#Is it a ship? I was thinking more of a friendship or sisterly bond

[himariafton]

~Creepypastas AU Friendships/Relationship~

Note: Sorry I Couldn't Think Of More Ideas & Was Trying To Think Of Some, If You Have Any Ideas Please Send Ideas In My Asks But Please Remember To Keep To The Rules•

Slenderman: A Father Figure To All His Proxies,Finds JTK,Ben Drowned & Masky Sometimes Annoying For Their Hobby Of Annoying Him For Some Unknown Reason

JeffTheKiller: Night Terrors Childhood Friend/Older Brother/Uncle Figure & NinaTheKillers Boyfriend Because Yes Their Only 1 Year Age Different In My AU Check My Creepypasta Age Post To Understand Why Down Below

NinaTheKiller: Like An Older Sister Figure To Night Terror,Best Friends /W Clockwork,A Close Friend /w Bloody Rose & Currently Dating JTK

Ticci Toby: Like A Father Figure Towards Night Terror,A Loving Husband /w Bloody Rose,Close Friends /w Ben Drowned Masky & Hoodie

Ben Drowned: Gaming Buddies /w Ticci Toby,Close Friends /w Night Terror & Ticci Toby, He Views Bloody Rose Like A Motherly Figure Due To Her Motherly Like Personality

Nurse Ann: Finds JTK Annoying Especially When He Doesn’t Leave Her Clinic When Asked. . .Best Friends /w Bloody Rose & Appreciations Bloody Rose Taking Time To Help Her In The Clinic In Slendermans Manor Out Of Her Busy Schedule & Chill Around Night Terror & Finds Her An Adorable Little Poltergeist{In A Non Ship Type Way}

Bloody Rose{OC} The Eldest Cousin Of Night Terror But Acts Like A Mother Figure Towards Other Proxies That Are Younger Then Her But Treats Them Different Depending On Their Ages Under 13 Gets Less Harsh Punishments/Displin But She Acts Harsher & Becomes Maximum Asian Mum Like In Those That Are Older Then 13 Knowing They Can Handle It Better,Best Friends Are: Clockwork, NinaTheKiller & Nurse Ann,She Views Slenderman As Her Fatherly Figure,JeffTheKiller Is A Childhood Friend Of Night Terror While Ticci Toby Is One,Of Her Husbands

Night Terror{Child OC}: Views Bloody Rose As Her Motherly Figure & NTK As Her Older Sister Figure,A Bit Shy/Unsure About Her Oppion Towards TicciToby But Is Aware He's Trying His Best To Gain Night Terrors Trust & Gain A Bond /w Her,Her Childhold Best Friend Is JTK As They Grew Up Together Until The Beans Death. . .

Masky: Close Frirnds /W Ticci Toby,Gets Along Well /w Hoodie,Is Rebellious Towards Slenderman Sometimes But Does Sometimes Love & Chrish Slenderman Like His Own Father Just Choses To Be Deficult & Rebellious Sometimes,

Hoodie: Pretty Chill /w Night Terror Gets Along Well With Bloody Rose Almost Like Siblings,Finds Maskys Shinanigans Annoying But He's Tollarable As A Friend,Views Slenderman Like A Father Figure, Ticci Toby & Clockwork Are Good Friends & Pretty Chill To Hang Around

Clockwork: Finds NTK,Bloody Rose,Ticci Toby & Hoodie Pretty Chill Friends Even Tho NTK Her Best Friend Can Be Annoying Sometimes But She's Still Tollarable,A Sisterly Figure Towards Night Terror,Slenderman Is Very Fatherly Like When He Wants To Be,Slenderman Can Be Strick But Fair Sometimes When He Has To Be!

[octavianstar]

A New Au?

Hello hello...it's been a few months since I've been active. And lately I've been kinda busy lately with my life as well as other things, and I am probably going to be very offscript on this since this isn't a Twisted Wonderland AU.

I know, it's been a while since I update it however there will be more posts coming soon I promise. And it will take some time too, so thank you for your patience.

Soo in this Au is a Damp x Qsmp crossover, but here's the twist.. Both the Qsmp eggs and the Damp Children are the next generation. Meaning they would particularly take up the roles of either their parent(s) or role models.

Such as..

Shroud (the spider) as Tommyinnit

Chayanne as Technoblade (and possibly Philza)

Tallulah as Wilbur Soot

Michael as Tubbo

Leonarda as Foolish

Juannaflippa as Slimecicle

Tilin as Quackity

And so on. But of course in this au there will be practical changes along the way to make the Aug a little more sense. Like with Dapper and Skeppy Jr. are likely to be brothers, or have a strong brother-love bond that would stick together like how Bbh and Skeppy's friendship is felt with.

And Chayanne is a possible chances of both being Philza and Technoblade (cause I am not sure who else might be Philza) but I would think since he is canonically one of the older eggs in the Qsmp, it would make sense that he would be 'the older sibling' of the family dynamic with Tallulah and Shroud (despite shroud being the actual oldest but has that gremlin energy like Tommy). Having a little fun idea of a Gen AU of the SBI family dynamic.

Also for Tilin and Tallulah, this will be more of a sisterly rivalry/enemy energy because I wanted it to be. The reason that being it would be very weird and creepy if this becomes the next TNT duo (However it can be just a enemies to friends trope, no romantic relationships nor any intentions of this matter.) ship since they are both have a sort of 'fatherly bond' relatively or not with Quackity.

As for the other eggs (Bobby, Pomme, Richarlyson, Ramón) will figure out which place/roles they would want to be.

As for Our favorite egg, Gegg, it would pretty fucking funny if he's secretly be either Dream XD that would probably be an absolute menace to Leonarda or rather tragic if he (Spoilers if you haven't watch the Dsmp Lore) becoming the slime version of Slimecicle after getting pushed off by purpled.

Oh, which reminds me. There is a possible chances that Drista would be Dream. However she would be a very good Dream XD, but I'll mainly let you guys decide.

There will be more intel of this Au because I wanted to be a little fun experience and a fun experiment to try out and see how things go. And I will perhaps see what other updates I can do and also find some roles that might fit for the story (and perhaps bring some cameos from other smps).

Other than that, I hope you'd like this idea and hope to see a little more ideas about it. But yea, I'll be back with more updates soon. Until then, I'll see in the next one!

[nerd-artist]

tag game (Horizon)

Thanks @singingkestrel for tagging me! This was fun!

1. ride or die ship (your otp):

Ereloy. When I first played HZD and Erend made his first appearance I didn't like him a bit because I prejudge him as the alpha male stereotype, but then the writers began to unwrap his layers, revealing the cinnamon bun inside him and I ended the game by being in love with that big Oseram and his mohawk. I shipped them then, when they had the two minutes conversation, but my obsession started with The Daunt reunion in HFW when he couldn’t avoid being upset because she left without saying goodbye, and then Aloy closing his wounds by defeating Asera in First Forge by his side, and Singularity with all those flirty lines and the side hug. I’ve always thought they were going to be end game (and I still hope we can choose that in H3). They care for each other so much, I can see them living happily together and I need to witness it.

2. most annoying ship: Ship and let ship. We’re all here to enjoy so if your ship makes you happy, there’s nothing wrong with that (unless they are sisters, that's it, that’s the annoying one for me).

3. second favourite ship: the second ship involving Aloy that makes more sense to me is Hawk and Thrush, and also involving the Sunhawk there is Kotalanah that has a special place in my heart (what can I say, they have chemistry).

4. favourite platonic relationship: I love the friendship between Erend and Varl there was so much complicity between them, makes me so sad that we only could enjoy it for a short time and now I hope we can see Erend having a similar relationship with Kotallo. Also Aloy and Zo, I need to see that friendship evolve even more in the next game, Aloy is going to need her wise advice.

5. underrated ship: This one is underrated mostly because it only exists in my head: GAIA/Gildun. Just imagine them having daily long-distance calls and then Gildun going to the base to meet her. The calculations GAIA is making at that moment let her know she is experiencing love and we can see her smile for the first time…

6. overrated ship: I don't know, I don't think there is one.

7. one thing i would change in canon: A lot of us agree, Varl’s death was unnecessary, Aloy had already lost Rost, she didn't need to lose a friend too to know how important people can be for her. Also, the way they wrote some characters in HFW and some plots in BS. But what I think is the big mistake is to have wasted the opportunity to make Aloy and Beta bond in Burning Shores, she could have been helping Aloy a lot more from the distance, giving us some cute sisterly moments. I hope they fix this in the next game.

8. something canon did right: A lot of things! That’s why I love these games! HZD is almost perfect, that game made me go through a roller coaster of feelings and I’ll never forget that.

Aloy’s personality evolution. You can clearly see the difference between HZD Aloy and herself at the end of HFW but it’s not forced, she learned through the way to get there.

The lack of prejudices. Obviously there are conflicts between tribes, mostly because of the different religions, but the Horizon world is showing us how humanity would be without racism and without homophobia, Guerrilla is doing a great job there.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: I am very proud to be part of the Focus On The Heart team, a visual novel fan game. It is a huge project that I believe a lot of Horizon fans are going to enjoy when it’s done.

Also I’m proud of my Horizon’s characters as Greek Gods series of fanarts. I got distracted by other illustrations I needed to draw, but I plan to keep on doing them at some point.

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Gildun! He is a light in the darkness, but I want to talk about Zo because she is also perfect and she is very underrated. She is fierce but she is also lovely. She joined Aloy although that meant to deny all her beliefs. She confronted the Utaru chorus in the past and she doesn't hesitate to do the same when it’s needed. We meet a very interesting character and I hope that the fact she is pregnant doesn't mean she is not going to have an important role in the next game because that would send a very wrong message.

11. the character I relate to the most and why: I never thought about this until now, but I guess I can relate to Beta, all the traumas of her past aside and I’m way more social than she is but... I work remotely and my hobbies are almost the same as my job so I’m always indoors in front of a screen, like she is (using her focus constantly). She is also afraid of a lot of things, which is essentially my everyday mood. I can relate to Erend sometimes because I tend to make fun of myself to hide my insecurities.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: AMADIS, but also, The Quen as a tribe (not talking about individual characters here), they have the best outfits and they are sailors, and that is great… it is their society which is very disgusting, nothing good could come if it’s inspired by a start-up structure. I also don't like Carja. Anything imperialist makes me wanna puke.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: I’ve learned what to be in a fandom means, this is the first time in my (long) life that I join one, I’ve been screaming about other games and series before but mostly to myself and to friends that didn't fully understand me, to be able to talk freely about blorbos (a word I didn't knew existed until last year) with the lovely people I’ve met it’s truly a relieve. Also I think (and I hope🙏) being in this fandom and this obsession is helping me improve my English.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: friends to lovers, angst with a happy ending, it’s not unrequited they’re just dumbasses (and some others I don't want everyone to know 😉).

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: I come with knives by IAMX, I can see Aloy singing it to herself to stop her from having meaningful relationships.

tagging: You don't need to answer if you don't want to (sorry if you have already been tagged) and everyone is welcome to do it although you haven't been tagged @sorbetowl @meg-noel-art @chloefraazers @kittleskittle @hartlesshart @emtazer @xxxhellfireravenxxx @bookmancer-legendarium @boobaloof (edit because I wanted to tag @artekai too and I forgot 🥲)

[acourtofthought]

I think my biggest complaint with the whole Acotar ship war is the disrespect on my girl Gwyn. Saying she’s “suspicious.” I would be incredibly shocked if Gwyn was “evil.”

To write a solid character that had a lot to do with Nesta’s own character development, have a sisterly bond with Nesta and Em, sacrifice herself not once (with the kids) but twice bc she did it again for her friends at the Rite…& have solid character development herself after having such a terrible thing happen to her. And then throw all that away for….?

I’m just ranting bc someone created a slideshow about how Eriel is confirmed with the bonus chapter. Even though I interpreted that in quite the opposite manner lol. It’s fine to ship whoever you want, but y’all better leave Gwyn alone. I like Az just fine but people are assigning him a personality we haven’t even seen yet and defending him like their life depends on it. Lol.

If a friend is to turn "evil", then SJM does not allow them to last beyond a book.

Ianthe was Feyre's friend at the start of ACOMAF but we knew early on she was no friend at all especially after having red roses at Feyre's wedding and it wasn't long after that Rhys showed her his memories of Ianthe.

And really, I think that's the only friend who ended up being really bad that SJM has written about.

Nehemia and Danika may have hidden things but I still consider them good. Not to mention Aelin and Bryce were given multiple books to move past the friendships they had lost.

Really, it's pretty easy to see who the bad guys in an SJM book are.

Amarantha was a villain from the start.

Maeve did not start out evil but I don't think she had readers fooled that she was good. It was clear that she was self serving from the start and Aelin didn't trust her.

Usually SJM likes to take the bad guys and turn them good rather than tricking us into thinking someone is good only to have them turn bad. (i.e., Jurian, Eris, Rhys). Even characters who fall from grace aren't "evil" (like Tamlin).

So Gwyn being evil after she was integral to Nesta's healing journey is so against everything we know of SJMs writing and what SJM herself feels about female empowerment, friendships and disliking females tearing one another down. She is especially not going to turn Gwyn evil over a love triangle for some boy and that's truly why people created the theories in the first place.

I am sure in a Gwyn book we'll see more layers and minor flaws to her character but that's only to make her a full fleshed out FMC, just as SJM has done with every single one of her other FMCs. But claiming Gwyn is secretly evil, manipulating Az and trying to keep him from Elain is a theory born out of fear for what those Gwynriel interactions might actually mean, plain and simple.

[thatsitso]

Magi event week 2: Unusual pair/group

Didn't really know who to draw for this prompt, but then I stumbled across this scene with Morgiana and Toto and thought it would be nice to see them interact more 😚. They kinda give me early Arba and Sheba vibes owo!

[anthurak]

So this might be the thing that catches me some serious flack, but this has been bugging me about the Helluva Boss fandom for a while now.

Specifically, I feel like people have been parading around the whole ‘Octavia is 17/ a minor!’ point just a bit too much at this point. Particularly whenever someone seems to even think about shipping Octavia with Loona.

Heck, as I’ve stated previously, I don’t even ship Loona and Octavia romantically (I see them more as a very close, emotionally intimate, platonic friendship with perhaps a few vaguely romantic elements), and even I’m thinking that all this is a bit much.

For one, as I brought up in my post on my issues with the ‘wholesome adoptive sisters’ take on Loona and Octavia, going by the implied timeline of the show thus far, Octavia has to be VERY close to eighteen at this point. The first season of the show clearly takes place over the better part of a year, with there being 6-7 months between episodes three and five alone.

However, the big sticking point for me is how this is all starting to feel a bit infantilizing. Like the fandom has become fixated on this idea that Octavia is ‘just a kid’ and ‘needs to be protected’. And the thing is, that is NOT how the actual show seems to be portraying Octavia, ie; Octavia is not a ‘kid’ anymore.

In fact, Stolas himself has said as much.

During his big ‘We are getting a divorce!’ fight with Stella in The Circus, Stolas admits that the only reason he put up with Stella’s abuse was for Octavia’s happiness. And later, he states; “the only thing the Goetia family wanted from our marriage (Octavia) is already 17, so it’s done!”

It’s not difficult to see Stolas’s reasoning here; he is saying that the only thing that has been keeping him from getting a divorce from Stella is so their child could grow up with some semblance of a happy family. And now that child has grown up, so Stolas no longer has any reason to keep up the hollow charade of his marriage to Stella.

There’s also some interesting implications to Stolas’s line about Octavia being ‘the only thing the family wanted’ and being ‘already 17’ if you start reading between the lines. We know from earlier in the episode that Octavia was originally sired as a ‘precautionary heir’ to the Goetia bloodline. Basically, Octavia seems to be a ‘backup heir’ meant to inherit the family if something were to happen to the likely five, six, seven+ more ‘important’ kids in the line of succession. And Stolas’s line seems to imply that Octavia has reached an age where she is now capable of inheriting the family lineage, should it come to that. If not Hell’s age of majority, than at least an ‘age of inheritance’. Which means that the family has gotten what they wanted out of Stolas’s marriage to Stella, so once again, he now longer has any reason to put up with her abuse anymore.

And the following episode ‘Seeing Stars’ has further reinforced this idea of Octavia NOT being a kid anymore. The entire inciting incident of the episode has Octavia running away from home after she feels she can’t rely on her dad. We even get an entire insert song about someone running away from their dysfunctional home and finding they very much LIKE being independent and doing their own thing. And by the end of the episode, Octavia gets the emotional comfort and closure she desperately needs NOT from a reunion with dad, but from another young woman who is very much a kindred spirit to her.

One of the things that’s made me really doubt the ‘wholesome sisterly’ interpretation of these two is simply how their scene don’t really seem to have that tone.

With all the dialogue, lighting and music, the whole scene comes off as less ‘wholesome’ and more ‘melancholic’. It’s about Octavia and Loona discussing some very heavy issues that don’t have easy or simple answers, showing some real vulnerability, and bonding not because their dads happen to have a thing going on, but because these two clearly relate to and understand each other. It all gives the scene a sense of maturity, and certainly doesn’t present either of these two as ‘kids’.

Heck, the scene even has a few vaguely romantic elements, such as Octavia lighting Loona’s cigarette, the strong sense of emotional intimacy and the warm, intimate lighting and music. Sure, as people have pointed out, Loona and Octavia aren’t actually blushing, but with the choice of lighting I’d argue the effect is definitely there.

Now to be clear, as I’ve said earlier, I don’t think the show is doing any kind of romance between Loona and Octavia. Rather, I think these vaguely romantic elements serve to highlight the maturity of the scene. Highlight the fact that these aren’t kids, but rather two young adults.

It all points to the simple fact that the narrative is not treating Octavia as ‘just a kid’. But rather a young adult. As I discussed in my previous post, it really feels like the narrative isn’t pushing Loona and Octavia as two kids or teens bonding as sisters just because their dads are getting together. But rather as two young adults forming a very close, emotionally intimate friendship based on shared interests and a deep, mutual understanding of what the other is going through as they try to figure their family issues out. And largely disconnected from whatever their dads have going on together.

Do I see the show having Loona and Octavia get together romantically? Again, very unlikely. Do I ship them romantically? Again, not particularly. Certainly not as they are currently in the show. The only context where I find a Loona/Octavia romance potentially interesting is a ‘4/5+ years down the line’ situation, where they’ve been super close for a long time and it’s one of those ‘loosely-defined place between friendship and romance but they’re basically soulmates at this point’ dynamics.

But regardless of whether I ship these two or not, I do get the feeling that a lot of the fandom has latched just a little too hard onto the idea that Octavia is ‘just a kid’, rather than someone the story is presenting as being at the end of their teenage years and beginning to figure out their independence as a young adult. Like at this point I’m starting to get just a little concerned that when we get an episode involving or even just mentioning Octavia’s 18th birthday, there’s going to be some blowback/discourse simply because the creators are showing Octavia turning eighteen.

For the same reason I feel that a lot of the fandom has latched a bit too hard on the interpretation of Loona and Octavia having some ‘wholesome sisterly dynamic’, I have a feeling that a good chunk of the fandom’s interpretation of these characters, and more importantly their expectations for these characters in the show going forward, aren’t actually what the writers are planning for them.

[shadowcipher17]

Equestria Girls Ship Tier List

I decided to do an Equestria Girls Ship Tier List because I wanted to do one and never thought about Equestria Girls ships and this went differently than I thought it did. Most of these comes down to character interaction honestly. So here we go.

1. Y’all They’re Sisters

It’s self-explanatory, The Dazzlings are sisters. It’s an automatic no ship zone.

2. Dislike

I don’t really like the ship between Sunset and Adagio. I feel like it wouldn’t work and going by their interactions I think Adagio would be the dominant one against Sunset since she was able to bring her down twice. Also, I think this is worth a mention...Adagio is over 1,000 years old as well as Sonata and Aria. The Dazzlings were around during the time when the Pillars of Equestria were formed and we’re the reason The Dazzlings were sent to the human world in the first place...so that’s actually a big factor of why I’m against this ship.

3. Don’t Really Care

K-Lo and Su-Z: Meh. Don’t really care about their ship because I didn’t really care about them in general...or Sunset’s Backstage Pass in general. The best part of the special was seeing the Dazzlings again, but K-Lo and Su-Z were meh to me.

Rarity and Ragamuffin: The ship went nowhere and it was obvious that Rarity would fall in love with Applejack if she was a guy since she fell in love with Ragamuffin on the spot. But it went nowhere and Ragamuffin was mainly used as a joke for Rarity and Applejack shippers, and also he came after Roller coaster of Friendship where Rarity and Applejack had enough shipping in that special.

4. Fine...I Guess

Timber and Sci-Twi: First of all, I don’t get why Twilight’s the one to get the guys in this series out of the main group. First, it’s Princess Twilight and Flash and now it’s Sci-Twi and Timber. But with Timber and Twilight, they’re fine. At first I liked it, but then I feel like the romance was forced as I re-watched it. But they are canon. Honestly, even before Timber was introduced I didn’t really ship Sci-Twi with anyone and if it weren’t for Timber I wouldn’t ship her with anyone. So I’m fine with Timber as a ship for Twilight by default.

Pinkie and Sonata: I should’ve put them in the friends category, if Sonata were to reform I could see Pinkie being the one to do it. They can bond over food. Also design wise, since they both have variations of pink, magenta, and blues they look good standing by each other. But ship wise, same rules apply with Sunset and Adagio and it’s even worse for Pinkie since she’s a human teenager and Sonata is over 1,000 years old in a teenagers body.

5. Friends

Timber and Flash: I could see them potentially being friends. Too bad they never interact with each other.

Sunset and the HuMane 5: Honestly, I only really see them as friends. I don’t see Sunset and any of the HuMane 5 in a relationship. Sunset’s good friends with each of the girls but relationship wise, no.

Sunset and Trixie: I genuinely liked the interaction between the two in Forgotten Friendship and I wish we could’ve seen more of the two interact in more shorts, but they’re fine as friends. 

Sunset and Starlight: They’re fine as canonical friends, but as far as Starlight goes I can only see her with Pony Trixie (despite me not being fond of either of them)

Sunset and Sci-Twi: Without a doubt Sunset and Sci-Twi have had the most interaction with each other in the franchise but I only see them as friends or Sunset being more of an older sister to Sci Twi. I think the main reason is only because of the “she-demon” thing. Like it’s to the point where Sunset and Twilight gravitate towards each other but at the expense of the other girls and that’s kinda an issue, but I don’t really ship them but see them as friends or a sisterly friendship.

Sunset and Flash: Now despite them dating, then breaking up I see them as friends. First off, it doesn’t matter that she’s in a human body, she’s still a pony so that’s a no-no. I do wish we got a short on the two focusing on the two of them instead of just interacting in the background but I like them as friends. One scene I didn’t care for however was in Legend of Everfree where Sunset tells Flash to “get over” Twilight. Although she states some facts and Flash takes her advice, the issue is that she’s not in the relationship and it’s not one sided. Twilight was interested in Flash too. In general, the scene comes off as an attempt to just sink Princess Twilight and Flash but there’s one important person missing: Twilight herself. Speaking of which...

Princess Twilight and Flash: I’ll be honest if Princess Twilight wasn’t from Equestria and she was the human world’s Twilight and if they developed Flash and Twilight throughout the movies and show, I’d genuinely like the ship. I still like the ship despite the fact that Twilight’s a pony and Flash is human because it comes down to the character. Flash liked Twilight for her character not because of what she was, same thing with the Humane 5. I wish Twilight and Flash got time to develop their relationship, but I can also see them as friends because it canonically wasn’t going to work out with them. One thing I really wished Equestria Girls did was give Princess Twilight and Flash closure on their relationship, like the two of them talk about their relationship and end it as crushes and just be friends. I still like them as a ship based on character and could’ve been developed more, but I feel like they would be good friends as well.

6. Like

Curly Winds and Wiz Kid: These two backgrounders have the most consistent relationship in Equestria Girls from beginning to end. (The human versions of Lyra and Bon Bon were introduced in Rainbow Rocks). From Curly Winds helping Wiz Kid with the ladder all the way to giving each other gifts during the holidays. One of my favorite background ships. 

Rarity and Applejack: Yeah, Rarity and Applejack can honestly be labeled canon more so than Pony Rarity and Applejack. Rollercoaster of Friendship proves that immensely. I can’t see Rarity or Applejack with anyone else.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash: I like them in FIM as a ship too. Later shorts have them show more interaction with each other from the show and the comics. I like that they’re different and they already knew each other from Cloudsdale Junior High before going to Canterlot High for high school. Same thing goes for Flutterdash in FIM, I like how close the two are outside of the Mane 6/Humane 6 group dynamic by having background with each other before.

7. OTP

Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight Sparkle: Yeah, they’re my OTP without question. If Sunset was in FIM, they would still be my OTP. They easily could’ve been the enemies to lovers trope. The only thing holding each other back is the fact that Sunset is exclusive to Equestria Girls and can’t be put into the main series and Princess Twilight for some reason can’t go to the human world and is only regulated to Equestria. Let me tell it, Sunset and Princess Twilight would be interacting more in the human world...heck Princess Twilight herself would be interacting more in the human world. But as for canon material, there’s a good amount for me. For one they started out as enemies and rivals (the whole plot of the first movie was them running for fall formal princess and ran against each other) and then became friends. Since, Princess Twilight occasionally shows up in the Equestria Girls franchise, I can mainly go by Sunset’s interactions when it comes to Princess Twilight and on all forms of media ranging from books to the movies to the specials, Sunset admires Princess Twilight like crazy. Friendship Games proved this a lot with her writing to Twilight even to the point where she was going to go back to Equestria for the first time since the first movie just to see her. My favorite scene with the two was the kitchen scene in Rainbow Rocks where the two had a bonding moment over the expectations of others. Again, I like polar opposite dynamics and these two just scream opposite. From they’re physical features with Twilight’s apperance being more on the cool side in terms of color palette while Sunset is on the warmer side, Twilight rose from Celestia’s ranks while Sunset fell from grace, in the context of the first movie Sunset gets the crown and turns into a demon while Twilight gets the crown and essentially turns into an angel, Sunset divided people, while Twilight united people, they’re both different but at the same time they come from similar backgrounds and have similar interest (honestly wished they interacted more about being Celestia’s students) but they go about it differently, for example Sunset mentions that she’s more of a hands on and getting her hands dirty type of researcher as opposed to Twilight who’s more of a reader. I honestly see them having more substance as a ship than Sunset and Sci-Twi do.

[lovewillthaw-j]

Frozen II/RBTI discussion (2/2)

Part 2 will discuss the differences, especially about the way the separation was dealt with.

I acknowledge that the subject of Elsa and Anna’s separation at the end of F2 is terribly divisive to our fandom and for those who know me, I walk the middle line and have dear friends on both sides of the divide and I respect everyone’s opinions. I wanna say up front that I LOVE F2 to bits, I came into this fandom after F2, I’m not an F2 hater, I also love F1 too, I love Elsa and Anna.  

The differences

There are fundamental personality differences which should be stated up front - Vanellope: Extrovert; Ralph: Introvert. Elsa: Introvert; Anna: Extrovert. It’s interesting that in RBTI, the extrovert leaves but in F2, the introvert leaves. Thanks @super-mam-te-moc for pointing this out.

Obviously, these are two different movies. At its core, RBTI is a movie about friendship, and learning to accept that friendships can change and that it’s not a bad thing for friends to pursue different dreams. Frozen 2 is about Elsa’s destiny and source of her powers, the sins of her ancestors and righting a wrong. I’m going to court controversy here by saying that the separation in F2 is “by the way” and unexpected. 

The handling of separation in RBTI

In RBTI, separation is hinted early on and the audience is gradually “prepared” for it. First and foremost, as I mentioned at the beginning, Vanellope is an extrovert and it is not unexpected that she would enjoy a place like Slaughter Race. She makes an early mention of this: “that feeling, that not-knowing-what's-coming-next feeling. That's the stuff. That feels like life to me.”

Vanellope hints at the separation when she says: “It’s true [that Ralph and her cannot exist without each other] In fact, it's so true that we will be fine if we're apart for a minute.” Also, in the song In This Place Called Slaughter Race, it is plainly obvious that V dreams of being in Slaughter Race and “her heart is in flight there” and also that “home is so slow”. The audience is also told by Shank that “There is no law saying best friends have to have the same dreams. You know?” and “All friendships change... but the good ones...they get stronger because of it”.

Vanellope is also shown to have moments of meaningful bonding with Shank and the crew. Her conversation with Shank during the “betrayal” scene is deep and she is shown to be taking advice from Shank. Also, there’s the scene where V plays basketball with the crew.

The actual moment of separation is well paced in RBTI. Just before they finally part, Ralph and Vanellope sit on a bench and have one last heart-to-heart chat. This is a direct parallel to the beginning of RBTI, where they are also sitting on a bench talking. The final hug between R and V has Vanellope (the one leaving) tearing up, showing that it’s hurting her too, to leave. And she tells Ralph that she loves him.

And after the separation, we see evidence that they’re all right and that the separation did not cause any detriment. Ralph has joined a book club and started a new thing where they all go hang out in someone’s game every Friday night. And, we see R and V talking via Buzzzface (convenient plot device again) and updating each other on their lives and talking about what they’re going to do when they meet again (eg V requests R to bring burgers for her)

The handling of separation in F2

Again, I know I’m courting controversy here. In my opinion, F2′s separation just doesn’t feel “earned”. 

Firstly let me start with what we know from F1: Elsa is an introvert (please hear me out, I’m NOT saying introverts never want to leave), in Elsa’s situation it seems to me weird for her to be the one to leave. If I had to choose between the 2 sisters, I would say Anna is more likely to leave (NOT that I want her to!!) Secondly, she’s the queen and as others have pointed out, in 1800s European monarchs don’t just leave the throne. 

Thirdly, they are sisters and not just friends. Sisters have a closer bond than friends. (hear me out, I’m not saying siblings must stay together forever, I’m stating this as a difference between F2 and RBTI, please please please read on) Fourthly, the time period is different, Elsa and Anna are not 21st century modern women. Royal siblings do not separate unless one marries into another country’s royal family. 

Fifthly, they are NO ordinary sisters. They have gone through great tragedies - 13 years of isolation, one concealing her guilt and hiding away, out of love; the other completely bewildered why she is left alone, the parents’ death, the coronation tragedy, and Anna DIED for Elsa out of love - she willingly sacrificed herself to be hurt/killed by Hans, AND, Elsa accidentally killed Anna (but fate brought her back) - their stories are so intertwined with love for each other!

Continuing on to what we see in F2: there is little hint at the separation throughout the movie. Where did it come from? To me, after Anna broke the dam and Elsa revived, they should have all gone home...and recuperate (Anna spent a night wet and cold in a cave, Elsa died and came back, and fell into water back first, ouch) and figure out what to do with the Northuldra, the revelation of Runeard’s deed, check that all the Arendellians are okay etc...

In my opinion, Elsa is not shown to be having enough interaction with the Northuldra/Honeymaren to justify her staying there. (EM shippers, I respect your ship and I’m not anti to your ship) and what does she do in the forest??? As I have said in other posts - she’s been brought up in civilization her whole life; the Northuldra know the forest and the spirits better than her; what is there for her to do there??? that she can’t do from Arendelle? Why can’t Anna be the ambassador to Northuldra?

At the actual moment of separation in F2, everything is a blur. This is how I remembered my first watching: Elsa says something cryptic about “an oath to do what’s best for Arendelle” and “luckily I know just what that is”---they hug---Anna is Queen???!!!! What???---Elsa’s not there??---Elsa’s in the forest---Elsa’s galloping on Nokk towards Ahtohallan---BOOM the movie has ended. We do not see the sisters discussing about the separation. We do not see a teary hug and exchange of “I love you’s”. Yes there is a hug, but it takes place so fast (5 seconds, I counted).

After the separation, the scenes again are so rushed, we do not see much of what Elsa does in Ahtohallan/forest and in my opinion, the letter that Anna sends to Elsa is barely enough to explain how they are keeping in touch. I acknowledge that many have said that Nokk can travel at a supernaturally fast speed so Elsa can be back in Arendelle quickly. But, as others have also said, that also means Elsa could do whatever she has to do in the forest while staying as Queen of Arendelle, since Nokk can transport her there stat.

I think I might accept the separation a little better if it had been better dealt with like the way it was presented in RBTI, ie, preparing the audience for it, having a viable reason for the separation, having Elsa really integrating into the Northuldra/more screentime with HM (if Disney would support EM), having the sisters discuss and agree on the separation, devoting more screen time to the emotions regarding the separation to show the importance and gravity of their sisterly bond that they have, that is now undergoing a huge change, tears at the point of separation etc... Of course, the whole point of RBTI is separation, whereas the whole point of F2 is Elsa’s destiny and undoing what the ancestors did...why have separation at all in F2? Don’t we have enough to chew on already? 

I want to conclude by reiterating that I’m not an F2 hater, I really really really love F2 (look at my blog!) and I’m NOT saying RBTI is a better movie than F2. (ironically, I actually don’t like RBTI very much despite the amount of detail I’ve gone into in these 2 posts, but I do love Ralph 1 a LOT) I am also respectful towards all and towards the directors Jenn and Chris. 

If you disliked what you read in this post, I’m sorry, and I hope we can agree to disagree, as Vanellope told Ralph.

[kingreywrites]

Why do you think the sister argument is stupid? I mean no disrespect, it’s just that Raps seems to see Cass as a sister, and they even used that relationship in an episode title. I’d just like to see your point of view

gshjdkd okay like, to be fair if you wanna interpret these moments as "Rapunzel sees Cass as a sister" it's fine i guess. As long as you're not weird about it aka as long as you don't go telling people that this interpretation is the only right one and no one is allowed to ship them.

I personally have... some troubles with this idea though, mostly because the angle they used most of the time is "they are sisters because of GOTHEL" as if gothel was a mother to them??? She kidnapped Rapunzel and didn't even raise Cass, she's no mother and certainly not the reason they have a link

If it had been meant more as in "we're found family" maybe but then again... idk. It doesn't really work for me. Each time Rapunzel uses the term sister, it hurts cass and it's kinda a clumsy way for Rapunzel to try to connect with her, which she failed to do the two times she said it out loud. In Rapunzel's Return, she's desperately trying to make Cass listen to her and just angers her more about Gothel abandoning her, and in the Great Tree, her tentative to reassure Cass that she cares about her expertise kinda comes off as dismissive, which worsens the situation. It always felt, to me, that Rapunzel uses that word when the communication with Cass is broken, and so she tries to re establish a link by emphasising their bond, but... yeah, imo they don't actually read as sisters, just friends with a lot of issues.

It makes sense to me that Rapunzel would convince herself that their bond is as "unbreakable" as one between sisters but I think she's just... not right about this, that it's part of why she doesn't realise all their issues until it's too late because she's idealising their friendship (after all, if cass is like a big sister, she won't leave right? They're gonna stick together and figure stuff out as "family". I don't think Rapunzel even suspected that Cass could want to leave until she did, because in her mind Cass is not just any friend - and that's how I tend to interpret the sister comment, as part of Rapunzel not understanding that if she pushes Cass too much, she will hurt their friendship irreparably. Idk, it's not a foolproof interpretation, but it makes sense to me)

(Unrelated to that but I'm also not sure how the sisterly bond is supposed to work when cass actively rejects it anyway... gjdjdhd)

Also, by the "sister argument" i mostly meant the people arguing that cassunzel is an incest ship because rapunzel and cass are sisters. The ask seemed to sort of imply that it was wrong to ship them because they were meant as sisters, and I personally think it's an extremely stupid way of thinking. Once again, they are not sisters, they were not adopted and raised together by the same mother, they do not share the same blood, they are Not Sisters. Not in any sense of the word. If you wanna see them as such then why not but the fact that many people use this against people who just want to ship these two characters together is annoying, while being plain wrong as far as canon goes.

[jamieatthebarricade]

Maids to Wives

An Outlander AU based loosely on the TV Show and real life in the historic Jamestown

In 1619, one hundred and forty-four English women from good families crossed the Atlantic in response to the Virginia Company of London’s call for maids “young and corrupt” to make wives for the planters of it’s new colony in Virginia. One in six of the maids could even claim gentry status. Although promised a free choice of husband, they were in effect being traded into marriage for a bride price of 150 pounds of best leaf tobacco, the profits to flow to individual investors

In 1619, Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp made the voyage to do one thing: marry a man she's never met. But when she arrives, she comes to the startling realization that her heart belongs to someone else, a certain James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser.

Chapter 1/? : Aboard The Ship

April 17th, 1619, Claire’s POV

“I feel like my innards are swasheling ‘bout” Geillis hacked out her dinner for the 4th time this week. I tried my best to soothe her, rubbing her shoulders lightly, but the smell of old fish and stomach acid from the other’s puking made it hard to keep anything down. Most of us hadn't been on a boat before, let alone in the middle of the ocean where the monstrous waves led to monstrous waves of sea sickness. It took all my strength not to succumb to the churn in my own stomach. Poor Geillis didn't have the same strength as I.

Geillis was one of the first women I met on this voyage. Me and her bonded over our love of herbs and our older age. She has become one of my closest friends on this trek to find my future husband. 

My Husband. The word had only rolled off my tongue a few times in my life, but suddenly it was my entire world. It was all the ladies talked about, all they thought of,  all they could remember dreaming about. But, the rest of the women on the ship were different from me, and from Geillis too: they were young, and they were trained. Geillis and I were the eldest of all the brides -she being 31 and I being 27- and didn’t receive the same education as the rest of the girls. I myself spent my childhood traveling Europe with my Uncle Lamb, not learning how to be a good wife that could keep house. Perhaps if my parents hadn’t died when I was so young they could have instilled the passion for housekeeping in me, but a childhood under my Uncle’s influence assuredly led to the demise of any interest in such things. He even tried to enroll me in a dame school, but I refused. Can you imagine? Years of learning how to sew and knit and cook. I couldn’t think of a more revolting thing. I had longed to continue to travel with Uncle Lamb, as his career as an antiquarian required him to do, and so he had no choice but to keep me by his side. I imagine him beside me now, as if this voyage was just like any other: exploring new lands with curiosity and excitement. 

As Geillis continued to empty her stomach, I scanned the cabin, seeing some of the younger girls on the ship playing a card game. Their eyes lit a bright light inside of them when they got a good hand, and their smiles sparkled like pearls in the faint lantern light. Despite the ship muck they resided in, they still radiated beauty and grace. That and their training would make them excellent wives. 

Perhaps I should have let Uncle Lamb enroll me in that Dame school, I thought as I turned back to check on Geillis. Even though I got to choose the man I married, there was no guarantee that my husband would keep me when he found out how many skills I lacked. But no man could be so cruel, could he? While it made no sense to wish for a kind husband, I still did, as did all the women. I could only hope that my husband would be caring, smart, and understanding (and have a face and body with equally desirable qualities, but both together was the most rare of all).

A tug on Geillis’s hair called me back to reality. It seemed the sickness had faded for a moment or two, enough for her to speak. “Claire, I swear to ye, if I don’t make it on this ship, bury me in the new world. I dinna care if my flesh sticks up the whole bloody ship, I wilna be thrown to the sea, like a bone to a dog” 

“You’re not gonna die Geillis, it’s only 3 more weeks till the captains said we'll see land. If you die on this ship, I swear to you I’ll kill you” My remark managed to stifle a chuckle from Geillis’s sickly body. She smiled at me, and then her moment of peace was over: she went back to being sick almost immediately. I never found myself in the comfort of women, but Geillis was like a sister to me. Spending a month at sea in tight quarters did that to a friendship. 

Geillis wasn’t the only friend I made on the ship. To my left sat 15 year old Mary Hawkins, the youngest of the maids. Mary was just… small. A small frame and small face were the most startling of her features, and the month on the ship caused an almost deadly thinning of her figure. When she spoke, the words came in small stutters, and any movement made her jump. When I first saw her I wondered how Mary could have thought she could survive the trek across the ocean; that was, until I found out being a maid was her father’s scheme. After finding this out, a sisterly urge surged inside me, and I was her protector on the voyage ever since. And as her protector, I saw her shivering as I helped Geillis, and moved my arm from Geillis’s back to around Mary’s shoulders.  She gladly nestled herself into my side, but the shaking didn’t stop.

“A-am I going to die here, C-Claire?” She stuttered out. I quickly shook my head and turned to look down at her. I saw tears running down her face, but she didn’t look me in the eyes. She kept her gaze on the wall across from us, where a woman who looked the most sick of all rested her head. She didn’t look alive anymore, but with closer examination I saw her chest rose ever so slightly. I made a mental note to check on her later, if she hadn’t already died. So far, 34 women have died. While the cause of death varied from maid to maid, it was all from the same sickness that plagued our ship since the beginning of the second week aboard. Not all the women were victims, but the ones that were died swiftly and in immense pain. But, for every maid that died here, the same amount of men were left without a bride, and that would mean another wave of maids. I couldn’t imagine putting more girls through this hell. I was fortunate to be well, and above all else, alive. 

“No, you’re not. You’re gonna leave the ship with us and meet your husband.” I rubbed Mary’s shoulders gently. I felt her breath loosen, and she slumped slightly. Good, I thought. She fell asleep

I then stayed with Geillis until her nausea faded. After cleaning her up using my dress as a rag, I laid her down and watched her drift to sleep. I touched my hand to her forehead, and was thankful for not feeling any unusual temperature. I removed my arm from Mary’s shoulders, and slowly set her down near Geillis’ head. I tucked a small bag of grain beneath both of their heads, and thankfully none of them awoke from their slumber. I looked across the cabin and saw the pale woman from before. She hadn’t changed positions, but her chest still rose and fell like before. I moved in front of her, and placed my hand on her forehead. Hot. Burning hot. I shook her awake, and when she opened her eyes, they were bloodshot. 

“Will... you tell my husband that I’m sorry I wasn’t able to make it” The sentence flowed out like any other statement, but the meaning behind it was darker.. She was a young woman, nearly 23 I guessed. Her hair was a soft blonde, and she had a pleasing aura about her. I could also tell she was quite pretty, underneath the sweat and sickness. Her hair stuck around her face, but she had the complexion of a sheet of paper. She was transparent, the veins of her body stuck out harshly against her pale face. When she spoke, it came out in a low whisper, as if her body didn’t have the willpower to use any strength.

“I’m Faith” She flashed a quick but weak attempt at a smile. I wished there was something I could do, to give her the strength that had saved me these past weeks. I reached beside her to grab a rag, in hopes of maybe wiping away the heat, but she put her hands over mine.

“Make the new world good for us” She spoke, before closing her eyes. Everything happened so suddenly, I could barely register it all. The minute she closed her eyes, any color that was left in her face disappeared. The rising of her chest stopped, and a hand fell limply from mine. 

I removed myself immediately, and sat next to Geillis. She stirred in her sleep before sitting up, tired. She must’ve heard what had happened, because just as I sat down she put her arm around mine. I wanted to cry, to feel some kind of pity for the woman, but nothing came out. ‘You should mourn her’ my brain told me but how could I? I just met her.

I didn’t have time to be like this. In a few short weeks we would be on the island with the men, living in the new world. Instead of feeling pity, I felt a sense of guilt. Out of nearly 100 women, only a few would step off this ship and into a new life. And I was one of them. Why did I get the luxury? I wasn’t ever a quiet, obeying miss, and I don’t think I could ever be. Why did god and those above think me fit to take on the responsibility of marriage? Faith would’ve probably made a fantastic wife, but here she lies dead by my feet and I am still breathing.

These thoughts ran rampant in my mind, so much so they exhausted me, and I felt myself roused into a deep slumber, with Geillis’ arm still around me and the soft breathing of the living filling my ears, reminding me I was still alive, that we all were. We bore the weight and responsibility of those who didn’t live, it was our job to make the new world good and prosperous.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hello everyone! This is my first chapter of a fanfiction I’m looking forward to writing! I’m a fairly new author so if everyone could be kind/give solid constructive criticism, that would be amazing! I’m looking forward to hopefully releasing more chapters later on!

[romijuli]

Veronica

Veronica Dragonquest my FAVORITE gremlin

What I love about them: she’s just FUN. I know she can be kinda hit or miss but for all the shit she dispenses it never felt like too much?

What I hate about them: why didn’t she get to go back to normal size in canon……..boooooo

Favorite Moment/Quote: the part where she figured out frys is krystalinda in disguise is VERY good. Also her view of the tree scene… :(

What I would like to see more focus on: PARTY BANTER PARTY BANTER

What I would like to see less focus on: the whole dying part. Not that it’s focused on too much it just makes me sad.

Favorite pairing with: (tallronica only for all of these) JADE (thinkin about the time Veronica was impressed by Jade’s legs…). I’m also v fond of ronnie/gemma…I think mar proposed ronnie/frysabel which is amazing thank you.

Favorite friendship: I love her banter with Erik, honestly. Also her sisterly bond with Serena…*wipes tear*

NOTP: pls do not ship her with her sister, or with anyone when she’s still tiny thank you. (We have! A canon adult design! We see her in that form!) Also this isn’t really a “no never” ship but I’m generally more fond of Erik and Veronica as a brotp, though I’ll make exceptions for fic from authors I like. (Or cute art!!! That one artist with the Erik/Veronica tangled au, if you’re out there….I think about that art a lot)

Favorite headcanon: I like the idea that she knew she was going to die on the tree, and that her shithead demeanor towards everyone at times was at least partially a facade to keep them from getting too close. (Don’t get me wrong: she is still a troll.)

[achorusofcleris]

How about Bernadetta, Felix, and/or Hilda? A good kid from each house 😁 (And Constance if you wanna add the ashen wolves too!)

They’re all good kids, and I would be happy to talk about all of them under this “read more.”

Bernie

favorite thing about them: While it could have been executed better, I appreciate that we were given a reason why she is so reclusive. Also she’s a crit machine.

least favorite thing about them: Her supports can be a bit repetitive and her issues could have been handled better.

favorite line: This one about carnivorous plants: “They just sit there, nice and still, and wait for their dinner to come to them! How great is that? And they all look so unique too!” What a mood.

brOTP: Dorothea or Alois. I also like her friendships with Seteth, Petra, and Leonie.

OTP: Probably either Ferdie or Yuri, though she has quite a few good ships.

nOTP: Ingrid? I guess? Idk, I just feel sort of uncomfy when reading their supports, though nowhere near to the degree of certain others that aren’t relevant here.

random headcanon: She writes dirty fanfics in her spare time.

unpopular opinion: I’m kind of okay with her Sylvain support ending at B level since you could argue that Sylvain genuinely appreciates her as a person and doesn’t want to hurt her.

song i associate with them: “Time to Seize the Day” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is pretty much the Bernie anthem imo.

favorite picture of them:

This picture from her Hubert support chain always cracks me up.

Felix

favorite thing about them: His character development in each route is really well done.

least favorite thing about them: He can be a dick sometimes

favorite line: “Fine. I'll help you...in my father's stead. But in return, you must win. You know that, don't you...Dimitri?”

brOTP: Ashe, Mercedes, and Seteth.

OTP: Either Annette or Dimitri. His support with Annette is really cute as it brings out the “dere” side of him that you don’t see often. As for Dimitri, he obviously cares about him more than he would like to admit.

nOTP: Dedue probably. I haven’t seen their entire support chain in a long time, but that c-support is just really uncomfortable.

random headcanon: He often attends choir practice. Not to participate, he just likes the music.

unpopular opinion: This is probably a more recent one, but I don’t think the “go find a husband” line in his Ingrid support was meant to be sexist, though I will admit it definitely comes across that way in execution. Felix’s older brother died fighting for Faerghus, a country that is chivalrous to a fault, and he’s witnessing Ingrid following in Glenn’s footsteps during their B-support when she goes over battle tactics. Felix is a character who sucks at expressing his feelings, and I mean really sucks at it, so rather than telling Ingrid that he doesn’t want her to end up like Glenn, he puts his foot in his mouth and says something he shouldn’t. I’m not going to fault anyone for hating their b-support due to this moment alone, because yeah, it’s definitely uncomfy, but it makes sense given what we know about Felix as a character.

song i associate with them: Any of Annette’s songs.

favorite picture of them:

It’s hard to find cutscene pictures of the expendable units, so here’s a tsundere Santa.

Hilda

favorite thing about them: Her battle quotes are hilarious. Also her friendship with Claude is fantastic.

least favorite thing about them: Her views on Almyrans are uncomfy.

favorite line: “I'm not going to hold back. I can't let down my dear old Claude.”

brOTP: Lysithea, Annette, and Seteth

OTP: Either Claude or Caspar.

nOTP: Cyril, though it’s definitely more in the “disappointment” category than the “dislike” one. Unlike say, Dedue/Ingrid, these two actually had a history together which created a lot of baggage, and the fact that it was never touched upon in their supports is a huge missed opportunity.

random headcanon: The reason she and Caspar had many children in their paired ending is partly that Hilda knew that pregnancy could get her out of work.

unpopular opinion: Despite my least favorite thing about her being her views on Almyrans, I will concede that they don’t bother me as much as they could have due to Hilda being framed as ignorant (she’s friends with Claude, who is half-Almryan, and he’s nothing like the stories she’s heard). Are those views uncomfortable? You bet, but they’re supposed to be. Could they have been handled better? Also yes, but Hilda’s problematic views on Almyrans are nowhere near as bad as some of the other takes I’ve seen in the game.

song i associate with them: I honestly can’t think of anything rn.

favorite picture of them:

Constance

favorite thing about them: Her situation is definitely unique when compared to similar FE characters (like Clair or Maribelle) in that she was born into a noble house, but now she’s trying to restore it. Also, she’s hilarious with her magical inventions and occasional literal-mindedness, but also brilliant in terms of her ability to read people.

least favorite thing about them: Her dual personalities could have been handled better.

favorite line: "Hapi is a dear friend. I won't permit you to call her a ‘stray cat’ or anything so insulting. We shall continue to remain steadfast friends, even after my title is restored!”

brOTP: The rest of the Ashen Wolves (though Hapi is more borderline than the other two in terms of shipping them romantically or platonically). Also Mercedes, I love their sisterly bond.

OTP: Jeritza

nOTP: Aelfric, I guess?

random headcanon: After making the licorice boots, she experimented with making boots out of other food items.

unpopular opinion: I’m not sure if I have one since I don’t really see many takes about her character. Maybe what I have under my “least favorite” thing, but idk.

song i associate with them: “The Shackled Wolves,” though “Funny Footsteps” is another one that makes me think of her.

favorite picture of them:

[thethiefandtheairbender]

hello! I saw your post on how you stated that you were in the atla fandom for 7+ years. i myself was also involved in the fandom a couple of years back, mostly just watching videos + reading the comics but never really engaging in fandom discourse. now that i am actively taking part in the greater fandom, but also just seeing atla everywhere, I’ve certainly been exposed to my share of... different (interesting or bizarre or downright awful-putting-ATLA-on-netflix-was-a-mistake) takes that came out of the renaissance. i wanted to know your opinion, since you’ve been in the fandom for a while: how would you say that the fandom/fandom discourse has changed in the time of the renaissance? for instance, im seeing a lot more people come out and say that they prefer zvtara as a friendship or surrogate sibling relationship, which is something I’ve never expected but I’m thrilled to discover, as that was my initial interpretation of their relationship.

honestly basically nothing has changed except there’s more aang active stans and less aang hate. one of the main changes i think has been a shift from zu.tara rhetoric in the fandom (anti kat/aang, pro sokka being zuko’s best friend, general mai & aang hate or erasure, conspiracy theories) to zu.kka rehetoric (less mai hate bc she can be shipped with ty lee and f/f uwu :33, ka/taang as a nice sideship, pro platonic zvtara, no conspiracy theory bc like, it obviously wasn’t plausible). you can kinda see the shift from which characters received the most hate (aang, mai) to which characters receive the most hate now (katara). before, aang got in the way of ZK and mai was mean to zuko. now, katara isn’t ship desirable on a massive scale and she’s mean to zuko (and sokka in TSR; hence people trying to act like sokka parented her more than the other way around, because why let katara have good traits and also be flawed, right?). so - yeah, it tracks.

that being said, the slight decline of zu.tara does mean more narrative analyses that was previously clouded by a vitriolic insistence on romance, like a sudden swell of noticing azula-katara parallels and their subsequent sisterly bonds with zuko. there’s also a little more mind for different cultures since sokka doesn’t tend to be completely sequestered into zuko’s political life the way that katara tended to be (ie. remaining southern water tribe chief v.s fire lady katara). there’s no conspiracy theory because it’s pretty obvious that nickelodeon / kids animation wouldn’t have let zu.kka fly in 2005 and it was never on the table - which thank god bc fandom conspiracy theories are some of the most annoying and batshit insane crap i have ever seen.

some things have stayed the same, though. a misunderstanding of how mai operates emotionally which leads to a misunderstanding of how mai/zuko functions as a ship. ignoring zuka.ang in favour of shipping zuko with a water tribe kid who he barely thinks about or barely thinks about him. all characters / other ships being tagged under posts that are actually about the fandom’s top prized ship that is somehow ‘woker’ / more progressive than what canon actually went with (ignoring both the narrative and spiritual point each canon ship makes). 

truly an interesting avatar cycle indeed.

[nrgburst]

Podsa fic rec list

Fun fact about myself I learned while writing this rec list: I suck at writing rec lists. Anyway, the list is written and is ridiculoulsy long (believe me, I had to leave out several works I love in order to not exceed this number). Here we go:

i loved a maid as white as winter by bryndentully

Sweet little one-shot that allow us to have a view on Pod’s perspective when he’s still a young squire dreaming about knighthood

I Don’t Want A Lot For Christmas (There Is Just One Thing I Need) by klcwriting

Christmas fic setted on a modern au. Podsa in it’s cutest moment

The Sweetness of Winter by AirDoodles

Collection of one-shots that presents Podrick and Sansa’s impressions of each other on different situations. There’s also a Brienne POV. I like it a lot.

Wasn’t Expecting That by wildlyricalair

I love this one so much. It’s a modern au in which Sansa and Podrick are college acquaintances and is adorable because we get to see them becoming best friends before getting romantically involved

The First Taste of Spring by Lborealis

Sansa is slowly rebuilding her life and pursuing happiness after everything she’s been through. Canon divergences

One More… series by Lost_Girl_02

This is a series of fics about Pod and Sansa developing a relationship through the events of season 8 and after. There are bits that focus on other characters but is primarily podsa. Canon compliant

learning to dance by jennycaakes

Just my OTP dancing together and talking about their expectations for the future

Songs by The_Hawk_Eye

This one is for everyone who fell in love with Podrick Payne all over again after finding out he can sing

Fuck propriety series by sassassassin

The smut that was promised is here, at last. Besides porn with feelings, this series also has stories centered in gendrya and sisterly bonding between Sansa and Arya

maybe the cold isn’t so bad by Katybara

This fic was supposed to be multi-chapter and maybe it’s abandoned, but I guess it works just as well as a one-shot.

Stepping Softly by RedWolfLira

I didn’t think I was so into fluff before starting this list, but I guess it comes with the ship. I mean, Pod is the sweetest character ever and Sansa already deals with enough angst in canon

A (k)night on the road by Fangfaceandrea

Sansa and Pod are trying to bring Jaime back to Winterfell after 8x04. If these two have something in common, it’s their love for Ser Brienne. I liked even though I’m not into Braime

Finding Her Constant by blackhawkcawcaw

While everyone is preparing for the battle against the dead and dealing with the arrival of the dragon queen and her army,  Pod and Sansa form a friendship

Courtly Dances by keds

Post canon. Sansa is adapting to her new role as Queen in the North and deals with some liege lords who want to control her reign and her life. The arrival of a certain southern knight only make things a little more complicated

He was a Payne, She a Stark by Royal_Darjeeling

If you have to choose a story in this list to read, choose this one. If I already liked the idea of podsa before reading this story, it became my OTP after I read. I love this fic so much, I can’t even explain why I love it without writing an essay. 

Five Times Podrick touches Sansa (or the -ing series) by Fangfaceandrea

In each chapter, Pod and Sansa share a special moment together. Some chapters are setted during the events of the show and other ones are post canon. It’s really wonderful

Asking Questions by forsythialight

Lovely one-shot in which Pod is sent back North by Bran and gets close with Sansa. It’s hard to talk about these fics without giving away too many details because a lot of them have similar ideas but the execution of these ideas is unique in each of them

Atlas: Two by wildlyricalair 

All the things that make podsa so lovable are summarized in this story

Painted On My Soul (It Was Indelible) by FrostedGemstones22

Another one of my favorites. It’s post canon and follows Sansa’s life as queen. Many events are narrated in the form of letters exchanged between Sansa and the other characters.

El Fuego Tiene Una Mitad De Frío By Danally

This fic is something else entirely. Pod is sent North by Bran to help Sansa to go through dangerous times in her reign. It’s a very simple premise for an incredibly complex, surprising and well-written story. What? You don’t understand Spanish? The author released the first chapter of an English version, Fire Has a Cold Half. I don’t know if the other chapters will be translated as well.

[mandareeboo]

001 Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts(also s2 confirmed n coming in June 12, fuck yeah!!!

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

Favorite character: Kipo! I really appreciate her optimism 

Least Favorite character: I guess Hoag? He’s only shown up once and he’s a jerk

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): N/A

Character I find most attractive: None

Character I would marry: Again, lesbian, but Lio. He’s a smart family man who has a wide range of interests, and he’s well-respected (he’s also one of the few Actual Adults in this show lmao)

Character I would be best friends with: Kipo! She’s fun and bubbly.

a random thought: I can’t WAIT to see more sisterly bonding between Wolf and Kipo

An unpopular opinion: Unless explicitly told otherwise I think Lio was sneaking some sort of mute gene repressors into Kipo’s food and THAT’S why it only started showing now, when she’s been away long enough for it to wear off, instead of it being a puberty thing

My Canon OTP: Don’t think there’s any canon ships yet? Unless you count Lio and Kipo’s mom.

My Non-canon OTP: Don’t got any ships!

Most Badass Character: Probably Scarlemagne! We don’t know a lot about him, but his powers are terrifying.

Most Epic Villain: Scarlemagne again!

Pairing I am not a fan of: N/A

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Too early to tell! I’ve enjoyed the developments so far.

Favourite Friendship: Kipo and Benson! They’ve got a really chill broship going on 

Character I most identify with: I mean, I guess Kipo’s dealings with being half-mute could mesh well as a coming out of the closet story.

Character I wish I could be: I wouldn’t mind turning into a giant furry kitty.

[inkdrawndreamer]

I've been trying to figure out why I never seem to read any f/f fic despite liking a lot of pairings, and I think a lot of it comes down to story potential. I read and write mostly m/m fics in part because they are more interesting to me. Because they're allowed to be.

There is a tendency in both original and fan fiction to write f/f pairings as either very wholesome and innocent, pure eye candy, or explicitly unhealthy/abusive. M/M ships are depicted with a lot more variety in my experience. You can find everything from fluffy stories of grade school crushes to violence and manipulation-laced fics that read more like thriller novels. There is something to be said for the issue of romanticized abuse in m/m ships, but I think there is also a greater openness to exploring different dynamics than there is in f/f media.

Who knows? Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places, but up until very recently I have not been able to find f/f media that was as gritty as their m/m counterparts. Shows like Steven Universe and Orphan Black were a huge shift in that respect because they showed explicitly queer women in situations normally reserved for only male or straight characters (and without falling back on the usual psycho wlw and bury your gays tropes).

Part of the problem also lies in how same-gender relationships are demonized when the subjects are male vs when they are female. Boys grow up taught that even the smallest intimacy between men could be considered gay, and therefore bad, so they aren't allowed to be as open or affectionate with each other at any level. Girls are taught the opposite, that they can do everything up to sex with each other and it isn't gay unless they say so. Victorian friendships and all that. Early yuri manga used a similar structure based on this idea of intimate sisterly bonds in Japan. They were often nonsexual, not even necessarily romantic, but considered acceptable because they were supposed to end once the time came to marry (men) and start families. On the one hand, love between girls was more widely accepted, but only because it was considered a stepping stone to a heterosexual relationship rather than a replacement for one. Even then, those stories were very desexualized and had a tendency to end in tragedy for one or both characters, so not exactly a win-win situation...

All this to say, it has taken me years to even attempt to write f/f pairings as anything other than wholesome fluff. I love wholesome fluff—for all kinds of pairings—but I really want to see the same level of depth applied to f/f pairings that there is for m/m. I want to see more cat and mouse games, more war stories, more outlaws, and yes, more horror stories with queer women that don't end in tragedy EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is and write it myself, but I really want to see other people do the same too.