#but it's starting to feel like smashing barbies together

[the-cookie-of-doom]

Im writing this smut scene and it's from Kim's PoV, but he's so horny on main that it feels like he's taking advantage of Chay even though he ISNT but im kjahdfksdf what did I do???

[cybertron-smash-or-pass]

A bit of a loaded question, I know, but do you have any TF ships you prefer and would like to share?

I need you to be aware that you're opening pandora's box here. The vibes range anywhere from "god this is hot" to "god this is cute" to "their dynamic is so fucking interesting and i want to study them under laboratory conditions" to "this hurts so much and I need the drama, I am CRYING" to smashing barbie dolls together. I have crackships you ain't even THOUGHT about. I throw ships at the wall just to see if they stick. I like a lot of ships. Arguably too damn many. So many that I'm putting this under a cut to spare people from the long post. So many that I have to sort them by continuity so you're not staring at an unorganized list longer than do you love the color of the sky.

TFA

shockbee I feel has a lot of the potential for shockwave fearing what happens when bee finds out he's not longarm. Like a lot of the scenes in auto boot camp read to me like shockwave really did want bee as an ally while he climbs the ranks, and there's some juicy potential for shocker starting out as just using him until he actually catches feelings. Especially in aus where bee really did join the elite guard. Like can you imagine the drama. The heartbreak. The trust issues. Bee realizing he never really knew the guy he could trust most. Wondering if he's even safe to be around. If anything was even real. Shockwave wondering the same things. Hhhhhhhhh.

I do enjoy shockblurr conceptually but I'm not crazy about how they're usually portrayed in the fandom bc I feel like we're all forgetting that shockwave is a ball of anxiety and murder, and Blurr is a straight laced fuckin nerd who can't shut his mouth. An overpowered, highly capable nerd, but a nerd still. I like what the artist katzske does with them a lot tho.

I'm also a blitzbee enjoyer but on a less "bee can fix him and itll be so sweet" level and more "god imagine how annoying they'd be together." Looney Tunes levels of fucking with people. Either that or bumblebee is just horny on main and really likes the thought of bagging a con, but then he goes and catches feelings.

prowlbulk owns my entire heart. They're so sweet on each other and prowl really respects and appreciates bulkhead way more than bulky's used to. And bulkhead admires so much of prowl's skill and perspective. They work so well together as a couple and it's fucking adorable. With a hint of tragedy bc. Well. You know.

Bulkbee is also incredibly cute bc I'm a sucker for besties that very slowly realize they love each other so much it makes them look stupid. Good in romantic or qpr flavors. Bee already climbs all over bulkhead like a squirrel, they're so fuckin affectionate and very very stupid in social settings.

I like Optimus and blackarachnia from a drama standpoint bc God. They are tragic. They are MESSY. I genuinely think there's no happy ending for them. The trust is gone. But they still miss each other so much and they just CANT move on, so they keep stringing each other along. They're just hurting themselves and each other every time one does anything nice for the other. It's the kinda shit that just slowly rips your heart out. OP please don't text your ex. OP pLEASE

Megop is a classic but I feel we as a fandom underutilize how much Optimus pisses off Megatron. He is an asshole cat knocking shit off the counter for attention. Megs lets him be worse when he is so so fucking tired of being good. He loves that he hates him and he hates that he loves him. Full on "my esteemed rival" "dearly detested." Fighting each other is cathartic and addictive. Megatron finds it infuriating but he can't deny how much he likes having a worthy opponent, how fitting it is that the cosmos sent him so deadly a nemesis, and yet how lame it is that he was so forgettable at first so now he feels dumb being mildly obsessed with him. Optimus is just glad he has someone who doesn't expect him to be perfect and nice and upstanding. He can vent out a lot of his less noble feelings or impulses that he's had completely repressed for ages. The pressure's off in a lot of ways. And I think in an enemies to lovers sense, watching them figure out how to make that setup and that very odd mutual desire to be in each other's lives into something healthier could be really compelling. Or tragic in a "why did I let myself need you? Why the fuck did I let myself need you?" way.

Beeprowl is funny but I only really like it in a "you annoy me SO MUCH let's make out about it" way. Nothing committed, just dispelling the tension without having to kill each other. It is just kinda nice seeing them have genuinely sweet moments though. Squidbob ass relationship.

Lugnut and Strika are the perfect Decepticon power couple and I love them so much. So very much. Lugnut loves his big terrifying wife capable of leveling cities, and she loves her sweet devoted husband who could throw her across the room. I think they break chairs over each other's heads for fun and have been trying to seduce Megatron into a threesome for ages.

Shockwave and Megatron are also incredibly good. The loyalty. The "I commit my whole existence to you. I am yours, in mind body and soul. I will go wherever you need me to, I will put myself in immeasurable danger for you, just please say I'm doing a good job" and "all my efforts would be lost without you. In a world where I have been vulnerable and terrified, where I have been stabbed in the back by people I thought I could wholly trust, I can look at you and know, unwaveringly, you won't do the same. I trust you completely." It's Delicious. It's absolutely codependent but god it's tasty.

Also honestly? Bulkhead and the constructicons could make a pretty cute throuple. He wants them to be better. They want him to be worse. He just wants them to do honest work and they want him to stop letting stuffy, elitist autobot society control him so much. They love each other, they're friends (even if the constructicons don't totally remember the first night they met him). And they really do enjoy each other's company. They're just guys being dudes. Just dudes being guys. Just guys being gays. (It's also just nice when bulkhead gets to be the smaller one, scrapper totally carries him around like a big ol' cat).

I really like prowl being torn between lockdown and jazz. They're the devil and angel on his shoulders. Lockdown tempting him into relapsing, feeling himself fall into old habits, forsaking everything he's learned about patience and respect and being conscientious of the world around him. Jazz picking him back up when he slips, making him WANT to keep being better. And prowl can't decide if he wants to be loved in spite of all his toxic traits or BECAUSE of them. It's got me in a chokehold, your honor.

Megastar is fun in tfa because 1. It's implied Megatron never actually abused starscream while they were on the same side (the first thing starscream says after waking up from being shot is "YOU DARE STRIKE ME, MEGATRON?" which reads to me like this is a new development). Megs doesn't actually hurt anyone working for him other than Sumdac, who he fucking hates (at least not on-screen), and the only reason he was as aggro to starscream post-revival was because he knew screamer is the reason he spent all that fucking time as just a severed head. He used to actually trust him, sort of, even if he was a scheming, sycophantic little weasel. And 2. It's pretty obvious they have history together. I genuinely truly believe they were exes and Starscream only planted a bomb on him because he couldn't be fucking normal about the divorce. You look at how they bitch at each other in deep space and then immediately fall into what is most likely their old dynamic of getting things done and shooting the shit and tell me they never had an intense romantic stint that went horribly wrong. Starscream calls him Meggy in his internal logs for fucks sake.

Ratchet x Arcee are also very very cute together. Old married dorks. Ratchet's so soft with her and he wants her to be okay. She genuinely likes him and he makes the nightmare she's subjected herself to bearable. "Don't call me sir, I work for a living!" They're both horrifically traumatized, they understand each other on a level most bots can't, and they can ground each other when it gets bad. God. You know they're slow dancing in the kitchen together. You know they're sickeningly domestic with each other. They are holding hands in the park on a comically small bench on earth right as we SPEAK.

Oh also sumdac x megatron. It started as a crackship of mine but I really love the idea of sumdac feeling legitimately guilty for taking Megatron apart and unknowingly violating him the way he did, even if Megatron is terrible. Like the dynamic of "you lied to me" "if I told you who I really was, I would be dead. I don't owe you the truth when you held me captive. I was vulnerable. I was TERRIFIED. I did what I had to in order to keep myself safe. And you come to ME with accusations of doing you wrong? When YOU held all the power? And then when I'd taken back the power you left me without, made you feel what I felt, I'm a monster?" "I never meant to hurt you" "Well you did. And now you know just how much damage you did." Like it's such an interesting angle, ESPECIALLY when you consider that sumdac probably grew to legitimately care about Megatron while he was in his lab. He wanted to do right by him. He wanted to see him restored and thriving. He was his robot buddy that made a birthday gift for his kid once. Some part of him probably misses him after he's gone, some part of him probably feels guilty too, even through all the rage and hurt and fear and betrayal. That's complicated feelings!! That's juicy!!!!!

I like the thought of Shockwave and Optimus but that's mostly for sexy reasons. Something about a big, smooth talking, scary cryptid monster, very well spoken and elegant, seducing Good, Upstanding Autobot Optimus to The Dark Side. This is mostly because Optimus is a huge nerd and so is Shockwave. I think Shockwave could potentially pique his interest with uncensored versions of the history Optimus is already a huge dweeb about, and seal the deal with a few gentle touches and honeyed words. From Optimus's perspective this is Very Obviously a Honeypot Trap but the trouble is Shockwave is very hot and very sweet on him and starting to seem less and less evil so he's not sure how long he can keep his guard up when the temptation is this strong. He has a duty to fight Decepticons and shut out their lies but man. He's so tired. And Shockwave's berth is very warm. There is something satisfying about seeing him choose to be selfish after nearly a whole show of him taking the high road. (It's even better if he gets attached when eventually Shockwave's Cool Sexy Collected vibes falter and he sees how much of an anxious, panicky dork he actually is)

I also just kind of like the idea of team prime being a polycule (other than ratchet, who is just watching the young bots having relationship drama and rolling his optics (the age gap and mentor role make me personally a little uncomfortable but I have nothing against people who do include him, they're all adults, its chill)). I like the thought of these losers getting home after a long day and collapsing into a cuddle pile, either on the couch or on the floor. They all love each other so much already, I think they should kiss about it, but they're super repressed so it's So Very Shy and Cautious and Sweet.

The same goes for the Decepticons but more in a "cons are pretty casual about sex anyway, they're in close proximity, and they tolerate each other at least so nearly everyone has a fuck buds setup with each other" way. I feel like the autobots are super repressed in that regard so the cons started leaning into being sluts to stick it to the mech along with all the other freaks shit they're cool with. God help Blackarachnia, she goes from Autobot repression to all her coworkers being sluts on main and she Does Not Know what to do about that (also it would make a lot of sense if that's why she started leaning into the femme fatale thing so hard)

TFP

Megop is also Very Good here. Literally the most divorced robots to ever exist. Megatron NEEDS Optimus back and Optimus still holds a torch for megs, but it's so fucking funny because they're clearly on fundamentally different levels of "I miss you." Like Optimus is kinda sad and he does want the old Megatronus back, but Megatron does these whole fuckin elaborate stunts to get Optimus to pay attention to him again and then locks himself in his room with a pint of ice cream and dark energon to cry about him. Mans is NOT coping. Alternatively, Optimus is coping just as poorly on the inside and he really does still love Megatron just as much but he knows that's a selfish desire that he quiets with everything else he sacrifices about himself in the name of being a good leader. Least repressed Optimus.

Optiratch my beloved. Gay old men who would do anything for each other, even when they really don't agree on how to proceed. They're best friends, they're husbands, they're crushing on each other and they think it's unrequited, they just started dating, they've been married for eons. All of it works soooo well. They know each other well enough that they can communicate by just kinda grunting in specific ways. I need them to hold hands SO bad.

Bulkhead and wheeljack should get to kiss on the mouth I think. If Arcee can call Wheeljack Bulkhead's boyfriend, and bulkhead does not deny it, logic dictates they should in fact French kiss sloppy style for a whole minute on live TV. It can happen. Only on the hub.

KOBD are adorable together, they are so unhinged and stupid and they love each other so much. Like the team rocket of the nemesis. Breakdown loves his husband soooo much and knockout misses him so bad when Silas gets him. And you KNOW they're freaks bc knockout is totally convinced that breakdown would've loved seeing how he torments Silas in bd's body. He's probably right about it too.

I also wholly support Ms. June Darby for trying to seduce Optimus. Me too girl, get that robo ass. Go get jack a new cooler dad. It's also very cute to imagine Optimus, the bigass 30 foot robot, the stoic leader of the Autobots who keeps stonefaced through just about anything, flustered and crushing on a very small and very flirty human.

For some reason the show was kind of trying to tease Bulkhead x Arcee for exactly one episode and then never again and like. Look. I understand it was a forced het ship that was there to distract people from how gay they accidentally made the show. I know it'd probably just be Arcee rebounding after losing Cliffjumper. But I think them having a fwb type relationship while she works through her feelings could be interesting. Though this could just be because Bulkhead is big sweet and comforting and him holding anyone and making them feel safe while they're Going Through it is enough to get me saying God I Wish That Were Me.

Bumblebee and Smokescreen appeal to me in the same way seemingly very hetero frat bros who are apparently a very sweet and affectionate gay couple do. It's an inherently funny irony and also theyre just both cute himbos.

TFP Megastar is horrifically unhealthy in general and there is absolutely no way in hell it could work out. Not pre-war, not post-megs-redemption, nada. Which is why it has my brain in a chokehold. This is one of the ships I like because it's fascinating and because god it HURTS. Like I have my gripes with how the show portrayed the abuse overall but there were some things they were cooking with. Starscream being an obvious victim but then turning around and inflicting it on everyone around him? Girl no, the cycle of violence and abuse!!!! Girl no, you're refusing to do the complex emotional work of accepting that what happened to you wasnt okay and thus you carry out the behaviors you've gaslit yourself into thinking are normal!!!!!! Girl no, society has failed you and you have no support systems to help you break the cycles, but you also simply refuse to try in the first place because your pride wouldn't allow it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cortical psychic patch was literally my fave showcase of their dynamic in the whole show. "I don't want to play this game anymore!" Like jfc ouch. Also the thought of post redemption Megatron lamenting how he treated Starscream, not having considered the damage he's done to him before now. Trying to make it right and only making it all worse by inserting himself into Starscream's life again and realizing how badly he's broken him, how fucked it is that Starscream seems to revere him after EVERYTHING. God. GOD. I'm in agony.

Rescue Bots

Speaking of starscream in the cycle of abuse, KOSS has postcanon potential. (Post Predacons Rising, rid does not exist 😌) Like. They've proven they feel some type of way about each other. "I've always admired your lustrous finish." "😏" But Knockout was the first person in starscream's life to set a boundary in a healthy way. And when starscream inevitably ignores those boundaries and knockout leaves, you know how much it fucking hurts starscream to realize how badly he fucked up. But of course, the pride. He can't apologize. Can't admit he's the reason knockout betrayed him. So he'll choke back the tears. He'll try to, anyway. But he can't stop the agony in his voice while he feebly spits out "Fine! I hope Unicron eats you too!!" You know the second they shut the door on him, the waterworks started, and so did the closest thing to self reflection Starscream's ever done. He Has the Potential to be Better with Knockout, but he NEEDS to put in the work, and the suspense of wondering if he WILL fucks my whole shit up.

It is so close to canon that blades and bumblebee are boyfriends. Hell I believe it pretty much IS canon. He loves that bug so much. He gets jealous when he hangs out with Dani and not him. He hugs him for a photo the first chance he gets. And since we know blades is confirmed as being into dudes, I think we all know what they were getting at. TFP bumblebee has an anxious twink boyfriend that lives in Maine and we have no idea whatsoever if the rest of team prime knows.

Graham and boulder pine for each other like you would not believe. Once again, pretty much canon. You can't just have boulder keep telling Graham "well I like you just how you are" when Graham's trying to impress a girl and expect me to not think he has a big stupid gay crush on his best friend. They love each other so much as partners and as friends, I know damn well they'd be SICKENINGLY cute together as boyfriends. They'd probably try to stealth it at first bc a human and a giant robot alien in love? What'll the others think?? Gotta keep it secret. Sneaking off into the woods so Boulder can work on his "art projects" but in fact they are kissing. They're not as slick as they think they are, Chief Burns 100% picks up what's going on but he lets them think they're sneaky. Nobody actually has any problems with it other than Kade making fun of them a little but don't worry that's just him projecting.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Heatwave and Kade are the worst fucking tsunderes about crushing on each other. Between heatwave refusing to let down the brooding tough guy persona and kade being so insistent on staying hyper masculine (to the point where mild internalized homophobia is inevitable), neither of them can just be honest about how much they mean to each other and they gotta resort to getting each other's attention by being mean in very low stakes ways. I am drowning, there is no sign of land, you are coming down with me, hand in unloveable hand, except they're not drowning and they're just dunking each other in a kiddie pool repeatedly.

Heatwave and quickshadow are fun for similar reasons but with less shit lord pranks and/or lowbrow bitching, and more classy verbal sniping and sparring with each other because heatwave thinks it's hot when quickshadow kicks his ass. They're insufferably competitive and I think that could be very fun and incredibly messy, especially since they both need to learn how to communicate. Very bisexual, they are forced to share the brain cell, 10/10

I also just enjoy the idea of all the bots being in a polycule the same way I like the idea for TFA's team prime. They're very sweet together and they clearly care about each other a lot. Its just kind of nice when they all hold hands together, you feel me? They're sneaking off to kiss in the bunker bc they don't know if the humans know dudes can like other dudes. They are also not as subtle as they think they are.

Oh also doc Greene and chief burns dated once when they were teenagers and it didn't work out but they stayed besties, nobody can change my mind on this.

Beast Wars

Dinobot and Megatron are exes, 100%. Dinobot is probably the only being in the known universe that Megatron actually kind of cares about other than himself and his rubber duck. Otherwise he wouldn't keep trying to fucking clone him to make a version that will never leave him. There's also some implications here and there that Megatron really did want the world to be better for Predacons (along with the desire for power, anyway) and that preds are genuinely treated unfairly, so there's a pretty compelling angle of dinobot having been drawn to megatron because he saw someone with noble goals and a way to fix their fucked up world before becoming disillusioned with the dishonorable tyrant he turned out to be.

Dinobot and Optimus are also very good together bc it really truly feels like Dinobot finally found the guy with honor he thought he saw in Megatron. And he's infuriating half the time because he isn't nearly as bloodthirsty as he's used to, but GODDAMN does he make him Feel Things. The entire episode Gorilla Warfare has me obsessed with them. The bitching. Dinobot freaking the fuck out and Optimus tenderly removing the seed pod stuck to the back of his neck that was freaking him out and only laughing at him a little. Dinobot constantly trying to choose violence. The stupid smile when Optimus also chooses violence and Dinobot realizes he fucked up. THE BEDSIDE VIGIL. "It was my shift" AND YOU KNOW THEY WEREN'T TAKING SHIFTS. THE FLOWER ON THE BEDSIDE TABLE. "it is good to have you back." "Back home or back to normal?" "...both." THEY'RE HOMOSEXUAL, YOUR HONOR.

Dinobot (shit maybe I just really like dinobot) with Rattrap is good for similar reasons but the vibes are totally different. DoOp is all soft and sweet and patient and light ribbing, Dinotrap is talking shit at each other as a love language. Dinobot is a good guy but he's also, fundamentally, a bitch. Rattrap has proven he can match his freak by bitching right back. They love each other by pretending to hate each other. To the point where if Rattrap doesn't hear any comebacks he genuinely starts worrying because "oh, we aren't playing the game, why aren't you playing, are you okay?" They have so many soft tender moments where they prove they actually love each other. Their last conversation is talking shit!!!! "You're just a slag spouting saurian, but it's nice to know where you stand." "Upwind of you for preference, rodent." They loved each other!!!!!! Rattrap is fucked up over losing him!!!!!!!!!!! It's bittersweet, it's tragic, it hurts so bad and I love them so much!!!! They're stupid your honor!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a much sillier side, I do love Rattrap x Rhinox. Rattrap kissed that man twice. On the mouth. On screen. Annoying little gremlin who goes "nyehhhh" x big stoic dude who goes "hn." And they're both tech guys so they probably work on projects together a lot. And they all survive and are fine bc beast machines isnt real 💖

I have my problems with Silverbolt in general but I cannot deny that he and Blackarachnia are pretty damn cute together. He loves his girlfriend, they trash her shitty ex together, she loves that he doesn't try to change her. She gets to be the bad girl and the sweet knight in shining armor still loves her. "Dark poison of my heart" like c'mon.

Airazor and Tigatron are also pretty cute AND they have the honor of being the first canon gay couple in the tf franchise bc of the Japanese dub, which made Airazor a dude but left the romance unchanged (the Japanese dub was also just generally fuckin insane tho so it's not all that shocking).

Waspinator and Terrorsaur are boyfriends for real and for canon, John hasbro told me himself.

RiD 2001

I ship skybyte with that one girl that lives in a state of constant talking-car-based torment. Why? Because when I watched rid with my roommate we had a running joke that eventually they'd meet and have a whole robotfucker romcom arc and it kinda just stuck. This is my only rid ship and I will not be taking criticism on it.

Cyberverse

Bumblebee, Hot Rod and Cheetor are in a polycule together and nobody can tell me they aren't. Just how it's gotta be.

I want Perceptor and Dead End to kiss so badly. They're technically canon already given how hard the creators ship them. They hold hands your honor. "only a bolthead would go out there... UGH I'm such a BOLTHEAD" HES IN LOVE YOUR HONOR.

Hot Rod and Soundwave are great as enemies to lovers, they're so annoying 💖. I feel like they'd start playing gay chicken and be married with three kids wondering when the other guy is gonna back out.

SHOCKWAVE AND WHEELJACK OH MY GOD. fellas is it gay to program your drones which are just tiny versions of your own altmode to dance funny to Tetris music specifically because it makes your lame ass boyfriend laugh and then keep that function eons after you break up and still remember exactly what the command is? Fellas is it gay to get kidnapped by your ex and then get really excited about all the cool shit he's been making while you were separated? I wish they could've gotten a happy ending man, they could've been so cute together.

I don't ship it romantically but I believe in Grimlock & Arcee qpr. They love each other so so much they would've readily died for each other. I love their dynamic, they're insane 💖

Same goes for Shadowstriker and Soundwave tbh. Decepticon besties, and Shadowstriker being aro kinda just feels right. I like to think they cuddle and talk shit about Shockwave while Sounders blasts heavy metal. They play cod as the most insufferable duo.

Megop in cyberverse is so good because it really feels like they Had a relationship but it was unstable and moved too fast and they just assumed they were on the same page about things without communicating properly until suddenly they were in serious disagreement, and TRIED to work it out in a mature way but they were simply Doomed From the Start. And then it culminates in a whole fucking war but it rages so long, and they are so tired of fighting, and they realize they want to try again because nobody was really to blame for how things ended because they both handled it poorly. I wish they got that chance to try again properly. I wish when Optimus retired to just fuck around and vibe, he could've taken Megatron with him. I wish they could've fallen in love all over again.

Oh also Slipstream and Windblade being lesbian enemies to lovers bait was Fucking Phenomenal and I Love it So Much. They're smug and terrible and I want them to make out. They can make each other worse 💖

G1

I have not seen that much of g1 but I do know a few things are absolute truth.

Soundwave is gay for Megatron. This is arguably reciprocated.

Shockwave is gay for Megatron. This is not reciprocated but it is taken advantage of.

Starscream vacillates between gay for Megatron and trying to kill him. Megatron seems to reciprocate but only a little bit. Enough to keep him alive because he's cute. But megs also gets a lot of cuteness aggression so he feels the need to chuck starscream against the wall every now and then.

Powerglide and Astoria are tied for the pinnacle of robot on human romance in the entire tf franchise with Tracks and Raul, and if none of them come back in ANY tf media, I will riot.

Cliffjumper and Mirage have fucked at least once.

Wheeljack and Ratchet are gay married.

Optimus is bisexual and he loves elita-1 but there is something distinctly homoerotic going on with Megatron.

Conclusion

I like when the robots kiss <3

[lizardkingeliot]

currently working on a honeymoon-era loustat fic and a rockstar lestat-era loustat fic (and something else set very early in season one that i'm just thinking of as "the amnesia fic" but i've set that aside temporarily) and i decided the other night i'm going to have to write a sequel to my reunion fic and i'm also at that phase in The Obsession where more new ideas are coming to me constantly so i had to start a doc just to keep track of them all and it's nice to feel so inspired but god i wish i had more time to write my life would be so much easier if i could just stay in the fanfic docs all day smashing louis and lestat together like barbie dolls...

anyway i'm hoping to have the rockstar lestat fic finished first because it's likely going to be under 5k (famous last words i know lol) and the line (several lines really lol) i've been trying to work out for dayssss to get the ~action moving along finally came to me this morning and hoooo boy... 😈

[animentality]

What is it about durgetash that makes us all crazy?

Like I know there are Astarion girlies and Gale girlies, but I swear to God, Durgetash in particular just...I feel like your brain has to operate on a different level.

You have to be sick, twisted, deranged, and demented.

You had to have not only picked the dark urge, which I think most people just don't, but you'd also have to be delusional enough to see Gortash's cunty little manprowl around your character as sexually charged and psychotically obsessed.

And then you'd have to wave away the dark urge's many many atrocities and see them as a pathetic blood soaked murder kitten and a BLORBO, which most people wouldn't.

And then you'd smash your little evil toys together like Barbies and say look at them look at their love wrought with tragedy I am so normal I am so moral.

Durgetash would then infect your brain like a tadpole and then you really start to feel the madness seep in as you consider how well these two really know each other and then it's over you're done. Your sanity is gone.

[the0retically]

The Suckening #11: Bloodbound:

What an episode I’m so—oof!!

- Grizz’s regular voice just talking is so strange

- A tick on Bebo’s balls??

- These intros are insane

- “So he was getting to the center of that tootsie pop!” CONDI??

- The music :)

- I forgot about taylor oh my god

- Oh now Taylor swift, Charlie is so done

- “How do you contribute?” “I don’t.” “What???”

- Willpower of 2?? The influencers please

- This is insanity, why is shilo joining in the vlogs?

- “Grefgore and Arthur just kill them” PLEASE??

- Shilo sending Grefgore to kill the guys with contracts oh my god

- Arthur just hating the influencers is so so funny

- “I want to go to the twins” “you keep mentioning these twins who are they?” “Do you want to come with” PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

- CHARLIE?? WHAT VOICE IS THAT

- He’s just Mickey Mouse??

- Station wagon 5??

- Charlie being like “yeah you’re on a bunch of cameras :)” scary

- Charlie please stop whimpering

- Wait Taylor isn’t an actual werewolf??

- OH WAIT NO HE IS he just wanted to be closer to Jacob please

- Love how they have Taylor on the team now

- “I’m the real Taylor Launter from movies and I’m gonna help you” PLEASE?

- Deacon?

- LAZARUS??????

- HUH?

- NO EDWARD NO NO NO NO NO NO

- Oh no he walks inside???

- God this is so bad

- “This is like the time I looked at the sky and everything went horrible” OH GOD

- These rolls are so bad today

- THEO

- …..somethings weird oh god yeah it’s been a month

- Oh :( he’s doing so well!

- ……is that Edwards theme right now?

- HES BEEN KILLING VAMPIRES?

- LETS GO THOUGH?? HES A BADASS I LOVE HIM!! HES UNITED THE DEMONS AND FANGS!!

- I love emizel and theo so much

- OH WAIT YEAH HE HAS HOLY WATER IN HIS WATER BOTTLE OH MY GOD

- :((( they’re gonna play smash together

- “On the moon?” “Is this still on the moon?” “The moon?” PLEASE THEO

- ……I feel like humans have the twilight phones too theo don’t kill humans please

- “The dangs” I love that

- ……….they don’t know what’s going on with shilo oh god

- …..he’s back in the Tiktok house?

- OH MY GOD ARTHUR IS SO WORRIED HES LIKE A PARENT OH MY GOD

- Any ghosts???

- SPIRITS TOUCH ON THE WRISTBAND!!! CHARLIE LOSING IT TOO OH MY GOD I LOVE THAT

- Oh FUCK shilo had the files AND Arthur got all successes on the spirit touch

- “And do everything we talked about” excuse me??

- God the Edward theme is so so good

- IS IT THE TWINS?

- WHAT NO NO NO TWO FIGURES LOOK LIKE EDWARD TWILIGHT

- WHAT???

- THERE IS JUST AN ARMY ON EDWARDS

- “He’s gonna turn the city of LA into Edward twilight” OH MY GOD

- “Who do we want to start with?” “Emizel”

- “It was tough out there being a baby mechanic” oh my god

- WEYLIN TWINS TIME!!!!!!!!!

- I LOVE THEMMMMMMM

- Love that they upped security

- :) hi vex

- ??????? A monitor?

- :(((( the twins are just on the monitor? Please!!

- I love them :)

- WHAT THE THINGS ARE FROM JEFFREY?? EMIZEL IS LIKE WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?? OH MY GOD VIV AND VEX TRIED SO HARD TO BE SCARY AND IT JUST DIDNT WORK OUT??

- “I’m like a Barbie doll” WHAT???

- PLEASE GET THE WEYLINS ON YOUR SIDE

- “See you soon…emizel” “I know you knew my name” oh my god please

- I LOVE THE WEYLINS!!!!

- I love the banter between them and emizel it’s so fun

- They’re bonding over being twins!!

- EMIZEL???? WHY ARE YOU OFFERING THEM TO EXPERIMENT ON YOU

- ……….he wants them to be in different places for the party oh god emizel

- BUT THE WEYLINS ARE AGREEING I LOVE THIS

- :)))))) god I love the weylins

- Vex you’re so so cool

- I’d willingly let myself be experimented on by him I’m being so real

- Bizly trying to teach Condi how to do the accent is fun

- …magus :(

- “I saw her dirty blonde hair, the same as my mother” hmmm

- Who did magnus staked?

- The music is so good and peaceful

- “See you soon Sam? -Mr bennet” huh???

- Mary?? Oh my god she’s Bloody Mary

- Oh god Mary just fully attacked him

- Oh she’s so cute and fun I love her already

- This is so sad :( Mary

- Condi sounded so defeated when Mary said Edward called it the twilight zone

- ……..Arthur what do you mean you’d be pulled in to be with her

- That convo was so fun

- NO SHILO HE BOTCHED IT

- Oh fuck

- That was so sudden

- Deacon!!

- Love how angry shilo is that deacon lied to him

- And now shilo is being arrested

- BUT DEACONS PUTTING ON A SHOW!!

- Love how both shilo and emizel have the idea to switch spots

- …who just whispered help??

- God emizel is so fucking funny

- TWIN TIMES

- “As long as I don’t see them and think of my younger siblings” Arthur :(

- Let’s go!!! Grizz gets to meet them!

- ARTHUR CAN SET PEOPLE ON FIRE WITH HIS MIND????? EXCUSE ME

- Love how the twins just got kidnapped by breekon and hope

- VEX AND VIV!!!!!!! HI :)!!!!!!

- Charlie just being SO confused by Arthur knocking on the door is SO FUNNY OH MY GOD?

- Nicknames for each other!!

- THEY POSE FOR THEM TO GIVE THEM NICKNAMES THATS SO CUTE

- WIMBLEDON AND WAMBLEDON

- PLEASE THEYRE REACTIONS TO ARTHUR :((

- THEYRE GONNA FIX ARTHUR??

- Love how Grizz is just Giddy about this because me too

- GOD!! Love vex so much

- HES PLAYING THE CLIMB!!!!!!!!! YES!!!

- I love this scene so so much

- It’s so visceral but I love this so much

- Condi is popping off with the voice acting though holy shit

- NO CHARLIES LAUGH WHEN EMIZEL ASKED IF HE WAS MAKIKG CLONES OH GOD

- “It’s more of a live event” “Edward on ice?” “God I wish”

- Vex just sounds so tired and so confused oh my god

- this is so funny oh my god “what is this feeling? Disappointment??”

- THE SAME FUCKING QUESTION FOR HANNAH OR MILEY OH MY GOD

- PLEASE VIV WHAT????

- SHES SO FUNNY

- She’s very very interesting. She’s obviously not happy about working for Edward, hmm

- The music in the background here is amazing and fits the scene perfectly

- I never thought I’d love Arthur and Viv’s friendship that’s starting up

- :( he’s letting her choose how he looks :( that’s actually so sweet

- I like how viv’s work is warm and nice, while vex’s is just brutal, it’s interesting to see their differences in their work

- …..emizel and shilo sound like each other now

- ITS FORTNIGHT?? NO OK YEAH ITS THE TWILIGHT ZONE WAIT ITS THE HUNGER GAMES HUH????? HUH???? OH MY GOD

- SHILO IS GONNA BE IN THE GAME BECAUSE HES NOT RHE VIP ANYMORE

- Oh my god I—goodness

[lemonsrosesandlavender]

Do you have any writing advice for a new aspiring writer of smutty tiefling fanfiction? I just want to smash my barbies together and share the results with the world!

First things first, I’m very flattered to be asked for writing advice! Thank you so much ❤️ And smut in particular? Hell yeah.

Before we proceed: all of this advice is given with a heavy dose of what I like to write and read, so if you think “but I like stories that do that!” then that is entirely valid. I can only speak from my own perspective.

Disclaimers out of the way, let’s get started!

1. First things first, and perhaps most vital: write what turns you on, without apology. When I started writing Sharp Teeth, I felt kind of embarrassed about how dominant I (and thus my reader insert) felt towards Rolan. So I hedged. After writing that Tav wanted to pull Rolan’s hair, I wrote that she wanted him to do that to her too; when I wrote her wanting to throw Rolan on a counter and fuck him, I appended that she wanted to be possessed by Rolan too. Looking back on it now, it’s a testament to how much more comfortable I’ve become talking about my kinkiness, but it definitely diluted the vibe of what I was truly wanting to portray, and readers could probably tell it was half-hearted. I wanted Tav in CONTROL damn it.

(Note: before this comes off as “don’t write switching”, that is not at all what I mean. It goes for all flavours. If what you want to write is soft sensuality, don’t get embarrassed, feel like it’s too sickly and shove in a “take it, slut” or whatever. If you want to write your pairing switching like mad, do that and don’t water it down! Basically, listen to your own feelings. Embarrassment will try to creep in and hold your fingers from the keyboard at just the moment you find most exquisitely hot, because sharing that is vulnerable. Notice it, and write the thing anyway - delete that diluting sentence about how she only wants to pull his hair gently, if you want her to pull it hard!)

2. Horny daydreams baby. If it gets you off, write it down. What’s the moment in your fantasies that makes you feral? That is MATERIAL. (This is a beneficial loop: daydreams beget writing beget daydreams. Whether you ever think about anything else again is up to you.) It doesn’t have to be a complete story, just the moment that makes you go… nnnhhh. This is kind of just an addendum to the previous one but truly, this is just how my process works. Prompts are harder to write than the contents of my own fantasies, in my experience.

3. In terms of planning/working on an idea: I tend to have a “climax” point in mind for my smut, then work out how this scenario is kicking off in the first place, and then fill in the gaps. (That’s just the planning though, I write fairly linearly).

Somewhere between the flirting/lead up to sex and the sex itself, there will be a point of no-horny-return, and if you try to take the tension down a notch after that point the story will lose its sizzle. Fortunately, this is usually easily fixed by moving bits around!

(This happened to me in Combat Training C2: it was a fic with a lot of sparring and role play, but I returned to “serious” sparring after turning the tension way up and the scene immediately fell flat on its face. But with a little reworking, I managed to both convey the character beat (that Rolan and Tav had learnt from each other and would be more prepared for their next battle) and dial up the sexual tension smoothly.)

4. Beware of writing overly mechanically. I’m saying this because I have totally done it! Yes, you generally want to avoid the “three hands” situation that gets joked about a lot (where you haven’t accounted for a character’s limbs and suddenly it seems like they’ve got an extra one). But sometimes it’s ok to just mention them flopping onto a bed or chair in a room without accounting for the fact that it’s there first, or simply say that a character has undressed if you don’t want to linger on them stripping. You don’t need to write in specific limb movements if they’re not super sexy (but technically happening), and you don’t need to write a character picking something up before they use it. Context can do a lot of work!

(… if they’re out in the forest, THEN you need to explain where that bed came from).

(Although I will say, trying to picture the scene in more accurate detail than you’re writing can create some juicy inspiration. Wondering if Rolan’s horns would allow him to rest comfortably in that position? What if they rip the sheets or scratch the floor or catch his lover’s cheek?)

5. Related to “write what you want”: Do not feel like you have to write sex correctly. Smut is gloriously untethered from the bounds of real life, and if you love a bit of cervix pounding, stomach-bulging filth, have at it and don’t apologise. You don’t need to care about contraception and safe sex unless you want to: this is not a sex ed class. You do not have to write SSC BDSM: this is not a sex ed class. Tag and go forth.

(Relatedly, these topics are also make or break for character and vibe sometimes. Health-anxious character in cute first-time fluff? Probably going to want to use protection. Two lovers fucking the night before they think they’re going to die in battle? Probably do not care, and it will spoil the reckless, feral vibe if we stop for a PSA about condom use.)

Consent is often implied through context and subtext. It can be made very explicit, if you want, but it’s also fine to simply show how into it your characters are, how they tease each other and nod and offer up suggestions. If it’s an established relationship, this goes double; it’s easy to infer that this is something the characters have done before without explicitly discussing that! (This is also assuming you’re writing consent; the long history of ravishment in published romance speaks to the fact this is not required lol).

6. Back to more mechanical-level writing stuff: linger in a mood, moment and action. A smut fic can encompass several different moods and sex/kink acts, but pay attention to how you transition between them. If you're oscillating between sweet and nasty ever other sentence, you probably want more consistency. It's an oft-repeated writing tip, but the five senses are your friends, and get specific. The gentle give of ridged skin beneath probing fingers; the sweet smell of campfire smoke; the gloss of tears over jet-black eyes and the taste of red wine on someone else's tongue. (… don’t necessarily do ALL the senses at once but you get what I mean!).

7. And finally one more: feelings. Give this filth feelings. How long have they wanted this? How hot do they think their partner looks right now? Are they feeling romantic or sadistic, feral or cuddly? Did they expect to feel this way, and what do they think it says about their relationship? New love and pent-up tension is obviously great and popular, but I also love exploring shame and conflict, illustrating characters taking risks, trusting each other, exploring new things…

Sex sits at a nexus of all sorts of beliefs our characters have about themselves and what they want. How do they react? Does the sex reinforce those beliefs or change them? It is possible to write hot smut without much of this at all but generally, give your readers a reason to care. (YES this spanking is an expression of Rolan’s character arc, goddamn it.)

Those are my best tips, I think, abstract and rambling as they may be. I hope this was helpful; the no1 writing tip of all time is, of course, to JUST DO IT. Good luck!

[glacialswordsman]

SHIPPING INFO. Answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

What’s your OTP for your Muse(s)?

chaeya has always been my #1 since i first got exposed to it, but honestly... zhongkae, dainkae, and albekae/kaebedo are QUICKLY making it a four-way-tie fr :') i'm kinda obsessed with those "doomed by the narrative" ships yfm?

What are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

pretty much anything? as long as there's nothing involving the usual icks. yknow. all the -icsts and -cests as well as SA and shit are a no-go for me! as for themes, i'm 100% okay with dark themes since. yknow. yaya can be a Pretty dark character. just no unplanned character deaths.

How large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

hard line, no minors. absolutely not. as for kaeya, he's a fully functioning adult (mid to late 20s) that can make his own decisions. since there are people (and beings in general) in teyvat that are virtually immortal and well over 100+ years old, he's not adverse to them at all. now, in a modern world/setting/verse, the same still applies with minors but he wouldn't go for anyone in theirs 50s+... romantically. 30s-40s are still free game to him though :')

Are you selective when shipping?

not... really? what matters most to me is if 1) our characters have chemistry, and 2) i vibe with the mun OOCly. i don't want to ship just to ship, but i'm also not terribly picky when it comes to it. i'm fine with cross-overs, fine with multi-verses, OCs, etcetc. however, what i won't enjoy is, y'know. harem shit. i literally DO NOT care if someone has another rp partner or two that rp the same muses i do and also ship with those muses, but it starts to become a problem if there's a collection going on and they all have the same exact dynamics.

How far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

the moment those mfers start touching certain spots or doing certain things (like grinding), i put the usfw/nsfw tag on and put pretty much everything under a read-more. if they're just heavily making out and feeling each other up without touching between then legs, then i leave it as suggestive.

Who are other muses you ship your muse with?

i... pretty much ship every character with kaeya except, yknow, his BROTHER, the kids, and lesbian-coded characters (yae miko, ei, navia, clorinde, ningguang, beidou, shenhe, ganyu, dehya, sara, arlecchino). characters that i DO ship yaya with are rosaria, albedo, ayato, thoma, alhaitham, kaveh, itto, wriothesley, neuvilette, kazuha, lisa, chiori, emilie, jean, mona, scaramouche, xiao, candace, kokomi, baizhu, shinobu, gorou, heizou, tighnari, cyno, layla, xianyun, sethos, yoimiya, sucrose... uh. lmao. help.

Does one have to ask to ship with you?

oh absolutely. i want us to be on the same page and understand each other's plans & wants for our characters. if there's no discussion over shipping, then it just won't happen at all. i need to have things plotted.

How often do you like to ship?

oh i love shipping! but it's not a priority, whatsoever. i like smashing my barbies together as much as the next person but i just want to get some good plotlines/stories going that both our characters can benefit from, and if shipping is thrown into the mix, then hey! cool. if not, also cool!

Are you multiship?

idk, am i?

Are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

UHHHHH... like. idk. if it's with someone i vibe with and our characters mesh well, then i become kinda ship obsessed? but it doesn't take over my life or anything. i just get excited and maybe even a little emotional over them depending on the context, but like i said, it's not a priority in my life. i just love the little blorbos and flap my hands excitedly if something cute or sweet or whatever happens

What is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

i... hm. for kaeya, chaeya. but i also have such a HUUUGE thing for wrioluc & varkitano too :') 

Finally, how does one ship with you?

honestly if we vibe OOCly and our characters get along well and there's just. Something There. then we can talk about it! obviously i draw a hard line with certain characters of course, but i'm always willing to discuss things! i'd like to think i'm a pretty approachable person who's open to convos from literally anyone.

i stole this from dandelion so thanks :) LMAO if y'all wanna do this feel free to do it, too!

[itrustmydiscoverweekly]

I guess there is a reason people like Billie Eilish

this week I listened to HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(4 out of 5 stars)

I had never really been interested in Billie Eilish, but I felt that I should give her album a shot this year since so many people seem to love her stuff—and now I see why! This album is full of incredible songs, and I liked it a lot more than I was expecting to.

Although not shocking to anybody, the mixing is incredible and Billie is an amazing singer. I seem to be just about the last person to realize that her music is good so ignore my raving. I truly hadn't really heard any of the songs off of this album aside from small clips online and was shocked at how much I loved this album.

This album sits at 44 minutes but it really feels a lot shorter so I can't say I wish there were more songs but that's just how I felt. The songs all fit together, making the whole thing feel way shorter.

OPINION TIME!!! (as always, not opinion order, just album order)

"BIRDS OF A FEATHER" STUNNING, no notes, amazing song. Believe me or don't, I had not heard this song before, and wow. I love it so much, it deserves how well it has been doing 1000 times over. It gets right to business with no intro. The lyrics are sweet and her singing is GORGEOUS. I heard her song that was in Barbie last (?) year and this song elicits a similar feeling in me. It is stunning. The beat is catchy and augh, what a song.

"THE GREATEST" As much as FINNEAS is a great producer/mixer, I love the more stripped-back songs. The start of this song has just Billie and guitar and then builds to a higher production sound. I love the guitar loop, it is simple and gets the job done beautifully. The climactic "Man am I the greatest" cueing in drums and strings, laugh I wish I could hear that for the first time again. When I heard that for the first time, I knew this would be top 3. I will say it again, the drums and strings on this song are AMAZING. I will also add that this song is almost everything I wish "L'AMOUR DE MA VIE" was, but I'll get to that later.

"THE DINER" is very much more of what I thought most of Billie Eilish's music was before going in. The beat is catchy even if it sorta sounds a lot like the Kahoot theme... I'll ignore that, this song is cool. There is a lot of cool layering going on with the vocals. This song does a really good job of sounding really creepy and I love it. The chorus is catchy and her singing is amazing here.

Honorable mentions!! 🥳🥳🥳

"WILDFLOWER" I love the stripped-back sound, her voice is gorgeous, and I love the guitar even if it is simple. The vocal harmonies at the end are stunning, I love all of the layering so, so, so much.

"L'AMOUR DE MA VIE" I love the sound of the first part of this song. I really just don't get the aggressive shift after the bridge. It feels like two songs and I really wish this was two separate songs because I like them on their own but I don't like them being smashed together. It is able to build without the electronic section, the part with the drums is so much fun! If the song ended at 3:35 I would be so much happier. I like the electronic section but it really doesn't feel like it belongs. But what can I say, I don't have a Grammy and she does.

"BLUE" I just think this song did an amazing job wrapping up the album. The song is catchy and honestly very nearly made my top 3 if it wasn't placed last on the album (I don't like to pick the first/last songs because I'm usually paying more attention and don't wanna be biased). Unlike "L'AMOUR DE MA VIE" this song is able to switch between ideas very well without a feeling of whiplash and I think it works very well. Ending your album with strings will always make me so happy.

[void-and-virtue]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers (ó ꒳ ò✿)

Okay this is super duper adorable so here goes, from the top of my head

1) Music. When I say 90% of my will to live comes from listening to my silly little songs I’m not kidding. Personal favorite is making carefully curated character playlists and cackling when it feels like it’s all coming together, or being sent songs by a friend bc they thought of me/one of my OCs while listening to it. Makes my heart grow five times in size fr

2) Listening to my friends talk about their OCs, stories, projects, whatever have you. I’m in four-person fandoms for ships that give me shrimp emotions and wouldn’t have it any other way.

3) Sunrises. Idk what it is about them but I am absolutely delighted when I wake up and get to watch them through my window. Not to say that I do that often or always (god knows my insomnia-riddled sleep schedule can be eclectic at best) but yeah I just really love starting the day with pretty colors and all that

4) Kinda specific to this time of year, but spring. It’s my absolute favorite season of the year and my mood has improved by about 700% since it got warmer and I get to spot flowers around, so I rlly encourage people to go have a look outside as well (unless you have allergies. Then I wish you godspeed and I hope your misery eases up soon)

5) Thinking about/rambling about/writing(hA) for my five billion started and incredibly unfinished WIPs and dearly beloved original character concepts. Maybe I should just call this “daydreaming about all the stories and AUs I’ll probably never write in full but inflicting my brainrot about them on the same handful of friends anyway” but I like to think that I’ll finish at least some of it one day. It’s just really fun to bounce headcanons and memes around together about stuff you enjoy and there’s something special to having someone willing to hear you out even tho you probably sound like a broken record while obsessively smashing the same severely traumatized fictional characters together like barbies.

[bluelockednyx]

helooo! if u dont mind me asking, is there a reason u prefer the isagirin dynamic when rinsagi is the more popular one? sorry, it's just really rare to find ppl who kinda favor isagirin too, it's also my preference but my reasons are dumb af. and after looking at some of ur six-part analysis on the ship, im curious if theres any underlying reason you prefer isagirin over rinsagi ?

!!! Fellow Isagirin shipper!!!

It’s perfectly valid to ship whichever for the shallowest and dumbest reasons possible, anon. What is shipping but smashing two of your favourite fictional characters together like barbies for whatever things you want them to do? I have plenty of crack ships of my own, I even have ships that have never interacted with each other in canon at all lmao.

Ship preferences really comes down to 1) personal interpretation of character and relationship dynamics and 2) your personal likes and dislikes in a relationship. That's true for everyone, and true for why I prefer Isagirin to Rinsagi as well. But since you asked for a more in-depth explanation… buckle up, I love ranting.

Let's start with Isagi.

One of the most memorable bits of characterization for me from early Blue Lock, was the Team Z vs Team Y match. After Isagi makes the winning shot, we’re treated to several pages of his reaction. He walks through Team Y members crying on the ground, thinking that he won the game, that he trampled over their dreams with his goal, and then we’re treated to a close up of Niko’s crying face, and we have Isagi come to the profound realization that he likes how that feels.

Read this scene in the manga. Watch this scene in the anime. And if you come back and tell me that this scene doesn’t make you think that Isagi is a sadist dom in the making, unfollow me forever because that is my stance and I will die with it, however Blue Lock ends.

I've mentioned it in my meta, but Isagi is a pretty passive person when it comes to interpersonal relationships. He mostly goes along with whatever kind of dynamic they initiate.

Let's look at his and Bachira's relationship. Bachira is Isagi’s first and arguably closest friend in Blue Lock. In their relationship, it's Bachira that takes the lead, with Isagi following it. Bachira is the one who persistently reaches out, but Isagi is not always receptive or accepting of it. There’s a subtle personal and emotional distance that Isagi has in place between them, a barrier that he never quite lets Bachira cross. When Bachira tries to feed him meat early on, Isagi pulls away. When Bachira talks about how glad he is to be in Blue Lock because he found Isagi here to be friends with, Isagi’s reaction is… well, surprisingly cold, to me. Almost unbothered? Not because he doesn’t appreciate it the communication and honesty, but more along the lines of he views it as having very little to do with him, personally, if at all. Isagi says that Bachira gives him courage in the early chapters, but beyond that... well. I don't find much emotional draw in their friendship from Isagi's side. Bachira doesn't inspire much in Isagi after the Team Z arc. Again, this is personal character and relationship interpretation, so YMMV with this one.

That's not the case with Rin. That's not the case with Rin, at all. Isagi chooses Rin, over and over again even when he doesn't need to. He didn't have to fight with Rin in the first 3v3 -- he could have waited for more teams to come up, but he said it himself, he wants Rin. He specifically chooses to match up with Rin in the 4v4 until Barou wrecked their initial plans by wanting to duke it out with Tokimitsu, and Nagi then said that he wanted to match up with Rin instead. In the Blue Lock 11 tryouts he chooses Rin again over Nagi, despite acknowledging the challenge and difficulty of it. In the U20 match he still focuses almost entirely on Rin's actions and moves. After the U20 match, he didn't have to stay back and speak to Rin, to try and comfort him with 'That goal was our goal', but he still did. Even before the Neo Egoist League restarted, he could have chosen to avoid Rin after how poorly their last talk ended, but he still went to speak to Rin alone, separating from his other friends. Isagi is astoundingly assertive whenever Rin is concerned, and he's drawn to Rin as a person.

Isagi is the one that sets the tone for their dynamic. He’s the one who started up a one-sided rivalry in the first 3v3, and he also specifically mentions that he ‘wants to win with Rin’. Isagi is the one who gets emotionally attached to Rin first, who links his own wants and desires with Rin, and then when Rin tries to worsen their relationship, Isagi is the one who puts the brakes on that by being the more emotionally mature one and taking the high road, even playfully teasing Rin over being a ‘fake villain’ when Rin calls Isagi a ‘fake hero’ before the Neo-Egoist League begins properly.

So that’s one reason why top!Isagi works better for me where Isagi and Rin’s relationship is concerned. Now let’s look at Rin.

Continuing from the above, Isagi is the one who sets the tone for their relationship dynamic, and it’s Rin who responds to it. Rin is not the person who takes the emotional initiative in their relationship, though it may seem that way on the surface.

Rin goes along with Isagi setting up the first 3v3. He picks Isagi only after Isagi challenges and surprises/surpasses him in the 4v4. He thaws a little towards Isagi during the yoga session, after Isagi joins him and acknowledges him as his own person. As they’re training for the U20 match, Isagi is the one to reach out to him and offer him water, which he accepts after refusing it the first-time round. It’s only when Isagi tries to comfort him after the U20 match that he lashes out at Isagi. Again, before the Neo-Egoist League, he’s the responder, snapping at Isagi for being friendly with him after Isagi reaches out to talk to him first.

He is also not the person who has the emotional initiative in his other, closest relationship either. It’s Sae who sets their dynamic – Sae tells Rin to become the best forward after him when they were children, tells Rin to be the best forward while he becomes the best midfielder on that unknown snowy day pre-Blue Lock, and after Rin hurts him Sae is the one who starts the painfully strained dynamic of their relationship and continues doing so by ignoring and stonewalling Rin before the U20 match. All of Rin's attempts at reaching his brother never click until he gets into flow. At the end of the U20 match, too, it’s Sae who comes up to talk to Rin instead of the other way around. We don’t even see what Rin does or says to Sae after that, and it’s safe to say, I think, that Rin buried all his emotional wounds beneath the surface, and it’s Isagi who dragged it out of him after his little speech in the locker room post-U20 match, and he redirects all his anger at Sae to Isagi instead.

Remember Bachira’s conversation with Rin before the 4v4 rematch? Bachira telling Rin that Rin’s football seems lonely? Rin is lonely. He’s just not self-aware enough about it, and he thinks that all his problems can be solved if he just gets Sae's acknowledgment again. Which it really, really won't.

For all Rin appears to be aloof and stays apart from the Blue Lock boys by being both hostile and unfriendly, he’s a very emotionally needy person, and we know this through his relationship with Sae, and how he so very desperately wants his brother’s acknowledgment. He keeps playing football and pushes through alone by improving his individual skill after Sae left for Madrid, even when he finds it hard and restricting without Sae around. He would have willingly set aside all the pain Sae put him through just to have to his old, close relationship with his brother again. He was ready to forgive all the hurt Sae caused him at the end of the U20 match when Sae came to talk to him, but when Sae acknowledged Isagi instead of Rin himself, it sent him spiraling into hate for Isagi. I’ve already talked about this in my meta: it’s not healthy or good for Rin and Sae’s relationship that Rin hinges so much of his emotional needs on Sae. He’s realised some of the problems in the U20 match, but there’s still more work he needs to do on himself.

We haven’t had an equal relationship built up with Rin and Sae (as much as a relationship can be equal in a pretty hierarchical society with older and younger siblings anyway). It’s almost all about what Sae wants, and he never really tries to talk about things with Rin and figure out what Rin really wants. One throwaway line after four years of not seeing each other about how the world is really big and expecting Rin, who’s been playing at home in Japan (presumably in a youth team too, like Karasu and Hiori) to just understand you like that? What the fuck, Sae. And it’s hard for Rin to even bridge that gap, because Sae keeps stonewalling. Rin’s right here: Sae is a shitty big brother to him. We, as the readers, get some insight into Sae, so we can read deeper into Sae’s characterization and understand that beneath his callous attitude Sae does care for Rin and thinks highly of him, even going so far as to encourage Rin to fulfill his dream when Sae’s all but given up on his own. But communication is a two-way street. If one person doesn’t understand, and the other doesn’t try to talk/elaborate/explain or do something for them to understand, well. You get the clusterfuck that’s their relationship.

Rin is simply not emotionally mature enough to handle his complex feelings for both Sae and Isagi well. He’s just sixteen, and he has been depicted with little, if any, strong relationships with anyone in the series besides his brother, so there’s not much of a template his own experience can draw off to handle them, or someone else he can really talk to about them to get a broader perspective. Which is why I’ve been speculating that if the author intends to go down the healthier, more wholesome route with Rin, Rin's character arc should involve him foiling with, and being the inverse of Isagi’s: establishing proper relationships with his teammates, growing to become actual friends with them instead of simply a revolving door of temporary partnerships and alliances. Authorial intentions are still up in the air (there’s been a lot of artistic foreshadowing that Rin’s going to suffer more later on and have ‘his life turned upside down’), but yeah.

So I guess you could say that I prefer to ship Isagirin more primarily for this reason: the emotional initiative and directional control of their relationship dynamic lies more in Isagi’s hands, rather than Rin’s.

For dumber, shallower and sexier reasons: it’s hot.

Shorter, smaller, physically weaker Isagi topping Rin? Nice. Very hot.

But more importantly for me: the power dynamics of their relationship??? Isagi being a sadist dom who got a goddamn high from watching Niko cry after he beat him, asserting himself and reaching out to Rin constantly in contrast to all his other relationships in-series, versus Rin who’s emotionally turbulent and deals poorly with them with a whole lot of repression and anger, is somewhat of a masochist, yearns to be wanted and needed and if that’s not… a sub… well.

I want to see Rin break under Isagi’s hands, fall apart completely and then have Isagi put him back together again. That's where my personal tastes run.

TLDR; Isagi’s has shades of sadist dom top in my interpretation of his depiction, takes both the initiative and has greater control of his and Rin’s relationship dynamic whereas Rin is an emotional sub with shades of masochism, and a deeply rooted emotional need to be wanted.

[theonlyadawong]

i think for a lot of people shipping is just a way to squeeze out more entertainment from a character, but it often comes at a cost of ignoring the platonic relationships that character has. and to swing this back to ada and leon... the platonic relationship canon has provided is actually so fascinating and there is just so much to think about, but everyone wants to enjoy their strange and complex yet also very simple relationship in favor of smashing them together like barbies with complete disregard for their actual feelings for one another.

like... do they have to be involved romantically for their interactions to matter? like... let's take a minute to admire the characters and their interactions for what they are before we start adding and subtracting random things to make their ship work

[britcision]

Today feels like a good day for this

So there’s two main ways of playing your ttrpg characters that I’ve seen from my players and other people telling me about their games

1) protagonist - you want to be the main character. The most important, impressive one in the room, with all the good rolls and everything works all the time

Weirdly, I have also only seen this from the edgelords? And it’s definitely not a hard rule, but it’s a firm trend. So they also have to be the most tragic, with the angiest backstory, the biggest victims of every wrong but oh they’re never affected by it

They’re not scared of anything, they’ve always seen worse, they never show their real feelings and they’re always in total control

This can soooort of work? If you are playing the right game, with the right people? But it is inherently uncollaborative because one person can’t lead every scene all the time, and when the rolls don’t match the inner narrative people tend to get upset

It feels more personal when something doesn’t work out because your story becomes personal wish fulfilment, and it feels like you have failed rather than just an unlucky roll

2) feral toddler with barbies - your character is your sweet little bean and you Want To Fuck Them Up

This is the fandom whump style, putting the horse in the plinko machine, and every single time something bad happens it is a wonderful opportunity to mess up your baby

This is much less focused on the end result and much more focused on having the most fun in the journey, which tends to work really really well in bigger groups where crime can be committed

Other players have other barbies and you tell stories by smashing them together, making them kiss or fight or commit tax fraud, and sometimes one of the barbie’s heads flies off to a far corner and you need to improvise

Now, these are two ends of a spectrum, and neither of them have anything to do with the characters, the game, or the story being told

It’s about how you react to the little moments, to the pieces controlled by chance, or to when something doesn’t go the way you expected it to

You don’t control which one you start with, although newer players might find themselves leaning towards “protagonist”, especially if they play a lot of games or video games with a single Player Character

It’s familiar, it’s what we’re used to in single player, and it’s really fun for character creation to invent this super cool person you’re gonna run around and fight dragons (or space robots) with…

But it’s also more stressful in a multiplayer game where there is always more than one protagonist

Ensemble stories are hard (and trust me I write them enough to know). Not everyone is in every scene, and time is limited so you have to work together and give each other prompts to get the stories you want out

It’s still really important to pay attention to scenes your character isn’t in, and to remember that… yeah, you can ping another player out of game to say “hey ask about my Tragic Backstory/Cool Weapon/Long Lost Sibling”

And they can also tell you what to ask about to get to the cool bits of their character’s lore, which is Just As Good As Doing Yours! Everyone gets to be cool together!

It’s actually something we’ve butted up against as a full game of newbies a lot; people want to be asked about something, but in a natural way, so they can’t mention in game that they want to be asked. And of course, the dreaded “my character would never talk about this”

(They’d never want to, my darling. You, their player, both want to and Can Make Them by having fellow players or the dm apply stressors)

Or they focus on wanting their story told, and if someone else comes in with “oh I get it I also had a little brother” or “shit you also heard about that evil wizard? This is what I know” it feels like losing control of the scene

But it’s a multiplayer game. The scene’s still about you even if it’s not only about you, and if you find yourself playing in the protagonist style and getting frustrated… maybe what you actually want to do is write the story of this cool character

Writing is hard but you control the environment, the outcomes, and your special character is the center of the narrative in a way that doesn’t work for a multiplayer game

If you’re playing the game and getting frustrated a lot and writing doesn’t appeal, it might be time to look at your character through the fandom lens

Put them in silly situations for fun and profit

Make them uncomfortable and remember that the important thing isn’t what your character wants. It’s what you want

We don’t rotate the blorbo in our heads because it’s what the blorbo wants; if you love whumpy fan content, whump your heckin’ character

If you want to talk about something the character never would, fucking make them. Put them in a vulnerable spot and poke their weak points until it all comes spilling out

Because… yeah. There’s a line where “being in character” can very easily translate to “doing what the character wants to do”, and there is one critical problem when that line blurs:

If you always back away and close off from the parts of the story your character wouldn’t want to talk about, you don’t get to talk about those parts of the story

Because woe of woes, your fellow players might respect those boundaries! They might see that you’re backing away and assume it’s because you the player don’t wanna go there!

But you do, so bad, and it’s so hard to see how to break that cycle without breaking character once you’re inside

You need to open the doors that’ll put your character in the place they don’t want to be, but gets you those delicious vulnerable tragic scenes that lead to the real bonding

You will not roll the perfect crit every time for the perfect story, so the sooner you lean in the more fun failure is and the more you can work out your ideal balance of “well I rolled a one at intimidation and normally I’m very scary, but I guess I put my fist down on the table right in a blob of ketchup”

My earliest rule for our game was “I am not going to railroad your characters. You need to decide why they’re staying with the party because I will not force them to if they don’t want to, and you can roll a new one”

Cuz that’s the whole point: player agency matters so much more than character agency. It’s your character. You are their fandom baseline.

And you’re the one making the canon, so you can put everything you’ve ever wanted in it

Make that dramatic and edgy character who wants to be the center of attention, and then you the player subvert it to watch them flail

Make that stern and taciturn character who’s Hardened and Doesn’t Make Friends and then conspire with fellow party members for tiny scenes like them being handed a flower and staring at it for a minute, then keeping it

Make the silly, happy go lucky flirty character, and then wind them up until they crack and all the top secret Hidden Lore comes pouring out

Do bad things to your characters for fun and profit my loves

You aren’t the character, you’re the story teller, so work with everyone to tell the story you’ve always dreamed of

[itcamefromthetoybox]

I am Become Barbie, Destroyer of Worlds

“Barbie: The Movie” comes out this month, and it’s looking like it’ll be a smash success, in addition to a really good movie! As you know if you’ve been following this blog, I’m pumped for this movie and have been counting down the days until it comes out. I’ve also been doing a series of reviews of current “Barbie” toys, which we’ll be wrapping up this week with an absolutely wonderful gift from my absolutely wonderful wife, “Barbie: The Movie Barbie!” Let’s see how the star of the show came out and if she’s a worthwhile edition to your Barbie collection.

Now, before we get started, I just wanna say one thing: last week when we looked at Ken, I said that because I had zero success finding the “Barbie: The Movie” dolls anywhere except online stores, it looked like the movie line was an online only exclusive. So of course, the very next day, I went to my local Target and found the movie dolls. The universe delights in kicking me sometimes.

The “Barbie: The Movie” toyline is the toyline released for the movie and is now available at mass retail. If you missed last week’s review, here’s a quick recap: the toyline is, obviously, centered around the upcoming movie, with dolls based off the cast, as well as vehicles and playsets. The dolls have a higher level of articulation, more accessories, and a bigger price tag than the standard dolls.

From what we’ve seen in the trailers, Barbie the character, played by beloved actress Margot Robbie, seems like an optimistic, friendly, cheerful go-getter with a wide circle of friends and a heart of gold. So basically my exact opposite in every way. When things begin changing in her world, Barbie sets off on a journey to the real world, accompanied by Ryan Gosling’s Ken, to get to the bottom of things. Other than that basic synopsis, I can’t say anything else about the character. The movie isn’t out yet. This is all I got.

This doll looks great. She has a very classic look to her, right down to the arched feet and the hairstyle, and is pretty much exactly what you’d want in this doll. She does a great job conveying Margot Robbie’s likeness without going into the Uncanny Valley, which is nice because you don’t want Barbie to scare children usually. Save that for the doll scene in “Small Soldiers.”

I absolutely adore Barbie’s outfit. She comes wearing a pink and white plaid dress, pink heels and a matching hair bow, and flower earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet, which all comes together to make a bright, cherry doll whose accessories scream “let’s enjoy a beautiful day.” It’s a really great outfit and I feel it does a terrific job conveying who this character is. Interestingly, this doll also comes with actual underpants, which is noteworthy because most Barbies and Kens just have sculpted underpants. I feel like it’s a nice touch and a good way to confirm that no, Barbie is not going commando.

Life in plastic, it’s fantastic!

In terms of articulation, Barbie has it going on! She’s covered in joints, which means she’s here to strike a pose atop the crushed bodies of rival dolls who thought they could stand against her. I’m really happy with all the joints she has, and I feel like kids will also like them.

Barbie, seen here after ruthlessly slaughtering Jem and the Holograms.

Now, of course, I do have a few complaints. After all, nothing in life is perfect except for those special moments with the people we care for, when we’re truly connected and at ease, and even those moments are far too fleeting in the cruel passage of time. My first issue is the issue I usually have with Barbies: she can’t stand on her own. I know that’s always been a thing, but it still bugs me a little. Since this is a doll aimed at collectors, you might wanna make sure you buy a doll stand when you get her. My second complaint is with her heels. They’re pretty loose on her feet, which makes them really easy to lose. Considering how part of the point of Barbie is changing her outfits, the fact that doing so means you’re a ton more likely to lose a shoe really feels like a problem to me. Other than those two things, though, this doll’s really great.

She took the other shoe off so she could kick the Bratz’ asses without damaging her heels.

“Barbie: The Movie Barbie” is currently available at mass retail for about $25. While she’s specifically aimed at collectors, her box says she’s for ages 3+, which, considering how she has the small earrings, bracelet, and easy to lose shoes, feels a little young. Make sure the person you give her to isn’t still in the “let’s put this up my nose” stage, so you can avoid any uncertainties. And now, our moment of truth: would I recommend this toy? You bet your ass I would! This is a great Barbie! She looks great, she has a lot of articulation, her outfit’s cute as hell, and her accessories are on point! I would absolutely recommend this Barbie for your collection! “Barbie: The Movie” comes out this month, and I can’t wait to see it, but for now, this concludes our look at Barbie. Next time, we’ll be looking at a few different toys with no unifying theme before our next series of theme reviews, so that’ll be fun. Until then, this is JS signing off and wishing you Happy Toy Hunting!

[anonymousewrites]

Kirk: *kicks open the chapel/courtroom doors*

Bones: We object!

Chekhov: we don't know if that's how it works here

Uhura: We object anyway!

Spock and MC: *smooching it up*

Kirk, in the middle of being pained by psychic powers: *slides Bones some credits*

Bones: *splits it with Uhura*

MC: *unleashes their wrath upon the court*

Spock, off to the side: (am I... attracted to this?)

MC: Spock... Were those truly your feelings for me?

Spock: yes. I apologize if they were unwanted-

(sounds of a struggle from behind the door as Kirk struggles to hold back Bones from throttling Spock and Checkov tries to stop Uhura from smashing their faces together like two Barbies bc goddamnit if these two morons start moving backwards after finally making progress-)

This is so funny and so absolutely true! Uhura and Bones and Kirk definitely had money on all of this and Bones was definitely ready to start smacking Spock for not saying anything earlier

[hopeworth]

Tell me about dickkyle immediately 👀

wip tag game

this is just me smashing my blorbos together like barbie dolls. starting to write it i realised it was going to be LONG cause these two have 2 bare interactions like 20 years ago and also no pre-established chemistry or dynamic to draw from so i have to slow burn it

it takes place the summer after infinite crisis where kyle's on his Ion retreat and dick's floating around. donna sends dick to check on kyle who's been MIA since he's. very god right now. the 'romanticism' in the wip refers to the romantic movement, because i'm using this fic as an excuse to talk about nature and the interconnection of the world and channeling wordsworth.

but the crux of this dynamic in my head is recognition of self through the other. dick who falls fast and hard but has commitment issues, kyle who falls fast and so deeply and wants a love profound, but he's just riding off the grief of jennie still. they have a thing for the summer, and after that dick leaves to new york and kyle stays to set off the events of Ion. my favourite thing about this is that they know things about each other because of donna, wally, and roy, even though they're practically strangers

snippet :3

so kyle's kinda being weird here :/

[Kyle blinks at it. Nightwing’s hands are scarred over and Kyle itches to take it and touch each and every one of them, follow the line of violence the world offers him to their origins, breath in each marring of flesh, each interruption of skin. He wonders if Nightwing’s blood has fed the flowers. Wonders if his dead skin has ever been picked apart by microscopic beings. Kyle almost wants to push him into the earth and watch it devour him, wants to see how far the stream of energy will take him, wonders if Nightwing has ever been a whale before, has ever fallen to the bottom of the ocean and become the creatures living there, has ever threaded the keratin of feathers soaring the winds itself. This will be a gift, returning him to dust and swallowing him into the fold of existence that Kyle rests easily, where Kyle can become him utterly.

Kyle takes his hand as normally as he can manage and is hauled up.]

AND ANOTHER ONE dick is so confrontational in this <3

[He steps out into the afternoon a minute before Dick does, tilting his head up so the sunlight falls over his face. He sees the warmth through his closed eyelids, feels it permeating into him, through his thin shirt. There’s a breeze a few seconds away and Kyle waits there for it to arrive, brushing through his hair and against his clothes, into his lungs.

“You need a ride back?” Dick asks as he follows Kyle out into the parking lot.

Kyle doesn’t need it. He can just fly back to the retreat he was staying at. He looks at the truck. “Did you drive all the way out here just for this?”

Dick shrugs. “Roy lent it to me. Besides, I don’t have much else to do.”

“Oh. What about—” he bites his words back on Bludhaven.

Dick snorts. “Being a hero? There’s no point—” he also seems to reign back his words when he glances at Kyle. “Nightwing won’t be missed.”

There’s something wounded there. Kyle says, “I’m sure Gotham can never have too many vigilantes.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Dick says, “my efforts are – a hundred thousand people died in Bludhaven because of Chemo, because of me. Their blood is on my hands.”

“As far as I know, you didn’t push the button.”

“Cause and effect, Kyle.”

Even having only talked to him a few times before this, Kyle can see the shape of who Nightwing is now—and maybe a lot of that is Donna’s and Wally’s anecdotes, but Kyle can see the weight on his shoulders that’s crushing him. Kyle knows how guilt can eat you alive. He says, “You can’t blame yourself when it was – who was it, Deathstroke? – who actively chose to—”

“Like you’re the one to talk about blame,” Dick snaps and Kyle stops talking.

He studies the cold expression on Dick’s face and can’t help but let out a low, “Jesus.” Dick meets his eyes straight on, challenging. Kyle ought to fly away right now just for that.

If only Kyle was there. If only he never got back with her. If only he never picked up the ring. Kyle knows the thoughts running through Dick’s head—if only, if only, if only. A series of conscious choices, and he would not have made any other one—maybe that’s the tragedy of it. This would not have happened if he wasn’t who he is—if Kyle Rayner wasn’t Kyle Rayner, someone who wanted to be a hero and someone who loved Alex DeWitt more than life itself.

Kyle says, “Can you drop me off?”

Dick looks away. “Yeah.”]

[wild-karrde]

@not-really-a-writer has a cute and spicy Cody x Reader series that I highly recommend! The smut is SO hot and the emotions are so beautiful (and angsty!). I just want to smash reader and Cody together like two Barbie dolls until they love each other the way they deserve!

Link

Spicy Cody you say? With the angst? I'M IN. Starting the day off with some ANGST to make us all suffer seems appropriate, so HURT MY FEELINGS, AYA. I love the FWB-and-oops-I-have-the-FEELS-FOR-YOU trope, and combine that with some well-written smut? RIGHT UP MY ALLEY. Thank you for the rec!!!

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