#but also. the fact that there is a pretty strong power imbalance between the two actually?? kind of makes it more feasible in a way??

[doomed-era]

dude this is so funny

[fistfuloflightning]

If you ever have the sudden urge totlk about Kushina/Fugaku, please do <3

(Totally unrelated to me reading your fic and finding a new rare pair. Honest. /lh)

Why yes I do love talking about my rarepairs!! *chin on hands* I’m so glad you asked! Also, sorry for the incredibly late reply!! 

Okay. So. Fugashina. I haven’t actually had to put down my thoughts about this ship beyond fic ideas before, so be forewarned that some of this is just brainmush and might not make sense.

I’ve mentioned this a couple other times, but I’ve long held the headcanon that the Uzumaki and the Uchiha are linked, through their sealing abilities (actual seals vs the sharingan which I would argue acts as a seal on the mind) but also as narrative foils. And that trickles down to their members. We already got the Naruto/Sasuke dynamic in canon, along with some teeny bits of Kushina and Obito also as foils (outcasts desperate to prove themselves to the place/people that regard them as Other).

Kushina is a fantastic character, strong and determined and so very underutilized. Admittedly, it is mostly Minato’s story but Kushina just gets swept under the rug. And while I lovelovelove Minato’s character, there’s a power imbalance in the relationship between the two of them that I don’t particularly like, (probably why I ship both Minato and Kushina with people that are not each other lol). They each deserve to have an equal partnership (and if that means writing fanfic, then fine damnit). Kushina doesn’t deserve to be that wife who wields power over her helpless husband; Minato deserves to be more than just a malewife after we got glimpses of what he could be. Kushina just feels like wasted potential (admittedly we only see her in domestic scenes in the anime, and mayyyyybe some fights scenes in the movies I think if I’m remembering correctly) and I think that’s just sad. It’s like… watching Padme, once the queen of an entire planet and then a senator in the galactic senate, spend most of RotS barefoot and pregnant. Idk I just think it’s wasted potential and it’s stupid and I want to make it better.

I already said I like the Uchiha and Uzumaki as foils, and the one who seems to beat balance her out personality-wise is Fugaku: he’s another case wasted potential (not as bad as Kushina, but still). I like having someone more serious and a little older than her to balance her immaturity and whimsical nature, someone who has the physical and mental stamina to keep up with her, and abilities that compliment hers. I think there are a lot more thoughts about those qualities but I’m exhausted rn. BUT. All this to say Fugaku seems to fit perfectly with her personality and her abilities and has the mental resilience to keep up. He doesn’t strike me as someone who would put her on a pedestal (like Minato did) and instead would challenge her and force her to think instead of behaving recklessly. In canon he’s stern (discipline-wise)with his children—I can see him taking the same approach with Kushina pre-relationship because he can see the potential and will try to help it grow the best way he knows.

She probably likes him for the fact that he doesn’t care she’s an outlier in the village—he likes competence and assertiveness and she’s got that in spades. He treats her as a person and a contributing member of the village—treating her like she has value beyond being a jinchuuriki (which I’m pretty sure was kinda hush hush at that point in canon but idc shhh). 

I just want mutual respect and a balanced relationship and symbolism with an Uchiha/Uzumaki union. A kind of closure to these two once great clans.

…And their babies would be hella cute ☺️ 

[silver-wield]

Hi there! Asking you this question because nothing escapes your notice when it comes to narrative parallels. Did you notice how in FFXVI authors purposefully wrote Dion x Joshua as a parallel to Clive x Jill? Same backgrounds as childhood sweethearts (something memorable happened between Dion and Joshua for them to have such affection, trust and admiration for each other), same common trauma, thinking the other was dead for decades, same guilt and wish of redemption at the cost of their lives, Anabella destroying both their homes. When it comes to specific scenes, there is the recurring romance trope of watching the night sky while thinking about each other with longing (typical SE romantic scene), the hugs in the same scene in Stonhyr, a strong symbolism with Metia and the Moon that is a recurring presence in their scenes together or when apart but thinking about each other in the same moment. Even in the scene where Phoenix and Bahamut are fighting, Metia and the Moon are visible on the background. Also red (Metia) and white (Moon) are part of their matching color schemes: Clive/Joshua = black/red and Jill/Dion = white/dark blue. It's not a coincidence that authors wrote Dion x Terence as a parallel to Joshua x Jote, a pairing with clear power imbalance and founded on worshipping/adoration/absolute loyalty (on Jote's part just like Terence) that never really sailed. Both Dion/Joshua freed Terence/Jote from their duties with a last mission. Their farewell scene was kinda rushed and anticlimatic. And it's not a case that authors wrote Dion x Joshua as a parallel of the main endgame ship. It's pretty clear that euphoric as they are for lgbtq+ representation, Dion x Terence fans can't see beyond their nose and didn't notice or are in denial about the actual purpose of this ship. Authors basically used Dion x Terence as testing material for the audience. To receive feedback on the introduction of a gay ship without going full force and presenting said ship as a main one. Afraid of the backlash of the homophobic audience, they chose an invisible ship because Dion x Joshua was going to take too much focus to be ignored. Now that we know that Dion's character was positively welcomed in the fandom, nothing prevents them from developing Dion x Joshua in an hypothetical DLC/expansion/sequel. The foundations are already there, these two characters clearly have history together, their feelings for each other suggest there is a story that still needs to be unfolded. Terence already served his purpose and as a matter of facts, was easily cast aside as if he never existed. He's basically irrelevant to Dion's storyline, while without Joshua he wouldn't even be alive, he'd have never met Clive and become an ally. On a side note, Terence never interacts with other characters, most time he just stands there as part of the background. He doesn't have dedicated side missions and we don't even see him in the epilogue. Authors clearly didn't plan for him to be important, they had him and Dion breaking up and that's the last we see of him. Definitely not the treatment they'd give a character they plan to bring over to an hypothetical dlc/sequel. Thanks for reading!

Look, I'm sorry you don't like canon, but Dion and Terrence are literally childhood friends to lovers, who literally kiss in the game. They're in love and for a set of characters without a lot of screen time to build up their story, it was very well fleshed out and includes bg info in the lore that further explains their relationship. They didn't break up, and I think you should see those scenes again and think about everything Dion went through and his mindset at that point in time. He fully believes he should sacrifice himself to make up for his mistakes, even though the people wouldn't want that. He doesn't want Terrence to witness any of that and asks him to keep the promise to the little medicine girl and help the people rebuild. He entrusted Terrence with all the responsibility he feels is on his shoulders. Only someone with absolute love and trust in that person would do that.

And even Dion's va shared a hero's return HC for Dion and it didn't feature Joshua at all. It was really sweet, in character and wholesome. Dion would return to Terrence and the little medicine girl and help rebuild.

Joshua has a great depth of feeling for Jote and isn't interested in Dion as anything but a friend.

If you wanna go write a fanfic to satisfy your pairing pref that's something you can do, but it's not canon and you shouldn't expect it to happen because the setting has not implied it at all, no matter how much you wish it had. Please don't end up like the nutbar canon deniers going off about how what you think is superior just because you don't like canon. We get enough of that crazy shit with cleriths.

[alexjcrowley]

I reblog this because I don't think it would have fit in a comment, but, first of all, thanks for expanding on that @queer-frenchmermaid .

Basically, the year after the "accident" I met the people who are now some of my best friends, and they are a bunch of teens two years younger than me. It's a very small age gap between me and them, but, even before I started college while they were still in high school, I could feel the distance between us.

And it's fine, there is an age gap between us and we're nothing but friends, when we'll be adults we'll barely feel those couple of years that separate us, but I know, before that happens, I wouldn't feel comfortable dating one of them (aside from the fact that I am not interested in them that way, aromantic here).

Growing up, I truly realised how off putting big age gap relationship in media when one of the two is a teen are. And I said growing up, because when I was young I remember too many products selling me the idea that teens and adults hooking up was sexy, and I bought it. Now I look back at it and all I can think is "this is not a conclusion I could come up to by myself, someone put this in my head and, for the whole time it stayed there, it could have led me to something really dangerous".

I agree when you say adults forget how young 16-17-year-old really are, and as proof in media they always insist on a so called "emotional maturity" of the teen, thinking it fixes the age gap. It doesn't.

Maybe it's because I am still too young, but I remember being 16: I used to think the result on a science test would change the trajectory of my life. There is no common ground between a teen and a 30-year-old, not even a 25-year-old if you ask me. And even if they did have something in common, it is not enough to base a relationship on it.

The reason why teen-adults relationships are so uncomfortable to watch is because no matter how hard the writers try, it's always the adult taking advantage of the teen.

Teenagers and adults can have common interests and good conversations- I always was more comfortable with adults than with my peers, for a number of reasons- but there is not enough "emotional maturity", as they often put it, that can fill that age gap.

I'll go as far as saying that adults should be bored of having conversations with teenagers after a while. Not because teens aren't interesting, but for the same reasons I, as a 21-year-old, could have fun playing with 13-year-olds for a couple afternoons, but they are not a valid substitute for time spent with my peers. A kid doesn't understand my worries with college exams, a teen doesn't understand a grown adult's worries for taxes and a grown man doesn't understand the teenage worry about a math test.

Purely on intellectual and emotional levels, teenagers and adults couldn't carry on with a relationship, that's why the sexual aspect becomes the tow of the affair and the relationship becomes...just wrong. And not wrong because "sex bad" (I am aroallo, I get enough bashing for liking just sex), but because teens are always led to believe they are on the same level of adult and they just aren't. There's always a strong power imbalance, even if the adult in question is not necessarily a direct superior of the teen.

You are right, queer-frenchmaid, every normal adult should react like House. I wish there simply wouldn't be any more popular content, especially targeted to teenagers (take Pretty Little Liars, for example), depicting teen-adults relationships as something desirable and cool. I think it puts dumb ideas into teens' head (happened with me), while adults should be mature to realise there is something is wrong with it.

Sadly, I also have experience with adults who thought having a relationship with a student was desirable and cool, and thanks to my luck I also got out unscathed from those situation, but all the girls in my high-school class have stories about the latent creepiness.

I like how in the show we see House's reaction to a situation like this, a teenager trying to hit on him, and he reacts in the good, normal way in which adults should react.

House M.D. costantly show us House is morally ambiguous at best and he does a lot, A LOT of fucked up things during 8 seasons. Even the ones that aren't straight up illegal can be very morally reproachable. The way he treats his colleagues, patients and friend (Wilson, just Wilson) is something I'd never dream to do, and I mean it's alright, because that's the point of the show, House sucks, House knows no limits, no boundaries, no respect. And House is always talking about sex, never turns down an opportunity to have sex, he frequently hires prostitutes, he makes a lot of sex jokes about his colleagues, he is a walking nightmare for human resources.

But even he knows where to draw the line. He can be a piece of shit in many, many ways, but he is not a predator. I think it was important then, when they wrote the episode, and it's important now when people choose to rewatch it. House can a be negative role model for many aspects, but not for this one. I don't know, but in my opinion, considering how House was an edgy character a lot of men took as an example (I have one of those men in my family) it was important they showed "no matter how much of an asshole you want to be, being a predator is out of line".

Queer-frenchmaid, again, thanks a lot for your contribution to my post. I am sorry for the long reblog. You put things in clearer way than I did, but after rewatching these episodes I feel like I wanted to get these thoughts off my chest.

I rewatched the House M.D. episodes with the young stalker, Ali (you know who I am talking about, the blond teen interpreted by that one Gossip Girl actress, you'll forgive me if I don't remember her name) and I was positvely impressed by the way House handled it.

I don't know how in the fandom her character and her story are perceived, but I wanted to share my thoughts and my experience with a situation like that.

If you set aside the way he jokes about it with Cuddy and only focus on how he acts in front of Ali, House is very kind and comprehensive with her. To be honest, I think it was a good way to handle the situation, maybe even better than acting downright disgusted by the thought of having an affair with her, let me explain why.

The whole time, House never takes Ali's advances seriously, which already defuses the situation they're in.

House doesn't act like he is disgusted by the thought that something that could happen between him and Ali, he acts like it simply can never happen. He doesn't dignify Ali's flirting attempts with a serious reaction. He takes everything she says as a joke, making the thought that there could ever be something between them a joke in itself.

Whether he actually doesn't remember her name or he pretends not to, it's still a very good move to keep her at distance. He doesn't give her the importance and/or attention she begs him for. Even when she gets undressed in front of him, he tries to stay unfazed. I think it's his way to dismiss her: "this is nothing but a medical visit, I see a lot of naked people, you are not different from other patients so I won't act differently. I am professional doing my job, nothing more."

House avoids direct conflict as much as he can, so he doesn't have to logically debate whether it's right or wrong they have an affair. He knows the moment he enters that territory, this already puts them both in dangerous waters.

I think this sort of gentle let down is very effective. In my opinion, if House had blown up a fuse and started yelling at her or acted rudely towards her (therefore acknowledging her offer of an affair as a serious possibility) it could have only ended badly. Either she thought it was his way of flirting with her, or she would have tried something stupid to "get back at him", raging from pulling another stunt on him- like when she got undressed in front of him- or trying to seduce another guy for revenge, maybe even some other old man who wouldn't have been as decent as House to turn her down.

House acts very weirded out by her flirting, denying her any possibility to "romanticise" that crush on him. He brings the chemistry to zero in their conversations, which is saying something for a man who always has a dirty joke up his sleeve. He doesn't think twice about making dirty jokes with Cuddy, but, since he knows Ali may take his words seriously, there is no way he is risking it.

But what really hit me is the scene in the parking lot. During the episodes, House knows what Ali is doing is wrong and he turns down her advances, but everytime Cuddy threatens to take action against her House stops her. At first this might sounds contradictory for him. What, he won't flirt with Ali but doesn't take action to stop her from stalking him? Does this mean he secretly like the attention she gives him?

On the contrary, and this is the best part for me. Go watch the parking lot scene again. House is telling Ali to go home, then Cuddy arrives threatening to call security and House's jumps to Ali's defense. Of course he doesn't want Cuddy to call security.

Later we find out Ali caught a fungal disease, but House doesn't know in that moment. All he knows is that Ali is a very naive young girl who is making a stupid mistake pursuing him because she is young and naive, not because she is some twisted criminal. He doesn't want her to end up in trouble- even worse, legal troubles- over something dumb she is only doing because she doesn't know better.

He is protecting her by stopping Cuddy. He knows it's more important to protect Ali than to protect himself from her. He is a grown man who knows to turn down a teenage girl, Ali could end up getting a reputation as a stalker/criminal or, anyway, as an easy girl with a taste for older men, and some odler men might take advantage of it. It's simply better that he has to deal with her for a little longer than she ending up in legal troubles because of a stupid, fleeting crush. He knows that's all it is, nothing serious, and he doesn't blow the thing out of proportion for her sake.

At the beginning of the post I said I wanted to express my opinion on Ali's storyline because of my experience. Without going into details, I was too a young and stupid teenage girl who, at 17, got a crush for some sort of teacher/instructor who was older than me, he was in his early thirties. I was never as confident as Ali, but I tried to shoot my shot. He could have done something about it, we were abroad- I was abroad for two weeks in his country- so we would have never seen eachothers again, the chances of repercussions would have been minumum, I was naive and easy to manipulate and it was me staying after the lessons to talk to him, one might have said I was "asking for it".

He never even acknowledged me. Same as Ali, during my last day in this foreign school- it was some sort of school holiday- he showed to not even remember my name. Did he actually forget it, did he pretend to, it doesn't matter. Look, maybe he wasn't even thinking of doing "the right thing" and I simply wasn't his type, or he wasn't interested in women, or he had a girlfriend, now it doesn't really mattered the reason he didn't returned my advances. Whether he didn't notice my interest in him or acted like he didn't, I am very grateful and I consider myself to be very lucky. Lesser people would have seized the opportunity and something very bad could have happened to me, but it didn't.

The way he "let me down" was very similar to what House did, in this sense, as he didn't dignify my attempts at establishing a connection with him. To this day I still don't know if he never noticed my "flirting" (my classmates certainly did) or he was just so kind to do nothing about it, and I am more than fine with not knowing. I realise it would have been worse if he talked about my situation with my actual school teachers, it would have put me in a very awkward position. I could have risked getting tangled up in some sort of school scandal and spending my last years of high school being known as the girl who want to get down with teachers (and a couple of them would have even said yes, but we don't have time to unpack all of that), I would have gained a reputation hard to get rid of and potentially dangerous. He pretended it never happened, and so I can do the same now.

Seeing House letting Ali down gently the same way it was done to me- it was a strange, but almost a moving experience. I have been Ali, I have been that very dumb, very young girl who thought somehow she could have done something with an older dude. I was lucky enough that the guy on the other side didn't take advantage of me- I was so lucky, so many people (and especially a lot of young girls, I have to say) get sexually harassed and/or assaulted and they're not even making the first move, like I did.

House M.D. didn't age perfectly as a show, it touches a lot of sensitive themes and not all of them are necessarily treated well, but to me Ali's storyline was handled very well.

From someone who lived it and got out unscathed, I hope every teenagers out there, if they ever get the stupid idea to flirt with someone way older, meet someone like House, who turn them down the way he did with Ali.

He never shamed her for going for an older guy, he knew it was something stupid teenagers do, he just let her understand it was a dumb idea. It's normal for teenagers to have dumb ideas, it's up to adults not to indulge them. It was never Ali's fault to follow House around (fungal disease or not), but it was House's responsibility not to accept her advances. I think more people should hear this message.

Stay safe, everyone.

[rein-ette]

A Selection of England’s Relationships Throughout History

Holy this took me a long time BUT Hetalias back so gotta celebrate ♥️

Obviously these are my personal interpretations of iggy and co. — I would definitely love to hear feedback from anyone who agrees/disagrees or finds any historical inaccuracies.

Also I forgot to mention in the actual legend but the line thickness indicates the major relationship during England’s life at that time or the one he was the most invested in/committed to.

More Special Notes/Thoughts Under the Cut!

I use ship names throughout these notes only to denote a relationship between a nation and England, not necessarily a romantic one.

From a outsider point of view England’s relationship with Port and France are almost the inverse of each other, with one relationship growing stronger when the other weakens and vice versa, but actually from England’s point of view he’s just loved both of them, like, forever. For most of his life Portugal’s political agenda just happened to align better with his, so naturally more time was invested there. But I don’t think that made his feelings for Francis any less profound or intense during that time, and vice versa when he was dating France in the 20th century. Nowadays he’s allowed to do whatever he wants.

Also you actually draw the lines you really realize how long England’s been obsessed with those two amdkfjsjbdjdd

Nedeng and Engbel are so under-appreciated even though they’ve also shared the channel for like, forever? Ned had a reAl intense rivalry going on with England in the 16 and 1700s that could give Spain a run for his money — but to me the difference between SpUK and Nedeng is that the latter is actually has a more mutual respect/kinship undertone that Spain can’t share with England. Those two were born into similar conditions (dirt poor), have somewhat similar mindsets towards success (requires ruthless pragmatism and self discipline), both hate Spain and kinda France, and both like the ocean and the thrill of the more dangerous, darker aspects of life. That’s the foundation for a pretty darn strong friendship, despite the little tiffs in the middle.

I like to think Bel had a huge crush on England during the Napoleonic Wars and into the 19th century. I mean, if there’s ever time to fall in love with England, it’s during the Victorian era. Plus I think a relationship like that would balance out well the image of England as “undesirable” and “unattractive” and Bel as just the little sister foil to Ned. She has needs and wants too, and if she wants the worlds most powerful empire you best believe she’ll have him 👀. Now Eng and Bel are friends with occasional benefits.

I also think the idea that England was isolated and had no deep friendships/relationships beyond whoever he’s shipped with is inaccurate. Arthur’s definitely an intensely private and independent person, and he himself does fall into the trap of believing no one cares about him and that everyone who does try to get close wants him for something. But historically there are many nations who admired and liked him. Much of Prussian aristocracy, for example, could be categorized into “Anglophiles” or “Francophiles” and while Prussia himself is best friends with Francis, it makes sense for him to also be really close with England. In fact, historian Barbara Tuchman described the German ambassador to Britain in 1914 as being torn apart by the thought of conflict between “the country of his birth and the country of his heart.” The German people probably would not have felt as strongly, but I also see Prussia as more closely linked with the military/aristocratic class than the common people after Unification, especially since most of Germany as we know it today was decidedly not Prussian. Essentially Pruk like Nedeng is another pair that share some pretty powerful core values, including a strong, sometimes overwhelming sense of responsibility and loyalty to those they see as “entrusted” to them.

While talking about Germany, we’re actually all sleeping on England x Hanover. This was England’s longest official marriage (the Anglo-Portuguese alliance was mostly about informal commitments) and the Hanoverian House produced Iggys beloved Queen Victoria. I have to do more research here to better characterize Hanover, but I do think this relationship would have had a measurable impact on Arthur, even if it wasn’t romantic in nature (which it probably wasn’t, as the power imbalance between England as an empire and Hanover as a German province was just too great)

Asakiku is another fascinating relationship, not least because cross culture Europe x Asia relations are scarcely explored. Asakiku has so much potential for straight fluff and Arthur and Kiki just vibing about literature and music and the meaning of life, but also lends itself to analysis of more serious questions: how racism might affect nation’s personal relationships, or how nations view human rights abuses, expansionist war and those who perpetrate them, including themselves. Of course these are topics that Arthur could discuss with others like Francis or Prussia, but I think he wouldn’t be as vulnerable, calm, or reflective with anyone but Kiku — ironically because Japan and England’s politics, culture, and history are more distant.

Finally, SpUK and USUK. I feel kinda bad for tagging these cuz a lot of people love these pairings, but while I think Al and Toni both play huge roles in Arthur’s life, it’s not really romantic in nature. Besides Port and Francis Arthur’s known Toni the longest, and they make a great pair because on some levels they get each other, but on others they contrast hard (optimist vs pessimist, faith vs reason, belief in fate vs belief in agency etc.) That makes them great foils for each other but not really great long-term lovers. As for USUK I see it mostly as platonic — there may be no one in this world Artie loves more than the Al, but love can be powerful without being romantic. I do think they tried it out in the 60s during the British Invasion (see The Chosen End series) but ultimately they also have irreconcilable differences in worldview that mean they can’t really be what the other needs in a lover.

[amintyworld]

Dream SMP Fusion AU:

Certainly not me thinking about a Steven Universe AU for Dream SMP because fusions

Also, just to note: Not all fusions are for romantic relationships, so please no shipping since many of the creators are uncomfortable with that. The one somewhat romantic relationship fusion mentioned is between the characters Schlatt and Quackity, and are the only ones classified as such for the lore and story already created - I do not ship them whatsoever. Thank you.

Also, feel free to use these ideas with credit!

TW: Abusive Relationship, Toxic Realtionship, manipulation.

So like, what if during the L’manburg Independence War L’manburg was the only ones who really fused with each other, and the Dream SMP just never really thought it was useful and therefore didn’t really use it all that much for battle, pvp, etc. 

They discovered fusion one day while building the wall when a bit of debris was about to fall on Fundy and Wilbur swooped in to save him, and suddenly... a whole completely different person stood in their place. It didn’t last very long, but Wilbur from then on was determined to learn all he could about it and understand it. 

Wilbur couldn’t seem to explain his findings much scientifically, but he wrote up a journal on all he learned - how the fusion seems to combine and showcase the best parts of each individual person.

An iconic Steven Universe Scene takes place (For you SU fans, when Smoky Quartz first came to be) when Tommy in a effort to get his discs back one day tries to take Dream head on, pushing away Tubbo’s help. Tommy gets throughly beat up by Dream and in a heartfelt moment Tommy tells Tubbo that no matter what he does Dream will always win against him because he’s not strong enough. Then, Tubbo says that that’s not true, that Tommy doesn’t have to be like Dream, if anything Tommy’s like him because they both aren’t like anybody else, and it sucks, but they have each other. Finally Tommy accepts Tubbo’s help as they fuse for the first time.

Eret and Niki fused once while hanging out and dancing one day, which led Wilbur to discover how to trigger the fusion in a more controlled manner - through dancing. 

The war happens with the revolution holding better against Dream and his posse for the short fact that they had fusion on their side - they weren’t totally confident in the ability yet, which lead to some close calls to unfusing at the wrong time, but a few prominent fusions came out of it. In the end, they won and Wilbur continued to write his findings in the journal.

The election came about, and with it the exile of Wilbur and Tommy - this time the two were on the receiving end of fighting with fusions.

Wilbur even suggested on fusing together for survival - together they were more combat skilled, and better focused. After all, there was lesser chance of hurting one target than there was two. So, for a while they stayed together, at least, until Technoblade came to help.

Techno was very awkward at the whole fusion thing - it seemed stupid, and the poor pig hybrid didn’t exactly dance very well, though he was often too embarrassed to admit it. Techno didn’t understand how his two brothers could fuse so easily while he just... couldn’t. (I’m imagining Wilbur coaching him in Pogtopia while Tommy has to wear paint cans in order to each his height)

While out together, the sight of Tubbo causes Wilbur and Tommy to become so distressed they unfuse as Tubbo tells them he wants to help, and becomes their spy.

Back in Manburg, a certain goat hybrid finds Wilbur’s fusion journal and does some light reading. Schlatt thinks that he needs fusion soldiers to fight for him - from what he’s reading, these fusions are practically unstoppable. If he were to have that kind of power at his disposal, no one could stop him.

Being the ‘selfless’ leader he is, he uses himself as a test subject as he fuses with his militia - Punz, Ponk...

Quackity at first makes fun of his attempts as always within five minutes the fusion quickly falls apart. This only pisses of Schlatt more, until he comes up with an idea. 

He confronts Fundy and tells him that if he was loyal to Manburg, and their desires aligned, they’d be able to fuse no problem. Fundy agrees and they become the first completed fusion in Manburg - Fundy only does it because he wants to keep suspicion low and his cover a secret, and it somehow works. Schlatt doesn’t question Fundy much after that.

As the festival gets planned Schlatt continues his tactic of sniffing out traitors through fusion, which does not bode well for Tubbo, who keeps narrowly escaping having to fuse (Looking at the ‘I’m pregnant’ excuse-).

Back in Pogtopia, tensions rise as Wilbur and Tommy become more and more distant as Wilbur plans to blow up Manburg during the festival. 

Festival happens, not much really changes except Schlatt tries to get Niki to fuse with him to prove she wasn’t a traitor and not get killed like Tubbo - Wilbur overhears and intervenes, running away with Niki back to Pogtopia, fusing with her to help both of them escape.

When Quackity tries to leave, Schlatt forces him to fuse to stop the traitor from escaping, and for the first time, the two get trapped in a mixed up mess of a fusion - nothing is combined of the two, it’s all a mish mashed up mess - thankfully they aren’t fused for long and Quackity escapes, but both have the feeling of agony, sorrow and pain of the forced fusion in their minds. 

They take back L’manburg with some awesome fusion v fusion fights.

In a last attempt to keep from dying, Schlatt forces Quackity to fuse with him again in exchange that he release Tubbo, who was on his last cannon life (Schlatt held up a knife to his throat.) Once again, Quackity is trapped down in the painful and dark abyss as their fusion makes mass destruction. Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, and Techno all fuse to take  the unstable fusion down.

They succeed in doing so, fatally wounding Schlatt enough to corner him, the stress, drugs, and alcohol combing into a panic attack and he dies. 

From there, things proceed as normal - Techno releases the Withers, Wilbur pushes the button. 

New L’manburg is thriving with Tubbo as the new president... everyone can finally be who they want to be - wounds of course are still healing.

Quackity talks with Tubbo about his bad experience with Schlatt, and Tubbo is there to listen and always tells him that he doesn’t have to fuse if he doesn’t want to... of course fusion can be helpful (Some fusions have been helping repair the TNT and Wither damage) but, Tubbo insists, you don’t have to fuse to be able to help.

Ranboo gets a crash course in fusion basics by Phil and Ghostbur. (It’s like gem classroom, it’s all so cute guys-)

Phil also helps out Fundy who’s still iffy about Wilbur and all that he did for him... namely, fusing with Schlatt to avoid suspicion. It’s all wholesome and sweet, even with Ghostbur and his failed attempts to help in the background.

Things play out as normal in terms of plot - Techno retires, Tommy gets exiled...

Dream, at first, is very committed to blowing up Tommy’s stuff - one day, he says he won’t do it only if Tommy fuses with him, because he’s curious in how it works. 

This turns straight up unhealthy during the Beach Party when Tommy remembers all the times he used to have and how he feels so lonely, and Dream tells him that he’s always gonna be there for him even if they don’t, which results in Tommy and Dream fusing for a while whenever he comes to visit so Tommy won’t feel as lonely or as depressed. Tommy becomes dependent on Dream and the fusing and clings to it to an unhealthy amount, though Tommy of course wouldn’t admit that.

Eventually, Dream blows up Logstedshire and leads to Tommy running away in a brief moment of clarity. 

Phil gets under house arrest as the Butcher Gang try to take Techno down to kill him, but Phil, the ever to clever, gets there before they do and fuses with Techno to help take them down. They unfuse when Quackity threatens Techno’s horse, revealing that Phil snuck out. Techno covers for him and tells them that he broke Phil out, that it’s his fault and Phil had nothing to do with it. They believe him and Phil is in the clear.

The attempt fails, Techno finds Tommy and the two continue to practice fighting while fused - Tommy’s idea from his experience fighting with Wilbur - and they’re pretty strong. Ranboo and Ghostbur hang around and ooo and ahh over their moves.

Tubbo visits Tommy and as in cannon believes he’s dead but for a different reason - he finds evidence of when Tommy and Dream were playing around while fused and thinks that they’re permently fused - Dream forged a letter claiming that exact thing. Tubbo of course blames himself for losing his best friend.

Back in New L’manburg, the Butcher Gang gets fusion training too (except for Quackity) and Ranboo finally fuses for the first time with Fundy, the fusion turning into what a 12 year old would be like on redbull.

While on house arrest, Phil tries fusing with Ghostbur and to his surprise... it works - not for very long, but it works. They come to the conculsion that since Ghostbur is a ghost, that maybe it wasn’t two people fusing but instead a soul and a person, leading to the imbalance.

While Techno and Tommy are fused, they hold Connor captive and ask for ransom... leading Tubbo to be extremely confused when someone he doesn’t know is asking ransom from him who appearently knows him-?!

Only after they unfuse... Tubbo realizes that Tommy’s still... here. He’s still here and not in a fusion with Dream. Things go as in cannon.

Finally, after Dream figures out where Tommy is and tells Techno, any chance he gets with Tommy alone he tries to tell him that they could fix everything if they just fused again, and Tommy keeps finding himself refusing.

Anyway, what do ya’ll think? Should I do a follow up post for the fusions?

[snuggetfish]

I gotta say, Majima is arguably the loneliest of the main characters in the yakuza series. Probably most of his loneliness stems from his tendency to push people away, and also from his troubled past. Tbh I’d just want to be his best friend & trusted confidant knowing how much pain he’s been through 😞

I fully agree anon... he’s a tragic character and it’s really heartbreaking to see how often he gets left behind. How much time he spends isolated, trapped in physical and mental cages, some others build to manipulate him, some he builds himself to avoid pain.

I think this was one the primary reasons I took such a liking to Majima. In Y0 the contrast between him and Kiryu was staggering if you looked past the surface. Two young men, both with gang aspirations, both caught up in a plot much larger than they can comprehend... but that’s roughly where the similarities end, because their lived experiences are so different. 

Kiryu is a no-name fresh face who’s still getting the hang of this yakuza thing. His upbringing was less than ideal, but he nevertheless has a support network - a kyodai, two father figures to look up to. Even if he’s not as keen on showboating as Nishiki is, admiration for Kazama and Kashiwagi and the glamour he thinks a criminal lifestyle will bring still drive him to some extent. He’s a bit naive, a bit awkward, a bit overly serious, sort of like you’d expect your typical 20-year-old to be.

But Majima... Majima’s barely 4 years older and he’s been through so. much. shit. At Kiru’s age, he already made peace with death, deciding to follow through with the Ueno hit. Then he’s torn away from his kyodai, gets mutilated for it, endures a full year of torture. By the time he’s “released” and expected to somehow fit into civilian life again, he’s accrued a reputation. Both Nishiki and Kiryu have heard of him, his name more a synonym for a cautionary tale. What happens when you disobey, what you definitely don’t want to have happen to you... 

While Kiryu has to climb from the bottom of the ladder again to earn a name for himself, Majima has to claw out from the pits of hell, pretty much literally if you think about what kinda place the Hole must’ve been... Even out of there, he spends every waking moment working a thankless job, under a sadistic, shitty boss, confined to a city far away from home, within just a few blocks of space he’s allowed to roam. And, as you mention, he’s... really lonely. I was so much more invested in making friends with the people in Sotenbori than those in Kamurocho because I felt Majima had no one at all. Not until he met the Sunshine girls at least.

And even then, they’re not the kind of friends he can fully open up to. In fact, I think very few characters throughout the series can say they’ve seen into his heart. Maybe because they don’t put in the effort, maybe because he doesn’t let them in... either way they don’t perceive this loneliness. 

Nishida knows his boss is sentimental, so he’s for sure seen glimpses of his inner turmoil, but I’m not sure how much he can be considered Majima’s confidant. More an unwitting one, at best. The power imbalance makes it hard to gauge how much of a true connection they have. Loyalty to the patriarch is paramount and I would bet a lot of the Majima family members see him mostly as a strong authority figure, someone whose image you respect and admire. Not necessarily as the complex, sometimes vulnerable man he is.

Also Kiryu. Kiryu realizes the clan isn’t what he’s bargained for and tries again and again to leave it all behind, by... offloading responsibility onto the shoulders of someone who’s as well dissatisfied with the Tojo leadership. He’s off to make his Okinawa orphanage a reality, but, like the comic I just reblogged before this says: 

“What about me?” 

What about Majima? He accepts the task of looking after Daigo, since he’s been beaten fair and square, by his own rules. But does Kiryu really never consider that Majima too may want something different? To run loose and be his own master, build a strong family, sure... alone? Always alone? Always left behind to clean up messes?

Even Saejima, the only guy who can claim he knows Majima through and through, fails to consider his feelings sometimes. Saejima’s main conviction is that “it’s never too late” and that he’s gotta put all his affairs in order, atone for what he’s done and once that’s out of the way he can resume his dream. It’s an optimistic and even idealistic way of looking at things, one that Majima doesn’t share. He’s not a kyodai collector like his bro, he’s already suffered through so many decades of loneliness and just when he thinks he has Saejima back, the guy returns to prison. Twice. 

Does Saejima really never see how much Majima's hurting? He scoffs at him in Y5 when they’re at the restaurant and then at the batting cages, says he’s being “a sack”... Come on man, you’re abandoning him at a time where he’s really feeling the weight of his years and of the changing nature of the yakuza. It’s not surprising that he’d be depressed...

I’ve rambled a lot I guess but in a nutshell: YES. I want nothing more than for Majima to have someone by his side who loves and appreciates him for everything - good, bad, crazy. Who doesn’t judge, mock or manipulate, who’s trustworthy and with whom Majima feels comfortable enough to share any and every thought. Maybe now that things have settled and he’s in his twilight years, that person can be Saejima once again... but his obvious anguish throughout the previous games is still hard to watch 🥺

[flying-elliska]

Just binge read the Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon and !!!!!! amazing. Now I want to yell about it for a bit, bear with me (essay incoming sorry)

- the concept already, urban fantasy dystopia, just feels both so fresh and so obvious it's surprising it's not more of a Thing, and the world building is next level. the modern technology + Victorian aesthetics is not just cool (although it is) it evokes the fact that Victorian England was a brutal, very unequal and fucked up society, so it really fits a dystopia. Plus Scion is also an evil empire that invades other countries, which is also thematically relevant, as is the fact that the MC is Irish.

- I'm obsessed with the concept of a magical mob and Underworld (unsurprisingly) and people who are pushed to the margins of society because their very existence has been outlawed and bond together to find freedom but are also forced to exist in a state of constant brutality and the damage it all does

- the first book throws a lot of plot and world building at you in ways that can be a bit overwhelming and confusing, and doesn't give you a lot of time to connect emotionally to the characters, so that took me a while, but it's really worth pushing through for, i love them all now.

- I love the main character, Paige, so much. she's a survivor ; clever, witty, action oriented and very down to earth ; she's also very competent in ways that feel earned, and interestingly flawed, not some gratuitous emotionless Strong Female Character with plot armor or a 'not like other girls' complex. She's proud and she has a mean, ruthless streak. She's brave, too loyal for her own good, and impulsive to the point of recklessness, and sometimes her gambles pay off and sometimes she has to pay a very heavy price for them (it made me yell at the page several times). It's really cool to see a female MC that is so invested in the politics of her world. I hate that so many female mains in fantasy or dystopia are these isolated loners who hate politics, only really care about a handful of people and want to retire to their husband/2.5 kids happy ending as fast as possible, with a plot-line that focuses over personal development rather than political goals, because it sends this weird message that women are not meant to be in the public space. (Not making this into a rant about the Shadow and Bone books but lol I could)

Paige has to shoulder massive burdens that nobody in their right mind should want and that's understandable, but you do get the sense that she enjoys being a criminal, running free and scheming and climbing over roofs and outwitting her enemies and sticking it to the government. She doubts herself sometimes, worries about people only valuing her for her powers, but she doesn't have a lot of time to waste on self-consciousness, angsting or moping about her feelings. It's very empowering to read. And she's fiercely compassionate in moments where it's actually very dangerous for her to be. She has this constant struggle between the part of her that finds injustice intolerable and the part of her that is grimly pragmatic. This is exactly what women in fiction have been excluded from for too long, complex dilemmas about action and morality taken seriously, not just love triangle shit. It's great. Although wow does she deserve a break. Ouch. Baby </3

- the world is incredibly fucked up but there seems to be no sexism/homophobia/racism, which is refreshing to read. the main romance is m/f but there's a lot of ambient queerness, just because and not to 'make a point' ; the author has confirmed that the MC is demisexual, her bff is gay, the love interest is pan, there's a badass trans commander/mob boss, you get randomly informed that this henchwoman has a wife or that this mobster is trying to save his boyfriend, it's great (and it's not a word-of-god after the fact thing like jkr it's actually shown on the page, they just don't use any labels)

- the main romance is a slow build that is very low-key at first, enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers, but becomes really powerful over time. the fact that the MC is demi means it can't rely on 'omg so hot i can't stop thinking about him!' clichés - nothing wrong with attraction at first sight but it often leads to lazy storytelling and irritating instalove, tell over show romances. the characters are drawn to each other but it's more of a meeting of minds and souls at first, admiration and common goals, and their actions are still first and foremost guided by strategy, not sentiment. (sidenote I've often wondered if i wasn't at least a little demi myself. that would explain why i have such high standards for credible romance lmao.) also there's a significant power imbalance at the start but it gets very much deconstructed before anything can happen and it's an interesting negotiation. Warden could easily have fit in the 'brooding immortal douchebags' category but there's an alienness and gentleness to him that lifts him above that, along with the respect and space he gives to Paige and their shared experience of trauma and hopes for a better world. Her hot-headedness and his calm, deadpan sort-of-humor play off each other really well. Also I love the idea that develops over the series that their connection isn't a distraction from their fight but that it makes them stronger and allows them to resist and find solace from the deluge of constant horror that is their world. their whole dynamic in s4...no words. also the second time i read a scene where one character is bandaging the other's wounds and there's touch aversion involved and like, I LOVE that.

- lots of complex different bad guys. some are just brutes, some are sadistic masterminds with superiority complexes, some are deceptive and manipulative and morally ambiguous. love that the Big Bad Guy is a woman - female characters being fully realized means that sometimes, they're just incredibly evil (as long as it's not tied to their gender, i love that). Paige and Jaxon's relationship is fascinating - he's a terrible, manipulative person but i do feel in his own way, he cares about her and wants to see her thrive ; but that's not necessarily a good thing as he sees it as a justification to make her go through awful things. She knows he's awful but she can't get over the fact that he took her in, taught her, believed in her and gave her a sense of belonging and freedom when nobody else did ; she was super proud of being his mollisher and it makes sense it would take time for her to rebuild her sense of self without that, on her own. I like that the ambiguity isn't resolved (it's also a very good illustration of how emotionally abusive parental dynamics can get their hooks in you). The fact that he's aroace really works there too, could have been a lot creepier otherwise and i feel that's really not the point.

- also it's really cool how each book really feels like its own thing, it never feels repetitive, there are huge twists and a shift of focus each time - the penal colony in Oxford in the first, the London Underworld in the second, traveling through England in the third, Paris in the fourth, etc. The pace is pretty breakneck and i wasn't bored for one moment - actually at times i would have liked more quiet moments w the characters. There are two novellas that focus more on that and the second one is an exploration of trauma and recovery that's particularly hard hitting and beautiful. The first book does feel like a beginner novel, it's a bit clunky in terms of exposition, pacing and character development etc ; and there are moments where all the violence and brutality feel a bit repetitive ; but overall the story builds up so beautifully and in so many complex ways it's just really worth it and it's not for nothing i read the four books and two novellas in five days. just have to wait for the next one now though argh

- anyway more people should read it

[jadienjaystoriesandart]

I just got done watching a video that pointed out how a couple in a book series I read is bad for each other. Thus, after that trip and long conversations with my fellow fanders IRL I’m going to be picking apart couples in this web series and why some would work and others wouldn’t. 

This will be Part 1

Now keep in mind this is just my personal opinions from what I’ve read and what I’ve seen. Some of it is delving into Fandom area but others will be what we see in Cannon as well.  Sometimes couples I like will be ones I pick on because objectively they just aren’t good for each other. 

With that in mind let’s get started with the most well known couples.

Prinxiety (Roman/Virgil) - Everyone's favorite couple to either put through so much angst that I think these people either are really moody or have went through alot of shit. Like seriously, the amount of angst you find just is astonishing... And sometimes very unrealistic, but I digress.  But, though I like this couple in some instances, I find their relationship to be toxic and unreliable. 

Take into account their personalities in the series. Roman often shows his love by belittling or insulting a person. A thing we as fanders know to be because of his own insecurities. Now in comparison to self loathing and hating Virgil, who just takes it and even contributes to it. Regardless of if it’s just Virgil’s sense of humor, that still doesn’t make it right. How many friends do you know that insult you or don’t help you see the good in you. I can’t think of many instances where Roman, like Patton, would pick up Virgil after he tries to self-hate. Patton actively, though in a babying way, at least tries to tell Virgil he’s wrong about his hate. Which as we see takes our anxiety friend by surprise. 

Also there is the fact that Roman, as we saw in SvS Redux, really needs someone to be there for him. Virgil however also needs this. And this implies that if they were to be together it’s just be a struggle to get anywhere.  Not to say it couldn’t work, but it’d take alot of time. Roman would need to be more confident in himself and not take it out on others. And Virgil would be to be confident also and stop taking harsh words and such lying down. ‘

Though it is clear from the newest asides they do care about each other. 

All around a couple that has some issues that would make a romantic relationship hard. Platonic sure, I can see it because it works, but not romantic as neither I feel would suit the others needs. 

Logicality (Logan/Patton) - I do actually love this pairing, it’s cute and fluffy at times when the fandom puts them together. Not alot of angst I’ve found despite being popular couple number 2. However, with how the cannon portrays them to each other, they won’t work as a romantic couple in real life. 

To explain, Patton is very controlling, we see this through out the series. We know he doesn’t mean to be sometimes, but clearly being the side Thomas listens to the most, means he clearly has alot of power in the mindscape. Logan, by contrast, is very cold at times and very distant when it comes to his feelings or expressing them. Something he needs to work on. 

Several times we see Patton trying to force Logan to do things he doesn’t want to. The episode I feel this is highlighted in the most is Learning New Things About Ourselves. Logan isn’t one to just open up about things like how Patton, Roman, even Virgil are. Being these sides deal the most in feelings of many times.  Logan himself is a logical side, he things critically and prefers facts to solve problems. Patton however is very open and very feeling. And tries through out the episode to get Logan to express. Logan clearly is reluctant to do so, because it’s not his area and it’s not his thing. 

With people like this you can’t force them to open up, you can’t force them to express to you. It’ll just end terribly when you do and can even push them farther away. Which is what I think if happening with Logan.  Throughout this episode Logan expresses faintly that he doesn’t want to be see as a ‘Joke’ to them, because after all he’s logic. But the other keep disregarding him. Something it feels they are even guilt tripping him into it. Though we do see that Thomas tells them not to force Logan. 

To sum it up, Patton and Logan as a couple would be a rocky one at best because Logan can’t emote well and Patton can’t back off well. Both need to learn this because they could be a couple. 

Dukceit (Remus/Janus) - We don’t know alot about their relationship to really go into how they function. But if what Thomas said about the fandom being pretty spot on about their time together, then we can assume that as a couple they are pretty stable at times compared to most.  Janus clearly cares about Remus enough to listen to him and take in what he has to say where others won’t. And Remus, by extension, shows his appreciation by ‘gifting’ Janus with things. Possibly Remus seems to just love the attention and loves that someone doesn’t find him gross or immature. 

Janus clearly, if we are to go by fandom and Thomas’s words, wants Remus happy and they do seem to share a connection and lots of laughs.  I don’t ship these guys though, but if we are to go off of these things they would work rather well as a couple. Unless we find out more, this seems to be the outcome. 

Royality (Roman/Patton) - Now I’m not here to argue about how characters in a relationship would treat others around them. Just how they were treat each other. While I am of the opinion this couple would be a bit of a powerhouse to others they do work well together in some sense. Both are peppy and upbeat, Roman easily picks up Patton when he’s in a funk and vice versa. The amount of serotonin between these two dorks is something to marvel at. 

Granted in the new episode we see that there is some tension with Patton having really forced his own morals on Roman and this leads to tension when accepting new sides. But, as a couple they would work. I can’t see points that they lead each other one nor points were one tries to control the other, and in terms of words it’s mostly of encouragement. Patton clearly does care about Roman and Roman to Patton. This pairing really works well, has some rocky moments that can easily work through as no couple truly is 100% perfect, as I pointed out with the others. 

But out of all of the ones mentioned this one has the least amount of rough patches. They work together and don’t actively put the other down or force them 24/7. This does happen, but not often.  And I don’t pair them often, just from time to time. 

Analogical (Logan/Virgil) - These two are actually really adorable together and through out the series I can confidently say they would be great for each other. And this isn’t just me saying it, from all the evidence we see Logan and Virgil together just works. 

Logan has a calm disposition and is firm when he has to be, never once have I really seen them lash out at each other with harsh words. Only instance that comes to mind is when Virgil calls Logan a ‘Clueless idiot’. But that’s about it, any other time, even during the debate, afterwards they aren’t at each others throats and both seem to be rather comfortable around each other. Logan could easily be the rock Virgil needs to stand on his own but in his own time.

Virgil however is a good push for Logan, as he himself knows the value of taking your time. I can’t seem Virgil in the cannon ever forcing Logan, even in LNTAO Virgil was the only side that didn’t belittle Logan that much. Virgil was even reluctant, even if he was pressured into it in the end, and I can only think of once in which he did say something harsh to Logan... which was after Logan lashed out at Roman. (With semi good reason). Virgil easily could be that silent partner that Logan needs to feel something but within his own time. 

Granted it’d be a long courtship and time for them to learn each others cues as Logan is hard to give out love. But once he does open up he’s a mess that needs to be loved back. Same goes for Virgil, but where they work and Prinxiety doesn’t is that they are both used to giving gestures and reading the air. Where we have established Roman isn’t really good at.  Virgil could pick up easily when Logan is having problems and when to approached. And Logan is good at understanding when people need space and isn’t afraid to just talk about it rather than let things linger. 

They’d still have their problems, what couple doesn’t. But it wouldn’t be near as bad as some of the others. 

Moxiety (Patton/Virgil) - Where to start with this... I mean, it’s not a bad pairing but it’s also not a great pairing. Not for reasons some think. Honestly I could care less about the argument of ‘Son/Father’ shit that is peddled. It’s been established that Patton thinks of all the sides as ‘Kiddos’ even Thomas, even if none of it is true and Virgil and Patton are technically the same fucking age as Thomas is. Patton just is the group ‘dad’ and truly believes this. 

I digress, as for how they work as a couple it could be good or bad. This is one that it really does depend on how you look at the series as a while. Me, I’m on the fence.  On the one hand Patton is a good self esteem booster for Virgil when the other needs it. And Virgil is calm and understanding of how much feelings can be.  On the other hand Patton can be very forceful with Virgil and sometimes even baby him as we saw in the halloween episode. And Virgil does resent this, stating he is strong enough and doesn’t need to be coddled. 

Clearly there is a imbalance of power there also as Patton is possibly and ‘older’ side as in he’s been around with Thomas much longer. Thus is why he’s the one most listened to. While Virgil doesn’t have as much power as the other sides in terms of the amount he’s listened to.  It’s getting better though, Patton is trying to baby him less and let him really be heard. He’s listening to Virgil rather than assuming things. It’s slow, but it’s working.

In the end, it’s really on how you see it. This could either be a really good couple or really bad couple depending on how one writes them. Cannonly, it could work with time, but we’ll have to see as the series goes. 

Logince (Roman/Logan) - Not sure where to start with this one. Maybe at the fact Roman picks on Logan just as much as he does Patton. Or maybe with how Logan doesn’t take it laying down, most of the time, and does have a sharp tongue to lash back. 

These two are at tensions with each other, even after Why We Get Out Of Bed In The Mornings. Heck that was a whole episode about the tensions! And there is still tension as we go. Roman really needs to get a handle on his self esteem issues before pursuing any relationship I feel. Something I think is going to come up as Thomas enters one.

Logan has been seen lashing out verbally and once even psychically at Roman. He felt bad afterwards, but we can’t say it wasn’t justified with how Roman treated him. Having problems with feeling like he’s not listened to, interrupted, and something even insulted.  And again Roman’s problems with insulting others to boost his confidence comes back into play. Why it doesn’t affect him with Patton is because with the moral side Roman feels wanted and needed, with the others he lashes out because they make him feel that way. 

Logan even did insult some of Roman’s passions, which we know to be a sore spot for the creative side. Roman already has many problems as he’s limited by what is morally right and wrong. He puts time and effort into his things, and it hurts when someone comes along and insults you’re hard work.

Now whether they meant to do this too each other or not is up or debate. You could argue that Roman’s problem is internal and not directed at anyone. You could argue the same for Logan, or argue that the others need to learn that what they are doing is harsh even if they don’t mean it.  Regardless this couple would really need to work on these problems before ever getting together. It’s not something small like communication or feeling problems and can be fixed with the right person. This is them both putting the other know, internationally or not. And that’s not a healthy relationship at all. 

I’d say after they work through that Roman could be with just about any side. And some goes for Logan with Patton or Roman. With Virgil it’s not a huge problem as Logan never once has taken out his frustration on him, might be due to Virgil’s calmer nature, who knows. 

So yeah, that’s the end of part one. I’m not saying none of this would work, I’m saying with how they are NOW they wouldn’t work. We’ll have to see have the series progress how it goes. 

[indigosprite]

In another ask, you shared your thoughts on why you didn’t like 6996 etc. do you think 2795 share the same problem? I think while Tsuna and Kyoko doesn’t seem as weird as 6996 on the surface upon further speculation and reading works where Kyoko becomes this bamf vongola tenth wife who does anything for Tsuna, it sort of treads the same vibe as Chrome and Mukuro in some way. Idk I just want to hear your thoughts on maybe 2795 and maybe 2786 as well.

Hi hi

Had to search these because I literally did not have any ships for this show until I rewatched it and just merged my favorite characters into one pair that happened to be a ship. I  forget the others exist...With that being said, take this with a grain of salt because I honestly don’t even think about these ships a lot, forget they even exist. How KHR was written will always make the the very idea of Tsuna with any of the female characters feel weird or odd unless you’ve managed to read or create enough Fanon that changes your characterization of the original dynamic. I don’t think they share the same problem but maybe a similar one ? Tsuna and any female character compared to Mukuro and Chrome is very different in my opinion. (funnily enough it’s also because Mukuro isn’t a misogynist shsjsjsj) 6996 could work, they actually have a relationship that’s very personal to both parties and unlike 2795 they’re both aware of it and have a distinct unique connection with each other that consists of shared interests trust and mutual respect. it’s just odd to think about because chrome looks up to Mukuro and the power imbalance feels weird, he’s literally keeping her alive. (Which I know is disgustingly sweet I find it very heartwarming. )

2795 is this one sided crush with zero redeeming qualities. There was nothing remotely romantic or intriguing happening between Tsuna and Kyoko the entire series. If we took out Tsuna’s inner thoughts we honestly would’ve thought she was just this nice girl he knows from school. If we took out Tsuna’s thoughts in general and left it up to the fandom pulling this ship out of their butts it would honestly be 1000% cuter. All their interactions read like

“this girl is so lovely I really like her and she’s talking to me that’s amazing”

“Thanks for the pencil. Do your best on the test okay?”

I’m not swooning over the most lackluster interactions on the planet because he is over romanticizing it. Even the reason why he likes her is not that interesting or convincing. Which I mean I get it he’s only 14 he’s not thinking about all the small stuff like emotional support or validation or like not wanting to be alone etc. It’s still just you’re pretty let’s be happy all the time while you hold my hand forever. He deserves that he’s literally a kid. but even when i was younger i didn’t see it between them ever. On top of their interactions being boring they never give us things that make you go “oh wait she might actually like him hmmm” . they could have tried a little harder to make it a little more romantic? sometimes they show us Kyoko in a pink background hands clasped surrounded by hearts and I forget she’s supposed to be viewed in that light. I forget we’re supposed to actually consider her liking him too but what are we supposed to think Kyoko is looking for in a guy that makes Tsuna a possibility when she doesn't exist past eating cake and worrying about her brother and Tsuna. I think it’s also fair to note that they never imply that Tsuna actually thinks about her beyond his image of her but we see how caring he is with his friends to the point where he can point out their flaws and work through them anyways and accept them. Tsuna realizing Yamamoto was not himself during the Guardians trial is a perfect example of this, it establishes the relationship they built with one another. another example is Tsuna acknowledging that Gokudera is overwhelming and short tempered but he wouldn’t trade the guy for anyone because he is loyal and a good friend.  he cares for Kyoko as a person in general but he never reaches that depth when it comes to her. he doesn’t have to either because it’s just a crush, how you manage to take that through the next ten years of his life I honestly don’t know. 

TL;DR : My ONLY problem with 2795 is the fact that there is nothing to work off of but the implication that Tsuna likes this girl and that’s why they are endgame. she matters very little, just a figurehead of his normalcy. she’s written just as badly in fics, can I blame you? no you were probably like 14 writing them. do a lot of people still do this ? yeah so i’m just not interested until the fanon has changed her character for everyone. 

I know I sound super hypocritical because “Sprite what the fuck does 6918 have that’s soooo intriguing they actually canonically hate each other how is that any better.” the answer: Mukuro and Hibari have a more established relationship with mutual feelings than those two, even better they’re actually really strong feelings (of pure hatred). Bonus, despite being aloof both characters also have fully developed personalities and Opinions/Behaviors that we can mold however we please. they actually have a relationship to play around with that's what makes it fun and lets you have those “actually they’re pretty similar in this aspect” because you know shit about both of them individually. 

Now for 2786,,, as i sit here and think about it Haru and Tsuna make so much more sense for all the reasons him and kyoko don’t . 

Kyoko and Haru were already made solely to be Tsuna’s love interests (specifically Kyoko) , but then it went on to be something they didn’t even bother hiding when they reduced their characters and their interests to looking after kids and repeatedly worrying over Tsuna. The reason I don’t find it appealing is because there really wasn’t any dynamic there at all. This boy liked this girl and that’s literally all it was. She has no depth , and despite being written for him nothing about Kyoko screams you’re perfect for this kid. Nothing says, You’re compatible, You have common interests, you two can rely on each other. She was pretty and nice and polite and that’s all they shared along with half the cast. With Haru they went the completely opposite direction, this girl likes him and is upfront about it. she's not a better candidate just because she's not the typical pretty girl whos quiet and polite and caring,(She’s not the better written female character either, this is reborn. they all lose here.) she’s the better candidate because we actually have a personality to compare to Tuna's. she was purposely given this big personality because he was never going to be in love with her because she’s like all the other intruding figures of his life. Again we have this one sided crush, know he doesn’t like her at all but you can actually see where they do go right and wrong. she’s a complete person. 

Haru can handle a little wild in her life, she was the first one to know he would be a mafia boss and it didn’t phase her at all. Tsuna might need that later in life.

In the future when Tsuna finds her crying she tells him not to think her feelings have anything to do with him, completely different dynamic from kyoko whos emotions are always directly related to male characters and what they are doing. 

Haru and her cosplays are so perfectly absurd and she does not care how weird he finds them, she has this big embarrassing trait to her that Tsuna comically responds to but just grows to overlook and accept.  

she actually talks to Tsuna quite a lot and helps him out whenever she can, because he doesn't like her she's allowed to actually exist in his world and he sees her fully because of it. It makes sense to see his significant other who will be involved in the mafia as an asset who he wants to protect and not just...something he needs to protect bc they honestly don't want this.

she interviews the entire cast of the show because haru just fits there, in a yamamoto like way, she can just handle it. 

Tsuna and Haru could have been perfect friends or a couple. they had the grounds for it. it’s just not what he wanted but I can totally see them working out for each other later in life. they make so much sense! i’ll have to think about them more sometime soon. 

Hope I answered you questions, this got long.

[rinharu-purple]

Lucien: MLQC’s Mastermind

Yes, I said that Lucien is the creepiest LI in my opinion, and I wouldn’t choose him in a million, billion years. BUT, Lucien is by far the one person, who is pulling the strings and is the driving force of the MLQC universe. He is the only person who acquires all the information from all sides and is connected to every important actor in the story. Therefore, Lucien has become the second LI I’ve started to follow more attentively. Mind that the ranking ist 1) Gavin 2) Gavin 3) Gavin 4) Lucien ;)

In my manifesto, why Gavin is MC’s choice, I’ve already mentioned briefly, that Lucien has the strongest EVOL among all the characters but is also the strongest character (it’s not the MC or the Black Queen, let’s not fool ourselves)

The Machiavellian

Before we talk about Lucien’s part in the MLQC universe, we should first look at him as person and observe the elements that make up his personality.

In the game, all our guys have their personal priorities. Gavin and Kiro are on the front line, fighting for peace and prosperity, Victor, well...I don’t think that he cares for anything else besides MC, maybe his position. But with Lucien, his priority is not a person or a concept, but rather a philosophy. Lucien wants to see the next step in human evolution and is determined to take any measures necessary to see it to it’s end. Other guys can not stand oblivious to other things that come up their way in achieving their goals but Lucien only has his eyes on the prize and to him nothing else matters, no one else matters and no ethics matter. 

Machiavellianism denotes cunningness and claims, that those dark triads use whatever means necessary to gain power. If we consider the choices Lucien has made throughout the story so far, we can clearly find his manipulative ways in getting other actors to the positions of his conjecture. He lies to MC and hides his personality as Ares, penetrates Black Swan to use their facilities, but also uses LFG’s resources for his R&D projects all the while concealing his true nature. 

Another trait of a Machiavellian, is that he is charismatic and friendly, all the while displaying no emotions. I think, there can be two possible reasons as to why Lucien has limited display of emotions. The first possible explanation has something to do with his parents passing and the trauma he suffered afterwards. Among all LIs Lucien is the one with the most loveless childhood and teenage years, the most important years in developing one’s psychological traits and during those years Lucien received alongside with Kiro the most blows. That resulted in him losing the connection to his emotions as a defense mechanism. 

Another possibility might be him losing the connection to his emotions as a result of a chemical reaction in his brain due to excessive testing Black Swan objected him to. Lucien’s EVOL was created in a lab and he was the first man-made Evolver. Lucien is called various times a psychopath, because he shows signs of psychopathy such as lack of remorse, empathy or compassion. It is said that that kind of behavior might occur due to a misconnection between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the amygdala. Considering the fact that Lucien’s parents were killed right in front of him and that he was both physically and psychologically abused for the coming years, this might have led him to experience an imbalance in his chemical balance. One might argue, that his altruistic actions in the orphanage are an evidence for his compassion, I think it is yet another disguise for his unethical ways of reaching his goals.

The Orchestrator

In all honesty no one is actively seeking alliances and keeps tabs on other’s actions for their agenda like Lucien does. Maybe Commander Leto but he mostly fails in drawing others to his side, because he is not able to speak in their pendants’ language or resonate with their perspective. Lucien, on the other hand, is gifted with an extraordinary ability to observe his surroundings and companions, making it very easy for him to talk to them in their terms and desires. Lucien doesn’t show much empathy, UNLESS, it contributes to his cause, in that case he can perfectly put himself in other’s shoes and plays them in such a meticulous way, that they join him willingly.

That is how Lucien directs MC successfully in entering the Black Cabin or in understanding the evolution core.

Lucien is not exactly a piece on a chess board, but is a player, who knows all the pieces very well, knows the rules of the game, has observed many games and took notes of how they all has turned out and therefore knows what kind of a game he is going to play. Just watch closely. how he co-operates with Kiro and the Black Queen. He knows that Kiro is using Black Swan for his goals, much like he does, so he uses his hacking abilities to access to information. The Black Queen is the initiator of everything in S1, so he makes sure to stay close to her. He knows that Victor is searching for MC and trying to understand the Evol gene, there he has an investor. 

The Cool, Calm and Collected Type

in the MLQC universe, everyone loses their composure at one point or another, because...who wouldn’t? Time and space warps constantly and people are also changing their stances depending on the time-space constellation they find themselves in. 

MC loses her cool almost on a daily basis, Gavin was in a constant haywire in the Daybreak era, Victor literally threw people into black holes in CH11 and freaked out as he saw the Black Queen for the first time and Kiro walks around in a bipolar state. So, everybody is pretty unstable due to understandable conditions but we never see Lucien lose his cool and this is one of his best qualities. 

Here is the thing about Lucien. This guy is always at least one step ahead of everyone and he achieves this by two simple rules: 

1) Acquire all possible information

2) Observe everyone and everything at all times

Why am I saying this? It lies in the basis of anxiety and angst. We humans tend to feel uncomfortable in the face of an uncertain situation, meaning in the wake of the unknown. MC is constantly anxious, because she doesn’t know what is going on, why is everyone after her, why is she blessed with the unconditional affection of 5 equally attractive men? (ehm, but not quite equally ehm *Gavin* hihi, sorry, Gavin-stan gotta Gavin-stan ^_^). Anyway you get the picture. Gavin went haywire in CH22 because he was pushed in a tight spot and therefore had angst. Same goes for Victor in CH11 his mind went blank as he saw history repeating itself and then in CH18 when he saw with his own eyes what could the girl of his dreams might become.

We don’t see Lucien in such deadlock situation though do we, and I think it is mainly because he is always prepared for every possibility and he can calculate them meticulously, because he possesses the largest chunk of information and also keeps tabs on everyone and everything that’s going on. So, when a crisis occurs he doesn’t freak out, sure he gets surprised at times, because the outcome of a a certain situation is the possibility, which he calculated to be no higher than 1% and yet there it is. But since he’s already took this into consideration, he has a plan. Combine this with his knowledge about the persons and organizations involved in the matter, then you have a calm Lucien, who is in control of the situation. Thus, he is calm. You can actually also bind this behavior of Lucien with that of a predator, whose movement are languid, is non-reactive and doesn’t mind turning his back to his opponents, since he doesn’t perceive them as a threat.

If this wasn’t enough, Lucien manages to joggle all of this without exposing himself. Even in the last stage of the play he never gets caught. Unless he willingly exposes himself, as in the case of revealing Ares to MC. MLQC actors can usually see through each other and use their weaknesses to meet their own ends. MC is obviously Gavin, Kiro and Victor’s weakness and their opponents can see this pretty easily. IT’s not quite the same with Lucien though and he doesn’t let himself be blackmailed or threatened by any weakness. He always keeps his cards close to his chest. 

Considering the fact that Lucin is the least outstanding LI, this is pretty impressive. So I guess this makes him the embodiment of the phrase “still waters run deep”.

The Renaissance Man

Lucien is a man of science and aesthetics. Explaining phenomenons with associations and loading them with philosophical substance. He doesn’t necessarily perceive things bluntly as they are, but interprets them in a meaningful way. The way he associates MC with a butterfly, how he wants to entrap her in ajar, so she wouldn’t get away, alas taking the only resource of color in his life away. Not only that, but he can also break down the matters at hand to its fragments and can therefore work his way up from there. He is blessed with a strong deduction ability, so he can connect the dots easily, come to a conclusion and act accordingly. No doubt that the other guys have very good deduction abilities, but because Lucien always has a bit of an information more than them, he can find the solutions just a little bit faster in my opinion. 

Reading is a necessity for his guy much like eating and drinking, Which is why we see him reframing events in the context of a certain story he’d read at some point in his life. With time, I will add here some of his quotes about certain situations to explain what I mean. Or even better, if you have some, that are evident in you opinion, you could add them in the comments. I really enjoy reading/hearing Lucien’s philosophical, scientific explanations to certain moments in MC’s life. They are always to the point and helpful.

-------------

So this is my very first analysis on Lucien and I have to admit, I still have  so many material to check on him, so if anything is missing please bear with me here :)

I was watching Joe’s Twitch while I wrote this, so there are many spelling, grammar mistakes, which will be corrected gradually.

This post will get better and better, scout promise!

[theunconcernedembalmer]

what’s the issue with elisop? is it just bc you hc aesop as ace? im so concerned by seeing ppl adamantly opposed to mlm/wlw ships but im also genuinely curious about why you dislike it and other lgbt ships so much lol

hmm. that is a strong accusation, n i find it just a bit odd. are you new here? or perhaps you are taking personal offense at my dislike towards a favourite ship of yours and using the lgbt argument as moral high ground?

whatever the case may be, i thank you for asking. if u r truly looking for an answer, its below the cut n it is very very long. mind u these are all my personal opinions n i am in no way policing how others enjoy ships. just in case this wasnt clear; i dont wish to start discourse on this blog, especially since my takes are probably... unpopular.

firstly i would like to address the “disliking lgbt ships” bit, because this has very strong implications in itself. i have nothing against lgbt ships. i enjoy them, even. if the two characters have chemistry between each other, i ship it. however, the moment characterization is broken for the sake of romance, i lose interest. this is generally my stance on ships in general, n this applies for both straight n lgbt ships. 

the ships themselves are fine. however, i do have issues with the ship dynamics, so ill let u in on that.

i want to touch on mlm ships in particular; i believe u are familiar with the top/bottom dynamic that is rampant in these kinds of ships? (i wont deny that this dynamic can be found in other types of ships, but for arguments sake i will be focusing on gay ships because i feel that this occurs more commonly here) its such a popular dynamic that is prone to stripping the personality from one if not both characters, only for them to be reduced to being dominant/submissive. for a character to be pigeonholed into a stereotypical category based on... preferred sexual positions? its just downright insulting, never mind the larger more problematic implications of it. top/bottom is not indicative of someones personality, by the way. flattening multi dimensional characters into these stereotypes is so so so insulting.

unfortunately this is The Most Popular portrayal of just about any gay ship around. ive seen it being used everywhere in so many fandoms n it just about becomes apparent to me that ppl come to stories looking for a Ship. not the stories, nor the characters, just a ship. while id like to say theres nothing wrong with that, keep in mind not everyone is just looking for 2 characters that look pretty next to each other. if i ship something, i see interesting n meaningful interactions between 2 characters, which is so often not the case once u bring in the top/bottom dynamic. why is it so popular? because somehow this is what ppl like from a gay ship n hence it sells. ppl want the drama, characterizations be damned. ppl want to see the big kiss that happens in the end, n maybe the sexy parts that come after. characterizations be damned.

so u can say im a little wary of gay ships when they cross my feed. hell, as a joseph aesop shipper i see this trope everywhere n im pretty disappointed as well. small tangent but i feel like this is the reason why zh0ngli n ch1lde is so popular in g3nshin. i try to see the appeal, i really do, but after a long while of analyzing their respective characters i dont think they have as much chemistry as ppl think they do. dont even get me started on how incredibly ooc they make either of these very interesting n unique characters in ship portrayals. all because of the top/bottom dynamic that ppl want to see. i say this for that particular ship, but this is pretty much the case for a lot of ships out there, n the latter part is painfully true even when the 2 characters do have potential between each other. ill say it again im disgusted by the blatant disrespect to the characterizations if all ppl ever want is 2 pretty puppets to mush lips together. cos thats what theyre essentially reduced to this way.

n its so obvious to see when an artist subscribes to this rhetoric, because u can so clearly see it in the way they draw their characters. the “top” generally has sharper features to go with their “dominating personality”, while the “bottom” has disturbingly softer, feminine, dare i say sometimes child like features “to submit”. n thats where the uwu soft gay trope comes from, i believe. which, in case u still dont know, i hate with a burning passion.

so again for ppl with impaired reading comprehension, im fine with ships, including lgbt ones, but the moment u break characterization for the sake of the ship, im not that okay with it. u want to do it for a short crack comic? fine. but if thats the only way ur portraying the 2 characters then im immediately wary of ur content. ill still look at it cos usually the art is really good, but im very very wary. so im not “adamantly opposed”, just very critical of how the ships are being portrayed. if other ppl want to enjoy their ships like that, sure. just dont expect me to join in on something i dont agree on.

.

now id like to address not shipping “because i hc aesop as ace”. for ppl who are new to the blog (hello there), im an ace in a romantic relationship, so thats definitely not the reason i dont ship elisop. its more of being in a relationship has largely shaped my views towards romance as a whole. even before i met my boyfriend, i hated the romance genre in stories n media. most of it comes off as incredibly forced, especially those love triangles they seem to love putting into teen novels. thats one reason why i stopped reading when i was younger, but i digress.

did i partake in shipping when i was younger? i did. for a gay ship too (if anyone really wants to know, its kurotsukki from haikyuu. at least this was one that i can remember, i was mostly working on my 20 odd ocs for the longest time). i also used to write little short romance ficlets that i never posted anywhere cos i hated (n still do hate) my writing. but writing romance when u dont have experience was really just a way of projecting n probably a way of coping for myself, not that i knew at that time. but after i actually started a relationship with my boyfriend (whom i love n cherish a lot thank u very much), i began to see how much all these have skewed my views towards romance n have actually done some harm to our relationship. the bullshit that the general media feeds u constantly doesnt help in the slightest either.

quick topic shift to elisop in particular (about time, right?). i already stated that i only ship characters if i sense chemistry between the two personalities, n if u have seen the part where i dont ship elisop then u must have seen how agonized i am over not being able to have a concrete personality for eli. that is the main problem i have with elisop: eli does not feel like a solid character to me. n that is a huge problem, because if he doesnt have any defining characteristics besides being mild n nice, then he can be whoever i want him to be. (i have done this in my exorcist comics, i will admit this. n the fact that i can just do that... it really does not sit well with me personally.)

n that is dangerous.

back to young me doing lil ship things. i think its also pretty safe to say when u really do ship 2 characters, chances are u kinda really relate very very hard to at least one of them. that very quickly can turn into projecting, n shipping therefore is not “exploring the relationship between 2 characters” n it becomes “my preferred dating simulator 101″. of course this isnt always the case, but at least it was for me, n subconsciously it might be for lots of ppl too. n since this is ur mental playground, u call the shots, n there is no consequences if u slightly (or even entirely) alter one or both personalities to fit ur desired narrative. n u wouldnt even notice or know, cos ur blind to ur own biasness.

we bring our perceived notions into real life, im sure u know that. so when ur partner does not become that perfect knight in shining armour, or when they get upset at things that u do (which is a very normal thing by the way), n u think (very subconsciously), That isnt what my otp would do, something is wrong here (nothing is wrong, actually its just ur skewed perception of a stable romantic relationship). why wouldnt ur otp do this? because u are both halves of ur otps, there is no hidden secrets between them (apart from the pining part but thats irrelevant), n again they have been altered to fit ur preferred narrative. 

a real relationship requires a lot of communication between parties, because newsflash, liking someone doesnt mean that u have to like every single thing they do, they will make mistakes n it will hurt u, n guess what, the reverse is also true. if u do go with absoutely anything that they would do with 0 objections whatsoever, ur not crushing on someone, ur idolizing them, n that power imbalance is detrimental to a relationship. these things are not obvious to ppl, especially when the whole climate is hell bent on getting into romantic relationships by a certain age or some bullshit. communication is key n is pretty much the only way to solve relationship issues, because the other person has a lot that u r not seeing n vice versa. as similar as 2 ppl can be, i doubt u can have 100% the same thoughts on all things. i dont make the rules.

so in ur mental playground u focus on the fluffy parts, maybe there is communication, but rarely is there any meaningful conflict. thats unrealistic, n if u bring that mindset to an actual relationship, thats not going to end well. i say meaningful conflict, because yes, generally u shouldnt have conflicts with ur significant other. but inevitably when ur with each other for long enough, u will realize that there are habits that u must change in order to be with the other person. habits that are harmful to the other person directly, or harmful habits towards yourself that indirectly harm the other person. these are meaningful in a sense that if left alone, it will manifest into larger problems that will harm u, the other person n the relationship as a whole. its meaningful to the relationship.

all these is made even worse if ur neurodivergent. maladaptive coping practices, self sabotaging behaviours, inherent disabilities. all these must be adjusted n addressed. im so incredibly thankful for my boyfriend for being incredibly patient with me when working all these out, n it has not been easy for me to work on myself n all my problems, n im still not done working on them. this aspect is often not explored in romance in general (or properly), n there is a very good chance i would have still been stuck in the unhealthy mindset of “this isnt like my otp, maybe we’re not meant to be”. because loving someone is a choice. no one is made for each other, it is a conscious choice made between 2 ppl to make things work. this is how arranged marriages work, i am told, n i do see the appeal, not that it actually does appeal to me culturally.

special mention to the kurotsukki ship, cos from there i found a very, very good fic that explored their relationship before n after getting together, n it actually showed aspects of this problem in the incredibly slow burn of (at that time) 20+ chapters. it was just one fic (n a very good one at that, i believe it was called Leviticus), but it had a lesson i never thought i needed to learn, n learn it i did, with a lot of help from my dear. 

this is also probably the reason why i dont really want to delve too much into romance now. i know its a lot of work, n everything (mostly) that the media feeds u is really false advertising, but ppl eat that shit up n so it remains one of the most popular genres to date. im just very wary that if i do start on a romantic story, i want to be able to show it in a way like that fic did, the truths of relationships, because i dont want to make something that sells, i want to make something that meaningful to me, if a little indulgent. n that also includes being very careful in how the respective characterizations will change in a relationship. almost too careful now that i think about it, but its not something that i mind. i was never one for romance from the start, n now im very careful about shipping because of what happened to me persoanlly.

okay enough about me, lets talk about aesop. in any au u put the character in, the essence of the character must remain despite the change in environment. so lets say we have ur typical modern au. dead mom, check. shitty mentor doing illegal stuff? also check. autistic boy with social anxiety? we’re good to go. all these have implications on aesop as a character, n while ppl are aware of this, again the way they go about portraying it can go, in my personal opinion, very wrong. ppl who immediately woobify aesop completely because he has autism annoy me. ppl who reduce him to uwu soft boi cos he has social anxiety do not know how the disorder really works n as someone who has that i hate it to the core. ppl who do all these for the sake of ship have lost my respect. its insulting.

remember the top/bottom dynamic? not that elisop is completely free from that (even if i dont know much about eli, to put him in either one of those stereotypes feels very insulting to his character. i wont even say anything about doing it to aesop its so upsetting), but its not entirely made up of either. but now i want to introduce another trope i am very wary of, which is “i can fix him”. im sure u guys have seen the meme going around poking fun at this trope (for those who havent, its along the lines of “u can fix him? well i can be his worst nightmare”) n no doubt yall would have seen it n gotten sick of it in some forced hetero romantic bullshit. we have one damsel in distress with a saviour that solves all their problems just by existing n being romo with each other.

remember “my preferred dating simulator 101″? this is not mutually exclusive n from my point of view this is dangerously close to this trope. lets be real, if it was actually a thing that all ur deep rooted trauma magically disappears if someone were to waltz into ur life, we would want it. definitely. no painfully dissecting ur own problems n constantly facing them head on. real life states that this is not the case, but it will not stop us from dreaming. n so this trope is born n lives n will go on.

(finally) pulling aesop n eli into this, at least in my mind, u have one severely traumatized boy with lots of issues n u have this. nice mild guy who can be anything u want him to be. i hope u can see where im going with this, n thats the direction i see some elisop heading towards (i dont read a lot of elisop to be fair). if u came from my eli character talk, i mentioned that it is incredibly one sided. this is exactly what im talking about.

putting it all together in case u havent already, aesop is the damsel in distress, whose problems magically disappear because of elis godly kindness n little to no work on improving himself, n they lived happily n gayly ever after.

can u tell how much that does not appeal to me. 

never mind the butchering of character that inevitably happens somewhere somehow, the unrealistically perfect themes n implications of this trope makes me so viscerally uncomfortable. this is, of course, due to personal reasons, n i definitely see the appeal of this dynamic because i would probably have been interested in this once upon a time as well. but as i am now, with everything i have explained up there n everything i have been through, i would politely rather not.

n its difficult to think of another dynamic, because of how little i know about eli apart from him being this saint, which easily makes him a candidate for being aesops trauma panacea. never mind aesop rarely, if ever, does anything for eli as a character in return, n its so damaging to buy into this rhetoric, where a person like this who would solve all ur issues no strings attached exists somewhere in the world. they really dont. a relationship has to be mutually benefitting, or it will be draining n disastrous. maybe u say, Oh its nice to imagine it once in a while. n yeah, i agree, except once in a while is a little difficult to keep track of n that is sort of what happened to me. id rather stay as far away as possible from this kind of unrealistic fantasy, i just got this shit sorted out with myself n my boyfriend.

i have some other reasons, but theyre more personally problematic, so i wont go into them here. but this is mostly n generally why i do not ship elisop romantically. if u do, u do u, and have fun, but again dont expect me to join u. thank u for coming to my ted talk, this took a lot longer than expected.

[snorlaxlovesme]

Walk Me Home

So I guess I wrote this fic for a SoMa week prompt last year and then didn’t post it??? I found it in my drafts and was really confused what a fully completed one-shot was doing staring back at me lmao

So. Here’s a fic for I think the “2am” prompt. Title a reference to the P!nk song, since I’m pretty sure I spammed it while writing this.

                             ____________________

“Hey. Hey!”

Maka hears Soul’s voice call out from behind her, but she doesn’t turn around. She doesn’t want to talk right now; she wants to leave.

“Jesus, why are you walking so fast? Slow down, fuck’s sake.”

The grit of the sidewalk digs painfully into the heels of her bare feet. It doesn’t slow her down, nor does it stop her. In fact, when she hears Soul’s panting from behind her, she petulantly picks up her speed until his hand is landing on her shoulder and pulling her to a stop. He tugs her around despite her best efforts to keep walking.

“Hey, you wanna tell me what the problem is? Why did you leave the party?” He doesn’t even look mad at her, just concerned, which somehow makes her just feel worse. Soul continues, “I went to go talk to Kid for a few minutes and when I came back everyone said you left. Did something happen?”

Clearly something must have happened. She knows he can see it all over her expression, in the way she bolted away from him. Hell, he can probably feel waves of it coming directly from her soul.  

But she doesn’t want to talk, so she pulls her shoulder away from his grasp and keeps walking, marching towards the direction of home, probably. She’s still a little tipsy, even though she only had a couple drinks at the party. But whoever Kid hires to bartend at the Gallows Mansion has a heavy hand when it comes to mixing drinks. Either her cocktails were stronger than normal or Maka really is the lightweight every assumes she is. She keeps walking despite her protesting feet and the way the world is swaying around her.

“So you’re just not gonna talk to me?” Soul asks, still trailing behind her. She can feel his hand come to rest on her shoulders every now and again, steadying her when she tips a bit too far in one direction, but pulling away once she’s righted herself. Protecting her while also respecting her boundaries. It’s infuriating.

Soul keeps talking to her back. “Was it something it something Black Star said? You know how Star gets when he’s drunk. He’s got no fucking boundaries.”

It’s not Black Star. It’s not anyone specifically. It’s just everyone. It’s everything. It’s nothing. She doesn’t want to explain it, because that would just be another weakness to add to the ever-growing pile.

“I can kick his ass if you want,” Soul keeps trying, knowing full-well that he could never take Black Star in a fight. The pathetic offer almost makes her smile, but she gulps it down and tries not to cry.

Soul circles around in front of her. “Look, you don’t have to tell me, but could you please stop for a sec? You’re not wearing any shoes and your feet are gonna get all fucked up. There could be glass or something.” Maka, being Maka, doesn’t give a damn about potential dangers to herself, and continues marching forward, leaving Soul to roll his eyes and pick up his pace to catch up with her again. She’s trying not to look at him, but she can see the way his eyes widen in his ‘I have an idea’ face, and two seconds later he’s transformed into a scythe in front of her, hovering a few feet off the ground beside her. His wings flap quickly and silently to keep steady beside her.

“Please?” His voice comes his weapon form, tinny and desperate.

Now Maka is the one rolling her eyes. His winged-form only rubs salt in her emotional wounds, but her feet are admittedly in a lot of pain after almost a half mile of walking on cracked concrete. She concedes and throws a leg over his handle. She grabs onto him with both hands, expecting him to whisk her away to their apartment above the buildings of Death City. Soul surprises her by hovering another foot in the air, so her feet don’t drag on the cement, but flying at the same pace she was walking.

The quiet extends before them into the night. The farther they get from the Gallows, the harder it is to hear the booming bass of the music. Soul lets Maka direct them with her soul through the residential neighborhoods and away from crowded streets. She started this walk with the intention of being alone.

But, ten times out of ten she’d rather be with Soul.

She swallows. “Do you care what people think about you?”

On a normal day he’d snark at her for finally deeming him worthy of conversation, but today he’s quiet as he thinks of what response she might be looking for. She can feel he’s trying to pick apart the meaning of this starting question, but eventually just decides to answer honestly.

“Yeah. All the time.”

It’s the truth, Maka can feel in his soul that it is, but she still doesn’t believe it. In the time that Maka has known Soul, he’s grown so much. She’s always admired the way he just lets things roll off his shoulders, not giving a shit what others think about him. Maybe he’s just been faking it, but he does a damn good job playing the Cool Guy he’s always wanted to be as a kid. He makes Maka’s version of the same kind of make-believe feel like child’s play. No one believes in her flimsy brand of confidence.  

“Do you care what people think about us?” she asks.

There’s always been something in the way people talk about the two of them. Soul, the powerful, confident demon weapon that took down Arachne and helped save the world from madness on the moon. Maka, the meister who just managed to hold on for the ride. Maybe that’s not exactly what they say, but it’s implied. In the way other students will look at him with admiration, with appreciation, and then how they look at her, like they’re surprised it was little unstable Maka Albarn who managed to produce a Death Scythe. She knows she’s weak, but do people have to throw it in her face all the time? Like she was the last person they expected to be helpful in the apocalypse?  

Even at a freaking party there are people coming up to Soul and asking him for autographs while Maka stands right next to him. Like somehow they know the exact imbalance of strength between Soul and Maka and they’re disappointed in Maka the same way she is with herself.

Just thinking about it has her unconsciously pulling Soul forward down the street a little faster. She breathes deeply. Just a few more minutes and she’ll be home.

Soul finally speaks, breaking her out of her own internal pity party.  

“No.”

Maka blinks.

No?

“Our partnership is no one’s business but ours. If people have something to say about it, whatever. I only care about one person’s opinion when it comes to our partnership. And that’s you.”

God, it’s such a simple yet complete answer. And he’s totally right, like always. She doesn’t know why she gives a shit what other people think about her and Soul. None of it matters in the end, but God, does Maka wish for once that when she thought of the word “strength” she could picture herself embodying that word instead of never measuring up. Instead of feeling guilty for somehow always thinking she’s holding Soul back.

“You know there’s nothing wrong with you, right?”

Maka’s soul spikes so suddenly in surprise that Soul comes to a halt in the middle of the street.

“I’m serious. I know you wanna be the best meister you can be, but you’re too stuck in your own head to realize how fucked I would be without you as my partner.” He quiets in a way that means he’s gathering his words, and Maka listens with bated breath.  

“You’re the smartest and bravest person I know, okay? And you’re also a reckless moron who pulls some of the craziest shit in battle that I’ve ever seen in my life. It sucks that I have to keep saying this to you, but I’ll keep reminding you until you believe it. The only reason I ever had a prayer of becoming of a Death Scythe was because you’ve been my meister. Stop thinking that you’re not good enough, because you’re better than every asshole at the party. You did something they never could and now never will be able to do.”

Maka closes her eyes for a few heartbeats, allowing this to sink in. Even now, at 2am with the sky pitch dark because of the blackened moon, it’s hard to imagine that she was involved in that fight. She helped save the world and she’s still convinced that she’s somehow not good enough. Maybe Soul’s right, and what they have could only be accomplished with the two of them together. Maybe no one else matters but her and Soul.

“Soul? Transform for me, will you?”

Without hesitation, Soul morphs back into human form, holding her now on piggyback instead of on his weapon form. The shift from being supported by his handle to hanging off his backside is so natural that Maka doesn’t even have to think about it, just adjusts her arms so they’re tighter across his shoulders. She presses her face into the side of his neck in gratitude.

“You always know what to say, you know that?”

Soul snorts and hops a little to scoot her higher up his back. “It’s easy when your soul is practically screaming at me what you’re upset about.” He starts walking again, refusing to put her down because of his stubborn insistence that she’ll hurt her feet. “So. Party sucked for you too, then?”

Now it’s Maka’s turn to snort. All of a sudden the night’s whole emo conclusion feels very overstated. She feels foolish for being so dramatic but remembers that Soul thinks she’s strong even when she’s a drama queen. Depends on her even when she gets caught up in her own head. The reminder calms her soul down considerably.

“Think I drank too much,” she says, nestling closer to his back and laying her arms heavily over his shoulders to remain balanced. “Ox said some dumb shit about me being the weaker partner and it made me sad.”

“Alcohol is a depressant,” Soul says, kind of snooty. He’s repeating what she’s told him on his Moody Drinking nights.  

“Wait a minute,” Soul says. “Did you say Ox? Who the fuck is he to talk about being a weak partner?”

“I thought you said you don’t care what anyone thinks about us.”

“Yeah, but that was before I found out it was fucking Ox Ford who was talking down to you. I could totally take his ass in fight.”

Maka laughs for the first time all night. Soul continues ranting all the way home about how he’s going to beat Ox’s face in the next time he saw him (he won’t) and Maka thinks that maybe real strength is remembering that you always have someone on your side.

[ihavelovednone]

Emily & Miguel: Power & control

This post is long - REALLY LONG. I’ve tried to reduce it and separate it - but it’s not really working. So here goes. It’s centered around Emily and Miguel and the power imbalance between them and the abusiveness that he displays. I hope it’s somewhat interesting and not to hard to follow - if you read it in full that is.

The initial power imbalance There are several aspects in Miguel’s and Emily’s relationship that creates a power imbalance between them. First, and probably the one that relates to every other imbalance in their relationship, is the fact that she’s a woman. That doesn’t really need any further explaining. Women are generally seen as the weaker sex and there’s a long since decided role for women that still has deep roots in our society and in Emily’s life it’s very prominent. Dita displays dislike about Emily involving herself in the search for her child for instance. Devante uses a tone that reeks of aw, little girl and Miguel is somewhere in between wanting to be the sole provider and wanting her help.

One more obvious thing is the clear age difference between Miguel and Emily. It’s kinda like a spinn on the stereotypical old husband, young wife trope - except that Miguel, even though he’s no spring chicken, is still relatively young and very attractive. Kurt Sutter and Elgin James are so subtle in the way they decide use a stereotype without stereotyping that if you don’t look closely, you miss it. 

I think they met when Emily was in her final years of college or in law school and Miguel was in the start of his business career - the legal business that is. I have this idea in my head that Miguel tried really hard to impress her and she just rolled her eyes at him. Emily’s smart and strong, opinionated and a fighter, we’ve seen that in season 1 when Emily’s delivered info to Miguel about LO, called Devante out on his misogynistic shit and when she didn’t let herself get intimidated by Potter. She also found the info about the murder of EZ’s mother and called out Miguel’s hypocrisy in season 2. 

At the same time there’s an insecurity within Emily. She’s probably been told several times by her parents that she’s not good enough. When Emily meets Miguel the break-up from EZ is probably still lingering, even if it was awhile ago they ended in a way that never really gave them closure - she didn’t just loose her first love, she lost someone that was a security to her. On top of that she’d lost her baby (yes I say lost because I don’t think she’d have aborted it had the circumstances been different). This probably made Emily more susceptible to Miguel’s charm.

That insecurity is very apparent in season 2 when Miguel starts spending more time with Adelita. He used to worship the ground she walked on, she was his “touchstone” and all of a sudden his work is all about taking Potter down with the help of Adelita and Emily ends up being in the background. There’s a desperation in her actions in that season. She enters territories she’d never actually enter otherwise. She’s so desperate for the Agra Park thing to work because she never chose the cartel, she chose Miguel. 

There’s also a duality with Emily in season 2 - The cartel is, up until the kidnapping of Cristobal, in the background of Emily’s life. She didn’t see, she didn’t hear.  I think she stayed with Miguel in the hopes that he’d liquidate the cartel and go one hundred percent legit but now, he’s rising - he’s making more money and Emily’s spurring him on. Maybe because she wants to be more involved with him, close to him, move Adelita out of the way. She wants to feel needed. It’s a weird dynamic between them, like the abused wife that wants to please her man or something.

Never in control Miguel might’ve initially been a person she found to be what EZ once was - a safe harbor, a home, a lifeline. Not necessarily financial, more emotional. Emily sees Miguels way of treating her with loving words and gifts as affection, maybe she knows that there’s something else under the beautiful exterior, maybe she doesn’t. As Erin said, they choose men that are darkness personified, hinting that they seek it out, it comes naturally - almost as a way to punish themselves for not being good enough. Miguel’s affectionate behavior bleeds into darkness, or maybe his affectionate behavior is actually something sinister altogether - like he feeds on women wanting him, needing him, he uses it to get to them.

In the midst of her vulnerability Miguel displays behaviors of wanting for her to belong to him and no one else, and that’s dangerous and toxic. She doesn’t realize that behavior as problematic until season 2 - even though it starts in season 1 when he propagates to EZ that he need to leave Emily alone - because it complicates things. 

Emily’s very isolated. She has no friends, she’s got no one that’s just hers. Except for EZ when he gets out of prison, and even so, they’re not really friends either. They’re more in limbo than anything. And even though they’ve got a past - she’s got the right to spend time with whoever she wants. Or should have the right. Loyalty to a man does not derive from how few men you’re in contact with as a woman. Emily doesn’t need to go back to her man, or only stay by his side. She’s not Miguel’s property. She’s allowed to have relationships with other men - as long as she’s not actually cheating - and even if she wanted to - she’s could, it doesn’t warrant abuse of any kind.

His want for her to be a housewife - or work close by, offering her a job in his company - is toxic. Why? Well, she’s constantly under his watch, she’s doesn’t have the opportunity to make new acquaintances and friendships without those people having relations to Miguel. If Miguel were to demand information about what a person has spoken to his wife about - they’d tell him - in fear of loosing their job, or their life. Now, had Miguel not displayed other types of weird and controlling behaviors it probably wouldn’t have crossed my mind that she worked for him. It would’ve been fine.

Him having her ride with a platoon and not be left alone is, yeah, you guessed it: TOXIC. Freedom is not something that she has. You might think that Emily, just because she lives in an ocean of money and opportunity that she’s somehow free. She’s not. She has no privacy. And yeah, you could argue that Miguel’s cartel work is dangerous and therefore she needs to be protected - but at what cost? She’s constantly under the watchful eye of Miguel’s lackeys - which becomes more apparent in season 2 when Nestor’s following her every move without her knowing. They work for him - they abide to him. She doesn’t have the ability to do what ever she wants - and when she does, he abuses her, as seen in S01E05. As I said in a post that’s been deleted now: Miguel is, most of the time, abusive without actually doing it himself. He uses his staff to control her.

We’ve never actually seen Miguel give Emily any presents, probably because it’d be very stereotypical of him and Sutter and James want to avoid stereotypes. But I think he’d do something like that, considering his expensive taste in suits, cars and other things - I think he likes showing of how rich he is. 

Miguel comes of as one of those people who’d use presents to stifle someone. The wife’s mad? Get her a meaningless expensive present to shut her up and simultaneously tell her you care for her without actually asking how she’s feeling. She thinks you don’t love her? Diamonds, get her some diamonds. Diamond equals love. Him throwing all kinds of materialistic shit at her is toxic and it doesn’t matter how much he loves her because his behavior ends up being manipulative and controlling every single time. 

The comment you should be grateful feels like something that’d come out of his mouth to (and probably from people on the outside looking in). Not that many women get to live a life in luxury, he’d probably say. Like she should be grateful for something she never really asked for. 

Conclusion This became a long post - probably longer than all my posts so far - combined. There are so many red flags with Miguel and Emily - some of them so subtle you hardly notice them. In the first episode I thought they’d go the whole sugar daddy route which might seem cool and fun in theory. But it’s in fact a very common way for young women to enter prostitution so I’m glad they didn’t go that way with it and display it like it’s no big deal - it’s all fun, look at all the pretty things I get for being a companion. 

Miguel’s abusive behavior is subtle at times and yeah, he loves her and she love him, but it doesn’t matter when the relationship is so unhealthy. Writing this piece has given me a new perspective of the two as well. Emily’s desperate to not loose Miguel - why? Most likely because she’d be on her own otherwise and she’s not really ready for that and Miguel’s behavior is probably something he’s picked up from his childhood and I’m not sure he’s always aware of it. Miguel very insecure. Let’s be honest, no man comfortable within himself would ever restrain a woman’s social circle, career or freedom to roam. 

[hi-epervier]

I DIVED INTO AO3′S SASUNARU FICS AND BROUGHT YOU SOME OF MY FAVORITES AS A SOUVENIR (you’re welcome)

Please reblog and/or go support the authors directly if you like any of these recs. Some of these are already quite famous (because they’re GOOD), but I also threw in a couple hidden gems.

Asymmetry; by sowell: 

Naruto teaches Sasuke how to believe again. (complete, 7,411 words; canon setting)

Why you should read it: This really captures their relationship, the fact that it’s not pretty, not entirely healthy, but... it’s beautiful and heartwrenching. Sasuke is a petty asshole and this one made me want to give him a hug. Fair warning: if cheating squicks you, I’d rather you pass that one than make yourself uncomfortable. Naruto and Sasuke are very much caught in each other’s orbit and since they’re both complete dumbasses...there are consequences. That being said, the author’s take on all characters is nuanced and respectful. All in all, a great read. 

Blood ties; by KizuKatana:

Only one clan that he’d heard of had eyes like that. Naruto gripped the hilt of his sword tighter. He only hoped that the man facing him hadn’t heard that the alliance between their clans had fallen through. And that Naruto was the one who’d broken it. (154,078 words WIP as of July 14th, 2020; fantasy AU)

Why you should read it: GO READ THIS MASTERPIECE. I love this fic so much I could weep. Look, look. I don’t know how to convey to you how much this fucking rocks. The fate of the world kind of depends on their level of gayness for each other, and Naruto fucks it up three minutes in. But you know the actual best thing about this? Sasuke has his shit together for once. Oh, and they kick some major ass.

Dirty Little Itch; by Angelas:

It's Naruto's first day of high school. And thanks to Sasuke, first day for a lot of different stuff. (complete, 14,512 words; modern setting)

Why you should read it: Listen, I don’t rec just any high school AU. This is the good stuff!!

Flesh and Bone; by dawnstruck:

"He says we are engaged to each other, you moron." (complete, 14,343 words; canon setting)

Why you should read it: I mean, if you’re weak for the arranged marriage trope like me, this is a no brainer. 

Hokage’s Shadow; by SasuNarufan13:

They think the Hokage travelling alone makes an easy target. They really should think twice - and perhaps wonder why nobody has tried attacking him before. (complete, 3,486 words; canon setting)

Why you should read it: He protecc

Hopeless Wanderer; by dawnstruck:

Instead of fighting at the Valley of the End, Sasuke convinces Naruto to join him. Together and on the run, they develop a co-dependent relationship that blurs the lines between love and make-belief. Notes:[Single parts should be read in order.] (series, complete; canon setting)

Why you should read it: A little bit messed up and so, so good. The whole series is just *chef’s kiss*.  

if the sun and the moon should doubt; by sprx77:

It's been two weeks since their last mission.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish.” Sasuke huffs, haughty, against his skin. ( part of a series, complete, 5,305 words, can be read as a standalone; canon setting)

Why you should read it: A smutty one-shot that explores what their dynamic might be like if Sasuke never deserted the village. To spice things up a bit, I recommend reading this installment first, then checking out the prequel to discover how they ended up together to begin with. 

moving forward; by sausegay:

Where sasuke and naruto travel in a new world, sort out their feelings, and the culminating act is sasuke eating naruto's ass in the woods. (complete, 23,318 words; canon setting)

Why you should read it: ...It’s just really nice when Sasuke deals with having emotions like an halfway sane human being. And it’s really nice to have these two morons travelling together, bickering, and landing themselves into all kinds of trouble. And eating ass, I guess. 

Two Lifetimes; by KinomiAkai: 

With every passing day, it's becoming clearer and clearer that Sasuke is dead. So what else would Naruto do, if he got the chance to try all over again? (complete, 11,166 words, canon setting)

Why you should read it: Ok, so...time-travel. In Naruto fics I’m kind of iffy about that trope because it’s hard to make it work, I’m already attached to the characters and I don’t want them to land in/create alternate dimensions where their friends are not really their friends. Right? Right. This is an alternate dimension kinda fic. And it fucking works. Trust me with this one. 

Waiting for an Answer; by KinomiAkai:

After eight years of struggling, Naruto finally caves and confesses to Sasuke. But it's okay; nothing is going to change between them. Everything will be the same. ...The moment Sasuke stops bringing it up every twenty seconds, it'll be the same. (complete, 8013 words; modern setting)

Why you should read it: This is so damn cute. As much as I love pining idiots, Naruto being absolute shit at hiding his feelings gives me life. 

Warm; by reunionwillcome:

Naruto hates himself. It’s been years since he finally came to terms with his feelings for Sasuke and how they went far beyond that of pure friendship; years since they won the war and saved the world; years since Sasuke packed his bags and left the village, embarking on a journey of atonement and self-discovery which seemed to have nothing to do with Naruto whatsoever. Whoever said time heals all wounds was a fucking liar. (20,086 words WIP as of July 14th, 2020; canon setting)

Why you should read it: Angsty pining ahoy! This one is the complete opposite of the previous rec, as in, it focuses heavily on Naruto’s attempts to hide and move on from his romantic feelings for Sasuke, because he’s convinced that they’re unwelcome (they very much are not). Also, jealousy happens. Alternately: In which Sasuke expresses his feelings with slammed doors. 

When the House Falls Down; by sowell:  

When the house falls down, all that's left is to rebuild. (complete, 40,323 words; canon setting)

Why you should read it: This one broke me. ...It picks up kind of slow, at first, but that’s just so it can turn around and punch you in the face. Repeatedly.

Yearning in the Fray; by InstantKarma83:

In 1864, Kyoto, Japan, a lord and his warrior learn to overcome prejudices in order to work together. However, their biggest obstacle is choosing between duty and love. (22k+ words WIP as of July 14th, 2020; historical AU)

Why you should read it: Sasuke is a dick! Probably a kinder dick than he makes himself out to be, but, nonetheless, a (big, prejudiced, entertaining) dick. I just really love the power imbalance here, and the way we witness their lives colliding and merging (thanks, Itachi), and I can’t wait for them to tame each other, because right now? Right now, these two fuckers are not happy at all to be saddled with each other. This gave me strong ‘Tales of the Otori’ vibes.

[hmsannlett]

Some mid-S4, Mary-has-just-come-to-camp-and-things-are-tense-with-Anna thoughts coming for you that have been brewing for a while tbh.

This is an old opinion and something the fandom already almost unanimously agrees upon and has since the beginning, but I so, so wish the Anna/Abe affair hadn’t been written in. There are a many things that bug me about it, but one of the consequences of it that I think is a real shame and detriment to the show is the wedge that it drives even deeper between Mary and Anna.

In a show where female friendships are already few and far between, it’s disappointing to see what could have been an excellent dynamic be tainted by past betrayal and hurt (and the hurt is completely justified on Mary’s part, to be clear). I adore the times when Mary and Anna work together to solve issues (usually Abe’s *sigh*) and so wish we had been able to see more of that kind of female relationship – women working together to accomplish a shared goal (even if just for individual instances and not for long-term goals or a sustained friendship). Those few scenes between Mary and Anna are a breath of fresh air within the larger context of the fairly catty relationships we see between women – but even then, the cloud of Abe’s and Anna’s affair hangs over the Mary and Anna scenes, even if it isn’t mentioned in dialogue.

I know the show tried to create a female friendship with Anna and Abigail, but it’s always felt off and unevenly-written to me, not to mention being pretty implausible historically. The power imbalance between them even after Abigail is freed is too significant for a genuine friendship between them to exist, which is something the show does seem to try to hint at every so often, but it’s inconsistent with their bonding and having close conversations (esp. Anna’s begging Abigail in S1).

And the same goes for Peggy and Abigail. Peggy has moments of seeming-understanding for Abigail, but when it benefits her to, she pulls the white authority card and uses her privilege against Abigail. Again, not really a friendship, even though Peggy confides in Abigail often (which is probably more because she knows Abigail won’t talk). Note that Abigail rarely does the same. Though Abigail cares for Peggy and seems to feel some measure of closeness, she certainly does not feel like the best of friends with Peggy (and understandably so, given how Peggy has no problem showing Abigail her “place”), as shown in her body language in each scene with Peggy and constant verbal deference to her.

All this to say, it would have been impossible to make Abigail have a genuine, reciprocal friendship with either Anna or Peggy, given the societal dynamics of the time and their respective positions of power over her. (Now, would I have loved to have seen a historically accurate, genuine female friendship for her? Absolutely!! Abigail deserves all the good things and way more screen time.)

And...that’s about it in the way of female friendships in the show. Yes, Mary and Ann Bates have a “friendship” from Ann’s perspective, but it’s short-lived and duplicitous. Ann and Hester are friends, but their friendship largely consists of gossiping about Anna and conniving against her. Peggy and her friends/sisters aren’t shown very often, but even when they are, it’s usually Peggy having the upper hand in the scene or her friends/sisters automatically deferring to her, with no expression of mutual friendship. Mary’s sewing circle is more about gossip, smearing people, and using Mary to gain information than any actual bonding among women. And don’t even get me started on Peggy/Philomena. It’s Mary/Anna on steroids.

One could argue that all of the twisted dynamics of the female relationships in the show are because it’s a show about war (and one about spying and distrust, no less), and everyone is working their own agenda for their own ends or for their side. But I don’t think that argument holds water. With the male characters allowed friendships like the ones between Ben/Caleb, Ben/Caleb/Abe, Richard/Hewlett, Ben/Selah, even Ben/Caleb/Sackett (even though it’s more of a mentor dynamic), it’s deeply disappointing that the women are portrayed as being so divisive and self-serving.

One could also point out that all of those friendships are between men who are on the same sides as each other, so of course they would get along well compared to Mary/Anna, but to that I have to point to Ben and Andre. They couldn’t be even more of rivals if they tried – and yet they are still able to meet each other with mutual respect and appreciation for the other’s work and role (not friendship, of course, but still a heck of a lot more respect than the women typically show for each other). And, yes, one could further argue on this point that it’s just 18th century military decorum to treat a captured enemy officer with respect, but, as we see in the show, that isn’t guaranteed and certainly isn’t always followed. I do realize that there is historical precedent for Ben and Andre’s respect for each other, but Turn isn’t exactly known for keeping to the facts – ergo, the show made a deliberate choice to keep this respect between rivals historically accurate. Their respect for each other proves that it is possible for two people on opposing sides to respect each other and the other’s character – as could have been possible with Mary and Anna if the Abe debacle hadn’t happened.

This is more of a rant than an argument, I realize, and I know I’m beating the proverbial dead horse here. But I’m just tired of the trope that women always have to be fighting each other or stabbing each other in the back, rather than exploring the possibility that women can actually, just maybe, perhaps have genuine friendships and interactions with each other – free of jealousy, bitterness, cattiness, and all the other ugly emotional/social weapons women are always portrayed as wielding against each other.

Why can’t we have women spying together; uniting to help the war effort; helping each other deal with loss; heck, even just helping each other mentally and emotionally get through, you know, a war taking place on their doorsteps? Or just...talking to each other. Like women do. Without venom or spite. Without ulterior motives. I’m not wishing we had more female characters or friendships (though that would be nice), just that the ones we did have didn’t conform to typical media stereotypes/tropes.

Yes, war has historically been the dominion of men for millennia, but it’s women who have always held society together while the men are away; women who must support each other through stress, worry, loss, and grief when their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers are away from home and dying. And in a show that is about female spies being just as important to the war as male spies, I wish women’s friendships and relationships with each other had been shown to be as important and reciprocal as the men’s were. For a show that is so focused on the home front, women’s lives should be pretty significant and important – and that means a holistic view of their lives.

I love Turn, don’t get me wrong, and I think it did excellent showing strong, smart, everyday women doing the best they could to fight for their beliefs within the restrictions of their time. I just wish we could have seen women interacting with each other in a healthy, normal dynamic while doing so. Mary and Anna would have been perfect for this, I think, but evidently the Setauket Soap Opera was more important. And that’s a shame. If women’s stories are going to be told, they deserve to be told fully.

tl;dr: The women deserved better.