#a lot of it. a Lot of it. is stemming from people wanting either ship to one up the other. and you shouldn't fall for it

[the-music-maniac]

This is one that ended up way longer than I would've liked but the brainrot has reached concerning levels.

Brief mentions of sephgen, sephgeal, sephzack, multishipping, spoilers for crisis core, rebirth etc. etc.

I've begun realizing the longer I traverse the various pages of FF7 fanworks that when I say I ship Sefikura, the romantic/sexual aspects of it don't matter as much to me as the emotional catharsis of it. And I say this because I feel like sefikura is often used to explore one specific type of fantasy/smut/kink etc. There's a portion of people who like the ship because they like exploring how fucked up it is for post-nibelheim Seph to try to make Cloud into a puppet - this is usually (not always) accompanied by size difference kink, sub Cloud dom Seph, etc. And while I personally despise that characterization common in that interpretation of the ship, it's still valid, cause y'all should be able to explore your own fanfics however you want. An "Ew. Oh well, none of my business." kind of deal.

I would like to make it known though, that as a Sephiroth fan I kind of hate domroth. Block me if you must, we can just agree to disagree lol.

My interest in Sefikura stems mostly from Sephiroth. I'm gonna shamelessly admit here that while I love Cloud as a character, he doesn't intrigue me as much as Sephiroth does. And I know I'm biased cause he's my favourite, but I get easily stuck on characters who were abuse victims that became villains because they gave into their demons, characters who managed to stay kind, up until they were so beaten down they snapped, characters who I think have redemption potential, even if it wouldn't be easy to do. Which can be the case with Seph both pre- and post- Nibelheim.

Post-nibelheim is a LOT harder to write convincingly, seeing as how he actually did fuck up like. Everything. And his victims don't have to forgive him. Not Cloud either, even though I am writing a post about sefikura. The redemption is more about personal improvement, rather than forgiveness. But it's really interesting because a Sephiroth that even has a chance at redemption post insanity, is one who is a mix of before and after. He still has all that rage inside him from how he was treated by humanity, still has visions of annihilation and delusions of grandeur in his head, but he also remembers that he used to love, that he used to have companionship, scarce as it was, and cared for the well being of the soldiers he lead, etc. How does he get to that point in the first place, and how does he deal with it after? With the warring that is likely occurring from those two sides, the festering resentment of knowing he was given so much less than he should've been, knowing that he had a human mother, but since he IS closer in capability to a god than a human, does he think he's a monster because of his heritage still or because he gave in? Does it even matter at this point, what he is? And what will he do, now that he has a portion of his humanity back (however that occurred) and isn't just purely Jenova? How does he deal with knowing that even in the depths of insanity, he still just didn't want to be alone? And of course the turmoil on Cloud and Co's side, usually some flavour of, okay so repeatedly killing him isn't working, I'm tired of fighting him every couple of years, I still have the responsibility of making sure he doesn't fuck everything up again, and of course the hatred they understandably feel for the shit Sephiroth has done. And as Sephiroth kind of fights to recover some semblance of identity and understanding of himself (without destroying anything), watching that occur and knowing objectively that your enemy didn't deserve what he got when he was a child, that a part of what occurred was after he was pushed to that degree - even if you subjectively can't make yourself feel it at the beginning. And then as the story progresses and characters undergo development, Cloud likely wrestling with the fact that he actually is starting to understand Sephiroth's predicament, realizing Seph can be so very human at times. And dealing with the worst sin/betrayal of all, enjoying his company for his company's sake. A Sephiroth that gets through that and finds some semblance of contentment is meaningful because it would take a mind-boggling amount of hardship and work to get there. And tbh here's where the bias comes in - it's what I would say is a happy ending for everyone. I know people would disagree, a lot would say Cloud and Co getting rid of Seph is good riddance, why should he get a chance, why should they have to deal with him, etc. hence why I acknowledge this is biased - but a happy ending to me is one where everyone else gets to stop fighting Seph and move on with their lives and Sephiroth actually gets to live the life he wanted when he was a child. I won't ever be entirely satisfied with FF7 canon for this reason (true of any tragedy). Nothing that happened to him pre-insanity was fair. So. Catharsis.

As for "redemption" of pre-nibelheim Seph, I read time travel fix-its when it comes to sefikura cause I find it more interesting. For anything pre-insanity that involves canon divergence without time travel, sephgeal, sephgen, sephzack, shipping, platonic or poly makes more sense to me, cause those three are positioned better to help Sephiroth in a meaningful way. Also I personally do think Cloud is a little too young for that then (even if I'm also convinced he 100% had a celeb crush on Seph. Which is also not what Sephiroth needs at that point).

So, for sefikura, pre-nibelheim redemption usually involves Cloud getting yeeted back in time, either by the planet or by choice, to stop things before any of it happens. Cloud usually believes he has to kill Sephiroth, so he'd likely be in close proximity. So how would he deal with seeing, first hand, all the ways that Sephiroth was isolated and dehumanized in Shinra? Cloud still hates him at this point, for good reason. So he's here, witnessing not only Sephiroth being a kind/decent (awkward) human being, but also the lab visits, Hojo being Hojo, being paraded around for propaganda, the effect the "betrayal" of the other firsts likely had, Sephiroth being straight up depressed and malnourished and overworked, hearing whatever lies were fed to control him when he knows the truth. How does he deal with the moral repercussions of killing a technically innocent man? Especially when he realizes that a little support and compassion could've changed the outcome entirely? And Sephiroth on the other hand, now stuck with this persistent stranger that doesn't treat him like either an emotionless weapon or a legend, but some secret third thing (is he trying to kill him???? Can't tell, mixed signals are happening). Cloud would also likely help take Sephiroth's mind off things by virtue of existing - not because Sephiroth particularly cares about Cloud at the beginning (why would he, they're strangers) but because Cloud is fucking weird. Not a soldier, still mako enhanced, angry/aggressive at him in particular and seemingly frustrated about it, history that doesn't match up to current behaviours, etc. Hell, Shinra would likely even order Seph to keep an eye on Cloud. Meanwhile Cloud is desperately fucking with the timeline to ensure everything ends up differently, and accidentally becomes some sort of support for Sephiroth in the process. Because while everyone else was so fooled by the propaganda surrounding their hero, leaving him alone to his own devices (despair and depression), Cloud knows that his attention should be on Seph right now. And I don't think he's the type to just leave things alone out of spite if Seph where to, for example, stumble out of the lab, half delirious from Mako, because of one of Hojo's whims. There's also the question of whether Cloud would know to help with Angeal or Genesis' degradation, which could help either clear up some misunderstandings between Seph and his friends, or just ensure that Seph doesn't lose them at all in the first place.

And if Sephiroth were to find out/be told the truth, about his mother, or about the future, HOW is he gonna react to that???? Knowing that okay, so my heritage isn't actually that of a monster, I have human DNA, but ended up snapping and trying to destroy the world anyways - once again, what does it mean to be a monster, and is he one already, if he hasn't even done all of it yet, technically? In this timeline he's likely closer to Zack, maybe close to Cloud, potentially has met Aerith, maybe Genesis and Angeal are still alive, so he's more tethered by a support system, so how would that change his viewpoints? Would he feel guilty? Does that send him into a worse depression?

Sefikura just tends to give me emotional catharsis when it's written like that, because it gives Sephiroth the opportunity to mourn what he should've had, and gives him a fighting chance to change it. It's someone else being shown the decades of neglect, how deep the hypocrisy of Shinra actually went, the systemic abuse, acknowledging all of the bullshit Sephiroth went through before Nibelheim. It's him breaking out of other's expectations of him, Jenova, or Hojo or whoever else, and getting his childhood wish to just be normal. Like Angeal said (quoted loveless I think) "and what do angels dream of?" "Angels dream of becoming human."

This is also why I find very little enjoyment in reading domroth sefikura. Sephiroth isn't someone who reminds me of that type of personality, before he went crazy. He seems like a very awkward, calm and even sometimes soft dude in his downtime. He's literally just some guy. We don't see a lot of his personality because he was trained (tortured) into believing anything other than perfect control is weakness and failure. I don't think he would have any sexual experience. I think he's depressed, and exhausted and alone and is just very good at hiding it. I don't think he even wants or needs sexual intimacy necessarily, so much as he needs someone to feel safe around.

Anyways. This is. Way too long now. Goodbye.

[roobylavender]

if i really scratch my head i think maybe the one thing all of this could stem from is mere discussion of the fact that talia and selina's histories with bruce sort of operate in the reverse and inevitably that factors into any contention with either relationship. like it can't really be helped that bruce and talia were married very early on into the latter's history and that this is integral to analyzing talia's entire dynamic with bruce, her evolving perception of her own place in the world, and her eventual decision to break free of bruce entirely. the constraints of a marriage with bruce as desired by her father are foundational lore to the early aughts of her character in a way that selina's settled domestic life with bruce is not. if we're talking about the golden age what was foundational to selina's dynamic with bruce was his ability to recognize above everyone else her consistent capacity for mercy despite her villainous goals on the surface. in post-crisis that was translated along the lines of a class struggle specifically. the villainous goals were interpreted to represent a defiance of men and the state and their collective violence, and they also formed a means of survival. what was initially merely a recognition of selina's capacity for mercy now became a potential recognition of bruce's own hypocrisies. selina acted as a symbol for petty criminals in gotham whom bruce would otherwise have written off as immoral wholesale bc to him the law was the law. and the remarkable thing about it was that none of it required selina giving even an inch to bruce. she was who she was and that was what made her utterly compelling to him. it's not a slight against selina that neither marriage nor a close civilian relationship formed the basis of her relationship with bruce and i don't understand why anyone would take it as one. marriage and domestic life for talia was a mark of the utter tragedy of her relationship with bruce. it was a fantasy and a delusion and it could never have given her what she wanted nor lent her any kind of agency in the long term. and i think when we meander into the realm of comparing the relationships we really start to diminish why certain aspects are important to either. why are the various patriarchal restrictions on talia's agency so integral to her character arc and its exploration of freedom? why is selina's existence in a sphere of life entirely distinct of bruce so integral to her character arc and its exploration of class? the constant back and forth between shippers on either end trying to equalize in terms of what either relationship has gone through in canon like it's a checklist to romantic validity is a bit absurd and i wish we would move away from it when analyzing the relationships or the characters

[kyuuumie]

this is just a ramble about billdip/billford since i’ve seen a bunch of posts and want to share my thoughts on it!

i find a lot of the comparisons between billdip and billford to be a bit off the mark. while it’s true they share some surface-level similarities—mainly because they both involve bill cipher and a “smart guy”—their dynamics are vastly different. in billford, ford initially placed an enormous amount of trust in bill. he practically revered him, as seen in the tapestries in his lab and all the one-eyed triangle symbols throughout the mystery shack. ford’s trust was so deep that he allowed bill to lead him down a dark path, ultimately resulting in betrayal. bill has since been shown relishing in taunting ford, making their relationship one of broken trust and regret.

on the other hand, billdip presents a way different dynamic. dipper never trusted bill in the first place. from the very beginning, their relationship was antagonistic. unlike ford, dipper wasn’t lured in by the promise of knowledge or power; he had to be manipulated, and even then, he was extremely hesitant to allow bill to possess him. bill never had dipper’s trust to betray, which sets the stage for a completely different kind of tension. in billford, the conflict stems from a deep betrayal of trust, whereas in billdip, it’s more about the struggle between manipulation and resistance, with dipper trying to outsmart someone he knows he can’t trust.

i want to clarify that i don’t hate or even dislike billford. they have an undeniably interesting dynamic, and under different circumstances, i’d probably be more invested in it. however, my enthusiasm for the ship is dampened by the behavior of some of its shippers. it often feels like many people ship billford not because they genuinely enjoy the dynamic, but rather out of a desire to distance themselves from billdip. it’s as if shipping billford has become a way to proclaim, “at least i don’t ship billdip.” but spite shouldn’t be the driving force behind creating content for a ship. shipping should be about passion, about enjoying the dynamic and wanting to explore it through art, writing, and discussion because it genuinely interests you.

that said, i do wish people would keep the discourse civil and avoid leaving hateful comments about either ship. unfortunately, that might be asking for too much in fandom spaces. but it would be nice to see more respect and understanding for different preferences, even if we don’t all share the same ships ૮꒰ ˶> ༝ <˶꒱ა

[writeyouin]

Lost light megatron trying to have fun with his s/o, but kinda failing cuz he thinks of all the ways it could go wrong? (Maybe they’re on a planet in a theme park?) and reader has to convince him to let loose?

Megatron X Reader – Let Loose

A/N – Slowly, whittling my list of requests down.

Warnings – None.

Rating – T

Megatron snatched the cotton candy from you, earning a startled look from the vendor and the surrounding people alike. You, on the other hand, merely smiled, knowing what he was like.

“Babe, it’s not poisonous,” You told him patiently, waiting for him to agree.

Megatron tore off a piece of the fluffy treat, scanning it with a device he had procured from Red Alert; that bot was equally paranoid about all the things that could poison you, or that could contaminate the ship’s supply of energon, or that could… Actually, the list of things that Red Alert was paranoid about was endless.

He hummed and passed it back to you begrudgingly. While it was true that the food wouldn’t kill you, it wasn’t very good for you either, which is exactly what he told you after you tore a piece off, popping it in your mouth gleefully.

“Would you lighten up?” You laughed, elbowing him playfully. “Today is supposed to be fun.”

Megatron followed you through the Carnival that Rodimus had insisted on making the Lost Light stop at. Frankly, he thought that he had been doing well by not complaining that it was a waste of time and energy to visit such a trashy attraction, especially when the crew had to make use of their holo-forms which increased their energon consumption by 3.7%. That might not have been a lot for one bot, but when used by the full crew, it would ensure they practically ate through their energy reserves.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N), but how exactly would you have me ‘lighten up’?” Megatron used air quotes upon repeating you.

“Just cut loose. Have fun for the day, okay?”

Megatron scowled. His idea of fun was composing poetry to sum up his deepest thoughts and clear his processor, or to spend an evening with you, consuming some of the universe’s best literature, while you spent time on one of your hobbies.

Frankly, this was when another bot might comment on how odd your relationship was. You and Megatron were not alike. You were loud, carefree, and energetic. He was sombre and contemplative, and he preferred not to waste energy on frivolous activities.

Yet, Megatron found himself wanting to please you. Part of this stemmed from the idea that he didn’t believe that he deserved you, and partially because you asked very little of him, taking the relationship one day at a time while he learned how to navigate it with you.

“Very well,” Megatron sighed. “I shall…” He tripped over the words cut loose, finding the slang un-endearing, opting to finish by saying, “Try to relax somewhat.”

“That’s all I ask,” You chuckled, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the first game of the day.

It was a simple ring toss over some bottles, with various prizes hanging overhead. You spotted a plushie armadillo which was arguably the most hideous of the prizes, yet it held your attention, your pupils dilating at the sight of it.

“Oh yeah, that’s coming home with me.”

And so the game began. You tried again and again to win the creature, putting more and more credits on it, much to the vendor's satisfaction.

Megatron watched, bemused, until finally, he grabbed your shoulder, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“What’s wrong, babe? You want a go?”

You held out a ring to him. Megatron glowered first at the bottles, then at the vendor. “You should leave this game.” He told you matter-of-factly. Then in a whisper, he added, “My sensors show that it has been rigged. Winning is a statistical impossibility.”

“Oh,” You deflated. You had already guessed that the game was rigged, but it had been fun to try all the same. Half-heartedly, you threw the last ring before walking away. “Okay… something else then.”

Megatron silently cursed himself for upsetting you, but it was better you knew now rather than trying to win the impossible.

Your eyes lit up again when you saw what had to be the world’s most unstable rollercoaster.

“How about that?!” You pointed to it excitedly.

Megatron scanned the structure, messaging Ultra Magnus to see how many laws it broke. According to him, the ride had 36 structural weaknesses, broke 17 laws, and would only be legal on 3 planets.

You shook your head as Megatron’s face set into its default scowl.

“Oh, come on, please,” You begged, clasping your hands together.

“I won’t stop you, but I shan’t join you,” Megatron said drily, thinking about how he would be prepared to shed his holo-form and rescue you when the ride inevitably flew off the tracks or something equally terrible.

“Really? I can’t convince you?” You pouted.

“I should think not.”

You opened your mouth to argue until Rodimus ran into you, “Hey (Y/N). You here for the coaster?”

“Yeah, I was about to get in line. I’m just asking Meg-”

Rodimus rolled his eyes, “Megatron isn’t going to join you. It would mean having fun, something he’s completely allergic to, you know, alongside joy, laughter, puppies, flowers-”

“Shut up,” You punched Rodimus playfully in the arm.

Megatron watched as you and Rodimus played, eventually getting his approval to go on the ride together. It sometimes amazed him that you hadn’t chosen to enter a relationship with someone like Rodimus. The two of you were quite similar and had a good rapport.

Megatron sighed as he watched the two of you on the ride. He was somewhat you were relieved that you were with his co-captain. At least that way you would be safe with him should something happen. One person with you, and another on the ground in case something went wrong.

Yet, remarkably, nothing bad happened, except for Megatron putting yet another damper on the day, making him practically miserable.

Once you had come off the ride, Megatron made his excuses to go back to the ship, leaving you alone with Rodimus. He had much to think about when it came to the two of you, and frankly, he felt like he needed to find some reasons that the two of you were together, especially after such a disastrous excuse of a date, wherein he had only helped to sour your vibrant mood.

Megatron startled at the sound of the doorbell ringing.

He answered the door to find you, holding tightly onto the plushie armadillo that he had claimed was impossible to win.

“So, you somehow won the ring toss,” He stated, gesturing to the toy.

“Nah. Rodimus distracted the guy there and I took this,” You held out your prize, grinning victoriously.

“Stealing?” Megatron said doubtfully, thinking about what a terrible influence Rodimus could be.

“I’d like to think of it as liberating a plushie who needs a lot of love. Besides, you said it yourself. That guy was cheating, so it’s only fair he loses a prize or two every now and then.”

Megatron nodded stiffly, his optics following you as you entered the hab-suite.

“I’m sorry-” He started, surprised when you said “Thank you,” at the same time.

“What’re you-” “Why are you-”

You laughed as you both spoke simultaneously again, gesturing for him to start first.

“I- I’m sorry for leaving you at the fair,” Megatron sighed in his usual melancholy tone. “And you don’t have anything to thank me for. Believe me, I should know.”

You grinned, holding back a bout of laughter since you didn’t want Megatron to be offended.

“I’ll admit, I was sad that you left early, but… I wanted to thank you, for a really good night.”

Megatron didn’t respond. Frankly, he couldn’t see how you had a good time with him at all.

“I know the carnival isn’t your scene, but you went with me anyway, and… I love having someone who looks out for me all the time. I think it’s really sweet that you don’t want me to get conned out of my credits, or get hurt on the big rides, or, y’know, die from poison. I love you, Megatron.”

That wasn’t the first time that you had told Megatron you loved him, nor would it be the last, and yet, you always said it at the most unexpected times.

“I… Love you too,” Megatron said haltingly, scared as usual that his vulnerability would lead to a terrible end for the two of you. “Would you like to spend the night here?” He offered.

“Sounds good to me,” You beamed.

[lemotmo]

I'm going to try and approach this a bit differently. We have all been in a position where we desperately wanted something from a show. We can all relate to the desire for something you love to become canon. I still fret about whether or not they'll actually give us Buddie. Yes it has been sign posted but it's been sign posted for years and we're still waiting. Anyway I say that part to say this next part. They are sign posted. The canon signs are there and there everywhere. None of it is made up from nothing. Yes there are headcanons but that's true of every ship. But most of the headcanons have canon scenes that they stem from. The BT stuff is all headcanon. I keep seeing gifs of Buck with gifs of Lou from other acting rolls and them being tagged as bucktommy. Those gifs have nothing to do with 911 and aren't Tommy. None of it is based on canon. It has all come from their cameo conversations with Lou. And that genuinely dumbfounds me. Because now I see less and less Buck and it's increasingly Tommy centered.

Buck is the character the show cares about and they know that. I don't know enough about the SWAT theory to speak to it's truth or not but the timing of its renewal and him going 911 dark does somewhat feed into the rumor. I don't know, it's bad enough so many of them have become horrible towards Eddie but now they're starting to change who Buck canonically is to fit their headcanons of Tommy (the whole damsel in distress nonsense enrages me). And while I understand the desire to push for what you love, basic knowledge of the show has to play into your expectations at some point. It will be interesting(terrifying) to see how they react when his arc finishes, and he himself stated it was an arc(hello people he said this) so I'm just forever dumbfounded as to how we got here and I'm someone who genuinely tried to see where they're coming from.

*sigh* sorry for the length of this ask. Your blog is lovely.

Yes Nonny. Yes! All of this! This has been on my mind for so long now and you managed to summarize it so beautifully.

I simply do not get how we got here. A couple of months ago, everything was great in this fandom. We had no great expectations of Buddie canon, but we were happy to be on ABC so we could maybe get some more Buddie scenes. And we did get them. Season 7 was great for Buddie.

Unfortunately it also brought along Tommy. I was and still am thrilled for Buck being revealed as being bisexual. It's wonderful! And the initial thrill of it was exciting. I immediately started tying this in to Eddie. A lot of us in the Buddie fandom have long since theorised that, as soon as one of them would come out, the other would follow because it would be the only thing to make sense. Buck and Eddie have both been queer-coded for so long now and finally we would see some movement in their story.

Imagine my surprise when suddenly some people decided that Tommy was the best thing that had ever happened to Buck. It was all Tommy this, Tommy that, Tommy with the sun shining out of his ***. I was so confused. Even some of my Buddie mutuals who I had known for years, just kind of gave up on Buddie and started worshipping at the altar of Tommy Kinard.

And the fact that Lou started spouting his headcanons in those cameos definitely didn't help either. Some people really believe in those headcanons.

And listen, nothing against headcanons. I have some of my own. But there is a reason why they are called 'head'canons. It's because they are things you see and recognise in a character, but they aren't discussed in the show, so they aren't 'canon'. They remain 'fanon'.

Now, don't get me wrong, ship and let ship. But there is a difference between normal 'shipping' and liking the pair, and the total craziness the Tommy-hype has become.

I know a lot of people that are multi-shippers and I have mutuals who like BT as a transitional relationship, but ultimately still want Buddie. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the people who suddenly started talking down on Eddie as if he was treating Buck badly and how he was a bad father. And how, even if he were queer, Buck would never choose him over Tommy. Where did that come from? They didn't say that before. Why now?

And I ask the question: What is so special about Tommy? I keep seeing people that say Buck is in the best relationship ever. HOW? WHAT? WHERE? What do these people see that I don't see?

We have seen Tommy in a handful of scenes. In all of those scenes he has been dismissive, disrespectful and frankly not very interesting. There is no chemistry at all with Buck either. I mean, if there had been some palpable chemistry I might have liked it more, but it just seems as if Lou is going through the motions in those kisses. If they are such a great couple, where are the little couple things? Where is the handholding? The little in-jokes? Nothing! I mean, Oliver does his best to keep their scenes somewhat afloat, but Lou is clearly not even trying. So I truly do not understand this strange -almost obsessive and gatekeeping- behaviour when it comes to Lou and Tommy.

It's obvious-- and anyone with eyes can see this from miles away-- that Tommy is a narrative device to have Buck explore his bisexuality. Every single thing in the show, but also around the show, is pointing in that direction.

Think about it. There was no promotion whatsoever for BT, only for bi Buck and Buddie. They had one abysmal interview where they talked for 2 seconds about BT and Oliver looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. They have given Tommy no screentime whatsoever. He is only there when it is required for Buck's storyline. It practically screams: plot device.

Then we have Ryan giving interviews where he, once again, talks about Buck being a co-parent and how Eddie will explore himself in season 8. How he will push that refresh button and he will ultimately find the partner he needs. All gender neutral by the way.

I mean, look... I admit to having been delulu in the past over small things when it comes to Buddie. What can I say? It's been a long 6 years. But this? This is no longer about being delusional. This is full-blown 'in your face': BUDDIE IS HAPPENING! It's all right there when you look at it logically.

But yes, somehow, we are wrong because our ship isn't canon and it's apparantly homophobic to be against a canon ship?

Which... do these people know what fandom is actually about? It's about fictional people and we want to see these fictional people get interesting story arcs and we want some of them to end up together because they have such a great history and chemistry. Like Buddie.

So yes Nonny, I agree. And listen, I do too still fret sometimes that I might be seeing things that aren't there. It's in my nature as a libra to doubt everything.

But then I start putting all of the evidence in- and outside of the narrative together and... it can only lead to one thing: queer Eddie (which is about time) and eventually Buddie.

And imagine the payoff that will be. Imagine how the viewership will get a boost. So many more people would turn in. Bi Buck was big, but the fan favourite queer slow burn getting together after 7 seasons by then? The internet will explode. It will be epic.

For 6 seasons we have been rooting for these men to open their eyes and to see what is right in front of them. There were plans to go there, but FOX stopped it. Now they are on ABC and obviously ABC is okay with queer characters on their shows. I mean, look at 'Grey's anatomy'.

So yes, I proudly declare myself no longer delulu and 100% certain that Buddie is in the works. There is no more need for clown noses and clown cars. We are beyond that now. It's a matter of 'when', not 'if'.

Mind you, just my humble opinion here. But I stand with it.

[kemetic-dreams]

Afro-Jamaicans are Jamaicans of predominant African descent. They represent the largest ethnic group in the country.

The ethnogenesis of the African Jamaican people stemmed from the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th century, when enslaved Africans were transported as slaves to Jamaica and other parts of the Americas. During the period of British rule, slaves brought into Jamaica were primarily Akan, some of whom ran away and joined with Maroons and even took over as leaders

West Africans were enslaved in wars with other West African states and kidnapped by either African or European slavers. The most common means of enslaving an African was through abduction.

Based on slave ship records, enslaved Africans mostly came from the Akan people (notably those of the Asante Kotoko alliance of the 1720's: Asante, Bono, Wassa, Nzema and Ahanta) followed by Kongo people, Fon people, Ewe people, and to a lesser degree: Yoruba, Ibibio people and Igbo people. Akan (then called Coromantee) culture was the dominant African culture in Jamaica.

Originally in earlier British colonization, the island before the 1750s was in fact mainly Akan imported. However, between 1663 and 1700, only six per cent of slave ships to Jamaica listed their origin as the Gold Coast, while between 1700 and 1720 that figure went up to 27 per cent. The number of Akan slaves arriving in Jamaica from Kormantin ports only increased in the early 18th century. But due to frequent rebellions from the then known "Coromantee" that often joined the slave rebellion group known as the Jamaican Maroons, other groups were sent to Jamaica. The Akan population was still maintained, since they were the preference of British planters in Jamaica because they were "better workers", according to these planters. According to the Slave Voyages Archives, though the Igbo had the highest importation numbers, they were only imported to Montego Bay and St. Ann's Bay ports, while the Akan (mainly Gold Coast) were more dispersed across the island and were a majority imported to seven of 14 of the island's ports (each parish has one port).

Myal and Revival

Kumfu (from the word Akom the name of the Akan spiritual system) was documented as Myal and originally only found in books, while the term Kumfu is still used by Jamaican Maroons. The priest of Kumfu was called a Kumfu-man. In 18th-century Jamaica, only Akan gods were worshipped by Akan as well as by other enslaved Africans. The Akan god of creation, Nyankopong was given praise but not worshipped directly. They poured libation to Asase Ya, the goddess of the earth. But nowadays they are only observed by the Maroons who preserved a lot of the culture of 1700s Jamaica.

"Myal" or Kumfu evolved into Revival, a syncretic Christian sect. Kumfu followers gravitated to the American Revival of 1800 Seventh Day Adventist movement because it observed Saturday as god's day of rest. This was a shared aboriginal belief of the Akan people as this too was the day that the Akan god, Nyame, rested after creating the earth. Jamaicans that were aware of their Ashanti past while wanting to keep hidden, mixed their Kumfu spirituality with the American Adventists to create Jamaican Revival in 1860. Revival has two sects: 60 order (or Zion Revival, the order of the heavens) and 61 order (or Pocomania, the order of the earth). 60 order worships God and spirits of air or the heavens on a Saturday and considers itself to be the more "clean" sect. 61 order more deals with spirits of the earth. This division of Kumfu clearly shows the dichotomy of Nyame and Asase Yaa's relationship, Nyame representing air and has his 60 order'; Asase Yaa having her 61 order of the earth. Also the Ashanti funerary/war colours: red and black have the same meaning in Revival of vengeance. Other Ashanti elements include the use of swords and rings as means to guard the spirit from spiritual attack. The Asantehene, like the Mother Woman of Revival, has special two swords used to protect himself from witchcraft called an Akrafena or soul sword and a Bosomfena or spirit sword

Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patwa, is an English creole language spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. It is not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of English. The language developed in the 17th century, when enslaved peoples from West and Central Africa blended their dialect and terms with the learned vernacular and dialectal forms of English spoken: British Englishes (including significant exposure to Scottish English) and Hiberno English. Jamaican Patwa is a post-creole speech continuum (a linguistic continuum) meaning that the variety of the language closest to the lexifier language (the acrolect) cannot be distinguished systematically from intermediate varieties (collectively referred to as the mesolect) nor even from the most divergent rural varieties (collectively referred to as the basilect). Jamaicans themselves usually refer to their use of English as patwa, a term without a precise linguistic definition.

Jamaican Patois contains many loanwords of African origin, a majority of those etymologically from Gold Coast region (particularly of the Asante-Twi dialect of the Akan language of Ghana).

Most Jamaican proverbs are of Asante people, while some included other African proverbs

Jamaican mtDNA

A DNA test study submitted to BMC Medicine in 2012 states that "....despite the historical evidence that an overwhelming majority of slaves were sent from the Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa near the end of the British slave trade, the mtDNA haplogroup profile of modern Jamaicans show a greater affinity with groups found in the present-day Gold Coast region Ghana....this is because Africans arriving from the Gold Coast may have thus found the acclimatization and acculturation process less stressful because of cultural and linguistic commonalities, leading ultimately to a greater chance of survivorship and a greater number of progeny."

More detailed results stated: "Using haplogroup distributions to calculate parental population contribution, the largest admixture coefficient was associated with the Gold Coast(0.477 ± 0.12 or 59.7% of the Jamaican population with a 2.7 chance of Pygmy and Sahelian mixture), suggesting that the people from this region may have been consistently prolific throughout the slave era on Jamaica. The diminutive admixture coefficients associated with the Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa (0.064 ± 0.05 and 0.089 ± 0.05, respectively) is striking considering the massive influx of individuals from these areas in the waning years of the British Slave trade. When excluding the pygmy groups, the contribution from the Bight of Biafra and West-central rise to their highest levels (0.095 ± 0.08 and 0.109 ± 0.06, respectively), though still far from a major contribution. When admixture coefficients were calculated by assessing shared haplotypes, the Gold Coast also had the largest contribution, though much less striking at 0.196, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.189 to 0.203. When haplotypes are allowed to differ by one base pair, the Jamaican matriline shows the greatest affinity with the Bight of Benin, though both Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa remain underrepresented. The results of the admixture analysis suggest the mtDNA haplogroup profile distribution of Jamaica more closely resembles that of aggregated populations from the modern-day Gold Coast region despite an increasing influx of individuals from both the Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa during the final years of trading enslaved Africans.

The aforementioned results apply to subjects whom have been tested. Results also stated that African Jamaicans (that make up more than 90% of the population) on an average have 97.5% of African MtDNA and very little European or Asian ancestry could be found. Both ethnic and racial genetic results are based on a low sample of 390 Jamaican persons and limited regional representation within Jamaica. As Afro-Jamaicans are not genetically homogeneous, the results for other subjects may yield different results.

[geminid]

some thoughts about things related to leo and takumi. before that tho i got a new drawing tablet but need a new desk chair so ive been forcefully removed from drawing for the time being.

I don't know why, but I've been thinking about this a lot recently, and I wanted to put it somewhere because of. some reason. To get it off my chest maybe. But anyway, if you've gone through the contents of my blog you might have noticed that I just don't draw Leo and Takumi with their sons. And for some reason the irrational part of me thinks that people will really hate me over this so I hope you can read the rest with an open mind.

Generally I draw them while they're young adults, and either before they have a relationship or still at the beginning of their relationship. I think this is the most fun period to draw about. I also don't really consider the baby realms as part of my headcanon, because honestly, theyre ridiculous.

But there's actually more to it than that. I don't really like talking about myself so it pains me to do this. I have a very fraught relationship with my parents and a lot of my struggles stem from that. This may be typical of an artist who draws anime guys on tumblr dot com. I think for others they might find it cathartic to explore fiction where there is a loving parent child relationship, but I'm the kind of extreme who just doesn't really enjoy parent child stories in general. Usually it doesn't really matter because my ships don't have canon kids but fates is a special situation so it makes me feel bad.

I actually just. Can't do it. When I try to think about Leo and Takumi as parents there's just a big block that forms in my mind. If I try to force past that block I feel nauseous and want to throw up. You might think this is dramatic and that's because it is but unfortunately it is what happens.

I do like Forrest and Kisaragi as characters, don't get me wrong. I love the fates cast and they both have really fun interactions with other characters. I also am able to S support Leo and Takumi off to whatever female character in game and pick up their kids from baby realm daycare. The issue really only pops up when it involves more than that, my headcanons or my fanwork, stuff that is more personal to me. Please do not take any of this as a dislike of either of them or a disdain towards the idea of leo/takumi as parents, because it's a personal problem I have and nothing to do with anyone else.

I guess I'm sorry that I have to leave out such important things. I am a person so I'm bound to change and heal and grow and maybe I'll get past this but I can't rush it and don't know if that will happen before I move on to other things. I will say that I already enjoy what I do now and I think what I make is worth it for me regardless.

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 1

Propaganda under the cut

Christine Canigula

This has enraged me for YEARS. She is constantly sidelined in the fandom in favor of the main m/m ship which itself its fine but the way people treat her drives me NUTS. When I actually was in the fandom, Consistently! her crush on the main character which is a CENTRAL fucking plot point is just explained away to make room for yaoi. If they even have that kind of decency. Like 99% of the fics just say "oh! she's a lesbian actually totally this was comphet im not a misogynist" or "she's Actually Aroace" and not ponder on the optics of sanitizing the CANON fucking attraction of a chubby easian girl. It's sososo transparent and another fucking example of she's actually the Mom friend! or other annoying racist and misogynistic tropes.

She likes play rehearsal. She's the love interest of the main character, Jeremy. Jeremy also has a best friend, Michael, whom he's usually shipped with. And since she's the canonical love interest and as such often gets in the way of their beloved ship. They are very creative in finding the ways to get rid of her to ship Michael with Jeremy, ranging from making her asexual(because ace people can't date apparently), completely kicking her out of the last two songs of the musical and putting Michael in her place, to vilifying her and claiming she was never interested in Jeremy in the first place, despite musical explicitly saying the opposite.

Love interest of the main character Jeremy Heere and therefore stands in the way of the fandom's most popular ship, boyf reinds. Being specifically a love interest we don't get. A whole lot of her but she's fun! She's a theatre kid. She is silly and goofy. Also has a one off line in one of the songs that mentions she has ADD. Idk what I'm supposed to say really and I'm always bad at talking about characters so.

Han Sooyoung

han sooyoung is one of the main trio protagonists yet people constantly ignore her in order to ship the other two males despite the fact that they are all doomed by the narrative TOGETHER!!! fanon content is even worse because it either slaps a lesbian sticker onto her to shittily write her off in fanfic OR they make her so one dimensional its like a cardboard stand in. han sooyoung arguably has a more important/interesting dynamic with the main male protagonist yet everyone ignores her because they want their uwu gay babies IM SO SICK OF ORV FANS

Dokja and Joonghyuk are a very popular ship (rightfully so, i get it) but usually Sooyoung is seen as in the way of their relationship or not as valued as the other two even though her place in the story and relationship with the other characters is just as strong. Recently there was a post on twitter being rude about people who ship her and Joonghyuk (which is a super valid ship) and i saw a lot of hate that i believe just stems from her getting “in the way” of a yaoi ship. 

99% of that kind of symbolic fanart REFUSES. to acknowledge her existence man. even though she is part of the main TRIO man

[kataraslove]

I just stumbled across your acc and I gotta say, I agree with alotta ur takes

Ur sooo well spoken and I really enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions

Katara is one of my favorite characters and it makes me really happy to see someone appreciate her and her writing

Ngl a lot of atla fans r lowkey braindead so ur acc is pretty refreshing

Thanks for posting!! 🩷

thank you! 🩷 your words are too kind. i appreciate it.

i did mention this before, but this blog stemmed kind of entirely out of spite. i was sick and tired of fandom on here telling me that there was only one way to interpret and enjoy my favourite character, dictating who i could or could not ship her with and how much of a stan that made me. it’s not an experience just unique to the atla fandom, of course. it’s becoming something more apparent nowadays especially, the ways in which multiple readings and interpretations of a character is heavily discouraged by fandom in favour of just one.

it’s baffling how, for so many years, there was a strict binaric interpretation of katara’s character, with 0 being non-canon and 1 being completely in favour of all things canon. either you had to vehemently agree with everything that bryke wrote for katara’s within atla and post-canon, to the point where i have seen people defend the lack of statues of her as “oh, she probably didn’t want one anyway,” (NO!!) or you had to have deep-rooted anger and rejection for all things that were done to her story, in the guise of katara deserving better.

katara does deserve better narratively, but NOT in the ways that the tumblr fandom thinks she should have. not in the ways that she should be ambassador to the fire nation, or become firelady (a racist depiction in fanon and nothing but a decorative title in canon) and live out the rest of her life by zuko’s side, serving and prioritizing zuko’s nation.

“but wouldn’t it be empowering if katara sat on the throne of her oppressors and got to dictate - “ no. it’s not. stop advocating for that type of ending for women from oppressed and marganized groups. stop acting like that is the ideal future that katara wanted this whole time, that ruling as part of a foreign monarchy that decimated your people and your culture is the ultimate threshold for liberation.

i’ve seen people who claim to take a doylist perspective for critique of atla (read: kataang)’s writing completely lose all comprehension when it comes to critically assessing post-canon zutara. by that i mean, if we continue with the writing direction that we saw for all of the female atla characters in the sequel series, a zutara endgame would position katara in a worse outcome than she got narratively. but you tell anyone that and it’s an instant “zuko would have given her 10 statues!!”

but most importantly, nothing has radicalized me more over this year than seeing the “katara deserves better (in the form of zuko)” crowd, the same crowd who is currently dreading any form of fixing or retcons from avatar studios in upcoming content, defend the hell out of natla katara’s writing. the very same people who were praising katara’s arc to the stars, stating that it was nearly complete until the two grown men decided to pair her up with aang and ruined all at the end.

well, what about the group of zutara shippers in the natla writer’s room who handed her everything in the narrative, who removed her flaws, her anger, her compassion, who stripped her down to everything except hope, all in the name so that she wouldn’t appear unlikable to audiences. i mean, that tremendously backfired for them, because now the young actress who plays katara is getting hate spewed at her for failing to portray katara interestingly, when the problem has always been the shit writing.

anyway, i appreciate this message! glad i could be of service and it’s nice that you’re a zuko fan who ships kataang! lots of people who love zuko do.

“a lot of atla fans are braindead” LMAO you can say that again!!!

[littlemisssatanist]

on the topic of alicent's sexuality

ok ok so this is a little late but if im going to be honest, ive completely lost any interest in hotd when the first episode came out and its taken a little bit to get back into it. i already mentioned this in a twitter gc when the first alicole leaks came out but i wanted to put it into better words for tumblr.

foreword: i am a lesbian.

a lot of people on twitter, specifically rhaenicents, were up in arms about the alicole leaks because they couldnt understand the idea that alicent isnt a lesbian. now, i understand having a headcanon and it being disproven by canon. i understand the struggles rhaenicents went through against daemyras when the first season came out, because i was a rhaenicent also. im not a rhaenicent anymore (id call myself more interested in alicole, but im still a multishipper).

however, the idea that theres no way in hell alicent could ever be bisexual really rubs me the wrong way. i wont even get into all the undercover biphobia that had been going on on twitter when these leaks first came out, but the fact that a woman fucking a man suddenly means theres no way she could ever be queer speaks volumes about how the larger hotd fandom views the bisexual community. this is already a very large and ongoing problem within the community, the fight against homophobes and biphobes that you 'have to choose a side' and that if you have a straight-passing relationship automatically means you are straight. the idea that alicent can only be a lesbian or straight pushes this bad notion further.

now, lets get into why rhaenicents are so desperate to have alicent be a lesbian. i get it. you want lgbt representation in mainstream media, i do too. i want to see myself represented in media, i place headcanons about many characters sexualities all the time. the difference is that i understand the difference between headcanon and canon. imo, many rhaenicents desperately want lesbian alicent to be a canon thing, instead of settling for headcanons and fanfiction and fanon. i understand that too. i understand the want to have canon lesbian representation; however they have to come to the realization that hotd was never meant to be lgbt representation. laenor's storyline was included because it was in the original book, and it was stated outright that he was gay. rhaenicent was always the make of the show, it was never stated to be canon in either show OR book, and thats why it will never be canon.

im not saying that to be mean. im saying that because thats how it is. hotd is not supposed to be lgbt representation, its meant to be an adaptation of fire and blood (and i have my own thoughts about how well thats going, but thats not the point of this post).

its ok for things to be headcanons. in 2023, the most popular ship on ao3 was steddie (steve harrington/eddie munson) from stranger things. is it canon? no!!! its the most popular ship because people like seeing gay people in media, regardless of whether theyre canon or not. sasunaru is the most popular ship in naruto, and theyre not canon either! they know its ok for things not to be canon; thats why fanon exists in the first place. i think rhaenicents should get used to this. this is what fandom is like. im not sure what else to tell you about that.

theres a particular argument of rhaenicents i want to talk about. 'alicents struggles in the show reflect the struggles of lesbians and comphet in the modern world.' now. as a lesbian who has struggled with comphet in the past, this argument actually annoys me a lot. alicents struggles (being forced into a marriage she didnt want, forced to have children she didnt want) stem from the fact that she is a woman in westerosi society, not because she is a lesbian.

and sure! you can headcanon that alicent is a lesbian with comphet, but the problem is that: we dont have enough insight into alicents head to be able to tell the difference between comphet and misogyny. comphet is a very personal struggle, and its different for everyone. hotd focuses not only on alicent, and we simply do not see enough of her thoughts to be able to tell.

anyways, i guess my point is this: you can headcanon whatever you want. however, the moment you start being angry at other people for viewing things differently than you is the moment i dont really care about what you think. so youre a rhaenicent?? great! wonderful! i hope you have fun. you think alicoles are stupid and attack them for shipping? i think you have absolutely no experience in fandom. if a female/male ship is enough to make you fall apart the moment you see it, then youre not going to have a lot of fun being in fandoms later on.

[bumblebyaf]

the pricefield breakup was good

just finished double exposure and while the game had many flaws i entirely disagree with one of the biggest complaints i’ve seen both before and after the games release: the pricefield breakup. in fact, the pricefield breakup is my favorite part of the game and one of the most fascinating character writing decisions that defined a lot max’s character for me…so here’s my essay on why max & chloe could never work long term, the breakup was incredibly natural, and how its the only way for both of them to move on. don’t bother reading of course if you don’t want to hear any of these opinions <3 

to start off the bat (and this will be the paragraph people hate the most): max & chloe are one of the weakest lis pairings (and again this is obviously all my opinion). they honestly never even had that much chemistry to me and i probably never would have shipped them had the game come out later but since the game came out when it did and it was the first gay game i’d ever played and they were like the only gay rep i knew it was brilliant & i think nostalgia for this clouds a lot of what people see when they think of pricefield but objectively they never make sense as a pairing to me and i find their scenes together quite awkward or boring. chloe is an asshole to max throughout the whole game (and i am a huge chloe supporter, i understand absolutely where all of her anger and issues were stemming from and it made sense!) and max is either a pushover who just lets her do it or like entirely indifferent to it/ignores it i guess depending on how you play; and max is shitty too i mean we know she ghosted chloe for years and then went back to blackwell for like a month or whatever without ever looking up chloe and who knows if she ever actually would have. which like max doesn’t have an obligation to do that but she clearly wanted to after she meets chloe again and then she spends so much of the game thinking about how chloe replaced her with rachel when max left first and trying to just slot herself back into the exact spot she left (also chloe did not replace her anyway they were entirely different relationships). (unrelated but this is why i hate when people have max add her name to the wall in the junkyard hide out lol) max spends the entire game watching chloe die in several different ways and trying desperately to keep her alive which has got to make a crazy trauma bond/attachment and honestly aside from one or two very obviously written “gay” scenes chloe barely registers as romantically interested in max to me (which…yeah chloe is spending the whole game going through a lot of stuff!) right up until the end where chloe realizes how hard max has been trying to keep her alive/max has been helping her with all the struggles she’s having this week/backing her up with her family drama etc during a time where chloe doesn’t really think anyone cares about her…which i don’t know again seems like a trauma bond to me! and then max sacrifices an entire town for her? of course they get together. you also have to remember that this game takes place during like the WORST week of these two young girls lives it’s just crazy to me how people define their entire relationship/personalities by this time period 

also like i know a lot of LIS fans don’t love BTS because its a different studio and the original LIS writers never wanted a prequel & that for some reason a lot of LIS fans think rachel is the devils fucking spawn BUT thats a different argument (bts being my second favorite game & rachel my third favorite character) but after watching chloe in bts (still with Issues and trauma but less heavy and more shared) and seeing her fall in love with rachel there i could never see her with max the same way

also to be clear i’m not saying at all that i think max & chloe don’t care for each other deeply; i do believe they love each other my argument is just that this relationship could never really last long term and mostly stemmed from the trauma they were going through which brings me to the main part:

max & chloe breaking up makes perfect sense for their characters, especially the reason given as well. chloe telling max that she wants to move forward and live in the future but max is always looking to the past- this single line sold me on the break up immediately i found it fascinating! max does live in the past! its her entire power! her entire game is about rewinding over and over to make the perfect moment etc. max’s character is constantly being brought into question when it comes to how she uses her powers even when she only ever tries to use them for good reason (in particularly i really like the subtle way the comics handled this too, BY CHLOE, but i know not everyone likes the comics either and they’re obviously not canon to the games since they contradict double exposure lore as well. but in the comics an alternate timeline chloe criticizes max on how reflexively she uses her powers to save/help people without considering how rewinding a moment affects everyone around them as well- and how sometimes things go wrong but can work out anyway. this is proven by us also following a second timeline without max there to rewind and we see how those characters navigate the issues max erased and in some instances they turn out even better and i like a happier healthier chloe having this perspective).  i feel like the chloe we meet in life is strange is so specific to that one game (she is going through so much active trauma and it is literally like the worst week of her life) but the pieces of her i’ve seen outside of that game show me how much her character can change when given space to breathe so i don’t think its fair to hold her to just that week. i can very easily see how chloe would want to put everything behind her and try to fully move on/away from everything that has happened and this being the only way she feels she can move forward- similarly how max could spend everyday stuck living with the choices she made and the effects its had on her, how much harder it is for her to separate and move on. 

i also think it makes perfect sense that chloe could grow some resentment towards max for her mothers death- i’m sure chloe wouldn’t act on this but i can see them both knowing it’s there and chloe not really being able to help feeling it. i mean chloe really is fully accepting of her death in life is strange and its max who makes the choice to keep her alive (and yes it’s shitty of chloe to make it seem like a choice at all but that’s also just like…the game having to give the player a choice too). chloe has to live with knowing her mother and everyone she knew died so she could live and max has to live with knowing she directly made that choice and both of them have to just…know and live and think about this everyday they’re with each other how can they move on? is that not suffocating? with some space they can at least maybe start to really separate from it 

i also think chloe’s implied insecurities around max rewinding parts of their relationship also make sense to be honest…max spends the entire game trying to fix every interaction to be the right one like i KNOW she would rewind mistakes because i DID that as her; and maybe you can say max would never use her powers again after the storm but to be honest i don’t think thats true…i think she would never redo grand scale things again (except i guess she does in double exposure) but i just don’t know if i believe she could resist the temptation to keep her and chloe’s interactions perfect- at least in the beginning. i’m not saying she DOES but i GET it- i understand chloe’s paranoia (if it is just paranoia and not fact) because i don’t think i could trust either because i also understand MAX. max who killed an entire town for chloe & their relationship- wouldn’t you feel like you had to keep doing everything in your power to make sure it works? to keep it good, to keep chloe happy?  it’s a really complicated feeling for both of them i’m sure

and i think chloe is right when she says max is always living in the past because we literally see her doing it during the game. she’s still journaling to chloe, she keeps chloe in her wallet & on her wall, we keep having flashbacks to arcadia, max keeps a box of arcadia with her (even though we know she’s also been traveling/on the road most of her adult life), she’s never discussed any part of her past with her friends, her photography focus is about the lonely and abandoned. the entirely of double exposure is about max learning how to really stop living in the past and the harm it could do (through what happened to maya and safi and how its still happening four years later because no one ever really dealt with it etc) and that’s why this undercurrent and the pricefield breakup is my absolute favorite part of this game and the best part of it

i also think it’s really worth pointing out what a lot of people seem to have missed (in the complaints i did see); max & chloe didn’t have some horrible explosive ending and they hate each other forever now and the two are forever ruined or whatever…chloe simply saw she could never truly move forward with max and maybe more importantly she saw max could never move forward with her (how could max move forward from the worst choice she’s ever had to make in her life when she’s also sharing a bed with it?) chloe still loves and cares for her, max still loves her, they could be on friendly terms very easily- in fact i think the only reason they don’t talk right now is because of max (which is for the best during this time i think anyway) and chloe would be absolutely open to their friendship whenever max is ready. chloe wants the best for both of them & chloe’s text at the end of the game proves she’s still thinking of max & open to talking again whenever max is. max also has feeling by the end of the game that’s ready to really start moving forward from arcadia now and one day she will be ready to confront chloe again and i think whenever that happens the two will be really good friends again- like they always were.

[catgirl-catboy]

I don't think its possible to be antiship and not be selfish.

Every antishipper has to draw the line between what is okay and not okay to write about SOMEWHERE, and from what I've seen, they either use their tastes or what society deems as okay.

If they want to censor based on personal discomfort, the selfishness becomes obvious. For every person that finds a trope uncomfortable, there is another person whose life is improved by reading/writing those stories. And a third person that finds a "harmless" trope JUST AS UNCOMFORTABLE. Why does that first person's needs take precedence?

And if you do it based off cultural norms, thats awfully ethnocentric. A lot of your cultural taboos are based on where and when you grew up. Allow me to beat the dead horse that is Kaeluc for a minute. You think sworn brothers are siblings BECAUSE of your western cultural context, and the squick reaction you feel stems from that. A lot of people raised in different cultures don't see it that way. A further subsection of those people would find you hating on the ship uncomfortable due to the sworn brothers trope's history with queer subtext.

So why are they wrong, and you right?

[sammyunhinged]

This fandom is so divided right now that it’s stressing me out.

Everyone is either pro- or anti-Tommy, pro- or anti-Bucktommy, or loves/hates Lou. It’s the only reason I was hoping bucktommy would break up in E10—I just didn’t want the shipping war to continue over hiatus. However, I’m a multishipper who enjoys bucktommy, especially all the amazing fan works people have been making, and has loved buddie for years. I would like for each side to take a moment to understand the other’s perspective. This is my likely futile attempt to get people to do so…

For the bucktommy shippers:

I need you to respect those who can’t forgive Tommy yet. Just because Hen and Chimney seem to have forgiven him, doesn’t mean that the marginalized communities that this character has been prejudiced against on screen need to forgive him too. He’s been misogynistic, racist, and homophobic (which yes likely stemmed from internalized homophobia but that doesn’t excuse his behavior).

I need you to realize that so far we’ve gotten nothing from canon except a couple kisses and few brief conversations. People are allowed to be upset with the writers for not giving us the potential this relationship has, or not be on board yet because canon hasn’t given them reason to, or simply just not love Tommy and therefore not love their relationship. Unlike Taylor who got lots of on screen development and backstory, Tommy hasn’t had that yet. It may take some time for people to get there, if they get there at all. It doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to ship it.

I also need you to be aware that a huge portion of that shipping side of the fandom consistently hates on Buddie. Plus, a significant number of people have just started watching the show and jumped into S7 without context and so so many—honestly the loudest portion of the shippers—are fetishizing gay men and are clearly just here to watch two hot white men kiss on screen. It’s disturbing and understandably turns people off to the shippers and often the ship. Fetishization of queerness is something fandom in general has been dealing with for decades and just because it’s 2024 doesn’t mean it’s still not happening. Just because you haven’t seen it also doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Also I’m not saying it doesn’t exist on the buddie side of fandom—it absolutely does—it’s just very loud with the bucktommy shippers atm.

I need some of y’all to understand that the hate for Lou at the moment is also understandable. There are some fat-phobic, misogynistic, and racist things still posted on his Instagram from about a decade ago and while this was a decade ago and people can change and grow, the fact that they’re still up says things about a person. Until they are acknowledged, disliking him and not supporting him is completely valid. The exact same goes for Ryan Guzman, but that’s a whole other conversation.

Edit: as of June 3, Lou Ferringo Jr. has proven, through a reply to someone calling him out for a racist Instagram post, that he is still racist and ableist. He replied to the person on Twitter with an ableist joke and then deleted it when he got shit for it.

For the buddie shippers:

There needs to be more respect the art of Multishipping in general, especially by younger fans lately. It’s the heart of fandom. Just because you don’t get bucktommy doesn’t mean others can’t see the potential for this relationship to be interesting plot-wise and great for Buck personally. Someone enjoying a ship you hate doesn’t mean they’re a horrible person. Also so many people love both ships and truly just want the best for Buck. These are the people that are so happy for him and want this relationship to be happy and healthy and meaningful for Buck.

But I also need you to be sympathetic toward those who jumped onboard with bucktommy because they’ve been burned by queerbait too often to ship a non-canon, bait-y ship like Buddie. No matter how much you love the show and love Buddie, you have to admit there’s been relationship baiting between them. I shipped destiel and merthur and all those things too. I get it. I need others to respect that the peak of queerbaiting was a very difficult time for fandom. It’s left some people unable to get on board.

I also need y’all to stop speculating about Lou and Oliver’s personal relationship and whether or not Oliver hates Lou. It’s strange, parasocial, and speculating about people’s lives is never appropriate. At least don’t do it online and in public forums. Talk with your friends, dm people, do whatever you want in private, but in public, let’s just leave them be. They are actors with a job. Let them do that job in peace.

I’ll probably get some flack but I consider myself to very middle of the road about all of this, a space I often find myself in fandoms. Maybe because I’ve been here so long. I so often just want people to chill out. It’s fandom. It’s supposed to be fun. Have fun!!

[corviids]

Since you’re one of the most prolific content creators for Lucemond, and you always answer your asks so eloquently, I was wondering if you could share some insight. When Aemond and Lucerys were first introduced and people latched onto them as a ship, it was easy to see why this pair seemed fated. Mirror images, Shakespearean tragedy vibes, second son syndrome, etc. it’s always been easy to see in both canon universe and the fandom why Aemond is so tied to Luke. He’s obsessed with him for obvious reasons (eye!) and jealous of Luke’s status so it’s easy for fans to make the jump from hatred to obsession to lust to love (be it toxic or wholesome in their headcanons). But the more I think on it, what do you think would draw Luke to feel the same in any regard to Aemond? Aemond is both pretty pathetic in the book and in the show. Authors and artists have their own takes on the two falling for each other mutually because the nature of fanfic and headcanons allow for it. But lowkey I can’t really see Lucerys actually becoming interested in Aemond while vice versa it’s SO easy to see Aemond falling for Luke. Could you give your own insight on why you think either show Luke or book Luke would become interested in Aemond in any sexual/romantic capacity? Asking as someone who is trying to find the logic in this pairing because they trying to take a stab at writing for them. It’s so easy for me to conceptualize reasons why Aemond is obsessed/in love with Luke, but I’m struggling with canon reasons why Luke would be interested in Aemond. Luke has everything Aemond does not making him a giant fixture in Aemond’s desire for glory—while on the other hand Aemond is just some dude who Luke stole as eye from and then never talked to for a decade (at best he’s a rival?). I know this is also difficult to answer because the characterization of book Luke and show luke are so different so seeing the necessary requirements of him falling for Aemond are vastly different too. Thoughts? Basically me asking you to explain to me how/why Lucemond works so well despite my own difficulty in seeing Luke’s interest in Aemond. Thank you!

hmmm i’m trying the best way to articulate this cuz you ask a good question and i wanna give an answer that isn’t just “targaryens horny for each other”

i don’t think luke would be attracted/want aemond for anything he could “give him”. like you said, aemond doesn’t have much to offer beyond his literal self. i think lucemond works specifically because of their unique dynamic which cannot be applied to their other ships. luke, as a person/character, is mostly characterized by his innocent bravery, vulnerability, and insecurity — which aemond is directly linked to a lot of those feelings in luke. personally, lucemond (in writings) only works when there is proper build up to it (so no real insta-love).

to me, luke’s attraction to aemond is an evolution of his fear and dislike of him. given luke’s upbringing and the relationships he’s had as an example, i envision him as being weirdly receptive to,,, non-traditional courtship and behavior. i don’t think he’d go out of his way to initially seek aemond out (i’m a proponent of aemond is down bad to an atrocious degree, as evidenced by his canon obsessive tendencies) but when it’s initiated, he kinda likes it. luke is much more emotionally driven. i don’t think his attraction to aemond would be for rational or even reasons that can be entirely understood and i think that’s the beauty of the ship.

but again it comes down to how you write to that point! this is just a bit of my own thought process when it comes to writing luke. my tldr is that i think luke’s interest in aemond would stem as a response to a mixture of familiarity, fear/caution, as well as thrill. (there’s also the fact that i think luke has “i can fix him” energy. not necessarily optimistic but something that stems from a feeling of never being good enough and needing to prove he can be)

[the-solar-system52]

Earthspark S3 synopsis spoilers!!

Rotten Tomatoes leaked the titles and synopsizes for episodes 2-7 of Season 3 and I have opinions.

First of all, I JINXED IT??? Yesterday I was literally writing a post complaining about how little info we got about S3 compared to the other seasons before their release. I was nearly done it but got lazy and I saved it as a draft to finish later, cue 1 AM at night when I decide to check again Rotten Tomatoes for any updates, AND THERE WERE NEW EPISODES?? I just manifested them into existence with the power of hyperfixation I guess. So, you're welcome guys. (Although it is pretty cool that I discovered it myself because that usually doesn't happen to me since I don't use Reddit or Discord, it also signifies that the mainstream Transformers fandom doesn't really seem to care about Earthspark that much anymore considering the fact they aren't interested on reporting on new leaks. And that sucks, but I can't exactly blame them.)

But also you're not welcome because wtf are these synopsizes. I'm trying my best to be positive and stuff, and I know we should probably wait for the episodes to come out before we judge too hard, but these descriptions are definitely raising some red flags. There only seems to be 7 episodes which is very disappointing and doesn't seem like enough time to wrap up all the plot points from S2, plus the new S3 plot points they are introducing. Not to mention that there seems to be one or two filler episodes, which doesn't seem like a lot for most shows but it matters when you have such limited time. Filler can be good when it is well-written, helps develop the characters, and doesn't take time away from the rest of the plot. S1 filler was enjoyable because it had these qualities, but S2 filler however....... I don't think so. Not only is the writing just plain bad, but the writers almost seem adverse to developing their characters because they don't want to break their 'good guys good/bad guys bad' formula and need everything to reset to the status quo by the end of the episode, rendering the filler basically pointless. (See, the end of Togetherness) So not only is the filler getting in the way of the plot, but I'm not entirely sure it'll even be enjoyable.

I don't know if we are going to be getting more episodes after this. Some say we are going to get more batches, some say we are going to get longer specials instead, and some say Earthspark is cancelled and won't be getting any continuation. I think we probably will get some sort of finale, but either way, now is not the time for the writers to start messing around. There are plenty plot points from S2 that need to be wrapped up (The Decepticons, Terrantronus, The Chaos Terrans, The Quintessions) and yet they are already adding some more plot points for S3. The descriptions don't really mention any of the S2 plot points, and obviously we should wait till the episodes actually release to see if they do, but I'm still a bit skeptical. But these S3 plot points do seem interesting so lets talk about them.

IZZY'S EVIL?? Or a shapeshifter Quintession thing?? I'm gonna be real I did not see that coming and I don't really know how to feel. It's more interesting than her just being a designated crush character but I'm still just not really invested enough in her and Robby's relationship to care. I wonder if she's actually a shapeshifting Quintession or just a human working for the Quintession's? (I'm sorta hoping for the first thing tbh since we don't need more human screentime) I also wonder if she'll just be pure evil or if she'll be redeemed by the power of straight people or something. Imagine if some random girl gets redeemed but not any of the Decepticons, that'd be really funny.

There's this new plot point called 'The Hate Plague' which seems to be some sort of disease that drives bots into a rage. It pops up after EP4, right after The Autobot Ship (probably containing Prowl) crash lands. My guess is that the disease stems from Prowl's ship, and also probably has something to do with the Quintession's big plan. That either means the ship had a Quintession stowaway or some other substance that the Quintession's planted there that somehow caused the disease. There is also the possibility that it has something to do with The Chaos Energy from the Chaos Terrans since they are associated with rage?? But we'll have to see. I think the plot will follow The Autobots slowly being taken over by the disease, making them dangerous to the Maltos, leaving them all by themself to find someway to reverse it's affects and bring them back while also fighting the enemy that wants to take Robby and Mo's power for their own- wait a sec HAVEN'T WE DONE THIS BEFORE?? Isn't just the GHOST mind control all over again??? Sure, the Hate Plague makes them more enraged whilst the Mind Control made them emotionless, but it will still lead to them fighting against the Maltos right? It just feels way too similar. And the lines "she (Twitch) realizes she may be the only one who can help" and "Prowl recruits Thrash and Robby to investigate the source of the mysterious Hate Plague" sort of implies The Terran's can't be infected? Which seems worse since it means the Terrans won't benefit by whatever potential character development the Hate Plague could bring. But I don't want to jump to conclusions. I think it would be more interesting if the 'Hate Plague' didn't just make the bots mindless enraged savages, but instead actually make them more hateful. The plague clouds their view and makes them see the negative in everything, but they still retain their cognitive abilities, specifically the ability to talk. This could lead to interesting character dynamics being challenged since everyone would be arguing with each other and their previously-hidden opinions would come to light. This would still install conflict in the Autobot base but it wouldn't make them just mindless enemies and could actually lead to really interesting dialogue and situations. Think of The Spell of Shattered Sight from Once Upon a Time. It would put the Autobots out of commission and they wouldn't be able to help the Terrans but it wouldn't lead to them mindlessly attacking them without a reason, so it wouldn't be too similar to the GHOST mind control. But I'm not sure if they'll go for this angle since the S2 writers don't seem to be a fan of 'complicated characters' and exposing some of the flaws of the Autobots via The Hate Plague would destroy their 'good guys good/bad guys bad' narrative. It's easier to just turn The Autobots into mindless monsters to fight the Terrans for awhile. It'll also probably lead to some "i know your still in there 🥺" fights, which may be good character development if they are written well but they will probably end up being really corny. Like I said, we've done this all before.

No mention of The Chaos Terrans guys. I'm not doing well. We don't have the synposis for EP1 which would be the one they are most likely to be mentioned in, but the fact that they are not even alluded to in the other descriptions has me worried. I don't care if they stay pure evil, I also don't care if they speedrun a poorly written redemption arc, I JUST WANT THEM TO BE ALIVE 😭😭 (istfg if they try to redeem Starscream after what he did......)

The episode I'm most excited for is probably EP4. The plot of going into the Decepticon base and "friendships being tested" might mean we'll be getting some character development between The Autobots and/or The Decepticons? I have a soft spot for snow day episodes, so I'll probably enjoy EP 5 as well. The description of EP6 sort of made it seem like they would go on a full on investigation, so I think it would be funny if it was styled like a Noir Dectective film lmao (idk Prowl's character that well, is that something he would do?)

Either way, I will stay cautiously optimistic and be on the lookout for anymore leaks!

[nerd-chocolate]

Rosy Cosmetic Content

If you’re wondering what that means, it's just my ship name for Zoé x Cosette since Cosette does makeup and Zoé has a flower t-shirt, even if it isn’t a rose, plus they have pink colors in their designs, I think it cute. There’s also Zosette which my friends, @msweebyness and @imsparky2002, came up with the name, I think. The name is pretty cute for the two and I do like it. Sorry for that tangent but yes, I’m doing some content for the two after wanting to for the longest time now and I’m planning on doing more soon. I just love these two so much and I want to share that a lot more on my Tumblr. So you guys not only get two different ship charts of them but the shipping questions (which I linked below, so you guys can use it if you want)! Now let’s begin!

Zosette Shipping Charts:

Rosy Cosmetic Shipping Questions:

1. Who makes the other blush all the time and who finds it adorable?

Zoé blushes when Cosette caresses their face when it looks beautiful, or generally anything Cosette does. Cosette blushes when Zoé is generally doing anything (especially when Zoé is himself) and when she is affectionate with it. Not that Zoé isn’t normally like that, is that Cosette is not used to it. They both find each other’s blushes adorable.

2. Who sings in the shower?

I feel like Cosette would sing in the shower more often because it is way more fun for them. It is not like Zoé wouldn’t do that either, she does it less frequently.

3. What would their song to each other be?

Zoé: Monster from Adventure Time: Distant Lands - Obsidian and If I Could Tell Her from Dear Evan Hansen

Cosette: P.U.N.K. Girl by Heavenly and When He Sees Me from Waitress

4. Who embarrasses the other in public with kisses and pet names?

It’s Zoé, especially when he notices that Cosette barely gets any affection from their family. They are calling it, honeycake, little angel, Cosey, and giving it all the kisses it deserves.

5. Who curses, and who reprimands the other for it?

Both of them would curse, and Cosette would do it a bit more. That being said, I fully believe Zoé would curse especially if she was mad or/and no longer calm.

6. What small quirks do they love about each other?

Zoé thinks it’s cute when Cosette giggles a bit and does small kicks when they kiss and their eyes get a sparkle to them when they’re happy. When Zoé balls her fists in excitement and enjoys or her freckles become more visible when she’s blushed (especially if Cosette kisses her), Cosette loves it.

7. Who makes the other laugh more?

Cosette would make Zoé laugh with all the dorky jokes and silly faces they make and when they roast the heck out of Audrey sometimes.

8. Who gets jealous more easily?

Cosette would get jealous a little more easily especially before the two started dating. It stems from the fact that she thinks Zoé can do a lot better and masks it as best she can. Luckily, they don’t get those thoughts as much anymore.

9. How did they know they were right for each other?

After Zoé moved to Paris, it just became more clear to both of them that they love each other a lot since I believe that they unexpectedly fell in love with each other in the New York Special.

For Zoé, it was when she was the black cat holder and he came to check on Cosette.

For Cosette, it was during that whole adventure in adoration and when Zoé confessed to her.

10. Who brings up the subject of kids first?

It’s probably Cosette, but at a very random time and moment, catching both of them off guard. Also, they would still have Westley Cottonballs (I just changed his name if you didn’t see Artzy’s post about it) no matter what if you were wondering.

11. Who's adorable when they're sleepy, and who gets grumpy and irritable?

I fully believe Cosette just looks like a cat or hamster when sleeping, especially if she is cuddling with Zoé or anything else. Zoé does feel like someone who would get pretty grumpy when tired and already having a bad day, just have to force it in a smile to people who probably don’t deserve it.

12. Who's more protective?

It is Zoé, they want the people they love and care about to be safe, especially Cosette. Zoé does anything to protect Cosette from being hurt.

13. How do they express their feelings (Words, visual art, a song, etc.)?

Together: Spending time together and talking to each other, switching hats, playing with each other’s hair, playing with Westley Cottonballs together, and cuddling while watching their favorite movies and TV shows.

Zoé: Gifting Cosette a lot of stuff (homemade or buying it with Audrey’s credit card especially), squishing Cosette’s cheek, doodling on Cosette (whether it be on her body or her shoes) sometimes and the doodles would be drawings or cute sayings, whispering their favorite romantic movies and theater lines to it, and giving Cosette her jacket.

Cosette: Kissing Zoé especially if she had lipstick on, helping Zoé with his hair and painting his nails, making Zoé’s favorite snacks or sharing their food with her, giving them tons of hugs, counting their freckles, and regularly texting Zoé especially when Zoé was still at New York.

14. Where would they go on a 3 am adventure?

Sneaking out to go to a dance club and using Audrey’s credit card to do it.

15. Who has a hobby only the other knows about?

Zoé knows how to ride a motorcycle (thanks to her dad), self-defense (it’s New York and full of villains), and play some sports like volleyball and gymnastics.

Cosette knows how to sing (especially lullabies, they sing it to their hedgehog), can do a bit of ballet, and feed the animals like the pigeons, they do it with Mr.Ramier sometimes.

16. How do they hype each other up?

Cosette would hug and kiss Zoé, exclaim to him and everyone how amazing her girlfriend is and that they are proud of being her girlfriend. Also tells her that she’ll do phenomenal and keep cheering them on while being on the sidelines.

Zoé would pick Cosette up in their arms, kiss them on the forehead and cheek, and soothe them that she is exceptional in anything she does no matter what, if anything tells her otherwise, they just don’t have any clue what they’re talking about at all. And looks at them fondly on the sidelines.

17. Who picks flowers for the other?

Cosette would make paper flowers for Zoé and in return, Zoé would try to buy them all of their favorite flowers. Luckily, Zoé is trying to stop himself from doing it, especially when it’s very expensive. It doesn’t happen all the time, but she’s trying and Cosette does love it.

18. Which one wears the "I'm with Stupid" t-shirt?

Cosette would wear it but rarely does, to be honest.

19. Who's the better dancer?

I think Cosette would be the better dancer but Zoé would still know how to dance pretty well.

20. Who info dumps and who listens with heart eyes?

Both definitely Both.

Conclusion:

If you couldn’t tell, I’m very hyper-fixated on these two and the fact I made two shipping charts and answered shipping questions for them says a lot. I have been wanting to make a post like this for the longest and I have more plans in the future like finally finishing that sole crusher rewrite I promise, making a Cosette and separate post for her family, etc. I want to do more not only this year but next year since Miraculous is going to its next season and arc. Better late than never, I guess. Anyway hope you enjoy the post and I’ll see you next time, have a good day or night wherever you are!