#...lot of rarepairs 'round these parts

[your-unfriendlyghost]

Johnny cade for the "give me a character" thingy cuz I love him :3

How I feel about this character

  I love Johnny, man. Very simple feelings ‘bout him, but yk, I love him. I don’t often…spin him ‘round in my brain like I do with some of the others, but I have a lot of strong opinions abt him and I love him lol

All the people I ship romantically with this character

  I occasionally ship him with Dally, but only occasionally. Idk they’ve got something goin on but idk what lol. I definitely don’t see them as an older brother and little brother, although I get where people are coming from- idk though, that’s like the least interesting take on their whole…deal for me I guess? I (personally) don’t think Dally and Johnny are brotherly/parental at all, and reducing them to that means losing out on the much more interesting (I think) dynamic that they do have- like Dally can’t be vulnerable with anyone BUT Johnny, and Johnny is at his most confident with Dally. And he has power over Dally that no one else does. It could be romantic or platonic for me, but the important thing is that they’re equals imo. I mean c’mon, only one of them’s canonically stabbed a guy to death, and it ain’t Dally. They’re tied together somehow idk man

  I sorta like the idea of Johnny and Sylvia being something tho. I don't think abt it much, but it adds something morally bad to a character that’s supposed to be purely good that I find fascinating. Not the sorta ship I ship per se, but one I like toying with sometimes because there’s so much to unpack there ig. I don’t usually see it as canon but I sometimes like it.

  Finally, I read this GUT WRENCHING fic one time where Johnny was who Sandy cheated on Soda with. I…really liked that fic. The ship hits a lotta the same notes as Johnny/Sylvia but explores Johnny and Soda…idk man again not the sorta thing I usually see as canon but holy shit the fic kinda blew my mind lol. It’s here if y’all wanna check it out- mind the tags and all. It’s a rarepair but it KILLS me man. It ain’t…canon to me, but I think abt it sometimes (the ship and the fic) and just feel things idk. (Part of that is probably b/c I love Soda, but yk)

My non-romantic OTP for this character

  Uhh Dally also honestly

  I mean Johnny and Pony are close too, but I really don’t see them as BEST friends. Ik a lotta people do which is perfectly valid, but in my head they’re…not? I dunno. They’re definitely friends, but TO ME it’s in the way that I’m friends with kids who I’ve grown up with who are like cousins to me now- we’re close, and I know they have my back, and I could tell them anything if I really wanted to, but I probably won’t unless we’re alone together in a church for a week. (@veggiesforpresident just talked abt them earlier today here, and she put it into words a helluva lot better than I am rn- definitely check that out)

My unpopular opinion about this character

He’s tough. I mean everyone knows that, but I’m not massively fond of fics/art that portray him as small and soft. Like sure, Pony sees him that way, but to the rest of the world Johnny is a hood. He may be small, but he can fight. He loves drag races, man!

  Idk, Ralph Macchio put it best in this behind the scenes book I own: 

  “Johnny was always described as the runt of the greaser litter- the one they all protected. However, as the story unfolded he became the most level-headed and clear-minded in the face of adversity. I always recognized that in him even from the first reading of the book at age twelve. I am biased, but he is one of the richest and fully drawn characters in the ensemble.”

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

  I’m biased b/c I love Soda but I woulda loved to see him hanging with Soda. Really the rest of the gang in general (not that there was time for that lol), but it’s canon to me that Johnny was friends with Soda first. Eventually they diverged and became close to Dally and Steve respectively, but in elementary school it was Johnny and Soda. 

  (On the other side of the coin, I like the idea of Dally and Steve having had a bit of a fling that they don’t talk about as a way of repressing their romantic feelings for Soda and Johnny respectively. But that’s not always canon to me lol.)

[s-c-g-s-c-g]

⭐for "Weddings and Other Methods of Deadly Swamp Access" bc I'm obsessed with that fic lost count how many times I've read it!

Weddings and Other Methods of Deadly Swamp Access! Thanks for asking about it! I'm so happy you enjoy it!

There are a few tropes/concepts that when I first started I loved reading but didn't feel capable of writing myself. As I've gotten better and more confident I've taken it as a bit of a challenge to make them happen. No, I'm Not Afraid to Disappear, which was plotted out around the same time, was a take on my love of time travel fix-its.

One of the tropes that I often gravitate to when I'm feeling overwhelmed or sick is arranged marriages. I really enjoy reading them for all the emotions and fears inherent in marrying someone you barely know/have never met/may never love. I started writing it as a distraction tactic in the aftermath of a family member's health emergency.

So, I vaguely wanted to write a romance with arranged marriage elements. I'd been giving a lot of thought to why the Jedi appealed to me so much as a child and I realized that a big part of my love for them was that they didn't place a huge emphasis on romance or sex. Aside from Anakin, who little me thought was dramatic and weird, they didn't seem to mind that they were missing something my community told me was essential.

This got me thinking about exploring something along the lines of a "Jedi gets accidentally married in some random ceremony and it's no big deal." I narrowed down my Jedi, settled on Feemor because I love him and he fit the vibe of competent but potentially a little flappable. Jaster was an easy choice from there cause I love shoving Mandalorians and Jedi at each other and the rarepair intrigued me.

Originally I was thinking a short multi-chapter but I was having a lot of fun wordbuilding and I wanted stakes. Getting married via some ceremony is fun and all but I needed proximity to get my secondary goal of feelings. I also needed them both to go through with it. Well, when in doubt about how to get a non-Death Watch Mandalorian and a Jedi to spend time together: Death Watch and little children. They really are a useful organization.

One thing I did not anticipate having much of a role was the darksaber. Personally, the idea that it's status was cemented only after the loss of most of the people who disagreed adds to the tragedy of death watch and the empire for me. I was having a lot of darksaber thoughts lol

Feemor and Jaster's relationship in this fic is genuinely my best attempt at writing an aspirational romantic relationship, albeit a very queer one with an unusual final dynamic. The biggest surprise for me once I started posting this fic was the aro vibes people mentioned getting from it. In hindsight, yeah, I can see it.

And to round this rambling director's cut out! I left it ambiguous as to whether there's anything to the waters and the skies choices or if it's just the mayor's troublemaking but Feemor and Jaster do work out! Even if it isn't what the mayor had in mind, I like to think it means something.

[myfaveisfuckable]

Rants!

Narcistoru/secretoru: Yeah i can gurantee this is the only submission for them for Some Reason. Because no one ships them. Like i have searched the internet far and wide and turn up with like. Close to literal zero. And here's the thing, this is entirely illogical. They work together in this evil group and their deals are essentially that they're. Unhappy people. At first you think they're just annoying but actually they're annoying snd Extremely Miserable. In silly ways, they are such losers and so cringefail. I could write an essay on both of them individually, but basically i love how their focus isn't on being better people, it is on being happier. Individually.

The show is divided into clear parts of who is the main antagonist at the time which really makes you FEEL how unhappy they each are. They're a group but they're also not bc they choose to be unhappy ad get on each other's nerves about it and that's a prime focus of their characters. Anyway, these two make me insane, they spend a lot of time together during the middle part of the show, bc the first villain is gone so now it's just the two of them and their leader who isn't doing much yet. After this part, one of them, narcistoru, is defeated so he's gone for the time being. But these two, they hate each other SOOOOOOOO much it's insane. This is because Narcistoru is an annoying bitch and Secretoru hates that. And they're both generally insane people with dumb beliefs and issues that they view wrongly. It's just so glorious to see them annoy each other so much. Post Narcistoru's main screen time, he gets his conclusion episode. He escapes from prison and Secretoru is supposed to retrieve him. But like not because they need him, in fact, they absolutely did not care that he was arrested because none of these people give a flying fuck about each other. It's just that he wasn't supposed to be a risk. Secretoru and Narcistoru have a rather petty and hilarious fight. Because you see. Now they don't have to get along. They are not on the same side. So the hostility is really thriving here. In fact, she manages to capture him, and while fighting the pretty cures (magical girls), hensays some annoying shit and she goes "actually i changed my mind" and shoves him off this rock in order for the monster (they always summon one) to fucking kill him. Like she tries to murder him in cold blood soley because he's annoying and this was entirely inevitable actually. She wants that twink obliterated. They don't bring this up again in the finale when they're both in prison. They just. Kind of hang out now. They've reached a level of tolerance.

And you may think "why do you ship this" LOOK. THEIR INTERACTIONS. ARE SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST. A VERY FUN SHIP. BECAUSE THEY'RE HILARIOUS. The hostility is so great and i think it would be neat if they had some t4t hatesex. It would solve nothing. They mske each other so much worse. But it would be very hot. Also secretoru has a general "can you shut the fuck up" attitude towards him. I don't even technically ship it but i ENJOY the ship.

And yet. I am so alone in this which is insane because i definitely expected ship content for them even before i actually wanted it myself.

But no, of course people ship Narcistoru with actual fifteen year olds. Like so much. And there is ZERO content for the ship with the other Actual Adult that he interacts with on a regular basis and who he has a fantastic and entertaining and INTERESTING dynamic with. So basically, i am not just sad, i am also SO SALTY. They are so insanely rarepair despite being an absolute epic duo. Awesome crackship, 10/10, literally comedy

You x my mom: you guys think you're soooo funny don't you

Well good luck watching the Simpsons 24/7 and never getting anywhere on time

[lily-alphonse]

Maybe. Just maybe. The wizard x Mr. Qi? I’ve seen it before and it sounds interesting

I searched and searched because I could have sworn I had an idea for this a long time ago and it was in my discord chat with my friend @ao3-totallyhumanexe

May 22nd 2024:

>Is Wizard and mr Qi a ship? >Theres so much potential there Idk If they are I want to be between them Rivalry style Not poly But with both men being so powerful and crazy I really want to see them duke it out

>I do wonder who's more powerful

>For real yeah Mr Qi is very mysterious almost cryptid I think ppl headcanon them not liking each other

Battle of the cryptids.

They both think the other is foolish about their power. Qi is essentially a demigod, because he did a Forbidden Thing that would allow him to become one. Rasmodius could also do this Forbidden Thing if he wanted to, but prefers to hold on to his humanity and obtain functional immortality through magic anyways.

Qi is older and wiser than Ras, but through demigodhood has adopted the petulant attitude of a god. The world is his playground, and Rasmodius is kind of annoying because he can't be controlled as much as the other pawns in his game (because magic).

They need to be forced to work together somehow, the enemy of my enemy style. I have a few ideas for this one. I'm just gonna list them and not go into a full fic preview rn just because I don't want to pick one yet if anything you guys can pick it for me, if this wins the poll.

Incorporate the Ferngill Ministry of Magic from the expanded mod. Ras is in service to them. They do something so heinous that it finally crosses the line for him, and he needs Mr. Qi's help to resolve it. Probably something with Abigail, maybe bringing her into a life he never wanted for his illegitimate daughter.

Maybe we just bring back the vampire!Abigail idea for this one too? I love vampire!Abigail lmao what can I say. Mr. Qi pls save my daughter pls thx

The cryptid farmer is becoming too powerful and is going to do the Forbidden Thing but Qi knows it will end very badly (because the farmer is an agent of chaos). Qi wants to be the only demigod of chaos round these parts thank you very much. Ras would be kind of a double agent torn between sides for a while until eventually realizing he is right and they need to stop the farmer. Yes the farmer gets to play the villain how fun is that? Maybe they could even be stuck in a timeloop because of the game.

Using the ministry of magic again, they have found a way to make Qi mortal again and are coming after him. Ras is his only hope. It takes a lot of convincing that this would even be a bad thing in the first place, but maybe the issue is that the lead magistrate would take his place as a demigod and end up causing way more damage than him. That may or may not be a lie! Also! Maybe Qi just says that because his life is at stake because he's way too old he would die immediately if his mortality catches up to him. By the time the wizard finds out though he doesn't want Qi to die either but he lied to him in a major way so DRAMAAA

No matter what, this ship needs adventure. It's plot-driven and complicated and slow burn.

In the ones where Abigail is involved, Qi has kind of a shock of the kind of life he's given up by forsaking his humanity. But Ras has given that up too, to live as a wizard. It's an interesting dynamic.

Themes of humanity and meaning of life and all that, too. This would be a fun one fr

This ask is a part of the (now closed) SDV Rarepair Challenge! Check out the other answers here, and make sure to boost your favorite so it can appear in the final fic poll! More info on that here.

[practically-an-x-man]

1, 10, 13 and 24 for the ask game? (hope you had fun at round two of Deadpool & Wolverine!)

Thank you so much!! (and I did!! it's just as good the second time around!)

Since you mentioned the movie, I'll answer for the Deadpool/X-Men fandom :D

Choose Violence Ask Game

the character everyone gets wrong

This is less about the character and more about how fanfic authors write him, but... Deadpool himself. I get that he's tough to write, and it's hard to do fourth-wall breaks and have them come across as funny rather than cringey, but it's just... I don't know how to describe it, it's just not quite right. It just comes across as super heavyhanded rather than playful and cheeky. Even when people manage to get his characterization decently accurate (though that's also rare - as is typical of fanfic, he gets smoothed out and softened a lot), there's something about his style of humor that just never seems to land in the fanfics I've read.

Maybe it's just that his humor translates more to a visual-forward media like comics or movies, and it doesn't quite work in pure prose, but it just irks me either way.

10. worst part of fanon

The X-Men of course is a super found-family-heavy franchise, and I love that in canon... but people get so weird about it in fanon. It's the same pitfall you see in found family tropes a lot, where people try to ascribe these nuclear family dynamics onto the characters regardless of whether it fits, and it grinds my gears so much. Yes, these people love each other like family! No, that does not make Charles and Erik the dads and Logan the grumpy uncle and Kurt the baby brother or whatever! They don't have to have an assigned "role" in this found family dynamic, and their dynamics in canon are way too complex to even fit those roles without chopping away massive pieces of their characterizations.

13. worst blorboficiation

RAVEN FUCKING DARKHOLME!! Look. I love her. I really really do. But oh my god she needs to stop being people's blorbos. It's a mix between people who have only seen the movies turning her into this sweet, monogamous, never-does-wrong hero character, and people who have actually read the comics getting rightfully pissed off at that characterization.

I don't think Jennifer Lawrence made a bad Raven, and I think it works for her as a young Raven still trying to find herself, before she has the confidence that will lead to her being the bisexual, morally-flexible antihero we see in the comics, but I also think that people get way too devoted to that depiction of her and brush away all those sharper sides.

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

Anything ship-related, especially when it relates to Scott, Jean, Ororo, Logan, or some combination of the four of them. I hate shipping discourse as a whole, but there's something about those four characters that just send people into this absolute frenzy over what the "right" ship is.

I've only seen it kicking back up again, first with X-Men '97 and now with the Honda Odyssey scene in Deadpool and Wolverine. Y'all. It's fiction. All of your ships can coexist, it's not like the fictional characters are going to seek out a divorce lawyer because you posted some rarepair fanart.

[danggirlronpa]

Seed B1 Masterpost

Monaca/Kotoko art by jolee

Toko/Kyoko art by kianamaiart

Monaca/Kotoko

This is another one that. Um. People will understandably have hang-ups about. These characters are not…how you say…Good For Each Other. And they’re also, like, 10. And there’s a lot going on UDG that is questionable writing At Best. So as always. No shame in just backing out on this one fullsale. This is not a judgment call on this ship.

That said, it would be a huge disservice to the complexity of these chars to ignore how strongly they are coded as childhood romance. Kotoko and Monaca’s relationship is like what happened if little girls who had their Barbies fight in the Death Pits were given the power and reign to do whatever the hell they wanted. They are cruel and lash out and intentionally hurt each other in unforgivable ways. Because they’re 10, and they don’t have a developed sense of morality yet, and they were influenced by a very evil abuser. This is part of Danganronpa’s fundamental message of cult tactics and how they prey on the vulnerable.

The real value in Monaca/Kotoko – and in every Warrior of Hope ship, I’d argue – is the decision to change. It’s the decision to mature, despite how scary and horrifying adults are. Learning to regret and take responsibility for the horrors they’ve done, and to recognize that what happened to them was still wrong, and ultimately, that they were used.

The interesting thing here is that Monaca, specifically, is on a much slower track to maturity than the rest of the Warriors. It’d be very possibility for an adult Kotoko to meet an adult Monaca as hero and villain, or as antihero and antihero, or as two different versions of villain. But their actions as children fundamentally drove them apart. And would either of them regret it? See themselves in each other? See the things they’ve done in each other? Could they, in any world at all, find a happy ending together?

Toko/Kyoko

This ship is decidedly less controversial. (further bullets sent in by @danganwlw!)

obligatory Survivor Gfs and also Purple Gfs, but wait, there’s more!

They both have trust issues, but do different things to keep others away. Kyoko is Dodgy and Cryptic and willing to sacrifice anyone and anything if she feels the end goal is worth it, but rarely considers if anyone else is willing to sacrifice the same. Toko is blunt and aggressive and puts herself down before anyone else can, not actually letting other people have opinions before she projects her own. I think they could help each other Grow, willingly or not.

Toko is in desperate need of someone who will be blunt about their opinions, but also won’t instantly bend under her hostile attempts to push them away or otherwise insult them. Kyoko is similarly in need of someone who won’t just lay down and let it happen when she decides she knows better than everyone else.

※To avoid spamming artists, I will only @ them the first time their work shows up unless told otherwise. If you want to check all the art I used, check here!

[fallenasleepyetagain]

Snow - Blue/Cross Fic

Prompt: Snow | First Kiss

Prompt from: @yearoftheotpevent

Media: UTMV/Undertale Multiverse

Genres: Fluff, everyone lives in Nightmare’s castle, human AU, light romance, friends to lovers (technically enemies to friends to lovers but they aren’t shown to be enemies in this fic)

Characters: Cross, Blue, Dream, Nightmare (mentioned), Killer (mentioned), Error (mentioned)

Pairing(s): Cross/Blue

CW/TW: None!

Word Count: 3743

Other Notes: This is 1/12 fics I’ll be doing this year! All of the pairings I will be writing about will be rarepairs because man I just like rarepairs what can I say? This was written on the laptop, so paragraphs are formatted to not be read on mobile! Apologies for this.

Reblogs >> Likes

Arm workouts had to be his favorite. Just him, the gym bench, and some heavy dumbbells. It was a great way to cool down while also working out one of the most important parts of his body. He wasn’t Cross without being able to wield his massive as fuck sword. Using arm exercises as post-workout workouts was also something he did frequently. It was a good way to work his muscles as well as winding down post-shower. Apart from having a very short and small breakfast and doing his physical training session, he hadn’t done much else today. He had done his normal morning workout which took around three hours to complete. 

It was always a blur when he did it, like he was in this dazed state until Chara decided to wake him up via an ice cold shower or hell fire shower. He always hated it but man did it work. It always snapped him right out of his childhood conditioning and back into the real world. He had done his normal workout this morning, took a hell fire shower, and was now doing some arm workouts to chill out. Earbuds were in his ears, connected to his phone in his gym short pocket. It was playing a podcast about common tropes in anime, where they came from, and how they got popular. Honestly? It was really interesting.

Switching the dumbbell to the other arm, Cross adjusted his entire placement on the gym bench, making sure that he was comfortable. He did small arm circles with the arm that now felt extremely light, stretching it out to make sure the muscles stayed healthy and not strained. His body could take a lot - he was a massive hunk of a man - but he had to take care of his body too, just like everyone else.

Despite it being the middle of January, he was feeling warm and safe. And while Nightmare refused to get a proper heating system in the castle, preferring to heat the massive building via fireplace, working out in the colder months was really nice. The gym was located on the first basement floor of the castle. The castle had a lot of floors, both from the first floor going up, and the first floor going down. It actually wasn’t freezing down there, being more insulated due to the floors above and the ground around it. The temperature was nice and cool, which made it great for working out. It stayed cool all year round too. 

After completing all of the arm workouts, he stood up and walked over to the weight-rack, gently setting down the eighty pound (~36kg) weight where it belonged. He stretched out his torso and arms, his back popping. Suddenly, before Cross could begin to think about what he would do next, Blue suddenly burst into the room, the double doors flying open.

“CROSS CROSS CROSS CROSS CROSS CROSS!” A flurry of shouts echoed throughout the room, with a significantly smaller figure running towards him. Cross turned in time to make sure he didn’t accidentally elbow Blue in the face. Sweat beads dripped from Blue’s forehead as he grabbed onto Cross’s forearm. Blue was vibrating, clearly very excited about something. Although what, Cross wasn’t sure. Blue could get excited about anything if he tried to.

“BWUH-” Cross sputtered as Blue grabbed onto his arm with a force much stronger than he was expecting. “H-Hi??? What’s up?”

“CROSS!” Blue squealed, rocking back and forth on his feet. “You need to come upstairs and into the main hall right now, it's super important! I want to show you something awesome!” He chirped before springing from Cross’s arm, practically teleporting from Cross back to the doors, “And put on some pants! You’ll need it!”

And with that, he was gone. Cross was still reeling from Blue’s excitement, a small, giddy grin appearing on his face. He knew what to do next, and had to move quickly; Blue was waiting for him. His mind wandered, wondering what Blue wanted from him. Knowing the little bastard, it could be just about anything. But Cross had a good feeling about it. Seeing the excitement and glee in Blue’s big, beautiful, dark-blue eyes was enough to tell Cross that whatever it was, it was going to be worth it. Changing into something that wasn’t his workout clothes was easy. His gym shorts became a black and white pair of pants and his muscle shirt became a tight yet soft black sweater. He, of course, finished off the monochromatic outfit by putting on the fluffy coat he always wore. It was a staple of his appearance, he couldn’t just leave it out! He exited his room, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. Sleep and him never really got along, and he hadn’t had a night in the past month that wasn’t restless or full of nightmares.

It was quiet in the castle, something it often wasn’t. The winter months had to have been the reason. The cold just made people chill, literally and figuratively. Heating wasn’t a thing in the castle either, and despite Dream’s attempt to fight Nightmare about this, he always lost. Nightmare, being the guardian of negativity and naturally colder than the average person, didn’t see the need in getting heating. So he left everyone else to suffer and figure out how to stay warm. This was mostly done through cuddle piles by fireplaces, something Cross didn’t mind participating in. It got down below freezing most nights! But his body was warm, and so was his clothing choices, he usually got along fine. The large doors to the main hall were right in front of him, and Cross had to wonder when and how he got there. He must’ve been on autopilot. A sigh left his lips before he had the chance to process it. He needed to wake up fully soon because this was getting ridiculous. Chara did a decent job of making sure he got in control of his own body, but it still took effort of his own to make himself ready for the day.

Cross shoved the doors to the main hall open with his shoulder, the large spruce door creaking as he did so. Cold air blasted at his face, blood rising into his cheeks and nose, being very apparent due to his albino skin. He blinked back a few tears as he entered the room. Blue was waiting for him, bouncing up and down on his feet. Which were in blue snow boots. Huh. Cross didn’t realize that Blue owned any other pair of shoes from the normal heeled boots he wore. The smaller man was very lightly dressed compared to Cross, although he usually was, but today it was odd. Since they were both feeling the strong gust of wind coming from the open doors, Blue should’ve been shivering. It was well below freezing outside and the wind was absolutely making it worse. He had snow boots, his scarf, and what appeared to be jeans and a simple black undershirt with blue gloves. Before Cross could even mention the mere fact that Blue was very underdressed for this type of weather and was possibly going to get himself sick, Blue had grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the door.

“Oh my god Cross I’m so excited you’re here, look!” Cross’s eyes went from Blue towards the open doors. And what he saw was something straight out of a movie. The ground outside was covered in snow, every plant being coated with a thick layer of powdery snow. It was still falling from the clouds above, the wind sending the snowflakes whirling around. The last time he had seen snow like this must’ve been in his old universe. Snowdin often had snows like this, but he had yet to see a place match it. It had snowed outside the castle before, but it had been a long time since he last saw a place snow like this.

No wonder Blue wanted to show him this. It was incredible! “Isn’t it perfect, Cross?! It’s been so long since I’ve last seen it snow like this!”

“Haha yeah…it’s crazy.”

“Come on!”

“Come huh?”

Snow crunched under Blue’s feet as he ran from the doors and across the entryway. Right before he hit the stairs that led up to the castle, he leapt. Like an excited husky he jumped up and landed below in the snow, which had to have at least been two feet to catch him properly. Cross was stunned. He exited the castle, pulling to doors closed with relative ease despite the wind working against him. When he turned back around, Blue was beckoning him into the snow. He hesitated slightly, unsure of what to do. But Blue’s smile wavered any anxiety he had, his shoulders untensing. He walked down the steps, being careful to not slip and fall. Blue was resting against the snow, as if it was a mattress and not freezing cold. The snow crumbled as he patted the spot next to him. It was…oddly seductive.

Cross took a second to turn around and crouch into the snow. He allowed himself to lay down next to Blue and a wheeze exited his body as he sunk into the ground, the two feet of snow not being enough to keep him up. He was so goddamn muscley! No snow could trickle down his back luckily, due to his hood being pulled up over his head. Although severely limiting his vision. Blue shifted on his right and within a moment, the fluff of his hood was pulled back.

“Hehe, hi Cross.” Blue laughed, “You’re hidden away.”

“I guess. Hah.” Cross replied, his tone nervous. He wasn’t sure why he was nervous, Blue never did anything to make him anxious! Blue was always so sweet and awesome to him. And yet his heart was racing and his palms were sweaty. “Why did you want to show me the snow?”

Even though Blue’s vitiligo made his cheeks two very different shades, one pale and the other brown, Cross was still able to tell that he flushed slightly at the question. Blue sat up, and his face was buried slightly in his bright blue scarf. He shook his head, much like a dog would, to get the snow out of his hair. “For a few reasons, actually.” He made a smiley face in the snow, his face the opposite, “Some are more selfish than others, I’m afraid.”

“Hey hey,” Cross sat up and put a hand on Blue’s shoulder, “It’s ok. I want to know. ‘Sides, I don’t think you could be selfish, even if you tried.”

Blue chuckled softly before standing up and promptly sinking back into the snow. The snow was almost to his waist, and he shivered as snow entered into his snow boots. The wool socks that he had on should be enough to keep his feet from freezing over. Error had made them for him! What a sweet guy Error is! He grabbed Cross’s hand and helped him up.

“Well, the first reason is that I wanted to show you the snow! It’s been so long since I’ve seen a snow storm like this! And as a previous resident of Snowdin yourself, I figured that you would like to see it as well.”

“Aw.”

“Reason number two! And Cross before I say this I need you to know that this is out of love.” 

Cross squinted at him. “Ok?”

“I wanted to bring you out here so we could play in the snow! Because you, my monochromatic friend, have the biggest stick up your ass I have ever seen.”

“Hey!”

“I mean that nicely! You are just on edge and worrying about everyone and everything all of the time! You work so hard, and I am afraid that you’ve forgotten how to have fun and relax. So I pulled you out here so we can frolic in the snow!”

“That’s…really sweet actually. And not selfish at all! Are you ok? Why would you think that either of those reasons are selfish?”

“I have three reasons, actually.” Blue twirled a small piece of his brown hair.

“Yeah? What’s the third?”

Despite the massive height difference between them, Blue still, somehow, managed to put a gloved hand on Cross’s cheek. Cross’s cheeks flushed again, becoming a deeper shade of red than his normal cold look.

“I wanted to spend time with you.”

“Really?”

“Yes! I know you internalize pretty much anything and you think that you’re terrible and horrible and that everyone hates you and that no one would ever want to spend time with you, but that isn’t true! I really like you Cross, and I want to spend time with you!” Cross bent down slightly, to allow Blue to grab his face with both hands. His eyes shut as Blue kissed his freezing nose. He allowed himself to take Blue’s compliment to heart, and a genuine, if a little dorky, smile tugged on his lips. And he felt a little bit at peace, a feeling he didn’t feel too often. Then his mind started whirling, per usual. What…just happened? Was this platonic or did Blue have some sort of subtext behind his words? Although Blue usually didn't, who knows? Was he supposed to react in a certain way, were they going to kiss???

Before his brain short-circuited, Blue snapped him back to reality. “Now come on! Let’s do something! We could have a snowball fight, or maybe eat icicles, ooh or build a snow fort! There are so many things we can- AUAH?!”

Blue was cut off as Cross picked him up like a cat, his hands almost fully wrapped around his chest. He tried not to think about the fact that Cross’s hand was practically the size of his chest. It flustered him! He always forgot how large and muscular Cross was until something like this happened.

“Aaguh- Cross? Why don’t you, um, put me down?”

“I will. But first we have to get you some proper snow clothing. You’re going to freeze and get sick if you spend any more time out here wearing such thin clothing. We are going inside so you can warm up and put on some more weather appropriate clothing.”

“What! No way! Cross I will be fine. I’ve been out longer in worse conditions!”

“That’s not comforting! Come on, we are getting you a jacket at least.”

“OI!”

Cross and Blue both paused. That was a new voice. It was awfully quiet in the wind, despite it sounding like a shout. But where did it come from? Cross shifted on his foot, squinting so he could see in the windy snow.

“UP HERE DOUCHEBAG!” Ooh, Cross recognized that voice and his teeth began to grind together as he made the connection. He turned on his heel and looked up onto the balcony above. And just as he guessed, Dream was standing there. Arms crossed, and the black fluff on his jacket shook in the wind, gathering snow. His golden eyes were pulled into a sharp glare, which was aimed at Cross.

“HE’S GOING TO GET SICK! BRING HIM INSIDE YOU INSECURE GOLLUMPUS!”

The two made eye contact, and it took all that Cross had in him to not fling his sword straight at Dream’s head. With a moment of silent contemplation, Cross made up his mind. He flung Blue into the snow with a gentle toss. He flipped Dream off as well as Blue shrieked and laughed as he landed gracefully into the snow.

“HEY!” “WE’RE GOING TO HAVE FUN THE SNOW, YOU AND YOUR STUPID ASS CAN SUCK IT UP!”

“Cross!” Blue chided at him before taking a bite out of a snowball he had made.

With a huff, Cross disengaged, even though Dream hurled a few more insults at him before giving up and going back inside. The smallest twinge of regret shot through Cross. He didn’t like Dream all that much, sure, but the guy was just looking out for Blue, much like how he had done a moment earlier. But Blue probably wouldn't have listened to Dream anyway. Though he would’ve been nicer about it.

“Sorry…?”

“No you’re not.”

With a heavy sigh, Cross responded. “No I’m not.”

Once again Cross was yanked down into the snow. This time he landed on his knees which made it easier to talk to Blue, who was still laying down in the snow. How he wasn’t freezing was a mystery. He had one arm over his chest, the other under his head. Blue laughed slightly at Cross’s response, smiling at him. Blue had a nice smile. And Cross was sure he wasn’t the only one to think that! Thinking that was a normal thing to think about friends! Right? Right! Exactly!

“Hehe, are you thinking about me Cross?”

“Wha-What? Why would you think that?!”

“Your face went all red when you were looking at me. Unless you were thinking about someone else?” Blue asked, his tone rather flat yet still engaged. He cocked his head to the side, waiting for Cross to respond.

“I was um-” He swallowed hard, “I was just thinking about how nice your smile is.”

“Aww!” Blue sat up and hid away in his scarf for a moment, cheeks a little flushed. Although not as much as Cross’s were, “Thanks.”

“Y-Yeah um! Sure. Of course.”

Blue cupped Cross’s face, the feeling of his gloves were nice against cold skin. He rubbed Cross’s cheek for a moment. His thumb ran over the scars that made an x-like shape on his face. Despite his gloves, he could still feel the difference between the coarse skin of the scars versus the non-scarred skin. He adored Cross’s scars, which was ironic considering he didn’t like his own. They were so badass and showed how strong he was! Cross was very strong, and yet so very gentle. Only when someone realizes their maximum strength can they be as careful as Cross is. Even a few moments ago, when Cross had scooped him up. He wasn’t aggressive about it, and neither was his grasp tight. His hands drifted down to Cross’s jaw, and he felt the other’s breath hitch.

“Can I kiss you?” Blue whispered, his voice barely heard over the wind.

“I-If you want to!” Cross stuttered, his hands finding themselves a nice spot on Blue’s hips. He had never been kissed before, was there something he was supposed to do or…?

There was no room for thoughts as Blue gently pressed their lips together for a moment. It was a simple peck on the lips, it could barely be considered a kiss. It lasted for a second, maybe too. But to Cross it felt like an eternity.

“Now come on! We have so many things that we can do in the snow, so let’s get going!: Blue chirped, jumping to his feet, shivering a little as he did so. He was faced away from Cross and when he heard no movement he turned around on his heel. “Cross?”

Cross was still kneeling in the snow, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. A shaky hand was lifted to his lips, the phantom feeling of the kiss still there. He looked so out of it, as if he didn’t even notice that Blue was talking to him. Blue smiled softly and walked a couple paces back over to Cross.

“Cross?” Blue asked, poking his nose. He jolted awake, blinking a few times. “Hehe, you dork. You okay?”

Cross nodded.

“Awesome! Let’s get going!”

“Ah! Wait!” Cross was yanked up by Blue with surprising strength. His knees felt like collapsing under him, but he managed to get control of himself relatively quickly. “Can we,” he paused to swallow, “Can we do that again?”

“What, kiss?”

“Mhm.”

With a shrug Blue responded, “Sure. But first we have snow activities to do! What do you want to do first, Cross?”

“We could…make a snow fort? Igloo? Something like that?”

“Yesss!” Blue’s eyes lit up as he grabbed Cross’s hand, and pulled him into the forest that surrounded Nightmare’s castle. Cross put on what had to be his tenth wobbly smile of the day. He just felt content around Blue. He didn’t feel like that around most people. His fingers wrapped around Blue’s, the feeling warm against the harsh cold of the winter. Was Blue still not cold? If he looked like he was shivering, Cross would be sure to take his jacket off and give it to him. It would absolutely smother the guy, but he’d be warm! Blue turned back to him, and smiled once again. There was a slight crease to his smile, the ends of his eyes tugging upward. Was Cross about to gush about his smile again? Probably.

The day had started with feelings of melancholy and the existential dread of figuring out what to do with himself. It was easier when someone just told him what he should do, whether it be Nightmare sending him on a mission, or Killer dragging him to do something. And even though Blue had dragged him out into the snow, he still asked what he wanted to do first. Blue was good at that. Listening and taking suggestions. Actually, Blue was just good! Good to be around, good to hang out with…good to kiss. He wasn’t perfect, Cross knew that, no one could be. But Blue came pretty damn close. Cross almost felt honored that Blue wanted to hang out with him. There were so many people in the world and in the castle, and he was the one who was actively sought out. It made him feel warm. Happy, even.

Blue let go of his hand to run ahead, scouting out a clearing. Cross followed him, eyes watching for any icicles or large patches of snow that could fall on Blue and hurt him. He hadn’t even noticed the fact that Blue had stopped moving until he almost bumped into him.

“Hey! Cross!” Cross looked down at Blue, who had snapped his fingers as he spoke. “You’ve gone all tense again. Relax for me man.”

“But that’s…hard.”

“Relaxing is hard? Jesus Christ, who hurt you?” Cross went to reply, but Blue held his hand up, “Rhetorical question. Sorry. Can you take a breath? Have a little fun with me Cross.”

How could Cross say no?

[kuwdora]

oooh I have POLLS and a backlog of asks and meme things I've finally had the brain to start answering. Happily answering! Just belatedly answering. Sorry its taken so long! the last 2 and a half months have put me through a grinder. I have this narrow window where my anxiety is not too bad right now. But I'm probably going to spiral in another couple of days because life is just a lot at the moment and I should use this less anxious time as much as I can.

I have no idea what kind of polls to make but maybe I'll spit out some over the weekend. Oh maybe I'll share some Witcher fanart too. Feeling ambitious nowwwww.

I am perennially behind on all my saved fic reading, too, but I managed to read and comment through about half the smutty drabbles from the recent rarepair Smubbles collection. Here are the witcher goodies! 91 entries this round! Some really incredible Witcher fics you don't want to miss if you love rare pairs! There are about 36 total fandoms represented in this collection and the other fics are looking GOOOOOD. Star Wars, MCU, some book fandoms, other movie fandoms. I love me a good short form story. I don't think I even crossposted my drabbles and ficlets from the November and December smubble collections. I could try and do that this weekend, too, since I wrote a few drabbles this week. I'll go from "rarely posting things on tumblr" to "posting nonstop trickle of thoughts, squee, and other randomness." It probably helps that I'm spending less time on Twitter and need to redirect some of my fannish thoughts somewhere and Tumblr seems to be a great place for that.

Alright, time to get through this first part of my day and we'll see how I can get myself together from there!

[dracox-serdriel]

It's not just about interesting, well-rounded characters, either. It's about the relationship dynamics written and the later played into the canon, too.

How many fanfics are written around two characters from the same show / universe who have never met in canon? Not nearly as many as those that are written about characters who have directly interacted in canon. And, also, when two characters who have never met in canon do have a fic written about them, it almost always revolves around them talking about the characters in their shared experience, so a lot of these stories aren't about a romantic relationship so much as the character perspectives on those other characters in the story.

Two characters who never interact with one another - or who barely interact with one another - rarely become "shipped" in a major way. I'm not saying rarepairs don't exist, I'm just saying that they will likely only have a small group of fans and a tiny handful of fanworks made surrounding them. (There are, of course, exceptions. But not many.)

So when you have a show like Supernatural, which had 15 seasons of acting like putting two recurring female characters in the same episode was tantamount to an apocalyptic event, is it really surprising that the femslash numbers are so low? Unless the female characters were literally related (mother/daughter, mother/adopted daughter), they didn't appear in the same episode. I can literally think of only like 2 exceptions of this in the 13 or so seasons I've watched (yeah I haven't watched the last few okay?). There were literally more apocalypses in that show than episodes with unrelated recurring female characters appearing in the same episode. And there was no main female character.

Crossover fics from unrelated shows would be a good place to study characters who haven't interacted being "shipped", since by logical definition, the characters wouldn't have interacted, as they were from different universes. But that's like a whole 'nother post.

And given that media is addative, centuries of imbalance skewed towards male characters means that having balanced narratives now won't "even" things out statistically, not for a very, very, VERY long time.

So when you see statistics like "in 2021-22, women comprised 50% of major characters on streaming programs" -- you should take note of the tap dance they're doing there. You can have tons of media where women have "major roles" yet still have practically ZERO interaction between two female characters.

Example? The Force Awakens. Rey is the main character. Okay. Let's look at her interaction with other women. OK, so, in a nonspeaking scene, she looks at an older woman scrubbing salvaged parts clean (strong indication Rey is wondering if that will be her one day)... but they don't actually interact. Rey has a very brief (though admittedly pretty meaningful) interaction with Maz Katana. And then at the end of the movie, she winds up hugging Leia. Annnd, oh, wait, that's it. Rey spends pretty much the entire movie running around and interacting with men. She has exactly one (1) conversation with another woman in that entire movie.

So, yes, women are making up more lead characters, but their interactions are still primarily with men--and often when they do interact with other women, it's about a male character (rather than being about the two women having a relationship).

Character roundedness and character interaction are all major factors in fans taking on a "ship" or not. Simply having fewer female characters - even with otherwise balanced screen time - will skew the numbers towards M/M pairings. Factor in everything else, it's no wonder that M/M pairings are the most popular focus of fanworks. It's very much a numbers thing.

It just kills me when writers create franchises where like 95% of the speaking roles are male, then get morally offended that all of the popular ships are gay. It’s like, what did they expect?

[lesbianuravity]

ship meme

[oldmagpie]

number 7: the fandom sads

You are sad. The fandom is making you sad. We’ve covered engagement and also readership and rarepairs, and curating tumblr. Tagging and filtering will certainly help, but you’re still sad. Why is that?

Well apart from the terrible tone of most fandom posts, there’s the fun phenomenon of fandom discourse, that could be part of it. I’m not touching that one just yet, even I have some self preservation instincts, but let’s look a little wider, at how norms and differing opinions can cause the big sads. 

So we have fandom norms. They exist, they establish early on in fandoms when the first big content booms occur. They often relate to the original property inversely, which in less big words speak means that you’re likely to get a lot of the opposite type of content to the genre of the original thing. It isn’t a hard and fast rule but it does trend. Now you might join later and disagree with these norms, or have new ideas. Great! Have them! Share them. People might disagree with you, they might not be on board since the norms are so entrenched. And this is the point that so often turns angry and resentful. Remember, once again, that you are not in charge of other people’s feelings. And it’s one thing to think you’re super right, but someone else might think exactly the same. Manage your expectations of coming into a fandom late with new takes please. It’ll be better all round. 

You might be getting hate, for something or other. Discourse exists, and I guess we are briefly going to comment on it, after all. If you know why you’ve created or supported something, with all the facts you can get your hands on, then stick to it. People disagree. It’s natural. People also witch hunt. It’s fandom. Be as confident as you can that you’ve made your choices for the right reasons as you know them. Be ready to change your opinions or choices if someone presents good information or arguments against. But always make up your own mind, and step away from the screen if you need to. Use that whole curation option in the tumblr bad post. Go inactive on discord. Etc. If someone hates you for doing something you did with the best intentions but poorly informed, woops maybe correct and move on. If they hate you for a choice you made with all the facts and your own consideration, then gosh they might have to just hate you. The world won’t end. 

Fandom sads from writing and engagement we’ve talked about, but a brief return to say that yeah, it’s normal. But you still should work on it. It’s going to keep adversely affecting you otherwise.

Nobody makes good stuff anymore. Ahhh now we’ve reached the fandom lifespan discussion. That’s for the next post. 

[tigerseye46]

On a round of Tiger’s brain never shuts up

We got another fic idea (I have so many fics I’m working on dhdhdhdh)

You know what’s the best part of the Tang is a reincarnation of Tripitaka theory? The angst

You could apply this angst to Peachtea/Tripsun, Freenoodles and… Jasminetea!

That’s right! Rarepair time!

It’s a Jasmine tea + peachpig fic.

Basic premise:

Sandy/Sha Wujing and Sun Wukong lament over the fact that Tang and Pigsy don’t remember who they used to be and the two won’t tell them because Tang and Pigsy seem happy in their new lives. They get mildly jealous (Sun Wukong more than Sandy) of how those two always seem like they’re flirting with each other and they’re not, they’re really not.

(More under the cut)

Sandy has insecurities about his relationship with Tripitaka/Tang because while he was the calm and rational one out of the disciples (although he did become rage-filled after Zhu Bajie’s death), he doesn’t think he was really special or noteworthy in Tripitaka’s eyes compared to Bajie and Sun Wukong. He believes Tripitaka didn’t think that much of him and merely tolerated his presence since he had to except the monk really respected and loved him for his calm nature and wisdom. He also believes that transferred to Tripitaka’s new life as Tang since Tang makes snarky comments about rather or not Sandy is there with the group and it hurts that even now the person he’s in love with just tolerates him instead of actually caring about him but the scholar does care about him a lot. Another reason he believes this is Tang always seems more enthusiastic to explain stuff about Monkey King and Bajie more than Sha Wujing even though that isn’t true and Tang applies that same enthusiasm towards stories with Wujing in them, although he won’t admit it but deep down his favorites stories to tell are ones with Wujing in it. Before Sandy reveals himself, there’s most likely a point where Tang is about to tell a story about him and he knows what Tang thinks of him so he leaves because he doesn’t want to be hit the face about how much the scholar doesn’t care about him then misses how the scholar’s eyes sparkle as he recalls specific points of the demon’s story.

Wukong feels guilty that he wasn’t able to properly protect either of them especially Bajie and how he isn’t really surprised that the pig hates him in this life even though it hurts. He does think Bajie kinda resented him for certain things. He kinda stays more by Sandy or MK’s side when he’s with the group but watches Pigsy from afar. He also goes out of his way to protect Pigsy if he’s in the area when a demon attacks, he doesn’t actively tell him this but the pig can tell there’s something up and insists he can protect himself. Pigsy does make an effort to talk to the king and give him noodles but Wukong kinda flinches when he’s near because he doesn’t believe he has the right to see or be near the pig that much. Although the pig stills goes forward with getting to know the king and they do manage to have a few conversations where Sun Wukong doesn’t look like he wants to run away. Pigsy does things like making sure the king eats properly, making sure he’s okay and getting good quality social interaction with someone.

Sandy and Wukong frequently talk about if they should tell them but they end up agreeing not to. They stick together and bond over various things, returning to their normal brotherly bond.

Tang and Pigsy are really unaware of who they were before and how the other two are having an internal battle, instead they’re too busy gushing to each other about their respective crushes. They also get jealous of their past lives because it’s clear to them that when they can actually get Sandy and Wukong to open up about Tripitaka and Bajie that the two had a high opinion of their respective loves that makes it clear there were feelings.

Tang is pretty upset by it because how can he compete with the great monk? He does try to impress Sandy (and Wukong to a surprisingly lesser extent) by recalling everything he can about the journey hoping that Sandy will be impressed by his knowledge. He also gets Sandy to tell him bits about the Journey that were never included to learn more about him. Another thing he does is get Sandy to teach him how to make tea like he does so he can add it onto his list of “Why I’m a great candidate as a future potential partner.”

Pigsy is also upset by it but understands that the king has been around a long time and has seen so many amazing things and been around so many amazing people that a simple chef doesn’t make it onto his list for partners and that they’re acquaintances at best so he never had a chance especially since he likes Zhu Bajie and he’s aware the two had an amazing bond. He does try to still do stuff for the king and pretends he’s content with just being near him.

I’ll write this fic down eventually-

[myfaveisfuckable]

Rants under the read more

narcistoru/secretoru: Yeah i can gurantee this is the only submission for them for Some Reason. Because no one ships them. Like i have searched the internet far and wide and turn up with like. Close to literal zero. And here's the thing, this is entirely illogical. They work together in this evil group and their deals are essentially that they're. Unhappy people. At first you think they're just annoying but actually they're annoying snd Extremely Miserable. In silly ways, they are such losers and so cringefail. I could write an essay on both of them individually, but basically i love how their focus isn't on being better people, it is on being happier. Individually.

The show is divided into clear parts of who is the main antagonist at the time which really makes you FEEL how unhappy they each are. They're a group but they're also not bc they choose to be unhappy ad get on each other's nerves about it and that's a prime focus of their characters. Anyway, these two make me insane, they spend a lot of time together during the middle part of the show, bc the first villain is gone so now it's just the two of them and their leader who isn't doing much yet. After this part, one of them, narcistoru, is defeated so he's gone for the time being. But these two, they hate each other SOOOOOOOO much it's insane. This is because Narcistoru is an annoying bitch and Secretoru hates that. And they're both generally insane people with dumb beliefs and issues that they view wrongly. It's just so glorious to see them annoy each other so much. Post Narcistoru's main screen time, he gets his conclusion episode. He escapes from prison and Secretoru is supposed to retrieve him. But like not because they need him, in fact, they absolutely did not care that he was arrested because none of these people give a flying fuck about each other. It's just that he wasn't supposed to be a risk. Secretoru and Narcistoru have a rather petty and hilarious fight. Because you see. Now they don't have to get along. They are not on the same side. So the hostility is really thriving here. In fact, she manages to capture him, and while fighting the pretty cures (magical girls), hensays some annoying shit and she goes "actually i changed my mind" and shoves him off this rock in order for the monster (they always summon one) to fucking kill him. Like she tries to murder him in cold blood soley because he's annoying and this was entirely inevitable actually. She wants that twink obliterated. They don't bring this up again in the finale when they're both in prison. They just. Kind of hang out now. They've reached a level of tolerance.

And you may think "why do you ship this" LOOK. THEIR INTERACTIONS. ARE SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST. A VERY FUN SHIP. BECAUSE THEY'RE HILARIOUS. The hostility is so great and i think it would be neat if they had some t4t hatesex. It would solve nothing. They mske each other so much worse. But it would be very hot. Also secretoru has a general "can you shut the fuck up" attitude towards him. I don't even technically ship it but i ENJOY the ship.

And yet. I am so alone in this which is insane because i definitely expected ship content for them even before i actually wanted it myself.

But no, of course people ship Narcistoru with actual fifteen year olds. Like so much. And there is ZERO content for the ship with the other Actual Adult that he interacts with on a regular basis and who he has a fantastic and entertaining and INTERESTING dynamic with. So basically, i am not just sad, i am also SO SALTY. They are so insanely rarepair despite being an absolute epic duo. Awesome crackship, 10/10, literally comedy

Tsume/orochimaru: Scary jock milf x scarier nerd snilf (snake ilf). They'd be so awful. Can you imagine what they'd put kiba through lmao... Kiba Anko Hana sibling supremacy they'd be on a watch list 100%... Even funnier when Kiba becomes a cop. But back to the ship itself I think Orochimaru needs pegged to calm down and I think Tsume can't use technology at ALL so they both provide a needed service. Like I don't think they're in a steady relationship more like consistent hook up slightly divorced bi4bi violence. Yeah. Anyway I think Tsume could and should destroy his snussy

(tsume orochimaru is my (the poll King 👑) ship and I don't know if I can vote against that amazing narcistoru secretoru rant tbh 👑)

[foxy-knowledgeseeker]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Aang/On Ji (Avatar) Characters: Aang (Avatar), On Ji (Avatar) Additional Tags: Romance, Kissing, Making Out, Summer Romance, Aang Rarepair Week, Aang Rarepair Week 2021, Fluff, aang's hot girl summer in action, the headband ep round 2 you could say, no beta we die like jet, Aged-Up Character(s), Aang Rarepair Week Day 2: First/Last Kiss Series: Part 2 of Aang Rarepair Week 2021 Summary:

One summer in Caldera City, On Ji runs into a [somewhat] familiar face, both figuratively and literally (by this I mean they kiss a lot)

@aangtheestallion​

[danggirlronpa]

Seed B2 Masterpost

Junko/Komaru art by pechebeche

Sayaka/Sakura art by ministarfruit

Junko/Komaru

Hey friends, like this video if you think that manipulating your arch nemesis' cute younger sister into becoming your protégé through various atrocities is...kinda hot 😏

I'm gonna be real that's the whole basis for the ship. I'm not gonna pretend Komaru "normal mcnormal" wouldn't bore the shit out of Junko. I'm not gonna pretend Junko "ultimate despair" wouldn't scare the shit out of Komaru. But ooh. OOOH. the NARRATIVE IMPLICATIONS!!! the TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS!!!

I think making Makoto watch Junko and Komaru's wedding might be her single driving petty force to make this happen actually

Sayaka/Sakura

TBH one of my favorite parts of Sakura as a char is the fact that she wants to be really strong And wants to be feminine and wear pretty dresses. That combination of traits can lead to some really reductive "actually the beauty industry is feminist" thinking, and it's not something I would ever expect Danganronpa of all series' to do well on, but the way Sakura talks about really hits that deep yearning that girls with darker skin in particular often have to grapple with in feeling forcibly separated from femininity, and it really hits home to see Sakura yearning for that lost part of her identity

(disclaimer: this is not an argument that Danganronpa portrays colorism well. In fact, it portrays colorism very badly. And we are in particular ignoring the pre-martial arts training light-skinned Sakura design. Because holy shit. Wow. There's so much going on there)

This was a lot of waxing poetic on Sakura and not the relationship itself BUT I really truly think that the appeal of Sakura/Sayaka is in the chance for Sayaka to help Sakura get in tune of this side of her she so desperately yearns for. Sayaka's dream is built on helping other girls smile and feel more confident in themselves, and even if part of that is a facade for the camera, I think there's a truly intimate level of understanding that these two could have with each other as they grapple with their exposing experiences with femininity and what it means to them.

or, tldr: I THINK SAYAKA/SAKURA SHOULD GET TO BE THE MEME OF THE GIRL LEANING OVER ANOTHER GIRL DOING HRE MAKEUP IN A REALLY GAY WAY. AND IM RIGHT

※To avoid spamming artists, I will only @ them the first time their work shows up unless told otherwise. If you want to check all the art I used, check here!

[volkswagonblues]

fic rec for M*A*S*H fans

So, periodically I go back and re-watch M*A*S*H, a show i fell in love with as a kid and then regularly revisited since. There’s not a huge fic fandom out there, which makes sense because it’s a sitcom from the 1970′s, but what’s amazing about old fandoms is that you can find fic written decades ago. And for anyone who’s even vaguely familiar with the show, I am begging you to give this one fic series a try

It’s called Sins and Virtues, and it’s Hawkeye/Mulcahy, which is a small rarepair within an already small fandom. If you enjoy queer historical romances (à la Todd Haynes’s Carol) then it’s worth a read. It’s worth a read even if you’ve never watched M*A*S*H, and in fact it lays out all the characters and their backstories so well that not watching the show before diving adds an element of unfolding mystery to it that only adds to the intrigue. I read it when I was a teen and remember liking it a lot. I re-read it this weekend and I discovered as an adult i love it a lot. It’s about a deaf excommunicated Catholic priest who falls in love with a mouthy, depressed, alcoholic surgeon. It’s a startlingly romantic story about -- oh lord -- about faith and love and war and PTSD and disability, set in 1950s New York. It’s one of those things that make me want to claw my fingers down my face and scream

Here’s an excerpt so you get what I mean: 

[...] He had tried to comfort people who had lost a foot or a hand or a limb: tried to, because when he was with them at the MASH unit they had usually been either in a dazed, unaccepting state, or in the first fierce rage against their loss. It had not occurred to him till now to draw any parallel between their situation and his own. It was not a good parallel: he was still hale and sound, apart from his deafness. But it was something like: he had been trying not to think that he would never give communion again, never bless the sacrament, never take confession. Never be a priest again. Never.

It was some time before he came to himself, from the selfishness of grief. He was clutching Hawkeye very hard, and his face was sore. Somehow they were squeezed next to each other on a basketwork chair intended for one: Hawkeye hadn’t moved since he’d sat down. His arms were round Mulcahy’s shoulders. He was thin, too thin, but solid and warm, and Mulcahy wanted him with a passion that was almost as disconcerting as it was overwhelming.

“Thank you,” Mulcahy said.

He felt Hawkeye say something — he could almost, he thought, have guessed the words from the vibration of sound on skin. There were accounts of deaf people who could interpret spoken words from the feel of the voice on the back of the hand: Mulcahy thought about Hawkeye speaking to him like that, and shuddered.

He couldn’t resist Hawkeye. He had come four hundred miles because he had wanted this. Not only because there was no one else who would have listened to his confession without condemnation — who would have listened and then held him. If that were all, it was selfish, but not an occasion of sin. He had come four hundred miles because some part of him had hoped Hawkeye would seduce him again — the worst had already happened, he could not be further punished for what he had done — and he should have known, he would have known if he had thought about it, that of course Hawkeye would blame himself. All of this was bad enough, but to have gone on, to have told Hawkeye and taken this from him, after Hawkeye had suffered a most devastating loss. Selfishness piled on sin piled on needy grabbing. It served him right to find out that the night that had inspired this had been, for Hawkeye, the winning of a bet. Mulcahy shuddered again, and, on shaky legs, stood up and changed chairs.

“Thank you,” he said again, sitting down before dizziness could catch him. He saw a familiar shape of wire and glass lying on top of his breviary, and put his specs on.

“You okay?”

“Yes,” Mulcahy said. “No. But I will be.”

[...]

(LINK - SINS AND VIRTUES)