#i get it as a ship because they have great chemistry but the people treating it as some secret formula that defies comprehension...are u ok?

[imethirdperson]

Very odd to me that people are pretending Laios and Marcille's relationship isn't just friendship. People are like ohhh it's indefinable. ??? It's not indefinable???? They're friends. Literally all descriptors you're trying to give them apply to a friendship. I don't get this

[scurvyboy]

Not to beat a dead horse or whatever, but you don’t see fiddlestan being healthy at any point? I feel like your version of them would have most of their issues figured out by the time they’re old and stuff. Can you talk about their dynamic a bit more pretty please? (I know you just had an ask about this so sorry to keep bringing it up aha 🤪. I’m obsessed with them, and I love your art/au and want to understand them.)

the basis of why i like the fiddlestan ship is strictly because it doesn't work and is doomed to fail. it's a relationship between two extremely damaged people that are only together for transactional reasons.

the way i see it starting: fiddleford comes back to gravity falls after being kicked out by emma may in hopes that he can patch things up with ford. he finds stan there instead and decides to help him fix the portal despite his crushing anxiety about it because he has nowhere else to go. they're both stuck alone in this situation and urges become apparent. things are awkward for a while before they start banging fuck nasty brokeback mountain style.

fiddleford wants stan because he's delusional and still in love with ford. sure he grows to appreciate differences between them and has a separate chemistry with stan, but he is also completely out of touch with reality and rebounding off of his failed marriage with a man who looks just like the one he cheated on his wife with. working on the portal triggers intense panic attacks, which makes him use the memory gun more, which makes him less and less stable.

stan is working himself to death trying to get ford back and just needs affection. the sexual aspect of their relationship helps him blow off steam, but fiddleford also treats him like a person with a brain and allows him to be emotionally vulnerable for the first time in a long while. having someone finally break down his walls is equal parts frightening and addictive for him; he wants to be loved so badly but knows deep down that fiddleford doesn't actually love him, just the person he represents. he's just second best again.

things start to fall apart when it becomes clear that fixing the portal will be impossible without the other journals. fiddleford basically gives up trying to do the work in earnest and just lives in a domestic fantasy world. stan starts to get more and more impatient about the lack of work getting done and the stress makes him a lot more irritated and volatile. the two enter a vicious cycle of violent fights and honeymoon phases until things boil over: stan confronts fiddleford about the memory gun and kicks him out after he tries to use it on him.

post break up fiddleford, now with his cult and savior complex, murder suicides the portal and their affair from both of their memories. however, stan gets his portal memories back being at the shack and goes on to do what he does in canon.

the whole relationship takes place over the course of a few weeks and is as canon compliant as i could manage. i think it's a really fun concept and i think about it all the time.

to be real, i really dislike the idea that all relationships in media have to be healthy and resolved in order to be compelling. the idea that characters NEED to end the story happy and together is just plain unrealistic. i prefer when stories go outside of the limits of "and then they got together and everything was great after that", especially if being in a relationship isn't necessary to a characters arc.

i do think that them getting together when they're older could work and be very nice. however, i also don't think it's entirely necessary, especially since i did make their relationship rotted gutted awful bad. it is cute though, they can kiss and watch tv and marry for taxt purposes i guess.

[cynthiav06]

Question. do you think Percy should have stayed Single? Or ended up with somebody other than Annabeth? I Really think he should have stayed Single. Because I personally don't Like Percabeth, I don't Ship Percabeth and I don't Like Annabeth at all because of the way the Shippers act, or The way the characters themselves in Canon Act, like how Percy just does whatever Annabeth says, or how Percy is scared of Annabeth, Or how fans make it seem like Percy would become an Emo Edge Lord if something happened to Annabeth, Or How much she Belittles and Degrades him (I hate the nickname Seaweed brain), Especially since she acts like Percy cant do anything without her That moment when She and Reyna were talking about how ("Percy Couldn't find his way out of a Paper Bag without you")Made me SO mad it made me Dislike Annabeth even more and Dislike the Percabeth Ship as a Whole, I even hated when she Pretty much Restricted percy of using his powers You Know? "The sea doesn't like to be Restrained" well here it is.. being restrained...Exactly what it hates, and I hate how the Fandom makes Percabeth a Godly Ship saying they are the "It Couple" which they aren't and how They treat anyone who doesn't like Percabeth or Ships Percy with someone else other then Annabeth, but the one thing I HATE the most is how they make EVERYTHING percy Does Romantic for Annabeth like she's the only person who matters to him (Percy Only Remembering Annabeth (a Girl he's Known for only a couple years) Instead of The woman Who RAISED him by a goddess who isn't even the goddess of Love Made me SO MAD and Even when Annabeth made Percy remember when he was in the River Styx when it should have been his Mom made me mad) which is why I mostly believe that Percy Should have just stayed Single (I'm all for an Aromantic Percy) or At least Give him a Love interest who he can be Comfortable around and doesn't have to Constantly walk on Eggshells around her (I wished he Dated Rachel) or Hell Even make him Gay i've saw characters who have Better chemistry with Percy then Annabeth IMO but this all just my opinion.

You honestly don't know how long I could rant on this exact subject.

It's partly Annabeth's fault, and it's partly Rick's fault.

Anyone and everyone who has read the Pjo and HoO series should have noticed how illogical Percy's personality change was.

Percy Jackson, the hero of Olympus and the strongest demigod to ever live, sassy as can be, laid back but scary beyond measure if you cross him and an absolute menace to his enemies and loyal to death.

That's who he is, and Rick remembered that initially, and even till Son of Neptune then he just forgot how Percy someone he himself wrote to be this way is.

It's like Percy has no identity of his own, and he is only significant if he is with Annabeth. Like hello, he's the main character people, is the Fandom seriously going to degrade the main character, especially when the said mc is Percy Jackson???

Percy, despite his own issues, is and will always be foremost in helping people. He would be the first person to help keep the seven together. He would be the first to try and make a bond. He wouldn't have some stupid and illogical and totally ooc beef with Jason. Instead, he would help Jason be more sure of himself to stand up to Jupiter and for himself.

He would help Leo personally to bring back Calypso and they would both shit talk Olympians and how fickle their oaths are.

He would literally do anything to save Nico. Like hello, are you telling me that the boy who at 14 took it upon himself to bear the Great Prophecy, which he thought who end up killing him just to save Nico from that fate????? He would go absolutely madly feral to save Nico from the Giants.

If Piper and Reyna had their screws all properly fit they would see that Annabeth and literally everyone else would be all left to die if it wasn't for Percy. Percy gets himself out of everything by his own efforts and his own strategies. (Annabeth's rarely work). It's time the Fandom acknowledges that the best strategist in the verse is Percy, no questions asked and finally give him due credit for all HIS efforts.

Percy would never ever leave Sally unless it was for a quest, especially not when she was pregnant and absolutely not to go to college, something he hates especially when it concerns New Rome.

Here's a thing about Percabeth shippers they care about Annabeth's plans and her dreams, not Percy's. It is literally so out of character for Percy to want to live in New Rome a place that invests in a child army, a place that despises his father and wouldn't even build him a decent temple, a place so extremely cut off from the sea.

If Percy wanted to live in peace and grow old, he would do it in a place of his choosing close to his mother, Paul and Estelle, and close to the sea. But here's the thing about Percy.

I don't think people get this, but Percy can't just up and leave, nor would he want to. His damned fatal flaw is LOYALTY. He would never ever leave demigods or anyone helpless by leaving Camp Half Blood. Sure he would take less quests on but he would ALWAYS stick around and Rick did him so dirty by making all his thoughts revolve around Annabeth and insinuating he would let others suffer just fine to be with Annabeth.

Percy gave up immortality because he took Sally's teaching to heart as she did so too when she denied Poseidon's offer. He did it for himself for demigods it didn't have shit to do with Annabeth, but of course, he would look at her because she represents his life as a demigod.

Rick making Percy see Annabeth near the Styx and making him remember Annabeth instead of Sally is just him bullshitting. We all know Percy is a mama's boy, and he would do right by Sally always, so him giving a girl who he has known for barely long enough has no basis to it.

And Percabeth stans literally can't take a mention of a single alternate Percy pairing that alone is the biggest red flag. Because they know their ship is toxic and that Annabeth is the root of it.

For the PEOPLE IN THE BACK aka toxic stans:

Annabeth's fatal flaw is HUBRIS, and she is by nature controlling and condescending, and her character had the chance to GROW and CHANGE, and it would have been the most epic character growth sequel but she did not and she is CONTROLLING, DISMISSIVE , DEMEANING.

The newest Read Riordan entry literally has Annabeth saying that she needs to catch up to Percy cause he scores a better grade than her in school (even there Percy is smarter folks there you have it) and she literally says if she doesn't catch up Percy might start calling her SEAWEED BRAIN. So it is a demeaning nickname she gives Percy and continues calling him that even after knowing how Gabe similarly verbally abused Percy.

This is the fandom's IT couple? Wow. Percy literally is going against his own nature of being free and unrestrained like the sea because of Annabeth's controlling nature.

The worst of her behavior is when she blames Percy for his disappearance when she dismissed him when he was talking about his trauma induced by Gabe, her beyond toxic treatment of Rachel, especially when she unreasonably asked Percy to supress the use of the very power that got them out alive (she is scared naturally but she cannot force her own fear on Percy when he did nothing wrong).

So yeah, Percy Jackson with anyone but Annabeth. I am all for aromantic Percy, but personally, I find Perachel to be more appealing.

Trust me, I could rant about this for hours, especially how Rick butchered Percy's personality and made it full of Annabeth, especially how he threw Percy's insecurities and trauma and PTSD out of the gutter post tartarus.

[nalyra-dreaming]

There is something I’ve been grappling with in this show and it’s Loustat. People ship them because they are passionate and two exceptionally handsome men. I also think people conflate Jam’s off-screen chemistry with Loustat’s onscreen chemistry. But do you think Louis deserves Lestat after trying to kill him? 

I’ll be honest, I’m struggling with the direction the show is going because I don’t think Louis is worthy of Lestat. It frustrates me that the show is forcing loustat on us when Lestat could be with someone who unabashedly loves him and wont use Lestat’s greatest fears against him. I know Lestat wasn't perfect, but if Louis wasn't so withholding it would have saved them a lot of problems. 

 It has been a great struggle for me in this fandom hearing people refer to Nicki and Armand as Lestat's abusers when they treated Lestat better than Louis did. I know Armand and Nicki weren’t perfect, but at least they were outspoken about loving him and didn't weaponize Lestat’s fear of loneliness against him. The reunion was nice, but it shocked me that Louis would leave Lestat alone, malnourished, and to continue to fend for himself in a dilapidated shack and return to the comforts of Dubai without him. Meanwhile, Nicki put lestat first and ended his own life instead of physically harming Lestat when he grew unhappy. He also couldn't help that he was ill. Armand has done terrible things, but still loved Lestat and would never threaten lestat’s life directly like Louis did or withhold love. And who could blame him for the messed up way he loves with his traumatic history? David was the perfect companion who has never once brought harm to Lestat in any shape or form. 

 I just want Lestat to have the love he craves and deserves and I just don’t see show Louis being cable of giving it to him like Nicki did, David did, or how Armand would be willing to do if provided the opportunity.  I hate that it takes Claudia’s death for Louis to finally want to treat Lestat right because if Claudia was still here, Louis would still choose her over Lestat. I know Anne wanted a better companion for Lestat than Louis so canonically others are written to be a better match for Lestat that likely won’t get explored because the show seems intent on forcing Loustat on us.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the matter. 

I think I've been quite plain on this, nonny.

People don't ship Loustat because the show pushes them on us, nor because they are handsome men (though they are).

Loustat are the cornerstones of the VC, and the show, together with DM is built on that.

Anne did not want a "better companion", she tried to let Louis go, which I can understand, because he is built on her mourning self and writing him must have reminded her of her dead child with every word. Ultimately though she did not manage that, and returned to reunite Louis with Lestat.

We have not even seen Nicki with Lestat yet, nor Armand. There is no saying what it will turn out to be, though I have my suspicions. We have not even seen Louis with Lestat as it was, since we know we were on a tale that was edited on purpose.

So forgive me, but your lamentation falls short.

No-one is forcing Loustat on anyone.

As I have said so long ago in that rant post - these are all valid relationships in the VC - reducing them to shipping or shipping wars is.... plain stupid, imho.

[demaparbat-hp]

I used to just think Zutara was cool because Zuko and Katara had that whole fire-water duality, had more chemistry with each other than their canon love interests, Kataang gave me this sexist pseudo-incestuous vibe while Mai was just way too under-developed to interest me (Zuko gets the most character development out of all the characters but they pair him off with the most boring character in the series?).

Now when I actually think about it more deeply, Zutara genuinely made more sense for the narrative and characters too. Aang was told he had to let go of Katara so he could become a fully realized Avatar but then he just gets a deus ex machina so he doesn't have to. They dropped an entire arc just for Kataang to get together and made it happen in the most stupid way. The lion turtle deus ex machina was already badly done but at least it sorta made sense with the lore. The rock was just beyond ridiculous. Aang solved his problems by randomly hitting a rock even though they already established how Aang had this unhealthy attachment to Katara because she was his coping mechanism for his lost people. Instead of letting her go, Aang keeps that attachment and becomes even more possessive of her. He never learns to prioritize the world over Katara even though it is his duty as the Avatar! He didn't have to sacrifice or learn anything to achieve his goals and the way he became a fully realized Avatar NEVER made any sense. Katara and Aand were not always intended to end up together if you look at the IP Bible. Katara goes back to the SWT to help rebuild it while Aang goes looking for the hidden Air Nomads. There's hints early on in Book 1 that the Air Nomads are still alive (like how Aang was able to get a bison whistle from some merchants but they never explain where they got it from).

Meanwhile the whole Maiko relationship seemed like it was a metaphor to represent Zuko's false destiny and dissatisfaction with his life since Mai encouraged him to sink into his bad habits and ignore everything else, and Azula actively encouraged them to get together so she could control Zuko easier and keep him in the Fire Nation. Zuko leaving Mai behind felt like him embracing his true destiny. This entire thing falls apart when they get back together though, and them being so toxic in the comics is just further proving how dysfunctional they are (like, do they think this is going to sell us on the ship?). I also thought it was strange that apparently Zuko and Mai liked each other since they were kids but Mai never bothered to write him his entire banishment, Zuko never thought about her, Iroh never mentions her, Zuko was totally fine with going on a date with Jin (which Iroh also encouraged), and Iroh thought Zuko and Katara would make a good couple as soon as he saw them interacting as friends. It makes me think Bryke just created Mai and put her with Zuko as a way to discourage Zutara shippers but then forgot to develop her properly. Zuko doesn't even think about Mai after she risked his life to save him lol.

I'm about to make this a long answer, sorry about that :)

I love narrative, and I love to analyze how it is built. Narrative is the way a story is shaped to express its themes. Narrative is using the events within the story to build metaphors. Narrative is the smart foreshadowing, the parallels, the foils. Narrative is intentional, until it isn't.

I am not a professional. I do not have a college degree on this subject. I just like to think about what can make writing be great or lacking. I am merely expressing my personal opinion on this show and these characters, not stating an universal truth.

ATLA is such a well-written show. It treats its themes maturely and builds the story and characters masterfully. Of course, it isn't perfect, as nothing made by human hands is meant to be. ATLA has issues with its storyline and characters and, ultimately, with the narrative itself.

Aang's character arc is different to Zuko's in that, while Zuko's is focused on change, Aang's ultimately ends with him standing his ground. (And isn't that poetic? That in order to grow they need to embrace the philosophy of their opposite element?)

Zuko was forced to change in order to survive from a very young age. He learned to suppress his true, compassionate nature, to become The Perfect Prince—that which Azula embodies. When Zuko fails to do this, he is burnt and tossed away and forced to change once more. He has been hurt and thus is the farthest he has ever been from his true self—Zuko almost forgets who he is.

Zuko's arc, in that way, is similar to Aang's. It's about staying true to himself, but also about learning, about opening his eyes to the horror and using that same passion he has always had to do the right thing. Zuko changes, not into the person he was, but into someone who could, in the future, turn into the better version of himself.

Aang is different. Aang is a child born into peace, who does not have the personal, terrible experience of his people's genocide or the hundred years of war that have left the world wrecked. Aang's arc is about changing and learning and adapting to this new reality, about accepting his role as the Avatar. But it's also about standing firm and saying, "This is who I am, this is where I come from—pain will not break me".

Aang's struggle to control the Avatar State was all about that. The Avatar State meant that Aang lost control. It meant the pain and the hurt had turned him into a thing of anger (righteous as it was) and instinct and awe. Aang needed to be at peace with himself in order to control the Avatar State.

That tiny rock at the final battle felt like an easy way out. It felt like taking from the sheer terror of watching yourself almost kill a man as if from afar. The real moment of triumph for Aang in the finale happened when he stopped. It happened when he took control back and ended the Avatar State, stopping himself from betraying what he believed in.

Was not killing Ozai truly the best choice? I won't get into that debate. I know where I stand on it, but it's not really the point I'm trying to make here.

Aang's triumph, character-wise, happens when he stands his ground and refuses to abandon who he is and what he believes in. And for someone whose flight or fight response almost always turns to flight, this is a huge deal.

Now, where do Katara and Mai stand on this?

It has always been clear to me (even as a Maiko shipper) that Mai was always supposed to be a narrative device. Her relationship with Zuko is supposed to give us, the viewers, and him, another reason to see that this isn't the life he wants, that everything isn't perfect even when it should be on paper.

Zuko goes back home. Zuko is welcomed by his nation with open arms. He is revered. Loved. His father tells him he is proud of him. Zuko has a doting girlfriend—a beautiful, noble girl who can kick his ass and is everything a Fire Prince could wish for. She is adequate and things with her are easy, untroubled. Zuko has everything he could wish for.

And yet he is not happy.

Mai and Zuko have issues that should not be pinned fully on either of them. They had trouble comunicating. They wanted different things in life. They had different ways to look at the world. Different ways to look at each other. Different ways to cope. Different ways to express themselves. Different expectations.

And that's okay. It's possible to make a relationship like that work. Nobody is perfect and no relationship is flawless. Opposites attract and it's possible to find a middle ground in which they can both be happy.

Except they never truly did.

Mai and Zuko's relationship was a plot device. One that did its job damn well... Until it didn't.

If your relationship with the girl is supposed to symbolize the lowest point in your life, and going back into being someone you don't like anymore, then why get back to her when the story is over?

As for Katara, well...

Many things have been said about the abandoned Letting Go Of Katara arc. I'd like to avoid that discussion right now, if that's okay.

I think Zuko and Katara's relationship would have made a lot of sense both narratively and thematically, but also (and most importantly) it would have made sense character-wise.

Give them a few years, let them explore the beautiful friendship they had at the end of the series. Let them find themselves and grow into their roles in this different, exciting new world. Let them reconnect.

If they fall in love in the process? Well, maybe it was a long time coming.

[canonical-transformation]

Genshin ships: stock market update (Natlan Act 3+4)

(Warning: May contain spoilers for character appearances and dynamics in [Chapter 5 Act 3–4] Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors and The Rainbow Destined to Burn. Previous entries here.) This is for entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice: consult with your ship financial advisor before you invest.

Citlali/Traveller — This ship has everything. Handholding. Accidental mind reading tropes. Fast friendships in middle age. Drunken soul-baring. Palm reading. Coparenting dynamics. They sat and watched the moon together. BUY.

Capitano/Traveller — HOLD. Solid starting potential but their interactions have all been too high stakes to get a sense of how their personalities interact.

Mavuika/Capitano — SELL OR HOLD. Too early to call; Act 5 could make or break this.

Mavuika/Xilonen — Our previous recommendation has changed; it's now a strong BUY. Our analysts say they haven't seen this level of weary fondness since 2021's "pay your fines, Captain", and Dainsleif hinting that Xilonen does everything in her power to avoid being around when Mavuika turns up is just icing on the cake.

Kinich/K'uhul Ajaw — HOLD. Just because two people are married doesn't mean there's a ship in there. Sometimes it's just for tax purposes.

Paimon/K'uhul Ajaw — SELL. The world's best travel guide deserves someone who will treat her with respect, such as... uh... Sorush?

Mehrak/K'uhul Ajaw — be serious.

Traveller/Teleport Waypoints — after Act 4? As if. SELL.

Enjou/Aether — BUY BUY BUY does this even need explaining?

Enjou/Lumine — HOLD. Our analysts hurriedly added, “Nonono it's not a gender thing, it's because Aether likes Pyro slimes and Lumine likes Cryo slimes more so really we should be shipping Lumine with the Maguu Kenki or something.”

Chasca/Shenhe — SELL. Bird mating rituals aren't nearly as fun without the possibility of oviposition. Or, um. So I heard. Stick with Xianyun/Kujou Sara.

Cyno/Kinich — *sigh*, no, SELL. Too (ki-)niche.

Ronova/Xbalanque — HOLD OR BUY. Btw, are we sure the Archon War made it west of Liyue? >_>

Citlali/Faruzan — HOLD. It's too early to compare their traumas for thematic compatibility, but it's not out of the question. Watch this space.

Citlali/Draff — *wince*

------

We tend not to advise on heavily optioned stocks due to all the short selling activity, but for those of you who were wondering:

Citlali/Ororon — too volatile to call. This is the first explicit (grand)parental relationship between playable characters, so it technically fills a niche, but it's unclear whether that's a niche anyone went into Genshin looking for.

Chuychu/Chasca — the analysts just gave me a really withering look so I guess SELL? "Too soon"? What's that supposed to mean? She's just resting her eyes, right?

Mavuika/Nahida — SELL OR HOLD. The motif of memories as fuel is great and all but Mavuika is way too young.

Ematol/Phonia — SELL. The worst part is that they're not even the kind of sisters where that would have any transgressive je ne sais quoi. They're just like flatmates. Bert and Ernie minus the chemistry.

And that's it for now. Keep an eye on the Sumeru market later this patch— we're expecting predictable dividend payouts on all the blue chip stocks.

[batmansblushofrobins]

Bridgerton as an AroAce

As an aromantic asexual, I have a lot of thoughts on romance in media and amatonormativity. I used to just hate all romance on sight--it got to the point that any time a book hinted at two people getting together, I would get annoyed. It took me a while realize it’s not the romance that bothers me, but how it is treated as something to be wanted by everyone even in worlds on the other side of the universe. I like watching things centered on romance but dislike romance being inserted into other genres (plus, established relationships/domestic fluff makes me cringe). I've grown more tolerant over time and can even appreciate some canon ships if they are done well; the first of which I can remember enjoying was Six of Crows, and I could write a whole other essay on why its romantic pairings worked; however, I would much rather read fanfiction about two characters getting together that I feel have the right chemistry for it than chance reading or watching something with romance that I will, in all likelihood, hate. There was a post on here a while back that talked about how if they were reading fanfiction, that meant they were specifically seeking romance out and in the mood for it. I will try to find and link it, because it's really relevant here.

Anyways, enough of the personal preface. Here are my romance-related thoughts on Bridgerton Season 1:

The only other romance shows I've enjoyed are the Pride and Prejudice 80’s miniseries and Heartstopper, so I surprised myself by liking Bridgerton.

SIMON/DAPHNE: Obviously I liked this season enough to keep going, but, looking back, I like it the least. It has a lot to do with Daphne SAing him and being forgiven by the narrative (it made me do the whatever is the opposite of putting on rose-coloured glasses when I remember the season. spilling milk over the film reel? idk), but even if I think of their relationship before that happened, it’s not my favourite. I liked the fake dating trope, but sometimes the misunderstandings were a bit much. Every time they talked, things improved. I know that it's for the drama, but I was still annoyed when they avoided each other again and again.

ELOISE: I related to her so much. She had no love interest this season. She rejected social conventions and the typical path for a lady, was more interested in reading than the idea of courting someone, and wanted to remain a spinster with Penelope forever. So many of her lines resonated with me. I knew because of the type of show that there was no way they would keep her single, but I guess I still had hoped for the impossible.

Season 2:

KATHANI/ANTHONY: This was my favourite pairing of the whole show. I loved how they could be vulnerable together and how many parallels there were between them, such as them feeling the need to protect their younger siblings. Anthony choosing to marry Edwina frustrated me, but I was frustrated at the characters rather than the writers. It felt in-character instead of being there to further the plot along.

ELOISE: This season, Eloise anxiously made her debut. Her mother pushed for her to give love a chance. Violet is well intentioned, but she believes romantic love is the only way to be happy in life since it was what made her happy. Eloise dodged potential suitors and stuck close to Penelope at the balls. Despite this, she got a love interest as I feared. Her relationship with Theo was… cute, unfortunately. I was still upset that she needlessly got a love interest, but at least it was based around intellect which is true to Eloise’s character. Another thing that happened this season was that Kate told her that being a spinster is not as great as one would think. That is probably true for the time period since women didn’t have the freedom to move about the world without a chaperone, but it still perpetuates the idea that single people, specifically women, won’t be happy long-term.

[thenightshadowqueen]

What do you think are Merlin and Arthur’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic?

Also, what are your top 5 favorite moments from Merlin BBC? Sorry if you've answered this questions before....

Ooh, those are great questions! And don’t worry; I haven’t done these yet. Thank you for the ask! I am so, so sorry that it’s taken me so long to get to this; I’ve been having a time the past few weeks, and I wanted to give you a properly thought-out answer.

Okay, so: Merlin. I think the idea of strengths and weaknesses for him really comes from whose perspective you’re looking from. If we’re looking at what makes him such a compelling character, then I think his greatest strength is his complete and unconditional devotion to Arthur. That is what draws me, at least, so totally to his character—not in the sense that he isn’t a fascinating and full character separate from Arthur, but in the sense that his self, especially in the later seasons, is so fundamentally tied to Arthur that it’s impossible to have Merlin as he is without Arthur. However, if we’re looking at strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of Merlin’s own mental health, this very same trait is his greatest weakness. The same is true if you look at all of the bad things that happened due to Merlin’s decisions: his worst decisions were made with Arthur’s best interests at heart.

Arthur’s strengths and weaknesses are, I think, a little easier to determine. His greatest strength is probably his dedication to his people and his determination to do what’s best for his kingdom. On the other hand, he is a bit of a dick, especially during the earlier seasons. He can also be quite oblivious (some of which is his character and some of which is questionable writing).

As for what I love about the dynamic, I think a lot of it comes down to the fundamental imbalance of the whole thing. I’m fascinated and quite compelled by unhealthy ship dynamics (I have my theories as to why, but we don’t need to get into that here), and just the fact that Arthur doesn’t know about Merlin’s magic means that their relationship can never be equal. And then, when you think about Merlin’s self-destructive devotion, it all becomes clear. Arthur is just as dedicated to Merlin as the other way around, but because Arthur doesn’t have all the information, he is unable to put in the same amount of effort and love as Merlin. [Autocorrect tried to change ‘love’ to ‘lube’. Just thought I’d share that.] Of course, there’s also the fucking chemistry; that’s what got me into them in the first place, but the unbalance of the whole thing is why I’ve stayed so long.

Top 5 BBC Merlin Moments

5. “Where does it say my destiny includes murder?” (S1E12)

This scene has always stood out to me during rewatches, because with the context of the full show, it’s dripping in dramatic irony. Merlin kills so many people for Arthur, most necessary and some not, and at some point he stops thinking twice about it, because he’ll do anything to protect Arthur. And this scene is so fucking sad, because he’s so innocent, and you just know that that’s all going to be ripped away.

4. Merlin poisoning Morgana (S2E12)

This is such a crucial turning point. This kind of solidifies Morgana turning sides, but it’s also the first moment you get to see that ruthlessly devoted side of Merlin. I mean, he poisons one of his closest friends to save Arthur. And I feel like this is one of the first times we really get to see how far he’s willing to go. Also, shoutout to Colin and Katie, because the acting was incredible.

3. That one five-second shot of Morgana grabbing Gwaine’s jaw (S4E12)

Look, I have deep reasons for the other ones. I’m allowed to have one shallow moment as a favourite. As a treat. They’re both so fucking gorgeous, and together? In that dynamic? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: they are conspiring to cause my death.

2. Arthur and Merlin’s fight in the marketplace (S1E1)

They’re both such sassy little shits in this scene, and I love them for it. But also the pure sexual tension in that scene is unreal. Like, Arthur is so fucking delighted to find someone who treats him like a normal person, and Merlin is just pissed off. Is there a better dynamic? I don’t think so.

1. Arthur’s death (S5E13)

It’s heartbreaking. I’m not denying that. But it’s gorgeous. Colin and Bradley did such an amazing job, and there’s so much love and heartbreak packed into those few minutes, and I actually don’t know what I can say about how much I love it other than just look at it.

[soulfulazrael]

I think the Vs being in the same season as Heaven was such a massive error. Seriously they barely showed up and the stakes got fucked because honeslty what threat do the Vs actually pose? Charlie herself could probably bitch slap them and even if she didn't want to, she could cry to her daddy and have Lucifer to do it and then shred Angel's contract in a paper shredder. They already sent Heaven packing, the Vs themselves don't pose a threat and would need some other op villain to prop them up(Probably Eve or Roo or whatever).

Like all Vox did was get pissy at Alastor and for some reason has a crush on him? Like this just feels like fan service for shippers? Like can we just have people be rivals? And Velvette sang. Val is the only who did anything and even then, it doesn't really go anywhere because they shove this heaven stuff in at the same time.

Yeah. I think this is the example of how little patience Viv had when it comes to Hazbin Hotel. Yes. She had no clue if she was gonna get Season 2, but she should have adapted and instead of shoving everything into one season she should have tried to make season 1 feel like a cohesive and well done story that has a beginning, middle and end. Treat it like a one season series like Over The Garden Wall where while she cannot put all of her ideas into it she can put in some of them and give them time necessary for them to be developed into something great.

To me they should have cut MOST of the plot lines and put in maybe only Angel Redemption where you can focus on it. Let this one idea be focused on and be well developed. Let it be the overarching goal of the season. Redeeming your first sinner and make it feel impactful so even if you do not have a season 2 you still have one cohesive story with beginning, middle and end that can end on an impactful and hopeful note as you explore what it means to redeem someone and feel the weight of redemption when it finally happens. You can explore in depth the most important element of the story, the thing that this story is build upon and what the titular Hotel is all about. Redemption. Through that you can delve into Angel's character, show his flaws and issues that he has to overcome, sins he committed in life he has to atone for and get over and people that he hurt through them. Delve into this idea and explore it as much as you can and when redemption happens you know how much it takes to redeem someone and what it means. And then if you DO get Season 2 you can show this happen a lot faster with more sinners and that would lead to sense of progression around which you can write more drama. Maybe with Charlie who may be getting more and more conflicted as she sees people she grows to care about go away.

Also this allows you to take more time with character interactions. Make them more varied. Maybe through trying to get this one person redeemed you can have everyone contribute in their own way where you can either learn more about them, Angel or both and around that can be made unique interactions between ALL of the characters and it lets you explore more of the hotel which helps you care about it. And it also can lead you to introduce more characters, but those would be all centered around this story and one goal, making it make sense and be cohesive when they show up. It would immensely help with character interactions which are LAUGHABLY sparse as characters barely interact with one another besides the ship pairs like Vaggie and Charlie or Husk and Angel where neither of those even have much of a chemistry at all and require the audience to already be invested in those. Which makes the entire cast feel very shallow. Not to mention that we barely spend any time at the hotel and we see barely any location inside it besides the main hall so when it finally is broken we feel nothing as we barely got to know that location. And it's fixed in ONE song. That's not how you do it. Think about it. All of those emotional beats. First redeemed sinner. Death of Pentious. Death of Dazzle. Destruction of the Hotel. Appearance of Heaven. All of it feels WEAK as none of those ideas were given proper time and so they are barely noticeable. And that was the ONLY chance Viv had at doing those. And she wasted them on this rushed season.

And let me tell you. If I had a choice between putting all of my ideas into one story and almost all of them being underdeveloped and bad in execution or putting fewer ones and letting them be developed into something great then I choose the latter. People may not see all of my ideas, but those they will, they will remember and looked back at fondly. Something I DO NOT think will happen with this.

My idea for seasons of this series would be like this:

Season 1 - redeeming first Sinner who is Angel Dust and main villain is Val. Exploration of Angel and many other characters through trying to get him to achieve redemption where each character gets explored as they try to help out in their own way and either you learn more about Angel or a member of the cast. Ends on Angel ascending and Val beaten and killed by other Vees who in this version may be abused by him and they end up being antagonists of next season.

Season 2 - Other 2 Vees become antagonists as Charlie is now redeeming far more sinners, but she starts to grow weary as she realizes she will be alone eventually which Alastor also exploits to corrupt her. Ends on maybe Velvette being killed as Vox himself may find a way to also attain more power and Charlie becomes more corrupted and destroys a lot of her work while Alastor regrets his actions.

Season 3 - Dealing with Vox and fixing Charlie. Heaven is now being more hinted at and Lucifer himself is now far more involved (who is not as positive character as in the show). Eventually leads to Heaven getting closer as Hotel stops working during this time and population increases again.

Season 4- Heaven and Hell in conflict as everyone tries to fix their mistakes. Maybe ends with both Heaven and Hell now rejecting the main crew as maybe at the end Hazbin Hotel becomes actual Purgatory where sinners can be judged when they die. Abandoned by both Hell and Heaven Charlie and those who remain can forge their own paradise and their own purpose beyond Mandates of Heaven and Cruelty of Hell.

Just an idea

[just-an-assbutt]

Damn, I hate the infantilisation of F1

I keep reading and seeing shit about how “Ferrari separated two best friends” with their decision or how “Carlos is way better than Hamilton”. Do these people even watch of follow F1? Best friends? Carlos better than Ham? Really?

Yes, Charles and Carlos have a good relationship, but it’s not like they are the only good teammates each other had and they definitely aren’t best friends. Charles had a great relationship with Vettel (even if he did better than the 4 times WDC), and has shown plenty of times that he gets along amazingly with Ham. Damn, he even gets along well with Max, and they used to hate each other. Why the fuck are people acting like Carlos and Charles have this unique relationship? What makes them believe that Charles won’t get along with Ham? Valteri and Lewis are still friends and they get along just fine, Lewis has said more than a few times that he likes Charles a lot and he even one time admitted that if he wasn’t racing, he would be with the Tifosi cheering for Charles. Carlos has a way better friendship with Lando than he has with Charles, he even has a good relationship with Max, even though they weren’t exactly the best teammates in Toro Rosso. They are all work-friends and unless someone really screws up, they won’t stop liking each other just because they change teams.

On the other hand, these people are working and competing, this is not choosing your chemistry class partner or a friend to sit next to at school, these are grown up men fighting for the top and competing for millions of euros. Stop treating the seats as friendships bracelets, a seat means money, sponsors and the chance of driving a better car, not the chance of doing funny videos and challenges with your friend. The videos and the funny moments are just some relaxing and cute content, not the main part of getting a seat and a teammate. The drivers can like each other and be friends, but they are working and their priority is not having fun but winning races. The addition of a driver to a team is not making cute videos for edits or just to hug the other driver at the podium, they are added to bring better input about the car’s performance, to work along the engineer and mechanics to better the car, to drive better and bring more results than the team is getting. Get a grip people, this is a fucking competition and business.

This brings me to the last point, which is: Yes, Carlos is a great driver but IN WHICH WORLD A 0 WDC DRIVER IS BETTER THAN A 7 -TIMES-WDC-CHAMPION ONE?! Carlos better than Ham? Do these people really know anything about the sport? Lewis was dominating F1 3 years ago and he dominated it for nearly a decade, he has more wins, poles, points and WDC titles than anyone on the grid, he’s Schumacher level, he’s the one that can give Ferrari the best input about a winning car performance. He finished 3rd (almost 2nd) last year with one of the worst cars Mercedes has made in the last 5 years. Carlos is doing great now, no doubt about that but he has 3 wins in 10 years on the category and his overall record is still not as good as Charles, even with Leclerc having less time in F1. I’m not saying that Carlos is a bad driver, but on which grounds do people think they can compare him to LEWIS HAMILTON. I mean, SEVEN TIMES WORLD CHAMPION, TOP THREE DRIVER LAST YEAR, MOST WINNING DRIVER OF THE GRID, WITH SEVENTEEN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND WITH THE BEST ROOKIE OF HIS ERA. That man could be a winning ticket for Ferrari and as a plus, he could help Charles better up his game, like Vettel did.

It really exasperates me that some people (sadly mostly girls) flood the Scuderia, F1 official account and the fan pages with this shitty intakes of the sport. One thing is to have fun (we all do, I even ship drivers for fun) but a whole other thing is to act or take as if those funny ideas are some serious opinions of the sport. Shipping and having fun is just that, but how can someone pretend that a team would choose a driver to get their seat so lightly and childishly?

Get. A. Grip. People. This is a competition and the decisions are made TO FUCKING WIN.

[reachexceedinggrasp]

Watched Your Monster. Disappointed. Vaguish spoilers below:

So, imagine if someone saw Drop Dead Fred and was like, okay I see the psychosexual subtext but what this needs is to have that subtext be text but also to not make sense, a weirdly placed sex scene with the manifestation of her own mind, and instead of our protagonist healing and reconciling the destructive part of her personality back into a cohesive whole at the end, for her to just go apeshit.

That's this movie.

Except the chemistry was much better in Drop Dead Fred, the characters were way more engaging, and the movie implies he's some kind of independently real magical being and not just in her head, which is objectively superior on a romanticism front and makes shipping it infinitely less weird. DDF also says it's okay to be wild sometimes, but we can express our imaginations while refusing to let people walk over us AND be functional human beings. This movie, on the other hand, is just grim. What's the message? Be a doormat to assholes because if you embrace your emotions and stand up for yourself you will go fully insane and end up alone with your delusions in prison for murder.

In DDF she confronts the people who stifled her and abused her, she learns that how they treat her isn't okay, she learns to express that anger and hurt, but she's healed and empowered by it. Learning to love herself and let go is positive and productive in her life. In Your Monster, it is very much not that. Embracing her monster destroys what was left of her life. And again, the monster is not real. He is her. I'm always, without fail, on Team Magic in any story where it could potentially be considered an open question, but I don't think it can here. It's unambiguous that he is solely a metaphor and not an actual magical creature who exists. This movie does not risk you not getting that metaphor, it spells it out in painfully on the nose dialogue.

The love story is just... bizarre. Because he's a metaphor. She has a sex scene with a metaphor for her repressed anger. This is weird in the bad way. This doesn't cohere as a narrative either as romance, as comedy, as horror, as social commentary, as a character study, as anything. It's a mess. There's some shoddy directorial work, too, but I think I read it's the director's first feature film and was low budget so I'm not going to harp on that.

I liked watching some of it. Some cute stuff. I'm literally always on board for characters performing Shakespeare to each other. Main actress was great. I liked the 'twist' (using the term generously) that Jackie is genuinely a good person, not that her kindness ends up helping anyone. It's just... this is part of a sad trend of movies selling themselves as Women's Fiction with Gothic sensibilities turning out to be toothless and meh. This is definitely better than Lisa Frankenstein, however. So it's got that going for it.

[mcsm-confessions]

i wish the mcsm fandom cared more about wlw ships 😭😭 all anyone EVER talks about is jesskas!!! its a good ship yeah but it gets old when its the only thing that ever gets attention!!!! any post i make about jesskas gets hundreds of notes but when it comes to posting jesstra, or other smaller wlw ships like olivitra, stelltra, harpeegaard, bintella, etc, only a few people care! those being a small group of jesstra fans who all know each other 😕 both ships have great chemistry, with jesstra still having significantly MORE chemistry, people just only acknowledge jesskas because its the popular (usually)mlm ship. AND to make it worse they mischaracterize them too

this isnt jesskas neg, i love them, i just wish people didnt ONLY talk about them and no other ships

ALSO IN GENERAL girls are just treated horrible in this fandom and it needs to stop... ive seen someone hate on harper and say ivor deserves better ive seen people LOVE romeo and then diss on female characters who didnt do anything remotely as bad and IVE SEEN AN AIDEN FAN SAY PETRA IS BITCHY 😭

~~~

[hello-nichya-here]

Why do you say Ted is worse than Ross

Because he is - and I say this as someone whose least favorite character of the main six in Friends is Ross because the dude can piss me off A LOT.

Ross is selfish, whinny, spoiled, obsessive and immature like Ted. But the writers of Friends were far more self-aware than the writers of How I Met Your Mother - mainly because they were not using Ross as a self-insert, and would not use Twitter to say shit like "If you ship Rachel with Joey instead of with Ross, you're the reason people like Trump get elected and destroy nations." No, I am not kidding, that actually happened.

Ted CONSTANTLY acts like a creep and the show treats it as fully romantic, and if a woman (mainly Robin) is turned off by it, the show tries to spin it as "She's afraid of commitment" or some bullshit. When Ross is getting possessive over Rachel the show actually allows her to call him out and she doesn't always run straight to his arms - not to mention, she can act just as unreasonable and entitled, meanwhile the most Robin does is say "Maybe, someday, if we're both single and miserable and no one else wants either of us, I'd consider marrying you."

Even Ross's most absurd moments get a bit more of pass because they're (usually) meant to:

1 - Show that the character is flawed (Him constantly getting paranoid that Rachel is gonna cheat on him with her co-worker is meant to show he's insecure, jealous, possessive AND doesn't listen when she repeatedly says she loves HIM, not this other dude - though the writers do still want the audience to root for him and Rachel to find a way to make it work)

2 - Make a joke about how he's kind of insane (see him not telling Rachel they're still married because he can't have another failed marriage - a situation in which NO ONE in the cast makes excuse for him, and we even have Chandler rightfully saying "At point did you think this was a successful marriage?")

Meanwhile the writers of HIMYM did things like:

1 - Say Ted breaking up with a girl on her birthday, through an answering machine that all the guests in her surprise party heard before she did, finding her years later, winning her back, then breaking up with her on her birthday AGAIN is totally just what was meant to be because "Well, she found true love later"

2 - Have him use "It was past 2am" as an excuse to cheat on his girlfriend/lie to Robin about being single to sleep with her.

3 - Make him have an emotional affair with a married woman that then left her husband (who thought of Ted as friend) for him, accept getting back together with his ex that was engaged and then left the groom at the altar, and make a move on his ex that was engaged to one of his best friends on the weekend on their wedding.

4 - HAVE TED TELL HIS KIDS HE WANTS TO TELL A STORY ABOUT HOW HE MET THEIR DEAD MOTHER, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY ABOUT HOW HE ALWAYS LOVED A DIFFERENT WOMAN THAT HE WAS STILL OBSESSED WITH AFTER 25 YEARS.

Not to mention, even the stuff in Friends that genuinely did not age well at all and that the writers weren't self-aware about in any way have a bigger excuse than the stuff HIMYM did because Friends started in 1994 and ended in 2004, yet HIMYM was on the same level, if not worse, and it started in 2005 and ended in 2014. There's a reason audiences tolerated Ross's shenanigans way more than they tolerated Ted's - Friends was a product of it's times, HIMYM felt behind it's time. Ross feels like a typical character you'd see in the 90's, Ted feels like the hero of every "Nice Guy" that is actually not nice at all.

Plus, Ross had much better chemistry with Rachel than Ted ever did with Robin (or literally any love interest except the Mother) and the series made sure to never give us an alternative pairing that was much better than the planned one like HIMYM did with Barney and Robin (and I say this as someone that ships Joey and Rachel). And while Josh Radnor made the rare good scene of Ted feel great, David Schiwimmer, and the entire cast of Friends really, made mediocre or downright bad scenes enjoyable or at least tolerable. The only one in the HIMYM cast with the same talent was Neil, who was playing the character that we were not supposed to actually want to see get the girl, which just made it even easier for audiences to root for Barney, not Ted.

It's just a perfect storm of different factors that makes a character like Ross getting a happy ending after all the shit he pulled MUCH easier to accept than when that happens to a Ted type, hence the finale of Friends still being incredibly beloved by nearly everyone, while HIMYM's ending was absolutely hated to the point that it shelved the planned spin off and put the showrunner's careers in limbo for nearly a decade.

[fushiglow]

if you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Why you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

When I'm hyperfixating on a special interest, I find it really hard to remember anything that previously held my attention lol — so I'm struggling to answer this question, anon! I'm not a huge shipper usually, and I'm incredibly unenthusiastic about ship wars so I generally don't get involved.

That said, there are tons of ships I like in Jujutsu Kaisen. SatoSugu and Megumi are pretty much all I post about on here, but I've gained a few followers recently so it's probably worth saying because I've seen a lot of ship discourse elsewhere in the fandom recently:

If you're reading this and you really hate any of the ships I mention in this post, feel free to unfollow if it's that big a deal to you.

I'm really not interested in arguing about ships — because it just isn't that deep, I have limited free time to give to fandom and I'd rather spend it on things I love — so please don't get into that with me. However, if it's not a big deal to you, great to have you around! ♥

So, Jujutsu Kaisen ships I like below the cut:

Obviously, SatoSugu* has really captured my imagination. I don't think I've ever shipped anything as hard as I ship those two, but I talk about them all the time so I won't go into any more detail.

Other than that, I like GojoHime which I know is blasphemy for a SatoSugu shipper (I'm kidding, there's a bunch of us who ship both) but I don't think one has to preclude the other (after all, Gojo has two hands 👀). I've written two canonverse fics for GojoHime, and I've gently implied a former romantic relationship between SatoSugu in both.

I think lots of people read too deeply into the "she hates him" thing. Is he a bit of a dick to her? Absolutely, but treating Utahime like she's just a victim of the terrible Gojo Satoru takes away from her character — because she gives as good as she gets! I adore the contradiction in how she presents herself as this prim and proper miko, but she's actually a little firecracker who loses her temper easily and throws things at people and drinks heavily. Don't take that away from her, it's what makes her fun!

To me, it's obvious that their dynamic is designed to provide comic relief, but they trust each other when it comes down to it. In fact, I'd argue their bickering is evidence of that — if you're a polite person, you don't bicker with people you're not comfortable with. More than that, I like how Utahime is set up as a bit of a foil to Gojo. It's been said before, but there's a poetry in her technique making the 'strongest' stronger, especially considering that he goes to this character he's historically called weak to ask for help in the biggest fight of his life. Delicious!

Beyond that, I casually enjoy a bunch of other JJK ships. I don't actively seek out or create content for them, but I enjoy some of the art and fic when I come across it. Namely:

SaShiSu, in any configuration. SatoShoko is appealing to me for reasons I touched on in response to a question about Gojo's relationship with Shoko. SuguShoko is hot, simply because I think both characters are hot and they look hot together lol. I can even get behind poly SaShiSu!

OkkoFushi, because of Megumi's ~one line~ about respecting his senpai. It's essentially a crack ship, but I have the silliest little headcanon that Gojo brought Megumi to meet the first years sometime during JJK 0 and Megumi developed his first crush — see this adorable art for reference.

ItaFushi, ItaJun, and YutaMaki because they're all harmless and adorable.

GojoKen, because I love the potential for toxic angst.

KenTen, because "goodbye, old friend" — I'm sorry, what??? 👀

ShokoHime and ChosoYuki because they're all sexy as hell.

NobaMai, because they have sizzling chemistry.

KiraKari and MechaMiwa, because they're both canon as far as I'm concerned.

ShiuToji, because they're "business partners" — sure, guys!!

NanaGo, purely for the cute single dads art.

SukuGo, but only in a non-canon setting. They should have been besties in canon though 😔

Finally, the controversial one. Sukuna can stay the hell away from Megumi in canon (🥲) but I quite like SukuFushi in a specific AU setting — especially if Yuji and Sukuna are brothers in it! I have a soft spot for the Itadori twins, and I'm into the idea of big bully Sukuna meeting his match in his brat of a brother's quiet best friend with the deceptively sharp tongue (and knuckles).

However, I personally find that a lot of people mischaracterise Megumi in his ships and take away the aspects of his character that I really love (come on, he beat people the hell up at school!) so I'm not super into Megumi ships in general, despite the fact that he's my best boy.

As you can see, I'm really not that fussy about ships. In the past, I've definitely read fic featuring a side pairing that I'm not super into, but it won't stop me reading a good fic if there's a pairing I don't like in it. Sometimes, if it's well-written, I might even end up a fan!

Outside of JJK, there really isn't much. I don't follow many other animanga, but I think AkiAngel is a gorgeous ship and EreMika is cute although a bit bland. I think that's it though... Sorry this wasn't really what you asked for, but thank you for the question! ♥

*I just use the popular ship name, but I don't have any strong preferences when it comes to sexual dynamics so the name order isn't important to me — that goes for all the ships I like!

[ravensvirginity]

The newly released valentine special of bb///rae just lacks chemistry. Where is the romance? Where is the bonding? Where are the feels? And most importantly, where is BB's effort in making the date memorable???

The issue is just about Raven trying everything to GIVE him the best valentine's day (which is traditionally wrong in the first place - the guy should be the one treating his girl on valentine's day, and then the girl reciprocates on the white valentine's day, at least that's how it's done where I live), while BB doesn't even give her any gift in the end.

Like where is the effort??? Couldn't he at least just find her a glass of Perrier??? Or maybe just have Raven remember all the kindness he has given her, how he has always spoiled her, which makes her fall in love and determine to reciprocate through their valentine date every year. But no.

I would understand if this is his birthday. But this is valentine, and a relationship is a tango that requires two people. I have no complaints about letting Raven be the caretaker in the relationship, but I expect mutual effort in a couple-focus comic issue.

I get your point, but to be fair to the comic I think there's reasons in the story for why we didn't really see Gar doing anything for Raven. There's like one page of Raven thinking she wants Gar to have a great Valentine's Day before the plot is derailed by Brother Blood. The issue is just short in general because it's only one small bit in an anthology comic so there's not much time for anything but the Brother Blood stuff.

White Valentine's Day is not really a thing in the USA. I'm a lesbian so I don't have firsthand experience with being with a guy on Valentine's Day, but from what I see in pop culture and social media I think these days Valentine's Day planning can go either way. There's no strong expectation that the man will do everything. Since Raven is unfamiliar with Valentine's Day and it has no real significance to her but it does to Gar it makes sense that she's doing something for him rather than the other way around.

I do get your point and I don't really disagree when you compare how BBRae has been written overall the main comic. We've seen very little of what Gar does for Raven or what draws them together. A good microcosm of this is how in the Tales series from 2023 Gar wasn't in Raven's issue at all but Raven was basically just the mom girlfriend in Gar's, taking care of him with no regards to her characterization as a closed off emotionally unavailable person. Beast World as well had a ton of Raven trying to look after Gar and pining for him while Gar never really did the same in Raven's Dark Wing Queen arc.

That being said, the writer of this mini issue didn't write any of those and were probably just told "write a short cute Valentine's Day story". For what it is, I honestly was expecting much worse and I think it's fine as ship content in a special issue. It's how Raven and Gar are written in the main series that I'm more concerned with.

[korkiekenobiconfirmed]

I could go on here and say my problems with st*rek lie in the lack of scenes together or the fact that their canon dynamic was more comedic/antagonistic than romantic, but honestly that’s not even it. Idc when ppl ship characters that didn’t have great chemistry, didn’t get along, didn’t even MEET in canon! idc! What I do care about is:

1) Pedophilia. Stiles is a teenager, Derek’s a grown man. I’ve seen debates about derek’s exact age but tbh whether he’s 22 or 26 or 30 doesn’t change the fact that he’s way too old to date a high school sophomore. Period.

2) Stealing Scott’s personality. All the st*rek fics are chock full of Stiles being the nurturing “Pack Mom” while Derek plays Dad when Stiles is unforgiving, caustic, and sharp-tongued 90% of the time. It’s Scott who takes in strays and treats everyone around him with utmost kindness right up until they prove they don’t deserve it. Even then, he still sometimes forgives.

3) St*rek’s prevalence. Okay, so we’ve come up with a crack ship that doesn’t have much basis in canon! Great! Why is it suddenly THE MOST POPULAR SHIP IN THE FANDOM BY A FUCKING MILE? I can’t go anywhere in any teen wolf fandom spaces without the goddamn st*rek jumpscaring me. For reference, St*rek outclasses the second most popular ship on ao3 (which happens to be Steter for some fuckin’ reason) by MORE THAN 7X!

4) The delusion. I’ve seen lots of ships like Malia and Isaac where the shipping is a little…tongue in cheek. The shippers are self-aware, they know there isn’t much canon basis, but they’ve decided to go ahead anyways because this is fiction and it’s fun and it hurts nobody. I’ve seen ships like Scissac or Malira where the shippers are more delulu (admittedly me, lol) yet there’s a decent canon basis to those relationships that make the hc shipping more understandable… but I have never (and I mean NEVER) witnessed such widespread CONVICTION about such a canonically weak ship. Never in my life in any other fandom (besides maybe the rpf weirdos) have I seen SO many people who are SO INVESTED in a ship with such little foundation, while not one of them is self aware enough to look around and admit that it’s really just a crackship!