#I don't need for it to be romantic it can be platonic also but. but. it doesn't seem there's any way It can happen anymore

[sheena-is-a-punk-rocker]

Aroace here who didn't figure it out until I was like 27, almost 28 and spent 2 and 1/2 years being absolutely miserable in a relationship where I felt broken, I just wanna repeat that you are NOT broken. My ex made me feel like everything that was wrong about the relationship was because I was bad at sex and didn't want to have it often enough, and it absolutely crushed me. I've only recently started crawling out of the hole with my current QPP

Please don't EVER feel like you need to have sex with someone or be in a relationship to be whole or "normal" or "accepted"

And on top of that, there are a shit ton of microlabels under the ace and aro umbrellas because there's so many different ways to be ace and/or aro! I thought I had no right to claim the asexual label because I masturbated and read smutty fanfiction. Turns out my microlabel is aegosexual!

There IS a place for you in this community, I promise. If you feel like the ace and/or aro label fits you, you belong!

Oh, and also, traditional romantic and/or sexual relationships aren't the only valid kinds of relationships. Queerplatonic relationships can be just as fulfilling and important and intense as any "traditional" relationship. Even just strictly platonic relationships can be just as fulfilling and important and intense as any "traditional" relationship

Okay, so ace discourse is going on. People are doubting themselves. In wake of that, I want to put here a list of things I wish I’d known when I first figured out I was asexual. Because when I first found out I was asexual and again when I figured out I was arospec I was terrified. So if you just recently figured out you’re aspec, ace, aro, arospec, or if you’ve known for a long time but the ace/aro discourse is making you doubt yourself, here are some things I wish someone had told me before I became confident in that part of my identity.

It is a real orientation.

Your hormones are most likely not out of whack, and even if they are that doesn’t make you any less asexual or aromantic.

You don’t have to have sex or be in a romantic relationship to be “normal”

You don’t have to abstain from sexual or romantic relationships to be ace or aro.

If you have split attraction and one of your attractions is solely to people of the other binary gender you still have a place in the queer community if you want it.

It’s okay to be confused and not even know what attraction is.

You are not heartless.

You are not broken.

You can’t be “fixed”

You don’t need to be “fixed”

Because like I said, you’re not broken.

Don’t force yourself into sexual or romantic situations you’re uncomfortable with in an attempt to seem “normal”. Just don’t do it.

Don’t put up with “you’ll find the right person” comments

Correctional rape is a thing and although it’s typically associated with lesbians and gays it happens with ace people too. Be careful.

If you’re twelve you’re not too young to be thinking about that, and if you’re eighty you’re not too old to be figuring it out.

If you want to be in a romantic relationship without sex then don’t stay with a partner that tells you that you’d have sex if you loved them.

When explaining things, be calm. I’ve found the majority of people will find it makes sense and are willing to learn. If they’re being a douchebag that’s when you get snappy. Not when people are just genuinely curious.

Don’t waste your time on aphobes on the internet or people that keep insisting that asexuality is just an orientation for people who don’t want sex or demisexuality just means you want to take it slow. They are wrong. Attraction or lack thereof is something out of your control and there are allosexual people that don’t like sex.

If you want to be really loud about your orientation that’s great.

If you want to keep your orientation on the down low that’s also great.

I know sometimes dealing with a world that constantly throws sex and romance at you is hard. You can do it.

It’s okay to be confused.

You’re not a freak.

You have a place in the LGBTQIA+ community. There’s a reason the long version has an A there.

Yes, people actually do feel attraction. They’re not all pretending or exaggerating, as much as it might seem like that.

You don’t have to be good at puns, but there will be a lot. Fair warning.

Being asexual or aspec is a beautiful thing.

Being aromantic or arospec is a beautiful thing.

The love you feel for your family and friends is not somehow inferior to romantic or sexual love.

You can be happy. Anyone that tells you that you can’t be happy without sex and/or romance is lying.

Embrace your pride flag. They’re all pretty cool. And there are a lot on the spectrums.

Your aro/ace headcanons are just as valid as the gay/lesbian/bi/pan headcanons.

Be aware of the alliance with the bi and pan people. They may seem like our complete opposites at first but they understand the erasure thing and are equally bad at puns.

[willbyerssecretlover]

Milevens want marriage because they don't know how to make sure their "love" is real

I've seen it several times and in many places, and milevens are EAGER for a s5 wedding. And I saw a post a few days ago where a byler was laughing at it, saying that milevens want them to have a wedding at 16, and have 10 kids, while us Bylers just want them to hold hands and kiss.

And this, again, I've realized is because of the hetero normativity. Of course it is, because what more can you ask for? They meet, they fall in love, they get married, and they have kids. That's the whole purpose of a relationship, and especially a woman's life. Eleven has been raised in a laboratory and has yet to discover who she is, but that doesn't matter. She doesn't know how social norms work or how to understand a relationship since she doesn't even know what her own limits, likes or dislikes are? What does it matter! Let's marry her off to the first man she knew!!

Their relationship is obviously falling apart, and what milevens need to prove right now is that they still love eachother. And of course a wedding is the best option, because it would "prove" that they are soooo in love with eachother that... They... Just... Break with the principal message of the show for... their love?... A breaking down, messy, lie-builded "love"?

We bylers just need Mike and Will to do small actions like holding hands or kissing to show to the general audience that they are in love with eachother, because there's a lot of media that explains it itself. Everybody knows that Will and Mike understand, support, and love eachother unconditionally, we just need to prove that that's romantic. (Which is kinda easy)

On the other hand, milevens have the general audience. They have Mike and El kissing, and making everything romantic. But they don't have intimate scenes, proof that they understand or support eachother at any moment. Of course El and Mike love eachother a LOT, but it's also obvious that they don't have the chemistry that byler has. Mike clearly doesn't understand El in a lot of aspects, and El doesn't understand Mike in other ones. Their best scenes are platonic because that's when they are more intimate, but when you take it to a romantic path, it's weird and uncomfortable.

They want mileven to get married because they don't know how to prove their love is still real and romantic, so they force it into a "permanent" state like building a family.

Or...

They don't understand the subtext behind Mike's speech, and they think him and El are okay now, so their next step is marriage.

They are just following hetero normative rules and forgetting the whole "Stranger things" message (being yourself even if it's weird for other people).

Kinda sad in my opinion.

[wafflexdguy]

Goob Headcanons!

It's the Goob! The Goobert Snoobert!!!!

Romantic/Platonic Headcanons featuring some angst! :D

--------------------------

Goob loves hugs, and this is very obvious when he hugs you a little bit more often than he does with other toons. It's almost always on sight with him; the second he sees you his arms go flying out in your general direction. He doesn't always hit his target and may accidentally grab another toon or visitor of Gardenview. 

Of course, when other toons comment on his behavior towards you, his response is almost always, "Oh yeah, I guess I have!" And doesn't really comment any further on that. In his mind, you always need a hug, no matter the time or place! 

Except for funerals.

Assuming Gardenview already closed down and your doing your whole 'Ichor machine' mission; Goob is always close by. Sometimes coincidentally, but also because he doesn't like the idea of a Twisted chasing you and not being able to be there to help by hugging you out of the way. Even if you have the situation handled by getting out of sight, and sometimes putting himself in danger in the process. Please tell him that putting himself in danger just for you isn't always the best idea. 

Visitors and Employees do comment on how you two are almost inseparable -Barring Scraps- because you're always around Goob or Goob and Scraps. Visitors find it cute while Employees find it confusing, considering that in my personal headcanon, you don't really meet each other in the show. 

Unless you want to meet each other in the show, then the Employees won't comment on it. 

Scraps adores your relationship towards Goob, romantic or not. The interactions you two have with each other are almost always fun to watch, barring Twisted chases. Sometimes she intentionally leaves you alone, saying she has to do something and then just watch you two do whatever, gushing over her brother getting along with you so well.

...

Of course, everything isn't always so dandy. 

For sakes of actually having headcanons here, Twisted Goob isn't immediately hostile to you, just more watching you, unable to determine if he should attack or not. If you run away he'll just opt for walking after you. Not exactly chasing, just walking after you. 

And he won't observe from a distance either, he'll be right there next to you while you extract a machine, sitting there silently while you're blissfully unaware of his presence. Once you're finished and see him, maybe you'll freak out, maybe you won't. Maybe your first instinct is to run, maybe it isn't. 

Either way, you have a follower for the entire floor, whether you like it or not. It's mostly down to him just feeling really safe around you. You'll notice that his expression when Twisted is one of either pain or sadness (maybe some anger) but whenever he's around you, he feels a lot more safer and calm, with instead of the sad expression, it's more neutral or in rare cases happy. Of course, the smile would be the same as Twisted Scraps or Toodles, but it's still a smile!

That's not to say that he won't attack other Toons; he will but usually he can be calmed down by just putting yourself in front of the Toon in question. It'll temporarily calm him down enough to where the Toon can escape, (Assuming it's not a shrimp that'll stay due to him saying "I HATE TWISTED HUGGERS!!!!") and everyone is happy.

Eventually when panic time kicks off and see's everyone else going towards the elevator, he'll notice you're heading there too and kind of panic, kind of not. He'll assume it's just normal and that you'll be back eventually. So he'll wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Maybe you can see where this is going. 

Much like Glisten, he'll have a breaking point if you encounter him too many times to the point where he'll just hug you and won't let go the next time you see him. A Toon will have to break you out of the not so restrictive prison by blowing a airhorn right next to him. 

My personal headcanon around it is that Twisted Goob really hates being alone, just like Glisten. Except unlike Glisten, he won't... y'know, kill you. So with Goob, there's a lot less risk of dying with him, assuming there isn't another Twisted around. His arms are good for hugging tightly but not really good for defending. 

Speaking of defending, for Twisted Goob, he'll grab the Twisted that's chasing you and just... Hug them. Allowing you time to escape and really pissing off the Twisted that he robbed of a hit or free kill. 

...

But back to when things were happy and dandy!

A lot of visitors love to just see you two interact and basically do fluffy things, cuddling, hugging, interacting and playing, it's all well and good for corporate! They're earning money, the visitors are earning adorable photos and you and Goob are happily interacting with each other!

You'll notice in the interactions post I've made that his Hug ability he's usually protective or really likes hugs. Of course, he'll do this randomly and this can get really awkward if you were in the middle of an extraction, causing a failed skill check promptly having Twisteds coming after both of you. He'll just awkwardly chuckle and apologize, to which you might forgive him. 

But in conclusion: For the fluffy parts of these headcanons, it's mostly you and Goob hugging and just having fun together. With the Angst parts of these headcanons, it's more or less Goob being a mix of protective and curious but also just self interested with him staying around you only so he can feel safe. 

But to clarify, the Twisted version of him does like to be around you more because he likes you more than doing it out of self interest.

[will80sbyers]

I kept getting nervous about how the GA would react to a byler endgame. Would they see it coming or would they think it’s out of nowhere or would they grow to root for it and I recently realized after looking at some comments that people mostly just want an answer that makes more sense than the one they are currently getting.

People just want something they can fully believe in without any questions. They are TOLD that Mike loves/wants El but they don’t see it and they’re getting tired of it or some people still find them cute together they just want Mike to fix his bad behavior so El isn’t upset. I think that a Byler endgame would show to those people that yes Mike can be lovely and attentive and romantic and be a good boyfriend—just not with El. Once people see that emotion and love from Mike, that they so desperately needed to see from him when he was with El, directed towards Will I think it will just click in their heads like, “OH! That’s why he was acting weird and defensive”. Once they see that El isn’t hurting without Mike and that she doesn’t blame him and that they do love each other just not in that way I think people will feel satisfied with the outcome or at least be like “Damn, I did not see that coming but it makes so much sense now that I see it”. I feel like Mike and Will are going to be so undeniably in love that even if people are on the fence about it they will still be more on board with it than M*elven because they will finally be able to see that love and desire they needed to see to believe in a relationship. They’ll be able to see how natural and genuine they are and that they just fit so well together as a couple. I feel like it’ll almost feel like an obvious progression to some people like they were always supposed to end up together because Mike’s feelings for Will aren’t brand new they are constant and are consistently getting stronger and stronger every season. Their relationship only feels weird or off when they hold back on those feelings out of obvious fear. Once Mike makes his feelings more outwardly known to the audience and they can finally be more open and honest with each other I think I’ll just feel like the right path for their characters. The only path that truly makes sense. Hopefully people will finally be able to sympathize with Mike and understand how much he was struggling and grow to love him again. I can definitely see the GA rooting for them throughout s5 in a —I-saw-absolutely-nothing-to-suggest-a-Mike-and-Will-pairing-from-prior-seasons-but-I’m-so-down-for-this-because-Mike-actually-seems-in-love-this-time-and-like-himself-again-and-Will-is-finally-happy—kind of way. Hopefully we get a good Mike and El friendship scene so people can see that they do need/love each other that it just got too complicated when they tried to make their platonic feelings romantic.

Then people can go back and watch the series again to find all of the clues and see that Mike’s focus has always been Will. Obviously everything will be easier to catch watching it all over again because they have the answers now. They’ll be able to compare Mike with El vs Mike with Will and see how it really was right under their noses the whole time.

Yeah, the only ones mad about it are gonna be melvins and homophobic people, I don't think Mike knows what he feels or that he was exactly conscious about it, I think he always felt weird/different about Will but didn't get it yet... and I don't think Mike has lied about anything, I think he had a crush on El when he was little and whatever "wrong" he did is mainly because he's 14... but I also think they have been building up to Byler since s1 through their friendship, it's easy to write it in the show as endgame because they have a solid base and Will is already in love with Mike! ❤️

[melina-mellow]

There's one thing to say you do not see Jinx in a romantic relationship because you hc her being aromantic or aroace. Those I can get behind. That's harmless fun.

It's a completely different thing to say that, you can't see Jinx in romantic relationships — or any loving relationship, even platonic ones— because of her mental illness. That she's not capable of loving anyone because she's "crazy" (And yes, I've seen people boil her down to just... "Crazy"... which is problematic and I don't think I need to explain why)

(Also the whole not thinking Jinx can't love people cause of TB is another can of worms that involves a lot of not so thinly veiled racism cause Ekko is a black character, but that's a tangent for another day.)

Mind you Jinx as a character is defined by love. Love for her sister, her best friend turned enemy, both her fathers... and lest we forget that she literally took in an orphan and provided her all the love she didn't always get herself.

Arcane is a show about love. The things that we do for love, both the good and the bad. The people we become because of love. And Jinx is not any different.

The love for her family with Vi and Vander. The co-dependent and toxic paternal love with Silco. The tragic, missed out love for Ekko that we literally see how things could have been for them, if their circumstances were different.

It's all a part of Jinx.

Jinx's tragedy is that she loves so much, and so deeply and by the end of the series she doesn't believe that people can love her back/shouldn't love her back, that her love for them is what hurts them.

And if she really is dead, then she died believing that she is unlovable, that Vi and Ekko should not love her, because loving her gets them hurt. That they'd be better off— happier— without her.

Which isn't true. We see the aftermath of her leaving them. We see Ekko alone at the end, mourning her. We see Vi lose a part of herself the moment she let's go.

Jinx loves so much. So forgive me if I get a little pissed off when her so called "fans" love to mischaracterize her as this unfeeling "manic pixie dream girl" Who sees Vi as her "possession" and who hates Ekko.

The Ekko part I specifically blame on the showrunners and writers.

God bless the animators did the best to convey their feelings with what little scraps the writers left behind.

The fact that you need to buy different versions of an art book to find out, that yes, Jinx does in fact have romantic feelings for Ekko, just as he does for her, that it wasn't just an AU Powder thing. Both versions of her love him.

It is just beyond baffling to me, cause the writers decided to cut them reconciling cause "it'd be a rehash" and then telling people to "use their imagination" It just pisses me off to no extent.

Tldr: Jinx is a character defined by love. People who say Jinx can't feel romantic or platonic love because of mental illness need to stfu. And the writers are shit for making Jinx die believing she was unlovable and that she's an obstacle to them being happy.

[ruleroftheimps]

Things that genuinely bugs me about some fics with the Vees that I need to get off my chest. No hate, just a bit of incoherent venting.

As a preface, I'm not necessarily saying any fic that uses any of the following stuff is inherently bad, I've seen a LOT of good fics that use these, but it just drives me crazy when it's all I see and it's very surface level.

For starters, Velvette.

Almost ANY time I see a fic with an abusive staticmoth relationship dynamic (The ones that are playing off of the Voxtagram posts- I have something to say about them too honestly), it's always something along the lines of 'Oh, Valentino's so cruel to poor Voxy, and Velvette's his only true friend, ahhh, they're so close'. Istg this drives me insane. I don't know if it's just the type of fics I read or what, but what about Velvette do you all think shows she's a nice person?? (I mean, the same can be said for Vox, but we're focused on the doll rn) I've seen people say they think she's the most likely to be redeemed of the Vees, and why?? What makes you say that?!?

Literally- If you want to be nitpicky, the only Vee we've seen that hasn't mistreated his employees is in fact Vox, which, his woobifiecation has a part later. But why does everybody make Velvette the nice one!?! I don't know, just, if you want to make Val abusive to Vox, make Velvette the same?? It makes more logical sense too, since Valentino and Vox have known each other for years, and they're close, but Val's still a piece of shit. So why is Velvette nice!? She actually, in canon, treats Vox... worse than Valentino does!? So why is she always portrayed as the 'nice one' in abusive Staticmoth fics?

Also, anybody who says they think she's the brains/backbone of the Vees!? No??We see her do one (1) smart thing, which is identify Carmilla Carmine's reaction, but like. Do we really think the Vees, who were very open about being a team, didn't talk about it beforehand like they did with Pentious?? And she clearly can't be bothered to deal with Valentino, so why do you believe her when she says she's the backbone?!

And Valentino, omg. Like, yes, his character is objectively shitty. Yes, he's Not a Good Person.

But why do so many fans (I'm big on Radiostatic, so I'm mostly talking about those fics) make Val the Big Bad in other Vox ships?!? Like, toxic Staticmoth is amazing, yes. But, outside of the now retconned Voxtagram posts, Val is never too horribly bad to Vox. In fact, they're really close. So WHY is it this hard to find a Vox x literally anybody else (platonic or romantic) where Val isn't a piece of shit to him. (And no, I'm not saying every fic is like that, just that a significant portion is.)

Vox. I swear.

Honestly, I can understand the woobiefication for him more than I can understand Velvette's or Valentino's... just, people removing all his good traits. He's portrayed as pathetic the most, he's the one with the most focus, he's actually, from what we've seen, the most decent of the Vees beyond his comment to Pentious. (Velvette makes love potion and verbally abuses her employees, while also not caring about them at all, Valentino's... Val, Vox does manipulate the masses and all that, but like, not in a way that's extremely bad compared to his business partners? Really, his worst crime atm is being an enabler and being horrible to Pentious.)

But why. Why must he be portrayed as so overtly pathetic? Like, I get it to some extent, and it's hilarious in fandom, but when people start thinking that he's that pathetic in canon, it rubs me the wrong way. Yes, he's my favorite and I'm biased, but like. He's not that pathetic people.

Tl;dr, Velvette being protrayed as a super nice person (to Vox, in fics where Valentino is portrayed as abusive) and the most decent/smartest Vee, Valentino having all his good traits removed, and Vox being treated as overtly pathetic drives me crazy. It's still fun to read sometimes, but when people say they think it's canon, I actually can't believe it.

[asmodeusamaryllis]

Praying to every single god out there that love trio is translated as that in the anime n we don't get stuck with something like 'super duper ultimate friendship trio'

[yardsards]

people love an "i'll take care of you" "it's rotten work" "not to me, not if it's you" character dynamic until the character who needs to be taken care of is disabled. then it's supposedly fucked up and toxic for a person to have to take care of someone else.

[itslilacmoon]

did i ever post these.... i drew them w/ my mousepad 3rd day of classes because i Luv 2 shipost

[cosmic-chelonian]

The fact that there are so many lore inconsistencies in Dr Who is sometimes a good thing actually because it means I feel justified in having headcanons that vastly and grossly contradict show canon. If the writers can ignore things they don't like why can't I.

[moiraimyths]

Before we call anon rude because let’s see it from their perspective, imagine getting an entire feast to eat. That can be pretty hard to start with so much that’s going on, but if they start with one thing they know they’ll like (aka one character they like) that can be the start for them leaping to other characters to finish the story and the bigger story. I struggle the same way to start book series if I don’t have at least one character that drives me to read it, it’s all about what can be the hook to push them through. Sounds like the anon is neurodivergent (just a guess) so they might genuinely not see it as rude and see it as a solution to even play the game to start with.

Btw absolutely adore the game, the complex and rich characters making them all so unique is amazing. The art is so pleasing to the eyes I love it!! I’m waiting for it all to get out at once so I don’t get too impatient. Shae however interests me the most, which routes will have the most lore for them? Will there be routes that give more lore in general based on decisions you make or do they all share the same amount? (I mean general lore not just Shae lore)

Apologies; we are not trying to accuse any asker of being rude! We are simply explaining our perspective as the developers / are trying to broadly encourage folks to dip their toes into other areas of the story outside of the main route(s) they're interested in, especially considering some routes will be made available sooner than others, and these other routes will likely contain additional scenes/lore of everyone's fave(s) regardless! We want to give each main cast member an equal amount of love (and lore) regardless of their overall popularity, so our goal is not to tut-tut anyone for having strong preferences for one character over the others, but rather to explain that you may be surprised by how much *more* you learn about your preferred characters in the other routes. That's all!

For Shae... Well, they were a foot soldier for one of the worst periods of the War. Lore wise, any other story that touches on the War will likely have content relevant to them and their experiences. ^^

[duriens]

did the show just.... butcher devil's minion completely??

I didn't mind Armand's characterization in the show so far (well, kind of, except the fact that they turned him into a supervillain vs. saint Lestat) but the sudden reveal that Daniel Molloy was turned by Armand "out of spite", leaving him all alone to fend for himself apparently, really put me off. so not only there is little to no chance that devil's minion ever happened in the 70s or 80s, but also it's not gonna happen in 2022? because Daniel has already been turned, and the turning of Daniel is the culmination of Armand's and Daniel's relationship arc together, one that is for sure unhealthy and codependent and obsessive, but that was also tender and sweet in a very special way - no wonder that chapter has been a fan favorite for so many for so long. and they just.... discarded it like that?

Daniel's a vampire, he's been turned out of spite, it's heavily hinted that it happened either immediately after Dubai or very little time later. I really doubt there has been time/interest to do any sort of chase, or one that culminates into the sort of feelings Armand and Daniel develop for each other, at least. Daniel destroyed Armand in the eyes of his lover and I really don't think there's any sort of love story brewing there. Doesn't seem it happened in the past either, cause there's not a single hint at the Alice theory in this episode and I thought that if it was true, we'd have another little crumb before the season was over.

What about Armand's line that making fledglings repulsed/repulses him? That was a really important piece of characterization and they didn't even let us see him work through that when turning Daniel. Book Armand sees the process as something worse than killing, and that is why he never did it. He finally concedes because of love for Daniel, however obsessive it is, because Daniel is begging him on his death bed, because he needs him forever and Daniel needs him, too. From repulsion to acceptance because of a pure, absolute sentiment. Show Armand turns Daniel Molloy because he's full of spite. Why would they take the 'Armand is a super villain and theres nothing else to him' route and give him a petty vedetta for that one act that is so important for him in the book, as a character? Why??

and why did they have the talamasca guy tell Daniel 'you should be scared of the other one' when literally they made Armand the dude who kills and turns Daniel, whereas Louis is his best friend?? It just doesn't make sense. There's quite a bit that doesn't make sense to me in this last episode. But I gotta admit, the treatment of Armand's and Daniel's characters has baffled me. even if I weren't a devil minion's fan or a fan of these two characters specifically, it would've rubbed me the wrong way.

I don't know. I guess we'll see what they do next; hoping that there is more to that event than a simple 'oh he turned u cause u ruined his life' and Armand fucking off into the sunset forever (not quite, lol). maybe we'll find out it was all an elaborate plot from Daniel who knew he was paying with fire and counted on Armand to be so mad he would do the one act he found repulsive: finally making a vampire. maybe that's it, and Daniel had decided at some point during the sessions that he didn't want to die, that he wanted the gift. maybe he never changed his mind about it since the 70s. maybe he played Armand. manipulating the manipulator? makes sense in a way, I guess, but boy is it a waste to not serve on a silver platter all those sad and tender and raw and odd feelings that the devil's minion chapter already had prepared for us.

[hephaestuscrew]

I'm still thinking about that scene in Victoriocity S3E7 where Fleet runs back towards the Beast so as to lure it into the path of the train...

Clara's exclamation of 'Teamwork, Fleet!' after Fleet says he's got a plan reflects her conviction that any plan that Fleet has will be a shared plan, something they do together.

This conviction is a kind of trust, and that trust is part of the reason Clara takes a moment to realise Fleet has headed back towards the Beast. She trusts that he's following behind her. She keeps talking to him, her words full of optimism.

When she realises Fleet isn't there, she immediately realises what that must mean he's done, and her voice sounds more small and scared than I think we've ever heard it before.

Fleet's attempt at self-sacrifice is a kind of betrayal of Clara's trust, but when he echoes her celebration of their teamwork in a more somber tone, I think it suggests that he understands the weight of that betrayal.

If Fleet's plan is that Clara won't realise he's gone until it's already too late, then he thinks "Teamwork, Clara" will be the last words he'll ever speak to her. In what he imagines will be their final conversation, Fleet affirms Clara's understanding of them as a team who work well together, even as he is making a choice that rejects the possibility of their teamwork in this scenario. It's a recognition of what their dynamic has meant. It's a goodbye and an apology, even if Clara doesn't understand it as such at first.

I don't think Fleet sounds scared as he initially faces down the train. When he shouts "Yeah, this way, you stupid machine! Come on then!", he sounds defiant and grimly determined.

In fact, I don't think he sounds afraid until Clara appears, until she might be at risk of being in the path of the Beast or the train as well. It's when he shouts "Clara, stay back for God's sake!" and "Please, get back!" that there's real fear and desperation in his voice. He can confront the idea of giving his own life, but not the idea that doing so might put Clara in danger.

Another thing about these lines is that the move from 'stay back' to 'get back' suggests that Clara didn't obey his first instruction but got closer to him (and therefore to the path of the Beast and the train) between those two lines.

Then Fleet gives what might be another attempt at his last words: "I'm sorry! I'm sorry."  A repeated apology before an attempted self-sacrifice is an implicit acknowledgement of how much losing him would hurt Clara. He regrets causing her pain.

Even so, he's accepted that he is about to die and that it'd be worth it to destroy the Beast. But Clara very much hasn't accepted either those things. She's still trying to yell over the noise of the train; she's pulling off her ring to throw at him.

I think it's a good illustration of how Clara's optimism is a kind of strength. She always believes that they can "make a new plan" and that it'll be one in which no one has to die. I think Archibald Fleet needs someone like that, someone who'll tell him to drop to the ground when his death advances from both sides, someone who - even in a dark tunnel with an murderous metal monster and a speeding train - won't stop shouting that there's hope.

[feyriejane]

yall don't know platonic yearning like I do 😤

[aroacewxs]

you can't ask me about my stance on ruikasa despite me being an avid polyshow truther and an unbearable wxs oshi without me talking your ear off like an annoying person because there are so many different aspects to ruikasa that affect how i understand and perceive them and Yeah two fictional characters and their relationship shouldn't have that many facets but guess what They Do and i am not fucking around. generally. i love them. i love them a lot. they're awesome. stupid. brains full of nothing but theatrics, hijinks, and shenanigans. unconventional as hell and they never waste a minute showing off how annoying they are. their love is sealed through an afternoon of juggling bowling pins on a unicycle and making trips to the moon by cannon. whether or not tsukasa is actually compliant in the matter bears no significance because at the end of the day they're weirdos who match each others' freak to a degree that is a hazard to the general public and how else would you want to be spending your saturday afternoon if not causing disturbances from mild to severe in shibuya.

but im also really susceptible to fanon versus canon discourse and people being objectively Wrong so part of my enjoying experience is spoiled because im reminded of how many people refuse to actually understand these guys and how many people are actually unbearable when it comes to preaching how much they hate the two . like okay i hate these guys too. who even gaf about yaoitron 3000 1 and 2. we are even. can we shake hands like polite people on the internet now for my own sake. And yours too honestly

and im ALSO a raging aromantic who has to bite their own tongue to stop themselves from bringing the "relationships in fiction should not be reduced to boxes of tropes and ideas and what we perceive to be romantic or platonic" talk to the shipping discourse that alloromantics don't really like . gets hit with a rock [the rock is people making chapter 8 of pandemonium all about tsukasa and centering rui's change as a person all around tsukasa despite tsukasa saying w his own mouth that rui only truly managed to change because he put his own mind to it]. like you have to understand both of them as separate characters, separate people apart from each other before you begin to understand how their relationship and dynamic works and once the cogs click into place you realize that there are so many more surfaces that "no platonic/hetero explanation for this" CANNOT cover and analyzing how they work becomes much more interesting and three dimensional. but i digress

[lycanr0t]

the thing about aplatonicism is that just like aromanticism and asexualism, it doesn't inherently mean you don't want friendships, every individual apl person has different needs and wants in regards to friendship and each person will go about it differently.

I for example am aplatonic and don't specifically feel platonic attraction as in, i don't feel a drive to befriend people. I don't get "friend crushes" or ever get the desire to befriend specific people. I am personally, very open to the possibility of friendship if someone else approaches me and we vibe. I am not platonically attracted to them, but I also do get enjoyment from socializing with others in that way and can become attached to them, etc. Platonic attraction does not equal caring about someone/being good to them. Attraction is not moral in that way. it just is.

Just like how some ace people still enjoy sex, even without sexual attraction. Some aplatonic people still enjoy friendship, and some don't. And that's okay! There are so many types of relationships out there that people can form and explore what makes them happiest and it looks different for every person and that's such a wonderful thing.