#i don't want any discourse over the pairing

[sesshy380]

Ship Ask- Longfic AU Kat x Marik edition

I had seen a ship ask game, and I wanted to be self-indulgent and just answer like 99% of the questions without having people ask them. After encouragement from others that I should just do it, I began slowly working on fulfilling my self-indulgence.

If certain things have already happened in longfic, I’ll mention the chapter where it can be found. Anything that might be a potential future spoiler (meaning it hasn’t been posted yet), I will avoid anything beyond the hinting of it being possibly explored.

Important notes for those who haven’t read longfic: Bakura, Malik (Yami Marik), and Kat (OC) are immortal elemental beings. Their canon pasts are butchered and mutated to fit my AU. Also, so people don’t freak out when reading some of the answers, the Yami’s are the biological paternal figures to their hosts. I’m not dragging out the yarn board to explain how it all works. If you really want to know, just read the insanity. It’s called Tangled Web of Fate for a reason.

Another thing to note: Kat is chronologically 5,000 years old. Physically and mentally, however, she is 16, just like Marik. I have stuck with that age for Marik since the story itself picks up one month after Battle City. If the whole ‘age’ thing bothers you, this is a good time to follow the age old art of ‘Don’t like; don’t read’.

1. Describe their first date.

Found in Chapter 11. Their first ‘date’ was the result of Kat dragging along a reluctant Marik as a distraction to calm down, and it ended with Marik being really confused about why he felt the way he did towards a girl. They both still refer to that day as the ‘not-a-date’.

2. Who wakes up early/Who sleeps in late?

Kat is not a morning person. Marik is indifferent…except when he’s up too late, as is evident in chapter 86. That happened to also be one of those times when Kat was up early…and once she’s up, she’s up.

3. What was their first impression of each other?

I know this question is meant more for the typical couple, but with these two it’s not as simple as ‘they saw the other and thought they were cute’.

Marik’s first time ‘meeting’ Kat (that he knows of) was in chapter 5 in a vision/dream…and she was a cat. He was pretty annoyed with the cat.

Kat, on the other hand, first ‘met’ Marik not long after his birth. She was more focused on her own current situation, so she only saw him as her friend’s heir and nothing more at the time.

4. Who initiates affection? Why does the other not initiate affection as much?

They are both equal in the ‘initiates affection’ department. Kat has always been affectionate even on a platonic level, as can be seen with her weird relationship with Bakura (Marik occasionally questions if the two are really just friends, but he’s not going to be an ass and tell his girlfriend she needs to change how she acts with her bestie). Because of how affectionate Kat is on a physical level, Marik is at ease showing the same level of affection in return. He found he actually likes it.

5. Do they argue often? If so, what do they argue about?

They’ve had a few arguments, but it’s usually because Kat has this bad habit of trying to keep herself emotionally distant (for good reason). Chapter 57 is where shit hits the fan when she confesses to having a moment of weakness and offering herself to her ex (Atem). Marik is understandably upset, and he blows up over it and storms out of the house.

6. How do they make up/apologize after an argument?

Cuddles. Because I’m the author and I am a sucker for post-argument cuddles. No other reason.

7. How often do they say “I love you”?

Marik is the only one to have said it, and he says it often. Kat has implied it, but she’s still emotionally wounded from her marriage with Atem and the fear of being hurt again is strong enough that she actively avoids saying those words.

8. What do they love most about the other? Why?

Kat- How patient and understanding Marik has been with her. Also how he is able to relate to many of the things she says and does in his own way, and it makes her feel more ‘human’ as a result.

Marik- How Kat makes him feel like he’s in a dream he doesn’t want to wake up from. He gets to explore and learn more about himself without feeling judged.

9. What do they dislike most about the other? Why?

Kat- Dislikes when Marik calls her out on some of the things she does, because she’s been oblivious to a lot of her own behavior for several millennia (too many idiots let her get away with just about everything).

Marik- Dislikes that Kat has this bad habit of doing things that benefit others at the cost of her own happiness. Too much of her personality revolves around making others happy.

10. Do they share any hobbies or interests? How do these things bring them together?

They both like to work in the garage. Kat on muscle cars and Marik on motorcycles. Their first ‘date’ took them to a motorcycle shop that Marik had been wanting to check out, where Kat bought him his first Harley Davidson jacket (it was jean of course, because he’s vegan and won’t wear real leather). They also shared their first kiss in Kat’s garage.

11. How do they feel about nicknames/pet names? If they like them, what pet names do they use? If they hate them, why do they feel that way?

They both use nicknames/terms of endearment.

Kat- Was the first by calling Marik ‘Pretty One’, which quickly evolved into the Egyptian Arabic ‘gamiil’. After Marik said ‘I love you’ the first time, ‘gamiil’ became replaced with the ancient Egyptian ‘sehedj-ib’, which loosely translates to ‘the one who gladdens my heart’. This was her way of expressing that Marik makes her happy.

Marik- Since they made things official between them, he has taken to calling Kat ‘habibty’. It’s his way of showing her that he considers her someone special.

12. Do they have a difficult time when separated from each other, or are they fairly independent?

Mildly independent on both their parts, unless something happens that prompts the need for concern when apart, like Marik’s concern after the events of chapter 91.

13. How do they keep in contact when they’re apart? Do they write letters, talk on the phone, or simply wait out the time?

Their time apart is mostly due to Marik attending school. They spend his lunch period texting.

14. Do they enjoy PDA, or are they more private with affection?

They have no problem expressing how they feel with one another out in the open.

15. What songs remind you of their relationship?

Blinding Lights by the Weeknd

16. Would they ever get matching tattoos? If yes, what would these look like?

So this one is a bit tricky. Kat’s body instantly heals and is resistant to scarring, and Marik doesn’t like the idea of having anything that is ‘permanent’ (for obvious reasons). They would, however, both get airbrushed tattoos. It would probably be some form of a phoenix to symbolize being reborn from their past. Plus, there has to be fire to symbolize Kat’s element, which Marik found he isn’t afraid of.

17. How well do they communicate? Are they open with their feelings/thoughts or more reserved? Why?

Marik is more open in his feelings. Kat is still reserved and has a hard time saying how she feels. This is due to the emotional trauma Atem caused her across the millennia.

18. How do they care for each other when one of them is wounded/sick?

Kat doesn’t really have to worry about wounds or illness, but that doesn’t stop Marik from trying to protect her when someone does something to hurt her, or from worrying when she’s not exactly up to par. Chapter 26 and chapters 58 & 59 are good examples of this.

When Marik was nearly drained by Kat in chapter 33 (during a moment when she wasn’t entirely in control), Kat stayed by his side. She only left when Bakura woke up so she could do some damage control with her bestie, but Malik was present and she knew he would take care of Marik in her absence.

19. Do they wear each other’s clothes/jewelry?

They do! Kat has no issue with some of Marik’s more effeminate clothing choices. If anything, she finds it cute. Marik’s only issue is when she borrows something and doesn’t put it back after. Kat has a bad habit of setting things in places she can find them later, instead of where they belong.

20. How do they comfort each other when one of them is upset? Is this method of comfort effective?

Cuddles and talking. This is most effective towards Kat. Marik needs a bit more, and Kat usually sweetens the pot either with motorcycles or sex. Both are extremely effective.

21. Do they enjoy domestic life?

Domestic life is okay from time-to-time, but it’s not something they would enjoy long-term. They both enjoy the thrill of living on the edge and feeling ‘alive’.

22. Are they comfortable joking around with each other and being silly/playful?

Very much so. They were both robbed of having a real childhood, so they are basically big children some days.

23. What are the defining characteristics of their relationship?

Patience, understanding, and acceptance. Also, the exploration of an unknown future and discovery of self.

24. How do their personalities affect their relationship? Do their characteristics compliment each other, or clash often?

Both are a mix of two different eras, which makes it where they can be genuine with each other. Marik doesn’t feel he has to hide any of his Tomb Keeper past or his time running an international crime organization. Kat doesn’t have to hide that she’s an immortal being from 5,000 years ago or any of the ‘not-human’ aspects of herself.

25. Do they share a room/house? If so, what does it look like and how does it compliment their personalities?

At the moment, they live in Kat’s house, but she’s made space in her room for his stuff. Her vanity has a lot of Marik’s jewelry boxes on it at the moment, along with his makeup. Kat is often minimalist when it comes to these things, but she still owns her share of it. It should go without saying, but Marik obviously keeps his motorcycle in the garage as well.

26. What sacrifices do they make for the other?

Kat- Restricts how much meat she eats in Marik’s presence since he’s vegan (and she’s literally the opposite).

Marik- Made a deal with Apep, the Serpent of Destruction, to help keep Kat’s vampire-like nature a bit more under control (Chapter 34).

27. How do they say “I love you” non-verbally?

Have I mentioned these two enjoy cuddling and just being near each other?

28. Who’s the better chef? Do they cook for the other?

Kat is forbidden from cooking (she doesn’t have the patience for it). Marik isn’t really interested in learning. Both are content with take-out.

29. Describe their nighttime routine.

Marik attempting to remove his jewelry and makeup and getting distracted 99% of the time before he’s finished. He’s 16 and sharing a house and bed with his girlfriend. Hormones are in control come nighttime.

30. What are their respective love languages? Do their love languages work well together?

Kat- Gift giving and physical touch. This is her way of showing that she is paying attention to a person’s likes/wants/needs.

Marik- Giving affirmation and physical touch. Affirmation is his way of showing that the person is important enough to him that he understands what they need/want on an emotional level. It’s progressive on his part as well to step away from the ‘ME’ mentality he had before.

Physical touch is a big one that connects them (hence all the cuddling). Kat likes to touch and be touched. Marik allowing it is his way of showing his trust in her, and he enjoys wrapping his arms around her (she fits just right on his lap where he can rest his chin on her head).

31. Do they often go out on dates? What are these like?

‘Dating’ is still a new concept for Kat. She understands its purpose, but it’s something she’s never done before. Atem was Pharaoh, and they knew each other prior to that. There was no official ‘courting’, it was just Atem asking her to stand beside him and she had feelings for him so she said yes.

Marik never dated in a serious sense. All of his dates were purely casual flings or manipulation to get what he wanted (like with Remi, explained at the end of chapter 45 and continued in 46).

Chapter 85 kind of explains Kat’s side of things and continues for the next few chapters.

32. Do either of them drink? If so, who’s the lightweight, and how does their partner care for them?

Being that alcohol doesn’t affect Kat as quickly, Marik is obviously the lightweight in comparison. His first time drinking alcohol in general was with Kat (Chapter 18). He didn’t drink prior to that because he needed to keep his mind clear to control his puppets with the Rod. Kat only drinks when she isn’t concerned with the side-effect of it dampening her ability to use magic.

33. How do they flirt? Who’s the worst flirt?

They are equals in that area. They both love flirting with each other.

34. Do they have any inside jokes?

Mostly sexual innuendos when flirting.

35. Is their relationship a secret? If so, why?

Nope. Though it was a huge shock to Atem who was okay with it until he regained his memories and realized that his wife had moved on with an Ishtar (he had stolen her from an Ishtar 5,000 years prior, so the irony was not lost on him).

36. How do they feel about having kids? Are they in agreement?

It’s not something that’s been discussed, because Kat has informed Marik that she is incapable. She had to enlist the aid of her father, Anubis, to speak on her behalf to the goddess Meskhenet for Yugi and Imhotep to exist.

37. Who’s more emotionally sensitive/cries more often?

Kat all the way. Marik only cries when he’s emotionally overwhelmed.

38. Who’s got a quicker temper?

Kat has a temper to match her fiery element, and it manifests on a physical level. Something has to really hit the right nerve for Marik to fly off the handle.

39. When and how did they admit that they loved each other? If they haven’t yet, why?

Marik was the first, and he regularly says it (Chapter 44). Kat has yet to say it due to emotional trauma from Atem.

40. Do they have any regrets in their relationship?

In the relationship itself, no. Things they have done since being in the relationship, yes.

41. What would they do if they lost the other?

That may or may not get explored in future chapters…

42. What’s their relationship like with each other’s friends/families?

Fairly decent. Imhotep was an issue for a bit, but he chilled out after the events in chapter 91. Kat isn’t a fan of Ishizu…for reasons.

43. If they picked out outfits for each other, what would they look like?

This kind of already happened in chapter 79. Marik convinced Kat to dress in something more ‘fun and lighthearted’, instead of her usual all-black ‘doom and gloom’. Kat likes seeing Marik in his Battle City get-up.

44. Do they cuddle often? Why or why not?

If you read this far and don’t know the answer, I have to ask: Have you really read any of the previous answers?

45. How do they support each other? How do they rely on each others support?

Marik is able to take a lot of things Kat says and does and relate to it in his own way. By voicing those comparisons, it makes Kat feel understood and seen.

Kat does lean on Marik more in this way, but the fact that Kat doesn't judge Marik for things like how he dresses or his sexuality preferences, helps him feel less like a society outcast (considering he's still getting back on his feet from the whole Battle City fiasco).

46. Do they consider their relationship casual or serious? Is the answer different depending on who you ask? Why?

While Kat's original intention was to make Marik her casual plaything, he charmed her in an unexpected way.

Marik had no intention at all at first, but he found himself oddly drawn to Kat.

They both decided to take things seriously when they became 'official'.

47. Do they sleep beside each other? Why or why not?

Absolutely. Nothing like falling asleep cuddled up together (after having some fun).

48. Do they talk about their future together? Why or why not?

Both are still recovering from their past, and it's kinda hard to bring up a future when one of them doesn't age or die. It's one of those depressing things they'd rather not explore at the moment (plus they've technically only been dating for two weeks).

49. Do they keep secrets from each other?

Unfortunately, but not because they want to. Marik is magically bound to keep the secret of Apep’s current existence (first seen in chapter 34). Kat is also bound in a way as well, in that she can’t explain the true purpose of her 3D chess table (explained a bit in chapter 60).

50. Would they ever break up? If so, why? Who would handle the breakup better?

This one is kind of hard to answer, but something may be coming in future chapters that will delve into possible break-up territory. That’s all I’m going to say on this.

And that’s all 50 questions for this pair! I am going to (regrettably) do these for longfic AU Atem and Bakura next. If you love those idiots as much as I do, keep an eye open for their version in the future. I’m hoping to have it done and posted before I go downstate for Youmacon.

[impactrueno]

ok stop. stop. i'm gonna stop you right there because why in the world are you telling me this? where is this even coming from? what did you see on my blog that would make you come to me with this? i didn't ask ANYONE to justify their feelings about beetIebabes, positive or negative. you don't have to explain anything to me. i don't ship them, and i don't care whether other people ship them or not, or their reasoning why. my ask box is not an open letter column in a magazine, it's part of my blog. i'm a person. this isn't "beetlejuice fandom central" or anything like that.

i already said i do not want any shipping discourse of any kind brought into my blog. respect that.

just know that you're allowed to dislike things. you're good. no one is making you like the ship, i promise. i support you, you're perfectly valid and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. i'm very sorry that happened to your friend, but that's not a "proshipper" thing, that's a groomer thing, and groomers can be ANYWHERE. to see it as an exclusively "proshipper" thing is just going to put you in danger because kids have gotten groomed by shippers of "safe and wholesome" pairings as well. i've seen it happen and it's why i distanced myself from a previous fandom. so please, if YOU are a minor (or just young, adults can get groomed too) please stay on your guard no matter what circles you're in, and yes, even around "safe" shippers. i can't stress this enough.

let me tell you something before i shut this topic down.

this fandom i distanced myself from, i did it because i kept seeing adults pressuring minors to draw certain things. some 16yo kid drew suggestive art of a character under the pretense of a shitpost, and people went crazy over it and demanding more. and kids are always going to give into peer pressure, so of course they continued doing it and escalating the tone of the "shitpost" drawings.

this wasn't a "proship" space, quite the contrary, these were all very "anti" types as you may call it (once again i loathe these terms and shipping discourse is a fucking circus i don't want to involve myself with) the types that enforce safe, appropriate and unproblematic shipping and content. but here they were, hooting and hollering and with a terrifying lack of self-awareness and pressuring the kid to draw more suggestive art. IN PUBLIC. ON TWITTER. everyone thought it was hilarious but i was standing there like "wow! i want to get the fuck out of here" and i tried to remind everyone to NOT give in to peer pressure to do anything you're not comfortable with, but no one was listening because "sexy art of a popular character"

you can be manipulated and peer pressured to do things you're uncomfortable with at any age. especially if you're kind of a people pleaser like i was. people got nsfw art out of me that i didn't want to draw when i was 20. i got used and manipulated by someone who shipped "the correct things" to ship.

you won't realize you're being groomed until it's too late. that's why i insist for kids to stay safe and make wise choices, keep an eye out EVEN IN "SAFE SPACES" and i repeat do NOT let ANYONE pressure you into doing something you're not 100% comfortable with (and even if you are, think it over)

once more: stay safe, guys. no matter who you think your friends are. groomers can use anything to groom you, not just "problematic" ships.

that's all i'm gonna say. don't talk to me about shipping discourse again, please. won't be posting asks about this if i can help it.

[reyesranch]

I feel like atp even if there were plans to make bvddie canon theyre gone now. if tim minear is even half as petty as I am he would see that reaction and go u know what fuck you u actually don't get what you want now cause ur acting so goddamn entitled. like when tarlos fans got mad about the deleted scenes instead of appreciating them being released and his reaction was to say "okay fine then I just won't release deleted scenes anymore" (like I'm sure it was mostly a marketing decision but part of me thinks they intentionally released a scene about bucktommy just to prove a point.) idk man it's just really upsetting as a bi man to see the absolutely vile shit bvddie stans are saying and even tho I love the ship I now never want it to go canon cause they've fuckin ruined it

hey anon, at first let me agree with the fact that i do in fact also love bvddie a lot and i still love reading fics for them, the edits of them are fantastic and the fanart is S tier. it’s a great pairing with a lot of potential there IF the writers decided to ever go there but…

huge answer below

yeah, i agree. i honestly think before tommy was introduced again in 7x03 and the kiss in 7x04 that in my brain, bvddie was the most logical endgame for buck until it wasn’t.

i came into the show shipping bvddie much like a lot of new fans to the show but instead of hopping onto the tommy anti express hate train i found myself falling in love with buck and tommy together. at first i was still on board with bvddie still being endgame but as each episode aired after 7x04 i became faced with the reality of the situation (at least the way i see it) that bvddie might always be fanon and that’s ok because fandom keeps ships alive whether they’re canon or not. some of the biggest ships EVER are non-canon (i mean, cmon spirk? one of the OG MM ships?) so it didn’t really deter me from enjoying bvddie to this day. what HAS deterred me from interacting with bvddie content is toxic bvddies. i don’t like using the lil nicknames, idc if other ppl do, whatever, but i prefer just referring to certain kinds as just toxic plain and simple.

toxic shippers have made it difficult for anyone who multiships to interact with bvddie content. while there are incredibly nice & welcoming bvddie endgamers out there, it doesn’t overshadow the hateful ones in my online experience at least. i’ve blocked so many ppl over this ship discourse, which ive never had to do with any other fandom before the extent i have with 911. everyday i still find new ppl to block, you go under almost any comment section on the 911 insta and its filled with nasty comments abt tommy and only caring abt whether bvddie will be canon in s8. people projecting their hatred of tommy/lou onto the cast/crew of the show when it’s be said and proven time and time again that it’s quite the opposite. now im certain there’s bad apples in the bucktommy side as well, but from what ive seen online so far it is not nearly to the caliber of the bvddie side. ive blocked maybe a handful of bucktommy’s for being hateful towards eddie or being toxic overall, but ive probably blocked over 100+ toxic bvddies. i can only imagine it’d be worse if i was active on 911 twt which i’m not (thank god) but i have ventured into the tags before on there and let me tell you, it’s fucking horrifying how gross ppl are over there. twt is a cesspool for fandom anyways tho, the fucking asshole of fandom, it’s a septic tank really.

now im my own opinion which could be completely untrue of course, but just basing my thoughts on what i’ve seen online and interviews and such, tim seems to be really happy about bucktommy and idk how ppl believe otherwise. tim has expressed he loves LFJ and wanted him back on the show. tim showed up on set for the kiss scene. tim posting an entire youtube vibe abt bucktommy being soulmates that touches on the invisible string theory and explains how they accidentally found buck’s perfect match. tim sharing the deleted tommy scene is also huge but im waiting to see if he releases more (because i remember seen somewhere that he said there’d be more?) and if he does then great but it’s also still pretty telling to me after the whole karaoke fiasco.

oliver has said nothing but praises towards buck’s queer storyline. he quite literally said if you dont like it then watch something else. despite ppl saying he’s never interacted with bucktommy content online, that’s a lie because he has liked fanart of them.

aisha, kenneth & tracie have all expressed how they like tommy/lou and love working with him.

jlh said she loved bvddie before but is excited to see where buck and tommy go and then on an insta live said she doesn’t think bvddie is happening and was bombarded by toxic fans to the point of ending the live early.

ppl think it’s all some ruse to make it seem like bvddie is never happening so when it does happen it’s a “surprise” ……..

the nasty hate comments are doing nothing but exposing these types of ppl for who they are and that honestly to them, 911 is just the bvddie show to them. the people who run these social media accs for 911 are looking at these comments and cringing, they aren’t running to tim and abc being like “we must give these crazies what they want!” they’re mostly likely being ignored or honestly, as you said, being looked at and just reinforcing their decision to most likely make tommy buck’s endgame so as long as his schedule is open for filming.

what gets me the most about the hate these types of shippers spew online is how they aren’t embarrassed because they are so sooo convinced they will be right one day and therefore their insane, nasty behavior online will be justified. oliver stark literally left twt because of fans like this, people act like he was joking around, that he was shooting the shit probably because “he’s british and british people just have that kind of humor” which yes to a certain extent but let me just add these posts to set an example to why if oliver were still on twt he absolutely would not be happy with the way toxic bvddies are acting right now.

oliver (and ryan&other cast too) being positive abt bvddie never meant it was going to be canon of become canon one day. they do not decide these things, whether they believe it should or not. a lot of bvddie shippers come from previous fandoms where queerbaiting was there, where they were made fun of by actors of their ships, by the creators of the show! so i understand the frustration but oliver is not queerbaiting and buck is not a queerbait character when he quite literally is now confirmed bisexual and in a relationship with a man.

he’s just not the “correct” queer to these people. despite headcanons (hell even i hc eddie as queer!!) eddie so far, in canon, is not queer. by the end s7 he is still shown to not be over shannon and ruins his relationship with his son over this. ryan has stated in interviews he sees eddie as heterosexual, possibly pushing this because of the influx of ship discourse, and he’s glad to see a vulnerable and deep friendship that buck and eddie can have as a straight man and a queer man and how important he thinks it is.

every single thing that points to bvddie never going canon is like they’re being shot point blank in the chest. i get it, your ship not becoming canon sucks, but again, that is what fandom is for! shipping has never been about how canon smth is, there is 20k fics out there for bvddie and they aren’t canon. they can turn that into 40k, 100k, 1M if they really wanted to! instead they use their time and energy posting death threats, wishing death upon a gay character, bullying ppl online for enjoying a ship.

meanwhile from what ive seen bucktommys are rolling with goofy ass spy tommy theories created by antis and making jokes for our own fun.

so yes, i agree overall. they truly don’t deserve what they think they do. we didn’t whine and scream for a deleted scene. they did. we got ours without even expecting it and are having fun.

maybe if they behaved better i wouldn’t be so petty abt it. it’s a shame because of how much potential it has, unfortunately it is just not going that way atm. and even if it does one day, it is not because they paraded online with hate, it is because that’s the story tim and the others wanted to write and abc approved it.

🫳🎤

[angstigone]

you had thought that bringing denji and power with you to the grocry story for a late night grocery run would allow aki to rest, as he had seemed more than done with the dynamic duo.

albeit, the two weren't any better behaved with you, they wouldn't at least antagonize against you, mostly embarassing you with their own perks.

hence, you had sent them to pick up a 'reward' for their good behavior while you went to pick up some wine; the thought of having an home date with aki appeared in your mind as you remembered that power and denji would be off to a night shift in the incoming week.

you were examining the different brands when you were startled by a pat on your shoulder and while you thought of finding denji trying to convince you to buy something otrageous, you were faced with a man a few years your senior looking back at you calmly.

«miss, may I ask for an opinion?» he asked politely and although you were definitely tired off as it was - indeed - a late night run, you tried to gently smile and return the politeness «... I was choosing a wine for a date, and I am not an expert so I thought I'd ask for a second opinion».

he then extended two bottles in his hands, continuing to smile politely.

«oh...» what you wanted to actually say was 'the best option would be not picking up wine from a 24/7 kombini' but you were doing the right same, so you weren't in any judgement zone «... alrightie, I did drink the one you have in your right hand and if you'd like to drink vinegar, I am sure you'll be fine».

«that bad?» the man laughed at your sarcastic quip and you smile in compliance «... alright, alright... anything you'd like to suggest».

«your second choice is pretty solid, I do prefer white wine over red, but I'd say it mostly depends on what you'd like to cook and pair with it» you explained although it felt a bit obvious, but tried to be polite not wishing to be thought rude as the man was definitely well-intention. till, he wasn't.

«oh well... that depends» he said, assuming a thoughtful pose before his mouth opened in a smirk «... what would you like to eat on your first date?».

you tried not to let the dread show on your face at the badly-spoken pick up line; it wasn't even the fact that you were - happily - in a relationship, but the way that the man was lookng at you expectantly as if he had just said the best thing ever...

plan to let him down happily as you went to casually play with the lapislazuli ring that aki had gifted you for your birthday, although it was on the wrong hand to be an engagement ring.

«oh that'd be nice... except...».

«except she has already a mate, filthy rat!».

your face dropped further at the highpitched voice that spoke the words, not having to turn around to feel power's - stinky - presence by your side. she had an hat that hid her horns but she didn't look any less terrifying.

«... get your stinky hands off her!».

«power...» you started because as much as you had been aggravated by the unwanted attention from the man and cringy pickup line, you were sure that whatever the fiend would have come up with was much worse than your kind rejection «... it's fine... have you already...».

«don't you have no shame, dude!» oh no, power's craziness was matched with denji's own shamelessness. this was so over «... to hit onto a girl with a boyfriend!».

«a boyfriend?... filthy... rat?» the man looked patiently confused as his eyes racked from power to denji and back and forth «... I didn't know... I was simply... what is it... can't you even shoot your shot with an hot girl anymore?».

«no» power said finally, as you turned your head to check on the situation and found denji shaking his head judgingly «... she and topknot are happily mated! we are just waiting for pups to come out at any ti...».

«and just because a girl is hot, it doesn't mean that she has to give you any time of her day!» denji retorted right as you thought it could get worse and while his discourse did make sense, you were startled when he added «otherwise, I and miss makima would already be... i don't know... a thing?».

«is this... is this some new... anti-creep method?» the man spoke startled and definitely a bit intimidated as he took a few steps back «... to... have your friend pretend they are weirdos?».

«pretending? oh no, the great power doesn't pretend to be anything!» power, instead, moved a step forward as a lounding predator animal «... she's a weirdo!».

«powy, that isn't... well, that isn't a compliment» denji spoke before turning her attention to the unwanted assilant «... and if you know you are a creep why do you try to hit on girls? who's the weirdo now?».

if the man looked more uncomfortoable or confused, you didn't know. you knew just that power's and denji's plan worked as he backed off with a bewildered look, looking thoroughly traumatized.

you turned to denji and power fully, noticing the two high-fiving each other and then bumping their hips as they must have seen on a music video and it reminded you perfectly how young those two were, letting a smile appear on your face.

«he won't probably approach another girl ever» you said and while usually you'd be annoyed at them bothering an unwanted bystander, you felt your mouth quirk up in a smile «... good».

«I know!» denji promptly beat his fist onto his chest as a motte of pride while power smiled promptly.

«we gotta assure ourselves that you are protected when hayakawa isn't with you!» she muttered as if she had seriously given this much thought and you couldn't help but slightly giggle at their ridiculousness.

«well, I could have handled it on my own but thank you for the help» you gently patted each head in thanks.

«you totally couldn't» denji snickered before piping up «and either way, hayakawa promised us treats if we scared any man that approached you».

at that you quirked an eyebrow as power shot him a slight look of aghast horror at the revelation.

«that is so not true».

«it is!» denji insisted although you couldn't see aki to be like that. to say something like that; he wasn't definitely the jealous type and nor had ever been one to be outright possessive «... whether you believe me or not!».

you simply huffed knowing that there was no way you could have won such a competition and it was getting late. you were tired and sleepy and aching to get rid of the awkward meeting with a daily dose of hugging aki tightly to sleep.

«mmh, alright, let's go. put whatever sugary threat in the bin and let's go towards the exit» those two were then all too happy to fall into the discussion as they complied with your request, moving towards the checkout station.

as you scanned the items swiftly you couldn't help thought but smile softly at the small little family you felt, with an overprotective fiend and a cunning hybrid.

---

«... by the way, did you tell denji and power to keep an eye out for any potential dude hitting on me?».

«...».

«you did?!».

«I thought they'd realize I was joking».

«were you?».

«...».

[elliesflower]

i’ve seen discourse abt ellie being stone top or a switch and i’m curious to know how do u hc her? she’s so hot either way idk how to feel😵‍💫

top to bottom [ellie williams]

pairing; ellie x f!reader

an; thanks for this request!! i've never written headcanons before hehe ＊*♡( ⁎ᵕᴗᵕ⁎ ）

18+ only, mdni!!!

so i know a lot of people actually hc ellie as being a bottom, but i really think she's a switch, though definitely preferring to top.

she'd be fucking whipped for you, eager to please you in any way you want, making her perfect to top you—she's the type to anticipate all your needs, and she'd do anything to make sure they're met.

"i know you've had a stressful week baby, let me make it better. please? i'll make it all better, i promise..."

she's just so casually dominant. she has a filthy mouth in casual conversation, and an even filthier one when she has you in her bed or on the table or in the bathroom or behind the church. she always knows exactly what to say to push your buttons, to rile you up, to get you right where she wants you...she'll have you practically kissing her feet, begging to be fucked.

"i know, sweetheart, you've been so good today...so polite, doing everything i asked of you...why don't you lay down for me?"

i think she'd like fucking you any way she could, but fucking you with the strap has to be her favorite. the way your face twists up in pleasure as she pushes past that tight ring of muscle, starting slowly until you're begging for more—and of course, she'll give it to you.

"oh fuck yeah...c'mon babe, arch that back, lemme in...you feel that, huh? nice and deep, just how you like it?"

she's a fucking sex god. have you seen her fucking fingers? i just know that seeing the pleasure she brings you gets her off—the pretty sounds you make while she's stuffing you full, feeling your pussy clench around her fingers as she draws orgasm after orgasm out of you...i just know she could come untouched.

"ah ah, don't cover your mouth, princess, lemme hear those pretty noises you make...yeah, good girl, that's it..."

she's a fucking munch. PERIODT. END OF SENTENCE.

"always so fucking wet for me...lemme taste you, fuck, i gotta taste you..."

buuuuut, she's also a big softie. she'll do anything to make you smile, and doesn't always take sex so seriously. she laughs at herself sometimes, or takes the worst possible moment to make a joke like when she's about to make you cum on her face.

"sorry babe, i couldn't help myself!"

you always know she wants you to top when she asks you to "watch a movie." it's her perfect excuse to cuddle up in your arms while you rub her back, feeling her breaths get heavier and deeper the further your hand trails down, until the night ends with the movie long forgotten, and her coming all over your fingers.

"it's been a long day, babe. let's cuddle and watch a movie?"

she's a fucking whimperer when she's getting fucked, i just know it. she's a little bossy, tells you exactly how many fingers to use, tells you how to grind your hips while you're scissoring, but you'll always do it, because it draws the sweetest sounds out of her pretty pink lips.

"right there, right there...uh, uh, fuck..."

she just wants to be close to you all the time. days off together are the best—laying in bed all day, in between naps kissing sloppily and lazily grinding your hips together, taking turns coaxing gentle orgasms out of each other...there's nothing like it.

"i love you...so much...my everything...."

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for not making any of my characters, that I have to crank out daily, pansexual/polysexual/omnisexual specifically and only making them bi?

🏳️‍🌈👶🏼 so i can recognize this later lmao also I'm not panphobic or anything, this isn't about the validity of the label, pan is fine.

So i (20snb bi) have a project I'm working on where I take all the characters from a specifc media I'm into and pair them up with each other to make every possible ship kid from every possible ship(excluding characters who are kids themselves or are related or something, that shit is gross). Basically taking every character and pairing them up with another and creating a kid I think they'd have. Its a big project with lots of characters and I'm easily over 400 at this point. I really enjoy this, even if I'm not even 25% complete.

However I set a schedule for myself that at least one ship kid needs to come out each day which, considering I draw them, color them and give them some development and some even have siblings, (The refs themselves easily take me an hour to an hour and a half) I have to make lots of them quickly to keep up with my daily grind. I've been doing this project for over a year and although it's stressful, I can get them out quickly with breaks for myself.

Their character sheets all have some pretty basic info like their name, gender, pronouns, personality and more but it also includes their sexuality/orientation. I have a pretty basic list of options for what their sexuality will be: straight, lesbian, gay, Enbian, bi, Aro, ace and aroace with a few random things like polyam, WLW and a good amount of the something-loving-something/juvelic terms. I did this because, well, there's not many entirely unique orientations outside of them and although I love mogai/xenogenders and complex identities, I dont want to potentially drag up discourse or bring problems to my budding art blog over it. Its just not worth it to me to turn something I really care about on its head, even if I like microlabels.

In this case, I'm using bi as an umbrella term as most of the other terms share the same definition with slight variations in wording or action but not much difference in practice. We all like everyone, it's basic stuff. However, apparently this is a problem.

I've gotten one or two anons asking me questions about my guides asking some kind stuff like is this lesbian ship kid a butch or femme or Is this picture of them now or just at the age you put on the ref and other harmless stuff. Then things got rude with some Nbphobia but thrice now I've gotten asks:

1. Asking snarkily if im a panphobe

2. insulting me for not specifically writing pan or Omni and just writing bi.

3. Saying that I "clearly dont care about pansexual representation." Then brought up how my primary oc is native american so i clearly care about representation but that oc used to be a sona and I'm native?? Its confusing. (And Lowkey racist shit to just assume any native character is a "diversity quota" character instead of just a person existing but I digress-)

Im not pan, im bi so ig these people assume I'm not cool with pan people which isnt true? I have nothing aginest them, they are just pretty similar and I dont feel like it matters if they are specfically bi or pan or poly or any other label. I don't go into details like that for any other sub-group, not even pronouns and I included combinations and some common Neopronouns. I understand the importance of representation but my project has less than 50 people looking at it every day, Im not netflix or something. I'm one guy on the most LGBT blogging site with a big project and very little audience, I'm not showing people who wouldn't already know what pan is that pansexuality exists.

This project isn't that deep considering the characters in question aren't human/dont have human characteristics.(no it's not hazbin/helluva) Also ive never spoken about lgbt discourse or stated anything remotely close to it beyond the guides just passively having characters who are an LGBT identity. I've not even mentioned all the potentional orientations they could have so I'm not sure where/why this came up in the first place. The most politcial things ive said are calling out a creator in my fandom who outed themselves as a transphobe and mentioning im pro-palestine. That's it.

I mean this is pretty low stakes, I can just block these people and be done with it and this some seriously online shit but I just wanna check.

Am I being an asshole for just writing bi instead of specifying their mspec label because I have to produce characters quickly and I don't see enough of a difference to warrant a change/specification that would ultimately slow and clog an already stressful and complex project?

I dont think I am but idk lol

What are these acronyms?

[mcsm-confessions]

Right, ok. So, I don't usually put any confessions on this blog, I usually just read what is on here but with all this ship discourse and people hating on rare pairs, I feel like I want to say something now.

As long as your ship isn't:

Minor x Adult

Incest

Glorifying abuse of any kind

Anything that is illegal or immoral

It's fine! I mean, for God's sake, I've seen people, including myself, ship two characters who have never canonically met. And the same goes to enemies to lovers, when done right, it's really good and quite frankly, cute.

Remember, guys. These characters are literal Minecraft blocks. Why are you attacking or just being rude to others because they wanted to ship Romeo x Jesse or something other than Jesse x Lukas/Jesse x Petra? This is nothing against those ships because I too enjoy them as well.

It just feels like this fandom needs to realise, if they don't like something, doesn't mean they have an excuse to be rude to someone. Just don't interact with it, block the tag if you need to. Just don't be rude.

Sorry for rambling in your ask box, mod. I just felt like it needed to be said, though I'm sure someone else has said this before too.

~~~

You're all good, OP. As lovely as the amount of engagement I receive from these debates is, it's also not good for any of us to fight this much. If you don't want to see something, block the tag. Fighting each other over it won't defeat the issue. Agree to disagree on which block people should kiss.

[apathycares]

Why I think the ending of MHA makes sense (manga spoilers)

So I came out of hiding specifically because MHA ended and this blog started off as a place for me to ignore my other works/fandoms and write stuff for MHA so it's a given that I talk about it. Just a little disclaimer – MHA is not my first fandom, and I've been watching anime for forever, so I'm not biased when it comes to shipping or how mangakas end their work. I'm purely speaking from a place of my own sense of objectivity.

Also, since I don't think I've shared my opinion on stuff too much here so it might be weird to my current followers (hi!!), I'm gonna do it headcanon style.

Midoriya being a teacher is not farfetched – some people have said it would've been better if Hori made him a strategist or something along those lines, but you all have to remember that his only goal has been to be a hero. If he wanted to become a strategist he would've (a) thought about/been suggested that when he was quirkless and (b) there's nothing TO strategize since the big bads are all gone. Hawks is running the Commission. Police exist in this verse. He wanted to be a hero fully, so if he wasn't able to do that, then the next logical step would be to TRAIN the next heroes.

Bakugou wouldn't have become number one straight out of high school. Bffr. I know it's anime and we don't have to use real life logic but it's been said over and over again that rankings are both based on feats achieved and popularity, and even though that man has accompanied A LOT, he's always going to be rough around the edges, and as a hero, people are just not going to rock with that. But, given Endeavour's example, I think he could become number one with his feats alone as the years go on in spite of his attitude.

Midoriya not keeping in touch with the rest of his classmates except Bakugou (or maybe not being able to, whichever way it was translated) is NORMAL. How many of you keep in touch with your high school classmates after the fact, regardless of how close you were? How many of you outgrow your very real and very deep friendships? Eight years is a long time. Bakugou being left makes sense because they've known each other forever.

No ships were confirmed. Please let us leave the ending of that as it is. BUT! Let's all ship who we want, create for the ships that we want regardless. That's the beauty of fandoms. We can toy around and find joy in it, but PLEASE don't push that a ship is canon when it's not. As an old head anime fan, there's a distinction between those two. We can all have fun and accept that the series ended with no ships.

Continuing off of the previous point, I LOVE that the manga ended with no ships. That just gives us full liberties to do whatever the hell we want in this fandom and have fun without people rearing their annoying heads and writing shit comments about their pairing being canon. No one gets any ammo.

Aizawa cutting his hair is a crime.

Did they give Touya an ending??? Why can't I remember??? Well, the fact that he didn't is another crime

Everyone else's endings were solid (and I don't see much discourse about this so let's leave it at that)

See now that I'm thinking about it again, Aizawa cutting his hair isn't a crime....but why did they do him like that???

Giving Midoriya a hero suit at the end of it and Bakugou holding his hand out was GOLDEN (I'm indifferent about the suit because Teacher!doriya would've been a solid ending, but the holding the hand out squeezed my heart that was a BEAUTIFUL ending to the entire Deku/Kacchan storyline)

Some people are mentioning that Bakugou calling him Deku destroyed it but y'all forgetting that THAT'S HIS HERO NAME. Stop being lame.

I wanna know the full rankings of everyone just to gauge where Bakugou and everyone else are. Maybe Hori might do a lil something, who knows, but I don't think we need a MHA Shippuden.

High key, if we do get a spin off or something, we need a Misadventures of InsertSomeoneHere to see what a DITL of them at 24(?) looks like

Now that I'm looking at this...the fact that I watched this at their age and it ended with them being 24 and I'm currently 24 is.......

Anyways! Those are my very rushed thoughts. As much as people like to play around MHA, it was a great manga, it had a solid ending for the lore that the story was going for, and it was a great ride. I'm excited to see when all of this gets animated and we can ride this ride again, but this fandom will always be special to me.

[laulink]

Something that I don't often see in the "was Edelgard's war necessary" discourse is the interdependence between the Church and the nobility. The question is always framed such as "are Edelgard's reforms worth starting a war over" or "is the net result of the war positive or negative" or "did she need to invade the Kingdom and Alliance to do her thing or was she just a cold-hearted, power-hungry tyrant" and the arguments given for or against either side of the conflict very rarely includes this simple fact :

No reform is possible in Fodlan because the Church and nobility feed off of each other.

It doesn't matter whether or not the specific reforms Edelgard wants to implement deserve thousands of people to die for them (if such a thing is even objectively quantifiable) ; it doesn't matter what the "net result" of the war is (if you can even make an objective measure on that) ; it doesn't matter whether or not having the Kingdom and Alliance under her authority was necessary to make the reforms she wanted ; absolutely no reform, whatsoever, in any territory, could have been achieved and lasted with the Church still standing. Why ?

Because the Church and the nobility enforce each other's "divine right to rule" and neither wants to lose their power.

Rhea wants to keep Fodlan in stasis until she brings Sothis back. She's done that for a thousand years and will keep doing it for as long as she needs to. How did she do it ? By making the powerful (the Crest-bearing descendants of the Ten Elites) dependant on her. She made their strength (their Crest) dependant on properly following and supporting her Church, instilling in Fodlan's societies the belief that a family won't produce Crest-bearing heirs any longer if they oppose the Goddess. The Crests are therefore both a mark of the Goddess' favour, granting nobles their "divine right to rule", and a pair of shackles binding them to the Church. If the Church falls and the commoners don't believe in the Goddess any longer, they also won't believe in the nobles' divine right to rule anymore and will rebel against the caste system. Therefore, the nobles need to enforce belief in the Goddess by showing how devoted they are, as Ferdinand and Lorenz explain is their noble duty to guide the commoners on the path of the faithful, and by giving the Church money to keep its influence and prestige ; otherwise, the nobility itself will be at risk.

But the reverse is, therefore, also true : if the nobility were to fall or stop supporting the Church (the one Rhea leads, mind you), it would lose power, influence and the money necessary to maintain its presence throughout the continent. The Church needs to make sure that the nobility system either stays the same or at least still relies on the belief in the Goddess. Any reform that abolishes the nobility, title inheritance or Crest supremacy is bound to be an absolute nightmare for the Church. Sounds familiar ?

Three Hopes touches onto this by showing us Rhea's attempts at killing the Bishop of the newly restored Southern Church. She doesn't try to get him killed because Edelgard was the one to choose him, she tries to kill him because this Southern Church represents a threat for the Central Church she leads, and she doesn't accept that.

How is the Southern Church a threat ? Two possible, non-exclusive ways :

The Southern Church's teachings are in opposition to the Central Church's teachings : we don't know exactly what those teachings are, but if the Southern Church's teachings imply that the Central Church's ones are fake, it would put their legitimacy into question. Which brings us to the second point :

The Southern Church is trying to become more prominent than the Central one : the Southern Church was dismantled about 200 years before the start of the game for being "dissident" and is now being revived with Edelgard's support. It doesn't even matter what it teaches the people : it fills a gap in the Imperial citizens' lives. By doing so, and by being morally, publicly and financially supported by the new Emperor, it earns the support of the faithful of the Empire and takes it away from the Central Church, in part at least.

So, because Rhea doesn't accept power being taken away from her, she attacks and tries to kill the "rebellion" in the egg, the same way she did with the "dissidents" of the Western Church in Houses, where she sent her students to execute and capture the priests, then executed the survivors without a trial. Sending an assassin against a bishop is clearly not something she would hesitate to do.

But, in this example, the Church was the one "under attack". You might wonder how Rhea would have reacted if Edelgard hadn't restored the Southern Church or started the war and had simply reformed the Empire without bothering anyone else, right ? Well, the answer is : basically the same thing.

What we know of Edelgard's reforms is that they are meant to end the caste system, let anyone reach a position of power, oust the people who are not competent enough to handle them and deny the very idea that birth determines someone's right to rule over a region or a whole nation. Those are all ideas that the Central Church has spent the last millenia denying and fighting against so the nobles would stay dependant on them ; if Edelgard's reforms were to be implemented, and moreso if they were to be successful, therefore proving that Crests and the ability to rule are not related, the Central Church's teachings would be proved wrong and the people of Fodlan, Kingdom and Alliance included, would rebel and stop supporting the Church and nobility. Rhea would lose her power and Fodlan would evolve, one way or another, outside of her control. She would do anything to avoid that, including sending her knights to support the rebellious nobles (like the ones we see in Hopes) who are bound to fight against Edelgard's tyranny to preserve peace and order in Fodlan, even if it means fighting against the Imperial army until they can march on Enbarr and behead the mad tyrant... which is roughly what happens in SS where the Black Eagles form a rebellion and ally with the Church's forces to fight against Edelgard and ultimately defeat her in order to keep the status quo. Yes, they fought this war because they thought Edelgard was in the wrong and needed to be stopped, but the result is the exact same.

(if you want to get into real world parallels, the Catholic Church was in much the same position of power as the Central Church for a good millenia (the xenophobia and the way it wormed itself into being central in every government by saying the King ruled out of God's will and had to be a good Christian if they wanted to keep their throne is especially similar), but then Martin Luther called it out on its corruption and started the Protestant Church (Southern Church, in Fodlan's case), leading to a long religious and physical conflict where the Catholic Church tried to eradicate the dissidents, with fire among other things)

So, what do we deduce from all this ? Three things :

The Church and nobility feed off of each other to maintain their own power ; if one were to disappear or stop working the way it did in the past, the other would collapse.

Rhea is more than ready to do what it takes to preserve her power and influence over Fodlan because it allows her to keep it in stasis and she believes that is what she should do until her mother comes back from the dead.

Edelgard's reforms would put a dent in Rhea's power, war or no war, which would result in Rhea trying to get her killed so she could put a good, obedient noble on the throne in order to restore the Central Church's power and maintain the nobility's standing in the Empire/Fodlan.

So, in conclusion : no significant change to the system can be made and kept in place for more than a few years, a decade at most, without national level of armed conflict at the very least because the Church and nobility will ally and fight tooth and nail to preserve their power. Taking apart the nobility cannot be done without destroying the Central Church at the same time, for one will always try to save/bring back the other to justify its own power. If Edelgard hadn't started the war, Rhea would have ; if Edelgard hadn't invaded and conquered the Kingdom and Alliance, their nobility would have attacked her in order to avoid her reforms giving ideas to their own population, or the population would have rebelled and started a bloody civil war in order to win their freedom, which would have likely caused more casualties, especially civil ones and children, than a fight between two actual armies.

There would have been war anyway. There would have been thousands of deaths anyway. Edelgard did what she did in order to gain the advantage by attacking first, improve her odds and shape the conflict in a way that would cause the least civilian casualties. We can still debate whether or not she was right or wrong, whether or not there was a better way to achieve her goals and save more lives, but the fact remains that while she did start the war, if she had not, someone else would have in order to stop her reforms. There was no peaceful way to change the whole system. As always, when you want to take power away from a group of people, you have to fight for it, and they will fight back.

[piosplayhouse]

Hi! I came across a post complaining about the guy yuri poll and discourse aside, I vaguely remember you made a post about what is yaoi and what is yuri? I dunno if I dreamed this post up, but I've scrolled and scrolled and I can't find it. So, I wanted to ask (if you don't mind answering >.<), what is yaoi/yuri? (beyond the basic definitions) What counts as guy yuri and girl yaoi?

Uwaa ok so I will say Im planning to actually write a paper on this but I haven't done much research yet so ask in a few months and you'll hopefully have a better answer with cited sources. But here is a bit of what I'm conceptualizing at this point (corrections and additions very welcome!)

What set me down this path really was of course the fantastic Yaoizine hosted by tshirt3000, which includes a rather poignant author's note about broadening the definition of yaoi in public to the abstraction. Indeed, the actual origin of the term "yaoi" is an acronym for "yamanashi, ochinashi, iminashi" (plotless, climaxless, meaningless) from 70s doujinshi spheres wherein it was used as a somewhat self-degrading term to define a specific type of porn-without-plot self-indulgent indie fancomic. These were of course, mostly of the male-male variety. However, as the Yaoizine makes clear, there's not really an inherent gendering within the word in any sense but genre expectation-wise. This becomes particularly salient in the case of perhaps one of the most famous wlw romances out there, Revolutionary Girl Utena. Tshirt cites an interview with the creator of the anime, Ikuhara Kunihiko, where he refers to the relationship between the two main female characters (among other things) as yaoi, recontextualizing the term from merely a mlm genre into a statement on the dynamics of power and consumption as they relate to gender-- an act of sexual passion paired with a reversal of societal norms = yaoi in this case, which is why utenanthy fits perfectly within the term.

Conversely, yuri (lily) is a bit more difficult to analyze from a gender-neutral perspective as it originated not as a counterpart to yaoi, but instead as a counterpart to bara (rose, a term used to refer to erotic gay male content) used when lesbians would write in to gay magazines trying to hook up and whatnot. However, it's pretty agreed upon that the genre grew out of Class S literature, a type of literature based on girls, often senpai and kouhai, going to an all-girls school together and experiencing a connection that straddles the thin line between romance and homosociality. Homosociality like this among women has historically been and to this day remains somewhat under the radar and perceived as a "phase" or an amateur attempt at romance before a woman eventually marries a man. This is where we see significant overlap between pre/early modern Japanese male homosexual literature and lesbian literature, where homosexuality is seen as a youthful phase that will inevitably be grown out of (as in the case with the chigo system, LUG (lesbian before graduation), etc). Essentially, it was very common for the characters of early modern queer literature (mostly written by queer authors btw) to have brief and passionate schoolyard flings before graduating onto "normal" sexuality. Of course, these narratives fell out of style and are considered dead today, but their remnants can still be seen in the subsequent shojo and modern gl manga boom. The yuri that grew from this in the beginning was usually explicitly erotic, but still somewhat held onto the predominant themes of schoolgirl innocence and youthful beauty. Over time, meanings and terminology shifted, and the "yuri" we use today is more interchangeable with "gl", meaning it's not so much of an indicator of explicit content as "yaoi" is. However, I would still argue that one of the largest indicators of a story's "yuri factor" (if you could say that) is its ties to the establishing homosociality progressed into homoromantic relationship genre expectation. Of course, there are many wlw stories that subvert this, (as there are many mlm stories that subvert the yaoi or even bl template) but to me, if you were to compare yaoi and yuri's theming, yaoi's focus tends to skew more towards the intimacy in explicit eroticism, while yuri looks more into the implicit eroticism in intimacy. If that makes sense.

Of course, when looking into "boy yuri" there's also a transfem-coding factor to consider, which I think is what the majority of people have in mind when they refer to a couple as "boy yuri". Historically, there is massive precedent for feminization between male queer couples in historical Japanese literature, as well as in early modern relatives of bl, mainly Inagaki Taruho's work, so it would be somewhat disingenuous to say feminization is a purely modern, female-created phenomenon. But anyway, those are my (somewhat messy and likely inaccurate) thoughts so far, let me know what you all think. Have a happy yaoimas and merry new yuri, as they say.

[drbased]

This is really not directed at you, but I don't think sending this to the actual OP would be productive- that womb envy post strikes me as pure woo woo. Particularly this irritating line, which the OP even highlights: "Is not the tremendous strength in men of the impulse to creative work in every field precisely due to their feeling of playing a relatively small part in the creation of a living being, which constantly impels them to an overcompensation in achievements?" This is psychologizing where there needs to be no psychologizing, and at the same time a bizarre unquestioned assumption of women's lesser creative accomplishment. Even if we took this claim at face value, would it not in fact imply the very superiority of men? Is it wise to pit a physical trait, a non-skill one just happens to be born with through no action of their own, against the human power of creativity? As for idea male creativity is driven by womb envy on some deep subconscious level… this is about as legitimate as any equivalent claim by freud.

I understand the reverent attitude of some feminists toward motherhood and the uterus is a reaction to the way we are devalued and exploited for our reproductive anatomy, a cathartic reversal (or, """reversal""") of male supremacist rhetoric. But just as women are not inferior for any of our comparative physical disadvantages, it only comes across as self-serving hypocrisy when we try to turn it around to our benefit.

(Also, side note, because no one should be expected to vet any blog they reblog. But reading her blog should show you where this type of thought originates. It's very unnerving and very regressive.)

I'm actually ecstatic over the quality of responses and anons I get now. When people are responding to you with discourse instead of OP, that's when you know you've made it :P

I actually fundamentally disagree at the whole thing being woo-woo. I do believe that men have womb-envy - or, rather, I believe that they perhaps once did, back when we were all much more primitive beings with a direct relationship with our own mortality and the fundamental terror of being alive, vulnerable human beings - and these blossoming existential terrors have been built on and so form the fabric of the collective narrative, associated biases and language. In my tag theory posting I like to examine male psychology and where men's oppression of women's actually came from, since I despise this idea that men are intrinsically 'bad' on some biological/pseudo-spiritual level - said rhetoric, that forms an easy-to-swallow narrative, keeps seeping through radfem spaces (through blogs like OPs) and directly contradicts all the feminist theory that shows just how deep socialisation goes and how much these are human problems with human beliefs at the root of them. From my observation, it seems to be a repeating pattern time and time again that everything men say about women is projection, and so I've come to formulate this hypothesis that projection from the oppressor class is a window into said class's psychology and neuroses. So where men claim that women have penis envy, I think whilst for some women it is simply an easy catharsis to simply go 'no u', for me I do think there's real reasoning to suggest that men are the ones who have womb envy.

Similarly, whilst men claim they are superior for their biology, there are also a large number of feminist-identified women who want the catharsis of reversing the claim and using different metrics to claim women's biological superiority. I admit I do experience this catharsis, but also I think part of that catharsis is the greater knowledge I gain from exploring the idea that women's bodies aren't just a broken crock of shit doomed to pain and misery, and that we're actually much more hardy, have better pain tolerance etc. - and that 'women live longer' isn't just some stupid joke to pair up with 'because they're not married to men'. I find exploring the contrary to be a useful way to deconstruct from male supremacist rhetoric. Although at the end of it all I still refuse to use the word 'superior' - also because it's a losing game, since it's not fucking real you could make up any criteria, and as long as these symbolic concepts exist their meaning is always going to be owned by the ruling class. This is why on my side-blog learningwomanhood I use the tag 'female as default' rather than 'female supremacy' - as well as the whole female supremacy thing being a fetish (proof of my point about how the ruling class utilises these concepts), I also think it's much more accurate to say that the reason for women's 'biological superiority' is that we're the default human beings and men, biologically speaking, an offshoot purely for reproduction. So women's bodies are built to survive better because we're, well, the essential ones.

And I don't even really like that - that's not nice to know, that the men I've loved and liked are biologically unnecessary. And then I think, well men who have loved and liked me low-key think that about me - and unlike me, intrinsically believe I'm a lesser human being for it - and they never had a problem with that... ugh. I digress.

And I entirely agree with you about the creativity part. The drive to create is a natural human one; no need to psycho-analyse about it. Men are still human, and trying to create this narrative of men being less human might not be 'bad' in the same way that men dehumanise us, but as I said it's always a losing game, and imo it's intellectual cowardice.

And I do thank you for pointing out the OP. Because I'm not one of those radblr people who will reblog from literally anybody and say 'I shouldn't have to background check every silly post I reblog' - girl, this isn't your fucking diary, this is literally the public and if you know literally anything about politics from the last decade then you'll know that the popular rise of naziism has been entirely because the alt-right glob onto apolitical spaces under some sort of shroedinger's irony - it's all jokes till it's not. If you're not at least somewhat vigilant about what you're sharing and the implicit politics it contains then you're part of the problem. Simply proclaiming that your audience should 'use critical thinking' so you can absolve yourself of responsibility for your influence is exactly why we're in this fucking mess. But I succumb to brain rot like everyone else and my attention span isn't exactly what it should be (especially at the moment, given my life circumstances - which is an explanation, not an excuse). I think if I had read and absorbed the post properly then I wouldn't have reblogged it uncritically.

I am somewhat hesitant to take the post down because as much as I dislike the vibes and the OP, there is an interesting bit of history in there: a woman's response to freud. Considering how freud seems to have shown up in almost every damn feminist book I've read, I think modern day feminism has forgotten just how influential he was on society. My theory is that 'his ideas' (or at least, his popularisation of ideas that were perhaps already floating around psychiatric circles) were so new to the public that they opened up this idea that people have intrinsic beliefs, and that sex has a lot to do with said intrinsic beliefs. This opened the door for a lot of feminists to be able to discuss sexual psychology in an entirely new way. So even if the Karen Horney's response is flawed, then I still think it's a necessary piece of the puzzle to see how women responded to freud's ideas.

OK. So. I think this exchange has been a good criticism of the post so what I'm going to do is screenshot it here and delete my original reblog. I think that covers all bases, thank you.

[roystartt]

stay away from the Buddie fandom! You and ex buddies are so annoying trying to act like you didn’t switch up just exclusively ship bucktommy and stay out of the Buddie fandom we don’t want you here anyway

Um... okay?

I love the fanon pairing of buddie and I also love the canon pairing of bucktommy and that's okay?

What I don't love is how much hate is thrown out with the absence of any and all logic.

Multishipping is perfectly okay and acceptable, and dare I say it... healthy? Because if you get this worked up over a fictional pairing, then that's concerning!

I have always and will always multiship in all and every fandom I enjoy. And I'm certainly not pretending I didn't 'switch up'.

Heck, if we take the singular character of Buck, on top of Bucktommy and Buddie, I also enjoy Bravi, buckxjosh and this one might make you cry but I even enjoyed Buck and Taylor together!

And that's okay!

And it doesn't detract from how much I enjoy Buddie and all this fandom discourse certainly doesn't impact or change whether or not Buddie will ever be canon or not.

[starcanwrecked-confessions]

A bit of a long one so strap in:

Not gonna lie I've seen some posts about Max x Richie that have ended up souring me on their pairing.

I liked the pairing at first, but I also can't really see past the bully/victim trope, especially because Max shows very little if any remorse for bullying the nerds all those years. The closest thing was when he was going to say that the nerds throw a good party, but then immediately turned back on that when he fell 3 stories. Not to mention that he chases and tortures Richie before brutally murdering him.

I do find it interesting to play with the transition of Bully/victim to Jock/Nerd, especially if Max did redeem himself and genuinely apologized, but I suppose I don't see that for him. And whether Richie lives or not, I can't see him putting aside the trauma he faced to date Max if Max isn't truly sorry for what he did to Richie and his friends.

I do see that for Jason and Richie though. Jason and Richie have a cute interaction in the musical before the football game, and Jason genuinely shows remorse for making fun of Richie for as long as he did. He even shows some hesitancy before Max dies (when he says "yeah!" when Max asks if he should let Richie off with a warning, and when he says "if [Steph]'s cool with [Pete], then I'm cool with him."). He also apologizes to Grace at the dance for making fun of her. I think Jason doesn't genuinely want to be a bully, but fears being bullied like the nerds if he pushes back.

But without Max there, he's free to be softer, more caring (consensual butt slaps for the win!), and more willing to apologize, maybe even try to make it up to the nerds. He may have hurt Richie and his friends, but I can see Richie seeing the more caring side of Jason and be willing to pursue a relationship if they both wanted. Heck, Richie called him and Kyle his "bros for life" after the two were genuinely nice to him and his friends for about 2 weeks so Richie is definitely willing to forgive.

I have seen a little discourse of pairing Richie with Max over Jason for other reasons (Jason's paired up with Grace later, potentially racial bias, but I think either way people be sleeping on Jason and Richie in favor of Michie.

I'm not here to ship hate though, these are just my opinions.

~~~

[skywalking-through-life]

what ship do you hate most?

LOL, oh my anonymous friend, I wondered if anyone was going to ask me this. I'm going to try to answer without opening a can of worms about my opinions that I don't know if I'm brave enough to crack open, but we'll see where this goes. This answer - even more than usual - is probably going to be long.

Okay.

I don't hate any ships.

I know that some folks may not believe me, but I genuinely, 100%, I do not. And will not!

Are there ships I don't understand, or don't find appealing, or find disturbing? Yes, very much so! I personally am usually squicked out by ships that are incestuous, ships between an adult and a child, ships where there is a clear and dangerous lack of consent, and ships that are shipped because the person doing the shipping wants to 'punish' or bash one of the characters, so they ship them with whoever will give them the worst time. I have very little patience for stories where the people in the ships cheat on or betray one another in some way as a feature of the relationship, and tend to roll my eyes when I see people use them to vent their feelings about other people's ships. I don't like ships that feel one-dimensional, and I don't tend to like ships absent passion.

But while all of that might annoy or baffle me, dislike of certain pairings or tropes isn't hate, and is small potatoes compared to what I see as a MUCH larger issue.

And that - what I DO hate - isn't any particular ship, but the culture of extreme, sometimes violent, often thoughtless and self-centered emotionalism that (unfortunately) has always been a part of shipping. Ship wars, pro vs anti ship discourse, and the idea that our feelings about the fictional characters we love and hate should somehow translate to how we - REAL HUMAN BEINGS - treat each other; all of this worries me deeply because in this I see the REAL evils of the REAL world bleeding into fictional ones. Hate is a powerful emotion, and to see it applied to real people because of fictional interests? I abhor that - and all it has historically led to - in my very soul.

Whenever I hear about people getting death threats in their inbox for liking/not liking/not having the correct opinions about a ship, whether 'problematic' or otherwise, I genuinely feel sick to my stomach. I understand loving something so much you want to defend it against any perceived attack; I understand thinking something is so evil that it needs to be spoken up against. But I do not, and never have, understood how and why so many folks apply that deep seated anger to FICTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS. Our world is a beautiful and terrible place, and is so wide and complex - wider than the margins of any book, or the frames of any film. Surely we can better spend our passions out there, on the thousands of issues that deserve our attention, our care, and our hearts, rather than in here, on each other, over things that do NOT matter at the end of all things?

And so the end - the ultimate, the core - of this issue for me is this: hating a ship, or participating in ship discourse of some kind, would require me to let fictional worlds have access to my anger, no, to my real, roaring RAGE; to the messy parts of myself and my complicated relationship to the real world that I come into fictional worlds to write myself free of. And I just don't believe there is a place for that kind of vitriol in spaces that are, for me, meant to be joyful and liberative.

[fatcatlittlebox]

I see so much discourse on X about Celeborn and as a multi shipper it's quite annoying. I don't think people realize that Haladriel isn't going anywhere. In fact, when you compare all the established canon couple fanworks against all the protagonist/antagonist (even anti-heros) fanworks in ALL SERIES/BOOKS/SHOWS/ETC TO EVER EXIST, there will always be more of the latter simply because of 2 reasons: the what if's to be explored and the forbidden aspect of it. I wish ppl would calm down. I also find it silly when I see my own mutuals dunk on Haladriel over the 'toxic' aspects and it bothers me too since I like both ships. Unlike Celedriel, you guys can take a Sauron & Galadriel relationship (in all sense of the word, not just in a pairing context) and take it in ANY direction you want, with enough creativity. You can write them as friends in an AU, or even before they became known by their names (like her meeting Mairon before he became Sauron). You can write S1 and S2 (even 3-5) divergence fics, redemption arcs, dystopia fics, crack fics, dead doves, or even fluff (like off-stage AU where they're not enemies off screen). Heck, since you guys got the mind palace thing, and with her growth over the ages, you can even find ways to make non-AU fluff/hurt&comfort (maybe when they're both tired of this endless fight of the ages because it's a stalemate and he wants to repent but he can't due to Morgoth's corruption and he knows it?). Haladriel has a cosmic connection, and I think this implies that even if one of them dies, it will still exist somehow even when they pass into the Undying lands. Haladriels don't understand how much advantage they have with being portrayed by actors with amazing chemistry, an established and growing fanbase, an entire season without any kind of background conflict that takes the focus away from them as their relationship was explored and developed, having it all: UST, 'acquaintances fighting alongside each other to become friends' and the 'friends-to almost?-to enemies' aspect, and there are even Tolkien's writings that confirm he is capable of redemption. I've even seen well-written fan theories on ways that he can redeem himself too. It's like star-crossed lovers baked into every kind of trope that ppl like to explore. Really, I don't understand how it's not obvious enough. Yes, she ends up with Celeborn, and they are happily married and their relationship is secure and comfy. I know that may sound boring to some, but that's why I like Haladriel too, because their relationship isn't confined to only one narrative, unlike Tolkien's works. Yes, you can argue that Haladriel has a doomship narrative because they don't end up together, but the appeal of doomships is that you can DO so much with it in fanon, even completely reverse it (as I've seen in fanfics already). If you tried to do something similar with an established canon ship where they are supposed to be happily married, it doesn't make much sense, unless it's for angst. Celeborn is just a humble normal elf and he doesn't have any that. He just trying to vibe, support Galadriel, and not piss anyone off lol. And I say all of that as a pro-Celeborn fan lol. Sorry for this long rant, I just wish they would leave my poor silver clam alone ;_; and for fans to stop fighting.

I agree 💯 with all of this. That’s why I can happily digest all forms of haladriel. Modern AU, canon divergence, coffee shop fluff, Sauron redemption arc, socially awkward Mairon. All of it. And thank peanut butter and bagels the fanfic writers in this fandom are bar none some of the best fucking writers I have ever read. We are so lucky.

[queer-book-character-tournament]

question, does a queer rs mean both characters have to be queer if it’s m/f? Or is m/f not considered queer since it’s a heterosexual rs

i'm operating under if someone is queer its a queer relationship to avoid any exclusionary nitpicking. the last thing i really want to be doing is re litigating the "are they allowed at pride if they're dating xyz" discourse over these silly polls. if i start saying m/f ships are het no matter what so they can't be here, we'd also be banishing some trans and aspec people from the equation even though their identities are queer, which isn't a road i want to go down, and I don't think most of you do either Now if you tell me i have a m/f pairing on here where they are both 100% cishet, no queer identities involved, then yeah they don't count as it's been stated that the queerness must be in text canon, but that's not really what i think the question was