#do these two have a ship name? i don't think i've seen anyone use one

[callofdooty]

WIP Shenanigans

Ajax/Keegan edition!

Thanks to @faccal for the tag on this!!

Woe, Keegan/Ajax fluff be upon ye!

Keegan pressed himself to Ajax's back, head lazily resting on his shoulder. With a tired clumsiness, his arms wrap around Ajax's waist, hands sliding into the front pocket of his hoodie. It's a move that Ajax is more than familiar with by now; and he knows that Keegan must be exhausted if he's using his cuddly warmth sapping tactics in the open like this. Though, perhaps he's grown more comfortable around the Ghosts than Ajax first thought. It brought a fond smile to his face either way. He casually slides his own hands into his pocket to hold Keegan's frigid ones, their fingers lacing together comfortably.

"Tired?" It's a soft question, barely audible against the Ghosts' enthusiastic chattering.

"Mm." Ajax felt the vague hum more than he heard it, and it was followed by a deep sigh.

"Everything okay?"

"'s loud." As if to prove his point, a roar of laughter erupted from the group, and Keegan's hands shifted in Ajax's. That explained more than enough. Keegan's described it before; how too much noise overwhelmed him, especially when there was little else to focus on, how it built up into pressure and static in his head, sometimes to genuinely painful extents. He often pushed himself with it - which, in all honesty doesn't seem like a great idea - but eventually it'd be too much. Now he tends to let them know when he's reached his limit, in contrast to the early days where he'd leave without much of a word, leading to... a couple of unfortunate misunderstandings.

Getting acclimated to each other was a tricky process. Who knew?

&

He gently carded his hand through Keegan's hair, lightly scratching his scalp every now and then, which makes him practically purr as he pulled Ajax closer. Tension melted away from them both, leaving them a content and sleepy tangle of limbs. Ajax can't think of anything better than this. Wrapped in Keegan's arms, cosy and lulled by the quiet of the room. It's not often they get to have moments like these. Moments where they're - for once - not jumping a shark tank; not throwing themselves into the hands of luck and praying that the inevitable lets them continue holding on to what's left of themselves. There's no tempting fate here. No fighting. No scrambling to survive. It's soft. It's peaceful. It's theirs. One of the few instances in their life that they can actually call their own. Sparse. Fleeting. Painfully hopeful. Glimmers of sunlight scattered in an endless mist. It's all theirs to bask in. To cherish. No matter how small or mundane it might seem. After all, the sunrise always seems a miracle to those that have never beheld it.

[brigdh]

I want to talk about Izzy's rant to Ed in episode 10, the one that brings out the Kraken. I've seen a lot of different descriptions of what is going on in this scene – death threat, homophobic slurs, etc – and I don't think either of those are what's actually what's happening.

Let's look at it closely, line by line, and the way Ed reacts, from the very beginning of the scene.

Ed: Well, feels nice to tidy up a little. Can't believe I was living like this. Can you, Iz? Izzy? Izzy: I'm going to speak plainly. Ed: Wonderful. You know we share our thoughts on this ship.

Izzy, cont: This, whatever it is that you've become... is a fate worse than death.

Okay. So there we've got what some have interpreted as a death threat. But does Ed seem threatened? He's startled, certainly, put on his back foot – literally – but he doesn't look afraid or alarmed to me. He draws in a slow breath, assessing the situation, but overall seems more confused than frightened.

In fact he laughs it off with his next line:

Izzy then escalates the level of aggression in the conversation:

But Ed, again, looks more confused than anything. Check out that furrowed brow, that head tilt! This is a man going "what is your deal?", not a man thinking "uh-oh, you might kill me!".

Extremely noticeably, even when Izzy storms right up into his face, Ed holds steady. He doesn't run, doesn't lean back, doesn't hunch his shoulders or drop eye contact – there is no vulnerability or defensiveness in Ed's body language at all. Ed is in supreme control of this confrontation – look at the slow way he deigns to turn back to the paper Izzy's holding! As though he's making the point that he chooses when to turn, not Izzy:

Then we have the "homophobic slur". But watch closely:

Ed does not react to "namby-pamby", "silk gown", or "pining" at all. He doesn't even blink. He barely seems like he's hearing Izzy. His entire attention is on the picture.

Ed's body language and behavior changes at one word and one word only, and that is "boyfriend". As soon as Izzy says it, Ed's furious:

(It's even easier to notice when you actually watch the scene instead of using gifs, because Izzy really draws out 'piiiiiiining', putting a lot of time between the first half of the sentence and 'boyfriend'.)

Why is the use of the word 'boyfriend' so important?

Well, what has Ed been doing all episode? He's been crying in a blanket fort and singing sad songs, yes, but he's been keeping a careful level of mystique about why he's doing it. Ed often uses distanced circumlocutions instead of directly acknowledging his emotions, but he's doing it in this episode even more so than usual:

Here are the lyrics to his song:

(Version one, with Lucius) Hanging on By a thread Hanging on Shouldn't let go If I let go, all will fall Fingers bleeding down to the bone now Can't let go Nothing makes sense Hold on Hold on Hold... on

(Version two, performed for the whole crew) Just let go Make yourself let go Make it go away Away, away today Life's a hard sad death And then you're Deaaad

Notice something? There is no mention of Stede, or love, or break-ups, or abandonments, or relationships in general. All Ed discusses is a vague life-sucks attitude, which could apply to basically anyone under any circumstances. He seems pretty okay with people knowing that Blackbeard is having some sort of weird emotional breakdown as long as he convinces himself that no one knows it's specifically from having his heart broken

This is true of everything Ed says and does for this entire episode. He never once even mentions Stede's name, unless "Farewell, Bonnet's playthings" at the very end counts. The only thing Ed openly admits to feeling bad about is a fictional character who's having a hard time "holding on" (holding on to what? he never says). There are no allusions to heartbreak or romance anywhere in his dialogue.

Now, Ed's not stupid. I'm sure he knows Izzy and Lucius and the rest of the crew can connect the dots and realize that something bad happened with Stede, even if Ed doesn't fill them in on the details. But Ed is also traumatized, and has a whole host of coping mechanisms set up to help him avoiding thinking about things that he doesn't want to think about. If he's not a murderer because "technically the fire killed those guys", then no one knows he's heartbroken because technically he hasn't acknowledged it.

Until Izzy says the word 'boyfriend'. Suddenly the secret is out, and Ed can't handle it. Izzy knows his weakness. That's why this word effects Ed more than anything else Izzy says in the whole scene.

At the end of the confrontation, he hears the crew calling for another song. Look at Ed here. He looks as haunted, as disturbed, in this moment as he does at any point in Izzy's rant.

This is an important part of the scene, not just a closing note. Because if Izzy (the Caribbean's most emotionally constipated man) can see through him, obviously the whole crew can too.

Obviously Lucius – who advised Ed on his and Stede's relationship, who played along with Ed's 'fictional character' claim, who wrote down Ed's lyrics – can do so most of all.

There's a direct emotional logic to Ed killing Lucius because he had a fight with Izzy, and it doesn't involve Ed having been threatened or hate crime'd at all. Ed doesn't deal well with his own feelings (from Stede), so he chooses to become Blackbeard/the Kraken and gets rid of all the witnesses who saw otherwise.

[madlori]

If the only thing you can lord over buddie is that bucktommy is canon, then you really didn't care at all about the ship.

7 seasons of being a family unit, being there for each other, having each other's back but hey! Here comes another underdeveloped love interest, but since it's a man this time, you don't care about Buck being stuck in the same hamster wheel, again, because he's kissing a man and that's hot 🙄

Also for all your doom and gloom about buddie not happening, do remember that Tommy/Eddie was an idea in Tim's mind at first, so Eddie can be read as queer, even if it's not in canon yet.

I guess you don't place much value on them being a family unit and always there for each other, and having each other's back...all of which is still true and will continue to BE true. But it's only important to you as a prelude to them kissing, right? It has no value in and of itself. I love their relationship. I love what they are to each other. But YOU are making me not want to see it, because every time they turn to each other, lean on each other, support each other, we have to listen to you shrieking BUDDIE CANON CONFIRMED or whatever, because to a certain genre of shipper (not all buddie shippers, etc) any interaction or feeling they have with each other exists only in service to the ship.

I swear to god, I'm gonna banish the phrase "hamster wheel" from y'all's mouths until I get an actual definition as to what you think it means, because from where I sit, to you it just means "he's with someone who's not Eddie." To me, it means that Buck continually fell bass-ackwards into relationships that weren't right for him, looking for something he wasn't even sure what it was. And heyyyyy, he's currently in a relationship that he actively chose and fought for, having learned something new and important about himself, with someone who makes him giddy and excited in a way we have never seen him be, who the people around him can see gives him contentment. But none of that matters, because it's not Eddie, and that is by definition his only appropriate partner, so he must still be on that hamster wheel. Also if we're going by creator intent here, Tim's said he wrote this relationship specifically to reflect Buck being off of it.

As for underdeveloped love interest? I wrote an entire ass essay about how MUCH we know about Tommy, and it's reams compared to anything we've ever known about Buck's girlfriends OR Eddie's current girlfriend who does not even have a last name. Tommy has been introduced in a way that integrates him with the 118, with multiple interests, a character arc of his own from his first appearance, a set of motivations and emotional arcs that are NOT about Buck, and something to actually offer in a relationship besides existing. Anyone saying he's underdeveloped is determined to read him as such, especially for the limited amount of time we've had him.

And I never said Eddie couldn't be read as queer. He can EASILY be read as queer. I said he WOULDN'T be. Those are two different things. If Tommy and Eddie had gotten together (which I give no more narrative weight to than Maddie and Eddie getting together, which was also a gleam in the eye at one point) I'd equally be saying that Buck would never be queer.

It's hilarious to me that I'm being accused of liking a ship because it's hot (it is, and I do, and that's...fine? there's nothing bad about that?) as if people enjoy Buddie because of the amorphous purity of it all and not at ALL because it's hot (it is and you should say so).

If my thoughts about this are so upsetting to you, just block me, dude. I promise I won't take it personally.

Also, just...learn to enjoy a ship whether it's canon or not. I've done it, we've all done it. It's not that hard, especially THIS ship, which has so much good stuff to it regardless of whether there's romance or not. Those of us who like Buck with Tommy are not taking away from you enjoying Buddie, or anyone doing so. It's not like...the State of Buddie will lose congressional representation if the population falls below a certain level. The existence of another ship does not affect yours.

[pallysuune]

Summary: You have been at the Lion's side since he first walked onto Camarth and remembered who he was. Whatever else anyone says about him, you've seen how human he can be, and try to help him in an equally human way.

Pairing: Fem!Reader/Lion El'Jonson

Warnings: spoilers for The Lion: Son of the Forest, I guess. Some good ol' fashioned fluffy smut. No beta we die like fanfic writers.

A/N: I love how different the Lion is in Son of the Forest, how much more mature and respectful he is. I've got a soft spot for the old man. This, uh, may have gotten a little out of hand.

The Protectorate was nearing a state where it would be self sufficient. Where Lion could step away without fear that 'his people' would once more fall to the predation of chaos. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking most of the time, but everyone near him could tell that he was affected by that notion. How he was affected was up to debate, though. His Risen were of the opinion that he was anticipating his return to the Imperium at large, maybe even excited for it in his own way. But you thought there was more to it than that.

Not anxiety, exactly, but something adjacent to it.

While the majority of the Lion Guard would remain in the Protectorate, there was a small number who would be joining him and his sons in their travels. You were one of them. It wasn't much of a surprise, if you were being honest. While you weren't the captain of the Lion Guard, or any other named rank, you served as close to an equerry as he currently had. You'd dare even say you were close to him. Closer than most.

The ship that would carry you all away from the Protectorate wasn't one many would call worthy of a Primarch, but Lion himself had seemed nothing but satisfied with it, thanking the tech priests and engineers who had gotten it in working order with a sincerity that had left them flustered and star struck. It was still, in fact, a little small for someone like him, especially in the private cabins, which was what necessitated him sitting cross-legged on the floor as he currently was.

He'd been sitting there for so long with his eyes closed, you thought he was meditating, or that he'd fallen asleep, when he spoke suddenly.

"You know you don't need to be here all the time."

You fixed him with a flat look, even if he wasn't able to see it currently. "The last time we were on a ship, you took a walk in the middle of the warp and none of us knew what happened to you," you reminded him, in a sharp tone you only dared to use in private.

He opened his eyes and looked up at you. You blushed a little. He didn't intend it, you were pretty sure, but his attention was always so intense that it got to you every time.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward in a faint smile. "My sons were quite upset with me about that," he conceded.

He motioned toward a chair, offering for you to sit, and, in a way, accepting the fact that you were going to be staying there. Triumphantly, you sat down.

Silence fell between the two of you for a moment, before you cleared your throat softly. "Can I ask you something, Lord Lion?" He looked over at you again. For how calm he could be, he still didn't like to be kept waiting, so you went on quickly. "Why did you bring the Lion Guard with you? Not just now, but when you first brought us with you from Camarth. You... don't really need us. Especially now that more of your sons have joined your side. So why...?"

He didn't answer immediately, glancing away instead, his eyes lowering to the floor as he thought about it. "I do need the Lion Guard. I cannot protect these planets alone, nor can I traverse the stars to rejoin my father's imperium alone. Even a Primarch is nothing without people who are willing to trust and follow them."

He looked meaningfully at you.

"In truth, I need you just as much as you needed me. I am still human."

You knew he meant 'you' in a general sense, but your heart still skipped a beat all the same.

His gaze seemed just a little more focused on you, and you suddenly recalled a rumor you had heard once that he could hear so well he could even hear a person's pulse. Was it true? Could he hear how yours was suddenly fluttering in your chest?

"Don't you ever get tired, sir?"

He arched a brow at you. "I slept for ten thousand years," he said, his voice so dry you couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"That isn't what I meant," you huffed, flustered.

His expression softened ever so slightly. "I do. But there is too much to do to give in to it."

You hesitated again, looking at him. Your heart was beating so fast, you were almost sure it would break out of your rib cage and fly away. "Would you... permit me to help you with that?"

His expression closed off, becoming more guarded, and for a moment, he just looked at you. And then, slowly, he nodded.

You took a deep breath and rose from your seat. After one last second of hesitation - you could stop this before it started, your brain said, pretend it never happened, and go back to serving him as normal - before you slipped into his lap, sitting lightly on his thighs. This close, you could so clearly see the lines at the corner of his eyes, the silver in his blond hair and beard. He didn't move in the slightest, and his eyes never left yours. Slowly, you reached up, fingertips brushing his cheek, before you leaned in and pressed your lips to his.

He didn't respond immediately, but after a moment, he wrapped his arms around you. He was gentle, almost achingly, as if he was afraid of hurting you. His broad, warm form enveloped you. He kissed you back, slowly, and you could practically feel the tension release in his shoulders as he let himself let go and accept the affection and comfort you were giving him. His fingers slid into your hair, his hand cradling the back of your head.

You had seen the Lion fight before. To think that the same hands you had seen kill daemons with such ease could be so gentle when touching you made your heart ache.

The kiss grew deeper, his tongue slipping past your lips, sweeping into your mouth and gliding over yours. You moaned softly.

He smoothed one large hand down the curve of your back, letting it settle low, where the edge of your shirt had ridden up ever so slightly. He slid one calloused finger beneath, drawing over your skin. "Do you wish to continue?"

You realized it was a genuine question. He would not stop you or blame you if you didn't wish to go any further. That, just as much as the warmth of his body and the way he had responded to your kiss, urged you on.

"I do."

The Lion kissed you again softly, beginning to pull your shirt up. He's wearing a shirt that buttons down the front, something made for him on Avalus to wear when he's not in his armor. You fumble with the buttons, fingers slipping on them in your eager haste. You felt the quirk of his lips in a smirk of amusement, and felt heat rise to your cheeks. When he pulls away to draw your shirt over your head, you take the opportunity to undo the buttons since you could see them. You pushed his shirt back off his shoulders.

He was a broad man, muscular and strong, his skin pale, with the ghosts of freckles dusting his shoulders, waiting for the kiss of the sun to bring them out. Scars mark his body, a long with the metal ports where his armor interfaced with his body. It was strange how different it was and yet how recognizably human. You ran your hand down his chest, marveling at him.

He said nothing, watching you silently as you looked over his upper body. When you glanced up, you met his his eyes. That intense forest green gaze. You flushed.

He leaned in and kissed you again.

Lion lifted you with ease, making quick work of the rest of your clothes before removing his own. Naked, he drew you back into his lap. Your breath hitched at the feeling of skin against skin, his cock resting against your sex. His hands roamed over your body as he held you close and kissed you, in utterly no hurry. He trailed kisses down your neck and over your shoulder. He lavished your body with kisses and touches until you were squirming in his lap, panting softly.

It was only then that he laid you back onto the floor, shifting over you. One large hand guided your leg around his waist. His lips pressed softly to your breast. His beard scratched your skin lightly. His mouth was hot as he took your nipple into it to suck lightly on it. His fingers brushed along your folds. Heat and pleasure rushed through you. You were slick and hot under his hand as he circled your clit and pressed a finger into you.

You whimpered softly, your hips arching up into the movement of his hand.

"Patience," he murmured against your chest.

You wasn't sure how he could expect you to be patient when he was slowly fucking you with one thick finger. But you bit your lip, trying to keep from squirming too much.

"Good girl."

His voice alone was enough to make you whine again.

Lion took his time, patient and thorough, fingering you and playing with your clit until you were practically dripping for him, your arousal slickening your thighs. You were nearly delirious with need when he drew back, slipping his finger from you. He raised it to his mouth, and you watched through lidded eyes as he sucked your essence from his fingers.

"A man could lose himself between your thighs," he rumbled, green eyes locked with yours.

"Lion," you breathed.

He pursed his lips, and you were sure it was to hide a smile, and leaned back down over you. He guided your legs around his waist again. You felt the press of his length against your slit. Slowly, he rolled his hips forward, pressing into you, stretching you, filling you. Your back arched, your hips rocking up to meet his. A long, low moan slipped from your lips.

He groaned softly before his lips met yours. He kissed you deeply. You wrapped your arms around his neck, fingers threading in his hair. He was the only thing that existed to you in that moment. You clung to him, grounding yourself in the strength of his body. And you let yourself get lost in the push and pull of your bodies, in the pleasure that seared through your veins. Nothing else mattered.

He began to move faster, chasing the high both of you so desperately needed. His fingers found your clit once more and you keened, pushed over the edge. Your pussy tightened around him, your juices dripping down your thighs as he continued to fuck you through your release. Everything was a haze of sensation, highlighted with the sound of deep, masculine groans in your ear, as your body began to tread that line between pleasure and pain, too much and not enough. You trembled in his arm. He continued fucking you.

He bucked into you and stopped, filling you completely. You could feel the throb of his manhood in you as he pumped you full of his seed.

For a moment, you both remained like that, twined together. You were panting. He was breathing a little hard, too, his face pressed into the crook of your neck. He pressed a kiss there before finally pulling himself up.

You expected him to pull away, get dressed, and return to his meditation. Instead, he drew you close to him again, back into his lap as he shifted to lean back against the wall. He took his shirt and draped it over you. You hadn't anticipated cuddling but, well, you certainly going to turn down the opportunity. You let yourself lay across his chest as his arms came to settle around you again.

Lion didn't speak. But as you began to fall asleep, you could have sworn you felt the touch of his cheek against the top of your head.

[lordsammichsilas]

I saw a recent post someone made speculating on birth years for each of the FO4 companions. They had estimated Danse being born (created?) in 2261 and part of that reasoning was 1) he had been paladin by 2277 and 2) Maxson said it took Danse “many” years to become paladin.

I wanted to expand on it without dumping a huge wall of text onto their post. If you want to know which post, here's the link. And this isn't me disagreeing with any of it. It was just something that got me thinking and I wanted to expand on it.

I've been kind of stuck on Danse's character for a bit because of the fic I'm writing. I didn't actually realize Maxson had said it took Danse many years to become Paladin (I looked it up and it's when you first join the BoS and you're given the rank of Knight. If you ask why not Paladin, that's when you get that info).

So anyway it made me wonder what “many” years would be in the context of a military career. The Brotherhood of Steel was born from the US military, so I looked into the ranks of the US Army to get an idea. Danse is a senior officer with the BoS and a field commander. From what I can tell, the most senior field commander in the Army is the rank of Major. Just doing a quick Google search, it takes about 11 years to make that rank. Added to at least 10 years as Paladin, I'm estimating Danse has been in the BoS for about 21 years by the beginning of FO4.

If someone joins the Army at 18, they'd be about 39 by the time they reach Major. Since Danse is a synth and was created as an adult humanoid male, that doesn't mean much in terms of his actual chronological age. It does for his perceived age, though.

The BoS keeps really extensive records on its members. They even keep their DNA on file. When you walk through the Prydwen, you get a very paranoid vibe and the children on the ship are encouraged to spy on all staff aboard the Prydwen. And yet, no one suspected Danse was a synth.

Synths don't age. At SOME point, even if they never got the files from the Institute saying Danse was a missing synth, someone would have had to start questioning why Danse still looks the same after all of those years in the BoS. That hadn't happened, yet. Also the stress of battle and the scars on his face probably do give the illusion of “aging” to an extent. Danse also isn't close to anyone in the BoS and doesn't talk about himself. His background is as an anonymous orphan in the Capital Wasteland. All of this gives plenty of wiggle room on his perceived age to others. I'm guessing anyone in the BoS would probably just assume he's in his mid-late 30's. Maybe early 40's.

And up to that point, the timeline would match. His time spent in the BoS would point to him being that age. He looks like he's about that age. He's a senior officer. It's fine. Give it about 10 years, though, and people would have started asking questions. Danse was on borrowed time and he had no idea.

And then there's time spent in Rivet City. He and Cutler were quite close, enough that they joined up together. My guess is that they were probably seen as two young men at around the same age (I'll just say late teens, early 20's) when they joined up. Since we know Danse is an adult who doesn't age, I'm going to lean hard on the battle scars theory for simulating aging and also say he was probably clean shaven in the beginning which also made him look younger.

Even then, I am guessing he spent enough time with Cutler for them to become close without raising any suspicions on his age. I'm going to give about 2 years in Rivet City. I figure that's plenty of time for two young men to become friends enough that they run off and join the military together. Without the appearance of his age raising any red flags.

That puts the timeline up to 23 years.

Prior to that, it gets really fuzzy. We know nothing of his time in the Institute. We can make some educated guesses, but all we know for sure is that he was a missing synth named M7-97. Danse himself doesn't know anything about it. I can't really give any guess on how long he was there without going ENTIRELY into headcanon territory.

Him being born in the year 2261 is totally plausible. That would make him chronologically 26 years old.

His perceived age, though, I thought was interesting to think about because you have to see how his appearance and the direction his life took was almost out of luck that no one found him out sooner. I think he was in a far more precarious position than even he realized and even without the BoS discovering he was a synth from the Institute, he was getting close to a point in time where his age would have come into question even more and people would have started getting suspicious anyway.

[pan-annigans]

Jay x Nya: best ship!!!

Zane x Pixal: they are soulmates and no one can say otherwise.

Kai x Skylor: the two of them balance each other well, plus seeing Kai get all lovey-dovey around Skylor is just cute.

Lloyd x Akita: Akita likes Lloyd for himself and isn’t interested in his status as the Green Ninja, she just might be the one person he could be with without having to worry about keeping up appearances.

Cole x Vania: they’re just great together (as lovers or as friends), their dynamic is sweet and both admire and encourage each other with just simple honest words.

hi!! thank you so much!

I'm going to post art for all of these, along with a few of my thoughts on the ships that have been sent to me. Just for funsies :)

Fun fact, I used to hate Jaya. I thought it was really forced in the canon, and Jay's really obsessive behavior that is the catalyst for all of the events in Skybound always really bothered me? But tumblr has completely turned me around on this ship. They have their moments in canon, but in fanon they're really wonderful. thanks tumblr <3

these two...... 🥺they are really good i will admit. I'm a big fan of glaciershipping myself and I tend to prefer it over pixane, but these two are so lovely to each other and i totally see the appeal. I just wish pixal wasn't so sidelined in the canon fr what were they doing with her character??? let her be around more often let her and zane be sweet together. please smh

SKYLOR ALSO HAS NOTHING TO DO MOST OF THE TIME-- honestly this show sidelines like all of its female characters so hard. but these two are great toooo theyre sweeeet 😊 i just wish skylor was used for more than cameos. i like that she's the only one that can consistently shake kai's ego it's a great dynamic

lloyd and akita!! i'm gonna be so real with you guys i forget about akita so often ;v; which is a shame... i give her the award for most sidelined female character because she existed for half a season. but she and lloyd are sweet! I don't tend to ship lloyd with anyone personally, but i do love that they meet under the circumstances of "lloyd is in a world where his name and status mean nothing so he has no pressure to perform". it's a fantastic break for him. holy shit he deserves it

im gonna be so honest with all of you um. i actually. havent seen MotM yet. i was in the middle of my rewatch, and i got up to the point i stopped, right before MotM, and then Netflix changed their watch policies. and then of course i got busy

but from what i've seen of these two in fanon they seem alright! I usually prefer them in other wlw or mlm ships because of ONE ninjago vine compliation thing i saw with the two of them as this one tiktok and i've never been able to think of them as a couple since then. But they seem like they have a lovely friendship, whether that ends up turning to romance or not!

Thank you so much for sending me an ask, this was a lot of fun and I got to draw a lot of characters that I've never drawn before! To those of you who have sent me asks and reblogs and comments on the original post, I will be working through all of them in chronological order from when I received them in my activity tab :)

[nocaptainonthisship]

We talk about fandom history because - as the cliche goes - history repeats itself.

Saying "I've been in this fandom since its inception two years ago" isn't a dick measuring contest. It's saying I've been here. I've seen it.

I've seen the so-called lore bros harass and try to dunk on people having fun in defense of tolkien(an obviously racist dogwhistle I don't think I need to explain to anyone reading this.) I've seen people called pedophiles for writing perfectly innocent g-rated fiction. I've seen people harassed out of fandom. I've seen stans of other aspects of the show tell haladriels they're a danger to their spouses and children because they.. like haladriel? I've seen schism after schism within the ship in the name of being Right and Correct and most of all Important.

Anyway, history repeats itself. A new season comes and brings with it new fodder for fic and art and interpretation. The theorizing begins. What did it mean? What will come next? And if you speculate loudly, frequently, and slightly combatively, thus follows the high of Attention. We've been here before.

And, in the interest of proving the take is Right and True and Correct, one must always push down any varying interpretation. Maybe it's "they're not real shippers, they also like the other guy." Maybe it's "they're not real fans of the show, they're not doing the work of up voting every single ship friendly post on reddit." Maybe it's "they didn't pass the arbitrary test I just came up with, so it doesn't matter how long they've loved this thing or how many words of fic or meta they've written about this, they must be Faking It."

All that to say: your take(hot or cold) can be interesting. It can be intriguing and fascinating and super duper cool. What it can't be is The One True Way.

You don't win fandom. You can't. That's what makes it such a great hobby. Because the thing you can't win is also the thing you can't lose.

It is actually very easy to write about theories without making it about what you think other people are doing wrong. There's no prize if you get it right. And for what it's worth - in the interest of sharing history that those of you who have joined us more recently would have missed - dedicating yourself to being Right at the expense of someone who likes something you don't understand(or doesn't like something you do understand!) is an excellent way to lose friends and alienate people.

I've seen it happen. We've been here before.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hi! Really enjoyed the Harry is gay post, very well researched! Are there any other characters in the series you would also think are gay? Don't wanna say anyone just yet, just want your unfiltered opinion

Hi!

Thank you so much!

Can't say I have other characters I feel as strongly about their sexual preferences. A large part of it is what Harry chooses to pay attention to. So, I don't have much evidence for anyone else, but I can say who I think is likelier to be gay (or at least not straight) from textual evidence. Some of them go into headcanon territory, but here they are, off the top of my head and in no particular order:

1. Dumbledore and Grindelwald

I'm pretty sure these two are canon, so I don't need to say much. But:

“Yes, even after they’d spent all day in discussion—both such brilliant young boys, they got on like a cauldron on fire—I’d sometimes hear an owl tapping at Gellert’s bedroom window, delivering a letter from Albus! An idea would have struck him, and then he had to let Gellert know immediately!”

(DH, pages 308-309)

Gellert— .... (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.) Albus

(DH, pages 309)

“Grindelwald. And at last, my brother had an equal to talk to someone just as bright and talented he was. And looking after Ariana took a backseat then, while they were hatching all their plans for a new Wizarding order and looking for Hallows, and whatever else it was they were so interested in.

(DH, pages 480)

2. Sirius Black

I think Sirius might've been gay, or at least bi. It goes into headcanon territory, but I think Sirius used to be in love with James. He just always gave me that vibe. (I don't think they were ever a thing, I think Sirius took his feelings for James with him to his grave).

Here are some quotes that gave me the feeling Sirius is not interested in anyone but James:

Harry saw Sirius give James the thumbs-up. Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs. He was very good-looking; his dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance neither James’s nor Harry’s could ever have achieved, and a girl sitting behind him was eyeing him hopefully, though he didn’t seem to have noticed.

(OOTP, page 642)

“He kept messing up his hair,” said Harry in a pained voice. Sirius and Lupin laughed. “I’d forgotten he used to do that,” said Sirius affectionately.

(OOTP, page 670)

Plus, Sirius' general fixation on James and his constant reminiscence about him. And the two-way mirror they made just for them cause they couldn't handle an hour apart in detention:

This is a two-way mirror. I’ve got the other. If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it; you’ll appear in my mirror and I’ll be able to talk in yours. James and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions.

(OOTP, page 858)

But we don't really know about any romantic interests Sirius may have had. So, it's more of a headcanon than anything.

3. Dean Thomas

I think Dean Thomas is bi (not gay, I think he did like Ginny). And I have only one qoute evidence for it, but it's a really funny one and I don't think I've seen anyone mention it so I'll put it here:

He certainly wasn’t the only one who was sorry to see Professor Lupin go. The whole of Harry’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class was miserable about his resignation. “Wonder what they’ll give us next year?” said Seamus Finnigan gloomily. “Maybe a vampire,” suggested Dean Thomas hopefully.

(POA, page 429)

Dean Thomas clearly read whatever 1990s version of Twilight that exists in the HP universe and wants a love triangle paranormal romance with a werewolf and a vampire.

4. Draco Malfoy

I think he was a little too obsessed with Harry. Like, I don't actually ship Drarry, but I can definitely confess Draco was way too interested in Harry for it to not appear a little gay.

He rummaged in his trunk up in the luggage rack and pulled out the miniature figure of Viktor Krum. “Oh wow,” said Neville enviously as Ron tipped Krum onto his pudgy hand. “We saw him right up close, as well,” said Ron. “We were in the Top Box —” “For the first and last time in your life, Weasley.” Draco Malfoy had appeared in the doorway. Behind him stood Crabbe and Goyle, his enormous, thuggish cronies, both of whom appeared to have grown at least a foot during the summer. Evidently they had overheard the conversation through the compartment door, which Dean and Seamus had left ajar. “Don’t remember asking you to join us, Malfoy,” said Harry coolly.

(GOF, page 168)

Draco literally comes to find Harry on the train, uninvited, every year (except 6th). Throughout their time at school, he also makes an active effort to seek out Harry to a level that is kind of ridiculous. It always looked to me like Draco was desperate for any sort of attention from Harry.

Harry looked down at the hawthorn wand that had once belonged to Draco Malfoy. He had been surprised, but pleased to discover that it worked for him at least as well as Hermione’s had done.

(DH, page 444)

Considering how loyal unicorn hair wands like Draco's are, it seems Dravo feels more friendly about Harry than he likes to pretend.

5. Aunt Muriel

It sounds weird, I know, but I have a reason here. So, Muriel is from the same generation as Dumbledore, more or less, from her words in DH. And we know, back then she had expectations to marry and have children as a (seemingly) pure-blood witch. Those expectations would've been prevalent when she was a young woman in the early 20th century, even among the less blood-purist families.

The fact that she didn't seem to have settled down with a husband and children implies she wasn't interested in doing so. This allows a reading of her as either interested in women or not interested in sex or marriage in general.

6. Alphard Black & Cassiopeia Black

For the same reasons as Muriel. Neither Cassiopeia (born 1915) nor Alphard, Sirius' godfather (born circa 1927-ish) married or had children. This is something that would be expected of them, so the reading of them as not straight is very plausible.

So, that's it. These are all the characters that off the top of my head I could give textual evidence for a not straight reading of. I don't have as much evidence, and that's why I consider this more headcanon than theory. Obviously, people can headcanon wherever, these are just the ones that I could recall evidence for.

[ursa-the-stranger]

Op had to restrict replies but I wanted to reblog so heres a copy paste of it sans op's name. I will take this down if they ask however.

I have been noodling over posting this for several days but I think it's important for some people to hear.

At a March on Saturday, at a pro Palestine march, my group and I were targeted by by nazis. Not targeted for violence, but targeted for recruitment. They weren't wearing swastikas, they weren't spewing blatant antisemitic hate speech. They seemed like two normal dudes. They marched with us, talked about how awful everything in Palestine was, how we wished world leaders would grow a pair and hold Israel responsible for fucking war crimes, how existing in the world right now was hard. They were empathetic, they were kind, they seemed like genuine good dudes.

Until we passed a synagogue where people were handing our water to marchers. They had signs defending Palestine on their table. But the tone of the conversation changed. These two seemingly normal dudes started talking about how "performative" the gesture felt, that Jewish people should be doing more. That they needed to PROVE it. They started talking about "Zionist" propaganda in the US, about how it was deeply entrenched in capitalism. Things that, on the surface, seemed reasonable but it set off alarm bells in my head.

When I was a kid, I remember getting the speech of "don't repeat anything your uncle or cousin so and so says and don't argue with them. Try to avoid them but if you can't be polite." Because those uncles and cousins said a lot of hateful things about anyone who wasn't like them, but their favorite targets were black people and Jewish people. I would find out as an adult it was because many of those uncles and cousins were in the Klan. When I studied hate symbols for a class in college, I found my self looking at images I'd seen on arms and necks and hands my whole life, because I live in an area of the US where the KKK is still around. And standing in that crowd, listening to these guys talk, i had the most horrible realization I've had in a long time.

We were being fished by Nazis. We were a group of able body, white American leftists. At a march in support of stopping the murder and genocide of Palestinians, these motherfuckers were out here, trying to find people they could get to hate Jewish folks. I wasn't the only one in my group who clocked it, and when we called them on it, the masks came off. They called us a bunch of "Jew loving bitches" before they moved on.

But we're marched with these guys for a couple hours, talked with them, laughed with them, brought them into our circle. For a moment we forgot we also weren't immune to propaganda, we weren't immune to people who make hate sound reasonable and that people like that never start out saying the quiet part out loud, they lean on your anger and your sense of helplessness to move you where they want you. If the last eight years has taught us anything, it's that fascists know how to adjust to the times, to work with what they got, to recruit. They know how to radicalize people, how to weaponize anger and helplessness. And I'm sitting here, every day, seeing posts that sound exactly like these guys did and it worries me.

I know I'm talking to the No Reading Comprehension Website, but I'm begging you guys to develop some now.

You are not immune to propaganda. We are all angry, as we fucking should be. We are watching an entire culture, thousands of lives, whole bloodlines, being wiped out in real time, and for many of us our nations are at best, wringing their hands, and at worst, shipping them weapons, all to protect capitalist greed. It's monstrous, it's disgusting. But look, REALLY LOOK, at the things you are tweeting, sharing, look at the language and how it's used. Take the time to educate yourself about how hate groups use social justice causes and civil unrest to recruit, research the posts your spreading, check your sources. If you are out protesting, be situationally aware, and do not be afraid to clock and call out Nazis. Listen to Jewish people, listen to their concerns, educate yourself on what Zionism and antisemitism actually are and how they can be weaponized. It doesn't feel as good as rage, it doesn't feel as good as having a group you can functionally rail against in a way we can't against a nation a world away, but it's a skill that's going to help you and a lot of other people in the long run.

[cryptidwrestling]

I need to sleep. I am putting way too much thought and upset energy into a scripted sports soap opera 😂😭 Anyway

Some Of Cryptid's Current Thoughts And Feelings™ On The State Of Her RAW Faves

1) Liv Morgan's booking.

Ya'll. I'm a Rhea simp/stan and a person second, anyone who's been on my blog for more than thirty seconds knows this 😂 And I've also made it no secret I, for the most part, am actually still enjoying the Liv v Rhea feud. So all that being said, what the fuck is going on with Liv's booking.

I know she's a heel and part of a heel faction and in-ring bullshit is the name of the game, but the fact that neither of her title defenses have been won clean (granted, she didn't technically win the Bad Blood one anyway but whatever we all know that ending was botched and she was supposed to technically win) and 9/10 times she runs from Rhea when confronted. They're making the Women's Champ look weak.

Liv can be cunning and vicious, we've all seen it; for fuck's one of my favorite theories that I'm willing to die on the hill of is Liv still just using Dominik as a pawn and is gonna drop him the moment she realizes he doesn't fit in with her plans anymore. Book the feral Liv if they're gonna keep this storyline going.

2) Finn v Damian

I mentioned this in a another post but I feel like the reason they weren't pushed as hard is because they didn't want to risk something forshadowing the PunkIntyre feud...And if that's the case, they shouldn't have had Finn turn yet. With this theory in mind, and tbh even if NOT true this would have still worked, the tldr in my head is

-Dom's turn should have been the same

-Have Finn, and the rest of the JD stick around and the rivalries be Dom v Damian and still Rhea v Liv

-Bad Blood rolls around, Dom and Damian have a match, and Finn's turn comes in the form of him and the JD assisting Dom.

-The Finn v Damian feud kicks off the same night Punk v Drew ends

There was NO REASON to have Finn turn and to wait this long to really start doing something with it. I still standby my opinion if done right, this rivalry could still be AMAZING...But it doesn't change the fact it has lost a LOT of momentum going the way it has.

3) Rhea Currently Standing Alone

To a degree, I get it. Her and Damian agreed to do their own thing because he's done with the JD (as far as he thinks.) and they're in different divisons but he would/will always come if Rhea called. I'm not a fan of how fast they split them up as a team-again, wave two of the Terror Twins shirts had barely shipped when this happened-but this segement was okay. It was sweet and mutual.

THAT SAID.

Rhea is currently in a 2v1 (not counting Dom cause I have little hopes of us ever getting a sanctioned match with them cause ✨intergender✨🙄) rivalry. Liv has Raquel...Who the fuck does Rhea have? Tiffy? Maybe, but we can't even say that for certain because as it sits right now, they're on different shows. Show borders are just currently being blurred in, assumingly, prep for Survivor Series.

Why the fuck does Rhea currently have to stand alone.

4) Jhea

THIS KINDA PIGGYBACKS OFF MY LAST PARAGRAPH AND IS THE ONE I REALLY DON'T GET??? Okay, yes, it was probably supposed to be something cute and just for fun to fill time while the other main storylines Rhea and Jey are/were in moved along. But if that was the case, why did ya'll move it to the main stage and not just keep it in backstage segments? Rhea during a preshow interview, I think it was Bad Blood?, said Jey showed her what a real man was like. Not to mention Jey coming to Rhea and Damian's defense or Jey agreeing to tag with Damian cause he "can't say no to Rhea." Why the fuck would you plant seeds like that on screen, on the main stage, and then just??? Drop it??? I don't get it???

5) JEY MOTHERFUCKING USO'S 28 DAY REIGN

I'm gonna make this one short and sweet cause you can literally see all my posts directly below this word vomit and see how mad I am 😅 But, in short; Why. Why not wait until after he's done with the Bloodline to give him a title? Why not have this same set up but give him the title ages ago. Give him a decent title reign with the same ending. Predictable at that point sure, but okay...What is the fucking point of having him, a fan favorite who everyone was cheering the house down the night he won, get his first solo title ever after fourteen years...Only to give it back to Bron less than a month later?

Bron is a GREAT preformer, do not get me wrong but making this...I don't want to say newcomer, but newer star a two time champ in his lesser time with the WWE just doesn't sit right with me.

I know Jey was gonna get involved with the Bloodline story at some point. I know it would have been hard to impossible to book him in a Smackdown story as a RAW champ...They could have done in without stripping his first non-tag title from him in under a month. We could have gotten crashout Jey going after Solo and Co without what we got tonight.

[rhytmrocket]

hey all! so that post about po ship names got more support than expected, and i see at least two people would like to know the names i've come up with. so, here are some of my better works!

note that i don't ship really any of these that much, mainly cuz the only ship ive definitively decided so far that yes this is my yaoi is kaijoe, and also because a portion of these are crack-ish ships that i haven't seen anyone ship like at all (although i haven't checked out po ao3 yet so some of these might actually exist and i just have a blind spot). so if that fact degrades the quality of the names for you, sorry i guess

bulldozer, for bull/sandman. coming from bull, and to "doze" is to fall asleep, and also bulldozer is a word. kinda surprised i haven't seen this ship around, to me it feels like at least someone would ship it.

chocolate milk, for bull/doc. chocolate for doc, and bulls are male cows and female cows produce milk. this is a ship i'm pretty sure exists, but i haven't seen a name for it yet, so maybe this is already an accepted ship name for it like with the glass cannon situation. who knows

bullrush, for bull/hondo. it's a pretty obvious name, but it sounds really good so it's staying here.

redbull, for sodabull. redbull is a carbonated energy drink, which is basically soda. also bull in the name. i know this is one of the bigger ships in the tumblr po fandom, and i cannot believe no one calls it this. i can't have been the first person to come up with this! but everyone calls the ship sodabull so i just gotta live with it but now i'm breaking my silence!! sodabull should be called redbull. i mean maybe not in tags cuz that could get it mixed up with the energy drink but like you know!

popstar, for soda/macho. pop from soda pop(inski), and star because macho is a hollywood star. i feel the exact way about this one as i do with redbull-- it's a good fucking name but i haven't seen any macho/soda shippers use it and it drives me nuts

russian roulette, for soda/aran. soda's russian, and aran has a theme of luck, thus roulette. i haven't seen this ship much recently but scrolling back a while on the soda tag shows that this ship has existed. and i have not seen it be called russian roulette. what is it with soda ships and not reaching their name potential?

piña colada, for hippo/soda. piña colada is an often-alcoholic drink (soda has references to alcohol, and also his name used to be vodka) with pineapple in it (hippo has a lot of connexions to pineapples). ok, this ship i have not seen anyone ship (yet). this name i really just randomly came up with, but i like it and i think it fits and sounds good

dragon dance, for dragon/heike. this is mainly a reference to the move from pokémon of the same name. i am just about certain this ship exists, but i just! haven't! seen it yet!

pizzapie, for pizza/clown. pizzas are sometimes referred to as pies, or pizza-pies, and clowns are known for throwing pastry pies as physical comedy. ok guys hear me out! uh! uh. ok i got nothing, this ship just entered my mind one night and hasn't left since, like a prophet recieving a vision from a god except the god is dionysus wasted off his ass.

spaghetti and meatballs, for pizza/ref mario. i have no explanation for this one. i am so sorry. idk why so many pizza pasta ships come into my mind, that fucker has 0 canon personality

pineapple-shaped disco ball, for disco/hippo. i think the name's pretty obvious. i uh once heard the word cluster "pineapple-shaped disco ball" and immediately thought "lmao that sounds like a ship name for disco kid and king hippo" and promptly put it on my note of ship name ideas. i really like it for them because it's verbose and clunky, it sounds like something their collective braincell and a half would come up with.

oh and! if a name i have here already exists, please do tell! especially if it's redbull or popstar, those two drive me mad. clown.

[thewallsaretalking-again]

you know what?? Fuck it, there's something I've GOTTA talk about:

(don't worry this isn't like a serious post or anything. also its gonna be really badly written with grammar errors because I'm just really excited to finally be talking about this and I'm shaking like a leaf) (also, if you don't agree with this that is completely fine; everybody ships different ships, this is just one that I personally love and me explaining how it came to be and how I image it. I'm not trying to convince anybody of anything, this is just for fun. If you don't like, that's fine! All I ask is that there is no hate and that you just move on. Thank you!)

I love rairpairs. Like, LOVE them. Anyone who's seen my old transformers art knows that I ship DreadOp which is like, a nonexistent ship. like, the ship equivalent of being an endangered species (there's like 10 fics about it on AO3, so you KNOW it's rare). There's a few examples of me being like this but this is the best example that i have.

But this has gotten to the point where i have done something absolutely ridiculous: I have created an entirely new ship- no, TWO entirely new ships (I'm only going to be focusing on one rn). AND I'VE GOTTA TALK ABOUT THEM because honestly? I love them! so, what monstrosity have I created? Whoo... prepare yourselves (especially you, dark cacao cookie fans...)

Yep. Don't hate me. Please hear me out because honestly iv'e seen more heinous ships in my time on the internet.

so, first of all, the white dude is known as the milk village elder in CRK, and we only see him once in the entire game (that i know of). I love taking npc's and giving them characters, so this is kinda how this happened. I'm gonna start by talking about the milk dude and how i headcannon/ imagine him because it will come into play later.

I gave the milk village elder the name Whole Milk Cookie, because i couldn't exactly call him Milk Cookie; that names already been taken

Whole Milk Cookie isn't actually anyone's grandfather, despite him being called grandad/ grandpappy in the actual game. We never see anyone his age in the milk village, and I like to imagine that its sorta like an honorary title. Like, he acts like everyone's grandpa, so everyone calls him grandpa but no one is actually related to him.

Whole Milk Cookie is like, ungodly sweet. Like, diabetes kind of sweet. its ridiculous. there are only a few ways to get him angry; and trust me, you don't want to...

He's strong. Like, think Hollyberry type strong. Gives the BEST hugs too.

Nobody knows exactly how old he is, but people suspect that he's actually much older than he looks. This could be caused by his extreme talent with the milk that comes from the villages well; if its used right, the milk can cure disease, help pains, or even extend someone's lifespan/ help retain youth. either that or he's some sort of demon but hey, who's counting?

got all that? good. Now the question everybody's asking; why the hell do i ship this? What's the story here? What's the origin? Well hold onto your pants folks because this is where we get into me overanalyzing shit.

behold the line that started it all:

This is so SO vague. why the hell did they put this in here it is SO VAUGE. what does he mean by "THAT king"? you know what it sounds like? someone reminiscing of their time with a loved one who has now changed....

they never elaborate on what exactly this line means and this is the very last line we hear Whole Milk Cookie say in the main story

wondering where exactly he's gone instead of wondering when he's coming back? idk man you sound worried about him...

also saying "laid your eyes upon" just sounds so gay/loving and i don't know why. yeah your laying something thats for sure glfbnvbrfnjkrb (im so sorry)

There's also this line:

The ally thing is kind of given, but why and how isn't this guy talking shit about dark Cacao? Like, he has EVERY right to! but he's not.... its almost like he cares.... and sure he mentions the generation thing but just because your parents were friends with some dude doesn't mean you necessarily like them right? so what gives??

Then there's the matter of Dark Cacao Cookies SON:

who is DArk CHOCOLATE

now Dark Chocolate usually doesn't have any milk/dairy in it, but it DOES need a fat, which whole milk DOES have!!

So, in theory, it would make sense for cacao and milk to make chocolate of some kind, AND it would account for Dark Choco Cookie having a lighter skin tone than his father (lighter eyes and the double white hair streak too)

I also like the story implications outside of cannon:

two people who would generally not be allowed to be in a relationship due to differing status keep a relationship going for years behind the backs of their communities

Dark Cacao Cookie taking full responsibility for taking care of their son, only for everything to become too overwhelming and he begins to remove himself from everything emotionally, wanting to give his son over to his other father to be properly taken care of but can't due to the dangers that poses for everyone in his family

Dark Choco nearly kills him and Dark Cacao has to exile him and (because of a mix of psychological manipulation, grief, and regret) locks up the citadel, leaving Whole Milk Cookie out of the picture entirely

Whole Milk Cookie stews in anger due to everything that's happened and Dark Cacao cookie not taking proper care of their son but eventually falls into guilt as well because he saw the signs of stress and overworking from his partner and didn't step in, assuming that everything was fine (but is still mostly mad at Cacao because he REALLY fucked up and it's not an excuse)

Gingerbrave and the crew comes strolling up and gets the citadel open, and Dark Cacao admits to Dark Choco that he didn't care enough and that he should have done things differently, and that he loves his son. Dark Choco leaves the cookies of darkness and begins a journey of recovery while Dark Cacao vows to do better for his family and kingdom in the future.

Dark Cacao meets up with Whole Milk Cookie to truly apologize to him, admitting everything he's done wrong and that he should have done far, FAR better. He tells WM that he deserves better than him

Whole Milk is obviously still angry and will never forgive Dark Cacao for what he's done. but he still loves him despite everything and would much rather the two of them work together to fix things (not necessarily romantically, more just not hating each other wise) moving forward instead of breaking things off and stewing in grief and anger.

The two of them take things extremely slow and carefully because it's been a long and difficult process, but they, eventually, get back to where they were.

Their recovery process takes years, but by that point Dark Cacao has improved himself exponentially, wanting nothing but the best for his partner and kingdom (and now knowing exactly what NOT to do) They also eventually find Dark Choco Cookie and fix things with him, but that's a whole other can of worms I'm not going to open here.

Just generally a story of two very different people, who despite goin through unimaginable hardships, do their very best despite the circumstances. they love each other more than even they realize and the fact that they are able to fix what was broken by their own hands is a testament to that, despite all of the arguments and tears along the way.

TLDR: Dark Cacao fucks up, his husband is mad but still loves him because he knows him better than anyone else, Dark Cacao actually makes an effort and succeeds to be much much better, and the two of them eventually figure things out. An unlikely love story :)

Ok, wow, that was a lot and kinda sad. But there are a few thiings that i couldn't fit into the rest of this so imma just stick them here:

Whole Milk Cookie finds Immense joy in picking up his husband and throwing him across his shoulder like some kind of really important sack

Whole Milk calls Dark Cacao "Cacao bean"

Dark Cacao loves Whole Milk Cookies cooking to a stupid extent

Dark Cacao loves playing with his husbands fluffy hair

the two of them will often help each other do their hair because they both just have SO MUCH of it

Dark Cacao, despite popular belief, is a flustered mess around his husband and can very often be found blushing like a madman whenever Whole Milk uses his strength

these two have the ABSOLOUTE WORST bedheads. Like, Cacao HAS to braid his hair before going to bed because otherwise the two of them will wake up tangled in it. And Whole Milk will just have an untamable afro.

uhh anyways. thanks for coming to my ted talk

[karume-everything-else]

Whumptober 2023

Day 7: "Don't you see I'm trying?" [Reader x Frieza] {Dragon Ball Z/ Super}

This was getting to be annoying. You could understand a lot of things, but being kept secret when Frieza was a literal tyrant who could easily silence anyone while he did whatever the hell he wanted was just too much for you. If you were honest with yourself, it felt like he was ashamed to be dating at all...

And that just hurt.

But there was no one you could really talk to, not without explaining who you were talking about. Being on Frieza's main ship wasn't helping anything because everyone on board was precisely who you knew weren't supposed to know in the first place. It was maddening.

You were contemplating just asking to leave the ship.

It wasn't like you wanted to leave permanently, you just needed a break from the secretive life. A way to make sure you were sane and justified in thinking this way instead of rolling with whatever Frieza said you had to be okay with. Especially since you didn't know if you could talk to Frieza about this.

He seemed pretty adverse to the topic in general.

But it wasn't like you could avoid him forever, not when he was prone to entering your room whenever he felt like it. Annoying in its own right mind, but at least it meant he cared on some level.

"[Name]? Have you been avoiding me?" He flicked his tail, "I haven't seen you around the ship as much as usual."

You had options of course, but it was just a little too much on your mind, "In a manner of speaking, I've just been thinking about a few things."

"About what?"

Frieza was doing his utmost to not show how terrified he was at this moment. The vague phrasing in particular had him completely on edge. If you were thinking about things, that could very well mean that you were thinking about leaving him or turning against him. The worst would be having to harm you if you turned out to be a spy or traitor or whatever the humans called the sneaky lovers.

"About how you want to keep us private." You sat on the bed, unsure what all to do, you weren't packing or anything, "I mean, you're literally an intergalactic dictator, according to Vegeta. But you have to keep me a secret as if someone is going to get onto you? I know how strong you are, so why?"

Frieza flicked his tail again, "I wasn't aware you knew about that. It hasn't been the way you think it is however."

"Then explain it to me so I can understand it."

You were the only person Freiza would ever let dare speak to him in that tone. At least, given that you weren't a fighter, you couldn't even out-strategize him.

"I am just a little concerned about how my men will treat you knowing that you are important to me in that way." Frieza looked off, hoping you wouldn't see through the half-truth, "Not to mention the risk of you being kidnapped by my enemies. I couldn't bear the torment of knowing I was the reason you were hurt."

"But I stay on your ship pretty much all the time." You huffed, "And I doubt your men would really care all that much. Hell, they are jealous that I have the 'unobtainable' rank. I'm more likely to get hurt at the hands of your men now."

He backed up a little, that hadn't been something he even remotely considered. It wasn't something he'd seen directly either. Though perhaps that was his own fault...

"And besides, it would take a lot of convincing for me to go anywhere that wasn't somewhere you told me to go directly. I might not be all that strong, but I'm not gullible. I--"

"[Name], [Name]. Please stop." Frieza moved closer, grabbing your shoulder gently, "I... I get it. The... the truth is I'm more trying to come to terms with being in a relationship than anything else."

You sat there, blinking at Frieza, "It's been over two years. And you're still not comfortable with telling others we're together?"

"Can't you see I'm trying?" He squeezed your shoulder a little harder than he should have, panicking as you crumbled under the pressure. "I... I'm sorry. Please, hold still. Let me see..."

Tears forming in your eyes from both physical and emotional pain. Yes, one was far worse than the other, but both hurt. Having to live with the fact that the person who asked you to join them as a domestic partner wasn't even comfortable being in this situation was never an easy truth to swallow. And with him being more than capable of getting rid of you in any number of ways was just a bit much.

"[Name], I..." Frieza sighed a little, struggling to figure out what to say, "Please, try to understand. My kind don't fall in love as easily as you made it. This is still very new to me, its rather alien..."

A soft, nervous chuckle filled the room, "But I am trying. I promise. I... I love you, [Name]. That's all there is to it."

[natsukishinomiyaswife]

Lydia Sweet: Mourning What Could Have Been

So... I wasn't really sure how to talk about this. About the "friendship" I had, and how it affected my OC x Canons (and subsequently, my enjoyment of Twisted Wonderland). So... I wrote a fic, featuring my OC Lydia (and some of my friend's OCs) to explain it. I hope this will help clear things up, especially to my friends. I'm so sorry for always changing ships, and acting like I can't make up my mind. I've always felt so incredibly guilty for it, as I've seen you all fall in love with them, only for me to switch things up suddenly. I am so grateful to anyone who has made me something, whether it be art, writing, etc of a ship. I will always be grateful, even if that ship is no more.

OCs featured: Yuya (@cheerleaderman), Kiyuu (@skriblee-ksk), Lysander (@offorestsongs), Yuusha (@crystallizsch), Mayu (@anbaisai)

Fayrouz (@fell-e), Oz (@viperbunnies)

When Lydia first moved to Twisted Wonderland, she got a job at a cat cafe, keeping to herself. She enjoyed working there, being able to serve customers while surrounded by cute cats. She even got herself a regular, though he didn't talk much. His focus was on the cats, a sharp toothed grin on his face as he watched them play.

Over time she learned his name was Idia, the two of them growing closer with every visit. She got to know her coworkers slowly, developing friendships as they talked and laughed in between shifts. Everything seemed to be going well for her. She loved her job, her coworkers, and her regular, Idia, who wouldn't leave her mind.

At this point she knew she had fallen for him, and was eager to tell her coworkers, considering them close friends. They usually discussed things like this in between their interests, gushing about any crushes or relationships to one another. She was especially excited to tell her friend Yuya, knowing they had a thing for him as well.

She was surprised when one of her other coworkers stopped her, a friend that seemed upset by the situation.

"You can't have a crush on Idia... Yuya does." They say simply, as if it were obvious. It left Lydia confused, worried she missed something.

"I know they do, but... can't we both have a crush on him?"

"I mean..." Her friend starts, gesturing with one hand. "There isn't really a point, is there? Yuya's better suited for him."

The words made Lydia's stomach drop, fiddling with her hands anxiously.

"You don't think I'm suited for him?"

"No, not really. I mean, have you seen what he has with Yuya? There's no topping that!"

"Oh..." She mutters sadly, hurt washing over her. While she was disappointed, she trusted her friend's judgement, and decided not to tell Yuya. The last thing she wanted was to cause conflict, and Yuya was a dear friend. She would support them however she could.

That doesn't stop the heartbreak she feels when she stops serving him, switching shifts to avoid him completely. She knew the others were worried for her, even Yuya, quietly wondering what was wrong. For the sake of her friendship and piece of mind, she leaves the cat cafe (and Idia) without saying goodbye, silently mourning it's loss.

A few days later she started working at a coffee shop, on the other side of town. It was a cute little shop, sitting between a diner and a dance studio. The shop collaborated regularly with a bakery across the street, a family business that everyone adored. While she missed the cat cafe, in time she got used to the coffee shop, and even made some friends.

Kiyuu worked there to stay close to her partner, Jack, who works at the nearby diner. Lysander works at the bakery across the street, having met his boyfriend Rook during one of the shop's collabs (He was taking pictures for the photo studio he works for, and instantly became captivated with him.) Yuusha, Mayu, Fayrouz, and Oz all seemed to work there for the same reason: to keep an eye on a certain instructor at the dance studio. It was hard to tell half the time if it was due to love or hate, but they all supported each other, and secretly gushed about him during their breaks.

While she tried to ignore it, she couldn't shake how out of place she felt, watching her friends from afar. It made her think of Idia, a smile coming to her face. With thoughts of Idia came thoughts of Yuya, the words of her friend echoing in her ears,

"There isn't really a point, is there? Yuya's better suited for him."

She shook her head as a bitter taste grew in her mouth, cutting her thoughts there. She pushes her feelings down as she texts Yuya on a whim, wanting to know how they were. She smiles as they start talking about Idia, sending pictures to accompany their stories. This would be enough.

She starts falling for Lysander's coworker quickly, finding herself charmed by him. His family owned the bakery across the street, running into him one day on her way out of the shop. He was delivering some pastries for an upcoming collab, making sure she was alright before introducing himself. Trey Clover... her coworkers seemed excited by her crush, encouraging her to pursue him.

Yet as they went on dates, Lydia falling for him more, she couldn't help but wonder about Idia... and what a date with him was like. It made her feel guilty, knowing how good her relationship with Trey was. He loved her, he made her happy, all of their friends supported them, and yet...

And yet...

He wasn't... him

Over time the guilt lessens, her happiness grows, she can feel herself getting over him. I love Trey, she thinks, loving him more than she thought possible. Now she could join in with her friends, gushing about Trey and their relationship. Finally, she felt included. Finally, she enjoyed her work.

And then Trey's birthday happened...

"Hey..." Her friend starts, having met up with her for lunch. Lydia focuses her attention on them, waiting for them to continue.

"I think I like Trey now. You don't mind, do you?"

"Oh no, of course not! I think it's great that you like Trey too."

"So you don't mind if I pursue him?"

"Not at all!"

"Oh, great! Thanks. Ever since his birthday, I can't seem to get him out of my head. I really appreciate you letting me have him."

Those words made Lydia pause, having a sinking feeling about their meaning.

"... What?"

"What?"

"What do you mean by me 'letting you have him'?"

"I mean... we can't both have a relationship with him. And you just said I could have him, so..."

"So you want me to end my relationship... with Trey..."

"You will, won't you? You could always start a relationship with someone else."

"... But-"

"Besides that, I like him more. It's only fair."

"... Alright." Lydia mutters reluctantly, unable to look her friend in the eye.

And so her relationship with Trey ends suddenly, so abrupt that her friends are left confused, wondering what had changed.

She scrambles to find someone new, talking with Yuusha about it. There was Ace, who worked at the fast food place down the block. Or Leona, who worked at the diner next door. While Yuusha was supportive, her friend... wasn't, vetoing them both.

"Ace already has so many good relationships, and Leona, really? Do I even have to say it?"

So Lydia was left with no other choice, pursuing someone who she knew her friend would never be interested in...

Silver

He works at the antique shop away from the shopping district, located in an old Victorian house. Most people were intimated by the owner's grandson, Malleus, who resides in the shop. The few who were willing to enter the shop mainly did so for the concerts held in the basement, by a band one of the employee's has.

"That's perfect!" Her friend tells her, clearly pleased with her decision. "I don't know anyone with a relationship with Silver, so he's all yours!"

Their words leave a bitter taste in Lydia's mouth, doing her best to stay positive. Silver was nice, and their relationship was good... she could easily see herself being happy with him. But at this point she just feels miserable, thinking back to how happy she was when she first moved here. Now everything feels so complicated, guilt and frustration plaguing her. She misses the cat cafe, she misses Idia, longing for simpler times.

Maybe I should leave Twisted Wonderland, she thinks, walking out of the coffee shop without a word. She looks back one last time, watching her friends laughing and talking with one another. The sight makes her smile, lingering for a moment before closing the door, leaving the coffee shop behind.

Thank you so much to any of my friends that read this, and again, I hope this helps clear things up. I am no longer friends with this person, but the experience (especially since it's happened before) has left me conflicted. I am grateful for all the amazing and wonderful people I have met through Twisted Wonderland, and the friendships it has given me.

Thank you! ♡

[allastoredeer]

Discussing fandom and its trends is one of my favorite things 🤓 I hope you don't mind me sharing some of the pseudotheories and pseudoanalyses I've seen before (to me they're all fun and I don't think they should be taken 100% seriously, please no one be offended)

1 The name of the boat that goes first is the favorite.

Quite funny in my opinion and from what I have seen it is not necessarily false, but many times it is that putting it differently sounds *wrong*, especially when they are combinations of the name

(Although after seeing that apparently apple radio and radioapple are not the same now I need an explanation of what radiosilent is as opposed to radiostatic)

2 The sub is The favorite

The first time I saw this was in a SW comment thread with a Chinese reader who was commenting with the author about top/Bottom preferences for the language and commented on this theory. They said that the Bottom gets all the love and since you want your favorite character to be adored that's why you write it like that

3 you project yourself into the Bottom

This came from another fandom, things got heated and toxic and a common accusation from a ship is that half the ship "had no personality" and they were using it to project themselves into a relationship whith the top

Personally I think they are all true to some extent, but I also see them as renunciationist and I myself am not without my own prejudices.

Part of the problem is that in relationships m/m and w/w, they continue to be written as one part a hairy-chested alpha male and the other part a blushing, submissive (and I have a weakness for ABO bulbs but there the problem is worse). In the case of radioapple Alastor has been reduced to his ego and need for control (so he could never let go. And is there something strangely allosexual about the way they write it?) and Lucifer to his depression (so he needs to be adored... And the truth is, I do think 3 applies here)

With what we see, I think that Lucifer has no problem being at the bottom, but his preference is at the top, even bordering on the Dom.Lucifer has insecurity and depression but he also knows he is powerful and we see him being authoritarian even if he later recants.He seems to be the type who would enjoy being the one to give pleasure to his partner, but I also don't see him giving up control easily when there are already so many things in his life out of control.Lucifer doesn't want someone to come in and take control by emptying his head, he wants something he can control and show exactly how good he is at it.

Alastor, on the other hand (this is where my prejudice comes in): what does he gain by being the top? Some kind of power play? Because I feel like Alastor can find that high without involving genital play.How ace (and probably aroace and almost certainly on the gray or demi side for most fics to work) Alastor would need something more to really get involved like that, which is why I feel like the top Alastor fics almost always feel too Allo for my taste, he just fucks like anyone else.When Alastor is the Bottom the writer gives him a little more nuance.

So that's my two cents to the discussion 🙃

Honestly, I think you're on point with most of these. (I too would like to know the difference between radiosilence and radiostatic - i see a lot of different names pop up for Alastor/Vox, whether its reciprocal or unrequited, and I can't keep up with it. I think radiosilence means the attraction is one-side? Maybe?? I think??

I can see the logic behind people having their fav be the bottom because they want them to feel loved and adored. I, too, am guilty of this. It also probably helps that the top is usually depicted as doing most of work LOL (Bringing Doms and Subs into this, there are a lot of fics that explore sub-drop, usually with their fav character--which I totally get--but it'd be interesting to read more fics that explore dom-drop too).

Personally, I've never felt any real attraction towards the characters I like, so I've never projected myself as a bottom or top through a pairing to be with one of the character. I project my insecurities and life experiences on them 🤓☝️ LMAO same basic concept, just a different shades But characterXreader fics/posts are super popular! So, I see that one too.

Part of the problem is that in relationships m/m and w/w, they continue to be written as one part a hairy-chested alpha male and the other part a blushing, submissive (and I have a weakness for ABO bulbs but there the problem is worse). In the case of radioapple Alastor has been reduced to his ego and need for control (so he could never let go. And is there something strangely allosexual about the way they write it?) and Lucifer to his depression (so he needs to be adored... And the truth is, I do think 3 applies here)

Very much agreed. I enjoy Omegaverse fics too, but it's one of those fanfic tropes that I'm picky about. It needs to be written a certain way for me to really enjoy it.

I don't know, just the default that one person has to be dominate and the other has to submissive never sat right with me. For a long time, I was super squicked out by even the thought of being in a relationship because of this. I'm a small person, most people are taller than me, and I'm pretty thin, so the mental assumption that I'd have to be "the submissive one," considering that's what almost always happens in these depicted relationships, made me feel so much anger, anxiety, and discomfort. I hated the thought that that's what would be expected of me. (Personal lore drop: considering I also grew up in a hyper-religious, extremely patriarchal town, the expectation felt 10x worse and 100x more real. I dreaded getting older and starting romantic/sexual relationships).

Also, yes, with a lot of top!Alastor content I've seen, there is something very strangely allosexual about it. Or, at least that's how it comes off to me. Asexuality is a spectrum, so there's no "perfect" way to be ace, it's just...there's just something about it that feels very allosexual, and maybe why I keep shying away from it. It squicks me out a bit, ngl.

People keep saying they see Lucifer as a switch, and funnily enough, it was actually confirmed by Vivenne Mendrano that he canonically is a switch! Of course, if people want to see him exclusively as a bottom or top, that's fair. You do you, boo. We're here to have a good time. But I'm very happy with his canon sexuality, so that's where I keep him. I can see him as a sub and a dom, too.

I also see Lucifer as the type who enjoys giving his partner pleasure! Be it bottoming, topping, subbing, or domming. He'll try out kinks and position and role-play, because I headcanon him and Lilith having a very healthy, very explorative sex-life. They were freaks in the sheets, and they tried all the new, crazy shit sinners brought with them into Hell.

I keep Alastor exclusively as a bottom, though. Some of it is because I see him being kind of grossed out with the idea of a part of him going into someone else (hello self projection!) but I also see him generally being sex-indifferent. Like, he'll have sex, and he'll enjoy it, but it's not something he typically seeks out for himself. Maybe once in a way, when he's in the ✨mood✨ he'll initiate. If his partner wants sex and he doesn't, he's not forcing himself. If his partner wants sex and he's kind of just vibing--not feeling horny, but not really against it either--yeah, he'll have sex. It's not like he's getting nothing out of it, he still feels and enjoys the pleasure in the act, even if he's generally indifferent towards doing it.

If he's comfortable with it he'll even indulge their kinks (and indulge his own 😉 not all kinks have to be sexual, afterall. And even if his are, that is still valid and does not take away from his sexuality because aces can still have sexual kinks 🫵 I'm looking at you, people who assume aces can't have sexual desires). (I also gave Alastor a power kink 😏 because I think he'd be into his partner displaying immense amounts of power. It doesn't even have to be directed at him. He'll watch his boo destroy a city block and then fuck them later because that was hawt.)

A lot of it could also be because he feels too allo for me when he is written as a top. Lol "he fucks like everyone else," is a very good way to put it 😂 When he bottoms, it feels like he's written with more of his ace-identity in mind, which I love!

But also, I like Alastor being a bottom just because. I vibe with it. 'Nuff said.

Thank you for your two cents!

[skzms]

Hi! I'm the not a shipper Anon. You bring up alot of really good points and open my eyes to some new stuff. Im not in the shipping community at all. So all the stuff I was commenting on was surface level shipping or posts getting mistagged.

When it comes to fictional vs reality, I was trying to say that when an idol like Chan being our parasocial delulu boyfriend on bubble, and flirting with us: we know he's not actually flirting with us as a person but rather as a collective. The only who don't realize this are usually saesangs or solo stans. Like I love to read x reader fanfic knowing those scenarios I read about will never happen to me. When it comes to shipping idols it's decidedly more real because there is a much higher chance of it being or becoming real. It has nothing to do with the idols genders at all. I feel like shipping Chan with Lily is just as uncomfortable as shipping Chan with Felix because all three of them have stated that they see eachother like siblings. There is absolutely no difference in x M!Readers and x F!Readers, other than the demand. They are both perfectly okay as long as the people reading and writing them understand they will always be fiction. Fanfic Readers and Writters get a bad rep because some people who aren't in our community believe we the Readers and writers are the same people who get upset when an idol begins to date someone. I can't think of any person I follow on tumblr who would be genuinely upset if someone like Chan got a partner. Like yeah we make jokes about them being "ours" but I've never interacted with someone who didn't understand that it was a joke.

I don't have Twitter at all, I've heard only bad things about fandom spaces on Twitter (not just kpop). Because im not in shipping spaces when I do see people making harmful posts I don't look into the identity of that person. So I'm sure that queer shipping spaces are much different from what I've seen. When I talk about how shipping can be problematic I'm not just reffering to Queer ships, rather all shipping. It's just that there aren't enough Coed groups for me to give a good example of. I'm a Kard Stan and everyone acknowledges that the boys and girls have a siblings dynamic. The only real ships are Bm and J.seph, and Somin x Jiwoo. Mathew has actively encouraged fans to ship him ans J.Seph (BM's just like that lol). I can't really think of any straight ships (mostly because I listen to a small amount of groups) because idols are careful about interacting between different sexes, due to toxic fans. The enyphen backup dancers in bite me "scandal" was just ridiculous. I don't know much about enyphen but if I was in their fandom I would have died laughing when I found out.

When it comes to idols that have blatant chemistry like MinSung or WooSan. I completed acknowledge the fact that they have deep feelings for eachother, but my problem comes from people trying to force certain labels on them( you definitely dont do it!). They might be romantic, they might be platonic: its okay imagine scenarios for either one! I get just as frustrated when I see people commenting "I love their FRIENDship" under Minsung posts. For me it's a two way street, we shouldn't define their relationship as romantic OR platonic. As fans we have no business defining anyone's relationship. Once again I'm not saying you or any of your readers do this! I'm just sharing my own frustrations with what I've seen people in the past do!

I think my critiques of shipping didn't come off clearly at all in my first post. I was kind of making two different points? I honestly don't know. I was trying to say any ship can be problematic if presented in a certain light and then using queer ships to show some harmful effects of shipping. I was not at all trying to say Queer ships were harmful! I genuinely can't name any straight kpop ships, lol. I'm some sort of queer myself, don't really have a label; bi, ace, pan, demi, aro... it's to stressful trying to label my own identity i couldn' try to analyze someone elses. Queer Kpop spaces aren't weird or bas infact I've hardly seen any toxic queer kpop stans. Honestly My tangents are more on the kpop fandom as a whole. I've seen SO many videos of people babying idols and then someone in the comments is like "I'm ND and I do that!" And then people are like "That idol isn't ND stop saying that!" But I've also seen just as many videos of people claiming that insert idol has random condition and then analyzing their behavior to prove their point. I guess my point is kpop fans are to quick to lash out at people who don't agree with their view point and too quick to set something into stone. My original post was not supposed to be commenting on Queer shippers but rather Queer ships.

I just wanted to vomit my thoughts somewhere and I though your blog would be a good place to voice my opinions. Also I have no idea if your queer or not but from your response I'm going to assume yes? Maybe? Idk, feel free to correct me if your comfortable!

Sorr about any miscommunication!

hey! thank you for coming back, actually! you didn't have to, and you never have to. there's a reason why there's are anonymous, and I like it, actually, because it means we get to have these kinds of conversations.

I wanna preface this, again, with the fact that I don't think you mean harm, or are a homophobe or anything like that. and I don't want to start any kind of beef with anyone because frankly, I don't have time for that, but I still think it's important to chat this out.

I'm also at my laptop today so I can actually properly respond directly to you! yay!

first of all, like I said, thanks for coming back! thanks for taking the time to correct yourself, for typing all this out. it takes guts. I respect that a lot.

I want to acknowledge that you state you meant shipping in general, but I do have to say - you brought up a laundry list of very specific queer arguments. that the shippers are queer, only mentioning queer idols in every sentence, that it damages queer activism, the differences in queer culture. If we take all of that away, we're actually left with precious few arguments, ones you've expanded on here. I just wanted you to know that that is very visible, but okay, I'll humour you.

Personally, I have seen more than enough really bad, parasocial y/n fantasizers on here, and on tumblr and on sfw twitter. Hell, you don't know the messages I receive on this blog. But the same as I ask you not to draw conclusions about a community based on the worst of them, I won't do that either. I'm still here, aren't I!

The fact that you're saying you also have the same problem with straight shipping and continue to name only straight ships that have repeatedly, aggressively said that they are not interested in one another, calling themselves big brother or little sister, citing sibling dynamics – that's fine. But it's not fine when you then conflate this to Minsung.

I'm gonna do the annoying thing of listing literal things that happened, because wow, there are so many examples! They have not ONCE said they see themselves as siblings like that. Jisung literally saying "he feels like an older person, not older brother" in 2 Kids Room. Boyfriend. Husband. Jagiya. Newlyweds House. "We should get married at this point. "Wow, it's like it's meant to be". "He's my vacation home." He's the literal fucking "air that I breathe". Publishing the first ever happy Hanpop – singing it with Minho, who he 'couldn't stop thinking about while recording it'. The queercodedness of Volcano. Changing the lyrics to Alcohol Free on Lee Mujin. Mentions of love as a sin. Running through a rainbow after a second about a sapphic anime. Calling the song hold my hand and literally turning around to hold Minho's hand.

Yes, yes, of course, all of these things could be a coincidence. By themselves. But you have these two people, LITERALLY telling us, in actions, that have nothing to do with western gay stereotypes, in every word except "I love you" (oh wait, they said that, too!!) "Hi, this is JYPE Entertainment, today we announce", something that we all know is not possible, career suicide, would ruin their fucking lives – and somehow it's the same as Chan being like "ahhhh, nah nah nah, I've known her for so long, she's like a little sister to me" and people going "fuck that!!!" and shipping them anyways??! That sucks, I super agree!

But Minsung have never expressed any discomfort whatsoever about shipping. And they know about it. Why are we taking away the very real opportunity from potentially real queer people, to express themselves as well as they could where they live?

Why do queer people have to jump through hoops to prove that they're gay? Why can we put two and two together when it comes to het ships, but apparently we depend on forcing real people to come out so we feel comfortable calling them gay?

Why are you, as a fellow queer person, erasing every single sign they have given us and dismiss it? I don't think that's fair. If your friend shows up one day, with a lesbian flag on her bag and a pride t-shirt on, do you awkwardly look away and go on a tangent about not assuming people's identities?

honey, drawing conclusions based on evidence and forcing your opinions on people are two separate things. saying "oh my god queer icon jsvng" on twitter and going into a fancall saying "so who takes it in the ass?" are MILES APART. once again, the implication that somehow because it's queer, people are not going to be able be normal, is fucking icky. not when straight girlies ask the most heinous, embarrassing boyfriend roleplay of idols, on the regular lol

I'm getting heated, but I have to say, your arguments don't hold water, when you simply cannot compare straight and queer idol relationships. One is okay, accepted, encouraged. The other is monetized, taboo, and even illegal. Supporting potential queerness in idols is the ethical thing to do – especially when said idol has given nothing but signs that they encourage it, or have never mentioned having a problem with it. 3Racha's HAN is literally not even on the writing credits for their straightest songs, btw, but anyways

I see your points, and I'm not trying to force you into mine, or force you to start shipping idols, but I am asking you, queer person to queer person, it doesn't even matter what label you choose – look inwards and see what damage this fuck ass heteronormative world has done. why you're so scared of queerness out in the open.