#also the first one is based off an actual interaction w my friend a couple days ago

[liverpool-enjoyer]

i rlly dont wanna study for finals so heres uefa high as tweets part six

part one

part two

part three

part four

part five

[sushisocks]

DO U HAVE ANY ANGSTY SEAN HEADCANONS??? OR ANY AT ALL??

DO I HAVE ANGSTY SEAN HEADCANONS???!? Is my tumblr url sushisocks??? I'm including just a couple non-angsty ones that are v important to me bcz we're here to have fun, after all lolol

Lets start out with a light one; Sean absolutely has ADHD and dyslexia. Everybody knows Sean can't read, but nobody asks WHY Sean can't read despite frequent opportunities to learn. Based on the camp interactions with Lenny, we know he has been willing to attempt to learn, but has given up. This reads a lot more like learning disability to me, than it does laziness!!

In a similar vein; Sean taking frequent naps/falling asleep a lot is because he's a light sleeper - he has had a hard time falling asleep and staying that way ever since his father got murdered in his bed by the law. Left an impression Sean can't really shake even when surrounded by friends and allies - it's easier to nap when it's light out and people are awake in the area. Combine that with the ADHD and suddenly he's sleeping when he's not supposed to - like on guard duty.

Btw Sean has REAL BAD nightmares so that doesn't help at ALL either

Sean's mom probably passed when he was very young - he doesn't have any tangible memories of her in the same way he does his dad. Telling stories about him is how Sean keeps the only real family he had alive.

SIMILARLY I imagine it was just the two of them fleeing to America together; Sean was right there when Darragh got killed in his sleep - I imagine him waking up to a gunshot tbh.

In previous posts I've talked some about Sean's parallels and similarities to Arthur. Consider; Sean having similar self-esteem issues as Arthur, but instead of being quiet and disparaging about it, Sean covers it up by boasting and talking a big game. Nobody tries to talk Sean up because they all think he has a big ego, and it sort of just feeds into the insecurities Sean already has & is trying to avoid thinking about.

Also; Sean is generally an open book about his feelings, but he struggles a LOT with being truly vulnerable or getting at the deeper stuff. He'll also always downplay and make a joke out of truly traumatic and desperate situations he's been in. Though he DOES tell you what happened, he's chuckling and acting like it's nothing. (This isn't even a headcanon, he actually does this very consistently. It's why Karen is so mad at him in that one camp interaction after the party lol)

The only times Sean feels comfortable not being The Camp Clown is when Dutch isn't around, with a limited amount of people to witness. He still feels weird about the fact that he did actually try to kill him, when they first met, like he actually pulled the trigger (I feel like people are prone to forget this abt him), and he's never sure if Dutch might resent or distrust him a little for it. Same goes for Hosea.

A MacSummers one I came up w on discord literally yesterday; Sean has a Claddagh ring heirloom he got from his late mother through his late father. He gifts it to Lenny at some point, who doesn't realize the symbolism, just the sentimental value. Lenny wears it on a chain around his neck.

The previous one could work for MacJones too but tbh I think it hits harder for MacSummers lol (im biased)

Sean blocked out a lot of what he experienced while holed up at Ike Skelding's; the teethpulling and the burned feet were probably some of the lighter things he had to endure.

Sidenote the fact that his feet were fucking burned being as brushed off as it is makes me fucking insane. How bad were they burned Sean? Are you in pain atm? Should you be walking?

[padfootastic]

if you were to summarise sirius' personality and character traits, how would you do it?

hi hi hi! so sorry for long this took but okay, so, let’s do this.

so, his CORE trait for me will always be loyalty, hands down. i once waxed poetic about sirius’ devotion to the potters to my friends for like, half an hour straight (one of them actually teared up). the way he talks about james even after so many years, how his first instinct is always to look out for harry, how everyone talked about him & j even when they believed he was the traitor—all of it just really drives home how he gives all of himself to someone when he decides to. if someone’s his person then he’ll do whatever it takes for them (if you’re not, tho? ur lucky if u even get a look in ur direction)

he’s also very competent. he was probably brought up as a pampered heir, with access to all the resources his little heart desired, so coupled w his innate ability/potential/aptitude, it becomes a deadly combination. he uses logic to work through things, prides himself on his intelligence, and probably wouldn’t like hanging out with people who can’t atleast match him in some sense (so laziness/incompetence grates badly).

as a corollary, he’s also pretty arrogant, in that casual sense that old money people are ykwim? he’s had the world on a silver platter his entire life, and even when he’s cut off from it, it’s still a part of him. there’s also the fact that he’s got a lot going for him—looks, power, smarts wise—and that just adds to it. so it can be off putting or it can be hot or both, but he has a superiority complex and he doesn’t exactly hide it. less interaction with the plebs, the better for him.

irreverence and dark humor!!! sirius copes using morbid jokes and making people uncomfortable; he has slight control issues and this way, he makes sure everyone’s always on their toes. it’s also like,,,a way to kind of gauge how others will react to him based on how they deal w his humor. bc he’s not sunshine and roses, right? and he doesn’t want anyone treating him like it or expecting him to be so. and in a way, their reactions to his jokes correlated to their degree of acceptance for him.

intense. when it comes to things he likes, he’s very passionate about it, almost with a single minded focus. and it can get A Lot. he operates in a lot of extremes, right? so either 0 or 100 and this comes across in the way he interacts with people, the level of interest he shows to things, and how much effort he puts in, if it’s His Thing, then he won’t leave a stone unturned but if he doesn’t care? then he will not give a single shit

soooo, these are some of the things i very strongly believe in for sirius 🙈 tell me what u think? (and as always, @artemisia-black has some great metas on sirius’ character so i’d recommend checking those out for sure!)

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

No okay bcuz actually I DO want to explain my thoughts from this post here because I love analyzing things and I think talking abt Vox's relationships thru the lens of "this is just like Buffy fr fr" could be fun :)

FIRST OFF: VoxVal as Spike & Drusilla. I do not know their ship name and tbh I'm probably never gonna talk about them again so whooooo cares. To state the obvious, in this situation Vox is Spike and Val is Dru. Now, it's been awhile since I've watched Buffy, but from what I remember, Spike & Drusilla really are THE toxic villain couple, in that they're both like. Not very good to or for eachother, all things considered, but goddamnit they love eachother SO MUCH- which really is the generous interpretation of Staticmoth. I'm not gonna go super in depth into the fucking. Is Staticmoth abusive debate rn. Because I have one million other posts that make my stance on that pretty clear I think. But the uh... nicer interpretation of their relationship is very much Spike & Drusilla I think. Like right down to the headcannon of Vox liking how Val's shit eyesight & temper tantrums makes him kind of dependent on him. Again, could be misremembering, but based off of how Spike was w/ Dru while she was weakened(and based off of how he rebounded w/ Harmony of all people 💀), I get the distinct vibe that, despite his frustrations, Spike did like having somebody relying on him the way Dru(and later Harmony) did. Vox def seems like the type of guy that would get a kick out of feeling Needed and Relied On(why else would he literally route the entire Pride rings power grid through himself-), and Valentino is. Well. Valentino. I'm not gonna go over their interaction before Stayed Gone because it makes me ~genuinely uncomfortable~ for reasons I have, once again, gone into in depth before, but suffice it to say that it's definitely in character for Vox to be into Val relying on him like that. Oh also, like somebody pointed out in the reblogs on the original post, the reason Spike & Dru broke up from s3 all the way to their reunion in s5 is that she cheated on him and that's. Yeah that sounds about right.

And second, the Staticradio twins: Spuffy and Spangel. Why the fuck did I call them the Staticradio twins? I don't know I'm tired as shit and just used most of my brain power on the VoxVal segment now get off my back- anyways, these two are actually pretty easy to explain so I'll just get right into it! Most of the similarities between Staticradio and Spuffy can really be summed up in the song Reat In Peace from Buffy's musical episode. One-sided, obsessive crush on someone who you know deep down will probably never reciprocate. You want them to just leave you the fuck alone and stay gone(hahahahahahahahah), but they just. Aren't. Like even the bits about being a dead guy without a heart beat are spot on because Vox is a motherfuckin DEMON who is a ROBOT!!!!!!! Also the Alastor Body Pillow fanon(which IS fanon. It is. I'm sorry to say but that wasn't a thing on the Instagrams y'all-) does line up with the uh. The Buffy sex bot- it does line up with the Buffy sex bot. Anyways moving on to the Spangel section-

"You were my sire man!" - Spike, to Angel, in his introduction episode. I don't remember if this was retconned in season 5(or 6?) to be Dru siring Spike? It might've been. But for the sake of this post lets pretend it wasn't. Angel was basically Spike's mentor for a lot of their time together pre-show. They ran around in their weird little vampire polycule causing problems for everyone and life was good! Then Angel got cursed. Bro got a soul and then ran away for years without a word to anyone. Then, cut to current day, and Spike is hyped to see him right up to the point he realizes Angel has Changed. And from that point onward to two are RIVALS!!!!! Narrative foils, even. And while it isn't exactly the same as Alastor and Vox's history, it's pretty damn similar right!? Al was(presumably) Vox's friend and mentor for YEARS, like to the point of being comfortable taking a picture with him. Then something happens between them, causing a rivalry to form. Throw somewhere in the mix Al's deal & him fucking off for 7 years... it's like the same pieces being put together in a new way to make a different puzzle. Is Rosie Darla in this analogy? Unclear. Val is still Dru though. Do y'all get where I'm coming from? It's far, FAR from the same thing, like there are so many fucking differences and that's just going off of the stuff we DO know(I want to know more god I can't wait for season 2-), but the dynamics ARE similar. They're narrative foils with a deep history w/ eachother where they were probably-definitely friends, something caused them to become RIVALS, and also one of them is cursed and dissappeared for several years-

Whoo boy this got kinda incoherent- Anyways, that brings me to my brand new fun and interesting point: Vox and Spike are kinda similar characters. They're both antagonists who wanna be Big Tough Scary guys so bad, and like. They are. They are big tough AND scary. Sometimes. But for the vast majority of their screen time, their emotions, capacity for love(no matter how twisted their version of love is), and the consequences of that love going wrong continually get the better of them and cause them to look to us, the audience, like silly pathetic wet cats we found on the side of the road. Then they get Weird about it(Vox's "rivalry" w/ Angel and the. Buffy sex bot.) and we remember oh yeah this guy is EVIL! They also both wear long jackets and are bisexual :)

[bubbledumbbinch]

Okay so can I ask for some general headcanons for a Fem!MC in twst? The game has gender-neutral pronouns for the MC so far and it's an all boys school. How do you think the characters reaction/interactions would change if the MC was female? (if all are too much you can just pick your faves, maybe just include the octa and Savannahclaw dorm?) Just your thoughts and some brainrot💖

I think the boys would definitely be a lot more flirtatious to fem!MC!!! (I just wanna call her FeMC so I could say… fem… with a c at the end LOL). This is an all boys school, what do you expect?!

These are mostly short I’m sorry! I wanted to try to fit everyone in!

Ramshackle

Grim would lay at night curled up beside you. On days when your period hit, Grim would sense you in pain and get near your abdomen and purr. He feels like it’s an instinctual thing to do and if if helps out his minion, he’ll do it! Plus there’s tuna in it for him, right? Pet his ears too!

Heartslabyul

Riddle would definitely blush when you are around, but not too heavily! Sure he finds you attractive but it won’t stop him from fulfilling his duties as a dorm leader! He can’t help himself when he gets flustered talking to you since the only woman he grew up around was his strict mother. Since you’re different compared to her, he can’t tell but feel warmth from you which he wants to keep in his heart.

Ace and Deuce would make jokes at each other’s expense, both of them sorta going neck and neck trying to compete for your attention! They know you guys are just friends… unless..? 😳 Ace would make the snarky remarks while Deuce would threaten to beat Ace up.

Trey would act the same towards you, knowing he has to be a respectful upperclassman! You ALMOST can’t tell he sets aside the cupcake with more fruits or decoration on it for you at the Unbirthday party. Trey would give his signature smirk and wink as he sets it down in front of you.

Cater would take you on shopping sprees and outings to have so many photo opportunities with NRC’s only female student! Girls would flood his comments asking if you were his girlfriend, but he never answered. He secretly hopes you like him back so you could do cute couple things together like match outfits!

Savannaclaw

Leona would still call you herbivore and treat you the same as always. Still as lazy as before. However he can’t help but show off when he plays Magift and you happen to be watching. He lowkey stares at your features and shape of your body when you’re not looking 👀

Ruggie would also mostly act the same towards you, but he would bump into you on purpose so he can have an excuse to touch or smell you! His body tingles when he can smell your scent on the blazer he accidentally knocked into you with! Still treats you the same as ever though!

Jack would be gentler towards you, he knows how rough and big his body is, he doesn’t want to accidentally hurt you! His personality is still the same, don’t think he’ll treat you any differently because you’re a girl!

Octavinelle

Azul would try to make shady deals with you to offer you protection against students who may be too forward with you since you’re a girl. In exchange? For you to work at the lounge! and spend time with him. He secretly likes you but would never tell you to uphold his reputation and he is also afraid of rejection ;w; Azul would also not mind seeing you wearing the lounge uniform, fufufu…

Jade would would act more like a butler type! You also find him nearby sometimes, feeling his striking gaze looking at you. He’s always there when someone is trying to confess to you and you look uncomfortable. “Oya oya, do you need some help, miss?” His voice teasingly echoes through the halls, scaring off the guy who was trying to hit on you. Jade would stretch out his hand and escort you to wherever you needed to go.

Honestly? Unless you had a super “girly” appearance, Floyd wouldn’t have noticed until he gave you a hug to squeeze you, noticing your body was different… more squishy... and your bone structure is different. Shrimpy is so squeezable!!! Huh? He has to be wary of your chest? He’ll just lift you up by your tummy! You being a girl doesn’t stop the hug train!

Scarabia

Kalim wouldn’t treat you any differently! He would still definitely invite you over as often as possible, not realizing his sweetness may come off as flirtatious! Might develop a small crush on you :) imagines all the pretty outfits he could buy you from his homeland

Jamil would at first be wary of you but once he realizes you aren’t a threat to Kalim or the school, he stops doubting you. Definitely isn’t the type to judge you differently based on your gender!

Pomefiore

Vil would smirk and think he finally has someone else to practice makeup on! He definitely uses you as a model to show off his products, whether it be makeup, skincare, clothing, etc!

Rook would be… protective. He likes you because you’re different, and he would subtly follow and stake you out to see what things you’re doing differently at NRC as a girl. Rook offers silent protection against those he sees as a threat to you before you can even notice.

Epel would definitely try to prove his manliness in front of you if Vil isn’t in the vicinity! Going out of his way to carry heavy items, be tough, etc. If YOU tell him he’s manly, it’s certainly gotta mean something right?!

Ignihyde

Idia thinks it’s like some sort of anime trope, you’re the female protagonist and it’s like a reverse harem because the whole school is full of boys! Cough cough breaking the fourth wall here! He would probably be more… nervous around you, not like he would ever get close anyways, but still! The idea of the only girl at school actually being friends with you and maybe becoming more makes his heart beat faster.

Ortho would not. Perceive you any differently LOL. He’d be intrigued would say like “A girl? Cool! The body analyses I’ve done from everyone around you reads their body temperatures higher and their hearts are all beating faste- MMPH!” He would be silenced by ADeuce…

Diasomnia

Malleus…. Once he knows how you don’t fear him and how you like him even without knowing who he is. All he can think of is how beautiful you would be as his queen. Who can blame him? He has priorities and he needs to think of these things! I can also imagine him picking petals off flowers and saying “She loves me… she loves me not…” because he’s romantic like that… my heart

Lilia would use his experience in his vast years of dating to his advantage, knowing what ways to talk to a woman best. He swears he is only flirting with you for fun! The way your cheeks puff up in embarrassment is just too cute to resist! He certainly doesn’t mind a gender neutral MC, but Lilia can appreciate the beauty in every gender and he certainly appreciates your beauty!

Silver said 😪😴 . You notice Silver has more of a knightly approach to you, offering to protect you when you need it. He understands how a situation between one girl and hundreds of male students could provide a sense of fear, so Silver would always be there to protect you if you need!

Sebek would blush when you’re around, but he thinks you’re trying to use feminine charm and wiles to seduce the young master, even though all you did was make a yawn noise, flip your hair, or put on a bit of makeup! You have to explain to him that you aren’t doing anything to try to seduce anybody. You just wanted to go to school. He is doubtful but finally agrees. Maybe he was becoming victim to your charm instead?

[maiverie]

hi I saw this on my dashboard can you ship your mutuals with idols you think they will fit best

oh god HI ANON 🕵️‍♀️ i’ve been seeing these on my dash too GHEHEHE this is so cute except you’re asking the wrong person since i feel like i’m so new to tumblr and know nobody 🧍🏻‍♀️ but anyway imma do u one better and write some fic ideas based on what i think their relo would be like 😳

@yerion ship her w jyp obviously 💪 she always talks about how she wants 2 be an idol so she can have a whole ass delicious record executive in her dms??? duh??? the math be mathing 🥵 #enemiestolovers #agegapau #ive never noticed how beautiful his eyes are au 💓 i bet she would like rock up to the jyp building and be like hey give me a contract and the man would be completely enamoured by her at first sight and she’d be like 😍 ure so rich daddy 😋

@seungstarss heeseung it’s heeseung OF COURSE IT’S HEESEUNG i gotta give my girl full rights to her man 😭 no but idk heeseung is such a quiet kind of nice that i feel like sei and him would make such a cute couple 😭 LIKE I SWEAR THEIR LOVE STORY WOULD BE SO CUTE AND FULL OF FLUFF like maybe sei would lowkey like one of his friends until one night she needs help and he’s the only one that pulls thru for her #theyre in an friend group and they’ve never been alone tgt until one night and she’s like damn actually he’s kinda cool and cute but wait y is he looking at me like that au or maybe #neighbours au IDK JUST SOMETHING WHERE HEE LIKES HER FROM AFAR

@vmpnoo i…. i wanna say sunoo so bad EXCEPT THIS BITCH IS LITERALLY A HORROR/GORE WRITER AND SHE STANS THE FLUFFIEST FLUFF BALL THAT IS KIM SUNWOO?????!!! SOMETJING AINT CLICKING 😭😭😭 so maybe it’d be like an opposites attract au but tbh i also see fray with like niki cause they’re both chaotic af like i can see fray scaring the shit out of niki bc she finds it funny 😭 she’s legit gna wake up in the middle of the night and be standing over his bed dressed up as a masked killer and threaten to stab all of his lil plushy toys HAHAHAHHSHAHAHAHAHAHA #romcom # chaotic evil (her) vs chaotic good (niki) couple dynamic

@hoonsilk OUR KDRAMA QUEEEENNNNNN SHE DESERVES ALL THE ROMANCE JSDKKDD SO IMMA SAY SUNGHOON SINCE SHES PROLLY GNA KILL ME IF I SAYANYONE ELSE BUT ALSO IM GETTING A JAY VIBE TOO (ik …. giving up my own bias for u… that’s how u know i love u) BC JAY IS GNA GIVE U ALL THE ROMANCE U NEED!??? he’d literally plan out all the coolest most thoughtful little dates omg bye i’m jealous now—

@wonvelvet YEONIEEEE OMG THIS IS KINDA HARD SINCE WE ONLY JUST MET 😳 BUT IK U LOVE JUNGWON AND U ALR GIVE ME BFF ENERGY SO IM TOTALLY CONVINCED U GUYS WOULD HAVE THE MOST ENERGETIC ADORABLE RELO EVER?????? gotta be liek a school au where yeonie is the new kid and jungwons is the student president and he has to give u a tour and then uh oh he accidentally leads u the wrong way and now you both have detention bc turns out he’s dumb af and doesn’t know his way around the fucking school 😭😭

@twilightau i think it’s cos i read ur godly prince au series but i see u with a tall handsome prince gentleman THATS GNA TREAT U RIGHT AND FIGHT OFF OTHER SLEAZY ASS MEN 🤺🤺🤺 SUNGHOON IS OBVIOUSLY A PRINCE AND HES GNA TAKE CARE OF U SO WELL HE’LL LITEDALLY TREAT U LIKE A PRINCESS #royalty au DUH

edit: WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE I WAS THINKING AB WRITING MOOTS AND I TOTALLT FORGOT ABT MY READING BESTIES

@miiiwaa THE LOML IM HANDING OVER NERD!HEESEUNG LITERALLY CHERRY/HEE SHDKEKKFKSJX HOW CAN I NOT when i feel like ud treat him so well and give him all the reassurance he needs

@jaeyummies WHERE ARE U U WERE MY FIRST FRIEND ON TUMBLR AND NOW YOURE GONE 💔💔💔 heart been broke so many times but anyway you’re the kindest sweetest soul you’re literally my aussie bestie so duh duh duh i ship u w jakey!????????? i’ll gladly be the third wheel and we can all take trips to bunnings and muzz with the eshays on the train 💪

p.s. here’s to a year of more interaction ❤️❤️❤️ HOPEFULLY ONE DAY I CAN DO A PART TWO OR SMTH…….. hoping to get to know more people around here on engene tumblr so if you’re reading this pls don’t be afraid to reach out ☹️💓💖💞

[intheticklecloset]

The Great Academia Road Trip, Part 5 (My Hero Academia)

Primary Universe

Summary: While playing one-on-one basketball, Mina challenges Sero to a competition that quickly goes awry...for her, anyway!

A/N: This was so much fun to work on! I love the dynamic between these two, and it was fun to make this a kind of sequel to "Oreos and Lemonade!" Enjoy! ^^

Word Count: 1,345

@veryblushyswitch

Part 1

~~~

“Oreo?” Sero asked, handing the open package to Mina, who smirked and took two.

She reached into the mini-cooler they’d brought outside with them and waved a can at him teasingly. “Lemonade?”

He laughed, took the can, and together they each indulged in his favorite snack combination. It was evening and the sun was about to set. The two of them had been playing outside on the hotel’s basketball court for most of the afternoon with their friends, but everyone else had long since retired in favor of getting some dinner and some rest. Only Mina and Sero were determined to enjoy the outdoors while they had some actual time off for as long as they could.

“Want to go one more round?” he asked her after taking a long drink of lemonade, setting his can on one of the stone benches nearby.

Mina hummed her approval as she bit into her last cookie. “Obviously.”

“First to five?”

“How about first to ten?”

He waited. “What, no bet this time?”

Mina laughed, punching his arm. “You are never going to let that go, are you?”

Sero smiled. “Nah, but I’m also not upset about it. I got my revenge with the rest of the guys, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. I remember.” Mina set her lemonade down as well, then picked up the basketball and spun it around in her palm. “Well, what do you think?”

“Sure, best of ten.” He cracked his knuckles and jogged out to center court with her. “Bring it on.”

For the next several minutes the two of them played one-on-one basketball, keeping relatively even with their scoring until it was 7-7. Then – as she often seemed to – Mina began to pull ahead. She scored eight and nine on Sero with ease, turning to him with a smirk as they prepared for the next rally.

“Ready to admit defeat?” she asked him with a wink.

“The game’s not over yet,” he shot back with a smile.

To his credit, Sero managed to score his eighth point before she got the better of him again. However, it didn’t take long at all for her to gain the upper hand and go in for a slam dunk to earn her winning score.

As soon as her hands came down on the rim of the netless hoop, Sero shot two streams of tape at her to keep her right where she was, dangling a couple of feet above the ground.

“Hey!” she cried, kicking to try and gain some kind of momentum as she struggled to free her hands. “What are you doing?”

Sero chuckled. “Congratulations, Mina. You won – again.”

She smirked down at him despite her awkward situation. “Seriously, you are never going to let it go.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he replied innocently, cracking his knuckles again before wiggling his fingers at her. “But I do know you deserve a reward for your victory.”

“Eeep!” she squeaked, already giggling before he even got close to her. Strung up as she was like this, absolutely every part of her was vulnerable; her t-shirt had even ridden up slightly to expose a bit of her belly for him. “W-Wait, Sero, let’s talk about this!”

“What’s there to talk about? You won. You get a prize.” Sero smirked as he finally began scribbling his fingers gently up and down her sides and ribs, making her shriek and kick.

“S-Sehehehehehehehero!” Mina giggled helplessly, surprised how much more ticklish she felt now than she did when all four of the guys ganged up on her at once. Perhaps it was the intimacy of a one-on-one interaction? She wasn’t sure, but she did know that it tickled, and she squealed and squirmed uselessly as his fingers danced along her torso, eventually traveling down to her belly and hips. “Aiiee! Sehehehehehehero, plehehehehehehease!”

He smiled at her, keeping his touch gentle but consistent. “Please what?”

She didn’t reply; merely kept laughing and kicking at him, though he always dodged her futile attempts to fight back. After a few moments he let his fingers travel around to her back, skittering from the base of her spine up to her shoulder blades.

Sero was surprised when this drew a scream of laughter from her, followed by more frantic kicking. “Oh?” He kept it up, eventually moving to her side to avoid her crazy kicking. “We never did try your back, did we? You seem pretty ticklish here, Mina~”

“Plehehehehehehehease!” she squealed, laughter pouring from her in light, happy, contagious waves. “Sehehehehehero, not thehehehehehehehere!”

“Not here? Well, that’s a shame.” He smirked, though she couldn’t see it. “I suppose I could just tickle your feet instead~”

“No!” she yelped, her laughter rising in pitch even though he hadn’t moved at all. “Nonono, plehehehehease not thehehehehere, either!”

“Well, see, now you’re just being restrictive.” Sero laughed, releasing her from his tickly hold just long enough for her to stop kicking, then quickly moving behind her to snatch up her ankles and pin them between his knees to keep her from fighting as he struggled to take her shoes off.

“Sero! Sero, nohohoho!” Mina pleaded, giggling in anticipation. She squirmed against his tape, but it held strong. “Please, not there!”

He paused for a moment, considering. “Do you really want me to stop?”

She said nothing for a long moment. Sero was just about to let her go when she finally muttered, “I haven’t said the safe word yet, dummy…”

“Dummy?!” he exclaimed, ditching any further concerns and digging into her socked soles with renewed vigor. The absolute wail of laughter he pulled from her was more than worth it. “How dare you call me that! I’m just trying to be a good friend and check in, and you call me a dummy?!”

“I’M SOHOHOHOHOHOHOHORRY!!” she cried, laughter bursting from her faster than she could keep up with. He beamed at the hysterics he was causing. “PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE, SERO!! IT TIHIHIHIHIHIHIHICKLES!!”

“Does it? I couldn’t really tell. Thank you for clarifying!” He peeled back her toes as best he could with her socks still on and wiggled his finger between the first two, surprised when this caused her to dissolve into silent cackles. He decided to take the opportunity to tease her more. “Aww, does this tickle, Miss Mina? Are your toes a little ticklish, hmm? Oh, look! Your other toes are wiggling like crazy! They must want tickles, too, huh?”

Mina drew in a large breath of air in the split second it took him to switch to her other foot, repeating the action with her other toes, making her go right back into her quiet mirth. He laughed along with her, keeping up his tickling and teasing for another several seconds before she finally reached her limit and yelled the safe word.

He stopped immediately, reaching into his back pocket for his knife so he could cut her down, holding her bridal style while she recovered her breath. Her cheeks were pinker than normal and her smile was bright, and when she looked up at him her eyes were filled with so much joy he couldn’t help but stare a little.

“Have fun?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Y-Yeah,” she admitted, sagging into him now that the rest of her strength had been taken from her. She was still letting out leftover giggles.

He walked her over to one of the benches and sat her down, then handed her the lemonade she’d been drinking earlier. After retrieving his knife and offering her a second drink when she finished off the first, he took a seat beside her and looked out at the horizon.

“Pretty sunset,” he offered.

Mina laughed, punching him again. “You’re such a dork.”

“Am I wrong?”

“No.” She took a long drink, recovered more breath, and looked at the sky with him, smiling at the pinks and purples and yellows painting the world like a beautiful canvas. “It is pretty. A perfect way to end the day.”

Sero wrapped his arm around her shoulders for a hug, grinning. “I agree.”

~~~

Part 6

[antiloreolympus]

5 Anti LO Asks

1. I just saw some post about body diversity in Lo and how it is grat and that they loving it, and it was just like 5 background characters that said only one sentence.

2. I feel like a lot of the couples are kinda not interesting no matter how much drama Smyth puts into them.

HXP gross, cheating, boss and employee, awkward for the work place, too many people are involved, and still isn’t grabbing it for me. Like I know other people root for them, but I don’t, it’s hard to root for a dumpster fire.

Hera and Zesus. The constant cheating was expected, and the bad communication, but Echo doesn’t spice it up or anything I would have been fine if Echo was a friend that shit talked Zeus with Hera (I know that’s not the story but still does Rachel care about accuracy? No) even though Zeus cheats we do get to see him actually care, BUT Idk Hera doesn’t draw me in, like they both suck, but Zeus is a bit more complex for me (with the bad husband, the cheating but still caring for Hera and being jealous)

Eros and Pysch. The beginning was interesting even knowing the myth, it was getting just a little stale and then bam he finds out on accident and I lost interest. Like they talked too much about HXP too much to feel like their own thing later on and now that he didn’t complete the test right like what now. Is Aphrodite gonna get in trouble or are we gonna forget? Idk they lost their spark for me.

Minthe and Hades. Toxic relationship that needed more time to expand explanation. Like yeah we know they are/were together but like that backstory wasn’t much. Sorry #minthedeservesmorescreentime.

Daphne abs Thanos are interesting and I can actually see why both like each other, where they started and I wanna know what’s gonna happen next for them. Like they have the life and death balance that HXP wishes even. And even tho Daphne isn’t a god, she told Apollo she was gonna ruin him, she bit him, she was awesome! And it was believable too since she’s an athletic influencer. Thanos has an interesting plot line that will probably be a problem for them later but I’m excited. Like both characters affect the plot outside of their relationship AND are interesting

Aphrodite and Ares feels like RS dropped the ball with them. Why is Ares flirting with Persephone? Sure they’re open but like idk Persephone doesn’t seem like a good fit for him at all. They were set up interestingly since we knew Aphrodite was looking for him, but that one little hug scene did no justice for either character. Like we hardly see them interact positively towards each other.

Crack ship Minthe and Hecate would have loved to see! My crack fic before I think a lot of season two was out was After Minthr parties Thetis and leaves her, she doesn’t snitch on Persephone and just tells Thetis to back off, returns to work all humbled out and Hecate and her work together on just personal shit and work stuff. Minthe asks Hecate stuff on how to get over Hades and how to be better and that’s when we learn Hecate always loved Minthe’s chaos. But yeah that didn’t happen. When I saw some crack headcanon s about those two I was like “didn’t know I needed this till now”. (I was hoping Minthe was gonna be like Petra from Jane the Virgin, starts out bad, doesn’t like the main character for most of the time but still gets a happy ending)

3. i like how LO fanss defend it like "well its no more problematic than the myth its based off of!" which like sure, thats an argument to make, but idk, the original myth didnt have persephone be nearly underage with no experience so hades can take advantage of it, demonizing several mother figures for the sake of a guy, a huge class divide thats frames the rich and powerful as the oppressed to the poor, and you know, ACTUAL SLAVERY. like cmon, it's honestly worse than the OG myth in most ways.

4. youd think if hades is self aware enough to know he was the wrong party to get into a relationship with minthe in the first place, that he'd at least be a little concerned over minthe being stuck as a plant, especially when persephone almost dropped her which would have killed her. the two of them just left her alone in a dark, empty room while they went to dance and goof off, not a care in the world. he seems more relived she's out of his hair now for him to hook up w/ his intern. its so gross.

5. I hope Demeter is pissed at her daughter for just like EVERYTHING. Taking a step back, Persephone is having a grand ol time at Hades’ place for god knows how long while her mother is worried about their situation and then gets kidnapped and Persephone makes 0 effort to try and get in contact with her or anything (hey hectare you saw my mom laying low as a bird, but any chance can you try and find her again and maybe we can arrange something since the literal god of gods is out for our blood so maybe let’s get the story straight)

Demeter going against her own comfort and parenting beliefs to left Persephone like with Artemis. It’s not Persphones fault that Apollo happened, BUT Demeter probably let Persephone live there after the murders to settle some stuff out and then 1 month of living there or so Persephone runs away to live in a motel and then has a power control issue. Let’s pretend the power control issue didn’t happen yet, what the hell was she gonna tell her mother? “Hey mom Artemis’ brother makes me uncomfortable so you can find me at this motel IN THE UNDERWORLD NEAR HADES YEAH THE GUY I FIND PLEASANT LOOKING” I know Demeter is suppose to look like an over the top mom, but yeah how was that suppose to go down? If she found out her daughter was staying with hades?

Getting an internship with Hades/underworld and not telling her mom. Idk if Hera made it a secret, but again Demeter would probably want to know that stuff being strict as she is, she probably would want Persephone to excel at a job BUT maybe not with Hades idk I forget, again it just shows there no trust between either mother nor daughter. Hera also sucks for testing her friends daughter with out actually having the intention to help perpshone and test if Hades is actually okay.

After everything Demeters gonna be like “this is why I wanted you to commute, I wouldn’t have been shoved in a bird cage if you you just have just commuted to school.”

Like I know persphone has to go out and make her own mistakes, but a lot of it boils down to Persphone was a brat. She demanded she leaves and then later killed some people got her way and then went behind her back and didn’t even want to stay in Olympus. Demeter isn’t blameless in this situation but Persephone is a murderer, glorified side chick, and I just feel that all of Demeter’s worse nightmares about her daughter leaving all happened and worse 

[anxiouspotatorants]

heyy first off im obsessed w your account and the underdog quartet but also i feel like, with your new jess/paris playlist post, we need to acknowledge paris and jess’s first interaction when paris went into luke’s diner in “Richard goes to stars hollow” they had a very subtle interaction but he was clearly memorable enough to her to remember him and his name. I wonder if whenever paris when to stars hollow in the future she would look for jess what do you think

Thank you so much for this ask and the kind words!!! I’m obviously obsessed with UQ too, so finding more people who love that dynamic is just amazing!

Also yes we only had about two direct interactions between Paris and Jess but holy shit was the platonic chemistry there!! Paris bothering to remember him is something I would love to take as a sign that she was a Jess gal (especially since if you combine that with Keiko Agena saying she and Lane are team Jess, that means all my faves support my ship!)

Now for Jess and Paris specifically, I could honestly give you three different types of answers for this. First is that ASP and company didn’t feel like exploring that dynamic, so Paris probably doesn’t think about Jess or seek him out in the future, especially not after Rory’s break up. But that take is boring so let’s go for wild headcanons!

The second approach is on the more realistic side. I bet that Paris would avoid bringing up Jess every time he popped into her mind in front of Rory, but she would be too desperate to finally have that decent conversationalist to not bug Rory about him. She probably wouldn’t head over to Stars Hollow of her own accord considering how disappointed she was with the research results for that article, but she would ask about when Jess could come over to Hartford so she could rip his literary takes to shreds at a nearby cafe or at the elder Gilmores. Once Jess and Rory were a couple, Paris would double down on her requests but probably only have them met once or twice (Jess has work, Rory still has a tendency to compartmentalize parts of her life etc.). Post-breakup Paris would take Rory’s side, but secretly be sad to see a potential friend go. She probably felt like this guys really could be something, not just for Rory who seemed to finally get decent taste in boys, but for Paris who was finally starting to get more true friends. She carries a secret team Jess torch for the rest of the series but hides it in general criticism of any and all guys Rory is involved with.

On to approach three, aka balls to the walls whatever I want!! Hold on to your hat because this will be a long and windy ride:

After the diner-meet, Paris is intrigued by the guy who played along with her interrogation and eye-flirted with Rory. She doesn’t think she’ll see him again, but she would be lying if she said she didn’t want to.

After the dinner at Rory’s, Paris is honestly elated to finally have a great literary conversation with a guy her age. The only one to have come close is Rory, and that doesn’t say much for the «opposite sex» in Paris’ eyes. But she’s also furiously disagreeing with Jess’ «Austen loves Bukowski»-take, so she writes a whole several page argumentative essay and forces Rory to deliver it to Jess the next school day.

Jess responds not with a letter, but by having Rory hand Paris an annotated («blasphemy!») copy of a Bukowski work. There are no arguments from Jess notes, just underlines of quotes he thinks Austen would approve of, and excerpts from different Austen works put in the margins for comparison. Paris despises him for how much she is seeing his point.

At some point Rory get’s sick of being a carrier pigeon and drags Paris with her to ST after school so the two can fight in person. All three stay until Lorelai pops over for dinner, and Paris realizes she needs to haul herself over to the bus. She’s hungry and worried about the time she should have spent on homework, but ultimately really happy about the day.

She’s bummed to see Jess go after the car accident, but doesn’t have much time to think about it between school and… well, school. She does end up being one of the few Rory can talk to about Jess without getting the whole «bad bad boy»-speech she gets over in ST and at her grandparents’.

Rory doesn’t tell Paris Jess is back until the very end of their Washington trip when Paris finds the unfinished letter and Paris is boiling. She does cool quickly, but only to constantly bug Rory about when the three of them are going to meet up again for coffee and verbal war. Rory gets so stressed about it that at some point she gives Paris the number to Luke’s and tells her to go on her own for all Rory cares.

Paris does. Jess is surprised, but they get in the groove quick. What doesn’t go as smoothly is Paris asking what the hell is going on between him and Rory. His non-answers pretty much spell everything out, and in a rare moment of comradery, Paris decides to turn the conversation in to hating on Dean. Jess appreciates it. It doesn’t happen again, but Paris firmly puts herself in the team Jess camp from then on.

Paris is releived once Jess and Rory finally are together and it is great! More cafe talks! Study sessions! Movie nights! They even sneak both Paris and Lane out into concerts! Paris feels like for the first time in a very long time, she has real friends her own age. The kind who actually like you for you and want to spend time with you for you, not just to get better grades or a better reputation.

Paris sucks at being strong for Rory when Jess leaves. Like, she takes it really personal. This was supposed to be the one good guy, and he decided to be just like everyone else. But with time she learns to coach Rory into speaking her mind about the whole thing, and to support her in her own Paris-y way.

What she doesn’t tell Rory is that at some point after summer break (either because she gets hold of Jess for some scolding or because Lane does and spills to Paris or even if Jess gets in touch himself) Jess starts sending Paris beat up books he collects on the road around the country. None of them feature letters (at first), but annotations at the beginning declaring his safety and momentary location, as well as his general style annotations of the book inside the text. Paris starts responding with letters, and with time they start talking on phones and through email.

Paris helps Jess with his GED. They make it an equal study-buddy thing because Paris needs help taking certain writers seriously in her essays. Most of their sessions are over the phone, and a lot of it is just them daring each other to actually try. Paris gets actual stars on her improved essays, and Jess passes with flying colours.

Paris doesn’t know about Truncheon until Jess stands in front of her place ages later, dressed like a Kids Bop version of himself and holding a messengerbag with his debut novel. Paris tears through it in two hours (forcing Jess to sit on the couch next to her the whole time) and then spends another half hour furiously trying to tear it to shreds but actually praising it. She gives him their first hug ever, and hopes this afternoon is a sign they’ll slowly get back to being close friends in person.

Paris sucks at hiding how team Jess she is. So. Much. She does have genuine critiques of Logan and other guys, but her gut-defenses of Jess at random times in the day and weird reminiscing back to the «good old days» of diner talk after school gives her away immediately. Rory is uncomfortable, but Paris doesn’t even change her mind after Rory still picks Logan.

What she does do is invite Jess over for grown up evenings with Doyle. Whenever Rory is scheduled to be out and Jess needs to visit Luke anyway, Paris extends her invitation. They test wines based on price and taste, watch cult classics, eat takeout (in honour of Paris’ very first Mac and Cheese night) and talk for hours. One day wires cross and Jess gets in while Rory is there/Rory gets back while Jess is there and things get awkward.

Paris invites Jess to the graduation. Yes she has a limited amount of tickets and yes it’s weird to invite your friend who has barely been around ever but damn it she wants him there. He came to her when he was celebrating his accomplishments, she wants him to be there for hers.

They actually grow even closer as adults; emailing, texting and calling regularly. About 70% of it is general banter and picking on everything and everyone around them, but it’s a far more loving kind now — not that anyone who isn’t them would know, from the outside it looks like they want to kill each other. Regardless of outcome, Paris remains forever team Jess, and the two end up having each other’s backs for life.

So this went long and away from the point (and I only went through Paris’ pov!) but it was fun to write! I hope you like rant answers!

[dragonotaku-justineverything]

(Pokémon AU) How did Jaune meet his adorable little Eevee, Caramel? And what was his first interactions with Aerial and her own Eevee Mocha like?

Well... I got a bit carried away again. I just love this AU and I'm really getting into Pokemon again recently, so sorry for the long post ahead.

But I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless!

It was a beautiful day outside Beacon Academy. The sun was shining brightly and hardly any clouds were visible. Multiple flocks of Wingull, Starly, Pidgey and other bird-like Pokémon soared freely in the sky around Beacon. A few letting out some faint cries sporadically. The Wooloos were happily grazing and rolling around in their paddock. Many students and visiting trainers alike were outside, just enjoying the nice weather with their Pokémon. This nice weather gave both Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc the idea to enjoy the day with a nice picnic outside with their friends.

On several blankets spread out in a grassy portion of the academy's lavish courtyard near a tree, the group of eight friends were all eating and chatting away. All of their Pokémon were out of their pokeballs and gathered around them.

Some were just lazing about, such as Ren's Greninja sitting cross legged while dozing off with his head tilted down or Weiss's snow white Vulpix snoozing in Weiss's lap while she sat in the shade of the tree. Others were chowing down, like Nora's Shinx or Blake's Litleo, eating berries/Poké food in their own little food bowls. Or in the case of Pyrrha's Aron, he was eating some screws, nuts, bolts, and other small pieces of scrap metal. Yang was busy brushing her Growlithe's fur, and watched her Combuskin running around with Ruby's Zorua.

Jaune was happily munching on a sandwich. He put the sandwich down and moved his hand to lightly scratch Hera's head, who was laying down next to his left thigh. Normally she'd be laying in his lap, but that space was currently taken. A small glass container was resting in a space between his legs. Inside it was a Pokémon egg he'd "won" two months ago wrapped in a blanket, so Hera had settled for laying right next to him instead. She was adapting pretty well to the new circumstances with said egg. Though Jaune was still wondering how she'd react when it finally hatched

His nails lightly scratched just around the base of the tuft of white fur on her head, just where she really liked it. "Shoo-, mmm *swallow*, sorry. So Pyrrha, you're Metang actually evolved on live TV?"

Pyrrha lowered her fork with the next bit of her chicken and strawberry salad to respond with a smile. "Yes indeed. It happened during the final match of my second tournament at Sanctum. It was quite an astonishing sight."

Jaune smiled and leaned back a bit. "I bet! Man, watching a Pokémon evolve in person must be amazing."

Yang looked up from her Growlithe over at him. "You've never seen a Pokémon evolve?"

Jaune chuckled a bit. "W-well I mean I've seen it on video and stuff, just not in person."

Nora shamelessly jumped in and added her two cents. "Neither have I! It must be soooo cool!"

Pyrrha giggled happily and looked over to her Metang, who was actually on the ground for a change instead of floating, with Cubone resting on its head. "Well, watching my Beldum evolve into Metang was definitely a sight I'll never forget."

They group continued to converse, laugh, and just enjoy themselves. Their Pokémon did as well, all of them getting along pretty well. They were all so engrossed in their merriment, none of them noticed another member slowly walking towards their misshapen circle.

That was until she made her move.

Jaune felt a small tug at his hoodie but ignored it, thinking it was just Hera rolling around in her sleep. It was a pointed finger and a question from Ren that actually made him look. "Uuuh Jaune... do you know who... that is?"

"Huh?" Jaune looked down to where his friend was pointing, which was by his stomach. There, in his hoodie's pocket near his stomach, was a small little brown Pokémon with a small, furry body and a big fluffy brown tail.

And half of its body was buried inside his hoodie pocket, rummaging around in it.

"WAH!??" Jaune nearly jumped up in surprise, but he managed to stay pretty still for the most part, trying not to jostle the egg between his legs. However, he still shot back an inch or two when he threw his hands up above him and fell back, his head lightly landing on the blanket.

Hera, startled by her Papa's sudden jolt, sprang up to her feet and spun to look at him. She lowered her stance, ready to defend him if she needed to! That's when she saw the little brown Pokémon as well, now standing on top of her Papa's stomach while he was laying back, but its top half was still stuffed in her Papa's pocket! What was it doing? Was it trying to attack him?! She wouldn't let it!

"Growl! ROW! GRO-!" She had just started barking at it when someone else's yelling stopped her.

"Eevee! Stop that! That's very rude!"

The brown Pokémon stopped moving finally, and stood still for a moment on Jaune's stomach, then slowly started walking backwards. It took a little tugging, but it finally pulled itself out of Jaune's pocket. As it got free, everyone around got a good look at its top half.

The first thing they all noticed was a large collar of fluffy, cream colored fur. Then two long, thin ears on top of its head. Finally its small, soft, squarish face with two big dark eyes and a happy smile. As well as a small plastic candy wrapper hanging from said smile.

Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Nora all let out a coo of "Awwwwww" at the same time.

"Eevee no!" The group again heard the voice call out again, and almost all at once, they looked away from the 'Eevee' and towards where it was coming from.

There they saw a young girl, running up to their group with her arms waving above her. She was quite slender, had dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had a light blue jacket on, open in the front to show she had on a black halter top underneath it. A pair of tight black and blue pants with heeled fur boots matching in color. A simple black choker around her neck finished her outfit nicely.

Then the group noticed that a Pokémon that was just like the one on top of Jaune right now was also running alongside the girl. One this one had a small band of flowers around the base of one of its ears. It was hopping/skipping along right by her feet as they both ran towards them, its whole body arcing into the air as it followed her.

Within just a few seconds, she was right next to them, her arms still frantically waving. "Eevee you can't just jump on people you don't know like that! That's very rude! And give that candy back! You can't go stealing from peo-" The girl abruptly stopped her admonishment of the Pokémon as she finally looked at who Eevee was still standing on top of. "...JAUNE!?"

Jaune, still laying on his back, turned his head to look at the new girl that screamed his name, and quickly shot back up to a sitting position when he saw her. "Aerial!?"

The two looked at each other for a moment, then both smiled widely and started to laugh. Aerial started talking first. "Hey! What are the odds of running into you like this!"

"Me? What are you doing here haha?!"

Aerial leaned over a bit, smiling down at him. "Aunt Juniper said you'd gone off to Beacon, but I wasn't expecting to see you so soon!"

Jaune, still sitting, smiled brightly back up at her. "Yeah hahaha, it's always been my dream to go to a professional Pokémon academy after all haha. Hera's here too!" As Jaune finished, he pointed towards the Fire-Type.

Aerial shifted her gaze to her and her eyes brightened even more. She got down on her knees and hunched forward, getting close to Hera's height. "Heeeera~ hi! It's been such a long time! How are you?"

Hera's earlier confidence seemed to wane a bit as she started to look a little nervous. Papa seemed to know this woman and was happy to see her, so she shouldn't be worried, but she still pulled back a bit from Aerial. She seemed a little familiar to her as well, but she wasn't sure...

Jaune chuckled. "She might not remember you, Aerial. It was a couple years ago now."

Aerial pouted childishly and straightened her back, "Awwww that's a shame. I definitely remember her!"

"I don't doubt that. You loved her as a kid."

"Uuuummm... hello?"

Jaune and Aerial turned their heads in unison to look at who spoke.

Yang was holding a hand up, like she was waiting to get noticed or called upon. "Uuuh yeah, we're still here. Mind uuuuh, filling us in on what's happening Jaune?"

Jaune sweatdropped a little, slightly embarrassed that he'd completely forgotten about the others present for a minute there. "He he, sorry guys." With one hand, he gestured to Aerial. "Everyone, this is my cousin, Aerial Yeager. She's from Atlas actually, so that's why I was so surprised to see her."

Aerial waved at the group, still with a smile on her lips. "Hi everyone! I trust Jaune's been good to all of you."

A lot of them nodded at that, and many of their Pokémon had stopped in their activities and gathered around as well, looking at the new arrival.

Aerial's eyes scanned over all of them and began to sparkle. "Awwww you all have such amazing Pokémon!"

"Speeeeaking of which... Aerial, are these Pokémon yours?"

Aerial turned away from the group and back to Jaune. He was pointing down right beside him. There, the Eevee from earlier that jumped on Jaune was licking away at the now unwrapped candy that it got from his pocket, looking completely carefree. Meanwhile, it looked like the Eevee with flowers that ran up with Aerial around its ears was admonishing it.

"Y-yeah, they are. H-hey Eevee what did I say! That isn't yours!" Eevee stopped licking and looked up at her with a head tilt, then just went back to licking the candy happily. "Hooooh." Aerial sighed and bowed her head, feeling defeated at being ignored.

"Hey it's no big deal Aerial, I have plenty of these caramel candies. I was just caught off guard when Eevee just appeared out of nowhere."

"Yeah sorry about her. She's kind of a handful sometimes. She likes doing what she likes when she likes. Oh, everyone," Aerial gestured in front of her towards the two small Eevees. "This is Mocha and Eevee, their sisters."

Blake was the first to catch what she said. "Mocha?"

"Ah yeah, that's what I call my Eevee, the one with the flowers. The other Eevee... Well, no matter what name I try, she doesn't respond to it. Coca, Ginger, Toffee, Hazel... she doesn't seem to like anything I pick out for her."

The group all turned to the Eevee still licking away at the candy, not noticing or caring about all the eyes on her. Mocha seemed a little annoyed at her sister's actions still, but had stopped reprimanding her as she didn't seem to care too much.

Jaune looked down at the Eevee right next to him, then slowly reached a hand over and gently rubbed his index finger on its head. "You sure do like that candy huh? Did you smell it and that's why you came over to me?"

Eevee didn't seem to mind the light petting. In fact she seemed to like it as she enjoyed her treat. She stopped her licking for just a moment and looked up at the person petting her. "Vee vee vi!"

Jaune chuckled at its happy cries.

"Grooow!"

A very familiar voice on his other side made Jaune turn his head to see a begging Hera standing next to him. "Oh sorry Hera, you probably want some pets too." Jaune reached his free hand over and gently began petting Hera's white floof on top of her head. That immediately put a smile on the Growlithe's face and she happily nuzzled Jaune's hand back.

Aerial shook her head in slight disbelief. "Same old Jaune. Always a whizz with Pokémon."

Now that the excitement had fully died down, the group went back to lounging about like they were, now with an extra member as Aerial sat down and joined them at Jaune's invitation.

They all talked and got to know each other more. Aerial explained how she was indeed from Atlas, but had come with a few friends on a trip to Vale and Beacon to explore what kinds of Pokémon were here. Aerial told them about her friends, her school, and of course also her Pokémon. They were all surprised by how many she already had. A Braviary, a Ludicolo, and a Munchlax. Plus her two Eevee's as her companions, that made five Pokémon in total! There were teachers at Beacon that didn't have that many!

After about another two to three hours of talking, laughing, bonding, and snacking (Jaune offered some of his food to Aerial which she gratefully accepted), the sun was beginning to set and Aerial said she had to go. She stood up; brushed some crumbs off of her pants; said her goodbyes to everyone, giving Jaune her scroll number and promising that they'd talk again soon; and called for Mocha and Eevee to come along. Only that's not what they did.

Mocha stood up with her no problem and was ready to go, but Eevee didn't. She just kept laying down next to Jaune where she'd been for the past hour getting pets and even , licking a second caramel candy that Jaune had given her. She didn't move at all at Aerial's call.

"Eevee? Come on, it's time for us to go."

Again, Eevee didn't move.

"Eevee." This time Aerial's voice was a little more stern. "We need to go. Now come on." Aerial walked over to the Eevee and bent over to pick her up. Before she even touched her, Eevee had snatched up her treat and jumped into Jaune's lap, getting a surprised "Ooph!" from him. She set her treat down and turned to look at Aerial. Then for the first time all day, it let out a cry. "Eev! Ve ve Eevee!"

Aerial pulled back. She was surprised to hear Eevee talk back directly to her. Sure she didn't listen sometimes, but never out right talked back at her. "Eevee! What's gotten into you?"

Eevee didn't respond this time, just curled up in Jaune's lap and hunkered down.

Everyone watched this unfold, but only Ren spoke up. "I think Eevee is trying to say that she'd like to stay with Jaune."

Aerial looked over at the stoic boy, wide eyed. "W-wha? Wait really?" Aerial looked back at the tiny curled up Pokémon in Jaune's lap, happily laying down with her eyes closed, her treat finished in a hurried bite. "B-but... Eevee really? Y-you wanna stay with Jaune?"

Eevee looked up to Aerial, smiled easily, and nodded. "Ve ve!" It definitely seemed to be happy.

Aerial kept looking down at Eevee, and Eevee kept looking up at her. After a few seconds, Aerial's expression shifted from being slightly sad, to understanding. "Okay. Well then, let's see what Jaune thinks." Aerial looked down to cousin, his confused face making her almost giggle. "Jaune, it looks like Eevee has taken a liking to you. Would you like to keep her around with you? I know you'd take amazing care of her, so I'd be comfortable with you taking her with you if you want."

Jaune's mind nearly exploded from hearing that! His cousin was asking him if he'd like to have another Pokémon!? For real?! Jaune felt his lips twitch upwards before he even said anything. He looked down at the Eevee in his lap. She seemed very happy there, and she'd wanted to stay with him first. Jaune looked back up to Aerial and nodded once. "I'd love to. And I promise that I'll give her the best care that I possibly can!"

Aerial knew he'd say that. He loved Pokémon, so being offered one by a family member was probably like a dream for him. "Well alright then. I have to say... I-I'm sad to see you go, Eevee." Eevee looked up at Aerial when she said her name. "But... if this is what you want, then I can accept it. I know Jaune will take great care of you, and I can call to see you anytime I want. So... you take care of yourself and Jaune alright? Your sister and I will see you again, sometime real soon, I promise."

Eevee smiled and leaped out of Jaune's lap, landing close to Aerial's feet. The little Pokémon nuzzled her head against Aerial's leg and let out faint coos. Aerial quickly dropped down and scooped Eevee into a tight hug. She held it for at least 10 seconds before she let her go, setting her softly back down on the grass. When she did, Mocha bounced over to her sister and they started talking by themselves, most likely saying their own goodbyes while Aerial stood back up. "Okay, I guess this is goodbye for now Eevee. Jaune, I'll definitely be expecting some video calls from you now. Oh, and maybe you'll be able to think of a good name for her too."

Jaune, now no longer having a Pokemon in his lap, stood up. He was careful not to bump the container with the egg in front of him as he did so. He stood up straight, showing off just how much taller he was than his cousin. "You got it Aerial. I hope we meet again sometime soon as well. This was fun." He took a step forward and embraced her in a hug, which she returned.

When they separated, Aerial stepped back. "Okay, well... we really have to head out now. My friends are all probably waiting for me back in Vale and I need to catch a Bullhead before they stop for the night. It was nice meeting you all! I hope to meet you all again someday!" Aerial started to leave, and Mocha, having finished her goodbye to her sister with a loving nuzzle, followed her.

Eevee watched as they left. Eevee suddenly bounced forward a few feet in their direction and let out a loud "Eeeeveeeee! Eeeeeveee!", saying goodbye for now to her family.

Aerial stopped and turned her head back to look at her after her cry. She smiled back at her and waved before continuing. As the pair got farther and farther away, Eevee returned back to the group, stopping in front of Jaune.

Jaune smiled and knelt down to be closer to her. "Eevee, I'm touched that you wanted to stay with me. I promise that we'll have some amazing adventures together! Oh, there's someone that I want you to officially meet now! This is Hera." As Jaune said her name, the red Growlithe walked up next to her Papa and stood next to him proudly. "She's my best friend and has been with me since I was a kid. I hope you two can be friends."

Hera padded forward and stopped right in front of Eevee. She looked down at the smaller Pokemon with a big smile. She leant forward and gave Eevee a big lick on her head, which Eevee started to laugh at. The two then began to talk to each other in their out cries, and Jaune could already tell they'd get along fine.

"Well... that was sure something huh?" Jaune looked behind him and saw Nora holding her Shinx in her arms, and all his other friends smiling at him.

"Haha yeah, I guess so. Aerial's always been super trusting of family, but this shocked even me."

Yang walked forward and lightly punched his arm in a friendly way. "So... got any names for your new friend Vomit Boy?"

Jaune, while he was rubbing his now sore arm, looked down at Eevee again. As he did, he noticed a wrapper from the caramel candies he'd given to the Eevee earlier. "Huh..." Jaune knelt down and picked up the wrapper, then looked at it in his hand. "Maybe I do. Hey Eevee?"

The Pokemon stopped speaking with Hera and looked over to the kneeling Jaune. She quickly skipped over to sit right in front of him. "I was thinking, since Aerial couldn't think of a name you liked, yet you liked these candies so much, how about I just call you Caramel?"

Eevee looked up to him curiously with her big doughy eyes. Slowly those eyes began to shine with joy and she jumped up at him. Thankfully Jaune was used to this sort of thing thanks to Hera, so he caught her easily since she was a lot lighter.

"Whoa haha! Okay then, I guess that's a winner huh? Well, welcome to the team Caramel!"

AND! FINALLY! DONE!

Aerial Yeager is an OC created by my good friend @jace-the-writer-guy, who is also Jaune's cousin on her mom's side. I owe him a big thanks for helping me write this because I constantly was asking for specific info on his OC and him giving me ideas for stuff.

I'd been planning this out bit by bit for so long, so I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed this origins ask for Caramel, Jaune's Eevee!

[quidfree]

just screamed over your fem todobaku it was endlessly entertaining and I’m sure to be rereading it every two weeks from now on... the way katsuki pieces things together and the absurd setting is everything I wanted and more TT!!! For prompts.. tdbk’s relationship in the eyes of their classmates? That moment in a prev fic where momo is like yeah I’m with jirou now 🤗n then tdrk goes oh me too but w bkg is forever embedded into my brain lmfaooo like what does everyone make of this insane pair

pftttttt glad it fulfilled your expectations anon i love writing half-serious todobaku pieces where they are still 50/50 strategic geniuses and emotional morons as per canon but the setting is increasingly absurd. i don't know what the context was for giant deku in that sketch but the visual was too good. date-crasher deku at it again.

as for ur prompt i do love the concept bc i live for third party pov content but i would find it v hard to get done in the prompt format bc 1) honestly a lot of the 1A students (etc) don’t have very defined personalities lol and 2) when it comes to those who do i have too much to say to do this in an hour. however i can give you some bulletpoint summaries of the BNOCs (and if you have any specific niche classmates whose take you want do let me know). with that being said...

kirishima: forever and always a supportive bestie and thus leader of the todobaku fanclub. i mean just read my fic yknow. 1000% called it on bakugous side first (and/or bakugou told him) and has been enthusiastically supportive ever since. hes a big ol romantic really and also unironically thinks todobaku is the manliest of pairings (and totally made for each other, bro!!) so hes beyond stoked when they do get together. hes one of their most comfy third wheels bc he and bakugou r very close and he and todoroki r also good friends so no one is like on uncomfortable/uneven footing and hes unfazed by the ups and downs of their relationship bc hes used to both of their antics. the secret-keeper.

i don’t have enough separate intel on the rest of the bakusquad but they’re 1) completely thrown by the revelation that after years of wheedling and trying to set bakugou up into surprise dates he is not in fact ‘work-sexual’, and to top this off is actually into todoroki of all people 2) obnoxiously supportive, as you would expect. secretly they’re all kind of defensive of bakugou’s fragile heart (citation needed) and so nervous about how the whole thing is gonna work out but when it becomes apparent todoroki does not have better sense they relax and just become excessively nosy. like to complain that bakugou and todoroki weren’t content dominating their year academically and professionally they also had to steal out 2 of the country’s most eligible bachelors, the selfish bastards.

camie: second leader of the todobaku fanclub, idc. clocks it ahead of literally anyone else in their friend group bc she just, like, got that vibe, you know? theres a multitude of equally blunt and inappropriate ways in which she addresses this vibe (calling them out in person when theyre years away from it, trying to not especially artfully orchestrate a get-together, etc) and they are all very unsuccessful. shes ‘lowkey mad bakugou stole her potential man’ but ‘finders keepers’ so once they’re past that she’s all for it since she correctly thinks they r freaks best suited to e/o and also honestly probably thinks bl is cute or something. todoroki and bakugou both endure her encouragement very long-sufferingly. big double dater energy.

yaoyorozu: not at all in the first to clock gang, bc honestly the idea she has of todoroki is still a lil idealized/inaccurate and certainly does not involve dating bakugou; the initial reveal is inevitably delivered very casually to her as she scrambles for a polite reaction. she’s kind of wary of the whole thing at face value but close scrutiny leads her to conclude they’re actually not-terrible together. upon reaching this conclusion she begins making earnest overtures towards a very confused bakugou bc she figures she may as well make the effort to get to know him better. i always hc her as having had a crush of some variety on todoroki at some point so theres probs a bit of wistfulness involved and also a far larger ‘nvm dodged that bullet’ energy bc todobaku r romantically a mess and a half. to her despair she is extremely weak to camie’s todobaku gossip.

uraraka: to everyone’s vague bewilderment, a secret todobaku stan from the get-go. you could say this is bc it leaves deku solidly open but honestly she just has similarly odd friendships with todoroki and bakugou and it’s like a persistent guilty thought of hers that they’re kind of well-suited somehow. she often tells todoroki he can do better just to wind bakugou up but would be the first to take bakugou’s side if he actually did. she really enjoys them together bc she finds somehow they’re easier to tease- it humanizes them both further to be weak to dumb emotions. she plays counsellor sometimes but like subtly bc she knows better than to give outright advice.

iida: completely blindsided by the information, also spends several months in the grips of insomnia convinced that both their friend group and japan are doomed given the inevitable dramatic breakup. then he spends a singular day hanging around them at work or something and realises that his imagined version of them as a couple was in fact completely off-base bc they’re just overly intense workaholics who are too single-focused to ever bother splitting up. also top 1 most likely friend to launch into a completely sincere defense of them and their relationship in response to like the laziest off-color paparazzi bait comment.

midoriya: where to begin honestly. he def gets weird vibes from them throughout the whole usual melodrama but 200% does not come to the right conclusions. when he finally gets the news broken to him (never gently) his brain breaks a little. it’s mainly the bakugou element bc kacchan is.. kacchan and like.. not necessarily fundamentally someone midoriya has ever imagined harboring human interest in another living person. also todoroki in a parallel way has always struck him as resoundingly disinterested in relationships mainly bc hes kind of above them. of course once he sets to theorising he can connect some dots to bakugous various jealousies over the years and also todorokis pretty open staring and wow he is not very good at connecting dots actually. anyways once he recovers from the shock i think theres a variety of ways in which he takes it bc honestly it is very weird that his best friend and his .. closest friend (?) who have always primarily interacted through or due to him now have this competing private relationship. regardless obv he is intensely supportive in like, the typical kind of overbearing midoriya way. i sometimes make it so its just one of those things that everyones cool with but also the details will always be something midoriya and bakugou do not want midoriya to know bc Awkward, vs other times i make him super cool w it to the extent that hes just overenthusiastic and todorokis all oh. sure. thanks :) while bakugou loses his shit. he does genuinely think they’re a really good fit upon reflexion, and since he’s best suited to knowing why he’s p much always correct in his assessments. its one of those things where each duo in the trio has the capacity of playing up the subject matter to the third party’s detriment, tho when todoroki is the third party he’s less embarrassed by bakudeku’s todobaku discourse and more enduring their various bizarre friendship rituals + the serious physical damage they usually precede.

also aizawa clocks them first and is like oh god please no this is going to take at least 5 years to implode and will age me 10 years in the process

[pinkjiminssi]

So.. About That Hickey..

I think I’m still processing all of this and reminding myself I’m not dreaming 🤣 I seriously only got 3 hours of sleep last night and when I woke up the first thing I did was check twitter to be sure this “drunk bridal-style spinning hickey neck biting proudly showing off” moment actually happened!! 

.. I hate the way my brain works though. I was so happy that it took me forever to fall asleep, spent all day on cloud 9 despite being tired, .. and then my old nemesis, anxiety, stepped in. Well kind of. TBH if all of the MOTS ON:E Jikook moments we got happened with Jimin/anyone else or Jungkook/anyone else.. I would seriously be sitting here saying “well fuck.. I believe they WERE a couple, but looking at all of this it seems they are no longer together.” So really, this just confirmed what I already knew about Jimin and Jungkook: they’re a couple. My anxiety is over.. why? Why show us this? If they can cover all of JK’s tattoos, a hickey/bite mark/whatever we’re calling it should be super easy to hide. Sure it was just rehearsal.. but it was rehearsal with cameras rolling with every intention of releasing what was being filmed as future content. It could have (and some might argue should have) been covered.

Guys... I’m confused. And concerned. ❗❗❗ TW for drama, hate, homophobia, the usual anti issues

That “official” explanation.. again.. why? I’m assuming Jimin and Jungkook were asked and allowed to explain because of the chance of it being spotted and armys freaking out, so BH (or possibly even Jikook) thought to get ahead of the speculation by just being up front about it all.. but THAT explanation? I suppose it works for covering up the army panic of “Jungkook has a girlfriend?! *insert fangirl sobbing*” .. but that’s literally all it does (and only barely if you go looking at some of the anti’s reactions to it all). Really, all it did was draw even more attention and speculation. I mean.. this is, essentially, what we were told: Jimin and Jungkook were together the night before drinking, apparently without the other members as they didn’t seem to know all of this already (and they would have if they had been there), somehow hanging out and having drinks turns into Jungkook picking Jimin up bridal style (random but some of the k-army reactions on twitter were translating through google into “princess style” and I just think that’s so cute 🥰), spinning ensues, Jimin gets dizzy and wants Jungkook to put him down, ... and so he proceeds to do the only logical thing that any of us would have done in that situation... biting Jungkook’s neck? And hard enough to leave a mark the next day?? And instead of being peeved about it (like most of us would have been if our friend bit the crap out of us), Jungkook looks happy?? proud even??? 

And they arrived together the next day and continue to be cute and playful? 

I just.. I mean.. come on. First of all.. that’s a hickey. A bite leaves teeth marks. And one would assume a wild, drunken “let me down” chomp would be something that happens suddenly and ends very quickly. I know I for sure would drop someone on their ass if they decided to take a bite out of my neck (assuming I was even picking up and spinning around with one of my friends like that to begin with.. but let’s not even get into why that was going on at this point) .. but the way this bruised? Yeah. There were no teeth involved (at least not hard enough to leave indentations) and this took more than a couple of seconds of mouth-to-neck contact to still be that visible the next day. So.. in short. Jungkook arrives with a hickey, JK decides to not cover it up (or he would have shown up with it hidden and we see him get out of the car that morning with it clearly visible), BH staff sees it and also decides to not have it covered up and actually have it explained... and the explanation is “oh yeah Jimin just bit him, you know.. no big deal hehehe isn’t that funny?” 🤯 WHAT?! Yeah.. that’s totally normal, platonic behavior between adults...

I’m not saying Jimin and Jungkook are lying btw. I have no doubt it played out more or less exactly as they said with the exception of what they’re calling the end result. Jimin and Jungkook are fine.. I mean, what were they supposed to say? They’re not going to show up saying Jimin was sucking on Jungkook’s neck the night before. We’ll probably never know why Jungkook decided to not cover it up before arriving, but it’s his body and he gets to decide. It’s BH that has me so puzzled. Other than antis and people who refuse to see what’s literally right in front of their faces when it comes to Jikook.. who were BH expecting to believe the bite thing? Just among staff and the other members, it’s a laughable but safe “oh of course *wink wink*” explanation that allows everyone to carry on like normal. But to the public who don’t know them personally, don’t know their usual behavior and patterns, and who don’t have something like a non-disclosure agreement or professional courtesy preventing them from openly speculating.. it doesn’t fly. Pretty much everyone teen and up knows what a hickey looks like (either from having gotten/given one or at least seeing one on someone else in person or online). It’s immediately obvious what it is. And even if there was some uncertainty.. that it’s on his neck (instead of other easily accessible and less sensitive/stimulating locations) and just so happens to be right near his mole as it Jimin were aiming for it? Just another “too many coincidences” thing when it comes to Jikook.

Even antis on twitter couldn’t deny what it was and, so, had to resort to the “well I do that with my sibling and my uncle’s pet raccoon all the time it’s just family things” excuse and/or the “yeah well someone ELSE in the group (or a girlfriend) gave him that and they’re just covering by saying it was Jimin.” Oh. And the same old “it’s just fan service” excuse (as if Jungkook would let someone bruise his neck for the purposes of fanservice which, again, BTS has never done or needed to do. Forever pissed off that so many in this fandom act like Jungkook is a puppet doing whatever the “evil company” tells him to do regardless of his personal feelings or boundaries. The man has tattoos covering nearly every inch of his arm despite that being looked down on in Korea. At this point he can do whatever the fuck he wants). So.. why?? Seriously, why? This all could have easily been avoided with simple makeup.

When they’re doing official content they’re all literally followed around by a flurry of staff fixing hair, dabbing sweat, touching up makeup, etc. Even though it was rehearsal, staff were everywhere in the footage that’s made its way online. If they were worried that it would be seen in the background and “taken the wrong way,” just have the staff occasionally touch up the makeup. “Easy peasy lemon squeezy.” But instead of doing the obvious, BH decides to: not cover it, draw attention to it by asking about it and letting them continue to talk about it, go out of their way to get a camera on it, and then include it in the final cut of the content they sent out?

BTS is literally the most popular group in the world right now and BH has become a behemoth of a company that runs like a well-oiled machine. They’re not stupid; this was not a mistake. For some reason they wanted us to see this and, one would assume based on the lack of a more believable explanation, they wanted us to come to the conclusion that we all have: Jimin gave Jungkook a hickey. You know they have teams dedicated to monitoring reactions to content on social media. You know they know the dialog surrounding Rosebowl, Black Swan MMA, the Memories 2020 “almost kiss,” etc. etc. All of this got “jikook,” “hickey” and variations of their names trending for HOURS (in multiple countries and worldwide). 

Out of curiosity, I decided to check the trends at the time of writing this. As of 3 AM CST (about 24 hours AFTER the clips started showing up online), there was still a hashtag trending related to all of this: #FREEJUNGKOOK.. and the tweets being directed toward BH are.. disturbing to say the least:

While I agree that the boys should trend more often based on their talents and music.. what’s going on right now is a homophobic 💩 show accusing BH of “scripting” interactions (rather than.. you know.. Jungkook interacting with whoever he wants however he wants.. the usual “mindless puppet JK” narrative), trying to coordinate the mass sending of angry emails, trying to get people to stop buying paid content, accusing BH of taking advantage of the members.. I mean it goes on and on. And BH know what’s going on right now. They’re seeing the reactions... the good and the extremely negative. And still they let this out. And this is all not even CONSIDERING the mountain of other moments that made the cut on MOTS ON:E. 

(side note, the above pic just oozes happiness and it’s so cute I love it!! 😭)

So.. even though I’ve said it dozens of times already... WHY? W H Y? I’m an anxious person by nature and not very trusting. I believe Jimin and Jungkook and I don’t think they’ve been lying and pretending for “fanservice” all of these years. I respect them both too much as individuals and artists to believe that they would stoop to such tactics just to generate a little more “interest” and revenue. I’m suspicious of BH. BTS doesn’t need fanservice to get attention; literally all of 2020 and 2021 so far has proven that beyond a doubt. Even if they suddenly made the decision to do fs.. why not go with the most popular ship (taekook) or at least one that isn’t so hotly debated on social media (remove Jimin, Jungkook and Tae from the equation and you still have four members to “play” with who have much less potential to have fs devolve into a toxic crap show all over the internet). Showing us this will do nothing to help BTS as a group or Jimin and Jungkook at this point. In fact.. all it can do is hurt. Hurt BH, hurt the group, and hurt the individual members, heck.. even potentially hurt other BH/HYBE groups. I’ve already seen people on twitter saying they’re “done” spending money on anything BH or BTS puts out because they’re “sick of jikook in their faces and just two of the seven hogging all of the screen time.” Whether or not that “spending freeze” actually materializes into anything noticeable remains to be seen of course.. but the threat is there and always has been. What is the motive? And why now? As much as my “hopeless romantic” heart would like to believe they’re preparing us for Jikook to be “out” .. I seriously don’t think that is ever going to happen. Certainly not now at the height of the group’s fame, with them being given Presidential honors and ambassador status, and with military service still looming over them all. And let’s not forget... Korea is NOT a safe place for a queer couple. Letting us see and know what they did through what was released has the potential to put Jimin and Jungkook (and the other members by proxy) in danger. Sure.. BTS has never been hardline rule followers and have been breaking molds and shattering norms from the start, so “officially” having an openly gay couple in the group wouldn’t be impossible.. just... highly highly improbable. Especially right now... and I’m concerned. I don’t want to sound like the creeps I posted a screenshot of above throwing blame at the company. The boys chose to renew their contracts with the for a reason so we have to trust their judgement as a group... but still, I’m worried and I’m questioning what the purpose was here. 

[btsandvmin]

why do u think fandom brozone vmin so much? it doesnt happen nearly as often w other ships

I have talked about this a great deal before, and for good reason. It does happen a lot, and it has always been like this. At least I can speak for the years I have been in the fandom as the first post I ever made properly was about this exact topic. (The “bromance” issue) It’s short and a bit outdated, and honestly we also have to admit that while a lot of people still keep insisting on Vmin not being shippable and being “brozoned or friendzoned” there are also a lot more people who both ship Vmin and even see actual real potential in them being more. (You can even tell by the increase in analysis here on tumblr.)

Personally regarding the “issue” of how Vmin are viewed I am no longer as annoyed with it as I used to be. I do think it’s mainly a problem when other shippers come and say it about Vmin, because that is frankly just hypocritical. I have also written  Normalizing Vmin or “Vmin” and  Shipping vs Believing that explains more about my views on the subject of friendzoning and shipping as a whole. (Personally I feel Vmin get more friendzoned than brozoned, but that’s just a minor detail.)

But your question was about why you think the fandom brozone/friendzone Vmin so much, so let’s get to that.

First of all I obviously think there are several reasons, but this is all based on my speculations after being in this fandom for so long and what I have seen. Every person could have their own very different reasons to why they think the way they do. I think all the reasons play a part, but might not be equally important and might also not apply to every single person, but rather affect the fandom as a whole in one way or another.

So let’s break it down to the things I think play the biggest role in why Vmin are seen as platonic, regardless of if they are or not, just simply compared to a lot of the other ships.

1. They have since the start used the label “friend” or “best friend” to describe each other. In particular the label “chingu” of course, which in actuality is used to described someone of the same age that you are close with. 

2. The English translation and constant use of “friend” will when repeated constantly get stuck in people’s minds and affect how they view a dynamic. Just how “hyung” gets translated to brother, but a lot less well known and noted by the fandom. Basically the western fandom will likely get even more platonic feelings towards Vmin because of the word being translated to friends.

3. Compared to the other “chingus” in the group, Namjoon and Hobi, there is much more emphasis on Vmin as the same age and as being close and best friends. Namjoon himself made a comment on this. I also think the use of “friends” or more recently “soulmates” by editors is a reply to this, basically that the editors too use these words because they are used a lot by the members first. Hence it gets doubly reinforced. Every time we hear it or read it we get another reminder of Vmin being friends.

4. Their early dymanics were less soft. A lot of their interactions were teasing like Taehyung’s “Jiminie pabo” and fans saw it as two siblings or friends rather than as the “teasing your crush”. Basically people didn't read their behavior as romantic. When BTS first started Vmin already called each other best friends, and that stuck, even more so in combination with people basically not seeing any "spark" between them. I would call this preference in a lot of cases.

5. There were in the beginning already a lot of competition between ships. Jimin often focused in a lot on JK and basically flirted with him while he at the same time brushed off Tae when he did similar towards Jimin. Meanwhile Tae and JK had a very physical relationship as well and JK often seemed the most open and comfortable with Tae. I think both of Vmin kind of pushing themselves on and teasing JK was a dynamic many shippers like. Meanwhile you aslo had Yoonmin getting popular due to Yoongi seeming a bit soft on Jimin and Jimin being very open and loud with wanting attention from Yoongi.

6. Some people find Vmin's dynamics boring. To a lot of shippers “too” obvious closeness might be a little boring and get labeled as just being friends or bros. This was in particular evident in the early days of Vmin. It also matters for fan content, and we can see a lot of Vmin fiction use a bit more “soft” tropes and might not get as many readers as more conflict driven plot. For me I would also include Vmin’s bias towards each other as another point here, that people might see as too much if they are a couple and have to hide. Basically a lot of people don’t see friendship to romance as the most interesting, or the "obvious and equal dynamic" as interesting. BTS said Vmin were the closest or the “best duo” etc. but since all of them were close people picked based on preference for their ship. Of course this still applies to shippers now, they fall for the type of dynamic they like, but now they also have a easier time getting convinced by material from other shippers. Having analysis is another thing that can make a ship more appealing as well.

7. Speaking of, fan content getting created and spread will reinforce certain images. Reading BTS fanfiction or watching moment videos you will see a lot of Vmin being “the best friends”. Basically once the image is used a lot, it will get more spread and used even more. It will be a constant in many places and when talking to a lot of people. It will also of course pull people in to other ships that makes Vmin impossible. Not to mention the big ships will get bigger and spread more easily.

8. Now this might not be true for a lot of people. But I have come across a lot of fans who seem to think being a friend is something that makes romance less likely. For me I want my partner to be my best friend as well, but a lot of people do see these two things as mutually exclusive. Many see friend and lover as two very different things and that you have one best friend and one partner, not someone that are both. Basically just the view on friendships and labels and how that might lead to some feeling being romantically involved is something separate from a close friendship. 

9. Other ships spreading the narrative even further. It’s easier to just call Vmin friends, honestly. It’s often hard to deny their closeness (not that you should have to just because you ship something else, doesn’t change reality). But Vmin being so close and being part of the three biggest ships in BTS of course their label as best friends will be spread and used even more by those shippers. And because of the size of those ships it eventually gets turned into not just those shippers views, but the whole fandom’s.

10. More recently I would also say fear is a reason why people push back and try to remind the fandom that Vmin are “just friends”. Because we have very bad examples of what happens when shipping goes too far, basically it makes many non shippers try to protect Vmin from the same faith. Not a bad thing (again, as long as you don’t ship something else and is a hypocrite), but it surely does further the narrative of Vmin being very platonic. (A bad group is of course included here, which are homophobic fans, but since they feel the same about all ships it’s just a sidenote.)

11. Lastly, and probably most influentual, is the fact that Vmin and BTS friendzone Vmin in many ways, constantly. 

I won’t go into all the examples, but I think we all know a few moments even at the top of our heads by now.

I mean.... They called their song about being soulmates and wanting to be together for eternity "Friends". And maybe that's what they are, but they sure like to remind us.

So we have times when BTS or Vmin basically remind us and spells it out even more clearly that Vmin are FRIENDS. They use it very very often, and personally to me sometimes at very weird moments. Even so, the things most fans see will of course be what they say. Vmin are friends and that is it.

And at face value that is true. I just personally don’t see being best friends (and soulmates) as meaning they can’t be more as well. Especially since they wouldn’t even be able to say more than that. I mean, if Vmin are basically described as the closest in BTS, then why does that mean they have less odds of being real? Being friends doesn’t have to equal being only friends.

However, Vmin have in fact said things against being interested/denied the other, I don’t want to lie. I am sure some would see this as 100% truth and use it againt the possibility of Vmin being real. Like when Taehyung basically said he would rather date Hobi.

However, Jimin said he would definitely choose Taehyung to date, but that gets ignored by people who ship Jimin with others, so it’s really just about choosing what fits your narrative. All ships have contradicting moments or statments or answers where they answer two different things at two different times in general.

We also have how Jimin answered back to Taehyung about liking men by saying he isnt “like that” to Taehyung.

There are moments like this, and even though they might be small and forgotten by most I think they could in a sense still have registered in some fans who then basically managed to spreak the “vmin are just bros/friends” into the more common perception. 

However we also have opposite moments when they try to appeal to each other, or like when Taehyung asks Jimin to be the girlfriend etc. and personally though I do take these things into account it’s a bit like when you see members say “men can’t do this or that” and it doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t be queer. To me even though there are things against most ships, there are still a lot that speaks for some, and that’s why I remain unsure.

Sometimes you might get more defensive or nervous if there is some truth in there as well. It’s all about interpretation, even though I don’t want to blatantly ignore what they say. But since they have said and done directly contradicting things (like how Jimin said he would choose to date Tae while also saying he doesn’t act like “that” to Tae, or how they have changed a lot of answers in general) I also don’t see it as something definitely against them being more. Not to mention time can change things as well. 

In the end though this isn’t about what other things there might be that show Vmin might be more than friends or not, but simply reasons for the fandom’s view of them as platonic. (Personally I think they do a lot of things not normally seen as platonic, which is obviously the reason for me having this blog and writing anlysis on them.)

So, Vmin is friendzoned by the group, and by shippers of bigger ships, and even by themselves at times. Then everything else is reinforcement and inability to view them as anything more than friends.

There are some other things I think might play a part in it as well, but most comes down to personal preferences or what you get exposed to. Like who is the bias of the shipper and what things do they come across to make them a shipper, what kind of dynamics do they like etc. (It's more likely for someone who "falls" for JK to have JK in his ship, for example. Because they will focus on him and notice his interactions and then likely fall for a certain dynamic.)

History is a huge factor in general, and trying to change the perspective of the fandom might not be easy. But with a lot of new fans coming in and seeing with their own eyes how Vmin have behaved the last two years in particular, I think we can see a change.

Vmin are loved by the majority of this fandom, and that’s far better than them having people be anti them because of their ship being too big or too toxic. So in the end I do feel it’s a good things for them and for us that Vmin is being viewed as mostly platonic while they manage to slowly include more “normally not platonic things” into their platonic box. (I mean we are at a point where they can casually mention sleeping together and sing about being soulmates and hold hands in public).

Thank you for the ask and I hope you found this interesting. This is a topic I have a lot of opinions on and think is interesting myself, so I hope you enjoyed this post. No matter what we all know that one truth won’t change; 95z is love!

[peppersonironi]

12, 21, 19

(Is this late? Oops. Sorry!)

12: Favourite character to write about this year

Stephanie Brown, easy. She's my spirit animal, so I might be doing a touch of projecting, but I honestly don't care. She's just pure chaos in the best way. Some of my favourite lines that I've written are for her. Such as:

"What's up bitches? I brought donuts!"

"My waffles await!"

"FEAR ME!"

"Welcome to Steph’s Glitter Bomb Palace, Where Snitches get Stitches™! So don’t tell Bruce or I’ll sic Jason on you."

She's also the character I've gotten the most comments on. People really seen to enjoy how I write her!

A close second would be Duke Thomas. Bliss, a fic I wrote for the 2020 Duke Week, was one of my favourites! Or maybe Damian? His dialogue just comes easy to me.

21: Most memorable comment/review

the batfamily exist:

everyone: is,,is that allowed?

On Code Orange (Batfam/Young Justice Crossover)

*Or*

I have wanted to read a DCU/MCU crossover for a VERY long time. This story is such a delight. Your characterisation (and for me an introduction to The Signal) was fascinating in the extreme. I loved the game playing and the fact that I could watch (open-mouthed) as Bruce Wayne enjoyed childlike fun with his children and Alfred(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) was the cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake. I look forward to your updates in a way that you wouldn't believe.

On Batfam/Avengers Crossover

19: Any new fics to start next year

Oh boy. So many. You know what? Here's a list. It'll be good to get these ideas out. Plus, you guys can tell me what you'd rather see first!

Gen/just Batfam

Crack fic based off this piece of dialogue (came from a convo between my sister and I): Tim reached forward and poked Duke's face. "You're right!" He exclaimed. "You really *do* squish like a block of wood!" Duke Centric.

Based on THIS Incorrect Quotes. Talia moves into the Manor because she's sick of Ra's. Featuring a bunch of good mom!Talia.

Based off THIS Incorrect Quotes. Jason runs for President as Red Hood. I have so many ideas! This'll be really fun.

Loosely based on THIS post. It explores Jason and Cassandra's relationship, and how it evolves.

Duke Thomas Big Bang Fic (can't say much, but it'll be great!)

Platonic (need to be certain you understand that. There were some misconceptions w/ my Discord server) Slow Burn between Tim and Damian. At the beginning the absolutely despise each other. But over time they realise their own insecurities, and how they don't actually hate the other. And by the end they fully admit and embrace their being brothers.

Reverse Robins with Damian as the oldest (I made THIS post talking about it a while back. But I've highly revised it.)

Reverse Robins with Duke as the oldest (I wrote THIS fic, but I think I want to change this into a series!)

Cassandra as Batman. Stephanie as Catwoman. Carrie Kelley as Robin.

5 Times Bette Kane was the mastermind behind the batkids' pranks without Bruce's knowledge, and 1 Time her brilliance was brought to light.

5 Times Duke thought that he couldn't possibly get any more siblings and 1 Time he met the cousins (AKA: Duke meets the extended family)

Birdflash

Birdflash in the JL/JLU universe (based off that one hexagon by @novaviis ! Super fun!). The league is inviting potential members to the Watchtower one day. Except Wally wasn't there during the choosing of said members. So he's completely shocked when his husband Nightwing shows up. They have to act like they don't know each other, which basically involves Dick flirting his butt off with Wally, Wally trying desperately to remain professional, Bruce digging in the corner, the rest of the League in varying degrees of disapproval and confusion (at least a couple have seen Wally's wedding ring. So that adds a while 'nother layer).

Young Justice soulmate au. Dick, and eventually everyone else, knows that Wally is his soulmate. Wally is oblivious. Lots of pining and angst in this one. Slow burn to an extent (depends on how long I make it). But definitely a happy fluffy ending in sight!

Batfam Meets Young Justice

THIS fic.

Duke gets yeeted into the YJ universe, and promptly passes out. He wakes up in the Watchtower, and breaks out of the confinement the Team has set up for him. Pulls shenanigans (some unwittingly) and used his powers. The Team and JL are confused, and panicking. Because this guy keeps muttering things about the Batfam. And he has a bat on his chest.

The Team break into some ancient temple after getting info on a new Supervillian plot. They find purple clothed woman draped across a throne. She talks, and they panic, as she knows all their secret identities. The only one who isn't, is Tim. He looks bored. Alternatively: Steph needs Tim's credit card to take his sister out on a date, and absolutely refuses to text.

While the Team is on a mission to stop Lady Shiva, a dimensional portal opens up and spits out a strange Robin (Damian) and what seemed to be a female Batman (Cass as Black Bat). This new dynamic due promptly defeats Lady Shiva and all the goons. The Team is freaked out, and 'apprehends' the dimensional anomalies, bringing them back to the Watchtower. Where the due promptly break and and start chaos. Featuring "Toxic" by Britney Spears. I will not explain why.

The Watchtower gets a sudden emergency message from the Batcave. They accept, to find a stranger calling himself Signal panicking about Robin being missing. They all look at Tim, who ignores them, and says that he doesn't know where Robin is. Some naming shenanigans occur.

(Not sure if this fits here, oh well) Set in Season One, Bruce is tired of Clark's attitude towards Superboy, and adopts the clone himself. Not sure how far this'll go, but at least goes through Dick's time as Robin. (Based on THIS Tumblr post)

(Also iffy on placement) a continuation of one (not sure which? Probably Damian as older) Reverse Robins fics. It's a retelling of Season One of YJ, with Dick as Robin. Nightwing (Damian) feels protective of his brother, and so takes on the role Black Canary had in the show, training the Team. But as time goes on, he ends up being more of a big brother to the group. Cameos from the rest of the Batfam as well! And an Identity Reveal (including finding out Dick and Dami are brothers) at the end!

Batfam Meets the Justice League

Cass takes over being Batman for a bit, because Bruce was an idiot and broke his leg. This happens to line up with when the Justice League reach out to the Dark Knight, in order to extend an invitation to the league. They eventually meet Bruce as Batman, and are confused as to why he is so tall. And male.

Joyfire

Lian accidentally reveals her three parents' relationship by calling Bruce 'grandpa' over dinner.

Museum Heist

THIS fic

Operation: Seduce Nightwing. Based on a post for an ATLA ot3, Wally and Artemis realise silumaneously “Hey, we kinda have the hots for Dick” and decide together to see if he likes them back. Which involves a heck ton of over the top flirting, and shenanigans. The Team is sighing on the sidelines at their idiocy. Dick is internally combusting and thinking “Do they like me back? I’’m not sure.” 

5 times Dick and Wally fought over being the middle spoon, and one time Artemis had had enough.

Set in Season 3 (but ignores some canon), Bart is kidnapped by some mad scientist obsessed with the Speed Force. The Team mobilizes, and gets Bart back from the evil base. But when they get there, they find Wally West freed from the Speed Force. He and Artemis reunite, and everyone is happy. They prepare to leave. Then the Pick-up Squad arrive in the bioship, and Dick gets out. Everyone is expecting Dick to give Wally a hug, because hey, he's his best friend! What they weren't expecting was him to run forward and pull the speedster into a passionate kiss. They go back to the Watchtower, and some more stuff happens.

Soulmate AU where the first thing your soulmate says to you after they fall in love with you is tattooed on your body.

Post Season Two Get Together. Starts with Artemis living with Dick as opposed to Will. Might be Slow Burn? (They come pretty close to kissing) Eventually Wally comes back. Arty and Wally are back together. They both live in the same house as Dick, for convenience. Then some more Slow Burn happens. Maybe some Birdflash moments. Arty tells Wally she kinda had a thing for Dick. Wally admits the same. Maybe a touch more Slow Burn. They Eventually get together.

Batlantern

AU where Bruce met Hal back when he first came back to Gotham. Fic goes through how their relationship evolves over the years (up until current time, when Damian is 13). I'm considering a relationship reveal with the Justice League.

Hal's interactions with Bruce's kids.

Green Lantern Corp acting protective of Hal when Bruce comes to Oa. This was an ask that I got, and I'm holding off on writing it till I get as much into on the GL's as possible, as all I know if their characterization comes from that animated series, and Guy Gardener's (Hilarious!) parts on Young Justice.

Marvel

Like 3 different versions of the Peter Parker Field Trip to Stark Tower Trope.

2-part Crossover with the Batfam (they exist in the same universe), where the Avengers go to a Wayne Gala, and interact with the family. The second chapter involves them heading out the next night to try and contact Batman.

THIS fic.

[jcfoxington]

@sambambucky​ : “pls... Pastels, Peaches and Pain??? among us first draft??? marvel meets warframe meets a bunch of tumblr posts (it’s not an au!?!??!)

hi jo !!! Pastels, Peaches, and Pain is one of those sambucky wips i have mostly fully fleshed out in my head because of one (1) extreme moment of clarity after a rogue ‘what if’ tangent thought but havent written anything of yet out of restraint / knowing i need to finish at least one of my current sambucky wips before i start it or none of them will get done

this was the rogue tangent thought: “what if Sam is haunted by Figaro’s ghost and has been since he was a kid?”. i’ve changed the ghost cat to not be Figaro but that’s the premise !

i refer to the fic as the cat fic ‘cause the whole plot is based around sam’s ghost cat companion insisting he adopts nat’s cat Liho after endgame and then Figaro later and then [insert redacted because plot spoilers but just know it relates to Alpine]. no im not projecting my feelings about cats idk what youre talking about 

here’s some note snippets just for you:

the cat, inexplicably, takes a liking to bucky, which is really annoying bc sam doesnt know how to explain to him that all the oddly soft gusts of wind are actually sam's dead cat insisting on getting pats

bucky getting shade thrown at him by said ghost cat during all of tfatws + them making up (and not out. yet)

starts when sam's a kid & follows him as he grows up w/ a ghost kitty as a companion only he can see & interact with + angst with an undertone of comedy + getting together

he whispers to ghost kitty, who simply mmrrs happily

for the among us first draft thing, what basically happened is i saw this tweet and this video and my brain latched onto these dynamics so hard i had to write about them. 

here’s a sketch of my two main imposters, Black (left) and Cyan (right):

and here’s a snippet:

The thing having Cyan pause and stare out at the asteroid field is how the colors stretch to family. When they and Black came aboard, they had thought every crewmember was an adult working on the planet-change project. That the patch of off-white with a black something-pattern-or-shape signified status. In a way, Cyan supposes it does, but just not the way they expected. They had expected it to show what rank an individual held within the hierarchy of the crew, from deckhand to division leader to captain, not to show that you're family of the crew and not actually part of the crew itself. 

There are innocents on this ship. Children. It was not something any of them had anticipated, and not something Cyan had been prepared to deal with. They and Black boarded this horrible place to eradicate a threat, believing each and single one of the humans were accomplishes and dedicated to the goal of destroying Cyan and Black's species, and their planet. But, now?

marvel meets warframe meets a bunch of tumblr posts... doesn’t have a wip title or seperate document for itself yet cause it’s been stuck in my ‘story ideas’ document since its creation. so ‘marvel meets warframe meets a bunch of tumblr posts’ is literally just me describing the vibe of an original world gjkerfkds

the world came to be for two reasons. firstly, i want to do make take on a superhero universe because the plot and complete lack of communication in both the dcu and mcu piss me the fuck off. secondly, needed a place to dump ocs with elaborate backstories or fantasy / sci-fi abilities that dont fit into any of my existing worlds

which sounds super competent but trust me, it isn’t. it didn’t gain any solidity at all until i decided to do a personal ‘how different can i make spn castiel look & still retain the same vibe?’ challenge. i have my own cas now

however, the reason i said ‘marvel meets...’ is because i’ve snagged a couple of different things from the mcu, most notably: enemies to reluctant coworkers to lovers, yes our best friend have the same name. no they’re not the same person, secret evil org is controlling the government, and the assassin that tried to kill you several times is now your best friend

warframe was added to the world because i got attached to my Volt build, gave them a name, and have some headcanons idk what to do with because i refuse to interact with that fandom. also because the friend i made through discussing warframe lore + plot dicked me over so it feels Bad to create for

the glue to this whole mess is that one “in every friend group there’s a mean bisexual, an even meaner lesbian, a she/they, a he/they, a himbo, an astrology bitch, a short king, and a token straight” tumblr post. my main group of superheroes ala the avengers consist of these people. the token straight is the only one i havent figured out who is yet

ever since i figured that out ive been throwing story / character ideas and weirdly specific aesthetics from popular tumblr posts into this world’s notes. here’s some examples:

sword grandmas

that trope where someone’s really nice and acts super well-adjusted to society but then they do something super whack and dangerous and you realize ‘oh they’re secretly a little bit insane, actually’

anti-gay group’s leader’s wife leaves him for another woman

superhero who swore to be the best hero [city / planet / solar system / continent / ????] has ever seen ever since he lost his wife. not because she’s dead but divorce just sucks & the hero-to-be is terrible at coping

dishevelled swamp witch

that one person who runs around with an amulet all the time & isn’t aware it’s cursed

an exasperated, tired superhuman assassin running after their husband and their husband's best friend. their husband and said husband's best friend both have wings. chaos ensues (yes, this one is a sambucky post)

ask me about my WIPs!

BONUS:

@sambambucky​​ : #i want to have a coffee and listen to synopses of all of these.... #i miss the discord wow #WRITING TAG #waitttt time jumping dream movie? lmao I'VE READ THIS LIST FORTY TIMES and every time i rediscover something i wanna know about #outfit doodlesss ugh i need to go

couldnt not respond to your tags because they make me go ghrkjfnerknf but in the good way. we miss you too jo !!

the time jumping dream movie was one of the first vivid dreams i had and the whole thing was so stupidly coherent and whacky i had to write it down. it grew plot, a queer love dynamic, weird sci-fi apocalypse elements, anti-military propaganda, questionable science, and a sequel while i wasnt looking and now i just. have to make it a real movie or i’ll combust

outfit djoodlles.png is only on there because my best friend sent me a ‘draw this outfit’ meme and space kitty, my current character brainrot, stole all the outfits for himself. otherwise, that file just sits there until im feeling like designing an outfit or wanna see how a stupid thing looks on my oc patrick

here’s one of the two poses-to-doodle-outfits-on of space kitty ive made so far:

and here’s one of those stupid things on patrick (that then turned into an actual outfit of his because i have no self control):

[bloodraven55]

“But Bumbleby was rushed/forced to pander to the gays—”

There are a number of glaring flaws in this argument, most of all the fact that no straight relationship is ever called “forced” or “pandering” even if people don’t like it, let alone “rushed” when it’s only on the verge of officially happening seven seasons into the show, but I want to break down all of the many levels on which it’s wrong in order to hopefully kill it once and for all.

“It came out of nowhere—”

Jaune was crushing on Weiss the second he saw her, Sun was crushing on Blake the moment he saw her, Pyrrha developed feelings for Jaune in just one Volume and showed some interest from the moment she saw him, and Blake goes from being consistently annoyed at Sun throughout Volumes 1 and 2 to suddenly having a crush on him in Volume 3.

If Bumbleby supposedly “came out of nowhere,” then so did W/hite Knight, A/rkos, and B/lacksun. But no one ever has an issue with the speed at which those characters started having romantic interest in each other. And I’m not even saying they should—they’re all very valid ships and whether they came out of nowhere or not isn’t the point of this—but there’s a clear double standard applied to same sex ships as opposed to heterosexual ships here and it invalidates this point right out of the gate.

“It was rushed—”

Blake and Yang are only just now close to becoming an official couple after more than six whole Volumes of knowing each other. There is no possible universe where this would qualify as “rushed.” Again, W/hite Knight and B/lacksun albeit both one-sided at least to begin with both became obvious things within literal episodes of the characters meeting, and Jaune and Pyrrha were showing blatant romantic interest in each other by Volume 2 before kissing in Volume 3.

In the last case you can argue that it went at a faster pace because Pyrrha was going to die, but that doesn't change the fact that no one complained that it went too quickly—or about the other two ships I mentioned which were both initially based solely on one (1) instance of a guy showing interest in a girl—and yet people say it’s too soon for Blake and Yang to get together when they’ve had over twice as long for their relationship to develop.

“The shippers forced it into the show—”

I don’t think I even need to add any more here when the words of CRWBY speak for themselves.

“Toxic shippers think everything is gay—”

I mean, I’m gay and I only truly ship a handful of the possible same sex pairings in the show—certainly far from the majority of them—and I also ship a number of straight ships, but go off I guess.

I already made a post on this here, but it’s insanely dismissive and ridiculous for heterosexual people i.e. the ones who usually use this “argument” to assume that they know better than actual LGBT+ people what is or isn’t good LGBT+ representation, and for them to assume that just because they missed build up that it therefore isn’t there.

I can’t take someone seriously when they go into a discussion determined to believe that they’re already right and don’t listen to a word you say to prove otherwise, especially when they’re debating on a topic which doesn’t directly affect them and which they don’t have the same level of firsthand knowledge of.

“The wasps only care about Blake and Yang getting in each other’s pants—”

Actually, it’s the people who are most aggressively against Blake and Yang being a couple that tend to reduce their relationship to being entirely about sex even though they haven’t had a single remotely sexual interaction in the show, but if this were true then surely Bumbleby shippers would be very unhappy with the show because Blake and Yang have still not “got in each other’s pants,” or “swapped clit juice” as I once saw someone tastefully describe it?

But that isn’t right. Because in general us Bee shippers are currently exceedingly happy with everything that’s happening in the show to do with Blake and Yang’s relationship. So how can that be if all we care about is whether they fuck or not?

The answer is of course that we don’t only care about whether they fuck or not—in fact most of us couldn’t care less whether it’s ever so much as hinted that they have sex, both because the show almost certainly won’t ever go there and because that isn’t our priority—we’re just enjoying watching them fall in love.

Honestly this argument is one of the most lazy because one look at RWBY will tell you that none of the romances are at all sexual thus far so any shippers who truly only care about that aspect wouldn’t stick around very long when they’ll just end up disappointed. And of course the way that these people inherently view same sex relationships as sexual is homophobic and disgusting too.

“CRWBY rushed it to give the rabid shippers what they want—”

Like the last two points, this is a “criticism” that I’ve only ever seen levelled at same sex ships and never straight ships, so it’s yet another example of double standards and hypocrisy, but that’s only the start of what’s wrong with it.

The most galling thing about this is that these people insist that all LGBT+ people because as I’ve already mentioned that is always the group which statements like this are aimed at just want to see two characters of the same gender make out as soon as possible, which is simply not true.

No one would ever claim that straight people just want to see a man and a woman get it on as soon as possible and dismiss the worth of a straight relationship because of it. So it’s ridiculous to try and force that logic onto shippers of same sex ships, who are primarily LGBT+ people themselves.

If anything, we care even more about the quality of our ships—how healthy they are, whether they’re well built up or not, etc.—because we hardly have any to begin with in comparison. If one straight ship is rushed or poorly written, then there are plenty of well-handled ones to choose from instead, but the same isn’t the case for same sex ships.

We want to be represented well, which means that we want healthy relationships with plenty of development where the characters actually have chemistry and complement each other. We might still support rushed or badly-written same sex ships sometimes because it’s still representation which we are overall sorely lacking, but we don’t want them.

“But they ship baited with Blake and Sun—”

First off, straight ships can’t be baited the same way that same sex ships can. It’s simply not a comparable situation. But of course B/lacksun shippers are entitled to feel disappointed that their ship didn’t become canon. That’s utterly valid and understandable. However, that doesn’t mean that the writers or the show in any way misled viewers regarding what was happening.

“But Sun winked at Blake—”

And Yang also winked at Blake in Volume 2 while asking her to the dance, just like Sun winked at Blake in Volume 1 and then asked Blake to the dance. And Blake turned Sun down when he asked initially, specifically told him that they were only “technically” going together when she ran into him outside, and told him definitively that she had chosen to give her first dance to Yang.

“But Blake blushed at Sun—”

And now she’s also blushed at Yang, in a far more intimate scene at that. Next point.

“But Sun met Blake’s parents—”

And? Simply meeting someone’s parents doesn’t on any level automatically imply romance. Ghira didn’t even like Sun, and while a lot of people like to claim that Kali “ships it” which would be extremely flimsy evidence to base the canonicity of a ship on anyway, she’s someone who would do the same with anyone Blake brought home so it means nothing. If Blake had actually chosen to take Sun home with her herself then this would be a valid point, but she didn’t, so it has no weight whatsoever overall.

“But Blake kissed Sun on the cheek—”

And I kiss my mother on the cheek the exact same way every time I say goodbye to her. If you think that type of kiss on the cheek has to be romantic then quite frankly I’m not sure what world you’re living in. If the camera had been close up, if there had been any shots at all of their reactions, any blushing or lingering looks, a more private setting— literally anything to give it some actual weight and make it feel significant, then this might mean something, but it’s framed as a totally platonic goodbye with zero romantic coding.

And that’s without even mentioning the fact that right after that moment Sun flat out states that his time with Blake was “never about [romance],” which sort of kills the idea that anything about that scene was supposed to be taken as romantic. There was no reason to include that line except to make it clear to the audience that Sun and Blake parted ways as friends who now have no intention of ever becoming anything more.

Seriously, if they wanted us to think that there was still something there, then Blake would have been shown to be thinking about or missing Sun even one since they separated, but he hasn’t been brought up for even a second. If they wanted to set up a continuation of anything romantic for them when the group reach Vacuo, say, then they would have started doing it by now.

Plus the reverse argument that Blake and Sun have never hugged or held hands—both of which Blake and Yang have done multiple times—works just as well, perhaps even better since handholding is a well-established romantic cue in the show already thanks to A/rkos, R/enora, and O/zma and Salem.

“But why was Sun even there in Volumes 4 and 5 then—”

Because Blake needed a friend who she could exposition to about her thought processes and personal problems so that the audience could understand what she was going through, and she wasn’t as likely to open up to her parents about that stuff right away when she was convinced they’d hate her for leaving.

Sun was there to support Blake as she developed and to tell her that running away hurt the very people she was trying to protect. That was his narrative role in that arc. There was nothing to indicate that a romance was being built in those more than twenty episodes they spent together and if it was going to happen that would have been the time to do it.

On the other hand Blake and Yang’s shared arc together is built on the fact that Blake’s romantic ex, who Blake had already directly contrasted with Yang and whose Semblance was already a foil to Yang’s, maimed Yang specifically because Blake loves her. The basis of that arc has romantic weight, which is what makes the difference here. Though the scene at the end of Volume 3 where Adam takes Yang’s arm isn’t romantic in and of itself, I should clarify, it just has romantic significance in that it makes it clear that Blake and Yang’s feelings go beyond mere friendship.

In short, the summary of this whole section pretty much boils down to: two characters spending time together doesn't inherently equal romantic development, and it isn’t in any way “baiting” if those two characters don’t then get together.

The characters’ feelings follow a fairly logical progression over the course of the show, with Blake showing interest in both Sun and Yang in V1-V3, then ceasing to show interest in Sun after that as their relationship becomes totally platonic by Volume 5/the beginning of Volume 6 at the very latest, while the events of the Fall of Beacon only solidified how strong her feelings for Yang were and once she reunites with Yang their relationship begins to head towards romance.

It’s a pretty realistic depiction of how human feelings work, and a far less messy situation than in a lot of other shows where there isn’t the same massive level of hatred and vitriol towards the “victorious” pairing, because this was never even really presented as a love triangle or rivalry.

To conclude, I just want to list some of the contradictions that I’ve seen within the arguments made against Bumbleby, because I think it’s very telling that the people who are against it can’t even settle on one coherent narrative on why it’s bad.

“Bumbleby has no development, but also the show focusses too much on Bumbleby.”

“Monty wouldn’t have wanted Bumbleby—it goes against his vision—even though I didn’t know him and have no idea what his vision actually was, and he explicitly stated that he wanted LGBT+ characters in the show who might already be in the main cast and that he wanted Blake and Yang to have a shared arc together, as well as being responsible for the set up of that arc with Blake and Yang being introduced as Beauty and the Beast while Adam canonically represents Gaston.”

“The Bumbleby shippers have so much influence that they forced the writers to make the ship canon, but they’re also just a vocal minority who don’t matter.”

“Blake and Yang hardly interact—they’re barely even friends—but they also interact too much and it’s making Bumbleby take over the show.”

“Arryn is a victim of the toxic wasps who harrassed her and sent her death threats for saying that the song Bmblb doesn't automatically make the ship canon, which there is zero evidence of,  but Arryn is also an unprofessional cunt for expressing her support of Bumbleby.”

“None of Blake and Yang’s scenes together are romantic so Bumbleby is forced, but even when they have undeniably romantic interactions I’ll ignore them or deny that they mean anything so I can still pretend it has no build up.”

“Bumbleby is bad because Team RWBY are a sisterhood, but all of the other straight relationships within teams—even those who’ve flat out called each other ”family”—are fine, and I’ll just pretend that there aren’t other definitions of the word sisterhood which have nothing to do with actual sisters and are the ones that actually apply in this case.”

“Blake and Yang’s relationship could be seen as romantic or platonic, but I personally think they’re just friends so Bumbleby is bad and came out of nowhere.”

I’ve seen all of these countless times with my own two eyes and it’s absolutely hilarious to be honest. Anyway that’s it. I have yet to see a single logical argument as to why Bumbleby is bad that isn’t made in bad faith, fallacious, or just doesn’t hold up when you actually look at the show. It’s about to be canon, and at this point to be honest anyone who doesn't like that can simply accept it or go and watch something else that will pander to their specific tastes instead.