#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

[kitts-mechanix]

Prowl is one of my fave Autobots too....his graphic death scene in the 86 movie broke me 😭I couldn't get that damn scene out of my head for TWO WHOLE DAYS-

I do like the grey arcs in some continuities! But it feels like they can't even give THAT to Megatron, no let's just make him a good guy and an Autobot, screw Starscream.

I'm gonna be honest, the more I look at Autobot Megatron, the more I've gone from "this is weird" to being outright pissed off at it. Like this guy murdered a bunch of your comrades and you're just gonna grant him asylum? (Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Earthspark kinda do that too?) I know Optimus is supposed to be the more merciful one, but it feels like in some of these continues, he's either psycho (looking at you Michael Bay) or he bends over backwards to forgive Megatron despite him murdering off half of his Autobot family and pulling a Captain Kirk (for context, there's an episode from the OG Star Trek series where he lets some aliens go, even though one of them killed one of his yeomen....if I had my way, those aliens would have been blasted off the ship without a second thought. No punishment, just punches the guy a few times and goes "there's this nice planet you can live on". ACK!).

But back on point, it feels like Megatron kinda gets that treatment. He doesn't face ANY consequences for what he does to Starscream and people just prefer to demonise him than his abuser. WHich again, also happens IRL.

"Gawd the telling the victim that /they/ "don't understand" really is the thickest slap in the face."

This! I've had it said to my face. Imagine Megatron saying that to Starscream. He doesn't understand. He won't amount to anything. He's nothing without him. He will never matter. Arcane's feelings for him don't matter.

And yeah, Starscream might be a coward but again I feel A LOT of it stems from Megatron's abuse. I think there's a line from one continuity he's in where Star says "Sometimes, cowards do survive." And he's basically in survival mode all the time.

Haha my roommate said she's having a villain origin story and I said "yeah I get it, I'm basically Starscream from Transformers right now" XD

Additionally i came across this YT comment I wanted to share:

They summed up all my thoughts and feelings here. BTW, like Starscream, I have an abuser (well OK, "abuser" might be too strong a word since my IRL arch nemesis has only ever hurt me verbally) who gets idolised, whom everyone sides with, etc. and has been told "well she went through hardship and you need to be more open-minded". Ugh.

Me, at the entirety of the transformers franchise: wow starscream may deserve a lot of things but not that

[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

[kg-day]

I’ve seen some solid takes from you on Katara and Aang’s relationship so I have to ask…what do you think the problem is? Why do we have constant mischaracterization and atrocious on these two and not even just from Zutara shippers but in general. I genuinely don’t get it, I feel like what we saw was a great development love story between two best friends, it wasn’t perfect and there are things that should be changed, mainly EIP. But overall it was good, I’ve never understood that idea that Katara never reciprocated Aang’s feelings and that it was just a one sided dynamic when that’s not what was shown to me. Will we ever be free from this bs???😭 the most outlandish takes just go against their relationship.

Honestly, I feel like there are a variety of reasons as to why Kataang is continuously misunderstood/analyzed. The most obvious one, and the one from which most other things stem, is that people just don't like the idea of Aang as the love interest. To them, he isn't what a typical male love interest looks like, so they can't imagine why Katara would ever want to be with him when someone who looks like Zuko exists. This isn't just about people who ship zk, either. There are plenty of people who saw that Katara had a crush on Jet and then just decided that was her type, and that she could never fall for Aang because of that. I honestly think it's hilarious, too, how people will bend over backward to explain why they ship Katara with people who aren't Aang—and yes, it is mainly zk fans that I have experienced doing this—but will then just attribute a bunch of stuff that is canon to Kataang to the other ship. Just say you don't think Aang is attractive and leave.

As an extension of that, since people cannot fathom Katara liking Aang romantically, they willfully ignore the signs that Katara is interested in him the way he is in her. They rewrite it as her being motherly towards him, despite clear evidence in the show that Katara treats Aang differently than she treats anyone else. Yes, she supports him emotionally, but he does that for her, too. People just choose to ignore what he does for her or take his actions out of context in order to justify the idea that they have a one-sided relationship where Katara takes on all the emotional labor and Aang is nothing more than a child who pines after Katara and forces her to take care of him.

There is also just a lot of warping of who Aang and Katara are as individual characters. Yes, Aang is a goofy little kid, but he is also a wise and experienced bender, and he has shown time and time again that he has the emotional maturity to handle being THE AVATAR at just 12 years old. Yes, Katara is motherly, but she is also just a kid who likes to have fun and laugh, and she HATES that people don't see her that way. These people don't truly understand the characters in the show, and instead, they self-insert. So, rather than looking at Katara's actions through the lens of who she is as a character and what she wants, they think about what they would want, and that doesn't align with the canon. Something that, for me, further proves the first point I made that also ties into this one is how when Katara shows kindness and empathy to Zuko, it is immediately perceived as being romantic despite it being very in-character for Katara to do, but when she treats Aang the same way, she's being motherly. They like the way Katara and Zuko look together more, so when the 2 of them interact, it's chemistry. But when Katara cups Aang's face lovingly, kisses him on the cheek, or hugs him, it's "mother-son" because it's not visually appealing to them.

That ties into one of my last points—and I have an entire post on this already that you probably read—which is that people are expecting Kataang to have out-of-this-world, mind-blowing chemistry when they are just children. Their relationship is soft and sweet, and more importantly, their friendship is the basis for their romance. Of course, their relationship feels more like a friendship for a majority of the show; THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS. That has always been their core. The progression is supposed to be us watching as these 2 children find each other and recognize parts of themselves in the other in a way that no one else can and develop a friendship that later blossoms into love, at least what love can be for a 12 and 14-year-old.

My final point is that AtLA isn't a show about romance to being with, so, while there is romance interspersed throughout the show, it is a subplot. They don't want to spend as much time building a romance as they do the main story, which makes sense. I will say that I personally still think that they did a good job of building the romance, and that season 3B is really the only place where I feel things could have been better written. However, I think it's just willful ignorance to say that Katara and Aang not interacting a significant amount in the last episodes means that their relationship was "rushed" or "forced". There is still a whole 2.5 seasons worth of build-up at that point, and it's pretty obvious from episode 1 that Katara and Aang have a special connection.

As for the kiss in EIP, it was definitely meant to show the "will they/won't they" nature of Kataang's relationship and to cause drama/tension for the fans. I don't think it was necessary, and it could 100% be taken out, but even with it still in the show, I don't think it's something that breaks Kataang as a ship. It was not okay that Aang kissed her when she said she was confused, but she calls him out, and he recognizes that he messed up. It's not brushed over and just ignored in the moment. He is also 12 and prone to making mistakes, and while it is a big one, I do not think it deserves the vitriol that certain portions of the fandom treat it with. Once again, it is actively addressed in the narrative that he was wrong to do that (he also course corrects later in the comics). Do I wish they could have had just even 1 more one-on-one interaction before the final kiss on the balcony? Sure, but I am also able to understand that a significant portion of time has passed between the 2 scenes and I can suspend my disbelief enough to think that they talked it out or that it was at least something apologized for and forgiven.

This is a lot longer than I expected it to be, but what I really think it boils down to is a.) lack of media literacy and b.) people being upset that what they wanted didn't happen, and rather than recognizing that they are allowed to have an opinion that differs from canon, they will do anything they can to rewrite it so that they can feel vindicated in choosing the ship that they chose. They need it to be canon rather than allowing it to remain headcanon. There has also been a lot of misinformation spread about who the endgame ships were originally intended to be, and that truly set us back as a fandom because people still believe those things to this day, even after it has all been disproven multiple times.

[glitter-stained]

Tumblr dc/ao3 tagging discourse is very wild to me because I feel like some of these injunctions are contradictory ?!! Like, not tagging a post with a character who isn't in there or who doesn't speak for more than a token sentence, i get it.

But some of it? "Good tagging etiquette" what do you mean by good tagging etiquette?

Because I saw a post saying that jaymia fans were great at tagging etiquette because they had no idea jaymia existed since jaymia fans didn't flood the mia tag, and they wished jayroy fans were as good at respecting tagging etiquette. And that threw me off, because now I have questions, because I was taught tagging is great for blocking. Say for example I didn't like Slade Wilson and didn't want to see posts about him. Slade Wilson has a lot of different ships. Say I'm scrolling and a fanart of Slade Wilson with his tongue down, let's say Mia's throat, shows up. I have the Slade Wilson tag blocked, but I didn't know that was even a ship people did (this example is fictional btw i've never seen slademia) so it didn't occur me to block the Slademia tag. Because, in order to avoid "clogging" the Slade and Mia tags with ship posts, they only tagged it as "Slademia", I'm seeing it. Now I can of course block the Slademia tag and not see it again and it's fine, I'll survive, but then I'll see a Sladejoey post and be like "shit it didn't occur to me to block this one either" etc etc etc. But if I have the Slade tag blocked and people tag their posts that include Slade with Slade, then I don't have to see Slade. That's more efficient! Coming in here, I was taught one of the most important functions of tags is to allow for easy blocking. That's why I get so annoyed when post aren't tagged with "character critical" or "anti character" because these are so useful to having a respectful enjoyable time; we all have different tastes and that's FINE.

But of course, this solution isn't perfect. Indeed, if jaymia is in the jason and mia tags, i'm gonna find jaymia scrolling. And as someone who doesn't like jaymia, but likes both the characters and thus have neither tags blocked, I'm gonna have to see it first before blocking the tag. I'm not saying that can't be annoying. I'm saying it's just not as simple as "clogging the tags". Tagging Mia in posts where she's not there is clogging the Mia tag, tagging Mia posts in which Mia is there and happens to interact with a character you're not interested in seeing her interact with in this way, why would that be clogging the Mia tag?

And also, would making a post about Mia and Steph hanging out as friends be clogging the Mia tag, or are we being arbitrarily weird about romantic relationships compared to platonic relationships again? What if I liked Mia but didn't like her relationship with Roy, would tagging a "Mia and Roy headcanons" post with Mia be clogging the Mia tag? Why are we assuming that a jaymia post can't be about Mia, that it can't be an exploration of interesting themes about her character, that it can't be anything interesting about Mia just because it's shipping.

This may be confusing because out of all the examples used here, jaymia is the only one I actually don't like¹, the others are fictional examples. But just because I personally don't like it, doesn't mean I'm gonna assume people shipping Mia with Jason is somehow not about Mia and Jason -like who would it be about. The intense, virulent jaymia and jayroy hate I've seen always stemmed from people who hate Jason or at least dislike him. And like, I can't help but feel like, if you dislike Jason, ship posts that include his character would be far more easy for you to avoid since you just need to block him and be done with it. And if you want to be able to block the jason tag, the OP is also gonna have to tag roy or mia in the post, otherwise you're being unfair and arbitrary by deciding that your blorbo is absolutely lovable and nobody needs to filter them out but other people's blorbo need a warning.

And the general sentiment i see of people complaining about this clogging being a recurrent problem with jayroy also confused me because like... I've never seen a jayroy post not tagged as jayroy? Just block it??? Being annoyed once at seeing art from a ship you don't enjoy when this could have been avoided is one thing. But the idea that it's a repetitive problem... Why not use the block function?

I don't understand. All of this is to say, I just don't understand what people want, what good tagging etiquette is supposed to be because it's so contradictory.

How am I supposed to simultaneously tag everything significant in the post so the people who don't like it can block and avoid it, and simultaneously not tag anything but the ship so it doesn't clog the tag? What do you want from me, tumblr?

Anyway, sorry for the rant but like, I am so confused. What's the correct dc tumblr etiquette riddle me this tumblr. This also works for ao3 tags and filters.

1. When I say I don't like jaymia i don't dislike it I just don't feel it, it doesn't personally vibe with me but I don't hate it hence why i don't have the tags blocked if you were wondering. Also because I sometimes look for art of them hanging out in the tag since I can't find art of them being just friends.

[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.

[alexthebordercollie]

I know this definitely wasn’t the point of your post but this line “I think he gets shipped with Stanley by people who want to see Stanley get that kind of overbearing love that Fidds showed to Ford. I do understand wanting to give him that kind of partner but Ford deserves love too,” in your Fiddleauthor comic post made me think… what about aro/ace Stan. It seems like a lot of Fiddlestan shippers only ship it because they want Stan to have that overwhelming love or whatever, but do these people ever consider that maybe the only overwhelming love Stan wants/needs is familial? The most important relationships in his life are all family, and considering his repeated mentions of failing at romance/the implication he engaged in sex work, I can totally see him just straight up having no interest in romance or sex at all. In my opinion, the most realistic scenario (and probably the best for everyone involved) is Stan being aro/ace and happy for his brother and his brother’s partner, being supported and loved non-romantically and being perfectly content with that. It certainly makes a lot more sense then breaking up Fiddauthor which has so much canon basis and taking away Ford’s support system.

Ok so I've got a lot of thoughts here, but it's a great point to bring up. I'll start by offering up some art of Stan and the beans then dig into my thoughts.

Nikola is speech delayed while Newton is an early yapper.

So I think the point about Stanley being happiest with familial love is a fantastic one. He's clearly someone who values family a lot and they seem to be his most consistent source of happiness. I think lot of people undervalue platonic love next to romantic love and I think that's a waste.

That said I don't see Stan being aro/ace, like it's a fun headcannon and I can understand the logic behind it. It's just I think something else is going on. I think Stan's issue is that he's terrified of emotional intimacy. Something backed up in the show by repeated examples of him avoiding being vulnerable in front of people. I think what happens with Stan is he tends to self-sabotage his relationships anytime they get too close out of fear. The sort of thing that likely stems from the trauma of being abused and rejected by his own family. He doesn't want to get close enough to someone new for them to hurt him. Avoidant attachment style

Family is different though. I think he has an easier time being close to family because there's this built-in connection and he isn't pressured to be vulnerable in the same way a romantic partner might pressure him. Instead, he has more of the space to open up at his own pace.

Speaking of, by that same metric. I actually think if he and Fidds ever happened, he'd probably sabotage the relationship pretty fast. Fiddleford loves rather aggressively and with an open hand and I actually think Stan would find it overwhelming. I feel like he would panic having someone shower him with gifts and bail.

Personally, I might ship Stan with someone else in this AU later on down the line though I'm still not sure yet if I want to fully commit to the idea. For now either way I see him spending at least the first few years of his nephew's lives completely single so he can focus solely on being a good uncle. He loves these boys like his own and he's just as involved in their upbringing as Ford and Fidds.

If I do ship Stan with someone at some point it's not because he needs a romantic partner. It's just because I found a ship I think could be fun to explore. Stanley doesn't need a girlfriend or boyfriend. He is perfectly content being the bachelor uncle and helping raise his brother's kids.

[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. Even in sane! Sephiroth fics, for some reason Seph is still a dom/top. 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.

[rogumi]

JPN Nintama Fandom Hashtags & Etiquette no Dan

Since the fandom is increasing in numbers, both in its country of origin and in western spaces, I thought I could help people better understand some of the hashtags more widely used on Twitter/Bluesky and other places. And maybe give some more insight on the more basic etiquette expected of you in Japanese fandom spaces. This is, after all, a predominantly Japanese fandom space and you're bound to interact with users who don't speak English at all and aren't familiar with our fandom culture. Let's be polite!

First, let's tackle the hashtags and how Japanese fandom users use them.

A twitter user, Yada-san, kindly summed up the most popular hashtags in their post here, and I thought that was such a nice summary I could just translate it and hopefully give you a little more cultural insight as I go.

#忍たま Mainly used by the official accounts and such. You can find official information and updates here. Yada-san specified since official accounts use this tag, they refrain from using it themself. You'll find this sentiment is shared among a lot of otaku, specially women who are into either the BL or yume subculture. (And going by word of mouth, the fandom online is mostly adult women lol.) #RKRN (From the title of the manga, Rakudai Ninja Rantarō). Since a lot of fans feel uneasy using the "official" tag, this is the tag most use for their gen fanart. Yada-san says "personally, I don't think it's a good idea to post shippy content to this tag."

#rkrnプラス The yume tag for the fandom. Here you'll find yume art/fic and scenarios in general. Yumes in the fandom usually use the 🌸 emoji.

#nin_draw Now this tag is quite popular and causes a lot of confusion to newcomers. Some people think that since it's such an active tag, it must be the main fandom tag but that'd be incorrect. What happens is that every 2 days, the manager of the account nin_draw on twitter will post a new prompt (usually a character name or the name of a committee or a group) and then you have 60 minutes to draw it. Everyone is free to join! You just have to make sure you follow the rules. They have quite a few, but basically. No NSFW, no ships unless they are canon, no ninmyu, no kemomimi or animals, no modern aus, no genderbends, no aged up or aged down characters (unless we've seen those versions in canon). Basically, they want to keep things gen and as close to canon as possible.

These are not rules anyone can force you to follow, but if you ignore them it will make users uncomfortable and more likely to ignore you/mute your or straight up block you.

(Yada-san mentions a tag for people wanting to connect with other Nintama fans, but I'll skip it for now.)

And what about ship art, you ask? Yada-san states "I post it by clearly stating the ship name and without any of the other tags. If the art is too risque or it might need more warnings, I either mark it as sensitive or post it on poipiku. However, determining what's appropriate or not can be hard at times, and I still have a lot of room for improvement in this area."

And that's it for the original tweet!

Now, for a more general overview of etiquette in the Japanese fandomsphere. You may have noticed through a lot of it, Yada-san offers suggestions or examples of what they do rather than say "don't do that!" and that's very common in the fandom in general. Nobody will confront you directly (at most, they might through an anon messages) but they will most likely just mute you/block you/ignore you.

Some users give foreign fans more of a leeway but others don't. A lot of them are very unforgiving of people who use official art as icons. This stems from NHK itself not allow sharing screenshots on social media, a rule most Japanese fans follow. Consistent with this, if they see you posting screenshots and gifs they may steer clear from your account. Again, we live in an era in which we are in constant communication with people from other countries, so some users are more forgiving about this than others. Remember that this is just a guideline, and in the end, whether you follow it or not is up to you.

You also don't want to use other people's art as icons, unless specify in their profile that it's okay. That's a surefire way to get blocked by an artist you like. On the same vein, don't repost OR trace art. Recently, there was an issue of a foreign fan tracing art and they thought they could get away with it since Nintama is such a small fandom in English speaking circles... don't be that guy!

Also if you're an adult you may want to add your age to your bio. Sometimes, just putting 18+ won't be enough since Japanese users don't want to risk someone still in high school seeing their works.

As for Pixiv, the Yume tag is 忍玉-夢 and the BL tag is 忍玉-腐.

If you're interested in a ship but aren't sure what tag people use, I highly recommend looking at the pixiv dictionary entry for Nintama BL ships! If you're not familiar with the characters names or how to write them in Japanese, the Nintama English wiki has the kanji for the character names as well.

⚠️ ⚠️⚠️ The name order in which ships are written in Japanese is really important! ⚠️⚠️⚠️

Unless the artist states they are into reversible ships (riba/リバ）it's safe to assume they are fixed and the first kanji/name of the ship indicates the top. So don't go to an AB artist asking for BA! That will, again, get you ignored/muted/blocked.

And I think that's it for now! I got tired and can't think of anything else haha. Hopefully this was helpful. I can't overstate how much these rules aren't enforced by anyone but the users' preferences, but if you don't follow them it may be the reason why people are not engaging with you or blocking you.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask me on this post, via ask, or in the Tasogaredoki Jou discord server! Take care and be a 良い子。

[000yul]

more new year's lines tl 2

elysium, shamare, robin, castle-3, archetto, surtr, tequila, mountain, sussurro

elysium

(audio compressed, like he's talking over radio) Hello, can you hear me? ... Signal's good, communication established with this ship. Doctor, can you guess which terminal I'm at? (normal audio) ... Good, the Doctor's let their guard down. Now's my chance to break out the party poppers! Heheh, how was that, Doctor? Do you feel psyched up by my New Year's hello?

shamare

Doctor, I see you've left your office. There's a lot of people out and about today... The new year? It's so noisy, what's up with everyone? Morte doesn't really like loud occasions like these, so we're going to make protective charms instead. Would you like to join us, Doctor? If you put the stem of an apple in your charm, you can ward off curses that way.

robin

"The happiest part of today is being able to bid farewell to the past; the saddest part of today is having to bid farewell to memories." That's a line from a movie... Doctor, Happy New Year.

castle-3

Doctor, Happy... Scheduled program activated, switching to holiday mode—Woohoo! Limited-time New Year's sale, now on at Closure's Store! 10% off and more on selected items! We also offer salary advances with compound interest, with a monthly interest rate of only... New Year!

archetto

Good grief. There are so many people from Laterano here, but you wouldn't know it from looking at how any of them act. All I wanted was to share a quiet prayer and a toast to the new year with a like-minded countryman... and yet, none of them will...

surtr

This time of year always gets me on edge. The more years pass, the further I get from my memories... Hmph, enough of that. Hey, come up with me to the deck. Maybe the breeze will cool off my head.

tequila

Happy New Year, Doctor. The playing cards I ordered just came in. How about a round? The entertainment lineup on Rhodes Island might not match up to what you can find in Dossoles, but you have me, and that's all you need. I'm an expert at creating atmosphere, after all.

mountain

It's been a long time since I've felt anything in particular about the New Year. You see, words like 'tomorrow' or 'the future' don't really mean anything to a prisoner. But now that I'm on Rhodes Island, maybe I should change. Happy New Year, Doctor.

sussurro

Happy New Year, Doctor. You should relax for the new year—don't go tiring yourself out. But don't let your guard down too hard, either—I still remember how you overate and gave yourself indigestion last year. I'll be keeping an eye on you!

[verdantwyrm]

I hate how mw Fandom treated shippers as if they only appreciate the game for shipping fodder. Especially towards curly/Anya shippers

They unironically believe that you can't make analysis and shipping characters at the same time, like whenever I saw takes like "shipping shouldn't exist in mw Fandom" "if you ship jimcurly and curlya you miss the point of the game" I always think "maybe you should just block them and just stay in meta analysis and gen fics?"

it also genuinely comes from a very deep rooted issue of cringe culture still being very apparent and fandom spaces. A lot of people like to argue that cringe culture is dead. Have fun do whatever you want but then they turn around and go ahead and directly attack people who do exactly that.

it also stems from an issue of people believing that if you ship something and a fandom space you're not taking that media seriously or your taking away the main plot or the theme of the thing and reducing it to nothing but a platform for you to ship characters on. I saw this happen a lot with the saw series or resident evil if you want to keep the theme to games. and that if you ship characters from either people try to argue you're not taking the main plot of the game or the show or the movie or the book as a, horror seriously. 

And it's not just about blocking and moving on or not participating in spaces that specifically prioritise shipping or fanfiction, and that if you do this then you don't actually like horror as a genre.

there are a lot of horror purists out there who believe that you should only ever ever ever ever ever always be terrified by horror and never anything else, that you cannot engage with it in any other possible way because then you're not taking it "seriously" and like you said a lot of these people just straight up harass the other people that are doing exactly that creating fanfiction or shipping characters together like it's somehow downplays the theme of the plot, or the message that the game or movie is trying to express

it is a serious problem and it scares a lot of people away from getting into games or movies that have these darker and more scary themes to them simply because of how they personally want to engage with said media. it almost makes them feel singled out and like they're weird for doing it this way.



[ggswaywardgifrepository]

It boggles the mind that the Bi-Han ship tier list seems to always put Sektor at the bottom below:

-the dude who convinced him to betray his entire realm for power that he never even got (Don't @ me, I love Shang Tsung, BiShang is my MK1 OTP, and my favorite Bi-Han ship.)

-one or both of his brothers (Not my thing 99% of the time but knock yourselves out. MK draws on loads of mythology for its lore and inc@st isn't exactly a foreign topic there.)

-his creator god (Despite loads and loads of baggage and a pretty significant power imbalance. There's also not much acknowledgment that Liu Kang had Bi-Han's entire life to notice his resentment brewing and try to reasonably intervene. Or he did try and failed--still, not a whiff of blame for Liu Kang, though. That's why I personally find this one off-putting, but again, enjoy what you enjoy.)

-Sareena (This one I totally get. We craved redemption for Bi-Han and saw a compelling and fulfilling possibility here. Tracks. 100%. It's also not as one-sided as other redemption focused Bi-Han ships because we know he positively influenced Sareena as well)

The bulk of the SekHan hate is directed at Sektor, and it makes me angry the more I think about it. But I admit this was my reaction for a long time as well.

In my case, at least, my discontent stemmed from Sektor not being a savior to Bi-Han, which suggests she has no value as a character other than to further his arc. And that's such a one-dimensional way to see both of them. By this logic, Sektor is worthless if she doesn't bring Bi-Han back to the light. Then also by this logic, Bi-Han isn't capable of championing his own redemption, rather, he needs another character holding the reins. (Sareena, Kuai Liang, or Liu Kang, most commonly.)

The DLC trailers were edited in such a way that we all had this preconceived notion of who Sektor was going to be in Khaos Reigns and a lot of it didn't hold up. She was hinted to be in love with Bi-Han but we all assumed it was one-sided--I did, at least. And somehow we all preferred the idea of that love being unrequited because heaven forbid two flawed, grown ass people be in a relationship. I also honestly think there's an aesthetic disconnect. I think there are a lot of people who either wanted him to not be in a ship, or to be in one with someone prettier.

I do still think they might've parted ways over the Cyber Lin Kuei, had that plot seen the light of day. But it's yet another 'what if' that never came to pass that I preemptively held against Sektor.

There's also a lot of speculation that Sektor is just manipulating Bi-Han, which can be used to invalidate romantic feelings but also suggests he's much more easily taken advantage of than I'd like to think he is. Him falling for Shang's shit was enough, alright. (And Shang is prettier. Sorry not sorry. Sektor is v attractive but Shang is much more attractiver.)

But Bi-Han is not a stupid man. At least, I don't want to see him that way. And the bulk of the anti-SekHan arguments paint him like this.

Honestly, anyone who says, "I know they're canon, I see the logic behind it, and I just fucking don't like it" resonates more because there are things I'm never gonna be jazzed about with them, and they're intangible, too.

SekHan is nowhere near my favorite ship, but I am sad to see it get hate. I think it was poorly introduced and left a bad taste in our mouths. But it still bums me out to know that that's why so few people even care to try and write the characters well together and rectify that.

And please, you're obviously allowed to disagree with every word here and ship or not ship whatever the hell you want. These are just my frustrations.

[makofinz]

hello hello I NEED to know more about your werewolf slick au. I'm actually obsessed

ragghh i actually don’t have too much on it in my head as if rn !!! it stemmed from like.. a little convo in a srvr on whether chars gave vampire or werewolf vibes and i LOVE making Slick into creatures.

now i have a lot of general werewolf thoughts i can apply to her in my head bc. i think about werewolves and vampires frequently a LOT. and i fear it may be a little much for one ask, so while none of this is lore significant at all (as there is no concrete lore) i hope it is satisfactory!!! (under cut bc its. actually sort of a lot of text augh)

-mm i think the freights bein a wolf pack is silly. full moon is just. they run around and play fight and chase each other around.

-as mentioned, wolf features pop up a few days pre full moon and fade a few days post full moon, so in total, it’s arnd a week of wolf silliness. Her teeth (the ones that stick out) are part of this, so she chews a LOT in that time. she has chew toys for this bc otherwise she just tears things apart

-she sheds like crazy. like worse than any of the other freights. for some reason her fur is always around.

okay!!! general werewolf lore drop. where I think you can be born a werewolf (yk. obviously) or turned into a werewolf by being bitten. its diff than a vampire bite w/ a ton of fake biological reasons i made up but. but that’s the jist of things.

General Slick lore drop!! in my head. her and CB are siblings, where CB ended up leaving her in hopes someone else better suited would find and take care of her bc he couldnt. applying this to werewolf au is almost the same!!!

Ceeb got kicked out or separated from their original pack, took Slick with him bc it was not a good environment for EITHER of them (she was very, very little. he was mid-late teens). He could not take care of her, so ended up leaving her somewhere he hoped she’d be found by someone better equipped to care for her.

From this point on I’m still not suuper sure what events will happen in what order. But obviously, eventually she gets found by Momma, n is once again part of a pack.

-m. i think to vampires. werewolf blood can taste gross. (I usually imagine like wet dog loll). And if yk anything abt me yk how much i love shipping her w ANY of the electrics (who obv give vamp vibes). think this would be silly. (even if werewolf is showing no wolf features, blood will still vaguely taste gross to a vampire. just. slightly off. this becomes more apparent closer to full moon)

-eats raw meat even when it isnt near full moon. this doesnt make her sick, cause shes a werewolf, but its definitely odd. I think if anybody else does this too, itd be Porter. Hydra n Lumber think it’s gross. (esp Hydra, who I’ve been imagining as lab-made werewolf. Experiment to see whether it can be done n he was created.)

-as mentioned in the little doodle page. she doesnt like standing upright when transformed. she CAN, and in fact, being shorter than most werewolves, it should actually be easier for her, but it isn’t. she’s bad at it and she hates it.

-mmmmmmm shes just a big stupid puppy dog (definitely still violent to people. shes a werewolf, but much rather play than go after anyone)

-speaking of. eventually do want to draw her as a puppy. she was so scrappy and pathetic and sad looking. so easy to carry around by the scruff. idiot dog. ok. okay im done rambling lol. i like slick a lot.

& of course. cred to lovely people in srvr who inspired the drawing in the first place lolz!!!!!!! ik a lot of these thoughts might not make sense but. but trust okay.

[nerdy-chocomallow]

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!

[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.

[just-some-sorta-person]

Hello! If you don't mind me asking, what do you think are Reo and Nagi’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic? What are your fav NagiReo (canon) moments? What are your favorite headcanons of them? Do you have any fav ships (from any fandom) that the dyanamic remind you of their ship? Sorry if I ask too much....

Hey!! Yeah I don’t mind. I don’t really think much about the question of greatest “personality strengths vs weaknesses” bc idk I tend to find that certain personality traits tend to express in either direction. For example, I’d say that Reo has a strong sense of independence/self direction, which makes him take action a lot and really helped them get to where they are by the time blue lock started. At the same time, that exact trait backfired on him by contributing to him misunderstanding Nagi’s actions, because that mentality means that he can’t trust anyone besides himself to have his best interests at heart. I’m pretty sure this thread I have kinda explains my thoughts? (Didn’t reread)

Reo’s a logical person that gets bullied by his emotions. He’s good at making a plan and taking action. That’s good. But this also means that he gets frustrated when things feel uncertain or out of control, which is part of why he lashed out at Nagi, which was bad. Both things kinda stemmed from the same core though.

He’s good at managing the masses and being likable, but that mentality has a habit of making you keep your guard up and miss when someone cares about you in my opinion

As for Nagi, I think one thing about him to appreciate is how steadfast he is in his feelings. It wasn’t easy for Reo to get him to open up, but once he did, he remains loyal to Reo to the end. He takes their promise very seriously, and his perception of Reo isn’t colored by his popularity or money in the way that it likely was for a lot of other people. He doesn’t really care for normalcy, but that’s bc he wants to prioritize things that actually matter. He can be rather true to himself, in that way. It also makes him come off as rude (asking Isagi why he hasn’t quit soccer, for example)… it probably also contributed to his listlessness pre-Reo. That’s kinda what I’m thinking right now.

What I like about their dynamic… lol I kinda rambled back when I first found them and I don’t think it’s really changed.

Uh if I might add anything I think it would probably be that their miscommunication and how it engages with their characters and personalities is really interesting and engaging. They make a good drama, what can I say? I’m happy they found each other, but they can also mess each other up really well. The contrast is really great.

Favorite headcanons… not really tbh. Well I do have things I hope are true, like Nagi’s parents being negligent, which is already pretty well supported by canon. I do have some favorite AUs tho- like Alice in wonderland Cheshire X dormouse AU. I like drawing Bunnagi but idk if that counts as AU lol. Royalty AU. Hanahaki AU. Im always down for canon divergence tho… ok maybe I just like AUs in general. Or just. Fun creative stories with them in general!

My approach is generally pretty strict so I like messing with canon AU to AU, but when it comes down to it, my preferred interpretation is usually “whatever feels as accurate to canon as possible”. That’s like, the basis, and then you can mess with it from there however feels right for the situation.

No dynamics that remind me of nagireo/reonagi off the top of my head but I did ramble about stsg parallels once haha. In case that didn’t make sense, I think their story parallels each other, but the dynamic is pretty different.