#heres my thing guys i can see how someone might be annoyed that the handhold is not with take my hand but hear me OUT

[bericas]

shall I stay? would it be a sin if I can't help falling in love with you?

[jackrabbit-fandom]

Hello, hello, hello

I have seen your post about Cyno being autistic and I agree since you can literally see it in the game.

Truly hope someone doesn't come after you with bad intentions because I might just have to thoroughly shut them down in a very ✨️friendly✨️ way.

Anyway, I noticed that you have also added that you'd be interested in writing HC for the two, so... May I request one of Alhaitham? I would be very grateful.

Have a lovely day

YOU DONT HAVE TO ACT AO FORMAL I KNOW YOU-

Anyway

For the most part, you know my al headcanons, but let's make some more hm? Hope you guys enjoy it!

No warnings, really just cute junk and alhaitham being alhaitham. Mabye a lil ooc. Plus spelling and grammar cause I suck at that

As i said before, I see alhaitham as autistic, so we'll be adding that a bit here

Alhaitham isn't super touchy. He can get a bit overwhelmed if he's touched too much. However, I do see him being a bit more willing with his partner, though PDA likely would be off the table.

Handholding would be fine for him if it makes you feel better, though not for very long, so I recommend pinky holding instead!

Look, it's cute as hell and isn't constantly squeezing his hand, so it works.

Or you could hold the back of his coat of even that is to much contact for him

Speaking of such things, alhaitham is likely someone who can hide when he's overstimulated VERY well, so you'll have to be able to read him very well to know when he's uncomfortable, as if he wouldn't just bluntly tell you to let go ether way.

A few tells would mainly be a slight change in his expression, from his more relaxed one to a more annoyed one, a twitch of his eyebrow or the corner of his mouth.

He'd get more fidgety, ether messing with his headphones, adjusting his clothes to much, ect.

In the game, we can see that he is a kind person, but also very blunt and doesn't feel any fear in telling people what he thinks. So don't get too upset if he so bluntly tells you your affection is a bit too much.

He may not be a very affectionate man but he still shows his affections in his own way, weather that be: allowing you to read his prized books, reading to you himself, letting you lean on him, teaching you bits of knowledge he has, ect. His affection more comes out in these simple actions.

He's fairly knowledgeable on quite a few topics, so if you ask him questions about them, he'd be happy to answer them even if his expressions seem more 'annoyed' then happy.

If he doesn't know an awnser, he'll tell you so, but be sure to research the topic later so he can answer said question.

This is how he shows his love lol.

His love language is more-so quality time/ parallel play in which you're each doing your own thing nearby

On a more general alhaitham note, he mainly gets overstimulated by too much or too loud noise, which he uses his headphones to cancel out.

He likely would know sign, for moments where he ether deafened his headphones or just decides not to speak. This just helps him keep himself from that overstimulation.

He also stims in more subtle was, fidgeting with a loose thread on his clothes, tapping his fingers together, messing with a loose strand of hair (his or yours depending on how close your relationship is and how long your hair is) or just tapping his foot.

He can handle confrontation easily on his own, so no need to worry when someone bothers him about his habits sense hell eeasily shut them down with no problem.

I see him as getting more frustrated if anyone attempts to talk over him or baby him. He is a grown man. Doing these things is more likely to annoy him than make him feel relieved.

This doesn't mean he hates you defending him completely. He'd just rather not be treated like a child or as if he can't speak for himself.

Alhaitham wouldn't be a bad partner. Honestly, he's attentive and very loyal. You'd just have to be able to handle his lack of touchyness and just overall blunt attitude.

That's all I've got for now, I'm writing this like 10 minutes before work, lol. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Might attempt a fic at some point with him being overstimulated and using my own experiences for that. Bye bye!

[leafsgarbage]

A bet- Sakusa Kiyoomi

A/N: This is my first scenario so I am a bit nervous but excited! Obviously its going to be a Sakusa one lol

Warnings: Panic attack

Spoilers! Timeskip!AU

Genre: Angst/Fluff

Pairing: Timeskip!Sakusa x fem!reader

Main Masterlist

pt.2

You had just finished all your classes, and since Omi was still at practice with the Jackals, you decided to go back home and make him a lunch. (He really doesn’t like eating out that much because he can never know for sure how they made it, but he trusts you). 

You had been dating for three months now and you were as happy as can be. You were both used to each other by now, Omi even allowed himself to be a bit more open with PDA (a handhold and a kiss on the cheek is all you’ll get, but if he’s sweaty- forget about it). And you easily slipped into his life, like you were meant to. Sakusa appreciated how patient and respectful you were towards him since your first meeting 

After a tiring day of exams you just needed some time to yourself with a quick cup of tea to brighten your day. And to take your mind of how bad you think you did. 

The cashier takes your order and proceeds to ask you to wait to the side. In the meantime, a group of men make their way to the register and begin to order. You see one of them half a step behind the rest with a mask on and his hands in his pockets. He stands pretty tall, his black-wavy hair covering one of his eyebrows, but you can still perfectly see the two aligned moles on his forehead.

When he looks at you it seems as if he’s staring you down, but you don’t want to assume because of his mask. To be nice you wave at him, to which he nods his head at you. Then, one of the guys he’s with, a blonde one, skips over to the wavy haired man and pulls his hands out of his pockets while holding them. “Omi-Omi, what do you want to order? My treat!” 

This time the black-haired man’s eye was twitching, the one you could see at least. Before he can pull his hands away, a smaller orange-haired guy pulls the blonde one back. “Tsumu!” He scolds. “You can’t just hold Omi-san like that, you didn’t even sanitize.” The orange man takes the blonde one to the table that this grey haired guy was saving. 

You returned to look at Omi as they called him, and you see him struggling to find something in his pockets. He’s looking a little fidgety and uncomfortable. You remember what the orange-haired guy said and grab the hand-sanitizer in your pocket. Ever since your little sister was born, she always got sick easily, so you carried them in your pocket out of habit. 

“Hi, um Mister.” You call to his attention and he stops what he’s doing. You hold out your hand, palms up, holding the hand sanitizer. “Would you like some?” 

The man relaxes his shoulders and nods his head. He cups his hands together holding them out and looks at you. “Could you put it on my hands please.” You nod and do as he asks. He rubs his hands together and looks back at you. “Thank you...”

“L/N Y/N.” You tell him. “You are?”

He nods. “Sakusa Kiyoomi.” There’s no need to tell you a nickname, which you understand, you’ll probably never see him again. But he’s so handsome and attractive that you want to talk to him more.

“Do you-”

“Order for Y/N!” The worker calls. You curse in your head and give Sakusa a tight smile.

After you grab your drink you turn back to Sakusa. “It was nice meeting you Sakusa. I usually come here around this time, so if you’re ever around I’ll be here.” You smile at him then leave the shop.

At this point you want to rip your hair out. What the hell was that. I’ll be there.

A week goes by and there is still no sign of Sakusa anywhere. You don’t even blame him for not showing up, but you decide to go back to the store the next day just in case.

Meanwhile at the Jackals’ gym....

“Come on Omi-”

“No.” Sakusa replies.

Atsumu grumbles and stares pointedly at him. “She was super pretty and definitely into you. Why don’t you go to her?” The setter questions. “It’s not nice to leave people waiting.”

Sakusa is beyond annoyed. “I’m not interested.” He tells him. Bokuto and Hinata are quietly watching from the sides, waiting to see if they have to intervene. 

However, the Jackals’ setter is determined, and he knows just how to push his spiker’s buttons. “That’s fine Omi, it’s not like you would be able to sustain a relationship with a girl like her.” Sakusa stares at Atsumu, only a little bothered. “I mean we all know that, but if you did date her for two months, I would stop trying to touch you all the time-”

“Deal.” Sakusa tells him. “Anything to get you away from me.” 

The next day, you did see Sakusa, and though conversation started a bit rough, once you got him going on volleyball, he was on a roll. It’s not that he expresses how much he loves it or even if he does at all, but he has a lot of great stories that came from volleyball. 

The rest is history.

3 months later...

He introduced you to the rest of the Jackal’s by accident, when he forgot his jersey at your house. The boys teased you endlessly and you joked around and got to know them all well. You were close with them, especially Atsumu.

When you show up to the gym with Sakusa’s lunch, everyone lights up as they see you, especially a certain black-haired spiker, albeit’s a small grin. They walk up to you and Sakusa kisses your forehead. “Omi, I brought you lunch just in case you forgot.”

“Thank you Y/N. I will eat well.” He smiles.

Atsumu grunts. “GAHHHHH. Y/N I don’t know how ya deal with his deadpanned faces. You deserve someone who will give ya great praise for yer hard work. Someone like me!”

Bokuto laughs at Atsumu. “Tsum-Tsum, you better quit joking around or else Omi’s gonna serve the ball real hard at you today.”

The setter waves his arm and puts it around you. “I know I told Omi two months, but ya’ve been together three months now, and I’m so glad he decided to keep ya.”

You tense under the setter’s arm and look at your boyfriend who’s jaw is clenched, staring holes into Atsumu’s head. “What?”

“Did Omi-Omi not tell ya? I thought- Y-ya’ve been together for long so I-” For once in his life, Atsumu stops talking completely. Bokuto and Hinata drag him out and go back into the lockers.

You stare at Sakusa, uneven breaths leaving your body. “What was Atsumu talking about?”

He nods at you and clasps his hands together. “Y/N,” he starts just hear all of this out ok.” Your face is stern and he nods. “When we met, I wasn’t going to go see you.” You just felt a pang in your heart, but held yourself steady and listened. “But Atsumu agreed that if I dated you for two months then he wouldn’t try to touch me anymore.” All you do is nod your head, hands clenched at your sides. “I didn’t know I was going to fall in love with you-”

“No.” You tell him. “You have not so much as told me you loved me at all this whole time, and you choose now to tell me?” Sakusa cocks his head to the side. “Were you just going to let me fall for you then dump me after you no longer needed me?”

He shakes his head. “No Y/N, please, I didn’t know I was going to-”

“Don’t say it again.” Your tone is cold, Sakusa has never heard you speak like this to him. “Let me play this back to you, so you can hear what you sound like.” He waits. “You were never really interested in me, but you pretended to be this whole time-”

Sakusa shakes his head vigorously. “No! Y/N it wasn’t, not after-”

You laugh at him, “I didn’t finish.” He decides to stop and listen to you. “You pretended and made me believe you really liked me and you did all these amazing things for me that had me believing you cared.” Your chest is heaving up and down, eyes watering saying this out loud.  “And- And all because, you didn’t have any other way to get your teammate to respect your personal space.” Your voice cracked and a couple tears fall, but you quickly wipe at them. “Why would you do something like that? Did I deserve that?”

He doesn’t say anything, because he knows he’ll just make this worse if he does. You’re right. You didn’t deserve that, from getting to know you, he understands that you deserve the world, and he tried- oh god he tried so hard to give that to you. To make up for what he did wrong. He wanted to tell you how this started because he knew if you found out any other way, it would be like this. Hell, it might even be like this if he ended up telling you himself. To even his surprise, he just wanted to hold you, tell you that while this may have started out that way, he loved you more than he ever thought he could. He loved you so much he found himself taking out two mugs in the morning out of habit. There is a cleared out drawer with all your things in it. Your toothbrush is in his bathroom, and he bought you the skin care you have at your own house because he knows how important it is to take care of your skin. On his couch, there is now a soft blanket sitting on the arm rest because you like to snuggle under them. His favorite thing in his apartment is the picture frame you bought him that sits by his bedside of you and him, and it is the only one he owns. 

Sakusa wanted to tell you how much he loves you. How much he is ready to scream it out loud so you would understand, but you’re slipping away from him far too fast and he finds himself at a loss of what to do. “I wish-” you start to say but get choked up. “I wish I never met you.” Sakusa is gutted and that what it takes for him to come back too, but it’s too late because you’re gone.

His voice hitches as he tries to say something but he can’t. The boys shuffle back in and his eyes land on his setter. Something breaks inside him, and his composed demeanor goes down the drain as he lunges at Atsumu. However Bokuto is quick to jump in front of Sakusa and hold him at arms length. The D1 6′4 tall player tries pushing aganist the owl man, but Bokuto holds on, their strength almost equal. Hinata stays close to Atsumu while looking sadly at Sakusa. “Don’t pity me Hinata.” Sakusa tells the little giant. “Don’t- Don’t” Sakusa’s chest is heaving and he begins to cough as his butt hits the floor. He can’t breathe and is holding his head. Bokuto reaches out to him but he smacks his hand away, breaking down in front of his teammates.

Hinata and Atsumu get closer but Hinata holds Atsumu back from stepping any further. “He needs space, get back.” Hinata was always respectful of his senpai’s germaphobic tendencies, Bokuto takes steps back as well. “Omi-San,” he calls out to him. “Listen to me alright. Can you count with me?” They both start counting together in 5′s. Sakusa’s hands were shaking. “Omi-San can you look at me?” He does. “It’s gonna be ok, I promise. We’re going to help you do whatever you want to ok, Omi-san?” Sakusa begins to come back to himself and Bokuto hands him a water bottle. 

Atsumu kneels in front of him torn. “Omi-Omi... I’m sorry- I didn’t know. I thought you told her.” 

He waves the setter off. “It’s not your fault for saying something I should have said a long time ago.” Sakusa bites the inside of his cheek as he stands up.

“What are you going to do Omi-san? I’m sure Y/N-chan will forgive you, you just have to-”

Sakusa cuts Hinata off. “I’m not going to do anything.” He tells them. “She deserves a lot better than me.” Then he just walks away from them.

And while he wholeheartedly believes that he doesn’t deserve you, he still can’t help but want to try. Because even if this started off as some silly bet, he loved you, more than he ever thought he could. He still wanted to give you the world, because you were his.

A/N: Ahhhhh that was exciting. I was originally going to make this shorter and do more of the characters but I found myself just writing and not stopping. I hope the panic attack scene wasn’t too bad for some of you. I’ve had maybe 1 or two and I wish there would have been someone there to help me through it. Pt.2??

Requests

[helpinghanikan]

Sleeping arrangements

Avengers (and Matt Murdock x Reader)

Sum:  It's late and the bed is so nice. It's time to sleep and to bring your heroes along with you. (Fluffy little snippets of sleepy time with the Avengers)

Steve Rogers:

It’s the last train home and only one thing in this world is warm. The wall of Steve Rogers your head rested against was beating softly through the jacket and shirt he wore. Keeping your arms around his center to keep any of the heat from getting away. His own arm protects around your shoulders, keeping you in and gibing his hand something to do instead.

He could’ve driven, he should’ve driven, instead he wanted to take the train. He wanted to walk around like he did years and years before, but this time with your hands intertwined.

Although far away the train has started to shake the earth. Taking you out of the almost sleeping world and back into this cold one. The change in worlds brings out a yawn and lets the cold back in. It’s been a long day. With your eyes closed and clothes heavier than they could ever be Steve was the only thing keeping you up. His chin rests on your head after a while, thumb rubbing over your shoulder as the train finally pulled to a stop.

Inside it was the same story but in a seated position. Guided into his lap and landing with a groan as it was just so much work. The practically empty strain allowed your legs to stretched straight out over the seats.

Steve could stay awake longer than most, but he was tired. He was cold and annoyed and really wished he had driven instead of taking this stupid train. He took his frustration out on squeezing you tight, holding on as if you were liable to fall right out of the seat if he let go. At least it was warmer inside the train.

Tony Stark:

Someone staying up late, not getting enough sleep, and making exhaustion their personality trait is funny for maybe week. But After days of trying to coax him to come to bed, to try something other than just giving up on sleep or even talking to a doctor it gets concerning. After weeks of these same issues, it becomes frustrating.

Everyone, from Pepper to Peter have done their fair share of lecturing. Happy has gone out of his way in helping you get the dumbass to appointments. All of which he has walked right out because, unfortunately, he was still an adult who could make his own decisions.

It’s only after using the nuclear word that he pays attention.

“Anthony,” You say just before he leaves the room.

Although speaking to his back he does stop. His shoulders have tensed under the t-shirt and he’s listening in.

There’s an audio book’s worth of things you could say about this issue. But it would all be a repeat that he’s heard before, from many different mouths. Instead, you kept it simple, not even bothering to turn on the light.

“You didn’t even try.” It comes out from a tired partner just wanting the best for him. Yet Tony walks away from the advice, again.

Thor:

Power doesn’t stop for sleep. It’s still in the air when he’s laying sideways towards the window. Because of the whole nighttime thing it’s hard to tell if clouds are actually coming in or darkening. Maybe you’re just insane but Mr. Weatherman didn’t say anything about rain tonight, right?

It was a jolt that really woke you up. Looking over your shoulder at the expanse of muscular back. Thor movements were always a bit too…loud for this world. Whether running through a fight or moving in his sleep it calls attention to everyone. He doesn’t mean to, but it does wake you up enough to see your glass is dryer as a bone.

As if reading your mind, the rain has come down. It could almost be described as torrential how hard it was all coming down. Matching the dramatics of rain, a lightning strike coming straight down into some poor tree.

This wasn’t the first time Thor had a nightmare. Asgardians just seemed to be humans 2.0, making Thor just as a victim to horror as we humans are. At the same time, he was still another worldly being, translating to giving him a few feet when waking him up.

Another strike of lightening and another tree is taken out of this world. Without the lights on that blast was your only moment of lightening. The rest of the journey made to Thor’s side of the bed was done in darkness and pounding rain. Following the outlined Asgardian until reaching his shoulder. A gentle hand on his should does nothing. A little shake and a whispered “Thor,” finally does the trick.

The two strikes of lightening outside somehow reached his eyes. For the briefest of seconds blue, cracking energy is directed right at you. Stopping just as quickly as they appeared, replaced with Thor’s regular blue eyes that blink a few times.

“What is it?” he asks.

There’s no point in telling him the truth about his nightmares and their effect. Then again, there’s no point in lying either. Instead, it’s better to distract. “It’s still super early. Back to bed.” You say instead, kissing with until he takes the hit and holds you.

Bucky Barnes:

Sleep is a luxury that isn’t worth chasing. With the pillows and sheets there were nightmares and enemies that could sense his weakness. Trying to get at least six hours and all that guarantees is waking up sweaty and a call to doc, making sure to get everything back in order before you could ever notice.

Instead, he takes walks. Maps out the city at night, the changes and differences that happened without him. He recognizes the buildings, the structures and bricks that were too strong to be a victim to time.

Most of the time he does this alone. Watching a show about nothing until you were asleep before starting his walk. But there were times you catch him, calling out to him like the neighborhood cat trying to get away. Getting on your own shoes and jacket quickly. Then enforcing the handholding during the little adventure.

It’s only when passing by something important that words are shared. “One of my buddies worked here when this place was a mechanic. Broke his leg just before the draft, I still think it was on purpose.” He’d say then never bring it up again.

These walks are always shorter than most. After two times Bucky learned when to make the loop back home with you. When your building comes back into view the handholding has gotten sweaty. The walking had slowed to a crawl and you were dragging him down by the arm. Even less talking was done after getting through the door; just landing face down onto the bed without bothering about the shoes.

These kind of walks were Bucky’ favorite.

Natasha Romanoff:

The bed was used almost exclusively for sleeping. As the couch was both comfy and expensive. And, as Nat puts it, “Should we do it with the lights off too? Under the covers like grandparents?” Although it was probably another reason to use the overpriced couch more often.

Like any good, and overworked, soldier Nat could sleep anywhere. When a mission is done, and there’s nothing to worry about, a shower and a nap is the best in the world.

“I smell nice,” She says walking into the living after the shower. Steam still behind her, hair wrapped up and a sweater purposefully bought to be several sizes too big.

She stretches and lays over you like a cat. Resting as close as possible so you, too, can smell the expensive shampoo she uses. Making sure that the body wash isn’t ignored either as that, too, was expensive.

“Might as well spend this pay on something,” She says when asked about the prices.

Although she asks what you’re up to she won’t be awake for the answer. Already teetering into sleep land when you answer.

Natasha was as athletic as she was heavy. Only sometimes managing to carry her bridal style and most of the time having to walk/guide her into the bedroom. Either letting her drop onto the bed with the same weight you had carried in, or she holds fast and takes you down with her.

Just like a cat, Natasha gets to decide cuddle time.

T’challa:

Although the mattress was new, the bed’s size was traditional, and passed on through generations of rulers. Forget California king bed, A Wakanda king bed was that and a half. Ten feet length, twelve feet tall. Combined with blankets, pillows and more it was easy to disappear into the thing. But it was also easy to get lost in it all.

In the middle of the night, in the very center of this ocean of bed, you can reach out forever. Finding pillows (both the decorative and the usable kind), smaller blankets or stuffed animals that have managed to be added. But it’s a tiresome journey, one that doesn’t seem to have an end even as you stretched to pointed toes and fingers.

It’s only after touching body heat that you can relax. Finally finding your king that turns to your touch. Making his own journey through sheets and bedding. Using you as the trail into his love. Neither of you thinking about the absolute nightmare it will be to make this bed tomorrow.

Pietro Maximoff:

For most of his life Pietro is moving. Be it running or just running his mouth, he’s not the kind of guy to sit still. Unfortunately, this also applies to sleeping.

“He’s been sleep walking since we were children,” Wanda once said. “Our father once found him crying in a puddle. He had slipped and woken up in the street. He’ll deny crying, though.”

As an adult Pietro doesn’t actively get up and walk around anymore. The man made up of strong and lean muscle still moves quite a bit. Waking up from freezing feet finding yours or because he’s sat upright in bed again. Using soft, but firm, pressure to get him to lay back down or to guide him back to his side of the bed. If you weren’t careful his arms would find you, almost dragging you back to his side of the bed.

He'd deny it in the morning. Smiling with barely open eyes as you’re still pressed against him. No matter how much you’re going to insist this was his fault he’d still mock you. Nuzzling in since you insist on cuddling so much.

Peter Parker:

There’s a time limit next when sitting next to Peter. You have ten minutes before his head finds your shoulder. If you don’t shrug or lean away he’ll stay there, slowly leaning in until he’s all settled.

Although not completely asleep he does rest. If your hands are held in those moments you could probably feel his pulse slow down as his breathing slows. Maybe his eyes manage to stay open, but his eyes do get heavy. Someone could say his name, and he’d respond, but it be from his throat. An annoyed groan directed to whoever was ruining this moment. Even if it was usually a teacher or adult.

It’s only when traveling, and you’re sitting for a while, that he completely falls asleep. Progressing past just leaning his head and adding his arms. If you allow him, putting an arm around your back and the other over your center. With your own arm over his back, he sleeps in a position that, although sweet, always left a pain in his neck. Something he’d complain about until you ask if he want’s you to rub his shoulders.

Stephen Strange:

During aura projection Stephen’s body is dead weight. No muscles or bone working with the individual trying to help them. It’s just taken over by gravity and his entire weight wants to be on the floor. Sleep does the same thing.

Short of a bucket of water to his face he won’t wake up. Part of his experience in med school was taking every bit of use sleep could give him. Which leads to sleeping fast, and sleeping hard, usually opened mouth. No snoring yet, but the moment he does there’s an open target for shutting him up.

Matt Murdock:

It’s a mixture of meditation and caffeine that he is still functioning. Too busy, much too busy, as a lawyer for the two of you to share a bed most of the time. Making any comments you have about his sleep schedule mute.

Watching him doesn’t change give any information either. Coffee in the morning, some deep breathing and self-centering in the between moments at work, and sleep ins on days off were all you could gather. Between that it’s easier to just assume he’s fine.

Just laugh at his “not like I need to rest my eyes,” jokes and move on.

Carol Danvers:

After going through every time change known to man, alien and beyond Carol has developed a very specific still. Carol Danvers, woman with the power of a star and to sleep literally anywhere at any time. Be it a cleared-out corner of some ship, an open floor that keeps her hidden from passersby or on your lap. The latter being her personal favorite.

Like a massive golden retriever, she wants to be in the middle of your lap. Close as possible with a arm holding around your shoulder and the other on her toy, or phone.  A being of wiry muscle and heat keeping you pinned to the couch. Most of the time she’s out ten minutes into the movie, most of the time the remotes’ out of reach, and most of the time you gotta go pee.

[sevendeadlymorons]

Hey I’m that one anon from a while back that sent those long ass paragraphs about Lilith and Simeon, remember me? Anyway I know I’m very late to the party, but some of the boys are either getting to much hate or too much love over here (in my opinion) so I made a pros and cons list for all of them, I’m sorry- (I’m warning you now this will be long but I’ll put it in bullet points so it’s a bit easier to read, just read it whenever your mentally ready lol)

Lucifer (I hate this man.)

Pros

He’d help a lot with getting your life together wether that be finding a job, choosing the right college or other shit like that

He’d make sure your working hard and getting everything done, which is both a blessing and a curse tbh

He would be the one to take the most care of you whenever your ill psychically

Cons

He would probably overwork you

Doesnt have much time to spend on you and doesn’t make a effort to find more time unless your getting really sad about it

Probably wouldn’t be the best of help through issues with mental illness (he just doesn’t strike me as that type, feel free to disagree)

His pride would cause some serious problems in relationships :/

Mammon (I love this man.)

Pros

He’s the “if your sad, I’m sad” kind of guy so he does whatever he can to put a smile on your face

Makes his affection towards you known once he’s comfortable enough, mostly through things like hugs and head pats tho

He shows off anything you make, and I mean anything (you gave him a drawing? After showing it to everyone he puts it on the fridge. You wrote something? He reads it to everyone then puts it in his notebook to reread later, I think you get where I’m going with this)

Cons

There would probably be some communication issues due to his tsundere nature and habit of ignoring you when he’s mad

He’d get super mad at you when your trying to help him financially, maybe it’s a ego thing or maybe he’s just tired of hearing it

While his possessiveness is cute at times he’d definitely get way to overbearing if you don’t force him to cool it

Levi (I kin this man.)

Pros

He’d try to set up designated hangout times (like Friday is movie night, Tuesday is for RPGs etc)

Wanna spend time with him but aren’t very into what he’s into? While it will be harder to bond with him because of this I think if you REALLY wanted to hang with him he’d at least try to meet you in the middle (like if you like sports he’ll offer to play wii sports lol)

Insecurities getting you down again? Well never fear, levi is here! He’d find characters with flaws similar to those you see in yourself to prove that they don’t really matter (and since he struggles with insecurity himself he’d know how you feel and be one of the best at helping you through them)

Cons

Even if he makes an effort to meet you in the middle if you have different interests he’d refuse to get into “normie” stuff

He’ll guilt trip you constantly, even if it’s not on purpose (“Oh your hanging out with Asmo today? I get it, of course you’d wanna hang out with somebody cool and perfect like Asmo and not a gross yucky otaku like me”)

You have to initiate almost everything Hugs? You hug first. Handholding? You reach out to him. Confessions? You seriously thought he’d be the one to confess first??

Satan

Pros

Similar to Lucifer he’d be good at helping you get your life together and putting you on the right track

Unlike Lucifer, he’d actively make time for date nights and/or hangouts multiple times a week wether your going out for dinner or reading in front of the fireplace

While he himself might not be best at helping with comfort in the moment, he’d be great to turn to if you needed a long time treatment (you need a therapist? He’s got the best three in your area that you can afford and he found some helpful things you can do in this book)

Cons

As stated previously, he’s not the best with comfort, which can be an issue if you need a friend/partner who can be your biggest source of comfort (I’m not saying he’ll do nothing, it’ll just be kinda awkward ig)

If you vent to him about something he’ll always offer advice and while that can be good, sometimes all you want is someone to listen to you and getting advice can be annoying in the moment

I feel like hanging out with him you’d rarely ever get to talk about pointless things, everything would be serious you know? And while serious and deep conversations are good for bonding, some people (myself included) need to be able to talk about dumb things without having it turn philosophical

Asmo

Pros

He’s the best at boosting your confidence, there’s no competition

He’s more into spontaneous outings (he suddenly got the urge to go shopping, your coming with right?)

You can talk about just about anything with him, no judgment and he’ll never speak a word of it to anyone else if you don’t want him to (although he may brag to his brothers that you told him your secrets)

High emotional IQ

Cons

He has set things of things he’s interested in and his idea of trying the things your into is doing whatever it is for about 5 seconds then deciding it’s not for him

He cares a lot about looks, I don’t mean he’ll hate you or insult you cause he thinks your ugly, I mean he’ll constantly try to do your makeup, hair, and nails and he’ll always say things like “Your hair is a bit messy today, did you brush it? Yes? Well not good enough, let me do it” and “your wearing that out? There’s nothing wrong with it, I just think you’d look a lot cuter in this” and if your anything like me, that’ll get on your nerves a lot

While he’s great with emotional issues, if it’s a problem with anything like school or your job he’ll have no solution to offer, all you’ll get is a “You can do it!” and a good luck kiss

Narcissistic, need I say more?

Beel

Pros

He’s the best person to vent to, no judgment and tons of hugs and comfort food

He’s a mom friend, no explanation needed

Very supportive and always concerned for your health

Your in trouble? Call beel, he’ll help you and make sure your home safe before questioning you and will only lecture you out of love (unlike a certain older brother that will lecture you because “Your tarnishing Diavlo’s reputation by acting out like this. Your an exchange student, you must abide by the rules and behave yourself.”)

Cons

Food is his answer to everything (Sad?Food. Injured? Food. School’s stressful? Food plus a little help studying) and while food can be good for comfort, sometimes you need him to provide more than a snack

He’s the opposite of Satan in the sense that he’ll almost never offer advice when you rant to him, he just assumes getting it all out is help enough and won’t offer much more then a hug and food

Not getting along with one of his brothers? “They can be a handful, but they’re great people once you learn to handle the chaos” yeah he rarely thinks what his brothers did is a big deal so he gives you advice on how to apologize and get past it and he’ll give you food

Belphie (he really does attract the mentally ill people huh-)

Cons

I feel like he’d be good for certain people with social anxiety and people who have issues with always being scared about being a bad person (“you think your a bad person and are becoming more and more toxic by the day? Well your a better person than Lucifer that’s for sure, wether or not your toxic were going to cuddle now get in bed” or “your worried everyone is constantly staring and judging you for everything you do? Well I don’t really care about what your wearing or the way you walk so I doubt they do either, can we go home now?” ((Side note, I experience both of these issues and his uncaring personality would calm me, which is why I think this one of his pros))

He just wouldn’t care about whatever type of life style you lead and as someone who’s constantly scared of being judged for their lifestyle this would be amazing (“you sleep all the time? Same let’s nap together” “You don’t eat very healthy? Whatever, it’s fine, can we sleep now?” ((although it is a double edged sword))

He gets a burst of energy and just does the most random things (you see that tree? He’s already climbed half way up it. That petting zoo? He’s already feeding the lambs. That store? He’s already spent 30 grim)

Cons

Just like his twin he thinks every problem has one solution, but instead of food he thinks the solution is sleep (your sick? Sleep is the best medicine. A lot of homework? If you sleep you don’t have to think about it.)

At some point he just doesn’t care enough, if you come to him with a serious issue he’ll half listen to you rant then pull you down to sleep

He teases you a lot, which is fine teasing is fun, but he takes it too far. Maybe he touched on something your insecure about or he was too merciless, whatever it was, he won’t apologize for it, he just thinks your being sensitive. If he brought up some bad memories he’ll consider it, but his way of apologizing is cuddling

He doesn’t wanna do something? You guys aren’t gonna do it. You don’t wanna do something? Too bad, he wants to so your gonna.

I’m sorry this is so long- I tried to shorten it I swear- but anyway if you disagree I’m with anything, I wanna hear what you think

And even tho Beel doesn’t get much screen time and more serious moments, I think his character is way more then hunger

Random but I wanna add that other then Levi I kin Tamaki from mha and Ranpo from bsd

Dude do you just like torturing poor college students? This is so much to read, I’m about to cry 😭

I agree with the Lucifer part actually! Tho I do kinda thing he’s be good emotion support in some ways, for me, anyway. I feel like he may lack empathy that is needed in a stable relationship. Yes, he may be able to tell you with shit and honestly, he’d book my doctors appointments when I’m too anxious too so yknow. But yeah

Also agree with mammon. He’s a jackass when he wants to be, and I know he may not mean it, but his words are still hurtful in a lot of ways and he just can’t convey those emotions that’re needed in a loving relationship. But he’s so sweet and will show you off so it’s all good~

As much as I love Levi, I agree. He manipulates and guilt trips you throughout the entire game. It can’t be healthy in relationships but that don’t stop me from loving that sweet otaku boy 😔🖤

I agree with Satan too. I don’t have much to say but he’s avatar of wrath for a reason, for a start, and he honestly looks like he’d prefer talking about books than that funny thing that happened in class that made you laugh earlier

Agreed with Asmo too. Sometimes he may just get overbearing and the narcissism and the constant need to make you look better and improve you may get irritating

I agree with Beel. I don’t think he can comprehend that food isn’t an answer to everything and as a person who doesn’t cope with food and relatively hates it, he won’t be any help to me emotionally. He’s so sweet but he just won’t give you that proper support

I love Belphie so so much but I absolutely agree. He’s one of the most unbothered brothers who won’t care what you look like, yes, but that also means compliments may come rarely and like his twin, “sleep is the answer to everything” I can admit I like to sleep but I have a manic side that comes with insomnia and if he’s dragging me down and not letting me move and I just cannot sleep, I’m gonna get irritated and pissed off.

This got a bit long on my end too. I just really liked how you worded this and it was fun to see pros and cons of the ‘perfect’ brothers

I think Beel is more than food too, but I just don’t particularly like him either way cuz I’m not really a foodie so I can’t relate with him lmao

[bloodraven55]

“But Bumbleby was rushed/forced to pander to the gays—”

There are a number of glaring flaws in this argument, most of all the fact that no straight relationship is ever called “forced” or “pandering” even if people don’t like it, let alone “rushed” when it’s only on the verge of officially happening seven seasons into the show, but I want to break down all of the many levels on which it’s wrong in order to hopefully kill it once and for all.

“It came out of nowhere—”

Jaune was crushing on Weiss the second he saw her, Sun was crushing on Blake the moment he saw her, Pyrrha developed feelings for Jaune in just one Volume and showed some interest from the moment she saw him, and Blake goes from being consistently annoyed at Sun throughout Volumes 1 and 2 to suddenly having a crush on him in Volume 3.

If Bumbleby supposedly “came out of nowhere,” then so did W/hite Knight, A/rkos, and B/lacksun. But no one ever has an issue with the speed at which those characters started having romantic interest in each other. And I’m not even saying they should—they’re all very valid ships and whether they came out of nowhere or not isn’t the point of this—but there’s a clear double standard applied to same sex ships as opposed to heterosexual ships here and it invalidates this point right out of the gate.

“It was rushed—”

Blake and Yang are only just now close to becoming an official couple after more than six whole Volumes of knowing each other. There is no possible universe where this would qualify as “rushed.” Again, W/hite Knight and B/lacksun albeit both one-sided at least to begin with both became obvious things within literal episodes of the characters meeting, and Jaune and Pyrrha were showing blatant romantic interest in each other by Volume 2 before kissing in Volume 3.

In the last case you can argue that it went at a faster pace because Pyrrha was going to die, but that doesn't change the fact that no one complained that it went too quickly—or about the other two ships I mentioned which were both initially based solely on one (1) instance of a guy showing interest in a girl—and yet people say it’s too soon for Blake and Yang to get together when they’ve had over twice as long for their relationship to develop.

“The shippers forced it into the show—”

I don’t think I even need to add any more here when the words of CRWBY speak for themselves.

“Toxic shippers think everything is gay—”

I mean, I’m gay and I only truly ship a handful of the possible same sex pairings in the show—certainly far from the majority of them—and I also ship a number of straight ships, but go off I guess.

I already made a post on this here, but it’s insanely dismissive and ridiculous for heterosexual people i.e. the ones who usually use this “argument” to assume that they know better than actual LGBT+ people what is or isn’t good LGBT+ representation, and for them to assume that just because they missed build up that it therefore isn’t there.

I can’t take someone seriously when they go into a discussion determined to believe that they’re already right and don’t listen to a word you say to prove otherwise, especially when they’re debating on a topic which doesn’t directly affect them and which they don’t have the same level of firsthand knowledge of.

“The wasps only care about Blake and Yang getting in each other’s pants—”

Actually, it’s the people who are most aggressively against Blake and Yang being a couple that tend to reduce their relationship to being entirely about sex even though they haven’t had a single remotely sexual interaction in the show, but if this were true then surely Bumbleby shippers would be very unhappy with the show because Blake and Yang have still not “got in each other’s pants,” or “swapped clit juice” as I once saw someone tastefully describe it?

But that isn’t right. Because in general us Bee shippers are currently exceedingly happy with everything that’s happening in the show to do with Blake and Yang’s relationship. So how can that be if all we care about is whether they fuck or not?

The answer is of course that we don’t only care about whether they fuck or not—in fact most of us couldn’t care less whether it’s ever so much as hinted that they have sex, both because the show almost certainly won’t ever go there and because that isn’t our priority—we’re just enjoying watching them fall in love.

Honestly this argument is one of the most lazy because one look at RWBY will tell you that none of the romances are at all sexual thus far so any shippers who truly only care about that aspect wouldn’t stick around very long when they’ll just end up disappointed. And of course the way that these people inherently view same sex relationships as sexual is homophobic and disgusting too.

“CRWBY rushed it to give the rabid shippers what they want—”

Like the last two points, this is a “criticism” that I’ve only ever seen levelled at same sex ships and never straight ships, so it’s yet another example of double standards and hypocrisy, but that’s only the start of what’s wrong with it.

The most galling thing about this is that these people insist that all LGBT+ people because as I’ve already mentioned that is always the group which statements like this are aimed at just want to see two characters of the same gender make out as soon as possible, which is simply not true.

No one would ever claim that straight people just want to see a man and a woman get it on as soon as possible and dismiss the worth of a straight relationship because of it. So it’s ridiculous to try and force that logic onto shippers of same sex ships, who are primarily LGBT+ people themselves.

If anything, we care even more about the quality of our ships—how healthy they are, whether they’re well built up or not, etc.—because we hardly have any to begin with in comparison. If one straight ship is rushed or poorly written, then there are plenty of well-handled ones to choose from instead, but the same isn’t the case for same sex ships.

We want to be represented well, which means that we want healthy relationships with plenty of development where the characters actually have chemistry and complement each other. We might still support rushed or badly-written same sex ships sometimes because it’s still representation which we are overall sorely lacking, but we don’t want them.

“But they ship baited with Blake and Sun—”

First off, straight ships can’t be baited the same way that same sex ships can. It’s simply not a comparable situation. But of course B/lacksun shippers are entitled to feel disappointed that their ship didn’t become canon. That’s utterly valid and understandable. However, that doesn’t mean that the writers or the show in any way misled viewers regarding what was happening.

“But Sun winked at Blake—”

And Yang also winked at Blake in Volume 2 while asking her to the dance, just like Sun winked at Blake in Volume 1 and then asked Blake to the dance. And Blake turned Sun down when he asked initially, specifically told him that they were only “technically” going together when she ran into him outside, and told him definitively that she had chosen to give her first dance to Yang.

“But Blake blushed at Sun—”

And now she’s also blushed at Yang, in a far more intimate scene at that. Next point.

“But Sun met Blake’s parents—”

And? Simply meeting someone’s parents doesn’t on any level automatically imply romance. Ghira didn’t even like Sun, and while a lot of people like to claim that Kali “ships it” which would be extremely flimsy evidence to base the canonicity of a ship on anyway, she’s someone who would do the same with anyone Blake brought home so it means nothing. If Blake had actually chosen to take Sun home with her herself then this would be a valid point, but she didn’t, so it has no weight whatsoever overall.

“But Blake kissed Sun on the cheek—”

And I kiss my mother on the cheek the exact same way every time I say goodbye to her. If you think that type of kiss on the cheek has to be romantic then quite frankly I’m not sure what world you’re living in. If the camera had been close up, if there had been any shots at all of their reactions, any blushing or lingering looks, a more private setting— literally anything to give it some actual weight and make it feel significant, then this might mean something, but it’s framed as a totally platonic goodbye with zero romantic coding.

And that’s without even mentioning the fact that right after that moment Sun flat out states that his time with Blake was “never about [romance],” which sort of kills the idea that anything about that scene was supposed to be taken as romantic. There was no reason to include that line except to make it clear to the audience that Sun and Blake parted ways as friends who now have no intention of ever becoming anything more.

Seriously, if they wanted us to think that there was still something there, then Blake would have been shown to be thinking about or missing Sun even one since they separated, but he hasn’t been brought up for even a second. If they wanted to set up a continuation of anything romantic for them when the group reach Vacuo, say, then they would have started doing it by now.

Plus the reverse argument that Blake and Sun have never hugged or held hands—both of which Blake and Yang have done multiple times—works just as well, perhaps even better since handholding is a well-established romantic cue in the show already thanks to A/rkos, R/enora, and O/zma and Salem.

“But why was Sun even there in Volumes 4 and 5 then—”

Because Blake needed a friend who she could exposition to about her thought processes and personal problems so that the audience could understand what she was going through, and she wasn’t as likely to open up to her parents about that stuff right away when she was convinced they’d hate her for leaving.

Sun was there to support Blake as she developed and to tell her that running away hurt the very people she was trying to protect. That was his narrative role in that arc. There was nothing to indicate that a romance was being built in those more than twenty episodes they spent together and if it was going to happen that would have been the time to do it.

On the other hand Blake and Yang’s shared arc together is built on the fact that Blake’s romantic ex, who Blake had already directly contrasted with Yang and whose Semblance was already a foil to Yang’s, maimed Yang specifically because Blake loves her. The basis of that arc has romantic weight, which is what makes the difference here. Though the scene at the end of Volume 3 where Adam takes Yang’s arm isn’t romantic in and of itself, I should clarify, it just has romantic significance in that it makes it clear that Blake and Yang’s feelings go beyond mere friendship.

In short, the summary of this whole section pretty much boils down to: two characters spending time together doesn't inherently equal romantic development, and it isn’t in any way “baiting” if those two characters don’t then get together.

The characters’ feelings follow a fairly logical progression over the course of the show, with Blake showing interest in both Sun and Yang in V1-V3, then ceasing to show interest in Sun after that as their relationship becomes totally platonic by Volume 5/the beginning of Volume 6 at the very latest, while the events of the Fall of Beacon only solidified how strong her feelings for Yang were and once she reunites with Yang their relationship begins to head towards romance.

It’s a pretty realistic depiction of how human feelings work, and a far less messy situation than in a lot of other shows where there isn’t the same massive level of hatred and vitriol towards the “victorious” pairing, because this was never even really presented as a love triangle or rivalry.

To conclude, I just want to list some of the contradictions that I’ve seen within the arguments made against Bumbleby, because I think it’s very telling that the people who are against it can’t even settle on one coherent narrative on why it’s bad.

“Bumbleby has no development, but also the show focusses too much on Bumbleby.”

“Monty wouldn’t have wanted Bumbleby—it goes against his vision—even though I didn’t know him and have no idea what his vision actually was, and he explicitly stated that he wanted LGBT+ characters in the show who might already be in the main cast and that he wanted Blake and Yang to have a shared arc together, as well as being responsible for the set up of that arc with Blake and Yang being introduced as Beauty and the Beast while Adam canonically represents Gaston.”

“The Bumbleby shippers have so much influence that they forced the writers to make the ship canon, but they’re also just a vocal minority who don’t matter.”

“Blake and Yang hardly interact—they’re barely even friends—but they also interact too much and it’s making Bumbleby take over the show.”

“Arryn is a victim of the toxic wasps who harrassed her and sent her death threats for saying that the song Bmblb doesn't automatically make the ship canon, which there is zero evidence of,  but Arryn is also an unprofessional cunt for expressing her support of Bumbleby.”

“None of Blake and Yang’s scenes together are romantic so Bumbleby is forced, but even when they have undeniably romantic interactions I’ll ignore them or deny that they mean anything so I can still pretend it has no build up.”

“Bumbleby is bad because Team RWBY are a sisterhood, but all of the other straight relationships within teams—even those who’ve flat out called each other ”family”—are fine, and I’ll just pretend that there aren’t other definitions of the word sisterhood which have nothing to do with actual sisters and are the ones that actually apply in this case.”

“Blake and Yang’s relationship could be seen as romantic or platonic, but I personally think they’re just friends so Bumbleby is bad and came out of nowhere.”

I’ve seen all of these countless times with my own two eyes and it’s absolutely hilarious to be honest. Anyway that’s it. I have yet to see a single logical argument as to why Bumbleby is bad that isn’t made in bad faith, fallacious, or just doesn’t hold up when you actually look at the show. It’s about to be canon, and at this point to be honest anyone who doesn't like that can simply accept it or go and watch something else that will pander to their specific tastes instead.

[uh-drarry]

Can i ask what the difference between ace and aro is? If not thats totally fine! I was just curious, have a lovely day ♥️

Of course!! I hope you are having a lovely day as well, nonnie. Thanks for the ask! I’m not an expert but I have done a lot of research since realizing I was both ace and aro but I only recently realized this within the last six months so I’m going to give kind of broad terms and they both definitely have more definitive terms depending on the person using them. Ace is short for Asexual. Aro is short for Aromantic. (As I type this Aromantic is showing as a spelling error, and if that doesn’t tell you anything about how underrepresented that community is idk what will). This got a bit long, so I am putting it all under the cut.

Asexual people feel little to no sexual attraction. The opposite of this is Allosexual, meaning you do feel sexual attraction. Asexual is an umbrella term and there’s many micro labels under it as well. This doesn’t mean aces don’t have a libido though. Some people have high or low libidos and are still Ace because it’s about sexual attraction. Asexual people sometimes define themselves as one of the following, sex favorable (does enjoy sex, but possibly won’t initiate it themselves, or they could live without it but are happy to partake as far as I understand), sex positive (this can mean the previous, or, like me, they encourage others to have sex if they want it, and believe safe sex should be taught, etc.), sex neutral (they might enjoy sex, but eh, that’s cool if they never do it again, or ever), and sex repulsed (might get nauseous at the thought of it, never wants to partake, depending who they are they might not want to see it, hear it, watch it, etc even within media, nothing). Back to feeling or not feeling sexual attraction, for example, I have never once looked at, say Chris Hemsworth or Zendaya, and thought “Yeah, they turn me on, I’d have sex with them.” (Honestly the fact that I really had to think to come up with names there, which I think it very telling, I’m laughing at myself). *oversharing probably but trying to help people understand, sorry* Despite the my lack of sexual attraction to anyone, I do feel things, for example, when I read smut or something similar. Ace people might get themselves off, have sex, or never do anything of the sort down there. That kind of thing is about feeling good, you don’t have to think your partner or whatever is sexy in order to do that. If anyone wants to do their own research, AVEN.com (Asexual Visibility and Education Network) is probably a good starting point, or I can rec some blogs here.

Aromantic people feel little to no romantic attraction. Very different from feeling sexual attraction, yes? Basically, take all of what I wrote about being Ace and exchange sex with romance and that’s an aromantic person. I will explain anyway. Just like allosexual, alloromantic people are people who do feel romantic attraction. Romantic attraction is when you want to do romantic coded things with people. Of course romance is a bit harder to define than sex, so it can mean a lot of things to different people. Kissing can be seen as romantic to one person, and another aro person could really enjoy kissing others for example. Personally, I get pretty uncomfortable in romantic situations regarding myself and someone else, which I would probably define as being Romance Repulsed. After learning what this term meant and reading some about it, I really thought of my experiences. I’m pretty sure I’ve never had a crush on anyone, relationships (the brief two that I’ve had) really just felt like friendships. I didn’t initiate anything besides maybe handholding because I didn’t know what to do, or I didn’t even realize that was a thing that most people in that situation would be doing at that point in a relationship. I felt very uncomfortable when a ex tried to take a kiss further than a peck, among other things. Again, being Aromantic doesn’t mean aro people automatically will never have or want romantic relationships. They just don’t feel those feels for people usually. Like AVEN for asexuals, there’s Arocalypse.com for aro people. I have less blogs to rec here, but I can rec some if someone wants it.

There are good examples of different types of attraction, I personally feel platonic attraction which would be the desire to be someone’s friend, as well as aesthetic attraction which is defined below.

People can be one, or both, or neither. I am both, AroAce. People in these communities often use the Split Attraction Model (SAM). Which would be like someone stating that they are Asexual Homoromantic, or Aromantic Heterosexual, or Aromantic Pansexual, among many other combos.

Because I do feel aesthetic attraction, pretty much solely towards women, I define myself as an Oriented AroAce, or Lesbian AroAce. If I ever did end up in a relationship with someone, I can only ever imagine it to be with a woman. Again though, that’s just one microlable among so many that are out there.

This is a huge list of identities and labels, it overwhelms be tbh, but I’m linking it here anyway because it’s very informative.

I assume this ask was in response my reblog here. Yes I get very annoyed when people treat these two orientations as the same thing, despite me identifying as both. As I hope you can now see, they are very different things. A lot of the time, I enjoy reading about romance and sometimes sexual relationships, but sometimes I want to read other peoples thoughts, fics, posts, etc about only one of these and the Aro/Aromanticism tag is flooded with posts about asexuality which really doesn’t help people who are trying to learn about aromanticism or wanting specific content.

One more point before I wrap this up. I read a book because I wanted to see if it’d help me know for sure if I was demisexual (definition can be found in the huge list I linked two paragraphs up, or on google), and it actually made me realize I was aroace and I am forever grateful for it so I will rec it here. It’s called Loveless by @aliceoseman and it has quickly become my favorite book. So if anyone wants to read about a fictional character realizing they’re aroace, this is a fantastic book. I related so much to Georgia, it’s crazy. Also her other works are fantastic.

Remember you are not alone! Experts believe that 1% of the population is ace (and I think it’s the same for aro people) and that might sound like no one but, guys, theres 7.8 billion people on this planet. That means theres 78 million people like us! I ended up finding a lot of ace people to follow on twitter as well by the way.

This might be a hot take to some but the A in LGBTQIA+ does not mean ally! It’s for Asexual, Aromantic, and Agender! And we do belong in the queer community because the queer community is for people who aren’t straight, cis, or amatonormative. Wow, I hope this all makes sense, if any of you are confused or have more thoughts, or I messed something up, UNLESS YOU’RE BEING APHOBIC, add your thoughts, or message me!

Side note: Do please send me recs of people to follow, books, fics, shows, whatever, I am always searching for new content within these orientations!

[toonstarterz]

BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #163

Ah, summer. The season of no school, bright skies, pools, barbeques, and brief teenage romance.

Okay, so it’s not quite summer vacation yet. But nonetheless, the new season gives way for all sorts of fun shenanigans. None of it ever really enters “drama” territory (as dramatic as this series can be, that is), but as Tomoko’s last year of high school nears the halfway point, we discover that there’s still quite a bit we don’t know about our cast of knuckleheads.  

Chapter 163: Because I’m Not Popular, It’s Summer

I think it can be inferred that Tomoko is not a morning person, is she?

I think it can also be inferred that the once-aspiring NEET Tomoko is not a fan of hot weather. Better soak up that Vitamin D, girl.

Parasol Lady Asuka would like to battle!

Are parasols more prominent in Eastern culture? They’re not too terribly common where I’m from, but I imagine that may be a result of Japan having more of an aversion towards anything that would result in darker skin. Though I can also see it as a sort of fashion opportunity as well.

I believe those were umbrellas you used, Tomoko. But semantics aside, It’s pretty neat to see that Tomoko has finally reached that stage in her life where she can recognize her cringy chuunibyou phase. Long live those days of failing miserably at being a cool anime character.

Remember when Tomoko used to slut-shame the girls in her class? I detect a hint of hypocrisy there...

Gyaru!Asuka has already exploded on the imageboards, I guarantee it.

A part of me wonders why Tomoko grouped Kii-chan and Yuri specifically. They don’t have similar personalities or anything, but I see two possible reasons for it. One, Kii-chan and Yuri both got that mild-mannered, “exotic” look going on. But also, it may who Tomoko subconsciously believes she’ll see the most of over the summer.

We’ll, I mean...yeah. They would. It probably doesn’t help that Tomoko, with her lion’s mane, gives the impression of someone too physically active to care much about grooming. But as much as Tomoko derides the possibility of looking like a “sweaty day laborer”, I can’t deny that it’s not a bad look on her.  

The reason for that should be dead obvious by now.

The thing that amuses me is that Tomoko had no basis to start insinuating that Yuri’s a pervert. She just did, and has latched on to the idea ever since. While no doubt annoying for Yuri (even if it’s true), it’s kind of sweet if you see it as Tomoko wanting to have a shared interest with her.

I’m sure that compared to your freckled, “crazy lesbo” best friend, it isn’t. 

It’s funny how Nemo used to give off an air of someone who’s sexually acknowledgeable (at least to me) by virtue of being semi-popular. Now that we know’s she’s relatively pure, Tomoko will never let her live it down.  

Komiyama really is the most two-dimensional character in the series. And you know what?

It works.

In the education industry, we call it the “Perv Curve”.

Komiyama: Self-explanatory.

Hatsushiba: Anatomically-correct BDSM art must have originated from somewhere.

Katou: Yet even more evidence for the almost-openly perverted girl who casually says “vagina”.

Mako: ...wait, what?  

I’m so used to perfect scores being a badge of honor in Japanese media that it through me for a loop to see it suggested as anything else. Perhaps it’s an issue similar to Home Ec in that it’s not seen as educationally significant and only those really invested in the subject would master it. Either way, how lewd. 

Going back to Mako, I am genuinely shocked. Could Yuri’s oh-so-sweet bestie actually have a dirty side? Just when you think you know a gal! Naturally, she has just enough to shame to be embarrassed when its brought up, and I’m not ready to call out Mako as a pervert just yet. At least she has Yoshida to pat her on the back (ironic given the delinquent is now officially the purest one of the Kyoto Group).  

My Pokémon-obsessed mind can only see them as the Haramaku Elite Four, which, given the segment’s title, is highly unoriginal of me.

I’m 97% sure that Kawagoe’s that old geezer teacher we saw during Tomoko’s suspension. We even got that “strict about textbooks” continuity from way back when Tomoko forgot hers. 

All signs point to Minami’s-Faceless-“Friend”-#1 recognizing someone, most likely Yuri, during this little intersection. Curse you, Nico Tanigawa and your wonderful vagueness.

Nope. It’s not gonna work. Nuh-uh. Absolutely not. You aren’t going to make me feel sympathetic for Minami.

...

...

drat.

All that speculation has finally paid off cause we now have confirmation that Minami did(does?) in fact backbite Tomoko and Yuri. Thank goodness for Tomoko’s mental health that she never knew. But Minami’s got some nerve teasing Yuri when she’s actively Mako’s friend. Even more disturbing if Mako doesn’t realize it...

Between that tiny smile in the last panel and her wanting to tease, it’s pretty much certain that Minami’s-Faceless-“Friend”-#1 is not a pleasant person.

Birds of the same feather truly do flock together.

Okay, I cracked. Minami’s too adorable (and pitiful) right here.

I find it telling that even Minami’s “friends” know she’s a jerk. But if what goes around comes around, then Minami’s-Faceless-“Friend”-#1 might not realize she’s a jerk, too. Are most terrible people aware of their own terribleness? 

I don’t want to correlate jerkiness with irresponsibility but...here we are.

Man, that’s playing dirty. Suzuki is more than likely not that close to Minami, but any decent person wouldn’t just outright say “no” to a request like that. Of course, playing up her own supposed likeability through other’s basic kindness is Minami’s M.O.     

In manga and anime, that sort of haughtiness from cute, snaggletoothed girls is adorable in that “sigh, there she goes again” way.

In reality, it’s just annoying as shit. 

At first glance, Kayo’s just making an off-handed question, but my nit-picking mind says otherwise. I’m not sure how insistently heterosexual/romantic Japanese culture is towards male-female relationships, but would most teens show interest in a friend’s opposite gendered sibling? If say, Miyazaki had a little brother, would Kayo even ask Ucchi a question like that?

My theory is that Kayo is subtly trying to ascertain Ucchi’s sexuality. If the idea of Ucchi being gay for Tomoko is already planted in her head, then Kayo is using Tomoki as a “male version” for comparison. Ucchi’s already admitted to the Kuroki siblings being physically similar, so supposedly if she feels nothing towards Tomoki, then it’s Tomoko’s “femaleness” that attracts her.

This wouldn’t even be half as funny if Ucchi didn’t have an emoji face.

If only Komiyama could see this now...

Or, you know what? Maybe gender is irrelevant and Ucchi just has an indiscriminate gross fetish. 

Nemo’s ultra-realistic thoughts behind her cheery demeanor are always welcome.

For all those times that Tomoko pokes fun at Nemo for wanting to live out a slice-of-life school anime, she’s not exactly innocent either. More and more we see Tomoko trying to invoke those cliche moments, usually with little fear. It’s a rather far cry from when she’d try to pull anime tropes as a means to an end. Now she tries them out just for the sake of having fun, which is much more endearing.

In this particular trope, however, normally you’d have a guy and girl stuck inside, where they’d ultimately become more attracted to each other through the suspension bridge effect.

Of course, that’s assuming the boy and girl aren’t already together. If they are, then storage rooms are usually used as a hiding place to make out, but that obviously would never hap–

Oh.

FUCK.

If memory serves, this is the same couple who were flirting(?) back in the head patting chapter. A whole lot must of went down since then, eh?

Murphy’s Law.

It’s been quite a long time since we’ve had one of Tomoko’s infamous freakouts. And they say this series lost its roots.

A part of me wants to think that Nemo hears Tomoko but is pretending not to just to screw with her, but I don’t think she’d be that cruel. Even if it would be hilarious.

Just how far is your “it”, Tomoko. Making out? Groping? HANDHOLDING!?

What am I saying–she’s totally thinking sex.

It’s interesting to note that Tomoko just assumes that Yuri and Mako have never had a boyfriend. Sure, it may be implied given we’ve never seen them have this discussion before (that we know of), but it’s still pretty presumptuous on Tomoko’s part. My only reasoning is that Tomoko is trying to ally themselves over supposed “undesirability” like many self-deprecating friends do.

First off, I am not at all surprised given Mako’s personality.

What does surprise me is how totally betrayed Mako sounds. I can only assume that it’s a part of Mako’s past that she’d rather not reveal. While I don’t think Yuri meant any harm bringing it up, that kind of miscommunication goes to show that even though they’re best friends, Yuri and Mako don’t always see eye to eye.

Sounds like dating to me. Or rather, sounds like dating between high schoolers. At the risk of sounding like an old-ass millennial, dating between high schoolers rarely last, despite what shoujo manga suggests. Casual dating is exactly that–casual. They’re attracted to the novelty of dating, but once that initial thrill wears off, cue the breakup. 

Side note, I just realized that Yuri loosens up her tie. I love small details like that.

Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but Mako seems to be suggesting that girls, on the other hand, aren’t as desperate to get boyfriends. While that isn’t necessarily true, I do see that answer as mostly a convenient excuse for Mako, who may simply just not want to be in a relationship right now.

I can see the “Mako is straight/Mako is lesbian(for Yoshida)” War right now...   

Boy, it’s been a while since Tomoko has contemplated her own popularity, let alone try to be more popular. I guess it goes to show that even though Tomoko is more or less satisfied with her current status, she still sees herself below the bar of what constitutes “popular”. She does perpetuate feminine “purity” as an indicator of her societal value, but I’ll let it be–reality is not so kind, after all. 

One of the more prominent questions that Yuri’s fanboys have is “How come someone as pretty as Yuri isn’t more popular with the boys?”

Well, there you go.

In terms of looks, I never thought Yuri was that unattractive in-universe. She’s in that small niche of “plain and generic, but just cute enough that fans feel they could feasibly ask out a girl like her in real life”. So while it's reasonable to think that at least one person would show interest in her, it's Yuri’s personality that ends up putting them off. She probably isn’t ready to commit to the effort of dating and being someone’s girlfriend. nor does Yuri seem that interested to begin with if her texting habits are anything to go by.

I can’t for the life of me remember the name for it, but I believe that there’s this belief in Japan that says everybody (mostly boys) has that brief period in their life where they’re suddenly attractive and people want to date them. I imagine that Tomoko may actually reach that time in life sooner than she thinks.

PTSD TRIGGERED!! For the readers, I mean.

For real, though. What a comeback. Who would have thought that Kosaka, that guy who was introduced in Chapter FIVE would make his grand return? Normally, making a reappearance this late in the game would feel like an asspull, but it works because he was never meant to drastically affect Tomoko’s growth. He was just the spark, the first hint to show that people could actually befriend her. And for that, we salute you, Umbrella Dude.

It’s been, what? About two years since they last spoke, and he still remembers her? Impressive! Then again, I don’t think you're about to forget the girl who gave you a dogeza.

Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Tell Lies.

These moments where Tomoko is unabashedly a blushing schoolgirl are really precious because she isn’t “perfectly ditzy in that moe sort of way” about it. She gets riled up, sweaty, and unpleasant to watch. Which, ironically, is even more adorable just for how genuine it is.

Yeah, I’m sure the original said “dogeza”, but since there isn’t really a good English equivalent for it, I think “genuflect”...is still an odd choice.

Yuri, who always has her “Tomoko’s BS” meter on high, knows that Tomoko is screwing around when she calls it her “first”. Poor Mako, a now confirmed pervert who still thinks Tomoko is so amazing, thought the girl had popped the guy’s cherry. 

Friendly reminder that eventful summers are not necessarily pleasant summers. Though they could be with the right perspective...

So...Yuri vs. Kii-chan Death Battle when?

The most beautiful part about this ending is that there’s no second-guessing. No “maybe I won’t be lonely” or “I wonder if I’ll be lonely”. Just a very affirmative “I won’t be lonely”. Tomoko fully expects that she’ll be spending time with her friends this summer, and that confidence is more than I ever would’ve expected from Tomoko in previous years.

With summer vacation just over the horizon (don’t want to jump the gun), a medley of both happy, unhappy and delightfully awkward moments are sure to transpire. Just about the only thing Tomoko can plan is the unplanned, and I’ll be sure to get a front-row seat to watch it all.

[evilauthorsclub]

I am soooo here for this GoshiYama thing??? Yamagata has a huge crush on this adorable overenergetic vball nerd, Goshiki thinks his senpai is just the coolest guy ever (second maybe only to Ushijima bc Ushi is the ace)... Imagine these two end up hanging out after school one day, just the two of them, both having a great time and smiling just a little too much... Their first date is a wreck of emotions... When they hold hands for the first time Yamagata is a mESS like you wouldn't believe (1/?)

Oh my God, I’m so here for this! Those two would be so airheaded and oblivious to each other’s feelings, their heads full of volleyball and their admiration for each other, homework completely forgotten as they spend their free time with dreaming about each other. Their thickheadedness would be on a level where only Waka would be more oblivious! AND YOUR HCs!!?!!!?! X__X

OKAY SO I HAD A LOT TO SAY AND ADD TO THIS, SO THE FOLLOWING PART WILL BE UNDER A CUT DUE TO LENGTH. I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY ABOUT THIS, CAUSE I TOTALLY WAS SUPPOSED TO STUDY FOR EXAMS TOMORROW BUT INSTEAD IM THINKING OVER SUFFERING SWANS, YELP!!!!

Imagine them during a practice: Gata praising Goshiki for a great spike that Gata didn’t manage to receive, promptly earning himself a beaming, blushing Goshiki, catapulting Gata close to a heartattack. Gata would be so charmed by Goshiki’s will, his fighting spirit that drives him forward without faltering, not stumbling even when he fails, always urging further forward, closer to his goal, the unwavering faith he has in their team! Gata sees the potential in him, knows that the other 3rd years see that as well, nobody doubting he won’t make it big, becoming an ace of equal quality!

Gosh, and imagine them at each others houses, playing Mario Cart and getting far too deep into it, almost destroying something, little siblings forbidden from entering because of their abundant use of swear words, Gata getting lectured by Semi afterwards because he taught Goshiki bad words! Imagine all their first times: their confessions, their first handholdings, their first kiss-! The thrumming of their hards, beating totally out of tact, Gata unable to comprehend how their little gold boy could like someone as ordinary as him, yet being aware that right now Goshiki thinks only of him, all his overwhelming energy concentrated on Gata; Goshiki stuck in a daze of disbelief as the coolest guy in history (aside from UshiWaka) is actually kISSING HIM!!!! And I have to agree, they would be so disgustingly cute! Always complementing and praising each other, blushing at the smallest things, Goshiki gushing for hours about his super cool and buff boyfriend, all his friends’re already so annoyed about it, but seeing him buzzing with excitement upon the pure thought of seeing Gata soon, glowing in happiness as he gushes, nobody can bring themselves to make him stop.

And then, the angst!! Gata had a bad day: he woke up late, had to eat while running to school, forgot his bento, not enough lunch money, forgot his homework upon his desk, his phone lost for the xth time (probably on his desk next to his homework he assumes, though he isnt sure), his teacher surprised them with an unannounced test he didn’t study for, trying to use their break time to quietly, quickly leave the school building to fetch his missing homework, he happens to run into their principal and then has to spend his lunch time with getting chewed out. he sighs when he leaves, having left 10 minutes before his next class, but instead of finding some calm and relaxation, he overhears some classmates gossiping about another libero from tokyo - an aspiring 2nd year, playing on the same team as Japan’s Nr.1 HS Ace Sakusa Kiyoomi. He hears them wondering why it seems that the best players are at Itachiyama, how even a no-name school like Karasuno got an awarded Libero in their ranks, but Shiratorizawa, who’Re supposed to be the unbeatable champions, seem to have only someone of middle class level? Gata bites back the sickness in his stomach and sinks into another class full of shame as he has to explain to his teacher why he couldn’t hand in their long beforehand announced homework. finally, finally classes are over, but when he enters the changing room, he realises that he forgot to change his sport clothes and has to wear his old, sweaty, stinky ones; Washijou is being furious with him for missing out on morning practice, orders him to run 3x as many rounds around the gym for warm up. he can’t even be upset about yet another punishment; just starts it unusually silent on his own. and then, when he can finally collapse onto the ground to get a quick breather in, thinking there’s no way this day can get any worse, there’s suddenly Goshiki over him. Talking way too fast for Gata to follow, excitement written all over his face and Gata, kneeling in his own sweat, close to dying, nausea in the back of his throat, can only wonder how this boy can have so much energy. Why is it that some people are bestowed with so  much luck and talent, while other’s are not? Why is it that some have to fight day for day for recognition, while others just get without even having to work up a sweat? Why is it that some people were born with talent in their crib but without a single hint of empathy? Why is it that this adorable, cute, strong, obstinate, stubbon, thickheaded, oblivious, clingy, talented, overwhelmingly, annoyingly energetic boyfriend of his not even tires out when he runs more than usually until a coach has to tell him to stop accompanying Gata on his punishment? Why is it that Goshiki can still smile like this when Gata feels worse than dirt; the least bit of trash his team needs? He breaks; everything just gets too much for him and he spits out whatever comes to his mind, just wanting to get rid of everything that’s bothering him, not realising the venom in his word as he spits out word after word. He doesnt realise everyone silently staring at him in shock. Not until a firm hand on his shoulders rips him out of his trance. Not enough to say that their coach is unhappy with him. He is banned for a week from practice, enough time to cool his head they tell him, but all Gata really remembers of that moment is the hurt in Goshiki’s eyes, the tears in his eyes, the confusion… It takes 3 days and Semi’s strict, motherly voice of reason to make Gata go to Goshiki and appologise. Goshiki is upset with him, he has all right, but Gata didn’t expect him to be so open about everything, about his memorisation of every single venomous word Gata spit at him that day, didn’t expect the words Goshiki returns to him to hurt so much, enough to split his  heart in two. Being hit by the full might of his words, Gata finds himself on his knees, in tears, apologisng in helpless desperation for everything he did and said, begging for forgiveness.

Goshiki learns that day that his boyfriend isn’t a super cool and always easy-going, chill superhuman. And Gata learned that also in deepest darkness there can be found a light to guide you. You just have to be willed to actually let go of he dark.

It takes time, and it’s not always a carefree or happy time, but they learnt from mistakes, still learn, adapt to changes in character and setting, in schedule and to new friends. Goshiki’s injury is their yet greatest opponent, but Gata doesn’t give up on him. As many ugly words Goshiki throws at him, as often as he might throw stuff at him, as often as Gata looses his patience with him, Gata never gives up on him. He always remembers what happened back then, how glad he was when Goshiki forgave him, how bad he felt that day, how bad he felt abput hurting Goshikis feelings, and he swears to himself that, however hurtful Goshiki might act towards him, Gata will never make him experience the pain of realisation after having hurt a loved one in blind fury. He knows it might be a useless oath since Goshiki isnt stupid. Once he gets over his injury, once he gets a new outlet for his energy and with it the time to think and feel more than frustrated rage, he’ll realise what he’s done. But despite that, Gata doesn’t intend to let go of Goshiki nor his oath even if he can’t protect his boyfriend from pain or selfhate, he can still stand by his side, shouldering the heavy weight along with him, catching him when he stumbles, not letting him go, even if he has to injure himself for it.

And they make it! Their way back to happiness and sunshine isn’t easy, but they make it. Just as expected, Goshiki wanders close to depression and self-hate, awake at night and wondering how Gata could still stand to be by his side when he was so awful to him? And Gata answers his unspoken question: he proposes to Goshiki, asking him to spend the rest of their lives together; be it in warm sunlight or in cold darkness. Goshiki responds in the only way he can. With tears, smiles and as much skinship as possible. The excitement follows later, when the realisation sets in that ‘no, this wasn’t a drem. this is reality!’

None of them might be famous or super popular now, none of them playing on the national team as starting member as they had always dreamed of as teenagers, but they’re still there, still standing, together, facing all challenges together.

Their next challenge doesn’t wait too for them. But this time it’s a challenge they chose for themselves: Children. None of them are perfect. Often left alone on their own without any idea of what to do, what is right and what is wrong, they make mistakes. but it’s okay. Because they’re only human. Humans aren’t perfect. They make mistakes, they suffer. But when they don’t give up and pull through they’ll also get the chance to learn that some things are worth suffering for.