuff he wants to throw in there?

Strong World obviously, as well as parts of Film: Gold. Now, at first things seem… odd. The LuNami hints between the two in those films are quite a bit more on the nose than anything Oda has written in the manga, like a oh-so clear parallel between Tesoro and Luffy. At first it puzzled me why Oda would relegate these stories and moments to movies. And then, if you read the Aoyama interview, things start to make sense why he approaches things this way.

Movies aren’t treated as a main part of the story by people, it’s not the manga. You have to go out of your way to see the movie. There's no need to watch the movie to understand One Piece's main manga story. Look at the contrast between Chapter 0 and Strong World itself. Chapter 0 is manga content and it seems so much more concerned with the action and hype the young boys are there for (obviously cause it takes place decades before the current canon but that was a deliberate choice, it could've easily been like how Glorious Island, being a prequel to Film Z, was contemporary to the story). While there still is a bunch of that hype/action in the movie itself, there are also romantic elements thrown in there. It's kind of like Oda's experimenting, testing the waters with those movies. It makes sense for him to approach it this way. People who so happen to hate the addition of (LuNami) romance are willing to let things slide and overlook it because said romance is in a movie they don't have to watch.

So basically a non-mandatory-to watch movie provides Oda with more leeway, or rather makes him more comfortable to add what he wants, allowing him to put just a little bit of obvious romantic themes revolving LuNami.

Although it’s just a BIT of leeway, as Oda still kept the young boys in mind as he, of course, changed the movie from what it was originally supposed to be from something darker to something more light-hearted.

Here's where we get to the main point of this long wall of text: After three seconds. See, this could have easily, EASILY been animated into the movie, it’s as simple as having a 1 minute scene of everyone hearing the final part of the message, it could have easily been the post-credits scene, heck 1 minute is probably a lot more than what was necessary to show after three seconds animated. So why did it not happen in the movie? Probably because Nami was blushing.

Blushing is the most cliché and obvious way to tell if someone is into someone else (unless it’s physical like kissing). Oda, likely due to him keeping his young male audience in mind, relegated it to something even MORE obscure than a movie you don't necessarily have to watch, instead of through said movie, it’s through… these pin things? I honestly don’t even know what the heck it’s supposed to be. I know that One Piece Color Walk 6 featured it...

...but I don’t know the origin of this or how it was distributed before the color walk. Was it given to people in theaters? Was this purchasable merch? Did it come with the DVD/Blu-Ray as an extra? There's so little information online on where in the world this came from, and that just goes to show how oddly obscure it is, as if Oda did this on purpose just so that as little people would find about it. As if he thinks “Okay my intentions will be too obvious if this gets put in the movie itself, let me try something else”. It makes sense given how he's clearly shy about the whole romance thing as I explained earlier. Of course in the movie proper Sanji still mentions the whole love message thing but without Nami explicitly blushing at Luffy hearing it, naysayers can easily just interpret it as one of Sanji's self-serving delusions as always, as Nami doesn't show explicit emotions (blushing) giving away that it's really a love message.

Yes, everything I am saying about this isn't some guaranteed factual info or whatever, but this makes WAY too much sense. He had no reason to make this featuring Nami blushing but he did anyway, like it’s a way for him to draw what he wanted without being overly concerned with his demographic at large getting to see this, you know. And it worked! For example, a lot of the LuNami naysayers point out how the message wasn't romantic and they all say it without the knowledge of After three seconds. Oda did a good job with keeping this art on the down low because let's be honest, who outside of the shipping community or people analyzing shipping to insane degrees (me right now) even know about after three seconds? Exactly.

And by the way, you can’t even say that Nami is blushing out of embarassment for everyone hearing it. In that artwork where she blushed, she knows damn well at that point that the only person on the ship who didn't hear the last part is Luffy, so she’s clearly blushing because of how LUFFY SPECIFICALLY heard it, she blushes once she’s realized that he heard it, it’s that straightforward. And Oda wrote Nami saying "It's embarrassing!" in reference to the message.

Oda is the same man who is embarrassed to write very on the nose romance. Not saying "Oh dude this totally means Oda is projecting how he feels writing after three seconds/the ending of Strong World onto Nami by making her say it's embarrassing meaning he sees this as romantic because HE is embarrassed about romance!" ....Well okay I totally AM saying that buuut I am not saying that it's actually true. I just wanted to bring it up lol.

Another perfect example of relegating obvious romantic things to obscure content is a certain sketch. And it’s in the heroine novel, obviously aimed at girls instead of boys, and oh would you look at that:

Oda does a complete 180 and features Nami with Luffy’s hat on with a HEART IN HER HAND… seriously, how more obvious can this sketch get? It can't! And it doesn't need to be subtle this time! Oda knows that on average more girls are going to care about romance so why be subtle here? In the past he said specifically that he thinks girl readers keep asking him questions related to romance, as I clearly said before, and this here novel is targeted at girls as opposed to boys. There’s no reason for Luffy’s hat to be on her, especially because, well, he has nothing to do with Nami's novel, it's not like he plays a role in it. Nami post-timeskip is pretty much never seen wearing his hat before this sketch, making it very peculiar for him to draw her like this here on something aimed towards girls, the demographic he keeps mentioning "loves romance and keeps asking me to include it in One Piece". Seriously, the ONE TIME to bring it back in like, a decade, and it’s done like this? It feels ridiculous to call people crazy for thinking it has to mean something given all the context I have provided.

I mean, notice how in the main manga storyline, Nami hasn’t had his since SKYPIEA??? Hell, even then, she has only had it on her head once in the main manga in Arlong Park, yet Oda made Nami wear the hat in color spreads, which are treated as not important at all by a lot of readers. Color spreads by casual or young readers are usually looked at like “Huh cool artwork I guess, not going to extensively think about it though”, again giving Oda a liiitttle bit more leeway than his main manga story. Why else do you think that Luffy and Nami are CONSISTENTLY portrayed as King and Queen in color spreads and not the main manga storyline? Because from Oda's perspective it gives naysayers or the boys who in his mind supposedly hate romance leeway to say "Oh it's just a color spread! Just fun little aesthetic stuff!", in other words, nothing to take seriously. If he wrote it into his main manga story he would have to explain why Luffy and Nami would dress up as King and Queen too, again making things a loooot more explicit depending on the way he goes about it, and he's already insecure about it, so.... I'm just saying.

Also come on, there has to be a reason why Oda has portrayed Nami with Luffy’s hat plenty of times after Skypiea yet none of those times were in the story proper, just like the movies he's involved in being heavily focused on Nami herself or LuNami. He himself wrote Tesoro and Stella's romance, he himself said that ROMANCE WAS A GOOD IDEA FOR FILM: GOLD yet is much more adamant about romance being included in his manga storyline and it was HIS idea to parallel the romance for Tesoro/Stella that he wrote with Luffy/Nami. Almost as if he is less concerned with a certain audience for the movies and side material than he his for his manga... Nah, that's ridiculous!

Isn’t it just weird how a lot of the side content Oda makes/is involved in is more on the nose with shipping hints? To me it seems like his thought process is “Okay! I can finally do something I want to! I want to make a movie about Luffy saving Nami with a few romantic undertones thrown in there… I could’ve easily made an arc like this in the manga but, can’t let my main audience be disappointed, can I?” Arlong Park and Skypiea are the only times in the manga in which Nami gets to be saved by Luffy. (Funnily enough they’re both are the only times in the main story where Luffy gives Nami his hat.) Both arcs were so long ago. It just seems to me like he wrote Strong World and the romance aspect of Film: Gold to scratch his “Nami gets saved by Luffy” itch. Even with the Zou hug being a thing, it is not something that Oda puts emphasis on at all, it’s pretty zoomed out in the manga, as if he is avoiding any overly direct intimacy that the readers he’s catering to would catch on to. It’s all too suspicious to me.

All this isn't to say that Oda doesn't do any LuNami stuff in the main manga storyline, it just that he's not mega obvious with it at all and doesn't plan to include said mega obvious hints as long as his concern with his boy audience remains there. So it doesn't invalidate any LuNami hints that people think happened in the manga like Nami blushing over the CPR Reiju gave (naysayers could easily say she was just shocked unlike Strong World where it's blatantly her blushing over Luffy hearing what Sanji called a "love message") or things that are more subtle like Nami's "I don't want to marry yet" in Thriller Bark, I'm just saying that cliché hints of romance is what he would like to avoid, something cliché enough that his shounen audience would figure out.

As a side note, Oda's "People seem so supportive of couples!" is also interesting as before his Aoyama interview he always knew/thought that girls are always the ones ask him for romance and as such of course he would know the female demographic would care more about it, so this surprise about people seeming supportive of couples may or may not be him realizing that it's not just girls who are interested, but perhaps boys too. Of course we all know that Oda drew Luffy and Nami together for Aoyama, the author he just talked about romance with. Now again not saying "Oh man this HAS to be a LuNami hint!" because they talked about much more than just romance, but still, something to consider!

Oda's "Ah, seriously!?" is still funny to me when Aoyama said he won't leave if One Piece were to include romance, despite Aoyama writing romance in Detective Conan, interesting reaction from Oda given how Aoyama literally said "I like love comedies" just earlier. As if to convince himself that Aoyama is writing the romance in his story to pander to his female audience instead of doing it because he likes doing it. Anyway I think I am digressing.

I think my theory may hold some water, but hey if you disagree, that’s totally fine. I’m not the best at articulating myself so the way I talked about some things here may just be seen as completely wrong, but hey, that’s okay! If you have something to add, you can do so. I know there will be people disagreeing with me, including even some LuNami fans, but again, I don't mind at all.

My verdict is this: Oda likes the idea of LuNami but due to his concern with his target audience, he won’t make any obvious advances that young boys would pick up on and as a result, tries to sneak in more obvious hints into supplementary/more obscure content like Movies, After three seconds, a sketch, etc. because people take those less seriously/not at face value like stuff that happens inside the manga's story, so only puts more subtle or non-cliché hints in his manga and the less subtle ones in secondary material. (I mean seriously dude, wearing Luffy's hat with a heart in your hand? A romance parallel in a movie? Blushing at the "love message" being heard? Come on, that so much more on the nose than anything in the entire manga)

I guess you can say there are layers to how far Oda is willing to go to show LuNami more explicitly lol. The more of a low profile he think he has from his boy readers, the more explicit it'll be. That is seriously a trend I have been noticing from him.

Honestly, with all this being said and done, I think the only way he will feel totally at ease with including explicit LuNami romance is if he is convinced that his boy audience doesn't mind romance at all and wouldn't leave in salt, bitterness and passive aggression.

I think One Piece will continue to be written like this without on the nose romance. The best we can hope for is a sudden LuNami ending once the story is over, because 1. By then he stops writing One Piece and doesn't need to be walking on eggshells to please his audience and 2. Romance not being written doesn't necessarily mean characters won't end up together as BF/GF, husband/wife. Portraying romance is simply showing us the way that lead to the BF/GF husband/wife relationship in the first place.

Keep in mind that the whole interpretation I have about Oda's portrayal romance and LuNami could be entirely wrong!

To talk about the "Boys don't like romance" thing, I'm a man, and look, I wrote all of this stupid shit. To me it's funny that he still is under the wrong impression that all, or at least most, boys don't like romance. I am not a shipper of everything in fiction myself, LuNami is one of the few ships I even care about. If your audience grows attached enough to a series they would get attached to the characters too, this attachment can lead to a desire of wanting to see these characters be more, that is how I started to love LuNami. I think a decent amount of male One Piece fans feel the same way, for guys like me liking a ship usually takes a slow burn, whereas, usually from what I observe, women ship things much quicker than guys. I also feel less willing at expressing my love for a ship, a big part of it being that many guys just "support" a ship instead of going balls to the wall insane for a ship with a million essays about how great the ship is, on top of that they almost always support the ships I think are lame where it's stupid one-sided love for 95% of the story (For example, men in the English-speaking community support LuHan so much more than LuNami on average it's not even funny) For a long time, many years, I was sitting in the back, keeping my interest in LuNami to myself. And what better way to "come out the shipping closet" I guess you can say, than to make... whatever the hell I wrote here? I don't know man at this point I'm so drained I'm starting to doubt that anything I even said here made any sense, I just flung all the things stored in brain at this post so it may be all over the place but whatever!

Hope you loved reading this regardless! See ya!

[fsfghgee]

Warning: Long dive. Bi-Han and Sektor's relationship part 2 (+ Bi-Han's redemption)

Honestly, I think people who are expecting to see Bi-Han flirting with Sektor in the expansion will be disappointed, 'cause Bi-Han isn't like Johnny Cage or Kung Lao. He really is not that kind of guy…

And he's damn far from it. Even if Bi-Han and Sektor do have a romantic relationship, I'd bet anything that in the intros they'll just be praising each other, reaffirming vows of loyalty, talking about the clan's defectors, making more plans together, giving each other advice, and hopefully talking about their parents. And that's it.

'praising her is something he does often"

I don't know about our new Sektor, but Bi-Han is not the type who flirts and the way he doesn't like to follow traditions, does everything together with Sektor and treats his female subordinates as if they were any other subordinate (I think everyone saw how he got a face-to-face with Cyrax… And if Frost really is already part of the Lin Kuei, I doubt she's getting any special treatment either…), I'd say he takes gender equality really seriously and chivalry in Bi-Han's language is letting her shoot first.

And most importantly…

He takes his position very seriously. The fights between Bi-Han and Sektor will be just sparring, but I doubt he would treat even that lightly. If he is romantic, which I personally doubt (I wouldn't put my hand in the fire for that), we will never know because even his perception of romance is independent. I believe that his romanticism comes down to heroic acts, like probably giving his life for Sektor's…

I mean, the person who built the armor was Sektor, so the woman who is fighting alongside Bi-Han in OutWorld can only be Sektor. And to me, it looks like they were about to take her instead of Bi-Han (and remembering that their target was Geras who they also take with them).

.... Or stroking her ego (which is almost as big as his), promising heaven and earth, giving her expensive gifts, maybe calling her his queen when they're alone, being a bit too touchy-feely when he's needy…

I imagine that as a self-centered mama's boy (I love him, but that's just who he is), he must prefer people to give him attention instead of giving attention, I can even imagine him enjoying a cuddle with a gentle petting, honestly.

And the way Sektor seemed surprised by Bi-Han's reaction to Cyrax... I believe she's not used to seeing him angry around her, I doubt she hears anything from him other than compliments.

After all, Bi-Han was the one who sensed that she was his kindred spirit…

What are kindred spirits?"Kindred spirits are like-minded and like-souled people with whom an instant connection of love and understanding is mutually experienced," clinical psychologist Carla Marie Manly, Ph.D., tells mbg. "The connection is inimitable and often defies verbal description."

People who share common interests, values, or worldviews might be described as kindred spirits. "In more spiritual words, we could say that they resonate at the same frequency, and there is matching energy between them," Katherine Bihlmeier, a relationship coach specializing in energy work, tells mbg.

And it's Sektor who rescues Bi-Han in the story mode, not Scorpion, her lines don't appear like all the dlc, but she's clearly the one rescuing him. She joins KuaiSc's mission to rescue Geras just to rescue Bi-Han.

You can hear that she's the one who recognizes him first and sounds really worried about him…

In fact, in the first trailer for the story mode expansion, you can see Sektor fighting alongside Bi-Han already turned into Noob Saibot but with his mind under his own control again.

He's fighting the khaos versions of Cyrax and Sektor...

We can see Bi-Han fighting alongside Liu Kang too, fighting SubZeroChaos, TakedaChaos like in the datamined script…

And again, although I'm still a little bit confused about their fate…

Will Sektor really sit back and accept the Lin Kuei being punished by Liu Kang and leaving Bi-Han locked up in the temple? Honestly, I highly doubt it.

I have no problem with the nature of their relationship, whatever it is. I'm a Lin Kuei fan, so Sektor getting some love kinda warms my heart since it never happened before...

And I think if it's well written it could be really interesting and make Bi-Han's character more multidimensional. Since he literally has no one else besides Sektor to lean on... Cyrax will desert them.

Hopefully, Noob Saibot ending will show us what will become of Bi-Han Sub-Zero in mk1.

...

edit: With the revealed Sektor trailer, we saw that Bi-Han ended up in Havik's hands when he jumped after him trying to strike him and accidentally ended up entering the portal that Havik had opened.

[plantsjustwannahavefun]

I keep seeing so many people here getting angry that this season is "vilifying Ed", and it's depressingly fascinating to see how others can watch the same show and somehow see something completely different. Is it simply the lack of media literacy? Is it the inability to appreciate and enjoy complex, nuanced, morally grey characters without willfully blocking out anything even slightly unpalatable about them to the point where the character they think they love isn't really that character anymore?

Because, uh... Season 1 already "vilified" Ed plenty. Except "vilify" is the wrong word, of course. It wasn't in any way malicious or mean-spirited, quite the contrary, it was often played as comedic (until the end of episode 10 when it was anything but) - Ed was always meant to be a sympathetic character, he's a protagonist after all, and the show's portrayal of him is very compassionate. It merely refused to sugarcoat or shy away from his darker side. He's literally history's most famous pirate, you don't become one by being nice and treating everyone gently. He ambushed and strangled his own father to death when he was like 9 years old (100% deserved and justifiable ofc, but it still bears saying it out loud like this just to comprehend how unhinged this actually was). He loves torturing and maiming people for fun, and sometimes even animals (that scene with forcing a turtle to fight a crab). He didn't give a fuck about his crew members dying to satisfy his whim to meet Stede. He entirely failed in his role as a captain in ep 4. He effectively played a double agent with Izzy and Stede for a while before changing his mind. He attempted to murder Lucius. And while you could try to argue his punishment of Izzy was at least to some degree deserved, not only cutting Izzy's toe off but forcing him to eat went beyond punishment, it was sadistic torture.

So, yeah, please just read all that and take it in. And then remember once again that Ed is also a traumatised, lonely, depressed, sensitive, creative, curious, deeply passionate person yearning for true love and for something different in life... just like Stede. He loves music and can play the piano. He wrote a very vulnerable song and sand his heart out. He likes his tea with seven sugars. He enjoys fashion and dressing up. He has such a limitless sense of wonder for the world. He went on a trek with Stede just to make him happy, even though he hated nature and was in a shit mood that day. He wants to host a talent show. He wants to become free. He's clever and funny and fascinating. I love Ed.

Yes, it's possible to reconcile those two sides of him and accept both sides as the "real" Ed. You have to reconcile the two sides if you want to enjoy him as a character, because if you don't, you're going to either detest him to the core (which would make enjoying the show practically impossible since he's sort of a main character...), or you'll only be able to enjoy a diminished, crippled, cardboard cutout version of his character, which would be such a pity and a massive disservice to the creators of this show who worked hard to create interesting, multidimensional characters.

Not to mention you'd be missing one of the core messages of the show - the idea that people still deserve love and can be loved even if they're imperfect, or not necessarily good people. Because love is a human condition. It's not a sole dominion of "good" people. "Bad" people can fall in love too - even if, just like them, that love isn't exactly "nice" or "pure", and neither are the relationships that stem from it. They can be messy and exasperating. But "bad" people can also grow and change because of it. That's what OFMD is ultimately about - growth and change, learning to accept yourself but also become better. That can't happen if the character is already 100% perfect the way they are.Ed is far from that. So is Izzy. They can both become better, and they both still deserve compassion and understanding, because that's the environment people need to become better.

So, if you're mad that at the start of S2 the crew are sympathetic to Izzy's suffering and want to help him instead of kicking him when he's down, and what Ed did to him is being acknowledged as cruel and wrong... congratulations, you have completely missed what OFMD is all about.

[moonlitmmarie]

Goku, upon Trunks and Goten coming out: "But how do two guys...uh...y'know? Eh, whatever makes you happy! Hey, you'll have a buffet at the wedding, right?"

(Also, while he's not the very sentimental type, I think even he would be a little touched that he and Bulma, his very oldest friend, are part of the same family now.)

Bahaha of course Goku had really nothing else on his mind but food. I totally agree about the one family thing though. There was that one time in DBZ that Bulma mused about how she missed her chance with Goku, so I think that she would look at the newlyweds TruTen and look back at that moment and realize Goku and her will become family one way or another. Like there's something magnetic about her genes and his genes and there's nothing they could really do to stop their descendants from getting along and ultimately fusing the two families into one. She would think that fate really has it way of turning things out, and she can't say she mind it one bit as she is now as happy as she could be.

Goku of course wouldn't think all that, but yeah he would all be like, "Gosh Bulma and Vegeta, I guess being in-laws makes us family now!" Vegeta would be absolutely fuming and seething at the statement and would only calm down once he thinks about his two sons (yes Vegeta sees Goten as one of his own in my eyes. Not in a too sentimental and accepting way but he tolerates the kid enough and then eventually you see a Vegeta acknowleging Goten by his name and caring about the boy's opinion of himself such as asking if Goten likes his moustache in GT.) And Vegeta obviously cares about Trunks' happiness and well-being too, so if he said something to object to this idea ("You're enamoured with this dumb brat?") and Trunks stood up during dinner with Goten's greasy, food-scattered fingers intertwined with his own, shouting, "But Daddy Papa I love him!", he would discard all of his past efforts to give a shit about his son's romantic interest and just, "Alright do whatever you want, at least he's a warrior and you're a warrior." (something something Saiyan women being fiery and with fighting spirits something something Vegeta doesn't know which of them is the woman in this case but it's not applicable anyway because they're both men but oh well he ran out of fucks to give at this point).

But he used his (fake) disapproving overprotective dad attitude to force them to give him something in order to get his approval of their relationship. He settled with them making sure the kids have traditional Saiyan names. They could very well be named 'Son Gohan the Third' or 'Vegeta the Fifth', but I took the liberty to explore other vegetable names.

Chichi took a lot of convincing before she could begin to accept the idea that her son is into men/his best friend. She would freak out over not having anymore grandchildren. When they managed to assure her she will have a grandkid with the power of Shenlong, she worries that the kid would fade away and vanish should Shenlong's existence is erased or some other threats to the universe. Only when she holds the little baby girl breathing and living and squeaking in her arms is her mind at ease.

Thank you for the ask, it was fun to share my own headcanons ❤️

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

I know you've touched on it in your Gamzee Essay/general alternative timeline post but may I hear some more about your ideas regarding GamTav (or only Tavros)? You get these two in a way the broader fandom doesn't (which is fine, I'll still reblog even the most vanilla ooc art of them) so I'd really love hearing more of your thoughts:3

Ok, I think this is going to be someeewhat controversial, but I think they're destined for pale together, despite Gamzee's initial flushed flirting. I did in fact reread ALL of Tavros's logs for this.

I think the first thing we need to establish is that Tavros actually feels really shitty about himself. It's obvious that his problem is "self-esteem," since he's constantly prattling on about it, but there's a bit he says as Tavrossprite that's pretty enlightening as to where his actions stem from:

TAVROSPRITE: i SYMPATHIZE ENTIRELY WITH YOUR SOCIAL IMPASSE, cAUSING NOT GOOD REFLECTIONS ABOUT YOURSELF, tHAT MAYBE ALSO DOUBLE AS LIBERATING STUFF ABOUT YOU THAT YOU RANDOMLY DECIDE IS FINE SUDDENLY, TAVROSPRITE: oLD ACQUAINTANCES, aND GUYS YOU ONCE CALLED FRIENDS, TAVROSPRITE: tHOSE ARE VERY HARD, TAVROSPRITE: bECAUSE OVER TIME THEY GET EXPOSED TOO MUCH, tO ALL MY FLAWS AND INSECURITIES, TAVROSPRITE: aND THEY START LIKING ME LESS BECAUSE OF THAT, TAVROSPRITE: aT LEAST, tHAT'S HOW THE TRUTH FEELS, iN MY BRAIN, TAVROSPRITE: sO i START THINKING, mAYBE THEY CAN'T BE THAT IMPORTANT TO ME, aFTER ALL, iF i'M GOING TO WANT TO FEEL NOT SAD ABOUT MYSELF ALL THE TIME,

He has a mixture of self-loathing and social anxiety, the latter of which exacerbates the former, as his mind tells him that his friends secretly hate him. However, his real problem is what he then does with those feelings - he avoids them and the situations that cause them. This causes two major knock-on effects: the first is that he actively ends up distancing himself from people who ARE nice to him and DO care about him, only adventuring with Vriska because he's a pushover and she's very pushy (he adventures completely alone up until that point, and winds up sleeping almost all the time afterwards); the second being that, because he refuses to actually sit with and address his negative feelings about himself (or anything else), he's never able to fix them, or remove himself from shitty situations.

Something consistent with Tavros is that every time he tries to make a decision before his death and Vriska-prototyping, it's by trying to rely on something external - whether that's his imaginary friend, his robot legs, or the story of Pupa Pan... or relying on advice from Kanaya, or seeking approval and forgiveness from Vriska, or earning flushed interest from Jade. He believes himself to be deeply flawed and untrustworthy, so he allows other people to make his decisions, and when relationships do get intimate enough that someone might get him vulnerable, he peaces out. Even his ill-fated attempt to kill Vriska is heavily encouraged by Vriska herself:

AT: aND THAT BEING THE CASE, AT: eVEN THOUGH i'M TERRIFIED OF YOU, AT: aND nOT AS STRONG, AT: oR REAL CONFIDENT, AT: oNLY MOSTLY FAKE CONFIDENT, AG: Yeeeeeeees? AG: Go on. AT: i THINK, AT: i AM GOING TO HAVE TO STOP YOU, AG: Yeah! That's the spirit. AG: Pretty weakslime threat there, 8ut it's a start. AG: Tell you what. AG: If you can find me in this la8, you can have at me. AG: I'll even give you a free shot! No funny 8usiness or anything. AT: oK, AT: tHEN, AT: hERE i COME, AG: I'll 8e w8ing. <3

As we see with Jade, whom he's attempting to flirt with flushed, he's actively trying to impress her using "self-esteems" explicitly gained from "fake" things he's acknowledging as fake - that is, refusing to be genuine and vulnerable with her, because he doesn't believe anyone would like him the way he actually is.

AT: bUT WHAT ABOUT, AT: mY ATTRACTIVE BRAVADO, AT: aND IGNORING MY INSTINCTUAL COWARDICE HARD ENOUGH TO SAY THAT i LIKE YOU, AT: iSN'T THAT, AT: sUPPOSED TO BE VERY ATTRACTIVE, aND ENCOURAGE THE MAJOR HAVING OF FLUSHED FEELINGS IN OTHERS, AT: i GUESS WHAT i MEAN IS, wHAT ABOUT ALL MY CONFIDENCE, AT: wHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT,

His "dating" Vriska in the dream bubbles is also dubious and one-sided at best, as John calls him out for faking it and Tavros isn't willing to bring up wanting the Ring of Life because he was planning to propose to Vriska. Thus, once more, he's attempting to use something disingenuous (in this case, a human proposal) to win another person's affection, which he believes would be a symbol of actualizing his "self-esteem".

We also literally see him do the "deciding someone wasn't actually important to you after all, so it hurts less when you cut them off before they can hurt you emotionally by noticing your flaws" thing with Nepeta - he actually quite likes Nepeta, and would certainly have enjoyed having her play the game with him, but he assures her that it's not a big deal basically immediately, and insists he'll just find someone else:

AC: :33 < tavros im sorry i cant be on your team :(( AC: :33 < im not allowed AT: oH, AT: tHAT'S OKAY, AT: tHEN i GUESS HE SAID NO, tHEN, ... AC: :33 < hmm purrhaps AC: :33 < but i still f33l bad AT: i'LL FIND ANOTHER PLAYER, iT'S NOT A BIG DEAL, AT: gOOD LUCK, bEING, AT: oN THE BLUE TEAM, AC: :33 < ok thanks :((

But, perhaps most strikingly, is the way he leaves his good friend Gamzee on read after Gamzee suggests... gasp... intimacy.

TC: WhEn wE Up aNd sTaRt tO KiCk aT ThIs rEd TeAm NoIsE, TC: YoU ShOuLd mAkE YoUr wAy tO GeT YoUr hAnG On aT My hIvE. AT: oH, yES, tOTALLY, TC: We cOuLd sPlIt a tIn oF ThE PiMpEsT SnEeZe i gOt oN HaNd, BaKeD Up aLl sPeCiAl fOr yOu. TC: AnD ThEn mAyBe mAkE OuT A LiTtLe. AT: uH, TC: ;o) AT: , AT: ,,

It freaks him out, and he's never seen hanging with Gamzee again. And this is a huge shame, because not only is Tavros one of the only people who is nice to Gamzee and appreciates his religious beliefs, but Gamzee is one of the only people who hears out Tavros's genuine insecurities and desires without making fun of him:

AT: tHE ONLY THING MORE FLY THAN THE RHYMES, AT: i'M SAYING TO EXPRESS ALL MY MALICES, AT: iS THE ABILITY HE HAD i WISH WAS MINE, AT: iNSTEAD OF i GUESS, THIS EXCESSIVE PARALYSIS, TC: (lOoK OuT FoR ThE HoOk bRo!!!) TC: GeT OfFa tHoSe wHeElS, gEt oFfA ThOsE WhEeLs. TC: If mIrAcLeS ArEn't fAkE He'lL GeT OfFa tHoSe wHeElS! AT: bUT HIGH, iN THIS CASE, hAS DOUBLE THE MEANING, AT: iT MEANS HE CAN FLY, pLUS DOES HIGH SELF ESTEEMING, AT: tHAT'S TWO THINGS HE HAS, tHAT i'D RATHER WERE MINE, AT: hIS TWO FLAPPY WINGS, aND hIS BIG HEALTHY SPINE, AT: oOPS, AT: tHAT'S THREE THINGS,,, TC: GeT OfFa tHoSe wHeElS, gEt oFfA ThOsE WhEeLs. TC: If mIrAcLeS ArEn't fAkE He'lL GeT OfFa tHoSe wHeElS!

(Compare:)

PAT: i'M SORT OF, lYING ON vRISKA'S FLOOR RIGHT NOW, PAT: lIKE, iN HER BLOCK, PAT: lYING DOWN, PAT: uHH, yOU KNOW, bECAUSE i CAN'T WALK, CCG: OH NO SHIT REALLY??? CCG: YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS, WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN.

He isn't able to do a REAL self-confidence at least until he gives Vriska the bird and flies away, for the first time asserting that he thinks she's an asshole and doesn't actually want or need her validation or approval. After that, he's able to convince a ghost army to follow him using friendship and asking and niceness. Breath powers! Also Page powers! Also actual self-esteems! Although I don't personally hold anything after Game Over as anything more than soft canon, I think we can still see a fairly straightforward character arc reach a natural conclusion there.

But as to why I specifically think him and Gamzee are destined for pale, despite what appears to be flushed leanings from Gamzee's end, and despite the fact that I usually believe what the comic tells me, is because what brief few interactions we see between them are very much pale in nature, and it would be kind of narratively bizarre if Gamzee were set up to have a failed moirallegiance - the quadrant described as "soul mates" - without managing to find his real soul mate after. And who's it going to be? Equius? Or the guy that Gamzee literally says he feels "at chill with" talking to?

Gamzee kissing Tavros's corpse is often used as evidence for his desire for flushed, but I disagree - however Gamzee feels about Tavros romantically, kissing a dead player is how you revive them, so it reads to me - especially given how sad Gamzee is about Tavros dying - more like a desperate act to bring him back. Lest we forget, Terezi also gives it a try, and Karkat kisses Kanaya for the same reason - the reality that their extra lives are gone hasn't sunk in yet for these 13 year old kids, so they must try revival even if they know it won't work.

Moreover, Gamzee indirectly describes Tavros as his "best friend," after having called Karkat that through most of the game, and having an implied pale crush on Karkat during that time.

TC: YOU MOTHER FUCKING KNOW, BROTHER. TC: its the fuckin puppet. TC: THE ONE THAT'S ALL GOT TO BE MY BEST FUCKING FRIEND I GOT NOW. TC: now that my other buddy managed to be having his head chopped off. :oC

Moreover moreover, what Karkat cites as being the cause of their moirallegiance's failure is Gamzee's religious beliefs:

KARKAT: HE STARTED GETTING SO UNBELIEVABLY SELF SATISFIED AND PIOUS, LIKE WAY MORE THAN HE EVER WAS BEFORE. KARKAT: LIKE HE'S JUST SO COMPLETELY CONVINCED HE'S FOUND HIS CALLING, THAT THIS SESSION IS THE GATEWAY TO THE PROMISED LAND WHERE HE'LL FULFILL HIS DESTINY. KARKAT: HE'S SO CAUGHT UP IN HIS IDIOTIC SCHEMES HE COULDN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ME ANYMORE.

Which are explicitly what Tavros invites Gamzee to speak on, and appreciates:

AT: yEAHHH, yOU CAN TALK ABOUT THE CLOWN THINGS, wHICH, AT: i DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND EVER, bUT THAT'S OKAY, AT: bECAUSE IT'S KIND OF FUNNY, AT: wHEREAS, i'LL ADDRESS SOME TOPICS PERTAINING TO MY INTERESTS, AT: aND i GUESS, pERSONAL MOTIFS, TC: YeAh! FuCk YeAh, ThAt Be HoW sHiT's AlL uSuAlLy Up AnD fUcKiN lOcKeD bRo. ... AT: dO YOU HAVE TIME FOR, mY MIRACLES, rELIGIOUS FRIEND, }:) TC: Do yOu gEt yOuR NoTiCe oN Of tHe mIrAcLeS AT: sO MANY, uH, gRATUITOUS EXPLETIVE, mIRACLES, tHE MAGIC MOTHER, aLSO eXPLETIVE, mIRACLES, TC: FuCk yEs, HeReS WhErE ThE SlAm tUrNs tO NoThIn bUt hOnKs... TC: HoNk hOnK HoNk hOnK HoNk hOnK HoNk TC: HoNk hOnK HoNk hOnK HoNk hOnK HoNk AT: HONK, TC: FuUuUuUuUuUuUuUuUuCk! AT: iT'S LESS APPROPRIATE FOR ME TO DO THE HONKS, tHAN YOU, bUT THAT WAS STILL GREAT, TC: YeAh, BrO. yEaH!!! AT: tHE SLAMS WERE TRULY PRIME, aND, AT: yOUR RELIGIOUS VIEWS, tHOUGH i DON'T SHARE THEM, aRE, AT: rEASONABLY INSPIRATIONAL, AT: i THINK i'M IN THE PROCESS OF RELEASING AT LEAST ONE TEAR,

But also in Tavros's single conversation with Gamzee, we see Tavros stand up to a highblood:

TC: :o) HoNkHoNkHoNkHoNkHoNk AT: }:o), hEH, TC: hAhAh FuUuUuCk, YoU sToLe My FuCkIn NoSe BrO! TC: WhAt GoT yOu EvEn Up ThE gUmPtIoN tO aLl FuCkIn Do ThE sHiT lIkE tHaT? AT: eRR, i DON'T KNOW, iT'S JUST, AT: kIND OF THE OBVIOUS THING TO DO, AT: sTICK THE CIRCLE IN FRONT OF THE DOTS, aND, bEHIND THE BENDY ONE, AT: pLUS, oH YEAH, mY HORNS, TC: hAhAhAhA. AT: mAYBE WE CAN SLAM ABOUT IT, ... TC: fUuUuCk, So FuCkIn FrEsH. TC: YoU nEeD tO bE sLaPpEd FuCkIn SiLlY wItH a MoUtH lIkE tHaT! hAhA. AT: aND, iF YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH IT, AT: tHEN i SUGGEST YOU GO AND RAP IT DUDE,

He feels safe with Gamzee, enough to take a bit of an attitude with him, enough to open up about his insecurities about his disability and how much he wishes he was like Pupa Pan, and Gamzee explicitly states he feels calm when he talks to Tavros, which is the stated function of a moirallegiance.

TC: Me tOo, BrO, yOu mOtHeR FuCkIn kNoW ThErE Be sOmE Of mY EyE's RoYaL JeLlY To gO WiTh yOuR EmOtIoNaL pEaNuT BuTtEr. AT: wHOA, aHA, hA, TC: ThIs iS BeAuTiFuL, dUdE, i fEeL So aT ChIlL WiTh yOu. AT: yEAH, fRIENDLINESS WITH YOU IS, pRETTY MUCH ALWAYS NICE, aND FUN TO HAVE,

And the thing is, trolls are constantly getting into moirallegiances when they want to be flushed (Eridan, Kanaya), having palecrushes when they want to be friends (Gamzee), and winding up flushed with their moirail (pale solfef is forshadowed in the same breath as pale erikar, and they don't seem to confirm a matespritship until after Sollux's actual flushed crush, Aradia, explodes). Especially for Gamzee, who was neglected by his lusus and struggles with social interaction to the point where he feels like he has to hide his real self (casteist beliefs, constant talk of religion and murder, which, by the way, come out when he talks to Tavros), it'd be easy for him to mistake the "instinctive attraction" of moirallegiance for the passions of matespritship.

These thoughts are all pretty disorganized - I'm really sorry, it's super late/early for me and I'm exhausted for other reasons - but I hope that that . was what you wanted? hahah

[rifari2037]

Is Zutara other version of Dramione?

I used to be huge Harry Potter fan, I watched all the movies and read all the novels. I shipped Romione at that time, in fact Romione/Grintson was the reason I love Harry Potter series.

But, I don't mind with the idea of Dramione. I found it interesting, though. Once, I made a love triangle fanfic between Hermione, Ron, and Draco. I mean, who can blame the fans if Tom Felton played Draco Malfoy in that series?

The question here is, is Zutara another version of Dramione?

For the enemies to lovers trope, yes. But, that's it! Because there is huge differences between these pairs.

I'm pretty sure, people ship Dramione because of the actors. It doesn't make sense if the ship come from the characters or arcs. Because, Draco has no redemption arc. Also, Draco and Hermione never shows relationship development. They're enemies 'till the end of the series, or maybe not enemies in the very end of the movie, but not friends too.

In the original series, Draco isn't a complex character. He is a villain, raised to be a bully, racist, and coward. Compare with Saverus Snape, who has good and bad side, I don't remember Draco has good side in him. He might hesitate to kill Dumbledore, but that's because he's afraid and there's nothing to do with morality. Until final battle, he and his family run away from the battle like a cowards.

I never read Dramione fanfic, but I think the redemption arc and Draco's good side only happened in fanfic, which is fine, that's what fanfic for.

Now, let's talk about Zutara.

Zuko has the best redemption arc and it's canon. Even when he still villain, he has good side and morality. Zuko is a complex character, in fact he banished because he has good in him. He lost his way and find his destiny by himself.

This redemption arc makes the 'enemies to lovers' trope between Zuko and Katara make sense to be canon. People not only love this ship because they look good together, but also because of their storyline and relationship development. They build connection, saved each other lives, and complement each other in the battle. All of those are canon.

And I haven't even talked about their symbols (yin yang, fire water, sun moon), their parallels (blue spirit and painted lady, their childhood trauma, their closure), Omashu reincarnation, etc.

This is a big difference between Dramione and Zutara. In the show, Zutara has a lot of materials to be canon while Dramione has none at all.

[butchsophiewalten]

Was waiting until ep 4 to ask but for the character opinion bingo thingymajiggy could you do bon (the spirit/evil murder robot ) if you haven't already

Oh my god, Bon. I love Bon so much. I'm so glad that I love Bon so much.

Bon, the animatronic rabbit, has over the course of the couple last years become one of my favorite characters. At this point, he's right up there with Jenny and Sophie. So when we first got that Findjackwalten "Bon" reveal, I was very... apprehensive? For me it was just really underwhelming. I honestly think my biggest complaint was just that, aesthetically, he was so much more boring than Bon, the animatronic rabbit. I love Bon. What I didn't love was this like, clip art character. He was just a guy? Like a human guy? He didn't even look fun. There was so little there to sell me on the idea of Bon as a character. It's funny, though, since I really think part of what frustrated me was that the part that made Bon an Evil Killer was divorced from him being a rabbit. Which is a really silly thing to say, but I just honestly hadn't expected there to be any 'form' of Bon that came aesthetically separate from the mystique of the rabbit animatronic. And I love rabbits, they're my favorite animals. (Well, hares are, really. But rabbits get to share the love.) So it was a very petty kind of upset.

But oh my god, seeing "Bon" in this episode has totally turned me around. Like wow, he is fun! He is aesthetically interesting! Which is why I've written that 'so relieved' point on top of the one that usually says 'wasted potential'. I'd had an idea in my mind of what "Bon" would be since we saw that "Bon" text on Findjackwalten in fucking January of 2022. That's a lot of time to stew in your thoughts. If "Bon" ended up being something I wasn't happy with, I was gonna be really disappointed. But I wasn't!

It's been really fun learning to attribute some of my favorite aspects of Bon, the killer animatronic, to "Bon", the white ghost, because they are effectively the same. I can't help but find him really cute, honestly? I love his girlish mannerisms. I love his penchant for.. Fashion? I say this remembering one of the old entries on the Martin's Secret Lair findjackwalten page. His love of music? Y'know, obviously he kills people and is evil and manipulative. But he does it cutely. Definitely the rabbit aspect is doing something to endear me.

Beyond that purely emotional endearment, I'm genuinely very interested in him as a character as well... It's a little hard to talk about, though, since my feelings are so new and so poorly thought-out, honestly. But something I've been thinking about for a while is his relationship with Rosemary... From how I see it, he seems to have a strange sort of infatuation with her. He calls her Rosie... he puts her in Sha... Less objectively, his little shrine to her in Souvenir seems very elaborate to me, at least relatively. And assuming the "Rose broken. Will fix you" dialogue is diegetic and we're meant to think that Bon spoke to Rose before killing her... Well, it's just very interesting to me that he seemed to try to explain to her what was going on. It's really fucked, honestly, and it's something I'd really like to know more about. His conversation with Susan in 4 makes me think his criteria for killing people has at least something to do with, like, whether or not he likes someone. Really really fucked and really, really interesting.

God there's really so much to say about Bon... But I'm nervous too, since I don't really know how well I can articulate what I feel. It feels a little like there's warring factions in me, between the Me that thinks the animatronic serial killer is so Silly Cutesy and Me that's really horrified by and invested in the Lore and Context behind everything that Bon, as a character and narrative force, is actually doing. Not that those feelings necessarily can't coexist. The way he talks to Susan is so unsettling to me... it's strangely tender, honestly. Like a genuine attempt for comfort, despite the context. I feel like I have a million little half-observations to make, but none of them amount to a full thought. Bon is really fucked! I'm so happy that I find him actually really cool and interesting! I want to take him clothes shopping and feed him Tchaikovsky records. Martin said he liked Classical music but I think that's. well not Wrong but inarticulate. I think he's a Romantic girl. He loves some Beethoven. Some Liszt. whjat am i even saying anymore

[sunnami]

Hey, i couldn't tell you how grateful i am for your poly!maurauders + lily fic. They are truly wonderful. The writing is superb. I just have a request for your part 2 of "Watch me, don't touch me, love me, don't hurt me", is that you add more scene for Lily and R because i noticed that all your other fic don't have a lot of scenes with her and i just wish that maybe you let them interract more in the future. Like maybe some exchanges in the past while they were students at Hogwarts like before R became a bully maybe Lily had a crush on R. When they're adult, maybe some light flirting, blushing over how stunning Lily is, etc.

All in all, i just want more Lily, i adored her, i kiss the ground she walked on.

Thank you for reading, take all the time you need ❤️

hi, hon!! thank you so much for your lovely words and suggestion! i, too, love lily evans! in fact, i was always saddened by the fact that there wasn't enough jily x reader fics out there (back then.) which is why, i always aim to have a significant part for her in a fic. because i mainly write poly!marauders with lily and reader, i have to juggle more than two people in a relationship.. which is harder than one might expect. even though i may outline a fic, i might still fall short with interactions and fleshing out a character, especially because i write oneshots. so i'm bound to have a character or two who was less scenes than the others.

HOWEVER, i always always make sure that each of the marauders and lily play a role in the fic. when it comes to lily specifically, i made sure that she was the ending kiss in you'd be the love of my life when i was young. in the time!traveller harry fic, she was also in the ending scene, implied to have fallen in love with the reader first. in other fics, she is the one to confess first, etc etc. and in my latest fic, where r is a regressor/time traveller, lily is the one who allows the reader to deal with her grief. i love her so much, i sometimes fear i write too much of her. what i love writing most about her character is lily's gentleness and her spirit.

for watch me don't touch me, while lily and r have a strained relationship, as of now, it's because it's important to their relationship. the reader is considered as someone who is the typical pureblooded wizard, and lily evans is a muggleborn. obvs, i can't have them kissing just yet. but lily's relationship with r in the enemies to lovers is very, very important. she is one of the major stepping stones to r's character development. and i think this will be more prominent in the finale.

but! i do appreciate your suggestion!!! i'll keep that in mind moving forward in case some other people feel the same way! thanks so much!! <3333

if i misunderstood your post pls disregard the long-ass answer, i am sooo high on meds rn.

[papikyoo]

(Same with the latest anonymous discussion) There's no need to be sorry! My gf and I approached fandom with our personal experiences and then somehow developed a connection to its story TOO MUCH but It's fun this way tho who cares?

100% agree at first, I didn't understand him but my gf, who loved Falin, tried to unpack Kabru's persona for me. And I just 'Oh...' sounds like this mf doesn't has anyone like his truest friend (with Rin is totally diff, he's a guy GUY towards her so much...poor Rin) and now I love this character so much. Mind you, the only thing I can relate to Kabru is the control freak?????? part of him too??????

One last thing before I shut up lol do you have any other fav  duo/trio dynamic in this series which no romantic feeling between them? I thought Falin-Kabru's interaction would be fun. The way they treat people around them very well but also have something they're gatekeeping for themselves with their priority connection or their ideal relationship or Rin-Shuro they'd be embarrassed to see themselves in each other lmaooo

Also, hope everything is going well for you and your gf!

My exact same thoughts lmaooo after I read all his interactions with his own party... I'm like... "damn this guy is so friendless", my gf also said so. yeah, we can say he doesn't have a "true friend".

It's not like he doesn't have a rich social life, he has meaningful relationships with many people. He's just judgemental and distrustful, you can see in his relationship chart.

People always say something about Mithrun's relationship chart, "he only sees his own party members for their practical use." My guy, so is Kabru. His opinions of them are mostly "neutral" as he put them in a stereotype, sorting them into a box based on interactions and impressions. these answers are also kind of distant, like something he'd answer without actually thinking lol (like, Awwww rin :-) , Dia's cute, Holm is a spirit guy, Mickbell is a bitch, well Kuro is... a kobold)

and it's so funny, because yes he cares about them, he just don't think they'd understand him deeply so he put a distance between them, he's already decided how trustworthy these people are. But don't mistake that for him not being genuine, that's who he is when he's having fun, he just have a specific use of different friend circles. The party also knows him well as there's already a joke that they go "this fake ass bitch" every time they see Kabru approach strangers. At the end of the day, Kabru just don't think these people are really for him in a sense that he'd share his inner world to them.

Back to the question, I have a lot of other fav platonic dynamics in this series. So true... Falin-Kabru / Rin-Shuro would be so interesting to see. it's a shame that we don't get to see much about Falin, because yes she also has a rich intimate personality and values that she only keeps them to herself, so I really like her conclusion. I think Falin and Kabru can have a deep understanding talk with each other but they won't keep each other in their close friends list lol... Like, having that one talk and go back to your friend circles which don't overlap, that's beautiful...

one of my favorite platonic dynamics are Pattadol and Mithrun... and my gf once said that Mithrun has more friends than Kabru and that's so true lmao, I like that Pattadol genuinely cares about him that she cries when Mithrun is moving again and he also seems to like spending time with her in the modern AU. I also like Hien and Benichidori's interaction in the extras although it's a shame that we don't see much of Toshiro's party.

I also think Marcille and Kabru would be a great entertaining workplace friendship.

Actually, I think a lot about Kabru-Rin, I really like their relationship... Kabru is protective of her, she's one of the plot points which Kabru takes a duty to ensure safety to people he cares, it was assigned to him since he's a kid that he must comfort her. she is his first girl friend, so yeah I think he doesn't know better and he's immature towards her lol. imo Rin affected who Kabru is as a person, it's a meaningful relationship to him. but then I don't want to overestimate their romantic feeling because it's like... something that's already established to both of them that this is how it is and Rin knows it. She's also protective, she's very worried about him, the nagging comes from her own self preservation. and with someone like Kabru, that can make him feel trapped. He's stubborn in his own way and only listens when there is a reasoning presented to him. (like how Mithrun reflects to him that telling his story to Laios wouldn't work.) So like, yeah I think if they mature enough in the future, they can be a family to each other or drift apart to have their own life...

I'm yapping so muchh lol, thank you for the ask, I hope things are good to both you and your gf too! :D have a nice day

[crystallizsch]

Hi!!! Feel free to tell me if this is asking too much on the twst ask game but…

2, 8, and 10 for both? Or maybe just Yuusha?

Sorry, I couldn’t narrow down! 😩 I love learning about interpersonal relationships, but I also really wanted to know about which dorm your Yuus would go to if they weren’t in Rmashackle! I’m pretty sure I know where Yuusha would go though lmao 👀

AAH HI HI! this took a while i had a lot of fun writing about it haha thank you so much!! qwq

also this isn't too much at all, there's no limit! (it'll only take me a while longer to answer depending on how many >.< but i wouldn't be against it)

and i answered for both of them because they're all really fun questions! i'm a sucker for interpersonal relationships too, character dynamics are really fun to explore and play around with!

(for #2: technically for both of them, their closest platonic friends would be grim, ace, and deuce because they've been there with them since the beginning. malleus would also be a runner up canonically but that's somewhat boring so the they are immediately disqualified.) (for #8: both of them dislike crowley the most so also automatic disqualification. (i’m not a crowley hater, it’s just funny in-universe 😭) i’m going to stick with the main boys and ignore the staff and other characters.)

━━━━✦ Yuusha

2) Who is your OC’s closest platonic friend?

(they haven't seen each other in less than a day)

Yuusha's closest platonic friend would be Kalim.

They had an IMMEDIATE bond because of Kalim's friendliness and openness which is something Yuu had barely seen in the time she had been in NRC. It was a breath of fresh air. Of course, at first, she was skeptical (especially following that whole Scarabia fiasco), but they naturally gravitated toward one another and just heavily clicked in a purely platonic sense.

Food and gifts definitely seem to be their love language towards one another. And on top of that, they just love to hang out to have fun. Yuusha never gets tired of Kalim. And they seem to be very close with one another to the point you'd think they were dating.

(i need to draw their dynamic more oml)

It helped that Yuusha tends to be very affectionate towards her close friends. She can be very touchy and overall not afraid to show how she feels about people. However, she only sees all of her relationships as platonic (that is until the one(tm) cough Jamil cough can manage to click her heart a certain way) (if Yuusha and Jamil just decided to stay friends instead, Jamil would be her closest but I digress).

8) Is there a character your OC doesn’t like, if so why?

The twins. Yuusha doesn't necessarily consider it as a hate/dislike of them because she still manages to tolerate them; it's more that she doesn't trust them fully.

She finds it hard to read them and predict their next move. And that sometimes scares her. If there's anything that she fears the most is the idea of being used and taken advantage of. It is humiliating and downright degrading. It tells her that she was wrong about people and that she was too trusting. And that's something she hates having to accept.

And Yuu knows the twins are fully capable of that without remorse, so she believes that she always has to watch herself around them, making sure she always stays on whatever their "good side" may be. At least Azul seems to be straightforward with what he wants from other people, but with the twins, it'll always feel like a wild guess.

10) What dorm would your OC be sorted into besides their current one?

hndsjfdlk you're right, Yuusha would be in Scarabia

If Yuusha were asked this question, she would think that she would be sorted into Pomefiore because of its spirit of tenacity. She's always determined to work on bettering herself and doesn't like to settle with the bare minimum. It wouldn't be her first choice but that's what she would think.

But really Yuusha embodies more of Scarabia's spirit of mindfulness. Yuusha is mindful in an empathetic sense, and that trait of hers is more outwardly apparent.

She's pretty in tune with everyone's feelings which helps her to understand people better. And that also helps her to navigate her way around dealing with everyone.

If it benefits her, she would take advantage of people's feelings and emotions. It is usually not out of malice or selfishness, however. Yuusha will only do it if she thinks it will lead to the best outcome. Not that she would always be right.

━━━━✦ Yuuna

2) Who is your OC’s closest platonic friend?

Yuuna’s closest platonic friend would be Riddle.

In general, Yuuna had grown a particular fondness for the Heartslabyul gang, and this was also especially apparent to Riddle. Despite being the first overblot Yuuna had witnessed, Riddle had grown on Yuuna and vice versa.

The two looked to be an unlikely pair—the hot-headed, abides-by-the-rules, powerful housewarden and the soft-spoken yet chaotic, magicless prefect.

It started with Riddle helping Yuuna study as a favor (and a thanks) for being the ones who were there during his overblot. But the study sessions turned into "hangouts" in the library, and it eventually transitioned outside—invitations to unbirthday parties, croquet, showing them the hedgehogs, etc. They also found things in common with one another, one of them being liking sweets.

Yuuna seems to have become Riddle's first real friend outside of Trey and Che'nya, helping him out of his comfort zone and let his inner child out once in a while. (also a bit of one-sided, unrequited crush from Riddle???)

8) Is there a character your OC doesn’t like, if so why?

There isn’t necessarily a character that Yuuna dislikes because they have grown somewhat attached to everyone.

However, if they were to consider someone who they liked the LEAST, it would be Sebek.

Sebek took the longest for Yuuna to get used to because, at first, they thought he was loud and condescending.

If there was anything Yuuna really hated, it would be being underestimated and treated as someone who is less than. And Sebek was the someone who would actually verbalize that, aggressively even.

But outside of Sebek's fanboyish tendencies, Yuu found his more genuine side once they managed to get to know him a bit better.

10) What dorm would your OC be sorted into besides their current one?

Yuuna would be sorted into Savanaclaw because of the dorm's spirit of persistence.

At first when I looked at Yuuna I was like, "oh they'd definitely be in Heartslabyul because I'd love that for them" considering their main squad is the Heartslabyul boys. Yuuna would think the same for themself.

But when I thought about it more, they would not be sorted into Heartslabyul at all because having some sort of strict code of conduct is not a defining thing about them.

Yuuna's physique and disposition is against Savanaclaw's stereotype of having the jock-types. They're not even very athletic, but they make up for it somewhat by being a competitive sort.

It's clear though that the dorm's spirit of persistence shows in Yuuna being the type to be adamant to achieve whatever they have to and not letting obstacles hinder them. They also have that loyal spirit that is akin to being part of a pack.

Also a little bonus, if Yuuna was a beastman, they'd be a rabbit :3

asks open!! (twst oc questionnaire)

[ptn-imagines]

Will you do a Serpent x Chief one? I love reading your writing. It's great and you make people so happy. :3

So after finishing Serpent's interrogation, I had quite a few ideas for this relationship. As a result, I didn't focus on the falling in love/getting together parts of the relationship quite as much as I usually do. If you want that stuff -- or just more Serpent/Chief content in general -- feel free to ask for a continuation!

Serpent x Chief headcanons

When Chief had told Serpent that they'd help her find happiness, this isn't quite what they'd had in mind. Still, they're very glad it did; after all the suffering and pain she's endured, they can't think of anyone more deserving of this than Serpent… Oh, and there's the fact that they love her with all their heart, too.

Serpent is in a pretty much permanent state of euphoria. Finally able to feel the love she's been denied for so long, the acrobat has only grown more energetic and cheerful. It's no longer a facade, and the whole Bureau can tell; even her snake seems to have lifted its spirits.

Despite how hyperactive she can get in public, in moments of private respite, Serpent is quite calm. One of her favorite activities is simply curling up with her head on the Chief's lap. They hadn't known humans could purr before this – or perhaps it was a unique feature of Serpent's. Either way, their girlfriend tends to fall asleep like this, the Chief's hand stroking through her hair.

Speaking of hair, Serpent is quite skilled with hair and makeup and likes to use her skills on the Chief. Though Chief initially had misgivings, they quickly learned Serpent could do “natural” looks just as well as eccentric ones, and now she helps them get ready every morning.

Though, waking her up for it can be a pain. Since Serpent has to retire to her cell at night, to see her in the mornings, the Chief has to get up well before everyone else in the Bureau if they want to be ready on time. Only part of this is due to the walk to the cells; the other part is simply due to the fact Serpent takes forever to wake up, and is usually quite grumpy when she does. Chief counts themself lucky she's able to hold herself back from biting even when half-asleep – though she has no reservations about hissing.

Still, she warms up quickly enough, particularly when enticed by cuddles and kisses. Particularly forehead kisses; she loves those, as well as when the Chief kisses her scales. It makes her giggle each time, and Chief can't help but smile at the adorable sound.

Serpent is a very physically affectionate partner and she isn't shy about asking for the Chief's attention. She has just enough common decency not to burst in on meetings, but any other time is fair game. Chief has gotten used to working with a sleepy, affectionate snake-woman on their lap, and their office has recently acquired a comfortable beanbag for when Serpent can no longer resist the siren song of slumber. She's either full tilt or yawning all the time; there's no in-between. (Speaking of which, Chief feels like Serpent has just the cutest yawn… even her fangs are adorable.)

Honestly, Chief can't help but spoil Serpent all the time. The Sinner has had almost nothing to her name for her whole life, and as a result, Chief feels as though a little bit of personal spending on their girlfriend should be accepted. As a result, if you looked into Serpent's cell, you'd find it covered in the fluffiest, comfiest blankets and pillows ever, which the Sinner likes to burrow underneath. There can be no doubt that this snake sleeps in the absolute height of luxury, as far as prisons go anyway.

Chief also buys Serpent a lot of sweet treats, but after a few errant mishaps, they've learned to be very discerning about what they give her. Serpent likes the desserts they bring her, but if the taste reminds her too much of Ambrosia, it can cause a Mania spike and throw her into a panic attack.

Serpent's snake is just as friendly with Chief as its owner. It likes to coil around their neck like a scarf, a sight that always makes Serpent giggle with delight and rush to find a camera. The Sinner must have hundreds of near-identical photos by now, but if this brings her the genuine happiness she's craved, Chief will gladly let her take more.

Whenever Serpent performs a show, Chief is always in the front row. The Sinner makes a point of meeting their gaze and blowing them kisses and winks as she performs; sometimes, she'll even drag them up on stage with her! It can be a bit nerve-wracking, but Chief trusts that Serpent won't let them make a fool of themselves, and her smile is worth it anyway.

[cosmicanemoia]

Dark and Cloudy Sky

Amelia Shepherd x Reader

Love Me Till You Leave Me part 12

Silence hangs heavy in the air. And with that heavy hearts beat loudly.

Y/N: Remember what I said to you when we talked and talked for hours and we have deep and meaningful conversations during our date.

A: *she nodded, tears falling down her face.* "If we're not the one being left behind, we're the one who's going to leave."

Y/N: *giving her a sympathetic look and smile* I'd rather you leave me than the other way around because we both know there's no way I'll be leaving you.

She hugged you, saying sorry over and over again that it almost lost its meaning. She pulled away and looked at you and said "thank you" with a soft voice. She kissed you, stood up, and walked out the door.

Amelia had been wanting for someone to come back for her, and now that someone did, the overwhelming feeling clouded her mind. Against her better judgement, she left you and chose Kai.

When you hear the door shut close, you break out into a sob, releasing the rest of the tears you've been holding back like your love and life depended on it. It did, making it hurt more.

She left and made a choice. Some or most people tend to self-sabotage. They think that when something is perfect or safe, it'll somehow break or be ruined. So, before it happen, or before they think it would happen, they would jump the fence and dive into conclusions and ruin things with their own hands. Maybe because they think they don't deserve it. Or maybe they love the thrill, the dangerous, but won't admit it to themselves, especially to anyone else. When they've sent themselves into a downward spiral, they come to miss and long for the perfect, the safe, and the calm.

For an intelligent person, Amelia made a moronic choice. She's gonna realise it one of these days.

After a week, Amelia walks hand in hand with Kai when they go into the hospital. Everyone's head turning to look at them, eyes following them.

The hospital was quiet, so everyone was on edge. They know it meant that somehow the hospital would be in a disaster.

Amelia and Kai are having the time of their lives. They have this certain level of understanding because they are both doctors. which she didn't have with you.

You are not dense. You're just unfamiliar with some medical terms, so she needs to explain things to you. But with Kai, they already know what she's saying, sometimes, even finishing her sentences. She didn't have to translate the things she did for you because she and them spoke the same language. A language you'll never understand unless you went to a medical school, graduated, passed the medical board, and actually practised medicine.

Kai is a very organised person. Committed and skilled at almost everything they set out to do. They talk about science in a way that will hook you in, by the way they talk about it, with such passion and enthusiasm, making it seem a very interesting subject.

They know how to comfort Amelia when a surgery didn't go well (you do too). They know just the right words to say to lift her spirits up. They make her smile, and they make her laugh.

Amelia didn't care that they had left her. That didn't matter anymore because they're here now, and they're here to stay, or so she thought.

Amelia and Kai are what people call a power couple. They both excel in their fields, and they both are astounding. Intimidating, even, to some people. Together, they're like this strong wave washing away anything on the shore. A meteor falling from the sky, they were both jaw-dropping. Their skills compliment the other. Their passion aligns with each other.

"They're two puzzle pieces that just kind of fit," Amelia's words describing their relationship.

One afternoon, you went to visit your friend Teddy at the hospital. As you went into the hospital and walked to the hallway looking for your friend, you saw Amelia. She's with Kai. Those mesmerizingly dreamy blue eyes that once stared at you with so much love and passion now stared at someone else. The wide smiles and loud laughter that you get from her are now being given to somebody else. You felt a heavy weight on your chest as you stared at the power couple, your eyes watery. You were still hurt. You took a deep breath and went on with your quest.

You have got to remind Ted to stop asking to visit her in the hospital next time you see her. But, you always forgot.

Amelia is happy with Kai. Anyone can tell, even you. And it still hurts.

You finished talking with your friend. You stand up, give each other a hug, and you go to take your leave. Before you got out of the hospital, you bumped with someone.

Normally, you would be able to avoid bumping into someone, but your mind was rather preoccupied, and your eyes are on the ground. You also didn't notice that the person you bumped into slightly inhaled your scent. It was subtle, and no one would even notice it. You said sorry without looking up and finding out who you bump into, and starts to walk away, but the person chuckles and calls out your name, "y/n! Hey, you okay?" The person inquired. You knew that voice, you look up and it prove your suspicion, it was Amelia. "Hey. Ames. Sorry, Amelia, I wasn't looking. " You didn't notice she was with someone until you finished your sentence. She was with kai. You give them a sweet, gentle, and genuine smile. You nod to Kai and say hi to them before turning your back on them and finally walking away.

Kai put their hand on Amelia's back and ask "you okay?"

"Yes," Amelia replied. They went to do their things and started to talk about neuro and stuff, making jokes only them would understand.

The sky in their world is bright and sunny. While yours remains dark and cloudy ever since Amelia walks out that door and leaves you to be with Kai.

[halfagone]

I really like your mlb x dp mentor au, And I was wondering how Marinette and Adrian would react if Danny brought any past ghost miraculous users to help teach them.

(Continuation of this prompt. Use the tag "dp x mlb" on that post for more of this AU)

That's a very good point! I believe Miraculous Ladybug even had a moment where Joan of Arc (which was a previous user of the Ladybug Miraculous in this universe) briefly appeared, so theoretically this would make even more sense.

I'd have to think some more about who other possible Ladybug and Black Cat holders could be, but it would be super interesting to explore past holders who not only could help them grow as heroes but as people underneath the mask.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I can imagine it going a little something like this:

---

"You can do that?" Chat Noir gasped as he leaned forward, looking like his eyes might pop out of his skull. "You can just call any ghost to you any time you want?"

"Well not really? I'd have to ask if they're even willing to teach you guys, but otherwise just ringing them up works for me," Danny explained with a casual shrug.

"Can all ghosts do that?" Ladybug asked with an inquisitive tilt of her head.

"Not all of us, no," Danny shook his head. "I'm a more... special case, I guess? I have a very complicated relationship with death, so it comes with some... perks, if you will."

"What do you mean by compli-" Chat Noir began to ask, but he's thankfully interrupted by Ladybug, who asked, "Do all Miraculous Holders come back as ghosts when they die?"

Wow. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Answer Chat Noir's question and Danny could reveal a potentially devastating secret. Answer Ladybug's question and he would give these kids nightmares for days. Lovely...

Her question, however, was a little unexpected. Danny wondered what fears might rest on her mind to ask something so- loaded.

"That's complicated too," Danny admitted with a sigh, rubbing the back of his head. "For the most part it depends on how they died, but otherwise..." How could Danny say this in a way that would scar them the least? "Sometimes only the memory of a person will remain."

The two stared at him with obvious confusion. Maybe Danny shouldn't have been so cryptic. You'd think he'd have learned that from all of Clockwork's visits.

"I mean, you're public figures," Danny began, "your face is plastered everywhere! Even if you died peacefully, without any regrets or unfinished business, your name could live on far longer than you do. And that creates spirits of their own."

"It won't be you," Danny tacked on. "It will never be you. Just what people perceived you as. And sometimes that's worse than whatever afterlife death could have given you."

Ladybug looked frightened, pensive with this news. Danny could already imagine her mind firing at a million miles per hour, trying to find a way to work around this. She had always been the type to over-plan these things where and when she could.

Danny risked a glance at Chat Noir. If Ladybug had looked scared, then Chat Noir looked downright terrified. He looked paler than a sheet ghost, eyes vacant as he stared down at the streets below.

Danny wondered what kind of ghosts haunted him.

[phopollo]

I just reblogged all your Fairy Tail posts like a mad man because it's all so good and I could not contain myself!!! I love your art sm especially your Fairy Tail rewrite ideas!!!

Speaking of which did you have any other ideas for the other main characters like Team Natsu? I'm really curious to see how your Gray interacts with Juvia in this and how you made their relationship more concrete.

Also did you have any other platonic or romantic pairings in mind that we don't really see in the anime?

Akfbskf I saw!! I'm so glad you like my ideas, I always get a little nervous when I post about changing character dynamics because I've been spoken to,,,,,, not super nicely about my perception of character dynamics and how I change them sometimes

I've got a lot of thoughts all the time, but let me answer your questions A bit!

Did you have any other ideas for main characters like Natsu?

Tons!! I dont even really know where to begin talking about our main cast, there's so many individual ideas for each of them

But I can say that they all learn/teach each other's magic to each other, with varying levels of success

Natsu having the most success learning Lucy's celestial magic, Lucy having the most learning Erza's requip magic, Gray to everyone's surprise coming the closest to learning Natsu's Dragon Slayer magic, and Erza having the most succes with Gray's maker magic

I'm really curious to see how your Gray interacts with Juvia

It's very similar to his dynamic with Lucy for the most part! But sometimes, it's also like

And Juvia will repeat herself with no hesitation, and Gray gets really embarrassed and either walks away or starts an argument depending on how many other people are around or what people they are

Did you have any other platonic or romantic pairings in mind we didn't really see in the anime?

Well, as I'm sure you saw because you went through my blog, I would absolutely kill to see a Natsu/Juvia team up, so yeah, I was thinking about that duo for this

It was mostly pretty silly-- not really knowing how to talk to each other, but managing to enjoy each other's company because Juvia can kind of bring Natsu down a bit when hes getting too worked up, and Natsu can get Juvia passionate about something she would have otherwise been indifferent to

I think I also mentioned back on the post asking about Gajeel and Juvia in particular, but I talked about Gajeel forming a bond with the Strauss siblings-- he's like the 4th sibling they never wanted (affectionate)

And even though they were kind of shown in the anime, I really wanted to explore the dynamic between Erza and Wendy more, as well as the relationship between the 3 exceeds

I think Wendy and Happy are particularly fascinating as characters, because their magic is clearly intended for support, and they're surrounded by people who can do more, even in the case of Happy with the other exceeds who can perform transformation magic and be able to put up a fight, which is why I wanted to explore the dynamics I'd mentioned haha

I'd also really like to take a bigger dive into Lucy's relationships with her spirits! Especially since one of the things that bothered me was the way the celestial spirit system worked! I had some ideas for Aries and Virgo in particular for little mini arcs, similar to the ones we got for Loke and Aquarius, and how Lucy buids her trust and relationship with the spirits who's keys she holds-- I don't wanna share goo much about that though, I actually have some really cool art pieces in progress about them and I wanted to wait to talk about exploring those dynamics more until I got there

I'd love to show you the thumbnail for one of them though

You'll have to guess which one it is /j