#I'm not so sure about the characters but the chemistry I feel btw these two actors is off the chart

[duahauuoplanh]

I cannot live without you.

[hannieehaee]

hii (you’re one of my favorite writers btw) what would seventeens reaction be to a curvy black girl with big tits

18+ / mdi

having a curvy black s/o with big tits

content: no smut, but some suggestive bits, afab reader, established relationship, etc.

wc: 701

a/n: im not black so i made this kind of ambiguous since i dont wanna overstep at all!! thank u sm and thank u for requesting<33

masterlist

seungcheol -

he's literally obsessed with you. one look from you and he's on his knees ready to follow any command. sometimes his eyes would wander too much, so he'd have to get used to keeping them in pg places.

jeonghan -

he's so fidgety and loves grabbing at things, i'm 100% sure his hands would constantly be reaching to your hips, ass and tits (depending on whether you were in public or not), squishing them and just running his hand up and down the skin.

joshua -

instant attraction and instant chemistry between the two of you. to be fair, he could have chemistry with anyone, but he'd be extra charming with someone he liked. would be very vocal about his attraction to you and your body, always appreciating you both verbally and physically.

jun -

sees you and treats you as a queen. obsessed with buying you cute little outfits bc they just look so good with your body type every single time. you cause him headaches from how good you look for him. kinda reminiscent of how awkward his character in his drama was when he started liking the female lead lmao.

soonyoung -

i feel like he has a case of wandering eyes accompanied by an empty brain any time he sees something pretty. that something being you; his girlfriend. doesnt know where to put his hands most of the time but goes crazy on you behind closed doors.

wonwoo -

he's shy about it, but his eyes are always automatically drawn to you. he just finds you so pretty snd fascinating, he can't help himself. it gets so bad to the point where his members have to call him out on it, or even kick you out when you come whilst they're busy, knowing he'll be too distracted to do anything.

jihoon -

as a fellow big-ass haver, he'd now understand why carats always went crazy over his ass. except he still would feel caught off guard any time he caught a glimpse at your body. how was he supposed to react? should he hold back and become a pathetic shell of himself? or should he let his want for you take over? the eternal battle.

seokmin -

overcome with giddiness every time he remembers you're all his. sometimes he just stares and ponders how he got to have you all to himself. shy as shit when it comes to touching any curvy part of you though lol. it could be years and he'd still be shy in grabbing at your ass or hips while in public. he just needs to stay respectful at all times!!

mingyu -

lets out a grutal groan every time he sees you naked. every. single. time. he's just so insanely obsessed with your body (and luckily, you are obsessed with his too!), he can't help but verbally express his addiction to you. shameless in how often he's caught staring at you, clothed or not.

minghao -

appreciates beauty when he sees it, and since you're his girl, he's fortunate enough to see it all the time. insanely vocal about how into you he is, buttering up both your person and your appearance with the prettiest words.

seungkwan -

as a fellow curvy girly, he'd now understand why his members were so obsessed with his ass. being able to grab at yours so freely would give him an 'ah!' moment in realization as to why carats were also so obsessed with his own ass. he'd not only fall victim to an addiction to your ass but also your tits.

vernon -

doesnt verbally express it, but he feels like he's on top of the world having you as his s/o. super verbal to you about how pretty he finds finds you, always complimenting you and everything about you. his hands would also always be on your hips while in public (making their way to your ass and tits when in private).

chan -

has no idea how to handle a bad bitch. his hands would be so shy at the beginning of the relationship, itching to grab at your curves but not wanting to be disrespectful. the moment you gave him the greenlight, he'd go crazy and constantly be grabbing at you shamelessly.

[chaosroid]

I've talked about this before in discord servers so I might as well share my thoughts here as well. I feel like the inclusion of polyamory in BG3 was handled sloppily. Let me preface this by saying I have no issue with poly in general. Really, it's the way it was executed in this game that confuses me. More specifically, it doesn't make sense to me how the poly companions (Shadowheart and Astarion) react to certain dialogue options you can pick and the inconsistencies in characterization that come with it.

If you suggest an open relationship with Shadowheart regarding another companion, she is completely against the idea and explicitly tells you she doesn't want to be your spare lover.

Yet, shortly into act 3, her entire stance changes when it comes to Halsin and she's suddenly cool with it. And before you say "Oh well, she knows Halsin isn't a serious romantic partner so she's not worried", that's the thing, he CAN be a serious romantic partner. And one of the things you can tell her is "He wants me, and I want him. I'm not sure there's space for you and I", ultimately treating Shadowheart like, well, essentially a spare lover, and she's not only fine with it, but encourages this. Does she just not know that your relationship with Halsin can be serious? Because otherwise it feels very ooc for her.

I feel like none of this would've been an issue if SH was just written from the start to be okay in a poly relationship with every companion, instead of this flip fop where she's not okay with it for two entire acts before suddenly being okay with it in act 3 but it's weirdly exclusive to only Halsin. It's that inconsistency that lowkey bothers me.

I have similar issues with Astarion, because some of his reactions to what you can say makes no sense either. Here you have a man who just started rediscovering his sexual boundaries, but when you tell him you want to hook up with Halsin, he'll ask if it's only because he's not putting out enough. You can prove his worry correct and apparently he's okay with this (the dev notes confirm it).

We're supposed to believe he's not hurt by what you said? 'Oh gee, I finally wanna be seen for more than a sex slave but I'm totally fine with my partner fucking someone else the second I refuse sexual intimacy because of my trauma!'. It's just so in bad taste.

You can say things that go completely against what Astarion and SH would want to hear, and they'll still be like "Yep, alright! Have fun with Halsin!". This game has some of the most mature representations of sexual trauma but will then simultaneously turn around and reduce these characters to fanservice, because the people need to have their cake and eat it too I guess.

And sure, you can make the argument that they only trust Halsin with this sort of thing. But the fact that Halsin and his romance only got added late into the game because of horny fans from EA leads me to believe that the far simpler answer is that it was just tacked on last minute without much thought given to whether or not it would actually make sense. Halsin and SH don't even like each other in act 2, she honestly has more chemistry with Karlach (a companion who can actually fantasize about threesomes in her origin btw) and was smitten with her as early as act 1. But I guess for all the folks who wanted a fully wlw poly relationship, that's just not possible because your only option is a man :)

Again, I have nothing against Astarion and SH being poly. It's their jarring responses to some of Tav's dialogue options, in which I genuinely don't believe they would be okay with hearing those things nor would they respond so flippantly.

tl;dr They would not fucking say that

[eph-em-era]

hey so i am so so pleased they hired an intimacy coordinator this time around! and you can tell that the actors are much more comfortable too! the intimacy is much much better!!

let's do a lil intimacy breakdown from my knowledge as an IC in training and a director just in general

(this is a long post so it's under the cut)

fact is, there's some awkwardness in the ed/stede s1 kiss, which i am ninety percent sure is due to body placement. i'd wager there was a discussion on set that was like "hey this is a stunning shot, we love what it looks like, let's get the actors in" and they got the actors in and got to the blocking for the kiss and everyone was like "hey this is a bit awkward but we'll muscle through" - cause that awkwardness fits the character arcs.

but it's not actually all that easy turning all the way to one side to kiss someone without moving where your legs are! it's weird! it's an awkward angle! - or more accurately, it's the angle that two people would kiss at if it was a very impulsive, awkward surprise; or if your two lead actors are very good friends faced with playing lovers for the first time and not sure what to feel about that (we've all been there) - there's reticence, but it fits the scene so it's fine.

(Lucius and Pete and Olu and Jim also have moments of intimacy, which for the most part are fine, and I suspect that's a combo of a) their staging is SO MUCH BETTER, b) character choices, c) different directors and d) less of that "OMG WE'RE PLAYING LOVERS NOW" anxiety)

~~onto season 2~~

for the record, intimacy direction isn't just for kissing/sex scenes, ICs can come in for intimacy building exercises and additional blocking, as well as things like nudity, childbirth or any similar sensitive work, but I'm going to be talking mostly about kisses in this. anyway!

Beautiful! Kind, lovely, tender! The backdrop is super nice too. Honestly, the Lucius/Pete stuff has really been so nice all the way along; that's great casting! Especially in S2E5, everything reads as very earnest and space is used very well.

Archie and Jim. Now, we don't have anything to compare it to from S1, but I'm flagging it cause yeah, they definitely have similar staging to Ed/Stede from S1E09. I would say there's a much better range of movement in this one, likely because they're sitting on the floor, braced against the bed, so they can compensate for the weird angle better than E/S could. This might come off as a lil rude but it's also more likely that these two actors are slightly more flexible and can make this staging work better than Taika and Rhys.

Cannot for the LIFE OF ME find a gif of their hug, but they have fantastic chemistry! despite only showing up for like 2/3s of one episode. I've seen people whining about how they absolutely should have kissed - and you know what, I would have liked that too!

however, I suspect that what happened here was that one or both of the actors didn't want to kiss on screen, and voiced their objections to the IC, who found a work around. It was likely not cause of any kind of ill will or homophobia, for the record - sometimes you just don't want to kiss people. Maybe you're sick, maybe you're feeling weird, maybe you're just not in the right headspace, but a kiss might be off the cards that day.

This is behaviour we want to encourage, btw. The goal is to ensure that actors feel comfortable and that the shot isn't be all end all. I've done something very similar, we had 20 mins to get the blocking done and the actors weren't at a point where kissing felt comfy, so we did a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

it is better that the actors are comfortable than your ship is fulfilled.

Hey yknow what I was saying about how ICs aren't just used for blocking, they're used for chemistry building? That's what they've HIT ON HERE. This is genuinely a very lovely kiss. It's deeply appropriate for the characters, and it's private and simple. things get a little more raunchy, and hands start moving, but then it's stopped, for a narrative reason, and the chemistry remains with the hand hold. It's really very nice, well blocked and well performed. the hand placement! the tenderness! it's great. there's none of that s1 reticence, whether that was from characters or actors.

I think the intimacy work, much like the writing and the characterisation is much, much stronger in this season, and that's to the show's benefit. I know we're only halfway through, but I'm thoroughly interested to see where things go in the remaining episodes. I will update this post if anything exciting crops up in the final five.

and this is why you need to hire ICs! they make life easier for actors, directors and crew alike!!

[oodlyenough]

dw empire of death

spoilers ofc

hm. like many RTD finales, a bit of a mixed bag. i feel less certain of my overall thoughts than last week (which i thought was a blast, tbh).

the good: i'm... pretty happy with the ruby mom reveal. this whole mystery box set up turning out to be "she was just a scared young woman who couldn't raise her baby", an ordinary woman mythologized by ruby and the doctor over the season, etc, is an extremely RTD solution. and as a fan of his stuff I liked seeing that... well... pivot to his roots as opposed to her being part of the pantheon or something (which I admit I did wonder about myself).

the *idea* of her pointing at the sign to name the baby is nice, I like the meaning of it and what Ruby takes from it, but it is a bit of a clumsy set up. very dramatic pointing, ms miller.

also as much as i was dying to see what the screen said lol i DID love the character moment of ruby stepping forward to offer the name to sutekh, only to smash it, and then clip his collar (lmfao btw). i thought that was a nice character moment for ruby. in that moment i thought perhaps we'd never find out the answer, and that would be something ruby sacrificed for the greater good. i wasn't sure how satisfying that would be and I guess I'll never have to find out bc it's not what happened lmao, but it is where i thought we might be headed.

i liked seeing the gloves and the rope from TCORR come back. i like surprise tools that will help us later :)

loved the memory tardis from the time window and the use of that tales from the tardis set. how cool.

loved the time window playing clips of classic who that's so fun. mel's moment with six's outfit awwww. and i'm sure i missed some of the namedrops of planets etc that fifteen was going on about but i liked the ones i caught. shan-shen! oodsphere!!

i thought the effects of the dust wave and the insta-crumbling was pretty good and spooky

i really like having mel around! i hope we get to see her cameo again

the mixed bag:

'the death wave is eating memories and going back through family trees in reverse' is pretty cool as a concept, i thought. where i think this hurts the resolution a bit is that in the moment i thought, "ok, well, ruby's "safe" because there's the Mystery, there's no family tree for it to climb!" but like... there was. does sutekh need to personally be aware of your family tree to kill you?

i really liked the moment of fifteen and ruby watching louise outside the coffee shop, and i really liked the moment where ruby sits down across from her and then the barista calls the name ruby and they have this look. i ... kind of found myself wishing that it would stop there? i mean, i'm happy for ruby, and i think "ruby found her bio fam and now ruby and her big family are together" is a nice ending for the character. but there was something so emotional and bittersweet about that split second of wondering and connection between the two, and ruby having that choice to make...

the goodbye between ruby and fifteen was lovely. millie gibson is so good her big watery eyes make me so sad. i've enjoyed the two of them together and i think they have incredible chemistry as characters and actors, like, what a team of besties. i'll miss ruby on the TARDIS. but ... only 10 episodes, a couple of which didn't feature them much at all... a bond that didn't get super developed on screen ... I dunno. Left me wishing we got more from them through the season.

I do know we'll see more of Ruby next season, so I'm excited for that. an s4 Martha situation. but then I also worry about Varada Sethu's character getting development time too...

the not so good:

killing off rose, kate, etc in the first minute removes stakes, because while you might worry about characters like cherry or carla who won't necessarily stick around when ruby leaves or whose deaths will impact ruby, you know rose and kate are not going to stay dead permanently. also very infinity war (derogatory) where there was the same issue -- no these characters won't stay dead and i'm not going to humour it lol

rose temple sweetie it was nice to see you stand in the background and not speak. what was that about. she FINALLY got all of two lines. it just felt like she didn't serve a lot of purpose in this ep. I mean I liked seeing her but she did not do anything to the story in either part of the ep

the solution of "death kills death" was a bit goofy lol but it's doctor who the solution is always goofy. i didn't care too much about that i guess. but it was goofy

i really think we could've used a more decisive scene with carla and ruby. carla seems to understand ruby's desire to know her bio fam and be supportive of it and that's lovely. obviously ruby loves carla and vice versa. but i think it would've been nice to have a moment of on-screen explicit acknowledgment between carla and ruby that there might be weird feelings there, that louise isn't replacing carla, something like that.

related to the above, the Doctor says Ruby redefined the way he thinks of family, which is a huge thing to say, but I don't feel like I ever saw that happening on screen. it COULD have. all the pieces are there with foundlings and foster care and adoption...

[stilllsage]

My opinions on Lottie ships because she's shipped with basically everyone (my qualifications are that I'm a lesbian)

Btw I have no clue if some of these are the real ship names but I just chose what feels right to me

(🦝) Lottienat:

- I LOVE LOTTIENAT. First season I didn't see it much, I had heard a bunch about them but I didn't personally ship it until season two, I think they have soo much chemistry and some pretty gay interactions (THE BATH SCENE). Such a cool ship though, and I love them in the adult storyline as well. Nat's whole "is that what we are?" line is very interesting, because it could be interpreted as they were more or less than that and I think they're so confusing and so interesting and I need more of them in S3 so bad.

(🐑) Lottielee:

- I adore Lottielee with my whole heart, I can never choose between Lottielee and Lottienat. Lottielee is sooo special to me and was my first ever yjs ship. I think their whole dynamic could've been so interesting to explore, and Laura Lee haunting Lottie all the way to her adult years is so interesting. Laura Lee was the one making Lottie believe she wasn't crazy and I think that's so beautiful. Rich girl and Christian girl just make sense I swearrr. I have soo much I could say about them so lmk if you want my in depth thoughts on that.

(🐻) Shautie:

- I don't have many thoughts about this ship besides how much I love the ship name. I think they could have an interesting dynamic, Shauna being more of a leader in a general way and Lottie being a leader in the wilderness/cult way. Ugh and the whole Lottie taking a beating from Shauna so she could let out her pain was so emotional. I think I could definitely explore them more. I'd definitely have to read more about them to actually have a big opinion, but two sad brown eyed girls always make for a good looking duo.

(🐰) Jackielot:

- Honestly, I donttt ship this one very much. I think I could probably hear someone out if they talked a little more about it but I can't really think of any scenes that could lead to that, and I don't believe that their dynamic would be too interesting or unique, and there's definitely better ones, but I don't hate it! I still think there could be potential, and if they had maybe explored it a little more I'm sure I could see it better.

(🐺) Tailot:

- I definitely see these two as more best friends but I wouldn't completely put this ship off the table. Taivan will always be my favorite Tai ship of course but I still think these two could have pretty cute potential. I think their dynamic is a realllyy good one though, the non-believer and the prophet cult girl hellooo omg. I might just have a bad memory (I usually only focus on the ships I personally ship) but I don't remember very many scenes between them besides for the ones where Lottie is defending Shauna against her. Still though, I think they're cool asf.

That's all for now, let me know if you want more of these or if you'd like my thoughts on ships for other characters. Though, I feel like I have a pretty generic taste so maybe this isn't as interesting as some others. Although, feel free to send in asks about certain ships and I could give a full explanation on those (please lottielee I have so much to say). Thanks for reading this whole thing, that's really cool.

[thegamingcatmom]

Usually, I have thoughts on Tanya and Kate, but here's a thought for Irina

Thoughts on MC talking books with Irina?

Idk what Irina would be reading. Part of my mind goes she's sophisticated, classy, some old book she picked up that's like a first edition.

Then the other part of my mind goes yknow....what if she read romance or fantasy romance. Girl's expectations are built high on the novels of young adult romance. With her being a romantic and all, I can't help but feel she'd like reading pining and other things.

But anyways MC sees a story she knows and likes that Irina is currently reading again cause irina likes the series. MC then, despite her fear and better judgment of this denali sister, strikes up conversation like an excited child talking about their favourite thing. Except then shipping is brought up. Idk where I'm going with this, but say MC asks who's her favourite pairing? Irina going with the obvious canon pair, hasnt considered anything else, and then MC goes cool. I like (ships character with other character)

Irina: confused

They don't get together??? Character goes with canon pair

MC:well yes but this pair has better chemistry, and then MC proceeds to bring up multiple points on a different perspective to how story could be viewed

Idk MC introduces her to fanfiction?

Irina: >:|

First time hearing about shipping

Not sure how to feel about other character in her ship with other character

Can't accept it(yet)

Thinks canon ship is superior

Don't think Irina has talked to many people about her favourite series

It isn't until later that she really thinks about it and goes damn MC kinda right

Cue Irina reading fanfiction in private

She won't tell MC that she's right

But she will chat about story with MC cause idk I don't expect her chatting with her sisters about a Fandom she likes, like Irina keeps her favourites secret

Anyways ye that's my Irina thought

(Shoves Irina forward and books it out the door)

-📚

Hi 📚!

Aight so, I have to admit, I´m not a huuuge fan of including/seeing fanfiction in my fanfiction. Y´know what I´m saying? 😅

(Same with Y/N btw. That´s a huge turn-off for me. Sorry to anyone who´s feeling addressed rn! 😖)

I dunno, it just feels a tad bit weird to me. It´s like watching someone watching someone watching someone watching someone watching someone watching-

...Y´know?? 😭

But to each their own ofc! And something I can totally get behind is Irina and MC discussing book matters. Or well, MC somewhat anxiously asking about a thing or two when she hears Irina and Carmen talk about it.

Carmen is only all too happy to include her ofc. She immediately starts gushing, asking MC about her favorite character and pairing, and so on. Which prompts MC to gush as well, asking about Carmen´s favorite character and pairing, and so on. Soon, they find themselves in a heated discussion of their own.

And Irina? Well, she doesn´t find it at all funny that the mortal worms her way into every aspect of her life. Can´t she have a conversation in peace anymore?? Without the human being the center of attention?? My God-

She was about to leave, not at all willing to listen to that rubbish-

MC, in response to smt Carmen said: "You think so? I don´t know...they just don´t make sense to me, y´know? Zero chemistry and all. I never really liked Julian anyway. He´s so...treacherous."

Irina: *stops in her tracks cause...bish said what?*

Irina, turning back around: "...Treacherous?"

MC, who didn´t expect Irina to actually listen to what she´s saying: *panics*

Irina, walking back to them cause the dmg is done now: "How is someone who´s willing to do everything for the one he loves treacherous?"

MC: *gaping like a fish out of water as she struggles to remember the English language*

Irina, who has reached them by now: *raises her eyebrow, crosses her arms*

Irina: "Well?"

MC: *shoots Carmen a look that clearly says 'HELP ME'*

Carmen: *smiles lovingly at her in a way that clearly says 'You got this...dumbass.'*

MC: *turns back to Irina*

Irina: *starts tapping her foot impatiently*

MC: *fml, here goes nothing-*

MC, taking a deep breath: "For one, I think he´s incredibly selfish-"

Irina, already starting to lose it: "He´s-"

Camen: *shoots her the look*

Irina: *...wisely shuts her mouth again*

MC: "...And he´s...manipulative. He knows exactly what to say and how to behave to make people trust him, and he exploits that trust the first chance he gets."

Irina: *mulls it over for a moment*

Irina, refusing to back down: "He didn´t exploit anything. He acted in a way that he thought was best-"

MC, slowly forgetting who she´s talking to: "Best for whom?"

Irina: *blinks at her*

MC, emboldened by the silence: "He didn´t take one moment to think about the consequences of his actions, because he didn´t care. All he cared about was settling an old score-"

Carmen: *slowly backs away and out of the living room*

Tanya & Kate: *entering the house, only just returning from their hunt, about to greet Carmen*

Carmen: *makes the shushing motion*

Tanya & Kate: ❓👀❓

Carmen: *gestures to the living room*

Tanya & Kate: *take a look...and then another*

Kate, in a low voice: "...When the hell did that happen?"

Irina, in the distance: "-only did that because he saw no other choice! He did what he thought necessary to protect himself and the one he loves-" MC, in the distance: "Are you kidding-"

Tanya, planting her hands on her hips in utter disbelief: "What in God´s name is going on?"

Carmen, proud as punch: "I think we have a breakthrough."

.

.

.

OKAY I ACTUALLY LOVE THIS SO MUCH. 😭

In fact, I added this idea to my list of things I wanna include in The Sisters at some point because this is just too damn accurate. Tysm for inspiring this. 🙏

Oh btw: I think Irina is heavy into anything romance. She´s always dreamed of finding "the one," which is why you´ll most likely find her with her nose buried in some tragic love tale or a story about mutual pining where external circumstances always prevent the pair from getting together at first.

In other words: She enjoys a good slow-burn. 😉

Tysm for your ask! 💋

EDIT:

Who do y´all think "Julian" is meant to represent? 😏

[shinakazami1]

Handsome Jack pretty please

One handsome jack coming right up! I Loved your thoughts on the characters BTW and that inspired me to do this so thank uuu

How I feel about this character

I love hating him. I bought the main games only to understand his character more. And he. Is. An. Asshole! A liar! A Bastard, a manipulator, scared man, and a sad story of a man who tried to get out of the abuse he's gone through and change, to only lose that chance by an accident.

He thought he was the hero because to him, he was! He went on path of revenge to show everybody who abused him - his grandma, his boss - how from nobody, he could become not just somebody. But a hero. And he sure left an imprint on the world.

I still think though, how he couldn't bring himself to kill granny with his own hands.

At the end of it all, he was scared. And I feel that shows a lot about him.

And God. His relations. The mistrust. The way he

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Nisha,,, like they had such good chemistry bro I'm just like. @sanzosin's propaganda works. He gets just so djrhjsjsjs around her and he's just speechless when you kill her. I also would love to know more about hsi wife. Like he had two somewhat good relations for the moment he was in, and both times, a 'bandit' caused his love to die. Sad!

My non-romantic OTP for this character

I sort of mentioned it in both Rhys and Timothy's posts but I will talk about these two once more here.

Rhys and Jack have such an intriguing dynamic. Jack uses a Rhys but also considers him a friend. He's the closest man Jack ever got to it seems and it's just outright sad. And Rhys both learns a lot through Jack but also, looses a lot. It's an interesting dynamic and I'm glad we were given it.

Same with Jack and Timothy. Timothy works for Jack but isn't scared to talk back often, though he does his job still and sometimes trusts Jack. I don't know if Jack ever assumed he could die. If the keeping in was a curse he was ready for but, since he got them there, that might have been the case. He is a manipulative man with few folks he trusts. And these two were a part of it.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Lort. I really am bad with what's unpopular cus I don't interact much with fandoms sjshshsh so onto some headcanons and random opinions!

I think few people even wonder how much of a persona we witness. After all, the fact even the casino shows not Jack the manipulator but just Villain Jack is interesting to me. He doesn't see himself this way. It feels like a play. He knows his demographic to me. He thinks he's misunderstood and tires to use it to his advantage. I think he both lacks self awareness sometimes but also, is a lot more aware than he shows.

He comes up with such deep plans and manipulates around, I don't see how he could Not. Be concious of some of the effects. He can misinterpret them sure. But isn't it more interesting when w fhsrsfrer is so into himself, he notices and just uses his haters to his advantage?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Hh. What. What would happen if his wife didn't die. I want him to live. Ouu... Not exactly canon but. Just to see.

[lesbianamalvada]

I'm sorry girlies but I just DO NOT get Darlington's appeal. He's a fine character, maybe it's just the lesbian in me, but him and Alex seem SO FORCED. Plus it's a "slow burn" but we know what the fuck you're gonna do Bardugo!! Idk it's just so forced, ntm they've barely spent anytime together because Dumbass Darlington walked into monster month (and his last thoughts were blaming Alex for it, lmfaoo). And the interaction they do have together is dull, sorry! Alex is such a cool character and she has more chemistry with literally EVERYONE ELSE in the cast.

I mean just look at the descent in Hell Bent where we get a backstory of all the characters. Pamela Dawes isn't loud and out-of-this-world like most Bardugo characters. She feels so realistic, but is still so interesting. We see how she has crippling anxiety from developing too fast, how she hides behind her academia, how she's torn up about killing Blake. She's so understated but so real and relatable for it.

We see how Turner struggles with being a cop and trying to be a bastard, how he literally killed his mentee for what he believes in, how he tries to be a fighter for good and his people in a world that rewards him for doing the opposite. Even his spirituality is handled respectfully and he's just a really well done character.

Then we have Tripp, we've all met a Tripp, all the privilege in the world but you can't even hate him for it cause he's been too sheltered to ever develop a mean bone in his body. Except we see how he dealt with abuse from his cousin all his life. We see how Spenser just gets away with it, and I empathized with Tripp when he let Spenser die. (Which btw he's not technically a murderer for that but WHATEVER LEIGH) After the descent I did a full 180 on his character!

And Mercy is so fun. She's not familiar with the world of magic and looks at it with hopeful-Harry-Potter-fan eyes, she's like a conduit for the reader in a way the jaded Alex can't be. But also if you think about her backstory is VERY dark. She was violated in the most horrible way by this magic before she even knew it existed. And now she wants to harness that same magic so she's never put in that position again. She kills a man because Alex tells her to, because she thinks this is some sort of Hogwarts adventure. And then at the end of the book you see grasp what Lethe is, and her tension with Alex is *chef's kiss* so good!

Ughh and thenn we have Darlington...what's Darlington's big murderer moment? The thing that made him eligible for a scholarship at Demon University? He *checks notes* pulled the life support on his dying geriatric grandpa at the man's own request....okayy. Surely there's something else? Well you see Darlington's always wanted to believe in magic! Just like all of us! It's like he's trying to hard to represent us fantasy readers, but by the second book Mercy already accomplishes this and does it better. And I guess you can say he had neglectful parents but it's just handled so unrealistically I couldn't believe it. 1. Once the grandpa was dead and Darlington was a minor his parents could have easily torn down that shitty house. 2. Darlington would legally belong to them, they wouldn't have to turn off the electricity to freeze him out of the house, they could call CPS who would bust down the doors and give him to his parents. 3. His whole backstory relies on a crusty house?? Really?? 4. I'm tired of the poor little rich boy trope. I'd rather have characters like Tripp, yes they've had their own struggles but wealth has shielded them, instead of unrealistic characters like Darlington. It's even worse because Leigh tries to frame Alex's and Darlington's childhood as "two sides of the same coin' when it's not that at all!

And you'd think Demon Danny would have a little spice but, no? I guess he enjoyed punishing people and making them suffer (told, not show) and he has urges to do it again? But more importantly we need to know that he REALLY REALLY wants to fuck Alex. Also he will serve Alex TiL tHe EnD oF dAyS! He's also her personal slave now and she can make him do whatever. Demon Danny is starting to feel like a fetish, okay? IT'S. SO. FORCED. They barely had any chemistry before the dumbass walked straight into Hell, but I see why Alex's destructive nature would put her on a suicide mission for his rescue. But now he's dreaming about her in his perfect future? They're cosmically connected to each other? It's so funny because they are both way closer to Pamela Dawes but just fuck her I guess.

Anyway I think Darlington lacks substance and he's not good enough for Alex BUT i'm hoping I'll like him more in book 3. Can any Darlington fans give me your interpretation of the character and why you like him? I really don't like feeling this way since he's such a big part of the story and sometimes a different analysis is all you need. As of right now he's the embodiment "Go girl! Give us nothing!" for me.

[ingravinoveritas]

hi again! you might already know about this, but i really felt like bringing it up to you!

turns out michael's mom is pretty active on twitter and these past few days she's been engaging nonstop with tweets talking about aziracrow being in love. she's definitelymichael's #1 fan, but i couldn't help noticing the amount of not-about-characters stuff she seems to engage with too. Among tweets talking about Aziraphale's loving stare, queer fans making our usual queer jokes and remarks about them, michael reading fanfiction, miles maitland gifs, there's a good amount of... this. She surely has liked random stuff among the 14.6k rts/likes she has, so i'm attatching some examples of what she's been liking and rting because-- what the hell (i even spotted one of your tweets in the mix!) she even liked a tweet calling AL and GT innefable wives ??

my first thought was how embarrased i'd personally be if my mom was seeing comments online about me and my best buddy being madly in love, let alone engaging with them, but after it settled i'm just... in awe that this probably +70 y/o woman is being this supportive over social media 😭 so heart warming (btw i'm sorry for randomly popping up into your questions twice today- i have literally made this account after finding yours, feeling a bit less alone in the world)

(Grouping these two Asks together since they are related.) Ask #1: Hi there! No need at all to apologize for being in my inbox twice in same day. I'm so glad that my blog has been helpful and meaningful to you, and that you felt compelled to write in as a result. Welcome aboard!

So, Mama Sheen. She's been doing this for years--at least since 2019, when I first started following Michael on Twitter--but I will tell you my slightly crackpot theory, which is that for a while back in the day, I thought that maybe her account was actually Michael's secret alt account. (What better place to hide than in plain sight, after all...). I'm not so sure about that now, of course, but it's been really interesting to see her retweeting so much shippy stuff involving Michael and David, and as both you and @tamose pointed out, she especially seems to have ramped it up since GO 2 came out.

I also wanted to touch on you describing Mama Sheen as Michael's #1 fan, because although I wholeheartedly agree, it's a curious thing to me that we can more easily see her as Michael's number one fan than his own girlfriend. It's Mama Sheen--not AL--who has been retweeting all of this, who's been cheering him on, engaging with fan content, and retweeting all things Ineffable Husbands/GO 2. I've written on my blog previously about how I've never really seen AL be supportive of him (and how she spent much of 2020 and 2021 making fun of his appearance/fat-shaming him), as well as how she is not at all part of that polyamorous/throuple dynamic with Michael, David, and Georgia. And while I know the lack of engagement and carefully calculated interactions/posts could be chalked up to her not being able to promote the show due to the SAG strike, that doesn't really excuse her tepid support of Michael himself.

(Also, don't even get me started on the cringeyness of Georgia and AL as Ineffable Wives, not to mention how insulting it is to David and Michael personally and to their work as professionals to suggest that they are replaceable/that Georgia and AL (or anyone else) could play Aziraphale and Crowley and give us the same dynamic and chemistry we saw on screen...)

But yes, going back to Mama Sheen, I have long thought that she seems to ship Michael and David, and how sweet and heartwarming it would be if Michael brought David over for tea or dinner--especially because his own mother passed away several years ago--and no doubt Mama Sheen would dote on him and make sure he's fed and happy. It's especially interesting to contemplate when we see this picture from the Bright Young Things UK premiere in 2003, which almost looks like Mama (and Papa) Sheen posing with Michael and his kilt-wearing Scottish boyfriend:

Beautiful. Well, it's certainly something delightful to think about, at any rate. Whatever the case may be, I fully agree that it is lovely to see Michael's mom being so supportive and accepting of her son, particularly in the midst of such a hostile, anti-LGBTQ climate in the UK. We love you, Mama Sheen! ❤️

[becauseimanicequeen]

Hey, Ice Queen!

I saw your post on your bad taste in QLs and loved it. I've watched most of them and guess I've got bad taste too. *proud*

I'm wondering what your favorite ships are, though. Actor pairings in particular.

Have a nice day!

Hi, Anon.

The only ships I like are those I see from the beach five minutes from my house.

I know this might be an anticlimactic answer, but it’s an honest one.

I don’t participate in shipping culture because it’s just not my thing. It’s never been my thing. Not even in the Twilight era in my teens.

Are there pairings I like more than others? Sure. But I don’t mind if they go their separate ways and work with other actors. Sometimes I even feel like some pairings are holding themselves back and should split so they can develop their craft. But I’m aware that my perspective is from a more artistic one (I’m an artist) and that I usually value the craft more than popularity (or cuteness or whatever the reason is for people shipping bl actors together).

In other words, my favorites tend to be actors who can act, regardless of pairings. My favorites are ACTORS, not actors, if you get what I mean.

So, let me steer your nice ask onto a more actor-focused path, and I will try to answer it the best I can (but from my non-shipper perspective). (My memory is fucked, so these are the ones I remember off the top of my head right now.) They’re in no particular order, btw.

First Kanaphan

First has chemistry with everyone. EVERYONE. This man could have a rock as a partner and still have more chemistry than the periodic table. He’s an ACTOR, so much so it seems to be a part of his DNA.

He’s currently in a pairing with Khaotung (whom I also love) and they have great chemistry. But, again, First can be paired with anyone (he had more chemistry with Up Poompat in two 3-ish min ads than many pairings have in a whole 12 ep series). And I would probably be the first one in line to watch him act with others in QLs, if that ever happens again.

Khaotung Thanawat

Khaotung portrays emotions really well, which is why I love him. Not every actor can do that but Khao does it like he’s never done anything else in his entire life. That’s an ACTOR right there!

He and First are two of the few actors who can make me cry with their portrayal of emotions. And if an actor can make me cry (since I’m an ice queen who usually doesn’t), that actor will always have a special place in my heart.

Up Poompat

The ACTOR Up is! This man eats complex characters for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And let’s not forget the snacks in between.

Up is the reason I kept watching Step By Step, he’s the reason I loved Lovely Writer, and just like First, he can have chemistry with anyone. Not to forget that he took ownership of my soul less than a full episode into My Stand-In (which is currently airing).

Fluke Natouch

Another great ACTOR. I’ve loved him in everything I’ve seen him in (even in Shadow, even though Shadow was pretty shitty). I especially loved him in Red Wine in the Dark Night (what’s better than be gay, do crime?) and I would love to see him in more complex roles like this because I know he can handle it.

Gun Atthaphan

Gun is another versatile ACTOR that I love with my whole ice-cold heart. I’ve seen him in more stuff than just pure BLs and know that he, just like Up, eats complex characters every meal.

Considering my current profile pic, you know my favorite series is Not Me, and one of the reasons for that is Gun. He didn’t just play one character in that series, but two. Twins, who were completely different! But you still knew exactly who was whom just by looking at Gun. That’s how great his acting was (and is).

With all that said…

Max Nattapol and Tul Pakorn

If I ever were to board a ship, it would be Max and Tul's. But that’s only based on how desperately I want Transplant. And their chemistry, obviously. And Max fisting his hands in Tul’s hair. But, I wouldn’t be unhealthy about it…

Much…

I’m sure I’ll remember more actors I love as soon as I hit publish on this. But, at least this is a start for now.

Thanks for your ask.

[magmythedevil]

Do you have worries about either Envy or Nuzi being rushed and forced in the end to the audience to please certain fans? Would you be saddened if N and Uzi didn't get together in the end, despite all the development and growth the two have gotten over the season so far, especially with their friendship? I've honestly noticed lately that some Envy fans have said Nuzi is being shoved in our faces, but the same could be said for EP 5 "Envy" when they showed the past versions of N and V, and even EP 2 as well..it seems like kinda hypocritical, to me. Heck someone even went out and made an Nuzi hate account over on Twitter and it's laughable and dumb. But anyways, I wanted to ask are you worried about either ship being rushed and not given the amount of development?? I honestly feel bad that I can't like Envy as other fans do..I honestly DO wanna like it and I do kinda ship it, but I only ship and like their past versions, but it's just hard for me to really like N and V as a couple (especially present) In general when the show hasn't really given it the amount of development it deserves and the show also hasn't given me a reason to really root and make them seem believable, at least to me..maybe I'm missing something, idk. 🤷‍♀️🤔 It's sometimes scary and hard to be a Nuzi fan at times though when Envy fans and especially other fans in this fandom (at least when it comes to Tik Tok and Twitter, and even Reddit and Amino too) keep on calling Nuzi problematic and uncomfortable because of so much misinformation being spread and people thinking it's p*oship, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT!! PLEASE STOP SAYING THIS, BTW!

But some fans are theorizing and assuming that maybe Liam is just playing around with the audience and saying that N and V might end up being the endgame couple which I cannot say, none of us knows until Liam confirms and says anything! I honestly do think there needs to be proper closure with N and V no matter if they get together or not, especially with V's treatment of N. I honestly think that V's sacrifice will affect the characters, especially N..since he and V were close and had a bond with one another!

And one more thing I wanna add real quick is this, now I don't know if this is 100% true or not and I'm just going by from what I've heard, but apparently I've heard that during a live event screening that happened back for EP 2 of the show, Liam Vickers was talking and discussing about how much he loved and enjoyed N and Uzi's dynamic (they are also his favorite characters) and he doesn't like one over the other and was also apparently asked on what his favorite ship was which he didn't say and said we'd eventually find out...I wouldn't be surprised if he's referring to both N and Uzi, since not only do they have the most developed and strongest bond and friendship out of any of the other characters, but the show has hinted at them being a item so many times, it seems sooo obvious. (I know this trope is cliche of main characters being a thing and I'm not the biggest fan of this myself at times, but N and Uzi are an exception for me! ^-^) now I MIGHT be wrong and things may change and go differently we'll just have to wait and see afterall, but even if N and Uzi don't get together..I'll still ship them because they just have more chemistry to me. 💛💜✨ But in the end, shipping isn't everything to me and I'm just here for the story, world-building + angst and the characters as well, but I'm curious to see what Liam ends up doing with the relationships and dynamics, especially since with this show..since anything can happen, especially with how crazy and insane it can be, especially with all it's twists and turns, haha!

Yep, nuzi may be semi-canon right now but everything is possible. We cant be sure what will happen to them exactly. But if nuzi really ins't end-game i hope liam gives a satisfied conclusion to them and their relantioship at least, no matter If Its happy, Sad or bitter-sweet.

Now about envy, i agre with you, i cant really ship their present selfs because of their development and their fans (they are so weird about nuzi and uzi herself ughhh) .

And if envy is going to be the end game in the full series Liam has to like- FOCUS a lot on them since they have a some things to pack up before coming back to each other. But, he has to put Uzi a litte aside for that....and i think thats something quite controversial to do since shes such a beloved protagonist and her relantioship with N is extremely special for the show (and fans)

But now that V has got some development and doesn't really hate uzi that much, envy may still have a chance of end-game.

But If they arent going to be end-game, Liam surely will give a nice conclusion for their relantioship, most probally a bitter-sweet one. (I also still have some Hope for vizzy-)

Also V's death is OBVIOUSLY going to be a part of N's breakdown Togheter with Uzi Almost losing her control and having to save the whole universe thing, Thats the entire point. No matter If he has focused on Uzi more, and getting feelings for her. V still was someone special for him (even If she treated him poorly) not even in a romantic way, if a friend of my died i would go crazy too.

And i agree with you with the whole rest 👍 lets see what will happen

[chvoswxtch]

👋 hi, i'm back again already :)

i'm so glad i'm not alone in being completely feral for those set pictures. like it's insane what just seeing them has done to my brain chemistry. i saw them like an hour or so before i had therapy on wednesday and i felt like i was going insane for the rest of the day. the frank brainrot is real and i will be binge-reading ur fics again (bc i love ur portrayal of frank and i need that man in my life) and just UGH, i can't even explain how this man makes me feel without sounding fucking nuts.

and okay after finishing season two, i just, i have no words. i know that the fandom doesn't always love amy but genuinely, she has such a special place in my heart. and the lengths that frank went to protect her actually just made me want to sob. he absolutely melts my heart and i remember when i watched the start of season 2 all the way back in like september last year, i literally sobbed at the end of the first episode after he had that conversation about maria with the woman he met at the bar. like i am such a simp for this man, it's insane how emotional i get over it sometimes.

also i know you've watched criminal minds (the two fics u wrote were absolutely delicious btw) so i feel like you will understand this but pilgrim's actor being the same as will's just made it slightly hard for me to take him seriously. like the actor did a phenomenal job but i just couldn't help but see him as will. it was so jarring and also just a little bit funny. either way, i didn't hate the storyline as much as i thought but the connection between him and the schultz family did seem a little jarring? or like out of the blue? but i'm not sure if that's because of the writing or because of how long it took me to actually finish the show. but i think it was such an interesting way to connect the two plots even if it confused me?

then okay, like billy this season, he was a complete fucking psycho and usually ben barnes can make psychos be so hot but after he and dumont tried to like break frank by making him think he killed innocents, bro i was not on this man's side anymore. like i honestly was so mad at him. i haven't like been that mad at a character in so long, i was concerned for myself. honestly, i could have strangled billy in that moment. also dumont was just such a kind of dull character? i think the scene in like episode 12 when dumont and madani are having that conversation about like the trauma she (and billy and frank) went through was so good but that was like the most interesting i found her. i'd love to know your thoughts on her!

and like madani? i can't talk about madani without going too feral. like her and frank are my definition of bisexual panic. any time they are on the screen together, i go insane. the thought of the two of them actually is just- it's too much. i feel like madani doesn't get a lot of love in the fandom which always makes me sad because she is (to me) a literal goddess. but anyway.

i have so many more thoughts (mainly about how much i love frank and how fucking good a job jon does at portraying him) but this is already such a long message. i am SO sorry, i can do nothing but apologise

(the only reason it's so long is because none of my friends have actually watched the punisher so i have no one to talk to. sorry court <3)

i'm gonna ramble below the cut with you, please step into my office <3

those set pictures are ruining my life. like it still feels surreal that it's happening?? but i'm so happy they listened to the fans and seem to be taking the reboot seriously. also I know how protective charlie and jon are over matt and frank, so I trust they're making sure it's done right. akjdfhdfh you're too nice to me pls

I loved season 2, personally. it felt a little rushed, but I think that has to due with the fact that they planned more storylines and got cancelled because of the disney plus thing. I liked that we got to see a more fatherly side of frank with amy because it added so many more layers to his personality. we got to see it with the micro's kids, but we got to see it so much more with amy and I loved that

OMG WHEN WILL SHOWED UP I WAS LIKE SIR WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?? WHERE IS JJ??? it's so funny you say that bc the first thing I saw that actor in was a horror movie and then criminal minds but I always think of those two when I see him lmao. the pilgrim/schultz storyline was a little strange but again I think it's one of those things where they planned for more and weren't able to do it with the cancellation

I did not care for dumont's character at all to be candid. I don't really feel like she added much to the storyline. my main complaint about billy in season 2 is he still looked too pretty LMAO. like I get it, it's ben barnes, they can only do so much, but frank rocked his shit too hard for him to have a few scratches. I would've preferred to see him be more evil and psycho and bloodthisty for revenge but that's just me

DINAH MADANI THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE. she and frank are the definition of bisexual panic. she's just...like that scene of her and karen in the conference room when she's asking her if she knows anything about frank being alive?? karen is a stronger woman than me bc I would've let her bend me over that table. dinah doesn't get enough love in this fandom and that doesn't sit right with me and I feel it is my civic duty to keep the thirst for her alive

pls don't apologize! I am happy to chat about frankie anytime :)

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

Hey Jalebi. How are you? I discovered your blog last year while rewatching IPKKND. Your and Phati-Sari's blogs are my favorite. Both of your blogs were really helpful in clearing some of my confusions that I always had regarding the show.

As you recently answered a question regarding Lavanya. I wanted to ask you a question about Lavanya's track. You don't have to answer if you have already answered it before. I couldn't find anything regarding this in the blog so I am asking. I recently re watched those episode where La n Arnav had their first break up and then he brought her back. I couldn't understand what Arnav was thinking bringing her back to his house. Cause from their previous argument it was obvious their relationship has changed. Even though when they started the relationship they were both on the same page. Now they both want different things from the relationship. Lavanya wouldn't have settled for anything less than marriage and Arnav wouldn't marry her. So they did the right thing by breaking up. But when he brought her back, I am sure it only raised La's hope and his family's too. La and his family thought that he must have changed his decision about marraige. But that wasn't the case. His and Lavanya's relationship was stuck in a loop, there was no going forward unless he wants to marry her. So why did he even brought her back when he clearly wasn't thinking about marraige? What was he planning to do exactly?

Btw I am glad to find someone who has same opinion as me about BD. I thought I was the only one who didn't enjoy the show. It's really sad though because I loved Barun n Ridhi in Asur and was really excited to watch them in a romantic show. But I felt they had more chemistry in Asur than this show. How did you find Kohrra?

Hello Anon!

Thank you for the love <3 <3 <3

Regarding Arnav and Lavanya; Arnav brought her back for two reasons - for Khushi and his family. The wonderful thing about IPK is that it's never direct, it's not going to spoon-feed you what every character is feeling so the audience gets a lot of room to interpret everything.

In my opinion, bringing back La showed Khushi that Arnav does have a heart

and his family was distressed without La. Apart from Nani - whose opinion Arnav doesn't really care about - everyone loves La and Arnav is actually content seeing his family at piece as now La and his family have become a unit.

Anjali comes up to Arnav and tells him one thing - "I'm so happy you did this Chote," and that means everything for Arnav - his Di's happiness.

But he is incredibly conflicted with Khushi's tears because he did what she wanted and she's still hurt, and yes - Arnav and La's relationship had irreparable damage and you can see from this point onwards Arnav has no commitment - nothing - towards La. Also this is the point where he actively begins to emotionally cheat on her.

He's more concerned about Khushi, his world starts revolving around her. La just doesn't exist. Up until this point La was an active person in his life. Even in their argument they're fighting like a couple and post the breakup everything disappears between Arnav and La.

They don't talk. They don't fight. They don't laugh... nothing.

And Lavanya panics, she knows everything has changed - she panics further when Khushi decides to leave because Khushi being here is a reminder that Lavanya is being 'groomed' to be a bahu - without Khushi, La needs to face the reality of being a part of this family without a buffer and actually being Mrs. Arnav Singh Raizada. Which is a cold, empty identity of being a man's wife who is invested in... nothing.

But still, love makes one choose the worst decisions and she decided to still come back because at least she's in Arnav's house. It's a sad decision.

For Arnav, marriage with Lavanya is a practical decision and it would've ultimately been that. Lavanya truly loves the family and vice versa (he's genuinely happy seeing both parties care for each other) and it puts Nani away from his back and Lavanya is someone who understands Arnav (even though he no longer understands himself).

So it's a perfect compromise (he doesn't realize how shitty he is as a partner until it's too late - he jolts into reality when during Satyanarayan Puja La was happy because he didn't yell at her and it's a slap on his face on wtf is he as a partner).

And yeah, Kohrra was fab! Just really some solid storytelling tbh.

Best,

Jalebi

[imherongraystairstrash]

Im pretty sure Matthew and Grace have a kid at some point, knowing CC she would just not leave two characters alone, like or not it is a big possibility :(

EWW ANON DON'T EVEN ENTERTAIN THAT IDEA!

I literally could never imagine Matthew and Grace together, but I see why you may think that, since they are the only two characters who's story didn't seem finished after the epilogue.

After I read Christopher's death, I first cried for like 20 minutes, but I then started thinking about Grace and I honestly thought she would become an Iron sister. Like, I was ready to bet on it because I feel like Kit would have been the only person she would have considered spending her life with (I would have loved for them to be a platonic couple, that would have been so adorable wtf).

Also, I'm 100% ready to think of Grace and Matthew as having a sibling relationship, now that Charlotte and Henry basically adopted her.

On top of that, there are so many reasons as to why Grace and Matthew could never work, most of them beings about their history. And it's not even giving enemies to lovers; there is literally no chemistry between them. Like, none.

I want to think that Matthew meets a brilliant person on his voyage thing (Matthew's voyage sounds weird, btw, it makes me think of Charles Darwin) and they have the best time traveling around the world and get married and have the famous Fairchild babies that give us Clary (and Sebastian, unfortunately).

But yeah, the only person who can be with Grace is Christopher because they were absolutely MADE for each other and I stand by that statement

[natsmagi]

OK HI HI sorry i'm reading magic lantern and i need to scream about it to someone and. I'm not done with it yet but

I find it really REALLY interesting how like... Even though they don't get much exploration of their relationship I feel like there are quite a lot of parallels between Tsumugi and Sora ? And how, contrasted to Natsume who's really not afraid of fighting for his own happiness (as we see during the war era where he never really gives up on finding revenge), both sora and tsumugi seem content only ever making others happy (ESPECIALLY NATSUME HIMSELF) and finding their happiness by proxy through that ? And how they both kinda convince themselves that their current situation is ok even if people tell them it's not ? With Tsumugi always taking even horrible things that happen with a smile, and Sora saying he doesn't feel lonely at all bc he has the plushies he can talk to, so he's fiiine !! And like I find that... So !??!?! I dunno, interesting ? And I really really wish it was explored more and not just there without ever being brought up. I feel like they really could bond over that and maybe try to not just accept the bare minimum? Idk if any of my ramblings make sense sorry I just needed to scream about it somewhere cuz sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who gives a shit about soramugi.... I hate it when people say they have "no chemistry" (not necessarily romantic just, in general) and "nothing going for them" because that's just... not true, there IS stuff and there IS depth there, it's just not explored at all and you kind of have to dig in there on your own... Sure it may not be as flagrant as everything thats going on in their relationships with natsume but there IS stuff here guys stop sleeping on it!! (Not directed at u of course)

Also, weirdly enough I feel like the fact that their interactions always feel kind of superficial is a testament to both of their tendencies to kind of not talk about their feelings or whats bothering them, whereas natsume (especially when something is annoying him/making him angry) is quicker to speak his mind (even if hes still not quite honest about whats making him feel this way). Idk if any of this makes sense aaa sorry for the novel I just. I needed to say it and I felt like here was the right place cuz I always love reading your and everyone's takes on stuff ,,,, anyways!!! I love ur art btw and ur like the only person on tumblr who i activated notifs for cuz I never wanna miss any posts of urs!!!! I might be a lurker but ur blogs still often a highlight of my day ^-^ keep doing what ur doing!!!!<3

ANON UR DEFINITELY ONTO SOMETHING!!!

i feel like soras character is a very interesting middle ground between natsume and tsumugi, like ok lemme talk about natsume for a sec;

ive always read natsumes relationship with sora as natsume seeing himself in him. sora reminds natsume of the kid he used to be (the "naivety," speaking in third person, etc) which is why hes so adamant on protecting him. his treatment of sora is also a parallel to the oddballs (the desire to protect from corruption, shu being "tsundere" but soft around and unable to say no to natsume (self explanatory), rei being very "babying"/whiny (natsume tends to coddle sora and whines when sora isnt paying attention to him), wataru being natsumes shisho (natsume being soras shisho) etc etc)

im mentioning this because as you said; alot of soras personal mannerisms are more in-line with tsumugis. theyre both INCREDIBLY self-sacrificing and CONSTANTLY fail to take their own happiness into consideration, but theyre both fine with that when they really shouldnt be. this is also why i really hope that the switch climax event will center around these two specifically; because they should be able to understand each other the deepest, theyve just never had the opportunity to do so. for the both of them to grow further they need the other, because in a sense tsumugi is kinda the jaded older guy, while sora is the young one still full of so much love and wonder for the world. tsumugi can help sora maintain realistic, and sora can help tsumugi stay genuinely happy and positive.

soras part in switch is an incredibly interesting one to me, because on one hand you have natsume projecting way too much onto sora, and on the other hand you have tsumugi not projecting anything at all. esp since sora and tsumugi are probably the ones who need each other/to learn from each other the most atm. such complicated little guys dont fuck this up for me akira 💔