#I just srsly never once processed them as romantic

[fossilfan39]

I’m not ANTI zutara, because idgaf, but all the scenes that ppl reference that are meant to illustrate “tension” between them are so…tensionless to me. Physical intimacy isn’t inherently romantic TO ME

platonic life partners zutara is wired tho. Yeah they are always glued to each other yeah they talk about building a life together yeah they sleep in the same bed….but that’s just zuko’s girl best friend

[ayuki-ikuya]

Dorms and Archons

Twisted Wonderland x Genshin Impact

Part 2 of 2

Part 1

Dendro Archon

The Recluse Scholar

𝓚𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓶 𝓐𝓵-𝓐𝓼𝓲𝓶

Kalim was excited to have a new friend! Oh the parties they'd have! The fun! The food!

When he met you, you were... distant. Did he do something wrong? Did he upset you?

He really did try to find out what he did wrong, and often sent you invitations (Malleus eyeing the invitations) you some of the parties he makes, but you don't show up nor reply, making him sadden.

Jamil low key face palming

During a normal sunny day at school, he and Jamil headed to the library to grab some books, and during the process, he found you, tucked in a corner with mountains, upon mountains of books around you, and you? You were reading.

"Ah? S/o??"

"HEEEEK!!!!"

he startled you so badly that plants from outside grew. which of course caused a commotion.

Kalim apologised for startling you, but he asked a question about your attendance, your reply was to fiddle with your sleeves before answering with a small voice that you were afraid of people despite being a deity.

Kalim immedietly thought of Idia, but he crossed the line of no return, but Kalim smiled warmly, held your hand, making you choke, and said a more softer voice that he'd throw a smaller party, just the three of them. (Don't tell me you forgot Jamil, HE MAKES THE DANG FOOD)

You accepted.

Several parties later, you two were unsurprisingly in love with each other that the students of NRC were rolling their eyes at the moments the two shared. COULD YOU TWO DATE ALREADY!?!?

When you two started dating, Kalim made a celebration, but kept you in a more secluded section, that way you could be apart of it, but not near a large crowd of people. And you were thankful for it.

As a couple, Kalim practically adores you. And he's super affectionate too! Jalim is glad to have someone more tameable and it also makes it easier to locate Kalim if he ever goes off by himself.

𝓙𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵 𝓥𝓲𝓹𝓮𝓻

He thought nothing of you at first.

Until you had full scores on everything.

He had requested you to help with Scarabia's studying, in offer of full meals, which you complied with due to living in a run down dorm and doesn't have a lot of money to support themselves with.

However, the study group went wrong due to the amount of people.

Jamil then figured that you didn't work too well with large numbers of people, and he found that you were slightly dependent on him when it comes to speaking.

He ended up planning smaller groups, working on those who had the worst grades then up.

And thanks to you, their dorm gradually got better.

Jamil spent time with you whenever he was free from following Kalim, and he was fairly fond of you.

You were soft, very soft, but highly reliable in terms of knowledge. So he'd often vent to you which is surprising.

But your presence and advice helped him grow better.

Jamil fell for you when he found you smiling at a Scarabia student showing you their improved grade, you looked like a warm hearted maternal parent, and his heart skipped at the sight.

When you two began dating, it was a bit rocky due to Jamil's family duty to serve the Al-Asim family. But Kalim was very kind to allow Jamil more free time, in exchange that he brings you over for more study parties!

You figured since Kalim wasn't fond of studying and more for partying, that you'd make a study party which improved Kalim's grade by ten folds. Jalim practically wept tears that the seven sent him this angel.

Geo Archon

The Consultant

𝓐𝔃𝓾𝓵 𝓐𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓸

Azul was greedy for the power you possibly possess. and your money.

Azul underestimated you since he witnessed your lack of brains in terms of money. You forget about having your wallet on you, and whenever someone offers to pay for you, you attempt to buy everything without a single thought.

This was going to be an easy contract, Azul thought. They're an idiot, Azul thought. They can't complete this contract, Azul thought.

"I've completed my end of the contract. Now you must do yours."

"Huh? Nani?"

Azul was stupefied by this, he whipped his head towards the Leech twins, both begrudgingly nodding their heads in confirmation at the archon completing their conditions of the contract.

Azul had tried to change the details of the contract, you of course allowed it the first time.

But when you returned with the conditions once again completed, Azul tried to add more.

However, you weren't having it.

You stood up and leaned down to Azul, towering over him. A sudden pressure weighed the three mercreatures, it was heavy and foreboding. Your eyes glowed a gold with the amber ombre in your hair glowing gold as well.

"I was lenient to allow you the first time. Either fulfill your end of the deal or break the contract. But if you break the contract, you will suffer the wrath of the rock."

Azul was terrified.

When Azul fell for you, he questioned himself. How in the seven did he fall for a person like YOU!? He will never remember how, but all he knows is that he's in waaay to deep.

When you two became a couple, you were far more charasmatic and charming than before, it was like it was turned up a notch. Or two. or more...

The contract loving couple have been making more money than ever thanks to the Geo Archon, the avatar of contracts. It's either fill the conditions or suffer the wrath of the rock. Or just, don't make a contract. Simple.

But then we got the one brain cell trio doing their dumb sh**.

𝓙𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓛𝓮𝓮𝓬𝓱

Oya?

What an intriguing being.

Jade was the first to be interested in you. But he couldn't exactly find you that well since you practically mixed with the crowd a little too well than he'd like. [Bro, Zhongli and Venti has statues of themselves around Liyue and Mondstaft, AND NO ONE MANAGES TO THINK "hmmm.. You know, he looks like one that statue there.. Wait a minute-" LIKE, SRSLY!!! Venti is more obvious, I can understand Zhongli since he wears more funeral consultant clothing, but he still somehow blends in with the crowd. Unlike a Lil wind spirit.]

But when the moment came where you made a contract, Jade was more than happy to hinder you, only for you to complete the conditions before he could figure out your plan.

"... What?"

["OSMANTHUS WI-"]

After that fiasco with you giving a very large heavy warning, Jade was by your side whenever he wasn't with Floyd, questioning your knowledge, in which you were more than happy enough to comply.

Jade fell for you when you showed how competent you were unlike the other miserable guppies in school. Sure you had a few problems, but nothing with a little Jade there and everything is perfect. He also favored your knowledge, specially about fungi.

When you two became a couple, it was.. Strange to say, a air headed but scary consultant with a sadistically calm eelman? That's ringing bells for everyone.

𝓕𝓵𝓸𝔂𝓭𝓮 𝓛𝓮𝓮𝓬𝓱

Floyd had zero, zip, non, 100% no interest in you. Why? You looks, sound and seem boring. And he stand corrected.

it was later when you completed the conditions, which, not gonna lie, spooked Floyd.

"Hah?"

Later, he began to go after you like he did with Goldfish (Riddle), and when he tried to squeeze you, he found himself squeezing a shield instead.

He found himself utterly thrilled and had did several attempts at you, which failed.

His interest in you and your abilities heightened.

Then your relationship bloomed.

It was hard to say if it was romantic or platonic, but either way, Floyd was perfectly happy. Happy to have a partner who continues to show things or tell him things about their world.

As long as Floyd kept out of trouble and/or content, Jade and Azul didn't say question their relationship.

Pyro Archon

The Warlord

𝓛𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓪 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓪𝓻

Who are you? What are you? Why are you here? What are you doing? Get out.

Leona didn't care for you, not one single bit. Until you messed with his sleep schedule due to your chaoticness.

Whenever your around, you just bring trouble with you. And he doesn't like it one bit.

And when you bring trouble, you bring noise.

Which officially ruins his nap times.

However, Leona praises and respects your prowess in battle. You always gave it your all, which he liked. You weren't holding back, which allowed him to gauge how powerful you were as a deity with or without your element.

As it turns out, you're stronger than what you make yourself out to be, but what catches Leona's attention the most, was how calculating you were. It was as if you were analyzing him

To be honest, he felt violated.

At most times, you're energetic, but when your quiet or serious, it's either pack your sh** and leave or get out of their way.

Because when your either if those, you will either send someone to the nurse with severe casualties or some of the schools property will be destroyed. And of course, there is a justified reason for this.

Other than to make Crowley very upset of course.

Leona fell for you with your strength. He loves a woman who can lead and he could just relax. Unless it comes to some other type of leadership, like in the bedroom, then that will change. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

These two are dangerous as a couple when Leona's awake and active. And when Leona's on the move, expect a gremlin to be tailing after him, and be sure to clear out of their way. Mercy didn't in their vocabulary.

𝓡𝓾𝓰𝓰𝓲𝓮 𝓑𝓾𝓬𝓬𝓱𝓲

Huh? Do I know you? No? Goodbye.

Ruggie, quite literally, didn't give a rats ass about you.

To him, you were like any other beast man, rowdy and rough, other than your form that is.

But thankfully, you knew how to take care of yourself. Less work for Ruggie. I guess.

Not only that you knew how to cook. That was a god sent gift to Ruggie. Sadly though, you only know how to make mostly meat dishes. If it contains vegetables, expect the veggies to be over seasoned.

Leona was scared when he saw you in the kitchen, only to calm down seeing you being calm and not rowdy.

Ruggie fell for your cooking. He is literally the term "To get to a mans heart, you go through their stomach". although you should work on cooking vegetables better for a more healthier lifestyle.

𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓗𝓸𝔀𝓵

Strong? Strong.

You two are 100% besties.

You two are glued to the hip whenever you guys are free or share classes.

You both like to exercise and spar, so you two mostly go for each other.

To say the least, Jack mostly saw you as a sibling. Sorry, no romance.

Jack often scolds you for not eating more vegetables.

Which makes you pout and huff.

Cute lil tyke - Leona

Hydro Archon

The Judge

𝓡𝓲𝓭𝓭𝓵𝓮 𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼

Nice, another rule setter like me. We're gonna be great friends.

"Explain why two cubes of sugar should be in a lemon tea? It's blasphemy."

I see you have chosen violence 😌

Riddle at first liked you, until you learned about the rules of the Queen of Hearts, did he start to hate you.

"BE QUIET OR IT'S OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

He loathed you.

He thought that since your a judge, you'd understand the rules, much like him. But no, you judged the rules as well, evaluating if they are fair or not.

Whenever you call out on the rules that appeared ridiculously stupid to have (like the two sugar cubes in lemon tea. That's bs to you.)

After the overblot, you were more nicer when he changed.

He stand corrected.

But he didn't mind it, he low key enjoyed arguing with you, without him screaming at you of course.

You two as a couple sends fear in everyone. A judge and a tyrant? That's a deadly combo.

𝓣𝓻𝓮𝔂 𝓒𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻

Trey had taken a liking to you, seeing how similar you are to Riddle.

He enjoyed answering your questions about rules, but if there were rules he can't remember, he'd look at them with you to not only answer your question, but to commit them to memory in case.

What he's scared of is when you give trials regarding about incidents. Riddle would present his case then the 'innocent' or innocent would present theirs.

If the person is guilty, you ensure punishment, because like Riddle, you detest rule breakers unless in reason. You didn't mind them bending the rules as long as it doesn't break.

Trey is envious of your abilities, but you reassure him the his Doodle Suit is superior if you can use it against others magic.

You often praised him as well.

You admitted to thinking about a scenario of if Trey was born in Tevyat, he'd receive a hydro vision.

He flushed in response, secretly happy to have caught your attention.

You two as a couple puts everyone, minus Riddle because it's you, at ease.

𝓒𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓭

#ohmyseveniminlove #calltheambulance #loveatfirstsight #goddescendingfromheaven #pinchme #PLSNOTICEMEANDLOVEME #foryoupage

He practically fell for you.

To him, you were perfect.

"You have flaws? I only see perfection!"

He's a smooth talker, albeit feminine due to having a lot of sisters, but smooth nonetheless.

He's a simp for you, willing to use his unique magic to do anything and everything for you.

Literally fell at first sight of you.

As a couple, Cater often takes couple photos with you, at first you were content with the pictures, but at this point they kinda peeved her when he takes pictures on every occasion.

"Smiiiile~"

"Cater, I love you, but please, stop."

"If you give me a kiss I might~"

𝓓𝓮𝓾𝓬𝓮 𝓢𝓹𝓪𝓭𝓮

You're his role model.

Literally the Geno to your Saitama.

He carries a notebook with him to take notes on you since he strives to be like you. A model being.

Even if he looks smart, he still has a split braincell between Ace and Grim.

Don't hold it against him if he's trying to know almost EVERYTHING about you.

More platonic than romantic.

𝓐𝓬𝓮 𝓣𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓸𝓵𝓪

Complete opposites.

And completely disliked each other.

You rubbed him the wrong way, maybe it was because you were more justified than him, better at things than he was.

He didn't know what, it was just you being better than him. He understands he's not smart, because he foes dumb sh** with the other two.

But whenever you have to deal with their messes on their own, he feels irritated.

He often tries to get after you as well.

"Oh wow, such a god you are. Pathetic."

*cue angry archon noises with an 8 feet tall wave behind them, ready to flood Ace's ass.*

Yeah, your relationship is very... Rocky and slightly concerning.

Here's part 2! I'm happy that you read this! I will have a link to the first part after connecting the links to certain parts. Feel free to request or refer to the main master list pinned on my blog if you wish to see other choices to make! Happy reading!

[charkyzombicorn]

What did I walk in on?? Part 2

Kiribakudeku soulmate au

Part one HERE

Eijirou tried to work out the situation, he really did. From what Izuku and Katsuki would tell him, the two have known eachother since they were toddlers. He also knew that Izuku never looked him in the eye when he talked about Katsuki and Katsuki didn't seem to like Izuku.

All in all, it was a Mina-approved shitshow.

Without really knowing what to do, he tried to make friends. He unconsciously gravitated toward Katsuki, though, Izuku didn't really talk much and what he did say was nervous and second-guessing. By the end of the day, he had acquired a nickname from his soulmate. 'Shitty hair' wasn't exactly peak romantic but he guessed it was better than Deku, or maybe Deku had a good meaning, seeing as Uraraka started calling him that.

He started calling Katsuki 'Bakubro', and seeing as he wasn't exploded, he thought it was an acceptable nickname.

Day two was...interesting, to say te least.

Training was a heroes vs villains exercise, and Eijirou got a sinking feeling in his gut when he saw his two soulmate's names on opposite teams, pitted against eachother. He shifted uncomfortably at the glare Katsuki shot at Izuku before they went out of the observatory into their respective positions.

Katsuki was definitely bull-headish during the test, he completely ignored Iida and went straight to attack Izuku. Katsuki looked so pissed, his glare made half the students shiver, even through the screen.

It seemed Izuku had a plan, though. He was almost mesmerized as Izuku led Katsuki around like a bull tamer, flawlessly getting Uraraka to go for the real goal.

"HOW LONG?!" Katsuki snarled, slamming open the door to yet another room. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING ME?!" Izuku tripped a bit, catching himself but being cornered by Katsuki. "NO ONE JUST GETS A QUIRK AT 15!" He growled, a hostile look in his eyes as he poised his hands to fuel his explosions. And Katsuki swung at Izuku.

And Izuku grabbed him, flipping him in one fluid movement until he lied on his back, winded. Kirishima had to say, that was one of the manliest things he'd ever seen. The fight after that was brutal, and a small part of Eijirou was bothered by how Izuku barely reacted to the burns that were wracking up.

The grand finale left everyone speechless. The high-tech cameras perfectly capturing the horrendous third-degree burns and severe bruising on the boy's broken arms.

Katsuki looked about as terrified as Eijirou felt. Izuku was carried out in a stretcher on the second day of school.

A week had passed since then, and everyone was pretty much acting normally again. The only problem was that Eiji couldn't look his shorter soulmate in the eye. Every time he saw those wide green eyes all he thought was how easily he had broken himself over the most trivial training exercise. He had nightmares about Izuku dying trying to save people, which, from what little Eiji had come to know of his green-haired soulmate, would most likely actually be how he would die.

He went to his dorm (because srsly dorms should have been implemented earlier) and tried not to think about it too much.

He woke up at 2:32am to a knocking on his door. He quickly got out of his bed, opening the door to reveal a surprising head of sandy blonde hair. Katsuki's entire body was tense, his knuckles white and his hair covering his eyes, he just stood there.

"Bakubro?" He quickly whipped the sleep out of his eyes.

"We're soulmates." It was a statement, and Eiji simply nodded. "Deku's your soulmate too." The redhead pursed his lips a little. "Yeah, he's our soulmate." Katsuki tensed a little further.

"So you know how fucked up that was, during the training exercise a week ago." Eijirou sighed in relief, finally having someone say it out loud. "Yeah, how the hell did he get so tolerant to burns?" He asked, and Katsuki seemed to almost curl in on himself, before inviting himself in.

Eiji awkwardly shut the door before turning back to Katsuki, who was sitting on the floor leaning on the side of his bed. His eyes were still on the floor, and his knees were pulled toward himself.

"Do something." The blonde demanded weakly, his voice less sharp that Eiji had ever heard it in the week and a half he'd known him. "What should I do?" The redhead asked softly, trying to set up some boundaries before trying to comfort him.

"I don't fucking know!" He raised his voice, it was gravelly and he sounded like he was about ready to cry. "My parents are soulmates and my dad always helps mom when she's like this, so just work your soulmate magic or something!" His voice was cracking and he clutched his legs closer to himself. Eiji nodded and sat next to the blonde.

"I'm sorry, but I need to know what's wrong so I can try to fix it, bro." He said gently. Katsuki sniffled. "You know, if you didn't say 'bro' all the time, you'd soul just like the old man. It's weird." Eijirou let out a hum but didn't say anything.

"...deku." Katsuki growled, answering Eijirou's question and making him wilt a bit. He never did understand their relationship.

"He almost fucking listened to me, if it weren't for him-" he cut himself off, glaring at the floor like it was the wood's fault. "We've known eachother for as long as I can remember. The nerd followed me around like a lost puppy, and when we figured out we were soulmates..." he let out a small chuckle, a hollow one. "...we argued over who would wear the dress when we got married." Scarlet met crimson. "We decided on you wearing the dress."

Katsuki whent back to burning a hole into a spot on the ground with his eyes. "I'm a fucking idiot." He muttered. Eijirou would have argued, but he wanted to hear everything Katsuki had to say.

"I fell in a pond once, we were walking on a log to get over it and I fell. It hurt, all the gravel and shit, but the extras following me just laughed so I laughed with them." His knuckles turned white gripping his pants. "But deku, he fucking climbed down to the pod to make sure I was okay. I smacked his hand away, I thought he was looking down at me, so I yelled at him until he cried." He but his lip.

"He still followed me around though, looking at me like I was amazing even when I yelled at him, cussed him out, pushed him around, he'd always pick himself back up and start following me again."

"Middleschool and he was still following me sometimes, even though I'd kick the shit out of him if I saw him." Eiji couldn't help the sharp intake of breath. "I told him I hoped you were better than my other soulmate, and that he'd better not get in the way. Now deku can't even look at you without those big sad puppy eyes because I'm a fucking idiot." His voice got a little louder at the end.

"He always did everything I fucking said because piece of shit thought no one else would love him like he deserves!" He'd uncurled himself at this point, still glaring at the same spot on the floor. "I knew he did everything I told him, why did I tell him to swan dive off the fucking roof!!?!!!" He was yelling at this point, tears streaming down his clenched jaw and onto the floor. Eijirou was stunned into silence.

"He almost did it to, said so himself. But he didn't." The anger had fizzled into horse whimpers. "He didn't because I was fucking in trouble. If he didn't help me get that breath of air out of the slime fucker, I could have died, I would have died." His whole face was scrunched in so many different emotions before settling on anger.

"Then he gets a quirk a decade late?! Was he lying to me?! And then that bullshit during the training and he breaks both his arms for no fucking reason, like he's disposable." He gripps his hands into his already messy hair. "It's all my fault he's quiet and nervous and self-destructive, but here I am whining to the soulmate I tried to take from him."

Eijirou would process that truth bomb later, at that moment, Katsuki needed a hug and Eiji was but a humble supplier. He wrapped his arms around the blonde, and to his surprise, Katsuki melted immediately.

The blonde gripped onto the back of Eijirou's shirt and buried his face in his chest until he fell asleep from the emotional workout. Eiji, weak to cuddles, also fell asleep soon after.

[tumblunni]

I dont understand why wishshipping isnt more popular, like honestly it has the most shippy moments in canon and theres even literally a scene where yugi says "joey i love you" and the anime dub cut it but the manga dub kept it and there was even an interview with the dubber talking about how the line absolutely definately was a thing that really existed in japanese and how important it was to keep it in the translation. Like in context its supposed to be a probably platonic "youre my most important person" thing but the language used is something very close to a romantic confession in japanese even if it wasnt intended to be one. And the early chapters actually had A LOT of moments of like..outright gay jokes about joey and yugi. Again, this is a series that doesnt exactly have ant positive lgbt rep and is terrible and sexist with its straight romance so its VERY unlikely they were canonically meant to be bisexual and canonically having shipping BUT there are a lot of moments that are huge shipping potential AND even literal 'lol look he gay' dialogue. Just like..in a negative 'funny' sense.

And just seriously yugi is so important to jonouchi, the anime cut down their backstory a lot but it was REALLY EMOTIONAL in the manga! Jounouchi used to be a sort of nihilistic bully who just did whatever he wanted because he needed to find some form of fun/outlet for his anger to deal with living in poverty, never seeing his sister, and his dad being an abusive parent. And him and yugi met when jou outright bullied yugi, it was so friggin uncomfortable and sad to be thrown into that as a first chapter when i was so used to him being such a supportive friend. He was just an immature bastard who made fun of the 'weird kid' and said it was because he couldnt stand looking at someone who seemed like..sensitive and honest about his feelings. It was a surprisingly complex motivation for how a not actually very bad dude would become a bully to a dude he like..actually admired and was jealous of, and he was just so wrapped up in his own pain without the words to really articulate why he felt that way. He felt like a 'real man' should be silent aboyt his feelings and never ask for help, and that friendship between men could only ever be non-emotional assholeness where you have to be the biggest jerk and do bullshit together and if you ever show a moment of weakness everyone will leave you. So we have this situation of yugi himself feeling like he's a wimp but to jou he looks like the biggest fuckin badass for being honest about his real self and being able to step outside toxic masculinity even if it means being alone. And it was just so goddamn emotional how the friendship started?? Like jounouchi was just being an immature petty sort of bully but then a more physically abusive bully comes along and attacks yugi, and jou gets attacked by the same guy in the process and theres SUCH A GOOD MOMENT!! Where jou sees yugi and is like "so youre working with this guy? So you sent him to get revenge on us right??" like he's so ready to believe that yugi is really just as bitter and petty as he is BUT also he sounds so outraged and betrayed about it, like he feels he was tricked into believing that good people actually exist. But then yugi runs forward and starts treating his wounds because of course he wasnt actually involved in it. And even more than that, he stands up to this dude who's ten times taller than him and even managed to defeat jounouchi! And he says its because jounouchi is his friend and he "wasnt bullying, he was just teaching me to be a real man". And HOLY SHIT the look on jou's face when he says that! Like he never even considered the sort of awful influence he could be causing on this poor dude's mental health by gaslighting him into thinking 'this is just how men are'. Like he'd got this image all twisted in his head of yugi being some spiteful taunting figure who's always 100% unswayable in his kindness and must only be that way because he doesnt have any real problems or something. And now he's faced with the reality that this dude's kindness is 100% real, so real that he'd risk his own safety to help someone who's been so cruel to him because he saw a spark of goodness in jounouchi's heart that jounouchi himself never saw. And the only thing that could shake that kindness was jounouchi's own words..he had to face how his 'harmless fun' was having consequences and how he came so close to crushing this dude's will and turning him into a bitter bastard just like him and it was BY BEING FRIENDS! the bullying wasnt even the worst part it was the dangling friendship over his head and promising youd care about him if he just jumped through all these hoops to become a hardenened 'real man'. Another hardened 'real man' who was really just a soft genuine man who'd been broken and learned to hide himself.

So yeah jounouchi gets a great redemption early on, and a lot of chapters dedicated to examining it in detail, showing his abusive father and the toxic friends who influenced him into being a toxic friend himself, and how some of them (tristan/honda) were also good people who were redeemable while others (the goddamn terrifying yo-yo gang guy) were straight up criminals that yugi fuckin knife fights to save him from. Theres a scene of jounouchi getting tazed and having glass thrown in his eyes and yugi + yami fuckin defeat a whole damn gang in the most badass way and then yugi embraces jou's unconcious body and he wakes up in his arms and screams his name in relief while hugging him as hard as he can with his partially paralyzed arms like HOLY SHIT TJAT WAS SO INTENSE

And seriously their friendship is already awesome cos jounouchi is a lot more openly affectionate and cuddly than most friendships between dudes in this series. (Hence the gay jokes in the manga...) But having the context of his first manga chapter makes it even sweeter because he used to be such a heavily repressed super macho man who feared even HAVING FRIENDS AT ALL despite desperately wanting them. It just feels like yugi sorta.. saved him?? Helped him recover from that and become more open with his true self. Its so nice to see him gradually becoming more adorable and cuddly as the series progresses, when the absence of that sort of stuff was his biggest problem causing his goddamn depression. And yugi even helps him reunite with his sister and be able to help her get surgery! Is it any wonder that jou is yugi's biggest cheerleader? Seriously when so much of the show seems to sideline yugi and focus on yami later on, its good to have this one dude reminding us that yugi rocks and specifically yugi's 'wimpyness' is actually a good thing nd his strongest strength and seriously!! Just!! Its so good!! Gahh, joey is a big buff scary dude who sees this sweet dude as THE BIGGEST BADASS who SAVED HIS GODDAMN LIFE and HIS MENTOR IN BECOMING SOFT ALSO! Jou has so much fuckin character development that was lost by shortening down this part of the story and only showing it in flashback form a bunch of episodes after the beginning instead of BEING the beginning yknow??

So yeah seriously this entire character arc is so good and this is why jounouchi is the best character and deserved to keep that kind of focus in the series instead of being degraded to more.of a comic relief role. And also this is why thier relationship has such a great foundation and could be even more resonant if it was romantic! Like srsly theres so many parallels here with the idea of a closeted dude that THE MANGA OUTRIGHT MAKES GAY JOKES ABOUT HIM ALREADY

Oh also the manga backstory also adds more nuance to jounouchi and kaiba's relationship because you could see it as jou becoming rivals with kaiba because he sees him as a mirror of the kind of repressed asshole he once used to be. Which is another reason why gay/bi/pan jounouchi just fuckin enhances everything about his entire plot and also the whole series ok yes.

Also i just fuckin love jounouchi please appreciate jounouchi today

[chelseaapproved]

I’ll Sing a Song Beside You-12

Read on Ao3!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |  7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11 | 12 | 13

Chapter Twelve

Marinette wakes to 12 unread texts from Alya. She’s kind of useless in the morning but the threat of something happening to her friend has Marinette on alert. She quickly sits up, ignoring the wave of dizziness it causes and unlocks her phone.

Alya: MArinette!!!

!!!!!

Did you see?????

Ans wer meee

Theyre dating o.0

Go on

Ladyblog

So many ppl sent me pics of them making out

Like they were srsly going at it on the eiffel tower

Newscasters want to interview me cuz i was the one to break the scoop!!!!

THEYRE DATING ASDLHSDFAD

OMG just wake up and answer me already

Marinette stares at her phone in horror. With shaky hands, she goes on the Ladyblog on her phone and sees it, right on the homepage. The picture is a little blurry, but it is unmistakably a zoomed in picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir in a very...compromising position.

Apparently making out at the top of the Eiffel Tower is not a good idea if you’re a famous superhero and want to keep your relationship a secret.

“Tikki,” Marinette yelps, “what do I do?”

Tikki flies over to her and peers at the picture on the screen. Instead of providing any ancient and wise godly advice, Tikki giggles. “Aww, you two are so cute!”

“So not the point!”

“There’s nothing you can do about it now, Marinette. Maybe learn to have a bit more self-control next time.”

Marinette groans, her face growing hot, and locks her phone. Since she’s already awake, she starts getting ready for school, determined not to think about her public humiliation.

“You’re up early,” her mom says when Marinette stumbles into the kitchen 15 minutes later.

“Alya woke me up,” Marinette responds. She still hasn’t answered and has 3 more texts from the girl. She’ll deal with it at school.

Her mom heads to the cabinet to get a bowl while Marinette gets the milk from the fridge. “Is everything okay?”

“She’s fine,” Marinette says as she pours her cereal. “Chat Noir and Ladybug are officially a couple so Ayla’s freaking out.”

“I always figured they were dating,” her mom says, which is just so not what she wants to hear right now.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“What? They make a cute pair.”

Marinette feels her face heat up. “Well, yeah but I’m sure they want their privacy. I wouldn’t want my love life broadcasted for all of Paris to see.”

“That’s true.”

“And how did anyone even see them in the first place? They were so high up!”

“Oh, you know how it is with celebrities, dear. They can never catch a break.”

“But they’re not celebrities, they’re superheroes!”

“I’m sure they’d appreciate that thought but most people don’t share that sentiment, unfortunately,” her mom says, patting Marinette’s shoulder. “Now, I need to get down to the bakery. Have a good day, sweetie.”

“You too, Maman.”

Her mom kisses her forehead before heading down. Marinette finishes her breakfast deep in thought. On the one hand, she’s still not happy that the whole world knows she’s dating Chat Noir. On the other hand, hearing her mom speak approvingly of her relationship was nice. Just thinking about it brings a much-needed warmth to her chest.

There’s no point in wasting any more time so Marinette braces herself before heading out to school, ready to face Alya.

Naturally, Alya pounces on Marinette as soon as she enters the room. “Girl, you need to answer your phone.”

“I was sleeping and then getting ready.”

“Did you at least read my texts? Did you see?”

“That Chat Noir and Ladybug are dating? Yeah, I saw.”

“I am so rubbing this in Chloé’s face,” Alya gloats. Marinette rolls her eyes but can’t help the small smile that forms on her lips.

“Morning ladies,” Nino says as he and Adrien take their seats. Marinette smiles at them and looks away. She wonders if she’ll ever feel comfortable around Adrien Agreste.

“Morning!” Alya says. “Did you guys hear the news?”

“No, what happened?”

“Chat Noir and Ladybug are the hottest couple in Paris.”

“Wait, what,” Adrien asks, whipping around in his seat. “What do you mean?”

“Chat Noir and Ladybug were caught kissing on the Eiffel Tower. It’s all over the Ladyblog and I’m going for an interview on Nadja Chamack’s channel this Thursday to discuss it!”

Adrien catches Marinette’s eye, blushes, and looks away, leaving Marinette flustered and confused. “Oh. I didn’t realize… I didn’t look at the blog this morning.”

“Check it out when you have the chance! It’s so perfect.” Alya turns to Marinette and her face falls. “Hey, I know I’ve been freaking out about this but are you okay?”

“Yes?” Marinette tilts her head in confusion, unsure why she would even ask. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I know you and Chat Noir were… something.”

“Oh my gosh,” Marinette exclaims, hiding her heated face behind her hands. She can feel Adrien’s eyes on her and her face burns hotter. He must think she has such a fickle heart. “How many times do I have to tell you there is no scandalous relationship between us?”

“Marinette, that boy is, like, obsessed with you. Or something.”

“Definitely or something,” Marinette says. “There’s nothing there. He loves Ladybug and I like…someone else.”

It feels wrong using her crush on Adrien to defend her lack of relationship with Chat Noir, but she doesn’t know what else to do. She hates lying, especially to her best friend but she can’t exactly admit that she’s dating Chat. She just hopes Alya never finds out she rejected Adrien.

“You’re sure you’re not upset? You don’t seem very happy about the news.”

“I’m just tired. Someone kept texting me this morning and it woke me up.”

“As long as you’re sure. I could kick Chat Noir’s butt if he hurt you.”

“Trust me,” Marinette says, glad she can at least be honest about this. “I couldn’t be happier for them.”

--

“Hey, Pretty Lady,” Chat says, popping his head through the sunroof.

Marinette can feel her whole body perk up at the sight of him. Even knowing what she wants to say to him, she feels better just seeing him. “Hey yourself.”

He plops himself onto the bed then heads down the ladder to sit near her. He grabs the extra rolling chair and slides next to her. “How was your day?”

“I don’t want to talk about that right now,” Marinette says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He frowns. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Don’t really feel like talking,” she replies before pressing her lips against his. She never realized how addictive kissing could be until she got a partner who was willing to partake in it. And Chat Noir is a very willing partner. He pulls her closer and she falls onto his lap. They giggle for a second before taking advantage of their new position.

She manages to get lost in the kiss for a while, but they need to breathe at some point and they both know the reason he’s there; there’s no getting out of it.

“So,” Chat says after they’ve had a chance to catch their breaths.

“So,” she repeats.

“Everyone knows about us.”

“It would appear so.”

“Is that…ok?”

Marinette sighs and starts playing with the ends of his hair. “I don’t really think that matters at this point.”

“I’m sorry. I should have realized people would catch us.”

“It’s not any more your fault than it is mine. We got busted, plain and simple.”

“It’s just. You don’t seem very happy.”

“I didn’t realize how dedicated people were to stalking us. Alya, I knew, used to follow us around a lot but she chilled out eventually and I kind of thought everyone else did too? But, like, apparently a lot of people sent in pictures. It started to make me think about how dedicated they might be to following us around.”

“My Lady, no one will catch us detransforming. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“That… wasn’t even what I was worried about but oh my gosh we need to seriously be careful when we transform!” Marinette removes her hands from Chat to start pulling on her own hair. “You already caught me once because I was too quick and reckless. If anyone catches us then we—”

Chat covers her mouth with his own, effectively cutting off her downward spiral of nerves. “You worry too much sometimes,” he says.

“Never cut off a lady when she’s speaking,” Marinette reprimands.

“Why? So I could hear about how we’re going to end up dying in a ditch somewhere or Hawkmoth is going to rise to power and take over the world?”

“…I was going to say we’d become brainless minions for him,” she admits reluctantly.

“Mari, I love you but sometimes your thought process scares me,” Chat laughs. “I’ve never met anyone with an imagination quite like yours.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you very much.”

“As you should,” he says, giving her an eskimo kiss. “So, what were you going to say before I put words in your mouth?”

“What if someone catches you coming in here,” she asks, her voice small.

“That’s not going to happen.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve been coming here for ages and no one’s noticed. The first time we kiss in public and the whole world sees; I’d definitely be caught by now if it were going to happen.”

“You can’t know that, Chat. It’s dangerous. We’re playing with fire right now.”

“Marinette, what do you want me to do, stop visiting you?”

Marinette looks down and bites on her lip.

“Mari, you can’t be serious.”

“We could be risking my identity, my family, my friends.”

Chat gently grabs her face. “I would never let anything bad happen to you or your loved ones. I’ll be more careful if you want, but I’m not going to stop seeing my girlfriend.”

“We could just go on more patrols and—”

“Our whole romantic life would be under a microscope.”

“I’d rather that than have Hawkmoth go after my parents,” Marinette snaps.

“If you’d just let me show myself we wouldn’t even have to have this talk.”

“You make it sound like it’s my decision. I want to know who you are as badly as you want to tell me but, again, safety needs to be considered here.”

“We could make it work.”

“Chat, no,” Marinette says, with as much of her Ladybug authority as she can channel. It’s enough to shut him up so she must do a pretty good job.

They sit in silence, avoiding each other’s eyes for a while. Her heart is pounding frantically in her chest while she tries to think of something to say that’ll cut the tension. Her mind is running circles, though, so Chat’s the one who breaks the silence. “Okay, so no more late night visits. I’ll do it.”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want to fight or break up over this. I just got you, I don’t want to lose you already.”

“You’re not going to lose me, Chaton. I’m yours forever. I think this is the safest option for now until we figure something out. Deal?”

“Anything for you, mon amour.”

Marinette blushes at the nickname and hides herself in his neck. She’s gotten so used to seeing Chat on a nearly nightly basis, it’s going to be weird—and difficult—not having him stop by anymore. But she knows she’s making the right decision. Two people have already accused Chat and Marinette of having some sort of affair and she can’t afford to let that list grow.

“Since I’m already here,” Chat says, lifting her head off him with a delicate hand, “we might as well make the most of it.”

“I like the way you think,” she says before crushing her lips to his. They don’t get much talking done for the rest of the night.

-- Two weeks pass and Marinette is going crazy. She still stands by her decision but she doesn’t get as much time with Chat as she used to—they tried bringing their work to a random roof one day but it left them chasing after papers and losing homework so they agreed to get all their work done before meeting up—and she misses his company.

So, yeah, when an akuma shows up and interrupts her outing with Rose and Juleka, Marinette gets excited. She will take any time she can get with Chat. It might come at the personal expense of someone’s autonomy and half of Paris but… nope. She can’t even properly rationalize her happiness. She’s a horrible person and is completely taking advantage of her powers but she can’t bring herself to care at the moment.

“Fancy meeting you here, M’Lady,” Chat says when he drops in next to her, pressing his body infuriatingly close.

Ladybug takes a second to peck Chat on the cheek before resuming her surveillance of the akuma. Except she has no idea where they went. Ladybug curses under her breath and shoots off in the direction she thinks they might have gone.

They’re not usually this distracted when fighting akumas but their distance is definitely taking its toll on them both. She needs to get it together before someone gets hurt.

“If we split up we might be able to find her faster,” Chat suggests, keeping Ladybug’s pace.

“I don’t want to split up,” Ladybug says petulantly but they both know he’s right so it’s with some trepidation that she turns left and he goes right.

She swings through the city, looking for any sign of disruption. She doesn’t understand how a little old lady could move as quickly as she does. After nearly ten minutes of fruitless searching, she gets a call.

“Bee,” she says, just as she catches sight of someone hopping around tied in yarn. She makes a sharp turn to head in the direction that person just came from.

“Where are you? Rena’s already detransformed and Chat’s going to any minute now as well.”

“Why didn’t you call me earlier then,” Ladybug asks, exasperated. She pulls up Queen Bee’s location and rushes over, noting that the akuma is dangerously close to her house.

“She keeps throwing sewing needles at us,” Bee says the moment Ladybug joins them on the street.

“Okay, avoid those,” Ladybug says, immediately using her yoyo as a shield.

“Obviously.”

“No need to get wound up, Bee. But a lucky charm would be off the hook,” Chat says as he spins his baton as quickly as he can, taking a moment to show his dwindling pawprints. Ladybug can tell he’s losing energy but she’s glad he has enough to make bad puns.

“Right,” Ladybug says. She stops spinning her yoyo, preparing to call on her power, when Chat yelps. “What’s wrong,” she asks, turning to face him, and startles when she sees him sprinting toward her.

“Ladybug, look—” Chat Noir takes a needle right to his head and gets thrown back into a wall.

“Chat,” Ladybug screams but he doesn’t respond. She is never going to get used to seeing him get hurt because of her. As if she needs to feel even more guilty, Chat’s ring beeps, reminding her that he only has about a minute left before he transforms.

Without giving it much thought, Ladybug scoops up her boyfriend and yells a quick “I’ll be right back!” She throws him over her shoulder and swings off to her balcony.

Ladybug crashes through her sunroof and unceremoniously tosses the unconscious Chat Noir onto her bed. She takes a deep breath, trying not to panic. All she has to do is defeat the akuma and he’ll wake up and be fine. It’ll all work out.

She hears frantic beeping and sees the beginning of a flash of green light before she clamps her eyes shut and spins around.

“Oh, my poor aching body,” a voice speaks. “I need cheese to make it better.”

“...Plagg,” Marinette asks. She’s pretty sure that’s the name of Chat’s kwami.

“Ladybug,” he responds. “You got any cheese?”

“I, uh, no I don’t think so,” she says apologetically. There’s probably cheese downstairs but she’s Ladybug right now, not Marinette, and she doesn’t have time to snoop through the kitchen.

“Chat Noir might have some in his jacket pocket for me.”

“Okay, so get it.”

“I’m too weak to move,” he says dramatically.

Ladybug purses her lips at him in annoyance. “I can’t get it without looking at him.”

“So? I need the cheese more than he needs to protect his identity.”

That makes Ladybug pause. Chat’s complained about Plagg plenty of time—he’s lazy, all he wants to do is sleep and eat cheese, he doesn’t take anything but cheese seriously—but she always assumed those were exaggerations. When it comes down it, she was sure, Plagg would put the duty of the miraculous above all else. But now he’s telling her it’s okay to look at his charge just so he can be fed.

And she is painfully tempted to do it.

“You don’t care if I know who he is?”

“Cheeeeeese,” he says.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to know.”

“You’re not.”

“But you don’t care?”

“Look, talking like this is using up what little energy I have. Do or do not, I don’t care. But get me my cheese, however you can.”

He’s basically handing her Chat’s identity on a silver platter. Tikki isn’t there to scold her and Plagg is the devil on her shoulder, telling her to look. It would be so easy. And she knows Chat himself wouldn’t object; he’s been begging to tell her for ages now.

She turns her head in the direction she knows Chat is in and gropes around until her hand touches his shoulder. One second. That’s all she needs to know who he is. She has a strong feeling that Chat knows her as a civilian so she’s assuming she’ll recognize him.

And then they can be together for real. Nothing would hold them back. They could go on dates and cuddle in her bedroom and she could visit him for once.

She lets her hand glide across his chest, feeling his muscles through his cotton shirt, taking note of the lump where she assumes the cheese is. She finds the end of the overshirt and grips it. He’s never been more real, more tangible, than in this moment. This isn’t just Chat Noir on her bed, it’s the boy behind the mask. The boy she is madly in love with.

She lifts the light material and feels around until she locates the inner pocket.

“I have your cheese,” she says, holding the stinky wedge up.

That is enough, apparently, to get Plagg to fly over to her.

“Mmm cheese.” He grabs the cheese from her. Marinette’s empty hand goes limp and she lets it fall on Chat’s chest.

“I need to get back to the fight,” she says, standing up.

“I got it hand it to you,” Plagg says through his mouthful of cheese, “I didn’t think you’d actually resist.”

“Neither did I,” she admits.

“Marinette!” Ladybug freezes at the sound of her mother’s voice calling up to her.

“Y-yes,” she calls back, turning to face the trapdoor and opening her eyes. She has no idea what she’ll do if her mom enters and sees a passed-out boy on her bed and Ladybug standing over him.

“I didn’t realize you were home!”

“Uh, yeah,” Ladybug says, wincing. “I just got back. You must have missed me!”

“I heard voices. Do you have someone over?”

Ladybug glances at Plagg in a panic, hoping he’ll provide some help but he’s just snickering in front of her. Chat is right; least helpful kwami ever.

“I was watching a video! Sorry, I’ll turn it down.”

“Why don’t you come down here? There’s an akuma on the loose and you know your father and I would prefer if we could see you.”

“I—ah—I’m really busy right now, Maman!”

“Whatever you’re doing could surely wait a little bit.”

“Not really! It’s super important!”

“Marinette, I need help with dinner anyway. Please, come down and appease your poor parents.”

Her mom’s footsteps send Ladybug in a frenzy. She jumps down to the sitting area of her room and plops herself on the trapdoor.

“Marinette?” Her mom knocks on the door.

“Don’t come in,” Marinette calls. She should have transformed back earlier. Now it’s too late and her mom will see the light and get suspicious. This is a disaster. “I’m changing!”

“I expect you back downstairs in ten minutes,” her mother says. Ladybug sits still, straining her ears until she can no longer hear her mother’s steps.

“Oh my gosh, that was close,” Ladybug says, letting out a long breath. Her mother’s words catch up to her. “I have ten minutes to defeat the akuma and make it back!”

She shoots up and heads back to her bed to exit through her sunroof before coming to a screeching halt.

In her panic, she forgets about Chat Noir laying detransformed on her bed. In her panic, she forgets to avert her eyes.

Her brain completely shuts down as her eyes rove all over his body. She takes in his orange sneakers, his denim-clad legs, his typical black shirt with white overshirt. His hair is neater this way, well-kept and perfectly styled. His eyes are closed but she knows what they look like behind those lids; she’s spent hours upon hours memorizing his face.

Ladybug allows herself two seconds of freaking out, letting out a high-pitched whine, before she gathers herself and leaps out. She has an akuma to defeat. She can worry about the knocked-out Adrien Agreste in her bed later.

Much later.

[jade4813]

Hi, Jade! I remember watching Smallville but not really being in fandom and being in tune with how people received characters. I also remember you speaking about fandom during Smallville and how they treated Lois Lane. How vitriolic was the audience, especially the fan girls, when she arrived? How was it when she came back and started having more of a role in Clark’s everyday? What excuses would they use to negate Clois? And how you you compare the treat of Clois/Lois with Westallen/Iris.

I pulled out my computer for this one because DO I HAVE THINGS TO TELL YOU.

I’m going to go ahead and put a cut here. I’ve written all of two sentences and I just KNOW this is gonna be long.

Okay, so. I wasn’t actually involved in fandom when Lois first joined the show. (And yea, but those were happy days, full of innocence and faith in humanity.) But I UNDERSTAND that things were...generally fine for those first few episodes. If she got any hate, it wasn’t much. By comparison, if nothing else. Mind you, it was known that they had only gotten the rights to use her for a few episodes, so it seemed unlikely she would be around after that. She wasn’t really a threat to any ship at that point. I mean, sure she would be. In the post-Smallvillian future. But if she only ever had those three episodes, then the rest of the show could run its course and whatever ship the show did could happen and the post-Smallvillian breakup could remain largely theoretical. Or to be left to the imagination even! It’s fine!

But then. Oh my god. Then.

Then it was announced Lois would be around for more episodes. (13 with an option for more! An option they not only never used but they didn’t even always give her the episodes she was paid to do!)

At first, I think there was tension between Clana and Clois shippers. I feel like that started from the jump. And I suppose that makes sense. Chlark fans and Clois fans got along at first. Well, Chloe and Lois were cousins, so that might have helped. And also, it was no secret that there were restrictions that prevented anything romantic happening between Clois. So Clois wasn’t a threat to Chlark. At that time (season 4), even for Clois fans, Chlark seemed more likely to happen than Clois. (Really, Clois fans genuinely were as shocked as anyone that we were actually getting our ship developed in S8. We’d been told for years it wasn’t going to happen. That Lois would be, direct quote, “out in the cold.”)

But Clana fans and Clois fans didn’t really get along. Which...if you think about it...even if you knew that Clois wasn’t going to happen on the show, TPTB did still say that was Clark’s future. That when Smallville ended, it would be at the beginning of the story we all know - Lois and all. So even if Clana lasted the whole show, TPTB were basically admitting that Clana wouldn’t get the happy ending they so longed to get. Clois would. Whether or not we’d see it on screen. That fate was reserved for Clois.

One might ask why this didn’t bother Chlark fans at that time. I think - again - they knew that in S4 there was more chance of Chlark happening than Clois. Not a GREAT chance, given TPTB obsession with Clana. But comparatively better. In that Clois had absolutely zero chance. Even in a dream sequence. So whatever threat we might pose EVENTUALLY, we weren’t the biggest problem for them at that time. Their biggest problem was that the show runners made it very clear that Clana was their jam, and that didn’t seem likely to change.

So, S4 was...comparatively...pretty smooth sailing for Chlark and Clois fans. At one point, we even did art/fic exchanges for each other. Things with the Clana fandom were...less great. They even started the whole Rock The Mythos campaign (I think that year) - they petitioned DC to break up the marriage in the comics and put Clana together. (And, frankly, there are those who believe that it got more traction than it should have done. I think Didio at the time disliked Clois, and I remember reading that he green lit the story where Lana put her panties in Superman’s bed - and Lois was written as an unreasonable bitch - to set up the end of Clois. It didn’t go over well, so DC abandoned that idea and that arc ended. Now, I would have to go back and compare dates to see if there really was a correlation between one and the other. But I BEG you not to do that to me. For obvious reasons, I’m not a fan of that arc.

... Oh, god. I had to do it. I had to know. The panties thing happened in Action Comics #822. Published February 2005. Smallville’s “Crusade” introducing Lois aired September 22, 2004. So, depending how long it takes for comics to get through the editorial process...it is possible the two are linked. Just saying.)

ANYWAY. SO THERE WAS TENSION THERE. Obviously, Clois fans didn’t take well to the Rock the Mythos campaign. Clana fans didn’t like that they were told Clois would get their happy ending. And Chlarkers and Cloisers got along...all right...because the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Right?

But then. Lois continued to stick around. She continued to have scenes with Clark. Scenes that kind of hinted to their future. And...those restrictions? The ones that made it a better bet Chlark would happen than Clois? Those seemed to disappear. At that point? The shit hit the fan.

Clana fans hated Clois fans. Clois fans weren’t too keen on Clana fans, not generally thinking the ship was written terribly well. Chlark fans hated Clois fans. After all, Clois fans would get the happy ending they “deserved.” What was more, it seemed at least possible that they would get something on the show. They at least got those hints that they WOULD BE together, while Chlark had no such promises. So Chlark fans started tearing down Lois, which obviously didn’t make the Clois fans happy. Chaos reigned.

By season 5, any tentative truce that had ever existed was GONE. Chlark fans came up with the Chlois theory - the theory that Lois Lane on Smallville wasn’t the “real” Lois Lane. She wasn’t Iconic Lois Lane. She was...a placeholder. Chloe was the REAL Lois Lane. And at some point (they hoped soon), Lois would die and Chloe would take her “rightful place” in the mythos.

They made arguments like...the fact that Lois didn’t start off as a reporter meant she could never be one and would never be worthy of being one. The fact that she didn’t go to college meant she was too dumb to deserve her iconic story. The fact she wasn’t a virgin meant she was a whore. (They called her Hois. And Nois. And the town bicycle.) The fact she was shown drinking alcohol once meant she was an alcoholic. She was a bimbo. A tramp. A bitch. Emotionally abusive! Toxic! Bringing down the show! Propped up to be more important than she should be, and taking attention away from the “Core Four” (the original OTF/A/etc.)! REAL Lois Lane would never put her life on the line for a story! That’s dumb and reckless! REAL Lois Lane would be more cautious! (Srsly? Have they read a comic?) She was just stealing the storyline and focus that should have been Chloe’s!

As an aside...do any of the above statements sound oddly familiar? Like things Westallen fans hear all the time about Iris? At least Lois didn’t have the incest argument.

At the time it started, I still loved Chloe. But the more I had to argue against the idiots who would tear Lois down and prop Chloe up for the same stuff, the more I nitpicked Chloe’s behavior, characterization, etc. to point out they were being dumbasses. And my enjoyment of the character took a hit. (To be fair, I think I would have come to hate her regardless. But it certainly got that ball rolling.)

They called for Lois to be written off the show. Killed off. Some told ED to her face that they hated her character and she should die so _________ could end up with Clark. Hell, shortly after getting the job, ED went online to see what people said about her. And apparently what she read was bad enough that she admitted in interviews that she avoided the internet as a whole for YEARS after.

Of course, the comments weren’t just made about Lois. They were made against Durance, too. Death threats. Saying she got her job via the casting couch. That she was a whore. All those lovely things.

And all of it got WORSE as Lois was around more. Particularly after Chlark didn’t happen post-Vessel kiss. And when Chloe started dating Jimmy. And when Clark and Lana lived together but weren’t shown in those lovey-dovey scenes their fans wanted. And when things like Red K Clark hit on Lois. 

Theories abounded about how Lois was going to be killed off. Some truly awful fanfic was written. Some deplorable fanart was made. And on the biggest fansite at the time, it didn’t help that the site runner was initially against Lois (calling her “grandma” in a caption under a promo photo - that was another thing they said about her. That she looked like an old lady). Whether he was genuinely a Chlark fan or whether he knew that the biggest portion of fans on his site from the beginning to Lois’s entrance were Chlark fans and thus he was in their corner, I don’t know. But a disproportionate number of mods were Chlark/Chlois fans in that day, and I distinctly remember coming across a LiveJournal discussion amongst them in which they made a list of prominent and/or vocal Clois fans on the site, with the stated intention to target them and get them banned. (My name was on the list.)

Eventually, the site runner met Durance and she was nice to him. He told me that he met Mack and she was less nice to him. Whether or not that’s true, I don’t know and I don’t care, really. The point was, he all of a sudden became much more friendly to Lois and Lois fans. A few Clois fans even became mods. It became slightly better - in that I was warned a few times by said Clois fans “please please please be careful what you say because my fellow mods want to ban you and we aren’t right now, but if you get another warning, they’re going to do it.” (To which I say “okay, cool. If the Clois threads are supposed to be for Clois supporters only, tell the shitty Chlark fan who keeps posting fanart of Lois and Chloe’s servant and other anti-Clois art to stay the fuck out of the thread.”)

It was ugly. TWOP was a fucking cesspool. You have no idea. I went there once and there were 100 pages bashing Lois to every 1 praising Chloe. It was vile. But because there really weren’t that many places to go - KSite, TWOP, and DI (our private Clois message board which has a special place in my heart always) - it was hard to avoid the worst of fandom.

So as far as the comparison of Clois/Westallen treatment? In many, many ways, it’s very similar. With the exception of the “incest” argument, I haven’t heard many arguments against Westallen that I didn’t hear against Clois. It was boring. It was predictable. She didn’t deserve him. He and Chloe belonged together because they were similar. He needed Chloe/Lana; he didn’t need Lois. Blah blah blah.

That said, Iris does also get a lot of racist attacks, which Lois obviously never got. That adds a whole new dimension to the hate - sent about the character and to the actor.

Clois did have the Chlois theorists. Who are still some of the worst people I’ve ever encountered online. As far as I know, SB fans have skirted that level of theorizing, but they’ve never gone all in like they did in Smallville. I mean, there are some WACKY FREAKING THEORIES out there. But I have yet to see the wholehearted commitment to the internal CERTAINTY of a Chlois-like theory in the works. (Once the show ended, I still saw theorists SWEARING that had been the original plan of AlMiles and would have happened if they hadn’t left the show. Like AlMiles would have had any other ending but Clana and a hint of Clois, if they had ANY say in the matter. And if they didn’t, it would have been because their bosses wanted Clois. As they ended up pushing for, actually.)

I could probably come up with more if you want. But this has gotten long and I might have scared you off already! Does this help answer your question, though?

[ajokeformur-ray]

@theoriginalgodsgirlrachel

Little things about me: I love the beach, and kinda feel connected to it. Not just the sand and ocean itself, but everything else? The little towns, the beaches in the middle of nowhere, city-side beaches, the shops and places to eat, if I fall in love with the atmosphere of a place it's most likely because it's by the sea 💕 I love peaches~ And baked apples ^_^ And bananas and chocolate (together~) And STRAWBERRIES~!! I love pastel colored bikes, and The Golden Hour, and Good Vegan Comfort Food tm, and tea (rose, or English Breakfast~) + a fire and a cozy blanket on a rainy day. (Which I also love~ ^_^ ☔️) I adore all the seasons too much to have a favorite, but my favorite transition is summer to fall 💚💛❤️ And PEONIES~!! 💖💖 And pink/blue/burgundy hydrangeas~💖💙 And pink/white/yellow/orange roses~✨ And my birth flower, Lilly of the Valley 💚) I listen to/adore far too many kinds of music to list any, but if I could list one kind that I feel like would sort of 'describe' the kind of person I am? It would 100% be In Love with A Ghost, on YouTube 💗 I'm very close to the LGBT community in general, and because of that, while I certainly still have a faith, I am absolutely not religious. I'm a total geeky nerd who loves to learn scientific theories and combine them with what my religion says happened/may have happened, purely for the fun of it~. Like how people would make theories over a new chapter of Black Butler would, lol. I am not at all close to either of my parents. Though I AM closer to my mother. But not by much. I've always been in love with ice skating. Professionals look so stunningly graceful and powerful, and I want to strive for that kind of beauty too, even if it's just as a hobby~ 💖 Art is my life. My drug addiction. The air I breathe. I am literally not good enough at anything else to do it as a job without at least sinking into daily depression. And I've always loved it for as long as I can remember~ Since I could walk, practically✨ I'm forever hooked on the process of creating something out of nothing~ (Though artists and depression both run in my dad's side of the family, and unsurprisingly I have occasional bouts of it as well. Vitamin B helps tons tho~ ^_^) I hate confrontation, so I'm a very forward person, though that doesn't mean I'm harsh unless I have to be~!! If I like you, I'll tell you💕 If I can't stand you, you'll get ignored. If you ask if I don't like you, I won't beat around the bush. And if you don't like what you heard, quite frankly, I won't care. Because you asked. It takes a lot of pushing for me to have any kind of extreme reaction over something. Unless you're someone I actually love, then it usually instantly distresses me. It hurts me to leave the people I'd take a bullet for if they're suddenly being incredibly toxic, but I'll do so if I know I have to, and I couldn't fix it.If I love you and I'm no longer shy about it bc you know/feel the same, HOLD ME BACK!!! I might be kinda shy at expressing it at first till I get used to/comfy being romantic with you, but eventually I'll just??? Love you to death??? Listen I'm polyamorous, I literally have all the love in the world to give 💖 If a partner told me they were ever feeling less loved than another, I'd set everything else to the side immediately, and smother them in love and kisses until all those doubts and feelings went away again 💕💕 I'd straight up die for you, wether to save you or be with you forever 💗💗 However, I'm also very much a "my good impression once lost is lost forever", kind of person. I take my T I M E to give you all of my heart. And if you mistreat it, or break it, you lose it. Even if it's slowly. You won't get it back. Fortunately, I know my own self worth and it's taken a long time for me to find it. And no one is an exception to that. Not my parents, not family or friends, and certainly not lovers. I AM A VERY SUPER SILLY PERSON WHEN YOU GET TO KNOW MEEEE~!! Srsly my humor consists of Shane Dawson, Tana Mongue, and Markiplier (roughly). And also Tumblr tbh. So~ If I'm being silly/loud with you in a happy way, and still have down-to-earth moments with you, you can have no doubt I like you a lot and feel like I can be myself with you 💕💕

- Sebastian would take you to the beach as often as he could get away with. It doesn’t matter if Ciel is expecting him back at the Manor soon, he’s gonna take the scenic route and take you to the beach. You’d be nestled in his arms and he’d carry you there. He’d give you a few minutes to just soak it up, drink it in, and then you’re back in his arms, being rushed with his demon speed back to the Manor. Ciel can smell the sea air on you and knows what happened but pretends that he doesn’t know. He wants that beautiful smile on your face just as much as Sebastian does.

- Sebastian would always bake you your favourite things, whch mostly includes all the fruits you love! Every now and then he’d gift you with expensive chocolates that he’d likely made himself. Chocolate covered strawberries are a favourite; he loves feeding them to you. Chocolate dipped bananas are also a favourite and he makes sure that if you have a banana split, you have plenty of chocolate sauce to keep you content. He would berate you sometimes if you eat too many sweets in one go but he loves seeing you happy and turns a blind eye when your sweet tooth is raging.

- On days when it rains and there’s not much on your schedule, he’d come to you when you’ve done what you need to, a blanket tucked under his arm, some good books and a pot of fresh tea. Then, with the rain lashing against the windows, he lights a fire and the two of you get comfortable. His fingers naturally find their way into your hair and he gently untangles any knots as he goes. He’s so careful that you don’t feel him there.

- A little section of his garden, next to Ciel’s favourites, are peonies and hydrangeas in your favourite colours. He cuts one off, every day, and puts it in your hair or on your clothes. Sometimes, you’ll even wake to one on your pillow with a small handwritten note telling you that he loves you.

- Just like I wrote in your commissioned oneshot, you can bet your ass that Sebastian makes you an ice rink during winter on the Phantomhive grounds and you can bet that he goes with you each and every time and will even fashion you your very own custom made ice-skates. No expense spared and even Ciel might have a go, though he stops when Sebastian begins picking him up and throwing him around xD Sebastian would tell you that you’re beautiful when skating even when you stumble, and when you fall he will catch you in that flawless way with a wink and a, “I promised to always catch you should you fall, did I not?” and a dipped kiss.

- He loves your artistry and your devotion to creativity and he’d buy you parchments and the like that you need in order to draw. He’d get you absolutely whatever you wanted and wwouldn’t ever let anyone or anything impose on your drawing time. He also heavily appreciates your straight-forwardness when dealing with confrontation and finds it amusing how you will straight up ignore someone who’s being rude to you or someone ou know. 

- He knows well just how much you love him and though he’s alwas busy, he gives you a few moments each and every day to smother him in hugs and kisses. Believe me, he’ll return it to you in kind. You know what you want and how to get it, and you know your own worth and where you stand. This sureness about where you fit in the world fills him with pride and I know that he would tell you every time you stand up for yourself that he’s proud of you, aware of how much effort it can sometimes take to be so strong.

- Sometimes, when you’re chilled and relaxing with a film or you’re happy and chirping at him, he’ll grin wide enough to show his fangs just to hear you gush and fawn over them. He never doubts your love for him, not even for a second, and he makes sure that anyone who even tries to put similar doubts in yor head will be mentally and physically destroyed. No one upsets you, and he makes sure that you know just how much you mean to him. Your life may be fleeting, but he’ll be damned if he lets you spend even a second feeling bad about loving him.

[mikanrulz]

gundam ibo s02e24 what is a mcgillis fareed, what is ibo anyway

Short answer: a total failure of a villain wannabe character.

I’ve remarked time and time again there’s a discrepancy on who McGillis is supposed to be, and how he actually comes off in the show. I thought by the time S2 starts, his writing would get fixed somehow, but nada. As a villain, he comes off so one dimensional that I feel *Todo* has more substance than he does, which totally says something about just how bad McG’s writing is. As a character, he’s so all over the place it infuriates me to no end bcs gdi what a waste of such great potential.

He is supposed to be GREAT. The show certainly thinks he’s PRETTY GREAT, considering how much they invest in animating his scenes and faces, for all the good it does him (no rly gaelio’s scenes would like a word w/ the budget allocation).

MCGILLIS FAREED, GUYS

Luls look how he’s still so confidently arrogant even after all those loss.

Rather than a confident leader though, his words here sound more like a pitiful man who’s too prideful and blind to acknowledge he has lost the war.

Of course, you could argue he’s just trying to instill boost into the remaining of his followers, assuring them that their effort would not be a waste and that he has actual chance at winning.

He does NOT have a chance. These men knew that. Which is why they’re taken aback when he says this, bcs they probably expect to go down in battle glory together with him.

And yet despite that, none of these men *stay*. Can you say they’re leaving him bcs they’re trying to spare his feelings? Bcs it just seems that way to me.

Like, ‘let’s just leave the man to his daydream, it’s his last moment so just let him live the dream’.

It’s just pathetic at this point, and these men know it. They’re trying to be *kind* to McG.

In another story, in different circumstances, this may be true, but this statement is totally NOT true in the world of ibo.

Just look at the leaders in this show: Rustal, Orga, Kudelia, the boss of Teiwaz, Naze… even young leaders like Carta, Iok and Gaelio (before Vidar). These people are never alone, and they’re not solitary. They *choose* to not be solitary. And their ppl, the ppl who look up to them and rly care about them, would not let them be alone/in solitary.

Look at Todo’s face. His smile is *kind*. He’s like, okay if you really think that way.

Bcs even Todo realizes McG’s words are just that: words to console himself of his solitary, how he’s the only one actually ends up really alone.

It’s possible McG also really believes the things he himself says, causing him to purposefully push ppl away.

But if we could take the Triage cards as canon, then it’s not rly true. Bcs the random Gjallarhorn soldiers and officers interviewed for the cards say the same thing: McG is a ‘suspicious’ character who eclipses other ppl (e.g. Gaelio) bcs his presence is just that overwhelming. This implies most Gjjallarhorn ppl at best only being polite to him, or at worst, tolerating him out of necessity since he far outranks them. One going so far to compare him to a snake.

Way back in ep25 review when I said Todo was McG’s Cinderella, I was only kidding. But lmao can’t believe this relationship’s still alive, Todo is still living his dream of being important and dressed in nice clothes, and McG + Todo is actually the only one of all McG’s relationships that isn’t creepy (Almiria) or that he himself thoroughly destroys (everyone else).

Srsly WTF is Montag Company???

Speaking of Almiria… poor girl needs some serious therapy. Gallus papa pls take her away from there.

McG: I keep my promise of making Almiria happy.

I wonder, does she look happy to him? she certainly doesn’t look happy to me.

He’s srsly fucked up if he thinks letting an 11yo old girl shoulder his sins can be called happy.

Almiria calls McG’s actions “his sins”. Despite all McG’s sweet words and fairy tale description, she holds no illusion that what McG’s doing is wrong wrong wrong.

Srsly what kind of man or adult are you to make a child feel this way? To feel like she has to shoulder the whole world hating/punishing her for crimes the person she loves did?

How could you still call yourself a man after make a girl no older than 11 to realize it? to realize this is the reality she chooses and has to live in?

Just… god.

Also why is this almiria scene put in between McG’s fight scenes like showing us this scene would make him sympathetic?

IT’S NOT. Showing her only make him look CREEPY.

He’s only trying to make her happy, he says. He’s protecting her, he says. Then in the next scenes he’s shown touching her butt (ep13, 25) or touching her butt AND positioning her in a pose that’s inherently sexual (s02e09).

It would be different if she’s an adult, but the fact in those scenes she was only 9 and 11 makes it UNBEARABLY CREEPY.

He should be in jail for those scenes alone, not be thought of as ‘romantic’ WTF.

He says this, but he’s prejudice against ppl different than him just the same.

Him and Isurugi, but then Isurugi got his ideals from McG, so I guess we could cut Isurugi slack.

If what he says is true, then he should also give Sevenstars ppl a chance. After all, not all of them corrupt/abuse powers. In fact, other than Iznario, no one else from the Sevenstars is shown ‘actively’ abusing powers.

Even Rustal and Arianrhod, they’re not ACTING so much as REACTING. They do NOT instigate things/wars. Only once a rebel/chaos already started would they appear.

He says this, but he totally thinks those born to power are useless, while at the same time holding those born to be unfortunate in high regard.

LMAO this is said by the same guy who never once wins a fight fairly.

Weekly reminder McG gets knocked out by Mobile Armor after ONE HIT and only lays there feeling sorry while Isurugi and Julieta show more resilience by getting back up and charge at MA again.

Updated version of McGillis’ battle record so far: Ep5 (Schwalbe Graze): he *assisted* Gae, was a middle range shooter, worked fine together with Gae, yet somehow mika only praised McGillis. Ep19 (Grimgerde): assisted Mika, doing fine against Carta’s men who were all lower ranked compared to him. Ep25 (Grimgerde): managed to defeat Gae and Kimaris. It should be noted this fight was highly unbalanced in McGillis’ favor bcs Gae was too overwhelmed by emotion. S02e07 (Graze Ritter): got easily overwhelmed by Takaki & Aston, despite him supposed to be much more experienced and skilled than two ragtag kids who had no formal military training S02e12 (Graze Ritter): got defeated by MA with, like, a single kick. S02e18 (Bael): did nothing but pose in front of cameras. S02e21 (Bael): got his ass kicked by Gae & Ein in Kimaris Vidar, before being saved by Isurugi dying. S02e23 (Bael): somehow managed to win against multiple foes (none of which is a gundam), one was Iok in an UNARMED Reginlaze. S02e24 (Bael): destroyed several Reginlaze suits and also HalfBeak class ships before getting his ass handed to him by Gae & Ein in Kimaris Vidar, severely damaged Ein in the process.

It’s funny how he’s only great in his last moment, almost like he’s only strong for the sake of *dramatic* ending. /rolls eyes

He says this like he truly purposefully lets Gaelio live in ep25, and I find that hard to believe.

Bcs, for what purpose??? That just means he’s so stupid he thinks it’s better to let a threat live in order to gloat rather than make sure the threat is completely and utterly eliminated so as not to pose any problem in the future.

Also, what a face.

And yet the animation is still so smooth like staff-san, just how much do you guys love him anyway I’m jelly

No srsly, all his face animation is pretty splendid??? I wish my boy would get the same nice smooth animation but alas

Also, does he say those words unironically do you think?

Like does he really believe what he’s saying?

Bcs, just a minute ago, Rustal literally tells all his men to ‘hold’ bcs he wants to see the result of McG vs Gae’s fight.

So the men are just following Rustal’s order and not bcs of McG.

So like, I’m just amazed at McG’s ability to somehow twist unrelated facts into centering around his person.

OH THIS SCENE.

Yes, this scene, where his hair is so artfully untidy, and the camera is caressing the line of his face lovingly… UGH.

First of all, fuck you McG.

Gae’s [you’re not even looking at me, look at me damn you mcg] I think refer to 2 things, 1) the fact that McG never sees him as a person, just a tool; 2) he wants McG to see him, see the person he killed is now fighting and winning against him in a fight, see that he’s stronger than McG thus proving McG’s theory wrong. Most of all, he wants McG to see he’s not just a victim, he’s an avenger too, one stronger than ever.

Second of all, fuck you McG.

McG says this, but the things he says is not in line with how he acts, re: him saying he thinks of gae as a friend. Case in point: S01e04: when Gae gets strangled by Mika, he doesn’t lift a finger to help; instead, he only gets out of the car once Sakura holds Mika at bay/Gae’s no longer in danger of dying. S01e09: he purposefully plays w/ Gae’s feelings by changing the topic to one he knows is a sore spot for Gae. Gae goes from smiling up to McG to subtly avert his eyes from McG w/o changing his expression much or turning his head away. He’s hurt and trying not to show it to McG.

S01e17: McG does nothing as Gae is ganged up by both Gusion and Barbatos, despite hovering nearby in Montag’s ship. S01e19: McG does nothing as Barbatos is about to stab Gae & Kimaris to death. S01e22-23: actually says aloud w/ a bored expression how Carta should’ve just died. (the fact he’s alone and has no need to put up a show means he *means* what he says.) and then he actually sends Carta to her death w/ a smile.

He says Gae is his only friend, then what is Carta to him? Someone convenient???

He says Gae is his only friend, but this makes me wonder about the definition of ‘friendship’ to him.

Bcs as I see it, he is protected by Gae (ep11, 13) and keeps getting the advantage of his relationship w/ Gae without him having to do anything for Gae in return.

Even when Gae calls him about Ein, he helps Gae not bcs he *cares* but bcs he needs Gae to put Ein in Alaya-Vijnana for McG’s own sake.

Meanwhile Gae keeps going out of his way to do anything to ease McG’s way or spare his feelings.

Gae admires and worships him too much to ever realize their relationship is truly one-sided and greatly unbalanced.

This is exaggerating it but I truly think getting McG’s smile is worth getting trampled over for Gae.

MCGILLIS NEVER ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT GAELIO OR CARTA.

He only cares about their uses to him, nothing more.

Of course you could argue this is bcs he doesn’t know what friendship is, he always suffers, he never got anyone to show him yadda yadda.

That doesn’t excuse him being a total asshole to them.

This scene does nothing to me except make me want to throw things at him more.

Also worth noting, the ppl McG willingly chooses to surround himself with are the ppl who totally adore him and never go against him in any way. Todo: Todo is the kind of smarmy that would do as he’s told as long as it is benefits him, and he calls McG ‘master (danna)’. He’s a total asslicker who would not ever oppose McG, esp not after McG puts him in a pedestal like that. Isurugi: he does what he’s told. No uestion, no nothing. He’s entire role is to be McG’s assistant or something. (the show attempts to make him seem parallel to Ein and it fail so spectacularly, but that’s another different matter) Almiria: a sheltered girl who’s too naïve and is easily influenced. Gallus: he’s kind to McG, telling him to relax and take his time and all. Also I think when McG tells him ‘I’m your son too’ McG actually means it – he wants Gallus to be his father – and it’s not only said as a blow to Gallus. Gaelio: in the scene above, I’m pretty sure Gae’s only agreeing with McG just bcs he’s that desperate for McG’s approval. Carta: this is the reason McG doesn’t much care for Carta; bcs while she does validate his existence, she does so by ‘opposing his view’. She tells him he’s wrong. She’s the only one who ever does; even Rustal doesn’t say directly to his face he’s wrong.

All of the ppl mentioned above adore McG in a way, and all of them are ‘useful tools’ to him, but Carta differs from the rest bcs she tells him he’s wrong. Todo’s also different from the rest bcs he’s the only one who stays until the end (sort of) w/ McG, and the one McG never abandons. (He fucking just up and left after Isurugi gets stabbed; that’s cold.)

For the record, McG already made both Almiria and Gaelio cry twice in front of him.

What a guy.

Also, Gae’s saying this line is totally the most unsurprising thing this whole season.

He says ‘might forgive’ but he totally already forgives McG tho.

You can’t go admiring someone for 15years without trying to excuse it when said someone deliberately hurts you.

This is basically the same thing Almiria says to McG in s02e19.

Can we say this is a Bauduin thing then? Bcs Gallus actually has similar reaction when faced w/ McG saying “I’m your son too.”

The three of them trust McG only for him to betray them all in the worst possible way.

Hooray for Yamazin’s reappearance.

I kinda gave up on hoping she appears more but then voila! Here she is! telling Rustal where Julieta is!

I love my manic mobile suit otaku mechanic girl okay.

(I realize she’s probably closer to Rustal in age than to Iok, but whatevs)

I DIED

LOOK AT GAE’S SMILE

Oh Ein, you did good, you did very good indeed.

Can I still have hope that after he’s done as Graze Ein, Rustal would pull a miracle and restore Ein’s human body even if half of it is mechanic for Gae’s sake?

CAN I, PLS? ;____;

I wish I could say more about this scene, but I’m still trying to recover. Gae softly caressing Ein’s ‘eyes’ there obliterated me ;__;

SPEAKING OF RUSTAL ELION...

To think McG would be crazy enough to go against this guy

I mean, just look at the pics above.

Notice how Rustal stays rooted to the floor by the sheer force of his will

Seriously, he’s standing in low gravity and somehow doesn’t seem to ever be shaken by ship turbulence and whatnot

I mean. He’s just. Standing. Without even gripping/holding the handle bar to his right side.

Also considering the handle bar is located beyond reach behind him, he’s clearly confident enough he wouldn’t need such thing to stay upright.

Also, that cloak/coat/jacket is, while looking stylish draped in such a way, it technically hinders his movement. With his cloak/coat/jacket in the way, there’s no way he could move fast enough to grip the handle bar should he need it. (not that he’d ever need it…)

Even during that moment when Shino nearly shot the SkipJack’s bridge, while Iok moves to the front and is shaken from the force of the near-miss, Rustal still stays mostly standing upright, w/ the only change being his eyes widening.

I just. How???

Look at pic #7 in particular. He’s standing on the plank-like floor and without proper support, a slight movement of the ship would logically have him topple down about 3m to the floor and yet there he is, majestically standing upright.

This is such a silly thing to obsess over but I can’t stop thinking about this. pls tell me I’m not alone

Even gravity *follows* his orders. And McG thinks he has a chance? Pfft.

The thing that I kinda admire but also fear about Rustal is how so open he is with his ppl. He’s *honest* with them.

He’s like, here’s the thing I’m gonna do. Watch and learn, then judge for yourself how I’m doing. His smile suggests this isn’t the first time they have this kind of conversation where he reminds her he’s not *exactly* a good person even if he has (somewhat) good intention, and she somehow still thinks the world of him. He basically tells Julieta not to put him in pedestal, and he doesn’t hold illusion what he’s doing is morally right – which is the opposite of what McG’s doing.

In s02ep20, he shows Iok how to build a winning strategy, even if said strategy can be called sly and downright ruthless. In s02ep23, he lets Iok in on his conference w/ Nobliss. He’s basically letting Iok knows it’s not that he was wrong in collaborating w/ a shady character like Jasley, but more like there’s a time and place for that kind of shady deals, and Iok’s deal was exactly that: not in the right time or place.

He’s, essentially, telling them: if you want to attack me/expose me/bring me down, this is the way to do it.

The same with Vidar/Gaelio. Rustal lets Gae do what he wants freely, so long as he follows Rustal’s instruction when the time comes. And even then, Rustal still lets him free, going so far to indulge him in pursuing McG in 1 on 1. Of course Rustal also does it for his own plan’s sake, but I still think it’s important he lets Gae have the stage he’s prepared and just, er, let him have at it basically.

About the Vidar mask thing, it’s from s02e18, it’s clear the mask is totally Gae’s own idea and not one proposed by Rustal. I really, really want to know the look on Rustal’s face when Gae said he wanted to wear a mask ‘in order to hide his identity’. Like, Skipjack & Arianrhod is completely devoted to Rustal – one word and none would open their mouth about a supposedly dead Sevenstar member living among them. In a way, it also suggests that Gae doesn’t trust Rustal’s crews. Rustal probably just thinks it all amusing, and, again, lets him do what he wants.

Let’s face it, The Mask ™ is ridiculous and Gae rather implies that he only wears that bcs he wants to understand McG’s feelings, someone who he says always wears a mask his whole life.

That’s so extra but who am I to judge :p

This pic is here bcs I just really like Rustal’s face and also this smile seems to be his default when dealing w/ his children’s antics (Iok, Gae, Julieta).

It’s really interesting how he always has a smile ready for those three, even when they’re being totally stupid and putting the entire Fleet’s reputation at risk (Iok /coughs) yet he loses his smile when it comes to McG. Most notably in s02e08 and this ep, his face is totally serious with no hint of amusement whatsoever.

I’m so very curious to the extent of their relationship before Vidar. The show gives us only the barest minimum, and they won’t even show us a flashback of how exactly Rustal saved Gae or how Gae felt about being saved in such a way.

Gae used to be pretty vocal about his opinions and Rustal’s always so patient that he must have been so unbearably infuriating to Gae. Yet is S2 they’re shown trusting each other with Rustal seeking Gae’s counsel on a couple occasion and Gae obeying Rustal’s order and showing actual respect for the man.

…I really want to know what happened between them in those two years period between S1 and S2.

I just want to express what a waste opportunity it was not to show Iok’s reaction to the news that Gae is pretty much alive and kicking. Like, was he shocked? Or did he pretend he knew all along Vidar was Gae? Did he feel weird seeing how Gae was much calmer now? And more importantly, how did he address Gae? His given name? His family name? or his former rank maybe?

How did it work anyway, as a Family Head he was above Gae who was still an heir, but rank-wise, pretty sure Gae technically outranked him. This is, I think, one dynamic that would be interesting to explore.

Also lulz Iok looks small compared to Gae, who is still smaller in width than Rustal.

CONCLUSION

I read somewhere that Tragedies are essentially about a hero who happens to be in the wrong story. This is to say, it’s not bcs the hero makes a mistake/has a flaw or two, but rather, no matter what the hero does or doesn’t do, bad things would still happen to the hero. It’s about having the hero’s strengths be useless and make him powerless and his struggle to overcome this.

Is IBO a tragedy? The short answer: YES and NO.

Judging just from the 1st ep and the latest ep (s02e24), yes, IBO should count as a tragedy. But I feel calling IBO a tragedy is giving too much credits to the writers, since the amount of asspulls and plot holes and general inconsistencies are phenomenal.

All the things IBO did have been done in another gundam shows and they handle it much better (e.g. thunderbolt for physical disabilities and both thunderbolt and unicorn, to a certain extent, for Alaya-Vijnana/direct connection to the gundam be it physical or mental).

All the plot twists in this show are done purely for shock values since there’s no follow up or any explanation (Lafter and Orga’s deaths, Mika/Ku/Atra pregnancy talk thing (wtf), Almiria/McG’s whole relationship (WTF SRSLY), Mika’s paralysis, McG’s entire characterization… I could go on.

One of the show’s success (Gaelio) seems to happen by accident and not by the writers’ design.

Gaelio actually has a Hero Journey narrative; from situation normal to getting his world slowly shaken until he gets killed by his best friend slash enemy only to turn the table on said best friend slash enemy after a self-searching journey to figure himself out and defeats him. He *wins*.

Gaelio’s entire subplot (McG’s characterization aside) is much more fulfilling than the protags’ entire plot. This is also esp bcs the show decides to roll every character development from the protags side by killing them. We follow these characters for NOTHING.

e.g. oh hey look Aston finally accepts himself as part of a family! Time to kill him! Oh hey look Orga finally realizes violence is not always the answer and sometimes it’s better to pull back and surrender! Time to kill him before he’s given chance to act on his development! Lafter lost her number one support and the constant pillars of her life. Instead letting her have her character development by exploring this, they kill her. Hush finally getting the recognition he wants from Mika; wonder how he’ll develop from this… never mind, he’s just got killed.

THE SHOW. NEVER. LETS. TEKKADAN. DEVELOP. THEMSELVES.

All those deaths are pointless and shocking bcs of how irrelevant they are to the supposed plot, particularly Orga’s. This late in the game, what are they trying to achieve by killing him??? If they want to explore Mika’s codependency and how he can’t think for himself w/o Orga, they should’ve just explored that during early eps of S2. Nothing would change in just 2 eps. Nothing would get resolved.

GOD I’m so angry and I don’t actually like Mika or Orga. This plot point is so beyond ridiculous I just. Ugh.

back to McGillis....

to me McGillis is so infuriating bcs I can never be sure whether to blame *him* or the writers for his actions. I want to like him so bad, but something about the way he’s written just keeps making me angry.

I've liked plenty problematic characters before, but I don't think McGillis can be categorized as 'problematic'. He's, at best, a half-baked character born out of an ambitious concept the writers are too half-assed to bring out in the show. Rather than a charming Char clone, with his ever present apathetic smile and his delusion of grandeur McG just seems like a sociopath who thinks the world owes him something and he expects respect and obedience for almost nothing.

this is all my own opinion and I apologize if this seems rather cluttered. I keep wanting to add misc things every time I reread so I figure I better post this before this gets even more unreadable :p

[ralphmorgan-blog1]

6 Things You Need To Stop Doing In Your Engagement Photos

There’s nothing I love more than when my friends tell me they’re getting married. I so look forward to spending money on an outfit, hotel, travel, and gifts—the thought of spending a cool two grand on the wedding weekend alone just delights me. Being hit by such crippling loneliness that I'm left crying into my wine at the end of the night, only to be consoled by the bartender (until his shift ends) gives me life. And the real high point of my life is the day after wedding hangover buffet where I can decide between gorging myself to death on bacon or inhaling the not-so-short stack of pancakes (spoiler alert: I choose them both). And what brings about this beautiful chain of events? THE ENGAGEMENT SHOOT. Engagement photos are the newest way to showcase your love and devotion for the person you want to spend the rest of your life with and are also the reason why I drink. It’s not enough that I have to watch you gush over your #mcm on Instagram every goddamn day, but now you want me to have a permanent memento of your love and, like, what? Hang it on my fridge? The most sacred spot in my home aside from my bed and the couch? You monster. I have enough engagement photos hanging on my fridge rn, judging me with their happiness every time I contemplate eating a jar of icing and drinking a bottle of wine for dinner. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life. So if you want me, the person who will be permanently stationed at the open bar and will probably drunkenly make out with your fiancé’s much younger brother, to come to your wedding then here’s the six things you need to stop doing ASAP.

1. Wearing Matching Outfits

Honestly, I understand the thought process behind matching outfits for the engagement photos. You’re trying to send a message like, “we’re a unit now” and, “I have forfeited all of my individual thoughts and opinions to be with this person.” It’s v romantic. But when I see two adults in cream colored ensembles posing on a beach all I can think is "siblings posing for the family Christmas card." It looks less romantic and more as if behind the scenes, their mother is threatening to take away their data plans if they don’t SMILE AND LOOK LIKE THEY’RE HAVING A GOOD TIME. This isn’t , incest vibes don’t hold up here. They are neither appreciated nor accepted on my fridge, so cut that shit out. 

2. Costume Themes

I will never understand why two grown adults think it’s a good idea to dress up in cosplay to show the world they’re mature enough to get married for their engagement photos. It ranks right up there with the matching outfits thing. Do you think you’re unique because you have a wand in your photo and “always” is part of your wedding hashtag? Do you know who else owns a wand and is incorporating lines from a children’s book into their wedding vows? Anyone who was born between the years 1985-2000 and had working eyes and ears, that's who. Newsflash: broadcasting how much of a Potterhead you are in your engagement photos does not make you unique or quirky, it just makes me want to take shots. 

3. Intimate Poses

People who treat their engagement photo like a personal ad for Playboy are the fucking worst. First of all, if your favorite book is , that's embarrassing enough. Why must you now recreate it for your closest friends and family? It's like you WANT me to claw my eyes out or something.The last thing I want to see when I’m deciding between pints of ice cream is you and your fiancé engaging in foreplay in with the words “save the date” below your groping hands. If I wanted to see alarming levels of PDA I’d replay the finale of . NOPE. I’m not here for it.

4. Anything With Camo

I can’t with a couple who wears camo. When I see camo all I can think is “budget wedding” and “there will be a beer run halfway through the ceremony.” Srsly can’t wait. They usually caption their engagement photo with something like “the hunt is over” which leads me to believe that their engagement came about after they ran out of matches on Tinder and reconnected with each other through a 2am Facebook DM. I, mean, the hunt is over? This isn’t The Hunger Games, it’s your love story, for God’s sake. Quit being so fucking dramatic. I already know that if I attend this wedding I can expect the venue to be exploding with mason jars and people who hate Obamacare but love the ACA. Sounds lit, will 100 percent be there.

5. The Psycho Stare

You know the one I’m talking about. The close-up shot where he’s either looking at her or off into the distance and she’s staring straight at the camera with her ring pointed like a deadly weapon. She’s got that look in her eyes that says she may or may not have killed for this ring and if you don’t show up to her wedding with a mid- to high-priced item from her registry you’ll be next. It’s fucking frightening. Also, when the bride-to-be inevitably makes every single one of her Facebook friends want to unfriend her puts up all 250 photos from the engagement shoot, the guy always looks like a prisoner of war. Always. It makes me want to be like, dude, blink once if you want to be here, twice if you’re being held against your will. 

6. Animal Props

We get it, you have a fiancé AND a dog and I’m still buying crop tops at Forever21. Congratu-fucking-lations. You win at life. If you have a dog, FINE, I guess you can put him in your engagement photos. I can pick my battles here. My real issue is with the people who get fucking elaborate with their photos and add, like, a horse into the mix. The whole setup is extremely awkward. They’re always leaning on the animal or feeding it a snack while looking at each other and laughing like they have a fucking secret. It’s v unsettling. And the girl who would use an animal as a prop—let’s call her Jennifer—is usually the same girl who held a special meeting during sorority recruitment to blackball the horse freak from making it to the next round because Jennifer had a feeling that she “wouldn’t fit in.” Oh, how the tides have turned, Jennifer. HOW THE TIDES HAVE TURNED.

  More From this publisher : HERE

=> *********************************************** See More Here: 6 Things You Need To Stop Doing In Your Engagement Photos ************************************ =>

6 Things You Need To Stop Doing In Your Engagement Photos was originally posted by A 18 MOA Top News from around