#Clingy divorce arc

[mikaikaika]

Showing this screenshot with the context that they are discussing their actual legal divorce would make any 2020 fan absolutely crumble like a victorian child with plague

[nomsfaultau]

I think the judge over seeing the Tubbo-Tommy court case should just deny the grounds for divorce. Funniest possible outcome.

[hamletteprinceofdenmark]

tommy really vying to be voted Most Clingy by year’s end huh?

[gimmebackmyskeeball]

Just friends? Fuck no.

author’s note: I love enemy!jj and I’m a hoe for an enemies you lover arc but I just want me a flirty best friend jj so bad so I had to write his headcanons (?). I don’t even know what this is actually. There’s hc and small little blurbs all together so it’s definitely a little longer than a blurb but not a one shot either. I’m confused but I hope ur not. Enjoy!

summary: just some hc(?) about best friend!jj !!

pairing: best friend!jj maybank x pogue!reader

First of all, you can’t convince me that this man isn’t clingy with his best friend. And honestly not just with you and Kie but with Jb and Pope too. So picture this, divorced parents, your dad lives in another country with his new wife and your mom lives with your sister whilst you stay in the château. Your best friend John B offered you a room after his father made it clear that he wasn’t going to be back soon if never. So now you’re practically living in the château, stopping by your own house to check on your mom and your sister every couple of days. That also means you’re practically living in the same house with the one and only Jj Maybank.

At that point you were familiar with the lines such as; “How can you wake up that early? What’s the deal with that?” or “Y/N open the door! I don’t care that you’re changing, I left my lighter in there!”. He would wake up in the spare room with his messy hair and in his John B’s shorts. No shirt, obviously. He has to show off those muscles. “Yeah, you know, this is what happens when you’re god’s favorite.” He act’s like this is totally from his genes and just basically from carrying stuff to help his dad and shit but his dirty little secret is that he works out for it. Not a lot but enough to keep him in shape.

He’d walk around the château looking for some kind of food, any kind. He’d see Jb standing in the hallway, fresh out of shower, hair wet, of course he wouldn’t miss the chance to make some kinda flirty comment. “Hey, Jb. Morning shower? Too bad, wish you had invited me.” John would scoff, rolling his eyes, “Stop saying shit like that, Jj.” But Jj being the Jj he is, of course he wouldn’t stop. “Cmon gimme a hug, babe.” “Get away from me.”

“Don’t be shy.” He’d playfully caress his shoulder, with a smile on his face. “I’m literally throwing up in my mouth.” John took a step back, replicating gagging noises. “Cmon, John B. Don’t hide the infamous John D from me.” The brunette boy would pick up a pillow from the couch, shoving it right in the middle of his face before speaking, “Dude, you creep me the fuck out.” In that moment you’d walk in door from the porch, you’d woke up early to enjoy to morning breeze because you knew you’d be burning and melting and suffering thanks to Jb who kept putting off getting his AC fixed. “There she is! Hey, peach.” he’d say smiling, walking over to you before grabbing your face and giving your cheek multiple wet sloppy kisses.

“Gross.” you’d mumble. You’re tripping if you think this boy wouldn’t call you some kinda cheesy lame nickname like ‘peach’ or ‘sugar’ or ‘cupcake’ that’s suddenly music to your ears when he says it with that crooked southern accent of his. “Okay, rude. You lookin’ mad cute today. Don’t wanna kiss?” you pushed his face away, not able to stop the smile growing on your face.

Since when did you pushed him? You made the blonde mad. He’d wrap his arms around your neck, placing his head on top of yours. He’d pull you towards him until your back was completely leaning against his chest. He was heavy, you had to give him that. He was hot too. Not that way. I mean, yes, that way, he was hot, everyone knew that, including him. But he was the type of guys whose body heat was always high. The heat from how he wraps his arms around you, hot. He’s hot. In every way, shape or form. “Jay, get off! You’re hot!” He’d raise an eyebrow, pretending to be impressed by your sudden compliment that he knew was not a compliment, “Oh, I’m aware. But too bad I’m not gonna get off of ya.”

Definitely the kind of guy that would get offended if you told someone he wasn’t your boyfriend, “No partners over! This is my house and y’all are using it as a motel six!” John yelled to Kiara who had just been walked in by the owner of that very house. “That’s not fair! Y/N and Jj stay here all the time!” Kiara bit back. You crossed your arms over your chest, furrowing your brows, “What does that even mean?” Kiara sighed, “It means that boyfriend and girlfriends do stay here together and that I’m allowed to too!” you gave her a disgusted look, okay, to be completely honest, it was kinda cute she said that but you couldn’t act like you find it cute. Obviously. “We are not!” you whined. Jj shot you a look, “I mean, you don’t have to say it like that…” he frowned. The man actually frowned.

“Huh?” you were genuinely confused, was he upset? “You didn’t had to sound so aggressive about it…”

Sometimes he’d come up to you in the middle of the night, tv noises coming from the living room, meaning Jb wasn’t asleep either. “Peach?” you saw his figure on your doorstep,“Yeah, Jay?” you sat up on your bed. “I can’t sleep.” he walked over to you, sitting on your bed. “Why?”

He pouted, “Hot.” Oh how the tables have turned, “Thank you.” you spoke as he’d grin, scooting over more to your side. “I always appreciate a self aware girl.” “Okay, back off playboy.”

You scooted back, closer to the head of your bed now. “I’m just being honest.” he kept moving to get closer to you as much as he can. “Well, keep your honest ass over there.” you gently pushed his knee, trying with everything you have in you to keep your distance.

Sometimes you’d wonder if you were really only best friends. You knew how you felt about him but this is how he was with everybody, so he was ridiculously confusing. All the long weed sessions in the Twinkie, the way he’d beg to be the one rubbing your sunscreen, how he’d get visibly happy every time you’d pick him to sit next to on the couch. He is cheesy. And he isn’t embarrassed of it. If anything he knows he’s cheesy and I feel like he’s proud of it.

He’d yawn and gently stretch his arms, one of them slowly going over your shoulders and he’d end up caressing your arm. You know what he’s doing, he knows you know what he’s doing. Is he ever going to stop? No one knows. The way he’d rest his hands (definitely and totally not gripping them like you’re gonna jump off the bike and run away) on your thighs on red lights whenever you’re on his bike for him to drop you off for you to see your mom.

How he’d wrap his arms around your waist, resting his head on your shoulder despite your whines about how you want him off of you. It’s just him, it’s just Jj Maybank and you don’t know if he’ll change or not. Not that you want him to, anyway.

[angelsdean]

Also, since I'm divorce arc posting today, what if i said Dean wasn't wrong to say this:

CASTIEL The plan changed, Dean. Something went wrong. You know this. Something always goes wrong. DEAN Yeah, why does that something always seem to be you?

LIKE !!!!! Sure it was harsh and if emotions weren't heightened already and Dean wasn't still dealing with the very recent death of his mother and that grief (anger being a stage of grief!) and ALL the Chuck shit on top of that AND his own complicated feelings re: Jack's death (bc Dean was Not going to kill him, despite Chuck trying to manipulate him into doing that) he probably wouldn't have said that to Cas but like?? he's not really wrong.

You can easily trace a lot of the major season conflicts as a long line of dominoes starting with Cas's s6 betrayal. Leviathans. Purgatory. The tablets. Angels falling. Lucifer getting out of the cage via Cas possession. Etc etc. And most of the time Cas was doing things from a place of good intentions in his POV. Trying to fix things or spare others the burden of doing the hard thing. But still, these plans often backfire for Cas. Going it alone, not letting Dean (+ Sam) in on his plans, it usually does not end well !!!! They are TEAM Free Will for a reason. The show (and Dean) continuously emphasizes the importance of team and family and not going it alone. So, while what Dean says to Cas in this scene is definitely a harsh pill to swallow and not something I think Dean would say to Cas in normal circumstances, he technically isn't wrong. And that's what makes it such a heart-breaking scene.

And even more-so, he's saying this but he still, at his core doesn't want Cas to leave. ("Of course I wanted you to stay.") At the moment he needs space and time to process his grief re: Mary, and all the other stuff going on, but he still wants Cas there and ultimately wants to fix things. ("I'd rather have you." "We can fix this." "I was there where were you." etc etc)

But to fix things they need to address his huge persistent, recurring issue between them: not communicating effectively and Cas continuously leaving, going rogue, and/or deciding for them when to involve Dean.

Dean wants to work together, as a team. Dean wants to be involved. Dean wants Cas to not just up and disappear and "deal with things" on his own like he always does. Cas, in his own POV, sees his actions as perhaps a form of care. He's protecting! He's taking on the hardships! Also, his hubris, wanting to be the strong protector type. Wanting to be a warrior. Powerful. Securing "wins." And these desires stem from his years as a soldier of Heaven, of equating worth with Results. Not something Dean has put on him or required of him.

But Dean doesn't see Cas's actions the way Cas perceives them. We as the omniscient audience know more about Cas's motivations than Dean does too. Dean often just sees Cas leaving, prioritizing the mission and shutting Dean out. However, I do think it's important to note that Dean is also usually willing to give Cas the benefit of the doubt, defend him, and forgives easily / implicitly.

They both care deeply about each other and don't maliciously mean to press on each other's specific insecurities and traumas but like, Dean is abandonment issues boy. And Cas keeps leaving. Or ignoring his calls when their daily lives are a constant life or death battle because they are literally living in a horror show! Dean is not unreasonable to be worried when he doesn't hear from Cas for days, weeks, months on end. He's not being "clingy" or "demanding." Expecting some base form of communication from the people you care about is normal in any relationship. Cas refusing to communicate in these moments IS a problem between them.

So, when Dean says, "Yeah, why does that something always seem to be you?" re: Cas being the "problem" it's harsh yes! But it's pushing them toward addressing this recurring issue (Cas going rogue often = plans backfiring) and the root of that issue which is Cas continuing to leave to do things on his own, change the game-plan without running it by anyone, and keeping others out. This moment is a breaking point. Because Dean, under normal circumstances, is generally one to defend, forgive, and move past Cas's mistakes. Cas himself says it in this very scene: "You used to trust me, give me the benefit of the doubt."

But at this point something needs to give, they need an explosive moment to just bring all these issues to light. It's a rupture.

Yes, Dean might "still blame [Cas] for Mary" but Cas also knows deeply, as he expresses to Jack, that Dean needs time and space to process his emotions. That he feels things more acutely and intensely but that ultimately he usually comes to a place of acceptance / forgiveness / is able to move on.

That's what Dean wants and needs in this moment. He needs space to deal with his feelings and his grief (clearly in the anger stage of it). And he also wants to finally address these issues! But Cas is also struggling himself and in his own mind he's feeding old insecurities. He let Belphegor get under his skin. He thinks he's not needed or wanted anymore. So, he does what he tends to do. Leave.

CASTIEL Well, I don't think there's anything left to say. [Castiel makes to leave.] DEAN Where you going?

Cas decides to leave and Dean immediately asks where are you going? Because even now, feeling how he does, he doesn't want Cas to leave.

What Dean wants is to have a confrontation. He wants to get to the root of their issues. He asks Cas why didn't he just stick to the plan. And emphasizes the concept of WE, of being a team. "We would've figured it out....after. With Rowena." He wants them to stick together, work together. But he's struggling. He's grieving. And still, he wants Cas to stay, of course I wanted you to stay.

And I say it all here in this post but the whole "I left but you didn't stop me" is just, Cas really? From Dean's POV he sees Cas's leaving as a choice Cas makes. He respects his choice and doesn't ask him to stay because he also does not feel he deserves to ask people to stay for him. He is always putting his own wants and desires second to those of others. He thinks, if Cas wants to leave, who is he to stop him?

Anyways, I think too much of divorce arc puts blame on Dean or makes Dean out to be "the bad guy" and "the reason" Cas leaves and the one who needs to "grovel" and apologize / be forgiven. But Cas is not blameless. Cas leaves because Cas leaves. Cas leaves because he chooses to and because he does not want to confront the realities of the situation or his own role in their issues. And after Cas leaves he continues to bury his head in the sand and be avoidant (thee core issue!) while also going out and working a solo case in an effort to secure a "win" and prove to himself that he's still capable of getting things right and not always failing.

And all of this, the complexity, the layers, Cas's stubbornness and flaws, is deeply delicious to me. Cas is not a blameless innocent little baby who got his feelings hurt by "big meanie Dean" in this situation. He is someone who heard a hard truth from someone he cares about and made the choice to leave instead of confronting the issue. And throughout it all, they both still deeply care about each other. It's evident in everything they do. And they want to work it out, but are both at different places and struggling with their own feelings too.

[pjchatters]

“boat boys in their divorce arc”

okay but listen, we can still get some juicy content and narratives from this, we can still get our boat boys crumbs, and all we have to do is imagine etho acting exactly like how he acted around bdubs back in double life

he was extremely jealous, kinda obsessive, made multiple attempts to break bdubs up with impulse, and clingy whenever he was around

now imagine him acting like that again, but this time towards joel, the same guy he tried to leave behind in favor of bdubs, but after double life he’s now attached to joel and he’s jealous over the idea of him making a boat with someone else other than himself because they were the boat boys

imagine etho attempting to break joel off from the bad boys so they could be in a group together again, imagine etho always trying to be physically near joel whenever he’s around, imagine etho purposefully trying to annoy joel so he’d focus on him instead of the others

and through all of it, joel knows, he knows what etho’s trying to do because he’s seen it all before when etho was like that with bdubs, and now he’s doing all those jealous ex things to him, this season etho is focused on him this time

so can you blame him if he wants that level of attention to last a little longer? to know that he is on etho’s mind the more he separates himself from him? because if that was what it took for etho to chase after him, then goddammit he’ll run

[fountainpenguin]

Zombiewood, my beloved...

Man... thinking about how much I love Double Life Martyn & his interactions with Cleo again. There is... so much silliness going on there. Legit, they can barely hold a conversation without giggling. And the drama... Just existing together under the drama umbrella makes them fantastic story material. 10/10 soulmate pair.

Martyn's terrible game show flop. Devastating. Him getting in a fistfight with Cleo at the end of it. That little fast-paced vent he does while ranting to Jimmy about how Cleo is really into building bridges with Scott but not him, which pitches up into a scream. I love how 'into character' he gets there; it's so good...

The entire hilarity of Martyn building a giant heart in front of Cleo in an attempt to win her back, which she loathes and ignores while he spends the series fighting with the HOA for the right to keep it. Everyone constantly yells at him for dropping their property value. All he wants is Cleo's attention and Cleo just... is not impressed. so funny.

"It's small, but it's enough. Just like me." - Martyn, what??

The way Martyn builds his base "in Cleo's front yard." That's so nuts. From an in-universe perspective, I love that swivel from denial and anger in Episode 1 to bargaining in 2.

So many good tidbits throughout their 5-episode relationship... Martyn peeping at Cleo through his spyglass at night and muttering "She seems safe; she seems happy; she seems healthy" before zooming in all "Wait, she has to use the furnace OUTSIDE?? Take it inside! Look, he's ruining you!" Like... Okay, Martyn.

"This is all her fault, 100%!!" He's a needy, angry man grasping at straws. I love dumb roleplay drama. Ugh, the commitment to the bit is so glorious. What a great arc.

The way Martyn thoroughly convinces himself that Scott's the shoulder devil who swayed Cleo away from him, so he shows up to speak his mind ("We can be real, proper soulmates, but right now you're being really selfish. You let him speak in your ear! You let him tell you that I was off not caring about my soulmate! I was providing!" and Cleo hits him with "Martyn... I was the one who brought it up first."

Just... idk, the way he freezes right then is great. The "emotional damage" clip he plays right then just makes it for me. That right there is the moment that Character Martyn splinters. It's so good. And yet he doesn't give up?? astounding.

I really enjoy how Pearl took the divorce quartet situation and spun it into clingy 'crazy ex' roleplay with Scott, and Martyn went the complete opposite route and tried to woo Cleo over with grandiose gestures of affection, really playing up the "I'm a provider; I didn't want to show up emptyhanded" angle. They were so different in how they handled the break-up and I still think that's cool. They did such a good job. Fantastic season.

Martyn: I care about us! I bring the skill; you bring the vibes- That's what I was signing up for! Cleo: If you look at it this way- You don't have to watch out for me. I've got somebody else who's willing to lay down their life for me.

Like??

Martyn wants someone he can share affection with. Cleo wants stability and trust. The whole "This is better for both of us" is so good... Hilarious.

The part that really makes it for me is Martyn starting to protest "So this is what we're doing?" and Cleo softly shushes him, just like "Shhh... They're coming over."

They kick off a secret alliance they don't discuss in public... Cleo apologizing for misjudging him and extending a hand. Martyn playing the part of jealous lover who's got an open door waiting for him if he'll meet her halfway, which he can choose to do at any time if he swallows his pride... It's SO GOOD... What a set-up!

Martyn & Cleo, my beloveds... Where else can I find the goofy 'jealous ex with a flair for art and drama' + 'Annoyed ex who moved on with their life and got a new partner and a home' health-sharing soulmate combo with this much commitment to the anger and grief and forgiveness and regret... They're great.

Martyn: I don't know where I stand with her. She sort of seems to be looking out for me but absolutely wants nothing to do with me. It's all very confusing... and maybe Cleo will come back to me one day.

Well, I've got good news and bad news, boss...

Cleo giving Martyn a heart-to-heart and he quietly wanders back to his base, turns to look at them, and tells the audience "Maybe me and Cleo are more on the same page than I initially thought" while in Cleo's POV a moment later, she's like "Look, sometimes you just have to speak to him in a way he'll understand" [gameplay strats] ??? slkdjf

Cleo sending Martyn on his way with his first diamonds of the series to craft a sword with... the "Don't die" / "I promise; I'll do us proud- Don't you worry" / "[Sigh]... Do yourself proud" exchange just kills me. Martyn swivels to his softer 'serious roleplay voice' to 'pledge loyalty' to her and Cleo just Is Not Having It With Him and shuts that down so fast.

Cleo: You don't need to worry about me. I've got my partner. Martyn to the audience, so Cleo can hear: She's saying that even when there's nobody around. I am VERY confused."

Two dead, many injured.

Cleo tossing a flower in his inventory when he wasn't looking. Cleo offering to let Martyn stay with her after his base gets griefed. Also ??? Martyn and Cleo getting a house together when they were constantly fighting?? why did they do that.

Cleo and Scott on their bridge above the ravine, doing their daily axe crit to the chest... Martyn in Ep 3 whips around and yells "Do you two mind??" Cleo tells him it's their way of showing affection and Martyn immediately gets out his enchanted axe and goes for her. He looks Scott in the eye and says "At least I've got a heart" and Scott's instant reply is "Do you??"

Martyn later refusing to use the bridge because it would be "awkward"... Martyn sneaking around Cleo's house and getting upset that she joined the HOA, immediately followed by her chasing him out of her yard insisting that she didn't. Martyn's swap into bubbly music when he's in the panda reserve. "The admission fee is love!" / "Oh, I come with buckets of that because somebody isn't accepting mine."

On the way out the door, Scar tells Cleo and Martyn that he'll find more romantic music to play the next time they visit and Martyn doubles back and says "Yeah, if you could." Love that for him. All the man wants is a partner who doesn't want to kick him in the teeth. What a great episode.

I love how Martyn and Cleo interact on their weird stepping stone bridge above the ravine... He keeps pushing for "I'll take your gear and go down to the ancient city to get your enchantments sorted out," trying to kill two birds with one stone and play up that role of being "the provider," and Cleo just... keeps trying to reel him back.

"No, no, no! You don't even have to do that! All you have to do is say 'I'm sorry for abandoning you on the first day.'" / "Mmmmm... I don't understand." sldkfj. "All it takes is an apology, Martyn." / "You're not getting one. We both know you're not getting one."

Delicious self-inflicted drama. Cleo's so willing to bend and he's so dang stubborn. I love them...

Personal highlight for me is right after Martyn kills both Cleo and himself by punching them off a cliff. Scott puts himself between the two of them while Cleo seethes and Martyn apologizes profusely and he just keeps saying "You have ruined every chance of ever being with her as your soulmate. You have lost every opportunity." Cleo following it up with "Remember when I said Martyn would be a good person to have on our team?

Yeah, just drive that sense of "Nobody wants you" into the one guy who's been so desperately roleplaying affection... topped off by the fact that when they're alone, Cleo drops the loud angry voice and cracks up laughing. Your honor, they are literally just some guys.

The fact that Cleo had to save him from an enderman while he shrieked and buried under her bedroom floor. I cannot get over the mental image of "Take me back, babe" immediately followed by them almost dying twice in 5 minutes. Martyn literally runs inside and hides under Cleo's bed... they can't stop giggling. Yep. He's here: the perfect man.

DL!Martyn is so funny to me... He explicitly uses the phrase "I'm breaking up with you too" when he dumps Pearl at the end of Episode 1, and then he does it AGAIN when Ren says they should bring Pearl into the Broken Hearts club.

The whole "Uh... I broke up with Pearl, so this might take some convincing" bit just cracks me up. Ren so wanted this alliance to work and Martyn is like "... ah. Yeah, about that..."

Semi-related, but thinking about that one Reacts clip where IRL Martyn said "See, this is why me and Cleo are soulmates" while listening to them talk about his LimLife finale betrayal...

idk; that's funny to me- I like the in-universe image that character Martyn is still hung up on Cleo (and/or the mental image of character Martyn hanging out with her at a post-LimLife party, trying to study her and figure out why they were paired).

Martyn and Cleo are on the same page in so many ways... but they have different communication styles / preferences and they crashed and burnt so hard... Ah, the sweet tragedy of it all. I'd have loved to see how well they could've fared together as a team.

Cleo losing their Yellow life because Martyn scrambled towards her begging her to eat and she forgot she was drowning as she opened inventory to check her pockets... His "Leave her alone!" and "Cleo, we good? We good?" during the ancient city fight. Cleo inviting Martyn into her Red Life base. Yeah. Them... Messy to the end.

Anyway, they're hilarious. GG to them on the improv and the commitment to it, even though the break-up was probably a scary roleplay / gameplay choice...

Also that moment where Bdubs casually says hello to them while they're walking home from the panda reserve and they immediately go for their weapons and start threatening him "Your money or your life" is so perfect... Love me a couple improv troublemakers in total sync. They're my favorites.

I love them and their silly donkeys Glen and Schmoobles... Nothing like two soulmates both picking the same companion animal without coordinating and both giving them silly names in the complete opposite directions from each other. They're great.

I love them...

[evil-mcytblrconfessions]

i need someone to make a new category of rpf that's rpf but distinctly aware of the fact that the "real people" are actually personas put on by content creators and the rpf follows the lore of the personas without speculating about the real people. Yes i need rpf about the clingy duo divorce. i love the clingy duo divorce arc. can we get on this thanks.

.

[utilitycaster]

You have such a way of articulating things I’ve been vaguely feeling into intelligent coherent statements. Would you care to elaborate on the way that how Laudna+Imogen “went canon” was a curse?

Hey anon,

Thank you! So this is the thing: obviously I tend towards a fairly critical and snarky demeanor, but like, the best way to put it is in the context of the impending Nein show. I, and most of the people I chat with who are also not feeling Imogen and Laudna's relationship, are not of the "if that PURPLE FLOATY HOMEWRECKER SKANK SHOWS UP I will EXPLODE and SCREAM and DIE" or "fjorester divorce" or pretending Yasha doesn't exist persuasion re: this relationship (or for that matter the WELL if Percy dies after 70 years of marriage to Vex and then she's with Keyleth for the rest of her life WE WIN type of person either). Like, honestly, there was a post advocating for a breakup, but I think it included within it an argument that they reunite after some time apart, and that's kind of the mood. I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed. There's no ship war to be had. I don't dislike the ship because of competition or some fundamental dislike of the characters, and I honestly would like to be able to like it, and the path for it to not suck would have been immensely simple. That path even still exists, though with every week it grows narrow and less smooth and far more awkward, but I think it will require a pretty serious out of game conversation that as far as I know hasn't happen, and I am not holding my breath given the lack of movement.

That's why it's a curse: the generic form of this curse would be "may your ship become canon prematurely, with with only one person really invested, and that person not actually prepared for it or expecting it, and may it have virtually no moments and exist in a very plot-heavy work where it is almost certainly going to be largely out of focus, after the groundwork when things were quieter was never laid, and may it be so close to being good but consistently miss the opportunities for that to happen."

Just to recap the issues, stripping away all the past snark:

It's never really felt like these were two people who had been best friends for two years. They've always felt like friends of circumstance - like people you meet the first week of college and kind of go around with so as not to be alone, or the only other person your age on your street. Because they were both extremely lonely they clung to each other...but they really don't actually connect with each other much in conversation other than just kind of blandly repeating how much they mean to each other and never showing it. They have no real boundaries or limits with each other, likely because of that fear of being alone, but they aren't exploring that in a Heavenly Creatures or Thoroughbreds kind of way either. There's virtually no sense of history - no inside jokes, no shared experiences prior to Zhudanna except for one throwaway line that, like many of their interactions, fell flat. Like...I don't actually think that it's bad to aim for a platonic female friendship and end up with an F/F ship but like. Beau and Jester had a great platonic female friendship that happened to also include Beau's brief crush. Imogen and Laudna didn't even sell me on them being friends, let alone lovers. They have always felt like oddly clingy roommates. Their respective interactions with quite literally every other PC - few of which I find romantic and many of which I find explicitly not romantic - all feel like they have more depth. Orym is explicitly not attracted to either of them and they've both had more meaningful and honest moments with him. Pun unintended but they both felt infinitely more alive during the party split when they couldn't just go to their dull gray comfort zone of each others' meaningless repetitive affirmations.

Zooming into that lack of boundaries and conflict, there's no arc. Once characters get together often the conflict resolves, but there needs to be a build to that point, and we simply don't have that. The two points where this could have happened were: the gnarlrock fight, had it actually played out, could have led to a deepening of the relationship and some honestly and character development but due to what I am again interpreting as fear of losing the other to the point of never addressing any of these points of friction, it just resumed the status quo. Similarly, as I mentioned, Laura flat out said she went in expecting to be rejected. I think that story would have won me over. I think that if Laudna had rejected her, and Imogen had to grapple with that (and, by extension, Laudna's justified anger and trauma from the Team Issylra didn't disappear into thin air) and they spend some time actually figuring out who they are as individuals and Laudna lets herself be more than a validation machine who pushes her emotions down, and then eventually they come back around to each other? I'd be unbelievably on board. And you can go back, to my posts and others, in which we were pretty harsh on the fanon cottage cheese (yes, I am going to try to make this happen) version but said "I trust Laura and Marisha to do this in a way that is interesting" and then they straight-up didn't.

Obviously this has the potential to change - I even think the next episode is finally a case of maybe bringing all the Delilah stuff to a much needed head which in turn might introduce something into the relationship - but man it's been a whole lot of nothing since they kissed. I think Laura's initiated every single conversation, as mentioned Laudna can't even reciprocate 5 minutes of dancing on a ghost pirate ship without wandering off, and they didn't even bother to take watch together.

Something I keep going back to, and which ties into the above, is Brennan Lee Mulligan's whole discussion of how important character creation is to story. The thing is, these characters were created as close friends. Why does this feel so lacking? Like...why do Kima and Allura, two NPCs, feel like they have more weight? Why did the platonic relationship of Molly and Yasha, for which Ashley wasn't even present, feel like it actually was a friendship of 8 months? Sam and Liam came up with an entire system of grifts! Why is literally the only detail we have from the time between leaving Gelvaan and the time arriving in Jrusar is that at some point Imogen and Laudna saw someone with nipple tassles, and that came up once, like 60 episodes ago? Why are people so frequently sold on say, Loquatius/Laerryn, which had less than 24 hours of gameplay over a single night in-game? Why does every single Circle of Needle and Thread member relationship feel more real? Why were Aabria and Travis able to convincingly play ex-lovers in a handful of episodes despite Aabria deliberately surprising him? Like...I am not saying preparation wasn't done, because it very well might have been, but it's not coming through at all and plenty of other people have managed to get across an existing friendship or relationship in a fraction of the time, within the same campaign, so it's not that the plot is moving too fast for it. And again, if prep wasn't done, or if it's not coming across, that's really fixable, but it hasn't been fixed. I think of the 4SD episode where, five or six episodes later, Marisha and Laura still hadn't talked about the relationship and it's like...yeah. We can tell. Literally a two hour trip to a cafe would fix this but god I don't think there's been one.

Anyway, obviously this was an incredibly popular ship, but it's honestly slowed down noticeably since going canon because...it's not that great, and there's not much content in canon. I think a big appeal of the ship was the anticipation and the fanon and now that it's canon...I suspect a lot of people are quietly realizing that actually yeah this is kind of all it is, at least for now, and something is going to have to happen to bring about a change.

And I hope so too - I joke about being a hater, and I am very much a critic...but this really is the realization of that post about being more of a dismayer than a hater. Laura's past two ships are probably my favorites, and Beauyasha is high up there, and even as Vaxleth isn't really up my alley it's sweet and it makes sense and has a lot of great moments. It really would not take a lot of work to make this ship good or at least okay and not...nothingness, but it does take some, and I haven't seen it.

[the-uraniumverse]

goofynerds divorce arc is NOT IN!!!! goofynerds Matthew clingy and down bad arc IS!!!!!

goofynerds and destiny my beloveds

[ittybittyluci]

I just gotta ask!! Why do you think the reasons Lucifer's relationship with Lilith nosedived? How would YOU handle that aspect of the show were you involved in the show? Do you think Lilith is possessed by eve? Do you think he should/would get back with Lilith or try and move on, either just with Charlie or just being friends with her like divorced parents on good terms?

Oooo! Look at this, what a question! And I am happy to answer!

As for what I think the CANON reason for their relationship going sideways, honestly I have absolutely no idea. However, here’s how I would go about writing that (and it’s similar to how I touch on their relationship in my fic What Time Is It. It’s not centred around their relationship, just Luci, but they do have a small arc and I talk about their history)

Anyways. EHHEHEM!

————

To be honest, I think it would be extremely interesting to write a narrative where Luicfer became an uber depressed shut in, and Lilith didn’t know how to deal with it so she left. It would make a narrative of good character complexity that wouldn’t villainize either part, and would be pretty accurate to how poor mental can have a negative impact on relationships irl too. On one hand, Lucifer is hurting and needs support, but on the other hand they have a daughter and Lilith shouldn’t be forced to take care of him if it’s not what she signed up for.

I also like the idea of her just… not being able to fully grasp how much losing his home hurt him. The place she got cast out of was beautiful, sure, but the only other person was an asshole to her. Lucifer grew up w/ a family and people he cared about and wanted to do right by. She never understood how much that hurt, and this was never able to sympathize with him. Part of her views him as weak and sensitive, part of ehr feels BAD for thinking that because he’s her husband. In the end, however, she thought it would be best to take Charlie and leave because she didn’t want their daughter to see Luci so low.

Alternatively, Lucifer was so deep in his depression that he inadvertently ended up neglecting his duties as both a father AND a ruler, and pushing them on her. He loves his wife and child, but he spends most his time in his office. When he WAS near Lilith, he was clingy and desperate, and overly sensitive about everything because he was afraid that SHE was going to push him away too. Creating a sort of self-fulfilled prophecy for himself. However none of that is REALLY his fault because he grew up in a world where he was just supposed to be happy and perfect, where there was no real depression that anyone got help with, and the w as cats to a place where therapy was never really an option.

Ofc it didn’t start off that way, but as the millennia went by things got worse and worse until Lilith left, and Lucifer completely shut himself off from Hell, thinking his family (and any potential friends he MAY have made) were better off w/o him because he always managed to fuck things up.

Personally I think that’s one of the more compelling approaches the story could take. It just makes both of them feel more human, make u able to sympathize with them, and doesn’t completely villainize either of them. It’s just a messy, complicated situation that neither knew how to handle. But they both still love each other deeply. If they DID choose to go this route in the show, I think they COULD move forward if they just got better communication, and found someone to help them navigate the complexities of the relationship. Lilith would have to learn to be more understanding w/ Luci during his bad days, and Lucifer would have to work on himself to get better, and help take off some of the workload.

(As for what Lilith’s doing in heaven,.. honestly no real clue. There’s too much info we don’t know for me to make a guess that isn’t just COMPLETELY fanon. I kind of know how it would work into the above topic if I took some big leaps, but I don’t wanna get TOO outlandish w/ this post. So we’ll just leave that alone 😅)

Anyways, THANK YOU for this ask! It was so fun to write and speculate and PLEASE let me know what you think ;)

[mikaikaika]

Tubbo actually applied to the magistrate council to get a special license to stream in court for his divorce stream with Tommy potentially next month ????? And if he loses the case he also legally loses half his wealth ????

[ipsen]

Uh etoken for the ship ask? unless you already did that, then maybe shuuneki?

spider-man always does both

etoken:

i carry this ship on my back, as so many have pointed out. they're the type of ship that falls hard and fast because they've only ever known solitude and abandonment. enter the other, who not only understands them without words, but also is clingy as fuck. loving each other means reconciling with and embracing the ugliest parts of themselves because they're the same, so kissing could fix them actually.

however, they recognize the ugliest parts of themselves in the other, so they have divorced energy (hence their lovely dynamic during the black reaper arc).

shuuneki:

king and knight ship! shuu being the only person that calls kaneki out on how he runs things as the one-eyed king is something that i really appreciate him for. his unwavering loyalty to kaneki as the series goes on, to the point that he is the only character that goes through a negative character arc when kaneki is gone, is fascinating. from ingredient to comrade to lover... lovely path

---

thanks for the ask!

[izumisays]

dear yuletide author,

Thank you so much for reading this and taking part in this wonderful annual conspiracy.

First of all, I hope you have a lovely time! If any of the fandoms below pique your interest, I’m delighted already, and ready to hear all the stories you want to tell.

Fandoms: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume’s Book of Friends, 猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin (TV 2022),  Hunting (猎狐), Thunderbolt Fantasy (東離劍遊紀), 御赐小仵作 | The Imperial Coroner (TV), 苍兰诀 | Love Between Fairy and Devil (TV)

As for reading preferences, I’m happy with a wide variety of tones and genres, of any rating, ranging anywhere from lighthearted antics to dramatic casefics. But the core of all the stories I love has always been character interaction and interplay of their competences. How the characters play off each other and bring out their best/worst, how they’d react to a divergence of events, how true they’d stay to themselves in a different setting – I love fanfiction for allowing us to reconnect with our favourite stories time and again by asking these questions. And there are so many ways to do it! To name a few favourites, I’m always game for POV hijinks, a missing scene, a casefic, canon expansion, backstories and what-ifs.

You may notice that some of my requests lean towards shipfic – those, too, are welcome in a variety of tones – but I also tried to include openings for gen ideas if that’s your jam. Additionally, while it is not usually my top interest, I don’t have anything against AUs if there is something that you are itching to explore: I tend to enjoy them for a new aesthetic that fleshes out the favoured character dynamics in a new light, or a fusion that redefines the playing ground to allow the characters to exhibit their core competences in new and exciting ways.

I would be very grateful if you could avoid a/b/o and associated kinktropes, played-straight soulmate fic, and character interpretation that runs contrary to their core values. If in doubt, please reach out to me on anon - the askbox is open!

Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends) - Matoba Seiji, Natori Shuuichi

I continue to have so many emotions about the horrible exorcists, it's not even funny. And can you believe this is the last year Natsume Yuujinchou is eligible for Yule?! Shocking.

We have been treated so GENEROUSLY by Midorikawa-sensei, who in infinte wisdom knows to serve us what we truly need and not just what we think we want. (And if sometimes that means I have to ferally text my friends screaming about LOQUATS, then that too is part of her grand design. I remain very grateful and very humble.) Honestly I’m so pleased that what we’re getting on the page seems to be softer and more open to possibility than what we collectively imagined as a horrible exorcists fandom, yelling about bitter exes and divorces. There is surprisingly less knives and more communication, soft resignation and a working relationship as opposed to a bitter estrangement and mutual avoidance — not ignoring the feuds and bone-breakingly heavy legacies, but growing around them, somewhat? Miharu and Homura arcs were absolutely ruinous in the best way, and what we saw after adds more layer to understanding the history between the two houses but at the same time has enough soft bits around it that makes me hopeful? The mix is intoxicating. I’d love to be a fly on the wall and see the reaction of Matoba’s clansmen when Natori shows up in their boardroom to borrow their esteemed leader for a few days, on important business. HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN, I need to know for science.

Between the two of them, it's an established theme Natori is doing a worse job of judging Matoba by what he does than what he says than even Natsume. He is so stubborn! And the invitation to stop listening to Seiji glibly run his mouth is right there! (I feel compelled to add here that Seiji running his mouth with the most clingy shit is my favourite thing. “Oh it would be nice to have Natori-san’s paper talisman.” “Oh it would be nice to go on a wistful little loquat date again.” URGHUGHG - me and Nastume both, probably). And yet it's Natori cracking the door open, a small crack maybe but that's still a door to the possibility that solitude is not necessarily their only path in life. This is so ruinous. I love it.

Casefics, shipfics, boardroom comedy, AUs or futurefics — all good, as long as it digs into the dynamic between them. Messing with timelines, forced proximity, day jobs crossing with exorcist jobs, narratively convenient youkai curses forcing their hand, etc etc.

I’m up to date with English official translations of manga & anime, and slightly bitter that we won't have more canon information about Seiji's sister in time for the Yuletide. SO TANTALIZING.

Under the Skin (猎罪图鉴 ) - Shen Yi, Du Cheng.

Always welcome the addition of Du Qing, Du Cheng’s fabulous sister, or the ensemble cast of the investigation unit.

For this show, I’m both charmed by the dynamics between the main leads, and the completely realistic (ha!) way they use art skills to solve crime. This is some anime level nonsense and I’m eating it up with a spoon.

Case fics case fics! Case fics that explore and develop the relationship between Shen Yi and Du Cheng. I ship them, and would welcome the acknowledge of the growing closeness and intimacy between them in the story, but you don’t have to push yourself if you are there for camaraderie alone. I think between their backstory and the events of s1, there is a lot that makes them tick as a duo. Things that particularly please me: the playfulness in dialogue and little things like picture notes, acknowledgement and reliance on each other’s competences, protectiveness and care that comes across both in the middle of real danger (how many hostage situations can Shen Yi get himself into? Asking for a friend) and in daily routine. (Food is love! Allowing people to have naps is love!)

The inherent domesticity of adopting one loner artist by a whole investigative unit. I really liked the evolution of how people warmed up to him, and different distance at which these relationships grow and show in their daily work.

On a similar note: how large will Shen Yi’s menagerie grow to be, if he keeps adopting all sorts of strays from his cases? *An amateur artist myself, I am very fond of the many ways art has been shown to interlace and influence things we perceive to be objective and tangible on the show. It’s not just about sketching a perpetrator’s portrait, and joke as I may about the realism of crime-solving with a sketchbook, I’m definitely fond of all kinds of aspects of art and its transformative power that were brought into the show.

Thematically, one thing that boggled my mind when watching the show is how it gravitated towards exploring violence and crimes perpetrated against women, and created a whole range of competent, sympathetic characters… and yet they all somehow were either in victims, perpetrators or both. It’s like the show writers are trying to engage in important issues, but stop before actually seeing it through to the logical end. Is it censorship? Individual creative decisions? I don’t know, but I would hope that in fic, we could be bolder about saying B after saying A.

The drama is available on viki.com, which is where I watched it. I am really excited to watch s2 whenever that releases, but as of writing of this letter it hasn't happened yet.

猎狐 | Hunting - Xia Yuan, Wu Jiaqi

Don’t get me wrong, I love me a good white collar crime, especially one that busts a few capitalist myths. But let’s be real, the best parts of this TV show were Xia Yuan and Wu Jiaqi’s overseas 💕dates💕 I mean business trips, which mysteriously required they be outfitted like a well-matched pair of ridiculously long-legged models that strutted right out of the Vogue pages and into the metaphorical fire. The kind of fire that, in turn, required them to fake date, or dress up even more glamorously to impersonate filthy rich celebrities and their butlers, or deployed other similarly logical methods of tracking down runaway fraudsters.

I would eat up more of such adventures with a spoon, nay, a SHOVEL. Just like the epilogue showed, I’d like to imagine their adventures post-canon be a series of bright postcards (bang bang from Russia with love) capturing their antics in various capitals of the world.

Some ideas for inspiration could be: • Competitive not-dating. Xia Yuan and Wu Jiaqi just happen to contrive the circumstances in a way that makes the next operation seem conspicuously like a date, and the other one simply cannot let this slide and ups the ante. • I’m totally on board with some commentary or scheming from the peanut gallery of the Economics Crimes Division (I love you, Xiaolei!) to set them up faster. I don’t know if I love more the idea of the two of them giving in to the gang’s attempts to set them up, or the gang continuing to set them up completely unaware that the two of them are already dating, thus amplifying the comedy.  • As mentioned above, every city needs a pair of scarily competent and scarily beautiful law enforcement agents (who are also derps) descend on it to charm the pants off the local police forces and then solve some crime while they are at it. It’s also incredibly cute that Wu Jiaqi is the worldlier (or nerdier?) of the two, and can dispense funfacts and trivia at Xia Yuan’s incredibly soft face. I’m a simple girl and I like simple things. • ALL THE TROPES ever, as essential and completely logical ways to solve economic crimes. All the dress-ups. All the role-playing on the job with bae.

The show is available on viki.com.

Thunderbolt Fantasy (東離劍遊紀): any characters

It torments me personally that at the time of writing this letter the issue of s4's English streaming licenses has not been sorted yet. Damn it, my Mandarin is nowhere near good enough to watch it without English subs! (weeps into hands) You may safely assume that I will watch new episodes as soon as they become available in English.

Sanfan is a mixture UTTER GLEE and deep fondness for the genre staples, self-aware and masterful playthrough of all the wuxia tropes in the book, and one goddamn well-constructed story. It plays the tropes straight, calls them out with a knowing wink, walks the tightrope between the two with panache, and just as you are relaxed and enjoying this trapeze show, it grins cheekily at you, sets the hat on fire and pulls a bunny out of a discoball.  It’s DELIGHTFUL and fun and lovingly crafted, just like a good passion project should be.

I want anything that capitalizes on the absolutely hilarious dynamics between Rin Setsua and Sho Fukan (and while personally I end up using the Japanese versions of their names more often, please feel free to go with the Chinese names if you prefer). Sho Fukan does not want any of those heroic quests, he’s the human equivalent of been there, done that mood, and he just wants to REST and hopefully dump a bunch of magical murderswords someplace safe. Rin Setsua is a Totally Respectable and Non-Villainous Member of Society, of which he will inform you firsthand in the most high spoken and verbose way possible, and maybe even produce paperwork that has definitely not been tampered with. He harbours no ulterior motives, ever, and does not trail behind Sho Fukan for any reason beyond the pleasure of his company, and his mission is to personally victimize and cockblock every morally derelict villain in two countries, by no-one’s request.

Whether you go shipfic (yiss!) or canon levels teamup circus (also yiss!), don’t hold back your horses. Everything about this is Extra, and should continue to be so <3

I am okay with both expanding the canon and playing with AUs/crossovers/fusions for this one, provided they retain the character dynamics. I love the extended cast as well: any characters including the Seiyou gang (and on that note, if you want to write the Seiyou backstory for Shou’s gang that has no Rin in it, you’re welcome as well), reappearance of the familiar faces from Touri (read: Rin’s victim list, past, future and present), original characters lined up and waiting to be screwed over (guaranteed) and rescued (the administration does not bear any responsibility etc etc).

Season three, god bless Urobutcher, just went and upped the ante by 9000 – time and space travel! Magical walkie-talkie pocket-sized boyfriend dolls! Dramatic daddies and villains literally yeeted into literal space, jjba-style! The sandbox has expanded exponentially, and if you think this is a good excuse to open the door wide for any perceivable AUs and still remain canon-compatible, well, then you have the right audience in me.

This year I’m not limiting my request to just the two main characters (though as you can see my fondness for them is great) because I think season three especially kicks the doors wide open for various kinds of hilarious team-ups, confrontations, family dramas and peanut gallery commentaries about one another’s delusions of grandeur. If you would rather write about characters in the demonic realm, or have been wanting a good match-up for characters that never met on screen, or bring back some dead faves — well, then s3 labyrinth invites you to play with it, and I’ll happily read it.

御赐小仵作 | The Imperial Coroner (TV) - Chu Chu, Xiao Jinyu, Leng Yue, Jing Yi

You do not have to include all of the requested characters.

This show was so enjoyable, and I think it was largely because the four main characters had such an incredible chemistry amongst themselves, and all four were competent in their own way. The cases and intrigues are very intelligent, the comedy is well-played, and romance is adorable. Need I say more?

A few suggestions should you need them:

I am really partial to Xiao Jingyu, who seems a little bit on the spectrum, very cerebral, very capable, but at core of it - so fundamentally decent and kind. Scheming/clever characters are often depicted as unscrupulous to a degree, and I feel very pleased that Xiao Jingyu is simply not doing that. He understands other people's strong points and limitations (himself included) and just rolls with it.

I am unapologetically here for the telepathic teamwork-slash-and improv comedy that is Xiao Jingyu and Jing Yi. They just know each other so well, and this is the most playful Xiao Jingyu gets to be, and I am totally here for it.

I am very fond of the hilariously warm relations between Xiao Jingyu and Xiao Jingli. (This is for those of us who always wanted General Meng to give Mei Changsu less courtesy and respect and more of princess-style carrying him out of trouble/self-inflicted exhaustion/minor inconveniences like death threats before breakfast).

You know how the show totally leaned into Leng Yue/Chu Chu? It was so fabulous. In fact it was probably the most fabulous pairing of the four, simply because Leng Yue is so dazzling, the epitome of a jianghu rockstar, and so chivalrous towards Chu Chu. Girls have to look after other girls!! Girls have to bandage each other's wounds with utmost homoeroticism! GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS.

I find the two canon couples very cute, and if you want to play close to canon, that's totally fine too: the four of them is a force to be reckoned with. I absolutely love how whipped for Leng Yue Jing Yi is, and I love that Xiao Jingyu's moral stance is if Chu Chu wants do to an emotional support autopsy, he would simply oblige. Good thing there always seems to be a lot of corpses around them.

The show is available on viki.com.

苍兰诀 | Love Between Fairy and Devil (TV) - Dongfang Qingcang, Changheng

It took me by surprise just how much I enjoyed this show: I thought I was in it for the sheer amount of money invested into visuals (it's completely ridiculous how good looking everything is; if this is a testament to how many low budget cdramas I've seen I don't want to admit that), but I ended up having a really good time throughout. A lot of it was because of Dylan Wang/Wang Hedi's performance as Dongfang Qingcang, and the way the script let him have fun with his emotional journey and occasional bodyswaps. But it was also because of that hilarious not-friendship he had with Changheng, the secondary love interest to the main heroine, and this is what I would like to see in a fic.

the entirety of Yunmeng Lake arc was a love letter this show has for this crackship, you cannot convince me otherwise. It's some sort of tragicomedy while it lasts, but it breaks a lot of barriers and opens the door for their relationship in the future. The long suffering face DFQC had every time Xiao Run was all over him, determined to wrestle him into sword brotherhood! *cackles*

What happens after though! Their hilarious little schtick of "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" undermined by the fact that they are literally finishing each other's sentences! Changheng casually inviting himself to the Moon palace to rescue DFQC from the brink of death in presence of creme de la creme of his generals! CHEF'S KISS!

You know how DFQC was jealous of Changheng for getting to marry the goddess!Orchid? And Changheng's reaction being are you mad, I feel the same way as you do? Yeah *breathes heavily* Sorry Changheng, none of the people in this show think about your feelings.

And the ending! Changheng getting to be best buds with Danyin instead of a consolation endgame pairing! Changheng getting to lay down the mantle of the god of war and roam the three realms free! And remember what DFQC says in the little special: after he comes back from the dead, he and Orchid split their time between Shuiyuntian, Moon Kingdom and Yunmeng Lake, and they like love the latter the most. You know what this means? CHANGHENG THIRDWHEELING FOREVER. Super love that for them.

Anything that leans into the comedic potential of this ship would be golden. I am literally cackling as I am writing this, so take it as a sign that I'm easily amused.

I’m also open for treats for any of the above – to me, dropping stories into other’s stockings and finding some surprises in your own is definitely a highlight of the true Yule experience :)

Thank you for taking the time to read the letter, and I’m greatly looking forward to reading your story — and hopefully, getting to chat about these ridiculous and wonderful characters post-reveals :)

[charkyzombicorn]

Gods au Luffy took years to get back on kilter after everything with usopp and Sabo. He might have even (unintentionally) caused a drought or two out of anger.

OKAY SO I WAS THINKING ABT HOW DIVORCE ARC AND SABO'S DEATH ARE SO CLOSE TOGETHER

So I'm gonna say Rosinante dies after Sabo so Luffy was there when Sabo died because I don't like the alternative. Luffy was dealing with life without Usopp mostly by being clingy with Ace and Sabo more than usual, but then Sabo "dies" and Luffy's dealt with mortals he loves dying before but it was always with Usopp. He goes into a rage when Sabo dies, the heatwave mostly affects goa's paved streets, starts fires and kills crops. He kills everyone on the celestial dragons' ship that Jimbe doesn't protect (everyone but the slaves, Luffy can't tell the difference atm) and Jimbe keeps him from wiping out the wildlife (not that it helps much, Ace is also raging, even if it's much smaller) Jimbe does get hurt stopping Luffy but he'll be fine.

After that, Luffy discovers Rocinante is dead and his son is lost at sea, Jimbe and Luffy take Ace with them to Law and Jimbe and Luffy kind of raise the two together for a while, Brook has just recently come out of his Episode so he's also there and is with Jimbe being the romcom these poor boys need

[patrochillesvibes]

Hello! Are u up for a divorce(breakup)-makeup arc with Patrochilles? If u r, any HCs or thoughts on this?

This is hard to answer because I really enjoy their dynamic of deep understanding in TSoA, but...

Achilles is a brat. Gaslighting is his trade. He's very good at it. He's pushy and wants to get a rise out of Patroclus. Good thing for him, Patroclus loves pushy brats. Usually all it takes is for Patroclus to clear his throat and use his husky dom voice (would you like to repeat that, sweetheart), and Achilles is on his back spreading his legs. Rarely, but Achilles may brat a little too hard (coughtheiliadcough). That's what safewords are for. Patroclus is a good dom, so he calls it and they have a conversation. I can see some minor general bickering, but nothing worthy of a real fight. For example, Pat hates the media Achilles consumes. Achilles watches trash TV like the Bachelor, KUWTK, Real Housewives etc. And Pat hates Cosmopolitan magazine as it often triggers Achilles. It's not pleasant to come home to a living room of broken furniture and torn paper. Another point of tension would be Achilles lack of soft skills. He gets bad road rage. He's very comfortable getting into bar fights when slurs are directed at them.

For his part, Achilles sometimes gets frustrated that Pat can be such a stickler for rules 🙄 They used to have so much fun when they were kids. He thinks that Pat can be so uptight at times. Another area of concern is that it’s mostly Achilles who initiates and comes up with scene ideas. Not that he minds that much, but it would be nice.

I can see them having *maybe* one fight. Pat’s identity is very much tied to Achilles. When Achilles isn’t around, Pat is like a ghost. Achilles has a very categorical approach to people: he worships you, he hates you, or he ignores you because you’re not important enough for his interest. Should Achilles ever get too distracted, I could see Pat get concerned over his standing. Achilles is also somewhat clingy and possessive. Under the right circumstances, it could become suffocating for Pat. And under even more perfect circumstances, Pat might become resentful over this lack of identity (outside of Achilles) and lack of agency, and then snap. I don’t think Achilles would say anything hurtful back. I think he would be too wounded by these secret thoughts. I think he might accuse him of not really caring, and then saying the words (ex. I’m leaving) and storming off. Achilles would be in a depressed burrito coma for like 2 weeks. Then Pat would show up randomly at 2 am and Achilles would cry for like 2 hours. And that would be the end of it. I don’t think the makeup would be anything noteworthy. Lot’s of crying (mostly Achilles). It would be very soft, tender, and vanilla (missionary for sure).