#I'm gonna loathe the canon love interest if I feel like it

[martianbugsbunny]

yk what sometimes I do just hate the canon love interest bc I can. especially if they're obviously shoehorned in there as a no-homo I have that right as a petty bitch. done trying to pretend I'm not the type of person that rolls my eyes at canon love interests I don't care about when there's a better option right there.

[quietmonologues]

So. I hate shipping discourse and I try to keep it off my blog nowadays. I also don't consider myself a part of the fandom. But, I find discussions about this series particularly engaging and interesting, and Elucien do have me in a bit of a chokehold these days so I feel the need to get this off my chest and put this out into the world.

A common question I see is "why do people ship Elucien? They don't even like each other". And to that, I say this:

What about it? This is why shipping discourse in this fandom (and in general) is so ridiculous, because why is there confusion as to why people ship Elain and Lucien together? SJM literally wrote them as a potential pairing, that's why she made them mates. Pairing = shipping. It's not rocket science.

Two characters not liking each other is never gonna be a deterrent for them becoming canon or for people liking them as a ship. That's why enemies to lovers is such a popular trope. However way you define enemies (on opposite sides of a war like Zuko and Katara, or thinking ill of one another based on misunderstandings and assumptions like Darcy and Elizabeth), when it's done well, the story of two characters changing their opinion about each other, getting to know each other on a deeper level, and growing to love each other after their initial discomfort/hatred/loathing/indifference is a compelling story. It's about the journey, the development, and overcoming all the hurdles and bumps that are in their way.

Another reason for why the "they dislike each other" argument is so weak is because you literally have two other canon couples in this same series who had very rough starts. No matter how you feel about these two pairings, it's blatantly clear that Rhys and Cassian did put Feyre and Nesta in uncomfortable situations and have hurt them (physically/emotionally). But clearly, that was not a deterrent for them getting together in the end. So why the heck are Lucien and Elain different? Why is "Elain is so uncomfortable around Lucien" a continuous argument? It's so hypocritical given the fact that Lucien is the only guy that isn't forcing himself upon his mate.

Also, I'm sorry but some people (me...I'm some people) are tired of the "dark, battle-born, winged-warrior brother" and "previously human, traumatized archeron sister" pairing. Elain and Lucien are both associated with nature, they're both social and like interacting with people, they both experienced a deep love previously, they both abhor violence, they are both overlooked by others yet have the ability to see what others can't. They are a compatible pairing to me because they share many characteristics that are harmonious and complementary. They are the anti-thesis of Night Court aesthetics and thought, and if they ever have a book together then I can only hope it's the best one in the series.

And yes, the "Elain needs sunshine" and "Lucien is the heir to the Day Court" connection is important, my goodness. That's what symbolism is!

Sometimes it's that simple.

Okay, that's enough shipping discourse from me.

[bluecatwriter]

⭐️ for the director’s cut game!

Since you wrote one of my favorite Jack/Arthur fics ever, I give you my very first Jack/Arthur fic: "Words and Voice Fail Me"! "When Jack Seward has a breakdown trying to record on his phonograph on October 11th, Arthur comes to comfort him."

(CW for discussion of period-typical homophobia) 

-This was *checks notes* my third fanfiction I ever posted, and reading back over it, I can really tell— not so much by the overall writing, which has stayed pretty similar over the past two years, but by the way I handle the details, especially logistical details of who's doing what when. I just wasn't used to writing with such precision, and as a result a lot of the writing comes off as a little awkward. Would definitely streamline if I were to rewrite it now.

-This starts out with Jack's canon narration from the book, interspersed with description. This is one of my favorite ways to write because it feels very much like directing a play— the lines are there, but I'm "directing" (writing) the stage directions, as it were, to show how the character is saying the lines.

-I liked the idea of Jack breaking down here as sort of the culmination of all the past trauma that he hasn't been able to process yet, thinking of the way that Mina's "funeral" reminded him of Lucy's death and everything around it. 

-Like most of my fics, I just started with the premise and let the character voices lead me. (It's very similar to playing an improv scene, just with me playing both characters rather than bouncing ideas off another person.) I originally intended for it to be a pretty straightforward emotional hurt/comfort, but as I kept writing and the scene kept unfolding, I realized that Jack was going to lose it and ask Arthur to kiss him— and when that happened, it opened up a whole different plot than I was expecting.

-I am still pretty happy with the line, ""Well," he said, straightening his cuffs just for something to do with his hands, "I suppose I shall—" He wanted to follow the phrase with an excuse, but his mind blanked out on anything he had ever done in his life. "—go."" This is a good example of me 1000% projecting my nervous habits onto Jack. 

-This was the first time I realized that characters could have erotic tie-pulling and talk about emotionally-charged subjects while their lips barely brushed. It was the beginning of an Era for me. ;)

-There's some kinda interesting gender stuff here, with Jack escaping into a fantasy about him being a woman so that his feelings for the men in his life would be "natural." I feel like there's more I could've explored there, but the fic was long enough as it was.

-In this fic, I very intentionally wrote Arthur as demisexual, and have projected it onto him ever since. 

-Jack has curly hair in this fic! This was before I realized that I'd given all three suitors curly hair, and decided one had to go. The casualty was Jack, so nowadays I describe his hair as "fine."

-I'm a sucker for "one character says 'I love you' and the other returns it but they're not sure they mean the same thing" trope, and I use it here. (This may be the only time I've written Jack saying "I love you" to Arthur— in my more recent fics, I often have Jack express his sentiment in different ways, rather than just saying the words.) 

-It was fun to write a little scene with Jack pouring his heart out about all his crushes, and Arthur very logically analyzing them to explain why they make sense (except for Van Helsing— he just can't grasp that one). It was also a good excuse to throw in the phrase "virile manhood."

-Originally I wasn't gonna have them kiss again, but then the dialogue just made sense for Jack to beg for another kiss, and… well. There they go!

-"You can trust me, I'm a lord" is probably the best line-before-a-fade-to-black I've ever written. ;)

-Of course there's some angsty aftermath in this one, since Jack is still struggling with a lot of self-loathing. I feel like some of the writing here is a bit rough, but I'm still happy with the overall emotions that come across.

-I originally had this end on a pretty melancholy note, but reworked it to make it more hopeful that, regardless of whether or not they sleep together in the future, their friendship is still solid.

Thanks again for sending the ask! :D

(Ask game here)

[crystallinestars]

Hello! I stumbled upon your blog (I dunno still pretty new to tumblr despite being here for years. I don't interact much >_<) while gobbling up the Avenstelle buffet here in tumblr <3.

Anyways. I read the anons asks and your response and omygosh…I've never felt such a relief to find people who shares the same sentiments T_T. Especially the ones with Kaveh and Alhaitham? Gosh. I've never felt so validated about my feelings. Let me get started with Alhaitham.

Okay so in gacha games, (wuwa, hsr, gi, ak, r1999, etc.), I'm a husbando collector. I love collecting the men because they're hot and my eyes love them lol. So…essentially, I also pulled for Alhaitham. I loved him so much, like his personality, his design…I'm smitten. But after how I am bombarded with haikaveh shipping almost every socmed I go, twt mostly, I began to loathe it. Like, I don't really care about shipping. The shipping I only liked is Avenstelle in hsr, yet the incessant shoving of Haikaveh as canon to my face, even though they are not really canonized, just turned me off with Alhaitham, and subsequently, Kaveh as well even though I wanna love him too :(.

It makes me sad that the fandom pushes the only "correct way" to see this characters. How about us, who just wants to have some pixel husbandos for ourselves (lol sorry for the self insert). Kaveh also looks nice and he seems nice and I wanna love him too seeing as we are of the same profession (I'm an architecture student, hopefully passing our thesis and graduating next year!). I am also still on a mission of finding his mom in Fontaine rn (still waiting, hoyo, still waiting…)

Anyways, I am truly glad to see the same sentiments and knowing that I am not alone in noticing this toxicity happening in the fandom coz, what happened to platonic relationships? I dunno, but I really wanna see a heartmelting one and not a shipping one. Aaa I rambled too much haven't I? I'm nervous since this is my first asks. But I just wanna say that you made me feel safe and my heart is overjoyed. Thank you so much. <3 I'm gonna go for now because it's 12:51 am in my country and I need to sleep hahaha! Have a great day!

(Ah, may I please be 🌊 anon? Thankiees!)

Hello 🌊 anon! Thank you for working up the courage and taking the time to write to me. It made me so happy to read that my discussions with other anons made you feel safe. You are definitely not alone in feeling ostracized by the loud portion of fandom. And oh my gosh, you're an architecture student?! That's so cool! Good luck on passing your thesis!

I completely relate to your feeling of losing the love you had for a character due to their popular ship. I'm a Kaveh girlie, but I also like Alhaitham quite a lot since he's a very interesting and relatable character. Unfortunately, the prominence of haikaveh on every social media I visit, and the obnoxious claims of shippers that they're undoubtedly canon, tainted my view of him. I want to love Haitham, but some days it can be hard because seeing him triggers some negative feelings, though I try to push them down. I didn't care for the ship originally, but the behaviours of it's shippers really ruined my perception of it and BL as a whole.

It's only natural you feel that way since so much of the fandom looks down on self-shipping and gatekeeps characters from us. The way Mihoyo handles Haitham and Kaveh in particular doesn't help the situation for yumejoshi, which makes it feel worse.

The only way I find I can have fun is to block and mute all accounts who support the ships I don't like, and peacefully enjoy the content I like. Don't look at comments or the character tags for the sake of your mental health. It sucks that you have to restrict yourself so heavily, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to keep yourself happy.

If you want to find more people with similar sentiments, feel free to join my discord group! There are lots of people who share your views (and who love Alhaitham), and we also have discussions about fandom and characters, and share fanart and fics. It's a bit like a support group for those of us terrorized by the toxicity of fandom. If you don't want to join, that's perfectly fine. No pressure.

I'm glad you found me, though I'm really curious how that happened lol I don't post any Avenstelle here (though my twt is basically pure Avenstelle and Kavehlumi), so it's a wonder how you found my blog by browsing Avenstelle posts. Regardless, welcome! I'm happy to have you here 😊

[decepti-thots]

soundwave for the character ask?

I hope IDW Soundwave works for you anon!

one aspect about them i love: i really like that idw soundwave is a character who is so strongly defined by genuinely believing in their convictions even when it is disadvantageous to them. idw has a lot of characters whose big flaw is their inability to not fall into hypocrisy, and that's great and all as character flaws go, but a character who instead comes into conflict because he doesn't and it causes problems- that's great in a setting like idw. soundwave really does do what he thinks is right, and his moral code means that if this turns out to be in error, he won't let himself weasel out of things, so you get these fascinating twists and turns post-war. like when he realises humans are sentient and he was wrong to assume they weren't, and now he has to deal with knowing he massively cocked up during the war because he's not the kind of person who can mentally excuse himself from what that means.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them: i feel like a lot of people brush over the fact that soundwave's sense of betrayal when megatron defects isn't just... personal? soundwave sees megatron as betraying his people more than just soundwave himself, it's not a tarn situation where for all his posturing about The Cause tarn mostly wants revenge on megatron for fucking him over. soundwave's actions post-war are all centered around the fact that soundwave genuinely wants the best for the decepticons "left behind" by that event. reducing it down to "he's mad at megatron" is, well, kind of reductive.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character: ok, so canon has this unusual-for-barber inconsistency where it's suggested soundwave was at the academy as an outlier but it doesn't... really work. my headcanon is that he was solicited to go there but, suspicious of what would happen, refused. oh you want me to walk into this "training facility" for people considered Weird by a famously orthodox government and noone knows anything about it? yeah i'm SURE that's not gonna end in you dissecting my spark for science. pass. so he was on the intake list but he bounced.

one character i love seeing them interact with: SHOCKWAVE. i love how much soundwave loathes him. the fact that the worst thing soundwave can imagine in a person being that they don't truly believe in anything, not just what shockwave does but that he doesn't care. and i think a part of this is that it scares him, personally- he knows this is due to shadowplay and the idea that could happen to him must feel much realer to a telepath who can feel what's been taken from shockwave, right. it's great.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more: god i would kill. for some contrivance to put post-war soundwave and chromedome in a room together. remember, chromedome was like TWO SECONDS away from lobotomizing him once. i think having chromedome face to face with someone he did that to (rather than his usual abstract sense of the people he's wronged) would be fascinating, and likewise see above about me thinking soundwave would have found that situation terrifying. i think a situation where soundwave has to confront something from the war that actually maybe fucked with him a bit would be. interesting? idk.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character: it took aaaages for him, rumble and frenzy to get used to each other. those two are simply Not people he would have ever chosen to spend large amounts of time with had it not been on order from megatron, or vice versa. but privately soundwave is glad it happened, even under slightly weird circumstances. ravage thinks he's a sap who could packbond with anyone given enough time (and never remotely came around to them).

[panicataphmausinsanity]

aaron rant

ok this is a rant no one asked for but i just wanna put all of my disorganized thoughts out there about aaron and the man my dude could've become without jesson's horrible execution. my grammar may be off and im not a good analyzer or anything, this is just a rant that i wanna get off my chest.

disclaimer :: i haven't watched MCD and i do plan to, and i'm aware of some things that happen but if you wanna share your opinion on anything id rather anyone would keep the reblogs spoil free

lemme start by saying that i love aaron. i genuinely love his character so damn much but NOT his canon. i love the IDEA of aaron and not his execution. jessica and jason did such a bad job portraying him- dont get me wrong i am not bashing them for the foundation they've laid for most of their wonderful characters it's the portrayal of them that gets me so ENRAGED. all of jess's characters have at least some thing going wrong with them and it's genuinely fucking insane. i don't mean what they go through in the series- as in who they ARE. what the fuck is a kawaii~chan? like god. i think so many characters in the series deserved so SO much more, especially aaron.

starting off with pdh s1 aaron. - i don't necessarily loathe pdh s1 aaron. i mean in here, he seems to have a personality than he ever does in season one of mys which is an upgrade i guess? a main problem imo was how his character always revolved around aphmau. i'm not even gonna choose to comment on the horrid age gap jesson's implemented in aarmau's story. i just hate that aaron himself didn't really have any other friend than aphmau and the fact that after they met, the series just continued to revolve around them.. and not them individually either- them as a relationship.

i think seeing certain instances like how aaron became lily's friend and stuff would've been important because technically, wasn't lily aaron's first friend in pdh? how is that just glossed over considering the fact that aaron pushed everyone who tried to interact with him off his back? isn't it interesting how lily managed to get a hold of him and actually became a friend? i don't understand why that was never shown because while students were scared of the dude because of all the rumors and shit going around, some kids like jeoffery actively reached out to him like we see in the ep where aaron asks aph to prom. he never relented to jfry's attempts to be friends w him and through this a girl like lily managed to be friends with him. i feel like something like this shoudlve been shown. i wouldve also liked to see a stronger reaction to him over lily and ivy's scheme. aaron obviously considered lily a caring friend and when he understood that they were scheming from what i remember, when he saw lily after learning about everything all he did was go "if ur gonna treat aph like this we're better off not being friends" or smt?? i think from what we understand about aaron over the series, emotional connections are obviously something he cherishes very much. so seeing him kinda like- brush the whole thing off and not be lily's friend feels so anticlimactic. idk how to phrase it. i know this was premature aaron and the aaron we know over the series is grown up and everything, but i still do feel like aaron would've had a stronger reaction to the scheme.

prob 2 was how after aaron and aph came to know ab each other being shu n fc, aaron didn't become full fledged friends with like ANYONE other than her. this felt extremely weird to me. we see him go to this dinner sylvanna planned and we see him socially thriving there- him cracking jokes and everyone having a fun time around him, travis and garroth wheezing over his jokes- how did this dude not become friends with them? i feel like they (garroth & travis) would've talked to aaron more and become more than acquaintances w him. a lil bonding thing if you get me?? mainly garroth. it's just weird that garroth never became a friend of aaron's imo. they were put in situations where they could've easily become friends. i know that garroth was jealous about aaron coming outta nowhere and swooping aph off of her feet, but he clearly got over it (during the time of s1 anyway, after that he went batshit crazy). they must've had one on one interactions during the dinner or prom right??????/ like come on. it's just weird!! this brings me to the fact that i literally don't see aaron making proper friends other than aph until fcu. like- aph is his only friend ever ykwim?? i feel like im phrasing this in such a dumb way- but it's just frustrating to see his entire social life just being- aph for a while. i just think garroth and aaron could have become friends as well, maybe even travis. and during prom, maybe even kaitlyn. we see aaron also being pretty mature and giving actual, promising advice to aph during the music room scenes. from this i feel like at some point aaron could have also comforted kaitlyn and maybe a friendship could've bloomed out of this??? this thought's just been sitting in my mind. aaron COULD have had a friend other than just aph. it just feels like his whole world revolves around aph and aph only until his family issues and the ultima bullshit comes around.

now in mystr s1, aaron is so FUCKING BLAND AND STALE AND UUUGHGHHHHHHH its actually so fuckin funny because mystreet season one aaron is relatively decent compared to his other versions *cough s5 cough. i actually do like s1 aaron's character. he's the epitome of chill- laid back, honest, communicative and supportive. he's a great friend to aph during her times of need, and during s1 he's the sanest character on the show.

but that's it. all he was was this friend to aphmau until the dumbass play arc during which they decide to go for something romantic. like his whole identity revolved around walking shirtless, being a chick magnet and a friend to aph. he revolved around aphmau, much like his pdh s1 self and that pisses me off so much!! he had no fucking personality other than being supportive to aph for a while. around the end you see him start to gain *something* similar to a personality, and while it was less than pleasant it was better than whatever the fuck was going on while he was only a friend to aph. it's also disappointing seeing him practically only gain emotions after developing a romantic relationship with aphmau. even during this, his interactions are limited to aph and zane most of the times, and even then he doesn't develop an outward friendship with zane- which would've been fucking amazing!!!! while they do start to bond, it's still like aphmau is the only one keeping them glued together while it would've been real cool for aaron to develop a friendship with zane and interactions w him that doesn't solely have to do with aphmau all the time. the fact that aph's brought him out of his shell is cool, but he's still ONLY friends with aph which is VERY eh. he may be considered friends w zane and stuff, but we only see major bonding stuff going on when it's between aaron and aph, but we don't see it with the other characters. it's jsut weird because everyone's known each other for so long, aaron;s bound to have grown closer w someone at the least- for example, garroth or travis. we've seen the unlikely group form during that one episode- aaron, aph, zane and travis- where they have a stupid lil immature game thing or whatever. i feel like travis and zane and aaron could've collectively bonded and it would've been super cute!! plus aph nudging him and zane to be more social as well- a lil detour to fcu where we see aaron trying his best to get out there and make friends w/ aph's adorable support- he has the perfect opportunity to do it during moments like these but it never becomes more than just what seem like forced interactions. like UGH. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. so. much. potentialll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just gone. poof. a strong friendship between aaron and the ro'maeve brothers wouldve been so fucking ack. sfryquoeuiwhiblforhgubhjfwe. litera;;y/. now i wpuldve loved to see tht1!!!! it's also just so weird that we see a drastic change in aaron's character from fcu to myst, in fcu he's so shy and he's trying his best to be friends w others and he succeeds little by little (we never hear of these friends again but ok.) and then in ms we see him as this super chill dude w hot gains sigma male or whatever and his only friend is aph. he was so much more expressive during fcu and while many events occurred in between, it's just weird seeing him not get out there more during s1 esp considering the fact that he has more freedom to. ill mention this later. anyway-----

one thing i liked to see was aaron break out of his cool character during the spectacle of zanemau, another stupid attempt by jess to get another boy to get infatuated with aph which thankfully did not happen.. kind of. id love to see people talk about how zane just heavily depended on aph as an emotional support system and was just afraid aaron would take aph away from him, a feeling of abandonment rising out of his own self loathing yada yada. . while zanemau is a cool ship, this whole thing was jsut extreenmly forced-it was obvious it was just to get another guy to fawn over aph. i hate aph's harem. i'll get off topic if i talk about how every single boy within a 50 mile radius of aph falls head over heels in love with her, but anyhoo. i did get off topic.. . . . so aaron breaking his character was like this breath of fresh air for me. when he's in the resto's bathroom, talking to the mirror ab his frustrations ab aph going all flushed and orgasmy over zane bc of the love ption that he wasnt aware of and how he should stop whats going on bc of zianna (fucking hate her ass), he seemed like an actual person lmao. i love that scene alot because he wasn't just this cool chill flirt(for aph), his feelings finally poured out in some way. it made him a full fledged character (for a little..). then garroth came in and talked to him and whatbnit (another wasted opportunity to grow closer maybe??????? idk) and they went back to the table . i havent talked ab how much i loathe this whole zuzu aph arc though like oh my god it mustve been incredibly uncomfortable for aph and aaron sitting through all that. i hate zianna so much and it was also mega annoying of vylad and the brothers to drag them into this bc he couldnt say no to his mommy. it was genuinely weird and so many things in the show are brushed off as comedic relief- things borderline crazy and worthy of restraining orders and jail. literally. literal kids watch these and may think it's normal bhvr when it isnt. but anyway.

i know that mystreet s1 was a spin off of mcd that just blew up and multiplied into other seasons and as it doubled prequels like pdh and fcu came to life. im very much aware of the fact that jess just developed the characters in their modern steads as the story progressed because it wasnt done something beforehand- mystreet happened to be a happy accident and jess didn't plan the characters out beforehand, including the plot (horribly evident from the shit that started from s4). they developed as characters in stages as the stories went on and that's just painfully obvious, especially when we watch the series in the timeline jess posted it. we see how aaron goes from the stoic chill hot sigma male to this uwu boy personality, which was what jess wanted him as in the end ig? it's obviously very weird though. imo, my opinion, she shouldve kept aaron's laid back personality. through this we could see him gradually grow and insert himself into aph's friend grp as well. we see that happen during s2 and s3 of ms, where he does progress in terms of social interactions- hes seen to be cracking jokes outwardly, he even has his own lil comedic relief spiels, becomes good buds with dante and stuff (which went just as it came from what i remember :[[[) and in s3 he becomes much cooler and is more involved within the friend group. he also seemed to be like this in pdh, like during the dinner as i mentioned before.

during fcu, this just. changes. his character is very... emotional? i dont really know how to put it. it's out of character. he's incredibly shy and relies on aph as a social plug. while in pdh he seemed to be less awkward w social interactions, aaron was 100x times more awkward during fcu. he seemed overly sensitive, and at moments its like he needed to be coddled. i did love it when aph helped him grow more socially, but we see that in ms 1 he has no friends. he's like this hot lone wolf (..), a drastic contrast to what he wanted to be in fcu imo (i believe this because derek was off his back now and he had the freedom to do have more friends and emotional connections like these is what he desperately craved- it's something so evident.) he wanted to have more friends and be more social. while this does happen in fcu, in ms1 we don't really see the results coming into place. like he becomes much more bold- in fcu he used to flush and blush at just hearing aph's heartbeat and in ms1, that one instance where aaron gets picked to play romeo and aph is like "you do realise we gotta kiss?" he just goes "yeah." in the most casual way ever- like it's just another tuesday for him or somethin. it's just a weird ass change. his character fluctuates when we watch the show in the chronological order and it's jsut so out of place and while i know it's no fault to jess ( i mean it is but part of it is justified ) it's still incredibly weird. jess could have prevented this by just keeping him as the character she initially started with.

and his last form- season 5. starlight. god fuck- this aaron was such a fucking baby. if fcu aaron wanted to be coddled, starlight aaron straight up wanted milk from aph's bosoms. he becomes this uwu soft boi- and considering all of the events that unfolded, it's still weird. yes, many things happened during their time at the lodge but it's just so fucking weird!!!!! i don't even know what to make of it. i just hated his character in s5. he stuttered every 3 fucking seconds. jason voice acted him so bad like oh my god im so sorry but it was literally unbearable. rewatching starlight was fucking horrifying. the stupid ass dips in the voice- god fuck!!! im so sorry its just what i think but i really hated how jason voice acted aaron during s5. i liked the fact that he was more expressive but he just changed completely- and i liked the small part where he felt like everyone wanted him to be something different now that he was out as a werewolf, but he really did fucking change and it did not feel like he was aaron at all. it felt like seeing a 12 year old find out about age regression and implement it onto a character like aaron's. it felt childish and just weird. jess couldve done way better with aaron during s5.

this shit was long and i feel liek i still have a lot more to say and when i rememebr ill jsut edit it on. no ones probably gonna reach the end of this but if you did, idk how u got so much time reading all this but i lpve you

( i love this picture so much <3 )

[lacrimosathedark]

As an acespec person who is likely some kind of arospec too, Alastor ships give me mixed feelings.

Like, I'm extremely uncomfortable with people really sexualizing Alastor, especially in art. It feels...gross. At the same time, I see people staunchly against people shipping Alastor in any way that's not platonic, which...makes me frustrated.

Look, he is canonically ace, but 1. asexuality has levels, 2. Alastor has no idea what ace means, and 3. words are stupid.

I had no idea I was nonbinary or ace as a kid. I knew how I felt, but I thought it was within the range of "normal". I thought I was "just a person" and "a romantic". I thought I was "picky", and that's why everyone was having crushes while I was chill by myself or with friends. I thought maybe I was scared at the idea of being that vulnerable with someone as someone with anxiety, trust issues, and who grew up falling asleep to Law and Order SVU. And I'm a Zillenial.

Alastor is from a whole other century, in a much more repressive society. If I today needed the internet to figure out that my experience is abnormal and there's a word for it, back when the internet wasn't a thing and queer circles were trying to hide from sight, how the fuck is he gonna know? Especially when he loathes seemingly anything that's past his time, which the concept isn't but the term is as is the way he might find out about it. Fuck, we know he doesn't know what ace means.

He also has no reason to seek out an answer. I wasn't looking when I found my answers. I stumbled upon people who shared experiences who had words that clicked with me. Hell, it'd be easier to think it's normal with how much "waiting until marriage" has been historically pushed. He doesn't know there's even something to look for.

In all likelihood, he thought the "right person" might come along someday, but he also had other priorities and didn't care if he found them or not. Why would I go searching for a love I may never find when I can spend my time focusing on my career, dancing with friends, and plotting various murders? That sounds like a lot more fun and a more effective use of time, wouldn't you agree?

And look, in general "finding the right person" isn't a "cure" for asexuality anyway. Except it can look like that on the surface if someone is anything other than 100% sex-repulsed asexual. And (allos writing aces don't seem to know this) sex-repulsion can also be very spectrum-y too, and actively fluctuate.

I'm demisexual, and would actually consider myself sex-repulsed. I have never liked viewing sexual images or videos, it makes me borderline nauseous. I absolutely will not read pure smut. The concept of engaging in sexual activity myself makes me cringe. To me, sex generally brings to mind too much physical contact and gross bodily fluids. I'm disgusted by even getting other peoples' sweat on me. I'm okay listening to friends talk about their interactions only to a limited extent--I need to be able to have distance and not be given extreme detail.

But if I think about someone I actually like, or if I'm reading a story that has had a buildup in the relationship, it's...nice. It's a very different experience. It seems less like too much touch and gross bodily fluids and more like intimacy. It's...I'd almost call it pleasant? It's hard to describe, but it's a complete shift in mindset depending on circumstances. Most of my inherent reflexive disgust just goes away.

There's a chance Alastor could be like that. He is, quite clearly, some kind of sex-repulsed (thank you Angel Dust) but that doesn't completely block him out of sexual interest. But Angel is...excessive about that side of his personality. And that could be part of why the repulsion seems so strong with him. There are levels of tolerance. I can watch Hazbin Hotel and Angel Dust, but I can't comfortably watch Helluva Boss because the first episode Stolas is...very explicit. It's just too uncomfortable for me to sit through. (this also isn't a judgement of whether it's a good show or not, it's just not for me)

And even if Alastor doesn't experience attraction, he could still have sexual engagement with someone for other reasons. I don't think we have solid confirmation that he's aro, but even then that is again a spectrum and Alastor has no inkling on the concept.

He could involve himself in sex because he has romantic feelings for someone and that outweighs his disgust. Or perhaps even intense platonic feelings, disconnecting the act of sex from romance entirely. QPPs can do anything they want and honestly I feel like those labels are super blurry anyways, because what denotes an action as romantic or sexual or platonic besides intent and perception? Like, friends can cuddle, happy lovers can sleep in separate beds, people joke about kissing the homies good night. Words are messy and nothing matters.

He could also use it as a manipulation tactic. Because if there's one thing we know about Alastor, it's that he's a manipulative little shit. And while the reward would need to be extremely high, I could see Alastor using someone's attraction to him against them in that way. Why would he not use every tool at his disposal?

And from personal experience, a lot of writing in the fandom is through the lens of Alastor being non-sex-repulsed asexual, or otherwise demi- or greysexual. And while I could definitely use more fluidity in the sex-repulsion category (cuz unfortunately a lot of people write it as either completely repulsed or not repulsed whatsoever), at least a good number of people are trying to be respectful. Just because they ship Alastor with someone doesn't mean they are being disrespectful or casting aside his orientation by default.

And while Alastor being enthusiastic about it is extremely ooc and I hate that with my very soul, people are allowed to play with fictional characters how they want to. They aren't real. Neither are the Barbies whose faces you smashed together as a kid. They aren't actively hurting real people, and don't necessarily think differently of real ace people.

I'm aware that I may be projecting my sexuality onto Alastor given that he has shown sex-repulsion that I relate to. Maybe I think the idea of him being romantically involved with someone is cute. Maybe I don't mind the idea of him doing sexual things for love or other personal gain like power or control. But who the fuck am I hurting by doing that? Who is anyone hurting by doing that?

And dude, you're watching a show about redeeming sinners, showing that some of the worst people can change and puritanical people are irrationally judgemental asshats. Someone portraying an ace character as not 100% sex-repulsed is a weird line to draw there.

If you're a 100% sex repulsed asexual who's uncomfortable with people shipping Alastor, that's perfectly fine. But not every asexual completely shares your experience, and life itself is uncomfortable. And for better or worse that isn't going to change. I suggest you simply avoid engaging as much as you can for your own peace of mind if nothing else. Blocking tags and accounts is actually great for that. Someone doesn't have to be a dick for you to block them, and you won't have to see their content anymore. Tumblr Savior is a helpful tool too.

This is my very longwinded way of saying just because Alastor is aroace doesn't mean he can't be in a romantic-coded relationship, a qpp that isn't specifically stated to be such, or engage in sexual acts. And writing him ooc is icky but also completely fine and people can do what they want.

[marley-manson]

D / L / N / P / T

Thank you 💖

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Hawk/BJ happy style. I have a feeling I'm missing out on some decent Hawkeye fic I might otherwise like because of this, but I just can't get into that Hawkeye/BJ happily ever after vibe. Earnestly shipping them would also probably help me get through a few of the more sloggy chunks of the later seasons - though on the flipside shipping them in a fucked up way helps me enjoy a lot of the weird conflict episodes, so it's not a bad tradeoff there.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

I've said the whole BJ is interesting because of his flaws thing a lot so let's go with a different Mash character for this: Mulcahy is sweet and I love his friendship with Klinger.

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

Evil Hawk/BJ fic 😈 I want misery I want unhappy endings I want psychosexual torment I want resentment I want it to be fucked up.

This feels spoiled of me lol because there are absolutely some great historically accurate feeling fics, but I always want more gay Mash fic that feels like it's set in the 1950s.

And more fic that really leans into the misery of the setting, the draftees imprisoned in a nightmare vibe. The army brass are jailers and the draftees all hate their lives and I want to feel that at least as much as I feel it in the show.

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

I'm into canon divergence moreso than new settings, so AU where Frank was kept as temporary CO for at least a few months after Henry died. Hawk bites the bullet and seduces him to redress the balance of power and secure his allyship.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

Gonna keep this Mash themed, so my Hawkeye is fine after the war headcanon - better than most of the cast. He goes home, spends a few months in Crabapple Cove, another few months in Europe, returns, gets his job in Boston back, returns to his pre-war social circle, falls in love with some dude unconnected to the war, and lives happily ever after.

It's a bit exaggerated to say I'd die defending it lol, I don't mind Hawkeye miserable to some extent post canon in fic (and have written it myself), and I get why it's a popular headcanon. But I'm married to my version of post-war Hawkeye like a year out, and idk if I could get into fic where he's like, depressed and struggling and/or isolates himself for years on end.

[demcnsinmymind]

More talk about the Azzy-Lance relationship (long edition lmao)

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that listening to Male/volent has thrown me into a bit of a writing crisis because a lot of it is sooooooooooooo similar to the way I portray Lance and Aza/thoth and the lines have been blurred for a bit there, but I think I'm starting to get their voice back a bit more again so I just want to ramble a bit more about the relationship.

It's pretty much canon that Lance is somewhere on the Stockholm Syndrome / Trauma bond spectrum, made especially visible in that last GE2 act where he was screaming at people that it chose him and no one else (lolololololol NOT gonna talk about the fucking ending but some of it is good at last). And that in return, the building/Azzy is obsessed with him and considers him its honey in the trap to lore more victims in on the basis that they just want to help him.

Azzy/the building is so very hard to write because it is so chaotic and its motivations are so incredibly basic. I really do think that the aspect of just wanting more is really all there is to it and I've been talking about that too. The concept of a black hole just devouring everything because that's just what it is. No real ill intentions with a real sinister evil motive. It's just destructive by default and it's having fun with it. That kinda makes it somewhat evil by default but it's just....hard to explain. How I consider something as not evil and yet evil at the same time. Fucking fits the thing just fine doesn't it. Hard to make sense of, chaotic, barely describable.

Anyway. That also applies to the relationship. It is so hard to really explain, but I am thinking there are definite difference compared to John and Arthur's relationship in Malevolent.

I do headcanon they also have their 'sweet' moments and I do realize how fucking weird and questionable that is, considering the origin of their relationship. But I do headcanon that Azzy has no interest in truly tormenting or hurting Lance. Don't get me wrong. It loves a good hit of his paranoia and fear and depression and self loathing and it definitely will manipulate him into falling back into it all every now and then so it can feed on that. It's incredibly addicted to his everything, more so than any of the emotions of other people, even though his are actually lesser 'meals' than what it can get out of other people with worse problems than him.

And it certainly is running one hell of a commentary track inside his head all the time and though he pretends that it annoys him, he actually doesn't mind that at all. He's flawed and self centered as hell and he loves when it praises him and calls him pet names and makes him feel special. And he also likes that it really knows everything about him. No filter. And not having had that burden of letting all of that out by himself because let's face it, there's no way he'd EVER tell anyone else all of that of his own volition. He would never, yet at the same time he won't deny that it feels nice to have someone he doesn't have to lie to or play an act for.

It's like so super raw and unfiltered, for better or worse. And some of the sweet moments I talked about earlier features mundane things like them watching movies and reality tv shows together. They both love that shit so much. The more drama, the better.

And contrary to what people might think given his initial state - post Collingwood - aka near starved and with serious health issues and all. Azzy takes good care of his body. It is not the one starving him intentionally. It has bad effects on food, but I actually HC it being the one to force him into healthier habits. It wants him in tip top physical shape. If it were up to it, it would fucking pamper him with expensive clothes and food and what not and it certainly keeps trying. It can also spend hours just fucking staring at him in a mirror. Legit obsessed, and the thing is that he doesn't find it creepy, he fucking likes that.

I know it makes Lance sound so shallow and in a way he is but he's so much more than this, but I really feel the need to stress that the relationship really boils down to that one specific aspect of him. Coupled with the fact he's never had that many friends, and has always been frosty both with other intimate relationships. And his desire for punishment, too.

However, the more I keep trying to entangle them from the Malev influence I've gone through lately, the more I also realize some other things about Azzy. I still think it's COLD with him. It will pamper his body to the high heavens. It keeps him protected af. It doesn't want to torture or harm him with the exception of killing him to make him immortal and keep him forever. However, it does not consider Lance its equal. It does not consider him its friend. It doesn't know what friends are. It doesn't care what friends are.

If it offers to listen to him when he's upset or scared, when it offers anything to him, even protection, it's not out of tenderness. Or goodness. It's out of obsession. Addiction. And because all of those emotions and motions he goes through and everything it gets through him, both ecstatic and good or horrific and bad...that's food. That's about the sake of more. And because it cares about him like that and that deeply. But not as a true friend.

And Lance is equally addicted to that constellation. The shallow and unconditional obsession and praise. Getting to share everything and having something so severely intimate in a way he's never had and never will. For all the wrong reasons. Because he has so much trouble going so unfiltered with people he knows care about him. And whom he cares about in return. He's just legit incapable of it with anyone else. Azzy is the only one who fits his very weird criteria of a deep relationship.

Unlike Azzy, he does consider it a true friend and he's not cold with it, no matter how often he complains about it being annoying and rolling his eyes at the stupid shit it pulls. He'll open up to it, genuinely, and it indulges him. That's how it got him in the first place. It is very good at faking being a true friend who only wants what's best for him.

At the same time, I find it very fascinating how vile and furious it gets over his severe trauma. It utterly loathes Friedkin for what he put Lance through. Most likely because the prospect of him dying and losing him infuriates it. Though there still will be some reactions from it that could hint at genuine care. It wouldn't like seeing him tortured. It wouldn't like seeing him go through serious trauma. So it does care, but from an obsession kind of view. And to him, that's good enough.

[kenobster]

What can you tell us about the Shadow AU? my interest is piqued

AHHH, thank you anon, I would love to tell you about it.This fic is one I haven't been working on much (and in fact have forbidden myself to work on until after I finish Every Shadow), but one that I've been lusting after nonstop for a few months, haha. And I'm glad you chose this one to ask about because this one has the most convoluted backstory on the planet.

Backstory:

It all starts (montage style) when the Queen of Zygerria dies before she can tell Anakin about the Kadavo system. So they figure out where Obi-Wan & Rex are months later than in canon. Which means Anakin basically goes feral for the rescue campaign. Unfortunately Obi-Wan has already been sold at that point... and Anakin's carnage was great at keeping slaves alive but terrible at preserving any records of whom Obi-Wan might have been sold to. So Obi-Wan is gone. There are no leads. The Jedi are looking!! But they're not finding anything. Nothing can really be done.

So Anakin has a mental breakdown and tries his absolute hardest to get himself expelled from the Jedi Temple. The Jedi Council has concerns about things he confesses, yes, but they're not gonna expel him, lmao. They want to help him. So despite Anakin's attempts to convince them that he is the Worst™, they don't confine him in the Temple, they don't strip him of his Knighthood, and they don't pull him from the army. Anakin, of course, is furious about this—so he pretty much does all of that to himself. He refuses to leave his bedroom, he begs Ahsoka to get a different master (she eventually agrees to save him stress), and he resigns as a General (to which the Council probably accepts on the condition that he gets therapy during his time off or something—they're very worried for him because he's not doing well).

Enter Quinlan, who feels like Obi-Wan would want him to look after Anakin in his time of need. So Quinlan gets the boy to therapy, gets him on antidepressants maybe, and generally helps him come out of the self-loathing spiral. Unfortunately for Quinlan (and despite Quinlan's many objections), Anakin feels that he's in need of a mentor. He starts learning Shadow things, inviting himself to missions, and bullying his way into Quinlan's life. At first, Anakin's only interested in shadow work because it's what Quinlan does... but after awhile, Anakin actually starts to really like it! (Whenever he's not crying on a couch watching sad holodramas and eating chocolate, ofc.)

Cut to like 5 years later (which is probably when the Actual Fic starts.... I still haven't figured out what I'm gonna do structurally because ^^^^ was all backstory but that's like.... a lot of backstory lmao).

Anakin is on a shadow mission with Quinlan and gets dropped off to do part of it on his own (because he's developed an affinity for shadow things and Quinlan trusts him to do the job well). On this mission, by sheer stroke of luck, he encounter Obi-Wan in some random backwater outer-rim area. And actually, I feel like a (very drafty) excerpt from that scene is the best way to describe the Vibes of this AU:

The Durosian moans into the kiss. His hand gropes over Obi-Wan’s trousers, Obi-Wan lets out a small, feeble whimper, and Anakin—he— These feelings you're having aren't for him, kid, Quinlan once told him.  They’d been sitting together, sweat rolling rivers down their faces, and the sparring hadn’t been enough, it was never enough, to drown the blistering coals in Anakin’s chest.  You think they are, but they’re not. They’re for you. And Anakin had thrown his lightsaber across the salle. He’d sprung to his feet and started to yell, hands shaking, ears ringing. He said so many things that day he didn’t mean. Things Quinlan took with an opaque stare, but things Anakin, deep down, knows must have left an impression.  Quinlan had waited for the embers of Anakin’s temper to burn out. He’d waited for Anakin’s hatred to deflate into the persistent misery of what he’d done (what he’d become). Then, when Anakin collapsed onto the bench and started sobbing into his hands, Quinlan had tucked a comforting arm around his shoulders.  You carrying a picture of him in your head, he’d said. A picture of him waiting on Kadavo to be rescued. But when you went to Kadavo to save him, he wasn’t there, remember. He was already gone. This image you’re carrying—it’s a lie you created to handle your guilt. It doesn’t serve him or you, and you need to let it go. Right now, Anakin is picturing a victim. He’s picturing a freshly caught slave terrified of what will be done to him. He’s picturing a version of Obi-Wan in need of rescue, a version of him that is kicking and screaming and crying because—because Anakin needs to rescue him, and kicking, screaming, and crying are things people who need to be rescued do. Anakin forces himself to exhale. Unclench his fingers. Sink into his chair. Obi-Wan is not kicking or screaming or crying. Obi-Wan has been a slave for five years. His palms are pressing defiantly against the weight of the Durosian’s chest, yes, but there’s no sincerity to his strength. His feet are planted somewhat farther apart than normal, and his lips are parted, and if he really wanted to kick and scream and cry, then he would bite down on the tongue ravaging his mouth. It occurs to Anakin in an instant. This isn’t new for him. Obi-Wan has been kissed before. He’s been groped before. He’s been assaulted before. And Anakin could tear their bodies apart, drag Obi-Wan through the station, and stage a cathartic rescue—but it wouldn’t change whatever happened to Obi-Wan yesterday. Or last year. Or the year before. It wouldn’t change what happened on Kadavo. It wouldn’t bring his fantastical image to life. This version of Obi-Wan, the one who is standing in front of him, the one whose body has gone slack and pliant, can handle this—and Anakin needs to trust him to do so.

But anyway so then Anakin covertly and discreetly buys Obi-Wan off the owner (more complicated than that, but whatever lol), and then panic-calls Quinlan, and then the fic is Quinlan & Anakin trying to help a very traumatized and frightened Obi-Wan get better whilst fix-it fic stuff happens.

[mistress-of-vos]

Timber / timsteph? (I personally hate them, with good reason, of course! but I'd like to know ur opinion on them.)

I'm gonna do these two together! But this time I won't tag the ships as I don't want 🐜 interacting plus I don't really think it would be nice to put my hate on their tag lmao 🤣

TimBer:

Hate it. Loathe it. Rather than not ship it I'd say I want to destroy it.

1. Why don't you ship it?

It's terribly written. It's an ooc Tim with a self insert of the author and not even the most bland straight ship writing of DC is at this level of awful. It has done nothing but make Tim a terrible character and ruin him; currently Tim is a no one at DC and I blame this ship 100%. Amazing that what Slade's comics did so easily with Jericho was something impossible for Batman editorial.

2. What would have made you like it?

It would have to be written by another author. Someone who understood Tim completely, someone who wasn't afraid of real queer experience, someone who wasn't sexist as hell, and someone who didn't destroy years of a character's legacy.

B would have to be the old, original version. And his messiness should be kept, because that's literally the only interesting thing he had going on.

3. Do you have anything positive to say about it?

Sadly no. B current character sucks, which is a shame because his old version was kinda funny and definetely had the vibes of "mean, rude boyfriend". This B is nothing but a self insert and is closer to a woman than to an actual queer man, which also sucks. Tim has been made something he isn't, and it's horrible.

The fandom is disgusting. It's full of sexism, racism, and most people have zero media literacy which means they spend their time harassing people who create content for other Tim ships.

I really hope DC buries this ship down on the grave.

TimSteph:

Huh, 50/50?

1. This is a complex ship for me. I think my problem is that I was very satisfied with their situation at the end of New Earth: I see them dating, caring for each other deeply, and eventually going their own ways but still being friends. Not even as bitter exes, no, I genuinely enjoyed Tim & Steph still trusting the other and being friends. I do enjoy them as two teenagers who feel attraction to the other and try it out. Now, this is usual verse. As you know, I play with Tim's gender quite often, and when I write Timothea/Thea, I really enjoy TimSteph more and feel like it's a sad but real romance.

Perhaps my feelings are too complicated for a single post. I see Tim as a queer person who loves strongly and not always in conventional ways. I think he loves Steph and Tam and Pru in different yet similar ways, and with the first two there was an attraction. It's just that it wasn't meant to be. That being said, I would really prefer Tim to be dating Steph or Tam in current canon (as long as it didn't do the girls any disservice) rather than his current love interest, but if it were up to me, Tim wouldn't have a canon love interest and Steph and Tim would be friends (not to be confused with family).

Plus I think a deep part of me was really confident Steph was gonna come out as bi or lesbian before Tim did because her story resonates a lot with wlw people who stay in the closet for different reasons (such as her past pregnancy) so... 😅

Idk! I don't want them to get married or anything like that but I think them dating is and can always be part of their story and something they look at with a smile. No need to ruin their friendship or push any of them as "evil".

2. If Tim were Timothea in canon I would be definitely obsessed with TimSteph. Something something make them the DC version of the manga NANA and have them reject heteronormativity.

3. Steph is a character unfairly hated most of the time and I think it goes hand on hand with people's own sexism and DC's awful writing for her. It makes me mad that we have so few moments where Steph actually shines and is allowed to be a more complex character. This is why I say I really would prefer if she and Tim had been allowed to stay single and as friends, because both of them deserve better than current DC.

[dumpster-lizard]

For the ship opinion bingo, you know I'm gonna ask for VaaGan

Hell yeah I have. THOUGHTS

I love these two. You have Ganondorf, a man with complicated motivations- Trained by his mothers from a young age, growing up in a nation where his people are seen as either theives or commodities by their neighboring nation. A nation which, by the point of OoT, has the shadow temple to answer for. Even if he lost sight of his original intent down the line, theres no doubt he was driven to defy the gods in the name of his people.

Then you have Vaati. A man who deliberately separated himself from his people, whose actions against Hyrule were not fueled by malice, but rather a consequence of his actions that he gave little thought to. He wanted to be a god, he wanted to abuse his power for his own entertainment later... what happened to Hyrule and it's people never mattered.

Both have died multiple times in pursuit of their goals. They are as similar as they are different.

They simultaneously have potential for mutual respect and mutual loathing. Any power imbalance and one coukd very well try to control the other. Both have problems with authority. Both have the ability to act as the sole antagonist of their story, and neither bows to the other.

...At least, until Four Swords Adventures. The first game Vaati's in canonically that takes place after Ganondorf enters the picture. Even ignoring the timeline, it's still the first one with Ganon and Vaati working together.

My "specific scenario" tho? They met in OoT in an uneasy alliance- both intended to take the triforce, but only Ganondorf realized the sacred realm opened early. Cue the "power imbalance leads to control" thing. Vaati is essentially forced into assisting Ganondorf create the hyrule we see after the 7 years. Thus the "i can make this so fucked up" square.

Especially cause. At some point during those 7 years they're basically alone. Ganondorf is separated from the other Gerudo from what we know, and it's just them. Its a toxic environment that gives rise to a lot of complicated feelings that culminates in all sorts of awful and interesting ways. They make up and break up every other week, it's great.

And of course, Vaati being as impulsive and revellious as he is, never gives up the chance to be a little shit.

Past OoT, i havent really put much thought into it (aside from my ToTK AU) but the idea is that Ganondorf tries to bring back Vaati each time he comes back. If he can't, he finds someone else. Generally when he does he holds something over Vaatis head to do it. (Like the dark mirror in FSA)

In ToTK, Vaati has all the memories of the past Ganons, but Ganondorf doesnt. So that in and of itself is an entirely different dynamic that STILL doesnt end too well. Though I suppose that really deserves its own dedicated post.

Also uuhh my multiship ass has the "They're fucking the same guy" one circled purely cause im also a sucker for shipping Zelda with either of them, in multiple games.

[patternscolorsflowers]

Ick...

TW/CW: Disordered eating, bodyshaming, abusive relationship, toxic headcanons, minor "Flight of Icarus" spoilers

____________________

So, I saw on Twitter today that some Eddie Munson self-insert girlie had made some post (that was thankfully poorly received) about how they see Eddie in regards to his relationship with women, his type, and how he would treat them, and fellas, I've gotta say, it was NOT okay. Just...50 shades of disturbing.

Now, before I move on, I just wanna say, you're obviously free to hc whatever you like with whatever character(s) you like, but imo, there comes a time when a hc is so far off the rails from what/who a character is, that you're basically just creating an oc, and uh, this was definitely one of those times.

Essentially, the post insinuated that Eddie would not date/fuck fat girls (coming from a fat girl, I don't see this preference as being inherently problematic) but the post went so far as to say that Eddie has a "magic number" and would "force girls to weigh themselves for him" before taking them out, and "if they're over that number, he's done," and would never be seen associating with a girl who wasn't skinny unless he "pitied them."

I'm sorry... what? Tell me you have NO CLUE who Eddie Munson is without telling me, you have no clue who Eddie Munson is! 😂👎

Eddie, the safe-haven for the socially ostracized, who canonically hangs out with and uplifts those who don't fit society's rigid molds, is 100% not judging people (friend or partner) for their appearance, and he certainly isn't going to abuse them by shaming them for their weight or humiliating them by forcing them to 'weigh in' to have a chance at dating him.

On top of this, if we're factoring "Flight of Icarus" into the mix...Eddie is canonically willing to move Heaven and Earth to keep anyone he vibes with, trusts, and opens up to in his tiny circle, especially if they throw him the slightest scraps of affection or approval. He even talks about how two typically pretty girls he hooked up with in the past used him for story fodder ("to tell their friends what sleeping with The Freak was like") but none have ever genuinely been interested in him; he doesn't have the luxury of being super picky, even if that was his characterization.

Eddie is shown to have serious issues with self-confidence, self-worth, believing that he's worthy of love, and generally struggling with how he wants to be perceived and in some ways accepted. I genuinely believe that as far as romance goes? Eddie doesn't have a set-in-stone type. He's willing to give anyone a chance if they seem genuinely interested in him and aren't on the Hawkins bandwagon, placing judgement on him because of his father.

His entire story revolves at its core around being loved and figuring out how best to love himself. After losing his beloved mother, and subsequently being left with a parent who, at best, always puts him second, and at worst, actively puts him in danger to achieve his own ends...you're telling me that this love-starved kid is picky enough that he's not gonna be seen with a girl over an imagined number, or, that he's going to go out of his way to plant those same seeds of self-loathing in someone else?

I'm sorry, that take REALLY just bothered me. Eddie is a sweet, charismatic, passionate weirdo who loves fiercely, and actively doesn't want others to know what it's like to feel unloved or publicly judged. This is why we love him. If you only like him for his appearance, cool, but maybe do a few seconds worth of insight to his character before penning these gross hcs about him.

Whoever penned that hc, I genuinely hope you get the help you need, because it's obvious that it comes from a place of deep insecurity and self-loathe. Have faith in the idea that Eddie would love you just for being your most genuine self.❤️

[unhinged-summer-fun]

IM BACK AND I READ IT. These wo idiots hitting on each others like: PLEASE JUST FUCK ALREADY. No seriously like it’s so obvious from both sides y’all take one for the team one of you. Stretching while make full eye contact isn’t subtle 🤭. Don’t even get me started on the boxing bit like imagine if someone was coming up the stairs like what would they think is happening. All you hear is grunts (cuz she’s boxing) and Q yelling “C’mon. That’s it. Good girl.” and “Fuck yes. Don’t stop, show me.” THE KISS (to her knuckles ok ok). Osha’s do-something-stupid impulse is the best impulse she should indulge in it more often. Another kiss to the handdddd. Does he know you can kiss people other places? She’s gonna call him Qimir now ❤️‍🩹 also the manic energy of the spar was extremely well done, it really felt like you were in it. Ok it got serious again. Indara ratting on Sol feels so good. He can’t be trusted ever. Also I think it’s interesting that Vernestra was Qimir’s parent and exploited him to the point of injury and abandoned him because Sol did basically the same thing. Indara knows how similar Osha and Qimir are. Osha grew up in this place and was similarly exploited, injured, and tossed aside because she wasn’t useful anymore. Them teaming up is V’s worst nightmare and also thinking thoughts about canon Sol’s ending and this AU. Random but is this set in nyc? I’m thinking about the mayoral investigation going on rn. Ok ok now she has to go see him fight and try not to spill the beans. Why am I scared? Something feels ominous 😭

THANK YOU FOR THE EARLY POST. I was actually so happy to see it, it gave me sm motivation to finish up with work. I LOVE YOU TOO ❤️ thank you for writing I hope your jeans fits you perfectly and your pillow is cold on both sides 🫡

(this is from ch13 common grounds and now that 14/15 are up i am finally answering ty for ur patience ily aaaaa)

the two of them are seriously the hugest idiots everrrr like on his side, the only thing keeping him back is his sense of self-loathing, that he'll "dirty" her by making that first step toward her - bc until now he's been leading her to him and letting her choose to make those steps. on HER end, she's got a hundred thousand different reasons not to do this being screamed at her from anyone she talks to, so Osha is too inundated with things like Logic to make any horny decisions!! a tragedy.

i love your train of thought commentary it makes me so happy, it's my favorite kind of comment, like i'm going on an adventure with ur consciousness <3 your theories are also making me want to mobilize the sniper unit omfg like i love teasing yall with pieces of the truth and seeing everyone put the pieces together i'm LIVING FOR IT

as for ur question about the setting, i kind of get into the geographical setting some more in later chapters, but no this isn't an "on-earth" au. it's not necessarily in the GFFA, either. i am imagining it's the kind of story that could happen in "any" city so that's why i haven't given it a name. however, the "FDO" stands for the Federal District Orphanage, the Federal District being a district on the city-planet (ecumenopolis) of Coruscant (and where the Jedi Temple is!). outright calling the city "coruscant" is kind of a turn-off to me, though, so i'm just calling it "the city" and using generic names for streets, etc.

that said, starbucks and looney tunes and emoji and the black keys and walt whitman and brazilian jiu-jitsu and two-shot americanos and the concept of OSHA and calling one's calcaneal tendon "achilles" and teddy swims and .HEIC image files are also in this fic so it's not not an earth fic. LOL

thank u for my jeans blessings i am very very appreciative 😔🙏✨

and thank you for your ask and your lovely comment on 13!!

[ablogofsapphicpanic]

HEY! It’s SANTA! How are you doing?! Have you done anything fun this week? Also, LOL at the meme your brother drew. 🤭 I really do hope you like this fic, so don’t mind me playing 20 questions with you hehe.

Would you rather have something in Prythian or in an AU? 

--If you want an If you want an au, what are a few that light up your Christmas tree? 🎄

--If you prefer something in universe, are there particular locations you’re interested in exploring? 

And I took a look at that What I Need music video that you recommended. I love it so much!!!! Are there any other books, videos, movies, songs etc that remind you of Emerie, Mor or both of them? 

And your last set of serious questions - what tropes do you love? Any you loathe? I want to make sure to include what you love and leave the rest alone!!! 

And then your non-serious question because I see you are familiar with BG3. Which companion is the best companion? This is not a trick question! 👀 I swear 👀

Hi!!! I didn't really do much fun this week, but I do have plans to go apple picking and bake pies with my neighbors on Sunday, and I'm looking forward to that! I hope you had a nice week and did something fun! (If you did you should tell me, I'd love to hear about it).

Uhhh, that is a toughie. I prefer canon verse I think, but I wouldn't say no to an AU either 👀 so I'm gonna answer both and whatever strikes your fancy of the two, have at it!

I am a big fan of modern AUs, uhhhhh... I like supernatural romances (werewolves, vampires, that kind of stuff). Both is good, too. I like fairytale AUs as well. There was one sapphic beauty and the beast book that I read that was so good and I forgot the name of it and will hate myself forever for it. A fitting one for Mor and Emerie I think would be maybe a similar concept to Aladdin? Princess has to marry, doesn't want to, along comes suitor she can't actually have?

In Prythian, I'd like to see more of what's going on at Mor's private estate. It seems secluded but also I'm sure stuff is around and it's obviously somewhere she feels more open to relax herself. Also, Rita's is an untapped GOLD MINE right now. Gay club in Velaris? Fuck yes.

Ohhhhh there are so many. I recently read the fiancee farce and it did give them vibes (heiress has to marry to get her inheritance, girl is about to lose the family business and needs money to buy it before it gets sold 👀). Feelings by Hayley is another good song, leaning more towards Mor for that one. Honestly, a lot of Hayley Kiyoko songs are *chef's kiss* for them. I love her so much. But Taylor Swift is my favorite artist so I have to give at least one song from her and I'd sayyyyy... I Can See You, The Very First Night, and Dancing With Our Hands tied.

Tropes! Only one bed is a classic. I will never be tired of that. Fake dating/momentarily pretending to be a couple for whatever reason. I don't HATE miscommunication, but I prefer it not be the *whole* story.

Also, I believe it's not a trick question, because the only right answer is Karlach (though Laezel is a close second). Who is yours? 👀👀

[sapphicscholar]

do you like season 2? I heard mixed reviews. Is it worth watching? I don't wanna ruin my memories of season 1

I'm assuming you're talking about Hacks (if not feel free to lmk). My personal approach to TV consumption is: I watch the things that make me happy and try to approach most media with an attitude of critical generosity, especially while it's still in progress. This doesn't mean I don't have critiques or complaints (trust me, I always do haha), but unless a show is consistently and repeatedly doing things that ruin what makes me like it or that hit up against things I deeply do not care for in media, I'm willing to take what I love and hold tight to that while waiting to see what the finished product is gonna look like before I make larger-scale judgments.

There have been shows where I genuinely loathed future seasons, and for me, that doesn't have to take away from what came before. And fanfic is always there to explore the other ways it could have gone! That's what I love about fandom--sometimes it inadvertently (or intentionally) hews really close to canon; other times it gets to explore the stories the show writers either didn't want to or couldn't tell for a range of reasons. And I love that for us! Big ole' choose your own adventure book with thousands of stories spinning out from different points where our story could diverge!

So my thing is always gonna be: do what makes you happy about watching. Maybe that's watching live. Maybe it's watching when the whole thing is available. Maybe it's staying away from other peoples' takes until you've got your own opinion if they're stressing you out (or maybe it's reading more to try to get a broad array of opinions!). Personally, I'm just here to vibe with a show that's brought me a lot of delight during a difficult time and that seems poised to continue telling an interesting story, even if the attenuated season arc might cut down on some things I'd have also loved to see further fleshed out (though again! I'm still keeping hope til I know how it all ends). But you do you, friend!