#establish couple arguments beloved

[plethomacademia]

🌹

There was a cute post to send me a rose and I'll send you a WIP sentence, but it looks like it was deleted! I am still going to do those, but I am using this as a way to make myself write, so all these lines will be new.

Also I am incapable of sending single sentences so these are likely to be snippets.

Here's a minor argument leading into Shakarian smut:

“Mm.” He tucks his chin over her head and she breathes in the heat of his soft neck. Her fingers flex as she remembers how the pebbles of his scales there feel. “Let me guess,” he says. “You don’t want to talk about that either.”

She reaches back to find his hip, then runs fingers along the seams of his casual clothes. “Not really.”

“Katie,” he says, the pitch of his voice lowering.

The sound of her nickname sends a lump to her throat. She swallows. “Look,” she says, “It was just a dream. It’s not important.”

“You tried to attack me.”

“I did not!”

“Your biotics lit up and your body went into a defensive position.” When she does not reply, he adds, “I know you.”

[zaczenemiji]

Hello Dearest Writer! I have read the Shattered Pride that you wrote which I like it! and I hope you don't mind me requesting ^^. I wanted to request for a lil' bit angsty Kenji Sato x Reader, where kenji & reader have a heated argument that leads to reader with tears streaming down her face from kenji's hurtful words and attempted to remove her engagement ring and proposed to end things for the better and kenji got scared and regret everything he said, so he asked for forgiveness, convinced her to stay and makes it up for her. Thank you so much, Writer! I hope you have a nice day!

Second to None

Kenji Sato x Reader

Word Count: 2,076

Genre/Warning: Angst, Character Development, Drama, Established Long-Term Relationship, Heartbreak, hurt/Comfort, Redemption

Author’s Note: My works are becoming longer lately 🤧 Is that a good thing or not?

MASTERLIST | Shattered Pride

The reservation; a special menu and a gift sat neatly wrapped beside your plate. Your eyes dart to the door every few minutes, eagerly yet anxiously anticipating Kenji’s arrival.

The minutes turned into an hour, each second becoming agonizingly longer than the last. Your discomfort became noticeable to those who arrived before and after you.

Some couples came in pairs. Others also waited but the arrival of their beloveds was only half as long as the duration of your waiting.

The waiter approached with a sympathetic smile. “Would you like to order now, miss?” He asked gently.

"Not yet," you replied, forcing a smile. "He should be here any minute." You smoothed down your dress, avoiding any more contact with someone who isn’t Kenji.

“Are you on your way? Our reservation was at 7,” your message long showed as delivered, but still, no reply, and all your calls went straight to voicemail.

Your heart sank as the waiter returned, his expression more apologetic than before, "Shall I bring you a drink while you wait?"

"Yes, please," you answered, trying to mask your growing disappointment. You chose a glass of your favorite wine with Kenji, hoping the familiar taste would bring some comfort.

It was your fifth anniversary together, a milestone you had been looking forward to for weeks. Yet just like last year, it seemed like this would be a missed one too.

The first years of your relationship were pure bliss. The years that followed were less exciting but more comfortable. Yet from last year til today, some things were never the same.

At first, it felt like it was just because both of you had gotten used to each other. But as time progressed, it started seeming like your relationship was just a background—a television turned on not for the sake of watching, but for the sake of not being alone.

It started with last year’s missed anniversary; he said that it was an important out-of-town game that he couldn't skip. "I'm so sorry, the game went into extra innings and I missed the last train back. I'll be home late.”

He went home the next day.

You reminisced your first anniversary, a weekend getaway, a brief escape from your busy lives. The second, you had gone to a cozy little restaurant. The third had been a quiet dinner at home.

The fourth anniversary was marked by absence and loneliness; as this year’s. It wasn't the first time Kenji's baseball career had come between you, but you had hoped that anniversaries would be different.

You started to wonder if you would always come second to his dreams.

Another hour passed and the restaurant began to empty as the night grew older. "Kenji, I'm still here. Please call me." But still, there was no response.

Finally, your phone buzzed, "I'm so sorry, practice ran late and then we had a team meeting. I’ll try to get there as soon as I can."

You stared at the message, a tear slipping down your cheek. You heard similar apologies countless times before, each one chipping away at your patience and hope.

You signaled the waiter and asked for the check. You couldn't sit there any longer and pretend that everything was fine.

You walked out into the cool night, clutching the small gift you had brought for Kenji. The streets were quiet, the city's usual buzz dulled by the lateness of the hour.

You felt a profound loneliness, one that wasn't just about this night but about the accumulation of missed moments and broken promises.

When you finally got home, the flat was dark. You placed the untouched gift on the table and changed into more comfortable clothes.

You were too drained, emotionally, to even wait for Kenji in case he’d come over. You lay down on your bed, more than willing to sleep off the pain you just can’t get used to.

As your consciousness was being tugged to sleep, your phone buzzed again. It was Kenji, calling. And for the first time, you decided to put yourself first and slept.

Morning came and you sat at the dining table, a half-empty glass of wine in front of you. It was far too early to be drinking, but the remnants of last night's disappointment and loneliness still clung to you, and you needed something to numb the ache.

You swirled the wine in your glass, your mind replaying the evening over and over. The beautifully wrapped gift lay discarded on the coffee table.

You immediately slept last night but somehow, you hoped that Kenji would walk through the door with some grand gesture, some sign that he valued your relationship as much as she did. But he never came.

The sound of the key turning in the lock pulled you from your thoughts. Kenji walked in, looking exhausted and worn. His eyes immediately found yours, and he saw the wine glass in your hand.

"You're drinking this early?" he asked, concern laced with surprise. You didn't respond, just took another sip.

The silence was heavy, filled with all the words you wanted to say but didn't know how to begin. You set the glass down and met his gaze.

"Do you even realize what day it was yesterday, Kenji?" you asked, your voice trembling with a mix of anger and hurt.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Of course, I do. I'm so sorry. Practice ran late and then there was an unexpected team meeting. I—“

"You always have an excuse,” You cut him off, your voice rising. “Do you know how many times I've heard 'practice ran late' or 'there was a meeting’? I'm tired of it!"

"I know," he said, trying to calm you down. "I really wanted to be here, but you know how important baseball is to me."

"And what about me, Kenji? Am I not important to you?" you snapped, tears welling up in your eyes. "I've sacrificed everything for you! I left my career, my family, my friends, everything to come to Japan and support you! And for what? To be stood up on our anniversary again?"

His face tightened, "It's not like that. You knew what you were getting into when you decided to come with me."

You took a step back, your voice dropping to a whisper. "So, it's my fault now?” You asked. “I chose to support you because I believed in us. But it feels like I'm the only one making sacrifices here."

"That's not fair," he retorted, frustration creeping into his tone. "I work hard for us. I'm trying to build a future for us."

"But at what cost, Kenji?" you shot back. "Every time I need you, you're not there. Every important moment, every milestone, you're always somewhere else. Do you even understand how lonely that is?"

He ran a hand through his hair, struggling to find the right words, "I'm doing my best. It's just... baseball is my dream. I can't give that up."

"And what about my dreams?" you cried, your voice breaking. "I had a career I loved, a life I was proud of! I gave all that up for you, believing that you would be there for me, that we would support each other. But it feels like I'm the only one who gave anything up!”

He took a deep breath, his own anger rising. "I never asked you to give up your career!” He said. “You made that choice!”

Your eyes widened in shock and pain. "I made that choice because I loved you—because I thought we were building a life together,” you said, voice softening and heart breaking. “But it seems like I'm the only one who sees it that way."

There was a long silence as you two stared at each other, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavily between you. Slowly, you reached for your engagement ring, your hands shaking.

"What are you doing?" Kenji asked, panic creeping into his voice.

You struggled to remove the ring, tears streaming down your face. "Maybe we're fooling ourselves, Kenji,” you said in between sobs. “Maybe this isn't working. I can't keep feeling like I'm second to your career. Maybe it's better if we end this now."

His heart raced, panic surged through him, and his voice trembled with desperation. "No, please don't," he said, stepping closer, his hands reaching out but hesitating to touch you. "I'm sorry for everything I've said. I didn't mean it. I love you, and I can't lose you."

You looked at him, the ring held loosely in your hand. "Do you really love me, Kenji?” You asked. “Or do you love the idea of me being here, waiting for you, always understanding and never complaining?"

He stepped closer, his eyes pleading. "I love you. I know I've been an idiot, and I know I haven't been there for you like I should. But I promise I'll do better. Just please, don't leave me."

His eyes filled with tears as he dropped to his knees in front of you, the weight of his regret crashing down on him. "I love you," he said, his voice breaking. "I know I've been an idiot, and I know I haven't been there for you like I should. Every time I chose baseball over you, I was wrong. I see that now.”

“Please, don't take off that ring. Don't leave me,” he pleased. “I can't imagine my life without you."

You looked down at him, your own tears blurring your vision, “How can I believe you, Kenji?"

He reached out, taking her hands in his and holding them tightly. "Because I can't bear the thought of losing you,” he said. “I'll do whatever it takes to prove to you that you're the most important thing in my life. I'll talk to my coach, I'll cut back on practice—anything. Just please, give me one more chance."

You hesitated, the pain and love warring within you. His eyes were filled with genuine fear and remorse, and you could feel his hands trembling. "One more chance, Kenji,” you said. “But things have to change. I can't keep feeling like this."

He nodded fervently, pulling you into a tight embrace, his heart pounding with a mix of relief and fear. "I promise, things will change,” he said. “I'll make it up to you, I swear. I love you more than anything. Please, believe me."

The next morning, Kenji came over early and made you breakfast, a small but heartfelt gesture to start making amends. He took the morning off practice and thought of having breakfast together.

Over the next few weeks, Kenji made noticeable changes. He began to prioritize your time together, making sure to balance his demanding baseball schedule with moments that were just for you two.

One evening, as you sat on the couch watching a movie, Kenji turned to you with a serious expression, "I talked to a few people, and I found a way for you to continue your work here in Japan.”

You looked at him, curiosity and hope in your eyes, "What do you mean?"

“There are some production companies interested in meeting with you,” he said. “I want you to have your career back, to have something that's yours."

Tears welled up in your eyes, this time from gratitude and joy. "Kenji, that's... I don't know what to say. Thank you."

He took your hand, squeezing it gently. "I want you to be happy. I want us to build our lives together, supporting each other's dreams,” he said. “I'm sorry it took me so long to realize how much you were sacrificing."

True to his word, Kenji began to make your relationship a priority. He surprised you with small dates, like picnics in the park or quiet dinners at home. He even started learning a bit of Japanese cuisine to cook your favorite meals.

Kenji made it a point to never miss another important moment, attending every event and celebration that mattered to you. He cheered you on as you restarted your career, eager to see you shine.

In the end, you both learned that love required effort and compromise from both sides. It wasn't always easy, but you faced your challenges together, knowing that your love was worth fighting for. And with each passing day, you both found yourselves more deeply in love, more committed to the life you were building together.

Taglist is open! Comment if u wanna be tagged on future Kenji oneshots

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[actualmermaid]

Since I've spent the last month-plus neck-deep in queer Christian history research, I ended up with some thoughts™️ about "classical" Western homoeroticism vs. Christian homophobia.

Liberal Christian apologetics sometimes do a very annoying thing when asked to explain the homophobia in the New Testament epistles. Because it's real, it's there, and homophobic Christians take it as the Unquestionable Word of God. So obviously we have to do something about it.

The liberal explanation tends to go something like this: "the epistle writer is talking about the abusive and exploitative homosexual acts that were common in ancient Rome, not the loving/egalitarian/mutually respectful relationships that gay people are able to have today." And it's so frustrating because there is SOME truth in this. We and Paul both know that the Greeks and Romans were notorious pederasts and slave-abusers. And that's bad! It's super bad. I do agree that Paul/the epistle writer is condemning abusive behavior using language and frameworks that would have been available to him at the time. Deciphering the social context of the epistles can get messy.

But the annoying thing is this: it is not affirming to suggest that all gay people in the past were either abusers or their victims, and "we're more enlightened now" is a lie. We are not smarter than the Greeks. We are not more civilized than the Romans. We are not more pious than the medievals. (Hello there, Roman Catholic sex abuse scandals.) And there have always been gay people who have defied all odds to have loving, egalitarian, and mutually respectful relationships with each other, even if we do not know their stories or their struggles.

This is kind of the crux of John Boswell's "controversial" thesis: gay people have always existed, even if they had to conceal themselves and their relationships behind various protective structures. (I actually haven't read any of his books yet, so I'm not going to engage too deeply with the nuances of his arguments.) When people try to dismiss him, I suspect it's because they don't notice or appreciate what he probably noticed. I have a hunch that Boswell's arguments are not super intersectional and focus mostly on the privileged sphere of people who left written records in the Middle Ages, but hey, serious LGBTQ Christian history research has to start somewhere. I'll withhold judgment for now. But I do think he was totally right about one thing: Saints Sergius and Bacchus. They were totally a gay couple until somehow proven otherwise, IMO. The reason I think he was right is because he was able to notice the "classical" aesthetics of homoeroticism in their legend even though it might not obvious to people who don't know what they're looking for. Straight people reading the legend are like "there's nothing gay about this" and gay people are like "wow, this story is pretty gay."

If you've ever looked into Western gay history, you've seen two words: erastes and eromenos. This means "lover" and "beloved," the two sides of a classical Greek pederastic relationship. The Greeks did actually recognize an age of consent and had ideals of proper behavior that regulated these relationships, but these were still usually relationships between a teenage boy and an older man, which isn't great. They also had all kinds of weird ideas about the politics of penetration and so forth. The Greeks and Romans didn't really think that two people could really be equal to each other--in any relationship, there was always one who was sort of subordinate to the other. So it was "weird" for two social equals to be in a gay relationship, as opposed to one with one partner who was already "established" and was "showing the ropes" to a younger guy who needed some wholesome manly instruction. We may not be better, smarter, or more enlightened than people in the past, but we do have the ability to critique them and try to identify the harmful behaviors that we've inherited from them, so we can do better. We've come a long way since the days of erastes/eromenos relationships, but one thing has stuck around: the classical aesthetics of a "manly guy" and an "idealized youth" in love with each other.

Apropos of nothing, here's a photo of John Boswell and his longtime partner Jerry Hart. They were within a year of being the same age.

So anyway, this brings us back to the legend of Sergius and Bacchus. The version that Boswell translated takes great pains to show how Sergius and Bacchus were equals in every way. They're both Roman officers, they're about the same age, they sing in unison, and are united in the egalitarian love of Christ. However, they are still just a little bit unequal. Sergius is of a slightly higher rank than Bacchus.

To be clear, this whole legend is a literary creation, and it's got a bunch of Byzantine propaganda in it. It's not history, it's mythology. Whoever wrote it down would have been familiar with erastes/eromenos dynamics, because these were everywhere in classical antiquity. So they made sure to specify all the ways in which Sergius and Bacchus were equals, but took a firm position in ye olde fandom top/bottom discourse.

Throughout the legend, Sergius acts, and Bacchus is acted upon. Bacchus is killed first, and Sergius is temporarily demoralized. Bacchus then appears to Sergius in a vision encouraging him to stay strong. Sergius is so steadfast that they can't torture him enough to make him recant his faith, and he is beheaded. Even straight couples are not usually said to have been reunited in heaven, but Sergius and Bacchus are.

So, knowing that Sergius is the erastes and Bacchus is the eromenos in this story, we can start to notice it in iconography too. It's not always consistent, but sometimes icons will have Sergius' cloak curling protectively over Bacchus' head, or one of them taking a slightly more "authoritative" posture, etc.

Above all, they are always depicted as true equals--sometimes they almost look like twins.

Increasingly, modern icons are being made that explicitly communicate the idea that they were a gay couple. The one on the left was created by Robert Lentz, a Franciscan friar, for Chicago Pride in 1994. The one on the right makes the classical homoerotic aesthetic super explicit, and is by far the most sexually-suggestive "traditional-style" icon I have ever seen lol. Shoutout to this artist.

So to sum up: John Boswell knew what the fuck he was talking about. Also, none of this excuses the homophobia in the Christian scriptures or the homophobia that Christians continue to perpetuate. However, knowing what to look for in art and writing helps us understand that gay people were not magically granted the ability to have egalitarian relationships in the modern world, and THAT leads us away from problematic apologetics.

[fabricated-misslieness]

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: pavitr prabhakar x gn spider reader

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: pavitr was a touchy guy, you know this firsthand.

ʀᴇ𝐐: no ~ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 852 ~ established relationship

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: a lot of kissing and hugging

All Pavitr has wanted for months was to be with you. Maybe it was because you'd only just started dating, but it felt like could never have enough of you. He yearned for your kisses, sought out your hugs, and melted at your praise. There was nothing more he wanted.

☾⋆☆⋆☽

There should probably not be two spider-men in your universe, regularly that is. It was your universe, after all, but that didn't stop him from popping over for a visit.

The people of New York would ask who he was and why he only seemed to work part-time forever, but he didn't care for it. Also why you would work so much slower, even when there were two of you; and to that, there was only one answer.

"Pavitr..."

"What?" He groans.

"Police sirens." Ah, a rude awakening announced aloud by your angelic voice.

"Just a couple more minutes." Pavitr pleads, stuffing his head into the crook of your neck.

When you move your hands away from him, Pavitr yanks them back and holds on tight. He was being stubborn, even when New York was potentially in danger. "If I yanked us over the edge of this rooftop right now..."

"You wouldn't dare hurt your beloved."

"That may be true, but–" Pavitr's laugh interrupting you meant that argument was definitely over, so you began anew, "If I kissed you, would you let me go save New York?"

"Hmm.." Pavitr pulled away only to weigh his decisions, although he only knew there was really only one choice. At least he got a kiss out of it. "Okay."

It seemed your city was at the mercy of Pavitr's whim.

☾⋆☆⋆☽

PDA feared Pavitr. It was true. Nothing could stop him.

As the Spider-person before you exchanges stories with you, Pavitr waltzes over to wrap his entire being around you. Whilst you continue to speak casually–it was a normal, frequent occurrence–the other Spider-person halts in her conversation.

"Hey, I think you've got a spider on you."

You chuckle at her joke, "Don't worry about him. He's non-venomous."

Pavitr grumbles about how it feels offensive, something about feeling weak, but he's not helping it by staying curled around you. If the Spider-person before you weren't there, he'd have probably tried to climb into your arms.

Another time you're just eating in the cafeteria. A lot of spiders had different timezones, so at any given time, no one table was empty.

You were sharing one with spiders whose names you couldn't quite place when Pavitr plops himself down next to you and plants a kiss on your cheek.

His tray holds a single apple, but you didn't really think about it. Lunch was one or two hours ago in Mumbattan.

Throughout the meal, however, he keeps kissing you, and kissing you, and kissing you; on the cheek, of course, he wasn't evil.

"I think that's enough, Pavitr."

"You really think so? You say so? I wouldn't say so." His words come out fast, like a rollercoaster, just so he can kiss you again just as quick.

"I really do think so."

"I beg to differ."

You wrap an arm around him to feed his insatiable need to touch you all the time, even if it costs you your dominant hand, and spare the spider-people around you.

Thankfully, he seems pleased with just that.

☾⋆☆⋆☽

Was he too annoying? Nah, he couldn't be. You loved him at least as much as he did you. Probably.

Pavitr was usually sure about everything. He was sure that he could protect his city, that he was good at being Spider-Man, that he had good friends. He was even sure about things of the future. He could do anything he set his mind to.

He just wasn't too sure about you. He wasn't being annoying to his friends, but he could be annoying to you.

The blissful ignorance was no longer a novelty.

He stopped being so clingy, although he got as much physical touch as he needed to get going. It was better to be safe than sorry, after all.

What he didn't account for, however, was that it was really easy to notice his withdrawal from physical touch.

☾⋆☆⋆☽

Pavitr, right now, seemed to be glowing more than usual. He was so much happier being in your arms than he would've, say, a week ago. He was giving you much less physical affection, and it certainly wasn't a welcome change.

"Pavitr?"

"Hmm?"

"I miss your kisses," Pavitr perks up in your hold. "and your hugs. You've been kissing me less and less. Is everything okay?"

He turns around to look you in the eye, an unintended pout on his lips. "I thought I was annoying you."

"Aw no, Pavitr, you've been perfectly fine. The other spiders don't really seem to care and I–well," You chuckle, "I really like your touch."

Pavitr lights up. He snuggles closer to you, letting out laughs in relief. "I like yours too," He pauses, realizing, "obviously."

"Obviously..."

"Okay, when you say it–"

"Hahaha."

"What??"

Clingy wasn't so bad. Not when it made your ray of sunshine so happy.

[yo-yo-yeonkai]

WHAT STANDS BETWEEN ME AND A WALL - HUENING KAI - SFW

Kai x reader

Genre: fluff

Warning list: themes of couples argument, established relationship, pet names (sweetheart, sweetie), not proof read

Word count: 645

Summary: Kai loves you very much, but he also loves his plushies… can you love Kai and his plushies?

Kai often got protective… not of you, but of his plushies. You may be his beloved lover, but they were his precious children, and there was definitely a hierarchy to this dynamic. You could touch them only if he was watching, hug them only if he allowed, and if you ever sat on one or threw one of the bed, oh lord, run.

They were sat in a line, taking up plenty of room on the bed. You thought maybe you could move one just to have more room to sleep but when Kai reached his arm over you and noticed that he couldn’t feel the plushie that was meant to be there he was quick to sit up. He turned on his bedside lamp with a flick and peered over your half asleep form. You tried to pull him back down to be your pillow once again, but instead of letting your hands reach him he grasped them in his own and pushed them back down. “(Y/N), where is my baby” he questioned, each word sounding like a separate sentence. You hadn’t failed to notice that he used your name, Kai NEVER used your name, he always called you some term of endearment: baby, sweetheart, sweetie, love. But never your name, unless he was negative Kai.

You huffed “I don’t know, I’m trying to sleep. Please Kai just lie back down”… that sentence was mistake number two, the first was moving the plushie in the first place. And where had you even put it? You had slowly pushed and, once it was out of hand reach, kicked it down the bed. It was now tucked under the cover, a small bulge far beyond where your feet would reach. He’d know you’d done it on purpose if he found it.

His bottom lip jutted out as he looked down at you “tell me where it is… it’ll get lonely without me” he whined, realising his mad attitude wasn’t working on you. You sighed, slowly trying to pull it back up with your feet and keeping eye contact with Kai as you did. “I know you love them very much Sweetheart, and I do too, they are so cute. But don’t you think we’d have more room on the bed if you got them a shelf or even a plushie hammock” you suggested, trying to appease to him. He huffed “but then they will be cold and lonely. How would you feel if I got you a hammock?”. He was completely ridiculous (and cute).

You finally reached for the plushie and pushed it towards his chest, “here fucking take it, I’ll just sleep with your plushies instead of you, seeing as you want me in a hammock anyways...” You whined turning to face them, back turned to Kai.

He reached over you and placed the lost plushie back where it belonged. His hand then met your chin, and he tilted your face back towards him and he leant forward “I love you Sweetie… don’t get confused, if I got you a hammock I’d have to join you in it, I don’t like being away from you. I know to you I might be silly sometimes, but we can come up with a solution in the morning. For now just let me hold you” he whispered, then leant in and gave you a small but meaningful kiss.

All frustration and sadness disappeared, like Kai was the cure you needed. His silliness was charming to you, even now, squished between him and a wall of plushies, you had no regrets in saying yes to being his partner. You’d let Kai leave his plushies the way they are, even he knew that. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. It’s a good thing Kai is the love of your life, because for him, you can learn to love his plushies.

[kentocidal]

HIIIII BUNNY!!! CONGRATS ON 100 YAHOOOOO smoochin u absolutely silly sloppy style rn 💕

Feel free to disregard my query if your event is closed ! Could I get my darling Kaveh with smut prompt 10:

"next time we get into an argument, i'm reminding you that i took your virginity."

THANK YOU BUNNY, take your time no rush and once again CONGRATS ON 100 ! <3

uploading kaveh10.txt . . . upload complete!

warning! this file has been corrupted with the following malware: dom!reader (implied), established relationship, old married couple arguing, no actual smut but it’s alluded to, reader grabs kaveh by the throat

internal messaging system: kaveh and i fight like old married people and this is something we would argue about frankly.

kaveh was the argumentative type. he loved to pout and whine and complain about everything, including things you, his dearly beloved, said and did.

it was nothing personal, almost always superficial, but it didn’t mean it didn’t get on your nerves.

today, the argument was how you hung up his shirts.

“you didn’t even button them up! they’re all wrinkled in the front, i’m going to have to steam them all again!” kaveh groaned as he went through your shared closet right in front of you.

you sat there on the bed, hands curled into fists. “i wanted to help you out, you know. i was being nice. stop being a drama queen.”

“but it’s wrong!” kaveh whined at you, holding out one of his shirts that you had hung up. you saw nothing wrong with it, obviously, seen in the way you just twitched your brow. he huffed and practically stomped his foot as he pointed to the button in the back. “look! see! it’s all wrinkled up!”

“your hair covers that button, honey. really, it’s okay-“

“no, it’s not! i have to do all the work again!” he clicked his tongue and moved back to the closet to start grabbing the shirts you had hung up, tossing them over his arm. “i know you wanted to be nice, i know, thank you, but i thought i had explained that to yo-“

he was cut off as he turned around and your hand softly connected with his throat, shoving him back against the wall with no real strength behind it. it shocked him more than anything, making him yelp and drop all of his shirts.

you clenched your teeth together as you pressed into his space, your breath fanning out from your nose over his face.

“you are so fucking lucky that i’ve grown to like hearing you whine. next time we get into an argument, i'm reminding you that i took your virginity.”

you watched the way his pupils dilated and his face turned red as your fingers curled lightly into his throat. he was affected almost immediately, bending to you, hands twitching towards your sides. you stepped away while he gaped like a fish.

“you d-didn’t-“

“you know i did.”

“did not!”

you squinted at him and gritted your teeth. “you’re such a brat.”

“no! i’m just particular!”

“say one more thing about those shirts to me and kaveh, i swear, i’ll make sure alhaitham knows who’s in control here.”

“well- wait! no!”

[eliteseven]

Ok not a death question! What's the biggest fight serena and shadowheart ever have?

Ooh. Good question! I think they argued a lot in the beginning of their relationship, but that doesn't really count (Shadowheart was...rude, if not plain cantankerous, back then).

If you mean as an established couple: Probably the night before the final battle- (act 3 spoilers below)

I hc that only a few members of the group are healthy enough to continue, Shart and Tav being among them.

Tav's the leader. She doesn't choose Shadowheart (obviously, she doesn't want harm to befall her gf and most beloved). Shadowheart defies her. They yell about it. A lot. Shadowheart's livid, snaps at Tav that she doesn't make decisions for her, she's not weak, etc.

And really, Tav knows that- she knows Shadowheart is capable, deadly, seasoned and skilled in dispatching her foes. She doesn't doubt Shadowheart. She's just too important. Tav could withstand anything else, but losing Shadowheart would just be unthinkable.

The only thing is- Shadowheart feels the same about Tav, rendering Tav's entire point moot. She tells her as much.

Anyway.. I think they have passionate makeup sex about it either before to get the nerves out or after all is said and done (leading into that "waking up" cutscene) 😌❤️

The only other time that maybe comes close is the argument pertaining to the warding bond. Are we noticing a theme here? lol

[supervillain-smut]

I would like to request hcs for Vulpes Inculta being affectionate with the reader. What does his romantic side look like when he actually cares about someone?

(Gonna put my own Legion headcanons in here, just gonna slip those right innnn, don't mind meeee... alsopleaseaskaboutthem)

Vulpes is aware that divorce is in fact an option for couples in the Legion. A long, lengthy, arduous, biased, Caesar himself approved, must-have-another-spouse-in-mind process, but a process nonetheless. With that being established, it's not actually that difficult for Vulpes to keep his beloved. To him, what others struggle with is natural, and to be expected in the exchange; he wouldn't want to be treated the way some men in the Legion treat their wives, either.

Vulpes is affectionate, his favourite ways to express this is quietly. He wraps his arms around his partner, pulling them into him as he rests his head atop theirs, or places a soft kiss onto their shoulder, resting his chin there. He pulls them into him when relaxing, letting their weight lean on him, reminding him they're there as he rubs small circles into whatever skin he can reach.

He gives frequent, small kisses throughout the day when no one is looking. If he needs to pass his spouse during work, he does so closely, possibly even grabbing their waist to move them just to have an excuse to touch them; the fox is cuddly.

He encourages their dreams and ideas, listens to stories, exactly everything his mother told him to do to be a good husband, whether his spouse be man, woman, both or neither. He listens during arguments, and while he won't verbally admit he was wrong, his silence speaks for itself. He dares not hit his spouse, does not yell, it doesn't come naturally to him anyways, but he will walk away to gain some thinking space and breathe. He won't ignore, if he walks away in the middle of the argument he will be willing to listen again when he returns, never wanting to go to bed angry, or leave things unfinished.

He negotiates and compromises to find a middle ground, to make things so that both parties are happy. He gives up events that are relatively unimportant to him to stay with his spouse, and he brings them to the important ones, keeping them involved and integrated in any conversation so they don't feel like a mere object at his side, but a person that also deserves to be heard, even if it's his moment.

Most women in the Legion want Vulpes as a spouse; while vindictive and awful to profligates, and a mean streak in the bedroom, they all know at his core, when he cares, the fox is gentle.

[aerithistired]

Why Aeon is resident evils weakest ship (It's NOT cuz they're toxic for eachother DUN DUN DUN)

HII this was copy pasted from a reply to another discussion, but I'm posting it cuz I want to post my opinions <3I never understood why the fandom is so crazy over aeon when they have the most weakest writing in a ship I've ever seen but to each their own I guess.I'd love to hear your thoughts and expand on my argument more!

I dont ship anyone with Leon in general which is INCLUDING Ada. For me it doesn't have anything to do with the facts of the story, because its all perfectly sensible on paper ( also because it is clear they're the endgame couple and are each other's love interests), but mostly with the way the couple was written- and *especially* Ada.

I'm not too familiar with the old RE games but from what ive heard and seen- Ada was supposed to be a black cat/cat woman/ femme fatale character and have a Batman- catwoman relationship with Leon. Personally, im not a huge fan of the dynamic, but other wise i can still see it as a solid dynamic for a ship.

On the other hand, i feel like the remakes and especially the RE2R doesnt know what they want their relationship to exactly be because from what i have noticed, they've significantly reduced the Catwoman- batman dynamic from the og games (Lily Gao, the RE4R VA herself said she wanted to tone down the seducctive femme fatale persona In ada in response to backlash).

I feel like re2r tried to make their relationship feel like an angsty and serious slow burn but considering their limited screen time and development together, didn't execute well.

In the beginning of the game (RE2R) Ada is quite serious about her work and partnership with Leon and is very strict about not getting close with him- on her part that is(i believe leon leaned more towards trying to get to know her).

Chemistry wise, i dont see much happening between them up until the part Leon takes a bullet for her and she treats him and when he does the same for her afterwards. I really liked the "dont push it rookie" line she gives him after he offers to carry her(?), It was more warm in comparison to their relationship before, and i wish they delved Into that with more scenes like that before the kiss (basically build up their relationship with emphasis on ada).

Also i feel its important to note that the scenewhen Leon takes a bullet for Ada had SUCH GOOD POTENTIAL to open into her character and how she felt about Leon at that moment because its a clear turning point in their relationship but AGAIN we get nothing and Leon is literally asleep.

!!And please don't start the 'hidden subtle details of the scene' argument with me cuz those scenes cuz despite the small details, is still not enough to establish a good relationship development growth- and especially since we barely get any monologue from Ada's side on how she feels about leon.!!

If there were clear cut scenes of them developing in trust and proper teamwork AND OPENING UP OF CHARACTER DEPTHS (and getting past the one sided attempt at friendliness from Leon) EARLIER ON IN THE GAME this wouldve made the betrayal much more heartbreaking too.

I think those segments would've been an excellent START for DEVELOPING their relationship and getting closer as a team.

☆Most well written and beloved ships have enough screen time with them showing development of their relationship- esp in slow burns. This applies to video games as well.☆

However, the pair mmediately kiss (AFTER LIKE ONE SCENE OF THEM SLIGHTLY DEVELOPING), And that was when the ship lost me. It WAS too sudden from a writing point of view and had so very little build up about their trust and caring for each other.

I'm not saying you can't fall for someone in a short time, but the issue rather was how there was LITTLE chemistry portrayed with them UP TO that moment. YOU SHOULD GIVE ME SOMETHING WORTHY TO SHIP THEM, CAPCOM.

More scenes like the one i mentioned before (with more emphasis on Ada opening up, The hints of her teasing him, etc) would've been great.

i understand that the game is not a romance but if you are trying to pull a slow burn-esque type ship off, you should commit to it, either that, or make it a fast one with chemistry right off the bat (like flirting and banter) cuz THIS was just very messy.

And that was ALL we got of their relationship for the first game. CAPCOM could've made great use of them in the other RE games (re4r and re6) but the couple ended up on more of the yearning and longing for side than actually developing together on screen, which sucks. (which is also like kind of annoying cuz we didnt see much of how they felt for the other throughout the game UNTIL THE NEAR END OF THEIR FIRST GAME- Which also had very little on screen moments of development. SO THEY HAVE A LIFE LASTING IMPACT ON EACH OTHER?? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!!!)

LIKE I GET THE POTENTIAL ON PAPER BUT IT WAS NOT IT IM SORRY.

And for the argument that Ada is *supposed* to be the mysterious character- i get that its a part of her appeal- but i find myself craving for her story to be shown in game than searching for crumbles of it from other RE material.

A well written character needs depth. And Ada HAS depth, its just shown subtle to an UNNECESSARY extent in the case that capcom tried to 'show and not tell' but it just doesn't execute well in terms of writing a romance where both characters need to grow and develop for a potential relationship or a ship.

(LOVED SEPERATE WAYS BY THE WAY). I ALSO DONT LIKE SHES IN EVERY GAME LEON IS- which just mostly reinforces she is his lover than a very vital part of the RE universe in GENERAL (which is why im so sad she wasnt in village) I really wish they put more focus on HER story.

And as for Cleon and other leon x ships- I don't know about them, since they barely interact throughout the RE universe. but i feel like if they did work together, potential for great chemistry could've been built for the pairing too. Shrugs

Again, i think Aeon had great potential but it went down the drain because of inconsistent characterization of her within the fandom, the game itself and the way it was written.

Everything Is there on paper. 'But she bandaged his arm. She helped him so many times when she didn't need to. She loves him and he loves her.'

OKAY, I'm READING what I'm supposed to feel about the ship, but it's not hitting. Why? Cuz it's badly written.

Im a bit annoyed when people try to argue that this ship is good in terms of writing cuz its NOT!!!! I dont really care if people ship them cuz they're attractive and the appeal is there *sort of*.

But if you're trying to argue on a story and writing basis, it's one of the worst ships I've seen in ANY media forms lol, you can't make a case for this ship and win im sorryヽ( `皿´ )ﾉ

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

I'm terrified of writing my opinions on ships on here so I'd like to emphasize this is just a silly fictional game and I've been meaning to write my opinions on it for a while. all in good fun! sorry for potential bad grammar english isnt my first language :DD

[lassieposting]

So a few days ago in the darkolai discord someone mentioned a headcanon of Aleksander thwarting assassination attempts on Nikolai, which I *love* and have a lot of feelings about in general

But it's also just occurred to me

While Pyotr and Vasily live, there's...not really much point in offing Niko? In the case of Ravka's political rivals, there are a lot of arguments for *keeping Nikolai alive*.

Pyotr is useless, but he's an established, long-serving king and the behind-the-scenes power structure is secure with him on the throne. The identities of his primary allies, the ones actually running and defending Ravka, are common knowledge.

If Pyotr is removed, and Vasily takes the throne, there will be a brief period of unrest. But Vasily has been groomed all his life for rulership. He's probably well acquainted with his father's advisors - enough so that they'll either step in to guide him if he's promising, or go over his head and behind his back to keep the status quo running if he's like his father. Either way, a brief window of opportunity, but ultimately not a huge deal.

But if both the reigning king and the heir were killed, that utterly destabilises the country. Niko is young, inexperienced, allegedly a bastard, would presumably be grief-stricken, and has supposedly spent a decent chunk of his adult life abroad in Kerch. It would be safe to assume that while he's been at war or studying, out of sight and out of mind, he's missed out on the opportunity to curry favour with the real powers in Ravka and gain wealthy, influential friends at court. He'd have to fight for support, for recognition, for his right to the throne. If he rubs one of Pyotr's advisors with real sway up the wrong way and they refuse to support him - if someone like the Darkling stands up and says he's not fit to rule, Ravka ends up in complete disarray, possibly a civil war, and ripe for the taking - with or without Niko as a puppet king.

So. The two people with the most to gain from icing Nikolai?

Pyotr and Vasily

Pyotr knows or suspects that Niko isn't his, but he took him in and raised him as his own anyway. He didn't have to do that. He could easily have denied Niko and sent Tatiana off to a nunnery in disgrace, then sired a spare on a second wife or a mistress if he wanted. So perhaps he's less likely to go to the trouble of an attempt on Nikolai's life? Especially this late in the game - offing him as a helpless child would've been far more prudent.

But. Vasily - at least in the show - is never anything less than openly cruel to Niko. He can't stand him, to the point that he brings up Niko's dubious paternity, amidst other insults, in his speech at Niko's engagement dinner, after trying to poach his fiancée. Vasily doesn't trust his brother as far as he can throw him, doesn't agree with his ideas for Ravka, and knows damn well Nikolai is a threat - charming, better educated, served as active duty military, beloved by the common folk. He, more than anyone else, stands to benefit from Niko's mysterious death - apparently in the books he even tried to poison Niko once already. With Niko gone, there's no one - at least, no other bastard half-brothers with the resources and the connections - to threaten his claim to the throne.

And strategy is Aleksander's job. He'd know that.

Just. Aleksander quietly taking steps to safeguard the one Lantsov who might actually deserve the throne against assassins sent by Nikolai's own brother.

Aleksander pulling some strings to get the prince's indolent palace guards, chosen by Pyotr, replaced by a couple of top-notch oprichniki - on Aleksander's personal payroll - in royal guard uniforms.

Aleksander using the spy network he's built up over his century-and-change as General Kirigan, juggling agents to try to balance keeping ahead of any plots against Nikolai and staying informed about the Fjerdan and Shu strategies at the front.

Aleksander murmuring stay with me tonight after they've spent an evening together, and letting Niko fall asleep in his arms, so that when the assassin slips into Nikolai's room in the dead of night, all they'll find is Ivan and Fedyor lying in wait for them.

Aleksander having to decide whether or not to warn Nikolai that he suspects Vasily is the assassin's employer.

Aleksander weighing up the longterm implications of his choices - depending how much of his own influence he wants to lend to keeping the second prince alive, he could be seen to be throwing his support behind a coup, making an enemy of the current and future kings, and risking everything he's built in the process.

Aleksander gritting his teeth and doing it anyway, because he's lost everyone he's ever cared for and he's not losing Nikolai too, not yet, not like that.

[zmediaoutlet]

Happy WW! I have to pick your brain about established relationship wincest, because I agree it has a lot of untapped potential. Like, other the years how much does “brotherly-ness” go down, and “romantic partner-ness” go up? When was The Moment that they realized there really wasn’t going to be another outside relationship, that it could be them until the end? On the flip side, with canon, how much does Sam wonder "it could have been different with us"? Bc thinking about Dean II makes me so sad!

happy wincest wednesday!! (we enjoy wincest on all the days, it's fine)

So -- I'm taking a slightly different tack at this, but I think that with a lot of married/long-term romantic partners, the sibling-ness goes up a lot over time. Once you're out of the fresh lovey-dovey stage when flowers stop puking out of the beloved's eyes every time you look at them, it's like -- okay, so you have a long-form relationship with this person where you know a ton of their background and secrets; you've been together long enough that you act like each other in certain ways and share lots of in-jokes and common language; you find each other irritating in some ways but also fun in others, and you tease each other about some stuff and joke about some stuff and some stuff you just have to ignore/roll your eyes about for the sake of the house (unless you're those shitty siblings who insist on picking fights about every little thing). And like... that's Sam and Dean.

Now, adding in actual romance of course makes it different, but the thing is that they're starting pre-equipped with all of the intimacy and long-worn grooves of knowing each other that a married couple doesn't get until they've been married twenty years -- but Sam and Dean have that already! In the new-relationship era I can obv see a jitteriness destabilizing them some -- let's imagine for the sake of argument that they aren't hatefucking to start and instead it's a relatively nice coming-together (and coming, together) -- and so maybe there's a little period where they kind of don't know what to do with each other. But then Sam still farts in the car after a burrito and Dean still sings warbly and off key in the shower and they know each other, so the fact that they're also learning about each other's dicks can't wreck all that history. And, honestly, on the "romance" side of things -- while they maybe can be softer with each other, show a more tender side, get the benefit of lowered-barriers that pillow talk etc might bring -- I absolutely 100% cannot see them, like, "dating." Sam's not gonna pull Dean's chair out at a fancy restaurant they've inexplicably gone to, and Dean's not going to ask Sam to go on the ferris wheel except as a joke. They're going to keep doing the things they always did, because they are brothers and they aren't somehow awkwardly shoving that relationship into a romcom box -- they're gonna go on a hunt and to a pie fest and to the movies, and they'll act just like they always did, but maybe with handjobs after. That's what makes it *interesting* that it's an incestuous relationship, you know?

As far as The Moment -- that obviously depends on how you're writing the incesty bits, but in honest to g canon I think it's at very different speeds. Honestly, I think Dean's there about midway through s1, but it's obviously cemented after the thing with Lisa blows up (with the caveat that I'm not sure he believes Sam can feel the same until s10); for Sam, I think it takes until s11, really, because he's always looked outward -- asking Dean if he ever considers anything else, and then not arguing when Dean blows off the question -- and really sitting there in his life like, yeah. Yeah, I think this could be it. And it feels like a peaceful realization, and that point, and not the curse he might've considered it in s1 or 3 or 9.

(Sorry, I can't quite parse the last question w/r/t Dean II etc, but hopefully that's enough wincest to be going on with.)

[charlieconwayy]

seeing anti-gmw discourse on the tl so i thought i'd add my two cents

gmw was an egregious hell fire that squandered a once beloved sitcom's legacy and there is not a single thing in three seasons of that shitshow that made it worth producing BUT you guys need to stop acting like bmw didn't also have blatant propaganda.

cult fiction is one of the most famous episodes of the show and the entire resolution is about shawn finding god bc he's pressured into filling the "empty void" inside of him with something other than the cult......the hypocrisy was going crazy. (they also make a big point about the power of prayer in resurrection when josh is in the nicu, but this is a far less offensive example bc the matthews had already been established as being at least somewhat religious.) like there is an entire scene in CF w the matthews guilting shawn into finding god bc he needs something to fill that void.

rider strong also spoke about the show's weird holier than thou view about sex. he got into an argument with michael jacobs about not just saying cory and topanga wanted to have sex, but to discuss safe sex options for them bc it was the respoonsible thing to do. as usual, rider is right and the show consistently put corpanga in a pedestal bc they weren't having sex. like.....at least once an episode in 6-pre wedding 7 they would talk about how their relationship is so mature and how they're the perfect couple (......while cory would berate topanga for not being comfortable w all that). there is an episode where cory/topanga call shawn/angela "sluts" bc they are having pre-marital sex (the misogynoir of this is not lost on me either)

the bmw-gmw universe has always had propaganda, you guys just didn't notice it when you were kids

[leorai4life]

Analysing Leorai - differentiating rumours from reality (a 3 part analysis)

Introduction

To this day, Leorai (2012) remains a controversial ship as many view it as incestrious and therefore taboo. I understand why many would view it as much - especially if those in question haven't watched the 2012 show - and that without proper analysis the concept of "adoptive brother and sister in love" sounds pretty bad. However, I for one can say with certainty that Leorai is not a ship that is not as simple as revolving around two adopted siblings in love - as characters, be it platonically or romantically, Leo and Karai's relationship has many layers that cannot be dulled down to being one thing or the other.

Before I start this analysis, I just want to say if you're an anti Leorai shipper or just not a big fan of shipping in general, that's cool! I'm not trying to convince you to like this ship or anything - however I do hope that in reading this you can learn to respect those who do ship it.

Aspect Analysis 1 - Siblings? So, a common argument for why Leorai is "wrong" is that it's promoting incest. Well let's look at Leo and Karai's parental relationships and discuss that:

Although they both technically share a father, Splinter is barely granted the chance to form a paternal bond with Karai due to the fact that he didn't get to raise her, nor spend time with her once the truth had been revealed. Even when she was brought back to the lair and reunited with her blood father, she still chose getting vengeance over getting to know and love her blood father. Leo on the other hand was raised by Splinter since he was a child and views him as his beloved father and sensei. He looks up to his adoptive father for guidance and emotional support; he is Leo's role model, and essentially all Leo wishes to be as the new sensei.

When we compare the bond Leo has with Splinter to Karai's, Leo had more experience being Splinter's son/ward than Karai did. Even Splinter's death had more of an impact on Leo than it did Karai; Leo was filled with anger and despair and continued to "talk" to Splinter when seeking guidance, whilst upon hearing of his death Karai's response was more reserved than distraught. This is an understandable reaction, as within a couple of weeks Karai had had her whole life exposed as a lie, became a mutant, got brainwashed and on top of all that didn't even get to form an emotional and parental connection with her one true father before he too was taken from her. So yeah, it's no wonder she wasn't able to emotionally process his death like the others did (heck, even April and Casey are more bonded with Splinter than Karai is).

So to relate back to my initial point of both Leo and Karai technically sharing a father, they each share him for a different reason: Leo is Splinter's son by a lifelong bond, whilst Karai is Splinter's daughter by blood. This difference in reasoning does not make either one of them any less of Splinter's child, but this difference does make them be less seen as siblings from each other's POV. Leo was raised with his blood-brothers by the same father/sensei, under the same roof and with a shared family dynamic - so he of course views them as siblings. This is why something like Raph x Leo differs drastically from Leorai as Raph and Leo have always treated one another as siblings because it's what they're used to - so turning that dynamic romantic would make both of them extremely uncomfortable. However, Karai enters the Turtles' lives when they're well into their teens - aka, when they're beyond extreme (emphasis on extreme) influence. On top of that, her first introduction to them was 'Shredder's daughter'/'a Foot Clan kunoichi' - so taking her home and attempting to accept her as a sister didn't really work as there was an already established family dynamic between the brothers and Splinter which Karai hadn't been around to be a part of. This is why she's mainly viewed as a close friend/distant family by the bois (although bless Mikey for at least ATTEMPTING to give her the opportunity to be their sister).

Karai even distances herself from forming any sort of familial bond with the Turtles by refusing to join their Dojo and rarely instigating missions with them unless absolutely desperate - instead she opts to rebuild the Foot Clan under her rule and take her life into her own hands. And if anything, she builds herself in the image of The Shredder - a powerful leader with an arsenal of ninjas at her disposal - but with the heart and honour of her father. When Mikey queried why Karai didn't come home with them, Leo states "Well, she's not a little kid anymore - she wants to take control of her own life"; in a way, this indicates that Karai doesn't want the burden of being a part of a family. Perhaps after living a life of lies under a tyrannical "father" she just wanted to be her own person on her own - literally (well, aside from Shini).

So to answer the query of "Aren't they technically siblings?" the answer is logically no, as they do not share a sibling bond psychologically or even biologically; Leo is literally a giant talking turtle mutant...she's a human-mutant hybrid...they literally could not be more NOT related lol.

Anyways, onto the next point:

Aspect Analysis 2 - "The Turtles are blood relatives of Splinter"

I see a lot of antis use this point in an argument, saying that the Turtles share blood with Splinter so they are blood relatives.

Now speaking specifically about the 2012 show, we never get an official confirmation that the brothers and Splinter share blood. I've even searched interviews with Ciro Nieli and the most he's said is that "All the turtles share a piece of Splinter" - though he was talking trait-wise...so...yeah.

My personal view is that since they are linked to the last thing they touched (be it the pet store owner, a bunch of curious kids or Splinter himself), I do believe they share a connection with Splinter - but not in the sense that the same blood runs through their veins. I believe that when the Turtles and Splinter mutated, the Turtles humanoid appearance was created by the shared contact of the pet store owner, curious kids, and of course Splinter. The mutagen used the fundamentals of all these humans' DNA to basically ~evolutionise~ the Turtles into their humanoid selves (think of it as though they're a combination of turtle and a dose of general human DNA).

As far as I can tell, the only thing the human interaction with Hamato Yoshi (Splinter) got them is some of his core traits - a sense of honour and leadership for Leo, a fierce and protective fighting spirit for Raph, creativity and ability to improvise when under pressure for Mikey, and ingenuity for Donnie. Physically, it seems only Donnie gained something from Splinter (his reddish-brown eyes and natural tall stature) whilst the other brothers must have gained their distinctive physical traits from the other human contacts; such as Mikey, Raph and Leo having different eye colours than Splinter, Mikey's freckles, and Donnie's overbite and gap tooth. My personal headcanon is that Mikey got his empathic traits and love for pets from the pet shop owner hehe.

So essentially Splinter's foundational pieces of DNA helped to shape their roles on the team (leader, warrior, inventor and creative-and-spontaneous-ball-of-butt-kicking).

I guess a question would be "but if they all did a blood test, would Splinter be found to be related????" - my answer to that is yes, though very distantly, as their main DNA result would be a turtle (duh...) whilst the rest is a jumble of the other humans' DNA. Think of it as though you did a DNA test and got a match with a bunch of random people - it is possible to share a small amount of DNA with someone and not be related. In other words, it's possible to share genetic material and not share a common ancestor or any identifiable genealogical connection.

Aspect Analysis 3 - "INCEST!"?

This relates back to point 1 where I discussed whether Leo and Karai see each other as siblings and whether shipping them should be considered promotion of incestrious behaviours. This answer is actually really simple: no, Leorai does not encourage incest.

Why not? Because incest, by definition means "sexual relations between people classed as being too closely related to marry each other". And guess what? Not only are Leo and Karai not closely related, but they never did the deed, or even kissed. They didn't even become 'official' official in the show, so calling Leorai incest is not a fact.

In all honesty, Leorai is my favourite ship of the show because unlike the other ships they didn't need to be physical with each other (e.g. kissing, arms around each other, tight hugs, carrying in arms) to show the audience that they cared deeply for one another. They showed their love through emotional connection and the "little things". Leorai is much like Zutara for me in this sense; I'm happy with what we got because it felt more like two characters building a genuine connection that would lead to an eventual romantic relationship (be it in show or not) than having to shove it in our faces that "tHEY'rE iN LOve beCaUSe tHEy KisSed!" (*cough* Kataang).

If you as a writer can make two characters have a romantic connection without having to make them get physical then you know you've written a relationship - heck, you know you've written the characters - right. And my personal headcanon is that Leo and Karai would share an asexual relationship eventually; no smut, just wholesome love :3

To conclude: Leorai is not incest. Not biologically, not psychologically, and not even romantically. I know not everyone will agree with this as many prefer to just stick with the most popular opinion so they don't cause controversy and that's fine - but heck, I'm tired of hiding my love for this ship cuz "I'll upset someone". That someone can be offended all they want, but I'm still not gonna change myself to suit their agenda.

I'm too old to keep getting involved in anti-ship nonsense (in ANY fandom, tbh), so if you're an anti reading this I'm not gonna try fight your opinion. You can have it, and I'll respect it cuz it's your opinion. I just hope that one day we as the internet can evolve to a point where we're smart enough to just not actively search for something we despise and only focus on what makes us happy.

As for my fellow Leorai shippers- thank you for reading my ramble! I love and appreciate all of you that continue to stand by this ship, and I hope to give you more Leorai content soon! Hopefully one that isn't a ramble, haha 💙🖤

Thanks again for reading, and have a good day/evening!

[puddle-nerd]

Jealousy Can Be a Wild Thing

Summary: Seeing her with him, smiling in a way she had never smiled at him? Something hot flashed within his chest. Hot and wild and angry. (Tonowari/Ronal)

Story Tags: Metkayina | Reef People Clan, Na’vi Language, Pre Way of Water, Established Relationship, Jealousy, Murderous Ideation, Arguments, Making Up, Making Out, Tonowari is a Simp

Author’s Note: So, this story was requested by @ana-maria456913 on Tumblr and it is my first official non-smutty story for our Pandoran kitty people. Woo! I have another standalone WIP as well as a couple of fics for the upcoming Valentine event (14 Days of Love) so until then, I hope you enjoy.

Na’vi Translation: ● Akula – a carnivorous fish that roams the reefs of the Eastern Sea and bears a striking resemblance to the terran great white shark or the extinct Megalodon ● Marui – pods built in the giant mangrove-like trees alongside the shores and are protected from crashing waves by giant reef barriers ● Muntxatan – husband | male spouse ● Oel ngati kameie – “I see you” (spiritually (joyful feeling) ) ● Olo’eyktan – clan leader (generally gender-neutral) ● Paywll – (meaning “water plant” | Aloeparilus succulentus – meaning “aloe-like”) is an unusual plant that stores water in its tissues; the leaves on top have a genetic substance inside that has healing properties when applied to skin ● Skxawng – moron | idiot ● Tsahìk – a spiritual leader of a Na’vi clan, and the most important member next to the clan leader. The job of the Tsahìk is to interpret the will of Eywa, guide the clan spiritually, and perform important ceremonies ● Tsakarem – a Tsahìk–in–training chosen to spend their life learning how to listen for signs from Eywa and perform ceremonies for the clan, often time the daughter of the current Tsahìk and mated to the clan leader when she comes of age, though not always ● Vonvä’ – butthole | asshole | dickhead (!highly abusive and vulgar!) ● Yawntu – loved one | lover | beloved person

AO3 Link

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Tonowari was feeling the exuberance his father had always told him about, growing up with sensationally heroic stories of all of the great feats by all of the Metkayina Na’vi of all. He was still riding the high of a streak of good things coming his way. First, his beloved had accepted his courting gift a fortnight ago, Ronal silently praising him with the way her blue eyes lit up with every bite she took of the of the meal he had prepared for her and her family. Second, the young Na’vi male had passed his final warrior’s rite a week ago and the current Tsahìk – his father’s younger sister – had tattooed his shoulder, part of his clavicle and one of his upper biceps three night ago, which were healing up quite nicely. And this morning when Tonowari and his friends had gone out to assist the fishermen, he had caught the most, much to everyone’s delights. Especially with representatives coming from the Ta’unui village supposed to be arriving today for his cousin’s upcoming wedding ceremony.

Walking up the beach, Tonowari eagerly headed for his aunt’s marui to see if his beloved could take a break with him. A flare of warmth pooled within as he thought of bringing Ronal into a private corps of mangrove roots and to spend some time sipping on her lips. And if she was not in the same amorous mood as he, just having her in his arms and basking in her scent and warmth.

Because she had agreed to be his.

That thought alone made his smile wider and move quicker, intent on basking in his beloved’s presence.

“Oel ngati kameie, Ma’tsahìk,” Tonowari called cheerfully, entering the marui where his father’s sister was lighting a roll of herbs for the smoke; he thought she called it incense but he wasn’t entirely sure. He just knew the smoke smelled pleasant… usually. His blue eyes scanned the rest of the pod but the one he was actually looking for seemed to be missing. His ears dropped and he looked questioningly towards his smiling aunt.

The Tsahìk sniggered at him, replying, “I sent Ronal to replace our stock of paywll. You should find her on the western border of the island.”

Tonowari’s smile returned instantaneously and he thanked his father’s younger sister and turned to go find his beloved.

Moving through the village over the bouncy walkway, the young Na’vi male noticed that some of the envoys of the Ta’unui village had arrived while he had been with his friends this morning, their tattoos and clothing styles slightly different from what he was used to. He grinned to himself, turning his gaze forward and even more eager to find the missing Tsakarem so that they could meet their neighboring representatives together. Leaving the village, the woven walkway turned into soft sand which turned into soft earth and lush grass as he searched for his beloved impatiently. And find her he did, with an unknown male. A tall, broad-shouldered male with one of his shoulders and part of his face and neck tattooed in a dark, swirling pattern. His hair was also shaved on either side of his head with the dark locks on top braided back into a loose ponytail, his neural queue hanging over his uninked shoulder. It also didn’t help that the unknown Na’vi’s loincloth was smaller in size and hung tantalizingly low upon his chiseled hips. And Ronal, his sweet, beautiful Ronal was appearing practically jovial with this handsome unknown Na’vi male as the two of them plucked paywll leaves and chatted amongst themselves.

Seeing her with him, smiling in a way she had never smiled at him? Something hot flashed within his chest.

Hot and wild and angry.

His smile wiping away, Tonowari wanted to drive his fist into this unknown male’s face and the center mast of his stupidly muscled body. He wanted to shove his dagger into that tattooed chest over and over. He wanted to drag the unknown Na’vi under the water and leave him at the bottom of the ocean or to maybe even leave a cut or two upon his skin for an akula to scent and then to feed upon.

Then Ronal turned and spotted him, her smile softening in brightness and intensity as her blue eyes met his. She lifted her arm and beckoned him towards her. “Ah, Wari,” the Tsakarem greeted him before looking up at her companion, her smile widening once more. “This is Kxawun Te Atxzìtx Tsyrun’iyan. Kxawun, this is—”

“I’m her intended muntxatan and the Metkayina Olo’eyktan’s nephew ,” Tonowari found himself snarling as he crossed the distance to his beloved’s side and possessively tucking his arm around her waist.

Ronal’s face fell while the foreign Na’vi male’s grin turned forced.

Tonowari grit his teeth and pulled his beloved closer into his body, sizing up the other male through narrowed blue eyes.

The Tsakarem scoffed and turned towards Kxawun and murmured softly, “Perhaps you could give us a moment, please, Kxawun? I will see you later.” She handed him her basket full of paywll leaves and turned a scowl on her partner before turning sharply and stomping further away from the village, negative emotions radiating out of her now that it was just the two of them, what with the Ta’unui Na’vi heading back towards Awa’atlu. Tonowari followed after her and before he could speak, she sneered viciously, “How could you embarrass me like that?! I thought you were not an arrogant vonvä’! That was why I accepted your courting gift! After that?! I am rethinking my decision!” Taken aback by her use of utterly insulting and foul language, his jaw slackened and he blinked at her in surprise before the rest of her words sank into his mind and registered their meanings.

“No! Ronal… Yawntu… please, do not say such things,” he begged.

She hissed at him, her ears flicking back in her rage. “Then explain yourself, Tonowari! What? Was? That?!”

The anger of the unknown male having all of her attention flashed through him once more and he growled in response, “He was all over you, yawntu! You must know he was flirting with you with the way he was trying his hardest to make you smile and laugh! Even I cannot seem to do that with you and I have known you for years, Ronal. I ask your forgiveness but I felt threatened by his display when I finally have you to myself as I have loved you for many years!”

It was her turn to stare at him with a slackened jaw and a couple of blinks before she exploded once more.

“I can’t believe you! YOU ABSOLUTE SKXAWNG!” Ronal shouted at him, causing him to flinch at her burning wrath. “Kxawun Te Atxzìtx Tsyrun’iyan is my childhood friend who moved to the Ta’unui clan when we were all still children and is now mated to a male! A male, you skxawng! If anyone should be worried about him being interested in one of us, it should be me because I chose you, Tonowari because I love you!” She scoffed once more and stomped even further down the beach.

He… was… a moron. Tonowari swallowed, feeling like a complete and utter idiot and wishing briefly that the earth or maybe the sea would swallow him up for being such an incompetent dolt but apparently, he wouldn’t have to fight for his beloved’s attention. Well, maybe he would have to struggle for her attention for a little bit while her friend was present for the upcoming wedding ceremony, but in the end, he wouldn’t have to worry about her attention straying. And the fact of the matter… she had told him she loved him back. She loved him. Ronal loved him. Tonowari felt all of his rage melt away and be replaced with even more of the enthusiasm and energy than he had been feeling earlier that day. He rushed forward, toes digging into the grassy earth and propelling himself forward so he could catch his beloved’s wrist and forcibly swing her around and pull her possessively into his arms, despite her shriek of surprised outrage at being manhandled until he silenced her with a heated kiss. “I’m a skxawng,” he muttered between smooches. “I was jealous.” Another kiss. “I was thoughtless.” Smooch, smooch, smooch. “And I do not deserve you.” After another round of kisses, he added, “I will happily spend the rest of my life making up for the embarrassment of that moment and I will do better from here on out.” Ronal hummed; a considering look upon her features. She decided, “You will make dinner for Kxawun and you will ask him for forgiveness.” Although that stung his pride a bit, Tonowari nodded. For her, he would do anything. “As you wish, yawntu,” he agreed, silently promising himself he would not allow his jealousy to rule him ever again.

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Originally Posted: 21 January 2024 Word Count: 1,495

AO3 Link

[reduxulousoctopus]

Fics that I'm (Probably) Never Going to Write, Part 1/uhhhhhhhh

Depression is an absolute bastard. Anyway, here are a bunch of ideas for fics that I'm (probably) never going to write because I don't have the energy/focus/time, in the vain hope that putting them out in the universe will eventually result in them coming back to me in the form of completed works that I can rub all over my gross, itchy eyeballs. Or at the very least, maybe talking about one of these ideas with somebody will kick the dopamine machine back into working order long enough for me to actually write it myself.

All are DCAU and mostly focused on the Flash cause that's where I'm at right now.

--

"Mosaic"

When one of the Guardians goes rogue and begins abducting entire cities from across the universe (including Earth's own Central City and a colony of exiled Thanagarian pacifists), John Stewart agrees to come out of retirement for one last mission. He and the few surviving Green Lanterns defeat the "Mad Guardian" with the help of Vixen, Shayera Hol, and the Flash, though not before the stolen cities find themselves forcibly relocated to the surface of the planet Oa and combined into a patchwork superstructure of domed alien ecosystems.

Only then is the true nature of John's mission revealed to him: the seemingly-immortal Guardians are about to die, and have chosen him to be their first potential replacement. Until the old Guardians can regain the power necessary to return each city to its respective home-world, which they estimate will take about an Earth year, presiding over this "Mosaic of Worlds" will serve as John's final test.

[post-JLU, John Stewart/Mari McCabe established relationship, John Stewart & Shayera Hol & Wally West friendship, massive cast of characters, scifi/political thriller/drama, very long (equivalent to a season of television)]

--

"Runaway"

Wally doesn't know how long he drifted without form or consciousness before he appeared overlooking the crib of Danica Williams, a seemingly ordinary baby girl with whom he shares a strange metaphysical connection. Unable to be perceived by anyone else or interact with the world around him, and unable to leave the girl's side without causing them both extreme pain, Wally spends the next seven years as Dani's beloved imaginary friend while struggling to piece together what little he can remember of his past life.

After waking one night to a large crash downstairs, Wally finds that a SWAT team have broken into the Williams home, captured Dani's parents, and are on their way upstairs to find "the girl." Dani and her ghostly companion flee the house and go on the run, following Wally's vague sense that they can find help in Metropolis. But to get there from San Fransisco, they'll have to cross a country which has never been more dangerous for metahumans, pursued all the while by the sinister organization which took Dani's parents, an obsessed FBI agent named Hunter Zolomon, and worst of all, a monstrous speedster hell-bent on dragging Wally back to the Speed Force for good.

[post-JLU, Wally West & Danica Williams, JL Founders friendship, thriller/mystery/near-future scifi/dystopia, fairly long]

--

"Where the Road Splits"

It's only natural for people who have been together so long to fight sometimes. That's literally what "old married couple" means. Wally is ready to retire and Bruce isn't. That's a shockingly normal thing for people whose lives are as weird as theirs to argue about. Hell, if Wally's powers weren't keeping them in peak physical condition, they would have been having this argument decades ago. It's fine.

Everything's fine.

or

Wally can't hold on much longer, Bruce doesn't know how to let go, and Terry has no idea how he got caught up in some ongoing marital spat between two cranky, elderly superheroes, but if none of their frankly ridiculous number of kids and grand-kids are willing to intervene, he's going to have to jump on that grenade himself to earn his chance at revenge--and redemption.

[Batman Beyond AU, dysfunctional old married Bruce Wayne/Wally West, Terry McGinnis/Dana Tan established relationship, family drama/coming-of-age/near-future scifi]

[thechekhov]

Hey so I want to get started on Critical Role but I'm not really sure where the best jumping on point is. Where did you start?

That's a good question! It GREATLY depends on what sort of watcher/listener you are.

Currently, the entire Critical Role content machine has 3 main campaigns. 

The first one was started before they were a full on company, and is therefore rough around the edges. The second campaign was much more well rounded, and is well beloved - and it is finished! The third is just getting started, and there aren't a lot of episodes for it yet.

I'll try to outline some of the things for you.

Campaign 1 - Vox Machina (115 episodes)

(YouTube link to the full playlist)

Reasons to start at campaign 1:

If you are a thorough lore-consuming vacuum that NEEDS to know things and doesn't mind throwing yourself headfirst into OVER 800 HOURS OF CONTENT you can start with Campaign 1.

It begins in the middle of the journey (because the campaign started BEFORE they began to stream it) and is therefore fast to get into the action. The characters are already established and get along, and there are tons of interesting dynamics.

Reasons to NOT start at campaign 1:

- It's fucking long

- It's rough around the edges - the audio quality sucks for a couple of episodes, the video quality ain't great right away, and their setup isn't the most conducive to the game.

- The actors themselves are also rough - they're not used to the streaming setup and do their best to maintain the feel of the home game, which means lots of inside jokes that may read as too crude or too-sexual for the audience. The characters are also basic archetypes, and although there IS depth to them, until you get to later episodes you may need to wait.

Compromise:

If you want to start Campaign 1 but are afraid of the rough edges, start at episode 24 (YouTube link) - it is the beginning of the Briarwood arc, a really good and engaging part of the early campaign that is much easier to roll with that early episodes.

...Or wait until Legends of Vox Machina (link) comes out and watch it as an animated series!

Campaign 2 - Mighty Nein (141 episodes)

(Link to YouTube Playlist)

Reasons to start at campaign 2:

The players are much more comfortable this time around! Their setup is great, and this is the story they’re probably the most well known for at this point. 

The nuance of the characters comes through almost immediately, and the storyline is more intricate and wrought with morally grey choices! It’s a fucking banger.

Reasons to NOT start at campaign 2:

- It's fucking long

- The characters don’t all get along right away! They’re a ragtag team that comes together out of necessity, and it takes a while for them to gel, which means lots of drama within the party. It’s all in good fun, of course, and it’s an excellent show of sportsmanship amongst a group of friends who trust each other to act out entire arguments... but it can get a bit intense! If you’re really sensitive to this, it might bother you.

- If you want to stay in-the-know on current stuff without getting spoiled... it might be rough going (spoilers are unavoidable for this one, people cannot contain themselves in any form.)

Compromise:

Not sure what the compromise would be. I cannot really think of any part of this campaign that you want to miss. 

Maybe others who are not quite as obsessed as I am with consuming all the content can recommend a good jump-in point. The idea of missing any of their beginnings gives me hives, though. I’ll abstain.

Campaign 3 - The current campaign, now airing

(YouTube Link to playlist)

I will admit, I don’t know about this campaign yet. I haven’t even started it myself! However, if you like to keep up to date and follow weekly installments, this is for you! It’ll continue to release 3 times a month, dice willing, and you can easily follow along with all the fanart and hype! 

If you do not have the attention span nor the energy to slog through literally YEARS of story (and really, who would...?).... this may be your best bet!

Things to note:

- All the campaigns are set on the same WORLD but they are stand-alone stories. Although careful viewers will obviously pick up on hints and name-drops from previous campaigns, you don’t need to know anything about Campaign 1 to jump into Campaign 2, and vice versa! 

The important thing is to follow your heart and have fun! As long as you’re not watching the episodes completely out of order... you’re probably not doing it wrong.