#how they're interpreted matters

[praisetheplatonicism]

Y'know, I'm not really a shipper, for reasons my username (url? what's the right word here?) probably make fairly obvious - in general, the fact that every super close male platonic relationship gets overwhelmingly 'interpreted' romantic by the fandom drives me nuts. Most fandoms don't seem capable of letting men show affection for each other beyond the most casual care without insisting it must be a romantic or sexual thing because 'friends/siblings/what-have-you don't do that', and I just... it implies platonic love can't be all that, and it's maddening. Plus, does it not just prove to straight men that hey, yeah, actually you can't show affection to your friends (or FAMILY), cause people will still assume it's a sexual thing anyway? Does that not kinda promote that toxic masculinity thing of 'emotion bad'? It's just... my biggest pet peeve, people looking at others' relationships and dictating what they are. I've had it done to me in real life, and wow, not fun. And, of course, I'm just about the biggest hopeless bromantic you'll ever meet, so you can imagine how irritating ship-crazy fandom can get. I'm certainly not unbiased here.

HOWEVER.

I think this almost knee-jerk distate really only came from what shipping has become as of late - a hell war of people screaming and demanding that it MUST be canon, it IS canon, look at the EVIDENCE (as they point to a scene that is easily platonic-interpretable and not inherently romantic at all, and the assumption otherwise is blatant amatonormativity), and refusing to let anyone disagree or they're wrong (or 'homophobic', that's a fun one). Making the entire show or movie or whatever about their ship when it demonstrably Is Not That, yelling 'queerbaiting' when they don't get their way. I admit, this is the very worst of what it's been like recently, but it's still prevalent enough. When something has a deep, powerful platonic love as its main focus (for ONCE) and all anyone can do is insist its actually romantic, or when people are so focused on the ship the actual Whole Point goes sailing gracefully over their head (especially when that Whole Point is literally about platonic love, looking at you Supernatural), I die a little inside.

If shipping was seen as just a bit of fun, just playing with the source material rather than trying to CHANGE it, it wouldn't bother me at all! Like yeah, go nuts, power to you. I've even done that before, despite being Miss Platonic. But the way shipping has been recently (really since I've been in fandom, so like, 10 years or so? and probably well before) actually sometimes starts to threaten the integrity of the source material, like if enough people interpet something a certain way it BECOMES that, and I hate to see stories lose their idenitity like that. It feels a little disrespectful, like how can you really love this thing if you're so desperately trying to change its heart and soul? If you so blatantly ignore its Whole Point? Shipping has become weirdly cult-y, and I just don't like being around it.

Or maybe the entire concept has just been poisoned by prolonged contact with the Supernatural fandom. Cause we know what THEY can be like, don't we. Even just peeking at finale discourse made me want to smite myself.

To be clear, this is about the kind of shipping that INSISTS something is actually romantic, not the kind that just likes to play with that idea. The latter is no problem; it's the former that's a nightmare.

I feel like shipping culture changed a lot in recent years and it has made fandom spaces a lot less fun. There is this persistent obsession with proving your ship is canon, frenetically searching for clues and hints, reading everything as a metaphor for a character's repression, talking about how "we can still win" and making literally everything in a show about this ship. Of course there's nothing wrong with wanting more representation but my dudes just think about the show you're watching. If someone in a long-running show has always been represented as straight or if the show has never been about romance, then it's not going to happen and trying to force this ship on everyone else, bringing it up in every discussion about the show won't change that. Not saying everything used to be all roses, there have always been ship wars and stuff but in my experience people used to be much more relaxed, having fun shipping in fanon. Shipping is supposed to be fun! It's about playing around with characters and exploring possibilities canon doesn't. It's not about reading subtext in everything and proving how your perspective is superior or, god forbid, activism.

[gomzdrawfr]

content warning: blood

Loyal to a fault

bonus + other versions:

Bonus:

Alt:

the words on Ghost's body reads:

LOVE (level of violence)

it takes a monster to destroy a monster (poorly cropped i apologize)

Loyal Dog

Vēnor (Latin verb for hunt, chase)

this is something very different to what I usually do I hope yall don't mind....also this was me when I was sharing this with my friends...because priceghost/ghostprice dynamic really gets a grip on me

[spectascopes]

so what is the intersection and explanation of "Papyrus lies all the time especially around certain people" and "Papyrus believes a lot of stuff at face value that is an obvious lie" like does he think he's the only person lying? What's going on in that bald head of his? Genuinely guys I wanna know what you think about Papyrus and Falsehoods it's fascinating

[coquelicoq]

i have absolutely no filter in one very specific area, which is that if someone smells good i always tell them immediately and with great enthusiasm. unfortunately this has led many people to think i was hitting on them when actually i just really like smells. apparently i can come across as incredibly forward to people, but only that subset of people who smell really really good. if you smell normal we will probably have a regular time.

[cloud-somersault]

idk man, the epilogue is like this really deep...exploration of interpersonal connections and wants and desires interlaced with the complexity of circumstance and consequence and regret and guilt. and I started it as a like "haha, this is what I want! I want two monkeys being gay, haha!"

but it's so. fucking tragic, actually.

just in chapter 1, we see how defeated Macaque is, how lost he is. how he hesitates and flip flops constantly. how he says or thinks something with certainty, but then goes back on that. he tries so hard to commit to one path, but he truly is fluctuating and has no clue what to do

and wukong is just...certain of himself. he's certain of his wants and desires now after Constellations. He wants to maintain connections and put in the effort no matter what. and that..juxtaposition of them...is just so raw and hurtful in chapter 1 because we see that wukong notices that in Macaque because he knows him better than anyone.

And Macaque admits he's a little lost. he doesn't know what he wants. but he keeps walking. he wants to make his own choices. he wants to think for himself. he wants to see the truth for himself.

and as the days go by, as the weeks and months pass...as they grow and change, it's just sad. because it's not

the epilogue is not this "will they? won't they?" shadowpeach thing.

look at them as individuals. that's why i finally decided to change the perspective. because we needed to see macaque's thoughts. I've shown you wukong's; please give macaque that same level of attention.

when people write romance or relationships, they often misstep when it comes to the characters that are in the relationship. in order for that relationship to be believable and relatable and enjoyed by the audience, you have to develop the characters independently and together.

we cannot have shadowpeach until we know, with certainty, who macaque and wukong are.

[fideidefenswhore]

did anne have the motto "me and mine" some time? i don't hear much discourse on it compared to the grudge one

oh, i've seen discourse about it...

(ahem,)

tracy borman (recently) cites a secondary source (book, published 20c) for this motto, but as i don't have access to that, i don't know what his source is...

"The falcon was often painted in silver, with a gold crown and sceptre, standing on a gold trunk out of which spouted red and white roses and the words 'Mihi et mea' ('Me and mine' or 'me and my love') ." Pinches, J.H. and R.V., the Royal Heraldry of England (London, 1974) p.146

[garden-of-infinity]

Do we know for a fact if Sander, Alejandro, and Durkos are real or if it's like a Charlotte and Victor situation where it's likely they're just clones created by the Entity? The fics I've read so far all depict them as real people, but part of me wonders if in canon it's really them because Tarhos seems to have been taken by himself.

[nathaylee]

“Hello, Jenny,” the man said. There was a strange emphasis to how he spoke such simple words – and, hang on –

Jenny sat up. “How do you know my name?” she asked suspiciously. The harmonies of the hum deepened as Laser Grid Girl also looked at the man askance.

“Oh, you might say I know your dad,” he laughed…

~~~~

Ruby’s in the middle of saving the inhabitants of the Moon of Praxis – just a typical adventure with the Doctor – when a mysterious stranger swoops in to help. When the Doctor learns who she is, he’s determined to get her back where she belongs.

hello I'm alive I think???? and my interest in Doctor Who has been roused from its slumber?????? Russell absolutely got me by bringing Tate and Tennant back (and has been killing it ever since)

[yeleltaan]

How do you need to be touched?

Two results depending on the answer to one question:

gently.

You need to be held as though you're going to break. you need someone to trace your scars like cracks in a wall, crumbling. their touch is almost painful; you've been without it for too long, without someone to hold you. but, you cannot bring yourself to pull away.

fervently.

You crave a hug that cracks your ribs... the feeling of your wandering soul being crushed back into the bones that can't seem to hold it. you need a hand gripping yours so tightly you almost fear it may leave a bruise, a reminder that you are here. and that you are not alone.

Tagged by: @derjaegermond ! Thanks 8] Tagging: hey... hey you. Reader. I'm tagging you.

[forcebookish]

if arkarm were really both supposed to be gay for you then why was arm made admin of a Hot Boy facebook page in the first place? shouldn't he just be gay from the start? sus writing choice tbh

[builtintripping]

What is all the Nicktoons gonna do now that Timmy forgot them all😩

OFC THEY'RE GONNA TIME/SPACE TRAVEL AND FIX THAT SHIT, RIGHT!?!?!?!?!?

... Right?

[mint-corset]

Genuinely asking, because I'm so conflicted on this emotion.

Is it normal to be a little pissed that someone hears something bad happen in the house (Like a loud noise of something breaking) and they call out "Are you okay" and proceed to not check on you. Like at all. No follow up.

And in my defense I really didn't respond because after the thing snapped and broke my brain had to catch up to anything that followed, and by the time I realized what happened I also realized "Oh wow thanks I guess I'm glad nothing worse happened and I'm not hurt or anything"

Like am I little irritated? Yes. Very much so. But I'm also not going to make it a problem. I'm just sorta silently sitting here wondering if maybe I'm just a neurotic bastard.

[usercelestial]

buddies and bucktommys need to unite, im tired of the fighting and the dumbass ship war, we should all be mad that these characters are mistreated, that these storylines are axed prematurely, that the writers string us both along and make us feel like one things happening right before pulling the carpet out from under our feet and breaking our hearts. you should be mad at lazy writing, you should feel disheartened by the way that no one cares about these relationships, you should be angry that this thing you keep being told to invest in never sees the light of day

[shieldwife]

I need the hunger games to go back to no longer being relevant to most people because I keep getting genuinely heated over other people's opinions on a ya series and it's embarrassing

[arianeemorythethird]

Been rewatching SW Rebels and uh I've got to say... Sabine and Ketsu in Blood Sisters sure do have a vibe, huh... I genuinely don't know how else we're meant to interpret them...

Like, that scene at the end where Ezra is trying to talk to Sabine and she has to explicitly tell him to please go away and give her and Ketsu some privacy?? That's an old joke and the punchline is 'Harold, they're lesbians'... like genuinely what is the point of that scene if not to point out lol Ezra's crush is hopeless she's into someone else...

[melonthesprigatito]

Polling a shockingly divisive issue I didn't realize was a thing until yesterday: Does Meowscarada have ears?

I've loved Meowscarada for almost a year and even before the game came out, when I first saw the footage of it leaked on Twitter, I was concerned that it didn't have ears, that the mask was supposed to look like cat ears but it didn't have any, so when I saw the back of Meowscarada in the footage, I saw that it had little ears behind the mask and they were folded back. And I thought "Oh my god that's so adorable 🥺"

So for nearly a full year I thought that Meowscarada had ears, they were just hidden behind the mask and were folded back for aesthetic. Because folded back ears are just plain adorable IMO

But then this happened yesterday and it turns out the majority of people on Reddit think that Meowscarada doesn't have ears and that the "ears" are just fur tufts…. and that just confuses the shit out of me. Like….Why???? Why would Meowscarada have random fur tufts in the exact position where ears would be? Wouldn't the logical conclusion be to assume that those are ears?

And it's not like they can't be ears because they're plain undetailed triangles, plenty Pokémon have ears that are just shapes with a solid colour and no interior details. Think Bidoof and Mienfoo and Patrat and Pancham etc.

It just never occurred to me that they're just fur tufts because it made no sense to assume they were.

(Before you go "Useless Red Circles" on me, when I asked on Discord some people thought I was talking about the cheek fluff so I'm circling them to make absolute sure people know what I'm talking about)