#i also love platonic aromantic pairings too

[cammy-mcspammy]

Oh wait, is THAT the reason there's so many Souda requests? I kind of took it for granted that there was an unspoken "One person, One request" rule in place.

No clue.. I just thought he was super popular I didn't know there was a whole proship thing going on??

Also yeah, I prefer requests one ship each request, makes it easier to focus multiple peices of art on one post ☝️☝️☝️ I also love when ppl talk about why they ship it and some scenarios on what the ship could entail

[yeah-thats-probably-it]

thinking about what if data were aromantic. even after he gets the emotion chip put in, he still just doesn’t feel romantic love, and doesn’t understand what other people are feeling when they talk about it. and he’s really upset at first because he feels like after everything he’s been through to get here he still isn’t fully human. there’s still a piece missing. he’s tapped into every work of art humans have ever created and romance seems so ubiquitous that he thinks you can’t be human without it

i’m imagining this as like a b or c plot of an episode. maybe he’s been working with a crew member who turns out to be aromantic and they commiserate about how alienating it can be to hear everyone talk about romance all the time. everyone comes together at the end to help him realize that he feels so many different kinds of love, and no human’s experience with emotions is exactly the same and your humanity doesn’t depend on what emotions you do or don’t feel anyway

i think this would be a good episode. i would enjoy it

[hopeworth]

me, aromantic, who forgets that a “ship” is usually romantic and that not everyone can experience nor conceptualise the intricacy of an aromantic relationship that transcends society’s amatonormative views of love and human connection and that most people’s views of a relationship end at the platonic or romantic dichotomy: why are people making this ship romantic

[genderqueerdykes]

in honor of aromantic spectrum awareness week, i thought i'd take the time to talk about how much my personal life and feelings improved after coming to terms with the fact that i'm aromantic. before i accepted this, i found myself in several romantic relationships where i was deeply unhappy, uncomfortable, and made to feel like i wasn't a good enough partner because i just couldn't do or feel certain things.

i've never enjoyed kissing, and cuddling gets uncomfortable for me within the first few minutes of doing so. even hugs are deeply uncomfortable to me unless i really know and care about someone, and even then, hugs only come when that person asks for them. it never occurs to me to touch people this way, the most you'll get out of me is a pat on the shoulder, back or knee.

i ended up dating several people who were very much romantics, and heavily focused on that aspect of our relationship. it kind of felt like torture to me, i felt like i was being forced to live every day like it was Valentine's Day- every day had to be filled with hours of cuddling, kissing, and telling the other person how much i loved them. while not all romantic partners are like this, it wore on my psyche quickly to be paired with folks like this, because i understood how important it was to them, but i just couldn't keep up the performance.

i thought something was "wrong" with me for years and that i just wasn't in touch with my emotions, or that i was somehow embracing some toxic aspects of my masculinity without realizing. it took me ages to remember that i came out as aromantic when i was much younger, but after criticism from my friends, including a friend who was asexual, i stopped identifying with the label, because i was told that aromanticism wasn't real, and that that just made me an asshole.

nearly a decade and several uncomfortable romantic relationships later, it finally clicked that there wasn't something wrong with me, but there was something wrong with the situations i was getting myself into. sure, i love being partnered- i have a queerplatonic partner that i've known for a decade and have only gotten closer to over time. but we've never been romantic. we don't exchange romantic platitudes, and i realized; i've never been happier with someone else than i am with this person.

why is that?

oh. because they don't expect romance from me. they are also on the aspectrum and don't have a romantic partner, either.

this relationship has brought me more joy than any romantic partnership i've ever attempted to pursue. that doesn't mean there's something wrong with me- i was just looking for happiness in the wrong places. i was miserable not because i'm aromantic, but because i was getting into romantic relationships.

romance can be a source of misery. romance does not inherently make everyone happy. we are not all looking for romance as a species. in fact, chasing it makes many people miserable. too many people spend their lives looking for "the one" that they can kiss, cuddle, hold and say all of those mushy things to when they may not even want that to begin with.

i've never been more at peace with myself since finally, fully accepting that i'm aromantic. i love who i am, and i love how i love. i am not loveless, i experience platonic, queerplatonic and other forms of love. but loveless aromantics aren't miserable, either. we are all embracing ourselves in a way that's true to us. we are refusing to warp ourselves to a society that tells us that we all must have homogeneous feelings.

i am aromantic. i am here. my aromanticism is queer in a society that expects and demands romance of me, and this is true of all aromantics, cis, trans, gay, straight, bisexual, asexual, and otherwise. we are here, we are not going away any time soon, and we will not be silent because our identities make some people uncomfortable. we are happiest being who we are.

happy aro week, this goes out to every last arospectrum person out there, appreciate yourselves this week. you deserve it.

[illarian-rambling]

Hello my coolest of mutuals! In honor of pride month, I need your help figuring something out. I've got a good lock on most of my characters sexualities, even if I don't tend to write much romance. However, there's one exception to that: Ivander. I have no clue what his sexuality is, and even if it has no bearing on his story arc, I'd like your help to finally figure it out.

I'll tag all my MG beta readers here, as you guys probably know him the best: @tildeathiwillwrite @mk-writes-stuff @halfbakedspuds @kaylinalexanderbooks

Here's his deal for anyone else who wants to assist.

Ivander has flirted with a woman once on-page. Did he mean it? I'm not sure, but it didn't go anywhere. His curse and self-consciousness have kept him from getting close to anyone romantically for years. He was raised in an overwhelmingly heteronormative environment, where his duty was to marry a wealthy woman and provide an heir - love not playing any role in such things. The only relationship he ever had as an example after his mother disappeared was his uncle and aunt. They were an arranged pair who didn't share any love, but were friendly with each other. After he escaped his family and before his curse got too bad, I think he would've pursued relationships with women because that's what he assumed he'd like, but he also probably had at least one half-recalled fling with a man that he has some confused feelings over. Once his curse did get bad though, he kept himself from getting close with just about anybody, refusing to so much as entertain the idea of a sexual or romantic relationship. He hopes that once his curse is broken, he'll be free to pursue these relationships, but it's not like he has a crush on anyone he's waiting to ask out. The only person he's close to currently is his detective partner, Ceyrel.

Is he a confused aromantic who hasn't realized that there are different kinds of relationships that can fill the loneliness in his life? Was he too saturated with heteronormative ideals as a kid and too antisocial now to know he's gay? Is he demi and are those platonic feelings for Ceyrel romantic instead? I have no idea and it plays absolutely no role in his arc, but I still should probably know as the author, even if he as the character doesn't.

I'll include my general taglist too for your help as well: @amandacanwrite @elsie-writes @riveriafalll @kosmic-kore @kaylinalexanderbooks

@bard-coded @carrotsinnovember @patternwelded-quill @somethingclevermahogony @whatwewrotepodcast

@goldxdarkness @the-angriest-author @mk-writes-stuff @frostedlemonwriter @vyuntspakhkite-l-darling

@watermeezer @leahnardo-da-veggie @mr-orion @televisionjester @the-ellia-west

@ray-writes-n-shit

Have a bitchin day!

[brainwalk3r]

Sdv Bachelor hc's

Prior note, these are my own personal opinions :D also not doing Elliot because I don't really have any hc's for him tbh.

These hc's do not include the farmer and are all sfw

Will be doing the Bachelorettes later <3

Sam

Sam is trans, I believe he came out at a young age and while jodi was confused at first and thought that he was going through a phase she eventually came around and has became really supportive of Sam and his transition.

As Sam got older he made friends with Sebastian and Abigail, he didn't intentionally come out to either of them but rather forgot about it and casually mentioned one day how much periods suck only for them all to go silent before Abigail broke the tension with a "fuck yeah they do" before ranting about how period products should be free. Sebastian came up to him a bit later and gave him a hug before telling him how he was glad Sam was comfortable enough to tell them (even if it was an accident)

Shane

I think that Shane is also trans however it took him far longer to realise, accept himself and then come out.

When he went to live with Marnie, Marnie had been expecting a girl rather than the scruffy broken man that showed up however she very quickly got over it and did her best to try make him feel safe and comfortable. Shane had expected Marnie to turn him away however when she instead hugged him and told him how glad she was to see him and how big he had gotten he broke down crying.

Over time Shane accepts his gender identity more and also comes to accept his bisexuality, he eventually starts therapy after Harvey refered him and starts to improve his mental health and even gets sober. After talking with Marnie he quits his job at JoJa to start working with her at the Ranch, raising his chickens and enjoying his life.

Sebastian

Sebastian is autistic, he was diagnosed fairly young and while Robin did her best to support him she was too busy with work to really build a relationship with him. When she remarried and moved to stardew with Demitrius and got pregnant with maru Sebastian felt isolated especially with demitrius's favouritism of his daughter.

Sebastian never hated Maru and while I don't think he will ever be that close with her, he doesn't blame her for Robin and Demitrius's actions.

Overtime he became friends with Abigail, with him bonding with her over their mutual distaste of their parents. The pair then also became friends with Sam through a mutual love of music (though more of an obsession on Sam's part)

Sebastian started developing feelings for Sam early on into their relationship though they weren't that strong, more of a casual crush, however as they got closer and he came to trust Sam more they grew stronger and when Sebastian took him out for a ride on his motorcycle Sam ended up just blurting out that he was in love with him, with Sebastian responding that he loved him too. (Abigail noticed them holding hands the next day and congratulated them both for "taking so fucking long")

Harvey

Harvey is a bisexual man, his sexuality has never really bothered him and he accepted it quickly however I think he is probably on the aromantic spectrum. Not any specific identity but rather he has a complicated relationship with romance and romantic feelings for people.

While his dreams of being a pilot never came to fruition he moved to pelican town and set up the clinic, he wasn't that torn up about it and became far more interested in the engineering of planes rather than the idea of piloting one. He's also a total history nerd.

Alex

Alex is also bisexual but with a preference for men, he had alot of internalised homophobia and while he loved Haley growing up with a 'girl best friend' had resulted in everyone around them expecting them to be dating or to start dating even if they insisted that their relationship was platonic.

Evelyn was never too bothered about his sexuality however when Alex accidentally slipped to George that he thought one of the gridball players was handsome George had told him that it wasn't right for him to think that. While George would eventually come around to accept Alex's sexuality it still puts a significant strain on their relationship.

The first person Alex came out to was Haley, after she came round for dinner one night George and Evelyn had talked about how good of a housewife Haley would be, how they'd make such a good couple, ect; all while the pair looked extremely uncomfortable with Haleys eyes looking considerably damp at the mention of her being a housewife.

After dinner they both went to Alex's room where Haley started crying and told Alex she was sorry but that she could never be that for him, Alex (also crying at this point) hugged her and told her he never expected her to be. Once they both stopped crying, sat on the floor of Alex's room in silence, Alex quietly spoke out that he thinks something is wrong with him continuing to talk about how he knows that he probably should have a crush on her but instead he can't stop looking at the poster of the strong armed gridball players he has up. (It took Haley a moment to get it, once she did she harshly told him that there wasn't anything wrong with him before muttering out about how if he was wrong then she was too. After that Alex noticed how much she stared at the purple haired girl who seemed to always be staring back)

[ace-sher-bi-john]

Sherlock Holmes: Aro-Spec, A-Spec, Gay Icon

What is Sherlock Holmes' orientation?

Asexual? Aromantic? Homosexual/romantic? Why not all three?

Something I've noticed during my time in this fandom is that people can't always agree on what Sherlock's sexual/romantic orientation is. Most people say that he's gay, some people say that he's ace. These two headcanons are rarely paired together.

I've seen people who think he's asexual be called homophobic because it feels like it's taking away from the gay representation they get from Johnlock. What they don't appear to realize is that asexual people can still have romantic or even sexual relationships. It also seems that people confuse being asexual with being aromantic a lot. Asexuality and aromanticism are not the same thing.

(There are lots of people who don't ship Johnlock, and either ship Sherl with someone else or with no one and that's valid! I personally am a Johnlock shipper)

Asexuality is defined as a lack of sexual attraction and Aromanticism is defined as a lack of romantic attraction. Both of these have a spectrum as well.

Asexual people can experience sexual attraction, only experience it sometimes, or not experience it at all. If you are anywhere on the asexual spectrum, it simply means that you don't experience an urge to have sex with someone in some or all cases.

You might enjoy sex. You might be repulsed by it. You might be completely indifferent towards it. You might even have urges every now and then. That is still valid. On one end of the spectrum, you don't experience any sexual attraction, on the other, you do experience sexual attraction, and all throughout the middle are varying levels of attraction/urges or lack thereof. There are more identities out there under the ace umbrella. There's demisexual which means that you only experience sexual attraction towards people you've developed an emotional connection with first. Greysexual means that you rarely experience sexual attraction, but it does happen sometimes. Lithosexual means you experience sexual attraction, but don't want it reciprocated. There are many more, you can do your research if you want to know all of them. I don't want to make this post too long, as I fear I may already have done.

The same thing goes for the aromantic spectrum.

Being aromantic means that you don't experience romantic attraction. Depending on where you are on the spectrum, you may experience romantic attraction sometimes, or not at all. Some aromantic people love the idea of romance, romantic gestures, have no problem holding hands, kissing, etc. You can participate in romantic relationships, you can get married, and it will never mean you're less aromantic. All being aromantic means is that you don't feel romantic attraction. It being a spectrum means that on one end, you do experience romantic attraction and on the other end you don't. All in the middle, you experience varying levels of romantic attraction. The labels are basically the same as the ace labels and mean basically the same thing.

(Edit: I've just noticed that I forgot to mention queer platonic relationships. So here we go)

Aromantic people may experience feelings for friends that go beyond friendship, but aren't in anyway romantic or sexual. They may choose to form relationships with others that are more than friendship but not quite romantic. These are called Queer Platonic Relationships or QPRs. They are just as valid as romantic relationships and are not just friendships. People in QPRs love their partner just as deeply, if not more so than people in romantic relationships.

When someone is asexual, but not aromantic, you put a label for their romantic attraction. For example: Biromantic asexual, heteromantic asexual, homoromantic asexual, panromantic asexual, etc.

So basically, you can experience limited or no sexual/romantic attraction and still have relationships. You can be aroace and gay. So therefore my headcanon is that Sherlock is grey-homoromantic asexual.

It took me a little bit of deciding between demiromantic and greyromantic. But they both sound just as cliche as the other. In both cases, John is the one and only person that Sherlock ever falls in love with. If he's demi, it's because he's never gotten this emotionally close to someone before and that's why John is his only love. But I wanted to see Sherlock struggle with his new, unfamiliar romantic feelings from the beginning. From that very first day that John walked into the lab at Bart's.

Sherlock doesn't even know what the weird emotions he's feeling are. They are subtle at first, because love at first sight is even more cliche. He doesn't really start to feel them as anything too distracting or difficult until the pool incident. Almost losing John, caused other unfamiliar feelings that Sherlock didn't want to deal with, along with the telltale signs of romantic love. But Sherlock chooses to ignore it for as long as possible, denying the fact that he could be in love with anyone. Let alone his very straight, not gay in the slightest, bi in denial roommate. It's too much of a risk with anyone. Platonic relationships are already a risk, but he's seen the strange things that romantic love can do to people. He doesn't allow himself to feel most emotions anyway, why would he allow himself to feel romantic love?

Once he allows himself to realize that the emotion he's feeling is romantic love, he struggles with his identity. He knows that he's aromantic, so how is it possible that he's feeling this way? Eventually he will come to discover greyromanticism and realize that he's not crazy, and he's not suddenly alloromantic. He is experiencing rare romantic feelings for John, which he's never experienced before and will likely never experience again.

He's still aromantic. He's not "fixed". Sherlock is valid in being aromantic and feeling romantic attraction.

Then add in some asexual tension once they finally get together and we should be good to go!

Thank you for reading. Hopefully that wasn't too long for you.

[growling]

due to being both aromantic and aplatonic i feel pretty "eh" to both concepts of friendships and relationships/couples in media (and in real life too but i'm more. discreet about it) which makes interacting with fandom works and such.. pretty frustrating at times

im more averse to romance in real life than in fiction ill have to admit, like, most ships i don't mind. im still more able to engage in shipping in my free time, but that might be because, like, when i ship characters i don't really... do it in a romantic sense i just mash them together, i like deeper bonds/relations/connections like that, and "ship" is a pretty easy term to apply to it as and kinda accurate, i don't know, hard to explain. but when theyre depicted to do traditionally romantic things together or just put emphasis on looooove and go all dovey-eyes in fanart then i must leave. i had enough i have assessed the situation and im leaving

but. i also don't like friendships in fanworks. which sucks so much because this is what, like, most other people that don't like romance gravitate to too!! and they put.. so much, like, moral stuff into liking it too like, saying that if you dont appreciate platonic relationships enough then that means allonormativity rotted your brain or something. many other aro & non-aplatonic people just go "romantic ships are so overdone so heres more art and works where characters are just allowed to stay friends, maybe even friendships are just superior anyway" and like i am happy for you don't get me wrong go enjoy what you like but.... friendships just always make me go "ewww". and unfortunately i cannot just choose not to see it either, platonic relationships are never tagged or anything except on ao3 or something. a lot of media/content (god i hate that term for fanworks..) by aros for aros just focuses on platonic love & relationships instead and sorry i cannot relate and the growler feels a bit alienated. not many people even know that aplatonic people exist anyway and if they do then they dont have the best opinion of us.

so like, god i hate clarifying this i feel like it goes without saying but whatever i don't want to get accused of hurting peoples feelings by saying this: i am not saying to stop making fanfics of platonic relationships or that if you like friends in fiction then i think ur lame or something. im just saying that this is one part of fandom i just, cannot really like. not just fandom either. friendships are everywhere i swear and there is no way for me to avoid those either, and if i ever voice that it repulses me, i get treated like a freak even by spaces that are supposedly aroace & sex/romance-repulsed friendly and yeah it kinda sucks .

anyway friendships are overrated i don't want friends i want evil advisors, loyal goons and homoerotic rivals and fucked up hero-villain and whumper-whumpee pairs and even more fucked up guys with their fates forever entwined and bonded for life close in the way rats tied at their tails are even as they desperately pull and scratch and bite to get away is that too much to ask

[starrycosme]

I'm starting to see lots of posts about loveless aroaces or aromantics and I'm starting to wonder... Like, sometimes, I feel disconnected from my friends. I've never really made a very close friendship with anyone, and every time I feel like I'm getting really close to someone, I tend to stress out and want space.

It's like I have a good time when I'm with my friends, but I don't know if I'd use the word love??? Like, I definitely love my parents or grandparents a lot, and I feel like I've never really connected with any of my friends on that level. I sometimes even go through periods of time when I just feel annoyed by some of them... It happens with my parents too, so I guess it's a normal consequence of prolonged contact, right?

But that lack of deep connections in my platonic relationships with my friends paired up with the fact that I'm aroace and living very far away from my family sometimes make me feel so lonely, idk.

Like, I don't think I'm loveless?? But I'm also not the kind of aroace person that "makes up" for my identity with other types of relationships. I just feel disconnected from everyone else, idk if I'm making sense. Does anyone else get what I mean?

[harpershigh]

Name / Alias : M, Mime, Mimetoist (she/her)

Are you over 18? : Yes / No

  – W R I T I N G –

Are you selective about who you write with? : No (anyone) / Semi (most people) / Yes (some people) / Highly (few people) / Private (mutuals only). --

Are you selective about who you follow? : No (anyone) / Semi (most people) / Yes (some people) / Highly (few people).

If your muse is canon, how much do you adhere to canon? : Not at all / A little / Some / Mostly / Strictly / Not Applicable.

What post lengths do you write? : One-Liners / Single-Para / Multi-Para / Novella / All of the aforementioned

Do you use icons and/or GIFS? : No / Gifs / Icons / Yes / Sometimes.

Do you write on other platforms? :No / Yes 

(I've RP'd in Orkut back in the day, also in the Mythweavers forum, Role Gate and Discord, but only in mother tongue. In english, I only write here and sometimes on AO3)

What level of plots do you write? : Unplotted / Open-Ended Plots / Semi-Plotted / Fully Plotted Epics / All of the aforementioned

How quickly do you usually respond to threads? : Very Slow (more than a month) / Slow (3-4 weeks) / Average (1-2 weeks) / Fast (less than one week) / Very Fast (less than three days)

What types of themes do you like? : Adventure / Romance / Fluff / Angst / Violence / Tragedy / Domestic / Family / All of the aforementioned

What genres do you like? : ( Feel free to add! ) High Fantasy / Supernatural / Science Fiction / Historical / Horror / Comedy / Romantic / Drama / Action / Smut / Adventure / Espionage / Dark / Emotional / All of the aforementioned

Are there any themes you’re uncomfortable writing on your blog? : (Not triggers) No / Yes / Sometimes

(degenerative mental diseases such as Alzheimer, Dementia, or senility in general. I won't write/read these)

Do you have any triggers? How do you request it tagged? : I would never ask anyone for tags, and well, the only "trigger" I have is very specific and I haven't seen anyone around writing about it, but if it happens I'll just scroll past it and move on with my day.

  – S H I P P I N G –

What types of relationships are you open to? : Romantic / Platonic / Familial / All of the aforementioned

What types of pre-established relationships are you open to? : Romantic / Platonic / Familial / All of the aforementioned

Do you have OTPs? : No / Chemistry Only / Yes (every pairing can be an OTP if you're brave enough :D)

Do you have NOTPS? : No / Yes (anything involving characters that are minors)

What is your muse’s sexual orientation? : Heterosexual / Heteroflexible / Bisexual / Pansexual / Homoflexible / Homosexual / Demisexual / Sapiosexual / Asexual / Still trying to figure it out / Depends on the muse you’re asking

What is your muse’s romantic orientation? : Heteroromantic / Heteroflexible / Biromantic / Homoflexible / Homoromantic / Panromantic / Demiromantic / Sapioromantic / Aromantic / Still trying to figure it out / Depends on the muse you’re asking

Are you comfortable writing smut? : No / Selectively / Yes (I can do it on mother tongue in a blink, I've been writing smut for years now, but in english... Well, I've written some before but I still cringe a little bit, I feel too limited. Hopefully I learn to deal with it soon)

How early in a relationship do you ship romantically? : Autoship / During plotting / After a couple IC interactions / Several IC interactions / Slow burn / Plot dependent / Never (I have an autoship muse — Nyssala — but Jaheira is a slow burner and it's driving me INSANE. YES, I AM A SHIP WHORE, FIGHT ME)

Are you open to toxic ships? : No / Selectively / Yes / I am not sure

Are you open to problematic ships? : No / Selectively / Yes / I am not sure (as long as it does not involve pedo I'm all in)

Are you open to polyamory shipping? : No / Selectively / Yes / I am not sure (I'd love to, but it's tricky because Jaheira is monogamic :( my other muses have polyam ships with bestie @adorectrine tho)

Are you an exclusive shipper? : Never / Sometimes / Yes

Does crack shipping ever happen? : Nope / Yes / depends (none until now, but bring it on)

Tagged by: @faerunscursed

tagging: @adorectrine, @rotdame, @demonwebs, @whomuses, @ryathenaughtykitsune, @fleshcarverfugitive

:D

[picnokinesis]

OC Ship Song Tag

Tagged by @gabeorelse - ahh thank you!! Okay this will be fun because I don't tend to talk about my ocs much here

Rules: list the ships of your wip (canon or otherwise!) and the song that "describes" your ship, or that would be used for a fan edit of the ship.

This is a bit complicated because actually a lot of my wip projects aren't exactly shippy, especially since I am trying to write predominantly aromantic stories - but Gabe said I could do platonic or single characters if I wanted to 😌 I think what I'm actually gonna do is songs for the characters who , if I had a fandom, people would end up shipping lol. I'm gonna do these for Onkalo because I think that's got the most to going on (and also the longest playlist haha) and actually I think it'll be funny to do this by how common or rare I think the pairing would be hahah

For those who don't know: Onkalo is my original tv series concept set in several hundred years after the collapse of our civilisation. It follows Peregrine, a grief-stricken father who dedicates himself to finding Onkalo, a mythological structure buried under the ground that is said to contain an item of great power. He believes that he can use whatever is inside to protect his son, Ash. On the flip side, Ash, who believes he has been abandoned by his dad, sets off to find him after a disaster destroys their community.

Harper/Reo or Harper & Reo - these two are basically my og spydoc - childhood friends who bonded in adverse circumstances, but then Harper manages to escape the Bad Situation, and Reo is left to suffer the consequences. Reo ends up becoming something of an antagonist, bitter and set on making Harper pay, whilst Harper becomes a semi-parental figure to Ash as he looks for his dad (she is absolutely terrible at it). But, eventually, Reo choses to help Harper, Ash and Connie escape, and sticks with them. It's not completely smooth going, but fundamentally they missed Harper and their friendship too much. If any ship is canon in this show, it's these two.

Songs: Go Down Together by Foxing or La Lune by Madeon for more shippy fandomy stuff, but Sink by Brand New is my song for them, and it's a lot angrier. However, in the show, I'm 100% intending to have the very intense sequence of Reo and the others escaping be set to The Bike Song by Mark Ronson and The Business Intl, because bikes are involved and I'm hilarious - so if anyone set a video to that song, they would absolutely correct.

Peregrine/Caleb or Peregrine & Caleb - the canonical-ness of this one is very muddy, because I'm fighting with my fascination over their dynamic and how they do or don't feel about each other, and my overwhelming desire for this show to be as aromantic as possible. As it stands, Peregrine is entirely driven by his grief and guilt surrounding the death of his wife, Heather, but if he wasn't, then he'd be open to it. I reckon Caleb has a hell of a crush but will take it to his grave. As it happens, they're super doomed by the narrative and almost certainly not going to survive anyhow. However, I reckon if there was a fandom, this would be one of the Big Ships because I know what fandom is like.

Song: Wild Country by Wake Owl

Peregrine & Ash - the relationship between these two is so mired with desperate, familial love and aching anger. Ash wants to hate his dad, but fundamentally he still travels across the country to find him. Peregrine is so driven by the need to protect his son like he couldn't protect his wife that he completely abandons his son to hunt down a folktale that ends up killing him.

Songs: Above the Clouds of Pompeii by Bear's Den, and Welly Boots by The Amazing Devil

Harper & Connie or Harper/Connie- I think anyone who ships this would be so galaxy brained, tbh, but Harper and Connie both travel with Ash and lowkey become his stand-in parental figures, but not in any standard sort of way. Harper is like, reluctant dad figure, and Connie is the only person with the braincell. I reckon the appeal of this one is that this is that they're both people who have been defined by their own communities and families, but in very different ways. I think Harper would learn a lot about what family can be from Connie, and Connie would learn to blame herself less from Harper. People who ship Harper/Connie/Reo would be even MORE galaxy-brained, but adding Reo into the mix would make the whole thing a bit more rancid, bless. I think Connie and Reo would actually be super interesting.

Songs: if it's just Harper/Connie, it's Hello My Old Heart by The Oh Hellos (this one also works really well for Peregrine and Caleb too). If it's Harper/Connie/Reo....ooh, it would probably be Soldier, Poet, King by The Oh Hellos, with Reo being the soldier, Harper being the poet and Connie being the king. Okay damn I lowkey love how that works, like non-romantically.

Connie & Peregrine or Connie/Peregrine- Peregrine actually meets both Harper and Connie on separate occasions earlier in the plot. The dynamic between Harper and Peregrine is lowkey hilarious to me, because I'm pretty sure they look at each other and go 'oh, yikes' and leave it at that. Connie and Peregrine actually get on really well, though, and hang out together for a long while. Peregrine is allergic to nice things though, and actively avoids making new emotional ties. With Caleb, he fails drastically - but he also fails regarding Connie too. Con actually wanted him to stick around, but he tricks her into getting left behind (because he's an ASS, but actually it's mainly because he didn't want her to die/get hurt. And it's a good thing tbh because by the next episode he's captured by an amnesia cult who try to lobotomise him, so....). Anyway, I think both Caleb and Connie are people that Peregrine could have learnt to overcome his grief with, in a different world. I think Connie and Peregrine in particular find common ground in how much their communities mean to them. They are both driven on journeys, spurned by grief and guilt - but for Connie, she still remains in orbit of her family, whereas Peregrine has isolated himself entirely. I feel like not so many people would ship this, but I'm soft about it

Ship Song: I Will Remain by Matthew and the Atlas

Peregrine/Heather - the only CANON ROMANCE, but I killed it lol because Heather is dead from the start. She haunts this entire series, but her relationship with Peregrine is SO IMPORTANT because it drives the entire plot. I love them both a lot augh

Ship song: You Are a Memory by Message to Bears

That ended up SUPER LONG and also won't make sense to anyone probably rip, but!! Here it is!

Tagging - this is obviously optional, and feel free to make this about fandom characters instead if you like! But! @taardisblue, @novantinuum, @chaoticacecryptid, @subducting, @agendergorgon (I think you have ocs? For worm?)

THANKS GABE!

[canonically47]

my queer hcs for 2023 TDI reboot characters <3

hello all! after watching all the way through to episode four of the second season, i realized my old hcs kind of contradict canon, and they've changed drastically based on that.

here are my new and updated headcanons, how much of them is canon, and why i hc them this way!

headcanons:

bowie: gay (canon), cisgender, he/him

raj: gay (canon), transgender ftm, he/him

wayne: aroace, cisgender, he/him

caleb: straight, cisgender, he/him

zee: panromantic demiaroace, non-binary, they/them

ripper: straight, cisgender, he/him

chase: straight, cisgender, he/him

damien: biromantic demisexual, transgender ftm, he/him

scary girl: aroace, agender, it/she (it/itself preference)

julia: lesbian, cisgender, she/her

MK: lesbian, non-binary, they/she (they/them preference)

axel: bisexual, transgender mtf, she/her

nichelle: lesbian, transgender mtf, she/her

priya: bisexual, cisgender, she/her

millie: unlabelled, cisgender, she/her

emma: aromantic sapphic, cisgender, she/her

details such as reasonings, closeness to canon etc.:

bowie: canonically gay. there's not much to say about him. i don't see a bit of transness in him, but he is definitely a strong ally.

raj: canonicaly gay. also not much to say; i just think he's... a bit cooler than gender.

wayne: he's just like me fr!! well the aromantic part but! he is so much like me!!!

caleb: funnily enough, i hced him as gay before this season. now i have changed my ways; i'm actually rooting for him and priya to get together. look at that dynamic!

zee: zee is beyond gender and sexuality. they like everyone, but they only feel attracted to people sexually and romantically when they know them on a deeper level. i also am debating whether or not i like them and damien together atm, so that's cool :3

ripper: my man! his romance with axel this season is great so far, and i cannot for the life of me believe i am saying this. he's such a guy, and has proven himself better this season. just look at he!

chase: yeah fuck this guy that's all

damien: similarly to zee, sexual attraction only comes to my man if he knows the person. i feel like this is pretty in-character. i also hc him as biromantic, but he probably fears romantic interactions equally for each gender, for which he's questioned his sexuality multiple times and thought he might even be aromantic. i feel like this hc also appeals to both priyamien and dwayne shippers so you're welcome /hj

scary girl: it just is this way you're welcome

julia: look at her dynamic with MK. and then get back to me if you can't see it. /j

MK: same as above! i love mkulia <3

axel: heLLOOO have you LOOKED at her. she is bisexual but a DISASTER bisexual at that!!! i hc that before realizing her feelings for ripper she was helplessly in love with nichelle and just gazed at her from afar like... oh my god pretty girlfailure... must kiss... which is kinda the reason she fell for ripper too, SHE LIKES HER MEN, WOMEN AND ANYTHING BEYOND DUMB AS A ROCK!!!

nichelle: not much to say just. her!

priya: even before this season i could not for the life of me ship her with anyone, i settled for just heterosexual, but NOW i can see why. NOW... there's caleb. and i like where their relationship is going. seeing both caleb and priya so in love is hilarious and adorable. i still think she would be good with a girl, maybe not necessarrily one on the cast but. A girl

millie: she is so?? confused?? what the fuck is going on?????? like she likes people but also. not?? is that a thing????? what????????????

emma: she's just like me fr. she thought she wanted a man that treats her right GIRL NO! she doesn't want a man PERIOD!

and finally, pairings:

bowie x raj. do i need to add anything?

zee x damien. hear me out.

zee x emma but like... not romantically, not platonically, but a secret third thing

mk x julia. MKULIAERS WHERE YALL AT!!!

ripper x axel. i fucking adore them.

caleb x priya. the slowburn can and will be so real with these two.

[platonic-pals-punchout]

I've had to block a few people recently so here's some reminders:

If you think a pair should be disqualified, use private channels (DM me or send an ask). If you claim a pair is not platonic publicly/where the submitter might see, I will block you instantly.

Pairs who eventually end up in relationships, have crushes, etc. are allowed (with disclaimers) as long as their friendship is emphasized throughout the story (aka the story's focus on them is buddyhood & not as like, a lead-up to a romance or one character's crush, etc), they qualify.

Additionally (and I realize I wasn't clear on this before so I want to be clear now), characters with """homoerotic subtext""" but who are not actually canonically romantic are fine to be included. Homoerotic subtext is often subjective/up for interpretation, not to mention wildly misused by people with shipping goggles on too tight. As long as the characters are not textually romantic with each other (or only at the end/a small part of the story & their friendship is emphasized, see above), they qualify.

And, though this one hasn't been a problem at all, I'll include it as it is part of the above ruleset: pairs who engage in sexual activity with each other without romantic involvement, AKA "friends with benefits," qualify.

The main reasons for these rulings are as follows:

A lot of media is content to let pairs (esp m/f pairs) be friends until the end of the show/series/etc, wherein the creators hastily "pair up" everyone with romances for a contrived happy ending. I want PPP to be a safe haven for fans who were affected by this kind of poor writing choice, and for the sake of fairness, this rule must apply to good writing as well.

Also, eventually dating - even when written well - does not invalidate a lengthy platonic relationships beforehand anyway.

I think I'm far from the only aromantic person (or even just...reasonable person) who's sick of people saying you can't interpret a pair as being platonic bc they do things that ~totally in wuuuuuv X3~ people do like...holding hands, or general loyalty, or...smiling at them... I even see people doing this for characters who are canonically happily married to someone else???? It's dumb as hell. I'm not going to let that happen on this blog. People are just going to have to accept that sometimes 2 people have a healthy, close, loyal, deeply loving platonic partnership.

I reiterate, in TL;DR: Pairs who eventually end up romantic are allowed as long as the story emphasizes their friendship (rather than their building romance). """Homoerotic subtext""" is extremely subjective, and often used as an excuse by people with shipping goggles to force their amatonormative interpretation on everyone.

If you still think a pair doesn't qualify, contact me PRIVATELY with canon evidence for a discussion that may eventually be brought to the larger circle,

Or you will be blocked on the fucking spot.

Thank you <3

[starstruckpurpledragon]

Super curious, if you're willing to share, about what your favorite Dr. Who relationships (platonic, romantic, whatever) are. DW is such a huge canon that there's so many options for what people love! (I am admittedly a sucker for mixing eras and placing companions with Doctors other than their own incarnation. Particularly Modern/Classic pair ups, but I also definitely have my favorite canon dynamics.)

Donna and the Doctor are definitely my favorite platonic ship and favorite DW ship overall. I may not have had the language for describing a QPR when I first encountered them, but that's the vibe their ship has to me. I just want Donna to keep showing up to randomly traveling with the Doctor once a season going forward from here on out. Don't care who is playing the Doctor, I have faith that Catherine Tate can forge an instant connection with any actor. (So obviously I've been super pleased by this year's specials.)

I have really enjoyed the one-sided Jack/Doctor ship too. Jack and the Doctor's relationship has been messy, but the Doctor does care about Jack (as a friend) and Jack's accepted that as enough. Him being devoted to someone without feeling entitled to having romantic attraction return is a sort of love story that doesn't get told a lot so... I think maybe that's precisely why it means so much to me.

Ace and any version of the Doctor. That is her father figure and even when she's pissed off at the Doctor for being a cagey jerk, she loves them very much. And the Doctor, no matter which version, always loves Ace as their daughter.

I really like the Doctor in mentor/mentee relationships, though obviously Ace in the father/daughter dynamic is my favorite. But Bill is definitely a close second. I would have loved for Bill to meet other versions of the Doctor and having to grapple with finding her weird grandpa hot as the two lady Doctor versions we've seen thus far would have been funny. Like, Thirteen and The Fugitive Doctor are still very much her weird grandfather person, but... Twelve would also be annoyed by this but only because Bill is making it weird and definitely not because the Doctor can't ever get along with themself. (Really, he'd be the one making it weird, let's face it.)

Sarah-Jane and Luke are a wonderful mother/son relationship and it's so lovely how quickly she comes to love this kid as her own. And then she also not-quite-adopts (but totally would if they needed it) three more kids and actually adopts one more. She is an excellent mom and mentor and I will forever be a little sad about what could have been with the show if Elizabeth Sladen hadn't passed away.

So clearly my favorite Whoniverse ships are platonic ones, but I do have a soft spot for Any Doctor/Rose as a romantic ship because they really were very cute together. They did not always bring out the best in each other, but Rose was very much someone the Doctor needed in their life, especially after the Time War. While these days I personally see the Doctor as being aromantic (or arospec) and their relationship with Rose as being a sort of romantic-coded QPR, I do enjoy it written as a straight up romantic ship when I read fic.

Ianto/Jack is my overall favorite romantic ship in the Whoniverse though. They're just adorable and I wish we'd gotten more of them instead of a nonsensical death in a third season I prefer to pretend didn't happen. (It's not so much that Ianto died that bothers me about it either. It's that it was such a poorly written death, especially after how Tosh and Owen's deaths were handled in S2.)

[ariel-s-awesome]

May as well post my response to someone on AO3 asking why I hate season 2 here. Already stirred the pot.

(Can't get read more working so everyone has to deal.)

I could write multiple essays about it but I'll keep it brief to avoid opening a can of worms. (Yes, this IS the brief version.)

1) Portraying Wander as a perfect immortal space Jesus ruined his character. Sylvia was forced to blindly trust him when she previously balanced out his worst impulses. So it also ruined their friendship by introducing a toxic power dynamic. And Sylvia's character too as she got forced into a subservient role.

Wander continuously pushing Hater's boundaries in an effort to make him good worked when he seemed young and naive, without knowing when to back off. If he's done this song and dance many times now Hater's just the latest entry in villains he's overwhelmed into submission. It's manipulative and cheapens their friendship.

2) They flattened Hater. In season 1 there was solid internal logic behind his foolishness. He's not just a stupid childish oaf. In much of season 2 his behavior seemed far more random with little purpose but to make him stupid and incompetent. (There were still some good episodes, mostly when Dominator was nowhere in sight, but...)

3) Misogyny. There were issues in season 1 but it really took off when Lauren Faust left the show between seasons to work on Medusa (which later got cancelled, sadly.) I have a feeling that her input kept it from getting out of hand with how it went from the usual lack of prominent female characters to the Dominator love interest arc.

Dominator worked well as a big threat that shook up the status quo and forced the main 4 to work together. But she was forced into a love interest role and demonized for not returning Hater's feelings.

This attitude is what leads to women getting assaulted for turning men down. As someone making children's cartoons, Craig has a responsibility to examine the messages closely and avoid reinforcing harmful ones because kids are very impressionable.

Also WOY used to be a great show for aromantics because it emphasized the importance of platonic love. That was no longer the case and many aro fans became bitter as the love interest arc wore on.

Her being portrayed as evil for not feeling love (I'm The Bad Guy) was the slap in the face as an aromantic (who thought I was a girl at the time) and my final straw. So I'm evil. Okay thanks guys. Time to pack it up and not even be able to bear to look at the show for several years.

Dominator was sexualized and it was disgusting. They constantly emphasized her boobs and hips despite her being fairly flat on model. There was even a storyboard posted with a note to fix her posing because when she was expressive that "wasn't pretty enough" or something like that.

They reduced what could have been a cool character to eye candy because she was a girl. Which is exactly what Wander and Hater did to her.

If this was a one episode thing that ended with Sylvia calling Wander out for being misogynistic and harassing her to pair her up with Hater, it would be fine. It'd be a good lesson. But it consumed most of the season without him and Hater ever being shown as wrong.

4) It was a waste of time that literally ended with the words "nothing ever changes" as they returned to the status quo. Craig McCraken failed to read the writing on the wall and thought that he would have unlimited time to tell his story. (Disney had an unofficial hard limit on keeping anything but breakout hits to two seasons at the time. And Wander wasn't one.)

Unpopular opinion but I'm glad Wander got canceled. Even putting the mess it became at the end to the side. That experience improved Craig's storytelling skills as he learned to work with the time he has instead of what he hopes for.

And that was what made Kid Cosmic great. I'm more attached to Wánder Over Yónder both because I was there for it airing and because it's my long-term special interest, but Kid Cosmic objectively has better storytelling because Craig learned to focus on the story he wants to tell.

It still has its flaws pacing wise, both because of Netflix keeping it short and him using so many main characters that most hardly got developed. (...Poor Chuck was all but abandoned by the narrative after his life was shattered.) Yet the story got wrapped up. Unlike Wander.)

5) Much more minor complaint but: The art suffered when they switched animation studios. I mean, I know Titmouse is a hard act to follow. But it looked cheap, with more errors, worse expressions, and more reused animation.

Probably not something the actual target audience would pay much mind to (I was a teenaged animation buff), still disappointing after how well-animated season 1 was.

[afterlematch]

[very long post] Hi theater kids! I want to share a musical idea I’ve had for a whiiiiillleee and recently flipped on its head and had an amazing idea for today. Titled: The Matchmaker

The idea: A person who can find the perfect partner for anyone except themselves is on a hunt to find “the one” for them. One day they do find someone that romantically loves them… but they can’t replicate those feelings cause they’re aromantic.

This idea first popped into my head after I watched Sweeney Todd live in april of 2023 (in NL, t’was absolutely phenomenal) so it started out as a look into someones life who, at some point, would be driven to near insanity because they can’t find the right one, and later on that they can’t feel the feelings the other feels. This idea, at some point, became quite boring for me.

So I tried to flip the idea on its head and, to be honest, the new idea fits so much more and seems so much more fun and engaging. Now “The Matchmaker” is a tv show-like musical. There’s 10 contestants and, after 1 night, at least 2 of them will have been coupled together and will leave as a couple thanks to the host of the programmer, the matchmaker.

The matchmaker secretly wants to find the one for themselves but is unable to do so. Using their talent to find the right one for others, they try to make a living off of it by making it a tv show while still trying to find the one for them.

This tv show is widely successful and has been running for a couple of years. Over time it unknowingly became more important that most of the contestants are dramatic caricatures to gain more money and finding the right ones became less important. But the matchmaker still keeps a clean record of no immediate break ups within the couples they find. The only real breakups between couples happen years after their episodes aired.

The people backstage also get to shine too. Getting to interact with the characters as if they were a part of a real recording. They get lines and jokes as well.

The musical is a recording session of one of the episodes for a new season. The audience is like an audience at a recording. There’s screens telling the audience when to clap. Some jokes will be told with the help of these screens too.

The stage is the set of the show, with a little side stage where there’s a “confession booth” where the contestants can confess some stuff that’ll be edited into the show during the recordings.

Around halfway through the show it becomes clear to the host that there’s only 1 guest compatible, a very basic person with nothing special going on with them that was just added there to reach the 10 needed contestants. This confuses the host. But what confuses the host more is that none of the other 9 contestants seem like good fits. Who is this person that the 1 contestant is compatible to?

The host tells the contestants that only 1 contestant seems to be compatible. Most contestants are alright with this information, but 1 contestant, a very rich and famous contestant, really wants to go home with a partner that night. So they go to the host and threaten to sue the entire show if they aren’t the one paired with the contestant. (With a kick-ass song to boot.)

This frightens the host, they don’t want to lose their job. But they know that the 2 contestants aren’t compatible. After trying to find who is compatible, they realize something big. The person the contestant is compatible with is the host themselves.

But that can’t be, right? The host has never felt romantic attraction to anyone, how can this be? This is when one of the camera people comes in and tells the host that the connection is likely a platonic one, which is perfectly valid. But the host, in absolute fear and stress over the entire situation, has a hard time accepting this. They run off, going to tell the compatible contestant about the thing.

The camera person really wants to help the host but isn’t sure how. Until they listen back to the song the rich contestant sung to threaten the host. One of the other camera people, a big fan of the rich contestant, filmed the singing. They listen back and realize that the contestant not-so-subtly hinted to them being in a money laundering scheme. The camera people quickly start investigating this.

A bit later, it is time for the host to tell who are coupled together. As they try to say that the 2 contestants are coupled, the camera people talk through them to tell everyone that the host and the compatible contestant are the new couple. Telling them that platonic love is just as valid as any other form of legal love that exists. This really angers the rich contestant. Just as they’re calling their lawyer to sue the show, the police break in and arrest them for money laundering. The show and musical end on a happy end!

The big theme of this musical would be how love comes in many types. This musical would also touch on how the showbiz industry works and would be very, very queer. Not just by the fact that the host being aromantic is a big part of their character, but also due to the fact that any role can be played by anyone. With the only limit being their vocal range.

All characters would have 2 names that work and can be used. It’s up to the actor to choose the name they feel most comfortable with, or to come up with a new name that also works. Pronouns can be changed very easily, especially cause the songs all stick to gender neutral terms so nothing has to be changed in there for it to still work!

As someone on the aromantic spectrum, I’ve been wanting to show aromantic representation that’s purely about the romantic side for a while, and this is the biggest idea I’ve had around it.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading the entire idea! I’m really curious on what you think about this idea. (And note that this is just an idea. I didn’t note that well enough the last time I shared a musical idea and that led to many people being confused and wanting to sign up/help even though I wasn’t sure I was even gonna do it haha)

Bye :D!!