#god i ship them so fucking hard

[hollowflight-propaganda]

wof fandom when people enjoy fictional toxic relationships because they find them interesting:

[beescake]

@heydevi bro...... fellow understander...... still not over ur gmod solkat theyre so hrhgrbhggfngh 🥺🤲

[fumifooms]

I think you made me start shipping Marchil

Your posts got me thinking about their dynamic then I wrote a fic that was supposed to be platonic but midway through I realized it could actually be interpreted as romantic too and now I'm just sad about how little time they'll have together

First of all, you have a lovely icon, second, I’m so honored… I finally read Not a bad way to go and it was soo so good like. My god!!! Pre-canon is underused and you did so many interesting things with it.

It sounded like a cruel joke, that the one who needed her concern the most was also the one least interested in it.

^^^ go read it go read it

Chilchuck was drunk enough that he needed to hold onto the walls not to fall, but apparently still sober enough to remember emotional vulnerability was his worst enemy, as he made sure to avert her eyes and said: “Namari made me come talk to you ” to make it clear he wasn't being nice voluntarily.

Yeah.

“Of course I'm scared of dying.” He scoffed. Did she really think so little of him? “But if I could choose, I would want to die doing something I love, like drinking. Or maybe fucking,”

Maybe you wish you didn’t know but my new favorite HC because of this is that Chil dies yes prematurely not of liver failure though but during coitus. Especially if marchil, the thought of him busting a nut and his heart giving out makes me laugh so hard. My god. Lmao. Oh god. Lmfao. Worst day of her life

Marcille knew Chilchuck wasn't a kid, but she often struggled to take him seriously as an adult because he was just so adorable and small. In this moment, however, she saw them exactly for what they were, even if it was just a glimpse. A sheltered, naive little girl trying to tell a tired, much more experienced man how to live the rest of his life.

Standing ovation

She tried to find an explanation to give him, but she couldn't even find one for herself. Why would she miss him? He was just Chilchuck, her coworker, Chilchuck who was cold, aloof, sometimes crass, evasive, and even outright mean. He who was level headed, reliable, trustworthy, perceptive and clever. He who had the least time left, even in a best case scenario. “I guess that despite your best efforts, there's still a lot to like about you.”

This fic goes so hard, standing ovation pt 2

“I just think it's better if we don't get too close. Don't you agree?” “I… maybe” she said, uncertain as he didn't know how to feel about that. Caring about people would only hurt her in the wrong run, she knew that, but unfortunately she couldn't help it.

I looove how they can be read to be similar on this aspect. My hand clenching around my phone as I rear up to rant about Marcille and the way she does keep people at an arm’s length subconsciously again my god my goood. Obsessed with this obsessed with this, underused for marchil. Terrified of loss through death vs rejection duo I love youuu

Brilliant ending I’m in shambles. I’m not gonna spoil it

You get marchil so much you truly do. The way they mesh, the way their views on mortality clash and both soothe & bruise… He doesn’t have much time left even in best case scenario (which Mr I won’t eat well I’ll drink and smoke a lot I’ll stress all day every day is determined to not make happen) which makes it all the more meaningful for Marcille’s arc when she learns from him to finally enjoy the present moments… It’ll only be a fraction of her life, but to him he’s giving her the rest of his life. What are some decades of love worth? Worth it, surely, if nothing else

[festering-bacteria]

GUYSS HEAR ME OUT they have so much potential,.,,I love them.,

[somethingsad]

To that one bitch clogging the fucking renheng tag fuck you genuinely If u hate it so much atleast have the fucking decency to not put the tag people like the ship whether u like it or not so stop being a bitch

[scorpiusmalfoylovesoscarwilde]

help I'm being dragged back into my drarry era what's happening

[fraudulent-cheese]

Short king Duncan on a date with tall queen Lindsay for the art requests

congrats anon, you got me to actually draw Duncan!

this is partially based on that one fanart with them as Papa's Freezeria workers! Maybe this is just what they do on break lol

[beevean]

A theory I've read more than once is that this one frame of Lenore entering Hector's cell for the second time is proof that she is not actually enjoying what she has to do:

The wiki describes it as such: "Lenore has a sad expression when entering the dungeon to visit Hector the second time."

Also this, from a comment I found:

Like for example when she goes to meet Hector the second time, you can see sadness on her face when she is walking alone in the dungeon, but as soon as she approaches Hector she puts on a smile. I.e. may be she already knew she had to use the ring at that point and felt bad about it but didn't want Hector to realize that. A lot of such small animation details really provide a glimpse into what the explicit writing was lacking.

(edit: turns out that they were the same person)

Okay.

First things first: I doubt she has the ring in mind already. It's hard to tell because Lenore pulls it out of her ass with zero foreshadowing whatsoever, but with the way it was framed, the ring was likely a direct response to Striga's idea of buying mercenaries to make Hector unnecessary, which comes later into the story: Lenore even uses the information she eavesdropped from Striga as a way to lie to Hector about her loyalty to the sisters. In theory it makes sense, because Hector needs to be reliable to be allowed to live, but the ring is... a very poor solution the more you think about it, even if you ignore how S4 neutered it, because it only addresses one of the many logistic problems that come with forcing Hector to make an army of Night Creatures, and it's not the dead bodies/living livestock paradox. And going with the story, it's unlikely Lenore was already thinking of raping the ring into Hector: why would the sisters be amazed at her plan if they were the ones suggesting her to speed up things? And if Lenore came up with it, why would she be remorseful at her own idea? Sure, Hector showed defiance during their first encounter, but did she have so little faith in her own manipulating skills that she already felt that she had no choice but to use her pussy, the only good weapon in a woman's disposal "brute force", after one understandable incident? Then why even bother interrogating him to understand his motivations and needs? Just skip straight to the sexual molestation to make him believe she likes him. As I pointed out, that interrogation was not for the sake of painting herself as particularly caring: she was collecting intel, intel that she wouldn't need if her plan was already tricking Hector into slavery via a magic ring.

Second: that expression honestly doesn't look sad to me. I would be willing to give the interpretation some credit, because she's looking downwards which can be a sign of sadness, but after that one frame, she switches to this expression:

Now she looks mildly pissy, like the idea of talking to Hector is just soooooo annoying, ugh. She even has the sassy cocked eyebrow lmao.

Of course that can't be it, so I propose the most obvious interpretation: she's serious and deep in thought. That is because their first encounter ended up disastrously: Hector assaulted Lenore with the intent of threatening her, which pissed her off, and she assaulted Hector by beating him to an inch of his life, which is not the best way to win a pet's trust. So she's most likely thinking the best way to approach him again.

And I'll even praise a small detail: the first time Lenore fed Hector, she made him crawl towards her to eat from her hand. The second time, however, she tosses an apple to his feet. Both gestures are demeaning, but after that incident she seems to be more cautious towards him - shown as well by her insistence that he is so dangerous that, well, she has no choice but to put a leash on him like a dog. I'm honestly surprised that her final solution is stupid as fuck when she can be intelligent when she wants to. real reason she's hector's soulmate: both of them have braincells like christmas tree lights :V

Third: oh, do you want to talk about explicit writing?

These are not freeze frame bonuses. The scene lingers on this expression on Lenore's face as Hector is screaming in pain over the ring she put on him.

So, you're willing to believe Lenore didn't want to use the ring but felt forced to because in one frame she has an expression that mildly looks displeased... but somehow you ignore this blatantly sadistic reaction? This screams, at the very least, "haha, sucker, I've won"; but add to this that Hector is visibly and audibly in pain, shocked and scared at the curse overtaking his body during a vulnerable moment...

This ties well with how she beat Hector to a pulp not just out of self-defense, but because she wanted to feel strong and powerful when surrounded by people who underestimate her - the writing might imply that she was offended that Hector too saw her as vulnerable and stupid, but she was explicitly laughing and mocking him while showing off her strength (a strength she doesn't display when, say, Isaac enters her cage: he easily intimidates her). You might read the implication that Lenore spoke about Hector so disgustingly to the sisters to be taken seriously as a vampire mistress and didn't actually want to dehumanize him, but explicitly, even ignoring the forced pet play that showed she had fun treating him like a dog, she reduced him to a "problem to be solved" when complaining about her woes, and when she could have apologized or explained herself she minimized or doubled down on the harm she caused, never once expressing any remorse or doing anything worthwile to make up for it (like, for example, talking about the ring and how it's a shame Hector is only there because he has no choice because she feels they'd be good friends without it: that would imply guilt).

In fact, going back to the moment when Lenore decides to use the ring, it is far more likely that it was in response to this part of the conversation Lenore has eavesdropped:

Striga: We can possibly push east as far as Lake Balaton before I run out of soldiers, but that exposes our Western border. Morana: Sleep. Striga: We can't do it without Lenore turning the forgemaster, and she's just taking him out for fucking walkies. Morana: She will land him. Striga: It's going to have to be soon.

Considering that it's shown that Lenore highly resents being seen as a stupid animal lover, it's far easier to think that this is when she got pissy and decided to use a quicker method, even if it destroyed all the hard manipulation work she had done.

One frame might paint her as a reluctant villain only trying to make everyone happy and being stuck between a rock and a hard place, but multiple scenes paint her as a vile bully and abuser who enjoys feeling in power and control, whether she uses kindness or harm to achieve her goal.

I'm sorry, subtext can absolutely enrich the understanding of a story or character, but not when it actively contradicts the text.

Do you want my personal example? I'll play the same game of overanalyzing expressions. When Isaac attacks the castle, Lenore goes to rescue Hector first thing, instead of checking on Carmilla. For one moment, she even looks torn on where to go:

I will praise this moment: this shows her concern for him quite nicely and that she believes his safety is the first priority, without having to spell it out - no declataration of love, no "you're too important to me", no "Carmilla can handle herself without me", the action speaks for itself. However, there is also her reaction when Hector severs his finger to get rid of the ring, after he explains that "command and control flows through [him] to Lenore here and to her friends":

It could be simple disgust because, well, there's a severed finger and pools of blood lying near her. But I also see what the commenter saw in that frame in S3: sadness. Defeat. Lenore has lost control of the Night Creatures. She can't do anything to protect Carmilla and the castle. And she has lost control of Hector, who has gone behind her back and is protecting her at the expense of her sisters and home: he may chose to stay with her, but he also gave Isaac all the tools he needs to destroy her life. She's powerless. Everything she has worked for went up in smokes and was pointless. Which, as it was shown and told, greatly bothers her. (this is also why I believe her suicide makes sense for her state of being, an opinion apparently not shared by her fans)

I see all of this encapsulated into that expression that mixes disgust, concern and quiet, horrified realization: and it's also fully backed up by the context.

This leads to the message I keep insisting on and which is something that more people need to learn, and the reason I keep eviscerating this character because the writing and the fandom piss me off something fierce: abusers can care about you. They can care about your safety and well being, they can want what (they think) it's best for you. What makes them abusers is that they place more importance on their own need of control. Lenore wanting to save Hector because she pitied him, has grown close to him and eventually finds in him someone who listens to her doesn't at all erase in the slightest all the harm she has caused him: which, I reiterate, includes lying to him and taking advantage of his feelings and need for love to trick him into sex with the objective of placing a slave ring on him, and enjoying his suffering when she won - and when Hector called her out on this, her response was "SHUSH, YOU WERE HAVING FUN".

At the end of the day, she has never stopped behaving like a vampire, a creature whose definition of love is "acting to keep something with you for as long as you can". Even in her most wholesome scenes, like this one or the one where she pleads for more of Carmilla's patience, it's easy to see at the core of it all a need to control the situation and people involved, and reluctance to admit her needless cruelty. This is nuance, not "she's actually good deep down, pls ignore all the sexual abuse because it was for Hector's own good 🥺".

On one hand, it's true that when you do character analyses, you will always be biased, because you come in with your ideas and preconceptions. I am biased too, of course, you can tell. On the other, it's dishonest to cling only onto the most convenient hidden details to look like you have fully understood the text, when you dismiss the most obvious ones that are so obvious you have to actively try to.

[aerialflight]

i'm writing a gilmore girls fic that involves paris geller from our pandemic year 2020 going back to 2001, around the time jess first comes in to town. very slow burn between jess/paris. i have around 10k words of snippets all over my doc and an outline and i'm slowly becoming re-obsessed with gilmore girls again. what the fuck is up with this fandom that i keep going back to like an on-and-off again boyfriend??? anyway, i have no idea if i'll ever post this and i've been going back and forth on this for what feels like forever. if this sounds at all interesting, let me know.

[flowerakatsuka]

larry's tag about kurokara looking back on going around the summer festival together and realizing it was basically a date is making me chuckle bc it wouldn't be the only instance of kuroba inviting karamatsu out on what's essentially a date before they're a couple ( not even during that summer. )

[minweber]

Belisarius Cawl, hiding for his life, his ass kicked, ship crashing, friends in mortal peril: I am such a smart boy, he-he-he =)

[artemis-in-space]

I literally don't care what you ship in One Piece as long as you get the dynamic right

[camels-pen]

Okay but consider tough… Vampire au Sanuso where Sanji mistakes a bat for Usopp until Usopp comes into the door and Sanji feels extremly stupid. But he keeps the bat around as a little pet anyways and it seems to absolutely HATE Usopp. Like, full on trying to attack him all the time. Sanji promises a pouting Usopp that it’s just overprotective, it’s Apperantly wounded and he was the first one to find it. Usopp just glares at the thing and says something along the lines of „We should throw that disgusting vermin off the ship right now.“

Sanjis expression must have been one of pure terror, because as soon as Usopp sees it he backpedals, says he had a long day and he’s tired and hungry, of course Sanji can keep it if he wants to, he should probably head to sleep anyways. See you tomorrow. And Sanji guesses he really must have been tired, that cold and cruel expression on his face was very unlike the crewmate he has grown so fond of…

In hindsight he supposes this should have been his first clue that something was terribly wrong.

In the Next two weeks the crew starts feeling fainter and fainter and more sickly. Chopper expects it to be some sort of Virus going around but he can’t find any diseases that match the symptoms. Everyone is on edge but Sanji keeps noticing that Usopp… doesn’t act like himself anymore. He rarely joins them at the dinner table and he seems to even forget to take his usual blood dose from Choppers stack unless their doctor explicitly reminds him to. He seems colder to everyone as well. Unhelpful. Meanspirited. Nami worries about Zoro being sick and he basically tells her to stop worrying so much because it’s annoying. Robin mentions reading something in a book about other mythical creatures in the area and he disregards her completly. Her book mysteriously vanishes the next day. Luffy gets so sick he’s out of comissiob for a few days and his reaction is basically non existent. Franky pulls Sanji aside nervously to confess he saw something strange at night and went to tell Usopp, since it hung around his workshop and Usopp didn’t really react at all „Don’t worry about it.“ he said, not even looking up. „Your mind is probably playing tricks on you.“ and Sanji slowly begins to realize that his new pet seems to only hate Usopp this much. That it seems downright protective of all the other strawhats. That it’s a very smart animal, but even smart animals usually don’t look at you like this and you feel like they understand every single word you say. And Sanji realizes that something , SOMETHING is terribly wrong with what he thought of as Usopps until a few days ago.

Tldr: Shapeshifting and probably soulsucking creature wounds Usopp so much he has to stay in bat form (or maybe he gets cursed?) and Batsopp has been desperately trying to warn his crew that someone has taken his place and is planning to drain their life’s out one by one… and also is now realizing that „HOLY COW SANJI LIKES ME TOO? WISH I FOUND THAT OUT UNDER DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WOW?!!“

ANON THIS IS PURE GOLD OH MY GOD??

The fact that he hears Sanji confess his feelings while he's just hanging out in the galley, probably trying to think up a plan to get Sanji to understand him, is so fucking funny.

Usopp, thinking: Okay, maybe I can grab some paper and write out a message-

Sanji, cooking behind him: You know it's a shame you don't like Usopp; he's a wonderful guy.

Usopp, squeaking to himself: Yeah, I am, but that thing's not me!

Sanji, laughing: Oh don't be like that, he really is great. There's a reason I fell in love with him after all.

Usopp:

Usopp, in much higher pitched squeaking: you fell in WHAT

[tenwhiteandalusians]

pertaining to the idea of tenax’s band of strays i do think it’s touching that the kids are the ones who saved him and waited outside the door to make sure he’s okay. for all tenax claims to be harsh and cruel it’s a fine indicator of his character that the kids won’t rest without him and are there every time he’s in danger.

[loderlied]

posting on here is like my sisyphean boulder i'm constantly rolling tbh

[the-algebra-thing]

how crazy is it? someone could waste their whole life helplessly, just patiently waiting for a love like you and me

except for how nobody will ever even come close to what they have so we can all go ahead and give up on that right off the bat I think. featuring the annabeth design that's been rotating in my mind since rereading pjo and the genderfluid percy jackson that's been rotating in my mind since restarting heroes of olympus; I am very attached to both of them at this point. also the prophecy wrist tattoos, but those are of more recent invention. next on the list is girl jason grace don't even get me started