#i personally don’t ship them in a way other than platonic compassionate

[darlin-djarin]

wait people ACTUALLY ship boba and fennec? i thought everyone understood that they are besties. that they are bffs. that they are each others gbf. that they are each others intrusive thoughts. that fennec is the girlboss and boba is the malewife.

[polybiusplayer]

i am once again thinking about ninejuice (for the first time in a whole month wow)

thats all! have a nice rest of your day

ME TOO OML!!

Oh boy I’m gonna take this opportunity to rant about them.

Nine Juice rant below, read at your own risk.

I’m thinking about them so often…. ITS LIKE!!! I can totally understand people seeing them as only platonic!! And I’ve always actually felt kinda nervous to ship them for some reason… the 17776 enjoyers haven’t been much to do shipping, especially since romance is not really the point of the story, at all. but I just really believe they have a bond that just, is a lot.

There is a level of understanding and compassion that Juice shows to Nine in his own ways, he knows exactly how to help Nine cope after the intermission, he knows what they’re thinking when their communications fuck up. (Nine was indeed cussing him out, they said “fuck you.”) He is teasing as always, but not hesitant to reassure them afterwards.

Nine is very observant. They make note of Juices usage of grammar, how he capitalizes thing that are important to him. I can’t remember exactly which chapter that’s in, but I’m like 100% sure Nine pointed this out. Obviously, Nines name is almost always capitalized . This is a notable exception

Has he EVER used this many exclamation points?!

I also love the way the infodump to each other. Ten by this point has heard Juices rants a billion times before, she loves him, but is sick of them! Of course he sees no problem in that. But then suddenly there’s a new listener who is intensely eager and interested in what he has to say! It feels special, because Nine never seems to get bored of it. They love to hear him talk, about anything really, but especially what he’s passionate about. -

Which is mostly football. Football is how he processes the world. With sports and all the things that come with it he was able to come to terms with reality. He looks at it through such a unique lense in order to make sense of it all. Even his own football game is not just insane rules strung together all willy nilly, it’s truly a work of art with a deeper meaning. It’s like he’s painting with the fields, you know?

Nine understands this, and if they don’t, they WANT to. In my mind, Juices voice and rambles about lunchables or whatever start off confusing to them, but once they understand where it comes from and why and what Juice is trying to attempt with all this, they understand a lot.

Nine copes with history, they look into the past for comfort and familiarity. they feel so intensely behind, at first it started as a way to catch up and feel up to date with their friends, but then they discovered that the history of this world was just sort of a safe space for them. Juice loves to hear Nine talk about stuff even he never knew about. Nine is quite the researcher, and is always able to pull up SOMETHING. He is too, but not to this level. They share facts and information back and forth, intently listening to each other and trying to understand. Always.

Juice knows what Nines going through, it’s quite obvious with what he says here.

They ground each other in this reality, they give each other a person to talk about football with. Someone to try and not think about things too hard with. And then when things DO get hard? And the thoughts are too much? They’ll always be there for each other to help.

An underrated aspect about Juices character is how intelligent he is. SURE, he spends a lot of time joking around, that’s just his thing!!! But he is by no means stupid, he’s a little silly, but so so much more than that. He also cares, a lot! He is lonely, he loves his friends so dearly although he doesn’t express it nearly as much as Nine.

Nine is also a lot more than their troubles. A lot of their arc has to do with coming to terms with the state of existence, but they’re also incredibly compassionate and loving. SO SO loving. They’re blindly trusting, showing no hesitation with their love for everyone. They’re observant, and also a bit of a jokerster! They got that from Juice.

I don’t know where I’m going with this, I just really like the two of them, I love their dynamic. I feel like if they could, they would hug for a real long time. Unfortunately they’re way too far apart and made of nuts and bolts. But they still love each other, nothing changes that, not in a billion years

[lyranova]

Hey there! Hope it's not a bad time to ask but would a request for a Liebe x Mimosa fanfic not too out of the blue for you? I've been thinking abt it for a while and I thought the two could make a good pair. (emphasis on "could"). Maybe even the whole thing doesn't have to be romantic but could work as platonic.

Like I imagine the relationship would be like

"one who is trying their best/can't understand love but tries for them anyway" x "Compassionate person/ kindest romance fangirl you will ever see"

Idk if that dynamic is completely trash and is inaccurate but I just wanna check out if the pair could work or not judging by how they haven't seen each other and I havent seen liebe ever interact with the outside world after so many years in a book.

Hiya there! Ooo Liebe and Mimosa, I’ll admit that’s the first time I’ve ever heard of this ship, and it actually seems interesting 👀! It’s the “good girl, bad boy” trope and I actually like it 😁. This fic was more platonic then romantic, but I still hope you enjoy 🥰!

I don’t think the dynamic is trash personally 🤔, I think they’d work well together whethers its platonic or romantic 😁!

Word Count: 685

Warnings: None

———

Liebe sat outside quietly, the squads had just saved the kingdom for what felt like the millionth time in just a single decade. He had to admit he was tired and wanted a break, but then again, he had so much fun working with Asta and the other Bulls that he couldn’t wait for their next mission. But that wouldn’t be for a while since they were still trying to decide who the next Wizard King would be.

He looked over as he saw someone sitting a few feet away from him, at a distance he wasn’t too sure who it was at first, but then they turned to look around and Liebe recognized her.

It was that girl, Mimosa, if he remembered correctly.

She had a huge crush on Asta, and recently he had turned her down when she confessed her feelings, saying that he likes someone else. He didn’t elaborate, but Liebe knew who it was, and he had a feeling Mimosa knew too.

He debated for a bit if should go over and ask how she was, but suddenly her eyes met his. Liebe watched as Mimosa smiled and gave him a wave, he felt his cheeks burn slightly and he quickly looked away.

He continued to look away even as she approached him, he only turned when he heard her giggle.

“ You look so adorable when you blush.” Mimosa teased with another giggle as his blush deepened.

“ ‘Adorable’? Please, what am I? A cat or something?” Liebe muttered with a roll of his eyes as he looked away again, the vermillion haired woman sat down next to him.

“ You do kind of look like a cat, albeit a grumpy one.” She teased again, and Liebe sighed and rolled his eyes again.

Mimosa liked to tease him, and if he were being honest it didn’t bother him as much as he acted like it did.

The two sat quietly together for a few minutes. Liebe was trying to figure out how to ask her if she was okay after Asta turned her down. Of course, he knew she wasn’t okay, but still…he wanted to be a good friend and ask.

“ Are…you okay? I heard Asta turned you down. It must be tough since you’ve liked him for so long…” Liebe started hesitantly, he watched as Mimosa’s smile faltered slightly before it suddenly widened.

“ I’m okay, it stings a little bit, but I’m okay.” She told him with a firm nod. Liebe could see that, even though she was saying she was okay, her eyes told him differently.

He rubbed the back of his head, he wasn’t very good with emotions, but he hesitantly reached a hand out and patted her shoulder.

“ You don’t have to pretend to be okay y’know. You’ve liked Asta for a little over a decade now, so it’s expected that him not feeling the same way would hurt a lot more than ‘just a sting’. So if you wanna cry or yell or scream, then do it. No one would blame you.”

Liebe watched her eyes widen slightly before she looked away, her wide and bright smile slipped from her face and her bottom lip trembled slightly.

Finally he watched the tears well up in her eyes before they spilled over and fell down her cheeks. Liebe awkwardly patted her shoulder as she cried. He wasn’t the best at comforting, but he remembered his mother patting his shoulder and hugging him whenever he was upset.

“ It really hurts, I didn’t think it would hurt so much, but it feels like someone stuck a knife into my heart.” She told him softly, and Liebe nodded in understanding.

Liebe sat there and comforted Mimosa for a while until her tears stopped, it took a while, but they finally did. He told her that she now could focus more on being a Magic Knight, or she could move on and find someone else to love. She agreed, and decided she would first heal her heart and focus on becoming an even better Magic Knight before she gave her heart to another.

———

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a good day 🥰!

[r-2-peepoo]

There are so many reasons honestly. I will definitely not do them justice because I could probably write an entire dissertation on all the nuances of this ship, but here are some of the main reasons this ship is so appealing to people:

In terms of actual canon context, Obi Wan and Cody were very close friends. We unfortunately didn’t get to see much of it because TCW mostly focuses on the 501st but it’s still true. In articles about Cody, Obi Wan is always mentioned and when TCW was still airing, they were often paired together when it came to merch. While we see Anakin and the 501st wreaking havoc across the Galaxy, the 212th is out there too definitely being a lot more careful and Obi Wan and Cody will most likely be with each other. Basically, although we didn’t see much of it, Cody and Obi Wan were very close. In fact, due to their ranks, they probably spent more time with each other than they did with anyone else throughout the war. That’s three entire years together.

Another reason is how compatible they are. While they don’t seem that similar initially, they share a lot of similar personality traits, ie. seeming far more serious than the people around them (namely Rex, Ahsoka and Anakin) but being incredibly compassionate simultaneously. They also have the potential to teach each other a lot but they’re similar enough that it wouldn’t cause conflict. There is a reason the Obi Wan is the golden boy of the Jedi Order and why all of Cody’s brothers look up to him and it’s because they’ve earned those reputations by being genuinely good people who deserve the ranks and achievements.

There’s also, of course, the infamous Tatooine Husbands storyline that was cut from the Kenobi series. Although it never came to be, that storyline exists in hundreds of Codywan fanfictions and so the very idea that it was considered by the writers really validated a lot of our theories and reassured us that we didn’t just pull this relationship out of nowhere, even if it’s merely platonic.

Personally, I find them a lot more compelling together than most actual Star Wars romance. What I enjoy the most is that there’s no toxicity. There’s no universe in which they’d have an enemies to lovers dynamic or anything like that. They’re both incredible communicators who are remarkably kind, empathetic people too, and they already have a strong foundation for a relationship too given how much time they spend together. It’s so refreshing to have a ship that just wholesome. The Galaxy around them isn’t as kind, but they’re kind to each other. They share a similar burden given the responsibility that was forced on them and the subsequent guilt they deal with because of it and they can confide in one another over it too. There’s a sort of peace they can give one another that they can’t find anywhere else because of their shared experiences.

And in regards to the power dynamic, we have a way around that too. Obi Wan is inherently a good person. That much is objectively true. He loves and respects everyone around him. If he had feelings for Cody, there is absolutely no way he would ever try and pursue anything with him because he cares about him and his free will far too much to ever put him in a position like that. It’s very much an after the war thing. They’d talk about what they’d do when the war ends (aka actually finally be able to be together) but obviously that would never be a possibility for them unless you count the missing Tatooine Husbands arc or you just do as most of us do and just pretend Order 66 never even happened in the first place.

Hopefully this was an okay explanation bc I could go on for so much longer. I’ll admit I didn’t completely understand the ship at first either, but once you really get into them you start to understand how how wonderful they really could be. But you’re right in that they should’ve been explored more. That’s why we’re all praying that Cody survives TBB s2 so we can see more of him in particular and how Order 66 affected him.

no offense to codywan shippers (ya'll are cool and create great fan stuff) seriously, codywan art and fanworks are some of the most detailed, and well thought out pieces i've seen.

but why do you guys ship codywan? they've exchanged like maybe, two sentences per episode they make an appearance in and its mostly about military affairs. they have a relationship you'd expect between like, somewhat affable coworkers. there's more evidence for rex and hunter than there is for cody and obi wan.

you know, i saw a bunch of codywan shippers and codywan fanart and fics when i first entered sw fandom and you know, i read some and thought "this is sweet. this is a cool dynamic. i could get behind this ship."

i'd like you all to keep in mind that i've never seen TCW at that point.

and then i watch TCW and i'm like, you don't even talk to each other. obi wan is in love with hillary clinton for some reason? cody is one of those rare characters where he has zero lines, but you can tell that he has a separate life outside of whatever bullshit he's put on screen for.

i see it as a "what could have been" ship; a ship that should have been explored a bit, even if the power dynamics are really fucked up, rather than yet another woman being fridged for a man. but like, what made you guys codywan stans?

i'm curious, so hit me with your reasons. i'm not dragging codywan-some of my favorite ships are characters that have exchanged a LOOK, not even dialogue. you guys have more basis than me.

[allthingsfook]

Good afternoon! I hope this finds you well. I would absolutely adore being shipped if you feel so inclined!

Physically, I'm about 5'4. I have a curvy hourglass kind of shape. I'm pale. I have long natural strawberry blonde hair with lighter blonde highlights. I have big green eyes.

Personality wise, I am very much an introvert and a loner. I have a strong preference for deep conversations over loud, crowded social events. I do love music and will make an exception for concerts, though.

I'm guarded, but I'm really sensitive and soft hearted deep down (it's the Cancer in me). I'm shy, but once I feel comfortable around someone, I'll be crazy and let my freak flag fly. I'm always told that I'm so innocent looking and then once people get to know me, I blow them away. I have kind of a dark, dry sense of humor that isn't for everyone. When I finally love, I love hard. I'm loyal and fiercely protective of the people I care about, whether in a romantic, platonic, or familial sense. When anyone fucks with someone I care about, I rain down holy hellfire on their asses and it kind of shocks people because I'm often underestimated.

I am pursuing a degree in social work because I want to use my passion and my bleeding heart to work toward making this world a better, more compassionate place in any way I can. I am extremely dedicated to my studies- probably to an excessive degree at times.

In what little free time I have, I enjoy reading (I'm a bit of a bookworm). I also love to write; it's my favorite creative outlet. I love music of nearly every kind but unfortunately, I have never gotten the chance to learn to play myself, although I've always wished I could. I love going to shows when I can. I also enjoy true crime podcasts, going for walks in nature, and feeding my coffee addiction.

If astrology and MB types factor into this, I'm a Cancer sun, Virgo moon, Virgo rising, and INFJ.

I appreciate you taking the time to do these. I hope you have a beautiful day!

Hello sweet anon! I really appreciate the kind request 💖 I hope you enjoy what follows!

I ship you with…

Jake 🖤🎶

To start, I’ve said over and over that I don’t really touch too much on physical characteristics because all of these men are so much deeper than that! BUT if I must say, Jake would adore your figure. He’d constantly be tracing his fingers over your hips and back. Even if he isn’t vocal about it, he’d be leaving hints 😉 Your strawberry hair and lush green eyes would capture his attention 24/7. There could be something so serious and important going on, but if you were in the room, he’d be completely enveloped; dissociating into your natural beauty ❤️

You couldn’t be any more compatible with Jake concerning your personality. On many occasions we’ve heard others talk about how Jake often initiates late night, long winded conversations. I have a feeling, he’d feel comfortable with you on the first night you meet that it would end with one of those deep dives into piratical history, literary interpretations, or whatever else occupies his enigmatic mind.

All the outings and concerts we’ve seen Sam, Danny, and Josh at….. it’s no shock we don’t see Jake out so much. I think he’s at a point in his life where he values quiet evenings full of soft, crackling vinyls, home cooked meals, and plenty of good books. By the sounds of it, I think that would be perfectly okay with you ☺️ Being with Jake would sorta be like hanging out with a wise old grandpa stuck in a 27 year olds body 🤣

Jake is also a quiet, reserved soul when mingling and conducting business, but when he is with the people he loves and trusts the most he blossoms. I think you’d fall head over heels for him over and over again when you see him with the other boys. Totally goofy and relaxed. After you are done, appreciating the amazing man and friends you have surrounded yourself with, you feed right into the chaos!!! The boys would love you for that. If you can put up with all the antics, you are perfect for Jake.

Your love and loyalty you share with Jake would be unparalleled. What a great foundation for a relationship built around rock n roll and life on the road. As much as the both of you would enjoy your private time, it surely would stack up. Jake would invite you on the road for a week. That time filled with sound checks, side stage, and late night meals and drinks. Don’t forget the memories. Jake would also appreciate your passion for your loved ones. He is too. To think about how Jake has been a protector of Josh all these years; doing that tastefully, eloquently, and kind.

Jake would be extremely proud of you for your dedication and passion for your professional endeavors. He’d low key be attracted to you studying and delving into your homework. He’d keep a distance, letting you focus, but as he notices you wrapping up he’d snake his arms around you and kiss your temple. Kinda turned on by your brains 😊

All of your creative outlets would be things you and Jake would bond over as your relationship grows. He’s a bookwork for sure, but much like you that’s only when he has time for it. Being home and having some time off from touring would allow the both of you to get your fix. I could see him stocking up on musicians autobiographies and pirate fictions. I could also see the both of you deciding on the same book to read separately and when the both of you are finished, discuss your interpretations and dissect the plot/characters/ and so on.

Just like books, Jake would love diving into the cinematic universe. I feel like true crime would be right up his alley. Not only the tellings of chilling accounts, but loosing himself in the rabbit holes he’d fall down. He’d spend just as much time doing his own research as he would marveling over the documentaries and podcasts.

I hope you enjoyed the ship!!!! Here’s a little collage and song ship for you to enjoy as well! I always like to hear what you guys think, so don’t be shy 💕

[hinagamoizaf]

Odaiba Memorial Day 2021

My first Odaiba Memorial Day while being an active part of the fandom, and it’s high time I write an essay about my crackhead obsession with Yakari.

(*There will be some swearing & f-bombs in this post) As a kid, Yamato was like the ‘blue and cooler Taichi’ to me, like he doesn’t exist without being adjacent to the gogglehead. Also my family didn’t have the full Dark Masters arc in our CD collection, so I literally knew nothing about Yams’ emotional meltdown. But now, I adore this overly sensitive dork, and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. Maybe I’m biased in this reading, but I think Yamato has had to push himself to mature faster than his peers; and he’s very much a mini-adult at a young age. For all these grand monster battles, the main cast are still children; among them Yamato is a kid dealing with a lot of unresolved issues but he’s got a lot of heart, he’s passionate about those he holds dear but he just doesn’t know how to process this. Another thing that goes hand-in-hand with Yamato is the fact he’s a musician. Again, I could be reaching way into my ass here; but there’s this mumbo jumbo real life idea of the ‘depressed creative’, and Yamato works his way out of that dangerously romanticised label. The kid’s got a passion for music, he’s literally been playing the harmonica since Takeru was in diapers .Without spoiling DA:LEK, Yamato still holds onto that flame into adulthood but it’s not something he can actively work on; and that takes its toll. I love Yamato because he’s someone who cares so much about those around him and what he does; and he’s just a kid who’ sorting things out and wanting to better himself and well fuck, if that isn’t relateable. Even with the flaws that the Tri films have, I think it’s a natural progression for Yamato’s character journey. I see people saying how ‘they just turned him into a tsundere’ or ‘he’s so snappish now’. But seeing as most of the Tri cast are in High School and general teenagers are assholes to each other, yeah it’s not unreasonable to see why Yamato’s the way he is now. He didn’t lose his touch with the Crest of Friendship; when the literal world is up in flames, there’s still the same loyal and compassionate Yamato who understands the importance of being there for and with his friends. Yamato’s a big mushy boy who has a hard time conveying what he feels and his needs; Hikari isn’t any better and this was how I grew to love the concept of them being together. She’s not the Chosen Child of Light for nothing, Hikari’s symbiotic partnership with Tailmon is a very shoehorned metaphor of being an angel from Heaven and I absolutely eat that shit up. Fans have pointed out Hikari’s so mysterious with her role and powers as late member of the team, the same can be said for her personality. You see Hikari, you think ‘sweet, little girl’ and in part thanks to the 02 dub, she grows into being this sassy brat. 

A brat who has trouble asserting herself and is prone to literally get dragged into an ocean of depression. Like any respectful human, Hikari cares for her friends and family; but a mixture of that and a tendency to devalue herself is Hikari’s fatal flaw. She’s too self-sacrificing to a fault, and this reflects the other extreme end of her crest. In my own overly pretentious words, I think Hikari has self-imposed on herself for ‘being the light of the team’; like she carries herself as a doll whose job is to bring others out of darkness when she’s still stuck in the shadows herself. Hikari doesn’t allow herself to verbalise her wants, let alone her needs because she doesn’t want to inconvenience others; she just goes with the flow and puts on a mask of toxic optimism. 

I am aware this analyse could be me scraping the bottom of the barrel, but it’s how I interpreted Yamato and Hikari’s character; and now I’ll articulate my brain rot  with how the fuck are these two being shipped.  

You have these two people who already have this history and experience of being Chosen Children, but there’s also an underlying sub-connection of them being each other’s brothers’ best friend. As many Yakari fanfics have headcanon, it’s not unreasonable to think that Yamato’s at the Yagamis’ apartment frequently because A) Taichi is his best friend and B) The Ishida apartment is prolly empty ‘cause Hiroaki’s out being a workaholic. The Yagamis become the family that Yamato didn’t have growing up, and they welcome him with open arms. At their apartment, things are warm and rowdy, he doesn’t have to be alone with his thoughts and they treat him as a second son. Listen, I've been a diehard Takari shipper too, but I genuinely think Takeru and Hikari can be platonic soulmates. They know each other like the back of their hand, they’re cosmically entwined and their Digimon are in sync; they’re also legit a pair of best friends too. I know early 2000’s fics depict Yakari as being this big drama; but I have a weak heart and I’m here to say Yakari can be cosy and comforting and they’re just two idiots in love who need to be honest with each other.

I imagine their courtship not to be this grand display of fireworks and ‘the chase’, but a very subtle experience with slow burn. For me, Yakari is very much the first blossom of spring. They represent new beginnings and youth, the gentle lull of Mother Nature tending to the earth, something that’s natural but the routine has existed for centuries. Yakari is very much a gentle love, and with everything I’ve said about their characters; these two learn to embrace and nurture the other until they have a whole garden of spring’s blossoms. 

This crackship has the surface-layer appeal of ‘brooding lone wolf’ and ‘sweet angel’, so when you peel the layers to find these two very private characters who just need that one-on-one reassurance/affirmation; this ship is a warm blanket of fluff and yes that’s basically the plot of my fics. It’s the charm of slice-of-life, the endearment of growing and improving yourself with the one you love with the occasional reminder that this is a series founded on puppies evolving into angels. 

I’ve had enough of tragedies and melodramatic love affairs. I write about Yakari because as cliche as this sounds, I want more stories about ‘the light of friendship’. Yes that was a god awful line, but it captures why I have brain rot for this pair. To celebrate my first OMD, I have uploaded a special chapter on my AO3 fic titled ‘Mon ange’; it wouldn’t be August 1st if I didn’t half-hazardly work on this leading up to the big day. It couldn’t fit on Instagram, but this rambling piece is part of a bigger essay on my tumblr, so that’s also up and running. I hold Digimon near and dear to my heart, and I go about sharing that love by gushing about Yakari.

[fakecrfan]

Do you think Basira and Daisy had a healthy relationship?

I am so glad you asked! I have had a lot of thoughts about their relationship, but had decided to shelve those thoughts because I was worried it would come off as me telling people to not ship Daisira, which is... not what I want to be doing. But you sent me an Ask and so I am compelled to answer!

My answer is: no. Their relationship is toxic in one of the most interesting ways I have seen portrayed in media.

This might be a bit confusing to hear, though. Normally when we call a relationship toxic, it means that one or both of the people involved are making each other feel bad. But Daisy and Basira seem to make each other feel... good. Basira is apparently Daisy’s last human attachment, and according to Elias in MAG 92, and “not being able to see Basira again” is one of Daisy’s biggest laments in the coffin. And on Basira’s end, Daisy seems to make Basira feel... secure. Supported.

From MAG 117:

BASIRA

But at least Daisy’s coming. I mean, I know she’s… difficult. Everything they say about her, it’s true, it’s fair. But, she’s solid. She’s a… a fixed point, and if she’s there, I know exactly where I stand, exactly what I’m doing, relative to her.

From MAG 178:

MARTIN

We’re here for you.

BASIRA

No. She was there for me.

So, “attachment to humanity” “support” and “security” are good things in a relationship, right? Their love for each other (whether you read it as completely platonic or not) seems genuine, and they put each other first. That should mean that their relationship is Good!

Wellllllll no. Sometimes, a relationship can feel good while also... trapping you in a harmful cycle, or stunting your growth as a person. Think: a friend who is charming and fun who you love to drink with--to the extent that, even when you’re trying to manage an alcohol addiction, you end up going into situations with them that trigger your urge to drink. Also think: a friend who keeps bringing you sugary food even after you’ve been diagnosed with serious diabetes with potential life-altering complications--because you like donuts, they used to make you so happy.

Daisy and Basira are that to each other. In particular--Basira’s attachment to Daisy draws Basira back into dangerous situations and, by extension, causes her fall deep into that “siege mentality” that shuts down Basira’s more thoughtful side. 

When Jon confronts Basira about Daisy’s crimes in MAG 178, this exchange occurs.

MARTIN

[Loudly] Enough. Enough! Someone has died! Show some respect. Or don’t you care?

BASIRA

[Incensed] Of course I fucking care!

…

[Quieter] That’s the problem.

MARTIN

I… I don’t understand.

BASIRA

I just… I don’t need him laying everything out for me like I’m some kind of idiot. I know, all right.

I don’t think Basira is making anything up here to make herself seem better. Basira already knew there was a problem with the police, before Jon confronted her. She already knew Daisy was corrupt to some extent, even if she had trouble facing it head on. And--she already cared.

That’s why she quit. She didn’t need a revelation from Jon or anyone else to open her eyes. She didn’t even need to see harm happen to an innocent bystander. Instead, she saw how the higher ups were covering up the killing of Maxwell Raynor, of all people--

BASIRA

They’ve given us a few days ‘compassionate leave’. I think they just want us out of the way while they figure out the official version of what happened.

--and she quit after that. 

So, here we already have someone who is coming into an understanding of the police as a flawed system without anyone needing to tell her. Here we have someone who is already extricating herself from that system, because she cares about her impact on other people. From this point, she could easily have gone her own way, taken time to reflect and never hurt anyone again.

So what brings her back into the whole mess in MAG 88?

BASIRA

I’m looking for Daisy.

MARTIN

Oh for – Okay, I don’t know where she is! I don’t know where anybody is! Why does everyone… okay, why does everyone think that I always know where everyone is, all the time?!

BASIRA

Alright, okay, alright, sorry. They just… well, they said at the station that this was the last place she checked in.

--Her relationship with Daisy, of course!

She wants to leave the supernatural and the police behind. She tells Jon the Institute is bad (MAG 73) but she walks back in because she’s worried about Daisy. And then she throws herself right back in the fray to stop Daisy from killing Jon. Shortly after that, Basira has to sign herself off as a hostage to Elias…

ELIAS

She’s quite the killer, your partner. All in the public good, of course. And she was correct, I spent some time acquiring that evidence. Or creating it. And while your superiors don’t much care about the killings, the fact there is proof… They’re not happy. And they want you brought in.

--because of Daisy’s murders, Daisy’s reckless actions giving Elias leverage. Basira throws herself in with Daisy, and it draws Basira right back into a world of violence and the paranormal that she was trying to quit. It motivates her to, once again, cover for Daisy’s errors and justify them. This takes away any chance Basira could have had to gain distance from the violence, reflect, and get some perspective. Instead, she’s thrown right back into the siege. 

Basira doesn’t even show any sign of frustration with Daisy at this. It’s not that Basira is 100% meek. We see her get frustrated with people later, express grievances, and hold people accountable later--but with Daisy she doesn’t do any of this. Instead, she immediately re-affirms that she’s on Daisy’s side.

BASIRA

Daisy, it’s… it’s okay. We’ll figure something out.

Of course, it’s not a one-way street, either. It’s not an uncomplicated “Basira good, Daisy toxic and bad” story. It’s a mutually reinforcing cycle where they are both complicit. We see that in season 4, when Daisy tries to stop feeding the hunt.

People like to rag on Basira for her actions in this season but... her actions are actually also more complicated than a simple story of “Basira sabotages Daisy’s progress.” Because Basira misses the more resolute Daisy, yes, and wishes she had a strong protector instead of another person to help... but even with that, she’s still willing to support Daisy’s progress away from the Hunt!

In MAG 133:

ARCHIVIST

You’re not happy she’s back.

BASIRA

I didn’t say that, John. I will never abandon Daisy, and… having her back is… (she sighs) But right now she’s dead weight, and I need to be able to travel light.

Basira wants someone powerful to protect her, is conflicted that she doesn’t have that but still will never abandon Daisy regardless. And, true to her word, she does support what Daisy is doing.

From MAG 140:

BASIRA

We’ve talked about it. If the Hunt takes her again, we don’t know if she’s coming back. And neither of us want that.

In MAG 146, she even praises Daisy’s path of resistance.

BASIRA

You didn’t know what you were doing.

[Daisy makes a pained sound, as if to contradict her, but stops.]

BASIRA

And since you did, you’ve spent every waking hour resisting.

So, Basira is--true to Elias’s word--being Daisy’s anchor to humanity. True to her own word, she’s having Daisy’s back, supporting her decision to quit the hunt even if it means Basira has less back up. So what changes?

MAG 155:

BASIRA

Because I’m not going to lose her.

ARCHIVIST

She goes hunting again, you might anyway.

BASIRA

And if she doesn’t, she might die.

Even at this point, Basira’s worst impulses are always about Daisy. Even when she undercuts Daisy’s progress, it’s about Daisy’s wellbeing. All she wants to do is make sure Daisy’s alive and okay, and to that end she will throw out all of her rationality and moral principles.

And then, when Daisy does finally give into the hunt, it’s for Basira.

It’s... funny to analyze and critique this behavior, because I have seen this sort of behavior in Jon/Martin fics treated as a sweet and romantic thing. You know, the “I want you to keep being a monster because I don’t want to lose you!” thing. And also the “prioritizing each other over everything else in the world” thing. Because the concept of unconditional support, of putting another person first above everything else in the world--it’s an alluring one.

But with Daisy and Basira, even though their relationship isn’t necessarily romantic, we see how harmful that mindset can be. How someone can care for you, prioritize you, make you feel like the whole world, and... the main effect of that is to stunt you, to give you so much comfort you never get out of a harmful cycle or change your behavior at all. How it can cause you to enable horrible things in the world, like police brutality. 

That is the story of Daisy and Basira’s relationship. It’s about the effects of this cycle on Basira--yes, Basira specifically and not Daisy, even though the cycle is mutually reinforcing and affects them both.

Basira appears in nearly twice as many episodes as Daisy. Because of this, Basira is the one we see discussing the relationship and what it means to her. Basira is the one we see grappling with the psychological fallout of their relationship. It’s more Basira’s story than Daisy’s--not because she’s the “victim” or that she was morally pure but because... Basira is the one who ultimately grows past this.

After episode after episode of “she needs me” and “I can’t leave her” and “I can’t let her die”--after Basira endangering herself and stunting her own growth by centering Daisy

DAISY

Partner… Come…

[MORE FOOTSTEPS]

BASIRA

Not now. Not after everything.

--Basira finally breaks free, and moves on.

[cynicalmusings]

R!!!

Hihihi~

I just played the archon quest and can I say I'm in absolute shambles?

Their opponents were always scarily intelligent and rapidly figuring out the plan! and I was so so afraid for our little ragtag team.

Surprisingly there were a lot of soft Cyno moments in the quest like when Rahman calls him kind and I'm like BECAUSE HE IS NOBODY FUCKING REALISES IT BUT CYNO IS DEEPLY CARING AND COMPASSIONATE HE'S JUST NOT VERY VERBOSE

And then his scenes with Tighnari it was so soft you can just tell that these two are family to each other I wanted to cry from the relief of knowing that Cyno isn't actually alone he has close friends who care about him so so much

I think I'm still processing the moment when Tighnari was in grave danger (seriously, I'll make a separate post about Tighnari in the archon quest, colour me impressed, inspired and full of newfound respect for Tighnari), the IRONY of

HE THOUGHT CYNO WOULD BE IN DANGER BUT THEN MY HEART SHATTERED INTO A MILLION PIECES WHEN TIGHNARI GETS HURT

And when we tell Cyno about it you could tell that he was dangerously angry like we all had to convince him that Tighnari was safe and resting he was about to go feral right then and there

And I'm like Cyno must've felt terrible about not being able to keep Tighnari safe and putting his friend in so much danger

trust me I was terrified when Dottore sought out Tighnari my heart dropped I was so so scared for Tighnari

Then his confrontation with Azar?? Can I just say I gasped aloud and pressed my hand to my mouth when this happened

And finally towards the conclusion of the archon quest when people are appreciating him for his work, HE GETS SO BASHFUL my heart was in pain knowing that he's not used to being appreciated or cared for like this 🥺🥺😭😭😭

You tell him Rahman tell him how much we all love and appreciate him he is very well loved

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ORIGINAL POINT OF ME SENDING THIS ASK IS ANY MORE so forgive me R!

I'll sign off with my favourite picture from the archon quest that I hope helped put Cyno's mind at ease too.

i don’t know why, but i started grinning while reading this ask… i love when people share my interests, man…

(spoilers ahead for those who haven’t finished the archon quest.)

but yes! the archon quest was so, so good— better than any we’ve had before. it was so engaging, and the cutscenes were amazing, and all the characters were relevant to the plot as well as unique and interesting…

can i also mention how utterly hilarious i found cyno’s grumpy and reluctant agreement to go to the feast… like, he basically said, ‘fine. i’ll go >:((’

and then when he was standing at the back of the stage in the grand bazaar… he’s such a grumpy little antisocial gremlin and i love him. (also, shy cyno— shyno?— is >>>)

and his confrontation with azar was so badass… this man is so cool AND FOR WHAT.

it was also really nice to see tighnari and cyno’s dynamic in action… personally, i don’t ship them and think their dynamic works better platonically than romantically, but seeing how they interact is almost… familial, in a way? like, kind of brotherly, if that makes sense? and seeing cyno worried for him was really sweet, too…

cyno is such a softie… i can’t…

[inhonoredglory]

i dont think you ever received my last ask a while back, but now i gotta know what ur favorite duos are! (platonic or romantic!) - armin anon

o h mygod forgive me dear armin nonnie!!! the last weeks of school threw me off and then the trollhunters trailer hit and I got distracted. but I hope you’re still out there hearing my answer. I really have fun chatting with you, so thanks for this second question!

My favorite duos, oh gosh. I could even talk about my favorite trios, the character relationships in SNK are so well developed and rich.

Erwin and Levi

My top duo is of course Erwin and Levi. (My summer project is to make a receipts AMV of all the wonderful things Isayama and others have said about the pair.) Their closeness is something else, built on such mutuality, maturity, and love. Erwin looks like a devil to everyone but Levi, who sees his innocent humanity; Levi looks cold and unemotional to everyone but Erwin, who sees his compassionate nature. Erwin changed Levi’s worldview––allowing him to see beyond his own small world to a bigger one, where freedom was possible. Levi saw the darkest side of Erwin’s heart, and still trusted him implicitly, believing in him and selflessly giving up his own need for Erwin to stay in his life in order to give him peace and redemption instead. And as Isayama said,

“Levi had always seen Erwin’s goal of doing things for humanity’s future as an unimaginably altruistic act, and made it his life’s mission to reach the same heights.”

And with that final act of letting Erwin die, Levi did just that––become selfless in the hardest way possible. To let go of the person that gave your life meaning, because in death was healing, in death was innocence, in death was love.

Are they romantic or platonic? To me, love is beyond those labels. People can be romantic with each other and not really have real love. People can have real, dedicated love and never ever kiss or want to. Levi and Erwin share an undeniable soulmate bond, and while there is definite signs of romantic Eruri (Isayama hinting Levi’s type isn’t women, but tall people; Erwin getting flirty in supplemental short stories), to me the important part is that they are each other’s special person and that’s why I adore them so much.

(Artist: rozavay)

Jean and Armin

Because Jean and Armin were two of my first faves from the show, I naturally gravitated to the pair. What I adore about them is how much each one of them defends the other, desperately rushing to each other’s aid on the battlefield and trusting one another. Going through the manga, I found a really touching moment when Armin was fixing a prisoner's gag (the man who had sexually harassed him) and getting visibly disturbed. Jean felt that, and intercepted the moment, getting Armin out of that situation. Jean’s actually really good at detecting people’s emotions, so it was beautiful to see him sensitive and caring with Armin.

I don’t see them as romantic, but I enjoy some good Jearmin just the same, and there’s something to be said for Jean’s canonical jealousy of Armin spending so much time with Eren. Armin’s just that good a catch LOL.

Jean and Marco

Marco changed Jean’s life, gave him a reason to be more than himself. He believed in Jean, trusted him, and encouraged him. I find it incredibly moving that Jean keeps coming back to Marco to remind himself why he chose the life he did.

I totally got on board the ship with this amazing fic about the two of them: To Everything There Is A Season by flecksofpoppy

Canonically, I don’t believe it’s romantic, but they share the deep, beautiful bond of one person owing their entire life’s purpose and sense of meaning from the other.

(Artist: kaa05n2)

Bertholdt and Reiner (+Titan Trio)

Since Bertholdt was my bean in season 2, I really felt drawn to his relationship with Reiner. My sister loved Reiner too, so this duo was a good one for us both to enjoy. Bertholdt was always so insecure in himself, afraid to do or say anything in the big scary, foreign world he was dropped into as a child warrior. He relied on Reiner, and yet so often he couldn’t access him emotionally, since he was dealing with their tragic lives in his own way. He had to grow to be Reiner’s anchor, while still awash himself. They fought for each other more than for their homeland, fought for the things they both came to care about growing up on Paradis, and they were inseparable. Bertholdt risked his mission to see if Reiner was okay in the Return to Shigonshina arc, and he drew strength from Reiner’s trust in him to make his own choices and act on his own in that battle as well. As much as it pains me to see him fulfill his character growth in such a dark way, I still have a spot in my heart for him and his friendship with Reiner.

Levi and Furlan (+Underground Trio)

I got hit in the face with this relationship after I read the No Regrets manga, which shows so much more than the anime version regarding the equality in trust between Levi and Furlan. In the manga, Levi didn’t have subordinates (denying the term for them), he had friends who he had made his family. Levi bet all their lives on Furlan’s plan, and when he went on his first mission, he had such a falling out with him because Levi wanted to protect him and Isabel. Furlan was so grieved by the darkness in both Levi and Isabel’s hearts and put everything on the line because he believed he needed to get them out of the darkness of the underground. Their relationship is a beautiful insight into Levi’s early years and his inherent compassion and deep care for others.

^ The Levi Ackerman actually stopping to hearken to the command of someone else (who’s not Erwin lol), trusting in Furlan’s bigger plans with this stranger than just merely kicking him out, like Levi wanted to do.

Armin and Eren (+Shigonshina Trio)

The entire rooftop sequence and serumbowl shows how much Eren (and Mikasa) care and love Armin. In a way, Eren and Armin are the mirror for Levi and Erwin, with Erwin’s bigger dreams of the world outside the walls turning Levi’s motivations, built on tragedy, into something positive and forward-looking. Likewise, Eren’s darker need for anger and revenge is turned into something good and innocent when he shares in Armin’s dream. Armin’s hope makes Eren feel confident. He believes in him even when Armin doesn’t believe in himself. And of course, that painful way Armin tells him, “I’d never lie to you, would I?” because he knows Eren would never let him go through with his selfless mission if he’d known what he meant to do. To Eren, Armin is a better person than he’d ever be.

Now why couldn’t we have just ended the whole show right here lol?

Ymir and Historia

One of the few explicitly canon romantic couples in SNK! Their story is tragic, beautiful, and inspiring. Each one of them telling the other to be free of society’s expectations of them, to stop living for other people and to live for themselves––together. The change in Ymir, going from someone selfish to someone who would die for Historia’s happiness, is a gut-wrenching thing to watch. Their shared arc is complex, messy, and struck through by the goodness of a young girl who found the humanity in someone who never thought themselves worthy of love.

aaa I think that covers my favorite duos in SNK!

[chromatic-lamina]

doctor is in the house (1011 spoilers)

Okay, so y’all know I’m in it for one thing and one thing only

And that’s Law.

And then it’s ZoLaw, platonic or romantic, I don’t care.

And then it’s Law caring about Kid and the others, or basically trusting in them, like, y’know figuring out the next line of attack, defence or retreat when Zoro’s almost killed himself in order to save Luffy.

Zoro’s words last chapter (or the one before?) were that if he failed it was up to Law. Or he used ‘you’ (in the translations, anyway), but seemed to be talking to Law.

Law allowed Big Mom to be saved by Prometheus because gaining victory over her was not worth the loss of Zoro’s or any of the allies’ lives.

Slopping in the official panel for this, cos it’s slightly different and clearer:

Cos I like to view Law as his own person, though he does get put upon for sure, I like that he decides to take everyone down to the castle. That it’s not some kind of casual order from Luffy, even though Luffy did basically say he had control of the situation last chapter, so everyone else could piss off (but he was much politer).

I dunno how Law figures Big Mom’s in the castle? I guess it’s because Kid’s contraption fell apart, therefore Big Mom is alive and that’s where she’d head.

Tactical rather than compassionate in this instance, I like that he teleports Zeus as well (Nami will be happy, cos I think that Big Mom and Prometheus have turned agains Zeus).

And did he teleport Kid and Killer too? Or was it the effect of the blast from Big Mom, as they stated? (No, cos’ the room doesn’t extend that far).

Look at Kaidou’s claws! Great framing. And it is Kaidou, right? Law there putting the pop! in snap and crackle, although the hiragana reads pa pa pa, but same meaning I’m sure!

And so while Law tends to Zoro with doctorly ministrations, somewhere in the keep (I guess his powers are probably best to heal Zoro, over Chopper’s general ,more conventional, skill, awesome as it is) the scene shifts to these too good ole boys:

Second floor of the keep. And in the manga cap below, just look at how delicate and spindly Kid’s legs are. I know it’s just a quick sketch and probably a lot better in the official release, but...

Okay. Next! Our o-shiruko, red bean paste soup, heroine, O-Tama. And it’s all about the o-shiruko. Always will be, always has been. Oh wait. I got ahead of myself. There’s scorpion Hawkins! Man he looks amazing.

JJK Nobara and he obviously share a few techniques in common, but that’s not surprising anda topic for another time. I love Hawkins’ design and fruit! Kid goes on to find Big Mom, and Killer’s left to face down the Voodoo Hoodoo.

Meanwhile, two of my other favourite heroes (yes I have multiple, just like ships), Usopp and Nami, are riding on the back of O-Tama’s lion-dog, Komachiyo, and bravely facing down Page One in their own way. Love them.

Page One ain’t giving up, despite Usopp’s stellar efforts, but guess who steps in to the fray?

Big Mom’s after our favourite redhead (who isn’t Nami or Shanks). Things are looking really bad (Prometheus is looking pretty happy. Or is it Hera now?). Anyhoo...

Big Mom and O-Tama are besties!!!, going back to that modest banquet (of o-shiruko) that was all that the very starved town of Obokore could afford to give her, and it could hardly afford that.

Though the official release shows that her gratitude is certainly tempered (see below)!

But remember that Luffy delivered a heap of food to them (is it the same food? Or maybe the food that some of the samurai stole to get Ashura Doji on side?), and so Kaidou’s minions burnt the town to a crisp, saying they stole it? (where’s O-Tsuru?) And also because they were loyal to the nine red scabbards.

Love the way that Oda has Tama’s font wavering like the lines of heat extending from fire. The official gives more information and a slightly different story, but the end result is the same (see below).

Big Mom is a bit upset because:

And that standard is to not mess with Big Mom’s o-shiruko. 

Or anyone’s o-shiruko for that matter. Queen the Plague will tell you and so will Zoro. (Once Law fixes him up)

From chapter 980.

Ulti...

[cognacdelights]

before you go

my outer banks masterlist

add yourself to my taglist

summary: jj myabank has finally cleared up his act and enlisted in the military. however, when the time comes to ship out for his first overseas tour, saying goodbye is a lot harder than he imagined. 

warnings: vague mentions of abuse. sad fluff. 

A heavy sigh left her lips as she stepped forward, towards the fully kitted out boy before her. Her eyes were wide - with both heartache and pride - as she took the entirety of him in. If anybody had told her a year ago that JJ Maybank, Kildare Island’s resident troublemaker, would have cleaned up his wayward stoner boy act and enlisted in the military, she would have laughed in their face. Yet here they were, in their final few moments before his first tour of The Middle East - his first tour of active combat.

“Come here, you,” her voice was soft as a small smile upturned the corners of her lips. She opened her arms for the blonde boy, taking a second step towards where he stood - his heavy, over-sized backpack sat beside his feet. As her arms coiled around his athletic, toned body, he relaxed into the comfort of her warm embrace; the same warm embrace he had taken shelter in many, many times before. However, this time, it was different. This time, it would be their last dose of physical contact for five whole months.

JJ’s heart wrenched as the realisation that he had to leave her behind sunk in. Nuzzling his head further into the crook of her neck, he took in the familiar scent that he adored so much - savouring the sweet aroma of her perfume for as long as he possibly could. She placed a gentle, tender kiss in his tousled, blonde hair, her arms tightening their hold around his broad, muscular shoulders. Both had spent weeks preparing for this moment, upon hearing the news of his deployment. Yet, here - in the moment, both were unable to comprehend the weight of their emotions.

For years, she had been his safe place, his haven, his escape from the cruel realities of his world. Despite her being three years older, she had grown up with him; in fact, she had grown up with all of them. JJ, John B and Pope. Even Kiara. They were cut from the same cloth, fruits of the same seed, children of The Cut; all they had was each other but none of them minded. They got through life together, no matter what challenges were thrown their way, with each other at their side.

Her maturity meant that she knew of the demons that he faced; she was aware the second he showed up to their designated hangout spot with a swollen, bruised eye and a busted lip several weeks after his mother’s selfish disappearance. She didn’t make a fuss in front of everyone, and she let him tell his epic, fabricated story of how he had gotten into a fight with some of the rich kids from Figure Eight. But when he caught her eye, all he could see was the heartbreak she harboured for him and the yearning to take his pain away.

Since that day, she had become his crutch; she tried to keep him out of trouble, she made sure that he ate, she went above and beyond to make sure that he was safe. As they grew older, and the evil his father projected upon him intensified, she became his home; she would clean up the cuts and the bruises, she would hold him close at night and whisper tender words into his ear as he cried himself to sleep, she would comfort his trembling body through the vicious nightmares. She was there for him like nobody else was, like nobody else could be.

“I swear to God, if you don’t come back to me alive and in one piece I will find you, in Heaven or Hell - and I will make The Middle East seem like a day trip to the county fair. Do you understand me?” she threatened. Her voice held an air of teasing to her words, yet JJ knew that she was somewhat serious. In all of their chaotic, dysfunctionally beautiful moments, he had become her home too. They were all each other really knew, which was why saying goodbye was so painfully difficult for the both of them.

“I don’t doubt that one bit,” JJ chuckled in response - his arms proceeding to clinch her petite frame considerably tighter than before. His chapped lips placed a placid, loving kiss against the exposed skin of her neck as his glazed-over eyes squeezed themselves shut, the tips of his lashes tickling as they grazed over her collarbone. “I’m going to miss you so much, Y/N,” he mumbled, his words barely coherent as he forced himself even further into her embrace. He was achingly reluctant to let go of her - the uncertainty of having to face the barbarity of the big, wide world without her hand to hold his unsettling him massively.

“I’m going to miss you too, J,” she whispered in an endearing tone, “more than you know.” Her fingers tangled themselves nonchalantly in the disheveled ends of his dirty blonde hair, twirling the straw-like strands clockwise around her plastic, stick-on nails. It was these trivial comforts that he would miss the most; sometimes all he needed in life was her to run her dainty fingers through his hair as he relaxed into her compassionate embrace.

“Private Maybank,” a bellowing, emotionless voice hollered, interrupting their tender moment together, “put your bit of fluff down and get your sorry backside on that plane, now.” On command, JJ retreated from the safety of her affectionate grasp - his unwillingness to let go evident in the way his calloused, bear-like hands lingered hesitantly on the cold skin of her arms.

“Yes, Sarge,” he conformed to his orders, sending his Sergeant an understanding nod. She peered upwards at the now straight-postured boy, her eyes wide and poised to spill the salty tears which brimmed her waterline. However, she held them back with all her might; she knew that just one tear would compromise everything he had worked so hard for. One, single tear shed by her would have him refusing to leave for combat in an instant. That was the one thing she couldn’t have, no matter how much she wanted it. The military had done so much for JJ - it had taught him things that she could never. He was a better person now - a better man. She wasn’t going to stand in the way of that.

“I love you,” he uttered the weighted words. Those three forbidden words were rarely voiced by JJ Maybank, and had never been directed towards anybody other than her. He knew that he loved her - and he had for a while, he just wasn’t entirely sure how much he loved her. JJ had always been confused when it came to her, he was afraid of mistaking platonic tenderness for romantic affection. He couldn’t distinguish between them in his own behaviour towards her, nevertheless in her behaviour towards him. All he could decipher was that there was a love there - and that was all he needed for the time being.

“I love you too,” she forced her chapstick-coated lips upwards into a small, but meaningful, smile. With those words surpassing her lips, he picked up the hefty, cumbersome backpack which had remained at his feet and threw it over his shoulder. JJ hesitated for a fleeting second before nodding his head as his ultimate goodbye - he couldn’t bring himself to physically say the word, it was too final. “Stay safe,” her weak, unstable voice called out as he made his way towards the dreaded barrack doors.

She felt a heavy arm curl around her petite shoulders as she watched him go. The gathering tears which she had so valiantly fought back whilst in his presence prevailed as they began to spill down her blush-tinted cheeks. A sob croaked from her throat as she settled herself into the soothing, reassuring hold of John B. Silently, she willed him not to turn around for one last, longing glance. She didn’t want him to see her so feeble, so hurt.

“He’ll be okay,” John B consoled her in his deep, mellow tone, “it’s JJ. He’s got the survival instincts of a cockroach, he’d survive a nuclear war, even on weed. There’s no getting rid of that boy.”

[the-sympathetic-villain]

The Stowaway’s Heart - Chapter 1

AO3 | Next | Masterpost

Description: Virgil is rescued by selkies after being abandoned at sea and brought back to their pod to recover. Virgil's poor, gay heart may just explode from how attractive they all are.

Pairings: Analogical, Platonic Logince (There may be more as I go along!)

Word Count: 1813

Chapter Warnings: Dehydration, Imprisonment, Mentions of human trafficking, Mild Suicidal Ideation

Author’s Note: This is something I’ve been writing when I need to take a break on You Belong With Me.  This will eventually probably end up being a lot of extremely gay fluff with a little hurt/comfort to start.

    Three days.

    Three days since they’d thrown Virgil in the brig.

    Three days since he'd heard the voice of another person.

    Three days since he’d last drank water.

    Three days.

    He couldn't even open his eyes as he lay motionless on the stiff cot in his cell. If it weren’t for the chill of the night air, he wouldn’t even have known how long they’d left him here. Not that it mattered. No one was coming for him. He was going to die of thirst, locked in the brig of this godforsaken ship drifting through the ocean. They could have at least had the decency to kill him outright, instead of forcing him to wait as he slowly wasted away.

    The haze in his brain seemed to break for just a moment as the sound of footsteps echoed above him. He held his breath, straining to hear as the gentle tap of steps moved across the deck. He waited for the footsteps to disappear. It wasn't real. It couldn't be. His mind had to be playing tricks on him.

    But the sounds continued. For several minutes, he could hear the deliberate movement of footsteps clicking above him. The sound wasn't just objects rolling about the deck. There were actual people on the ship somewhere above him.

    Maybe someone came back to finish the job they started.

    Virgil exhaled bitterly.

      No. It can’t be.

    He moaned, confused. They wouldn’t have come back for him. He was worthless to them at this point. In his condition, he wasn’t even worth keeping as a captive for trade. Nursing him back to health would cost them more than the price he'd fetch at the market. Distraught, a groan escaped him as he willed whatever strength he had left into trying to push himself off the ground, only barely managing to roll onto his side. Virgil nearly bit his tongue, forcing back a wave of nausea as he fought the urge to gag.

    Moving is bad. Got it.

    He groaned, remaining still as he listened to the soft tapping above him. He forced his eyes open to stare at the hatch in the ceiling in the space outside of his cell. Time passed slowly as he waited, yet the hatch to the brig remained closed. Virgil couldn't help it. His eyes started to droop with exhaustion as his focus faltered. His vision blurred as he nearly answered sleep's enticing call.

    It doesn't matter anyway.

    Virgil groaned. Even if they were coming back for him, he stood no chance of fending them off. Whoever was coming would find him, regardless of whether he was awake. He couldn't stop whatever they were going to do to him. He was at their mercy. His head drooped.

    Maybe it would be better to be unconscious.

    The sound of metal moving against metal above him tore him from his thoughts. He listened, waiting, until a metal clink from above confirmed to him that they had found the hatch. Even as his heart raced in his chest, he couldn’t even find the strength to tense his muscles in anticipation of whoever was coming his way.

    Bright light assaulted his eyes as the hatch opened. He groaned loudly as he clenched his eyes shut and cringed as the footsteps at the hatch came to an abrupt halt.

    Great job, Virgil. Now they know you’re here.

    He listened as the footsteps started to descend the steps once more. Slowly, this time. Virgil ached to open his eyes and see who was approaching him. He wanted to see their face. At least then, he could brace himself for whatever they had planned for him, but he couldn’t. So, he waited, lying prone on the bed, vulnerable to whoever approached.

    The footsteps paused at the cell doors. Virgil grunted. He forced his eyes open, ignoring the pain. He was only able to make out a tall, dark silhouette standing at the cell door, hands on the bars before the pain became unbearable and his eyes closed once more.

    “You’re alive!”

    The deep voice was loud and jarring and Virgil couldn't help flinching at the sudden sound.

    “I am sorry. I did not intend to startle you, small one.” The voice dropped to a whisper. “Give me a moment. I will get you out of here.”

    Virgil relaxed. The voice was mesmerizingly smooth and deliciously deep. Virgil couldn’t help wishing the man would speak more. At least if he was going to die, he could listen to something pleasant as he drifted away.

    The source of the voice, however, seemed to have other ideas. As fast as the pretty voice had come, it was gone once more, and Virgil had nearly drifted off to sleep again by the time the voice returned. The man was further away this time,. He was somewhere close to the top of the stairs and he wasn’t alone anymore. Another booming voice echoed down through the hatch above. Virgil cringed. The second man’s voice was deeper and he sounded angry.

    “—he’s injured!” The pretty voice spoke again.

    “He’s dangerous!”

    “He’s barely conscious. Look at him. He's hardly a threat to anyone in his current state.” The pretty voice was flat now, starting to sound annoyed.

    “Look at the state of this ship.” The angry voice paused. “What if he’s responsible for this?”

    “You think he did this and then just locked himself up in a cell to die?” The pretty voice sounded bitter now. “I find that highly unlikely.”

    Silence hung between them for a moment before the other voice spoke again. “He’s still dangerous, Logan. They all are.”

    “Undoubtedly, they would say the same about us.” The man, Logan, said bitterly.

    “I hate it when you’re like this.”

    “Compassionate?”

    “Stubborn.”

    “Forgive me if lowering my standards of who is worthy of basic compassion is a topic on which I refuse to compromise, Roman.”

    “I’m not asking you to lower your standards.” Roman muttered bitterly. “I’m asking you to consider the consequences.”

    “I have considered the consequences.” Logan sighed. “I’m not willing to leave him to die over complications that may never arise.”

    “I shouldn’t have let you come with me.”

    “That is of little consequence at this point. I’m here now.”

    Roman sighed, considering the situation. “Fine, but he’s your responsibility and yours alone. No one else will be allowed near him.”

    “I would expect nothing less.” Virgil could have laughed at the barely concealed smirk in Logan’s tone. He could guess that this man with a pretty voice was used to getting his way.

    “He will remain confined the entire time. He's not going to be moving about the island unchecked.”

    “Roman—”

    “This is not a negotiation.” Roman stated. “These are my rules if you choose to do this. Otherwise, I’m not allowing it.”

    Virgil heard a dissatisfied grunt before Logan spoke again. “Fine, I will concede to your terms.”

    “Good, because I have one more.” Roman hesitated. “You will leave your pelt with me while you care for him.”

    “That’s not fair—” Virgil could almost feel Logan bristle at Roman’s suggestion.

    “I don’t care if it's fair or not. I’m not taking the risk of a human controlling you. That would endanger everyone at home.” Roman interrupted, quiet for a moment before he spoke again. This time his voice was soft and pleading. “Not to mention, I don’t know what we’d do if we lost you again, Lo. He'd never forgive me.”

    Human?

    “Very well, Roman.” Logan’s voice was tired, but he seemed resigned. “That will make the process uncomfortable, but if it will put your mind at ease, I will do whatever you require of me.”

    “Thanks, Lo.” Roman’s voice was softer. His angry tone had faded. Virgil’s heart warmed pleasantly at the sweet tone that drifted through the brig. “Now, go do whatever you need to do. We're leaving soon.”

    “Thank you.” Hurried steps dropped down from the stairs above. A loud thud resonated in the floor below Virgil as the man jumped past few steps to land on the ground. A moment later, he could hear the jangling of metal as someone fiddled with his cell door. Virgil’s head started to spin and he resisted another wave of nausea. His vision darkened as his consciousness faded for a brief moment.

    He woke to the feeling of hands on his neck. Panic coursed through his body as he weakly tried to struggle away from his attacker, but he barely moved, too exhausted and weak to truly fight back.

    “Do not move, human. I have no intent to harm you. I only wished to confirm you were still alive.”

    Virgil settled as the hands moved off his throat, too weak to do much else.

    “Good. You are going to be okay. My name is Logan and I am here to help you.”

    Virgil’s skin tingled at the pleasant melody of the stranger’s voice.

     “You appear to be severely dehydrated.” Logan spoke softly. A blissful sigh nearly escaped Virgil as the stranger’s soft hands pushed his hair away from his face. “I am going to give you some water, but I will need to prop you up to prevent you from choking. Will you allow me to lift you?”

    Virgil groaned and Logan seemed to accept that as consent. Warm hands gently curled him upright, cradling him around his shoulder. He felt a cup at his lips and he opened his mouth, sipping eagerly at the sweet, cool water. Instant relief washed over him as the aching dryness in his throat eased. He nearly moaned with satisfaction, but his relief was cut short as the cup was pulled back away from him too soon. He grumbled unhappily.

    A heavenly laugh sounded near his ear. “I'm sorry, dear one. Too much at once will make you sick. You will have more soon. I promise.”

     Virgil melted into the man's arms, relaxing at the soft tone of his voice. He wavered at the edge of consciousness, nearly giving into sleep at the comfort of the man's touch.

     “You are going to be okay, human. I give you my word.” Logan whispered. A sad tone crept into the beautiful sound of his voice. Virgil felt a hand on the neck, and he leaned into its warmth. “But I don’t think you need to see what is waiting for us up on the deck. Please forgive me, dear one.”

    Vague confusion swelled in Virgil’s mind for only a moment before he felt a small prick in his neck. He winced but the pain quickly faded.

    “Don't—" Virgil rasped the first word he'd spoken in days. He tried to pull away but his resistance was short lived as his racing mind succumbed to oblivion.

     “Sleep now, human.” Logan whispered sadly. “You’re safe now. You'll be in a better place when you wake.”

[into-the-afterlife]

Why I Ship Johnny/Female V Part 3: V, and You, and Me

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

I’ve spent a lot of time in this essay series so far focusing on one half of the pairing. Johnny is fascinating, but he’s only one half of the dynamic. So what about V is interesting? Why does she stand out as a character, in the context of this pairing?

Across different ships, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern. There tends to be one character that the fandom focuses in on to thirst over and one that the fandom imagines themselves being. In this ship, the thirst-character tends to be Johnny, while the self-insert character tends to be V. And that’s not surprising, considering that V is essentially our self-insert into the world of Cyberpunk 2077. It’s also worth noting that people who engage in shipping and transformative fandom tend to be predominantly AFAB, myself included, and it makes sense that when writing sexual stories we’d want a self-insert who has our anatomy.

But fans being AFAB doesn’t usually impact what ships are popular. Shipping is infamously dominated by M/M couples who are, ninety percent of the time, cis. Usually, that impulse to self-insert results in an exaggeration of top-bottom dynamics rather than genderswaps or increased focus on M/F couples.

And the thing about V is, she isn’t just a self-insert. In fandoms focused on open-world RPGs, there tends to be some focus on the player character. However, that focus tends to be limited to the Tumblr-ish, transformative end of fandom. One of my other favourite video game fandoms is The Elder Scrolls. There, people avidly draw and discuss their versions of the protagonists on Tumblr and AO3. But on Reddit and Facebook meme pages, the focus is much more on the other characters, the lore, the worldbuilding.

In this fandom, though? I’ve seen more Vs on Reddit than I have on Tumblr. On Reddit, you’re bombarded with beautiful screenshots of V after V. On Tumblr, there’s tons of new names for V, lovingly thought out backstories and more. And when I see V being shipped with Johnny, V is almost always depicted as female, despite there being an option for a male V and despite the norms of shipping favouring a male V.

So it’s clear that female V inspires more affection than most RPG protagonists. Part of that is to do with Cherami Leigh’s voice acting that I covered in Part 1. But I also think there’s a lot in V’s writing that influences things this way.

CD Projekt Red’s writers are known for focusing on character and plot over worldbuilding in their writing. There’s no, ‘I used to be an adventurer like you...’ in their games, no blank-slate hero or awkward, generic background dialogue. Instead, their other protagonist, Geralt, reacts to chasing after goats and weird children and ancient beings as his own person. The world he inhabits is similarly richly drawn, with even the most bland of background guards discussing gimps and birthdays.

There’s also no black-and-white morality. Even in The Witcher games, their fantasy series, the morality leans much closer to Game of Thrones than The Lord of the Rings. This means that their characters are always three-dimensional. Their first true RPG is actually Cyberpunk 2077. Oh, sure, they’ve done games with rich worlds and lots of sidequests, with skill-trees and moral options, but they’ve always had an authored character, with his own slants and biases. Even when Geralt picks the moral option, he’s likely to be cynical about it, and he always leans towards being a grizzled libertarian who’s Done With This Shit at heart.

Despite their provision of a relatively blank-slate character in this game, this influence lingers on in Cyberpunk 2077. One of the big critiques of the game at launch was that the much-hyped lifepath system felt clunky and didn’t have much of an influence on later gameplay. It’s true that the backstory sacrifices some smoothness of plot and introduction to the world.

But what it gets rid of in those aspects, it makes up for in characterisation. No matter what path you choose, V is never an anonymous prisoner, a mysterious courier or a long-forgotten colonist. She has a clearly defined context, and real roots in the world around her. Even after you move past the prologue, V has the network of people around her you’d expect for someone already embedded in the world. After you’re shot, you don’t just go to some random ripperdoc; you go to Vik, her regular ripperdoc and friend. You don’t get the tarot sidequest from reading an anonymous shard; you get it from Misty. Jackie dating Misty suggests that he introduced V to Misty and Vik. V getting to know them through Jackie feels natural, and just like the kinds of close communal networks that spring up in large cities. Meanwhile, the unique dialogue options for each lifepath keep reminding you that V had a life before you met her.

And that’s true even for the other dialogue options. Here’s a minor, early-game set of dialogue choices from Cyberpunk 2077:

And here’s a similarly minor, early-game set of dialogue choices from a recent RPG that shares a lot of tonal and thematic similarities with Cyberpunk – The Outer Worlds:

Notice the difference in attitudes allowed by each set of dialogue options. The player character of The Outer Worlds has the opportunity to respond compassionately, snarkily or lie for their own advantage. Deception is specifically highlighted and controlled by a skill tree, and each dialogue choice has its own tone and flavour. Meanwhile, all of V’s dialogue choices can be interpreted as some kind of attempt at deception. They’re also all written in the same voice. While The Outer Worlds offers matter-of-fact kindness, brevity and colourful imagery, V’s dialogue choices all share sentence fragments, spunkiness, bluntness and emotional volatility. No matter what choices you make, V’s attitude and voice always stays the same.

The way dialogue choices are controlled is also worth examining. There seem to be more choices on the surface in Cyberpunk, but a full half of them are controlled by skill trees. Level V up differently to this YouTuber, and they may not even be available. The skills themselves also betray a lack of choice here. While speech is split into five different skills in The Outer Worlds, and the skill used here is directly named ‘Lie’, in Cyberpunk 2077 the skills are simply named ‘Reflexes’ and ‘Cool’. That’s partially due to differences in RPG mechanics, which is beyond the scope of this essay. But look at the names themselves. While The Outer Worlds singles out deception, and bluntly names it for what it is, Cyberpunk 2077 frames quick thinking and bluffing as simply part of the reactions and social attitudes required to survive in Night City. Even the very names of the game mechanics are coloured by V’s attitudes.

While V’s status as an independent character is coloured by CD Projekt Red’s previous experience, it’s definitely not an accident. They had an entire trailer dedicated to answering the question of who V is. For the question of whether V keeps her own personality to be compelling, V has to have a personality in the first place. And in the Temperance ending, the emotional impact of seeing V as an NPC in cyberspace, as well as the final, long shot of V’s face on the bus, depends on you having built up a relationship with her as a separate character. She’s a fascinating mix of self-insert and defined character, and purely from a writing perspective, breaks a lot of new ground for RPG protagonists.

But back to the subject at hand: shipping. She’s just self-insert enough for you to imagine yourself as part of a heightened reality, as someone blisteringly witty, quick-thinking and intelligent. And feeling competent and confident, whether in the real world or in-game, brings you back into your body and makes you feel confident enough to pursue what brings you pleasure. But V’s also just enough of her own person that you can care for her and want her to be happy. That combination of affection and wish fulfilment is what the best ships are made of.

Another huge part of V’s popularity in the Cyberpunk fandom comes from the way gender, or the lack of it, interacts with her characterisation. Of course, you can make her look and dress however you want; that’s one of the beautiful things about RPG protagonists. But her lines and interactions with other characters, thanks to them having to be voiced by male V as well, are refreshingly gender-neutral. To understand this further, let’s take a look at some concrete examples.

Cyberpunk 2077, particularly during the prologue and Act 1, takes a lot of inspiration from Grand Theft Auto. Fast cars, exciting crimes, the obligatory strippers and prostitutes; they’re all there.

These kinds of gritty, sexualised game worlds have attracted criticism from feminist media analysts for normalising violence against women and normalising extreme violence as the default and desirable way of responding to the world. What I think about these takes would take its own essay to get into. But the part of these critiques I do agree with is this. By having protagonists in these worlds always be hypermasculine cis male protagonists, and by having victims of crimes and sexualised characters always be cis women, these worlds repeatedly and unnecessarily sideline anyone who’s not a cis man from imagining themselves having power and agency.

However, where Cyberpunk 2077 differentiates itself from other examples of these game worlds is its lack of gendered differentiation for its protagonist. Ninety-nine percent of the time throughout the game, male and female V voice exactly the same lines. This means that if you choose to play as female V, female V is characterised exactly the same way as male V.

Let’s take a look at some concrete examples of this. The biggest is V’s relationship with Jackie. It’s rarely that you see a male-female friendship that stays as platonic as this one does in media, and I welcome it. The quest called ‘The Ripperdoc’ demonstrates this, in the conversation when Jackie and V drive to see Vik:

Jackie [with relish]: ...I got a date - me and Misty.

V: You don’t say...

Jackie [confidentially]: She’s soooo sweet. Really gets me, y’know?

Jackie describes his relationship with Misty in respectful terms, and isn’t afraid to detail the emotional aspects of his and Misty’s connection. But he doesn’t hold back on the macho bragging either. In these lines, and especially in the pleased, suggestive tone of the first line, it’s clear he’s proud to be the kind of guy who could date someone like Misty. The presence of both of these attitudes together shows that Jackie both trusts V and considers V a part of his traditional-masculinity-valuing world. It’s less ‘not like other girls’ and more ‘not like other mercs’.

Similarly, while V’s first interactions with Johnny do draw from highly gendered relationship dynamics, the actual content of V’s responses undercut any feminising this would give her. Here’s one exchange from ‘Playing For Time’:

Johnny: The fuck kinda joytoy are you supposed to be?

V: Fuckin’ ghost off!

Johnny calls V a whore. Before and after, he physically hurts her in ways that, in my opinion, have a highly sexual undertone. But the crucial bit is how V responds here. She neither responds in a helpless, damsel-in-distress sort of way, nor in a defiant, sassy heroine way, where she might take the gendered insults and own them or prove them wrong via physical prowess. In fact, she doesn’t react to the gendered aspect of Johnny’s comment at all. Where a game with a Strong Female Character (TM) would use gendered jabs to refocus attention on said character, Cyberpunk blows them off to focus on the reality of this particular character’s situation.

Outside of V’s closest relationships, this gender neutrality can also be seen in the wider world of Night City. Dexter DeShawn is one of the most tropey, Grand Theft Auto-esque characters you meet in the game. As such, he’s one of the best barometers for how gender interacts with the ‘usual’ state of the world. And how does he react to a female V?

The answer is, not at all. He addresses her as ‘Ms V’, but that comes across as less about her and more about him being high up enough in the world that he can afford affectations. Her gender simply isn’t relevant. While this is increasingly common in pop culture, it’s still rare in worldbuilding like this, where gender is all too frequently used as a lens through which to explore violent, chaotic worlds. In a type of world and tone where gender roles are traditionally emphasised , V slips past those roles and is allowed to exist beyond them.

But why does gender neutrality make V more appealing to ship? To answer that fully, it needs to be combined with my next point.

V is also compelling to ship because her characterisation gives a safe platform from which to imagine her being vulnerable. What I mean by that is this. The main aspect of V’s characterisation in canon is her status as a merc. How you experience her life, through gameplay and through the situations she gets into, is through her skills at hacking, sneaking and killing. You don’t just witness her competence, daring and toughness; you share in it.

When writing fiction that focuses on romantic relationships, one of the toughest balances to get right is that of competency and vulnerability. Any good romantic arc involves watching a character’s barriers come down, seeing how they react to the other person when they lay aside their protective pretences. But this can’t happen too soon, or too much, for either the protagonist or the love interest. Competency and assuredness are huge parts of what makes someone attractive, and they’re also huge parts of feeling like you can come out and play, sexually speaking. Even for the biggest submissive on the planet, the submission has to be a deliberate choice to be hot.

Taken together, V’s canonical characterisation and the possibilities and conventions of fandom provide the perfect balance of those two qualities. Canon makes it clear that V is capable and strong. When you or I imagine our Vs with Johnny, that buildup of ‘competence capital’ makes it feel safe enough to imagine V vulnerable.

And that safety is vital when shipping any character with a character like Johnny. This is where the gender neutrality I talked about earlier comes into play. Imagining V vulnerable feels safe. So does imagining V in a dynamic with a guy who’s a tropey bad boy. Because V is written in such a gender-neutral way, it lets the player enjoy all the deliciously dangerous aspects of her relationship with Johnny without the distractions that may come from feeling disempowered. It also refreshes all the clichés of Dangerous Guys, making their impact feel fresh and new again. Her ability to walk the line between wish fulfilment and independent characterisation inspires simultaneous identification with her, affection for her and boosts in confidence for the player.

This is why she’s compelling to ship. Johnny brings in the familiar emotional arcs of classic tropes, while V makes them new. So what happens when you put these two characters together? Just what about the way they bounce off each other has inspired the majority of fic and art in this fandom?

That’s what I’ll talk about next time.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

[remuswriting]

I know people hate the term ‘Hinata harem’ but it’s one of my favorite things and I’ll explain why.

Everyone is in love with Hinata but that doesn’t necessarily mean romantically.  You can love someone in ways that aren’t romantic and we tend to forget that.  They love him though because he gives everyone he meets warmth with his compassionate personality and bright smiles.  He makes them feel like he’s the childhood friend they’ve considered part of their family for as long as they can remember.  They can practically imagine him at holidays, even if they had only met him last week. He just makes them fall in love with him in the way they love their family.

Hinata is obsessed with rivals, we all know that, but they’re just as obsessed back.  He’s competitive in a way that excites those on the other side of the net.  They wonder, what is he going to do next?  How is he real?  Can we beat him?  I need to play next to him.  His rivals are amazed by him and they tend to show it without meaning to.  This makes them just want to be better because he motivates them to.  He can ignite a love for volleyball in others without even meaning to do.  They love him in an admiration sort of way because somehow he has made them yearn to be better than him.  Even though they yearn for that, they’re still proud of him when he still manages to continue getting better.

Some people fall in completely and utterly in love with him.  It’s different for every person but it always starts with his warm smile that feels like it’s only meant for them.  He’s affectionate to the point where people most likely think he’s flirting with everyone but it’s just how he is and it makes them melt into his touch, especially with how warm his hands are.  He laughs with them and even when something wasn’t meant to be funny, they can’t help but laugh back because that’s just the effect he has. The final thing to makes them realize they’re in love is that he sees them as who they actually are and not what people define them as.

Hinata represents sunshine and warmth and people crave it, no matter the circumstance.  There are those who say they hate how bright he is until he isn’t.  They don’t realize how attached they’ve become with the sunshine he possesses until there’s nothing left of him and he looks like a shell of a person.  It hurts them because people don’t want to see those they love in pain.  Sometimes they ignore that they love him, think that it’s just feeling bad for someone who is hurt but they eventually figure it out.

I also want to say that Hinata is just a lovable character.  People tend to love characters more if they see positive interactions in between the character with other characters.  Every interaction he has creates a bond and I can’t think of him having any negative bonds. He basically praises everyone he meets and he is jealous of them because he wants to be the best, which goes into motivating other players.  Those bonds go deeper than surface level, which is why people ship him with so many characters.  He is compatible with everyone he meets, whether platonic or romantic and people need to stop looking over that.  It’s okay that ‘Hinata harem’ is a thing because it makes sense and people need to stop shitting on it.

[hauntedbasementqueen]

TVD: Delena vs. Stelena

So yes, I am a Delena shipper. And yes, this topic is a little old. But so far I have not found anything online that defends Delena for the reasons I ship them, so I am going to write this anyways.

This is three pages long, so be prepared.

Spoiler warning ahead.

I am not going to be defending against accusations, nor am I going to be using factors such as chemistry or attractiveness, although in my opinion both are in favor of Delena. This is only talking about the characters and how Damon, Stefan, and Elena all benefited from Delena being endgame, as well as why I think it was the best choice for the show.

From a screenwriting perspective, Stelena was a good starting relationship for the show. It had intrigue, and some passion, and, most importantly, it was steady enough to give the watchers time to get to know the characters. Stefan was unambiguously the good guy, despite being a vampire, and in the first few seasons the show had not built up enough loyalty to the characters to risk putting the main character with someone as morally grey as Damon.

In terms of the characters themselves, Stelena was also a good starting point for Elena after her parents’ deaths. She was hopeless, and what she needed was a constant, kind presence in her life who had just enough danger and mystery to draw her interest. Stefan gave that to her. For the first few years after her parents death, Elena couldn’t deal with the demands of a relationship with Damon (who, incidentally, had a lot of growing up to do as well). She needed Stefan, who could carry a lot of their relationship himself, rather than her having to take care of or monitor him, giving Elena time to heal and navigate this new supernatural world. And their relationship was… charming. The love there was real (although in my opinion, it was more platonic than romantic-- more on that later), and there was certainly enough drama to keep us engaged. For the beginning of the show, Stelena was good.

Around season three, however, is where it started to sour (and no, I am not talking about the Ripper or any of the other plot devices, only characterization). In the first two seasons, most of the Stelena drama was about them developing their relationship. Elena was figuring out who Stefan was and discovering his secrets. After season three, however, the showriters started to run out of ideas. Stefan’s past had been revealed. There was more to reveal about Stefan, of course, but all of the major things that would impact his relationship with Elena had been used. The ripper storyline had been done. Pretty much any other drama would seem artificial and out of character. Why? Because Stefan and Elena were both such stubbornly loyal people that any sort of betrayal on either of their parts would only seem in character if it relied on miscommunication, which is a subpar plot point at best. In addition, Stefan and Elena had a steady, quiet sort of love rather than the explosive type that viewers tend to want. To put it simply, Stefan and Elena’s relationship was becoming boring. Changing it up was in the best interest for the show.

In terms of characterization, Stelena also needed to end around season three. Elena was mostly healed from her parents’ deaths. She was headstrong, always running into danger, and would do anything to save the people she loved. More than anything, she was self-sacrificing, to the point where that was perhaps her biggest flaw. Stefan was the exact same as her. And that’s why in the beginning, when the stakes were lower, their relationship worked-- they understood each other. But as the stakes got higher each season and every decision was life or death, Elena could not be with someone who was just as self-sacrificing as her, for her own physical health. Stefan loved Elena. And yet he was the kind of person who would be a martyr and give her up, if that’s what she wanted (and he does when she becomes a vampire, saving Matt instead of her). This seems good on paper- until you consider that Elena is so self-sacrificing that oftentimes she tries to turn herself in before she considers all other options. And Stefan is so selfless and so respecting that he doesn’t stop her. 

Take the part about Elena becoming a vampire, for example. Yes, in the end it turned out fine and Matt and Elena were both saved. But Stefan didn’t know that Elena had vampire blood in her system. If she hadn’t, she would be dead. The choice was clearly between Elena and Matt- one of them was going to die. Elena wanted Stefan to choose Matt, so he did (after wasting several idiotic seconds arguing about it, but I digress). If it weren’t for luck, Elena would be dead, and honestly it would have been Stefan’s fault more than anything else. He knows Elena is incredibly, stubbornly self-sacrificing. He should have saved the life of the girl he loves first and then gone back to save her friend, no question. Instead he let Elena die because he was too much of a martyr. Yes, he did regret it later, but I believe that he would probably do it again in a similar situation-- their characters are just too selfless.

Enter Damon. If Damon is anything, it’s selfish. As the seasons go on, he becomes a better person, but when it comes to Elena, it is always, always, whatever is best for Elena first. And that is exactly what Elena needs. She’s grieved for her parents. She can stand on her own now. She doesn’t need someone to be kind, and to prop her up like Stefan did. What she needs is someone who can match her step for step and who can and will stop her when she goes on one of her self-sacrificing rampages (yes, I like Elena too, but you have to admit this is one of her flaws). Damon does that. He gives her the love, and the compassion, but he also gives her the strength of will and the selfishness that counterbalances her own selflessness. Not to mention as Elena grows on the show and becomes more confident, her character grows into more of an adventurous, witty character rather than the damsel in distress type she was in season one. The new Elena fits better with Damon’s adventurous and witty streak than with Stefan’s more steady, dry nature. 

Damon and Elena is also, in my opinion, far more interesting to watch than Stelena, and I think most people would agree. They are more passionate, both in love and in anger, and I personally like their banter far better. They have far more opportunities for angst and plot points, being more different than each other and both of them having grown to be similarly volatile (Damon becoming less volatile, Elena becoming more so). Thus, Delena made the show more interesting without having to force outstandingly interesting plot points or side relationships.

Looking at the show as a whole, I see Stelena as a better platonic relationship, and Delena as a better romantic relationship. Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev have incredible chemistry, no doubt about that (and Pual and Nina have very little-- fight me on that), but in terms of the characters themselves it also makes more sense for Stelena to be platonic. Even when they were together, it reminded me more of a best friend relationship, especially in season two. They loved each other, and they were compassionate, but they were not passionate. There was no real spark between them, because they were too similar. Ideally, partners should have many of the same interests, but they should also complement each other. Best friends, meanwhile, are usually very similar. They don’t complement each other-- they are each other. The way that Damon complements Elena makes him a better romantic partner, while Stefan is an excellent friend to Elena due to their similarities. 

Now that I have covered how Damon and Elena are better off together, I’m going to briefly go over the Caroline aspect of Stefan’s character arc.

From the show’s perspective, putting Stefan with Caroline made the show a million times better. They complement each other, just as Damon and Elena do. Both of them are kind and optimistic, but Caroline is single-minded and driven, while Stefan is more calm. Caroline gives Stefan’s life excitement, and Stefan gives Caroline’s life steadiness. Not to mention from a showrunning perspective, they have excellent banter. I was starting to grow bored with Stefan until he got with Caroline. Caroline’s over the top, wordy dialogue matches really well with Stefan’s more dry, monosyllabic tendencies. 

So to conclude, while Stelena was good at the beginning of the show, in the end Delena was better for all of the characters. And Stefan is not the cheated victim, watching the love of his life with his brother. He found his own epic love. Those who support Stelena, in my opinion, are just pining for the past. Move on.

[anubislover]

Siblings Lost and Found

(Ikkaku's been the Heart Pirates' mechanic for a year, but is she just another one of Law's subordinates, or does she mean more? Special thanks (and blame) to @shambledsurgeon for suggesting this idea and @scribblrhob for suggesting the song "In My Life" by The Beatles for maximum feels. Any tears are their fault)

It was well past midnight when Ikkaku’s shift was finally over. Clione as he come to relieve her, and she couldn’t be more grateful. In the year since she’d become the Heart Pirates’ mechanic, she’d discovered that life on the high seas wasn’t always as exciting as it sounded.

In fact, with the ocean so calm and little more to be seen beyond schools of fish and the occasional shark, it was hard to stay awake and focused. She’d resorted to drinking three cups of coffee and playing with her hair, braiding and straightening until finally settling on a pair of simple pigtails, mostly for the sake of getting her thick locks off the back of her neck. The Polar Tang had been underwater for a while, so it was stuffy and humid—Bepo would start complaining soon, and Law would have to agree to surface.

Thinking about the poor Mink, Ikkaku decided to take a detour to the library. Aside from the operatory and the morgue, it was the room with the best air conditioning and Bepo could sometimes be found bunked up in there if his quarters became too hot. If he were awake, maybe she’d sit up with him for a bit; with all the caffeine in her system, she knew she wouldn’t be drifting off anytime soon.

The library was in fact occupied, but not by who she’d expected. Slumped over one of the tables was Law, medical books and papers scattered beneath him. He’d been suffering another bout of insomnia for the past week, but normally when he was like that, he spent his nights in the lab or his office.

Must be avoiding Shachi and Penguin’s hovering, she thought, shaking her head. When the captain got like this, those two always went out of their way to try to force him to take care of himself. As much as Law griped about it being insubordination, she was positive he secretly appreciated it; after all, they were two of his closest friends. Practically his brothers.

She wished her own brothers had been like that.

Ikkaku quietly crept into the room to lower the lights—Law must have been truly exhausted to have fallen asleep while working. She briefly wondered if she should wake him long enough to help him move to the couch, but she decided against it—he’d suffer some nasty neck cramps in the morning, but it was better than disturbing his much-needed rest.

When she tried to remove the pen from his hand, however, Law stirred. Ikkaku froze, half crouched above him, silently praying that he hadn’t awoken. She was close enough that, even in the dim light, she could see the way his face scrunched up. Was he dreaming? She could see his eyes darting about under his eyelids, as if searching for something, and his breath came out in shuddering little gasps.

Law was surrounded by choking death. White hospital walls were engulfed in flame and crumbling around him as he ran through the winding, labyrinthine halls.

Mother and father were dead. The soldiers were killing everyone they saw. Flevance was in ruins. It was hot and everything reeked of smoke, blood, and stinking death. Wide, lifeless eyes stared at him in cold judgement as he sprinted past crumpled corpses.

You told her to stay put, they whispered maliciously. This is your fault.

No. He’d told her to hide in the closet for just a few minutes. He’d always intended to come back for her. He didn’t mean to leave his sister behind. He thought she’d be safe!

He had to get to Lamie!

There! The closet was straight ahead! He could hear Lamie inside, screaming for her big brother to save her.

He flung open the door only to find a woman with dark, curly hair and a bandana staring up at him instead.

“Law, it’s me…”

Taking in his pained and panicked expression, it was clear that Law was in the clutches of a pretty intense nightmare, and Ikkaku wasn’t the kind of woman who stood idly by while her captain was suffering.

Grateful that he didn’t have Kikoku on him to slice her to bits if he woke up in a hostile mood, she grabbed his shoulder and shook hard. “Law, it’s me. Hey, wake up!”

“Lamie?” he asked, eyes bleary and unfocused.

“Law, what’s—” Ikkaku started, only for her captain to grab her shoulder and pull her in for a hug. Immediately, she stiffened. Law was not a hugger. Sure, on good days he deigned to be hugged—mostly by Bepo—but he wasn’t the sort to initiate platonic, physical displays of affection.

“You’re ok,” he gasped. He squeezed her tightly and buried his head in her shoulder, breathing deeply. She didn’t smell like smoke or sickness or death.

She smelled like engine oil and coffee, though, with a hint of ginger lotion underneath. Scents that could never be associated with Lamie.

Reluctantly, he became aware of his surroundings. He wasn’t in the charred remains of the hospital. Wasn’t surrounded by the bodies of his friends and family, or soldiers pointing guns at him.

He was in his ship’s library, alone with his mechanic, who was staring at him in shock because he was practically crushing her to his chest.

Law mentally berated himself as he pushed Ikkaku away, brain finally catching up to his body. He’d fallen asleep, had a nightmare, and like some frightened child had latched onto the first person he saw upon being awoken. Disgusting, uncaptainlike behavior that never should have been witnessed by his subordinate.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes while trying to play it cool to retain some dignity. “I…thought you were someone else.”

“Someone named Lamie,” Ikkaku pressed, taking the seat beside him and reaching for his hand. “Law, please; I know I’ve only been around for a year, but if something’s bothering you—”

“It’s nothing.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Bullshit. ‘Nothing’ doesn’t cause nightmares. You can talk to me.”

“Fine, it’s not nothing, but it’s none of your damn business,” he growled, refusing to look at her. He felt irrationally angry; in his dream, he’d been so close to saving his sister, only for Ikkaku to replace her. Then, upon awakening, he’d had a faint moment of delusional hope that maybe Lamie really was alive, only to be replaced again.

Ikkaku recoiled, his harsh tone stinging as much as his words. It wasn’t any of her business because she was just his subordinate. Yet despite his creepy and sadistic tendencies, over the past year, she’d grown attached to him. He was caring and honorable and protective; everything she’d wished her brothers had been. In fact, she’d started to wonder if he felt a hint of brotherly affection towards her; he never seemed to give her more than a slap on the wrist for backtalk. Was quick to scare off unsavory men in taverns. Trusted her judgement when it came to the submarine’s engine, even though she’d been just an apprentice mechanic when he’d hired her.

Clearly, she’d looked too deeply into his actions. He tolerated her sass because he was too busy to reprimand her. Protected her because he couldn’t risk something happening to his mechanic. Accepted her input because he didn’t know enough to contradict her.

Ikkaku wasn’t anything special to him. Everything he did was for practical reasons.

Pulling away before she broke her own heart, she grumbled, “Fine, but I’m telling Penguin about this. You need to talk to someone, and if you don’t trust me—”

“I trust you,” Law stated, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, brow furrowed in confusion.

“You trust me to keep the Tang sailing. To tell you if the engine needs repairs or if there’s a maintenance issue. To have your back in a fight. You trust me like any captain should trust his subordinate.” As she stood up, she forced a smile; something she hadn’t had to do since joining his crew. “That’s the kind of trust that matters, right? That we both know how to do our jobs and keep each other alive on the treacherous, unforgiving sea. Anything else…well that’s just gravy, right?” Despite herself, her lip quivered slightly, forcing her to pretend to organize some of the books on the table so he wouldn’t see her moment of weakness.

From his seat, Law stared at her. In the year she’d been onboard, he’d determined his mechanic to be reckless, outspoken, and loyal. Compassionate to those she considered friends. Genuine. Determined. Intelligent. Vibrant.

Everything he’d imagined his sister would become.

Coming to a decision, Law grabbed Ikkaku’s forearm to get her attention. “Lamie…Lamie was my sister. She died in a hospital fire when I was a kid.”

“Oh gods,” Ikkaku whispered, free hand covering her mouth in horror.

“She wore pigtails,” he admitted, glancing at the twin bunches of hair. “Some days, it’s hard to remember her face, but I can always picture those.”

“I…shit, Law, I’ll take them out,” she offered, immediately reaching up to release the ties.

“Don’t. It’s fine. It just confused me. In the dream, I was searching for her. Everyone else was dead, and the hospital was burning all around me, but I had to find her. I’d told her to hide in a closet while I went to find mother and father, but they were already dead—”

“It’s ok,” she whispered, instinctively sitting back down so she could pull him into a hug. “You don’t need to tell me. I’m…that wasn’t your fault.” No wonder he was so reluctant to let people in. She’d heard about things like survivor’s guilt, and Bepo had implied that he’d lost a lot of people in his short life.

Ikkaku suddenly felt guilty for overstepping her boundaries. She should have let him come to her when he was ready instead of forcing her way in. Hell, she shouldn’t even be hugging him without permission!

But when she tried to pull away, she felt Law’s hand on her back, refusing to let her move an inch.

“You…make me miss her less. Her smile always brightened up the room. When she was sick, I spent a lot of my free time trying to cheer her up. To make her laugh. Sometimes, when you laugh, I close my eyes and pretend it’s hers. That I hadn’t failed, and she’d grown up to become a smart, vibrant young woman like you.”

Ikkaku worried her lip, mulling over his words and debating how she should respond. He’d opened up to her. Trusted her as more than a subordinate. She was something special to him.

He deserved to know she felt the same.

“Law, I…I grew up with four older brothers. All of them were dicks who wanted nothing to do with me. They’d cut my hair off, break my stuff, mock me for wanting to be a mechanic—hell, they once tried to abandon me in the woods.” She looked up at him with a small, sad smile. “So believe me when I say you didn’t fail. You did everything you could. Lamie was damn lucky to have such a loving, protective big brother.”

Law’s heart clenched. Honestly, he’d felt guilty, pushing his feelings for his sister onto Ikkaku. Partially because he felt like he was replacing Lamie; like he was trying to erase his mistakes. And partially because he knew it was unfair to Ikkaku. She deserved to be appreciated for herself, not as some substitute for a girl who died years ago.

But…she didn’t seem to mind. Considering her own brothers, perhaps Ikkaku had secretly appreciated those moments where he’d been a bit overprotective, or unconsciously spoiled her in some way. Perhaps Lamie would even approve of this coping mechanism. Perhaps his subconscious had put her in his dream to show him that, while it was too late for his sister, there was another girl he could still protect.

Such thoughts were better analyzed when he was less tired.

Arm dropping from its place at her back, he pulled away from the embrace. “Help me get to my quarters. Penguin will bitch for hours if he finds out I fell asleep in the library again.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” Ikkaku said, tugging him to his feet. It seemed their little moment was over, but she didn’t mind, especially if it meant Law would actually get some rest. “Want me to call Bepo? He’d be happy to let you use him as a pillow.”

“No. He needs his rest. We’ll surface first thing in the morning—the sub’s getting too stuffy.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, wrapping one of his long arms around her shoulders to better support his lethargic body as they walked down the hall in comfortable silence.

When they arrived at his quarters, she asked, “Sure you don’t need anything? I drank too much coffee, so I’ll be awake for a while. I could clean up the library, or—”

“If you want to help…” Law trailed off, hesitating. He internally debated voicing his request before finally swallowing his pride. “Stay with me a bit. To make sure I actually do fall back asleep. If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Yeah. Sure, I can do that,” she said with a surprised smile.

Stepping aside, he let her into the room. “Just so you know, if you tell anyone about this, I’ll cut out your tongue and preserve it in formaldehyde.”

Her grin sharpened into something a bit more teasing. Ah, there was the creepy captain she knew and loved. “As if anyone would believe that the big, bad Surgeon of Death needed someone to hold his hand and scare the nightmares away.”

“I never asked you to hold my hand.”

She giggled before dragging his desk chair over to his bed while he kicked off his shoes and crawled under the covers.

“Did you check under the bed for monsters?” he asked dryly, a hint of his sarcastic smirk lifting his lips.

She rolled her eyes. “Please, like there’s anything scarier than you on this ship.”

“Damn straight,” he replied, letting out a jaw-cracking yawn. His eyes drooped a bit as his head sank into the pillow. “Know any lullabies?”

“A few. You really want one?”

“Could be nice, especially if it’s the last time I hear your voice should you not manage to keep your mouth shut about this.”

Sniggering, Ikkaku tousled his hair before clearing her throat, softy singing as her captain gradually drifted off.

“Though I know I'll never lose affection For people and things that went before I know I'll often stop and think about them In my life I love you more.”

END