#but what else can you do when the people you ship don't even appear together-

[fiepige]

Have some more GIFs of Noir and Hobie doing vaguely similar gestures!

This time: Noir and Hobie shrugging ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (Click here for PART 1 and PART 2)

[flawseer]

Mail Call #3

Answering comments from @void-the-bear @railway-lands @keabirb @ilikebookssomuch @chezgorman @cartoons-everywhere @dragonra305

Please don't hurt me. I have glasses.

Thank you, to all of you. It makes me genuinely happy to know that I'm able to put something into this world that other people can enjoy. I think this is a great setting that is fun to add to.

Doing a Wings of Fire-themed run of this Smaugust challenge has been very interesting and it's good that the result appears to be well-received. It's not always been easy, I'm actually getting quite exhausted having to post content on a strict schedule like this. But it is worth doing if it makes people happy.

Relating to my comment on this post. I probably will do it eventually, along with some other ideas I had that didn't fit in. But it won't happen while Smaugust is still going, as I am already skirting the limits of what I am physically capable of right now.

Ahh... hm... This is the question that has toppled mountains and started wars. You're going to get hit squads sent after me.

Well, there is the big one, of course. Qibli/Winter. They have such wonderful chemistry whenever they are in a scene together (with one pretty upsetting exception). And Qibli is always teasing him about being his destiny and the two of them getting married, so I think there is some attraction there.

Then uh... I used to feel completely ambivalent about this one, but Starflight/Fatespeaker has really grown on me over time. There's a lot of interesting potential there that doesn't really make it into the story. I need to make a long-winded post about Fatespeaker one day.

Blaze/Glacier is another one that could be cute. I think putting a repressed Icewing together with a highly eccentric and rambunctious Sandwing is going to be a winning combination most of the time. Or well, I guess I should say "could have been cute", since Glacier had to die for the plot, in a very wretched and infuriating way too.

There are a couple more that I think have their moments or could be interesting in one way or another. Some of them even contradicting or overlapping each other. Listing all of them would probably be a bit excessive.

Oh yeah, and I think Sunny is ace.

Ah, a question that'll make me put someone else's favorite character at the bottom of a preference list... After the shipping question I'm starting to fear for my life now.

Let me preface this by clarifying that I generally like all of the DoD. There are some characters in this setting that I loathe and wish they would exit the story, and the arc 1 protagonists are nowhere near that. So being ranked low here translates to me saying "Yeah, they're okay, room for improvement", not "wow, they're the WORST!"

Okay whatever, let's get down to it.

#1 - Sunny

That one's easy, I mean, just look at the pinned post on this blog.

Sunny is so wonderful and charming and perfect in every conceivable way, she is one of my six all-time favorite characters. She is the flower that blooms in the bitter desert. A lot of people may perceive her as this demure and innocent character who is always happy and friendly, and oblivious to the suffering around her. Nah, Sunny knows exactly what is going on. She is keenly aware of all the bloodshed, suffering, and toxicity that unfolds in the world around her. When she remains optimistic and forgiving in the face of darkness, that is not her being meek or passive, it's her steadfastly refusing to let that darkness into herself. She is actively embodying the change she wants to see in the world, even when it hurts her or gets her taken advantage of, because that is what she believes in and the future she will create.

That's pretty inspiring. I wish I had that kind of inner strength.

Also, she is not weak. While she's not a powerhouse scrapper like Tsunami or an invincible stack of bricks like Clay, Sunny strikes quickly and without hesitation when her friends are in danger, and can be deviously clever. This is often overlooked, but she is--to my knowledge--the only character to land an attack on Morrowseer that comes close to actually hurting him.

Well... you got me rambling about Sunny. Let's go through the others more briskly.

#2 - Starflight

I like Starflight a lot. Unfortunately the story really doesn't. He is like, the unluckiest character by far. I don't know what he did to deserve the never-ending cavalcade of misfortune that gets shoveled in his direction throughout all three arcs. Like, it never ends. A couple of friends and I came together and we jokingly called our group the "Starflight Protection Foundation", because someone needs to stage an intervention. Like, wrap him in a cozy sweater and buy him hot chocolate or something. Heaven help this poor man.

He's another one of my favorites.

#3 - Glory

Glory is really cool; I vibe with the "unchosen hero spurned by destiny" theme. She goes through her life and is constantly told "No, you don't have a special destiny. You're the fifth wheel. You are worthless and unimportant". Though she struggles with the constant abuse and devaluation, she eventually finds a way to turn it into strength and declare that the only value that matters is the one she gives to herself.

I really wish the story had NOT made her turn out to be a secret princess. "I was born without destiny, so I'm making my own" is a so much more satisfying character trajectory than "Oh, don't worry. You were born special after all, you just didn't know about it".

So yeah, I kind of tend to put that "secret princess" plot twist on the shelf when I think about Glory, and prefer to think that she managed to sway Grandeur with her skill and determination, rather than a random blood link.

#4 - Clay

Clay is very lovable. He is like the emotional bedrock of the group and acts as a stabilizing force that pairs well with all of the other arc 1 protagonists. He pretty much resolves all of his baggage in the first book and becomes content and steady. That is very good for him, but unfortunately this also kind of turns him into just some dude for the following four books.

Which is fine, it is good for the other characters to have someone behind them who loves them and helps them up when they stumble. It just makes it difficult for Clay to shine on his own.

#5 - Tsunami

Okay, so, Tsunami. I actually like her a lot in arc 1. She's bringing an interesting kind of energy to the group that is like, half-supportive and half-detrimental. Very chaotic. She also has to contend with some heavy stuff; everything to do with her father and the complications in her family life. It's very interesting. Lots of places to go with that.

Arc 2 Tsunami though, really grinds my gears. She regresses into this kind of juvenile, immature personality that is just pointlessly abrasive and confrontational. She acts really condescendingly towards Peril-- despite the latter having saved Clay's life AND it being really important to Clay that her staying at JMA works out well. Her borderline sabotaging this effort by making Peril feel unwelcome seems very dismissive towards Clay's feelings. It also doesn't help that she is the most outspoken about her loathing of Nightwing mindreading and prophecies, which drives Moonwatcher further into her emotional shell and makes things more complicated.

Okay, I have to reiterate: I don't dislike Tsunami. I just think her character arc is incomplete. It feels like she is stuck in arrested development while at JMA. She's mostly running around yelling at people, when she really should be thinking about what to do about Queen Coral, and how to get custody of her siblings. Her sister Anemone is carrying emotional scars from how the Queen has kept her leashed like a dog for her entire life, a process that is now happening to Auklet, even to this day. And then there's the 30 something children who have never known parental love for a day in their life and their mother can't remember the names of.

Someone's gotta step in and save these kids. Or like, at least start vaguely thinking about it.

Turtle???

Hmm....

...

Moose!

[bnecaz]

IdolMinji x idolreader hcs

A/n: I swear I just need to fill the time I'm writing bullyminji!! hope you like it!

Warnings: hate, body Shame and the rest is all cute!

You met by being placed as MCs together

She accidentally created her own ship when she said "I want to say something but I'm super shy" to you in front of the cameras

she does challenge with her songs with you whenever a new comeback arrived

You and her tarted dating and had no experience with it

Made you sing omg in her anchor

At awards shows she takes your hand and stays alone with you while leaving her members , and your members together

asked danielle for help on how to throw a picnic for the two of you

She arranged to meet you at a restaurant and the restaurant was filled with paparazzis

when dispatch posted a photo of you two holding hands that was the end for you

New jeans boy stans gave you massive hate, so when you went live the comments were from users "Newjeanscuties753" or "Minjiunnie11"

started to compare your body with other members

you open a live with one of your members, when you position the camera the numbers are growing every second, you come across comments saying that you missed them and the other member laughs and murmurs "wow.. Have we spent so long without opening a live?" she says jokingly as she focuses her gaze on the camera and fixes her bangs, the more people come in, the more people talk about you, so the comments are divided between "stop harassing Reader!" and "Leave our minji alone!" and then the atmosphere gets heavy and your member looks at you until they see that you don't say anything else "well, do you want to know about what we are planning to do?" trying to get excited, you just nod and mumble as you pull out your phone "let's make a cake for unnie's birthday!!" the member starts to clap and you just smile as you read the comments that start to fill up more, the member narrows her eyes and bite her lower lip gently, You can feel a knot forming when the comments get heavy and you pick up your phone and put it in front of the member who gently opens her eyes and looks at the camera in disguise, then she smiles and turns off the live stream.

Minji comforted you more than anything, when they decided to collaborate on MAMA, they made you dance hype boy on purpose

backstage she had to ask hyein to pretend to cry so she could talk to you

when she saw how nervous you were she hugged you for a few minutes until she heard danielle calling her

She is very protective, she takes care of new jeans then she is protective without knowing it, but this is all because she loves you

On your birthday she called you to her dorm and all your members and the new jeans were there

won't reveal your relationship for fear of people talking about your body

sued a man who created an account posting deepfake of you

Haerin loves it when you go to see Minji because she makes a lot of food to impress you

She's secretly a loser and when you play card games she takes pity on you and lets you win, not even bothering to see Hyein and Hanni's grumbles.

loves to kiss your cheek

when they put your group and hers up for interview and the interviewer asked you "what's it like to be the least popular in your group, and only be famous because of a rumor?" the atmosphere became tense, she could feel Haerin next to her stopping looking at the camera and looking sideways at you as she saw you blush and play with your fingers as you stumbled over your words "i..hm... I admire my fans so much be-" and then as if a god had appeared, your leader interrupts you "well... I think she's the second most famous in our group... and has this rumor already been explained?.." your leader gives an exaggeratedly fake smile and minji could feel her members sighing and their shoulders relaxing when their leader defended you

She arranged to travel to Paris with you, but when you arrived an hour after her at the Europort, the paparazzi were already there, and it was on all the gossip sites.

loves buying furry coats for you

Sometimes she calls you "bro" and at the same moment, without you questioning, he apologizes and kisses your cheek

gave you a Chanel kit as a gift

When you're passing by a store and see a cute outfit, she buys it for you

makes you sit on her lap when it's too cold to put your arms around her waist

Sometimes she has a fit and starts mumbling things in Korean

she bought you several gifts, but he made you wear a set that she almost knelt down on, and when you wore it she was in love again (this.

wrote one of the parts of ditto thinking of you

fans captured your group's album with your signature on her shelf

hyein sometimes calls you "unnie girlfriend" without meaning to and minji feels like putting her head in the ground

bought minecraft for you to play and made mods so her bed has your face

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Can you talk about your thoughts on hinny? I have no problem with people shipping it but to me personally it just doesn't work. It feels like Rowling tried too hard or maybe just wasn't good at writing romance and messed it up. Maybe it was too rushed? The ship doesn't work for me but I'd love to hear your views.

Okay, sorry it took a while to answer this, I actually have a lot of thoughts and I have posts on some of them that I hope to get out soon-ish. I also wanted to go back to the books to make sure I'm not talking out of my ass. But I don't like Hinny, never did. And my reasons are kinda divided into three categories.

Disclaimer: I don't have anything against anyone who ships hinny, it's just really not my thing and I don't see it working with the way I see their characters.

And that's like the core of it. I just don't see Harry and Ginny as compatible on a character level. That and their relationship never really read as believable to me in the books.

The 3 categories I mentioned are:

Harry's character

Firstly, I think Harry is gay. Not bi, but gay. I think he was never actually attracted to a woman and I have a whole post to prove it. So, because that's how I read his character, I just can't really see him with any girl.

(Now, I don't think JKR intended for Harry to come off as gay, but he did)

Secondly, he never thought about Ginny, like, up until book 6, and even during large portions of book 6, he just isn't thinking about Ginny as a potential romantic interest. And when he does think about Ginny in the final two books it never reads like he really likes her. It reads like they decided they are dating, but I don't think Harry knows why he supposedly likes her. He just decided he does, but doesn't know why. It was kind of the same with Cho, where he said he had a crush on her and was nervous around her, but if you asked Harry what he likes about her, his answer would be: "Ehh...."

Like, Harry doesn't really seem to know why he's dating Ginny, and neither do I. It's just how it's written.

2. Ginny's character

So, this is again my opinion, but I don't like Ginny. I just don't like her character. I wish her off the page whenever she talks.

And, when it comes to shipping, for me, I need to find both the characters involved interesting and fun for me to explore to ship them together and care about the pairing. As I don't like Ginny and don't really care for her, I can't really ship her with anyone, not really. It's not even like I hate her (not the way I hate Dumbledore), I just find a lot of her actions and behavior iffy and she annoys me more often than not.

I'm not going to list everything I don't like about Ginny (some of it appears in the rest of this post). But her treatment of Fluer, for example, really soured her character to me. Like, sure, Ginny's young, but, she's 15, and by that point, I think she should take responsibility for being awful to Fluer who was nothing but nice to all of them. Envy is not a good look for Ginny.

3. How they are portrayed together

Like I mentioned in the Harry section, their romance just never really felt there to me. The descriptions were off and left me feeling annoyed at their scenes together more than anything else.

Again, I'm writing a more comprehensive post about it, but the gist of it is that Harry's thoughts about Ginny in books 6 and 7 are weirdly detached for a supposed crush at best or outright uncomfortable for me to read at worst.

Now, we know Harry can describe characters he finds attractive in greater detail. There is none of that detail with Ginny. He only mentioned her hair color and that her hair is long and smells nice. Like, he doesn't talk about her eye color, her facial structure, eye shape (like he does sometimes with characters he does find attractive) — nothing. He doesn't even call her pretty once! At least he referred to Cho Chang as pretty twice in the series.

In the books there is never a scene (not even one) that convinces me they should be together. Like, they have no chemistry. They kinda remind me of Ron and Lavender tbh. They make out and are present in the same space often, but they never talk. Not really. I don't think Ginny actually knows Harry all that well because he never honestly talks to her about anything real. They don't really have chemistry or a relationship, they're just together. At least, that's how I always saw them.

And yes, Harry has his jealousy moments (that are portrayed so weirdly I always narrow my eyes at them to make sure they were actually there, but that's a whole other post about Harry's chest monster of jealousy), but he still doesn't really explain what he finds in Ginny. He doesn't mention she's attractive or pretty at any point, nor does he mention anything he particularly likes about her personality (except that she doesn't weep like Cho and is good at Quidditch. Neither of which are particularly good basis for a relationship).

Like, Ginny mentions why she likes Harry and that she does multiple times. Harry by contrast, just feels so incredibly uninvolved in his own relationship, to me.

Also, personally, I just find the setup of their relationship iffy. Like Ginny outright says she never gave up on Hary and always knew they'd end up together. It means, that since she was 11 (or earlier), she was crushing on Harry, never gave up on her crush, and considered them ending up together fate. She dated other guys to make Harry jealous and pay attention to her, and that's just really gross. I don't like her long obsessive crush on Harry or her treatment of the other guys she dated on her way to get Harry.

Proof of that, for those wondering:

“I never really gave up on you,” she [Ginny] said. “Not really. I always hoped. . . . Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more — myself.”

(Half-Blood Prince, page 647)

She literally said she dated other guys so Harry would take notice of her. That just grosses me out.

So, no, I don't like Hinny (or Ginny).

[ryuichirou]

What do you think about Lilia and Idia's chats? I know you ship them but did they affect you in any way?

Sorry for the late reply, Anon!

This is one of those asks that I really went “oh no I have to think about this one properly, this is a very important topic” lol But it’s probably for the best because today is kind of a perfect day for me to write about this particular topic.

As always, I ended up talking a whole lot, so I hope you enjoy reading it. I’ll try not to digress too much!

Short answer would be yes of course it affected me: I’m pretty sure it was one of the main reasons why I started shipping them in the first place.

As someone who crawled out of Homestuck’s cradle (and will stay there forever at least in some capacity), I really love it when characters chat. I think all of us act a bit differently when we’re on the internet, even if we’re trying to be 100% honest, or at least we are perceived a bit differently. And when you have two characters who know each other irl, but also know each other online as different people, and one of them is crushing hard, it creates such an interesting dynamic… so beautiful.

It’s very interesting to see Idia swooning so hard. He doesn’t act that way around anybody else, even people he is kind of close with (Azul is the only example but), which contrasts nicely to his usual snarky antisocial self. I love it a lot when this type of character gets very into someone and ends up being a bit tormented by his own inner demons: he craves to be closer to that person, he wants to spend more time together, but he is scared that the moment he accepts his feeling he’s going to get hurt. He is terrified of being vulnerable, but Muscle Crimson makes him so happy that he just can’t help himself. Idia is so cynical and pessimistic, he already accepted the fact that he’ll stay lonely forever, and yet whenever Lilia appears, he gets hopeful, romantic and longing. Very Megara of you, Idia lol

What doesn’t help is that no matter what Muscle Crimson does, somehow it only makes him more perfect in Idia’s eyes…

For starters, in ch6 Idia said that one of the things he loves most about Muscle Crimson is that he never oversteps and is very understanding of him, and how he is very natural in a way he expresses things. What I’m trying to say is that Idia never feels like he has to explain himself or push himself, like MC always gets it and never pries into his affairs. This is the thing that Idia usually struggles with the most: social expectations, the pacing of a conversation, the arbitrary rules of how two people should communicate; and he doesn’t have those issues with MC whatsoever. It’s very easy for him to talk with MC because the moment this usual obstacle isn’t present, Idia is suddenly very eager to connect with another person. MC is chill, MC is nice, MC is mature and MC isn’t needy. We see it so much with their online conversations, it’s incredible.

I also really love their chats because they very nicely show what exactly Idia wants from a relationship. Whenever I talk about Idia’s ideal type, Idia’s love language, Idia’s anything, I always end up talking about it: Idia loves quality time and sharing things that he loves with others, so the fact that he can play videogames with Lilia is massively important for him, but this isn’t the only thing. In Idia’s dorm uniform vignette (god that vignette is such a feast for a multishipper), Idia gets so excited because MC not only agreed to listen to his favourite band, but also was engaged enough to express that he wants to listen to them! On his own volition! Azul-shi who didn’t even bother to listen to their music that Idia kindly brought to him should take notes!

I’m sorry but let’s take a look at this dialogue (official translation from wiki but I just want to make a point okay):

<Muscle Red>  

Ah, I see. My apologies for not being well-informed on the topic.

<Gloomurai>   

NP! sorry for rambling about something you don't care about lol

Imagine ranting to someone about your oshiis, and instead of being annoyed or politely agreeing with you, the person goes “oh I’m sorry that I haven’t heard about them”. Of course, Idia’s instinct is to pull back a little and to apologise for his rambling and to joke about MC not being interested – not as a jab at Lilia, but as a jab at himself instead for bothering him with unnecessary information.

And instead of just letting the conversation go to some other lane (which would’ve been a bit sad, but ultimately not that bad because Lilia’s initial response wasn’t an annoyed one), for some reason, MC does this of all things:

<Muscle Red>  

Actually, after seeing how passionate you are about them...

<Muscle Red>  

My interest in this Premo group has been thoroughly piqued.

<Gloomurai>   

you're already interested just from hearing me drone on and on?

<Gloomurai>   

you're like the nicest guy. i'd give you 100 rare drops if i could

<Muscle Red>  

Would you recommend a particular song for a first-time listener?

Not only he didn’t get a “ehhh yeah cool”, but he also got a “send me their songs” instead. It’s like Lilia is actively trying to lure this poor otaku boy into his embrace lol But the best thing is that it is so casual and genuine, even Idia-the-biggest-cynic doesn’t feel like he is just trying to be nice about it. And as I always say, despite being a hikikomori, Idia is good at reading people, and someone as insecure as he is would’ve definitely thought that MC was just being nice. But he didn’t, instead he got super excited about it.  The boy is so smitten he’s melting as we speak...

And not only that! When in that exact vignette some shenanigans happen with the website of the band, and Idia gets upset about it, MC is so quick to cheer him up and comfort him. It’s interesting with Lilia because he really is wise and mature, but sometimes he doesn’t quite know what to say to comfort someone?? There are some areas in which he is a bit clumsy, I guess, but it seems like when it comes to Gloomy Samurai, it feels like he knows him super well. How his mind and emotion operates, what makes him upset. It’s sweet that he is very eager to support him and feels genuinely bad for him; we’re even shown Lilia himself in his own room being troubled that his online buddy might get depressed over what happened. It’s just so… sweet?? I don’t think Idia had anyone other than Ortho support him like that before. I’ll talk about Lilia in general in a moment though.

One last thing about this vignette is that I wanted to talk about is this little exchange:

<Gloomurai>   

it'd be so cool if we could meet up IRL...

<Muscle Red>  

Oh? Well, if you wish to meet offline, I'd gladly visit whenever you like.

<Gloomurai>   

oh nonononono, i live in a super remote place rn!

<Gloomurai>   

i'd have to take planes, trains, buses, and boats to go p. much anywhere

<Gloomurai>   

meeting up would be a whole THING...

Imagine Idia fucking Shroud not only having a gaming buddy he is excited to talk to, and not only entertaining the idea of meeting said buddy irl, but also EXPRESSING THIS IDEA OUTLOUD? And once again, he is met with enthusiasm, because OF COURSE MC wouldn’t mind hanging out irl! And the moment he gets that response, he pulls back once again, keeping his distance, being anxious and overwhelmed by the possibility of meeting up with MC. It’s incredibly interesting to see Idia acting this way, and once again it shows just how much he doesn’t want to ruin what they have right now. Let’s be honest, it’s not just the fact that he is in NRC; he would’ve easily traveled somewhere if he needed to, they have portals, for fuck’s sake, although not for personal usage. In this convo Idia does what Idia does all the time in their chats: he dares to express interest in MC’s irl affairs, and then gets terrified that MC won’t like it, or MC will answer and somehow this newfound knowledge will ruin something, or that things will get weird: Idia just doesn’t want to risk breaking this balance between them that is super fragile in his eyes.

I love him being so unsure and anxious. I love him being invested and infatuated, but also being so afraid to get hurt. It’s like Lilia is taming him little by little… which isn’t intentional on Lilia’s part lol He’s just hanging out with the guy he likes to hang out with! And the guy is out there falling in love deeper and deeper with every single one of their chat.

But the thing is, this is still not completely one-sided. It’s just that we tend to focus on Idia during these chats, and Idia is really crushing hard on Lilia, but when we’re shown Lilia’s side in his Suitor Suit vignette, we have a little more info on how he feels.

I find it interesting that after Idia’s little rant about how marriage in-game is a stupid mechanic and that it’s such a pain, Lilia changes his mind about asking Idia if he wanted to get married in-game… for unlocking an achievement of course. Which is SUCH A SHAME because Idia would’ve gone full 180 on this topic and would’ve accepted his proposal so fucking hard lol After learning just how much Idia pulls back and rambles, the whole thing really feels like Idia thinking that someone like MC would never ask him for something like this, and how suggesting it himself would’ve been stupid: what if MC thinks that he’s weird or clingy or cringe? So he threw the ball to Lilia’s side of the court so aggressively, that Lilia just figured that Idia hated the idea in general and didn’t want to play with him at all… SUCH A SHAAAME.

But still, it shows that Lilia also doesn’t want to make Gloomy Samurai uncomfortable. Not from the place of extreme shyness, but from the place of loving hanging out with him and not wanting things to become too complicated.

But also!! It’s so interesting to compare the way they act and type. Lilia is so proper with his lack of emoticons, but he is still playful with his comments from time to time. So reliable, so mature, of course Idia’s mental portrait of Muscle Crimson is “older man who may or may not have a family and may or may not be a proper businessmen” lol The boy is talking to someone else’s husband and dad in his head… I also love moments during which Lilia just goes “oh yeah I used to wear armour for work” and Idia just assumes that he’s joking around. I want to see more of their chats ahhh! And I want the big reveal!!

On a personal note (you don’t have to read that part lol), I have my own sentimental reasons to be so into this whole thing. It feels very nostalgic because the whole dynamic, the situations, even the typing style to some degree, it all feels very similar to what we went through ages ago. I won’t point at Lilia and say “he’s just like me for real” because I definitely wasn’t as slick as him at the stupid age of 16, but I did try to have this mature image back then lol But also, just like Lilia, seriously underestimated just how much that antisocial sweetheart I enjoy talking to a lot is into me.

Those early stages of the growing and blossoming relationship, moments of pulling back, showing initiative, trying and being insecure about all those things: I can see it in them, especially in Idia. Since I was technically the Lilia of the situation, I feel such warmth witnessing those early steps in Idia, his crush and his doubts about the whole thing. It’s like… flirting, but not quite? Some other style of flirting that isn’t really noticeable until you really look at it. Since I myself was quite dense back then and, once again, didn’t notice a crush (that I was told about btw) for quite some time, I feel especially sorry for Idia and his pains LOL But also, especially hopeful~

It’s precious. I could’ve written something edgier or sexier but ultimately I feel like it’s very precious, at least to me lol I really love these two. And this is why I’m writing this post today of all days. Very sneaky of me.

Anyways, thank you so much for your question, Anon <3 I love these two a lot.

[lyssala]

I was trying to figure out They are stuck in my mind at all times and when I was thinking, I realized oh OH they're the same picture. So really I apparently just have a trope hierarchy to which if you resemble Roy/Riza in anyway you skyrocket to the top of my list.

Some ramblings about Clorinde/Wriothesley under the cut because I have no where else to do it. I'm sorry to all the people who've been my followers for years and I literally just come here once a year to drop a ship fixation LOL Here's my big dose of copium I guess 🤣

(For the record, I have nothing against the popular pairings for either of them; I multiship just fine. There isn't an ounce of ship bashing in this because 1. that's rude lol 2. discrediting canonical relationships because they threaten the chances of my pair being on top defeats the purpose of analyzing characters)

(Updated: 8/25 just to acknowledge a few other various things before the end of the Fontaine era)

Roy & Wriothesley: fight using their hands (in different ways but still; fire and ice though); masks their true goals behind a facade (whether staged like Roy or Wriothesley just letting people believe what they want about him); most people don't know their true personality/history; hold a position of power in what most people assume is ambition but really they just want to do good to those who need it.

Riza & Clorinde: observant/quiet personality; the world's best shot; the best poker face; straight faced humor; tough as nails; sass and teasing is a love language; recognized as the top of their respective fields and respected by many.

It's uncanny right??

1. Familiar With One Another

It's so clear they have history together. This is not their first mission, first interaction. They can read the lines between what is being said to understand something more, that is the definition of knowing and understanding how someone operates. It means some kind of history.

Between her greeting upon walking in the room (Clorinde: What's that look on your face? I thought I made good time on the way back.) and her knowing how he is about tea (Wriothesley: Want some tea? Clorinde: Not particularly. If you want to drink some that badly, just say so.) Those are not things you would know/say if you don't know a person. She knows he's giving her a weird look, or a look she wasn't expecting. He offers tea, and instead of saying no thank you, she's just no, but I know you do and you don't need me as an excuse 🤣

Even when he clarifies for her that he does want tea, he asks her again, maybe knowing she does actually like it but only if he's already making it - which I do all the time to Ren LOL (Wriothesley: Fine, I'd like to get some tea. Want me to get you a cup too, since I've already made it?) and that time she agrees (Clorinde: Eh, might as well then, I suppose.)

Idk like these are people who know each other. They know their quirks and their mannerisms. They talk to each other as equals (he doesn't question when she's telling the Duke wtf are you looking at me like that I'm right on time, and he's just like I know you're right on time you always are) I just think that's a big deal??

During the wrap-up of the main story quest, when talking to Charlotte when Clorinde is dodging interview attempts and Charlotte guesses how Clorinde knew Charlotte had an interview at Meropide (Clorinde: In truth, all Monsieur Neuvillette asked me was "When did the Fortress become so friendly towards the media?" I told him that it was best not to speak too soon — there's no guarantee that Wriothesley will make a personal appearance). It's likely that Clorinde was in the room when Neuvillette spoke the question aloud, but I also like him going up to her just to ask her like she'd know the answer to what Wriothesley was doing. I mean, she did still know the answer: that just because Charlotte had an interview, Wriothesley probably wouldn't show up. She knows he hates publicity as much as Clorinde does - I do have to imagine its because they've talked about it, they're friends.

In that same scene, Clorinde says to Navia that she seems interested in the Fortress, and Navia says duh, but that man gave me a headache (Navia: Of course! Ugh, that Wriothesley... I still remember going down to the Fortress to grill him for information on my father's case. Boy, did he take me for a ride... without telling me anything, of course). Clorinde then is like, yeah, but he invited you to tea, and it was good, right? (Clorinde: But he did invite you to tea, didn't he? Navia: Two large pots of it, in fact — it was good tea, though. Clorinde: I have to agree. The tea there is very good). My girl, how much time do you spend down there to know he'll habitually ask and that it's always good. Also, lol, the fact that she gave him such a hard time saying no, I don't want any tea, but if you want it, I'll have it, but then to Navia, Clorinde is much more straightforward about how good his tea is because she isn't teasing Navia.

Then of course their bets. (Wriothesley: I win this bet. You owe me a present. Clorinde: Very well, it was indeed just as you said.) This is a thing they do and apparently have done before. She literally talks about how much he gets into it, implying she's learned to go along with it because she knows he enjoys it.

My girl MY GIRL how do you know what kind of gifts he likes, or that he enjoys it all if you haven't done this a million times (Clorinde: Wriothesley gets really invested in that sort of thing. But he couldn't care less about what he wins in the end. Clorinde: You could give him mint plants that you plucked from the side of the road, and he wouldn't even mind). I also have to wonder if the reason he doesn't set a stipulation on what he wants, is because he likes to see what she comes up with, what reminds her of him and that's why he's so happy with anything - that's a little too me with the ship colored glasses on but still (the only other time we see him given a gift he's appreciative, but poor sweet Neuvillette has to explain it first so I can't judge Wriothesley's reaction in comparison).

A smaller thing is Navia always complaining about how hard it is to talk to Wriothesley while Clorinde just bubbles about calling the Duke by his first name and how he likes making bet and loves gifts 🤣 (Navia: If only he was that easygoing when it came to talking business...) I know it's because Wriothesley intentionally avoids Navia due to whatever promise he made with her father. Still, the image of Navia's best friend being super chill with the Duke of Meropide while Navia is exhausted by the thought of talking to him is so superb. Chefs kiss on that dynamic, Hoyo (also can we talk about how the trio of Wrio, Clorinde, and Navia doesn't get nearly enough love and I'm genuinely saddened over that).

I guess one last thing for this section because I don't know where else to fit it, with Wriothesley, to everyone else Clorinde is Miss Clorinde, including to her when they're in public but when Wriothesley is talking to Neuvillette when he's delivering all the gifts, she's just Clorinde (Wriothesley: I have to hand it to Clorinde. Just a simple gift delivery, and she has the great and mighty Iudex at her beck and call.) possibly because Neuvillette would be one of the few people to know they have a relationship outside of work? Though Clorinde is just like oh yeah Wriothesley is just like that in front of a whole slew of people LOL so maybe it's an on work time/off work time thing 🤣 I don't necessarily have a clear analysis but I 💯 noticed it still.

2. Familiar With The Fortress

Moreso for Clorinde since obviously Wriothesley is familiar with it. I think the most clear indication there is for Clorinde spending time down there is through Sigewinne. The official livestream announcement image being a lovely example.

Okay, I know it's because her and Sigewinne were the two new characters and like I said Sigewinne doesn't leave Meropide all too often. Still there were plenty ways to promote them: in the infirmary, in Neuvillette's office (like they did later for her demo/trailer), at the dining hall in Meropide, streets of Fontaine, even no place at all. A choice was made to have them sitting in Wriothesley's office.

I mean Clorinde has to spend a decent amount of time down there??Sigewinne has her drink meaning either Clorinde was comfortable enough to brew Wriothesley's tea or he brewed it for her/them. It's his teas set that sits in his office in game. Again these were choices that were made LOL Clorinde is reading so she's clearly not there for business, just hanging out in his office with Sigewinne.

Also, Clorinde's little smile 🥹 Another is the dolphin (whale? looks dolphin to me) sticker on her book, meaning that Sigewinne made a sticker of Clorinde (like she did with Wriothesley and Neuvillette). Most of all implying that Clorinde is close enough to Sigewinne to get that honor and the fact it's on Clorinde's book, that she spends enough time in Meropide that Sigewinne also likes to stick stickers on Clorinde's things like Sigewinne does to Wriothesley.

Another small thing, was Clorinde in Sigewinne's character trailer. Navia was about to guzzle that tea when Clorinde stopped her like, no, girl, wait. She's 100% had Sigewinne's drink creations before there would be no reason for Clorinde to otherwise stop Navia. And even Clorinde's little cough compare to Navia's big wide eyes of shock lol Clorinde has been through it.

One last thing with Sigewinne is her voiceline about Clorinde and that she's been around Clorinde enough to try to learn how to read her (Sigewinne: Miss Clorinde doesn't make a lot of facial expressions when she talks. It's pretty difficult to tell what mood she's in from what her face is doing...She used the lipstick I gave her? Really? Hee-hee, I'm so glad she likes it! I knew that color would go great on her!). But, Sigewinne also knows her enough to give her gifts - and vice versa (Clorinde: And some tea-flavored hard candies. They're for Sigewinne) - because they're also friends. That can literally only happen if Clorinde has spent time there longer than what we've seen/were told.

Another thing I found so cute about Clorinde's connection to Meropide, was in Clorinde's story quest, when they went to the Meropide set (Clorinde: I admire the work put into the set. Still, it's obvious the script writer has never paid a visit to the Fortress of Meropide). Yes, yes, we know, you're apparently so familiar with it you can tell when details are missing, okay, girl.

A little more of a stretch with some ship goggles on but I can't help but laugh at the image of Clorinde smiling at the prospect of getting to throw her players in Meropide and as GM getting to play Wriothesley's job (Furina: So this set... is going to be a part of the script? Clorinde: Unfortunately, that is something I can neither confirm nor deny. Paimon: Um, anyone think Clorinde's smile is starting to look kinda scary...?). Still sort of unrelated but also Paimon's line in that scene was adorable too - if only there were snacks in prison...oh, there are if the Duke likes you LOL (Paimon: If only there were desserts and tea in real prison... Oh, wait, guess that's kind of how the Fortress of Meropide works if you're lucky.)

3. Same Sense of Humor

Their humor too omg they have like the same brand of humor and it's fantastic and because it's so dry; poor Neuvillette is always just like and you what now? LOL (Clorinde: He already has tons of tea in his office. I'm thinking about a set of legal codices. Wriothesley: That wouldn't happen to be a dig at my lack of legal awareness, would it... Clorinde: I'm sure His Grace doesn't consider the Fortress to be outside the law.)

Which she brings up again in her voiceline (Clorinde: I highly suspect that he keeps quiet about some of the methods he uses, but there's no way we can know) teasing again that he operates outside the law. The other thing about this line (though I don't put it very high, it could be a translation thing) but that she switches from I highly suspect to no way we can know. Why she didn't just say no way I can know, is probably because she does know or she knows she could know if she asked LOL

One of my favorite examples is from his character stories because omg I feel like it's the definition of their humor and it makes me laugh so much ("Why does it feel like you have even more free time than me? Your title wasn’t bought, was it?"

"One moment, please."

So saying, Wriothesley rifled through three drawers before producing several thick documents with a flourish. "Now, let me see... 'excellent management'... 'leading tax contributor'... 'specially granted this title...' Well, what do you know? Good guess, that's pretty much what happened after all.") I just feel like she's not afraid to challenge him with jabs as jokes and he's perfectly fine to take it. But I also think that's saying something because who else knows that they can poke fun at him like that, she knows because she knows him.

4. Work Life Together

I just wish Hoyo would tell us more about it 😩 like is it just because he hires her to do stuff for him? How did that start? Why? Even in the character story above, it's said it was over a business transaction what does that meaaaan? There's no way he, woke up one way and went, you know what time to hire this one Champion Duelist (she's the best but she's still not the only one) to do some secret missions.

When asked, he said it's because she's an independent party (Wriothesley: As a Champion Duelist, Miss Clorinde can be considered to be an independent party. I needed to find an exceptionally capable person to help me get through the impending crisis) but I mean she works for the court idk how that makes her independent? He does say "crisis" so it's likely she knew about a lot of the things going on ahead of time but I don't think he would have ever just hired someone just because of their station. Mainly because in doing so, he trusted her to be in his inner circle of the plan with Sigewinne - who Clorinde also has a relationship with as I went through already - and Neuvillette, two people we know Wriothesley does have canonical history with.

I saw someone say that Clorinde was already staying down there at the time already working with Wriothesley on the mission, so it was easy for her to get Freminet, but I couldn't ever find what in canon pointed to that. She was staying after at least, she was eating dinner there but they weren't expecting the gate to blow that night. You'd assume she'd leave after she told him everything he needed to know. But no it's like middle of the night/early morning and she's right down there with him. So part of the crisis he referred to is letting her in on one of the biggest secrets of Meropide because she knew exactly what to do and was ready and willing to do it.

I also really love Navia's voice line about him because it says that Clorinde knows what the arraignment he had with Callas was otherwise she wouldn't have told Navia it was okay (Navia: Trying to discuss anything with that guy is an exhausting process. Clorinde says I needn't have any reservations about collaborating with him in the scope of our preexisting agreement, but I still shouldn't trust everything that comes out of his mouth.) I imagine Clorinde bullying it out of him to make sure if was a safe arraignment for Navia (and maybe upon learning what it was and how it came about could've been the early steps in how Clorinde learned to trust him too because it's mutual - she's not a mercenary, she takes jobs with him because she also trusts him and what he does). But I also imagine that bit about not trusting a word that comes from his mouth (since Wriothesley hasn't ever lied that I recall, he hides things very well and doesn't clarify to make things appear certain ways, but I don't recall him flat out being deceitful) is either 1. Clorinde teasing him to Navia without her even knowing but it gives Clorinde a little amusement 2. She knows that man is gonna run his mouth one day to tease her and she's laying the foundations now so Navia won't listen to him 🤣

Or Clorinde is helping him keep his mysterious and bad boy persona because she knows he's actually a big softie - all wins to me lol because I genuinely can't see her believing he's untrustworthy; she literally risked her life to stay with him while they waited for Neuvillette, that doesn't sound like a person you didn't trust. Because again as far as I know a Champion Duelist is still not a mercenary.

5. Battle Couple

Which leads me back into my original Roy and Riza comparison, the way they fight together (Wriothesley: Clorinde is the best Champion Duelist you can find. Her combat prowess is already the stuff of legend. I've never fought her myself, but that's because there's never been a need for it.) I saw someone point out how does he know this when he'd likely have to make a special trip just to see her fight. I imagine some is word of mouth considering the phrasing of stuff of legend. Regardless of how he knew initially, he knows now because they've fought together before. He's never fought her, like he said, but they're fought side by side.

They had to. I'm sorry, this is not the delulu brain worms, you cannot tell me they didn't.

They likely had some sort of plan otherwise idk how she would know to shoot the door controls, but she's watching him from a distance, sees his signal of a simple nod and proceeds (she nods back to him but I couldn't find a gif that included it). I say because they didn't know what was going to happen; the plan was probably if it looks bad, shoot the controls I don't care where I am. I don't think it was as specific as I'll just give you a nod it's fine. He could've shouted, made a bigger motion, lots of things really - he didn't because he was literally running for his life and he knew she was watching, she'd see him and know what to do that's why I bring it up. That's why I refuse to believe they've never fought/worked side by side before, you don't just read people like that; you don't just trust people like that, especially two people who it's in their job description to be sus and careful with who you trust. You read faces, eyes, subtle signals from people you know and trust.

It reminded me so much of Roy and Riza in this scene when she can't speak from her injury and he is about to lose his mind and all she needs to do is move her eyes and he gets it.

(I mean, Roy and Riza have literally a lifetime of history, experience, and love for one another, I don't think Wriothesley and Clorinde have known each other as long or have that rich a history, but all I'm saying is I keep seeing them in each other, okay? Okay).

6. Similarities in Story and Interests

I threw this one down at the bottom because I’m not sure if they’re aware of their own similarities. It’s more meta in the sense I see the similarities without having canon to tell me that they know how similar they are. The first being the most obvious in that they were both orphaned as babies, and then were raised with foster parents/guardians until Clorinde was 10 and Wriothesley was a teen (Clorinde at least getting the better deal in that her Master who took her in was unconventional but seemingly cared for Clorinde unlike Wriothesley who had the rug ripped out from under him to see the truth of his family). Clorinde then presumably was looked after by Callas and Wriothesley grew up in Meropide. Both don’t talk about their personal lives often, but in both they’re story quests, they talk about their past pretty openly. So its possible they know, but because Hoyo is too afraid to put them in the same room again, I can’t say.

They also both hate newspapers and paparazzi. Clorinde talks about why she likes Charlotte by alluding to what other journalists put Clorinde through (Clorinde: Unlike some, [Charlotte] doesn't ambush me with her Kamera on my way to work, or follow me to the coffee shop to report on what I'm drinking today... And most commendably of all, she is well aware that I do not do interviews and doesn't nag me about it continuously). Wriothesley we know also turns down interviews frequently (Charlotte: And that's exactly why I'd like you to come conduct interviews with me. You're the best incubators of news, if you haven't noticed — and also, with you around, I'm sure I'll get to see that Duke. Paimon: Are you sure? Hasn't he turned you down several times already?). I imagine its because both have been victims of the journalists turning on them for a front page story (I’m sure everything with Callas was sensationalized, same with Wriothesley when he was a teen and also probably just how criminals are depicted in journalism to begin with).

The last bit comes from the Fontaine Tour Group video since so far the only two playable characters who have displayed knowledge on Remuria. Wriothesley both in the Archon Quests and his Friendship stories (Wriothesley: Then maybe you haven't heard of the story of ancient Remuria. To give you a quick rundown, Fontaine used to be ruled by the Remurian Dynasty) and Clorinde in the Fontaine Tour Group video (Clorinde: …oh, they have a Conch Harp here? Navia: Something wrong? Clorinde: It’s nothing. Probably dates back to the days of Remuria, that’s all). In the video, Navia clearly had listened to Clorinde talk about it because she remembered the connection but she also couldn’t even remember the name after Clorinde just said it, so it’s clearly not common knowledge. I imagine Clorinde was taught about it with her Master due to the ties to the Marechaussee Hunters and Clorinde’s clear love of history. But I also can’t imagine that Clorinde and Wriothesley never discussed both having interests/knowledge in the same niche era of Fontaine’s history. We know that she knew about the splice gate, so I also imagine she knew about the Winglet and therefore they absolutely would’ve talked about Fontaine history and folklore together.

And So

One thing I've seen a lot in this fandom, when others are trying to discredit a ship they try to give proof of pairs that are "more canon" and I didn't do this to try and say they have more canon standing. They aren't seen together all that often, and sometimes we just have to pull the crumbs out of our own analysis and that's okay. I don't like the phrase "more canon" because its canon or its not lol Being in more scenes together doesn't make a pairing more canon unless they're in the scene confessing their love verbally or physically. It just means they have a relationship, whether that's friendship, familial or romantic. How you see a relationship is up to you and you aren't wrong (because there is no right answer - n o s h i p i s c a n o n).

When it comes to Clorinde and Wriothesley, I don't know if Hoyo will ever put them in the same room together again (though they gave me enough crumbs that I need to now clarify pictured/interacting in the same room lol). They're just gonna give us a Character like Wriothesley and just leave him down there to never interact with people 😭 Clorinde's story quest didn't even touch on her being a Champion Duelist. I still have so many questions.

I’m a little peeved with Hoyo to be honest which is a whole other conversation I’ll have on how we went from some of the best storytelling and some of the best characters into some of the blandest storytelling and complete wasted potential. Nothing will make me stop loving what I loved about Fontaine, but it’s incredibly frustrating also feeling like I was lied to my face only because Hoyo caved to fanservice (which is how it looks), completely erasing character stories and relationships they established in the first place.

ALAS, with the new region on the horizon, maybe we’ll finally see some peace as the fandom moves on to a new region. We’ll just have to speculate and answer the questions for ourselves <3

In any regard, I wrote up all this to (cope because I adore them and I run out of content to satisfy my intake on a daily basis) hopefully make someone else also feel better that no, no one was crazy for thinking these two had that good fucking chemistry, because it radiated off the goddamn screen. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise 💙 Also, oh my fucking god I thought that after being in with Genshin since version 1.3 I already had my hyperfixation period back in Liyue nope the fucking prison warden and trial by combat champion decided to ruin my life.

[yesbutmakeitgay]

Do You Remember My Old Names?

GIF by userbrielarson

Carol Danvers x Reader

We’ve Loved A Thousand Lives

Same beginning, different story every time.

Part 15

Bittersweet, Mutual pining, Goodbyes.

Beta'd by @cordeliasdarling 💜

Word count: 1.6k

A/N: I really love this one so much!

Masterlist | This collection | AO3

Captain Marvel enters her ship after another successful mission wanting for nothing more than to relax and rest while reaching her next destination, that is, until she senses someone else’s presence in her space home.

She walks slowly, pointing one of her lit up fists in a general forward direction, "I know you’re in here, who are you? Who sent you?" she warns the intruder as she steps further into the ship.

Once she reaches the living room, she turns on the light to reveal you, sitting on the couch unbothered, "You scared me!" she sighs in relief, putting her arm down.

Your face lights up when you see her, "Boo!"

"Wait." She looks around, alarmed once again.

"We're alone, I checked," you reassure her, she remains skeptical, "twice."

She frowns, glancing at the entrance, "Did anyone see you come in?"

"I've been doing this for twenty years, I'd appreciate it if you would trust me a little by now," you say lightheartedly.

"Sorry, I’m still worked up from the mission."

"It's okay, you did a great job, Captain," you congratulate her while placing your tablet by your side.

A blush appears on her cheeks, "Thanks."

You're the agent in charge of the intel for all of Captain Marvel's missions. You do all the background checks, remotely scout every scene before she arrives, and know the ins and outs of all her jobs. You're in her comms whenever things go south and have gotten her out of trouble more than a few times in all your years working together.

Being such a key component to the strongest Avenger's work means you are forced to live in the shadows. You periodically change your name, your looks, and even your accent, it also means that you aren't allowed to be seen with The Captain.

Although you work together on a daily basis, being in your presence has always brought a kind of unease to Carol. For starters, you never show up when things are going peachy, but also, being around you makes her nervous, you seem to have an unquestionable power over her, something she has never felt with anyone else before.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Agent—" she stops herself, "what do I call you this time?"

"Whatever you want," you shrug, your title isn’t important anymore.

"Is everything alright?"

"…Yes." Carol might not be familiar with your physical mannerisms, but she can tell by your voice that something is pressing on your chest.

You share the most intimate relationship two people can have. You know everything about her, you look out for her everyday and her safety is your number one priority, but you aren't allowed to interact outside of work, even less so, in person.

On the flip side, Carol doesn't even know your real name, she only knows all the pseudonyms you've gone by throughout the years, still, she knows to seamlessly put all her trust in you, your voice is the first and last thing she hears during her missions.

It took her a while to get used to it, to let her walls fall down and be vulnerable with you, but she realized, in due time, that you would never let her down. You're always a step ahead whenever she needs you.

Carol offers you a cup of freshly made tea as she takes a seat beside you, "I only just told Fury, so don't say anything, but I’m retiring," you explain.

"Oh, congratulations?" She isn't sure how you're feeling about it, this is the last thing she was expecting, her heart begins to beat faster without her consent and she can't tell why.

"Thanks, I can't wait to get away from this job," you chuckle.

"Bullshit, you love your job, even more than I love mine which is a lot to say."

She doesn't know that the only reason you love your job so much is you get to work with her everyday, but it's not enough for you anymore, you're tired of hiding, of having to move around all the time. You can't deal with not being allowed to talk to her, to see her whenever you want.

Carol’s mind is racing, she’s beginning to worry about her future without you, how that’s going to affect her work and, by extension, the lives of so many other people, she’s worried that whoever takes over for you won’t be as skilled, as capable, as trustworthy…that they won’t care for her the same way you always have.

Regardless of how she feels about the news, she can tell you’re at peace with your decision, so she tries to be supportive,"I’m gonna miss you, we make such a great team, I haven't had a mishap in three years." It takes everything in her to keep her act together.

"I know, you're welcome," you grin.

"Do they have a replacement for you?"

You give her an apologetic look, "I think Fury is taking over while they find a good fit." Your mind is made up even though you know this isn’t the best way you could have done things.

It becomes clear to Carol that this arrangement is truly sudden, "I’m surprised he let you go so easily."

"He put a up tough fight, but I’m not budging." Goose jumps on your lap asking for cuddles, and you oblige.

"Why not?" She responds a little too quickly.

You take a deep breath, "I’m just over it, you know? This kind of thrill, it was fun when we were younger, but some of us do age."

"Do not pull that card on me, I can throw you into a Light-Speed Engine and give you powers too!" She's only half joking, she would do anything not to lose you.

"Oh, no, thank you, I just wanna go home, settle down, stop hiding from everyone," be with you, "get a cat, maybe?"

She points at Goose, "I have a cat."

"She's not a cat," you retaliate, prompting the flerken to hop off of your lap.

"Did you come to say goodbye, then?" She accepts her fate, as devastated as she is to see you go, she understands you completely, she always has.

You nod sadly, standing up, as she does the same. "Goodbye, Captain, my years working with you have been the best of my entire life."

"I hope you can finally find the peace you’re looking for."

You share a comforting hug that carries everything you both left unsaid, one that’s full of melancholy and bittersweet happiness for the opportunity to have known each other for so long. She doesn’t dare move until you let go, her nose is now red and her eyes are brimming with tears.

You gently run your hands up and down her arms, "You’re gonna do great without me, everything is gonna be okay, I promise," you reassure her.

She only nods trying her best to believe you, after all, you have never let her down.

You exit the ship as Carol turns to the coffee table after seeing an object out of the corner of her eye, "Wait, your forgot—" but it’s too late, the door has already closed behind you.

She picks up the small card and finds your real name, phone number, and address on it, flipping it over, she immediately recognizes your handwriting that reads, "Come find me, I love you."

[imagitory]

All right...for those of you who don't know my thoughts about Wish, yes, I wasn't happy with the finished result, but no, I'm not a hater. I'm mostly just disappointed that this project that had so many good ideas came out so half-baked, and THIS is a perfect example of what I mean.

No, it's not because "Star Boy" appears in it -- at least, not by itself. I do actually like Star's "himbo" personality in this, even if I also completely understand liking the idea of a mute version of the character. (The downside is that the mute Star from the finished film honestly doesn't have much personality outside of just being cute, in contrast to other mute magical Disney characters like Tinker Bell.)

No, the lost potential here is two-fold --

Firstly, I once again felt more emotion watching this storyboarded sequence than I did at any point in the finished film. I smiled hearing the fun banter between Star and Asha, insinuating that they're becoming closer despite their contrasting personalities; I felt some suspense in how Star and Asha were going to get away from evil!Queen Amaya; I even laughed pretty hard at the cat-and-yarn gag! I didn't laugh once while watching the finished movie.

Secondly -- and this point is actually the one I want to focus on more -- is the commentary given about why this scene was cut. I truly think another unspoken reason behind the decision was that this sequence was clearly inspired by the transforming chase scene in Nimona, which Disney of course infamously dropped when they closed Blue Sky Studios and later got picked up by Netflix, only to receive glowing reviews from just about everyone...but one of the core reasons that Head of Story Mark Kennedy cites for why they changed this scene (aside from wanting Star to be mute and not a shapeshifter like other Disney characters, which I'm a bit confused about because yeah, Disney's done cute, mute non-human characters before too -- what about Dopey, Pascal, Maximus, Dumbo, Bambi, Magic Carpet, Sven, and again Tinker Bell?) is that they wanted Asha to be the hero and be able to "solve all her problems" without Star's help.

Up to a point, I understand what Kennedy means -- the theme of the film is supposed to be that we all have the power inside of us to make a difference, and that's great. But by making it so that Asha doesn't need any help from Star, it takes something away from their relationship. No human is an island, and relationships, both in stories and real life, are often built on that fact. Just look at Ariel and Eric in the original Little Mermaid -- Ariel saves Eric from drowning and from Ursula zapping him with Triton's trident, and then Eric saves Ariel from Ursula by skewering her with the broken figurehead of a ship. Even in non-romantic examples, we have Judy and Nick having to help each other solve the case in Zootopia; Buzz and Woody helping each other get back to Andy in Toy Story; the Parr family and Frozone all fighting together against Syndrome's robot with their unique powers in The Incredibles; Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver working together to save themselves and everyone else at the end of Treasure Planet; even Anna helping Elsa learn how to control her magical abilities through an act of authentic, courageous, selfless love that only she can do in Frozen. These characters needing help and deep emotional connections with others is what creates a bond between them, helps the characters grow and change into stronger people, and makes us as an audience enjoy watching the two characters together. We become invested in both the two individual characters and the relationship forged between them. Because they all have their unique strengths and weaknesses, they supplement and complete each other. Even perfect paragon Superman in most DC properties isn't an island -- when he's in the Justice League, there are plenty of times where he needs help from Batman or other team members to save the day. Even Superman is a stronger character when he has people around him who can balance out his flaws.

If Asha never needs help, that runs the risk of the challenges she's facing seeming far less consequential, because no human can handle absolutely everything, all by themselves. Yes, perhaps in the finished film, Asha asks her friends to help her liberate the wishes (a task which ultimately fails, leaving Asha to confront Magnifico alone again and realize exactly what everyone has to do to defeat him on her own anyway)...but just in regards to Star and Asha's relationship -- which even the filmmakers have said is something like a "soulmate" relationship, though not in a romantic sense in the finished product -- these two can't have a meaningful connection if one of them is completely self-sufficient. This is also why quite a few Disney fans didn't like that the Little Mermaid remake changed Ursula's defeat to have it be Ariel who killed her, rather than Eric, because it hurt the "equal" dynamic between the main couple where they both helped and supported each other.

In short, "girl power" shouldn't have to mean never needing to rely on anyone else...and honestly, looking at this scene concept, we don't see Asha relying on Star too much! She's the brains of the outfit -- she's making plans; she's providing Star some much needed common sense; she's using Star's light as a distraction so they can get away...she even escapes Amaya at one point by sliding right under her horse! Asha in this storyboard is a bad-ass!

What we see in this sequence is these two characters having to help each other in order to succeed. And that would've been a great foundation on which to build more dramatic stakes and a relationship with actual pathos, whether romantic or not.

[rustedleopard]

My summary/breakdown of Staroba's dynamic (in reference to this post).

Note that I'm going to be working off memory for most of this so if someone has some additional input they wanna chime in with, feel free to. This is also going to be a train of thought/rambley sorta post so it's gonna be a bit disorderly (though, when have I ever been orderly with my posts :p)...

I like Staroba. A lot. And it's such a shame that there are people out there who look at this ship and just see "they're both bisexual, she's girlboss, he's malewife, and she pegs him" because there's SO MUCH more to their dynamic/that isn't even what their dynamic is.

They're childhood friends. We don't know how far back their friendship extends but I'm willing to venture that it's been since elementary school/early middle school at the absolute latest. And at the point in canon when Clover meets them, they're both likely in their late-twenties to mid-thirties in age. That's a long time to know someone, enough to be there through all the cringey, messy phases in life. These two know each other better than anyone else through sheer proximity and time spent together (more on this later).

Starlo has also been nursing a massive crush on Ceroba since they were kids. You can see this in the picture that's in Starlo's house: she's holding him and doing a peace sign at the camera, meanwhile Starlo is clearly flustered and hover-handing her (this was likely back when the Dunes were still the Meadows, judging by what appears to be a pine tree in the background).

That might have you think: "Ah, Rusty, you're so lame. This is a 'the guy gets the girl' scenario. I'm gonna chuck tomatoes at you!" And to that I say: hold your tomatoes! Ceroba did have some interest in Starlo as well! Exclusively in the Pacifist Run, if Clover TALKs to Ceroba two times in the reception area in the Steamworks (immediately after entering the door where the path through the Steamworks branches off from the Neutral/No Mercy Route), Ceroba will initially start off talking about how she met Chujin and how she'll never find someone as wonderful as him in her life, which prompts Clover to mention Starlo. Ceroba gets a bit flustered but states that she did consider getting into a romantic relationship with him once upon a time but he wasn't ready to grow up like she was (8:18 in this video). So there was mutual potential for them to get together when they were younger, but the things they wanted out of life at that point weren't compatible with each other. Like two ships in the night, they passed each other by.

Ceroba fell in love with Chujin, who was ready to have a family and settle down and be mature, which is what Ceroba wanted from a romantic relationship. And when Ceroba got engaged to Chujin, what did Starlo do? Did he get jealous and throw a fit? Shovel-talk Chujin? Try to convince Ceroba to take him instead? Nope. According to Crestina, he got so depressed that he locked himself in his room for days. As hurt as he was by the person he loved not picking him, he didn't make his feelings Ceroba's problem. Starlo was the one who lacked the initiative to ask her out and I get the sense that he knew that deep down; he couldn't just expect Ceroba to magically know his feelings for her and then they get married and ride off into the sunset together. Instead, he respects Ceroba's relationship. They remain good friends. He lets Ceroba and Kanako, the child that the love of his life had with Chujin, come over to his town and goof off. He may not like Chujin as a person because of his own petty feelings but he also respects for the man (seen in his dialogue about Chujin after defeating Ceroba in True Pacifist) and he's aware that his gripes with Chujin are personal.

Then Chujin passes away and Kanako falls down and gets sent to the Lab. While Chujin's death is well-known, nobody else in town seems to know what happened to Kanako besides Starlo (though, without the specifics) and the Feisty Four (who Starlo likely broke the news to). Starlo is Ceroba's sole confidant. With Chujin permanently out of the picture, this could be Starlo's chance to try to charm Ceroba. But he's respectful enough to know that she's in this deeply vulnerable state and so he does the right thing and helps her. Approaches the situation as her best friend. Let her crash in the Feisty Five's shack rent-free because staying at home is too painful for her. Invents his whole "North Star" persona to try to entertain her and distract her from her pain because that's what strikes him as the best thing to do. Pulls Ceroba into his shenanigans to take her mind off her problems. It doesn't exactly work because her problems run deeper than that but an attempt is made to make things easier for her.

On Ceroba's side of things, she may not understand Starlo's whole cowboy LARPing deal but she knows that it makes him happy. She doesn't look down on it or belittle him for having a passion that is so nerdy that it practically pastes a "Kick me" sign on his back. She may not want to be involved in the Feisty Five, but she's entertained by them and lets herself get dragged into their roleplays from time to time (see Ceroba getting involved in the Trolley Problem Mission, wooden actor that she is). In a Neutral Run, if Starlo is spared, Ceroba will throw a party for him to celebrate him reuniting with the rest of the Feisty Five because she wants him to be happy. Despite how different they are in terms of stuff like personality and interests, they both like and respect each other a lot.

They also have so many parallels despite their differences and know each other so well. Clover shows up and Starlo falls too deeply into the persona he invented and becomes a reckless, selfish jerk. He drives away his friends, he nearly kills Clover and there is nothing that Clover can do to snap him out of it (yes, Clover can Surrender in the end, but that only makes him hesitate. And if Clover does anything but Surrender or FIGHT him on the final turn, Starlo will nearly pull the trigger on Clover until Ceroba interferes). Ceroba is the one to call him out on his behavior and make him remember his conscience: he's not this selfish jerk he built himself up to be, he's not a killer. In the Pacifist Run, Starlo goes after Ceroba once he realizes the truth of why she's accompanying Clover to Hotland. It's not solely to protect Clover, though that's a massive factor (if this was the case, he'd accompany Clover back to the Wild East instead of going after Ceroba); he wants to protect Ceroba's heart: she's not the sort to murder an innocent child, she's not a killer. You can especially see this mindset that Starlo has when he calls Clover out in the Flawed Pacifist ending: while the law and everyone else may see Clover killing Ceroba as the equivalent of putting a dangerous murderer down, to him, they killed a desperate mother pushed to an extreme. Unforgivable in his eyes.

There's also how Clover can only say the same responses to killing either Starlo or Ceroba ("..." or "I'm sorry."), depending on the run. As well as how only Starlo or Ceroba can be fought in Flowey's mindscape in a Neutral Run, depending on how the Neutral Run is done. Never both. Could mean nothing, but I like pointing it out.

They're also pretty damn patient with each other despite being impatient people overall. You can see Starlo's impatience with how eager he is to push Clover into being a deputy and how dismissive he acts about the rest of the Feisty Five when they bring up complaints/try to get him to slow down. But when Ceroba wallops him then he gets back up in the True Pacifist ending, then it's a "Well, I guess I deserved that :D." Not a lick of anger for being knocked unconscious. Likewise, when Clover was in the Wild East in a Pacifist Run, Ceroba is likely straining at the bit to get Clover to the Royal Laboratory as soon as possible. But she also knows that having a human in the town that Starlo made to imitate the Surface means a lot to him, so she lets him have his fun with them until he's ready to let them go.

Starlo's and Ceroba's dynamic is founded on a deep understanding of who each party is at their core, mutual respect and kindness for one another, and patience. They're best friends with each other but that relationship also has the potential to evolve into a romantic relationship just as much as it can withstand remaining purely platonic. There is no "this one is the boss of the relationship and this one is the one that defers to the other" dynamic in the relationship because both sides are equals who are willing to listen to each other (Ceroba and Chujin's relationship more closely adheres to that dynamic actually, with Ceroba deferring to Chujin because she sees him as this perfect, untouchable character. You can see this with Ceroba hesitating to kill Clover because she genuinely likes the kid but because Chujin asked her to reap an innocent human SOUL for his serum, she goes all-out to accomplish this). They love each other a lot platonically and I can see the opportunity for some romantic attraction to crop up as Ceroba starts to move on from Chujin and Starlo starts being more responsible post-True Pacifist. They would be two people who mutually grow into the best versions of themselves and also love each other.

[hemingwaystan]

Dipper should have taken Ford's apprentice ship offer, change my mind.

I know this is a really hot take but I want to state my argument and hopefully change some minds. This is my controversial argument, I don't want to start a flame war so try not to do any screaming hate comments although I'm down with a calm debate about it, anyways, without further ado, a really, really long essay explaining it.

First, I'm gonna take about Dipper's relationship with Mabel and the parallels between the Stans and them. Obviously, the show is kind of arguing that Dipper needs to stay with her so their relationship doesn't go the way Stans but I honestly think that's an irrelevant concern because they reconciled after Mabel-land in relation to the apprenticeship. I legitimately believe when they actually see each other, they'll love each other like they did before. Their was never a relationship ruining event like with the Stans that could force a rift, nobody closed the window and no one broke the perpetual motion machine.

Second, I want to talk about what it would be like living with Ford. Because it's definitely the most, in my eyes, reasonable argument against taking it I've seen but I still think I can prove it wrong, WITH FACTS AND LOGIC, lol. First, Ford and Dipper have already bonded deeply by the end of the show and will even more, probably like way more. That's why I think they'll look out for each other a lot more than a lot of people think. Ford has to drink water, Ford has to eat, so does Dipper, they'll just do it together. And about household accomodations, y'know like all the things a house needs to have. They'll probably have better stuff than almost anywhere else, think about Ford's lightbulb and extend that to just about all issues. And then I know what you're thinking, money, and that's definitely a hard one to crack but I imagine they'll either acquire their food through weirder locations, y'know like buying shit from the gnomes or whatever. I know this would be tough for Ford but I'm sure he'll quickly rationalize it as studying the economics of the different creatures intelligent enough to buy and sell food. I also think for standard money, in relation to the things that just doesn't cover. I think Ford, for his low-danger inventions he would happily do what McGucket did, sell some patents or produce shit on the side. Ford wants to advance knowledge and society with science. He has any number of things he could do that with while committing almost all his time to research, for example selling the patents for the scientifically perfect lightbulb. That would take care of him for an exorbitant amount of time, probably living rich for life if he cared about that, which he doesn't so non-sequitor but he will be safe.

The third argument against it I've seen is that Ford would be a bad caretaker, I think this one can be easily argued against. Because, again they have a close bond and will likely only grow closer. And I can tell you why that means so much. I'm a child of divorce and I stayed with my dad. And he wasn't a very good caretaker by any means but we looked out for each other in all the ways needed to survive. I learned how to do all the household stuff by 12. They care about each other, they're both intelligent enough to know how to keep kicking. Also, despite not appearing it Ford is clearly a caring person, the problem is people miss that due to his relationship with Stanley but that's built on decades of distrust,

The fourth possible argument is that Dipper would grow up too fast. But truth by told, growing up fast is a good thing in my eyes. You learn how to take care of yourself at a young age, you grow closer with adults by sharing many of their issues and with other people Dipper's age he can just not mention it. Also most people's innocence dies around 13 or 14, or maybe I just had a shitty childhood, who fuckin' knows.

The fifth argument against it I've seen is Dipper's social life and that is reasonable but if we follow the admitted assumption Ford will give him a fair amount of free time. He still is in with Wendy's friend group and he'll probably regularly see them after school, he'll also have Pacifica as they're relationship was improving rapidly by the end of the show and I think it's unlikely but possible he'll reconcile with Gideon given his character arc, assuming it continues after the epilogue. And Ford will probably become friends again with McGucket helping his own social life.

And now we're gonna talk about the advantages of staying with Ford. First, Dipper will probably have the intelligence of having a PhD by senior year. He'll get into a college of his choice and later in life, if not at a young age will advance the knowledge of the human race at least a fair amount. He'll have an incredibly promising life no matter what he does it just seems science is the most likely option.

Second, I absolutely love Mabel but honestly, she is kind of holding him back. He has a future and a life in front of him and he only ever sacrifices for her and she really barely does anything of the sort. She does apologize at the end but I don't remember any long-term change. I don't blame her for Weirdmagedon though.

Third, I don't know about you but a childhood spent in Gravity Falls, studying anomalies would be fucking sick. I know that's a personal opinion but honestly, wouldn't it?

Fourth, in the Book of Bill and other sources it's regularly implied that Dipper/Mabel's parents are regularly fighting and their suffering from it. A household of Ford and Dipper would be totally unstable as I won't deny Ford is rather unstable mentally although as the series goes on he seems to improve in condition with Weirdmaggedon as an exception, but like who the fuck wouldn't flip out during that but even then he maintains his composure. Dipper would be mentally safer, especially if my reasoning for fighting counter argument against apprenticeship five holds, but also, he'll be and this is an inference dodging a childhood of fighting parents and probably a bad divorce, that traumatizes people.

Thank you for reading my incredibly long rant, I'm happy to provide a counter-opinion because it seems like literally no one has yet. I really hope that the opinion he should've can become more widespread because I think it deserves to be, thank you.

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Gray 29

First / Previous / Next

Fen and Zhe went back up to the command deck to watch the approach. Northern placed the view out of some forward cameras on the screen and what struck Fen the first time she saw it was just how ramshackle the station was. It appeared to be made out of more than a dozen old starship hulls.

"Is that.. made out of junk starships?"

"It appears that way Fen, but I'm not sure if they're junk or not. I can see a lot of reactors when I scan for emissions. It could be that they're just all connected together and can break apart when threatened." Northern sounded fascinated. "It's a good idea, really. If you're worried about some administrative forces kicking you out, you just break up your station and link away to somewhere else. Fen, Zhe? This is going to be a while. I was just told we have to wait for a place for us to park. Why don't you two go get some rest. I'll wake you if anything comes up."

Back in her room, Fen lays on the bed. It's large and cold and smells unfamiliar. The sheets are wrong, the light in the room is wrong, the mattress is wrong, the whole place feels wrong. She had been doing well enough until she talked to Zhe about Ma-ren and she feels alone in the bed all over again. Tossing and turning, Fen struggles to sleep. Finally sleep comes.

Fen dreams.

She's sitting on a large, seat, a throne really at the top of what could only be described as an... arena. Every single seat is filled with people who are there to see her. She can feel their excitement radiate off. They aren't coerced, they aren't forced, they are all there willingly.

To see her.

Or are they?

She holds out her hand for silence, only it's not her hand. The skin tone is wrong, lighter. She spreads her arms wide to welcome the crowd, but the length feels wrong. Glancing down quickly, she sees that she's shorter than she expected, even with the high heels. High heels? Fen hates wearing heels; they're so wobbly. Her body isn't quite right either, she feels top heavy. The crowd is so far away, that they haven't noticed anything yet, but the people next to her have. One of them, a women, about her size with a kind face looks over, her brow furrowed in concern. Fen feels an overwhelming desire to comfort her, let her know everything is all right, even though it clearly isn't. "I'm fine." she whispers out of the corner of her mouth. "Just jitters or something."

The other women nods very slightly and turns back to the crowd, not convinced, but unwilling to disturb the ceremony.

"People of the Reach! I come before you to tell you of news. Our battles go well, and we have captured the inner planets! Venus, Luna and the LEO principalities have all agreed to a peace plan." Cheers and shouts of praise. She basks in their love, buoyed by their positivity. "I myself will be departing for the attack on Earth. I will personally lead the charge. Soon, I shall return to you with the exciting news of our victory!" More cheering. "Until then, I ask for your patience and understanding, and I ask for more volunteers. We have three more Super Dreadnoughts that have been completed, and they need crews. Please, come to the recruitment office and sign up. Everyone who crews my ships will be eligible for relocation to any planet, station, starbase, and orbital of their choosing after our victory."

She stands during the cheering and applause at this last announcement, and concentrates. Her wings, made of gossamer, focused, golden light spread meters wide. Her crown, made of the same light flares in the arena, visible to everyone. Through the cheering and chanting of her name, she turns, leaves the dias and her wings and crown fade into an afterimage on everyone's eyes.

Behind the dias, a hidden door opens, and she ducks through, with the two people - including the woman from before - on either side.

"Now that we're out of the crowd, what was that? You looked like you were going to throw up." She sounds worried.

"Yeah, I saw you wobble. You looked down at your shoes and blanched." The other one, a middle aged man chimes in. He is tall and handsome, with dark brown skin and a coal black beard, flecked with gray.

"I'm fine, I'm... fine." She sounds unsure even as she says it. "I just had a strange feeling of being not myself. It's passed now. She turned towards the woman. Do you have the report of the developments on Luna?"

"Yes, Empress. Luna is pacified. Your military has cleared you for a visit to the people as soon as you enter the system. They recommend that you show up, give a speech, do a quick meet-and-greet with the citizens, and then continue on to Earth. Myself, Omar and a small guard will accompany you."

"Thank you Ava. I need a coffee, and then we can depart."

Fen awoke with a start, dripping with sweat. She was laying in bed, all of her sheets and blankets a tangle. There was a soft chime that was repeating in the room. "Yes?"

"We're going to dock in a couple hours Fen. I figured you would want to shower and change."

"Thanks Northern. How long has it been?"

"About nine hours. I let you sleep a full cycle; you seemed like you needed it."

Fen sits up. "Okay Northern. I'll be up in a few."

Fen gets up and pads to the bathroom. Being the captain, she does have a larger suite than average, and it has its own bathroom. As the door behind her shuts, she does not notice the sheets and blankets are covered in a very slight layer of dust, arranged like wings, centering on where she slept.

****

The docking goes without a hitch. They are brought inside the cargo module of a massive starship on the outer edge of the 'station' and are directed to a pad near the door. They land, and as the ship powers down, Northern walks into the command deck, shaking her hair with her hands and making a face. "My mouth tastes like pennies. I hate this." She puts her hands on her hips and faces Fen. "You're going to find us enough crew - or another AI - to do this, right?"

"Yes Northern. We'll find a crew. I can't thank you enough for this, I realize that its... distasteful for you."

Northern smirks. "I see what you did there. I'll have you know that puns always work on me." She nods at Zhe. "Come on. Shall we go meet your family?"

Zhe nods and stands, but her ears are flat, and she's trying to shrink down into her clothes. "O-okay Northern, Fen. Let's go."

"Hold up a moment." Fen turns to Zhe. "Are you going to be all right with this?"

Zhe stands just a little straighter. "Yes, I'll be all right Fen. You're my captain now. It's just that my family was... disappointed when I got the job with the Discoverers and went to Minaren."

"They're disappointed you went straight?" Northern's incredulity is plain on her face.

Zhe's tail swishes and she nods. "You'll see when you meet them."

The dock's air is cold and thin, but breathable. The three of them exit the ship and head towards the airlock at the other end. They walk past scores of K'laxi and other peoples tending the ships that are docked. There are easily more than a dozen in this dock alone. Fen recognizes K'laxi, Gren, and even some Sefigan designs. They step into the airlock and it closes behind them. "So, you three are the ones ballsy enough to come here in a Imperial Frigate and sing the bawdiest K'laxi drinking song known in order to get in?" The voice is low and gruff. "We've scanned your ship, it's empty, so we know you're not hiding anyone, and you don't walk like spies, though you have the air of a Discoverer about you, K'laxi." The voice pauses a moment. "Still, we'll let you in. Stay nice and don't cause trouble."

The other airlock door opens, and the air is hot and wet. The K'laxi homeworld is smaller and colder than Earth, so Fen expected the atmosphere settings to be similar here but if there was such a thing as an opposite to K'laxi weather, this was it. The lights were dark and yellow and the gravity was light. Fen kept feeling like she was about to trip. A short K'laxi, grey around the muzzle, with a human sized battle rifle on his back waves and bounds - literally bounds - over. "Welcome! Welcome to The Heap."

Northern grins. "The Heap because it's a heap of starships?"

He nods quickly, the earrings on his large ears jangling slowly in the low gravity. "Exactly so. What are you here for? Trade? Business? Or just to lie low from the Imps since you clearly stole their frigate?"

Fen crosses her arms and harrumphs. "I'll have you know I own that frigate free and clear. You can scan it anywhere and it'll show up under my name."

He winks - a decidedly human gesture. "Sure it does, Friend. I know hackers too. So? What's up?"

Zhe sighs. "Hi there Uncle Rev. Is Hemmi here?"

Rev leans around Northern and gasps. "Little Zhe! You came back! You finally realized that the government yolk was strangling your ability to pull for yourself!" He grabbed her and hugged her mightily and spun her around. "Hemmi isn't here now, but he's in-system. I'll get a beacon out to him right away. He'll want to know the news. Why didn't you tell us you were aboard? He would have stayed for the welcome."

"I didn't want to be a burden..." Zhe begins.

"Nonsense! I will not hear of it." Rev looks over at Northern and Fen. "Shacking up with two humans? My my! You're doing all right for yourself. I knew you couldn't keep your true self down."

"Uncle Rev!" Zhe's fur ripples as she blushes. "Northern and Fen are friends only. Fen is my captain."

"Well then I need to extend our thanks," Rev bends low and Fen sees that his tail is half gone. "Have you had a chance to witness Zhe in combat yet? She is unparalleled with a Gren soar-kinfe." He puts his arm around Northern and Fen and gives them a small squeeze and Northern glares. "Did you know she once took out three Sefigan warriors who thought they could bounce out of here without paying? Three! She was barely sixteen at the time. Her parents were so proud. They let her keep the entire bounty. I think that's how she paid her passage to Minaren."

Northern turns her head slowly to Zhe as her fur won't stop rippling. "A soar-knife? They're hard to use even in light gravity. in Human standard they take years of practice to wield safely."

"Well when you're a kid on a pirate station you get bored and pick stuff up." Zhe mumbles.

"So modest!" Rev squeezes their hips again and Northern smacks his arm off. "Come on! Let's go eat while we wait for Hemmi to come back.

[factual-fantasy]

10 Asks! Thank you! :}} 🌱

I assume I'm not, it appears to just be a chest cold 😞

<XD I've heard of whiteboard yeah. But I've never used it. I can just imagine people popping in just to scribble all over everyone else's work. I'll think I'll stick to solo drawing for now-

(Post in question)

XDD Sylvester has a tendency to be rather cursed-

@minnesotamedic186

I don't see why not! :}

(Post in question)

Indeed it is! I made a post talking about his backstory but I can't access my archive atm so I'll do a quick recap-

I don't actually know anything about madness combat. Some friends of mine were really into it and made a bunch of OCs and I wanted to be cool like them 🥺 so I made my own madness OCs based on what little knowledge I had.

His name is Casey. And he lived out in the middle of nowhere Nevada with two of his best friends in this giant armored truck that they built.

At some point they were caught in a burning building disaster, some bandits stole the truck and Casey's friends died in the fire. He wandered the wasteland alone for a few years.. before eventually stumbling upon the bandits camp.

He stormed into the camp and killed everyone, unfortunately his truck was nowhere to be found. He did however find this little girl that had been captured and tied to a tree.

Him and "Stefany" then traveled together for a few years before meeting a scientist named Eric. He had gotten separated from his group and was stranded. I had this idea that the people from the wasteland hate scientists. But Eric begged for help. They made a deal that if they brought this guy back to his lab, that he would give them this valuable thing from the lab. He agreed.

Eric didn't intend to keep his side of the deal. But after a few weeks of traveling together and bonding.. when they got to the lab he stole the thing and gave it to Casey. Getting himself booted off the lab team in the process.

So now the three of them travel together. Eventually Casey gets hurt really bad and the group has to camp out for a bit. While Stef was out looking for food, she saw Casey's truck in the distance. She went and hijacked it, kicking out the two bandits that were in it.

She drove it back to the camp but the bandits followed. There was a stand off between the bandits and Casey. When suddenly..

"..Casey? Is that you?"

The two bandits were Casey's friends he thought he'd lost. There's this tearful reunion, a lot of story telling and explanations.. and now they travel together as a family :)

Oh yeah and at some point Stef gets a (probably) rabid raccoon named kitty, even though there aren't animals in madness combat..? Apparently?? Idk I had barely any world knowledge when I made these characters <XDD

But now that I'm thinking about them.. I should draw them again some time.. 🤔 anyways, thank you for the interest and for the ask! It means a lot to me :}}

(video/link in question)

That's how I'd start probably. Then they'd build sandcastles, dig giant holes for no reason and play in the sea! :}

@couchwow

Sorry, I don't take drawing requests. :/ and considering my state, it's especially something I will not do upon request..

And what are you doing askin me to draw? 🤣 I've seen your work, you're quite the artist yourself! Why not draw it yourself? I know it'd come out great! :D (genuinely)

@astaherussy

I don't think much surprises the Mario Bros anymore. 😅 If they saw a crew of talking pirate cookies they'd just think "well this might as well be happening."

As for a bully on the ship, the crew would not tolerate any of that behavior towards Red. They'd shut that down real quick. ❌

@fallingbones

:DDD Thank you so much!! :}}}

@glitchhayden418

Jimmy's doin fine. And I'll draw what ever I WANT when I finally get over this, thank you very much! >:T ☝️☝️thank you tho :}}

[nekoannie-chan]

Last summer

Last summer

Title: Last summer.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Pre-serum!Steve Rogers X 40’S!Reader.

Word count: 663 words.

Rating: Teen.

Summary: The last adventure that Steve and you had.

Major Tags: Fluff, nostalgic.

Additional tags: This is my entry for the @bigtreefest Essie’s Summer Lovin’ 300 Follower Celebration!! with the prompt:

“Scenario: Catching fireflies.”

“Trope: Last summer together before going separate ways.”

Links: Wattpad, Ao3, Spanish version.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate my work myself) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @Smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @Harrysthiccthighss @Marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @Here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard @rogersbarber

You had known Steve Rogers since you were kids. He lived two doors down from you, and, for as long as you could remember, you and Bucky had been inseparable.

That afternoon, almost evening, you were sitting on the front steps of your house, waiting for Steve to arrive. You had arranged to go out that night, one of the last of the summer. Your parents weren't home, and you had planned a little getaway to the park that used to be your secret hideaway. Finally, you saw him approaching. Steve was walking with his hands in his pockets.

“Hey,” you greeted, standing up and walking down the steps to meet him.

“Hi,” he replied. You noticed he looked more tired than usual.

“Ready for our last adventure of the summer? “you asked.

“Of course, I am. I wouldn't miss this for the world.”

You both walked in silence towards the park, enjoying the noise the crickets were making and the first stars appearing in the dark sky. You walked to the clearing where you used to play as children, a small nook surrounded by tall trees. You sat down on the grassy ground, and Steve plopped down beside you.

“Do you remember the first time we came here?“ Steve asked, looking up at the sky.

“Of course you do. You said you found a secret hideaway,” you replied, laughing at the memory.

“It was our little refuge from the world,” Steve said quietly. ”A place where we could be ourselves without being bothered. Hey, you know what I want to do?”

“What? “you asked.

“We're going to catch fireflies like we used to. It will be our last hunt of the summer.”

You laughed but nodded. Steve stood up and held out his hand to help you up, and for a moment you stared at him, wondering what you would do without him when he finally left. Together you walked through the park, looking for the little fireflies, running after them, laughing and stumbling in the dark just like when you were kids. Steve caught a firefly in his hands and showed it to you, his face illuminated by the soft green light escaping between his fingers.

“Look, one more for our collection,” he said with a smile.

“You're going to let them go, aren't you? “you asked, pretending to be annoyed.

“Of course. I always let them go,” he said, and then opened his hands, allowing the firefly to fly free again.

You both lay on the grass, watching the stars as the fireflies flew around them. Finally, after a long silence, Steve spoke.

“I'm leaving tomorrow,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

You closed your eyes, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to well up.

“I know,” you replied, your voice trembling.

“I don't want to leave you,” Steve continued, ”but I feel it's the right thing to do. I need to do something, something that matters.”

“I understand, Steve. I understand more than you know. But I can't help wishing you'd stay.”

Steve slowly, slowly leaned toward you, his lips brushing yours sweetly. When you finally parted, you both had tears in your eyes.

“You will always be my home, no matter where I go,” Steve commented.

“And you will always be my hero, Steve Rogers,” you replied.

You stood there, holding each other under the stars, knowing that this would be your last time together.

When the sun finally began to peek over the horizon, you got up and walked home, holding hands, as you had done many times before. You reached your house, and you stopped at the door, unwilling to let him go.

“I'll write to you every day,” Steve promised.

“And I'll wait for you.”

You hugged and kissed one last time, and then Steve turned and walked away. You stood there, watching him, until he finally disappeared.

You didn't know it would be the last time you would see each other.

[lovingherwasgay]

I'm genuinely afraid that once the movie comes out and it inevitably doesn't "make trobed canon" people will be quick to criticize its quality for it and dismiss it as a whole. like it's a fatal flaw and bad writing. like the whole movie is shit because of it. It's not. we can love trobed all we want but it isn't owed to us and it doesn't mean the character arcs are BAD just because they don't turn out the way WE would like them to. It's not the only valid outcome.

and we haven't been queerbaited ffs. Does community really look like a show that gives a shit about what the popular audience thinks? do you seriously believe Dan Harmon and the writers would write anything into the show with the sole purpose of gaining the viewership of some specific audiences? LMAO go watch the show again. this show barely scraped by enough to get its 6 seasons because they DID NOT COMPROMISE artistic integrity, ever, they always made the show they wanted to make even at the cost of near cancellation and viewership loss. if they wanted to 'bait' any audiences into watching they could've made a more digestible, less fucking insane tv show my dude.

and not to be that person but Yes, if you only think their relationship is worthwhile if they're canonically confirmed as romantic/sexual you are SO missing the point of what already makes them special in the first place. They're soulmates they're best friends they love each other more than anyone else and all this CAN be platonic/queerplatonic. You can dislike the writers' decision on that, you can disagree with them, but it does NOT mean it's queerbaiting or that the writers are making it a gay joke/trying to bait gay audiences. It just sounds like you're channeling your old wounds with past truly queerbaity shows into this situation when it does not apply at all, this isn't that kind of show and it never was nor will be.

And honestly, on another note, just take a look at how Dan Harmon writes relationships in general. No ship in community is meant to last. Every time he uses them it's there to show the character's FLAWS and why the relationships suck (jeffannie, jeff/britta, britta/troy, annie/troy...). He has NO INTENTION of writing a relationship that WORKS, that stays together for good, it doesn't interest him. If it appears in the show it's doomed to fail.

"Uh why don't they make trobed canon but we have to see these shitty straight ships that don't even work together :/" gee I wonder WHY. almost like it was written that way intentionally or something. With this in mind, him not making trobed explicit is honestly a GOOD thing and I am glad it's something just for us to dream about, because relationships in Community's universe just don't last. Friendship and found family are the things that prevail forever, as the 6 seasons kept proving again and again. You can dislike this about his writing, you can think it's a bad take, but it does not mean you can accuse him of queerbaiting just because he doesn't wanna write what YOU wanted to see onscreen. That's not on him or the writers.

TL,DR: we are not entitled to canon trobed and if you'll trash talk the movie just because it doesn't go through with it you're missing the whole point of the show you supposedly love and understand

[foolinafable]

iv. genesis

SYNOPSIS: He doesn’t know how to love. You know this and yet you would still give everything just to be with him- even for just a moment. Or the story of how you and Keith finally get together. PAIRING: Keith Kogane x Altean reader WORD COUNT: 4.9k TAGS: Slowburn, Angst, extreme cannon compliance, fighting SERIES LINK: a love as cold as ours

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You aren't sure if this could get any worse, sat in the control room of the Castle of lions which has completely shut down because Shiro put in a kill protocol. Pidge was able to turn it off but the castle has lost significant power and the battle with Lotor is far from finished so you needed to keep your energy and strength.

Everything happened so fast, earlier on today you, Lotor and Allura had just made it into the quintessence field, all of your hard work had paid off and you were so happy and now- now you struggled to know how to feel.

Your heart hurt from Lotors betrayal as he had become a very close friend, a brother almost in the time you spent together but you were sure that wasn't the only reason you were feeling this way.

Keith's sudden return has sent you spiralling all the emotions you locked away after your confrontation during the Kral Vera have been thirsty to the surface leaving you upset and angry. It hurts you to know that while he was one of the most important people in your life he just saw you as a nuisance. You have come to terms with the idea that you did love him, it wasn't just some factless infatuation that went away when he did and even now when you would rather be face to face with Lotor than with him, deep down you still love him and you hate yourself for it greatly- I mean there is nobody else to blame it’s like he told you he can’t love and even if he could he really doesn't want to. You were stupid to think that maybe one day he would change his mind, especially for you of all people who he clearly just want to leave him alone.

“You still bleeding” Lance huffed from behind you, hand on your shoulder to make you aware of his presence, you simply turned to him in confusion eyebrows knitted together as he pointed to the nash on your forehead from when Shiro knocked you out your eyes brightened in recognition smiling in thanks but before you could get around to fixing yourself up Keith appeared on the comms, you averted your gaze when it seemed like he staring right at you and simply blocked him out as you used your powers to heal your forehead letting Lance and Allura take control of the situation- not that he would want your input anyway.

You simply skimpier off towards the lions when he shows Lotor’s location to prepare yourself and the rest of the lions for another altercation not even bothering to say anything. 

You didn’t like Allura’s plan. Not one bit.

Trapping Lotor in the quintessence field would probably not only kill him but also any chances of finding a permanent source of natural quintessence a clear way to bring peace to the Galaran empire and stop this war. If you break the entrance we would never be able to return meaning all the work put towards this would be for nothing. Alas, Allura was correct that this was the only way to stop Lotor. 

“Lotor will be here any second, what's the plan?” Pidge asked, looking at the destruction the lions had just created. 

“Well, the castle of lions has broken down. So there's no help there.” Allura spoke her thoughts aloud trying to find a pathway for the group. “The black lion isn't with us, so we can’t form Voltron. We are just going to need to do what we can” she finished sounding dejected.

“Got it, attempt to survive,” Pidge replied 

“Last time we fought Lotor, we had six ships and Lotor had two and he still kicked our butts. This time he has three ships while we have five” Hunk reminded us you simply took a shaky breath before speaking 

“Well it was never going to be easy” while Lance, annoyed, responded

“We don't have time for your maths equations hunk! Especially ones that result in us taking a beating” the rest of the team went quiet as Allura spoke to Coran.

When you saw the three ships appear, you tried to control your breathing as they got closer and you tightened your hands on the lion's controls. 

“We need not fight today, We are all on the same side” you heard Lotor speak over the comms tears filling your eyes as you thought about everything he had done- all the innocent lives he had taken and found yourself quickly filling with rage at the idea that he would ever be on the same side as you again- if he ever truly was.

“I know what you all must think of me now that you know my past. It doesn't have to change our future together. The truth is I want to harness the power of the quintessence field to better the universe, just like I said. Nothing has changed” you quickly interjected

“Everything has changed” your voice so sharp you heard him inhale in shock.

“You enslaved countless Alteans harnessing their life source for your personal gain. How many innocent lives did you destroy?” Allura raged at him

“Allura-” he tried to interject but she didn't let him

“How many?” 

“It’s true many alteans perished in my quest to unlock the mysteries of the quintessence. But I protected thousands more, and I rescued their culture- our culture. Both of you must understand I've given everything I have to plumb the depths of King Alfor’s knowledge, to unlock the mysteries of Oridane. We have come too far together, surely you can see the greatness we have accomplished and the greatness we have yet to. Join me, we are on the same side.” 

“No, we're not!” Allura roared as she sent a laser beam towards Lotors ship which he quickly dodged. You braced yourself knowing that now the real battle was about to begin. 

Everything was a blur, Lotor’s words afterwards and Alluras bites the only words echoing in your head were his “destroy the lions” the way he said it so easily, as if it was of no consequence to him and maybe it wasn't but it sent you spiralling barely able to dodge incoming attacks from Lotor and his generals and consistently missing your targets.

You knew Coran was able to get the castle working but only due to it nearly crashing into you and Lance.

Lotor was constantly trying to hit you and Allura raged in a way you had never seen before something crazed in the way he spoke about ridding of you all even the galra a fact that shocked not just you but also his generals who tried to escape when learning of his plans only to be ejected from there ships leaving them in space while the ships joined knot his to create a large robot similar to that of Voltron.   

“What is that thing?” Pidge questioned as the five of you looked up at the robot “He's created his own voltron.” Lance spoke your thoughts aloud 

“That is why he was using us- using me” Allura concluded 

“We helped him build this” you announced shock evident in your voice 

“Well the good news is it’s now four on one” Hunk spoke recalling his earlier words but before any more words could be spoken Lotor came rushing towards the group

 “Watch out” Allura shouted as you all quickly tried to disperse but he was too quick catching you and Lance with the robot’s fingers sending you flying and whipping Hunk backwards with its tail, Pidge tried to fire at the robot but it quickly dodged 

“It’s way faster than us” she hollered out as you all tried to get a hit in before being quickly body-slammed by the robot. Coran was able to get a shot in from the castle of lions but Lotor quickly sent one back sending the ship into a panic 

“Impossible, Lotor’s weapon has completely repelled the castle's attack!” Pidge screamed,

 “Coran shoot it with the cannon again!” Lance pleaded

 “I can’t” Coran replied the ship was now completely out of action 

“Pidge get out of his line of sight!” Lance screamed as she nearly got hit only for you to push her lion out of the way with your own causing the rest of them to scream your name in worry as you let out pained noises

“What are you doing?” Lance shouted at you as you moved once again into Lotors sight in the hope he would hit you again 

“If I can absorb enough of his power-” you stopped to grunt in pain as he hit you again “I might be able to give it back” Lance made a noise of confusion

“What do you mean- you going to get yourself killed” as he tried to move you lion away with his own

“I gave his ship the ability to do this so I must be able to do it myself” is all you replied as you once again moved towards Lotor

“But it's not safe” Lance pleaded 

“What other choice do we have- just sit around and let him destroy us all?” you shouted back when a choked gasp came from you once you were hit again sending you flying forward your  head hitting the console of your ship, you simply gritted your teeth as the team called out to you in worry but they were quickly all grunting and screaming themselves as Lotor locked onto them 

“We can’t take this much longer!” Allura shouted fear evident in her tone while Hunk was shouting for Lance as he went flying from Lotor’s impact. Before you could gather enough energy to send something his way all the lions had shut down, seemingly unable to fight any longer and the paladins were completely out of options.

“It didn’t need to end like this, but you have made your choice” Lotor spoke as he went to deal the final blow when the black lion finally appeared- it seemed that the fight was far from over. 

“Keith, how did you get here so fast?” Lance questioned, clearly astonished 

“I had some help” was all he replied “Now hurry we don’t have much time. Form voltron!” Keith quickly sent a space pod with Shiro's body inside towards the castle

“Coran you’ve got incoming” and he couldn’t have gotten Shiro away at a better time as Lotor quickly sent a blast towards Voltron but Lance and Pidge quickly activated the shield protecting you from the blast

“Hunk form canon” Keith commanded 

“You’ve got it” the yellow paladin grunted as he activated his weapon, sending a blast towards the Lotor who quickly moved out of its path even as the laser chased him not once did it hit his robot. 

“He’s too fast!” Lance called out alarmed 

“Then we will have to get in close, form a sword” Keith responded, his voice sounding raspier from all the shouting.

You quickly formed the sword and in retaliation, Lotor’s robot formed its own swords, one for each hand and came bounding towards Voltron causing the robot to move backwards due to Lotor’s robot’s momentum swords clashing against each other like a moth drawn to a flame.

Lotor sent you all flying back with a whip of his robot's tail as Pidge called out

“We can’t touch him, he's still too fast!”

“We need to stop him moving around, back him into a corner or something” Hunk strategised 

“Hunk is right, we need to eliminate his speed advantage, and limit his movements” Keith agrees. You all turned your heads to take notice of a large asteroid to the left of you

“There” Keith announced as you flew towards it hoping the curvature of the rock would allow you to trap Lotor within

“Now we lure him in close” and luckily Lotor took the bait following you right into the trap sending a blast towards you which you used the shield to block pushing you into the rock below solidifying your position and his continuous blasts caused the area to fill with ash from the rocks making him unable to see you anymore, he circled back trying to attack from behind

“Wait for him” Keith spoke softly as you heard him getting closer from behind the rock “Let him build up speed” you could hear the whirring of his engine get louder and faster

“Now!” Keith screamed as you moved the Voltron as quickly as you could as Lotor crashed into the rock from behind leaving an explosion of ash in his way.

Before he could realise what was happening you quickly threw Voltron in front of him firing both arm cannons right the robot’s body sending him crashing backwards as the middle of the asteroid caved in due to the weight and power.

“Where'd he go?” Hunk questions when you look into the hole as you see nothing. You all move the robot around looking for him when Pidge calls out worriedly 

“He’s behind us!”

Keith, quick to take action, calls out “Hunk, Hit him with the shoulder cannon!” to which the yellow paladin responds before preparing a blast

“Fire” Keith called out as Hunk sent the shot but as it got closer to Lotor he disappeared. 

“Did we get him?” Lance questioned 

“I don't know” Hunk responds hastily 

“I think we got him” Lance smiled 

“It looked like he just disappeared” Pidge spoke eyebrows furrowing in confusion

“Yeah! We got him!” Lance sounded out overjoyed

“I’m not so sure” Allura complained 

“That was too easy, that can’t be it” you spat out head whirling with ideas of where he could've gone and how you heard Keith make a noise of unease through the comms as your head turned to the side when you saw a hole open up with Lotor inside as he quickly sent a punch towards Voltron sending you flying back a strange purple hue surrounding his spaceship. 

“Is everyone okay” Keith grunts as he tries to recover from falling backwards into a rock

“How is he moving so fast?” Pidge interrupts 

“We’ve gotta get up and attack” Keith responds sending Voltron hurtling back towards him but he disappeared again before you could get close 

“Okay, so that time we definitely didn't get him” Lance says confused but before anyone else could speak you gasped out as Lotor appeared once again sending you backwards and then again appeared behind you sending another hit to the robot and then another causing you all to grunt in pain as he kept hitting you around like a ball on a ping pong table expect he was the only player.

He disappeared again, not immediately coming back when Hunk next spoke

“How can he keep disappearing like that?” to which Allura responded clearly shaken up

“He is, entering the quintessence field- at will!” causing you to take a shocked intake of breath while the other continued to question her idea

“How is able to do it?: you heard Pidge chime to which you responded

“I gave his ships the ability didn't I?” to which Allura sighed telling everyone that you were correct but before anything could be said Allura grunted as Lotor reappeared sending the ship backwards as you stayed the ship the shield quickly had to be activated as Lotor sent an extremely powerful blast towards you, much stronger than the ones previous sending the robot backwards due its sheer power causing a large explosion completely knocking down Voltron before disappearing once again into what you now released what the quintessence field.

“We have to go after him” Keith spoke clearly exhausted “Getting power from the quintessence is the only way we can match his strength”

“Can we do that” the yellow paladin questioned

“If he can, so can Voltron right?” Pidge asked you 

“My father did it once, but it was extremely dangerous” Allura called out

“Well I don’t think we have much of a choice princess” you called out 

“There right Allura, we have to try” Keith agreed with you sending annoyance to curl up into your being but now isn't the time to be upset- you could be upset if you make it out alive.

“I might be able to guide us in, but I don’t think I’m powerful enough” Allura concluded 

“Then I will do it just tell me what to do” you replied solemnly hoping that you were strong enough for this, that Alfor was correct to keep you alive in that sleeping pod instead of himself. 

“I will need everyone to focus their energy” Allura commanded “While you need to picture the quintessence field” You closed your eyes quickly picturing the abyss you had seen only hours prior when you could feel the energy of the paladins right next to you, guiding you.

You opened your eyes as a bright light appeared

“Form sword” you heard Allura call out as you flew towards the light hitting it in the centre with your sword causing light to reflect everywhere as the hole grew, your vision clouded in the brightness. 

You could hear the astonishment of the paladins as you began to open your eyes, in disbelief that you were here- the quintessence field

“I did it” you mumbled to yourself in relief but before you could bask in the beauty of the area you saw him, standing opposite you in the field, swords drawn both robots flew towards each other ready to engage in another battle purple meeting blue once more as the robots fought against one another. 

“We took a major shot, but I feel fine” Pidge comments to which Allura responded 

“All this quintessence is keeping us at full power” a comment that made you still worry

 “It’s more than that, can you hear your lions talking to you?” Keith asks and he was right you could feel your lion purring in the back of your head commanding you on what to do

“Voltron is capable of more than we imagined” he finished sending a laser towards Lotors ship while your hands and body were buzzing with power glowing even without you thinking about it an idea that amazed you but also made a feeling of dread appear in my stomach but you weren't sure why.

But you didn’t have enough time to voice it as Lotor came rushing back

“Attack!” Keith shouted and you went flying back into him sending shot after shot at him but you felt as if time was going too fast, barely able to keep up with what the other paladins were doing, a fog seeding to haze over your mind as your body began shaking and flinching. 

“Let's end this!” you heard Pidge scream

“Finish him!” Lance responded 

“Let's destroy that guy!” Hunk exclaimed 

“We have to get out here!” you heard Allura shout as she called out your name in worry at your lack of response while the other paladins sounded out confusion at her words

 “What are you talking about” Keith asked 

“This is exactly what happened to Zarkon! Exposure to all the quintessence turned him into a monster!” Allura shouted 

“She's right” you spoke breathlessly a lot quieter than normal “There’s too much of it everything- I don't know how much longer we have” but before anyone could question you more you heard Lotor’s voice calling out mockingly

“Poor alteans, all the power of the universe at your fingertips and your too afraid to use it!” then he flew towards you again 

“They are right we are out of control” Lance stated 

“All our systems are overloaded” Pidge called out 

“I know the feeling” you grunted out as the power signed through your body your sensitivity to quintessence was greater due to your power

“Here comes Lotor” Keith warned as you flew Voltron away from him now trying to escape him rather than fight him. 

“How do we stop this?” Hunk questioned 

“We give Lotor all the power he wants” Allura concluded as she pulled Voltron backwards to face him. 

“All this excess energy, I will just give it to him” you called out to paladins blocking away any of their worries as you closed your eyes and focused on the power within you, the connection to your lion caused you to also channel the burning power exceeding from Voltron causing a large beam to shoot out of lion chest right into Lotor robot that was still trying to inch closer to you, as the blast died down you could see Lotors robot was down sizzling and defeated as the haziness withdrew from your being, no longer shaking from all the quintessence your body was trying channel.

“Let's grab Lotor and get out of here” Keith announced as the alarms blared within the robot 

“No, we can’t! We need to leave now” Pidge responded and she was right there was only a matter of time before the quintessence got too much again

“We have to try!” Allura pleaded 

“Pidge is right, if we stay in here much longer and Voltron is done for” Hunk announced when a large crackle of energy hit Voltron sending you all groaning in pain 

“But we can't just leave him!” Allura argued as the ship was starting to sway electricity jolts electrocuting you all 

“Allura we have to go now” Lance pleaded 

“There isn't anything we can do for him anymore Allura” you spoke guilt wracking your voice that you were going to leave him here to die, a man you thought of even still as a brother

“Lotor made his choice. Let's get out of here Allura” Keith reasoned and Voltron finally moved away from him blasting out of the quintessence field through the hole you had created. 

“If we had stayed in the quintessence field, we would've kept fighting until we destroyed ourselves” Allura theorised “Just like Lotor.” 

“What did you do to him?” Keith asked you, his face appearing on your comms but you refused to look at him. “I transferred all the excess energy from myself and Voltron, it’s a technique I learned on Oridane, thanks to Lotor.”

“Thank you, you saved us” Lace replied solemnly as you stared at all the holes Lotor left into the quintessence field

“Not just us, the entire universe” Hunk concluded as the castle of lions drew closer behind you

“Oh! Your back” Coran declared relieved 

“Lotor is no longer a threat” Keith spoke mournfully 

“Right I’m afraid we face a bigger threat now” Coran began “All of Lotors jumping in and out of the quintessence field has created multiple growing rifts in the fabric of space and time”

“What does that mean?” Lance questioned dejectedly 

“It means unless we do something fast, those tears will continue to expand until all of existence as we know it has been destroyed” Pidge answered

“There has to be something we can do” Keith announced and he was right everything couldn't end here 

“Scanning the rift for any strand refabrication possibilities” Pidge announced 

“I’m running a few different models to see if there's any chance it can close on its own” Hunk added but both came up empty-handed. 

“How long do we have?” Keith asked 

“Well based on the way those rifts are expanding I’d say about 15 doboshes” Coran theorised 

“Allura, is there anything either of you can do?” Lance questioned

“I don’t know” Allura started “I just don’t have that alchemical knowledge” 

“The only thing that could possibly pull that rift close would be a source of gravity more powerful than a supermassive black hole” Pidge called out 

“Allura, Coran” you spoke hesitantly as an idea was brought forth into your mind “The teleduv” 

“What about it?” Keith questioned 

“They’re right, to make wormhole jumps, the teleduv creates a brief flash of infinite mass. There might be a way I can overload the reactor to seal the rifts. If one of the flashes went off on the rift it may be enough to close it- do the job”

Coran answered for you and despite him not being able to see you you smiled slightly in thanks, glad to know your idea wasn't crazy and that you didn't need to speak to him more than you needed to. 

“But that would mean, sacrificing the castle of lions” Hunk realised gloomily

“Well, what choice do we have? Either way, the castle would be wiped out.” Pidge reminded him

“But still” Hunk began pausing for a moment in contemplation “it’s been our home”

“I hate to say goodbye to my grandfather’s creation” Coran called out wistfully “The last piece of the real altea”

“That's not completely true- we are the last pieces of altea Coran don’t forget that” you attempted to comfort the older man

“Coran begin preparations” Allura called out

“Everyone else start unloading the castle, we need to evacuate immediately” You quickly transformed back into the lions and made your way for the last time into the hangers collecting items as you made your way into your rooms and other various location surround the castle collecting personal items but also weapons and technology that you could need.

Subconsciously you tried to stay out of Keith’s way just in case he tried to speak to you. The idea of having a conversation with him makes your throat feel tight and a pit arises in your stomach, your body trying to warn you away from him for safety, something it used to draw you towards him. Luckily he seemed disinterested in speaking with you at this moment, very busy clearing up and getting Shiro situated with his mother and space wolf within his lion.

You stood with Coran as he said goodbye to the castle waiting with him before he entered your lion with you

“Goodbye old friend” he called out as he initiated the teleduv before running with you to your lion and then rushing out the way with the rest of lions praying that this would work you looked at him with tears in your eyes as he touched your shoulder going to hold his hand as he stared at you with the same pain in his eyes.

You all grunted at the impact of the rift closing before it all disappeared as if it was never there in the first place.

“It worked” Hunk called out cheerfully 

“You did it Coran” Allura called out over comms as you looked at him again smiling sadly at him 

“And look” Hunk commented going closer to a blue light where the castle once was 

“What is it?” Keith asked 

“It’s a diamond” Hunk responded as his lion opened its mouth to take the crystal “The pressure crushed the castle of lions into this little crystal” You all smiled that the castle survived into something that Coran would always have- his grandfather's last surviving creation far from gone.

“Well, we saved all realties everywhere, what do you guys wanna do now?” Lance questioned glum 

“We need to find someplace to land,” Keith began, “and see if there is some way we can help Shiro.” so you all went flying forward looking for somewhere safe. 

── ✧

You landed on some sort of destroyed rocky planet and got Shiro out of the healing pod, Keith lay him on the ground as you all looked at him woefully “This body is barely living but Shiro’s spirit is still alive. It’s inside the Black lion, I've heard him talk to me.” Keith told you all

“He-he tried to tell me but I didn’t realise” Lance realised falling to his knees as tears shed from his eyes “I’m so sorry Shiro. I-I didn’t know. I- I could’ve-” Lance sobbed feeling defeated as you came up behind him to try and comfort him but he only stopped crying once Allura came up to the two of you grabbing your hand and moving you towards Shiro and the black lion while she touched Lance’s shoulder with the other, you immediately understood what she knew you could do.

You quickly connected with the black lion, hands glowing as you did, the black lion outlined in your purple quintessence as its eyes glowed. Your body quickly became purple like the lion as it transferred Shiro's soul to you. You walked towards Shrio’s hands on his head as you began to transfer his soul into this body, the glow transferring to him making his hair go white.

Everyone held a berated breath as they waited for something, anything to happen and then his eyes opened- Shiro was alive.

He quickly sat up coughing before he once again collapsed into Keith but the black lion roared in happiness causing the rest of the lions to roar in response causing a smile to grace your face as the others cheered and cried.

“You found me” you heard Shiro speak quietly to Kieth using all his strength

“We’re glad you’re back Shiro” was all he replied while Allura came up to you

“Rest,” she said directed at Shiro but you knew from how her eyes drifted to you it was meant for you also, she could take it from here for the time being. 

“So what are we going to do?” Hunk questioned “The castles been destroyed” 

“There is only one place that has the plans necessary to build a replacement” Pidge announced “Coran gave them to my dad” 

“We’re going home.” Keith announced.

[ace-sher-bi-john]

Sherlock Holmes: Aro-Spec, A-Spec, Gay Icon

What is Sherlock Holmes' orientation?

Asexual? Aromantic? Homosexual/romantic? Why not all three?

Something I've noticed during my time in this fandom is that people can't always agree on what Sherlock's sexual/romantic orientation is. Most people say that he's gay, some people say that he's ace. These two headcanons are rarely paired together.

I've seen people who think he's asexual be called homophobic because it feels like it's taking away from the gay representation they get from Johnlock. What they don't appear to realize is that asexual people can still have romantic or even sexual relationships. It also seems that people confuse being asexual with being aromantic a lot. Asexuality and aromanticism are not the same thing.

(There are lots of people who don't ship Johnlock, and either ship Sherl with someone else or with no one and that's valid! I personally am a Johnlock shipper)

Asexuality is defined as a lack of sexual attraction and Aromanticism is defined as a lack of romantic attraction. Both of these have a spectrum as well.

Asexual people can experience sexual attraction, only experience it sometimes, or not experience it at all. If you are anywhere on the asexual spectrum, it simply means that you don't experience an urge to have sex with someone in some or all cases.

You might enjoy sex. You might be repulsed by it. You might be completely indifferent towards it. You might even have urges every now and then. That is still valid. On one end of the spectrum, you don't experience any sexual attraction, on the other, you do experience sexual attraction, and all throughout the middle are varying levels of attraction/urges or lack thereof. There are more identities out there under the ace umbrella. There's demisexual which means that you only experience sexual attraction towards people you've developed an emotional connection with first. Greysexual means that you rarely experience sexual attraction, but it does happen sometimes. Lithosexual means you experience sexual attraction, but don't want it reciprocated. There are many more, you can do your research if you want to know all of them. I don't want to make this post too long, as I fear I may already have done.

The same thing goes for the aromantic spectrum.

Being aromantic means that you don't experience romantic attraction. Depending on where you are on the spectrum, you may experience romantic attraction sometimes, or not at all. Some aromantic people love the idea of romance, romantic gestures, have no problem holding hands, kissing, etc. You can participate in romantic relationships, you can get married, and it will never mean you're less aromantic. All being aromantic means is that you don't feel romantic attraction. It being a spectrum means that on one end, you do experience romantic attraction and on the other end you don't. All in the middle, you experience varying levels of romantic attraction. The labels are basically the same as the ace labels and mean basically the same thing.

(Edit: I've just noticed that I forgot to mention queer platonic relationships. So here we go)

Aromantic people may experience feelings for friends that go beyond friendship, but aren't in anyway romantic or sexual. They may choose to form relationships with others that are more than friendship but not quite romantic. These are called Queer Platonic Relationships or QPRs. They are just as valid as romantic relationships and are not just friendships. People in QPRs love their partner just as deeply, if not more so than people in romantic relationships.

When someone is asexual, but not aromantic, you put a label for their romantic attraction. For example: Biromantic asexual, heteromantic asexual, homoromantic asexual, panromantic asexual, etc.

So basically, you can experience limited or no sexual/romantic attraction and still have relationships. You can be aroace and gay. So therefore my headcanon is that Sherlock is grey-homoromantic asexual.

It took me a little bit of deciding between demiromantic and greyromantic. But they both sound just as cliche as the other. In both cases, John is the one and only person that Sherlock ever falls in love with. If he's demi, it's because he's never gotten this emotionally close to someone before and that's why John is his only love. But I wanted to see Sherlock struggle with his new, unfamiliar romantic feelings from the beginning. From that very first day that John walked into the lab at Bart's.

Sherlock doesn't even know what the weird emotions he's feeling are. They are subtle at first, because love at first sight is even more cliche. He doesn't really start to feel them as anything too distracting or difficult until the pool incident. Almost losing John, caused other unfamiliar feelings that Sherlock didn't want to deal with, along with the telltale signs of romantic love. But Sherlock chooses to ignore it for as long as possible, denying the fact that he could be in love with anyone. Let alone his very straight, not gay in the slightest, bi in denial roommate. It's too much of a risk with anyone. Platonic relationships are already a risk, but he's seen the strange things that romantic love can do to people. He doesn't allow himself to feel most emotions anyway, why would he allow himself to feel romantic love?

Once he allows himself to realize that the emotion he's feeling is romantic love, he struggles with his identity. He knows that he's aromantic, so how is it possible that he's feeling this way? Eventually he will come to discover greyromanticism and realize that he's not crazy, and he's not suddenly alloromantic. He is experiencing rare romantic feelings for John, which he's never experienced before and will likely never experience again.

He's still aromantic. He's not "fixed". Sherlock is valid in being aromantic and feeling romantic attraction.

Then add in some asexual tension once they finally get together and we should be good to go!

Thank you for reading. Hopefully that wasn't too long for you.