#I would LOVE to not have any desire for romance and to just be okay with never feeling the touch of partner

[jayktoralldaylong]

Brandon Sanderson's true calling is writing romance.

No no, I know he's supposedly bad at writing romance, but I ADORE how he writes women. 😂😭🔥 Oh my goodness I adore all his women. I adore how no two are the same. I adore how they feel like people. 🥰🥰

I love Shallan's horny desire and identity crisis. I adore how she's brave and also frightened of a lot of things, and it's not like her fear is mentioned in passing, Shallan is scared all the time. I love that her trauma is ADDRESSED! EXTENSIVELY! Cause in the name of making female characters bad ass, some stories give them trauma and then just never touch on it at all, or how this affects a lot of their decisions, leading to the absolute worst takes about those characters. 😭😭😭 I love Shallan's battle with her attraction to two different people and how that worsened her identity crisis as she tried to figure out who she was supposed to be and who she truly wanted to be. Of course, it's not a Shallan rant if I don't truly enjoy her art. 😌✨ And perhaps we only have Media Literate people in the Brandon Sanderson universe so there's no one mocking her passion like they do with Feyre.

I love Jasnah being a stiff possibly aroace stick-in-the-mud 💀. I love how she lectures as a teacher but also a mother with no interest in having actual children of her own. ❤️ I love how they don't just make her stiff but she's also got really strong platonic relationships that make her soft and anxious when she rests at night because she so terribly wants to use the intelligence she's been blessed with to protect the people she loves. 🥺 And Jasnah loves. And it is not romantic love. And her love is beautiful too.

I love Navani the huntress who bagged her man with the power of books of all things 😂 (reverse beauty and the beast). To be honest, I was unsure about Navani at first, but she's grown on me. She was really forward. 💀😌❤️ Also, I love how despite being a sort of secondary character, her trauma is not overlooked. She loves her children so dearly. 😔 I want Navani to stop losing things.

I love Lift, the lazy younger girl who cares more about satisfying her hunger even on a battlefield.😂 She could not care less about an assassin approaching her. She's the boss of everyone. She's about thirteen but she gives everyone orders. She tries to ignore the things that weigh heavy in her heart, after all, she's a child. A child with an awesome power. 😎 And a growing circle of friends.

I love Siri,🥹🥰 the strong-headed troublemaker who is reasonably scared of a lot of things but can't bring herself to follow rules that don't make sense.

I love Vivienna, who thought that she was very put together and politically savvy, lost in a world that frightens her, like a frog from the well viewing the deep blue sea. She so badly wants to do the right thing, but she's also lost and she wants to go home, and I relate to that so hard. 😭 Fortunately she's got a group of bandits who've sort of adopted her, so she's going to be okay. Though she might have to rewrite her black and white moral code. 😂

I love Jewel, the grumpy woman with no colours (who seems to still be clinging to the man she loved and lost 💔).

I love Blushweaver. 😂 Her shameless desire for power is hilarious, and I like how she's upfront about her desires for Lightsong, figuring manipulation would never work on him anyway. I like 'aggressive' women as they call it. A woman who will chase what she wants with zero humility. She's also very funny, intentionally. 😂❤️

I like Vin. I love that she's a girl who got taken from the streets but she loves balls and makeup and big beautiful dresses. 🥹❤️ No daydreaming about rags or suffering as if there's any joy to be had in poverty. 💀 I love that her power is a part of her and she shreds people as easily as paper. And she'll do it to protect the people she loves. I love that both the warrior in the dark and the lady in the ballroom are her, one and the same, and I love that Elend loves and accepts both parts of her. 😭 Vin has lost so many people that she has to hold on to Elend, holding tight with hands like daggers piercing his clothes but he holds her just the same and it burns! 😭😭

I love Evi. She was such a pathetic fragile creature, but I love Evi. I love how she would always ultimately be Dalinar's undoing. All she wanted to do was love and she spread love to everything she touched. And it was that love that broke Dalinar....so cleanly. (I wish there was more Evi fan art, she sounds so beautiful and wonderful and so dainty compared to Dalinar. I think of them as a Bull and a Dandelion. He would always lean close to gather her scent but one breath would blow her away to nothing and she'd be lost 💔😭)

I hate Illami or Illari or whatever they call her. That's the thing about excellent writing. Sometimes you got to write characters for people to hate. And oh I hate that woman. 😂 It's just a shame. Her intelligence would have meant so much to them.

I love Brandon Sanderson women. I love the ones I love. I love the ones I hate too. It's nice to have nasty women once in a while. Women should get to have nasty hobbies too. 😌✨

[moe-broey]

Brain still soup but like. I think making one or both (or more!) characters involved in relationships with each other aromantic makes the dynamic soooooo much more compelling. Because if you remove romance as a motivator, you really get down to the nitty-gritty as to WHY that character is seeking out/involved in those relationships in the first place. Whether that relationship involves romantic factors or is more of a queer platonic thing. Much to think about....

[cookie-waffle]

My grey-aro ass trying to contain my seething jealousy whenever I see couples being affectionate:

[mocchiixxx]

Love or Legacy Series | #1: A Leader’s Dilemma

(Choi Seungcheol x Reader)

Genre: Angst, Romance, Drama, Idol AU

⚠️ WARNING: This is story is purely work of fiction. It does not reflect real-life events or SEVENTEEN in any way. This episode contains heavy angst, emotional distress, and themes of heartbreak and sacrifice. Reader discretion is advised. Please take care of yourself while reading.

Summary: When Seungcheol’s relationship is exposed, the company gives him a choice; love or career. As SEVENTEEN’s leader, he sacrifices his heart for the group, only to realize too late that fame means nothing without you.

The night the news broke, everything changed.

Seungcheol had always been careful. He knew the weight of his position, the responsibilities that came with being SEVENTEEN’s leader. But love… love was something he thought he could protect, something he believed he could keep hidden between stolen glances and secret nights.

Yet, the world was ruthless.

The moment the photos leaked, your intertwined hands, the way he looked at you like you were his whole world, social media exploded. Fans were divided, 50 percent supports him and the remaining percent opposed it. Yet despite that, the overwhelming outcry of betrayal was deafening.

‘How could he lie?’

‘Doesn’t he care about his career?’

‘She’s just a distraction.’

And then the company called.

“You have two options,” the CEO’s voice was cold, indifferent. “End it now and we’ll do damage control, or keep the relationship and watch everything you built crumble.”

His heart clenched.

Lose you or lose everything he had worked for? The dreams he bled for, the members who relied on him, the fans who gave him their all?

But losing you… Can he handle it? Just a mere though of it make him feel something unpleasant deep inside him.

Seungcheol met your eyes across the dimly lit apartment. You were already trying to be strong, smiling despite the pain he knew you felt. “It’s okay, Cheol,” you whispered, voice barely above a breath. “I don’t want to be the reason you lose everything.”

He wanted to scream.

How was it fair that the love he cherished had become a choice between sacrifice and survival?

He's a person too. Did he not deserve to be happy? Aren't he allowed to love freely? He knows he's being selfish right now, without the fans, the members, and countless individuals who work behind the scene, he wouldn't be where he was right now, but wasn't he part of achieving that too? He works hard too and continue doing so to stay at the spotlight yet...

No one can hear his silent cry and what his heart truly desire. Would it really be so wrong to be selfish, just this once?

He was like a child seeking for answer even though reality has already laid it out for him, he just refuse to believe nor even accept it.

His hands trembled as he reached for yours, gripping them like they were his last lifeline. “Tell me not to do it,” he pleaded. “Tell me to stay.”

Tears slipped down your cheeks, but you softly shook your head. “I love you too much to be selfish.”

His throat tightened. He wanted to fight, to defy the world, to hold you and tell everyone that he didn’t care.

But he wasn’t just Choi Seungcheol. He was S.Coups; the leader, the face, the backbone of SEVENTEEN.

And so, with a shattered heart, he let go.

The official statement was released the next day.

'We deeply apologize for the recent news. After careful consideration, Seungcheol and the individual involved have decided to part ways. He will continue to focus on his career and his responsibilities as SEVENTEEN’s leader.'

Fans cheered. The hate subsided. His reputation was saved.

But behind closed doors, Seungcheol sat in the darkness of his room, staring at the last message you sent him.

"I’ll always be your biggest fan. No matter what happens."

And in that moment, he realized...

He had chosen the world, but lost his heart.

Author's Note: This is purely fictional y'all, please don't take it to heart, thanks!🫶

[feyascorner]

Astarion would never admit it, but the charming lines he uses as a constant attempt to seduce you are not all his own.

He’s talented, he knows, at coming up with the heart skipping lines, describing in detail the massive amount of so-called ‘adoration’ he says he can give. He knows how to flirt, and he knows even better that despite the way you roll your eyes, he’s starting to wedge his way into your heart.

But sooner or later, ideas come to an end. And he’s starting to think you’re incapable of falling in love if he’s used all his lines and you still haven’t approached him. Perhaps you just don’t do romance. But hope wavers. Why he’s so adamant on wrapping you of all companions around his finger, he doesn’t know. He knows you’re the most difficult to seduce, yet he can’t help himself.

You’re almost like a drug to him.

So, unable to quit, he turns to his books. They’re sappy romances, and many of the lines even manage to make him scrunch his nose, scoffing at the sheer disbelief of how unrealistic some of the scenarios are. But hours upon hours later, he picks out some of the most upfront lines, because he’s sure you’ll just ignore him otherwise.

He knows you have little interest in romance, but he wants to entice you. He wants to be good enough for you to look at him.

“I must confess that the moment I laid eyes on you, everything in my body and soul told me you were the one.”

You stare at him, eyes lidded and barely fazed. Puzzled, he has no choice but to continue.

“My heart beats terribly, my beloved, whenever I see you bathing in the glory of the sun. My breath quickens, but vanishes when you get a step closer. My very existence, it seems, is meant to yearn for you,” he rattles off the lines of the book, as enticingly as he can, with eyes so seductive that they almost appear to glow. “Your beauty is unmatched with any other. If you asked, I would die—“

“—a million times in the thorns adorning my own desire,” you cut in, and his eyes widen. “The skies could fall and I would use my bloodied body to hold you up again, against the starry nights as a star gleaming brightest in its competition.”

As you finish the line, he blinks, completely and utterly confused. “How did you-“

“It’s my favorite book,” you confess sheepishly.

Astarion, for the first time, sees you as you are. He sees you as the being who yearns for love, just as a young maiden would yearn for their prince—perhaps even more innocent. He’s read you completely wrong, and he feels his throat close up. “It’s…it’s a childish one.”

Your cheeks burn, and he thinks you almost look cute. He rips away from the thoughts though, appalled at what he just considered. “I think it’s romantic.”

“No kind of love is so ideal.”

And while your face falls, you lift your head to look at him with squinted eyes. “…next time, just make your own lines—-or, at least, don’t choose ones that don’t fit you.”

“Don’t fit me? How so?”

“I doubt we would’ve fallen in love at first sight. You had a knife to my throat.”

“A loving knife.”

You stifle a laugh, and he swears he can’t take his eyes off of you. “Well…if you want, I have other books in my tent if you want to see…I have a few you might like, or at least, help.”

He just stares at you, only realizing moments later that you were awaiting an answer. “Ah, of course, darling. I’d love to accompany you. Perhaps I’ll learn a new line or two, though I doubt any writing has as much charisma as myself.”

You smile softly, nodding. “Okay then. Come over tonight after dinner, and I’ll show you.”

And as you walk away, he thinks that rather than him doing the charming and you falling irrevocably in love with him as it should have gone, your interaction has left him charmed instead.

It seems the romance novels are more than just effective at their jobs.

[loppsided]

WARNINGS: fem reader, established relationship, p in v smut, soft smut, oral (fem receiving), dick being completely obsessed and in love with reader, virgin!reader, experienced!dick grayson (obviously), cunninlings, pet names (baby), dick n reader literally wanna become one person lmfao NOTES: this is hbo max titans!dick thats why hes described as having brown eyes and hair, but just insert the attributes of any version you want! first time writing smut so bare with me, apologies if its hella cringey. requests r open go request whatever u want. this was also proofread at 3am so if it doesnt make sense, thats why heh sorry. the ending is sooooo bad but i got lazy. im making a taglist! so if u wanna be added to my dc taglist just comment on this post. MINORS DNI 18+ likes and reblogs appreciated! WC: 1k

soft moans and the rustling of sheets underneath you are the only sounds to be heard in your room, as you grind mindlessly against anything that will create friction on your body. you and dick had been dating for months now and though the topic of sex came up often, whether it be late night conversations about all your desires or the occasional fingering session which had you creaming around his fingers and screaming his name, you haven't had sex yet. you were a virgin, mind plagued by things so much more important than intercourse, and the mere fact that you just didn't have time in your busy schedule to lay down and do any thing. but god did you think about it. and today all your desires would be fulfilled. the conversation was typical, a thousand "are you sure?"s fell from your gentlemen of a boyfriends lips. so here you are now, laying on your back, hands tangled through dicks dark brown locks as he flicked his tongue back and forth slowly at your clit. he took his time, eyes fixated on your expression, your jaw was slack and brows knitted. his hand kneaded into the flesh of your stomach as he held your hand lovingly. a gesture he knew you loved, you always talked about the romance of sex, and how it made it better for both parties. he flattened his tongue against your heat, sucking slowly. his other hand slid down your thighs, grazing the hickeys he had left there only minutes prior. he stuck his ring and middle finger inside of you, pumping at the perfect pace while he swirled his tongue around your pussy. you felt your climax coming soon, you tugged his hair as you bit down hard on your bottom lip. "cum for me baby, let go." his voice was what sent you over the edge, back arching as soft whiny whimpers escaped your throat.

he took his fingers out slowly, moving up your body leaving soft kisses up your torso until he reached your mouth. you kissed for a few seconds until he pulled back, a string of saliva holding you both together as you looked into each others eyes with love. you loved dick, and dick loved you, no matter how many issues you had, or how many times you cried in his arms about how meaningless you felt. he loved you for you, he saw you completely and now his love was taken to a whole other place. now he loved how you tasted. he loved how you moaned his name so pathetically, like you could melt into the sheets at any second and become one with him. like you needed him, like all you wanted was him. his gaze never left yours as he slid into you slowly, wrapping his arms around your back so you could hold him by his neck. "just tell me to stop at any time if its too much, okay?" you nodded. "use your words baby" "yea, il tell you." you whispered looking directly at his lips wanting for him to kiss you again. he was always such a damn gentlemen, and though sometimes it got on your nerves, that's one of the reasons why you fell in love with the brown eyed boy. but right now you didn't want a gentlemen, you wanted him to fuck orgasm after orgasm out of you until you were laying in bed sweaty, barely coherent. his pace started off slow, despite your effort to keep eye contact with your lover, your head lolled back as you closed your eyes. time stood still in that moment, your ears rung (probably from your previous orgasm) and the whole world was gone. it was just you and him, and him inside of you. you had expressed your concerns about potentially not being able to cum during your first time since you usually couldn't finish with just insertion, but as dick sped up, his lips grazing your neck as he praised you, telling you how tight and warm you felt, you could tell you would be cumming in a few minutes. he knew all the right spots, where to hold and squeeze you, where to kiss you, to rip those beautiful noises he loved so much from you. and that's exactly what happened. dick noticed your needy claws at his back, as your breathe increased and you started babbling nonsense about "being there." his lips left your neck as he looked at you. "you gonna cum? huh? you almost there baby?" your eyes opened, the look on your face sent shockwaves of pleasure through his body, knowing he made you feel this good. "ye-mm yea mm-hmm i think m'gonna uhhh-" you cut yourself off with a breathy whine as you buried your face in his shoulder and looked down at your bodies connecting. it tuned you on even more, dicks thick cock pumping in and out of you. a ring of white cream around the base of his dick. sweat beads rolling down his abs and his abs tensing and contracting as you could tell he was also close.

the only words you could get out were his name over and over and over and god that made dick feel like a king. his grip around you tightened as he focused on going as deep as possible, he was determined to make you cum around his dick at least twice tonight. your eyes shot opened as you screamed and arched into dick as you came. "oh fuck- fuck- fuck- dick.." he pressed his forehead to yours as loud throaty groans passed from his mouth to yours, he came with a moan and his fingernails dug crescent shaped marks into your back. his high hit him hard, as all he said was "so good, so good for me, feel so good baby." and your name over and over and over.

you two definitely went a few more rounds that night.

[neverpathia]

So the Slay the Princess community wanted to hear about Paranoid and Nightmare. Ask, and you shall receive.

They're a very toxic relationship.

So I'm looking at a lot of these Princess and Voice pairings, and I'm noticing that there's often a pretty distinct presence of affection from the Voice. Even the Opportunist says the Witch's a 'woman after his own heart', the Cheated says the Razor would be 'pretty cute', and Skeptic calls Cage (formerly the Prisoner) the 'missus'. The former two are actively hostile towards the Princess, while the latter's route has been particularly romance-free thus far.

With Paranoid and Nightmare? Can't say I see it that much on Para's end. The closest it gets is him panicking when Nightmare touches his face.

But Nightmare...well, even if she's not exactly 'affectionate' herself, she certainly does get a little touchy-feely and delight in your fear. And he is your fear.

They have a very distinct imbalance of power here, but where Broken acknowledges it and insists on surrender, Paranoid acknowledges it too—yet he resists. He's terrified but he's spiteful. It's not just panic we have over here—it's snark, anger, hatred.

Maybe she loves him, or maybe she doesn't, but one thing's certain: she wants him. She wants what he can give her: feeling, companionship, a cure against this endless loneliness that has defined too much of her life. (Side note: I feel like Cold and Nightmare would get along. They have all of those desires in common, plus they're both freaky anyway, but I digress.)

But he doesn't want to give it to her, and he most certainly doesn't want her. He hates what she wishes to see from him. Terror is the only thing she knows, but so is it for him. He was borne of it, driven to it, defined by it. It is thanks to this terror that he chooses to resist, to protect himself.

But the resistance of will can only stand for so long.

She pushes against him and he pulls away until he can't any longer. She desires and he despises; she takes and he snatches away until nothing's left but to give. But if he could choose, then he'd run from her forever. Were it possible—but it's not.

(Okay, it is in Wraith, sort of. But it's certainly not in MOC.)

In a Modern AU setting I have going on, Nightmare keeps trying to text Paranoid on several different accounts even after he's blocked her a million times. She's got separation anxiety, and he's got, well, literally any other kind of anxiety.

She threatens and teases and plays with him, but what she really wants is connection. And that's exactly what he believes he can't give her, because it's not safe, because she's always been a threat.

[teratosubmission]

Humanfucker Here: Humans Make Great Beginner Companions

So, you’re a monster looking for your first pet. You’re craving companionship and intimacy, and you’re pining for the kind of fuckfest only an interspecies romance can provide, but you’re inexperienced and don’t really know what you’re doing. That’s okay, we’ve all had to start somewhere too! I’m here to give you the advice I give every beginner: start with a human.

Why a human, you ask? Well, everyone focuses on renowned human sexual compatibility, and their natural beauty and seeming submission to any creature larger than themselves, their noises, their orgasms, their devotion… but there’s a lot to caring for a pet that gets overlooked. I’ve seen too many of us rush into picking up a monster companion, thinking only about fulfilling their particular fetishes and not realizing the nuances and labor of taking care of such exotic species. And so I offer a beginner-friendly monster that is easy to take care of and require no complex logistics for: the human. I’m sure you’re familiar with them, they are arguably one of the most popular companions around, and I won’t argue their popular traits, but many overlook the real reasons for their popularity: their easy nature and adaptability that arguably make them even more compatible with us than any sexual reasons.

Humans innately pack bond with other species easily. This near-universal compatibility makes them incredibly easy to bond and form connections with any creature, which means your pet gets acclimated to you rather quickly without the need for specialized knowledge. You wont have to worry about consulting compatibility charts or fretting about every nuance to bonding with your pet; the simple versatility of a human takes out a lot of the frustrating guesswork!

Humans can adapt a wide range of behaviors, which means they adapt pretty well with the behaviors of whatever creature they are with. Are you nomadic? Humans are evolutionarily designed for long journeys. You have a permanent nest? Humans are excellent at maintaining your home. Part of a pack or a large society? Humans are social creatures and integrate well into your societies.

Humans will often challenge your dominance, but this is a form of play for them and will not actually try to usurp your place as the alpha. This offers beginners a safe and fun way to practice and assert your dominance, and its fun for both parties to put them in their place! This is especially an important trait for younger monsters who are still developing socially and are at risk of being stunted by more aggressive mates.

Humans will vocalize when you’re being too rough with them, but if you accidentally hurt them, it will be okay! Their bodies, while weak, are robust and heal easily, even from injuries that could lame other creatures. Just be sure to go easy on them and care for them while they’re healing, and they’ll love you for it! This robustness is also why they make good companions for a variety of locales and creature strengths, as well as for those still learning how to be gentle with their pets. Humans are excellent communicators in general, and their needs and desires will often be vocalized or presented through descriptive body language. Even the most anti-social of us would be able to properly ‘read’ a human’s mind given time.

And while they are not big or strong, they develop strong attachments to their mates and can match your ferocity if a situation requires it. You will still need to protect them, but they are not helpless either, and their fierce support can be enough to help you ward off threats.

Humans do have a special power up their sleeve. They are capable of controlling fire; they wield it, master it; they use it to cook, illuminate the dark, and even use it for defense. For many, this can be the most unnerving part of keeping a human, but you have to trust that they can properly control it. Having a fire-user is actually rather helpful!

Humans are very needy, but while they will primarily rely on you for sex and intimacy, they can take care of themselves if need be, which can be a godsend in case you're tired or injured. Humans are known to masturbate a lot while thinking about their companions, which can help intensify your bond when you are ready to love on them!

All things considered, I highly recommend taking a human as your companion, especially if its your first time. They're very easy to bond with and learn, very forgiving and adaptive in a variety of situations, and overall have several benefits worth considering for yourself!

[ckret2]

idk if you've ever answered this before (probably, the answer is always probably) but is Bill, like... capable of empathy? Of sympathy? Of love (any kind) or compassion? I guess what I'm asking is how does he relate to other people? Are they all just tools and idle amusements, or does he develop any actual genuine (positive??) attachment to them?

Everything I know about him comes from 8+ year old memories of a cartoon I haven't rewatched since, and discourse I see through your blog, so I'm not sure what the canon consensus is but your word is god enough to me on at least your specific interpretation of Bill.

(I guess it would be moot to ask why he's so fucked up. Feel free to ignore any and all of this ask, it's 12 AM and I'm trawling the web before bed)

for my specific interpretation of Bill? Have this post about empathy and a couple of posts about romantic love. (Okay—three about romance.)

But now let's forget about my interpretation and talk canon.

Empathy! You can roughly split empathy into two categories: "I can logically identify and understand what you're feeling" empathy, and "when you're sad i feel sad and when you're happy I feel happy" empathy.

We absolutely know that Bill has "I understand what you're feeling" empathy, because he uses it again and again to manipulate his victims. He has VERY good emotional intelligence. He understands his victims' insecurities, their desires, how to make them feel happy, angry, ashamed, trustful, mistrustful; he knows when and how to manipulate them based on their mood to maximum effect; etc. We see it in how he manipulates Dipper & Mabel in the show; we see it in how he turns Ford against Fiddleford in Journal 3; we see it in TBOB and on thisisnotawebsitedotcom in the way he talks about how and why he manipulated Ford.

We have no evidence he experiences "I feel what you feel" empathy. That doesn't necessarily mean he DOESN'T, but there's no evidence for it. Never see him get excited just because someone else is excited, never see him cringe sympathetically when someone else is hurt. You could say "maybe on top of being a manipulation tactic, when Bill relates to Ford's estrangement from his family by talking about his destroyed universe, he's also feeling empathy for his situation," but you could also just as easily say "nah it's just manipulation."

Common sense would say well, if he feels other people's pain, it would be harder for him to manipulate, betray, and hurt people so blithely. But we're not talking about common sense, we're talking about canon evidence! It's possible for empathetic people to hurt other people; they can just... learn not to care about that person's feelings. Which is particularly easy to do if the target is someone the person sees as "less important" or dehumanizes them. Bill sees everyone as less important than him. We can't rule either way on whether or not he's got a capacity for emotional empathy we just never see. All we can say for sure is he doesn't appear to turn it on for anyone we see.

Though we see him come close. Although he doesn't feel with any of the Pines, we can see him relate to Ford (during Weirdmageddon, throughout TBOB), to Stan (on TINAWDC), and to Mabel (in TBOB and the Dipper & Mabel's Guide book) via projecting his struggles and beliefs on to them. But in a way this is sort of, reverse empathy?; it doesn't let him feel how they feel, but it makes him assume they feel the way he does.

Sympathy! The definitions of empathy vs sympathy vs compassion are contested so I'm gonna present the definitions I'm using for this post: empathy is "i [feel/understand] what you feel" and sympathy is "i care about how you feel." There's a couple of moments in his interactions with Ford in TBOB that are blatantly manipulative (when he shows Ford what's left of his dimension; to a lesser extent, when he "helps" Ford celebrate his birthday) that might also secondarily be fleeting displays of sympathy. It's ambiguous.

Compassion! Compassion is "i'm moved to help because of how you feel." There's a moment in TBOB when he gets so irritated at Puritan misogyny that he teaches a bunch of Puritan wives how to be witches and has a girls' night burning men at the stake with them. He apparently gets no benefits from this himself, aside from funsies. Is he motivated by compassion for the ladies or ONLY by irritation at how boring the men are? Again, ambiguous.

In TBOB when discussing his exploits in the Nightmare Realm, he mentions freeing patients from insane asylums and criminals from prisons. He also repeatedly mentions disliking captivity. He might be motivated by compassion derived from empathy for prisoners. He doesn't present his motives.

Love! He calls the Henchmaniacs his "family," repeatedly brings up their worries about being erased from reality, and says he takes his party hosting duties to them very seriously. We don't know whether he actually cared about them, or merely called them a family in recognition of their consistent loyalty and obedience. He's pretty disrespectful/violent toward them but that isn't incompatible with being emotionally invested in them beyond their utility. We don't have confirmation he cares for them, or confirmation he doesn't.

Hidden in TBOB and absolutely riddled through TINAWDC are references to his parents caring about him and tender quotes. When he's so blind drunk he doesn't know where he is, he tries to call his mom and asks her to make him a sandwich after school. We know he resents how they pathologized a mutation he was born with; beyond that we can't confirm whether or not he loved them; but just beneath the surface, he's unceasingly haunted by how they loved him.

Romantic love! I wrote a post about the evidence for/against romantic attraction in TBOB. He's confirmed to have at least two ex girlfriends; in the book, he mentions missing them both. He mentions having "seduced" galaxies; we don't know whether these seductions were sexual, sexual+romantic, or metaphorical. He denies having in the exes in the same book where he discusses them, and claims that love is the pupa for hate.

You can choose to interpret this multiple ways. To me it reads most strongly as "he's been in love but sucks at maintaining a relationship because he's an asshole, and he's got sour grapes about it"; but you could read it as "he wants love but his relationships fall apart because he can't feel it and he doesn't examine why" or "the relationships were based on something other than romantic love" and not technically be wrong based on the evidence we have. What we know for sure: he's had multiple relationships; he misses them; he tries to deny they happened; he claims love's dumb.

Genuine attachment to his tools! Bill claims torturing Ford was normal Henchmaniac hazing and he wanted him to join the gang. (Dubious evidence of emotional attachment.) He goes on a raging bender when Ford refuses to join him and escapes before Bill can torture him into joining. (Stronger evidence of emotional attachment.) In Weirdmageddon, seconds after Ford tried to murder Bill, he asks Ford to join him and then turns him into a statue he carries around everywhere when Ford refuses—and this is BEFORE he discovers Ford might still have a practical use for him.

On TINAWDC, he has an exchange that boils down to "Ford was just a tool?" "You say that like it's a bad thing!" "So you never cared about him?" "I didn't say that." He goes on to refer to Ford as his pet and henchman. Demeaning—but, people do feel positively toward their pets.

(It may be worth noting he also calls Teeth the Henchmaniacs' pet. Maybe this is a consistent element to how Bill relates to sentient people.)

There's evidence in TBOB that he felt similarly about his first human henchman, the shaman—at minimum, he's very bitter when the shaman turns on him and he says he's gonna find a "new best friend."

Summary: There's evidence that Bill develops facets of positive attachments to the people around him; but we don't have any evidence that any of these attachments ever added up to a positive & healthy relationship. In all the relationships we see in depth, the toxic aspects outweighed the positive ones.

Summary of the summary: Bill has the capacity for healthy relationships but is too big a douchebag to utilize it.

[tenswrld]

true romance

popstar!haechan x upcomingartist!reader, angst, fluff

summary: haechan's the world's boyfriend — and yours too, i guess.

word count: 4.1k

listen to: true romance - pinkpantheress

a/n: first, sorry that its been so long...im trying to be better about writing but inspiration comes and goes,,i hope you will indulge in whatever this is!!! everytime i hear this song my mind goes to haechan for some reason sooo yeah >_< i have lots of drafts its just a matter of when or if i finish them LOL love yall tho & enjoy

•°. *࿐

tell me, do you view me the same or do you call me a stranger?

"leave a bit after me so no one sees."

haechan is popular — without a doubt one of the most popular artists of your time. everyone either wants to be him or be with him, to which you completely understand. everything about him screams someone who was born to be on a stage, stealing hearts and whatnot. with such a bright personality, it was almost impossible to not like him.

you've had the privilege of getting to watch haechan grow from singing songs he wrote in his bedroom on youtube to him performing them in sold out shows. you're a fan, of course, but somewhere along the way — with crazy luck — you've wiggled your way into his life and into his heart. the two of you were music artists wishing on every star for some kind of breakthrough to the industry (take a guess on who got it). naturally, it brought you together. you were there when haechan reached 5,000 subscribers, and you were still there when he was selling out shows to 50,000 people. you've stuck by his side for so long that you're sure that its where you fit best.

in the moment, however, you're not so sure anymore.

"leave a bit after me so no one sees."

the small smile on your face slowly disappears at haechan's words and hurt quickly settles into your chest. "...why? what would be so bad about that?"

haechan seems unable to grasp how upset you are at his words. he shakes his head with a small laugh. "it's not like that, y/n. but a scandal at this time wouldn't be good."

"a scandal?" you scoff slightly. "since when have you ever cared about that?"

he sighs and runs a hand through his hair that's still slightly wet from his post-performance sweat. "i just don't want to take any risks right now. especially since my album is coming out soon. you understand, right?"

"i fly all the way out here to see you, and you don't want to be seen with me?" you say with a trembling lip and a weak voice. you're hurt and you're angry, but can't seem to keep your tears at bay.

"i didn't say that."

"you might as well have," you spit back at him.

"let's talk about this later, okay? trust me, it would be a lot worse for you than it would for me." haechan picks up his bag and swings it over his shoulder, making his way towards the backstage exit door.

frozen in place overwhelmed with emotion, you watch your boyfriend open the door. you think he's had a change of heart when he pauses at the door and turns back to you, but somehow he's managed to hurt you even more.

"maybe you should take these too," he says, placing the bouquet you made him back into your hold. the smell of roses and sunflowers taking over your senses as more tears well up in your eyes. you hope the flowers hide them from haechan's gaze. though, you're not so sure he'd notice anyway, as he'd already let the door close and left you behind.

•°. *࿐

'cause, baby, i don't care about the fame

people talk. as an upcoming music artist, you're aware that people talk. as the (hidden) girlfriend of a global superstar, you're more than aware that people love to talk about anything and everything that doesn't concern them.

you and haechan aren't on the same level of fame — not that it matters to you. it never mattered to you, really. even as haechan grew and grew and you remained with your significantly smaller (but still decent) following, fame was never your strongest desire.

yet, now, you're wondering that maybe if you were just a bit more famous, more popular, more well known, then you wouldn't feel as far away from haechan as you do right now. even as he sits beside you on the king bed of the luxury suite he booked for this stop of his tour, you feel further away from him then ever.

"i mean, what would people say about us, y/n? about you?"

"you keep saying that, hyuck, but you're not explaining it to me," you say, growing frustrated with him. "why is it just about me?"

he purses his lips before averting his gaze to the floor. "they'll say nasty stuff about you — that you're using me for fame, or money, or something like that."

you shake your head. "but you and i both know that's not true. we've been together for how many years now? their words shouldn't matter." you take hold of his hand and rub your thumb against his knuckles. "you could have nothing and i'd still be here."

"people don't know that," he scoffs. "they'll assume the worst about you."

maybe he's right — you're sure they will assume the worst about you regardless of your long, deep history with haechan. would he start to believe them? you think it, but you don’t ask — too afraid of the answer you might receive.

"what are you so afraid of?" you ask him softly, begging him with your mind for him to look at you.

but he doesn't, his eyes stayed trained on the ground and he can only weakly squeeze your hand that holds onto his own.

"i don't know."

•°. *࿐

tell me, why i don't play about you

every song is about you

haechan finally has a short break in between the legs of his tour and he chooses to spend every waking moment of it with you.

things between the two of you have felt rocky for a while. it makes haechan ashamed to say it, but he's been so focused on tour and his new album that he's pushed everything else to the side. he's a perfectionist and he feels like he's barely made it — he wants everything to work out perfectly and is committed to making sure that happens. he's not sure how long he's been brushing off anything non-career related, but he misses you — even if you're with him.

he flys the two of you out to a small, quaint place in kyoto where he finally gets to enjoy some peace and quiet in his life. he chooses to turn off his phone, not too keen with the idea of his manager berating him about all his responsibilities he'll have to tend to when he gets back. he's on vacation and he's here with you: the one person who's been with him through every up and down.

you're laying in his arms and haechan misses you to the point where it hurts — when was the last time he laid with you like this? the revelation urges him to pull you closer, placing a soft kiss to the crown of your head as you lay on his chest. he sighs into your hair, breathing all of you in. it's silent, for the most part, until you ask a question that rattles haechan's being.

"why do you not sing about me?" you ask it so softly that haechan almost misses it.

"what? what are you talking about?" he's genuinely confused as to what you mean. who do you think he sings about?

"i know a handful of your old old songs are about me, but you don't perform those anymore," you murmur into his chest. "ah, don't mind me, i'm just talking."

you sound embarrassed and defeated and haechan wants to cry. did you really not know? how long has he been pushing you away?

"y/n, every single song i write is about you," haechan professes. "i couldn't write about anyone else if i tried."

his words shock you, even if they shouldn't. you tilt your head up to look up at him and he looks down at you with the softest gaze.

"not that i ever would, anyway," he continues, a sad smile painting his face.

"you mean it?" you whisper to him, wanting so badly to believe him.

when haechan's resolve breaks and his eyes glaze over, you know he means it. his hold on you tightens with one hand and the other comes up to caress your cheek, swiping a tear you didn't even know had fallen.

"of course," he croaks. "you're my muse, y/n. you."

this time, you're wiping his tears away as he cries and cries into your palms. you shift the two of you so that he lies in between your legs, arms wrapped around your waist and face buried into your torso, your hands running through his hair. he's apologizing over and over and doesn't say why, but you know why. you regret ever doubting haechan's love for you — even if he was to blame.

but, just as you're certain you love him more than anything, you know that haechan loves you back all the same.

"it's always been you, y/n."

•°. *࿐

and everybody’s shouting out your name

“you look too handsome to be pouting like that, you know,” you tease lightly, approaching haechan to adjust his tie fondly.

he can’t help but smile at you as you do so, his hands easily finding their place around your waist, tugging you close. “if you tell me to stay, i will.”

you sigh and place your hands upon his chest, allowing you to push yourself up to place a soft kiss on his lips. his lips trail after yours once you pull away and he pouts at you again, eyes begging for another kiss but you push him back ever so slightly.

“you can’t miss this, hyuck, you know that. this could be really big for you!” you beam, swiping a bit of your lip gloss off of his lips. “some important people might be there.”

“but you won’t be there,” he whines. “what’s the point?”

you roll your eyes playfully. “you’ll be fine. now go, your manager has been waiting.” haechan sighs and leans down to place one more kiss on your lips.

you pull away before he can get carried away. “go! and put a good word in for me with taeyong, yeah?”

haechan rolls his eyes but smiles at you, pecking you on the cheek as he bids you farewell. “no promises.”

ੈ♡˳

it’s barely been over an hour and haechan wants to leave.

normally he’s able to tolerate these sorts of things — the bright lights, loud music, snobby people all trying to one up each other. he can get by and chat with anyone as if he’s known them for years. typically, events like these breeze by for haechan. why was he hating every second of it?

it’s lee taeyong’s end of year celebration party. of course, as his junior, haechan was invited. he’s grateful that he’s made friends with lots of other artists under his company, otherwise haechan would have been long gone within the first 45 minutes of arriving. but, haechan stays, mostly because he admires taeyong and does, in fact, bring up you and your songs — which, to his surprise, taeyong says he knows you and enjoys your music.

haechan isn’t given the chance to talk more, unfortunately, due to an excited kim jungwoo who locks an arm around haechan’s shoulder and drags him away.

“ow — hyung! i was in the middle of a conversation!” haechan grits to jungwoo, lightly shoving his arm off of him.

“my bad, it looked like you needed saving,” jungwoo chuckles. “come on, everyone’s been looking for you.”

jungwoo leads haechan to a small circle of people to which haechan knows as his small circle of friends: mark, his company's beloved canadian rapper; johnny suh, one of seoul's most popular djs; and of course there's kim jungwoo, kim doyoung, and jeong jaehyun who make up dojaejung, korea's heartthrob boy group.

"yo, where have you been?" mark greets him excitedly, lightly slapping him on the shoulder playfully.

"what do you mean 'where have i been', i saw you yesterday, mark," haechan grumbles.

"woah, someone needs a drink," johnny chuckles. doyoung is quick to hand haechan a glass of champagne.

haechan takes a large gulp, hopefully to ease whatever tension he feels in his shoulders. he's trying to enjoy the party, he really is, but all he wants to do is come home to you.

"everything okay?" doyoung asks him, concerned with the way haechan seems to be downing his drink.

the younger boy sighs. "yeah, i'm fine, sorry. just stressed out."

"oh, your album is coming out soon, right?" jungwoo remembers, nudging haechan with his elbow. "congratulations!"

the rest of the boys congratulate him and haechan can only half-heartedly reply despite being very grateful.

"i'm sure it'll be great," johnny reassures him.

"saw a lot of love songs on that track list," jungwoo teases. "got a special someone?"

haechan stills at his words and he's caught in an argument with himself. does he mention you? does he say no? is this how he wants people to find out you’re together? before he can even reply, though, jaehyun cuts in.

"speaking of, i heard that kim minjeong has had her eye on you for a while, haechan," jaehyun says. he raises his eyebrows at the younger boy and haechan gulps, the rest of his friends nudging him playfully as they coo at him.

"that's the model, right? and singer?" doyoung asks. "you should talk to her!"

haechan feels like he's going to be sick. maybe he's being dramatic — its not like they're shoving him into minjeong's face and asking him to profess his love. still, he feels like he's betraying you in some way and he realizes he has to go home.

"i can talk you up, probably," mark says. "we're normally at the studio at the same time."

“i heard that shin ryujin has been talking about you, too,” johnny pipes in. “honestly, who hasn’t been talking about you? i’m surprised you’ve done nothing about it.”

doyoung hums. “she seems like your type, donghyuck! i know some people over at —“

"no! no, don't — " haechan places his champagne glass onto a nearby table abruptly and sighs shakily. "just...don't. sorry, i-i don't feel well. i should go."

confused and concerned eyes watch haechan as he rushes towards the nearest exit. he doesn't bother saying goodbye to taeyong, but makes a mental note to send him an apologetic note tomorrow. haechan sees kim minjeong catch sight of him, and he's sure she's about to make an attempt to stop him to chat with the way she looks at him with a flirty gaze. haechan is quick to turn in the opposite direction and flees out of the nearest door.

haechan's manager comes out soon behind him, frenzied after trying to catch up to a frantic haechan. he doesn't get the chance to ask the latter if he's okay, too occupied with calling their driver upon haechan's request.

"home," he chokes out. he's out of breath and he feels dizzy — whether its from the champagne or from guilt, he's unsure.

"i want to go home."

•°. *࿐

i'm in the crowd, can you see my hand?

haechan has reached the encore of his final show of his tour, yet he still feels a pressure that he cannot explain.

its not from all of his seniors and friends that attended in support of him, he knows that. it's not from the different producers and music artists that flew to seoul for him, either. its a pressure that weighs on his chest that has made him feel unsatisfied with each stage, despite putting 150% effort in everything.

the crowd is going crazy for him after he delivers his final ment, and he takes a moment to soak in it all, in hopes it would give him some peace of mind.

then, his eyes finally spot you.

you, in the back row of some random section, sitting with your manager, with a banner with his name on it and a headband with bear ears perched on top of your head. he doesn't know if you can tell that he's staring right at you, but you start waving around the banner with excitement. haechan can't help but adore you even more than he already does.

time stops for him as he realizes that you're here. through thick and thin you've always been there — what has haechan ever done for you? he hasn't given you even a sliver of what you deserve, yet you've never left him. you stayed when he was a nobody, and even now when he's been terribly selfish, you let him be.

there are thousands of other hands waving at him, but haechan can only see yours.

"actually," haechan starts, quickly silencing the crowd. "there's one more thing i wanted to say."

from your seat, you feel your heartbeat quicken. haechan is still standing and looking into your direction and you know he sees you.

"there's someone very special to me that's here tonight."

your heart stops as you realize what he's doing and you can't help but glance at your manager in a panic. fans around you are murmuring in confusion since haechan had already given a shoutout to his guests.

"they've been by my side since i was writing silly love songs in my childhood bedroom," haechan says, a fond smile taking over his features. "i wrote those love songs about them then, and i still write every love song about them now."

the gasps and shocked noises at his confession fall upon deaf ears — to you, you and haechan are the only two people in the world.

"some of you may know her — she's an amazing music artist as well. far better than me, in my opinion, but maybe i'm a bit biased." haechan sees you laugh and can't help but chuckle too.

"my girlfriend, y/n, is here tonight, and i couldn't be more grateful. wave, y/n!" haechan calls out to you. surprisingly, the camera cuts to you as you wave shyly, hiding behind your haechan banner. even more surprising, the crowd cheers loudly for you.

"isn't she cute?" haechan asks. he's delighted when he sees and hears the rest of the stadium agree.

haechan finally feels that weight lift from off of his chest and he feels like he can breathe. he's happy — ecstatic, even — now that the world finally knows he's yours.

"y/n, you once asked me what i was afraid of, and i said i didn't know," haechan recalls gently. "but i know now." he purses his lips to prevent himself from choking up.

"you've always been so supportive of everything i've done. you've done so much for me and i'm not sure how i could ever repay you." haechan sucks in a sharp breath. "i'm afraid that i'll never truly deserve you."

the crowd coos and some fans in front of you turn around to look at you. you're a mess: tears are streaming down your face, and your hands are shaking. you hide pathetically behind your banner again as your manager wraps a comforting arm around your shoulder.

"i'm sorry for making you wait." haechan puts a hand over his heart, and you do the same. "i love you."

the camera cuts to you again and haechan glances at the monitor to get a better look at you as you mouth something back. haechan doesn't even attempt to conceal his smile or to hold back his tears. there's no use.

"i love you, too."

•°. *࿐

say what you want, this is true romance

“did you really have to mention that, hyuck?”

your boyfriend settles next to you on the couch, arm draping over your shoulder, as you scroll through his recent interview with vogue korea.

you pout at him and he's unable to stop the smile that takes over his face. he pinches your cheek and you quickly swat his hand away.

"what? what did i say?" he rests his chin on your shoulder to read the article for himself.

"i mean, does the public really have to know about me crying on our first date?" you complained. you continued scrolling and laughed as you read. "in what context would you ever have to tell vogue about our matching crayon shin-chan pajama pants?"

haechan laughs and presses a kiss to your shoulder. "honestly, i don't remember half of what i said during this interview. or any of what they asked me." he tugs you a little closer to him so that you're leaning against him, laying the two of you down. "all i know is that i'm pretty sure i started talking about you so much that they just called it a day."

"you're that obsessed with me, huh?" you teased.

haechan scoffs, wrapping both of his arms around you tightly. "obviously."

he watches you open instagram and sees you check the likes on your new post. he gasps dramatically, loosening one arm around you to snatch his phone from his pocket. "you posted?! where was my post notification?" he whines cutely.

he's a little too quick to find your account and he then quadruple clicks the picture to give it a like. "babe, why are your comments off? i was about to get really out of pocket," haechan whines again.

"okay, first, don't do that, please. save some of your dignity," you scold him. "but its because people are mean," you admit softly.

haechan's eyebrows furrow together and his tone stiffens. "who? what did they say?"

you sigh. "no one specific, don't worry. some people are just not too keen about us. your predictions were right, i guess," you attempt to joke, but it only makes haechan upset.

"here, come here," haechan beckons you up with him as he sits up. you're still under one of his arms, which he locks around your neck as he tugs you into his side. you're caught off guard, but lean into him anyway, arms wrapped around his torso. haechan lifts his phone up and takes selfies of the two of you, cheeks pressed together as you both smile uncontrollably.

you're both giggling like two high schoolers fresh into a relationship and you've never felt more happy and in love in your life. haechan presses wet kisses against your cheek before you eventually push his face away. still, he steals one more kiss from you — this time on your lips — and you let him.

"okay, i'm posting all of these," haechan declares casually, leaning back against the couch.

your eyes widen and you reach for his phone in an attempt to stop him, but haechan has already dodged you and raised his hand up. "hyuck, don't."

"why not? i'm in love with you, people just have to deal with it," he shrugs. "anyone who has a problem with us can get blocked."

you fall onto haechan's chest and he gladly wraps you up in his arms again. "you're stupid, but i love you."

"good, because i just posted it."

you peer up at haechan's phone and you see that he was true to his word. all of the selfies you just took piled into one singular post to which haechan captioned 'my heart'. you watch as he scrolls through the comments and blocks anyone with anything bad to say.

"wow, you weren't kidding," you say, amused.

"'course not. these people need to learn true romance." he leans down to kiss you one more time, this time letting the kiss linger. he pulls away but rests his forehead against yours, staring at you with eyes full of love. "i love you, too, by the way."

ੈ♡˳

haechan is popular — without a doubt, he's one of the most sought after guys in the industry. he's confident, charismatic, and he's bright. he's everyone's dream guy, it's no secret.

but, above all, he's yours, and you're his as well. he has devoted his heart and life to you and its not a secret to anyone anymore.

this time around, haechan wraps you up in his scarf to protect you from the cold before the two of you leave.

"i already have a scarf on, hyuck, just keep yours," you mumble from underneath the thick fabric.

haechan doesn't hear you (not just because he literally can't) because he's too focused on zipping up your jacket and tugging your beanie over your ears.

"okay," he says as he intertwines a hand in yours. he clutches the bouquet you made for him proudly in his other arm while he carries your bag and his own over his shoulder. "let's go home!"

its bittersweet as you realize how familiar yet different the situation is. you clutch haechan's hand tighter as he tugs you towards the backstage exit door, outside where the press and his fans are waiting.

he doesn't hide you anymore. no, instead haechan shows you off proudly and wholeheartedly as if it was what he was meant to do.

[brotheramberland]

Senseis' as fathers with a child!reader that was born blind.

Senseis' include: Kakashi Hatake, Satoru Gojo, Yami Sukehiro, and Levi Ackerman.

Please keep in mind: All character & reader interactions are purely platonic. There is NO romance. The reader is somewhere below the age of twelve and is portrayed as non-binary. These drabbles are meant to be platonic, fluffy and comforting.

━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━

Kakashi Hatake

"Do you have a good sense of your surroundings?" Kakashi asked from where he knelt beside you.

You sported a determined expression that he couldn't help but to find both adorable and admirable. Even blind you still tried your hardest to improve your skills no matter how dangerous it may be. It made him proud and also worried him to death.

"Mhm," You nodded, tilting your head, "There's a tree five meters that way. I think I know where to go."

"Very good," Kakashi patted your back, "Just remember, if you happen to fall, I'll be right there to catch you."

"Ok, daddy," You smiled at him before focusing all your attention on using echolocation to navigate the branch you wanted to jump on. If you were going to be a ninja one day, you had to practice and train with all your might, "Here I go."

Kakashi held his breath while calmly waiting for you to make your jump, his body braced in precaution. A lump grew in his throat and sweat lightly dampened his clothes. Honestly, he might be over-thinking a bit, but he couldn't help it. He loved you so much, and while he respected your desires to train, he still worried about you tremendously.

He had lost so much in his life. Losing the most precious piece of it would cause him to go infinitely insane. Your blindness was an extreme vulnerability, and although you had grown well adapted to it, there was still much you had left to learn. And it didn't help his anxiety any when you decided to do dangerous activities like this.

In a flash, you jumped.

With a stumble, you landed perfectly on the tree branch. Wobbling to regain balance, you blushed in triumph and giggled, "Ah! Did you see that, daddy? I made it!"

Kakashi swiftly jumped onto the same branch, smiling proudly behind his mask, "Yes I did. That was well done, dongo, good job. At this rate, you'll be a ninja in no time."

Delighted by his praise, you grinned and began looking around, getting excited when you sensed yet another nearby branch. "There's another one," You grinned and went to jump.

Kakashi gasped and reached out for you, "Wait, (y/n), not so fast."

This time around, you didn't land where you were supposed to. In fact you didn't come into contact with any trees, and instead fell to the far away ground. "Ahh, daddy!" You cried.

Kakashi caught you in an instant, safely securing you in his arms while landing on a nearby branch, "You okay?"

You whimpered, hugging him tightly and frowning in failure, "Yes, but... I missed."

"That's okay," Kakashi quickly reassured you, running a soothing hand through your messy hair, "We all make mistakes. Why don't you try again, but this time, try not to let your emotions overwhelm you, ok? Often times emotions can be more blinding than blindness itself."

"But... What if I miss again?" You say sadly, "I-if I can't jump like I'm supposed to, then I'll never get to be a ninja, an-and you'll hate me, a-and I w-won't get to be like you-"

"Hey, hey, where's this coming from?" Kakashi grasped your shaking shoulders, looking into your milky, watery eyes, "Dongo, I could never hate you, so don't ever assume that, ok? And this was only your second attempt. You have plenty more to go. Don't be so hard on yourself. One of the most important things about being a ninja is never giving up. You're not giving up, are you?"

Quickly wiping your eyes, you shook your head and say softly, "Do you really think I can do it?"

Kakashi smiled and went to playfully pinch your cheek, kissing you on the forehead through his mask before saying, "I know you can. There's nothing you can't do, (y/n), and I'll always be right here by your side to make sure of that."

━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━

Levi Ackerman

Levi was enjoying one of his rare days off from the ever tiring Survey Corps. He hadn't gotten to see you in over a week- something he chewed Erwin out for sternly. By the time he entered his house, you came rushing towards him, your tiny figure accidentally bumping into things along the way.

"What did I say about running?" He grumbled, unable to resist hugging you whenever you were close enough, "Damn runt, gonna hurt yourself."

"I missed you, daddy," You say in a mixture of sadness and excitement, your cracking voice causing him to frown, "You were gone so long. I-I was scared you wouldn't come back."

"Hmp, so much for faith," Levi ruffled your hair, relief flooding him at finally getting to be at your side again, "Has nanny been good to you?"

You whimpered a bit, your glossy eyes pointing towards the ground, "I like her, but... She doesn't let me draw... or cook... or sew."

At that answer, Levi sighed and palmed his face, cursing nonsense underneath his breath. This was a common problem for you and him; nannies and babysitters not letting you do anything fun all because you were blind. None of them had any patience or consideration and it really got on his nerves.

"Tell me she read to you at least?" He rubbed his temple, not really in the mood to threaten another dumb nanny for mistreating his child, but if he had to he would absolutely give her a piece of his mind.

Your small "yes" was the only thing that saved her.

Seeing the dejection decorating your face, Levi tapped on your nose and said, "Well, you should know it's been a while since I've had some decent food. Get your little butt in there and cook me something already."

Gasping in joy at his given permission to do one of your favorite activities, you nearly leaped into the air, twirling around and giggling excitedly, "Yay! I get to cook for daddy."

Before you could run off, Levi grabbed your hand and grumbled, "No running this time."

You grumbled back at him and marched to the kitchen with a silly pout on your face. Levi shook his head, grinning as he thought about how much he loved you. Honestly, you being blind was kind of a relief to him simply because it meant that you would never be able to fight. And being the protective father he was, he rather preferred it that way.

You were already doing such a good job at basic daily activities like reading braille, learning how to write, cooking small meals, navigating your way through familiar places, and even drawing and sewing. People said you wouldn't develop properly when you were born. Well, Levi would like to see them say that to his face now.

Taking off his jacket, Levi none-too-politely paid the nanny and threw her out of his house. Then he went into the kitchen where you were currently working on mixing eggs in a bowl, your eyes staring mindlessly at the wall. You may be blind, but you made him so unbelievably proud, you had no idea.

"I'm making your favorite, daddy," You say cheerfully when you noticed his presence.

Levi smirked and went to put some fire in the stove, "'Bout time I was spoiled."

You giggled, carefully climbed down from the chair, and walked over to him, reaching out to feel for his hand, "Can I see you?"

After getting the fire started, Levi knelt down in front of you and patiently allowed you to touch his face with your hands. You often did this during moments when he held you, your little hands gently feeling the structure of his face in an attempt to get an idea of what he really looked like.

"I missed you, daddy," You say quietly.

Levi reached forward and pulled you into a firm, loving hug, kissing the side of your cheek, "Missed you too, you little runt."

━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━

Satoru Gojo

Who would have thought that his child would be born with beautiful crystal eyes like he himself had, and yet be cursed never to use them? Even though your disability was not his fault, Gojo still felt guiltily accountable, and always sought protecting you and making you the happiest he possibly could.

Starting a new morning, Gojo carried some fresh, folded clothes into your bedroom, quiet and stealthy. You were sleeping peacefully on your bed, your little snores causing his heart to flood with endearment. Gosh, you were so precious to him.

Setting the clothes down, Gojo knelt beside the bed and reached out to brush a gentle hand through your hair. You whimpered, your head stirring around on the pillow. "Hm? Hello? Rise and shine," He playfully sang.

You groaned softly, your body stretching out as your eyes squinted open. "Mm... Daddy?" You reached out to feel for him as your eyes stayed aimed towards the ceiling.

"Morning, my little angel," Gojo grabbed your hand and squeezed it gently, "Time to get up."

"Are you taking me to work today?" You asked curiously, tilting your head towards him, your hand tensing within his own larger one, "What if they don't like me?"

"Are you kidding me? They're gonna love you," Gojo blew raspberries and laughed, "And if they don't, then guess what? More butts' for me to leave my ultra-famous, Gojo styled foot print on."

Giggling at his joke, you reached out with your free hand and go to feel the blind-fold covering his powerful eyes, "I wish I could be more like you."

That sent a bullet roaring through Gojo's heart. He absolutely hated it when you degraded yourself and/or claimed that you wished you were different. It broke his heart more than you could ever imagine. "Hmm, well I love you just the way you are," He said casually.

"In fact I'd give up my own eyes any day to be just like you; free house, free food, the world's most riveting, handsome dad (if I do say so myself), and of course the opportunity to never have to work in a dangerous environment," Gojo smiled and patted your head, "There are plenty of reasons to be like you. Quit being so negative- you'll make the walls cry- and they don't even have eyes."

Letting go of your hand, Gojo grabbed your clothes and unceremoniously tossed them onto your face, "Hurry, hurry, or I'll eat all of the breakfast. Hm? Breakfast... Oh no, the breakfast!"

Sensing your father quickly disappear, you only manage to frown when the fire alarms began going off seconds later. Looks like he burnt breakfast... Again...

After you got dressed, brushed your teeth and headed down the hallway, you grimaced at the stench of burnt eggs. Goodness, what a silly father you had, but you loved him. Coming to a stop at the table where you sensed he was sitting at, you timidly held out a single band of cloth.

"Oh? What's this?" Gojo asked nonchalantly, pretending not to be embarrassed about, yet again, burning breakfast, "A scarf?"

"I... I thought that maybe... S-since I'm blind, maybe I could wear something like what you wear to cover your eyes. Then that way..." You frowned, tilting your nose down at the ground, "That way they won't know I'm blind. They'll think I'm strong, like you."

If your words could be knives, then they would have just sliced right through his chest. Still though, he managed to maintain his optimistic, calm persona, "What? You wanna lie to your new friends? Well that's not very nice. Their hearts would be broken in seconds."

"But..." You whimpered.

"Listen, (y/n)," Gojo reached out to grasp your shoulder, squeezing it gently, "You're not like me. You will never be anything like me. Why- you may ask? Because you're already a million times better."

You sniffled, leaning in to hug him, grateful that he so greatly accepted and loved you no matter how flawed you were, "I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, little angel who is stronger and cooler and- while I hate to admit it- better looking than me," Gojo teased, your laughter his haven that he could live in forever.

He loves you, (y/n), remember that.

━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━

Yami Sukehiro

Yami, in general, was already extremely protective of you, especially after he discovered that you would forever be blind. Now that's not to say that he didn't encourage you to push past your limits. In fact he helped you train all the time. But see, the only problem he had with you training was when you trained by yourself.

And when he found out that you had been flying around on a broom by yourself thus leading to the breaking of your arm, Yami just about tore the rooftops off buildings with his sheer rage alone.

He was in the medical ward giving Magna and Luck a good scolding until you came prattling up, your arm perfectly healed by healing-magic. "Daddy, please stop being mean to Magna and Luck," You whined, tears in your eyes as you lightly shook, "I'm sorry. It's my fault... I went outside without their permission and rode the broom... It's my fault."

The entire ward went dead silent as Yami turned all his attention to you. Considering how bad his temper could get, you were pretty brave for admitting your mistake. And the look on your face; embarrassed, frightened and sad. He knew that you were telling the truth.

"Alright then," Yami relaxed and stepped forward to take your healed hand in his, his voice calm as he said, "Think it's 'bout time you and I had a little chat."

You whimpered but otherwise said nothing the entire time your father lead you just outside the ward. You knew from how he treated others that making him angry resulted in a scary outcome, and you worried what he would do to you now that you've finally done something to upset him. You felt bad too. Sad and regretful.

Once you were outside, Yami let go of your hand and lit a cigarette, "So... Ya just thought ya could do whatever the heck ya wanted to, huh?"

You tensed, your blind eyes staring at the ground, "I did a bad thing. I'm sorry, daddy."

Yami considered you. Unlike other people who annoyed him, he had never really ever gotten mad at you. Seeing how scared you were right now was suffocating enough to make him pout. Was he really making you that uncomfortable? But... He was your father. You shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable around him.

"Ya know, if this were me an' my dad, I woulda' already got my head beat in," Yami blew out a cloud of smoke, "Lucky for you though, I ain't him... I do wanna know one thing though- If all ya wanted to do was ride a damn broom, why didn't ya ask for help?"

You swayed back and forth, fiddling with your hands, "'Cause... You don't need help, an'..."

Ah. So you wanted to be like him. Yami closed his eyes in understanding. "Squirt, get over here an' look at me," Yami crouched down and guided your tiny hand to rest against the side of his face.

He in return cupped your face, gazing into your foggy eyes and saying, "I don't need help 'cause I'm all grown an' got full control over my mana. You're still a tiny, little sprout. Now if ya wanna train, that's fine, but 'till then, you train when someone else is around to help, ya hear?"

You nodded, your lower lip wobbling, "Yes, daddy."

"Eh? I go easy on ya an' you're still about'a cry? Talk about sensitive," Yami chuckled a bit, gently whacking your nose with his thumb.

"I-it's not you, daddy, I..." You whimpered, your body buckling up, "When I fell- i-it... It was just so scary a-and it hurt..."

Oh. Yami's face bloomed with realization. Oh... That was your first traumatic experience, huh? No wonder you were so upset. At first he thought about teasing you or making a sarcastic remark, but ultimately decided against it.

Instead he settled for wrapping his arms around you and pulling you against his large chest. "It'll be alright, squirt. You're tough. You'll pull through. Everything's gonna be alright, ya hear?"

Soaking up his comforting warmth and attention, you whimpered and nodded, trying your hardest to hide in the safety of his chest. Your father was so strong and comforting. With him around, it was guaranteed that you would always be safe.

[ichatake]

im curious since in ur request rules you have that you write yandere characters. What is your definition of yandere? How do you write them and what do you think about them? btw I really love your work.

and since we're on the topic, what characters would you see being a little yandere? What type of yandere would they be?

Hi Anon! I appreciate the question! Many people have different ideas of what a yandere is and how they should be portrayed. I’d like to start off by giving you the definition of what most people see a yandere:

Now, my definition of a yandere is a person who is completely devoted to another, to the point where they develop unhealthy tendencies. I tend to write my Yandere characters in a more realistic way. (I tend to stay away from the whole ‘oh gosh you just killed this person because they looked at me weird’ kind of writing style. It’s just not my cup of tea)

Since I’ve always been a big fan of psychological horror and dark romance, I portray yanderes as narcissistic, manipulative, and simply not safe to be around. They might have stalkerish tendencies, yes, but I like to focus more on how they would affect the person they like. (I know it kinda takes away from the whole definition of yandere) Basically, I just like turning the usual lovestruck, insane yandere into a more realistic version of themselves (as realistic as they could get in the ninja world. I hate completely altering a character’s personality into something they’re not).

What do I think of yanderes? Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to meet one in real life. I like reading and writing them in fiction, but in no way shape or form do I romanticize or agree with whatever the Yandere does. I do not condone any type abuse because it’s absolutely vile that someone might go out their way to hurt others. Having said that, I think many people might not find the way I write yanderes very pleasing, because it’s not what they’re used to seeing, and that’s totally okay!

Now to answer you final questions:

I believe there are a few characters that might have the possibilities of becoming a Yandere or having Yandere tendencies:

Obito (way too obsessive):

I know a lot of people think the same way as I do. I believe that Obito is a man with serious problems.

He technically grew up alone, just with his grandmother. He almost succeeded in putting everyone in an infinite genjutsu, where he could distort reality to his liking and be with the girl he loved.

It’s safe to say that he would be a yandere where if push comes to shove, he will do whatever it takes to have you near him.

He is obsessive (he had a lot of pictures of Rin when he was young, so…). He needs to remember your face clearly, even when he’s away from you. You’re the reason why he breathes. He lives because you allow him to. That’s what he thinks.

Madara(protective and controlling):

Hear me out, this man is complicated.

Sometimes he would put his desires over you, but if we’re going to be honest, he’d shred down the world for you.

If something ever happened to you, Madara would take no time in avenging you. He’s a little different to Obito. Although he’s obsessive, he doesn’t completely revolve his life around you.

He likes feeling possessive over you, but he can leave at any time that he needs to. You have to wait for him. He’ll be a protective yandere, looking out for you and making sure you understand that he’ll be the only one there for you.

Kakashi (protective, pathological liar) :

Whoa? Kakashi? Really? Yes really. This man has grown up alone. He made friends, they died. They left. Anytime he got close to someone, they’d disappear. It���s only logical that if he were to fall for someone, he’d like to protect them.

However, this protectiveness can get overwhelming. He knows you’re capable of protecting yourself, he simply doesn’t want you to. If one thing he’s done wrong in life, it’s protecting those around him. This was his time to make up for all those times he failed.

He isn’t used to affection, but when he has it, he craves it. Badly. You need to remind him that you love him too, or else he might just think you’re ready to leave him at any time.

He isn’t above lying to get you to do something. He’s lied before, so why not lie again? If it gets things going his way, he won’t care. A little harmless lie can turn into a bunch of them.

Sasuke (distant, but protective) :

If he likes you, he definitely won’t show it. If he genuinely cares, he won’t be above doing anything inhumane. He’s already done a lot of things in this world that got him hate, adding another one to his list wouldn’t be a problem.

He’ll work from the shadows. He’ll love you from far away. He isn’t really affectionate and doesn’t know how to show it.

One things certain though, you’re his lover. He will give his life for you or take another.

You ask him for the moon and he will serve it in a silver platter before leaving.

Do I think other character could be Yandere? Well yes, this is fiction after all, but these are the best that fit that description. Anyways, thank you for your questions! I’d love to answer more if anyone else is curious or wants to request some Yandere content!

[aviiarie]

heya aves!! could I req alhaitham for ( ❤️ ) — IRIS sonder and taciturn? thanksths:3

cws & notes. no warnings. alhaitham x gn!reader. angst, but with a hopeful ending. 700+ words. eek i hope this is okay, it didn't turn out how i'd hoped.

Doubts, you always had doubts when it came to Alhaitham.

Not any sort of big ones, nothing to shake you to your core, leaving you stumbling on your feet with each step. Just small ones. Small, silly, inconsequential doubts, that worm their way through your brain, and bury themselves into the cracks of your mind. Annoying little insects is all they are, nothing more than a fly buzzing by your ear.

Still, their whispers never waver, no matter how much logic you try to soothe them with. You wished you could say they didn't bother you, you wished you were able to put them to rest once and for all, but they always seem to linger like a bad cologne.

Your lover has always been the quiet type; never silent, just quiet. His words are measured, clipped and precise, not wasting a single breath more than is necessary. It never bothered you before; you easily wrote it off as just his temperament, but it didn't take long to feel the strain.

No matter how many times you told him you loved him, it was rare to hear it said back to you. And maybe it was a fault of your own, for only working up the courage to say it in a playful, light-hearted tone, when on the inside you were aching to hear it sincerely, but it hurt. Much more than you were willing to admit.

During the days when you were separate, you'd wander the streets with a frown settled over your features, watching mournfully over the young couples milling around. Sumeru was never empty, no matter the time of day or corner of the city you visited, so you were never lacking in strangers to watch.

It almost pained you to see, the ones who loved and were loved so easily. All wrapped up in their own lives, not noticing your stare, they giggled to themselves, exchanging kisses and affections without a care in the world. They had their own places to go, things to do, people to love, but all you had was...

Doubts.

Alhaitham was never like that. He was never outwardly callous or cruel, never to you, but it wasn't like he made much of an effort to soften up either. From an outside looking in, it would be hard to distinguish any romance between the two of you at all. It was just his nature, you reasoned with yourself, but your mind still wondered.

“You love me, don't you?” You eventually asked. The silence stretched wide between you two, thick enough to be sliced with the knife in Alhaitham's hand. The utensil was frozen in his grasp, hovering above the vegetables he was in the midst of chopping up.

“Of course I do.” He frowned, resuming his cutting. “Why are you asking?”

“You never say it.” There was no other way to put it, than as bluntly as possible. Perhaps the rarity of the words is what brings them more meaning, but it didn't exactly put you at ease.

“I love you.” For the first time, he sounded uncertain. Your eyes stung with unshed tears, but you held his gaze. “I do. I thought you knew that.”

And of course you knew. Past the poisonous part of your mind that hissed if he really loved you, he'd show it, is the knowledge that Alhaitham would never waste his time with someone he didn't care about. A while ago, it might even have been enough, but the comfort was wearing thin.

“I'm... sorry.” He said slowly, placing the knife down. “I didn't realize you were so affected. I'll try to be more... outward with my affections. If that is something you desire.”

You bit the inside of your cheek, mulling over the words. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

All you can do is nod, holding the vow close to your heart. Your lover might be quiet, but what he does say, he means. When he tells you he's trying, you believe him without resistance, because you know it is fact. And even after your dinner, when you're washing up alone, with the doubt still present in the back of your head, you trust in his word.

Because you know he keeps his promises.

✦ IRIS : promises are just words unless they can actually keep them. ✦ SONDER : the profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own. ✦ TACITURN : silent; temperamentally untalkative; disinclined to speak.

written for the @stellaronhvnters love letters event ♡

© aviiarie 2024. do not copy, repost, translate or use my work to train ai

[konnosaurus]

heheheh :3 it's emily and ashimaaaaa!

after mentioning that i think these two would be quite sweet on my pride month headcanon drawing, i realised that i needed to draw them and give a few of my thoughts! (especially as @togetherness23 seemed intrigued by the concept in their lovely tags (sorry about the @ i just thought you might like this hehe))

my hand hurts from drawing all the little details on both of them hehe, it was sooo hard to make them look nice but i'm p happy with how they turned out!

i've got a little analysis/ramble under the cut if anybody wants to read my thoughts :3

okay so.. emily x ashima.

first of all, i think it is just nice to give emily a load of girlies for her romances, she is such a fascinating character and i think that her almost.. stubborn?? nature? i'm not quite sure whether that is the word i mean, but she has strong feelings, strong opinions and a strong personality. she doesn't pull her punches and if she wants to do something she will find a way to do it.

i feel this makes her interactions with potential romantic partners veeery interesting. she falls hard and fast- there isn't any doubt once she likes someone, she knows it very quickly and decides whether to persue or not. i think this shows up in best engine ever, where she decides that caitlin is cool and funky almost instantly, talks about how wonderful she is to all her friends, and the next time she sees her makes a big declaration (well, a big rescue, but it plays the same).

there are a few parallels between emily meeting ashima and emily in her first interactions with caitlin in best engine ever, and this sort of overlap is what made me first consider this potential pairing. well, that and how funny i think it is that ashima and caitlin have very similar base deep and bright pink colours, and if you add new rosie and her dark pink (i think it is more of a dark pink than red oop) then one can have emily and her collection of pink-adjacent women and that is fun. now we just need to paint mavis pink to add to the collection...

anyway! back to the parallels.

i'm putting this one up first even though i think the second parallel is stronger. in the scene from the great race, emily is clearly being positive when she says 'you know, the painted one from India.' she clearly thinks highly of ashima's looks, and this comes up again when she is surprised that ashima wasn't in the best decorated engine competition. she clearly thinks she is pretty, and in the scene from best engine ever she also talks about how she thinks caitlin 'looks amazing'. emily clearly likes looking at these two hehehe.

and my personal favourite, emily and her instant praise for those that she likes. even though in the great race she is speaking about ashima and in best engine ever she is speaking to caitlin, both statements are so nice and show emily and her positivity towards those that she likes. i think that the instant desire to compliment everyone is part of emily's hard-fast romance routine.

another interesting thing is that in the great race, ashima has barely been on sodor for any time at all and emily has already spoken to her enough to remember her name, origin AND come up with enough of an opinion about her to think she is great. and that is just neat!

[watarfallar]

Desert Duo treats because it's a week until Christmas

Grian: I’m going to get so much done today. Scar: I’ll hold you to that. *8 hours later* Scar: So how much did you get done? Grian: One thing. Scar: Well, that’s one more than usual.

Scar: So my therapist was talking to me and she said that I really just need to break down my walls and let people in. Scar: So I’ve decided to break the fourth wall. Scar: *looks at camera* Hi there. I use humor as a coping mechanism.

Scar: Hey, are you alright with swearing? Asking for a friend. Grian: Yeah? Scar: Bitch.

Grian: *Gives a bouquet to Scar* Scar: You know I'm allergic. Grian: That's the point.

Grian: Is this mistletoe? Scar: Uh, no, no, that is basil. Grian: Too bad cause if it was mistletoe I was gonna kiss you. Scar: Yeah, no, it’s still basil.

Grian: What have I done wrong?! Scar: Everything. For your entire life.

Scar: If it’s any consolation, they got me here on a very misleading text message. Grian: Technically, you are about to be screwed in the biology room.

Scar: What is wrong with you? Grian: Many, many things… Grian: And most of them are your fucking fault.

Scar: Live fast, die young, leave behind a pretty corpse! That’s what I always say! Grian: You should say something else.

Grian: My back hurts. Scar, walking into the room: Take the spine out.

Scar: Everything will be ok. You can not stop it. Scar: Everything will be fine. You have no choice. Grian: What the fuck kind of pep talk is that? Scar: Ominous positivity.

Grian: Scar, what did you just do!? Scar: I took your advice. I stopped running from the problem and I tackled it head on. Grian: I meant try emotional honesty, not murder!!

Scar: I’ve become a bread crumb dealer to four crows at the lake. They pay me with a bit of everything. Like shiny things, fabric, or pens. But recently they paid me with a 20 dollar bill they found somewhere. So I decided to buy them some more expensive bread. They loved it. So they understand what to do. Give me money. I’ve probably racked up about 200 dollars at this point. Is it morally wrong though, I mean. They’re the ones who steal the money from others. Or perhaps they just have a big pile laying somewhere. Should I keep on doing this? Grian: You sound like the start of a Batman villain.

Scar: Detective! The man belonged to some kind of cult that worshipped a divine forest creature with antlers and that’s how he met his end. Grian: Dear God! Scar: Yeah! Exactly!

Grian: You've got to act tough, Scar! Show 'em you can't be pushed around! Show 'em they can't mess with you! Scar: Right. Yes. Tough. Got it. Scar, standing up on their stool and slamming their hands down on the bar: I'LL TAKE A CHOCOLATE MILK.

Grian: Fight me! Scar: gets on one knee and pulls out a ring Scar: Fight me for the rest of our lives.

Grian: Don’t preach to me about romance, Scar. I had a three-way in a hot-air balloon.

Scar: What’s sexting? Grian: I'm not having this conversation with you.

Grian: If I ever had a child, I imagine they would be a lot like you. Scar: Aww, thanks— Grian: Which is probably why I’ve never reproduced.

Scar: What’s your greatest weakness? Grian: Interpreting the semantics of a question, but ignoring the pragmatics. Scar: Could you give an example? Grian: Yes, I could.

Scar: Okay, but what if we went to dinner not as friends this time? Grian: AS ENEMIES?! Scar:

Scar: I desire moisture. Grian: Please just say "I want water" like a normal person.

Scar: Babe, you're so funny! Grian: We have 1492 days until your tragic premature death. You will break my trust three times before that happens, but I forgive you. Scar: Awwww, that's sweet of you!

Grian: I didn’t want to do it, no one else wanted to do it, so I made Scar do it!

Scar: You got a date yet Grian? Grian: No… Scar: Well you do now! Get your ass up and hold my hand!

Grian: Dammit, you ruin everything! Scar: You're welcome.

Scar: They called me the B-word. Grian: Motherfucker doesn’t start with ‘b’.

Scar, talking about Grian: WHAT THE FUCK I WAS ARGUING WITH HIM AND I SAID “OOH YOU WANNA KISS ME SO BAD” AND GUESS WHAT? HE DID. HE KISSED ME. WHAT THE FUCK WHAT DO I DO.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

So I know you headcanon Nami as a lesbian and Luffy as aroaco (both which is heavily agree with!) What are your romance/sexuality headcanons for the other Strawhats?

Hm. I think Zoro is ace, but not aro, but also the only thing he's really in love with is his dream of fulfilling his promise to Kuina, becoming the greatest swordsman in the world. Once he accomplishes that... well, I am not 100% sure he'll survive accomplishing it, actually, I think the story is signaling pretty hard that his moment of transcendence is going to be connected with the moment of his death (the "King of Hell" thing, all the Buddhism imagery, his tendency to find revelations about swordsmanship on the brink of death) but if he does survive it, that's when maybe romance can become a consideration for him. Maybe. That's when he can figure out who he's even into.

Sanji is extremely romantic - hyperromantic, even - but honestly in a way that's... almost totally disconnected from actual romance? He worships women as divine goddesses and sources of extreme aesthetic and emotional joy for him, but he seems to struggle enormously to actually relate to them a lot of the time. He seems more invested in Being A Gentleman Who Loves Women than he does in... actually being in any sort of a realistic relationship with a woman.

Pudding is the closest he comes to forming an actual romantic relationship, and even then, so much of it is ultimately motivated by his romantic fantasy of Being The Prince, of being the noble, self-sacrificing hero who Saves The Girl, of Being A Good Man. Committing to her is, for him, an act of self-sacrifice, for the sake of his crew, for the sake of his family (Zeff and the Baratie, not the Vinsmokes), and for the sake of her more than it is an earnest desire to build a future with a true partner. He's resigning himself to a life of being her perfect domestic husband servant, in worship and adoration of her, but never in partnership.

In an extremely weird way, the vibe I get from Sanji is he's like a... hyperromantic... aromantic? He's EXTREMELY invested in romantic fantasies, but not so much in the actual day-to-day mundanities of romance, he's in love with the idea of being in love, with the experience of being in love, with the thrill and act and performance of being in love, more than he is in love with any actual person?

Partly this comes down to One Piece just not being a romance story - romance is generally sidelined and elided in most situations, and Sanji's romantic obsessions are played for comedy 99% of the time, they are not taken seriously, so he never has an opportunity to really go through the process of romance as a grounded, flesh-and-blood process, but I can only discuss him as he is presented.

Robin, I think, might be the most straightforward of the crew. I am on board with the Frobin agenda, I think she's probably straight and... if not cis, then about as cis as you can be with a power like the Hana Hana no Mi. And I think she genuinely would be very attracted to a loud, dependable eccentric like Franky, as the other half to her quiet dependable eccentric personality. Especially since he is loudly and obviously an extremely decent man with a heart of gold, and Robin carries so much trauma of being a "devil child," I think she probably needs that kind of uncomplicated light of goodness in her life.

Usopp, again, is probably a fairly straightforward sort. The live action gives him a thing for Kaya, but I could see him being bi or pan, but much like Zoro I don't think he's going to quite have the capacity for Romance™ until he fulfils his dream of becoming a great warrior of the sea (he already has, of course, but he needs to internalize it and realize it within himself). I ONE HUNDRED percent believe he might end up taking a Giant for a spouse.

Franky is... okay this makes no sense whatsoever but I feel that he's gay? But also would fall for Robin? ... but in a gay way???

Look I don't know how that works either, it's a vibe it's a brain feeling it's a wibbly wobbly romance gender sort of situation. Franky is clearly in love with the male body, with masculinity, with maleness, and he especially loves building himself into those images of hypermasculinity, but he does in a way that feels hella queer to me. I don't really think you can be a self-made cyborg building his own body without being some flavor of queer-coded, like, I just don't think that that can be a cishet thing anymore.

He would fall for Robin is my point, in part because they share a knack for creating themselves, in part because Robin would appreciate and need him, in part because she would adore his cybernetic self-creation and find it charming and beautiful, and I think he needs someone who will love his creations (including, y'know, his body) as much as he does.

It's like... y'know how Neo and Trinity in the Matrix are clearly, OBVIOUSLY a t4t couple even though they're both technically cis in the text of the story? It's like that with Frobin for me. Yeah, sure, they're both cis and straight, but also they are trans and gay.

Jinbei I have no idea, actually, he could be into absolutely anything. Kind of a gay bear vibe? That's the best I got. Chopper is a child and I don't think he really has any idea yet either, and Brook... look, I don't think you can be THAT level of flamboyant rockstar and not be some flavor of queer. The Soul King wears Elton John outfits half the time. I don't know that he has a sexuality anymore necessarily (he could be ace, what with the having no carnal flesh and all), but if he's not at least bi romantically then nothing about him makes sense.