#However I really want to know if this ship is valid or not

[wendylianmartin]

First anon about seko x skiff here. you did say it was the original plot of extra episode one all the way back during s1 to s2 hiatus NO MEAN TO UPSET YOU I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF WE STILL GET THE POSSIBLE ROMANCE😭😭

Oh that’s right!!! I did originally consider having one of the mini episodes be skiff x seko I completely forgot about it lol. Sorry about that! Didn’t mean to discredit you, I just totally forgot!

The reason I haven’t delved deeper into any skiff x seko content is mainly because we were moving away from the sharks so I didn’t want to tease something just for it to never show up again, ya know?

I also at one point considered a different love interest for skiff. However that involved a side story that didn’t really add much to the plot but it was a fun idea lol.

Apologies to the skiff x seko fans. The ship is valid, I just never decided to explore it in canon for various reasons.

[iloveacronix]

Macronix for the ship ask game??

Eeeeeeehhhh. I don't know about this ship. I will admit I used to ship them together but I was like, what, 8 or 9 when hands of time came out and I didn't think about the fact that Machia was a woman made up of snakes so I just saw her and said "oh wow cool," yet that was YEARS AGO I have CHANGED I no longer SHIP THEM and probably won't because Machia is literally with me!!!

[lukolabrainrot]

Welcome to My TedTalk

Hellooooo, I know I have been a little MIA lately... needed a little break after the energy shift from the rollercoaster last week. But I am still here lol and I have been marinating on quite a few things the last couple of weeks. So below are my thoughts. As always, everything here are just my thoughts and speculation from the information I have seen. Others might interpret information differently, and that is fine. Note: This will be another one of my long posts lol

Let's start with the obvious. October was a ROLLERCOASTER. It started off soooo strong, and the closest I think we have ever come to L/N publicly announcing they are in a relationship. And THEN... It was just total whiplash the rest of the month. Not a fun feeling right?? And I think a lot of people have started to feel like they can't trust L/N and have sooooo many questions on why October went the way it did. I think a lot of people are also feeling very frustrated because we have gotten so many clues/crumbs/Easter Eggs that haven't really led anywhere. All your various feelings around everything lately are valid. But L/N are allowed to do what they want (obviously) and if crumbs/Easter Eggs are all they want/can show us rn, we have to accept that. October was a rough month for me as well on this ship, which is why I took a couple breaks. We have to remember that we choose to be on this ship, we don't HAVE to be. It's totally valid if you're feeling overwhelmed/not having fun on the ship anymore, you can always take a break and come back if/when you want to. WE DO NOT KNOW L/N. NONE OF US. These are celebrities whose lives are very different than ours (which I know is obvious, but I thought it was important to note). They are human though and allowed to be imperfect, and we get to choose how much energy we give to them. And I have said this multiple times, but they do not owe us anything, and DESERVE to have a private life. We have so many questions related to them, and the fact is, we are never going to have all the answers. And you know what, that is how it should be imo. We are not owed every little detail of their life, and honestly, we got lucky we even got crumbs. THEY DID NOT HAVE TO DO THAT. They will go public WHEN they want/can.

People have talked about this before, but we got an AMAZING tour from them and sooooo much content. SOOOO MUCH. And we got addicted, and then were were cut off cold turkey, and papgate was a total grenade that threw everything into chaos. However, L/N were OBVIOUSLY hiding behind their characters during the WT (no one can convince me otherwise). And we talk about blurred lines between them and their characters, but L/N ARE NOT Polin (although there are a lot of similarities with their stories). There were definitely blurred lines between them and their characters yes, but neither of them are their characters and are a lot more complex and complicated. Lastly, I think because we got soooo much content from them, and they were obviously using their own personal relationship/feelings for each other to promote their characters and the season, L/N kind of lost control of their public narrative related to their private lives. I think that, and leaving everything open to speculation (STILL), was their biggest mistake. But like I said, everything has to be on their own time, and they do have good teams to handle this stuff.

I think we all know this already, but in case it's not obvious... DM has a personal vendetta against N, they do not like her getting positive attention, and I can't stress this enough, THEY WANT HER TO FAIL. 1000%. I think there are a lot of complexities on why this is the case, but you can make your own conclusions on why this is happening. But it IS happening. And you should never get your information directly from DM. They are a sensationalist, tabloid blog. THEY ARE NOT A RELIABLE NEWS SOURCE. THAT IS A FACT.

This fandom has turned INCREDIBLY toxic, and most of the drama is coming from WITHIN the fandom and in-fighting. We don't have concrete answers about ANYTHING related to L/N's romantic lives. Shipping should be fun and low stakes, because ultimately, who they are dating doesn't REALLY matter. That is their personal life, and they are not defined by who they are dating. But like I just mentioned, I think L/N leaving the wolves to mass speculation was one of their biggest mistakes, and has now led the fandom to where it is and this mass speculation and interest in their dating lives, which is feeding the tabloid frenzy and rumors.

Alright, now that I got that out of the way, on to my thoughts on everything the last couple of months:

Firstly, I HIGHLY recommend, if you haven't already, reading through this entire post by @fiamat12. It is incredibly enlightening and well laid out! Couple things I want to add/note:

The paparazzi are a money hungry machine, constantly looking for opportunities that will get them the most money. Ethics... out the window. Ethics/respect doesn't get them money. As long as there is a demand for "candid" photos/videos of celebrities' private/personal lives, and unless laws/regulations significantly change around them, this industry will continue being this way. This means though that the material they circulate is not always what meets the eye. It is just a moment in time with very little context, and in general, a total violation of privacy. However, unfortunately, it is a beast celebrities have to navigate, and sometimes they play games with them to protect their privacy.

L has not been seen in real time (via paps or people in public) since Sorrento. THREE MONTHS. And although we joke that L has just been holed up in their house (yeah I said it), L has definitely been out in public living his life. And y'all, people WANT to see him. I know he doesn't stand out as much as N and can blend into the crowd more, but there is NO WAY no one has seen him in three months. There is some strategy in place here where he has been able to keep a VERY low profile, and I think some of these side characters are part of that strategy. And no one can convince me that his low profile has NOTHING to do with the fact that him and N are together.

2. Alright, side characters... let's first get to the A of it because it's pretty obvious to me. I'm going to keep this short. She plays games. This isn't new. There are VERY likely NDAs in place. This isn't new information either. And she LOVES attention by stirring the pot. Therefore, any time we give her any engagement, we are feeding the beast.

3. Onto JD... this post basically summarizes my thoughts. NOTHING about JD has been private. There isn't anything to protect there from the masses. IF JD (and I'm not saying he is) was her serious partner, there wouldn't be so many public games with the two of them. There are a lot of games, and if this was a serious relationship she wanted to protect, she wouldn't be throwing him and her to the wolves. She just wouldn't. But L... she doesn't mess around about him. Although L/N have given us crumbs, they have obviously not been totally honest about their private relationship with each other (which is totally valid), because there is a lot there they want to protect from the wolves.

4. So if you have made it this far, you can see there is a LOT going on, and it's complex. And although L/N have maybe not been totally honest about everything, they don't have to be and there are reasons. And that doesn't therefore mean they have been totally disingenuous about each other and aren't to be trusted. I personally don't think they have. However, they want to protect their privacy. Even though October was a rollercoaster, in no way do I believe L and N are hot and heavy with A or JD. There is just too much evidence to the contrary that L/N are in a serious relationship BTS, and likely have been for a while. Here are some of the reasons I have come to this conclusion:

THE RINGS (everything about them)

The photo of L in her house while she was getting ready with a ring on his ring finger (we can argue all we want, those are his hands and that pic was VERY intentional)

N's TIME article

The October 3rd and BRB story from L (HE HASN'T DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS ON HIS PUBLIC ACCOUNT IN A LONGG TIME)

The coordinated travel posts from L/N when they were going to NY

Chaos week from N in early August (that was about L, no one can convince me otherwise)

BLESS THE TELEPHONE (That was how I knew they were together and had been for a while likely... can't exactly explain it)

TalkTalk, Juna

The recent Polin pic they BOTH shared to their stories (they were both really emotional looking (N was absolutely beaming and looked like she had tears in her eyes) and the pic was VERY interestingly cropped 🤔)

All the "boyfriend" pics of L on N's IG page (I did a whole post about this that you can find if you scroll through my page)

The Polaroid(s)

THE WHOLE WT (which is why a lot of us are still here despite all the noise and emotional whiplash)

And trust me, both L and N know what people are saying and how people are interpreting the information they are putting out to the public. THEY KNOW. So if there was NOTHING going on between them, that would have been corrected atp and they wouldn't have fed the flames. But it hasn't and they have... They'll go public when they are ready/can. Until then, we just have to sit back, relax, and wait and see how everything unfolds.

And THAT is where I am with everything atp. Of course, we're all going to interpret the same information we are seeing a little differently, which is fine. This is just my interpretation of the information.

And if you made it to the end... thank you for coming to my TedTalk 😅

[colorfullyminded]

TLDR

Okay I cannot believe I'm about to go off like this, but this has been bothering me for awhile, and it's only making me more spiteful. I have been enjoying the influx of Billford art lately. Amazing, great wonderful. What I have Not been enjoying, is the absolute vitriol the Billdip fans have been getting since the influx of TBOB. I was a billdip shipper for awhile. Hell I was a billdip shipper when I was a Parapines shipper-- I liked shipping Dipper with boys. I was also like 14 or 15 at the time. Obviously, if you follow me now, you'll probably notice what my main ship for Dipper is. I grew out of Billdip, and moved on to Pinescone. I have been shipping Pinescone for 10 years. However, not once did I go around saying "Lol, glad I matured and became a better person and shipped something healthier", nor did I post in the billdip tag, condeming people for a fictional ship! And saying mine was better because it was less problematic.

"I'm really glad people stopped shipping Bill and Dipper together. Bill is a 1000 year old triangle demon, and Dipper is 13--" Stop. Repeat what you just said.

"Bill is 1000 year old triangle--"

Repeat that last word to me. "....triangle?" TRIANGLE! I'm sorry what?! This ship is already completely wild enough. You're getting mad at this fictional age gap-- AND BILL IS A FUCKING SHAPE! A FUCKING SHAPE! This ship was weird from the moment GO! And Billford isn't any better. IT'S STILL A SHIP WITH A FUCKING SHAPE! And you're going to sit on your high horse and look down on the Billdip community. On top of it-- they have an age gap too! Bill is still thousands of years old or whatever-- however long it's been, who knows? And Ford was in his 20s or so when he met Bill. That's still a huge, ridiculous age gap-- that Bill could easily use and manipulate; which he did....and then also caught feelings and became a sad ex, but that's beside the point~ Both of these ships are still insane. And again, the bigger thing I think people are just ignoring about these ships--is that Bill is a TRIANGLE! THREE LINES CONNECTED TOGETHER! And this is the hill you're going to die on? ...Cause apparently it's mine. First of all-- as many people pointed out-- Ford Pines did not exist until the second half of the final season. People couldn't ship Fordbill because there wasn't any Ford to introduce.

"Well, even before Ford, I never shipped Billdip! I always disliked it." ...Okay, that's totally fine. Not everyone needs to like or agree on the same ship. Lord knows there's probably people who don't really care for Pinescone either. There's a lot of popular ships that I can't stand. But I'm don't go into a ship tag I don't like, screaming to a void for self validation. I don't go around mocking other people for ships that they had in 2014-- or even still today! It doesn't matter! I did that when I was a kid-- and then realized that was rude, and it was better to just ignore the ships I didn't like and enjoy the ones that made me happy. And grow a community of kind, like minded friends. And listen, I am all for safe spaces and being able to block things that make you uncomfortable. I am not saying people who find the BillDip ship uncomfortable to be idiots or babies or overly sensitive-- or anything like that. I think if something makes you uncomfortable, that is okay and I think it's perfectly fine to blacklist a tag that you don't want to see. I also think it's imperative that people tag things as accurately as they can so people looking at your work can know if one of your pieces has a thing that they don't like-- and therefore can avoid. What I don't appreciate is the fanhate for this ship that is sprouting up like weeds. You can not like something, you can be disgusted by it (I have my Gravity Falls ships I can not stand, nor do I feel comfortable with), but attacking real people for a FICTIONAL SHIP-- two characters who are drawings on a piece of paper and can not be affected mentally, physically or emotionally by fanwork; who still retain the same shape after everything we put them through-- to the point that you send death threats, or threaten to Doxx, or just harass relentlessly, I have always found that more childish and disgusting. You are causing real world pain to people. Me fucking up Dipper Pines is not going to do anything to him-- because he doesn't actually exist. He's a cartoon character. I could squash him and stretch him in Wonka's taffy machine--- I could throw him mock speed at a wall and watch him explode on impact-- but he still exists. He's not dead; I can pick him up and dust him off, and If I wanted-- I could decide that eh, 'Not a scratch on him'. And I'd be right. Because he is a cartoon character, and I am just a fangirl. I can not change anything about him-- I have no ability to make anything I headcanon canon. And even if I was the original artist-- it doesn't change the fact that Dipper would still be nothing more than a creation. A construct of shapes; he can not be hurt or traumatized in a way that leads to real life consequences-- because he is not real. I am not a cartoon character. My friends are not cartoon characters. Artist and Writers who stay in their lane...are not cartoon characters. If you hurt us...it will linger. It will leave a scar. If you can not tell the difference between Fiction and Reality, then I think maybe media might be too much to handle-- and I think you need to really reevaluate yourself.

And just to vent some other things that i keep seeing that are frustrating: You can't claim the twins are only 13-- and then on August 31st go "Happy 20-something Birthday Mabel and Dipper!" And then proceed to drop a picture of them as adults. Well which is it? Do they age or not? Because Gravity Falls showed them canonically aging. If you think the twins age-- then you can't suddenly turn around and go, 'no you can't ship them-- Dipper is a child!' but you drew him as an adult. So sorry, it looks like you can't draw the twins grown up anymore. You claimed they're 13, so better draw them 13 forever--. Aged up stories and works exist for a reason, especially for a fan who grew up on the series. The characters might have grown up alongside them. It's not unlikely for a person to ship Billdip when Dipper is much older.

And on that note, for people who are like 'well older billdip is fine-- it's just people shipping him during the show that deserve to die.' Okay... and like I said, this rant is coming from a recent influx of Billford shippers spitting on Billdip shippers. You know? The TOXIC Old Man Yaoi!

You're still shipping something that is problematic. You are still shipping something twisted and wrong. And I am not judging you. I am here for this divorced arc. I am thriving. But you can't just pick and choose what is and isn't okay. And let me first off explain; if there is something that personally triggers you about a toxic ship, and you want to avoid that-- again, perfectly understandable. Perfectly reasonable. You are the makers of your content space. And I am not judging anyone for that. I want people to be safe. I want people to have a good time in fandom spaces. I want people to not have to deal with the things that upset them or frighten them, or disgust them. But you can not say one is fine, and one is not. They're both bad! They're both toxic. In real life, these ships would both be charged with serious crimes! And yes, there are some crimes that are worse than others, and if you asked me what I thought was more problematic-- I'd say Billdip-- but both of these ships are extreme, and severe in their problematic content. You are still consuming problematic content. If it's a personal thing, that's fine; avoid it. But don't sit there throwing stones from your glass house.

[tranquilskies2]

Rozfink general headcanons

At first glance, this is understandably a bizarre pairing. Two completely different species and lifeforms. The uncertain legality of this ship certainly doesn't help. A robot who's a fish out of water and a fox with some underlying trauma. They're the type of couple where you don't know they're dating unless they tell you. Their rare moments of pda are truly a blink or you'll miss it events.

Boy, the romance between these two is one hell of a slow burn. How slow is this slowburn? They raised a child till adulthood for almost a year together and yet neither still had the courage to confess to each other. Seriously, they have a complicated situationship where they're between the thin line of friends and lovers. Roz is just getting the hang of emotions and Fink has started opening up to others. Fink would be the first to realize his feelings. There is no overly dramatic confession scene with hearts & sparkles in the air. Instead, they both just quietly acknowledged each other's feelings.

Roz and Fink never really consider each other as "boyfriend & girlfriend" or "husband and wife". They don't believe labels are necessary for their relationship. They just find their love for each other enough to be valid as a connection. Even after their love confession, they still at best usually refer to each other as "partners". However, they occasionally use petnames (such as "dear" & "darling") and don't mind others calling them "mates".

Roz's love language to give are acts of service. As a robot, she generally has trouble processing and expressing emotions. Serving others is in her programming-so she'll want to show Fink how much she cares for him by helping him in any way she could. This can range from housekeeping, baths and even the smallest things like finding comfy new straw for him to sleep on. Whenever Fink gets sick, she'll go into nursing mode. The love language Roz loves receiving are words of affirmation. She'll be highly pleased whenever she gets praise & expressed gratitude for her services. Fink makes sure to never run short on expressing appreciation for everything Roz does.

Fink's love language are physical touch. Before meeting Roz, he's hated by mostly everyone on the island and he hates most of them back. He's an isolated individual who could only best express though actions instead of words. Typically, foxes express physical affection by cuddles, grooming, biting, playing and nose rubbings. Fink would only express the following with individuals close and dear to him. Fink loves receiving physical touch just as much as he expresses it. The bulletin point after the next following one will go into this point further.

Due to their completely differing physical forms (along with their drastic size difference), these two have to be creative about expressing physical affection. Roz either would have to crutch down or Fink has to take a ride on her shoulders. Roz obviously doesn't have a mouth-so she unfortunately, can't kiss. Fink ofc can't express affection the same way humanoids could. So, as an alternative to kissing, the two would nuzzle their heads together. The first time they hugged, Roz almost crushed Fink's bones by accident (she nearly forgot to control her strength at that moment). Like I said earlier, their pdas are usually quick & discreet whenever no one's looking.

Fink believes that Roz gives the best belly rubs. Ever. And massages too. He also loves receiving nose boops, pats on the head and cuddles/hugs. In particular, he loves to nuzzle his head close to Roz's neck. On the flipside, Roz loves it when Fink gently presses his snout in the center of her face. She finds it cute whenever Fink rubs his head on her body. She'll briefly stop functioning whenever Fink licks any part of her face (and her neck).

As adoptive parents without a strong support system, Roz & Fink rarely have time to themselves, let alone dates. As much as they love raising & caring for Brightbill together, they occasionally wished to have time without worrying about parenting. However, they know that almost no one on the island would be willing to babysit or be safe as a babysitter. It can be easy to lose individuality since everyone on the island knows them as parents than individuals.

One of their favorite spots on the island is for sure the cliff side. In the daytime, they can witness the entire island from that view and watch the sunset together. At night, they'll be closer to the stars to stargaze. Sometimes, they'll peacefully rest there together under the stars and wake up to watch the sunrise. This spot is where Fink & Roz confessed each other's feelings.

With such contrasting personalities, Roz & Fink are bound to have some bumps on the road, especially in regards to parenting. Whenever they have a disagreement, they'll usually try to be civil as much as possible mainly for Brightbill's sake. If they feel a disagreement could escalate, they'll have the discussion when Brightbill as asleep for the night. They'll even take it outside so that Birghtbill couldn't hear them. This was especially prevalent when Birghtbill was a chick since neither have experience in parenting, let alone parenting together. As Brightbill got older, these disagreements became less frequent.

Brightbill is obviously the first supporter of the relationship (with Paddler & Pinktail being secondary). Him bringing Roz & Fink together as a couple is purely unintentional. Brightbill never questioned his parent's relationship until he migrated for the first time. One of the reasons he initially resented the animals on the island is because of the uncalled for remarks about his parent's relationship. During migration, Brightbill almost had a physical altercation with another goose who said that it's a "blessing" that his parents can't procreate together.

Due to being completely different species with a not-so positive reputation (Roz being ostracized more than Fink), many animals on the island initially disapprove of their relationship. Although Roz & Fink never outright tell others about their relationship, it doesn't take long for others to put the pieces together and for nasty rumors to spread. From time to time, Roz & Fink would hear others whisper in hush tones vile gossip about them. Some of the animals even went as far as to vocalize their disdain for their relationship right in front of their face (often resulting in Roz having to hold back Fink from attacking the naysayers). Notably, some of Fink's own kind feigned pity for him, saying that he's "desperate" to have a "monster" as his mate since no vixen wants him. It's a slow process for other animals to be at least tolerant about their relationship.

Fink and Brightbill are the last animals Roz ever talked to ever before leaving the island. Fink & Roz didn't officially break up per say. They more so put their relationship on hold for now. The night Roz left, Fink was quite heartbroken. He didn't think it's ever possible to have someone who loves him in this way. He & Brightbill consoled each other. However, sharing their favorite memories with each other about Roz is what inspired Fink to share the story about Roz throughout the island.

[madlori]

Ship dysphoria

Ok so a bit of time has gone by, and the 9-1-1 fandom is settling into a bit of an...existential crisis?

Because 90% of this fandom is built on Buddie. Buddie has always been the strongest driving force. We love our other blorbos, but it's Buddie that usually drives us feral.

Except...Buck/Tommy. OMG. It is WORKING for a lot of fans. (and JFC we cannot settle on a ship name. Tevan? Kinley? I'm gonna stick with Buck/Tommy)

A LOT of fans are having a "I'm a devoted Buddie shipper, why do I like this so much??" moment and it can almost feel like a betrayal, or that you're deserting the ship (the ship that, remember, Oliver told us to stay aboard).

And I think I can probably speak for everybody when I say that the last thing we want or need is a ship war in this fandom, something we haven't ever really had but which has torn other fandoms apart.

So I'm gonna put on my veteran-of-many-fandoms hat for a second and tell you a thing:

It's okay to ship Buck and Tommy. It's ok to do that and still ship Buddie. It's also okay to leave Buddie behind if it's not working for you anymore. It's okay to just tolerate Buck and Tommy and not really care about it, and stay focused on Buddie. You are allowed to ship however it works for you, and you are not limited to one and only one ship. If you decide you don't think Buddie will happen and you're going to cut your losses, that's okay, too. It is not a reflection on your character or something. You don't swear an oath of fealty to a ship.

We don't know how long Tommy will stick around, but Buck will still be bisexual. He may date another man. He may date a woman again. You can ship those things too.

But why is this ship hitting me so hard? I never thought I'd like Buck with another man! I'm so confused!

I get that. There are some reasons why that might be.

There is something very appealing about a ship that's canon. Some of you might never have had a canon queer ship, but the pull is strong. There's no guessing, no interpreting, no subtext-examining. It's there, it's real, you don't have to wonder if you're just overinterpreting things. Yes. Buck and Tommy kissed and are going on a date. Even if that's all it ever is, you'll never be accused of "seeing things that aren't there." Don't discount that.

Tommy, even in just 1.5 episodes, is a LOT more integrated into the firefam than any of Buck's previous girlfriends. Tim talked about not wanting him to be "siloed off" away from the main cast and that was exactly the problem with his prior girlfriends. Tommy is friends with Eddie. He knows Christopher and has hung out with him. He spent most of that loft conversation reassuring Buck that his place in Eddie's life was secure. He feels more like part of the gang than any other ones. That makes it easier to see him in Buck's life.

The mere fact of Buck's queer awakening is so monumental for so many of us that the character who helped him get there is going to naturally earn our affection immediately, and it's going to make you want that relationship to succeed, even if it's ulitmately not endgame for Buck. You want to see Buck have a good experience the first time out with a man. Of course you do.

And we just want to see Buck make out with a hot beefy firefighter. That is so valid of us.

Anyway. There is no need for a crisis. You can love Buddie with your whole heart and still be excited about this pairing, and want to see how it goes, and read fic about it. I may be writing a lil something myself.

You're good, fam.

[astradyke]

hey so I've been a casual Dan & Phil fan for years but never really a part of the fandom. Recently started scrolling thru the tag and like...did I miss something? Have they actually said for real for real that they dated? Like I'm queer and tbh 2 gay guys living together for that long have to at least done *something* but I'm not an rpf person (no shade) but I do wanna be up to date on the Dan and Phil facts (phacts?) Obviously they're some kinda soulmates but tbh I know some queerplatonic soulmates who aren't *together* so idk if that's them or not. Am I missing receipts or is their relationship presumed given their whole situationship? Genuinely asking and no shade to your shipping intended.

hiya! i'll try to be succinct here but i might totally miss some things as a heads up :P

In Basically I'm Gay on the Daniel Howell channel, the same monologue that led to the description of them as soulmates also included the statement: "And that was when, through the magic of the Internet, I met Phil. And obviously we were more than friends, but it was more than just romantic [...] The relationship we formed, at that point, was something that I needed in my life." Despite "relationship" being a neutral, versatile term, the preceding sentence confirms they've been in an explicitly romantic relationship. along with that explicit confirmation, we also know from several other relics from 2009-2011 in particular that the two were at the very least actively flirting (I can retrieve a few formsprings for you that point to this if u want just lmk!). Additionally, in 2010, Phil made a privated video addressed to Dan that explicitly confirms a romantic relationship; this video was unprivated via a YouTube glitch in September 2011 and circulated heavily in late 2012. it was a serious incident that outed them and thus people don't talk much about it. I've never seen it in full-- it's pretty much off the Internet entirely due to copyright strikes-- and I really solely bring it up for context that they were dating at that period in time.

Basically I'm Gay only indicates a past romantic relationship, leaving their current one ambiguous, and both Dan and Phil's respective coming out videos state that they want to keep their personal dating lives private (both of these videos were released in 2019). Since then, though, there's one other explicit confirmation of their relationship-- I had a difficult time hunting down this exact interview in entirety, but my lovely mutual freckliedan helped me find the relevant screenshot:

[ID: In bold, the interviewer's text says: "So, just like a normal gay couple then?" Below, Dan's response is not in bold, and says, "Basically, yeah."]

I was able to find another screenshot at this post as well, which has the actual context confirming that they were discussing Phil previous to this. Now, obviously, this interviewer was a little forward in their questions, so I understand any reluctance in considering Dan's response-- however, Dan is a professional, and if he was sincerely uncomfortable with this line of questioning, I have faith in his ability to avoid answering it altogether. I therefore assume he knew what he was doing, and that this can be taken as a valid statement. This was from 2023 iirc.

Both of these excerpts-- from Basically I'm Gay and from this interview-- do suggest that Dan and Phil have a romantic relationship. On top of both of these more concrete confirmations, there's a lot more information/statements they've made public that corresponds with a romantic relationship, even if none of them are technically exclusive to romantic relationships.

A brief list: They've lived together for approximately 13-15 years, and bought a house together with a mortgage (for brevity's sake, I'll exclude other things that kind of pair with this). They make frequent sex jokes on their channel, several of which stating things about the other's sexual preferences. They recently went on holiday together, just the two of them, and given the tourism biz and how they discussed the holiday it seems like they were in a place intended for couples. Phil's sister in law, Cornelia, refers to Dan as an uncle to her child. They use pet names for each other. They frequently joke with the phandom, riffing off of jokes about their relationship (reacting to posts saying they are in a situationship, making a joke about having a joint toilet, etc.) This is most arguable, but it's highly likely that they share a bed as well (again, going off of the images/videos they've shown us of 'Dan's bedroom'). Lastly, other interviews with Dan include him being highly verbose about his relationship with Phil, but he's referred to him briefly as his "husband" in a long list of other words like "soulmates" and "just mates", ending with "who the fuck knows?", in one past interview (I have a picture of this but I can't attach it rn I can find it if you'd like though!)

It's not impossible that Dan and Phil's relationship isn't currently romantic, and even operating off of the assumption that it is, there's information we don't know about that (whether they're monogamous or polyamorous, for example, or whether or not they share a bed). It honestly just seems unlikely that their relationship is queerplatonic, given the past statements indicating that it has been romantic historically and the interview (+ supplemental evidence) suggesting that it currently is (I am very aware of the variation in QPRs, though, so I'm sympathetic to that interpretation from folks. However, I also understand that many explicitly romantic partnerships are considered to be QPRs-- in media or with real people-- in a way that contributes to gay erasure. It's nuanced and I am not the person best equipped to eloquently discuss it). Obviously, just to underscore here, we are not owed any information about their personal lives and the vast majority (if not the entirety) of the phandom just riffs off of the information they tell us, all of which happen to point to a romantic relationship. They clearly don't have any discomfort in us assuming this, and I personally don't believe they'll ever give us any more conclusive statement about their relationship any time soon, given that they've told us enough that the implication of a romantic partnership is pretty solidly there.

TLDR: Dan and Phil have "hard launched" (AKA released information that portrays their relationship as irrefutably romantic) 2-3 times. There is also other more indirect information that seems to confirm a romantic relationship, though if one wanted to, it could be read as non-romantic-- however, given those conclusive statements, and the current way they treat phandom commentary about their relationship (AKA not giving a shit), it is the effective conclusion that they are in a romantic relationship. Other conclusions, such as them being queerplatonic or them having broken up, seem to rely on a lot of critical assumptions, while the idea that they are in a romantic relationship is in line with their own statements as well as what we generally see out of them.

Thank you for your patience and your very kind ask! PS calling it "phacts" is funny as fuck, I did not utilize that verbiage here through my reply but you were a visionary for this. have a lovely one :D

PS. If any folks want to add, or if I missed something when glancing back over this and corrections are needed, please please please share! I am so deeply not a phandom history i am simply a little guy! much love

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for not making any of my characters, that I have to crank out daily, pansexual/polysexual/omnisexual specifically and only making them bi?

🏳️‍🌈👶🏼 so i can recognize this later lmao also I'm not panphobic or anything, this isn't about the validity of the label, pan is fine.

So i (20snb bi) have a project I'm working on where I take all the characters from a specifc media I'm into and pair them up with each other to make every possible ship kid from every possible ship(excluding characters who are kids themselves or are related or something, that shit is gross). Basically taking every character and pairing them up with another and creating a kid I think they'd have. Its a big project with lots of characters and I'm easily over 400 at this point. I really enjoy this, even if I'm not even 25% complete.

However I set a schedule for myself that at least one ship kid needs to come out each day which, considering I draw them, color them and give them some development and some even have siblings, (The refs themselves easily take me an hour to an hour and a half) I have to make lots of them quickly to keep up with my daily grind. I've been doing this project for over a year and although it's stressful, I can get them out quickly with breaks for myself.

Their character sheets all have some pretty basic info like their name, gender, pronouns, personality and more but it also includes their sexuality/orientation. I have a pretty basic list of options for what their sexuality will be: straight, lesbian, gay, Enbian, bi, Aro, ace and aroace with a few random things like polyam, WLW and a good amount of the something-loving-something/juvelic terms. I did this because, well, there's not many entirely unique orientations outside of them and although I love mogai/xenogenders and complex identities, I dont want to potentially drag up discourse or bring problems to my budding art blog over it. Its just not worth it to me to turn something I really care about on its head, even if I like microlabels.

In this case, I'm using bi as an umbrella term as most of the other terms share the same definition with slight variations in wording or action but not much difference in practice. We all like everyone, it's basic stuff. However, apparently this is a problem.

I've gotten one or two anons asking me questions about my guides asking some kind stuff like is this lesbian ship kid a butch or femme or Is this picture of them now or just at the age you put on the ref and other harmless stuff. Then things got rude with some Nbphobia but thrice now I've gotten asks:

1. Asking snarkily if im a panphobe

2. insulting me for not specifically writing pan or Omni and just writing bi.

3. Saying that I "clearly dont care about pansexual representation." Then brought up how my primary oc is native american so i clearly care about representation but that oc used to be a sona and I'm native?? Its confusing. (And Lowkey racist shit to just assume any native character is a "diversity quota" character instead of just a person existing but I digress-)

Im not pan, im bi so ig these people assume I'm not cool with pan people which isnt true? I have nothing aginest them, they are just pretty similar and I dont feel like it matters if they are specfically bi or pan or poly or any other label. I don't go into details like that for any other sub-group, not even pronouns and I included combinations and some common Neopronouns. I understand the importance of representation but my project has less than 50 people looking at it every day, Im not netflix or something. I'm one guy on the most LGBT blogging site with a big project and very little audience, I'm not showing people who wouldn't already know what pan is that pansexuality exists.

This project isn't that deep considering the characters in question aren't human/dont have human characteristics.(no it's not hazbin/helluva) Also ive never spoken about lgbt discourse or stated anything remotely close to it beyond the guides just passively having characters who are an LGBT identity. I've not even mentioned all the potentional orientations they could have so I'm not sure where/why this came up in the first place. The most politcial things ive said are calling out a creator in my fandom who outed themselves as a transphobe and mentioning im pro-palestine. That's it.

I mean this is pretty low stakes, I can just block these people and be done with it and this some seriously online shit but I just wanna check.

Am I being an asshole for just writing bi instead of specifying their mspec label because I have to produce characters quickly and I don't see enough of a difference to warrant a change/specification that would ultimately slow and clog an already stressful and complex project?

I dont think I am but idk lol

What are these acronyms?

[iloveundertaesooomuch]

!!THIS IS NOT CALEB!!

This is my version of the FTF Grimwalker that got possessed by Belos and then was resurected on GrimIsles!

His name is Cheese! ...Bear with me here-

His grimwalker siblings let him to choose his own name, because they didn't want to force something so important onto him. Especially when this "newcomer" was lucky enough to not be named by Belos. So the freedom of choice felt pretty important to consider for his ability to built his own identity and carve his own destiny.

But.. Cheese was litteraly "born yesterday" and he didnt understand the language yet. At all. So, of course, when he started to learn some words, he chose to identify himself with something he really really likes. And.. this thing he related to happened to be a block of yellow dairy product with holes in it and a funny taste. He is too much of a cheese lover.

Later on he often "changed his name" from Cheese to Onion to Gerald to Boot to Nike... Uhhh..., it was difficult to say the least. But the name Cheese stuck with others, so now it is how he is called. Although many end up pronouncing it as "Chez", which is valid too.

As you can see on my art, Cheese doesn't have his legs rotting like the body in the s3 ep2. Thats because it was part of his "mortal wound". In otherwords, Chez wouldn't be able to live with parts damaged like that. Usually all that left after the person's "mortal wound" after the resurection in the temple is a small light scar. But, even if Cheese got his body fully in tact now, the bottom part of his body nonetheless seems to be paralised. Thats why he requires a wheelchair to move around the Isles. (I wont deny the possibility of him getting a jetpack or something like that so he could move thought the air on his "loyal carriage". Imagine that vine video but with Cheese. He would be very enthusiastic about creating and building shit like that.) Chez also happens to be mute due to his damaged throat and vocal chords also from Belos'es possession. Thats why he has that little oracle stone on his hair-clip that helps him speak his thoughts out loud! He wasn't always able to use it, so he was also taught how to use sign language. His siblings were glad to learn it along with Cheese so they could finally chat.

I was initially imagining Cheese to be enthusiastic about sports. Especially since the grimwalker body in FTF looked quite buff weirdly enough XD. But he slowly grows to be much more than "CHEESE IS SPEED". Perharps our discovery of him as a character reflects his own journey of getting to know himself. Chez came to be as a blank slate. I guess he is technocally the happiest grimwalker in this AU, since he never experience any kind of abuse and has a loving family that treats him with respect even if he doesn't understand everything yet.

It was my first time drawing a wheelchair I think. So I really heavily referenced just to get its structure right. Maybe when I draw Chez again I will decorate it to his liking. He would probably enjoy some stickers on it. Especially of space and ships. Or Cheese could have a Starwars (or however that franchise is called in TOH universe) merch on it! He likes spaces, because it is full of infinite possibilities.

Thank you, @crypticpara and @talisman975 for inspiration!

[yuseirra]

**alien stage final round spoilers**

I really enjoy looking at the feelings and relationship dynamics between characters when I see a work. I feel I got a better grasp of/understood that aspect after seeing that most recent alien stage video, so I'd enjoy talking about it. Before I begin, I respect all the canon interactions and appreciate what they give us. The major "ships" for this, I am aware of, they are all very valid and I find all of them intriguing and interesting to see!

This particular stage, I feel, shows a really good insight of how Ivan and Till's love's are conveyed in contrast to each other.

Ivan appears to be very mannerly and he's very kind towards the fans, giving a lot of fanservice, he's the "good boy" of the group (excluding Luka who's simply "made for the stage") while Till tends to be the rebel. He swears towards the aliens, tries to run away, and does the unexpected on stage, he's a loose cannon as they say, but when it comes to "love", their attitudes tend to be the complete opposite.

It appears that Ivan's feelings towards Till is very complex for it to be defined simply as "love"(although I believe it is) although he's reserved on the outside, I feel he's the one has the hardest time dealing with his own emotions, since it does exist, but even he himself can't actually make out what they are. Idk how it's been translated but I saw him defining what he had towards Till as "shallow(얄팍한)" and apologizing to him as being his victim of it, I think it's the contrary. It's way too muddled and complicated, the artbook also mentions that he'd be the only one who can know what that feeling he has towards Till is. And I'm not even sure if he himself does in a complete sense. What I can see is that he does care. However, it seems like Ivan doesn't know how to care for Till in a way that'd come across to Till in a way that he'd like. In turn, he keeps acting in a way that'd provoke him to make the guy look back at him. He ruins the flowers Till treasures that he's received from Mizi, punches him, follows him around, nudges him, and acts pretty imposing and unpredictable when it comes to Till, he does things that Till doesn't want. It's out of his interest and fondness but it just can't come across to Till as a good thing. He doesn't hate him (he's still pretty fond of Ivan when I read the artbook) but finds him annoying. The artbook defines Ivan's feeling as one-sided, and sadly, it is very much that way. Ivan is the one that looks most mature out of the 4 kids that grew up together (Sua, Mizi, Till and Ivan himself) but they phrase Ivan as someone who's grown in terms of body but has never matured from being a child (P 208, 211 in the artbook) The problem here is that he never learned how to express his feeling properly. It always... ends up in a way that hurts Till. Till fails to comprehend or make out just what's happened as he sees Ivan dead in the final moments of stage 6. While Ivan manages to achieve his desired results of having Till finally look back at him, that's also all he gets. It was predictable, though. I feel like they'd have had a much friendlier relationship if they grew up in a normal, humane environment. In the end, Ivan does realize he's being selfish. I personally believe it's both selfish and selfless, a bit similar to how Sua was towards Mizi. They do things for the other but also, they do realize it's what the other party wouldn't enjoy/fully comprehend while they do it. But they can't help it since they want the other to survive.

Till's feelings for Mizi has been always there, I kind of feel it could get overshadowed a lot from how immensely big and impactful Ivan's actions have been portrayed throughout the series, but I really appreciate how they acknowledged Till's feelings for her's also something that's very genuine and what's gave him light. I read that the idea that Till had a crush on Mizi was there from the very early stages of development from the artbook. That's a crucial part of his character. And unlike how the usual "reserved and gentle" Ivan can get pretty aggressive to get a reaction out of Till (nothing against Ivan, just analyzing) Till's love is also pretty much unrequited, but he acts very selfless and gentle towards Mizi, he never does anything that'd.. affect her in a strong sense except for trying to express his feelings through music. While Ivan pokes, punches, grabs, kisses his love to get his attention, Till tends to blush and run away. This guy is very aware of what his feelings towards Mizi is, yet I think he understood his position and how much Mizi loves Sua so he keeps at a distance. His commentary about Mizi is that he believes "she's the most beautiful being in the entire universe and he felt reborn when she smiled at him." Oh wait?? he's an INFP??? REALLY??? Looking at the artbook and..;;hshshg to imagine an INFP acting like him.. oh, he must have suffered A LOT;; I guess he was always on edge in those harsh conditions then. His feelings towards Mizi didn't really come across so much either, as it is said she thought Till was evading her, she wanted to be more friendly with him being the jolly and sweet person she is though.

The outcome for these two are very similar but different. When I watched Till's fate..(yeah, I was shocked he almost NEVER stood a chance against Luka despite how good he is too;;) I think I felt sad, but I was.. also happy for him that he realized Mizi does genuinely care for him. What Ivan got wasn't mutual, Till didn't understand.. and he was engraved, but as a source of trauma (I find this inevitable though seeing how that stage played out). Mizi smiled at Till and he was so happy to see her again he immediately lit up and tried to reach out to her while the stage was still going on, their eyes meet, the way Ivan and Till did on the previous stage, but it was welcoming and out of glee. Of course the one Mizi loves is Sua, but it was sweet to see Mizi really caring for Till as a friend. He's also what she's wanted to save, and Till was suffering after he thought Mizi was gone, but he got that sense of relief in his last moments. There was a comment I found that I found was quite insightful about this situation. He doesn't ask much in return, he always was that person that'd accept and appreciate what she gave him. Was that really enough for Till? I'm not sure but, he was still happy from everything Mizi had given him. I do see Ivan having a harder time being the same way because Till would have been so focused on Mizi to look back at him if he was as passive and accepting as Till was to her, and besides, I think the type of "love" they have may not exactly be the same although it can be categorized as "love". "Love" comes in many different forms and it grew in ways that were affected by their environment and personalities. I appreciate how that was depicted. I feel Till's love towards Mizi is just as powerful as Ivan's love towards Till was, it displays the different types of one-sided love.

I can talk about Sua and Mizi's dynamic too, with that I'd be talking about all the four major ships (I talked about Hyuna and Luka in another post earlier!) but maybe I'll do that another time.

However, I'd still like to mention what I found interesting in the artbook! They say that Sua wanted to protect Mizi's naivety and shield her from reality, because she found salvation in it. It was a place of escape for her, they say (p44) she gave Mizi hope that there would be a good ending, and that's how Mizi completely broke down the moment Sua was gone. Mizi really didn't see it coming while Sua actually did as she sang. Sua wanted to remain in that moment forever with Mizi, they say (p39) she depended on Mizi as much as Mizi did for her. The artbook gives out a really good insight in terms of about how the characters feel about things and it's very colorful and thick and great to see in general, so I recommend you to buy it if you are interested in the series. I'm not a hardcore fan of this piece (yet) but it was still worth every penny to me so, I bet it'd be a gem for those who really care for it~

[ns-media]

Elaborating on my previous Oda romance/LuNami post

For the ones who read my previous long post analyzing Oda's thoughts on romance in One Piece + LuNami, thank you!

I'd like to elaborate on some things right here in case some people may misinterpret some of my viewpoints on how Oda portrays LuNami. So, one thing I see many LuNami fans point out is that Oda making LuNami subtle in his manga is on purpose, which I do wholeheartedly agree with! While it definitely is intentionally subtle, my post was to point out WHY that is the case, because Oda goes out of his way to show off the more cliché or "obvious" stuff in non-manga material, while the manga basically exclusively contains subtle things, indicating that there is something holding him back from putting this cliché stuff in his main story, which is what 95% of the content Oda makes even comes from. And as I pointed out in the post, I think it's him wanting to appeal to boys. I do think that if it wasn't for that, plus his shyness about romance, that he would put in more obvious cliché things in his manga, as he seems to be doing that for his non-manga material.

Now, this subtlety LuNami has in the manga is what draws many LuNami fans to the ship, which makes a ton of sense no doubt, in the manga it's basically the ship's bread and butter. My post wasn't to say "Omfg stop being subtle forget your audience and put in obvious shit in your manga Oda!" Nope, definitely not. My post was to point out that he truly DOES see LuNami as romantic and the reason I pointed it out in the first place is because it's so subtle in the manga that some people need convincing that the subtleties in the manga are truly LuNami hints and not just something you can dismiss like all the naysayers do.

This is why I talked about the non-canon material so much in that post, to prove how it's obvious that he DOES really like LuNami because of how the non-manga shit is so much more obvious with LuNami hints. Mr. "I think romance is a good idea for Film: Gold" also said "OP is a shounen manga ffs, no romance depicted lmao". Totally different statements, one for his manga, one for an optional movie... hmm, there's no way my post has any sort of validity!

By the way when Oda said "no romance depicted" he's not full of shit or whatever, he clearly refers to obvious romances stories that aren't subtle hints like how he portrayed LuNami in the manga. Every time he mentions romance it's clear he means the obvious stuff, of course I think it's obvious how UsoKaya is basically canon but there's no dedicated romance story between them in the manga.

This predicament that I think Oda is in with making it subtle in his manga and less subtle outside his manga, is why LuNami seems so easy to trivalize for so many people. Because in the manga it's so subtle that people can easily just go "Nah that is not what it means" and in non-manga material it's like "No man it's non-canon bullshit who cares it's not in the manga". But see, these people saying this is exactly what I think Oda wants his boy audience to think! So... good job I guess!

Now, I know that I may seem to be putting in just a bit too much stock into Oda being restricted by his audience, which yeah I do see why you would think so if you happen to think that. However he keeps bringing up his readers, over and over and over AND OVER AND OVER again when nobody even asked him about that, dude.

Some guy asks: "So uhh who does Nami like?" Oda: "Uhh this is for boys and they don't care man"

The guy: Umm... I didn't ask for that but thanks?

Aoyama: "I wouldn't leave if you do romantic stuff"

Oda: "Well shit, PEOPLE seem so supportive of couples huh!?"

You uhh, seem a bit too concerned with the opinions of "people" and there's a bit too much "shounen shounen manga boys boys boys" when NOBODY ASKED YOU to talk about them in your answers for it. How should that not to arouse suspicion in me?

And those 2 examples aren't even the only time he's like that.

Buuut, I think this is all I gotta say... for now I think. I might edit this post to further elaborate on stuff later, no promises but I'll think about it!

[grimfalcon746]

Humans are Space Orcs: Vilgraell

Almost a decade had passed, since the Human fleet had contacted the Galactic Affairs Council. The GAC had been glad to receive communication from another sentient species and spent much time communicating with them. Specifically they wanted to know about the species ancestry, history and, more importantly their intentions.

The Humans had assured them their intentions were peaceful. Nearly 100 years had passed since the last human war. Although the species was mostly known for violence and war, they had finally had their fill. Their intentions now were peaceful expanse of their species, largely so they did not mine any planets resources to near extinction.

The GAC had accepted their intentions and set up a rendezvous. While war was not exactly unknown to the GAC, they did try to avoid introducing species to sentient life who solely lived for it. They were, however, not perfect. They were surprised to learn the humans would take nearly a decade to arrive from so close, if the council decided to admit humans to their ranks, they would have to share their engine technology with them.

However, a decade is a long time. Much can change in that time. The GAC had introduced a new species after speaking with the humans and before they arrived. The Vilgraell. Much like the humans, the Vilgraell came from a history of war, and declared their intentions peaceful. The GAC had been blindsided after inviting them in. The Vilgraell had learned of a planet and species within the GAC. The planet was home to a species called the Chutor.

The Chutor had evolved from a canine like species. Their evolution had come a long way, as they were able to speak multiple languages, evolved technology and even mined for resources for trade with the GAC. While they were not exactly strangers to war and conflict themselves, they were not experts either. So when the Vilgraell had learned of large oil, diamond and gold deposits on their planet, they moved in easily.

The Chutor were quickly suppressed, forced to mine for the Vilgraell and slaughtered when they refused. The GAC had interjected but were quickly repelled and had since lost control of the situation. While they remained in the area they were relegated to observation and failed diplomatic responses.

Finally, after 9 years 10 months, earth time, the earthlings arrived. The council that had talked to them was on patrol around the Chutor's home system at the time, and so changed the rendezvous location to close by for convenience. The meeting was rather boilerplate, really, the council had to board the human command ship, while the fleet remained a mere hour away, talk with the humans and then make their official decision. Only three species were ever rejected once they got to this point, and all for very valid reasons. During the meeting, however, a crewman interrupted the human captain and the council.

"Sorry to interrupt, Sir, we are picking up signals of a conflict in the nearest system." Crewman Matt interjected. "While we are not in any immediate danger I thought you would like to know."

"Conflict?" The human commander inquired.

"A rather messy affair." The GAC ambassador answered. "We invited a species, the Vilgraell, to our ranks, about 3 earth years ago. They have since launched a full scale invasion of the Chutor. We tried to intervene, but they overpowered even the council."

"Crewman Matt, what are they dealing with?" Commander Gregory asked.

"Communications officer Claire was bringing up surveillance images when I came to inform you sir. We should proceed to the bridge if you want updates." Crewman Matt replied.

The three of them proceeded to the bridge, the commander and crewman wanting to know the severity of the situation. The ambassador, however, tried to plead with them, telling them the images were bleak at best and downright disturbing at worst. Ignoring the ambassador, Commander Gregory needed to know what was going on. His father had served in the final human war, and had taught him the atrocities of war. Not in a 'prepare for this' way, more of a 'this is why we should avoid it' way. If the images on the screen were as bad as the images he remembered from his fathers teachings. He shuddered to think.

The images were already on the display as he arrived. The crew and officers of the bridge looked on in horror. The images he remembered from his fathers teaching had not prepared him for this. What appeared to be large canines dead, brutalized, collapsed from exhaustion. They had been forced into the mines until they collapsed and then were eliminated for a new batch to be forced in.

"Those. Those almost look like earth canines." Commander Gregory said through gritted teeth, thinking about his childhood pet, puddles.

"They evolved from a very similar species." The ambassador explained. It pained him to see the distress from the humans, he had tried to spare them from.

Some tense minutes passed, as more images came up. The Vilgraell were clearly hellbent on mining the planet dry, at the expense of the Chutor. Forcing them to not only slave away in the mines, but breed as much as possible to ensure their would be new workers to mine after the current workers inevitably collapsed from exhaustion.

"Lieutenant Maisie. Do you have your key with you?" Commander Gregory asked.

"Yes sir." Lieutenant Maisie replied. "Are we opening the blood vault?"

"Yes." Came the simple answer.

"Blood vault?" The ambassador asked, panicking at the name.

Maisie and Gregory proceeded to a locking cabinet inside the bridge. Inserting a key each, they counted down from three, and then turned the key. As the vault clunked, the ambassador began pleading with the human commander. The Vilgraell were brutal, whatever the commander was planning would not end well. His pleas fell on deaf ears, as both the Commander and Lieutenant had their minds made up already. The vault contained all the knowledge and tactics of human conflict. Most of which was already in Gregory's head, both from his military teachings as well as his fathers. There was, however, one piece of information, contained on a flash drive, that he was after.

Removing the flash drive, he cleared the dust from the face of it. In bold gold colored letters, read a single clear word. 'Geneva'. The ambassador had done his homework on the past human conflicts, and was aware of the so called Geneva Convention. He could not help but ask.

"Is. Is that your Geneva Convention?" The ambassador asked.

"Yes." Commander Gregory replied, handing the drive to Crewman Matt. "Make a checklist out of this."

It took a second for that to register for the ambassador. Checklist. "You mean of things to avoid, right?" The ambassador was clearly in a full panic now.

"I suggest you return to your ship." Commander Gregory ordered, more than suggest to the Ambassador. "Communications Officer Claire, please advise the fleet to prepare for battle. After that, order all hands to level one battle stations."

"Yes sir!" Claire replied.

The Ambassador returned to his ship. A great swell of pity arose in him, for the human fleet. He tried to keep them from this. He believed that they wanted peace, were averted to conflict after their last human war.

However, while he had done his homework, he had failed in one respect. He had only been able to access textsof human conflicts. No images, or videos, or anything that would give him a concrete knowledge of the hairless monkeys ability to participate in the most brutal of armed conflicts.

While Commander Gregory, Commander of the seventh human fleet, had always avoided war and battle. Negotiating every time another vessel or fleet interacting with them, he had run countless simulations. Knowing that while a conflict avoided is a conflict won, sometimes, conflict can not be avoided, and therefore, he should be ready if it should ever arise.

The human fleet came out of warp drive in full range of the Vilgraell fleet. Weapons were ready and loaded, and the battle was on before the Vilgraell fleet even knew what was happening. For a species so used to war and conflict, the GAC watched in awe as the human fleet obliterated that fleet. The orbital fleet, which had successfully repelled nineteen GAC advances, was eliminated by a species who were a thousand years behind the councils technology, and it only took four earth minutes.

The humans were not done though. Commander Gregory could not get the images he had seen out of his mind, and the thoughts of puddles would not rest either. The Vilgraell bases on the planet were divided into two parts. Base of operations, where only Vilgraell soldiers and commanders existed, and forward operating bases. The forward operating bases operated with small bands of men, no more than ten, that the Chutor could easily overpower. However, the operation bases kept them in line. The Chutor learned from experience that if they rose against the forward bases, the operation bases would make an example out of them.

Commander Gregory had done his homework on the jump in. He knew the locations. He also knew there would be no collateral damage on the operation bases. Once they dropped the forward operating bases would never be able to keep the Chutor in line. He also had learned of the GAC fleets who fell to the orbital fleet.

He deliberately waited nineteen seconds after the last ship from the orbital fleet fell, to order the orbital nuclear bombardment. Nineteen seconds, one for each GAC fleet eliminated by the Vilgraell. The nuclear bombs obliterated the operation bases. As he suspected, the Chutor rose immediately. The Vilgraell were dispatched and the Chutor were once again in peace.

"Sir." Crewman Matt addressed the Commander. "Looks like the war is won. We did not even need the checklist you asked me to make."

"No. The battle is won. Now we proceed to the Vilgraell home-world. That is where we will use the checklist you created."

***

Note:

I was on the fence about the tw's for animal cruelty and death, as the Chutor are sentient in this story and therefore don't really fall into the animal category, however i felt it would be better to have them in the tags than not.

[alishaaxo]

im sorry but i can never be a lyanna stan guys.

just lemme explain.

obviously this is only if she willingly went w rhaegar

To begin with, the situation in its simplest form is that Rhaegar and Elia are married, amicable yet not in love, and Rhaegar runs off with Lyanna, causing chaos to ensue amongst the realm.

Even if no war occured and everything was fine, how can Lyanna try to justify running away with a married man, especially on the way to her brothers wedding which feels very selfish, even if Brandon didn’t want to marry Cat, like she still ruined their wedding day.

Not to mention, that running with Rhaegar meant that shes inserted herself into his marriage which is Elia’s place. How nonsensical it is to run away with a married man and somehow marry him!

There’s two routes people go to justify it, and I’ll explain why I think they suck:

1) E-R-L is a polygamous marriage: This is not appeasable to the realm at all! Nobody will accept that. The only reason Aegon+Rhaenys+Visenya were accepted was because they were conquering Westeros, and like you can’t say shit about the guys conquering you!! Also the Targs were on thin ice then, and Maegor also tried, and look what happened afterwards!

2) E-R was annulled and R-L are married: I don’t think this is reasonable at all. Considering that Rhaegar is only HEIR, just like Daemon, for example. Both wanted annulments and both need the permission from the King and/or High Septon, but also considering how the likes of Aegon IV couldn’t annul his own marriage, do you really think a measly heir could?! At least in Daemon’s situation, he had no children, but as Aegon IV and Rhaegar both had kids (Elia giving birth twice in 3 years) theres no grounds for annulment, and it would disinherit his children potentially anyway, or even start a second Dance. As soon as you have a second wife, whether polygamous, annulled or dead first wife, war will be almost inevitable between the potential heirs.

Also Ik its not possible.. but can we stop with the E/R/L shipping in a serious manner (crackship is fine but in canon is 😐)

Like genuinely thinking mid-20s Elia would want to romance a 14 year old girl, would be fine with her husband romancing said 14 year old, or join in together, is so crazy to me. Like, yes Rhaegar is very much in the pedo-realm but why would Elia also follow suit??!

And like not to be a huge Robert Baratheon stan here (i hate GOT era him) but you can’t deny that it is the rebellion+it’s repercussions on his life, that change him so heavily into this twisted abusive, pedo man. He was not a great guy pre-rebellion, he slept around, was loud and rowdy, but I feel like you can’t really say that Lyanna somehow predicted that he would be this abusive evil man, tbh it seems like she just disliked his promiscuity which is valid, but in doing the same to Elia, her point gets invalidated in my eyes.

Also next point is the age-situation.

Now i know that obviously in a real life situation, a 14 year old girl is at no blame for the groomer actions of the adult…. however just look at how GRRM perceives this. like not as an “oh medieval girls married at 14, its fine” because they were still mentally children… but i mean how GRRM perceives relationships akin to R-L and characters by Lyannas age in ASOIAF-verse.

Ok so GRRM thinks R-L is romantic, which means that the groomer undertones aren’t necessarily meant to be there, and its meant to be more of a Romeo-Juliet situation (which heavily fucked over Romeos girl Rosaline ie Elia). He also believes Dany-Drogo and San-San is healthy, so I don’t think age heavily affects characters romantic feeling and actions much then.

Then if we see character Lyanna’s age, they’re treated as adults (yes some do have child impulses but overall adults). You have Robb acting impulsively like a kid, but ultimately being treated as an adult and being killed. I feel like even though they have kid impulses, they’re meant to get adult consequences for their actions.

Also ages as a whole is fucked up in ASOIAF in comparison to real world, like you have baby Rickon Stark going feral in Skagos, you have 3 year old Joffrey Velaryon/Strong squaring up to Aemond, and you even have 11 year old Benjicott Blackwood being an absolute beast of a warrior when in the real-world, he’d be just a kid, useless in defence.

[wannabanauthor]

For those of us who started watching 9-1-1 again or for the first time because of the BuckTommy kiss, you are valid for wanting to watch the show only for that. It might help to look up summaries of what happened on the wiki to get a better feels for the characters to help in your shipping experience, but it’s also okay if you only watch BuckTommy scenes.

You’re allowed to enjoy fictional media in whatever way you want that’s not illegal. There are no gold medals given out for how you watch it. At all. You’re allowed to like what you like and discard the rest for whatever reason.

Me personally, I cannot emotionally handle all the drama in the show. I watched S1 and most of S2, and it was so heavy that I looked up to see if a pairing would happen and saw that it didn’t, so I quit the show because it was not worth emotional rollercoaster it put me on.

I work in mental health in my real life, and I have seen so many horrifying things in charts that I do not need to seek out emotionally traumatizing fiction outside my designated PMS days where I let my emotions run free.

Seriously though. I’ve been struggling with feeling like not a real fan of the show, but then I realized that it doesn’t matter. I’m not here to impress online strangers who definitely don’t sign my paychecks or pay my bills. I do that on my own, so I don’t give a fuck how people perceive me as a fan.

I’m 32 years old, and I have experienced a lot of loss in my life over the past 11 years. So many deaths of loved ones and funerals. Let’s not even discuss the performance punishment at my previous job that stressed me out so much that I was ready to leave this earth twice, and my parents had to intervene to talk me down. My mom, my former work mom, and stepmom all got cancer a few years ago, like one after the other, and survived. Do you really think that I need to watch the entire show and know all the details to be a proper fan? Especially with how heavy 9-1-1 can be?

So for my fellow fans and shippers of BuckTommy, enjoy the show however you want. There’s no right or wrong way to watch a show. Engaging in fandom however, is a different thing all together. But it’s perfectly fine to ship what you ship and ignore everything else. I’ve done it with several shows. Hell, some shows got my attention because of ships, and I stayed after the show went downhill because of the ships, but then eventually stopped watching. Or most of the time I quit when I see my ship sinking because I’ve been there when my ships had one character killed in a triggering way that relates to their marginalized status, and that has led me to have real life emotional breakdowns.

So take care of your mental health, and watch shows for whatever reason you want. People might judge you or look down on you, but that’s their fucking problem. Not yours. Why are they so obsessed with you anyway?

Have a wonderful weekend, folks, and remember the block button is there for a reason.

[hannigramislife]

I’m really curious on your thoughts on Chuuya/Dazai VS Kunikida/Dazai. Why do you like the latter more?

(this is just curiosity! I don’t ship either, and I kinda think he has a similar dynamic with both of them so I was wondering what your thoughts are?)

Hello friend! Thank you for the ask!

I wish I could give a detailed and valid analysis on this, but ultimately, I cannot. Mainly because I deeply dislike Dazai, therefore I don't feel the same emotions as his fans do when he interacts with Chuuya or Kunikida. So I guess I will just explain my personal preference.

Now, I like Chuuya a lot. I like his personality, his character, his design. No special emotional connection to him though, so it's not like I hate skk (though the way the fandom makes Beast about them does fill me with rage enough to not want to encounter skk sometimes) for any reason like "Oh, Chuuya deserves better" or "Dazai is shitty to him!" or whatnot. To me, it simply doesn't feel like their relationship now has any more room for improvement? Or surprise? Like, there's no real tension between them (I mean problematic tension, not sexual, we all watched Dead Apple).

They don't really hate each other, and they both know it. They work well together, they understand each other, they make each other feel human. Nothing has really changed between them since I've started the show. The dynamic is very constant, so it's a little boring, for me. I don't feel any yearning between them, or unresolved past issues. Like, Chuuya didn't feel betrayed when Dazai left. Dazai doesn't feel any guilt. Emotionally, I get nothing between them that's interesting to me, as an audience.

With Kunizai however, I'm wide awake and watching. Because they're such different people with such different morals and boundaries, they're instantly more interesting to me. Yes, Dazai annoys Kunikida the way he did Chuuya, but Kunikida is less likely to relent to Dazai's ways when the situation calls for it. Chuuya feels like he's resigned to Dazai's omniscient nature, knowing what to expect of him, knowing he's likely playing right into the other's plans when in a fight, but Kunikida is very willing to grab him by the collar and ask, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

I also feel like Kunikida taught Dazai a lot without even knowing. About kindness, and how to be human, just by being himself. Kunikida cared, so Dazai also learnt how to care. Plus, the fact that he reminds Dazai of Oda??

They feel softer, but like there's room to grow. It's something new. It's Dazai stepping into a new world than he was used to and finding a companion that reached a hand out without judgment or fear. It's two ends of the spectrum; a person who wants to die and a person who wants to make the most out of life.

[crushedsweets]

what is the relationship between Nina and Toby? and what’s Clocky’s reaction to it

OK SO. in Creeped(my au) "canon" they arent romantic or anything, the Ninatoby ship art i posted is just cuz i like the ship LOL ...

BUUUT in my AU, they are really close and have a pretty confusing, but mostly positive, friendship! Honestly a lot of this is me sorta just rambling off concepts about them in my AU but. What am i if not off topic. i wrote liek 35898 pages

to begin, Toby met Nina through Jeff. Jeff would be hanging around the area, arm around Nina, showing her off like she's some trophy. so toby didnt really think much of her at first, just one of jeffs chicks - not really her own person. He’d not think twice when jeff would tell her to get the guys a beer or tell her to fix her clothes or generally being shitty to her - until jeff raises his voice at Nina, then toby is more likely to Sit up and watch a bit more carefully cuz he doesnt know what to expect and hes not gonna just watch jeff scream at her (although she’d be quick to scream back). 

I like to think that’d be one of the tuning moments for their relationship, jeff starts berating nina and standing up, toby perks up and is getting ready to intervene cuz it brings back bad memories, and nina starts screaming back cuz she DGAF. she dgaf. So toby would be like oh. Okay. so she does think for herself. an d the next time jeff tells nina to go get them beers, toby might be like “nah its fine i can get my own” rather than nodding along. FIX HIS BRAIN A LITTLE BIT. 

BUT because nina was coworkers with Natalie for a while(and friends), he eventually started hanging around nina more often casually. it sounds shitty but he used her for ego boosts cuz she was so quick to fawn over him ("you're so strong!! oh, that scar is so cool! i looove this haircut on you toby, let me touch!"). And i think its pretty nice for both of them, sort of passive bonding? Cuz toby grew up with a sister and a mom always smothering him and hugging him and lyra would ask him to braid her hair, and nina is just filled to the brim with affection spilling over in everything she does. MUTUALISTIC RELATIONSHIP. THEYRE THE ALIGATOR AND BIRD

AND they're both naturally pretty touchy people (toby wrapping his arms around shoulders, patting backs, picking people up, messing with hair. nina leaning on people, holding hands, tracing shapes, sitting on laps). i like to think that was one of the things that reaaaaallly got on jeffs nerves, which is part of the reason jeff and nina become so toxic with nonstop cheating on eachother, screaming matches, and his eventual stabbing. and part of why jeff and toby went from being pretty good buddies, to getting physically violent with eachother at the drop of the hat. And nina is really, really appreciative to have someone do that for her - cuz she’s the type to sit on the fence between friends, play both sides, not be assertive about who was right/wrong, etc and she’s used to everyone around her brushing off her feelings and how she’s treated. so toby firmly being like “he hurt you, i care about you, so i dont fuck with him anymore. Simple” would make her feel very like Wow. i feel important.

HOWEVER, they’re both really emotional, and really, really sensitive. It presents different, with ninas emotions being more like a breaking dam of tears and screaming and drowning in it, while toby is explosive shouting and burning and aggressive and just wants to suffocate the fire. Toby is a hypocrite though, and views Nina’s emotions as weak and pathetic just cuz she’ll cry and babble. He doesnt quite grasp that theyre both sensitive, he just validates his own anger as a ‘useful’ emotion that ‘gets shit done’ while nina is a whining babbling mess who wallows in it… AND HE’LL TELL HER THAT LMAAAOOO. And nina is mean and spiteful and will be crying while going off about how he’s a virgin loser little bitch with mommy and daddy issues and this and that and toby would just be like You fucking know what. Get the fuck out nina. (I DREW A COMIC OF THIS I WANNA REDRAW IT SOON). But nina will text toby and the convo sorta goes. “3: r u mad at meee” “ya” “v_v dont be mad…” “why” “cuz >_< i just bought pink lemonade Smirnoff and i got nobody 2 drink it with” “come over” then they dont actually dissect why they blew up on eachother. 

WHICH BRINGS ME TO YOUR LAST QUESTION ON CLOCKY…

She dgaf. Ok im joking. Im assuming you specified clocky so i can talk about if it upsets clocky.

She gets worried, actually. I dont want it to be interpreted as romantic jealousy, but she sees the way they connect on touch, being emotional, opening up, etc - meanwhile she’s sort of stuck in the middle of them and she struggles to open up, she bottles things up, she can be cold and quiet and distant. She’ll ignore their texts for days because she’s just not doing well and is trying to focus really hard on work(and her whole “getting better” thing), only to find out that instead of them harassing her like usual, they just hang out together and wait until she’s ready to reach out. And something about that irritates her. Cuz they were HER friends first 😒…LOL. But another part of her worry is the fact that they are both so emotional and they feed into eachother’s bad habits and is pretty blunt with telling them that.

BUT ASIDE FROM THAT!! She does love that her friends get along. It feels really good for her to have a close-knit group of friends who really care about her. Nina and toby will both make a shitty cake decorated in an ungodly amount of sprinkles and bring it to her. They’ll put her in a groupchat and blow it up with useless conversations. Theyll buy her concert tickets and make her come along. They get her out and are good for her in their own ways, even if theyre all very flawed. and she's not the type to give a shit about romantic jealousy