#could be read platonic or romantic

[dandyleyen]

Post-BoTW Zelda/Link rebuilding their lives + “In Our Bedroom After The War”

This is a song I frequently associate with Link after the events of BoTW, but it’s fitting for him and Zelda. Just putting up some thoughts of how I think they’d be post-BoTW.

I think the two of them would struggle to find this peace solely because of how much they’ve faced. Zelda was alone (Albeit with Calamity Ganon) in the castle for a full century, and Link was alone practically the entire time during BoTW’s events while he was regaining memories of his former self and working to basically save Everyone.

It would be hard to feel at ease as well. They’d probably be on edge after it all. I think Zelda especially would struggle to adjust. Link had some time to adjust to their new world by the time he’s ready to rescue her and defeat the Calamity. Things are different, but he’s had some time (it helps that he didn’t initially have full memory of what things were like before the Calamity).

Zelda would probably struggle a little more. Now that she’s free and she’s home again, everything is different. She probably knew that all that time had passed while she was in the Castle, but now that she is out she actually has to face it. She has to begin coming to terms with all the loss— and just how different everything is, and even how different Link is.

This one. God.

There’s only one bed in the Hateno house but also I don’t think Link would probably have offered it to her primarily. That being said— I like to think that Zelda and Link would find comfort in sleeping next to one another at times. It would help with the possible nightmares.

Still, so early on they would probably be a little nervous about it or unsure of themselves.

We know Link was really young when he first got the Master Sword and even when he became a Knight. He lost a lot of his innocence pretty early on. Zelda was also very young even with all the responsibility she had.

They lost a lot of their childhood, but they also lost everything. They lost their families, their friends, and their old lives due to the Calamity.

In the end though, they didn’t lose one another. Not for good. They even have new friends now to count on.

It would probably take them a good while to really start recovering from the physical and mental effects of the Calamity and Calamity Ganon. They would move at their own pace, though. Not a single soul could judge them for how they were choosing to rebuild themselves after having lost so much.

They would find comfort in eachother and they’d eventually find some peace.

[starlinkz]

Wild life ended months ago and I still can't get over this moment

[sirenetica]

May I request 3rd life desert duo? :3c

Sure

[candy-heart-brew]

"Gangle's too shy to speak up..."

The way they hold their heart here when talking about Gangle is SENDING ME!

[dragonnarrative-writes]

Something something going over to the huge guy who keeps to himself at the back of the bar. Offering to buy his drink if he lets you talk at him for a while, just long enough for the obnoxious guy who's been harassing you to leave you alone. Not knowing what to talk about, so you just recount the plot of the last romance novel you read (you barely remember it beyond the parts you didn't like). Big guy ("'m Simon.") insists that you finish telling the story, even though whatshisfuck has left the bar by now.

When you finally finish telling him about the lighthouse, he smiles down at you. "tha's minging. Tell me another."

[feroluce]

I have finally finished 2.4 and oh my GOD watching Dan Heng be so protective of his friends nearly killed me, MY HEART.

And yes, the cutscene where he pushes the trailblazer out of the way and even cushions their fall with his own body, but I mean even before that! When he was already trying to protect them and March 7th from Feixiao and Lingsha!!

Because if you watch the dango trio throughout the main quest, you'll notice that they often position themselves in the same way, which is a detail that makes me super happy that Hoyo thought to include- when the three of them aren't evenly spaced, March 7th and the trailblazer tend to gravitate towards each other and stand very close together, frequently side-by-side. And by comparison, Dan Heng usually stands slightly away, and often even slightly behind them, where he can pull on their leashes to wrangle them keep an eye on them.

This is probably a habit learned through experience, since March 7th said during Belobog she is the "queen of unannounced disappearances" fjdksajfkldjsak

And of course at least a little bit of it is just done for like, aesthetic purposes. It's a video game. Things have to look nice for the player. The trailblazer and Dan Heng are the same height, March 7th is a bit shorter, and Yanqing is even smaller. It makes sense to have the trailblazer and Dan Heng stand on the ends, with March 7th and Yanqing in the middle, it just looks nicer and more balanced that way. But still! Even when they're accommodating for Yanqing in this quest, they still all arrange themselves the same way, almost every time!

But this changes after Dan Heng and Yanqing become suspicious of the visitors from the Yaoqing.

The dango trio still stand around relaxed and in their usual manner when they go to the artisanship delve and meet Skott,

but Dan Heng takes notice of Lingsha when she arrives, and he and Yanqing mentioned her specifically when discussing their worries.

Yanqing worrying so much about Jing Yuan got me right in the heart, he's such a good boy WEH

And when the four of them go out to the alchemy delve to meet Lingsha for tea, the pattern breaks. Suddenly Dan Heng is standing right up front, and even walks in and enters the scene before March 7th and the trailblazer to get to Lingsha before them. He stays a step in front of them the whole time, too.

And then when Dan Heng and the trailblazer have to go be interrogated by Feixiao! The same deal! Dan Heng walks in ahead of them and stays in front of them! Noticeably so! Enough that even Feixiao takes note and voices it!

Dan Heng is so so fiercely protective of his companions, and I love it, I adore hyper vigilance in the wake of trauma like this, I'm so excited to see what else he does in 2.5, I hope we either get to see him get fucked up or the trailblazer gets fucked up in his place, I wanna see them run through the meat grinder!!!

[improper-use-of-germx]

Imagine an alien that doesn't speak. Members of their species live largely solitary lives and never evolved the need to communicate past basic physical articulation, and in space they mostly just exist as individual workers that work alongside others, but never with.

So when a human comes aboard they don't really think about it too much. You try to talk with them, they stare at you blankly, then someone from a more social species explains the situation to you. If that's where it ended they wouldn't have given you any more thought, but then you start doing things for them.

It doesn't have to be big, either. Maybe wiping down their work area or bringing an extra snack from the kitchen doesn't seem like a lot to you, but they always notice. You work comfortably in silence with them, never trying to make one-sided conversation like others have. It's...nice. They're not quite sure what to make of it.

Eventually, they start returning the favor. Little treats appear on your desk, things you leave messy will suddenly be tidied up when you return. They like when you notice. Sometimes you smile, sometimes you glance up at them and they act like they weren't just watching you from across the room. Sometimes you mumble a quiet "Thank you." out of habit, and for once they wish they had something to say back.

It's more effort than anyone else has ever made with them. Even if it's just a work relationship for you, they appreciate it, and they want you to be happy when they watch you clock out.

[ghostly-bat]

How I imagine middle/high school jondami to be

Jon, sighing: Please don't fight him Damian (some bully)

Damian: Why not?

Jon, absolutely spent: Because that would just cause problems

Damian: I don't see how, I feel like I'd be dealing with the problem at its source

Jon, already done with Damian's bullshit: Because if you fight him then you'll get expelled, and then if you get expelled you'll be grounded,

Jon: And then because you're grounded we wouldn't be able to see each other, and because we wouldn't be able to see each other you're going to find some way to sneak over to my place or convince me to somehow sneak over to your place!

Jon: And because I snuck out to see you I'm gonna get in trouble and then I'm gonna get grounded!

Jon:

Damian:

Jon: I don't like getting grounded Damian

Damian:

Jon, just completely over it: I don't like getting in trouble!

[whitebookposts]

"First meeting"

Okay. Walk with me for a sec there. Hornet and Bretta 'childhood friends' au.

A lonely princess everyone avoids and a servant's daughter everyone despises, bonding over their weird shared interests.

hear me. listen to me. do you see the vision

[ghostofthepresent]

Why I think Shiguang can be canonically read as romantic

(I will only be using the donghua for reference, so no Studio Lan retweeting those fanarts (lmao) nor those especially gay manhwa panels (lmao x2) nor even the songs ("chase you to the end of the world, just to say your name once more" my beloved).

It's important to start off by saying that I'm aware Director Li said they ended up not making Lu Guang a girl because they didn't want romance to be seen as a must in Shiguang's relationship by the audience (and because he feels that "bros can have a good heart-to-heart connection with each other"). In my opinion that was a great move since it allows more freedom with how they write them than they'd have otherwise. I also think viewing Shiguang as queerplatonic is a great read too and it doesn't diminish their love for each other nor the importance of their relationship at all.

With that said, despite Director Li's words, there's been things that had me going 🤨 as someone who likes to adhere to canon relationships and read into the writer's intentions, so I wanted to share why I personally see them as romantic.

EPISODE 2

We've all seen this coming, right? Most obvious parallel ever, and in the second episode no less. We all know the similarities between both relationships, so I will just touch on those I consider the most important ones.

Lin Zhen and Yu Xia have gone to college together, and since then decided to start a business of their own - named after a mix of their names. They've been shown as being really close and having no romantic relationships. Lin Zhen also says that Yu Xia's happiness is her own, and then it's shown to us that she's gone through years of unhappiness just for Yu Xia. I believe you can replace their names with Lu Guang's and Cheng Xiaoshi's in your head without me writing all this again. And I'm not even going to get into the most obvious parallels like the special noodle recipe for each pair.

I think it's safe to say that Lin Zhen and Yu Xia are implied to be romantic. From that "one noodle" scene, to the close shot of Lin Zhen grabbing her hand, etc.

Now, I want to get into a writer's point of view and pose two questions:

1. What's the purpose of this episode, when even those which seem episodic connect to the overarching plot of season 1 (even the missing kid's case, as it leads to the involvement with the police)?

2. If we answer the previous question with the conclusion that it's meant to show us the nature/development of Cheng Xiaoshi's and Lu Guang's relationship, what does that say about it?

"Partner" in Link Click

Continuing with episode 2, what really got me thinking about the romantic intentions in their writing was the constant mention of marriage and anything in relation to it.

(may I remind everyone that the driver's comment was said when Cheng Xiaoshi was complaining about Lu Guang lmao)

They're telling us through "show don't tell" (for example, when Lin Zhen kept on eating the noodle despite knowing they'd kiss) and, also, connotations. They are presented to us as business partners, but then the entire episode goes on to tell us that there's more to them by tying their relationship to things percived as romantic. So what they want to really tell us is that beyond simple business partners, they're life-long partners.

And then, after establishing this kind of connotation to the word partner, Cheng Xiaoshi says this to Lu Guang in the next episode:

This doesn't stop at them. While it's the most obvious example, I think partnership in Link Click is intended to be seen as romantic, or at the very least dancing somewhere close to it. Let's go even further and take a look at our fully canon, heterosexual relationships and see briefly how their story is written:

1. Dong Yi and Xu Shanshan: both of them chose the comfort of each other's presence over moving on with their respective futures. Dong Yi had so much faith in their relationship and their love that he couldn't choose a life/future that didn't have Xu Shanshan - choosing to not go back to his family home nor go to that interview, and instead waiting for Xu Shanshan to define their relationship.

2. Liu Siwen and Ouyang: Siwen spent his entire life training with the purpose of getting his father-in-law's respect and marry Ouyang, going every year over and over to fight him. His perseverance and his undying love for her allowed Siwen to do the (seemingly) impossible.

3. Chen Bin and his wife: they're a tragedy. His wife understood Chen Bin the best, enduring feeling lonely because she loved him and wanted a future with him. But their relationship was cut short, so they promised each other to be together in a future life to make up for the time they wouldn't be in this one.

With this + the pictures I attached, it seems like Link Click has set this theme of "love is a life with you" for its romantic relationships, a partner that will fight to stay because they can't see a future that doesn't have their beloved. Going back to episode two, this applies even to the noodle ladies. When Yu Xia remembered what actually matters to her, she went back home - to the start, to her hometown. And, most importantly, to Lin Zhen.

So why is Shiguang romantic? Why aren't they queerplatonic, or just best friends, or bros or whatever else? Because besides what I said at the start of the previous paragraph, Shiguang's relationship mirrors a lot of the romantic ones. Each story and author writes romance and other kinds of relationships differently, portraying them in the way they perceive "this is what this kind of love is like". And beyond life-long partners, I think that the key elements of romantic relationships in Link Click are the ones I highlighted in bold above in the 3 canon relationships part - which Shiguang shares, too.

(I didn't mention this before with the het couples, but I find it a little amusing that season 2 happened because a man wanted to go to the past and get his wife back (still fuck you Qian Jin) and then we find out Lu Guang did go back to the past and got his boyfriend partner back lmao).

"Friend" vs "Partner"

So where is the boundary between platonic and romantic? What marks the difference between a (best) friend and a partner?

There is, for example, Liu Xiao and Li Tianchen's relationship. They aren't shown to have any kind of romantic undertones and there's even the very real possibility of manipulation on Liu Xiao's side. They're also never labeled as nor call each other partners, but instead Li Tianchen says he "met a new friend" and Liu Xiao says he's "going to meet an old friend" years later. So we could say for now that they have a somewhat close relationship (we see Li Tianchen go against Qian Jin to give the phone to Liu Xiao), but never cross that "friend" label.

We can even bring Qiao Ling and the boys' relationship. She's never labeled as a partner despite taking part in the side job and, more importantly, being super close to both of them. She is very important and a cherished friend to Shiguang, so why not call her partner too? I think it's intentional. Since she's been given a familial role already (calling Cheng Xiaoshi her brother when talking to Li Tianxi), she can't fill a partner role. I wonder why? because it's supposed to be a synonym for a romantic relationship. who said that.

So even best friends (Qiao Ling, arguably what Liu Xiao is to Li Tianchen) don't enter this close space that is being a partner. It's different, it's beyond platonic. Or at least that's what they've been showing us for the past two seasons.

I could go soo much more into this honestly, because I do think the little hints thrown here (the music videos) and there (tiny seemingly inconsequential details) are worth to be looked at too, but I wanted to get into the core reason that makes me go "woah so they're In Love fr". I hope I expressed myself well ^^

tldr; the series shows us a divide between having a (best) friend and a partner, giving "partners" romantic connotations.

[gremnda]

Could you draw Etho and Bdubs or Scar and Bdubs?? :oo

Please don't separate

i really wanted to draw Etho and Bdubs hugging but i decided to go the angst route- don't worry they're okay (mostly)

[lucky-clover-gazette]

(for the request thing) sometimes i wonder how Volo would feel/react if someone (like arceus’s chosen 👀) took a blow for him from a wild Pokemon or another person. From his perspective, Volo doesn’t have anyone in Hisui that cares about his wellbeing, and the game alludes to him having a troubled and lonely past, and with him having planned on erasing all life in Hisui in pursuit of his desires, would he feel guilt if someone showed him a level of care that would make them sacrifice their safety for his, when he was ready to potentially sacrifice them for his own sake when it came to Arceus?

(also wanna say ive loved your fics on Ao3, so talented <3)

(also on ao3)

You really prefer not to die in front of other people.

The edges of your vision darken as you shove Volo aside, taking the full force of the Alpha Vespiqueen’s attack. You manage to subdue your attacker with a well-aimed sticky glob and ultra ball, but not before suffering an undoubtedly fatal blow.

The consummate merchant comes to you at once, leaning over your fallen body with an oddly indecipherable expression. Usually Volo is abundantly obvious with his feelings, whether he’s passionately rambling about ruins or earnestly praising your efforts as the hero of Hisui. But the man you see now, as your vision begins to blur, simply stares.

“Caught it,” you brag.

His grey eyes widen slightly. You haven’t shared this with him, but you’ve always found them rather beautiful.

“You shouldn’t have…”

“Saved you?” you ask with a dry chuckle. “That’s why I’m here, remember?”

Volo furrows his brow. Reaches out to touch you, then pulls his hand back.

“I sincerely apologize,” he tells you, bowing his head. “If you are to perish in these circumstances, you deserve to know—”

You die and can’t hear the rest.

And then you open your eyes.

You stand on your feet now, in the last place you felt safe before the Pokémon’s attack. Volo still kneels in the distance, seemingly unaware that your body has been replaced by a fallen satchel containing your entire supply of ultraballs, a fire stone, and exactly four medicinal leeks.

You frown. This is going to be awkward.

“Hey, buddy,” you say, coming up carefully behind him. Volo’s back goes rigid at the sound of your voice, his head turning around at once.

“You—you!!”

You rub the back of your neck, sheepish. “Surprise?”

“You died!” Volo exclaims with an accusatory finger-point. “I just saw—” His head swivels to the satchel on the ground, then he turns back to you. “How?”

You sigh and sit down beside him. “Chosen One perk. I die, Arceus says my work isn’t finished yet, I get another shot. It happened for the first time when I fought Lord Kleavor. I had no idea what I was doing, and it took like a dozen tries before I got good.”

Volo looks horrified. “You’ve died a dozen times?”

“Of course not!”

“Then why—”

“My death count’s definitely in the triple digits now. Lord Arcanine was ten times worse than Kleavor, because of all the fire and bullshit arena. At least Lady Liligant was a total pushover.”

“Did it not hurt?” demands Volo, his face growing noticeably pale.

“Oh, it totally hurt,” you admit. “But somebody’s got to deal with it, and I’m the only one around here who’s been made invulnerable by God.”

Volo looks as if he’s been slapped. You suppose that’s fair, considering the shock of witnessing your death and resurrection. But to you, this really is just another Tuesday.

“I know it’s disturbing,” you sigh, putting a hand on his shoulder. His muscles are tense. “That’s why I try my best to make sure people aren’t around to see it. Just easier that way, you know?”

Volo wears another unreadable expression.

“Sucks to lose a satchel, though,” you say, lightly. “Thanks for keeping an eye on it. Without witnesses, I usually lose some of my stuff. Never the plates, though, don’t worry.”

He still looks lost in his thoughts, which is no good. You don’t know how to explain that this happens all the time, for much less important reasons than protecting your favorite person on Hisui. The pain is a small price to pay for his safety, and you’d readily pay it again.

“I thought you died,” Volo eventually says. “Saving my life.”

You elbow him playfully. “I guess Arceus is looking out for you too.”

His expression darkens. “No.”

“No?”

He looks you dead in the eyes, with a different sort of intensity than you’ve come to expect from the eccentric wanderer. “Under an unjust god, endless life is endless pain. Do you truly wish that for yourself? For the world?”

Distantly, you wonder what exactly Volo had thought you deserved to know before your presumed demise. You have a feeling he’s not going to tell you now.

You offer him a hand. “Well, unless you’ve got a better god laying around somewhere, I think we’re stuck with what we’ve got.” And I like what I’ve got, you absolutely do not tell the merchant. I like that I’m here with you.

Volo still seems distracted, but he takes your hand anyway. “Right,” he mutters, and then smiles. “We live to fight another day.”

You rub your thumb against the side of his hand. “And maybe someday, we won’t have to fight. We’ll have everything we need.”

You can picture it, with him. You wonder, maybe foolishly, if he might feel the same way.

Supporting you is actually an investment in my own fortunes, Volo had told you once.

You would protect him regardless of your personal relationship, of course. Just as you protect the rest of this world. You want things to be better, for everyone, and intend to use your god-given powers to ensure that your dream becomes reality.

Volo nods, his sharp gaze fixed on your joined hands. A chill runs down your spine as he squeezes.

“Yes,” he agrees. “Someday.”

You smile softly.

“I think I can live with that.”

[jerrythebug]

Green Lantern and Green Arrow fluff for DC for Gaza over on Twitter! The donations are closed already, but do come check out the amazing art everyone made for it!!!

[propaganda101]

it's been 3 days and I'm still fucking stuck on LAD chapter 9 somehow

[fagfictions]

i only want him if he says it first to me.

"I only want him if he says it first to me." Tim told him out of nowhere, when they were patrolling together. They had been at a stake out in this randomly rooftop for hours now.

"I hate to break it you, Pretty Bird, but you're going to wait for a long ass time before you hear that from B." Jason whistled as he leaned against the concrete. "If you were to ask me, I'd say save yourself the heartbreak."

"That's exactly why I didn't ask you in the first place." Tim shot back without missing a beat. He was a fool if he naively thought confiding to Jason would comfort him. "Besides, it's not like you're the paragon of healthy relationships either."

Jason then approached closer to Tim, taking off his helmet, revealing his emerald eyes that Tim seemed to get lost in. He spoke solemnly with a deep voice. "Ask me, Timothy."

Tim couldn't help but be briefly rendered speechless as Jason encroached into his personal face. He couldn't help but admit that Jason despite everything he had survived, was still beautiful. Tim carefully muttered out. "What do you have to say, Jason?"

Their faces inches apart as Jason slowly declared like a heartfelt prayer. "I want you."

[on1knee4marksmen]

No but like imagine:

It's been a long day for Logan - heck,one of the longest he's had in a damn while. First,he gets paired up to do a mission with Summers,of all people. Then, mission goes incredibly south and instead of a simple information scouting,it turns into a whole-ass battle, resulting in a few minor cuts for Scott and sore muscles for the one and only Wolverine.

Though his body could regenerate, he couldn't do anything to feel less mentally exhausted - hints of an upcoming headache and definitive sleepless night blooming beneath his forehead, he takes a heavy seat on the mansion's couch, a beer in his hand and a scowl on his face.

...And even so, the only thing needed to soften his features, adorned with agitation, was the sight of your tired expression and the three simple words that left your lips, uncharacteristically vulnerable and quiet, yet still drowsed in the same understanding undertone.

"..I missed you."

It hadn't been that long of a mission, sure. And maybe, if it was coming from anybody else, it would've irritated Logan even further. But from you? He didn't ask, - didn't have to - he just sighed, before patting the spot next to him.

The silent invitation did wonders to soothe your nerves, to reassure you that the answer to the question "Am I bugging him?" was actually a "no", even if it didn't seem like one at times. With a small sigh of your own, you nodded in gratitude, before plopping down next to Logan.

Within seconds of sitting beside him,your head found his shoulder - even if it was a bit of an awkward position, you couldn't care less, as you leaned into him, body relaxing at the contact.

..And no matter how much he'd try to deny it, Logan felt a part of himself relax,too.

No words were further needed - you found comfort in his presence, and he found comfort in yours. He hadn't noticed the book in your hands when you'd rushed down the stairs and popped into the living room to see him, but he didn't mind it either, as he instead focused his attention on some documentary that was currently on. You didn't mind the background noise as you read, occasionally making a soft sound akin to a grumble or whine, before scooting a little closer to Logan.

Despite all the constant chaos in your lives, despite the never-ending ruckus going around in the mansion, Logan knew that quiet moments like this one, albeit rare, were possible. All because of you. And, as he found himself here, on the couch, your head perched on his shoulder, tiny hums of contentment or those purr-like grumbles leaving your throat; as he found himself taking small sips from the beer bottle instead of hefty gulps, as slow breaths of contentment left him instead of agitated huffs, as his shoulders slowly relaxed and his eyelids drooped, he could finally pinpoint that warm feeling slowly pawing at him like tiny, calm waver washing over a shore over and over and over again. Peace.

And he knew this instant that despite it all, there was no place he'd rather be but by your side.

(I've just been thinking about soft Wolverine a lot :c)