#but I wouldn't say I ship any of those dynamics strongly

[longagoitwastuesday]

I was tagged to do one of those top ten ship polls, but it's being kinda hard. Do I even care about ten ships?

[just-orbiting-you]

I actually agree quite a bit with the other anon regarding TH/JK hyung/dongsaeng relationship. You say they don't have that stereotypical relationship, but I think that's more because JK is more emotionally mature that TH, which I think is also part of the reason they grew distant. I think TH does want that kind of relationship with JK, but he oversteps JK's boundaries into an almost coddling/condescending territory (think him squeezing JK's cheeks in that one twt video after BB #1 or him making this almost grossly cutesy caption for the recent photos) which I think pushes JK away. I think JK has always been kind sensitive to boundaries, but I think as he's gotten older, he's gotten even more strict about setting boundaries (which includes with fans based on stuff he said during his livestreams).

I think TH's personality naturally does not always respect boundaries, but with JK, I think he can push it further because of him being the hyung, so he does. But as we know, JK doesn't want to be "cute", he wants to be acknowledged as having matured and I think sometimes the way TH treats him disrespects that, him probably feeling more mature than TH probably exacerbates that feeling too (plus being in a group without a strict age hierarchy that never forced him into a maknae role). I don't know about posting, but a lot of the babying or disrespecting boundaries stuff TH does to JK, he would never be allowed to do towards the older members. They give him grace because they obviously love him, but there are limits.

I do think TH feels some jealousy towards jikook, but its not about fame , attention, or fan engagement, but about their genuine closeness and feeling left out. I don't think TH feels close to hyung line much beyond them being like older brothers (compare to like JM who gets along with all of them and has JH especially close, or JK who also get along with most of them, but also is very close to jin). Over the years, the maknae line dynamic shifted a ton, with TH ending up kind of the outsider, and with JK specifically pulling away from him (IMO for the reasons I mentioned above). Now JM and JK enlisted together and have a travel show coming out, and I do think he probably feels pretty left out. To me, if he did post those photos for a negative reason, it wasn't about shippers or attention, but feeling left out and maybe a little petty. He probably also feels a little defensive of his relationship with JK, not so much to fans, but even internally. Weirdly, although they hung out more in 2023, I don't know if I can tell they actually bonded or got closer? Like JK leaving the movie premier to go live on his own or them going on trips, but with other people and to do specific activities. I understand why jkkers think they hung out more because JM was busy, because tbh, that's kind of the way it looks. And I mean that outside of any shipping discourse, I think JK's preferred person to hand with in bts is JM most of the time (base don the things he says and how much time we hear about them spending together behind the scenes). Maybe we'll see some strongly renewed bond between TH and JK after military service, but I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't. And I wouldn't be surprised if TH felt a little insecure about that, like he wanted or tried to reconnect with JK and I'm sure they had fun, but it didn't go any deeper. I'm not saying they don't care about each other, but I do think their personalities kind of inhibit the sort of closeness some of the other members have.

i'm being so real when i say anon you hit it right on the nose. i've been trying to form my own thoughts on this and i really love hearing other opinions on tae in relation to jikook.

JK is more emotionally mature that TH, which I think is also part of the reason they grew distant. I think TH does want that kind of relationship with JK, but he oversteps JK's boundaries into an almost coddling/condescending territory (think him squeezing JK's cheeks in that one twt video after BB #1 or him making this almost grossly cutesy caption for the recent photos) which I think pushes JK away.

this perfectly encapsulates how i feel about tae in that he always takes it a step too far and doesn't have the awareness to understand why that is. i think you clarified a point from the first anon about if tae were to post disrespecting boundaries of other members, it wouldn't go over well. it just doesn't sit well that tae gets a hyung card pass to kind of post about jungkook in the way he does. of course its kinda harmless and i don't think jungkook will do anything about it, but to me its clear he doesn't feed into the relationship like tae does.

my mind goes straight to the conversation they had in the first in the soop (where jimin had to go fetch jk for tae), and jungkook spoke about how him and tae drifted apart. but also that tae pushed for jungkook to drop honorfics and jungkook was very strict in that he does not want to. tae is always looking to push the envelope further.

also i think its funny that tae posts like he does about jungkook, but jungkook doesn't even have instagram anymore to actually interact with the posts. i have no clue if tae lets jungkook vet the posts before he posts them. from what we can understand, it is tae crafting the narrative around current t@ekook, not jungkook. and that enables tae's power over jungkook's wishes even further.

I do think TH feels some jealousy towards jikook, but its not about fame , attention, or fan engagement, but about their genuine closeness and feeling left out.

i've sensed this for a long time and it goes back to old 2019 lives where tae asks jimin to join him, but jimin says he's with jungkook so he can't. it just always feels like he wants in on jimin and jungkook, separately and together, but often is fresh out of luck. i think the telltale sign that tae and jungkook's relationship did not go any deeper last year was 1. jungkook never talked about him and 2. it was always with a group of friends.

plus from other asks too and what you said, i don't think tae has strong relationships with the hyung line, expect for hobi (but even hobi seems closer to jikook). so his only tie to bts is clinging to this newfound relationship he is trying to build with jungkook by pushing for him to join his friend group, and broadcasting it to the whole world.

thank you for putting so much attention into this ask anon, because the emotional difference between tae and jk really wasn't illuminated for me until now. jungkook i think has progressed past tae's immaturity, making him a better match for someone like jimin anyway.

[loosesodamarble]

Hiya Erika 😁!! Ooo for the character ask game may I ask for 1, 6, 13, and 17 for…Yami and Finral please 🥰! (I hope it’s okay asking for two 🙈!)

It's very okay asking for two characters, Lyra! It just means that I'm gonna take a little more time to answer. Hope you don't mind that.

..........

Yami Sukehiro

1) Why do you like or dislike this character?

This is going to sound weird but I like Yami because he's like an older cousin who is told to take charge and watch over the others but 9/10 times he does his own shit since the younger kids can manage just fine and the last 1/10 times is when shit get real like a robber breaking in.

He's an older role model to his squad. But he doesn't act like an authority figure to them. He doesn't force them to follow any rules and lets them take care of themselves to become who they can/want to be. Yami's character is able to balance responsibility and freedom to the benefit of the other characters around him.

6) What's something you have in common with this character?

Is it a cop out if I say me being part Japanese is a commonality between me and Yami (since Hino is the Japan of BC)? Because I can't really think of anything else that he and I share.

13) What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

💀 Skull. No, I don’t think Yami is going to die (if it was about a character dying or being dead Morgen would have this emoji/j). And while I don’t think Yami would be a big emoji user, I get a kick out of imagining Yami typing “your days are numbered 💀” when someone pisses him off through text.

17) What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

Yami x Nacht. I've joked that they have the energy of ex-lovers and there is potential in that kind of dynamic. Seeing romantic potential in a platonic dynamic is nothing new and that’s something in Yami x Nacht which I can’t find fault with. It’s fine. People make good art for the ship. But I don’t seek out content for the ship (I see it on my dash because of who I follow and because of the fandom tag). And I don’t feel strongly enough about it to make content for it either.

.....

Finral Roulacase

1) Why do you like or dislike this character?

-I like that he's a coward without being an ass about it. If he was some kind of selfish coward that ran at the expense of others, I wouldn't like him nearly as much. -He is loving and forgiving towards Langris, someone who really needs it. I will never not like characters who forgive without hesitation. That stuff is my jam. -Awesome magic. Teleportation is always going to be cool. -He really is a pacifist through and through. His magic can't attack because he's just that kind to his core. -His pacifism doesn't equate to uselessness. He will still do what he can to support those around him who can fight because that's what needs to be done more often than not. -Literally just a cute guy. Looks and personality wise. I want to protect Finral. -In a real life situation, I would want to date someone like Finral. He's fun-loving but also realistic. He's giving but still fights for what he wants (at least post character development). Finral is troubled but not jaded.

6) What's something you have in common with this character?

I too would be chill with my siblings if they almost caused my death. I love my family very much (mostly because they’re genuinely nice people) and I don’t think I’d ever have the heart to hate them regardless of how they hurt me.

13) What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

💖 The sparkling heart emoji. Finral’s got a big heart and I giggle at the thought of shoujo romance sparkles around Finral when he tries to flirt (even when he fails). He’s just got a sparkly personality.

17) What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

Finral x Vanessa. It’s another case of romantic potential within a platonic relationship. And given how their stories parallel in some ways (both not displaying abilities that their abusive parents desire and running away from home), I understand why people would want to ship them together, for that paralleled lovers dynamic. I get it but I'm not too into it. I've stumbled upon content for it and some friends ship it but I'm not someone who would seek it out or create for it.

[notmoreflippingelves]

EoA for ask meme

otp: *coughs* Elena/Esteban. sorry not sorry.Look if they didn't want me to be unhinged about them, they shouldn't have spent an entire season soulmate-coding them and then capping it off with a BATB homage.

favourite canon pairing: ymmv on how canon it is, but considering it was pretty strongly teased in the series finale, Julio/Doña Paloma. I do find Carla/Mateo pretty cute as well.

worst pairing ever: I wouldn't say any of the pairings for the show are bad. It's just a lot of them don't particularly interest me. I could say Elena/Mateo, because personally I find it overrrated and I'm already gonna talk about it later. But I am going to go with Esteban/Doña Paloma.

I did actually kind of ship it the first time I watched the show...right up until the episode where their AU selves got married. And even though the whole point of "to Queen or Not to Queen" is that everything is absurd and everyone is wildly out-of-character (especially the two of them), they just seemed so miserable together and I couldn't unsee it. I also find it kind of annoying that Paloma is treated as sort of the default "acceptable" Esteban shipping option for people who don't want to pair him with OCs. And just...it's fine and I understand why many people would feel uncomfortable shipping him with certain characters (even if I don't)...but like...Victor is also right there. And honestly, I'm able to get a lot of the same vibes that I initially liked about esteoma out of estevictor, esteban/naomi, gaberico, and Julio/ Paloma---plus just I find those dynamics are more interesting in general.

guilty pleasure pairing: It used to be estebalena, but now, I have much less shame over it. It helps that I really only see it happening in S3 or later and that I hc that Elena would be the much more dominant/instigating partner in the relationship. I mean I guess Shuriki/Esteban is the obvious answer. But it is worth noting that I don't like it when it's genuine/mutual/romantic. I only like esteriki in the noncon/dubcon "Shuriki abusing her power" sense. So my guilty pleasure ship is less Shuriki/Esteban and more "Esteban/severe Shuriki-related trauma that leads to extreme woobification." I want him sad and pretty and haunted by the Dark Times™ so that he can have allll the angst, whump and hurt/comfort.

a pairing you want to see more: Literally every ship that isn't just some permutation of the Four Amigos. There are so many great characters in this ship that can be paired in so many interesting ways, but they rarely get acknowledged. I think I am particularly baffled by the lack of m/m in this fandom, since it's like the complete opposite of every other fandom ever. There's a bit of Mateo/Gabe, but honestly, it's positively dwarfed by other pairings for the amigos. (Also I don't care about Mateo, lol). There's also a criminally small bit of Gabe/Rico, but there could be so much more.

But honestly, the ship that I am genuinely baffled isn't more popular and really really want to see more of is Victor/Esteban. Like it just seems like a no-brainer to me. It has so many tropes that people normally go feral over. Childhood friends to lovers? Enemies to Lovers? Foe yay? Mutual redemption arcs? There isn't even an age difference and Victor's marriage is all-but-over. So, what is stopping people? I've seen at most a handful of ambiguously romantic ship art and not a single fic. Where is it? Where is the estevictor? Give me the estevictor!

that pairing everyone likes but you’re like “lol no” : Elena/Mateo. I mean I get why it's so popular given the popularity and attractiveness of both characters. But personally, I just don't find them interesting. I feel they both have better chemistry and interesting potential with other characters than they do with each other. And its popularity within the fandom certainly doesn't help, as my little contrarian hipster brain turns its nose up about 90% of fandom juggernaut pairings. Plus, I just don't care enough about Mateo to care about a ship with him. He's casually cute with Carla and I can see him with Gabe as well. But otherwise, nope. Don't like him enough to care who he's shipped with.

favorite non-romantic pair: There are a bunch of dynamics that I do ship sometimes (or more than sometimes) but I also love platonically. (Esteban & Elena, Elena & Naomi, Esteban & Naomi, Naomi & Gabe, Elena & Gabe, Elena & Valentina, Elena & Marisa, Chloe & Maliga, Cacahuate & Bobo, various permutations of "Team Isa"). But in terms of pairings that I only view platonically, either Victor & Carla or Isabel & Elena.

[beansterpie]

B, D, J, L, T, U

Thanks for the ask moth!! <3

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

LMFAO Agohiru from ES21 😂 I remember when I first got into es21 back in highschool, Hiruma was my fav, but I didn't think much of Agon other than 'wow what an asshole!' and didn't like him. (Also I was a big Hirumamo shipper at the time, and I'm the type who clings onto One Ship for a character and isn't too interested in anything else lol) It wasn't until I got back into it in the last couple of years that I've come to appreciate how much fun it is to bat that asshole around, and just how loaded Hiruma and Agon's ~history~ is.

Though I guess no one person specifically changed my mind, unless you count past me vs present me lol. OH actually, what changed my mind was the fic "Independent Variable" on ff.net. I think I got back into es21 and was like 'you know, hiruma/agon totally has potential' and so was looking up fics of that pairing, and then I read that fic and was lost.

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Hmmmm oh, Merther (Merlin/Arthur) lol. Their set up as a ship is extremely juicy (two sides of the same coin?? fate ties them together??? conflict because their initial world views are diametrically opposed????) and there's soooo much fic for them, but. I just. I don't like Arthur 😭 Like, I mean, he's FINE. But the writing of the whole show is so inconsistent and there's entire seasons where he's just so shitty to Merlin for no damn reason in a way that I'm supposed to take as funny and silly which pisses me off more.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

I mean, most shows that have mainstream popularity that I never checked out lol, though I think one that I've seen a lot of shipping art for on my dash is Star Wars? I've seen the main movies, but I think this is from.... Clone Wars, or the Obi-wan show or something. I see a lot of Obi-wan shipped with... one of the clone guys I think lmfao.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves.

Hmmmm this isn't even a character I dislike, but whatever-- Judeau! I like him a lot tbh but I also find him shady 😂

I like how his 'friend who gives good advice and just has your best interests at heart' vibe is subverted by his personal biases and emotions, even if he'd probably deny that lol. He's flawed and it colors the advice he gives, and he even has moments that I'd argue are kind of judgy. It's what makes him interesting!

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

Yes! Main one coming to mind rn because I've been thinking about Hiruma (ES21) a lot, is that Hiruma is on the ace spectrum! I'm usually pretty take-it-or-leave-it when it comes to sexuality headcanons, like I can buy most interpretations but I generally don't feel strongly about them, but with Hiruma I really struggle to see him as anything else.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

OOHHHH. Well in Berserk, it's legit a tie between Guts and Griffith. I wouldn't like either one of them as much without the other in their orbit, and Berserk is one of those rare stories where both characters are really complex and compelling in their own way, and bring a lot of significant baggage into their dynamic lmfao. With Guts I love how sensitive he is, and the various ways in which he subverts and deconstructs the Macho Male Power Fantasy™ archetype, how at the end of the day he just wants someone to care about him and find worth in his existence. With Griffith, I love his ideals and his fragility in the face of the sacrifices those ideals demand from him, I love how much he cares and how much he gouges himself for caring, and how all of his stress and guilt and obligation still aren't any match for his love for Guts. And with both of them, I love how their upbringing informs their decisions so well to ruin everything even though they care about each other so much :')

w/ ES21, it's Hiruma lol which might be basic because he's everyone's fav, but for good reason! He's just fucking fun! I love how unhinged and demonic he is, I love the borderline slapstick loony-tunes tyle antics he gets up to, and I love his shamelessness. But I also love how accepting and realistic he is about his limitations, and how that doesn't stop him from striving for the top and going for what he wants. And like, for such an anime-level strategic genius type character, I love that such a core part of what makes him great is that he brings people together and uses teamwork and creativity to overcome everyone's various limitations. He's just-- so much fun!

And because this list is depressingly male lemme throw in a wild card-- Chase from Midnight Furies! It's a webcomic that I recently read for the first time, and Chase is the deuteragonist and a Hiruma expy lol. Which you can definitely tell, they both have the unhinged vibe and shark teeth, as well as the mysterious past and having a lot of cards up their sleeve, but I also think they're quite distinct. Obviously, Chase is a butch lesbian (which really does just add to her cool factor), but also I feel like Midnight Furies is a more grounded story compared to ES21, despite there being supernatural elements lol, and so Chase feels more grounded and realistic as a character. She's a bit more raw in her relationships to other people, and she shows vulnerability more, but she's also much more of a direct physical threat than Hiruma is. Because of that, she has moments where calculation gets thrown out the window in favor of a good ol' beat down, which of COURSE I love to see. And I think she has the capacity to be more ruthless. ANYWAY, awesome character, A+++ (please read Midnight Furies)

[alphabet ask meme]

[starkstruck27]

Tag game: Stranger Things Edition!!

I was tagged by my bestie @oopsiedaisiesbaby. Love you!!💚💚

1. Ride or die ship (your otp): Harringrove

2. Most annoying ship: Mileven

3. Second favorite ship: probably mungrove (bonus points if I get the best of both worlds and it ends up as harringroveson)

4. Favorite platonic relationship: Either stobin or elmax. They're both amazing <3

5. Underrated ship: gonna go with elmax again for this one. Or Keg Boys. I feel like they don't get as much love as they deserve.

6. Overrated ship: normally I would say steddie, but I also love them, too, so I'm gonna say ronance. I can see it, but at the same time... meh?

7. One thing I would change in canon: a lot of the random, unneeded deaths. Bob, Billy, Alexei, Benny, Barb, Chrissy? I feel like none of those needed to happen for the plot to move along, and even if they did, like they didn't have to make them like an "Oh well, they're dead :/" thing. Like, they didn't deserve that. And even if they didn't do that, the way the other characters reacted to the deaths was kinda shallow, too. Like Nancy losing Barb would broken my heart a lot more if they didn't use her mourning as a plot device to make her lose Steve and hook up with Jonathan.

8. Something canon did right: the character dynamics. The way they had the kids fighting over petty shit while bad things were happening, how Dustin didn't have a dad so he latched onto Steve as an older brother type positive influence, the way Hopper had to get used to being a dad again and ask Joyce for help? All of that was just beautifully done.

9. A thing I'm proud of creating for the Fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: All of my works on Ao3, but probably my favorite (at the moment) is my fic So Give Him Inches and Feed Him Well or my six fic series Cool To Hate.

10. A character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Max, Lucas, Dustin and Will. They're all so sweet and funny and I love them.

11. The character I relate to the most and why: normally I would say Billy, but lately it's been more Max. She's stuck in a house with a jerk of an older brother who goes off like a volcano over the littlest things, though most of the time he's dormant unless he wants to annoy her, and she has to witness him and the only father figure she has fighting all the time. Getting into screaming matches, sometimes getting physical, and while in my situation it's more the son causing problems for the father, it's still bad. The only reprieve I get is when I'm out with my friends, and even though I still care about both of them, I'm starting to lose that love for one of them (in her case Neil, in my case my brother) because of how they treat everyone else and acts like everything is normal afterwards.

12. The character I hate the most and why: Karen Fucking Wheeler. How she can go from being a concerned, doting mother in season one to pretty much a sexual predator in the span of a few seasons, I'll never know. I could understand if she cheated on Ted and went after someone her own age, but the fact that she went after a boy no older than her daughter just makes me sick. And yes, Billy flirted with her, too, but come on. He's a misguided 17-18 year old abused kid looking for any kind of affection wherever he can get it. And Karen is the adult. She should fucking know better.

13. Something I've learned from the fandom: How to politely disagree with people and kill them with kindness. That's why I have an anti's ask pinned to the top of my blog, because I want people to know that I don't care who or what they like, so I'll respect them, but if they come onto my blog actively trying to start shit, I will not fucking stand for it :)

14. Three tags I seek out on Ao3: hurt/comfort, Fluff and Angst, and enemies to lovers.

15. A song I strongly associate with my otp/favorite characters: I made a whole playlist dedicated to Billy, so.... but if I had to pick -

For harringrove: In The Woods Somewhere by Hozier or Don't You Dare (Make Me Fall In Love With You) by Kaden MacKay

For Billy: Far Too Young To Die by Panic! At The Disco, Beautiful Girls by Van Halen, Bella by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Cherry Pie by Warrant. Also pretty much Guns N Roses' entire discography.

So, everyone I usually tag for these has already done it (I think), but on the off chance you didn't, I'll tag @thissortofsorcery and @half-oz-eddie , as well as anyone else who wants to participate!

[animeloverinsignia]

Go ahead, ramble your heart about Yami, and Vanessa, and Yami/Vanessa, I'm interested to read your thoughts :)

I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this but thank you! I'm probably going to add to this in the future.

About Yami and Vanessa

To be honest, I'm really hoping I'm navigating his character right in my story.

For the ship itself

It's a ship you wouldn't necessarily think of the dynamic too much which is one of the reasons why I'm probably so interested. Plus along with Fuegoleon they're all tied for being my favorite characters.

Technically the creator set it up for Yami and Charlotte to have more of those type of 'moments' together, so I'd understand how people would ship them a lot.

I read something in a comment that said the creator mentioned Yami and Vanessa only have familial feelings for each other, but that hasn't stopped others from shipping other couples that have the same or even lesser likelihood of becoming canon so even if it's not cannon, I'll write something for them even if it's only for me and like 2 others who ship this. I've got about 10 different ideas ready for y'all. Well, all works in progress.

While we don't really see her with a 'school girl type of crush' I like adding a bit of that in.

Some questions that I'm using to help me get an idea of how their dynamic would be:

How would they show their affection?

Based on their main love languages

In what ways would they change? How affectionate are they? How do they show their affection?

PDA? She's definitely hanging off his shoulders and I'm not judging.

How often do they say I love you?

Who says it more often?

How long would it take everyone else to know? Or how would they tell/show them?

How do they help the other release tension?

Long talks, walks, drinking, massages.

What do they like most about each other?

How would the other comfort them after a traumatic event/dream?

What would they have in common?

What would they strongly disagree on?

How do they quell each other's fears?

What are their tells when scared or lying?

Who cooks, who cleans? Who kills the bug?

Who's the romantic one?plans dates, etc.

What are their nicknames for each other( if they have any)?

Are any of them touch-starved? How do they react to more gentle physical touch?

Based on their pasts or insecurities, how does the other approach it? What do they do to help?

What small favors do they do for each other?

[possessionisamyth]

I mean, is it bad that i went through the entirety of RE4make and bought in the whole knight/princess fairytale schtick but didn't pick on any feelings from Leon's side? Kinda sad for Ashley but i think the devs were being sly

Of course, if i went in depth about that, some would deem me for judge jury execution lmfao

Anon, I am saying this very nicely, but everyone in the RE tags are not your friends. Shared interest doesn't equal friendship. This isn't a website you can make money on, so focusing on engagement and post numbers is a null point.

That said, this means you can post whatever you want! You're not stuck to a theme or a fandom or how personal you get or anything!

Dropping something different/argumentative in a fandom tag isn't like you're on the announcement speaker in high school telling people off. If someone tries to annoy you or harass you, you can choose to engage them honestly and elaborate, ignore them, or you can block them. I've found sometimes when I do engage people honestly, they don't like my tone and block me. These are good things. Everyone is able to curate their experience, and honestly, if they don't want to talk to me about this stuff, then I probably wouldn't want to talk to THEM either.

All that stuff about people receiving a ton of anon hate for ships and opinions and shit? I haven't seen any of it. Why? Because I've been pretty vocal and annoying since I first got here, and those 2-3 people sending that stuff definitely have me blocked by now. The 10+ hater asks people get are always, without fail, just a couple people being annoying and wanting to frame themselves as an army. As you can see, there's no limit to how many asks you can send in one sitting. It's very classic 2014 tumblr behavior.

That said, I strongly recommend you and everyone else to be posting your opinions/interpretations in the tags. It not only keeps the tag from being swamped with half xreader fic I keep having to find new ways to block, but it'll encourage others (including me) to look at scenes and dynamics differently as we read. Different interpretations, even read in passing, do fuel and influence fandom as much as fanart and fanfic. The more opinions in the water, the more art people end up creating. Making people think, giving varying viewpoints on the same scenes/relationships, and organizing your own thoughts by putting them down on paper also lets you have more enjoyment of the story.

If people don't agree with or like what you write, they will either ignore your post or block you, but you're not looking for "Yes Men"! You're not going to get bullied either since anons make themselves look dumb as hell on this website all the damn time. You have the power to post or block as much as anyone else. Abuse it like me. The people you want to talk to will meet you at the level you're speaking at.

Plus, every anon who sends something always desperately checks the blog over and over to see if it's been posted. If for some reason you do get hate asks and quietly delete them, imagine how desperate they'll start acting. It'll be so sad and pathetic lol.

[quetzalpapalotl]

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤍💖💔 for tcgf HIT ME WITH THE OPINIONS

Hiiiii!! Thank you for the enthusiasm!! Sorry this took me so long I got distracted by vidya games. Anyway, under the cut because it's a lot

❤: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

Mmm... I'm gonna say Hua Cheng because it was quite a shock to see how he's written in fic right off reading the novel because it's like where are all these speech patterns coming from?? This lowly one?? Why is Hua Cheng insulting himself every other sentence??

It's actually pretty normal in for fandom to emphasize a character's insecurities, or that's my experience at least. Makes sense, makes them more relatable. But from my perspective while Hua Cheng has insecurities, he also genuinely believes that he's better than everyone else (minus XL ofc) and has a well-founded confidence in his abilities. He sets himself to unreasonable high standars and critizices himself when he can't reach them, but most of the time he is reaching them.

The moments we get to glimpse at Hua Cheng's insecurities is because something made him show that side of himself or is infered from context clues. He doesn't like to show any vulnerability and he wouldn't be on a 24/7 spiel of how much he sucks. He certainly wouldn't be burdening Xie Lian with his own self-hatred. And he would not let anything he feels get in the way of helping Xie Lian and make him happy.

Because of this people also downplay how assertive he is in his relationship with Xie Lian. Fear of rejection and coming is and important factor in why he wasn't fully honest from the get-go, yes, but also Xie Lian himself told him his beloved may feel guilty if they knew they were the reason Hua Cheng couldn't move on. That's a very important factor. He starts testing the waters and he gets bolder and bolder as Xie Lian keeps being receptive and giving him leeway. To the point that the epilogue calls him spoiled and has him demanding Xie Lian's attentions.

🧡: What is a popular (serious) theory you disagree with?

Oh boy, inasmuch as you can call this a "theory" I strongly disagree with the idea that the temple scene is an allegory for sexual assault and it kinda bothers me that the anglo fandom treats it as a given. I was pleasantly validated recently when I was told the Chinese fandom doesn't see it that way. And look, I do get sick pleasure from that scene because of sadism, but I know that's me, that's something I'm projecting onto it. Simply put, the temple scene doesn't need to represent sexual assault. What happened to Xie Lian is not any better, honestly, I'd say it's worse.

The situation shares a lot of the things that makes rape a horrible experience, the vulnerability, the violation of one's body, but rape is first and foremost about power. The people that stabbed Xie Lian weren't happy with the idea, but they did it for their own survival (also there was a toddler involved so, um, please don't). I'll grant you that it is one of many instances of BWX/JW establishing control over Xie Lian's body but even he did this with the very specific purpose of challenging Xie Lian's ideal of helping the common people. It was a taunt. Didn't you want to save them? Even if it means they'll hurt you?

What broke Xie Lian was all these people turning against him, that he couldn't bring himself to allow it, that maybe they were never worth saving in the first place. Which is why is significative that he willingly offers to repeat that experience later (as well as people refusing to hurt him then). It bothers me seeing it only discussed in terms of sexual assault like that's the intention because I think it adds a dimension that isn't there and distracts from the actual dynamic at play.

💛: What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

I consider the popular ships to be hualian, beefleaf, fengqing, and quanyin and I like all of those. I don't have a problem with none of the others ships I've seen and the ones I'm not into are not prominent enough to have any feeling on the matter.

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

Well, that entirely depends on which side of the fandom you are I guess, but since I already started thinking about how people regard Xie Lian's sexuality...

People tend to treat Xie Lian like he has some weird Catholic guilt regarding carnal desire and that's not really it. Xie Lian lives in a culture that values men's sexual prowess, just look at Pei Ming, look at how Xie Lian utilizes this with his "I can't get it up" bc no man would lie about that. Xie Lian's chastity is something he chosee for himself, in fact, he actively went against was expected of him by choosing his cultivation over marrying and fathering children, somthing which is even more explicit in the revised version.

During the Land of the Tender encounter, Xie Lian's biggest concern isn't about some abstract value of purity, but the very practical issue that if he breaks his cultivation he can't afford to build it up again in the middle of a war, he needs his power now. And if his followers finding out would only mean losing more power.

Even Mei Nianqing, the person who taught Xie Lian this was of life, isn't scandalized by Xie Lian adquiring a lover and tells him what matters is that he's happy, he's just displeased over it being ghost king and accuses him of taking advantage of Xie Lian's lack of experience.

Xie Lian is shy and nervous because he has no experience (and this is mostly in the face of Hua Cheng because he has never been into a person like this before), and it wouldn't be unreasonable if he had some form of trauma of the Land of the Tender (in that his biggest association with experiencing arousal is vulnerability), but he doesn't have some internalized purity culture, he would have read Pei Ming's salacious tales if he wasn't keeping his cultivation, breaking his vow of chastity is the least of his worries regarding his attraction to Hua Cheng and when it comes to it, it's not a big deal for him to break it. Again, the chastity was his choice and now he simply choose something else.

With how much of the book is people not respecting Xie Lian's choices, it's a bit annoying ngl. Sometimes people just choose not to have sex for their own reasons, it doesn't mean they have psychosexual issues.

💙: Which character is not as hot as everyone else seems to think?

This is more in-universe, but like how does Pei Ming get laid so much? Look, I becamed endeared to his character and he may be handsome, but if I ever heard him speak the only pounding I would desire is one that leads to him bleeding in the ground.

💜: Which character is way hotter than everyone else seems to think?

I have to mention Kemo here not because of me per se, but because when I made a friend watch this he thought he was hot and the only character that's his type. It was his reward. To bad for all the racism.

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

Mu Qing... like, come on, he had all the reasons to feel insecure with how everyone treated him and Feng Xin constantly trash talking him, he had to be very careful in how he navigated the world, and Xie Lian was the most considerate of his circumstances, but even he didn't fully get it.

He had all the right to leave when he did. And yeah what he did with the 33 officials there wasn't nice, but he was in a precarious situation and he did try to make amends and help later (against the rules), but you know, he sucks at feelings. Xie Lian and co. did end up eating the rice Mu Qing brought.

Some people talk like Mu Qing is The Devil, but really he's just kind of a cunt, but like Xie Lian said, he would never poison someone's drink. Even amongst all the corruption in heaven, he's one of the few officials with nothing to hide?? (besides feelings)

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

Mu Qing, again. Idk what's about this character that makes everyone lose their minds, some people can't take if you say anything mildly bad about him. But he is a cunt. And like, I don't know why people hail him as this sort of working class hero, because like yeah, he had it bad and he's more class conscious than Feng Xin. But you know, he stil threw a fit at a poor, beaten up kid because he has to be lying about having no home because otherwise Mu Wing would know him personally so obviously, this kid is evil, I can't imagine why I kid would not want to go back home. There's the very real possibility that he threw HC out of the army out of jealousy and you know, he was all for unleashing the human face disease on Yong'an civilians, and these were all people who had it worse than him as an attendand to the prince and then a deputy god

Ultimately, Mu Qing's goal is to climb in the system, and he succeds and he has been a god for the past 800 years. In contrast to Hua Cheng who activelly rejected ascencion and works outside the system to help those Heaven overlooks in his own way (tho HC himself is a king of his own) and Xie Lian who has been living in porverty and has lost all shame regarding that and does thing any god but Yushi Huang would consider beneath them, like helping his followers farm. Mu Qing feels a lot of shame regarding his origins and tries to distance himself from it as much as he can, again, this is understandable given his context and by the end of the book he has grown enough that he doesn't get upset if you hand him a broom.

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

About the series? Idk exactly, but it seems to be an unpopular opinion in this fandom that word of god is not canon, only the text is canon.

💔: If you had to remove one major character from the series, who would you choose?

Lang Ying and he did get removed in the revised version LMAO Nothing against him, but his character doesn't really amount to anything for the narrative when it's all said and done. Uh, as for the revised version, so many characters already got removed I don't think I could substract anyone without causing major damage to the story.

💕: What is an unpopular ship that you like?

Junlian, to absolutely no one's surprise, I do ship Orion with Zeta, as I was told.

[writer-monster]

11 reasons why cap 4 should reintroduce Bucky Barnes as the love interest, an essay

to start this off, i am not writing this essay from a shipping place nor do i believe that this would have any influence at all over the upcoming movie. i expect nothing. this is simply something that i would personally like to see. (of course no hate to anybody who thinks differently)

here are 11 reasons why i think making Bucky into Sam Wilson's love interest in Cap 4 would be a good move for Disney.

-

1. on the Chinese film market - and why it's an irrelevant argument against the inclusion of homosexual themes in Cap 4

the Chinese film market is something that has been blamed for a lack of diversity in Hollywood films a lot lately. many people claim that this market with a lot of buying power has been responsible for the lack of gay and black representation in particular within Hollywood films.

and we have certainly seen Hollywood treating it as such, going so far as to cut gay scenes from movies for their Chinese releases, and vastly minimising John Boyega's (a black actor's) presence in the Chinese poster of Star Wars The Force Awakens.

[image ID: on the left is an image of the American poster for Star Wars The Force Awakens, featuring John Boyega prominently on the right-hand side. And on the right is the Chinese poster for the same movie, in which John Boyega is barely visible.]

so we know at the very least that Disney believes this through their own actions and efforts to self-censor for the different markets.

but Captain America 4 is a black-led movie, don't you forget. and Disney can't minimise Sam Wilson/Anthony Mackie in the movie or the poster because it's his movie and his poster. and no amount of creativity in the editing room can change that (thank God!).

so if by their own argument the film is already going to be either banned, panned or slammed in China... then what do they have to fear from making it a gay movie too?

-

2. oh, the queerbaiting

queerbaiting is an unusual cultural idea. and sometimes i find myself thinking that the term is far too easily used, but then all of a sudden i will stumble upon a movie or show that is so quintessentially cruel and overt in it's... well... queerbaiting that i will start to wonder what the hell kind of a bizarre relationship all these straight people seem to have with their friends. take Troy and Abed from Community or John and Sherlock from Sherlock as the perfect examples of this. (in which my reaction to the show's creators saying the show wasn't gay was to ask so then why did you make it so gay?!)

i felt that Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in tfatws were getting quite close to this level of queerbaiting.

there was the field scene, the couple's counselling scene, the boat scene, the couple's counselling scene, Bucky going with Sam to face Karli when she told Sam to come alone, the couple's counselling scene, ALL the staring scenes, Sam checking out Bucky's ass here as they said goodbye, the "i would move in with him but" hidden scene, "Uncle Bucky" showing up at the cookout scene, the romantic walking off together into the sunset together ending scene, and the couple's counselling scene. did i forget anything? but i mean seriously, the couple's counselling scene!!! that thing they did with their legs and their crotches while staring deep into each other's eyes, would any straight guy willingly do that? do straight guys crotch-snuggle now?

[image ID: an image of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes during the therapy scene with the quote, "Isn't anybody going to drag me into impromptu couple's therapy and slot my legs firmly between theirs before staring deeply into my eyes?"]

(yeah i stole this image from a buzzfeed article on the fan reactions to the couple's therapy scene. but given that they stole 80% of the content of that article from fandom tumblr, i think it's pretty even-steven.)

there's also the fact that people started talking about bisexual Bucky Barnes a lot after the tiger pictures line, and the lead writer Malcom Spellman responded to the talk of Bucky's bisexuality with "just keep watching". well we watched, Malcolm. but it's beginning to feel like you were just jerking us around.

-

3. the writing

seriously though, what else is Bucky Barnes doing right now in the MCU? his only remaining connection to anything going on right now is through Sam. there is literally nothing else established that's left for him to do that doesn't involve Sam. he moved to Louisiana to be closer to Sam (canonically), he hangs out with Sam's family (canonically), and Steve is presumably gone and is definitely not coming back for more adventures.

he has no villains or loose ends left. he has no other superheroes that he appears to be in contact with. he has no girlfriend or potential love interest, or even other friends or family. he is living in a tent that he has secretly set up in Sam's backyard and is mysteriously appearing from the bushes when it's time for dinner like a stray cat.

in my opinion there is no other meaningful and pre-established progression for Bucky's character that wouldn't just feel cheap.

plus, i don't think the general audience would be all that surprised if they kissed. i think a LOT of people picked up on all that tension. i think a lot of straight people picked up on all that tension too.

-

4. the chemistry between the actors & the chemistry between the characters

the original pitch for tfatws was essentially just this, it was the chemistry between Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie and their respective MCU characters of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson.

now obviously Anthony and Sebastian are simply friends, and i wouldn't mean to imply anything more. but they are also not their characters.

Sam and Bucky's scenes together before tfatws were both limited and short, and yet audiences still fell in love with the dynamic between the two characters.

in interviews, these two actors are constantly slipping into character and flirting with each other and frankly it's adorable. plus it's really entertaining. i'd love to see that dynamic, unfiltered, in a movie.

because believe it or not the flirting is actually even more open in their interviews than it was in tfatws. and i'm leaving some links as proof.

this here is known as the "married" compilation

and here's a "lucky dip" selection of interviews - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

and here's Anthony trying to get Seb to take his jacket off.

i'm just saying, why not let their chemistry shine? these two are so talented and so entertaining, especially when you put them in a room together. and can you imagine how absolutely hilarious and brilliant it would be to watch them navigate being a couple?

(and for those who bring up the "friends would be uncomfortable pretending to be dating" argument, i'm not here asking for a sex scene or anything. i don't think anyone would expect them to show any more intimacy (physical or emotional) while playing a couple than what they've already shown together in say... tfatws or in their own interviews. not that i actually expect anything regardless.)

-

5. if they were a man and a woman they would've gotten together in tfatws

i have no more to add here. just that... yeah, they would've.

-

6. and i'm not talking about the comics here, i'm talking about the MCU.

i understand fully that none of what i'm saying here falls in line with these characters from the comics. but the mcu itself doesn't fall much in line with the comics either, and these two characters especially are very different from their comics counterparts.

i'm not asking for these two to get together in the comics. tbh i don't think that it would work.

but the mcu Sam and Bucky are different and closer than their comics counterparts. they've got different histories, different backstories, and a very different dynamic. please rest assured that i am only talking about them in the mcu.

-

7. Bucky Barnes is believably bisexual. and Sam Wilson has never been proven to be straight in the mcu, nor has he had a love interest.

(now please continue to keep in mind that these points only stand for the mcu versions of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, and not at all for their comics counterparts.)

Sam Wilson has never had a love interest, which is crazy because have you seen that man! he has had two blink and you'll miss it moments of verbal expression of attraction to women, both in TWS. and that's the extent of it, through his entire history in the mcu.

Bucky Barnes has had a number of surface-level female love interests, but none of them even came close to the level of connection and chemistry that Bucky shares with Sam.

and i'm sorry SarahBucky fans, but i just don't think there's very much to their relationship either. i love Sarah, i really do. but it's Sam who shares all the meaningful moments and history and chemistry with Bucky. and i don't see what making her into a love interest would do for Sarah's character either, what would that add to her story?

[Picture ID: Bucky at the cookout with Sam, Sarah, Cass and AJ. Bucky and Sam are looking at each other and smiling.]

and also there is the whole tiger pictures thing... again. which does strongly suggest that Bucky is bisexual whether this was intentional on behalf of the writers or not.

-

8. it's representation... AND it feels natural

marvel hasn't had a lot of queer representation that's been noticeably present in the MCU at the time of writing this.

there have been a lot of failures so far, from the bisexual erasure of Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok to the wlw erasure in Black Panther.

there was queerbaiting almost identical to the bisexual Bucky baiting for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. when asked if he had considered featuring a gay hero in gotg2, director James Gunn stated that "We might have already done that. I say, watch the movie." after the movie's release audiences were understandably confused about the lack of queer representation. To which the director followed up his comments with, "But we don't really know who's gay and who's not. It could be any of them."

there is also Loki, considered by most fans after the airing of his six episode series on Disney+ to be both a poor attempt at both genderfluid representation and bisexual representation. with both attempts being summed up fairly well by the term "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". (also it's just terribly written and Loki doesn't wear any interesting clothes! fanficcers are a Goddamn blessing in this hard time!)

and let us not forget that Andrew Garfield was apparently FIRED for pushing for a bisexual spiderman. a bisexual spiderman within an interracial mlm relationship no less.

so for all these failures, marvel, why not allow us queer fans this? two brilliant and heroic men in a loving interracial relationship. two heroes that we can look up to.

now, one of the biggest detractions from the argument for representation is the idea of "forced diversity". and some poorly written characters certainly do end up feeling forced into the narrative. take Iceman in the comics for example, with Jean Grey just straight up suddenly telling him he's gay. like, marvel, sweetie, that's not how this works! and i don't know a lot of queer people who thought much of that "representation".

but the crux of the "forced diversity" argument is almost always that it feels unnatural within the story, right? and i don't think that anyone could say that about MCU Sam and Bucky ending up together, given these characters' existing chemistry and their history. they've both played characters in gay relationships before so we know that it's not outside of either actor's wheelhouse. and y'all know that Anthony and Seb can act, people. if it's in the script i believe that they'll make it seem like the most natural thing on earth.

-

9. it'd be a nice change

there's been an ongoing meme lately about "Disney's first gay character", the joke being that they continually announce gay characters without really ever including gay characters in their films.

this is to the point where Disney has formed a reputation amongst queer audiences of being homophobic.

if Sam and Bucky were to become a couple, then Disney could have its first actual gay character within a gay relationship. AND have him be in the lead of his own movie, no less.

it's also worth keeping in mind that there's likely an overlap between the people who were outraged by a Sam Wilson Captain America, and the people who'd be outraged by a gay Captain America. and if they were already not seeing the film, then i don't think much is gonna change that.

queer audiences would definitely love it, and the media attention would be guaranteed to be huge. i mean, simply look at the amount of media attention mere rumours of a character's queerness gets you and multiply that by a canon confirmation of said rumours.

but i'm pretty sure that Disney already knows this.

-

10. and yet, in truth, it's not about the representation

in truth i've never felt that i had any trouble relating to characters of any sexual orientation, race, gender, sex, body type, etc. (although that is not to throw any shade at all on people who do wish to see themselves represented) but for me, i think it's more about the story than the packaging.

and yet, a love story is still just a story. straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial. when two characters have chemistry and history and have sacrificed for each other time and time again, and they also can't keep their hands or their eyes off each other, then i'm pretty sure that that's a love story.

straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial, it shouldn't be about these simple labels. it should be about how well written the relationship is. it should be about chemistry, and history, and sacrifice.

because i'm fucking sick of all the hollow, forced romances in media no matter the genders of the participants. i'm sick of lazily written, shallow relationships where any two people sharing the same space for any extended period of time will simply fall in love. it's boring, it's repetitive, and as a writer myself it drives me up the wall!

romance stories suck! and everyone knows that romance stories suck. between twilight, and most of the entire YA genre, and love triangles (so boring), and romance used as poorly-written throwaway subplots in Hollywood movies, the world is in agreement that the romance in western media is simply dreadful. and yet we still want love stories. it's an entire genre that sits at the heart of the human experience (<3), and yet one which so few of today's best known writers seem truly able to capture.

i don't think that i'm the only one who feels this way, either. i suspect it's actually a large part of why fandom is so romance-centred in the first place, that we're all just starving for a good love story.

(btw i think fandom has a reputation for being something that as a whole that it is not. it has this reputation for straight up demanding things and harassing people until they get their way. while unfortunately there are a few people who do this, they're fucking annoying and i swear that they're far from the majority.

in my experience fandom is mostly about writing a five thousand word story at three am while drunk off your ass because it might make someone whom you've never met smile, editing it in the cold light of day, and then posting it. expecting nothing. sometimes getting nothing. and sometimes getting someone send you kudos or a comment so heartbreakingly wonderful that it makes you smile in return.)

-

11. so once again, it is all about the writing.

i want to see Sam and Bucky get together in the mcu, not because they would be a gay couple but because i genuinely believe that their story has potential to be an amazing love story.

and i know the mcu isn't about the romance. it's why in my personal opinion we haven't gotten a lot of good canon romances besides Peter Quill and Gamora. and i don't think that the mcu should be all about the romance either. i fucking love the action and the fighting scenes. i love the comedy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier had no romance and it was a fucking treasure, it was an amazing spy-action-thriller and it made my little gay heart dance. Thor Ragnarok had no romance, and it was an utterly brilliant comedic spectacle action film. not every movie needs romance.

but mcu Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were doing couple's therapy and fixing a boat and walking off into the sunset together in tfatws. they were inseparable on the battlefield. they've got a dynamic. it's beautiful, it's romantic, and it's gold.

a budding relationship between them in the next movie would be a good way to explore both characters more without the narrative feeling too stilted and separate. at the end of tfatws, both Sam and Bucky fans found that their respective fave felt somewhat underutilised and that their characters were underexplored.

now, that problem would be even more difficult to remedy in a movie, because the plotline of a movie needs to be really tight to work (giggity). and we know that the central conflict of the movie is gonna be action-based (which is good), but we still need each character's personal journey and growth to tie into the main conflict. (which is another issue that some fans found with tfatws, that these characters didn't really feel connected to the action-based plot on a more personal level.)

if Sam and Bucky are already in a relationship, however, this whole dynamic changes. first, their relationship has already been set up for nicely since TWS and through tfatws and they would officially be the best-fleshed-out couple in the mcu. but most importantly, a relationship gives them a perfect vehicle to explore both of their pasts comparatively and connect them personally to the action-based plot.

do you want to establish that Sam is a little too trusting and naïve? then establish this through his relationship with Bucky, and through showing his placing his trust in Bucky. (rather than through having him sympathise with a villain who threatened to murder his sister and his nephews).

perhaps you want to show Bucky recovering from his trauma? show us how comfortable he is with Sam. they get along, they're enjoying each other's presence, we see more of Sam's life and of his family, and then let Bucky tell Sam something that's raw and dark and honest about his life as The Winter Soldier. something about a memory, one that he only just recalled. he's opening up. and maybe what he tells Sam is even something that sets up the future action-based conflict, to ground that in something real.

you want to explore that Sam has trauma too? do this through Bucky. he tells Bucky a story about his time in the military. in the form of a flashback, he shares his own story of loss to evoke before the audience the shared theme of feeling at fault even when you're simply a helpless bystander to an act of pure destruction.

then, action sequence! and it's directly connected to Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier. explore the grief of someone whose life the Winter Soldier tore apart manifesting into a villain perpetuating the cycle of pain. establish your villain.

Later, Sam is dragged into battle against this villain for protecting Bucky. But Bucky doesn't want Sam to protect him. He feels guilt for what he can't control and he doesn't want Sam getting hurt because of him. Bucky reminds Sam that he has a family, one who needs him and who loves him. He tells him to go home.

Sam reminds Bucky that he's a part of that family. And that sure Sam's a hero and his job is to protect anyone and everyone, but that he's doing it because he wants to. It's not simply to prove that he can, or to prove that he's not a bystander (this connects to Sam's trauma here), but that he's doing it to help people.

and this gets Bucky thinking about who he is and what he's doing here. is he a hero who stands by Sam's side? or is he an ordinary man who stands aside? or perhaps, does he stand alone? what does he stand for? Maybe Sam knows. But does Bucky?

Sam and Bucky fight off the villain again, and for the first time Bucky meets this adversary face to face. And Bucky recognises this villain, and has a flashback to the genuine pain that he inflicted upon them in the form of the Winter Soldier. Bucky freezes mid-fight, he almost dies, and Sam has to save him.

Sam chews Bucky out for almost getting killed because he was afraid for him. but Bucky takes this the wrong way and goes off to fight the villain alone, or perhaps to die alone, he's not quite sure.

He puts up a half-hearted fight. He apologises for what the Winter Soldier has done, and he waits for the killing blow, when Sam swoops down and he saves him. He asks Sam why he saved him and Sam calls him a moron. And then, Sam asks him what sacrificing himself would solve. He tells him that you can't choose your past but you can choose your future (connecting to his own experience of loss and guilt and grief). And that no matter what Bucky Barnes still has a future, whether that's as the Winter Soldier or the White Wolf or just some dork with a day job. And that he has a future as a part of Sam's family too.

Sam fights the villain, and it's toe to toe. He delivers a few good blows, but receives a fair few himself. And then the villain tears off his wings, first one and then the other, in a manner reminiscent of what the Winter Soldier did to him in TWS. Through Bucky's eyes there's a flashback to highlight the parallels. Sam gets back on his feet and he fights his best fight, but is now losing.

And then the heavily injured Bucky steps up and fights by Sam's side, and only together do they take down the villain.

"So... I inspired you, huh?" Sam teases with a smile, utterly exhausted. "With my heroism and-"

"You inspired me." Bucky said, equally exhausted. "Let's leave it at that."

Together, Sam and Bucky go back to the safety and warmth of their family. Sam fixes his wings. Sam goes back to being Captain America. And Bucky... he's around, but it's unclear what he's doing.

That is, until the very end. When Sam is in a fight, and suddenly Bucky shows up and helps him out.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.

"I've made up my mind." Bucky says. "I'm the Winter Soldier. But now I'll save lives, Sam. Now, like you, I'll be a hero."

Sam smirks. "So does this make you my sidekick, then?"

Bucky smiles. "C'mon, at least make me a partner." He says.

"How about co-workers." Sam says (in flashback, he remembers back to the death of his last on-the-job partner).

"How about friends." Bucky says, with a wry look.

"Bucky... I don't want to see you put your dumbass self in danger." Sam says.

"Oh, and it's ok for you to go running off into danger on your own all the time?" Bucky asks.

"Yes." Sam says stubbornly. "Absolutely it is."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a dumbass?!"

"Sam, if you think I'm not gonna be watching your back for the rest of time... then you're the biggest dumbass I know. And I don't care if you need me or not, I will be there for you."

"Because Sam, you're more than Captain America. You're more than a good soldier. You're a good man. And I think sometimes, the world forgets what the difference is."

-

...or something like that.

(i only spent like 15 minutes on that. you know if i were actually writing this movie i would come up with something much better. and if anyone from marvel is seeing this, yes i can come work for you. i will make the time, let's do this thing right!)

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finale

at the end of the day, whether or not the mcu chooses to make Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes a couple, it's their decision. and they don't owe me anything.

i'm just some random person on the internet. who thinks that Captain America 4 should #givecaptainamericaaboyfriend

[ow-the-hedge]

The best boys!!!

This is one of my fave Sonic ships that I never even thought about until @jadegullyzone made me adore it (I hope you don't mind the tag ;-;). I really love the dynamic they could have so I'm gonna ramble about them, probably incoherently 😅 Also, keep in mind that I haven’t seen every single Sonic games cutscene yet. If I get something wrong about these two, feel free to correct me!

I don't feel strongly about shipping anyone in Sonic and for me everyone can be just friends/a big family and I'd be 100% happy with it. This is probably why I imagine their relationship to not be very romantic or full of physical affection but still focused on trust and just being there for each other.

Now here's an important part - in ALL of my Shadow x anyone ships I don't want the other person to fix or heal Shadow or be a trauma dumping ground for him. A relationship goes both ways so both parties are there for each other and both are allowed to express their emotions, without hurting the other person or forcing them to be their therapist. This actually goes for any of my ships - these are all kids/young adults who are just trying to push through hard times together. They give each other support mutually.

Now regarding these two specifically; Shadow is constantly on the move, in the middle of the action but he’s emotionally reserved and level-headed. Meanwhile Knuckles dedicated himself to a single place but he is a man of action, ready to act immidiately, sometimes impulsively. This makes me think that whenever they could meet up, Knuckles would love to hear about Shadow’s adventures and in return Knux would help Shadow find some peace and comfort.

Knuckles is very direct and straight to the point kind of guy so he would occasionally surprise Shadow with bold questions, some Shads might not be ready to answer. But Knux wouldn't force anything out of Shadow, instead he would ask something else or change the subject. But when Shadow would speak, Knuckles would listen attentively. He may be hot-headed and have trouble understanding some convoluted things in canon but he is absolutely not dumb.

Shadow would give him equally careful attention for sure. Here's the thing - Knux goes on adventures with Sonic all the time and that is their way of bonding. Saving each other, running away from (or towards) the danger, looking for clues, helping the innocent, basically action. And after those adventures with Sonic, Shadow is the one willing to listen to Knuckles' thoughts and memories which probably would've gone unheard otherwise. Knuckles is probably taken aback when he's given this much attention for the first time from Shadow and he isn't rushed or spoken over.

Not saying that Sonic or Tails don't talk with him at all though! Knux just spends time with them mainly while doing something fast-paced and either dangerous or silly. Meanwhile, Shadow is there to hear all about it.

I could probably go on and on but here's how I see their relationship overall. I hope it made sense ':3

[akampana]

Continuation of this ask

Bedivere x Arturia - Ship it

What made you ship it?

TBH I was one of those few people who shipped it based on that like 2 second scene at the end of FSN. The Camelot Singularity just reinforced it. A lot came from the original Arthurian legend as well. Bedivere is similarly insanely loyal as he is in the game, and like in Fate lore, he’s been with Arthur longer than most.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

He journeyed so far for so long just to see her smile OH MY GOD BRB IM SOBBING HOLY CRAP CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE—

I’m a sucker for intensely loyal knights and I will always be. ALWAYS.

THE ANGST POTENTIALLLLLL but also THE FLUFF POTENTIALLLL

This man loved his king so bloody intensely. So strongly that his desire to see her survived the test of time. To be loved so much, so unconditionally for a thousand and a half years? Gods, that’s just too much, man. ;-;

And I absolutely adore how much it means to him to remain her knight, even if he tends to be insecure about the limb that he lacks, and how he believes he is nothing special in comparison with everyone else. I love that Arturia recognizes his strength and his worth, even if he himself can’t see it.

THE ENTIRE CONFRONTATION IN THE THRONE ROOM LET ME TELL YOU I WAS CRYING SOOOOO HARD THROUGHOUT THAT IK NIT EVEN KIDDING

THIS, the MINDBREAK Arturia goes through when she tries to remember

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I think that THIS SHIP NEEDS MORE LOVE AND I REALLY OUGHT TO CONTRIBUTE

All the other answers below cut!

Irisviel x Arturia - Ship It

What made you ship it?

I think I was bound to the moment I watched Fate Zero. When I was younger it was overshadowed by the feels Diarturia brought and not to mention Kiritsugu and Iri but this ship is damn good on its own.

What sold it though, is the argument she and Kiritsugu have in Episode 16, right after the last Saber and Lancer fight. Irisviel, who we all know loves her husband so much, forced Kiritsugu to answer Saber. That’s just how important Arturia was to her.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

I think they both found in each other something they themselves lack. It’s actually kind of funny. Arturia is human, and yet she’s so heavily consumed by her ideals that she doesn’t act like one. Irisviel, on the other hand, is not human, and yet everything that she does and wants to do is exactly that.

Throughout the anime, Being with Iri puts Saber into such mundane, ordinary situations that it teaches her to live. The suits, the escorting, being a passenger instead of a driver, appreciating the water by the seashore, etc. It's like the woman wants to leave her with some appreciation for the world, especially when she herself doesn’t have all that much time left.

On Irisviel’s part, I think she found in Saber the companionship she would have wanted from Kiritsugu during the last few days she remained on the Earth. Arturia had been the perfect knight in shining armor, taking Irisviel around to see the world as much as they could amidst a war. If they’d just had more time, I have no doubt Arturia would have taken Irisviel even more places, you know?

It makes me sad :( but in a good way.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I’m pretty sure Irisviel would wear the pants in this relationship ya know what I mean? Hahaha

Much as I love this ship, I think that it becomes all the more valuable because of how it ended. To each other, they were this brief, fleeting feeling of happiness. A love that was so short and yet so strong.

Shirou x Arturia - Don't Ship it

Hooooooo boi. Hear me out, mkay ? But this is just my personal opinion so pls no hate

Why don't you ship it?

I’m gonna start out by saying I don’t think I need to, tbh. Hahaha there’s enough content for this ship being fed to us, so my liking it or not is immaterial. But the reason is well...I watched FSN and Shirou x Saber was...not the best thing about it (the best thing about it was the soundtrack omg iconic) Shirou comes off as a bit of a misogynist, and kind of immature, and the whole time it’s like he doesn’t really listen to Arturia at all. Plus, it’s kind of like he just likes her looks at times. The final deciding factor was the date scene. That was just unbearable.

But then I go online and I see all this good stuff about them. And my friend ships them cause they’re canon, right? So, I’m like okay, what if I judged too quickly, let’s play the VN...and I did. And I still didn’t like him with Saber at all. So, I played the next route, watched the next anime, trying to redeem 1st route Shirou as much as I could but it just....didn’t happen. I think I can safely say I tried to like them. I really did. But no.

What would have made you like it?

Removing the misogyny and the immaturity and letting him listen to her. Like he should have.

At no point in their interactions did it feel like they were standing on equal ground, ever. Either he was speaking over her or the opposite. So less of that and a lot more respect.

And when you compare this relationship to what he has with like with his other two love interests, it makes this ship fall completely flat. It’s pretty...bland and honestly kind of shallow. It’s like the story just tells you they’re in love but there’s no answer to why they’re in love. Make him fall in love with her for her without necessarily forcing his need to save everyone on her.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

I may not like how they got there, but in the end Arturia was able to pass peacefully.

I acknowledge that Shirou was important and made a change in her life.

That ending scene where they meet after so long, NGL is pretty sweet.

A lot of my headcanons happen post-Shirou, so there’s also that.

Archer x Rin -Ship it

What made you ship it?

Tsundere x Cynic has gotta be one of the best dynamics out there.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

His true identity. The fact that she dragged him all the way across space and time to return as her Servant, that’s just bloody fate at work.

The fact that he keeps acknowledging she’s a strong Master despite his later conduct in UBW.

Archer is ridiculously crass and Rin is easily riled up. In the Fifth Holy Grail War, they had the best Master-Servant relationship period. They have this explosive chemistry that just works so well.

When he smiles at her at the end of the route, and you just know that Tohsaka’s gonna be stubborn enough to make sure Shirou doesn’t end up going down the exact same path.

I think it’s sweet that he ends up going along with her whims because he secretly likes housework.

THE PRINCESS CARRY/ CATCH. MAN OH MAN.

Unlike the previous ship mentioned here, these two actually stand on equal ground with each other.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I don't think it's exactly an unpopular opinion, but I think they really ought to have more official content y'know? Rin is important in every route, and Archer's the actual climax of UBW and also entirely significant across three routes.

Medusa x Sakura - Don't ship it

Why don't you ship it?

Because while journeying through the routes, I always saw Rider as more of a best friend/sort of motherly figure to Sakura.

Or that Rider fulfilled the kind of relationship that she wanted to have with Rin, while Sakura unknowingly filled the void Medusa's sisters left in her life. I thought she was more of a guardian angel really, not a romantic interest. Kind of like how Heracles was to Illya.

What would have made you like it?

If I could maybe forget about the threesome with Shirou and the implied romantic feelings Rider has for him in Ataraxia that would be great.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Sakura deserves all the happiness in the world and I really do believe that Rider could fulfill that.

This ship DEFINITELY DEFINITELYYYYYY NEEDS MORE CONTENT

Diarmuid x Cú - Ship it

What made you ship it?

oooh this probably sounds surprising since based on my content you'd think, no i dont ship this BUT I DOOOOOOO (i just happen to hc them as bros more often)

Honestly what did make me ship it is the parallels.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

IMO They have the biggest potential for hurt/comfort amongst all the ships mentioned here.

They can help each other get through their trauma. Their whole relationship would be extremely healing and supportive.

I love that Diarmuid seems to have idolized Cú Chulainn at some point and honestly who wouldn't be honored to stand beside him, no?

They could be up to the funniest shenanigans because Cú is chaos and Diarmuid would absolutely be an enabler because when he isn't angst-ing he's super damn chill.

Bros being bros hahahah...unless?

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Not really. Maybe that I think Lancer Diar and Cascu would get along better and Saber Diar and Lancer Cu would also get along better but honestly any form is good this ship is good

[dreamerandcrazy]

Ok, so I haven't been able to comment much on my Riverdale rewatch mostly bc i'm watching it with my boyfriend and we have an agreement of no cell phones when we're watching, otherwise we can't pay proper attention to it. But I wrote down some notes about the episodes I did watch (I watched up until ep 6, which is very ironic bc apparently today is its anniversary, so yay for my perfect timing). I actually remember most of the stuff that happened in s1, so here's mostly a few things I paid more attention to or noticed about the characters and the ships, or things i'm able to look at through a different view now that i've watched all the seasons. Strap in if you want to see my notes, if not just scroll please, no ship or character hate here please. Also, feel free to ignore, this is really just a personal look in some stuff I didn't notice in my first watch.

- Betty's character used to be much happier and lighter in season 1. I know we're introduced to "Dark Betty" right in episode 3, but still, I feel like the way Lili played Betty in season 1 did not hold the same "darkness" as it does in the following seasons. The scene where she is dancing happily in her bedroom because she's going to homecoming with the boy she likes? The scene where she introduces Jughead to the Blue & Gold and gets him to work with her? Her genuine innocent happiness at seeing her sister again after so much time? The way she interacted with Kevin and Veronica? Those were all chef's kiss because she actually feels like a teenager in them. In all her girly glory, she radiates youth energy and it's a thing that was sadly lacking after s1. Btw this is not a critique at Lili's acting at all, I blame it entirely on Ras and his obsession with dark Betty.

- There's actually so many indications of Cheryl being a lgbt character in the first episodes that I have no idea how I missed it the first time. But then again, there were many indications with Veronica as well, and sadly that's not the path Ras chose for her.

- Jughead in s1 is truly so superior in so many ways that it's not hard to see why he quickly became such a fan favorite. I think even if he wasn't played by Cole Sprouse, he still would have conquered many fans' hearts. Sadly, the things that made Jughead such a loving and interesting character for me also fizzled out in s2 when the writing team decided to make him a woke serpent leader instead of allowing him to sticking to his true personality as a passionate mystery lover, a dedicated friend and very nerdy, which was very cute. I feel that we got some of that back for him in s4, which was good, but sadly s1 is where my love for him really stayed to stay. But I still care for him, and s5 has a promising storyline for him which i'm excited about, so let's see if s5 Jughead can become better than s1 Jughead.

- Going back again to Cheryl for a sec, I just noticed that the red lipstick actually wasn't that common for her in s1? At least not in the first five. I wonder when did it start becoming her trademark? Anyways, it's actually a really good look her and allows you to appreciate Madelaine's natural beauty even more.

- Also, did anybody notice how Alice lowkey figured out who killed Jason in ep 2 lmao, like... in episode two she legit says she wouldn't be surprised if the Blossoms themselves had killed Jason, which... is what happened LMAO, considering we know it was his father. And even more hilarious and tragically ironic note, in ep 6 she's laughing at Betty suggesting that Hal killed Jason because "do you think your father has the stomach for it?!"... Ma'am... i'm-.... 😂😂😂😂.

- This rewatch has reminded me of how much I adored and how I much I miss Josie and the Pussycats. The girls were such a nice addition to the cast, and their songs were so beautiful. I truly wish we get to see them again someday, but at the same time I also think the actresses deserve to be at a work place where they're given the treatment they deserve and not completely ignored and treated like extras.

- Archie/Valerie was super cute and is very underrated in the fandom, but i'm glad Valerie stood up for herself and didn't take any of Archie's or Cheryl's sh*t. Still sucks because they were really good together, though.

- Why was Jason not allowed to talk, lmao? Like, i'm sure it's become a running joke in the show at this point, but back when season one was airing what was the excuse for it? He appeared in so many flashbacks and scenes and we still never heard a single word ☠️☠️☠️☠️. I just want to know what was the reason lol.

- I liked s1 Reggie, but I feel like Charles Melton's Reggie is better because he actually feels like a douche with good intentions lol, and he has more of a personality. Most of the time I even forgot about Reggie in s1, but after s2 he definitely made me more aware of him. So for that, I like Charles Melton's Reggie more. But the actor from s1 still did a good job with what he was given.

From now on I will be talking about the ships, so bear with me, and know that I am a multishipper. Yes, I have my preferences. No, my word is not law, it's just an opinion, so please respect it.

- Bughead is still super cute in s1. I feel like from s1 they will always be my otp, even if I no longer feel as strongly about them now and have a different insight as to where I would like their story to go, and now I definitely see the problem others had mentioned before of how they kind of took over the show, which is something I kind of closed my eyes to before... But I really loved them in s1. It felt like a very juvenile teenage relationship, they didn't give much thought on why and if they should be together, they just went for it like teenagers usually do, and they were very very cute together.

- I feel like if you don't count Beronica (because they really were the best no matter what you say or ship), if there's a ship that deserves "best chemistry" award for s1 is probably Varchie. I lost my interest in them years ago, but this rewatch reminded me of why I actually loved them once. They never really became an otp for me, but Kj and Camila's chemistry in s1 was VERY GOOD, and I really liked them. Their kiss in the pilot was electric and the s&xual tension was OOF, and that chemistry carries on through the season. You can easily tell something will happen between them eventually. It makes me sad bc I don't know what happened after s1, but their chemistry from s2 onwards was just... not there for me. Which is ironic bc it's the season they truly started dating and they got a lot of smexy scenes, but I just... didn't feel it. But I'll leave that comment to my s2 rewatch. For now just let me enjoy Varchie's chemistry in s1 while it lasts because it was really good.

- Now we get to Barchie, who I made clear was the reason for my rewatch, so let's get to it. I LOVED the way Barchie was written in s1. I remember when I first watched Riverdale, I was curious about their dynamic but didn't put much thought into it because I loved Bughead too much and wanted them to be together, and I thought Barchie would be the traditional "first og ship" thing and wouldn't have a big follow up, but boy was I WRONG and am I GLAD for it. I'll talk more about their development in the next seasons when I get there, so for now let's focus a bit on s1. Just in like the first two episodes, there is so much Barchie foreshadowing, like, it's legit insane how it was right there in my face and I missed it the first time! "I have never felt what i'm supposed to feel with betty", "it's not my fault he doesn't like you", "I can't give you the answer you want"... Omg, those are obvious eyebrow raising "this will come back to bite you in the a$$" moments and it's incredible how they actually DO! I would call it clever writing, but like... it's Riverdale lol. So I really am just glad that the ship was done this way, i'm glad Barchie has the back story that they do, they've really come a LONG way and i'm happy I get to experience their whole growing storyline. It's also especially good because s1 actually provides you with scenes that show you their friendship and how they're so close, you see them hanging out, talking, their pictures together, everything was just really done well with them. Still have a bit of critique with the way Archie contradicted himself sometimes regardinf his feelings for Betty, but let's be honest, we've watched enough Riverdale to know that's just a problem with the writing.

- Kevin/Joaquin is still my favorite Kevin ship, i'm sad it's completely impossible to go back to them someday so for now i'll just be really glad it existed and that I got to see them even if it was short-lived. They had great chemistry and their kiss scenes always outsold.

- Beronica... sigh. Beronica. The most wasted chemistry i've ever seen on CW and I've watched a LOT of CW shows. There was so much potential there, s1 was practically overflowing with them and it's one of the reasons it became some popular. I remember when the Beronica fandom was the biggest one, ah, good times. Veronica and Betty were easily the best part of season 1, their friendship, their lowkey romantic moments, they were just superior in every way. This ship deserved better, not even just as a ship, but as a friendship.

- Veronica's s1 hair >>> Veronica's hair in seasons 2-4. I loved the side part and I am glad it's back in season 5, it looks so much better like that.

- Cheryl, as always, deserves better. Can't wait for her to meet Toni so I can watch again Cheryl finally get to love someone and be loved back, which is exactly what she deserves.

For now, that is all! I will probably make another post soon when i'm done with season one and from season two on I will be live-blogging the episodes since I will be watching it alone. Once again, pls, no hate, my thoughts are my thoughts. Peace.

[gemsofthegalaxy]

min bc i love hearing abt her andddd enjolras? for the ask game !

Thank you thank you!!

I ship Minkowski with

1. Doug Eiffel. You know this.it's truly Unparalleled

2. Lovelace. Not as strongly as Eiffel, but you know.

3. Her husband (but with Eiffel there as well). like. I like her and Dominik in theory I guess but that's mostly just because he's there? I vastly prefer Minffel to anything but I'm chill with the three of them, too

4. Okay this is like a weird thing I guess and it's not like a romantic, i-love-them-and-want-them-to-be-in-a-healthy-relationshipping, that traditional sense, but I've come to realize, there are aspects of Min/Eiffel/Kepler that have an interesting tension to them, in ~certain aus~ and whatnot. so I could say that? like a homestuck hatemance tho. /shrug

I think at this point that's basically it? I remember we had a slutty office au that I think involved Min and Rachel and yknow that's fine sdfskdh but primarily it's just Minffel :P

Ooh boy. Okay. I ship Enjolras with,

1. Grantaire. It's a classic for a reason. THE les mis romance tbh (valvert is, like, valid but im not part of that side of the fandom)

2. Courfeyrac!!!! i love Enjolras/Courfeyrac I will preach about how fun their dynamic is any day.

3. Grantaire, Courferyac, and Combeferre together. As you can tell i have preferences within the foursome for specific pairings but I also ship all 4 of these boys together.

4. ......... Courferyac and Combeferre (as both romance and like, queerplatonic partners) this is sort of also number one? because it's an underlying thing, always. Given that I focus on romance ships first,I don't always emphasize it, but I also really like actual-life-partners Triumvirate to be a Thing.

Hmm. I don't think there's anyone else I strongly ship him with? I think him having a crush on Feuilly is top tier, cute, and fun, but I don't really write or read about Feuilly otherwise so I wouldn't say I ship it, really. I think you could make an argument for Enjolras and almost anyone the way I write him which I do like but those are the ones I have strong feelings about.

ty again! Send me a character and i'll give you a list of who I ship them with~

[shybre22]

Okay so I wanted to do a few posts in defense of my favorite pairings Sasusaku, Ichihime, and Todomomo, because I've seen them get bashed quite a lot. Today I'm starting with Sasusaku.

Sasusaku common hate: Sasuke treated Sakura like garbage,why does she love him,Sasuke never cared about Sakura, sasusaku is sooo toxic.

" Sasuke treated Sakura like garbage" Ok Sasuke never treated Sakura like garbage where are they even getting this from?!... are they referring to when he called her annoying? Because he was right..he wasnt being a jerk, she was basically bashing naruto for have no family and remember Sasuke also had no family either so she was also indirectly making fun of him too.. as much as I love Sakura everyone could agree she was being a brat, she didn't know better sure..so that where Sasuke comes in. Sasuke just told her that her making fun of someone for being all alone in the world made her annoying..and it did! No one can argue that. He wasn't trying to insult her.. Hell if that was an insult it was super weak and he could've called her something worse if that's what he was going for..like a snobby privilege brat.. for example..but he didn't..he was just trying to explain loneliness to her and when she didn't get it her called her annoying.

Maybe their referring to when he said she needed to stop flirting with him and hone her ninjutsu..and told her she was worse than Naruto in that respect. Again not treating her like garbage he was telling her the truth! She needed to focus on her skills to improve their team dynamic not her crush on Sasuke! He was just being truthful, bluntly yes, but it was needed. Because after both of those instances..it made Sakura rethink her actions..ie inciting character development. After he called her annoying she thought about how Naruto felt and wanted to be nicer to him after that. And after he said she was worse than naruto she reflected on it. Also he made up for it later on during the chunin exams when he cheered her up

Sasuke Uchiha, the aloof guy who doesn't play nice with others and the guy who "supposedly" treats Sakura like garbage..not only noticed her being upset, where even Naruto (the guy who likes her) didnt, but Sasuke went out of his way to pay her a compliment to make her smile and bring up her confidence! I mean look at his smirk in the bottom panel...oh yeah he so doesn't care.

Oh yeah let's not forget the Forrest of Death..when Sasuke wakes up and sees Sakura hurt.. I mean he must dislike this girl strongly right..its not like he almost killed the people responsible for her beating her..

Yeah because when you treat a person like garbage and dislike them..you care if they get hurt and beat the dog snot out of the ones who did it to them..right?

Did the antis maybe mean when he knocked the apples out of her hands?? Firstly you have to think of the frame of mind he was in..he had just had an encounter with Itachi, you know the man who responsible for his suffering in the first place, and pounded him into a pulp and taunted him about not being good enough and not having enough hate. Remember what he was thinking about as Sakura cut the apples??

He was thinking about how he couldn't do anything to stop Itachi from trying to take Naruto and how he couldn't save Sakura from Gaara but Naruto did..he was feeling powerless and frustrated. Besides if he really didn't want Sakura there or to cut apples for him..he would've told her to get lost and that he didn't want her there but...

He let her hug him and stay in the room with him while she peeled apples for him. Sasuke wasnt being an ass to Sakura. He was frustrated and angry in general at that moment he felt so far away from his goal it hurt, he had trained so hard for years and for what? To be no closer to his goal..his reason for living..letting all that hate and feelingings of uselessness fester and fester until it boiled over and Sakura, at that exact moment, happened to push an apple in his face like he was a baby who couldn't do it on his own.. and the result..

The bottom image even parallels his expression with Orochimaru, showing he wasnt in his right frame of mind at the moment and he was being overcome with vengeance and Orochimaru's influence, the curse mark. I feel this also is seen from Sakura's point of view not just the readers..its foreshadowing his descent into darkness.

Getting back to my point.. He wasnt treating her like garbage! He frustrated at his own lack of power and just so happened to take his frustrations out on the nearest person...Sakura.. and dont forget Naruto, he fought him to appease his inferiority complex at the time. Let's not forget he was a pre teen boy who was dealing with so much for a someone his age and to have your lack of power rubbed in your face by the very person who took everything from you would have made anybody lash out...and let's be real here..how many times has any person lashed out at even people they love because of anger? Not saying it's right, but it happens.🤷‍♀️

Plus after Naruto and Sasuke's fight Kakashi comes in and lectures Sasuke about having new precious people..and guess who he thinks of along with Naruto..

SAKURA! Imagine that the girl he supposedly doesn't care about and treats like garbage is on his list of precious people..

I wonder if Antis mean when Sasuke thanked her and knocked her out so she wouldn't follow him or scream for help to stop him?🤔

Okay so I always say this..if Sasuke treated her like garbage or didn't care why would he stand and listen to her confession..not only that but he actually spoke back to her..explaining his reasons for leaving.

Sakura is pouring her heart out to him and it does affect him..make no mistake, at the bottom it shows Sasuke with a blacked out pannel..which shows the impact that Sakuras words had on him. In fact he cares about her enough to say he doesnt remember calling her annoying..because at this point in time she is no longer that loud, bratty girl she was when they first made genin..she was a precious friend and comrade to Sasuke. Then we find out he does remember because what does he call her after she asks to help him with his vengeance and abandoning the village and her family and friends with him and confessing her undying love to him.. he says "you're still annoying" showing her he does remember.. so why did he call her that after saying he didn't remember calling her that only minutes earlier? Maybe because..it was the only way to deter the current conversation so he didn't have to answer her..or maybe because she had gotten to his heart through her words so much..that it almost made him falter.. and that annoyed him..maybe both.

Then the fateful Thank you..

Honestly if Sasuke didn't care he wouldn't of had this little heartfelt goodbye with Sakura..he would've knocked her out the second she tried to talk him out of it and left her there...but no he let her say her piece and he said his..even kishimoto mentioned this felt like a conversation between lovers.. Sakura confessed her love and while Sasuke didnt confess back he also didn't say he didn't feel the same either..I feel at this point not only was he still too young but he was still too goal oriented and scarred and hurt to except her love or even explore if he felt the same way about her, which is why he probably didnt deny or comfirm. Sasuke knocks her unconscious gently and then carries her to a bench..if he didn't care or treated her like trash he wouldn't left her on the ground and knocked her out long ago.

Now shippuden is a crazy roller coaster for Sasusaku fans..but even so I still dont feel he treated her like trash..

The first reunion is rough..Sasuke has been isolated for two years letting his hatred burn with no distractions so he's obviously colder. Now I hear antis all the time swear that Sasusaku is an abusive relationship.. Now my favorite rebuttal is " How can their relationship be abusive when their not even in a relationship"! At this point in time Sasuke and Sakura are technically enemies..now Sakura and Naruto may still see him as a friend but..they still know to be cautious around him as if he were an enemy..they even know they might have to fight him and drag him back by force.

Antis also love to use the "Murder" attempts to trash the ship. I use quotations because like I said earlier they are technically enemies at this point and it was Sakura who initiated combat each time and Sasuke literally just defended himself..Sakura and Naruto..as far as Sasuke was concerned were just in his way of vengeance and trying to get involved in his business and stop his goal..so of course he tried to stop them by any means necessary. At that point he didn't see them as friends anyway

Now during the land of iron Sasuke had fallen so victim in the curse of hatred ( yes it's a real canon thing so dont try to write it off) but even at his lowest he still didnt hurt Sakura at first sight..he attacked when he knew Sakura was there to take him out when she hesitated to kill Karin. We know this because if Sasuke really just wanted to kill everyone in his path he would've tried to kill Sakura on sight..I mean after all he did hate the village and everyone in it at the time right? He did express his desire later to kill Kakashi right? Didnt he boast about how he'll turn everyone's laughs into screams of anguish?

Yet he didn't try to hurt Sakura until he learned of her motive.. he saw her hesitate.. then he tried to kill her..because there would be no reason to come up behind her in a sneak attack..to trick her so he could kill her while her back was turned as some antis say..no Sasuke was way stronger than her at the point..stronger than most jonin and even took on all five kage and didn't die..there is no reason he would need to trick Sakura to kill her.. so he did want her to join him at first then he saw her true motive and struck before she could.

Again he wasnt treating her like trash she was just in the way of his goal and tried to stop him with deadly force...plus he was so twisted by hatred and Obito that nothing really mattered to him at that point not even himself really. Like I said these are the best times for the ship but we have to think of everything Sasuke endured. Especially mentally.

On a side note..

I think i need to point out that Sasuke treated Naruto far worse than he treated anyone else in the series,calling him names, expressing the wish to kill him a few times, and actually attempting to kill him more than a few times ..and he called him his best friend so if you wanna get on a ship for being toxic or treating the other like trash..look at that ship before you point fingers at Sasusaku..

Also for the antis who complain about Sasuke or Sakura being terrible characters and hating them..remember Gaara is a very beloved character and great kage and he use to kill people to make himself feel alive so much in fact his sand reeked of blood but the fandom let it go..Neji almost killed Hinata over something that wasnt even her fault and talked down on others telling them they were born losers and they cant change that.. but he changed and all is forgotten..the fandom forgives.. Obito is literally responsible for Naruto being an orphan and ostracized by the village but he changed and helps out a bit in the war..Naruto forgives him..the fandoms applauds it.

Sakura..said something rude once when she was twelve, and had a super crush on a boy when she was twelve that turned to genuine love that she never gave up on, was kinda annoying because she was twelve.. wasnt that strong because she comes from civilian parents and had no one to teach her anything at a young age like her peers..she changes all of those (minor) flaws..fandom never forgives..wont forget hates her.

Sasuke..one of the most tortured souls of the series..was made to watch his family get murdered by his own brother over and over was now alone and wanted vengeance..achieves it find out his brother was ordered to do it by his own village everything he knows is a lie..a higher up stole all his clansmen eyes and ordered the slaughter on his family.. kills him and attacks everyone out of pure rage because basically his own birthplace and the whole government system screwed him over.. he seeks vengeance for said screw over..finally comes to his senses..again..no one forgives..fandom: he needs to suffer more.. 🙄

Anyways back on track in the war arc antis love to say Sasuke didn't care about anyone but Naruto.. first off..there's a literal war going on so he's kinda busy trying to keep the world from ending and not dying so.. yeah. But we find out later he does still care on some level.

When Naruto calls him out when he said he only saved Sakura and Kakashi because they were next to Naruto.. then Naruto counters and reminds him of the bridge when they were fighting Haku..when his body moved on it's own.

Then Sasuke got real quiet and his eyes are blocked by his hair so we cant see his expression..telling us..Naruto was right!

I also knew it was BS because if he only wanted to save Naruto he would've and knocked everyone else out of the way.

Another thing antis spout is he was mean to Sakura when she asked what was going outside the susanoo to which he replied " why do u wanna know you cant do anything".

Again I'll admit it was very blunt..Sasuke needs to work on his tone yes..but again..he wasnt wrong.. he wasnt treating her like garbage..he was bluntly telling her the truth in a very dire situation. They literally, at the time, were the last four people on earth..so his bluntness was understandable.

There is another scene before the infinite tsykoyomi that shatters the illusion Sasuke doesnt care once again.. when he first told Sakura to be on guard when she was healing Kakashi's eye..then later when Naruto pops back up and Sakura is asking Maruto a qu6about how he restored Kakshi's eye he yells " I told you to be on gaurd....Naruto" obviously he didnt tell Naruto..which he himself points out he didn't tell him..so it lead you to believe he was talking to Sakura again..since she was the one distracted again.😉

Now when the second confession happens you can see Sasuke obviously was impacted again by Sakura's words..so much his foot was shaking and we get a full panel of it shaking. Then the infamous " You're Annoying" again with a different face..almost a pained fake smile. Then he puts her in a genjutsu.

Now most Antis say he denied her when he said he didn't know why she loved him and didn't have a reason to love her..but Kakashi jumps in and says the line " you only need a reason to hate someone"..which is true. Sasuke even says he knocked her out so she would follow and get in the way like last time..last time they almost killed her remember.. and he admitted that her feelings are chains from a failed past..and even thought of his family while talking about Sakura..

So Sasuke again listened to Sakura confession..acknowledged her feelings..even thinking about his family as he did acknowledge her love..and he admitted he knocked her out so she wouldn't get between him and naruto..knowing last time she almost died...hmm weird for Sasuke considering he was still under the curse of hatred and he apparently doesn't care about Sakura..

Then lastly Sasuke's apology.. every anti said it was too simple and Sakura gave in to easy. Firstly even though Sasuke probably only indirectly hurt Sakura by going down the wrong path and leaving her and the village he actually never hurt her intentionally like he did Naruto..Kakashi..The Five Kage..Hell even almost killing Karin,then giving her a half assed apology,imo she definitely deserved more than a sorry js.. but he felt the need to sincerely apologize to Sakura..and Sakura even egged him on saying "sorry for what" and he replied with everything I've done until now..

Out of everyone he apologized to Sakura..he hurt her yes..but even Naruto..his best friend, the one who got his arm blown off by him, didn't get an apology. Or Kakashi the man who was his teacher and mentor who he tried to avidly kill, and helped get him outta jail and wonder free didn't get an apology...but Sakura did..and idc who says otherwise..that means something

Sasuke even shared a forehead poke a special gesture shared between him and his once beloved older btother.. just with her.

Everyone can say what they want about this ship but I know Sasuke always cared to some extent and he never treated Sakura like she was garbage. Sasuke had problems yes..anyone would in his situation..he made bad choices..turned his back on his home and friends but he never really stopped caring and so many scenes in the manga obviously show that. After all no one valued love more than the Uchiha right. Sakura's unwavering love, I feel is also something to be admired not mocked.. she went from a young girl with a shallow crush to a woman who never gave up on the one she loved and it played off in the end and that's powerful..honestly the world needs more love like that...this world is so full of pettiness and hate that unconditional love is refreshing.