#i think it's my favorite ff platonic relationship

[crosshairscrustysock]

Let’s get some fun recommendations goin around here! What’s a piece of clone content (art, fic, etc) that has stuck with you as being notably excellent? Tag it in your answer so we can all find some new fun to read! If you want, of course; feel free to ignore! 💕

I would love to introduce to you these excellent fics

[im very happy to spread some fun recommendations]

So for a short smutty read :

For a short fluff read :

As for longer reads:

- I am currently  reading these amazing fics <3

And soon to start this one :

And thanks for coming to my Ted talk, folks ,that's all tumblr seems to allow me to put :))

Lol I hope this list is what you were hoping for lol  :) I'm always happy to recommend fics <33333

(you should definitely check out these author's master lists of works- they're quite incredible )

[ilovemyselfak]

I saw fans fighting over the marauders fancast but i don't know for me it always

James Potter - Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Sirius Black - Ben Barnes

Remus Lupin - Andrew Garfield

Regulus Black - Timotheé Chalamet

Lily Evens - Sophie Skelton

Here are some of my headcanon theories . Plz don't be mad with me , they are just my thoughts.

Lily had a crush on him when they were younger (1/2 year) and they may have dated but they both realized that they love each other like brother & sister , they are platonic soulmates.

Remus first kiss was james .In their third or early fourth year, they may have done this,perhaps for a bet or to realize their (remus ) sexuality. They may be each other's first kiss .

Regulus had a crush on remus .

He was the casanova of griffindor & of course everyone had a crush on moony.

And Sirius Black the winner who stole remus heart .

And I'm sure james,lily, remus & sirius all the four of them have kissed each other .

Many children think that james & sirius ,remus & lily are lovers but teachers think that james & remus , sirius& lily are lovers . Even if others think wrong about their relationship, they don't try to change it . Those who really know them know that james lily and sirius remus are the real lovers .

If anyone reading this has any good wolfstar, jily , wolfstar raising harry , one sided regulus ff please comment .

And i'm not a big jegulus shipper , Jily will always be my favorite .

[ulkoilla]

Self-tagged from @bleachbleachbleach

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

Only three – most of my ff is in Finnish and online elsewhere

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

91,889

W00t w00t the next couple biweekly updates will get me above 100 k!

3) What fandoms do you write for?

I have only Bleach fic in AO3, but I've also written Black Lagoon, Daria, Doctor Who, Dragonlance, House M.D., Raid (a Finnish crime drama/thriller), Sanctuary, Supernatural and Stargate Atlantis

4) Top 5 fics by kudos?

All Her Parts (13 kudos at the moment), Kim’s game (6) and At one evening in a convenience store (4)

Interestingly, the 5/10 chapters of All Her Parts has also more hits than the 19 chapters of Kim’s game. Maybe the title of Kim’s game was unfortunate - It isn’t an OC story, the name refers to the memory game played in Kipling’s novel Kim)

5) Do you respond to comments?

Yes! They are few and far between, but I love them and I love responding.

6) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I have quite a few angsty or unhappy endings in my stories but perhaps Salakatselijan päiväkirja (Diary of a Stalker, the content only in Finnish) or Etsin vain ehdotonta rakkautta (I was only searching for unconditional love, also the content only in Finnish) might be at a tie.

Diary of a Stalker is a Bleach AU where Bya mourns for Hisana and kinda starts to stalk Rukia, who he doesn’t know is Hisana’s sister. I was only searching for unconditional love is a House M.D. fic of Cuddy and Rachel and their mother-daughter relationship.

7) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Uuf do I have happy endings…? I have plenty non-sad or ambiguous endings but I guess not that many I’d call happy. Kim’s game actually ranks high in here imo?

8) Do you get hate on fics?

I’ve never gotten any hate comments for some reason.

9) Do you write smut?

No. Tried it once, didn’t like it. I rarely write sex in general, and when I do, it tends to be strictly non-explicit.

Nothing wrong with smut, it just isn’t my thing to read or write. Unless things get weird enough, then I’m happy to read. With enough weird in the mix, it stops being about sex even when genitalia is at use. Then I'm on board again.

10) Do you write crossovers?

Not really. I find that it’s rare that different pieces fit together in a way I find satisfying. The one and only x-over I’ve written is a DW+Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy humor piece.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Only if you count me doing translation/rewrite of my own fic

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. But I’d like to – there is sooo much great ideas and such with powerful scenes and fun plots. I’d love to be the person who adds description of various shit without having to deal with characterization and whatnot. But with this role and me not operating in my native language it has an extra layer of working not great.

14) What's your all-time favorite ship?

My OPT of all-time is Raistlin+Dalamar, where I’m using the + to indicate it’s not romantic or sexual but not platonic in “just friends” or "practically family" way.

15) What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Almost all I seriously plan to finish, but I’m going to pick the story with a working title of Ihmeiden kaupunki (City of Wonder). It's a Sanctuary fic where a bunch of women, Helen and Ashley among them, are sent to another planet to spread human life to space. It’s supposed to be women only (resource use & lack of artificial wombs) but Nikola uses his connections and gets in.

16) What are your writing strengths?

Persistence. If I see enough reason to write something, and if I judge that I want to write it, then I’ll fucking write it. It may take a long time, but I’ll write it.

I’d like to think that I’m good at writing description but that’s for my readers to judge.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

The snail speed I proceed, lol.

I’m actually not good at making plot. It’s difficult for me to plan the scenes and decide what’s going to happen next, and what kind of feeling the scenes should carry.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I avoid it. If the reader should understand the dialogue, then it must be “translated” to the reader for them to do so.

If the reader isn’t supposed to understand it, why bother to write lines that won’t make any sense to the reader? Then what it the reader understands it, is it going to spoil something, or does the reader find themselves reading something utterly irrelevant?

I can imagine there are some tricks that can be done with this but it’s a niche use.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

I can’t remember

20) Favorite fic you've ever written?

An unfinished The Walking Dead piece with a working title tkei. The title is probably an abbreviation of something but I can’t remember what. But the writing! I love the way I was able to write it! When I read it, I’m making myself happy and immersed in the story instead of wanting to alter phrasing here and there.

It’s an AU where the zombies never came and no found families form. After Rick wakes up from the come and find Lori and Shane banging, he is forced to move to Daryl’s place (Merle is in prison, Daryl can’t pay the bills to keep the lights on, and Rick can’t afford to rent). Everyone is deeply unhappy and lonely.

[notebooknonbinary]

Rubs my grubby little merthur hands together. Sorry if you’ve read any of these. This list turned out a lot longer than I expected it to lol.

One of the greats, in my opinion, is And like the cycle of the year, we begin again by katherynefromphilly. You might have already read it since, like many fics in this fandom, it’s an oldie but a goodie. It’s Post-series, Arthur returns plot. The way this author handles all the necessary OCs/side characters is Chef’s kiss. The plot is awesome. And the merthur is so lovely it makes me cry. (And it has a sequel which is always a plus). Gets a bit steamy in some parts but I think they’re largely skippable.

Bumps and Bruises by platonic_boner is a sweet one shot about Arthur making an (incorrect) assumption about Merlin’s various injuries. Very good read.

Of Faith and Hope and Love by versaphile is a Magic reveal fic/canon divergent around the plot of the Secret Sharer (when gaius is kidnapped by alator).

The Lie In Which You Linger by flowersheep Arthur courts Merlin instead of Gwen in season 4. Lovely lovely fic on my reread list.

If you’ve seen Stargate (which is a pretty good sci-fi show I’d recommend it), there’s a crossover fic called the Scholar. It’s post canon (a lil canon divergence) and is more background Merthur and cracky in a funny way most of the way through, before it develops a plot that is actually very interesting. It’s a good read!

Destiny Ordered You to Die, But I Willed You to Live by ironfamjam. Arthur isn’t completely knocked out by Cornelius Sigan, so overhears the confrontation between him and Merlin. I Love fics like these sm.

If Ever, Now by Athena1919, Where Merlin decides to help Morgana with her magic in S2, and Arthur gets jealous of all the time they’re suddenly spending together. Very fun fic!

Complementarity, Entanglement and the Uncertainty of Destiny —or— A Feminist Mage in King Arthur's Court by Jenrose & procoffeinating. It’s a time travel fix it fic where Merlin reaches the end of the world w/o sign of Arthur and realizes he has to go back in time. It’s a mind boggling in a good way, this fic.

Ashes to the Wind by lilupon Arthur goes on a hunt by himself and when he gets back Merlin is being charged with sorcery. It’s a very sweet fic despite the dire setting.

Darkest Before the Dawn by RocknVaughn is a good fic for crying. Takes place during the Wicked Day. Magic reveal and a somewhat bittersweet ending. Technically it’s pre-relationship but they make it clear that it’s not platonic.

Good Fortune, another one by platonic_boner. Arthur makes Merlin a lord. I love this fic v much. It’s sweet and funny. (Platonic_boner has actually written quite a few merthur fics and I didn’t realize that until I was putting together this list)

For Arthur, (the author has orphaned the work). Canon era, Merlin finds out about his immortality. Another one for crying. Also, ya know TW for suicidal thoughts and attempt

…

(Also IK you asked for Merthur fics but if there are two non-merthur fics that I could recommend…it would be These Ghosts Might Be Mine by PeaceHeather. which I could argue is pre-relationship, considering the amount of devotion merthur have for each other is around or surpassing canon. Also it’s time travel which I adore. The other one is a series on ff net that was my favorite fic series when the show was still running. It’s outright Het than ghosts is, but the romantic relationships are all background and tbh the plot more than makes up for it. It’s a series rewrite series, and the first one is called A Question of Motives by Alaia Skyhawk (it’s a series rewrite started at season 3 but they went back and wrote prequel fics for S1&2 and also precanon). Even tho Merthur aren’t together in this one, the care and love and characterization the author put into them and the Knights and their own original stuff makes it worth a read anyway.)

mutuals what are you favorite merthur fics 🧍🏼‍♂️ (canon universe pls)

[il0veyoujk]

Where are those giggles of yours?

This is a tickle related ff, if you are not interested in it, please keep scrolling

Summary: Nefeli (16) failed a test so Tae decides to cheer her up

Warnings: None

Notes: This ff is requested by an anon. I hope you'll like this, nonnie! I am sorry but I would prefer if the relationship between Tae and Nef was platonic! I hope you'll like this, nonnie!

Lots of love Nef 💕

“That was it! I am never going to pass!”

“Now that’s not true, angel!”

“I failed in the stupidest way I could! I am an idiot!”

“Stop talking like that about yourself!”

“Do you even realize that I got a 3/20?!” Nefeli exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air while staring at her brother dead in the eyes.

Taehyung and Nefeli were currently in the practice room of Big Hit. The older Kim sibling was practicing for a guest start he’d do at a kpop concert, so he had to prepare the Singularity choreography.

The hanger and the red suit were standing in the middle of the practice room, but the siblings were sitting on the floor against the mirror. The young girl had just gotten back a chemistry test and she was disappointed in herself! She had worked really hard and had been studying 3 whole days for that exam, only for her to fail it an almost 0/20!

So, as you can understand, she was really upset. No not sad, upset. Mostly mad at herself to be specific. She couldn’t understand how she did this while she was fully prepared.

“Aw, angel, it was an unfortunate moment, that’s all... You don’t have to feel like that!” Taehyung tried to calm down his little sister but nothing seemed to work. He was staring at the sorrowful-looking little girl next to him, trying to think of ways to cheer her up. Ever since he picked her up from school, he had tried almost anything. Offered her ice cream, fries, a walk near the sea, watch a movie at the cinema... He even got Hoseok and Jimin to try to cheer her up, but nothing had worked.

Nefeli usually wouldn’t care at all. She’s not really into school anyway. However, it took her two whole weeks to study for that exam and she as well missed the Seventeen concert she wanted to go! So she lost her favorite band’s concert for what? A failure!

Pulling her on his lap, Taehyung softly rubbed her back, his long fingers touching every single soothing nerve on her back, helping her calm down her anger and disappointment. Or at least trying to. Which he didn’t...

When all of a sudden, an idea came up into his mind... “Hey, Neffie? Remember what we used to play when you were little?” a small smirk was playing on his face, but hiding it pretty well from the young girl.

Shrugging at the sudden change of topic, Nefeli took the hem of her hoodie in her hand, playing with it gently “I dunno, hide and seek?”

Chuckling at his innocent thought, Taehyung shook his head and kissed her cheek one more time “Could be... But nope! Try again!” the smirk on his face grew bigger when Nefeli shrugged again, not really paying attention to her older brother’s tone “Probably chasing? Ah, Tae I really dunno, just leave me alone- agh!” the pouty girl squealed loudly when she felt two fingers tasering her sides.

“Nice try but no! Remember the...” dragging his words, Nef’s older brother wrapped his legs and arms around her torso, trapping her in his soft embrace “Tickle monster!” and with that, the young lad shot his tickly fingers in her hips, squeezing and kneading them fastly.

Gasping, clearly not expecting that, Nefeli let out a loud squeal and let herself fall on Taehyung’s torso “Gahahahaha Tahahahae nahahahahao pleahahahase ahahahahahahahaha! I ahahahaham nahahahahaot a bahahahaby anymore ahahahaha!” she kept giggling loudly and thrashing around as much as she could in her brother’s grip.

“You are never too old for the tickle monster! Coochie coochie coo, my love!” Taehyung’s boxy smile was almost reaching his ears from how much he was mischievously grinning. Playing the tickle monster was always a reason to make the young girl have a great time, every time! And her brother also loved to play that with Nef.

Squeezing her hipbones like there was no tomorrow, Taehyung had managed to make Nefeli turn into a giggly mess, all melted on him. Her loud giggles were filling the whole dancing room and probably making the other members of the band chuckle in amusement.

“Geheheahahaha nahahahahao ahahahahaha! Thahahahat’s nahahahaot gonna wahahahahahark ahahahahaha!” the now all giggly girl was gripping on her older brother’s wrists in her attempt to pry them off her ticklish spot. But guess what. Taehyung was too strong for her.

“Oh really? Then what about here? Is it going to work, here?” and with no hesitation, the young lad shot his arms to her sides.

The squeezes were short and fast, driving Nefeli crazy. Loud, almost hysterical laughter was pouring out of her mouth, as she was bouncing on his lap nonstop. Oh her sides had always been, if not her worst then certainly one of her worst spots, and Taehyung always makes sure to get it every time! Not to mention that he also has made sure everyone who knows Nefeli knows her weak spots!

“GAHAHAHAHAHA NAHAHAHAHAO AHAHAHAHAHAHA! THAHAHAHAHAT’S NAHAHAHAHAHAOT FAHAHAHAHAHAIR AHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Nefeli screamed loudly and threw her head back in really loud laughter as Taehyung’s fingers were skillfully squeezing the middle of her sides.

Sliding his hands under her shirt and hoodie, the young singer let out a soft chuckle as he was moving his hands up and down as fast as the roadrunner was running to escape the coyote. His nails were occasionally scribbling purposely on her bare flesh, knowing this will make her go even crazier.

“Ahahaw my ticklish butterfly! Don’t you dare pretend you don’t like it, little one! Everyone knows how much you like getting tickled! You cannot hide from me, Neffie!” his villainous fingers wasted no time before they dug themselves in her lower ribs, scribbling, poking, and playing with the bones of her ribcage like they were piano.

Nefeli was feeling like her whole body was being attacked by vicious yet enjoyable and fun, mini shocks of ticklishness as Taehyung was curiously traveling his fingers all over her way too sensitive ribs.

Screaming like crazy, the only thing she was trying to do was escape the devious tickles, but in reality, she wanted to complete opposite. It was a rough day for her and she really wanted a good laugh. Thankfully Taehyung knew her better than she thought and she didn’t have to ask for the tickles, otherwise, she would be all grumpy and pouty all day long “AHAHAHAHAHA YOU LIAHAHAHAHAR AHAHAHAHAHA! I WILL GET YAHAHAHAHA BAHAHAHAHACK AHAHAHAHAHA!” Nefeli squealed in between her deafening laughter while she was shaking her head side to side in her trial to make everything tickle less.

A blaring gasp made its appearance in the room, coming from Taehyung, as soon as those words left the giggling girl’s mouth “Liar? How dare you call me a liar?! That’s it! Now I am mad! You are getting punished for that!”

Nothing seemed scariest to Nefeli the moment her older brother flipped her over and took her boots off her feet “No! Don’t you dare! Tae I swear I will get ya baAHAHAHAHACK NAHAHAHAHAO PEAHAHAHAHASE DAHAHAHAHAN’T AHAHAHAHAHA!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs as soon as Taehyung’s nails started scribbling her hypersensitive, small soles.

“A guilty crime deserves punishment, sissy!” the young singer giggled before he pulled Nefeli’s toes back and started scratching underneath them with no mercy at all/

“BWAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHA MY GAHAHAHAHAHAD AHAHAHAHAHA! I WILL GET YAHAHAHAHA BAHAHAHAHACK AHAHAHAHAHA!” the young girl had gone crazy just with the smallest touch of his nails on the base of her way too ticklish for her own good toes.

Raising an eyebrow, her older brother just shook his head and sped up his fingers in the most ticklish way he could “Oh you are in no position to make any threats, cutiepie!” he couldn’t help but laugh along with his sister who was going crazy with just a few scribbles.

The young girl was feeling like her whole head was ready to be set on fire. She was bouncing and shrieking in screaming laughter as Taehyung was sitting on her ankles and torturing sweetly her most ticklish spot “AHAHAHAHAHA MY GAHAHAHAHAD PLEAHAHAHAHASE NAHAHAHAO AHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Y’know, it is cute how you haven’t said stop this while time, Neffie!” the young lad noticed amused while he was traveling his nails in the middle of her sole. Her worst part of her worst spot.

A really loud scream, followed by hysterical laughter filled the whole BigHit building. Nefeli’s mouth and tummy were aching from all the laughter while her lungs were burning. She was laughing so much that tears out enjoyment and laughter had started rolling down her rosy, flustered cheeks. It was obvious that she had reached her limit and she couldn’t take it anymore.

Falling into silent laughter was Taehyung’s to let the young girl go. Pulling her onto his lap, her older brother wrapped his arms protectively around her midsection, rubbing Nefeli’s back soothingly “Feeling better, princess?” he asked her softly, giving her a reassuring, warm smile.

Nefeli only nodded as she was resting her panting, smiling face on Taehyung’s shoulder, as she was trying to calm down her breathing.

“I’ll take that as a yes” he chuckled before he pressed a soft, loving kiss on her forehead “Thank you Tae, I really needed this...” she whispered softly yet shyly, playing with her fingers since she didn’t dare to raise her blushing face to look at her brother straight in his eyes.

“Anything for my gigglebug” the young lad smiled softly before he got up on his feet with the young girl into his arms. And to be honest, Nefeli loved being babied so she didn’t mind at all...

Taking her into the other practice room, Nefeli betrayed her brother to run into Jungkook’s arms who was there with his embrace open for her all happy and smiley face. Ah, some weak spots of her cannot be hidden at all after all... Both physical and mental ones...

[share-the-damn-bed]

Good luck on your rewatch! I didn’t watch past the first two episodes of Volume 1 but the St*ncy scenes do start to look more like bait with rewatch I’ve heard. Might just be my Jancy heart but the first episodes clearly show Jancy still being deeply in love (they’re even included in the recap) and we all remember that Robin and Steve looked like they were gonna get together through all of season 3 until the penultimate episode. Jonathan and Nancy will come back stronger, I know it!

Thanks, Anon! I'll always be the first to admit that my shipper goggles are superglued to my face so I absolutely agree Jancy is still deeply in love with each other but are facing very real and relatable issues (that didn't need to include St*cny ffs...) and that alone would have made for an interesting storyline. It would have allowed the characters to explore their own wants and dreams (personal character development) while also exploring their relationship on a deeper level. I'll stand by my point that it is definitely a good storyline. I just don't trust the writers to execute it well.

As for the St*ncy bait, I want to write a more organized and detailed post in the coming weeks before volume 2 drops but I'll share a bit of my chaotic thoughts here. Warning, I'll be discussing beyond the first two episodes:

First, it saddens me that the writers chose to push for some unnatural romance between these two characters. In the earlier episodes there are some great scenes between Steve and Nancy that would make for a wonderful friendship. They have some great friendly banter in her room when discussing why Nancy is going with Robin instead of Steve to Pennhurst (or whatever the assylum is called). I still like the scene at the Creel house where Nancy is pulling cobwebs out of Steve's hair and they're discussing Robin and how he thinks it's cool Nancy and Robin are friends now and maybe they can all hang out after the whole spooky shit is over. He even invites Jonathan.

Basically, it's a sweet scene with two exes that care for each other and have gone through a lot of shit together extending the olive branch and trying to be friends. And if the scenes ended there, I would be so happy since I have wanted them to be friends for years.

Second, though I've talked ad nauseam about why the "romantic" scenes felt off, one thing I've noticed upon my rewatch is the missed romantic opportunities if they really wanted to push for St*ncy. One scene in particular that was a missed opportunity is the beginning of episode 7 when Steve is being killed by the demobats and the group arrives to save him. Nancy says something along the lines of "Hey there" when they show up before they all beat the shit out of the monsters.

The line and the framing of this scene promoted Nancy as a bad-ass cool-girl more than a concerned lover. One would think that if the writers were really gunning for a genuine St*ncy reconnection, they would have played up the romance in this scene. Idk. This scene just reads way more platonic than it should for a couple they are considering bringing together romantically.

All in all, Anon, I would encourage you, if you are able and interested to watch until episode 4. The St*ncy stuff really doesn't pick up until episode 5 and the 4th is one of my favorite across the entire show.

[satellitesunset]

on the flip side; least favorite romance tropes?

cloey beloved <3 thank you for the v fun ask!! i took a bit of time but i think it's a delightful list nonetheless.

here's my favorite romantic tropes post

as for my least favorites, some with the explanation offered, others not

soulmates au

i've spoken about it in length, I just loath everything about the concept. I hate the lack of agency, I hate the idea that there's only one person perfectly catered for you and the implications of that, I hate how it means that you're incomplete without someone. I hate the idea that permanent love is the only one that matters, I hate how it fails to acknowledge that's for a relationship to work requires effort.

pregnancy

it's always boring, also pregnancy just ignites gender dysphoria to me. I have yet to read a book about pregnancy that I like.

jealosuy

I don't get it, that's it, I think it's a cheap trope, doesn't pass my vibe check.

the 'one'

similar to soulmates, it's very underwhelming and irritating. I'll explain it more in other parts but the modern notion of love, as this thing you meet this person before you're even in your thirties, you get married, you have kids, and it's meant to last forever, and if you don't you're a failure and broken. i's is just incredibly harmful and just fails to fulfill what I love about love as a thing.

in your life, you'll fall in love with many people, some platonically some romantically, and in so many other ways.

happy endings

just specifically marriage or engagements. not only is it boring but implies that marriage is an ending, not a beginning for something that requires so much to work.

'making love'

I just hate this phrase, especially when it's fwb to lovers, and after they get together they do this paragraph of how all the times before they were just fucking and now they're making love. piss off for ffs.

love, at first sight,

no <3 just no <3

proposals

I just skip them, they're very nerve-wracking to me. and it's a public one, it's a nightmare, a hostage situation.

long confessions

related to the above point, I cant. keep the love confession love and sweet and straight to the point.

reuniting after cheating (forgivness)

I'm a bitter bitch who holds grudges.

arranged mariage

why??? genuinely why???

accidental marriage

again, sounds like a horror movie

crime / mafia / CEO /

go girl give us nothing

if it's meant to be it'll be

or like "we just get each other" I don't like the idea that you can make a relationship successful without communication you know.

I've spoken about it a lot, but I love it when romance is rooted in choice. in constantly choosing to love someone, that being in a relationship isn't easy but you want to work,.

[lychee-dragon-cookie]

knight, latte, lotus >:3

ooooooo mk

Knight

First Impression: honestly... not great? just also not awful. I thought he was neat yeah n I liked his trial but I barely gave this boy a second thought tbh

Impression Now: mmmmmmm blorbo from my phonegame<3

Favorite Moment: bro my favorite moment isnt even on CAMERA I dont think. but like. him kicking a dragons ass. you go u lil blonde twunk

Idea For A Story: :)

Unpopular Opinion: knight is good beyond his relationship with princess and honestly not only is seeing them shipped uncomfortable for me but it honestly I feel hed be just as good if they hadn't been explicitly shown as traveling together. hell maybe itd be better, fuck knows. anyhow I'm all for having fun with shipping but if I have to go into his tag to see untagged princessknight imma scream

Favorite Relationship: platonically the obvious answer is pistachio n princess but like. he could play off of so many people so well. I'd love to explore that some more. romantically I absolutely love me some fire/wind/knight it's like a venn diagram of reasonable to dumbass except it could go either way depending on situation

Favorite Headcanon: chronic pain knight has my entire heart I love projecting on this dumbass twunk

Latte

First Impression: prebby lady

Impression Now: wow I love you and I can break you and fix you and potentially confuse and infuriate people with my choices regarding you and you are one of the pillars of my crk team ty miss

Favorite Moment: honestly dont really have one? I dont remember much about the original beacon story

Idea For A Story: a character study maybe? idk it might be fun

Unpopular Opinion: sexualizing her is really fucking weird, and just because she was released with almond doesn't mean you have to ship them. hell that doesn't even just apply to her, just because two cookies are released together doesn't mean you have to ship them. n if you do? tag your shit ffs cough cough lobster mocha

Favorite Relationship: mmmmmm came into my mind ages ago from idek where but. roque latte qpp? hell I might put that in tmtw. almond, latte, madeleine, espresso, roque friendship is good but aspec aro latte talking w roque and joking w them about almond and knowing exactly what's going on w that is so good I love it

Favorite Headcanon: mmmmmm ^that relationship maybe? or like, the companion idea of roque coming back to her apartment in full garb and accidentally waking her up and having to explain anything and latte facepalming at her friend's bs is such a concept. disconnected from that though? latte having gotten her spoon from an old family friend who lived long enough to see her graduate. either they made the spoon or got it somewhere else but it was a present and she visits the grave every saturday at 7 to lay a new bunch of flowers. the tree they allowed her to grow the day of the funeral is still standing strong

Lotus

First Impression: kinda didn't like the lotus hat tbh. other than that, no real opinion other than woah new dragon

Impression Now: *image of lotus on thier trial* *next image is zoomed in to the point where it's nearly all thier face* them

Favorite Moment: hhhhhh honestly pretty much everything I love em

Idea For A Story: maybe something with what I said for the headcanon sdgjfh am I writing these backwards for each cookie? maybe

Unpopular Opinion: dude idek what counts as an unpopular opinion with lotus? idk

Favorite Relationship: I like what we saw of them with lychee! also as a dubiously platonic/romantic/seriously nobody fucking knows? hydrangea

Favorite Headcanon: thier first follower carved thier mandolin and theyve linked it to thier own life so it lasts longer. only reason they didn't do that with the cookie as well was to respect their wishes. that was the first time they felt such solid grief regarding another person and they had real trouble connecting with hydrangea because of that

[esther-dot]

I love your analysis, especially from the show. I remember when I wasn’t a jonsa yet, I used to follow game of thrones fans on twitter and saw them saying that jonsas always treat arya and d*ny as if they aren’t important to Jon and now that I’m part of the jonsa fandom I can’t see that they’re the ones who believe that sansa is nothing to jon. The way they can’t even acknowledge their bond, even if they see as platonic. They rather die than admit that sansa’s one of the people jon loves. Like, do they really think that sansa is a stranger to Jon just because they don’t like her? And then say jonsas are the ones who don’t care/know Jon’s character. In the show they showed us who jon really loved and it wasn’t his aunt/lover, a person he barely knew.

Right? I mean, right?! I can enjoy stuff by people who don’t like Jonsa because honestly, it’s only a tiny group of people who do, and I follow people who have expressed distaste for it, but as soon as people start pretending the show wasn’t trying to communicate just how much they mattered to each other, they lose all credibility in my eyes. If they can’t admit Jon cared for Sansa in any way, their own hate has biased them too much.

Sansa was the one whose life was threatened by Dany, Jon’s choice was love (familial or romantic). We don’t have to like how it went down to recognize that.

Also, I have never seen a Jonsa claim Jon didn’t love Ary@ or that she wasn’t his favorite sibling. They may not particularly like her, but the Jon and Ary@ bond is undeniable. What I have seen is Ary@ stans get really pissed off about the Jon and Sansa relationship in the show and claim that any speculation about a Jon/Sansa reunion (and of course, romantic relationship) is Ary@ eraser which…no, not at all, but Sansa being hated is of vital importance to them. And of course, D&D did totally neglect the Jon and Ary@ relationship in s8, so we’re all annoyed about that!

As for Jon and Dany, I don’t see how book Jon will have positive feelings about Dany because in a time of great suffering (disease and starvation), Dany will inevitably bring more devastation. that is the reality of war. Jon may be more open minded than some because of his experience with the FF, but Martin didn’t compare dragons to WMDs for lolz. She is a threat, just as the Others are, and she is coming with the express intention of conquering. Regardless of her desire to have a lovely kingdom/peace, fire and blood will come first. I honestly think the show gave us the nicest version of the Jon and Dany relationship that they could, and, after s8 even Jxnerys shippers saw through the bs of the cast and crew and admitted what we said all along: Jon didn’t care about Dany. I can’t tell you how many posts I’ve seen (by Jxnerys shippers) along the lines of: “no man in love acts like that” and “it was basically a one night stand” and “he was using her.”

I said here that regardless of Jon having a relationship with Sansa there was no way he wouldn’t act to protect her/ the Starks (of course!) because that decision is about him, who he is as a person, and his love for Ned/the Starks. To deny it is outrageous, to theorize that he would harm a Stark the grossest insult to him, and yet the same people who claim we don’t care about him routinely daydream about him killing Sansa. 🤦🏻‍♀️ A year after the finale I wrote about my poor boy and why s8 was devastating as a Jon fan (because most Jonsas are, no matter what the haters say), here, and why Jon loving Dany is a horrible fate for him because of what it means about his future. Leaving Jonsa out of it, I can’t imagine Jon recovering from that. I suppose all of this comes back to how fans view Dany and the refusal to accept characters not loving her, just as they refuse to accept the inverse with Sansa—characters loving her. Sigh.

Anyway, thank you so much! I really enjoyed writing about the show, and I wish s8 hadn’t ruined all our fun!

[bemtevis]

Exactly we were robbed of so many Lucie and Cordelia moments. I really hate it. Lucie is like my favorite character and I don’t like the way Cassie just isn’t properly developing any of her relationships. I don’t really ship lucelia romantically but I wish we got more platonic moments between them at least so they could actually feel like parabatai. Thomastair also deserved so much better. I loved their scenes but it was like we took the whole book to get there and then Cassie just wrapped up their arc in 3 chapters. And you’re right. While I don’t mind Lucie’s arc being about Jesse, I wish she’d have at least some moments with everyone else. I love her and Jesse together, but as you said they felt off in choi. A huge amount of their development was left out just so we’d get more jordelia moments. It’s just that I think cc created so many intriguing characters, and implied a great story from all of them, but then decided she just wanted to focus on jordelia.

Yeah!! I'm pretty sure they only interacted twice, and both times were about their love interests. Would CHOI even pass the Bechdel test if it wasn't for Kamanna? Lucie barely has any friends, it's all Jesse, Jesse, Jesse. I get it, he's a ghost and she's a necromancer, but please let her have something besides him! Her arc should be about herself, not him! No character should ever have their character arc surrounding their love interest. People are individuals, not their romantic life ffs

I know Lucelia will never become canon so please at least let them be friends. They've known each other for life and are about to become parabatai, and the only times we've seen them interact were not even about them?

CC is just confused that it's no longer the 2000's and not everyone is gonna put her in a pedestal for simply writing queer characters. What do you mean two scenes and a half are not enough?! I gave you a toxic wlw relationship that only has 4 scenes, be grateful! *Huff* the gays were way less greedy in my days /s

Agree, CC is great at creating character concepts and even better at ruining them. I will adopt all my favorite characters actually. Y'all can adopt the rest and I can be their cool aunt or something.

[green-lilac-in-a-jar]

HP CC Spoilers ahead fyi

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Ok so I went to see Harry Potter and the cursed child and OMG IT WAS SO GAY

I think they might change the play up a bit depending on what city they’re in because that never would have passed with a conservative crowd (also according to my sister, in the books Rose is Scorpius’s love interest but they had like two interactions).

Here are some examples of why it was really gay

So like Scorpius was being attacked by dementors and Sirius told him to think of something that made him happy—someone. So he thought of Albus and he broke free. Later in the play when he was asked who he was fighting for he said it was Albus. Kinda sus no… Albus on the other hand was talking to Harry(his dad) and was like “you know he(Scorpius) is the most important person in my life and probably always will be” and Harry was like “I cant understand your mind but I can try to understand your heart” AHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHH ALSO WHEN Delphi had the two of them as her prisoners(in a sense) she was like “I always thought your(Albus) weakness was you were always trying to impress your father but no, it was love” and she said this WHILE TALKING ABOUT SCORPIUS! WHY WOULD SHE SAY THAT IF THEY WERE JUST FRIENDS?!?!? Then later after everything happened and stuff Scorpius asked Rose to be his friend and she declined (for context she doesn’t like the two of them) and so they were laughing about it because Scorpius was convinced he could “build a palace of harmony” with her and then Albus grabs his arms (like they’re facing each other on these stairs so right now they are ONE STEP APART) and he says “is that who you want in your palace?” WHAT THE FUCK!?!??! DOES THAT IN ANY WAY SEEM PLATONIC AND STRAIGHT TO YOU?!?! AND THEN of course Rose heard all of this from where she was under the stairs and came out and saw them hand-in-hand, their faces a foot apart from each other, and they got all embarrassed and pulled apart then she was like “its only weird if you make it weird”. Istg I went with my friend and she was literally about to throw hands cuz they didnt kiss. This was all only a FRACTION of the moments completely ignoring the amount of sexual tensions there was back when they were facing each other on the stairs after being forced to separate and then when they hid under the invisibility cloak together, talking for the first time after the separation and when they met at the astronomy tower and Albus slowly inched over closer to Scorpius and even way at the beginning when they first met and Albus decided to sit with Scorpius even though there were bad rumors about him and Rose told him to stay away and the fact that he denied that he was doing it for with and got shy like AAAHAHHHHHHHHH!!! It was honestly like watching a slow burn ff that was dropped halfway through so you never know if the main pairing get together or not!

Honestly though besides all this it was really good. I thought I wouldn’t like it because of the things I’d heard but while the plot wasn’t my favorite the visuals were absolutely amazing!! AMAZING PRODUCTION! The transitions were so quick you couldn’t see them and the was they made the magic look real was so incredible. There was one moment when dementors first appeared and one of them flew over the crowd. The was breathtaking. Definitely worth it. Of course there was also much more to it than just Albus and Scorpius’ relationship. If you ever get the chance to watch it, do it. Its an amazing experience.

[macgyverseries]

rebutting and debunking frequently used arguments against macriley

I made this 10-page google doc rant a while ago, but I never ended up posting it. Today, however, I woke up and chose violence. So here it is: my thoughts on frequently used arguments against macriley.

I took some quotes and arguments that people put online (reddit, tumblr..), and I debunked them all :p I feel like I always see the same arguments all the time, and I’m honestly getting a little tired of hearing them. I’m here to settle this once and for all.

and yes, i did manage to cut down the google doc by 3 pages :D (but it's still long af so rip my brain)

1.”Mac and Riley are siblings because Jack is their father”

I can (mostly) get behind the argument that Mac and Riley shouldn’t be in a romantic relationship because of their super strong friendship. Some people really value that sole platonicness, and I get that.

But the argument that I can’t get behind is that: Mac and Riley are siblings because Jack is their father figure”

If you google the definition of “father,” the first result that comes up is: “a man in relation to his children.”

Now, Jack was definitely the father figure to Riley, and I would consider her his child. He raised her. He helped shape her ideals and upbringing.

Mac only met Jack when he left MIT. So it was pretty much after Mac was raised (by Bozer’s parents haha), that Jack really came into his life. Mac already became his own person. (also, I always saw Mac and Jack as more of a bromance)

So because Riley and Mac met Jack at different periods of their lives, and they were raised differently, I wouldn’t say that they were siblings who were raised by the same father.

2. “The show writers left the impression that there was a huge age gap between them”

I understand this a little. I do think Riley was introduced as pretty young and idk naive? Because she was literally in highschool, and then she went to prison, and then she got released into the wild. Personally, when I started watching the show, I googled the whole cast. So I started the show knowing that they were the same age.

And also, the more I got to know Riley, the more that I thought that Riley was more mature and had an old soul herself. I think it was because she was just a dynamic and round character, who is well-developed.

But, I get first impressions. I feel like once you get stuck on an impression, it’s hard to go away from that.

Also, Jack would’ve totally shipped macriley, and you can’t change my mind.

3. "Riley isn't ready for a relationship"

I honestly think that this argument should be more geared towards Mac. He needs to figure himself out and go to therapy ffs. However, this person targeted Riley (the literal queen), so I shall defend her:

I understand wanting Riley to take some time off, and figure herself out before going straight into another relationship with someone. But here’s the thing. Throughout the first few seasons Riley’s character was very well established, and she didn’t have any partners during that time. She has proven that she is a strong, well-rounded, independent woman (with or without a partner). So i think it is valid to say that she isn’t just some girl who only has boy toys. She is much more than that.

My next point is that Riley has made it clear that she wants a lasting relationship with someone who will support her. When talking with Mac in 4.04, we see her express her interest in a stable, healthy relationship. It’s not wrong to go out and look for that potential partner. This applies to everyone (not just fictional characters): It’s going to take a few relationships and self-discovery, to find a good relationship, and people shouldn’t be shamed for searching for that.

Riley has only ever had two major boyfriends that I remember. First was Billy; she took that relationship very seriously. She really did seem happy with him. It was a shame that he cheated on her. Second was Aubrey. She also took that relationship very seriously. She had been living with him for six months (and they even had the cutest date nights!) So I wouldn't say that Riley only has boy toys. She has meaningful relationships.

Lastly, I think this was written when season four started airing, but it’s been over a year (and a pandemic) since Riley has dated. I think enough time has passed.

*4. I had to split this one up because, oh boy, there is a lot to unpack here.

4a. “If that was the direction they’d chosen to take with that relationship from square one… My issue with it is that Mac and Riley were presented to us as friends/ found siblings for three years. There were NO romantic vibes to speak of between them..”

I actually felt the same way about macriley. The thought of them being together in season one, made me want to throw up. I don’t think the writers intended on having macriley, and I was perfectly fine with that.

I know that people look for different things when they ship. Some really like having instant gratification with the spicy, hot, sexy parts of a relationship, like macdesi (which is why I was fine with the idea of shipping macdesi in the past).

I always wanted to see macriley do more: have hot, flirtatious banters/interactions. it can be hard to ship people who seem to be missing that part of the love equation. So i agree. It's definitely strange. And I understand if you genuinely have a hard time seeing the romantic potential of macriley, when the writers have only dragged out and shown us the platonic potential of them.

Also, the reason why it is difficult to see macriley as romantic, was because they ALWAYS PRIORITIZED AND WERE DRIVEN on their friendship. A partner should be friends first, and then makeout buddies second.

But just because people start off as friends, doesn’t mean that they still don’t have that potential to be lovers. Because guess what?! Feelings change. It’s now canon that Riley has feelings for Mac, and Mac always had feelings for Riley (but never acted on it).

I'm sorry, but you like a boomer when you say “bAcK iN mY dAy, tHeY dIdN’t HaVe fEeLiNgS fOr EaCh oThEr.” like okaAAAyyYYyYY????? We are not “back in your day” anymore. We are in the present. We are in today. And today, macriley is real :)

4b. “There’s the incredibly tired trope where long-term coworkers suddenly catch feelings for each other out of nowhere”

Personally, I will never get tired of the friends to lovers trope. I think the fact that Mac and Riley had such a strong friendship and foundation is what makes them perfect. Again, I know that some people just like instant gratification, but I love when a couple can take their time to have depth, emotion, and realness in their relationship.

Obviously I am biased because I have so much love for this trope, it's my favorite trope, but I don't see why you would use the “it’s overused” as reasoning to hate a ship. Just because a trope is used a lot, doesn’t mean it is bad (that’s probably why it is so good lmao). I can understand getting tired of it, and growing a dislike towards a trope. For example, I have grown an extreme dislike towards the love triangle.

A bit of a tangent: But the difference between overusing love triangles and overusing friends to lovers, is that love triangles aren’t just commonly used tropes. They are cliches. They cause unwanted drama and unnecessary hurt to one character. Whereas friends to lovers doesn’t involve as much drama and pain for a character. It is more of just angst between two people. And we know that they will get together eventually with a happy ending. So it was never really problematic.

And even then, the great thing about overusing or utilizing tropes, is that they can act as a guide. It allows the show writers and cast to make it personal, make it their own, adding their own special flair to it

I just don’t see the “this trope is used a lot” as a valid reasoning for disliking a ship .It just seems like this commenter doesn’t like the friends to lovers trope for the sake of not liking it.

I could be very wrong in my assumption of this person’s thoughts on friends to lovers, maybe there is a deeper reasoning as to why they don’t like it, but the tone that i interpreted when i read this section, was that they don’t have a real reason to dislike it, it’s more of just because.

4c.“then there's the fact that Riley had a mostly single Mac in her life for 3-4 years and she never even considered him romantically until he was with someone else”

First: Riley didn’t CHOOSE to fall in love. You may recall that “emotions aren’t a science. You can’t control them.”

Second: Mac was broken up with Desi when she caught feelings for him. Plus, the moment Riley saw that Mac and Desi were getting happy together, she moved out and gave them space. She sacrificed her own feelings for his happiness, despite the fact that her heart was breaking.

4d. “and finally, Mac not only still doesn't seem to even have Riley on his radar in that way but he literally told another woman that he loves her just last week. Neither of them look particularly good here if they get together now.”

I'm assuming that this was written when 4.12 first aired. I'm also assuming that this comment was more directed towards the idea of Mac and Riley getting together immediately at the end of the season, rather than later down the road. I always saw of macriley as more of endgame material. That i would see them get together sometime in the future. So I agree. Macriley getting together during that time period, would be too rushed and unsatisfying.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So those were most of the supposed arguments that I saw for people who were against macriley, but I also wanted to provide some really good examples of people who were very respectable, and actually had valid reasoning for disliking them.

1. they just don’t like shipping in general

Ships can be annoying af. Seeing people ONLY focus on the ships is sometimes tiring. I, myself, even feel a little guilty making this post, because I need to chill and mind my own business lmaooo. I really should let people do whatever they want to do with their lives, and not get caught up in the ships, but here I am :p

Anyways, I know that there is a lot of unnecessary drama that comes with shipping, and it's tiring to see people constantly go on and on about romance, when there are other perfect things about the show.

2. No matter how hard they try, they just feel it.

This is literally so dumb (and a little hypocritical/self-contradictory), but if you have a gut feeling, and you just can’t get yourself to ship it, I get it. If you truly and genuinely believe that they are best platonic friends, I can't change your opinion. And I have respect for you (if you say it in a kind manner).

Here is a nice example of a person who expressed their opinion in a nice way, with no BS.

So the moral of the story: I can't control your deepest thoughts. I can't control your gut feelings. And that’s okay. But the moment that you start backing up your thoughts and insights with BS reasoning, is the moment that I lose respect for you.

[ajdrawshq]

For the niche ask game: Terra, Repliku, and Namine

FUCK YEAH THANK U OK

I'm gonna skip the smell question bc I literally do not know what to say abt that for anyone

Terra my beloved

• Song that reminds me of them: the only song I've ever associated with him is.. apparently Apocalypse by Sleeperstar according to my spotify playlist for him

• An otp: tbh,, I dont actually ship Terra with anyone

• A notp: anything w the minors and also,,, lowkey Terraqua,,, just bc I dont see them like that but since there's So Much of it its just. Yknow. I'm v sorry Terraqua enjoyers u do u

• Favorite platonic/familial relationships: I enjoy his relationships w Aqua and Ven so much....... AND WITH RIKU their interactions are so good

• Popular headcanon I disagree with: HES NOT THAT DUMB. PLEASE I know its just a fandom joke but I could go on and on abt how the way he was raised and how the total lack of proper guidance fucked him over so so bad but also there was no fucking way for Terra to figure out the stuff happening behind the scenes. Not once does he actually assist the villains without rightfully believing hes doing the right thing, the closest exception I can think of being when he helps Hook bc yeah that dude is pretty shady but he was asked to protect the chest, and only attacked in defense of it - something that is a defining trait of Terra, and his whole job is to protect the light which is vague as fuck so can u really blame him for thinking some of it was in a chest for some reason, plus Peter Pan is kind of a bitch so u can't really fault him for that fight anyway. And don't talk to me abt the sleeping beauty incident bc that wasn't his fault (although I admit its kind of funny that he just,, left) AND the entire Xehanort arc. Dont even get me started if Eraqus just let Terra know that Xehanort is up to shit instead of telling Aqua to spy on him and TELLING TERRA TO FIND XEHANORT WITHOUT ANY CONTEXT WHATSOEVER ALLOWING XEHANORT TO MANIPULATE HIM WITHOUT ANY TRUE HINTS ABOUT HIS MOTIVES we could've avoided like at least half the shit that went down in this game I swear I would've killed this old man with my bare hands. Anyway what was the question

• The position they sleep in: he takes up like 3/4s of any bed without trying i just know it.. and he seems like he'd be very warm. Sleeping next to him is absolute hell in the summer

• A crossover I'd love to see them in: does kingdom hearts itself count as a crossover considering all the d*sney and ff characters.. I just wanna see more Terra

• My favorite outfit theyve worn: how DARE u make me choose between his glorious flowy pants that I desperately want for myself and one of the best armor sets in all of kh.. but I'm going with his keyblade armor purely bc of that one shot thats just like. Terrass. Yknow the one

Repliku

• Song that reminds me of them: oh god I feel so strongly about this. I have a whole (very self indulgent and incomprehensible) playlist for them but I'm gonna say specifically Last Of Me by CircusP

• An otp: ok I wanna say Replinami. But. I've grown so attached to the idea of Repliku n Roxas being together its ridiculous

• A notp: w any adults obviously, and Riku and Replitwo. They're Siblings

• Favorite platonic/familial relationships: on that note I'm very very soft for their sibling relationships w those two. Whenever I think abt the kh3 Riku n Repli scenes I cry. Also love the idea of them being friends w Xion and Vanitas. And Sora..

• Popular headcanon I disagree with: are there,,, really any popular headcanons abt Repliku? I can barely find any for them to begin with lmao but I CAN say they're not cishet. Bi transfem Repliku my beloved

• The position they sleep in: considering how their life has been plus how touch starved they are, they usually curl up into a ball and/or hold something close to them

• A crossover I'd love to see them in: does my idea of showing them Pokemon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back as a form of therapy and/or enlightenment count. Ok but i actually wanna see them interact with Mewtwo for better or worse i think it'd be fun

• My favorite outfit theyve worn: I've talked enough abt the darksuit for this one to be obvious I think

Naminé

• Song that reminds me of them: ooooh this is a hard one...... I'm gonna say Worlds Apart by Seven Lions

• An otp: Namixi and Replinami are both very very good

• A notp: any adults, n im not rly a fan of her being w any of the destiny trio or Roxas

• Favorite platonic/familial relationships: on that note again i Do enjoy her general relationships with the above four.. and I like her dynamic with Axel/Lea tbh. And the idea of her and Terra being friends is vv neat. And I think she'd have a funky friendship w Vani. She has so many friends!! good for her, good for her

• Popular headcanon I disagree with: I cant think of anything in particular I disagree with I just think she should be allowed to kill people (read: Ansem TW)

• The position they sleep in: similar to Repliku, but she prefers being surrounded by something (whether it be pillows, weighted blanket, etc)

• A crossover I'd love to see them in: I think Naminé, Lunafreya from ffxv and Lillie from pkmn should meet.. they're sisters now

• My favorite outfit theyve worn: theres uh. Not a lot of options here (but all the fan made outfits ppl make for her are so epic and cool i love em)

[starrysnowdrop]

Some may say low hanging fruit but I say first come first serve. Cid and Nero.

((I knew I’d get both of them at some point! I’m so predictable, aren’t I? XD I’m going to address them separately, okay?))

Give me a Character!

Cid Garlond

What can I say that I haven’t already said about my fictional husband? Cid has always been one of my favorite FFXIV characters, and now he’s my absolute favorite character, not just in FFXIV but probably my absolute favorite in any FF game, and one of my favorite characters ever. I am just in love with this man, and his character arc and everything is just perfection. ::chef’s kiss::

Yume... just Yume. Duh. 😉😁 But seriously, Cid x WoL is highly underrated and I’m still shocked that it’s as rare of a ship as it is. But that just means more for me!

Platonically, I adore Cid’s relationship with the Ironworks crew, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, and how much he cares about them all. I squee every time Cid interacts with Alpha, and those scenes truly show how great of a father he would be. And of course, I adore his relationship with Nero.

Unpopular opinions? Well, it sort of goes into the last point I made above. I adore Cid’s relationship with Nero, but platonically not romantically. Sorry, but I’m not a fan of Cid x Nero. At the very most, I can see it being very one sided, with Nero going “Senpai notice me!!” and Cid being clueless about it. There’s way too many hints that Cid is into the WoL, not Nero, but that’s just my opinion.

What I hope for in EW? I want to see Cid, Nero, and the rest of the Ironworks crew take us to the moon! That’d just be too perfect for me.

Nero Scaeva

Oh Nero, he’s such an ass but he makes me laugh so hard and I adore him! My favorite scenes of him are all throughout the Omega questline. If you haven’t done Omega yet, PLEASE so do!

I really only ship Nero with my mutuals’ WoLs, so a shout out to @mythopoet-of-amaurot @frostmantle and @meepsthemiqo!! (Meeps I know you’ll kill me...)

I think you all know who I’m going to say is my platonic OTP... Cid and Nero. Ohhh big shocker.

Unpopular opinion? Besides what I already stated above, I think Nero is way underrated and I wish we explored Nero’s past more, especially with Gaius returning in the MSQ and now in Werlyt. I really want a reunion between Nero and Gaius. Don’t know if it will happen though, but one can hope right?

I just want Nero to join Cid and the rest of the Ironworks to send us to the moon in EW, it’s all I ask... please... 🥺

Thank you so much anon!!! 🥰💖

[jcmorrigan]

001 - Kingdom Hearts

Favorite character: On the villain side: VEXEN IS BEST ORGANIZATION XIII MEMBER. Shoulda stayed evil, though. I like it when he complains and screams about everything and hates everyone. He's one of my favorite villains, just, like...in general. So fun to write. Also attached to Demyx, but I actually liked him more in III than II because it reminded me of my rawr lolspeek weeb days when I f/o'd him without knowing what f/o'ing was and then transitioned this to shipping VexDem like heck. On the hero side: MY GIRL KAIRI! But honorable mentions go to Sora, Riku, Aqua, Ven, Terra, Xion, Roxas, Lea, Ienzo, any Disney character I loved beforehand (this is way too fuckin many to list), Merlin (OKAY I WILL SINGLE HIM OUT), Yen Sid (I'LL SINGLE HIM OUT TOO), you know what let's also single out the Mickey+Donald+Goofy power trio...just...any KH hero who isn't part of the Yozora stuff or the KHUX stuff. ...Except I also LOVE Strelitzia, and she is the only KHUX-exclusive kiddo I care about but I care about her MANY. (Oh, and there's a least fave I have who's a "hero" but that's a debatable label). I would go on about why I love all of them but...that's too many characters to elaborate on

Least Favorite character: See, I think the real answer is Yozora, but the thing is I just tend to forget about him or not care (unless I'm doing a weird AU where he's Noctis' bratty Nobody, don't ask). He kinda represents the Shark Jump and I don't like watching that scene where he literally petrifies Sora for not being strong enough. But again, I can just kinda forget about him if he's not fed to me through a social-media unit. The one I LOVE TO HATE is Master Eraqus. The man actually triggered me back in the day. He is purity culture. He is the overbearing parent who will not accept you unless you are perfect. He is by and large the reason VAT didn't communicate with each other properly. He was the one who taught Aqua to think in absolutes. He lied to Ventus for years and then insisted to kill him was the only option, and then, when Terra tried to defend his brother figure/friend without knowing WHY Eraqus was doing such a thing, Eraqus didn't offer an explanation and instead switched targets to Terra citing that the problem was Terra's lack of OBEDIENCE. Eraqus is just very "my way or the highway" and uses his moral high horse to justify doing things that utterly lack compassion in any regard, which is something that GETS to me on a deep level, and let me tell you, I hated him for so long until I realized he was actually a super fuckin fun guy to imagine as a Bigger Bad in AUs that either have the KH protags teaming up or have villain protags needing a "greater good lawful evil" figure. And I just have found too many good memes about him cheating at chess and killing children. I have to laugh. Making fun of him is fun. He's a ridiculous character. That said, this recent trend of "erase everything bad he ever did and paint him as the ultimate hero of the saga" makes me raise eyebrows for SEVERAL reasons

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): VexDem, SoRiku, Kairi x Jaune Arc (RWBY), Aqua x Rosalina (Super Mario Galaxy) x Bayonetta, IsaLea, Ventus x Papyrus (Undertale), that was six but they all needed to be mentioned

Character I find most attractive: Ienzo. HOO BABY he is adorable. I saw someone make a Valentine's Day gifset of KH and FF characters shortly after III dropped and seeing his smiling face paired with a romance quote made my heart FLUTTER

Character I would marry: Probably Ienzo, see above. He's also a very kind guy. Favorite redemption in the modern era.

Character I would be best friends with: I hope the Destiny Trio would adopt me into their friend circle the way they've tended to do with every other inter-world denizen they've come across. I would love to have them as my positivity squad. Or, y'know, two positivities and one "it's okay to screw up" guy. Just. I would love to hang out with them. I often worry that I'm unlikable to my faves, but even though I would usually prefer to hang with the villains, I can pretty much guarantee these three would be open-minded about me. (Do I kiiiiinda wanna be friends with Vexen though? Of course I do. He'd hate me but maaaayyyyybe he would see me as one of his pet idiots who makes him look smarter, and we could bond over our fragile egos?)

a random thought: You ever think about that one NPC lady in Traverse Town who refused to tell you where she was from because it was none of her business? You ever wonder where she WAS from? What her world was like? How she ended up being the survivor of the Ansem Apocalypse when it hit her? All I know is that when I read her lines out loud (I used to read KH speech balloons out loud all the time), I gave her a Southern accent for no discernible reason and I stand by it. That woman has a twang.

An unpopular opinion: I don't want KHUX to be canon because I feel it's smaller-scale and takes a lot of mystery out of the worldbuilding. I always assume that the KHverse just includes ALL worlds in fiction, and that includes their thousand-year histories, meaning the Age of Fairy Tales should've happened long long long LONG LONG LONG ago and not five generations. And whatever screwed up the world should've been more than just five people having a fight, and whatever saved it should've been more than just five people getting along, and Daybreak Town really suffers from having to stick to mobile-friendly graphics and therefore is the least aesthetically attractive KH town ever, and I don't like that Lauriam and Elrena used to be such selfless people. I do still love Strelitzia because she's shy and relatable and quirky (sitting on the roof) and she questions authority and if you go with shipping subtext she's probably bi (or pan?), but I don't like the "Lauriam's dead sister for his arc's drama" bit. I liked when Marluxia was angry because he wanted to run Organization XIII but it was in the hands of an idiot who wasn't him. And more than anything I just like imagining that the Age of Fairy Tales was something bigger, further in the past, and more mysterious than something designed for a mobile game. Scala ad Caelum, however, I like a lot better because there IS a lot of mystery there and also it's a very pretty town with an amazing design.

my canon OTP: I really only count the Disney couples as the "canon" ones, so this is a question of picking my favorite Disney couple that shows up onscreen. I hope I'm not forgetting an important one, but I think the title has to go to Aladdin/Jasmine, which is always perfect in everything. (This would be an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY if KH had ever adapted Treasure Planet, and if it ever gets the mind to adapt Treasure Planet then even if I don't care about that game I will immediately declare that Amelia/Doppler takes the KH canon OTP crown. *taps watch* Get on it Squenix)

Non-canon OTP: SoRiku, which I counted as "basically canon" after DDD until III decided it wasn't sure. But I'm just a sucker for how DDD is the two of them all "HE'S GOT MY BACK AND I'VE GOT HIS AND I'D DO ANYTHING FOR HIM SO LONG AS HE'S HAPPY." It's just the best kind of Friends-to-Lovers, except when you take all canon into account it's Friends-to-Rivals-to-Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers and that's a very juicy dynamic. BUT ALSO: VexDem, which is a nostalgia ship SO STRONG I had to accept that it eclipsed my former Vexen ships by a mile and I wanted to go back to my roots. That one, I have a much longer essay about that I'll just have you refer to so I don't repeat myself for pages. To make a long story short, their scene in III was JUST DELICIOUS.

most badass character: OOF THEY'RE ALL BADASS but in the end it's between Sora and Aqua, because Sora gets the widest RANGE of abilities across the series that he masters while Aqua gets the most POWERFUL abilities due to her Mastery (Command Styles seem like they'd be the most OP things ever in-universe and I'm here for it because flashy battle moves make brain go brr).

pairing I am not a fan of: SOKAI, Xehaqus, RikuNami, Vanitas/anyone not evil

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): OH BOY. KAIRI THE MOST. YOU ALL KNOW WHY: lack of screen time, Fridging for drama, forced romance to invite death flags (they really wanted to milk that death to get people talking didn't they?), giving Alyson Stoner ZERO direction to actually follow up on Hayden Panettiere's performance. But then I remember that they made Vexen redeem and lose his entire personality and I just...uuugghhhh. I can't believe he died twice in this series. And then Demyx is FUN but also I know he's flipped sides as well, which means he won't be fun much longer! Xehanort seems to switch motivations to whatever makes him the biggest threat (and several of Eraqus' old flaws seem to be mysteriously glued onto him), Sora isn't a motormouth anymore, Riku just doesn't get anyone who cares about him anymore because everyone's distracted by Sora and Kairi, IS ANYBODY GOING TO ADDRESS THE ACTUAL ISSUES THAT DROVE THE WAYFINDER TRIO APART, oh God Marluxia and Larxene you're good guys now what have they done to you

favourite friendship: I really like each of the trios. But you know what's even BETTER than the trios? If you put...all of the trios together...meaning Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Terra, Ven, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Hayner, Pence, Olette...and then you added Isa back in there...and you gave them Ienzo...and you brought back Naminé...and you say that Subject X is Strelitzia and you have her turn back up so she can have justice done...AND YOU HAVE AN ULTRA KEYBLADE GROUP OF FRIENDS. As for Vexen, any purely platonic relationship I have for him is a crossover but trust me I have many crossover pals for he

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: See everyone I listed above in the friendship question. They can either mentor me or let me be their big sis/mom. But also, I will GLADLY be Merlin or Yen Sid's daughter. (But also would I kiiiiinda wanna be a VexDem daughter? This is the worst idea. Still wanna try)

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I’ve read Waid and Hickman’s FF runs and am currently reading Zdarsky’s 2 in One. I’m planning on eventually reading the Lee/Kirby run. Can I ask, what other runs would you recommend? Is Claremont’s good? Sorry for bothering.

I LOVE Waid and Hickman’s Fantastic Four runs, and Zdarsky’s Marvel Two-In-One was excellent to the point where one of my lingering disappointments is that Marvel brought the Fantastic Four back in a way that prematurely cut off Zdarksy’s 2n1. I know I said I wanted them back but wow did we all get monkey’s paw’d on that one. Zdarsky did really excellent stuff with both Ben and Johnny and the multiverse hopping was honestly fun and interesting. Lee/Kirby is also, in my opinion, just a really terrific run -- it lays the groundwork for not only the future of the Fantastic Four but a lot of big concepts for the Marvel Universe in general, and I think it holds up really well by modern day storytelling standards. Lee’s sense of humor works well with the retrofuturistic vibe and Kirby’s art is always wonderful. In particular I think it’s interesting to look back on The Galactus Trilogy (Fantastic Four #48-50) as the granddaddy of all event comics, for better or worse. 

Claremont -- okay, I love Claremont’s run, let me start off by saying that. Claremont’s run follows on what is in my opinion one of the worst periods of Fantastic Four canon, and I mean bad to the point where the literal canon at that point was that to get things back on track the Fantastic Four had to be put in a bubble universe. Claremont’s run kicks in one or two issues after their return to the main Marvel universe and it’s so fun. I think Fantastic Four is one of those series that kind of flourishes in adversity and Claremont’s run starts off with the Fantastic Four trying to regain their footing in a world that had assumed them dead, their Baxter Building gone, living in a warehouse property. Claremont, in my opinion, also has one of the best if not the best handle on characterization for a lot of key Fantastic Four figures, including Johnny, Reed, and Sue. His Ben is also very good, but I think Ben in particular tends to be an easier sell for a lot of comic book writers -- the outcast, the gruff man, the comic relief. He’s easier to identify with than Reed, the Smartest Man on Earth, or Johnny, defined by his youth and beauty and queercoded since the ‘60s, or Sue, by sheer factor of being a woman. So I think a lot of writers identify with Ben first and foremost and put the most love and care into his depiction, whereas the others are a little easier for them to leave by the wayside. Which isn’t a bad thing -- I love that one of the most beloved comic book characters is also one of Marvel’s few canonically Jewish characters, but there is a wealth of truly excellent Ben canon in comparison to the other three. Especially with Johnny, there’s no one else who has written for Fantastic Four who has put nearly as much thought and detail into Johnny’s relationship with his powers, both the positive and the negative, as Claremont has, even reworking the origin story from Lee and Kirby’s joyous scene of Johnny flaming on for the first time into a deeply traumatizing incident -- being sixteen and traumatized and bursting into uncontrollable flames. 

(Fantastic Four v3 #11) There’s also a lot of women in Claremont’s run! A valid criticism of Fantastic Four canon is that by its initial core team makeup it tends to be lacking in female characters compared to some other big Marvel staples, but Claremont brings in a ton, from Reed’s college friend and fellow genius Alyssa Moy (who has been done dirty by pretty much every other writer who’s ever touched her, including Waid and Hickman) to multiversal bounty hunter Bounty to the most platonic of Johnny’s gal pals Caledonia to Valeria Von Doom, a “time dancing” teenage incarnation of the baby Sue lost back in Byrne’s run, who sets up baby Val’s eventual return. Claremont is also king of Reed vs Doom setups -- if you haven’t read his Fantastic Four vs X-Men miniseries, I highly recommend it, and he brings a lot of the two sides of the same coin energy from that into his Fantastic Four run. 

The downside of Claremont’s run is that the plot is always there and always running and I could not explain half of it if you paid me. Things certainly happen! Like all the time! For seemingly no apparent reason! Stuff gets set up and then it’s not resolved and now we are in Latveria! I don’t think this is necessarily all that detrimental -- the run is still massively fun and the characterization is always fresh and interesting. It’s just that sometimes you have no idea what’s going on and you have to roll with it. And then sometimes you do know what’s going on but in the way where you know Claremont was just writing it because it’s his kink. Which is like, whatever. As authorial ids go, you can pretty consistently do worse than Claremont’s, I’ll give him that. So I do recommend on it the whole, as long as you’re not going into expecting the kind of plots either Hickman or Waid brought the book. Claremont’s is kind of like “stuff happens and it’s either weird or fun so just don’t pay too much attention to it.” 

Aside from Claremont, I feel like I generally like far more Fantastic Four runs than I dislike -- but also I don’t hate Millar’s run, which is honestly bad, so it’s possible I’m just very forgiving with the Fantastic Four. I really like Robinson’s run, which is the last run before the Great Fantastic Four Drought of 2015-2018. It’s short, self-contained, and devoted entirely to one story, so it’s pretty tightly written, with good characterization and some very shiny art by Leonard Kirk. Straczynski’s run is decent enough for the fact that it intersects with Civil War -- I think he does his best to get into the heads of the characters re: their actions in Civil War -- and it leads directly into Dwayne McDuffie’s run, another brief one where Black Panther and Storm take over for Reed and Sue. Very fun. Marvel Knights 4 is also a fairly recent run that’s got some strong moments in it, although I feel it’s a little inconsistent in its handling of the characters. It’s still fun, though. For an older, longer run, I like Simsonson’s -- the art is very dynamic, even if the storyline kind of gets too involved with itself. 

(FF #337)

I recommend Byrne’s run with the caveat that there’s plenty to dislike about it and plenty of reasons to avoid it, not the least of it being Byrne himself as a creator and a person. It’s heavily sexist in how it deals with Sue, it retcons a huge age gap into Sue and Reed’s relationship, and Byrne’s early departure sets up my all time least favorite Fantastic Four story. (Though that one is Roger Stern and later Tom DeFalco’s fault.) It is historic as Fantastic Four runs go, though, and there’s a lot in later runs that’s built over it or references it or borrows from it. So it’s a rec with a lot of caveats and I also understand why people might give it a skip -- I think it’s more important for an understanding of the greater body of Fantastic Four canon and the impact it had than for the actual run itself. I do think Byrne has some very interesting subtext with Johnny, although it never come to fruition, and while his Sue falls victim to a lot of sexism, I really like what he does with the character of Frankie Raye, who like poor Alyssa Moy I don’t think has ever gotten really good treatment ever since.

I have mixed feelings on both Millar and Fraction’s runs, not in the least because I think they end very similarly -- and that Millar did it better, which doesn’t say great things. Millar’s run is kind of like a trashy popcorn flick version of Fantastic Four; it’s not actually good, but I can’t say I don’t like the terrible eldritch monster in Scotland Christmas arc (Fantastic Four #564-565) and I’m sort of into future Sue. Fraction, on the other hand, takes a space road trip and makes it boring, which is the greatest Fantastic Four sin of all. He’s one of the rare writers who I think actually writes a bad Ben Grimm -- not the least because his run goes out of its way to try and label it Ben’s own fault that he was transformed into a monster. I do really like his FF (just the initials) though. 

The only Fantastic Four runs I can say I really truly dislike are Tom DeFalco’s and Dan Slott’s, which sort of unfortunate because DeFalco’s is both long influential (I have no idea why because it’s honestly terrible like in terms of storytelling) and because Slott’s is happening right now. DeFalco comes onto the book on Fantastic Four #356 and stays on until Fantastic Four #416, at which point Marvel hit a literal retcon button to get out of the mess he’d made. (This leads into Fantastic Four v2, which is largely skippable -- it’s basically a mid-90s retelling of a bunch of early Fantastic Four stories that leads back into the FF heading back to the main universe.) DeFalco’s responsible for the Skrull retcon in the JohnnyAlicia marriage and for dragging that out for over 50 issues, the entirety of which feel like he was writing without a plan or outline or literally anything, and I have never felt like a comic book was attempting to gaslight me through its own incompetence or refusal to commit to things it set up itself as badly as I do with DeFalco’s run. (I like other non-Fantastic Four Tom DeFalco runs. I just hate this one.) Dan Slott’s run is just 25 issues and counting of badly written emotionless unfunny pages blandly stapled together and I so badly want Marvel to kick him off the book for its own good.