#bc why not i see you rarepair

[ahsokaisawesome]

my dear friend @sueanoi-mmx had her birthday the other day and who am I to deny some x smooches?? I care them all so mU CH

[rubikor]

would you hold my face softly and tell me it will be alright?

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

lighting & color practice with the Fluffy Fruits <3

[necrotic-nephilim]

back on my bullshit. jaycasstalia (all combinations), cassrose × cheshire, deaddove jaydonna, jaytemis × rose, cass × artemis (that one wfa panel), koricass, jaykori dead dove, jay × jessica cruz

hello welcome back i adore the bullshit. i have to admit that i dislike JayKori and tbh i don't like or know Kori well enough to enjoy any ship with her she just. exists outside of my periphery and isn't the sort of character i'd enjoy. so those i fear i am unable to give thoughts there BUT THE OTHERS-

JayCassTalia is !!! so good? i really like Talia and i've been getting more and more into the al Ghuls so i find that fascinating. i think the respect Talia would have for Cass could almost border on a motherly jealousy, wishing *she* had honed her child into such a perfect weapon. i think CassTalia could be such a fun sort of mother/daughter incest ship of Talia promising to take better care of Cass. and then Jason in the mix is so fun bc Talia rlly shaped Jason for who he is today and i do think she loved him. maybe she loved what she saw of Bruce in him or maybe she loved how he existed outside of Bruce. both work so well. Talia being into both of them and them both falling for the attention of an older woman? yes i love it (also i will one up you with this- JayCassTaliaNyssa. fuck with Talia and Nyssa's complex over each other)

CassRoseChesire is so good from the thought of traumatized daddy issues and all of them being raised to be weapons, not ppl. the solidarity in that combined with feeling like being the only ppl who understand what that's like? it's so good. and it also has such fun conflicts in where they all fall on moral issues. very much a "you don't have to be human around me so stop pretending" sort of throuple and man, the potential in that complex in general. i feel like they'd get cannibalism as a metaphor for love shit.

dead dove JayDonna is VERY interesting, oh my god i never would've considered dead doving Donna. i haven't read a *ton* of comics with Donna but something about Jason expecting her to be a safe person on the Titans he can go to during his very brief period on the Titans and it turns out she's not and she takes complete advantage of him is *so* fun. i like if she's maybe projecting a want for Dick onto Jason too, but she sees Jason as a Robin that she can mold into a better partner than Dick is so this is the even better choice. she gets a blank slate she can make whatever she wants and it's so easy to make him obsessed with her if you lean into the "Jason is a Wonder Woman fan" sort of thing, with her telling all sorts of stories about Diana and promising she'll introduce them someday just to keep Jason coming back around to her.

Jaytemis and Rose truly is a ship that is just "Jason Todd deserves to be torn to shreds by strong woman" and ykw, i support that agenda. i do not think he'd be able to walk half the time but i think he'd enjoy it. i personally enjoy 90s Artemis the most and i think that version of Artemis before DC softened her for Jason could be SO fun oh my god. she would not put up with his shit and would drag him around like a leashed dog. and Rose is a great third for them bc she's also absolutely unhinged and fucked up enough to want Jason on a leash. tbh i see this almost very dark in a controlling with, but that's the fun of it for me. <3

i've not read enough of WFA to know what you're referencing BUT i think CassArtemis could be fun. (tho i hate that one Outlaws comic where Artemis oneshots Cass and calls her a child bc wdym Artemis can oneshot Cass but anyway-) typically i like Artemis and Helena as far as shipping her with a Batfam woman, but there's fun in letting a strong woman look down at Cass and just decide to chuck Cass over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. i think she'd enjoy just how strong of a fighter Cass is. freak4freak but it's sapphic and they're arguing most of the time.

Jason/Jessica is SUPER interesting. i don't know if Jason and Jessica have a ton of interactions in canon? i've not read much of Rebirth BUT i will always love sticking Jason with a Lantern. JayKyle is my personal fave but i'd love to see Jason helping Jessica out of her shell and getting her to be more confident after her trauma. they cope with trauma in very different ways so i find the idea of putting them together sort of fun to see where they'd clash and align. would he scare her? yes but that's the fun of it. fear kink core.

also, i offer you some of my Jason and Cass rarepairs bc i think you would Get It anon:

JasonOnyx (i just wish we got more out of their interaction in UTRH and Onyx should hunt Jason down for revenge and they fuck nasty about it idk)

JasonBette (Bette's whole obsession over Dick when he was Robin, but she's obsessed with Jaybin instead and it carries over when he becomes Red Hood and Jason cannot get rid of her)

CassBarda (all i got out of the current BoP run is "mmm. sapphic size kink.")

[sieglinde-freud]

genuinely believe laslow and nyx’s support conversation, regardless if you get their S or stop at A, is among both of their most important conversations they have because it allows them a rare moment of vulnerability. while they have a lot of good conversations, a lot of them have both laslow and nyx taking the part of either comic relief or as the listener/observer which is very fitting for both of them! but then they never get to delve into their perspectives and thoughts on some of their more vulnerable traits the way that they do with eachother.

with laslow he never really talks about awakening he references it but its never the topic. his words and actions are obviously influenced by it but you very rarely get to him be this introspective. hes very observant with his support partners but this and his odin support are the only time where hes forced to confont himself. sometimes he'll be sad and melancholy but he never discusses WHY. if youre lucky, he might mention he had a mom at some point and thats about it!! knowing inigo, we as players know why hes like that. he was pigeonholed into the role of keeping morale up, he lost one of the gemstones needed to perform the awakening in the bad timeline, ditched that world (which. his feelings on really only get discussed with nyx!!! which is insane?!?!), then had to start killing real people in order to survive until he met up with the shepherds again! but he never talks about it! i can count one hand the amount of times in both awakening and fates he does and i still have fingers left!!

and then with nyx its similar because while she does discuss her past its mostly just for explanation and not to delve deeper into it. which, makes sense as shes probably not too into trauma dumping on a bunch of strangers but then shes never forced to see that part of herself in someone else and do some reflecting on her own. heroes obviously came out way after fates but they kinda confirm that nyx's curse in part due to herself: its a self punishment that shes not conscious of but its driven by her not being able to forgive herself WHICH IS SO COOL but. you know. fates dropping the ball with writing. used to it. but while yes, that curse did come as kind of like some magical divine karma, she has already attoned for it: she’s grown up, matured, and taken the time to change that selfish part of herself that only valued power and nothing else. the only thing holding her back from moving on is herself.

so, laslow and nyx to having that moment in their supports where they both admit their guilt and let themselves be judged by eachother kinda breaks them out of this cycle of self hate theyre on and it gets them both on the path to forgiving themselves which they never really accomplish anywhere else. some supports teeter on it, but they brush it off pretty quickly. in a weird way they kind of mirror eachother, but they’re not used to looking at a reflection thats not so distorted by their own beliefs. they admit to eachother that no matter what happened in the past, they’ll never see eachother as anything less than a trusted ally and friend, and if they can do it for eachother, maybe one day they can do it for themselves.

and if they hit the s support, you can already see the change. laslow spouts the absolute banger of a line:

Laslow: Well, much as I might want to, I can't bear your burden. Nor could I expect you to bear mine. But with burdens so heavy...don't you think we could lean on each other a bit?

and its just such a fitting conclusion to the story of two people learning how to love themselves and walking that path of forgiveness together. anyways so im really normal about them

[sanchoyo]

whys ygo the only fandom I’m in that’s really populated with crackships/rarepairs out the wazoo. Like there’s ofc A Lot of popular ships but no one looks twice at ‘weirder’ ones like ones where the charas never spoke. More fandoms could learn from this 😔

[foeyayshippingweakness]

WIP Folder Gamer

Tagged by @suzie-shooter

Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it.

oh my god, all of them? because there’s a lot of goddamn wips,,, then in no particular order:

big brain bnha pen pal aizawa platonic yandere mode vs toshinori reitober collection 10 years babon alex gets sold out guren snowed in yalex dp snippets yalex reason for living stuck in a lift no glory yalex soulmate au prompts yalex dominion au the death of an assassin yalex truth serum yalex neighbor au yalex febuwhump collection yalex amnesia au reitober shuttlecock noragamj kaishin adachi tohru adayu post-canon ghost au the man in the basement start up MAD AI but I love him dlmbo pt 2 electric boogaloo bodyswap au badzawa choi bois silent criminal ginko merchant volo galactic boss cyrus seven dimiclaude firefighter au ghost!yassen dp yalex snuff torture!au yalex lost love au nightmares and daymares chuguo rainy day weirdo study habits orphanage au s2e1 jailed au large flowers manchester christmas markets whodunnit au yalex uh oh alex rider umbrella dk thawne reveals himself au 5 times otto octavius lets peter go (and the 1 time it was the other way around) bar time travel quentin beck badzawa shigadeku arcade skbf strangers from hell miyusawa cut exorcist soulmate prompts zhen hun instead of brain there is obikaka chuguo hunger games au ghost!ian gongzi YASHIROOO SENSEI POTO rk series zeke tqqeiiowu traitor!deku ian maybe has rights komahina danchou chisaki hawks 5 + 1 damian yalex altar i am not into watersports au yalex prison infiltration au yalex hanahaki au what on earth alex knows something yassen doesn’t know yalex crush yalex reincarnation au yalex mission fic my boy my boy my boyyyy yalex close-contact serum vampire!yassen pt2 electric boogyloo yalex cannibalism au living room lawrusso BITCHASS VECTOR harringrove flower and muzz ballroom dancing venomous tomarry got me shook fitzward (the feels) natsume assassin’s creed bram stoker’s reservoir dogs hannigram snapped danno blakefield (GHOST AU) the outsider feral dimitri the scorpion and the frog chuguo uwu snk time travel witcher yan nantian obikin time travel chuguo amnesia guro chuguo groundhog day fengyu blood donation fluff in which shen wei doesn’t seem like he’s breathing squidgy baby dystopia TPN coraline au 5 times tony’s suit didn’t listen to peter (and the one time it did) rolling thunder hetalia self-insert ineffable husbandos nope town of salem the best android au zoom three musketeers pew pew pew morra holy fuck oh! holy backyard mad king kahl STILES (heart) WayWay SQUIP fright night CC/WBC IZAAAAAAYAAAA-KUNNN StaB StaB StaB Cain or Cas alibaba hello neighbor my own wizaad newmann guuuregory dippin dots corpse party kurooon whammy darkpilot patrick hockstetter UNABOM Buzzfeed Unsolved push-ups trollhunter fucking shit frosthawk green-eyed monster DLMBO2 who the fuck’re you in the eye of the storm this used to be a ziggy stream fluffy meachums

I probably missed a bunch just because. some of them are labeled by pairing, some by fandom, some by ??? and sometimes I just can't be arsed LMAO

Tagging @dirigibleballoon, @noneedbebest, @fatcatsarecats

[catboygretzky]

Exyblr Dashboard Simulator based on what I personally see on sportsblr:

2/?

📜 realexyblog

haiku because exy is back:

GOD, why are my teams

SO fucking bad at exy?

FUCK this FUCKING sport.

#and i watch sports for why? entertainment? no way

243 notes

♛ queen-of-exy

I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG! KEVIN DAY IS A QUEEN SHES LITERALLY A QUEEN ITS ON HER FACE

💃fox-me-up follow

queen on the court, pillow princess on the mattress amiright

♛ queen-of-exy

ive never felt more understood, I am kissing you w tongue

#marry me tumblr user fox me up

411 notes

🌞 blonde-jeremy-knox

i'm just gonna say it. i know we're all thinking it. jeremy knox eats ass like it's his JOB.

👁 jean-mor-uhoh

babe literally no one was thinking that but i'm proud of you for speaking your truth

#we're friends but what cost. when all u talk about is jeremy knox eating ass.

31 notes

🧚 goalie-stan

#dan wilds #psu

205 notes

🌄 softkevinday follow

He lived. He served cunt. He died. He was Resurrected. Served more cunt.

#kevin day

605 notes

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

absolutely busted a fucking nut watching kevin day switch hands like that oh my god my nut was so forceful it created a new dimension.

🏳️‍🌈 gay4stickball follow

hey can i join you in that dimension

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

Sure, just bring some snacks or something

🏳️‍🌈 gay4stickball follow

hell yeah!!!!!!

#thanks youre the best do you like doritos?

197 notes

😎 foxyknoxy

the best exy team in the nation is a LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE how many of those students even go to the games when your school is full of artists and theater kids. your student section must be wACK

😎 foxyknoxy

*sorry, 2nd best exy team in the nation

#fuck you theater kids!!!!!!!! can't even appreciate a good sport !!!!! anyway go trojans

99 notes

🙈 ittybittyminny follow

Andrew Minyard should get a little bite and chew. As a reward. Maybe a small gnaw. nomnomnom Maaaaaybe as a treat he can rip a throat out, but only if he's really really good

#only if he's REALLY GOOD and maybe tests negative for rabies but whatever you can't win em all

126 notes

🏳️‍🌈 gay4stickball follow

favourite exy rarepair????

☀️ usctrojanny

ACTUALLY !!!!! was thinking about this earlier and while ive never seen anyone talk about it.......aaron minyard and neil josten would be 👀 kinda cute???

🏳️‍🌈 gay4stickball follow

omg wait why have I never thought about guys before!!!!!!!! noooo why did you say this, i can totally see it!!!!!! Neil would probably have to lean down to kiss aaron 🥺 do u think he has ever had to lean down to kiss someone 😭

☀️ usctrojanny

And obviously, u know me, im always here for a striker/backliner matchup

🏳️‍🌈 gay4stickball follow

this is all i'm going to think about for the rest of my life now, thanks, fuck you

139 notes

👅 nastyneiljosten

I want to put neil josten in a jar and shake the jar so violently he turns into sludge and then pour a drop of that sludge on to a petri dish so I can see what kind of bacteria he produces.

🦩 exyonmymind follow

what happens to the rest of the sludge?

👅 nastyneiljosten

*sluuuuuuurp* *swallowing sounds* *sluuuurp* *gargle gargle* *more swallowing sounds* yummy yummy in my tummy

487 notes

🐋 sexyexy

headcannon that neil josten is so feral bc andrew bit him and gave him rabies so now he's a literal rabid dog

👢exyinaphonebooth follow

You can't make headcannons about real people don't be freaks

🐋 sexyexy

exy players aren't real they're my little dolls that I can put into any situations I want and you can't stop me

#thanks anyway did u know andrew minyard gave neil josten rabies

143 notes

🧸 mreow-bearcats-mreow

ARE THOSE REFS FUCKING BLIND ????????!

#exy lb

👨🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏻 talk-exy-to-me

Kiss cams are only acceptable during sporting events if they zoom in on two players

🗣️ jeremyknoxes follow

ok but what if they're wearing a face mask

👨🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏻 talk-exy-to-me

smash your cages together obviously, don't be a pussy #love wins

🗣️ jeremyknoxes follow

fair enough

890 notes

🌸 softexy

Andrew and Aaron Minyard

#exy #andrew minyard #aaron minyard #palmetto foxes #psu #web weave #poetry

2,040 notes

[deadbaguette]

Crack AU treated seriously: Diomdes goes to Ithaca with a twist

So this would generally be your typical Diomedes going to Ithaca AU. Presumably after getting exiled (? Is there a better word for it?), instead of going to modern day Italy he goes to Ithaca under the impression that he’ll see Odysseus there. But, of course he doesn’t because The Odyssey is happening. The twist that makes NO SENSE and is just purely my want to see my platonic rarepair happen (Telemachus and Neoptolemus/Pyrrhus), and the twist is: for whatever reason, Neo is there with Diomedes. Don’t ask why because I could not explain to you a good reason to make this happen lmfao

Story elaborated below but it’s a little long be warned

I like the dynamic of Neoptolemus and Diomedes, mostly because in so many ways as soldiers Diomedes foils/contrasts Achilles but in so many ways parallels his son. Diomedes gets on begrudgingly with Neo, and I could go on a whole other rant on a different post about some fake dynamics/scenarios for just them, but the main point in this post is that Neo somehow SOMEHOW tags along with Diomedes. They reach Ithaca together and meet Penelope and Telemachus.

They greet Diomedes and Pyrrhus with good courtesy, but the elephant in the room of “hold on where tf is your husband??? he was so eager to go back to you guys???” is very present. One way or another Penelope explains the situation, that being Odysseus is absent/mia (much to his own dismay) and the suitors all trying to wed Penelope. Diomedes is sad obv (I’m not gonna go super big into the angst right now) but he tries to brainstorm with Penelope on solutions for her predicament. Since Odysseus was his closest friend (more than friend for me personally but u can interpret it as platonic if u want) and he knows that Odysseus would want what’s best for his wife and son, they think of a solution that can the guarantee of their safety as of now until they hear news of Odysseus. That solution is fake marriage bcs I am a bit of a sucker for that troupe.

But back to Neoptolemus because he’s here too, I want him to bond with Telemachus what with their dads not being here (one’s dead one’s absent). Neo is like way stronger than Telemachus so at first he thinks he’s a bit of a wimp (keep in mind they’re like both teenagers, Neo’s life was just kinda fucked up), but over time they get along better. Pyrrhus’ relationship with Odysseus is a little complicated, so while Penelope and Diomedes might share all the good stories/parts of Odysseus with, Pyrrhus got off to a slightly rocky start with him lol. What with Odysseus taking him away from his mom and basically all the war shenanigans (war crimes), Telemachus for the first time has a whole and humanized version of his dad. It’s more than what the suitors have said out of malice and jealousy, the things Neo has told him have opened up the trickery/cunning side of Odysseus more than he’d known before. He’s jealous that it seems like everyone knows more about his dad than him, but he’s grateful to have someone his age who would view Odysseus more like he would: an annoying dad/uncle??? (Neo vehemently objects to this, and Odysseus would too. “You’re not my fucking dad!!!” “Holy shit thank the GODS for that!!!”)

All in all, happy family. Odysseus returns home to Penelope and Telemachus, and now two surprise guests too. Telemachus has like 3 kinda parents now (Diomedes might be more like an uncle) and a kinda brother/friend/??? I love my little delusional found family. Odysseus is more than a little surprised, considering this IS Neoptolemus. Kid did a 180° in terms of personality in Troy and then ANOTHER 180° somewhere on Ithaca at some point. Or maybe more like a 90° turn in terms of personality, I imagine Telemachus is the most sane of the family and it is much to his dismay.

And when they all eventually die (Diomedes won’t ascend to godhood here I want him to be in the underworld with the rest of the fam) they’ll live happily in the underworld and Pyrrhus can catch up with his dad and mom.

[modern-gremlin]

HALEY x PENNY (Movie Poster Concept)

Inspired by @lily-alphonse's Haley x Penny Rarepair Idea! "Are you sure this is right? I feel like I look like Granny Evelyn on a bad back day..." Penny protests, her back contorting into shape. "No... like chest out, neck up..." Haley directs, looking through the viewfinder, "Good... chin a little higher." Penny sighs and adjusts herself according to instructions, still apprehensive but she's trusted Haley implicitly this far. Why stop now? She thinks to herself. The sun was quickly dipping below the horizon – Haley knew she needed to take the shot fast. That was the beauty of photography; capturing a fleeting moment, a split-second that'll never happen again. The sunlight crests over the ocean, casting a bright beam onto Penny's face, golden light filtering through the copper strands. With a deft flick of her finger, the shutter sounds. "Yes! That's it... hang on. Let me see..." Haley looks into the small screen of her camera, flipping through her shots and suddenly, it's like a shutter sounds in her ears and she's frozen in place. For a moment there's silence – not like the ones that have become a comfortable norm over the past few weeks. She simply had no words to say. "Well... how did it turn out?" Penny asks, fiddling with the hem of her dress, "Did I do well?" She looks at the blond, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Haley blinks a few times, trying to shake the flush away from her face but it stays. Swallowing thickly, she musters the only two words can conjure, "... You're perfect."

Read Lily's posts for rarepairs bc they're great. I saw a reference photo on Pinterest that felt so Penny coded but if Penny got a makeover. Then, what do I find?! Lily has written a rarepair idea for it. I imagine would be the part of the movie where Penny gets a makeover from Haley and Haley takes her to the beach to take a few shots. Penny's shy at first, asking for reassurance while Haley directs the shot. The idea is to post it on social media to celebrate her newfound look, but as Haley looks at it, she knows she's in too deep.

Ramble below the cut!

holy hell okay finally, here's the piece that's been wracking my brain. here's a why it was a struggle: I've been trying to find a way of combining my digital painting style to my drawing style. it's been breaking me out of my comfort zone and it hurts!!! but, I like how it turned out. Perhaps I'll do a Haley one next bc I love her sm.

[laebrumme]

Arlefuri is Interesting, Actually

So I was put onto a twitter thread that's been circulating around the Arlefuri community, and I was feeling to be in a bit of a fighting mood and I found a couple points brought up by the author to be the starting point for some more interesting discussions regarding fandom culture, so I decided it wouldn't hurt to have a "little" discussion around this thread and the points that are brought up.

A quick reminder here that I am not going to link the thread or use the author's name anywhere in here because this is not an attack post. While I am here to defend a ship that I really like and see a lot of value in against a really silly twitter post, I am not here to attack or be aggressive to anyone. This is something we really need to understand and my least favorite part about twitter is how it discourages thoughtful and elaborate response, which is why I'm writing this on my tumblr instead of writing a QRT or something. I want this to be thought out and civil, and there's a very good chance that the thread was written entirely in good faith, however questionable some of the arguments made are.

the amount of arlefuri shippers ive seen that keep going "you just hate it bc its yuri" without actually seeing an explanation why its such a good ship and why they keep defending it like its so canon.

Something that I've noticed as someone who has only been engaging in fandom for about a year and a half now and who got to see Arlefuri pretty much grow from inception to now is that, after a while (especially on platforms such as twitter that are so thoroughly infected by hate and aggression) communities will develop defense mechanisms based on certain patterns of how they've been attacked before. Especially in communities which are highly antagonized for one reason or another, it's easier to have a short list of most-likely reasons someone is attacking their ship than to actually engage with the argument. One of the most reliable and effective canned arguments that one might find in a particularly combative yuri enthusiast's toolbelt is the "you don't like yuri," or, in more extreme examples, the misogyny argument.

I'm not going to get into the MLM vs WLW in fandom discourse here because, quite frankly, I'm not interested and it's completely not related to anything going on here, however the argument is common within WLW ship communities because of the tension that exists between MLM, m/f, and WLW communities, especially because in a huge number of fandoms, MLM far outnumbers the WLW. It's a reliable argument to so many because, more often than not, the anti's argument is coming from a place of anti-yuri sentiment.

In the case of Arlefuri, attacks are so frequent that, for those that decide not to block and move on, it's more efficient to pull out a tool from the toolbelt instead of engaging with each and every anti post. Arlefuri shippers are, to put it bluntly, sick and tired of it and just kinda want to do their own thing.

yes, this sounds very yuriphobic as smn who ships renheng but i do ship yuri ships like acheswan, bronseele, clorivia, eimiko, and many more. not that im against rarepairs, but arlefuri is hardly a rarepair anymore, and the way the shippers are defending it, makes it feel like its as implied as the ships i mentioned above

I mean, doesn't everyone do this? Something else I've noticed is that every single HYV ship that has even the smallest basis in the canon has people that consistently go on about how, because of certain observations regarding design/symbolism/voice lines, the ship is canon. It's important to remember, though, that lot of it is playful banter or reactions borne of excitement, and very rarely are people actually insisting that Arlefuri is canon or even implied to be canon. Because with the exception of HI3 bronseele, there isn't a single HYV ship (that I know of) that is downright confirmed. And yes, that even includes Acheswan.

I think the observation being made here is a result of two things: Arlefuri as a ship just getting bigger, and how fed-up Arlefuri shippers are of being antagonized. The first point is very obvious: the more people there are out there to talk about a ship, the more confident and loud those discussions are going to become. The second one though is more interesting because I think, as a community gets antagonized more and more, a very natural response to people talking poorly about a thing you like is to engage with it even more. A lot of people, instead of taking the fight back to those that are attacking the ship, instead back away from the argument and, as if almost spitefully, engage with the ship even more. Hell, I've even seen some of my fellow arlefuri shippers talk about how this discourse is going to make them ship arlefuri even harder. It's just a natural response almost.

Also I genuinely don't understand what rarepairs have to do with the discussion at hand. It's brought up again later in the thread, and even there I'm not sure what point it's trying to get across. There's a though process there, but whatever it is it isn't communicated in the thread, which is no fault of the thread author since twitter is stupidly restrictive as a platform for arguments and expressing thoughts (that's why I'm writing this on tumblr).

literally what is the 'flavor' and 'dynamic' in arlefuri other than 'happy and grumpy' and 'enemies to lovers'??? they barely have any backstory together other than "girl one traumatizes girl two and gives her cake as an apology because it doesnt benefit her to be on bad terms with girl two". there is nothing appealing about their relationship, and honestly i feel like furina should just be her own person without that romantic nonsense.

Well I'm glad you asked!

Arlefuri is a ship that has a lot of layers and a lot of different interpretations, and I think the only way to get a proper understanding of why so many find the ship appealing is to go out onto the Arlefuri tag on ao3 and read some of more popular fics that are out there. However, I'm going to offer my personal understanding of the ship and why I enjoy it so much.

In short, the allure of Arlefuri to me lies in a simple concept: safety.

I think a lot of the misunderstanding around Arlefuri and why Arlefuri gets accused of being proship so often lies in a misunderstanding of Furina's story and what Arlecchino represents in said story. Namely, Arle wasn't the only person that made Furina feel unsafe during the events of the archon quest. Literally everyone that was involved in that quest was doing practically the exact same thing that Arlecchino did: cornering her into a position which would force her to reveal her identity as "false" archon. So coming out of the archon quest in Fontaine, Furina has not a single soul she can trust in Fontaine anymore because of how thoroughly traumatized she was in those last few days of her run as archon. Every single person involved in discovering the truth behind the Oratrice betrayed Furina in every sense of the word.

Obviously, the game has to make Furina warm up to the traveler for marketing sake (which is one of the only gripes I have about Furina's story), but aside from that, she still has a distaste for people outside. Evidence of this can be seen with how she talks in two distinct vocal modes which I'll get into here more in a bit.

This is all to say that, one, Furina is starting from scratch relationship-wise and can trust nobody, and two, that Arlecchino is no more of an antagonist than anyone else. The only difference is that Arlecchino was more forward with it, and Furina had built her up in her head as the big bad that would finally out the entire operation (that's where Furina's fear of Arlecchino comes from).

Where this all gets interesting is when you consider Arlecchino as pretty much a symbol for all that betrayal that Furina faced. Arlecchino, just like the traveler and crew, cornered her in a position by complete surprise that would, with one more move, force her to either prove herself as archon in one way or another, before they discovered that there's more to the story and moving their attention elsewhere. When you consider Arlecchino as a symbol of that, then what a relationship w/ Arlecchino represents is Furina learning how to trust and feel safe in the presence of other people.

This is a dynamic I explore in my own fic, "What Do You Want?" and is something that is explored to even more depth in the Arlefuri bible, "A Fatui Harbinger in Lady Furina's Court." Hell, even the biggest chapter of my own fic which is the catalyst for the relationship that is explored for the rest of the fic is literally called "Safety." The entire point of the ship is for Furina to find safety in someone and, through Arlecchino, to learn for the first time in her 500 years of life how to trust and love people.

I could continue on about why I enjoy about Arlefuri all day, if you can't tell, and I could start discussing the nuances of their grumpy/happy dynamic and all the gender stuff and various other examples of incredible writing and interpretations of the ship, but I think you get the idea. There's depth here. You just have to look for it.

arlefuri shippers+ships are fine IF you acknowledge that your ship is barely even canon (maybe until more infois released) and that there is no reason to be defending them so hard over very very very little crumbs, when most of those crumbs are actually headcanons that you made up yourself.

Again, nobody is earnestly going out there and defending the canonicity of Arlefuri. We're defending something completely different which I'll discuss in the next section. But even then, why should we? Why is a ship okay only if we acknowledge the lack of canonicity in a ship? We all are taking part in a culture that was literally borne of taking one canon or another and doing really silly things w/ it. That's why our fandom ancestors borrowed the term "canon" from religious studies and applied it to fandom: they needed a way to differentiate the stuff that was officially a part of the media and what was being written by fans.

We're all here to have fun. We're playing with dolls and making them kiss. There is absolutely no harm in us doing our own thing and engaging in a ship just as, say, a renheng shipper would. Just because a ship isn't canon doesn't mean that the shippers have to wear big signs on their backs that say "our ship is not canon and we are aware of that." This point feels strangely targeted in that way.

im not an arlefuri hater, infact, i was indifferent to it because i knew many people would ship it eventually, but seeing the ship grow more and more and the shippers attacking nonshippers with NO explanation on why they are defending such a copium ship is starting to make me hate it.

Okay, here's where the main discussion point is, and this right here is why I'm writing this whole essay/response thing.

This is a strawman.

This is not happening.

Every single Arlefuri shipper I've personally talked to could not care less if you don't like Arlefuri. Not every ship is for everyone, and there's nothing wrong with that. But there's a very big difference between not liking a ship and antagonizing a ship.

One of the things I absolutely hate about fandom is how much power lies in the accusation of being "proship." If someone is able to accuse someone of being proship and that accusation sticks, whether it's true or not, that person is screwed. And the same thing goes for ships. If a ship is successfully labeled as "proship" then that means that everyone that might publicly engage with that ship is going to also be labeled as proship, and that means they're going to be antagonized, even if there is nothing wrong with the ship itself.

Because people misunderstand a single cutscene in the game, people tend to label Arlefuri as, at best, toxic, and at worst, proship. And after a while, this gets tiring, especially for a community that is relatively small.

As stated before, Arlefuri shippers are so tired of being attacked and accused of various things, and because of that, engaging with people that attack the thing that we like in a respectful way becomes really really hard, and at some point, these defense attempts have started to lean more and more aggressive.

This is where I think that perception of Arlefuri shippers being so militant come from: they're defending a ship that they like in a rather aggressive and fed-up way which is very easy to interpret as attacking people for just having opinions.

Like I said before, there's a big difference between not liking a ship and antagonizing a ship.

For some reason, so many people antagonize Arlefuri. And because of how much it happens, responses have become, more often than not, either canned as discussed before, or angry.

i am lgbtqia+, i support and love love lgbtqia+ ships (including hetero ships bht thats for another conversation) but i really dont see why arlefuri is such a popular ship.

I agree, that is a separate conversation, but I find it really odd that the author found it important to spend valuable characters pointing this out.

like i said before, rarepairs are fine and fun, go for it. but if youre going to mindlessly attack people without explaining your reason, you're going to be just like most neuvifuri shippers who like to see 'nonchalant tall person' have sex with 'smaller, more childish (mentally) and petite person'. its not the ship you like, maybe its just the image, the fantasy, the thought. or you're just projecting.

There is a lot to unpack with this last point.

First of all, setting aside accusing arlefuri shippers of attacking again which we've talked about, this is straight up infantilizing Furina. Again, I'm assuming this thread was written in good faith, but if it wasn't, that's an insidious thing to throw into the thread to make that implication. As much as I'm not a fan of nvfr shippers, even they don't deserve that.

Furina is bubbly and energetic, silly and a bit out there, but she is not childish. If you pay attention to any of the quests she's in post Masquerade of the Guilty, you'll notice that (at least in the English dub although I'm assuming it carries to other dubs as well) Furina has two vocal modes with which she speaks: one for when she's in public situations with people she isn't super familiar or trusting with, and one for when she's talking one-on-one with the traveler or otherwise in situations where she feels safe. That latter vocal mode is what almost all of her voice lines in the character menu are spoken in, and is what you can consider her true self (her Ousia version of herself) which is much more thoughtful, calm, and straightforward. When she is acting as her true self, she is incredibly mature and her 500 years of life and stress really start to show.

What I'm assuming the author is thinking of when they call Furina mentally childish is how she acts when she's around various people. This is an act. She still pretends to be someone she's not when she's out and about, and that version of herself (her Pneuma aligned self) is one that is designed to be as appealing as possible: energetic, silly, and slightly arrogant. Once again, it's a character, or if you're more partial to Autistic/neurodivergent Furina headcanons, it's her masking.

Another really weird implication that comes out of this last point (at least to me) is that any and all Arlefuri content is just smut. That's obviously not true--just take my corpus of Arlefuri work as three examples out of however many. And I think it's not fair to judge the morality of most ships purely on the smut. Yes, sex can be a very useful tool for exploring the dynamics of characters, and that is used quite often in Arlefuri (same as literally every other ship known to fandom), but, w/r/t Arlefuri specifically, so much more interesting discussions exist outside of the bedroom, and some of the most seminal and impressive Arlefuri works are those that do not focus around sex. "A Fatui Harbinger in Lady Furina's Court" by DarlingMistaken, yes, is rated Explicit, but only because of one or two chapters. The entirety of the fic is an exploration of Furina's PTSD and the safety dynamic I talked about earlier. Eris's "All Bark No Bite" is completely Arlefuri sex free for the first 16 chapters and has a lot of interesting discussions of Furina's loneliness leading up to the smutty chapters. "Embers" by ChonkCatto is a slow burn romance which dives even deeper to the psychological trauma both Arlecchino and Furina have faced, as well as an exploration of Furina discovering her sexuality. And while I'm not a huge fan of tooting my own horn like this, I'm personally really proud of the discussions I have about power, trust, agency, and how love needn't be loud and passionate in my sister arlefuri fics, "What Do You Want?" and "There Must Be Something Here".

And I also want to point out that literally every ship any of us likes is purely because of the image, fantasy, and thought. That's the point of fandom. I know the author is particularly talking about the sexual side of things, but even then, that's why we do what we do. We like the idea of our favorite characters smooching, and so we make them smooch. Sometimes it's for reasons that takes an essay 3k words and counting to explain, and sometimes it's because "I find both of them hot." There's nothing wrong with that, and there never has been. If you want to read more about my thoughts on this topic specifically, you can read my previous post on here, "A Short Discussion on Fandom Culture"

Finally, I want to leave y'all with a reminder that discourse like this a fire that only you can fuel. Twitter as a platform is designed to both encourage saying things that will bait a reaction and to encourage responding to said bait in as reactionary of a way as possible. And because of the character restraints built into the app, that makes communicating your full thoughts incredibly difficult, and starts forcing people to rely on gotcha's and mantras instead of properly discussing things. And when people start echoing the same things over and over, distain in those spouting those mantras is developed in people, no matter the intention. So just block and move on. Take a page out of the fuqing shippers' book and just move on, because unless we all engage in long discussions over thousands of words, nobody is going to listen to each other because twitter is designed for people to not listen to each other.

This is a war that nobody is going to win, and it's so much better to pack up your things and return home from the front lines. It's so much better if you let people like what they like and not like what they don't like and say what they will say. We're all just a bunch of random ass nobodies beefing about fictional characters.

Just block and move on. It's so much better.

Trust me.

[ominus-potato]

Genuine question, how do you make the dynamics for ships such as TrashCube, Chris x Swag, SMG34, Marware Etc

You mean like how do I see them? Ooo I love this question!!

Trashcube:

I haven’t entirely nailed down their dynamic yet. They’re old man Yaoi tho. I can see them balancing each other out. Bob helping SMG1 live on the edge a little and SMG1 encouraging Bob to do less illegal stuff.

When they started hanging out, Bob probably found SMG1 boring at first but then after living in the chaos that is his daily life, coming back to SMG1 at the end of the day to just relax and read or spend time together would be really nice.

I also love the idea that they just hang out bc they enjoy each other’s company and I could see something growing from that. We’re apparently gonna get a Medi fan episode about the two tho so we’ll see what their dynamic is really like in the show.

Chris x Swag:

Ohhhh boy I love this one!! I thought for a while about what their dynamic could be. I thought that maybe Chris is Swag’s side piece since he’s married to Sonic but after seeing Swag and Sonic’s relationship, I’ve come to accept that Swag would never leave nor cheat on Sonic. He loves him too much.

So, I’ve come to the conclusion that Chagmaster is one sided!

Chris has harboured feelings for his best friend for the past few years but since he doesn’t want to mess with Swag’s current relationship, he’s learnt to live with them and not let them show.

I think that’s why Chris is often threatening Sonic with a sniper when he’s on dates with Swag. Like a “you’d better treat him right” kinda thing. He just wants Swag to be happy, even if he’s not the one who’s able to do it.

SMG34:

I think their dynamic is pretty cut and dry. Enemies to lovers. Petty rivals with feelings. Enemies with benefits. Take your pick.

I love them as a ship and would love to see them be canon however due to the homophobic fan base I doubt we’ll get that anytime soon.

Their dynamic changes every time I write/draw them tbh. It can fit whatever narrative I need it to.

Hopelessly in love? Easy. Flirting? Alrighty. Shit talking each other and then proceeding to make out? Can do!

Depending on the story they can fit any dynamic which I do I like about them however it does make them feel very vanilla.

Marware:

They are my OTP. I love them. My faves.

Their dynamic is very much just YouTube Arc SMG34 atm but they have great potential to be a funny one sided rivalry type of thing.

Mario couldn’t really care less about how Puzzles feels about him. He just wants to watch tv, eat spaghetti and spend time with his friends.

Puzzles on the other hand is absolutely seething at the mere thought of Mario. He hates him so much. Almost a little… too much yk? 😏

I can see their dynamic shifting from what it is now to Mario just mildly annoying Puzzles and Puzzles just having to put up with it.

They’re a really funny ship to me and I love that bc that means I’m able to make jokes about them and come up with fun ideas for their relationship!

But yeah I love them.

Thise are all of my main ships. I also have others like Mar34, Mar4 and Mar3 and I’m always open to hearing new rarepairs like Bob x Shroomy (bad boy and good kid. COME ON HEAR ME OUT!)

But yeah! This is how I see the dynamics of the ships you’ve listed.

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/749218521745145857/while-i-love-some-queergay-whatever

“Kissing on the forehead isn’t necessarily romantic” makes sense if we are talking about a work of media that is made in a time/place where that was a common thing between same gender platonic friends.

But are you, anon? Or are you talking about like, a piece of Western mass media from the past 50 years? Or are you talking about anime — because if anything, kissing is even more loaded in Japan than it is in the West, especially if there are other people around. (Lots of people in anime fandom love to use “but Japanese culture” arguments to no homo, but are banking on no one reading them actually knowing jack shit about Japanese culture — because it’s almost never true or based on any real Japanese cultural difference, there’s just making shit up. It assumes people will take for granted anything that frames Japan as “foreign and inscrutable and impossible for Westerners to understand” which is just Orientalism tbqh)

Just saying, because I almost never see this shit said about like, a novel from 1820 or something from a culture like, say, some Middle Eastern countries where men kissing other men platonically is a thing…. and almost always see it said about current media from a culture where kissing on the forehead would be seen as something you’d likely not do to a platonic friend of the same gender.

You can’t “impose your cultural norms” on something from the same culture as you lol, or something from another culture that has the same norm! And an (for example) American assuming that modern American media plays by the rules of modern American culture and seeing it through that lens, doesn’t necessarily mean that American is unaware that different norms exist in different cultures. But like… it just makes sense to analyze a current American show for American audiences set in America in the modern day through the cultural standards of 2020s America and not, say, Bangladesh or Namibia or 1850s America.

And on another note, if you were as much of a fan of “queer readings” as you claim to be, you’d know that they often have little to do with authorial intent. In fact, it’s often specifically about reclaiming media that didn’t have you in mind as the audience.

(Seriously, I really doubt you have read many of those queer readings, bc if this bothers you so much, the stuff queer studies academics and cultural critics see as “gay subtext” in old Hollywood movies — hell, the stuff that gay, bi and sympathetic-straight directors and actors and writers often very much INTENDED as gay subtext in those movies — would make your brain explode.)

Anyway, we’ve all been in fandoms where there’s a ship some people insist has a ton of subtext but it’s just two guys sharing a scene occasionally and they just WANT to believe it’s there when it isn’t, and it can be annoying sure if there are so many people insisting this that it’s inescapable and becoming fanon that affects the fic about the ships you like, or if they’re pushy and sanctimonious about it. (My current fandom has a group of people who insist the only reason other people don’t see all the “subtext” for their random rarepair is racism or something, and then ignore how much textual stuff they have to deliberately leave out or misinterpret for their reading to “work” lol. Like scenes where their starry eyed expression is directed at a different character and that’s obvious in the actual episode but not in their selectively edited gif set or meta post.) But that is not the same as doing that with KISSING ON THE FOREHEAD ffs. And also, let’s not pretend that slash (or femslash) shippers are the worst offenders, like het shippers — and the broader culture — doesn’t constantly treat “a man and a woman interact” as meaning “they could/should be a couple,”

If you’re not bothered by that, but you’re bothered by when people do it with two men or two women… yeah you gotta ask yourself why that is. I have an idea why, and it’s not bc of your greater cultural open mindedness lol

--

[lily-alphonse]

Alex/Shane rarepair sporty boys bromance🙏

OH IVE GOTTA MAKE THIS ONE ANGSTY. Implied past child abuse as well. If it was to become a full fic it would have a happy ending though.

I like that they are on opposite ends of fulfilling their dreams. Shane is kind of the ghost of Alex's future ain't he?

Oooo wait okay lets take the headcanon from the SamAlex fic and have Alex returning from college after being forced to drop out due to poor grades.

Alex has been away for two years, becoming an entirely different person. He was a star athlete with a hot (albeit on and off again) boyfriend. He felt more like himself than ever before... and then it all came crashing down.

When he comes back to town, its like stepping into old shoes that don't fit anymore. He doesn't feel safe to be himself and shuts down. He puts on an act of the person he used to be. Cocky. Macho. He pretends nothing affects him and he has it all figured out.

Shane looks even rougher than when he last saw him. Worse than reminding him of where his future might be headed, he reminds him of his dad. Drinking all the time. So angry. Who would put him in charge of a kid? He's kind of worried for Jas. He’s glad she has Marnie at least. Marnie’s always been nice.

It’s night. Shane is leaving the saloon, Alex is outside sitting with Dusty. He watches Shane with contempt in his eyes, and Shane won’t stand for it anymore. He feels him watching, spins around and snaps at him.

“You got a fucking problem or something?”

Alex stands up slowly, a silent reminder of the pure mass Shane is up against. Maybe a fight could be good for him. Let off some steam. But he gives Shane a chance to back down.

“Walk away, Shane.”

He, unsurprisingly, does the opposite. He comes closer. “No. I haven’t done anything to you, so what's your fucking issue?"

The alcohol on his breath causes a long-buried fear to spike in Alex and it has him clenching his fists at his sides. He wills himself not to tremble. Not now. Not now. He feels cornered, readying to swing at him when Shane's next words catch him off guard.

"Why are you here, Alex?" Shane sounds older. More tired. His bleary eyes don't miss the look in Alex's. There's something he recognizes there.

But now Alex is terrified for a different reason. He's so tired of keeping this wall up that he's actually tempted to be honest with him. His defenses are crumbling around him as part of him thinks that Shane would understand better than anyone...

His mind balks at the thought, since that would mean they were in any way similar. So he turns it around on him, throwing a mirror up between them as his last defense.

“What are YOU doing here Shane? What happened to you, you’re a fucking mess.”

Shane rolls his eyes, waving him off as he backs away again. “Yeah, yeah, piss on the town drunk. It’s all been said and done, asshole.”

“No,” Alex says firmly, following him, corralling him back against Dusty's fence, “you started this.” He won't let him back out of this now. For some reason he can't let this conversation die. It's real and it's painful and he craves it.

Shane folds his arms and scoffs. “Technically you started it by glaring at me all the time.”

Alex grinds his teeth. "It'll get even worse for you if you even think about harming Jas."

Shane's eyes widen with fire, arms slowly moving to his sides again. "What the fuck did you just say?"

Alex steps closer, looking down on Shane now. "You heard me."

"I would NEVER hurt her you fucking--"

Shane moves to push him but Alex pushes him back harder, but the show of protectiveness for Jas seems to flip a switch in him because he doesn't want to hurt Shane.

He kisses him.

Eeeehehehe I hope this one gets enough reblogs to be included in the poll bc it'd be interesting

Send me any Stardew Valley rarepair and I will tell you how I would make them work! (Even non-marriage npcs) If youre lucky you may get a mini fic out of it. Check the list below to see if Ive already answered yours

Rarepair Masterlist

[c1trvswurld]

loving the hanzo and cole stuff so much, I have never played overwatch but I remember liking them a lot from adjacently venturing into the Tumblr side of the fandom via fanart and fics and such and it's nice to see them again from someone who's delightfully passionate about them the way I LOVE to see people be passionate about ships

However I feel it is my duty to let you know that for a Solid While I did not know who you were shipping hanzo with until I remembered there had been some issue with Coles former name (I cannot remember what it was I was not that engaged at the time) and it got changed to cole Cassidy

Like for several posts I was just going 'ok love the mchanzo art that's awesome and love citrus shipping hanzo with someone but who is this cole fella? He looks so much like mcree.......... WAIT'

Ajdhjajaja I feel very stupid but hopefully this makes you laugh a bit

(and apologies for using Cole's old name, idk if that's a sore spot in fans anymore?? Again I cannot remember why his name got changed I just know that it Did (and tbh Cassidy is one of my favourite male names ever so I think it works) but sjdhsjjaja apologies regardless for using his old name)

No need to apologize! Personally I don't think it is as a sore spot as it was back then (to sum it up real quick mcree was named after someone om the team who turned out to be extremely shitty). And I had the SAME reaction as you when I got back into the game after years of not playing it. Had a mourning period bc jesse mcree is just a kick ass name. But now I realize cole also work lol. But yeah im extremely passionate over any ship involving hanzo...I just like spoiling him!

But yeehan/mchanzo has always been one of my faves along with cole/ashe and hanzo/moira (random ass rarepair)

[moonlit-dreamers]

Can you rate all TSAMS Sun ships?

im gonna be careful with this one so im gonna try and avoid the ships that might be/are "incestuous" since i quite enjoy having friends and staying out of drama. once more ill probably forget some character so i apologize </3 (last post i fucking forgot dark sun im so sorry augh). also leaving out poly ships bc, again, this would go on Forever. AND ALSO same as before, the lower the rating the less i ship it and it isnt about me "disliking" it but rather not personally enjoying it

sun/eclipse - 10/10 - there is soooo much flexibility with this ship istg. probably why i always come back to it lol. it can be toxic, abusive, fluffy, enemies to lovers, fix-it, etc. *slaps suneclipse* you can fit so many dynamics in this bad boy

sun/solar - 10/10 - its on equal footing with sun/eclipse especially bc its the first ship i had in this fandom (tho i was very shy </3) cuz its just. ITS SO GOOD! its wonderful hurt/comfort and helping each other heal from the past they had with different versions of the other while also acknowledging that they arent the same and thats what makes them Better

sun/dark sun - 9/10 - do i just like selfcest? yes. yes i do. i think dark sun should let sun go apeshit and they take over the world while holding hands and kissing send post

sun/sunbeam - 8/10 - something something learning from an alternate/older version of yourself. i feel like sun would be able to guide sunbeam through a lot of things bc he understands sunbeam in a way others cant. or maybe i just like selfcest-

sun/moonshine - 7/10 - honestly i dont really Have any ideas for this ship but. i like them. i think itd be cute

sun/ruin - 7/10 - i think they could fix each other /j ghfskgjdfhg in all seriousness itd be fun. again, no ideas, but i like it

sun/solarflare - 6/10 - it most certainly has potential. lil guy with lots of energy x big emotionless robot learning about the world.

sun/foxy - 4/10 - i used to be a HUGE kidscove shipper but then i got bored after i started being more active with dca/dca ships in this fandom. i still think its fun and cute, i just dont like it anymore *shrug*

sun/bloodmoon - 4/10 - i can kinda see it? idk. maybe with v1 bloodmoon but v2? eh? idk man i just watch ppl clump rocks together on the playground and i sit there like "i have no fucking clue what theyre doing but theyre having fun with their rocks" and thats pretty much how i feel about this ship ghjfdghdk

sun/killcode - 3/10 - head empty so i got no comment </3 but i Do see the appeal of big monster x lil guy.

sun/monty - 3/10 - meh. not that interested in it. tho in general i dont really enjoy ships as much if they arent dca/dca rghsrgrgkj but yeah with this its an eh for me

sun/puppet - 2/10 - out of genuine curiosity- does anyone ship this? idk if ive seen it before so i feel like this is some ultra-rarepair shit. shout out to you if you ship this

i feel like im forgetting some ppl but thats okay cuz i can edit them in later when i remember who it is while im trying to sleep <3