#I also just. I don't like it when people call them a qpr and then also call them best friends

[actual-corpse]

Saw a YT vid with the title, "Fandom Can't Handle Asexuality"

You're right, they can't... Because it doesn't fucking exist to them.

[radical-dadical-rafael]

Some people in fandom are still talking about qprs as Friendship+ or RomanceLite huh

[fandomapocalypse]

Love and relationships in Hazbin Hotel

Episode 7 has something interesting and in the song that is called "Out for love" is sung by a character that is referring to a type of love different from a romantic or sexual one, Carmilla is openly talking about familial love. Vaggie of course relates this to her romantic feelings towards Charlie and how she wants to help her. But something else interesting happens in episode 7, Rosie is properly introduced as Alastor's bestie. This leads to showing another type of love: platonic love.

Now to the main point of this post: Alastor. It's canon that he is aroace and as an ace myself (I'm still questioning whether I'm aromantic or demiromantic but this post isn't about me lol) I'm extremely happy to see myself through him. Plus, the fact that the perfect Tumblr sexyman is aroace is genius and hilarious, you can't possibly top this type of humor.

Alastor for me has been a great ace representation and I've seen myself mainly in how he acts around his friends or other people.

When it comes to Niffty it looks more like a relationship between someone with their feral cat or their crazy little sister. But it's still a genuine connection and a fun chaotic one at that, he even lets her touch his hair and climb on him. In regards to Mimzy, he has shown he cares about her and welcomes her with open arms. He openly hugs her, which shocks everyone in the cast. This is extremely important because Alastor usually only starts physical contact to mock others or to pretend physical closeness as a manipulation tactic (like he often does with Charlie). When it comes to people he hates Alastor may touch them but will quickly wipe his hand on his clothes, like what he did with Lucifer. Personally, I don't like personal contact and only accept it if I start it and usually I use it as a way to show affection with close friends. Also, they have known each other since they were alive, so Mimzy probably knows a lot about Alastor that the rest of the cast doesn't. Mimzy also says that they used to dance together. But that doesn't exclude the fact that she uses Alastor's friendship and affection to save her own ass and taking into account how Husk reacted to Mimzy, this isn't the first time she does this. Also, the relationship between the two starts to crumble after what happened in episode 6 and Mimzy seems to be the kind of friend who will pretend that they are still on good terms and still ask Alastor for favors in the future.

Now jumping back to Alastor's true bestie: Rosie. They probably bonded at first over their cannibalistic natures but it's clear that it evolved beyond that. Personally, I don't ship Alastor with anyone, but when it comes to Rosie I headcanon they are in a QPR.

There are various reasons why this relationship is so great and wholesome, the first one being that there is no power imbalance, they are equals. Both are cannibalistic overlords and are on equal footing in terms of power. When Rosie first sees Alastor she is genuinely happy which is something new because most people react badly to him out of fear or hatred.

Alastor respects Rosie, he even compliments her, in her introduction he says she is "the most darling, delightful, and dangerous Overlord of this side of the pentagram". Considering how self-centered and narcissistic he can be, it means a lot. Alastor would rather die again than compliment another Overlord who isn't Zestial, which he respects but out of fear. Alastor respects Rosie as his close friend. When they stand next to each other they give an air of equals, something that never happens thanks to Alastor's ego and sadism towering over everyone else. With Rosie it's different and Rosie can openly tease Alastor with the "Look at you, so polite! Alastor you can learn a thing or two" when comparing him to Charlie when meeting her, or "I'm just kidding, I know you're an ace in the hole" to tease him about his asexuality. This is something that not a lot of people can do because Alastor is obsessed with control and respect. After all, we see how badly he reacted when Husk insulted him.

He also harmonizes with her, he willingly makes a duet with her in "Ready for this". He isn't interrupting her, instead, he agrees with her and they sing together in unison. This is the first time he doesn't openly hijack a song or fight for control over it, like he did with Vox and Lucifer (although this also happened because this is Charlie's song, but who cares the point still stands). Also, this is the first time we see him dance with someone, instead of forcing them to join his musical number (like he does with Charlie on various occasions). Alastor and Rosie are in perfect sync and it's so wholesome and precious to see him being so openly happy with her. Many have pointed out that the only times Alastor is genuinely smiling is when he is with Rosie and it shows by his expression in his eyes.

Finally, Rosie is the only one capable of bringing the most human emotions out of him, the most obvious one being confusion. In the scene of "ace in the hole" Rosie manages to confuse and surprise Alastor for a solid second, which is a huge change of his persona around everyone else of control and manipulation. Also, it's hilarious that Alastor doesn't know what being aroace is, he probably thinks he is above all that.

He is openly relaxed around Rosie and lets her touch him in an affectionate way, something that not even Mimzy can do. It may be because of the height difference but Mimzy only touches Alastor to hug him and to emphasize he is a "heartless son of a bitch" and Alastor clearly gets irritated by her touching him that way and even moves her finger away from him. This never happens with Rosie and he even welcomes her touching him by not having any walls with her. It's Rosie the one starting the physical contact and Alastor doesn't seem to mind and he never tries to use physical contact to take advantage of her like he does with other characters. Rosie is one of the few people who can touch Alastor without losing an arm and instead have a positive reaction out of him.

The most genuine relationship Alastor has is with Rosie, he even has the confidence and comfort to stop his elegant and reserved persona of not swearing. Which he only does when he is truly angry, like what happened with Lucifer. Or when he is threatening someone like he did with Adam. Or when he is shocked when his microphone breaks. He swears to insult Susan, which is someone they both despise equally. Something that you would only do with your closest bestie.

Finally, let's talk about Alastor's breakdown in the last episode. We've already seen that Alastor is capable of having friendships that aren't based on an end goal. Alastor knows this but he rejects it because he is at the hotel originally for selfish goals and doesn't want his emotions to get in the way. He is terrified of ruining his reputation as a sadistic killer and becoming an altruistic who cares about his friends. Alastor wants to stop himself from starting to care about the crew the same way he cares about Rosie, Mimzy, or Nifty to some degree. This is confirmed by his conversation with Niffty, where he admits he has grown accustomed to the main crew and perhaps he is growing feelings of affection towards them in his own way.

In regards to shipping him with Rosie, I see it as a platonic ship or a QPR. Some people have a headcanon that if they had known each other when they were alive they would have married for tax benefits and to avoid the social stigma, which is the only right answer. When they first met in hell they probably had dates in cannibal town where they ate human flesh while gossiping and trash-talked about the other overlords. Which is exactly what an ace person like myself wants from a close friendship.

As an ace, I really like Alastor not because he is the ultimate Tumblr sexyman or see him as hot but because he is an extremely fun character that I can relate to. I'm grateful for the crew and VA that take into account he is aroace and take seriously that aspect of his character. I don't mind that the aroace representation in Hazbn Hotel is a narcissistic psychopath, if you want a more wholesome ace representation you can check Todd in Bojack Horseman or Saiki in The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

I don't mind people shipping Alastor, after all, it's just people having fun, but you can't ignore that he is aroace and how this affects his relationships. So yeah have fun and respect and aroace community :)

ok thanks for hearing my rant bye

[brucewaynehater101]

In the tim hanahaki disease does tim change? If so how much? I feel like a lot of his morality comes from his emotions. Logically, he could see the reason in killing and see the benefits and cons and how some pros outweight the cons. Does blackmail and manipulation still work? Is he different? How so? Does yg still love him and does he love them back?

Hello ~ I've answered it a wee bit in this post, but let's go more in-depth!

When Tim loses his ability to feel, I initially characterized this as Tim's particular "Pit Madness" being a direct result of Ra's reviving a dead Tim. Important notes with this:

Pit Madness can decrease/dissolve/disappear

Tim could recover emotionally

Tim's hanahaki disease is being tempered by his Pit Madness

Basically, Tim is fighting poison with poison. If he allows the Pit Madness to consume him, he is incapable of feeling love or care for his loved ones. If he completely fights back the Pit Madness (which is exhausting), the hanahaki returns. It's a cruel battle, and the cure to his hanahaki would be feeling loved by his loved ones... Which leaves him vulnerable for either the P.M. or the flowers to act up. It's a vicious cycle.

At the start, Tim doesn't recognize that the Pit Madness is affecting him. He's not flying into fits of rage, he's not irrational, and he's not overtly violent. His ability to compartmentalize seems to have increased (which is wrong), but that's a good thing. He's not allowing his emotions to distract him or get in his way.

Yet, he's also struggling to laugh or bask in his loved ones' attention. He's just numb, and he's not even worried about how empty he feels.

He becomes similar to a machine only focused on its goal. He eats, sleeps, and continues to do vigilante work because he's supposed to. He knows he has to save people, but his perception of how starts to shift. He doesn't quite understand why killing the Joker, Scarecrow, Professor Pyg, etc. is considered a bad thing. From a purely logical standpoint, Arkham does not contain them. They escape and endanger people, which is counter to his goal of protecting them. He's has many many debates about murder while in P.M. state.

Emotional arguments do not work on him while he's P.M. It makes communicating with him infuriating because he seems to not care about other people. The other person would also have to be completely calm during the discussion (which is a shitty standard when discussing highly emotional subjects).

As far as YJ loving Tim, yes. It's hard at the beginning when they don't understand why Tim is acting the way that he is. When they figure it out, they are able to safely lower Tim's P.M. to a more manageable state. It took a ton of trial and error, but Tim will usually call them if he notices he's slipped into it again.

He for sure loves his loved ones when he's not in P.M. While he's in its thralls, however, he doesn't feel love for them. He still looks out and cares for them even if he isn't emotionally feeling it (you could add in a slightly possessive "they are mine" P.M. stuff for qpr if you'd like to bolster why Tim cares about them regardless).

[bloggingboutburgers]

hello! I was wondering about QPR relationships? Like how do you know if it's a crush or smth like a huge huge friend likeness thing? And like some examples(if its fine!) Thank you!

Sorry for the late reply! Hmmm... I've talked about it before on this tag, and I can only ever really talk about my own experience, but I'll try to give examples that are as concrete as possible that sorta clue me in on the fact that it's not romance from what I can understand of my own situation :

I don't feel jealousy or possessiveness when it comes to my partner and it's mutual. We like spending time together but we're perfectly alright with the other spending their time with another person without getting worried about it. It doesn't feel lonely either – it's just nice to know they're vibing.

In fact we're very much encouraging each other not to put each other at the dead center of our own lives. It would feel like too much if that was the case.

If it ends someday, it'll feel lonely, sure, but not world-shattering. Not any more world-shattering than a friendship ending at least – which yeah, granted, IS pretty world-shattering, but it wouldn't get worse than that, at least as far as I can imagine.

I never really felt extra nervous towards my partner personally, like no heart-beating-faster kinda thing or losing sleep over it.

We have some physical affection, with boundaries, and pet names, with boundaries, but one of our favorite things past that is chatting and bursting into laughter over something we find funny mutually.

When I call them "my" something, I always feel the urgent need to specify "just as a matter of speech, 'cus you're not mine, you don't belong to me".

Also some two cents from my partner @civiart who was the one bringing up the fact they had a squish on me, and that I feel might be more useful:

They can see themselves having key life events with me, like moving in together or whatnot, or traveling together or such, but they have trouble picturing ourselves in typical "romantic situations" for what it's worth. They say that was helpful in figuring that out for themselves, although it was a year-long process in their case.

It doesn't depend on orientation strictly, since anyone from any orientation can have a squish, and some people on the aromantic spectrum can feel romantic attraction depending on their place on the spectrum.

One last thing I very much agree with: it's a very personal thing and at the end no one can make that call but yourself. It's about what feels right to you and what it feels right to label yourself as – if it feels right to use a label to you in the first place!

[relaxxattack]

every time someone calls moirallegience just an alien qpr i wilt a lil like YEAH thats more or less the CLOSEST human thing but its also Literally Not That. like a qpr is fundanmentally not romantic and thats not even going into moirails whole Actual Purpose of calming ppl down. its just. aughhhhh pisses me off i see the confusion but, as aformentioned, aughhhhh

OH MY GOD THIS HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME TOO.... but i don't want to get petty at the people in my notes always saying "moirails are QPRs!" because in some ways that is the closest human thing so it's hard to be mad...

i think there's definitely some overlap in some ways. but NOT because moirallegiance and qprs are the same at all really, but INSTEAD because both relationships can be outside of popular human norms.

you know... like any relationship.

like the only reason the two really have overlap is because they are both committed emotional partnerships that aren't required to involve sex? that should be true for all romance, even if it's not the norm right now.

they're both just romances* that are unconventional to human norms, which makes people view them as the same thing when they're not.

i think the REAL issue here is that humans insist on using human words to understand things that are just, fundamentally, alien. can't we just appreciate alien romance for being... alien romance?

no, moirallegiance is not platonic, it's romantic. it's just romantic in a way you don't understand, is all. that doesn't invalidate that romance.

*in generalization, most QPRs are not romantic, because they are made up of aroaces who are life partners in a non-romantic way. however i want to disagree with you that none of them are romantic, because that is up to the partners in question.

[antimony-medusa]

This is verging on discourse, but I have to say, as someone aroace with the emphasis on the aro, it's a trifle disheartening to ever try to look for queerplatonic relationships that look like mine within this fandom. QPRs can cover a broad spectrum of experiences, and it always seems that within MCYT what a QPR looks like has calcified into this one depiction that is very close (but not actually crossing the line) to shipping, just without kissing or sex! With emotional connections that are very similar (but not quite) to romance, hitting many of the same beats. And that just doesn't reflect my experience at all. Personally, I have more fun reading about straight ahead romance than a qpr that hits almost all the same notes, but just doesn't quite go there, that never digs into an aro or ace experience that I recognize, and that is always what I seem to find when I go cruising the tags.

For one thing, QPRs are not just an ace thing, and they definitely don't have to be a sexless thing! You can be aroallo and in a QPR and have sex, or you can be ace and in a QPR and have sex for the sake of your partner, or just for fun! Sex is fun for a lot of ace people, including those in QPRs, and using QPR eternally to mean "sexless" cuts off a large swath of the population that DOES have sex, for whatever reason. And there are tons of ace people who are extremely fine with kissing, including people who are sex adverse, so using a QPR are a shorthand to mean "sexless and also kissless" is only depicting a very narrow slice of the experience.

And QPRs in practice often look very different from romance, including with people who are romance-adverse, and who don't want any of the trappings that normally come with romance (marriage, specific terms like "love" or "darling", metaphors or positioning like "half of my heart" or "soulmate"), and I just never get to see that. A QPR can be two people who sleep in seperate rooms co-parenting a kid! (Or more than two people!) A QPR can be people married together and sharing a bed and holding hands at the movies and calling each other "darling", or it can be people who signed legal paperwork together who call each other "bro", and those are BOTH valid QPRs. But I only ever get to see the one that looks so close to romance that it's alienating to me, while people tell me that I should be happy to be depicted. (I'm not depicted.)

And I'm also frustrated because I have read QPRs that are sharing all the same hallmarks-of-romance-but-no-sex that I would theoretically have a problem with, but they also ring as true to me because people actually talk about what the relationship is and isn't to them, and I go Yes! Not me but I am on a similar wavelength! But so many people just go "QPR" but never unpack the actual ace/aro/aroace experience, so again I'm left with something that is using all the romance and affection tropes that I've come to expect over decades of living in an amonormative society, just slapping a "but it's platonic" on it at the very end. Where's people making assumptions about your relationship that you have to consider whether to correct or not? Where's the inside jokes? Where's the intimacy negotiations and teasing each other about what you want in terms of touch+? Where's the doing life together in a non-romantic way? Where's the epic friendship? Where's the aro experience? (If we're mutuals, you probably write all of these things, and I'm not complaining about you, you're good.)

And it's hard to escape the feeling that at least some of these people are writing QPR because they're afraid of shipping, as I see the tags scroll endlessly by, not because they actually want to depict the a-spec experience.

Some of it is just people not used to writing affection outside of the romance tropes in our society, and some of it is that so many guestures of affection in our society get romance-coded when like, holding hands is not inherently romantic, I know. But sometimes, man, I want to tell people that it's okay to romantically ship, they don't have to keep it platonic, if they're going to write something that is so similar to shipping but has a giant "don't worry, these guys don't fuck" stamped on it.

I don't know, maybe there are even less people like me than I thought. Or maybe the people like me aren't writing fanfiction (lol).

I don't know. QPRs are more varied than they get depicted, and the a-spec experience is special to me and I wish it got written in its diversity. It's frustrating to see only ever one type of QPR, one that is exclusionary to me. I wish I could see the tag and not know exactly what that relationship looked like, or saw something that I felt was strongly influenced by what the characters are, instead of the same sort of sexless romance-lite every time.

[the-heart-of-a-monster]

i really really like how you’ve portrayed sonic and shadows relationship, its nice not to have a romance and to focus on the characters and their relationship to eachother - but also!! it feels inherently queer and i rlly rlly appreciate that

my best friend and i have a sort of undefined queer relationship (probably could b called a qpr, esp since my friend is on the aro/ace spectrum) and idk we’ve even been compared to sonic and shadow so its just really nice to see that non traditional but really important relationship be represented, thank you :]

(also, as a side note more specific to sonic, i am a sonadow shipper but i feel like ur one of the only ppl that get it….. like they have some sort of aro/ace relationship i feel it in my bones….)

yeeeeeees!!!!!! i'm doing this story for me, and by extension people like you ♥ sonadow aro/ace kings babey!!!!!!!!!

when all the others make them kiss and hold hands i make them race until they are out of breath falling over laughing while arguing about who won but they stare at the sky and its beautiful and they don't even know what theyre arguing about anymore because wow im glad you exist next to me right now

ahem. i get distracted

[anachronisticcrab]

I feel like all I do these days is get angry with my allo friends but I'm getting closer and closer to fucking screaming at them vro

Like. With characters that are very aroace coded. With characters that are very much not in a romantic relationship, very much in a qpr. They are nOT YOURS. KEEP YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF THEM WITH YOUR SHIT TAKES.

Also. Stop saying it's funny to call people sexless beings who cannot fuck and that's hilarious and humiliating for someone in front of your friend who is very openly aroace and sex repulsed????

Thirdly. Ik they love their partners, they want to be with them, but like. Fucking stop with Valentine's Day shit it's a month away, and if your friends who have supported you and cared for you and fucking kept you alive for the last year want to hang out with you on February 14th don't cancel on them to fuck your partner that you've known for two weeks.

ESPECIALLY when I told u how shit it makes me feel to have my friends out me second for their partners and act like I'm no longer important to them and you promised you wouldn't do that too. Babes I'm fucking pissed.

Just. Be a little more kind and respectful, y'know? Stop being dicks. And if ur gonna be a dick, don't pretend you won't be.

[clownhara]

is there like a jester ocs 101 i do wanna learn about them

Putting these under a read more because this might get long

My family :)

Edward Roberts-Rosales: I made too many jokes about this bastard being my dad and now he's my dad. High key wants to fuck plants. Evades taxes like no ones business. Kind of a shit guy but it's funny to watch him mess up everything so we keep him alive for that alone Max Rosales: My better dad. Can really do so fucking much better than Edward but he settled </3. Is a plant man. Likes baking. Is the dad that actually loves me. Heron Rosales: I don't do to much with her but I'm trying to do more. Max's trans sister. Wants Edward dead and honestly, we don't blame her. Average chronic pain haver tbh please get her some Ibuprofen. Boaty McBoatface: My brother who is a boat. Edwards favorite son, despite being terrified of being on boats after he was the sole survivor of a ship wreck. I fuckinh hate this thing

Project Moon adjacent ones

Despise Domek (Or just Des): Local Enkphalin hooked rat. Goes by it/they but people close to it can call them she/her. There are two remaining people who can call them she/her. Steals things from people it likes to keep a piece of them, so don't invite them to your house. Things WILL go missing. Says the phrase "Well it didn't kill me so I'm fine" way to god damn often. Ambrose Domek: Not actually related to Des at all his parents just stole Des's parents last name. We heart religious fanaticism to the point of self harm!!!!!! Has two boyfriends and has convinced himself neither of them like him. Him and Des are besties :) Keith: Real Jester-heads remember Keith. I made this bastard before Ruina came out and he keeps fucking staying relevant to whatever game is out. How does he do it. Lobcorp him is Geb and Myo's adopted son, a Rabbit, and had a complex where he's gotta prove himself 24/7 and ends up getting his leg ripped off. Ruina him is trying to find Gebura again after the whole Library situation happened, and is wildly distraught after learning Myo's whole deal. Limbus Keith is content, much older, runs a weapons shop, and is gay married to Heathcliff. Jesus Christ I made him before the new translation of Lopcorp happened I think HOW LONG HAS HE EXISTED WHAT THE FUCK

Damien Domek: Also not related to Des, just took it's last name because he liked it. They are qprs though. Also is broke as shit but mostly stays out of the Rat lifestyle by just old fashioned robbing people. Loves lying to people for fun and profit, but he is honestly a pretty nice guy. Minus the lying

Randos

Arlo: Disgusting rancid cyborg scientist who needs to bathe and touch grass. I adore him though. Ellie: Arlos little sibling. She/they user. Kills people for money and feeds the bodies to the eldritch horror that follows her around Hector: The eldritch horror that follows Ellie around. usually just looks like a dilf tbh its easier for Ellie to explain. Can't actually speak so he usually just talks telepathically while making a bunch of hums, chirps, and clicks to mimic speaking.

Oleander: Local unethical scientist that unethicaled a bit too hard when trying to revive his even worse older brother and turned off most of his emotions manually to avoid coping with the mental toil. Sad! Many such cases. Can't feel any emotions other then joy now. Kinda sucks but he certainly doesn't seem to upset about it :)

Simon: Oleadners brother. Kinda. Moreso a robot piloting Oleanders brothers body. Fucking hates Oleander but after Oleander lobotomized himself Simon begrudgingly takes care of him now. Despite his complicated feelings, he's wildly overprotective.

Cybel: A robot Oleander made! They are meant to gather as much information as they possibly can in case some horrible event happens that kills off humanity. is quite literally indestructible. Likes ice cream.

Octavius: I made this guy to be a danganrompa villain back in high school and I succeeded too well. I fucking hate this fake ass bitch

Tabb: This fucking guy. Trapped in a time loop but he doesn't know and its technically not a time loop. Met his (now) husband ages ago but died shortly after meeting him, so he revived Tabb, then the two got married, then Tabb died again so Halt (the husband) revived him again but he lost his memories then halt died and Tabb revived him the Tabb died again so Halt revived him but he lost all his memories so they dated again and got remarried then Tabb died again and you get the idea. Very nice guy, a bit anxious, perfectly normal minus the dying thing. If it wasn't for him losing all his memories and Halt tampering with shit so he was in love with him i uh. Don't think he'd actually like Halt all that much tbh

Halt: Just wants to be happy with his husband :(. Sad he unethicaled all over that science. Hey are you noticinga theme here. Also he's a cat boy but thats really not relevant to his depression issues

Urge: Halts kinda milfy twin sister. Really sick of all of this loop bullshit because she gets to watch her bestie Tabb die repeatedly, so she packed up her bags and left. Can't be in the same room as Halt without them getting into a fist fight. Do you see the themeing with their namesan d their ideals. Halt is kinda halted in place but Urge keeps pushing forward because she has the urgeto move on. Do you see it. It is almost 1 am

Russel: A kid that got roped into this whole mess because he walked in on a Tabb revival tube without permission. Sticks around Urge most of the time. Had a bad homelife to put it mildly, so Urge took him in.

Theres way more of these bastards but these are the most relevant ones. I am going to bed now. Goobnight

[tommyssupercoolblog]

Also unrelated to the last Dan and Phil post but do other phannies know about queerplatonic relationships. Do they know that there is not just romantic or platonic relationships but a secret third thing. Like if Dan and Phil aren't dating they also very well could be a secret third thing. The point of QPRs is that they upset the ideas of what relationships are "supposed" to be like and what's platonic or romantic, because like, anything romantic can be platonic and vice versa because relationships are defined by the people in them. (And also some people consider their attraction in itself to be neither or both)

Like even if they DO call each other pet names and want to live together forever in the same house, or even if they want to get married, that doesn't necessarily eliminate the possibility that their relationship is a secret third thing.

I think about this a lot when I'm in the Dan and Phil tag because I sometimes see people say the sort of "friends don't do that" talk that aromantic people especially (since they're more likely to be in or know about QPRs) complain about sometimes, and like. Jokes like that are common and easy but it does make me wonder how many people haven't stopped to consider that Dan and Phil could also...be a QPR.

You don't have to be in romantic love to be life partners, and some people prioritize friendship over romance in a way that even if they do experience romance it's so low-key to them that their friends live with them more or have more stake in their lives than partners. The priorities of your relationships, like the order of what's more important, can be different depending on who you are, and so can what those relationships look like.

I'm not saying I think they AREN'T dating persay, I mean like how would I know??!!! But there are more options than yes or no, like... "It depends on whichever is funnier" or "only on Tuesdays" or "Fun sexy little gray area" or "yes and no at the same time fuck you" or "neither, actually It's digorno". There are a rainbow of possibilities, AND shrimp colors or possibilities. The possibilities are phendless

[critter-genfic-events]

Hurt/Comfort Fic Recs!

This week, we have thirteen hurt/comfort fics recced! Some emotional hurt/comfort, some physical whump, and sometimes combinations of the two. Check them out under the cut, and as ever, comment or kudos if you like them!

those that crawl and flutter towards the sun by vietbluecoeur (vietbluefic) (6163,Not Rated) Warnings: Major Character Death, Very Mild Insect Imagery, Mortality and Discussions Thereof, Sad & Gentle Ending Pairings: Jester Lavorre & Essek Thelyss

Essek has always been warned not to touch the creatures, called the in’luthin, "insects" with a lifespan of three days, but what harm is there in just looking? And anyways, when has Essek ever been one to listen?

Reccer says: From the very first words, this fic has such a luxurious weight to it. Some of the Mighty Nein appear, but this is definitively a story between AroAce Essek and AroAce Jester as bittersweet as the tags imply, only less bitter and more longing, and definitely, definitely sweet.

Spit, elbow grease, and a whole lot of gold by Multifandom_damnation (2006,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Ashton Greymoore & Milo Krook

The Nobodies dump Ashton off on Milo's table, and Milo does his best to fix him

Reccer says: Milo voices all of my rage at Ashton's treatment wonderfully. The fic also does a great job of managing the actual process of fixing him, along with all of the emotions involved as well

Philia, Is That You? by Professor_Rye (2034,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Yasha & Mollymauk

Yasha gets hurt protecting Mollymauk from assholes, and the Mollymauk helps Yasha make sure she's actually okay

Reccer says: QPRs my beloved

Crowned Teeth (or, An Offering Revoked) by fruitzbat (130570,Mature) Warnings: Frank depictions of PTSD/galley slavery Pairings: Kingsley Tealeaf/Original Character

Kingsley is mutinied against and sold into slavery halfway across the world. He breaks out, finds out the mutiny was the inside job to end all inside jobs, and makes his survival everyone else's problem.

Reccer says: I really, really like the way that this series explores different kinds of hurt and trauma, and how those kinds of hurt affect people's relationships and self-image. The first and second fics in the series are the most direct about the subject, but the third has a lot about what it means to lose a parental figure and complicated grief/trauma response stuff that I found really refreshing. Characters are messy and non-linear in their healing, and do their best to take care of each other. There's a lot of...I don't know how to say this, but a very no-bullshit look at the concept of the power of love that is this through-thread through the stories. Anyway, I really like them.

Trust by silversky (403,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Caleb & Nott

Nott is sick and delirious, but thankfully there is someone there to make sure she's okay.

Reccer says: the fic is very soft and warm

Scar Tissue by Belphegor (0,Teen) Warnings: scars, canon-typical violence, reference to main character death (and resurrection) Pairings: Scanlan Shorthalt/Pike Trickfoot

Sometimes surviving means learning to live with the scars that killed you. Pike knows a lot about that. Scanlan is still learning. (a little comics set a bit post-Campaign 1.)

Reccer says: Author here - sorry, I usually don't shamelessly self-plug like that, but I set out to write and draw post-campaign 1 hurt/comfort dealing with Pike's and Scanlan's different resurrection-related traumas, and I poured my entire heart into it. (turns out making comics is hard but totally worth it.)

I've Held You in the Plan by CitizenMocha (4015,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Vex & Vax

After all is said and done with the Apogee Solstice and its aftermath, Vox Machina free Vax from the Malleus Key. The twins are reunited. Rest, reflection, and a revelation about what happens next ensue.

Reccer says: Vex's grief is palpable throughout the entire fic, even as--especially as, actually--she's reunited with Vax. It's a heartaching yet triumphant look at what might happen when the events of C3 are all said and done. There's so many little details woven in that serve to make it pack even more of a punch ("Vax Speed" does so many things to my heart) and the dynamic between all of Vox Machina is wonderful as well.

The Night is Starting to Ache by CitizenMocha (3872,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Gwendolyn De Rolo & Vax De Rolo & Percy De Rolo

Set after episode 76 of campaign 3. It's the middle of the night and Gwendolyn is afraid to sleep.

Reccer says: I loved this glimpse of an older Percy as a loving, indulgent father doing his best to comfort his child.

maybe then my breath could embody by lunarblazes (1331,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Caduceus & Calliope Clay

Calliope and Caduceus have a fun bonding moment about the fucked up shit that happens when you leave home

Reccer says: There's so many little details I love in this, it's perfectly in character, and I love their sibling not-quite-comforting each other dynamic

a garden in the stars by wanderingBasilisk (2264,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Caduceus & Fjord

Caduceus stays back on the Nein's spaceship while the others run errands on a space station. When Fjord gets overstimulated from the crowds there, Jester brings him back to the ship and to Cad, who knows just what his friend needs.

Reccer says: It's very atmospheric (the description of the garden on board the Nein Heroez is So Evocative) and the familiarity and care between Cad and Fjord is so lovely and sweet. The time they've spent together and the comfort of a well-worn routine is apparent throughout the whole fic and comes together in the sweetest way.

Canities Subita: An Exploration of Self-Image by oversteepedearlgrey (1760,Teen) Warnings: Choose not to warn Pairings: Percy & Vox Machina

Percy hates looking in the mirror. He keeps his hair short and out of his face. He can’t wear his glasses during haircuts, and he certainly can’t be the one cutting it. It takes a creek, a bear, and a panic attack to find out why.

Reccer says: Percy is wonderful for hurt comfort, but I love the way that this is handling something that is more emotionally distressing than physically painful.

A Pirate's Bounty of Gold Doubloons by bluegreenamber (1823,Mature) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence Pairings: Kingsley & Yussa

Kingsley hadn't been expecting any company today, especially not a powerful (and injured) elven wizard seeking refuge.

Reccer says: It's a really fun pairing!

Miles to Go by Crewe (3621,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

After a grueling battle, Vox Machina is hours away from the nearest cleric racing to get an unconscious Keyleth to Pike before poison takes its toll. Scanlan is hiding an injury to keep attention on Keyleth. It’s maybe a little worse than he expected.

Reccer says: Lovely fic where everyone is perfectly in-character, and the humour and tension are balanced just right, as are the worry and deflection (on both sides). Special mention to the Scanlan & Grog and Vex & Scanlan pairings, those add just the necessary acid-sweet icing on the h/c cake!

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

Next week, we'll be featuring Yasha!

Then, it'll be clothes, time skip/future fics, and pranks!

Any fics coming to mind?  Well, then use this form to submit!

If you're looking for some more, check out some fics written in the critter genfic bingo tag, or the older rec lists! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

[silverskye13]

... So Tanguish could possibly become the Saint of QPRs?

The idea of Tanguish being a Saint that folks in QPR relationships pray to is amazing to me. And it would fit his story arc -- a Saint is joined in lasting friendship by a knight and dear acolyte, and it is working with him, by him, and through him that his miracles are done. If he were a Saint in the more Catholic-leaning style, I feel like he would be a great Saint for QPR.

... however, Tanguish, the beloved character, isn't real. But this did get me thinking about actual, literal Catholic saints, so here I have compiled for you a couple that I, someone who isn't Catholic and who has no experience with Catholic ritual or customs outside of its few intersecting lines with Protestantism, would consider Saints of QPR, with the help of a book I bought recently because I like the idea of religion but not the actual practicing of it: A Saint A Day According to the Liturgical Calendar of the Church, compiled by Berchmans Bittle.

St. Raphael the Archangel; Feast Day, 24 October

St. Raphael is one of the [several] saints often recommended to people having trouble with, or looking for, lasting love. His main story involves Tobias, a young man on a journey to collect money owed to his father. During his journey, Raphael saves him from many harms both physical and spiritual, even going so far as to help Tobias marry the love of his life, a young woman afflicted by a demon who keeps killing her husbands. The way he combats this demon is by having the two stay celibate during the three days after their marriage, during which Raphael binds the demon and saves them. The emphasis in this part of the story is that lust and carnal love are what called the demon to the young woman, and so platonic love [and also the perfect Love of God] is what defeats it.

Even though this story does end with Tobias getting married and having a more traditional love, I think given Raphael's story involves so much intentional companionship, and given there is a heavy emphasis on the merits of platonic love as something that can help bind demons, I think he would be a great saint to pray to for help in QPR relationships, especially if it involves interceding in the relationship where you feel like you need growth in companionship, being an attentive partner attuned to the other person's needs.

St. John the Evangelist; Feast Day, 27 December

St. John the Evangelist! [Points in raised Protestant!] Hey! Hey! I know him! John was one of the Apostles [was there when Christ was around], "the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 21:7). I just, really like that the verse literally doesn't even call him John, it calls him "The disciple whom Jesus loved." Could you imagine being loved by someone so much, for a moment, your name is simply "the person they loved." I feel like there's some strong QPR vibes there. Bring with that the fact that, when Jesus was crucified, he declared to John that his mother, Mary, was now John's mother, and told Mary that John was now her son. Now, I'm sure there's a lot of biblical history you could add into the unpacking of that -- unfortunately I am not a biblical historian, and don't know how much Mary's life would have been impacted if she no longer had one of her sons to help her day-to-day. But even without that context, it is a mighty thing to love and trust someone so much, that as you are dying, you entrust the safety of your family to them. Not only that, but you declare they are your family, blood of your blood.

It is for this reason that John the Evangelist is already the patron saint of both friendship and love, but I feel like he is a very close parallel to QPR relationships. Would you trust your partner not just with yourself, but with the love and respect of your family as well? I would think so. I would hope so.

Saint Clare of Assisi; Feast Day, 12 August

Saint Clare was first led to Christ [and friardom] by Saint Francis of Assisi, and their stories are closely entwined because of this. Clare's story goes that she was betrothed to marry at the age of 12, but protested she wanted to wait until she was older when it would make more sense. During her wait, she heard Saint Francis preaching, and was so taken by his teaching that she decided to devote herself to God and have no other husband than Jesus Christ [if you don't know that much about Christianity in general, basically, everyone is Christ's bride, and after you die, you get to live with him in the perfect house he built you.] Anyway, Clare's family didn't approve of her decision, so in the dead of night, Clare sneaks out of the house and meets up with Saint Francis, who cuts her hair and dresses her in sackcloth, so she can live as a friar. After this she goes on to found her own abbey, where she is described as being humble and kind, always taking care of the sisters of her order, washing their feet and coming to them in the middle of the night when they're sick.

So, we're going to squint really hard at the very modern, Mulan-style queerness of "sneaking out of your disapproving family's house to cut your hair and temporarily live as a man." We're going to take that, hold it very close to us, and gently put it at the center of my little "web of QPR" I'm weaving around these Catholic Saints. What a way to put queer in QPR, even temporarily. Add to that the fact that Clare and Francis are bound up together as friends, so devout to each others' teachings they spearhead each other further in their fellowship with Christ. Then put on top of that the platonic love Clare shows to her sisters through acts of care and service, and I think Clare is a great contender for Saint of QPR.

That's it. That's the list.

Any Catholics following me that are still, by some miracle, reading this, I apologize if I in any way butchered your religion. That! Was not my intention! I admit I don't know the best way to be respectful, it's a culture I was raised adjacent to, not in. My closes approximation is my roommate, who is ex-catholic, who speaks with about this level of humor when I pin her down long enough to talk about saints. I think she would have fun with this little post -- but she is my friend, and and also, not Catholic anymore. I have seen her practice more Navajo spiritualism than I have seen her practice Catholicism.

So. Preemptive apologies. Feel free to rip me a new one.

However if you're Catholic or ex Catholic and you think this is either funny or in any way accurate, give me your thoughts I want them. I tried to do this with as little Googling as possible, because, book. The book is old, so my list of Saints is limited, and I'm sure other queer catholics have done much better takes and put them online somewhere.

[sals-corner]

Something a lot of people say to justify shipping Aromantic characters with other characters is that "Aromantics can still date", which yes, is true, and I'm glad that people acknowledge that. But I need people to also understand that there are also Aromantics who don't want to date, and that just because an Aromantic may want to date doesn't mean they suddenly act like how an Alloromantic does when seeking a relationship.

To make things even clearer, let me describe what Aromantic/Asexual means.

Aromantic/Asexual: Experiencing little to no romantic/sexual attraction and/or desire, the 'little' refers to having attraction that feels weak, and may also be indistinguishable from feeling it at all, this means that whilst someone could feel some attraction or desire, it doesn't mean that its felt the same way an Alloromantic feels attraction.

So with all that in mind I want to move onto the subject of discussion, Alastor from Hazbin Hotel, who is canonically Asexual AND Aromantic, a lot of the fandom says that it's not confirmed that Alastor is also Aromantic, however his voice actor has actually stated several times that Alastor is Aromantic, and had also done research on the Aromantic community to understand his character better. Throughout the entire show, Alastor has shown to be repulsed and avoidant of anything sexual and romantic. Rosie even calls Alastor an "Ace in the hole", which is a joke about him being Asexual, but because a lot of people don't know the difference between Asexual and Aromantic, especially when watching a show that is so hypersexual, this comment is made to show that Alastor is interested in none of that.

And sure you could argue that maybe you don't want to ship Alastor in a romantic way, maybe in a queerplatonic way, maybe you want to explore his dynamic with Lucifer and have them be in a QPR. But I need you to understand that you can't substitute romance for a qeerplatonic relationship and treat it the same as a romantic relationship, qprs aren't romance lite. And ALSO, not all Aromantics want Queerplatonic relationships either, Aplatonics exist.

Alastor is Asexual, and he's also Aromantic, he is openly romance repulsed, if you are going to ship him with a character, please just treat him like one, show how him being Aroace affects those relationships and what a relationship actually means to him as an Aroace.

[confused-disaster32]

Hi! So you can call this a rant or a vent or whatever I don't rlly care - I just wanted to put some of my opinions out there bc it is eating me inside out to keep my opinions on Alastor's sexuality and all of the discourse about him being shipped to myself.

Also i'd like to state that I'm writing this as someone who is aroace but has no actual wish to be in a romantic relationship and actually struggles to so much as picture what that's be like for myself. I would also like to state how I'm not speaking for the whole community and others will have different opinions to myself.

Firstly - aroace is a spectrum (as someone who is on the aroace spectrum btw) and I completely agree with ppl who say that it is a spectrum and shipping has always existed and you can't rlly stop an entire fandom. My only problem is when ppl completely ignore that he is aroace while doing this, bc to me it seems like there's so much potential to having him have to go through those types of emotions and to write him off as if he's completely allo not only can make some people feel unseen but also just isn't as fun.

Also I kind of believe that he'd possibly date someone for the entertainment - like even if he didn't exactly feel romantic attraction maybe he'd be willing to be around someone closely bc he might like the reactions he'd be getting. (example: he might've stayed in a relationship with Vox maybe not out of pure attraction but if he found out that affection could make the TV short-circuit? He'd be interested)

Adding to that, I personally do not actually ship him with anyone romantically due to his character + the fact that I am projecting my own distaste for romance on him but you do you ig.

Also, on the note of nsfw around him - sometimes you cannot stop a fandom, rule 34 exists and some people who are asexual sometimes may want to have sex and all of that stuff. Personally I think he'd probably be sex-repulsed due to the fact that he canonically has issues with being touched.

ALSO, i personally think that way too many people are brushing over the idea of putting Alastor in a QPR - like that would literally be so awesome.

Alastor x Rosie? Cute af (to me Rosie gives of aro vibes too, but more romance - favourable) like they're already besties and honestly I think that Rosie would defo help him figure out about his identity considering that he's quite obviously not all that sure about slang and stuff.

Vox x Alastor - It has the potential to be SO FUCKING FUN like, you get to experiment with how they feel for each other, maybe what Alastor's got going on bc he died before being aroace was rlly a thing and he'd be confused about how he felt about Vox for sure.

Lucifer x Alastor - I quite like it, ik that Lucifer is supposed to be with Lillith but she did take an extremely long hiatus on her family up in heaven so i think it's okay. Plus the idea of them bonding and becoming close due to Charlie is wonderful.

Even angel and Alastor - maybe after Val Angel doesn't want a super sexual relationship - maybe he's not all that interested in something purely romantic either and though I love huskerdust this would still be pretty cool.

Really all I'm saying is; be considerate. Incorporate the fact that Alastor is Aroace, even if you do ship him - in or out of QPRs - and ofc sometimes writing someone who is part of a group ur not in is difficult (coming from someone who often struggles in writing especially when it comes to romance) but taking a crack at it might actually turn out to be rlly cool.

But please don't ignore his aroace-ness, there's not a huge amount of aroace characters out there and acting like someone isn't can be annoying for ppl who want to find rep around their identity, esp if they haven't seen much before (I can relate and he was one of the first aroace characters I was introduced to after I found out what it meant).

So yeah, that's my piece.

[are-they-queerplatonic]

Do you see them as a QPR?

Reason to see them as a QPR under the cut:

"They are so. They are the male and female protagonists and, while there are jokes, they never canonically get together as a couple. They are actual besties, Joan moves to a different country because Sherlock is wanted by the US government for a murder he didnt commit, and the only reason he’s wanted is because he confessed to it because it was JOAN who was being investigated for a murder she didnt commit. Also they both call themselves “Two people who love eachother” and again, NEVER ENTER A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP. I love them so much.

Also they are both EXTREMELY ARO CODED. Sherlock never really shows any interest in romance outside of people that are extremely similar to him (read as: unless they also have autism like he does) and even then it feels more like him finding kinship in the few people in the world who are Like Him.

And Joan, at first, only dated guys who were in some way not alright (one was a sucky guy and the other was an addict), and when she starts dating a guy who is well adjusted and things are going WELL, she realizes she doesnt want to date him. Joan as a whole is a very nurturing character (not in a ‘female character is nice’ way) and clearly cares about the people around her, she was a sober companion when she met Sherlock. So I feel like the reason she dated guys with issues wasnt because ‘shes attracted to broken boys’ trope, it was a ‘due to past experiences, she wants someone to care for and help’. One of the biggest pieces of evidence to me is that she decides to adopt a child as a single mother. She went from Surgeon -> sober companion, she clearly loves and enjoys caring for people. I like to think the reason she disliked being a sober companion was because she wasnt challenging herself mentally enough, so she decided to become a detective with Sherlock full time.

Sorry this is so long I just love Joan Watson, I kiss her mwah mwah mwah"