#i think its very common in fics for media with siblings

[voiider]

Reading batfam fics like. If my older sister ever called me "little sister" or "little brother" or something similar would think she was possessed

[gallusrostromegalus]

My drawing skills suck are very unpracticed but I have a mighty need to create fanart of the garbage tarot. I don't even know anything about the source material but I am in love with these idiots.

Actually... I do a lot more mixed-media than I do drawing........... Hmm...

As a Completely Unrelated Thought, what do you think Zaraki's handwriting would look like?

I'm glad you asked because there's na specific answer for AEIWAM fic! Zaraki!

(Note: in AEIWAM, Kakiyo was Tousen's adopted sister, not an unrequited crush, and she raised money to go to the academy by working as a travelling schoolteacher for a while)

---

The first time Yamamoto gets a report from Zaraki, it genuinely throws him for a loop. Its a thorough if somewhat gruesome report about the 11th dealing with a pack of hollows that had been attacking isolated villages. Nothing Yamamoto was not already used to, but reading descriptions of mutilated villagers is somehow more unsettling when the descriptions look like this:

(a stylistic example)

Yamamoto takes him to task next meeting.

(continued under the cut)

"I know you're still learning the job Zaraki, but you can't foist your paperwork off on Miss Kusajishi." Yamamoto growls.

"I... Didn't? What?" Zaraki looks extremely confused, but the Captain-General is not fooled.

"You mean to tell me THIS is your handwriting?" Yamamoto snaps, throwing the report on the table, sheets spilling out as it slid down the length of it, so everyone could see the bizarre cutesy hand it was written in.

Zaraki's face darkened, jaw clenched. "Yeah. What about it? You goin' blind as well as senile?" He growled.

"THIS IS THE HANDWRITING OF A LITTLE GIRL, ZARAKI, DO YOU HAVE THE SAME HANDWRITING AS YOUR DAUGHTER?" Yamamoto slammed his hand on the table, temperature sharply increasing around him.

Zaraki began to arch his back and crackle with Reiatsu as well, but was stopped by loud ringing chime and a hand on his arm.

Yamamoto blinked in surprise to see Tousen, of all people , holding the giant back. There was a click as Tousen fully re-sheathed his sword. Suzumushi's chime wouldn't effect either of them, but it redirected their attention very effectively.

"My apologies, Yamamoto-sama." He bowed his head before turning his ear up at Zaraki. "Kakiyo wrote about this to me. You could only afford for one of you to receive schooling, right?"

Zaraki huffed and shook himself before answering. "Yeah, I was a broke-ass bastard before this." He grumbled, scratching his neck in a de-escalation feature. "Yer sister was a fuckin' saint and a genius. Neither of you have any business tellin' the whole world though."

"I think it was an exceptionally brave and difficult thing you did." Tousen shrugged. "Even when she used that method, less than one in a hundred parents actually stuck to it, much less achieved what you have."

Zaraki started looking everywhere but at Tousen, thinking. "... wouldn't call it brave, it was just makin' sure she was doin' good in school." He muttered.

Tousen kept listening intently at Zaraki. May I tell Yamamoto-sama so he doesn't cause another scene?"

"You're going to tell me what you're muttering about whether you like it or not." Yamamoto menaced.

"My sister taught Zaraki-taicho and Miss Kusajishi how to read and write." Kaname sighed and took off his goggles to rub the bridge of his nose. "It's extremely common in the Rukongai to have to teach children whose parents have never had any kind of schooling. Many of the parents would like to go to school too, but can only afford to send their children- actually , usually only one child. It's not usually an issue of money, but time- the parents can't afford to miss fishing season, or spare any siblings because they're needed on the farm. But, when you have a parent who is as attentive and caring as Zaraki-"

"Tttch!" Zaraki huffed at Kaname, who pointedly ignored him.

"-You can get around the schooling fees and scheduling problems by telling the student that their homework is to teach their parents what they learned in school that day. The homework you give the students is for their parents to do after they pass the lesson on and grade them on how well they taught their family." Kaname explained, putting his goggles back on. "Kakiyo was in awe of Miss Kusajishi's dedication to teaching you, and immensely proud of your efforts."

Zaraki still refused to look at Tousen, but his ears were bright red.

"...ohhh." Ukitake realized. "Wow, that's... I thought it was impossible to learn how after a certain age, that's - well, I don't think it's something I could have done!"

"What?" Glared Yamamoto.

"Zaraki-taicho and Miss Kusajishi have the same handwriting because he learned how to read and write by learning her school lessons from her." Unohana translated. "-An exceptionally difficult way to learn, and commendable for even trying." She continued, arching an eyebrow at him as a warning.

"Yeah and with all due respect Yama-ji? You're not exactly in a position to be complaining about anyone else's handwriting-" added Shunsui. "Zaraki's handwriting is odd, but it's perfectly legible. Nanao-chan framed your last memo because she thought it was an abstract painting."

Yamamoto turned to Shunsui with an aggravated glare.

"I'm afraid I have to second Kyoraku-taicho." Tousen said, without an ounce of chagrin in his voice. "The kido spell on my glasses can translate nearly everyone's hand, but the only person in the ninth who can read your memos to me is third-seat Maegawa, and mostly because she's had several centuries practice."

"Wait, we were supposed to be getting memos?" Mayuri squawked. "Dammit! I thought that squiggly garbage was the fax machine breaking every other week! I disassembled that thing three times trying to fix it!"

"You can all shut up now." Yamamoto snarled, and everyone did, but there were still a lot of pointed looks around the table, and Unohana's eyebrow had not resumed it's usual curvature yet. "Please consider my complaint withdrawn."

Unohana's eyebrow arched further and she cracked her eye open to reveal a coal-black iris, going from Warning to Threat.

"...My apologies, Zaraki-taicho. That was. Inconsiderate of me." Yamamoto muttered.

"Ya gonna shut up about it now?" Zaraki asked, not quite facing Yamamoto, but back still arched.

"I will hold my judgment in check in the future." Yamamoto acquiesced, watching him.

"Sure." Zaraki grunted, shaking his shoulders to drop the subject. "Right, what the fuck were we doing?" He asked, returning to the agenda.

---

After the meeting, Tousen took a minute to stand in the late afternoon sun, exhaling and releasing the tension of the day, when someone grabbed one shoulder and plopped something heavy on the other.

"Yeh didn't have to do that." Zaraki grunted just behind Tousen's ear, his forehead resting on the small man's shoulder, half gratitude, half grumble.

"One of the responsibilities of a captain is to keep the general in check, and I had a particularly good opening to stop that nonsense for good." Kaname hummed, hand reflexively coming up to touch the giant's head on his shoulder, fingertips tracing over the scarred visage and peculiar hairstyle.

"Didn't read that in the employee handbook." Zaraki grunted, grin in his voice.

"Yamamoto wrote those handbooks, and he'd rather we let him do as he pleases. You have to learn how to read between the lines, Zaraki." Kaname teased.

Zaraki gave his strange, low clicking chuckle of amusement and affectionately mock-bit Kaname's ear before standing up, still holding his other shoulder.

"...Thanks. " he muttered, giving his arm a squeeze and stepping away. "Gotta go pick up Sensei, you talk to her if you think I need more tutoring!" Zaraki waved, striding off to collect Yachiru in completely the opposite direction from her school.

"ITS THE OTHER- oh, he'll figure it out." Kaname sighed.

The sun was low in the sky, but it was still warm, and the first Cricket of summer started chirping, startling him. Suzumushi chirped with it, singing her mournful loss of her original wielder, but not so despairing this time.

"Kaname?" Sajin asked, heard before he was felt as usual. The lieutenant's meeting must have wrapped up late.

Kaname smiled and put a finger up, indicating he should listen. Sajin did, helmet tipping slightly to hear.

"Crickets!" Sajin realized, and offered Kaname his gauntlets hand to lead him home. "...I miss Kakiyo too." He sighed.

"You're not really gone if some part of you lives on in someone else." Kaname hummed. "I realized she is not so far gone today."

"Oh?" Sajin asked. "Where does she live on?"

"Have you read any of Zaraki-taocho's reports yet?" Kaname grinned. "His hand is not his hand alone."

[borom1r]

FUCK I HIT ASK TOO EARLY SMH

4 5 6 9 12 14 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 and 26 (freebie: favourite h/c or whump headcanons because I’m a Fiend) for Boromir, Faramir, Éomer, and Théodred >:)

ALSO SIR PLEASE STOP DOING HELLA FUCKIN EDIBLES TOO FAST 😭🤣 I WORRY

SKSDHJFKJSDJ TYYYYY

Boromir—

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

UM. ok this is so fucking. this is SO DUMB but 1) Boromir is just inextricably tied to fantasy to me sorry BUT. im sticking him in The Sword and the Sorcerer bc i think if ANYONE deserves to get to mess around with a three-bladed magic rocket sword its Boromir

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Shock Me! by Baroness

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

loyalty :3 also bad at quantifying my own emotions sdkjhfsdkjf

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

YE. i think i could totally be roommates w/ him

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Boromir struggling with self harm impulses was sth that just kinda came up naturally in one fic + then got expanded on and now its. a very important hc to me actually, as some1 who also struggles w that

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

HRM. this feels like a cop-out answer but truly from the depths of my heart i think modern AU Boromir just dresses like Sean Bean. he'd just dress like a dad

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

Boromir&Faramir sibling relationship is Everything to me forever + ever

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

huh. idk? i think all the relationships he has are interesting so there's no specific relationship that's bad on a fundamental level. like i think Denethor is a shit parent and i do not think he and Boromir have a GOOD relationship. but it IS narratively interesting

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

HM. like Merry and Pippin obviously but also i do think he and Éowyn would get on like a house on fire if they got to meet.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

hmmmm i like putting him in situations where hes Loved. my Boromir/Théodred/Aragorn fic is one of my favs just bc i like Spoiling Boromir. he deserves to be spoiled sdjkfhsjk

i dont.. Know that theres anything i dont like abt writing him??? hes very cathartic to write

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

same answer as above pretty much :3 i love when hes treated with tenderness and love by the narrative

+ ive bitched abt this before but fics that just make him a brute are the woooooooooorrrssst. like. thats. thats so antithetical to even the most BASIC reading of his character. worsties how do u get him THAT wrong???

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

HM. HRM. idk :3 hes very special 2 me like he is THEE comfort character rn so idk anyone else off th top of my head where im like oh theyre Like Boromir

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

i did not care abt Boromir when i was a child first getting into LotR. Sighs. i was a legolas + merry/pippin stan. NOW he is thee singular guy of all time forever. i wld die 2 defend him <33

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!! — favourite h/c or whump headcanons?

ok kinda already answered in 12 but i do love any fic exploring how Boromir reacts when like. it sinks in tht he doesn't have to shove everything aside to be this unbreakable pillar of strength. u know

Faramir—

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

oh easy. The Last Unicorn. like again sorry ik its fantasy still but theres such a quiet melancholy to that story, and so much love and care.. I think Faramir would fit right in

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Living Pyre by Khemmis

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

far too willing to sacrifice ourselves in search of approval

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

ye :3

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

he's so autistic. to me <3333333

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

i feel like he wld rlly like corduroy. modern au i think he'd still lean fantasy-inspired for his fashion sense

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

Faramir&Aragorn and Faramir&Pippin friendships ilyyyyy

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

same answer as Boromir skjhfskjdf

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Aragorn!! autism2autism communication

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

Faramir is so versatile w/ writing skjdfhskj i love him for angst, i love him for fluff... guy of all time (he deserves so many hugs)

he's very introspective so character studies are also very fun w/ him

(nothin i dislike wrt writing for him)

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

sth i like? love reading character study moments w him as much as i like writing them :3

dislike? woobification. he's an extremely capable soldier in his own right and captain of Ithilien's rangers. he does not need to be Babied

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

ties in2 my answer for four but the Lady Amalthea from The Last Unicorn actually. like again idk Faramir is so autistic-coded And trans To Me and just. yeagh. ethereal otherworldly magical creature trapped in a body that is fundamentally wrong + suddenly dealing w/ people who expect things of her that she just doesn't comprehend/expect certain reactions she cannot/does not give.

and her growing to love Lír because Lír takes the time to learn how to woo her in ways that truly work for her (instead of the ways princes are Supposed To woo their loves).

i think if Faramir got to watch/read The Last Unicorn it would rewire his brain love + light

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

again i never rlly thought much abt him originally. now tho? [aragorn kinnie voice] thats my whole entire little brother

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!! — favourite h/c or whump headcanons?

HRM. i think he does wind up with burns on his torso/arms at Least. at least. i do like the tenderness of him letting Éomer help look after the scarring

Éomer—

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

ummmm not so much sth i would put him in but i do think he should be allowed to marathon the Fast & Furious movies while intoxicated. fast cars hunky guys ridiculous stunts, 10/10 extremely fun

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

HM. ok this is like. in the context of Éomer/Faramir but Ride On by Cruachan

also Hulde Aan De Kastelein by Heidevolk

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

HRMGH. big fan of horses

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

uhhhhh yea?? maybe?? I feel like we might butt heads a little but not too bad

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

he’s nonbinary to me :3

at some point I’ll continue that post expanding on th theoretical overlap between Iron Age Norse conceptions of gender/mysticism and Rohan. but he is nonbinary To Me

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

farmer fashion lmao. again modern au Éomer is like. jeans work shirts boots etc. purely practical clothing + 100% has a farmer’s tan

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

I love his relationship with Éowyn like I do love sibling relationships so much. also really love his relationship with all of the Three Hunters like they’re so funny together

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

same answer!! nothin I really dislike bc even his negative relationships are super interesting

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

i genuinely really enjoy his + Gimli's banter i think they should get to be Actual Friends. that wld be a really fun dynamic i think

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

again idk anything super specific?? soz skjhfsjk i feel like im giving lame answers but i will say i do think its very funny that every time ive written a sex scene with Éomer its been outdoors. no beds for that Rohir

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

hmmmm im a weak bitch for Éomer/Faramir fluff fics :3

for dislikes— similar vein to Boromir but fics that make him a brute or treat him like hes stupid. feels weird besties

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

HM. i feel like i Should have an answer for this but i dont -_-;; th brain has been on 24/7 LotR lockdown for. So Long now. so i try to conjure other characters n my mind goes Blessedly Blank

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

look man. look when i first read lord of the rings all the way through, i was a weird trans autistic teen dealing with chronic depression and such a massive disconnect from humanity i was fully convinced i was a changeling. i was NOT paying attention to the Men in these books i was paying attention to one (1) elf and two (2) hobbits

impression of him now is [kinnie voice] brother in law :]

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!! — favourite h/c or whump headcanons?

touched on this briefly in one fic but i do think Éomer falls into a similar trap as Boromir where its like. "why should i bother Processing Emotions when i could kill 20-30 orcs instead. i will certainly not regret killing 20-30 orcs. wdym 'how am I feeling?'"

sth sth sth throwing himself recklessly into battle to combat crippling feelings of uselessness bc his cousin/practically his older brother is on his deathbed, his uncle is close behind and he's been exiled from his homeland, leaving his sister in the clutches of a skeezy little slimeball. getting hurt + not having the injury properly seen to until After bc, you know, he's got 20-30 Orcs To Kill

(don't be like Éomer. take care of yourself)

Théodred—

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

idk how much this counts but i wrote a fic retelling the story of Aran + Asmund with Boromir + Théodred, so that :3

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

ok well i feel like Théo is such a blank slate character with how little we know of him in canon that i can't give as solid an answer, but I'll drop the songs I've used to title Théo-centric fics:

Shine by Baroness (Boromir/Théodred)

Blot by Månegarm (Boromir/Théodred/Aragorn) < this one fits my personal vibes for him extremely well

+ technically, My Mother Told Me (Théodred&Éomer&Éowyn)

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

Big Sibling w/ two younger siblings sdkfhd

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

ye!! we could vibe i think

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Well Again, I Think Théo Is An Extremely Blank Slate. BUT Théo being trans is deeply deeply important to me

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

modern au Théodred dresses practically when he needs to but otherwise very cozy. hygge is real and he Is embodying it

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

sth sth i feel repetitive im sorryyyyyyy but his sibling relationship w/ Éomer + Éowyn is SO important to meeeeeeeeee

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

Same Answer As Everyone Else lol

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

BOROMIR. like i think they were more than best friends (wink) but also they are just. Best Friends. the basis for every lasting healthy relationship

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

he's very lighthearted 2 write. i love writing silly lil romantic fics w/ him. nothin i particularly dislike sjnjsfd

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

i havent actually read any Théo fics other than the ones i wrote sorryyyyyyy sdnfsjdfhk

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

i think i have actually pulled some of my voice for him from Lír in The Last Unicorn and Taran in the later books from the Chronicles of Prydain, so there u go :3

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Forgot He Existed. now i have a big soft spot for him lol

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!! — favourite h/c or whump headcanons?

ok this was sth i totally misremembered based solely off of the supremely excellent skeeziness of Brad Dourif's performance and just the way he says "oh.... he must have died sometime in the night" when he visits Éowyn while she grieves... anyways i think that could easily be read as Gríma having sabotaged Théodred's recovery

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

I find it really intriguing how the ATLA writers could have gone a “brotherly love” route with Zuko and Aang, but they never did. Even in LOK, the only thing that I remember Iroh saying about their relationship was that they canonically became the best of friends and that Zuko knew Aang better than anyone, even more than Katara and their children. I find the direction of their relationship a contrast to how often the bond between the male protagonist and the male antagonist that are spiritually linked in other media is reduced to “they were like brothers” and put aside for the respective heterosexual romances of the leads, even though the relationships between the leads often have homoerotic subtext and can be interpreted through a queer lens. I guess what I’m wondering is: would you classify Zuko and Aang’s relationship as brotherly? Do you support interpretations where their relationship is viewed as brotherly? And finally (I’m sorry for all of the questions): why do you think the ATLA writers - who seem to mostly be composed of cishet men - never took the “brotherly love” route and left the nature of their relationship ambiguous?

This ask has been in my inbox for a Hot Minute 💀 my apologies, my friend. And since I haven’t seen LOK, I won’t try to speak on the front. Before I continue, though, @likealittleheartbeat has an AMAZING analysis here about the interpretation of Aang and Zuko’s relationship through a queer-platonic lens that I found to be an incredible read and arguably could answer this ask on its own, lol!

I guess the general “issue” that must be addressed to answer these questions is simply how we define brotherly. That “we” can be divided into the viewers and the writers, only adding another layer of complexity. Because the reality is that we can’t jump into the creators minds and see exactly how they intended Zuko and Aang’s relationship to be interpreted. We can make deductions, e.g. the existence of Kataang and Maiko suggests Zuko and Aang were not intended to have a romantic relationship within canon (duh, lol). In fact, you could even add another division to the “we” - the writers, the viewers, and the characters themselves (i.e. interpretation through the cultural lenses that inspired the show).

All of this is to say that there is not going to be one agreed-upon definition of “brotherly,” lol! Since you seem to be asking for my personal opinions, I’ll go with my personal definition. If anyone has differing thoughts in response to these questions, please feel free to add them in a comment or rb! I think there’s a lot to explore here and my sole opinion is Not the be-all and end-all, lmao.

So, what is my personal definition of “brotherly”? I’m not going to try to make a formal definition, lol, but the gist of my interpretation is a platonic relationship akin to that of siblings. To me, there is a difference between having a “brotherly relationship” with someone versus a “friendship” (I almost used “friendly relationship” but that didn’t feel right jskdfhakdls). I think these two can overlap and/or be the same, but - for example - I have friends who I would say without hesitation that I am incredibly close with, but I also would not classify that friendship as “sisterly.” (Again, these are strictly my personal thoughts, and I encourage further discussion in comments/rbs!)

I’ll take your questions one at a time:

Would you classify Zuko and Aang’s relationship as brotherly?

Personally? Probably not. To me, there is a sense of superficiality associated with the term “brotherly” that in my eyes can be reductive to platonic relationships between men (can be, not always lol). I think with Zuko and Aang, the relationship just runs much deeper than “brotherly” can connote. For one, they are the primary narrative foils of the show! The only relationship that comes close to theirs in terms of narrative significance is Kataang (which is a very different dichotomy, btw, I’m not trying to compare them lol). We have numerous episodes dedicated to the parallels between Aang and Zuko, including but not limited to “The Storm” and “The Avatar and the Fire Lord.” I mean, this is an actual quote from the latter episode:

Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?

We see variants of this line and the notion of friendship itself associated throughout that episode explicitly with Roku and Sozin, Roku and Gyatso, and of course the Gaang at the end, but implicitly we also know it’s about Aang and Zuko, too. Aang says, “Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation, have to be treated like they’re worth giving a chance.” One common take with this line that I’ve seen is interpreting it as foreshadowing for Aang’s decision to spare Ozai - which obviously is a fair assessment - but we cannot also ignore how much it applies to Zuko joining the Gaang. Specifically, Zuko reconciling with Aang.

We all know Aang was the first person to extend friendship to Zuko back in “The Blue Spirit” and tbh, after he saw Appa licking Zuko, you can tell Aang was nearly willing to extend a second chance to Zuko then and there lol. Aang and Zuko’s friendship, them being drawn together, is a relationship that transcends lifetimes, transcends social norms/expectations, transcends a loss greater than anyone can imagine (for Aang) and offers a new opportunity arguably far more than deserved (for Zuko). I think ascribing a qualifier of “brotherly” to their relationship therefore limits this transcendence because of how much their dynamic encompasses.

Do you support interpretations where their relationship is viewed as brotherly?

Of course! One of the reasons I love A:TLA - especially my small corner of the fandom - is how many interpretations that every relationship presents, be it a small “difference” (such as calling Zuko and Aang’s relationship “brotherly”) or a more drastic one (exploring fanon possibilities with rarepairs, let’s go #AangRarepairWeek 😎). So even if this interpretation isn’t one I’m inclined to in the literal sense (i.e. it’s the “brotherly” qualifier I feel I dislike, because I do love platonic Zukaang as much as romantic Zukaang), I absolutely encourage others to make the most of their fandom experience and product/support content that they enjoy!

Why do you think the ATLA writers - who seem to mostly be composed of cishet men - never took the “brotherly love” route and left the nature of their relationship ambiguous?

I will say that we don’t really have any way of knowing the sexualities and gender identities of every single A:TLA writer, lol. I’m not saying they were all queer in some way, of course, but I just want to establish that we don’t and can’t know unless told. If that makes sense 😂

As I mentioned earlier, I have no way of getting inside the writers’ minds to determine their intentions when they were writing Zuko and Aang’s relationship, so all you’re gonna get here are my best guesses lmao! For one, there wasn’t really a need to outright label Zuko and Aang as having a “brotherly” relationship. The existence of Kataang and Maiko again speak for themselves. Most viewers - especially casual watchers - don’t need the show to state “these two only love each other in a brotherly way” to conclude that the relationship was platonic (or rather, was not romantic), especially considering that the show was made in the mid-2000s (i.e. sad but true, most people weren’t watching A:TLA with a queer lens 😔). So I wouldn’t say they left the relationship “ambiguous” so much as there wasn’t need to qualify it further than simply being platonic.

Of course, I do think there is an ambiguity that comes with Aang and Zuko’s relationship, which I love to exploit in my Zukaang fics 😌. Was that ambiguity intentional? Again, I’m inclined to say no. But I can’t speak with certainty and - as I discussed earlier - I truly think Aang and Zuko’s relationship would be limited by being called “brotherly” when their connection runs so deeply and is intertwined so heavily with the spiritual themes of the show. Thus, it’s possible the writers were purposefully emphasizing that spirituality by not labelling them as “brotherly”! But as I said, there’s really no way to be sure.

At the end of the day, I don’t think it matters how someone chooses to label Aang and Zuko’s relationship. I mean, I’m always a little horrified when a person completely overlooks their narrative significance as foils (because I personally can’t imagine dismissing either of their importance to the other), but hey, to each their own. Brotherly, queerplatonic, romantic, and hell, anything in-between - these interpretations are anyone’s for the taking. Have fun with it! 💛

(I hope this at least kind of resembles the answer you were looking for, anon 😂)

[sunsetcurve]

so...the last year has been rough. for everyone. but i’ve been lucky in a lot of ways, especially with the people in my life, and i wanted to take a second to thank some people on here. because genuinely, you guys mean so freaking much to me. i’ve had a lot of online friends in my life but none that feel so much like family. these are the people who have carried me through the last year, who’ve made me feel seen and heard and supported me in all my endeavors and just been wonderful to me all around. i love you guys, and happy new year <3

i’m about to get into it now. and i’ll try not to cry too much along the way.

@neshatriumphs​ nesha, when i say that you’re our fandom mom i mean that you’re my family, i mean that you’re my biggest supporter, my inspiration, my rock, the person who makes me want to be my best self, all the time. i can’t explain to you what your support has meant to me over the years. whether it’s leaving me incredibly kind notes on my fics that make me want to write more just for you, or sending me asks when you know i’m feeling down, or just making me laugh with your hilarious takes, you have always, always been there for me. you’re the toughest person i know and you make me want to keep pushing every day. you’re so incredibly talented; your ideas are just always stunning and inspired and despite being humble about it you’re amazing at everything you do. your art, your writing, your aesthetics, all of it. loeg and share-a-lair were just spectacular and such a show of how complex and original and smart your writing is. barring just your talent you’re also an inspiration in how passionate and kind and dedicated you are. you care for others everywhere you go. you come on here and constantly make me want to be a better person. it’s not just me, either—you’ve taken on the role of helping all of us in any way you can, and you just make us feel loved and supported and give us someone to always look up to. i love you. plain and simple, you’re my family, and i’m so, so grateful to have you in my life.

@juliesdahlias​ you know when you meet someone younger than you and you’re like how do they have this much talent in their body? and you can’t even be mad about it because you just want to root for them and you want good things for them and you think of them like a little sibling? that’s me around you all. the freaking. time. pearl, i’m constantly blown away by how smart and driven and passionate you are. you have so much talent to offer the world and i love seeing you thrive more than anything. you inspire me every freaking day; i mean, your tiara thief drabbles literally made me pull my fic out of my drafts for the first time in months. every time you post it’s something iconic and beautiful, whether its your fics or your edits or your headcanons. and not just that, but you’re so incredibly supportive of everything i put out there. like with ths, the way you latched on to it and are one of our biggest fans and made content for it literally as soon as we started!! that was amazing!! you’re just such an incredible person in every sense of the word; you’re talented and hilarious and kind and passionate and i love you so so much. i cannot wait to watch you do amazing things because i know you’re gonna be one of the greats. ily. 

@ciara-knightly i can’t even put this into words. i’m sitting here trying to say it right and every time i start i just turn into “!!!!!!!!” cause i love you so much. i know i’ve said this before, but shona, you’re honestly like my older sister. this whole year of just, really getting to talk to you beyond tumblr has shown me how honestly kind, passionate, smart, and supportive you are. talking to you is one of my favorite things in the world, whether it’s rambling about tiara thief, or discussing feminism in media, or just getting life advice. you always know what to say to lead me in the right direction and reassure me that things are gonna be okay. i look up to you more than i can tell you; i’m constantly inspired by your talent and your drive. you’re endlessly supportive and you make me laugh all the time, and i hold literally every convo we have close to my chest because it means so much to me to just be able to have them with you. i’ll never be over the fact that you basically discovered jatp, or us talking and making predictions for weeks before it aired, or us plotting out the whole dystopia novel together—which, even though it didn’t really pan out, was such an amazing experience because i got to do it with you. and i absolutely scroll back through our convos on a regular basis to scream over our tiara thief headcanons. everything i’ve done with you has been incredibly fun and meaningful, so what i’m trying to say in this very long winded way is that i’m so, so glad i know you, and i can never thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. 

@bitchmilsky lizzie, i literally think of you like you’re my little sibling. my weird, crazy, hilarious, incredibly kind and supportive and creative and amazing little sibling. ever since i met you you’ve been nothing but fun and friendly and wonderful to me. your posts never fail to make me laugh and i love seeing whatever you’re up to, even if it’s video games that i understand nothing about. you have so many fun ideas and you’re so freely yourself, it’s honestly inspiring. the things you make are always adorable and every time we go live together and chat i always have so much fun, and talking and i just want to meet you in person so badly because i know we’d be an amazing, unstoppable duo and that you’d make me laugh until my sides hurt. i’m still waiting on that cross-country road trip. we could roll the windows down and belt our way through the entire hd musical soundtrack, and it would be epic. for real, though, you’re one of my favorite people ever, and i hope this year brings you nothing but fun and good things because that’s what you deserve. i’m sending you a million virtual hugs and also booty shorts that say poggers on the ass. i love you <3

@zackmartn i know i’m gonna start crying right now because i love you so much and i’m trying not to because i just did my makeup but dammit, nikki, i just love you so much. i remember when i first came on here and was afraid to talk to you because i was like “ohmygod she’s so cool she’s the king of this fandom she’s amazing” but i thank god that you reached out to me every day. i honestly can’t imagine my life without you; you’ve been such a presence in it for so long that you’re inseparable from it. even the times i’ve gone on hiatus i’ve been stalking your blog from a distance like “i just wanna know what she’s up to...”. you’re honestly like an older sister to me and you’re one of the people i admire the most; you’ve been through and continue to go through so much and yet every day you come on here and decide to be a freaking light to all of us, to make me smile, to support me literally endlessly. like, the amount of times you’ve driven me to near tears from your reviews of my writing is ridiculous. the freaking umana fan club?? the way ths is one of your top tags??? it’s just...insane and such a show of how boundless your support is. and that’s not even getting into how freaking talented you are!!! i stare at your gifsets all the time!! and your fics like....holy shit you literally created this whole universe that i’m so freaking invested in and is better than literally anything that canon could ever do, and i know i’m honestly terrible at responding to messages but i hope you know you never have to start holding back with me. most of the time when i get stuff you send i have to sit there and get my thoughts together and that takes forever, but i love love love reading it anyway. the way you get excited about the things you love is everything, it’s something that i really really love about you, and i hope you continue to keep that passion and love for everything. and i hope that this year brings you nothing but good things, because you deserve that more than anyone. i love you. 

@willexs eliza, babe, i know we joke all the time that we were put on opposite sides of the ocean because we’d be too powerful if we were together but i really think it’s true. imagine us meeting. the universe just wouldn’t be able to handle it; it would implode. listen, you’re literally like my twin, my other half. we have so much in common that it’s honestly ridiculous. we operate on the same brainwave, and every time we talk i’m blown away by how easy it is and i honestly love it so much because i could not have picked a more talented and creative and fun person to work with. writing ths with you has literally been like...one of my favorite writing experiences ever. i can’t believe that it started on such a whim because it’s such an important part of my life now and getting to have you next to me while we figure this whole thing out is honestly the best part. it’s not just all the characters and dynamics we’ve created, it’s the fact that i can send you incoherent ramblings at ungodly hours and you’ll pick them apart, it’s the 3-hour phone calls to make playlists, it’s you always making me feel heard and inspiring me. it’s this like...excitement of building towards something amazing with someone i love. you understand me on this crazy and fundamental level, and sometimes it blows my mind how similar we are and how well you know me without us having even met. i feel like we’re the embodiment of “nobody gets me like you”. and i know i’ve said this before, but i really do think you make me a better writer. i love how you make me laugh, i love that you always have the best takes and i love how talented you are with your incredible adorable art and your fics and your gorgeous edits and i love that we egg each other on and hype each other up. i love that, despite being on opposite sides of the ocean, we’re still best friends. and i love you <3

​@cactus-con lou!!!!!! i literally just...ahh i love you so much!! i know i’ve said this before but you were the first person i talked to in this fandom, and you made me feel so freaking welcome. and that has never changed. talking to you is so easy and natural, and you make me feel loved and heard all the time. i love getting to share stuff with you because you always always always hype me up. not just that but like...your talent?? literally unmatched!!! you’re amazing at everything you do it’s ridiculous. i love love love all your artwork, i could stare at it literally all day. you have so much talent and i literally cannot wait to watch you do such great things with it. i just...you’re such a wonderful person to everyone around you. you spread all this love and support and kindness and i think you’re one of the most genuine people i know and i’m so so glad i know you. i hope this year treats you so well because you deserve nothing but good things. i love you. <3

@owenjoyners where do i even start?? brooke, you’re like my other twin. i know i’ve said this before but it’s literally insane to me that we’ve known each other for less than a year because it feels like i’ve known you my whole life. you are such an incredible freaking person. you’re funny and you’re kind and you’re talented and you make me smile every damn day. i love getting post notifs from you because i swear to god i light up every time. your gifsets are always gorgeous, and i’ve watched you learn and improve and you’ve gotten so good, it makes me so happy every time. your art??? you say you’re just starting out but i can’t even tell you how much i love it. your fics!!! you’re good at everything and it’s honestly ridiculous. and it’s not even about your consistently amazing posts, i also just...i love talking to you more than anything, even if we’re just simping over owen together. you make me laugh all the time and you always hype me up; you’ve let me ramble about my fics and helped me get my ideas together, you’ve talked stupid life stuff like school and college with me, and you’ve given me someone to go to whenever i need it. i think of you as one of my best friends and i can’t get over how fast we clicked or how easy it is to talk to you. i need you to come visit me so i can give you so many hugs and we can have a sleepover and talk for literally hours on end. in the meantime, we need to call again sometime because that was honestly so much fun. i love you with all my heart. 

and some people i want to say thank you to, because even though we don’t talk as often as i’d like you’re still amazing, and you make me smile all the time, and i love seeing you on my dash or in my notes: @taylorswiftrulestheworld @onplanetmars @dr-rigatoni @swellviews-finest @symphonic-concert @molinasmercer

[bigskydreaming]

Do you have any character in any fandom that you hate so much or a character who bothers you so much that you can't look at any media without getting annoyed/ upset? Not like villain character, a normal or even fandom fave character, someone most others won't find anything wrong with but your guts hate them, that kind?

I mean, the most obvious example of this for me is definitely Stiles in Teen Wolf lol. I know that a lot of people didn’t start disliking him until later seasons but I just flat out never liked him from the get go, and like....it built and grew due to a lot of fandom attitudes towards the character?

Because like......I just do not enjoy characters who constantly seem to be making digs at or undercutting their supposed friends or family, the way Stiles was with Scott from the very pilot. Its like yeah great, I can absolutely see and recognize all the times he was there for him and did in fact do good friendship type stuff, but the problem for me lies in the way fandom tends to make that TRANSACTIONAL with the stuff I had a problem with where its almost like, well, see, since Stiles tried so hard to save Scott in this one episode Motel California, he GETS to casually insult and demoralize him all the rest of the time, and holy shit no that’s not how that works, y’know? (Especially because Scott’s shitty self-esteem was the bad guy’s way in for almost killing him in Motel California, and gee what connection could there be between shitty self-esteem and constantly being belittled and talked down to by your literal best friend in the whole world BUT I DIGRESS).

And a lot of people over the years have been like, okay but friends tease each other and give each other shit all the time, are you saying they’re all bad for doing so? And no, I’m not, but the thing people tend to gloss over here is the key phrase “each other.”

Because its one thing when you have friendships like this. Its another thing when those friendships flow entirely one way in this specific regard.

When one character is not only ‘allowed to’ but almost EXPECTED to take pot shots at their friend at every available opportunity, but any single time the other friend does the same, no matter how playfully, its fixated upon as being mean and unfriendly, like...THAT is the problem.

And while I don’t have a specific single character that answers your question here in terms of Batfandom, the exact same phenomenon rears its head there and I holy hell object to that too, lol.

Like, we see it SO often with how Dick’s brothers are habitually characterized as mocking his relationship with Bruce, work ethic, standards, jobs, apartment, fashion choices, cooking, NAME......with it just taken for granted that there’s nothing wrong with them all calling him Dickhead or saying he’s ‘really lived up to his namesake’ practically once a fic, if not once a chapter......

And again, the common refrain is “well siblings are just like that?”

And they’re not actually, is the thing. I mean, I grew up with siblings too, and YES we gave each other shit all the time, but again its that exact same key phrase: EACH OTHER.

Like in comparison to the above, how often do people read fic where Dick casually insults his brothers every time he meets up with them, or makes snide, backhanded offensive references to their own parents or memories/reminders of them, or insults their standards not even as a point of specific conflict, but just as a casual, generic expression of contempt?

Its not a two-way street there either at ALL, and THAT’S the issue.

(Also similar to the example I outlined with Motel California, a lot of people write stuff about Dick having shitty self-esteem, but again like.....when you pair this as hand in hand with Dick regularly being insulted and talked down to by his own family, who never ever seem to have anything good to say to him or about him until AFTER he has some kind of breakdown, its like......where do you think shitty self-esteem so often comes from?)

Like, I’ve had people tag fic/drabble posts where I have Dick engaging in what to my estimation is the equivalent of gently teasing Jason or Tim.....and people tag these with “I feel funny about this because Dick seems kinda mean to his brothers here”.....and then nine out of ten times, if I go onto their blog, within a PAGE or two, I see some post where Jason and Tim are calling Dick a Dickhead or mocking his intelligence with NO sign of funny feelings from that person and its like......its not the criticism I mind, lol, its that uh, one of these things (standards of behavior applied to each character) are not like the others.

Because a lot of times when pressed on this subject, people will respond with “well it wouldn’t be in character/Dick or Scott are too nice for that to be their sense of humor” and again its just kinda glossed over that uh, this is basically a tacit admission that the characterization you’re going with for everyone else is ‘not that nice, actually.’ BUT any time people call this specific kind of behavior out when these characters do it, THEN the response is not “well yeah, you’re right, its not that nice actually,” its a defensive “well okay but that’s just how these characters are, are you saying they’re assholes?”

And its like well no, actually you basically were the ones who said they were assholes when you made this a core part of their characterization, and now you’re using this weird kinda circular logic to loophole your way out of them being actually held up and acknowledged as such WHEN they’re characterized this way. 

If these specific other characters never get to retaliate or return fire BECAUSE they’re too nice, then there should be no problem acknowledging that when the characters who DO engage in this behavior are actively engaging in it.....they’re being assholes, and no, its just how friends/siblings are is not actually a defensive/deviation from this if their targeted friend/sibling is never actually able to do the same without being held up specifically as stepping outside the territory of “being nice.”

Few things bug me more in terms of basic character interactions/dynamics then the tendency fandom has of building up certain characters as having free reign with how they treat other characters, while simultaneously limiting these other characters from any kind of equivalent spectrum of behavior by using their own positive traits AGAINST THEM.....but with fandom at the same time being willing to full on go to war in defense of the first kind of characters if anyone draws any kind of connecting dots between their examples of frankly asshole-ish behavior and the implication that they might, in fact, be not that awesome as a result.

Its this annoying sleight of hand wherein certain characters can do or say anything without it being a reflection on who they are character-wise, while other characters step the SLIGHTEST toe out of the line that fandom has drawn for their character and how they’re EXPECTED to behave at all times in order to avoid active criticism.....and this then absolutely is an indication of how they’re actually flawed and gross and even abusive, because of how not nice what they’re doing is, and if people want them to NOT be perceived that way, they need to go back to characterizing them or focusing their characterization of them on all the times/ways in which they just placidly accept whatever’s dished out without any kind of reciprocation.

So yeah, Stiles was always a big example of this for me, but it was far from limited to just him. Any time a fandom is like “these characters can make fun of this character or be super critical of them but this character is never ever allowed to do the same in return, that’s against the law,” I’m like yeah no, that’s a swing and a miss for me. Hard pass on those particular fandom faves....at least so long as their fandom fave status seems to go hand in hand with their ability to inflict maximum psychic damage upon their alleged loved one any time they’re feeling down or are just in a mood, all while facing zero consequences for it....even in the simple form of their targeted ‘loved one’ ever simply being like yeah I just choose to not want to be around you when you’re being assholes to me/if you’re going to just be an asshole to me.

[kiibo0the0human0robot]

. . .

if anyone thinks about it, todoroki is the one wo could become a villain.

in most villain deku fics, hes bullied and tramatized by several little kids. and its even worse when some people make them.

meanwhile, people are ignoring in what todorki has been through. He, as a kid, was forced through several “training” aka beating your kid until hes able to use his quirk as you want it. his father manipulated several things, how he ate, how he made friends, and the fact that he probablly never meet his siblings beyond his birth, as far as we know.

And his father also gaslighted him, which is a way of gult-tripping the parents often do (mine does. im underaged so i cant move). the most common one in media is the one in rapunzel that disney movie. the mother kept on saying things, knowing full well that their daughter’s heart wouldnt allow it. and from a young age, it has its effects: awkwardness towards people, not able to say no to people, not knowing how to start a coversation, and other things (most parents know full well in what theyre doing, while others dont. in matter in fact, they think its a way to parent kids.) you can search it up, as there will be more research that way. Its also is what hes doing after he got that scar, endeavour i mean. he want his family back, but he cant, not after in what hes done. so, he pulls out his last trick. he may not know them very well, as all he focused on was shotos quirk, but he does know how to pull at the strings. fuyumi has a heart for children, shoto knows what happens when his dad is angry but doesnt know how to react when hes sad and quiet, natsuo ignores him as he probablly was commonly ignored due to him probably not having a quirk so he doesnt know about his fathers tatics in getting what he wants.

He never had a sibling that hugged him. his family, besides his mother, hugged him. 

so we got touched-starved, unknown to his family, gaslighted, abused todoroki. what i know so far in that study, is that he knows everything there is on certain subjects. my reasoning is that kids behind parents backs, often make mistakes that might change everything. as far as we know, todoroki could be a villain. endeavor will never heal the scars by saying he changed. thats gaslighting. he want his family back, but he never acknowleged his wife. the one he put in there in the first place. 

so basically. we could have villain todoroki. or maybe traitor todoroki. we dont know until we see what happens to the family in later chapters.

[kideternity]

For the ask game: Helena Bertinelli, Selina Kyle, Cassandra Cain, Harper Row, Dinah Lance, Diana Prince & Stephanie Brown

Oh god oh yea okay hold on op this will get long (under read more)

Helena Bertinelli

How I feel about this character: I adore her 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 literally my wife my muse my love

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Dinah, Karen, Renee

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Helena and Eel, John Henry and Zauriel ^_^ also think she and Vic Sage should have “LETS GO LESBIANS LETS GO!” Energy together

My unpopular opinion about this character: I love Barbara dont get me wrong but shes an AWWFUUUUUULL friend to Helena 😭😭😭 like I LITERALLY CANNOT GET OVER HOW BABS CANONICALLY BEFRIENDED HELENA SOLELY TO MANIPULATE HER ORIGINALLY... not to mention all of that unnecessary beef over dick and like OTHER PEOPLE calling Helena batgirl.....

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish she stayed with the justice league for more time so much 😭😭😭 I have a soft spot for JLA (1997) always its my fav critically examined run but MAN helena getting fired when the first run was ending pissed me off!!!!

my OTP: Probably right now Dinahelena? Tie between Reneehelena and that one

my cross over ship: I don’t have a ton of non dc media I like but Liz sherman from hellboy maybe

a headcanon fact: She has a wine cooler in her car at all times for people to grab a drink from if needed, the only rule she has is to try not to spill it everywhere because it’s a bitch to get out of her leather seats

Selina Kyle

How I feel about this character: Admittedly idk a ton about Selina I need to haul ass on reading catwoman solos 😭 I've had a complicated relationship with her but as of right now I like her! I think she’s cool

All the people I ship romantically with this character: All i'm turning up is Zatanna bc my friend writes really good zee/selina fics wjwjajajwua stan randy!!!!!

My non-romantic OTP for this character: I am like OBSESSED w the small little friendship tidbits Helena B and Selina have....... its not suer amazing or anything but huntress year old Selina insta best friending helena made me 🥺

My unpopular opinion about this character: IM NOT REALLY SURE WHY SELINA IS CONSIDERED A GOTHAM CITY SIREN NGL.... like its most likely definitely me knowing nothing Abt popular characters but its just always struck me as kinda weird/the only thing ivy harley and selina have in common is like. The most well known bad women in gotham

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I WISH WE GOT TO SEE MORE OF HER MENTORING KITRINA FALCONE...... FUCKING CATGIRL..... LIKE SHE JUST FUCKING SHIPS HER OFF TO A BOARDING HOUSE AND THEN WE NEVER SEE KITRINA AGAIN LIKE I GET WHY BUT MAN MISSED OPPORTUNITY!!!!

my OTP: idk sry !

my cross over ship: Felicia hardy purely because its just really fucking funny to me

a headcanon fact: Selina fucking hates Gnort more then anything imaginable

Cassandra Cain

How I feel about this character: I like her!!!!! Definitely my second favourite batkid after Duke ^_^

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Steph

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Duke! Ultimate siblings. Also just like the idea of Lonnie and Cass getting along bc they tell old men they suck

My unpopular opinion about this character: Cass should not be able to beat everybody. She should not be able to beat people of unimaginable power such as Dr Fate. Like I think she could defeat normal fighters, or maybe enhanced fighters, but actual metas and magic casters etc I don’t think she would be able to, especially since iirc she almost fucking died fighting metahuman assassins??? So

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I know we all say it but let cass be batman v_v but also let her be batman and let carrie Kelly be her batwoman so that they can absolutely hate each other I wanna see that play out

my OTP: Stephcass im basic

my cross over ship: n/a

a headcanon fact: Duke introduced her to heavy metal now she cant get enough of it

Stephanie Brown

How I feel about this character: I like her! I still need to continue reading her batgirl solo and more but I like her! Good character!

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Cass

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Lonnie ^_^ Rebirth lonnie is literally so OOC and nasty I don’t wanna hear any bs abt how its ‘better’ but I did like the idea of Steph and Lonnie being friends and I think it'd work still with Lonnie’s good characterisation

My unpopular opinion about this character: Timsteph is a bad ship its objectively bad and I hate it a lot also Steph kissing Tim knowing he was dating Arianna was shitty writing/a dick move on her part i just hate all of it its comp het the ship

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: OKAY I NEED TO READ MORE STEPH COMICS FIRST but I am perpetually haunted by my idea of steph in the future becoming huntress.... I Ponder It

my OTP: Stephcass lol

my cross over ship: Gwen Stacy and Steph could be fun :O

a headcanon fact: She doesn’t like condiments unless it’s say, syrup for waffles

Harper Row

How I feel about this character: I used to be like obseeeeeeessed with harper used to think abt her 24/7 but ive mellowed down a lot.... havent read her comics in like literally ages...... still love her a lot tho

All the people I ship romantically with this character: nobody 😔

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Steph and Cass being Harper’s friends was always cute to me also I like when I think both or just Steph was Harper’s roommate it was fun

My unpopular opinion about this character: Mostly nobody seems to fucking care about her 🙄 you guys cry for gay batkids 24/7 but you wont even acknowledge harper existed........ smh

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: that she stuck around more : ( i liked how her brother cullen sorta became this like oracle esque figure so I like the idea of her being a vigilante in some place like bludhaven maybe w Cullen giving tech support

my OTP: n/a :/

my cross over ship: not really a ship but maybe Miles and Harper teaming up one time?

a headcanon fact: Would really like to own a pet snake

Dinah Lance

How I feel about this character: I love women.... I love this woman.......

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Ollie, Helena

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Babs :] best friends 4ever !

My unpopular opinion about this character: Dinahs done a lot of fucked up things and like i dont even mean like in a “its bad writing way” i mean just like consistently dinah is not perfect and she shouldnt be regarded as such and i dont like when people do

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Wish she stayed with the JSA longer :[ I really liked her with the JSA it was fun!!!!

my OTP: Dinahelena 💜🖤🤍💛

my cross over ship: n/a

a headcanon fact: She's really bad at cooking most dishes

Diana Prince

How I feel about this character: I LOVE HER a very interesting character with a lot of interesting lore

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Zatanna, Natasha Teranova

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Clark and Bruce ^_^ they are her close friends and teammates and I want absolutely nothing to go on between them. Ever.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Not abt diana specifically But damn yall when the fuck you guys gonna actually.... talk about diana.... like when are you going to make metaposts about her and hot takes and so on as much as you do for ppl like bruce

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: She and Natasha should have gotten married whilst in space together period it was homophobia to have Natasha just go back to russia and never show up ever again

my OTP: Wondermagics

my cross over ship: not a ship again but LET HELLBOY TEAM UP W DIANA

a headcanon fact: She's really good at pottery! Especially during the sculpting stage

[archangel0lucifer-a03]

Needing a wee break from actual story telling I have decided to share little fact sheets about a few of my characters (existing as well as OC).

I have put all under a read more for possible spoilers for things to come. There are spoilers if you haven’t read fics from my What’s This? A Ghost Series collection.

My take on Special Ghoul

Full name: Ezeqinuz (Goes by Special Ghoul on earth)

Species: Ghoul

Date of Birth: unknown

Place of Birth: the divide between Hell & Earth

Height: 5 foot 7

Sexuality: Pansexual

Relationship status: in a relationship with Sister Alicia Oglesby, Cardinal Copia and Papa Emeritus the Third

Notable features: What people notice about him is that he is a ghoul and not human. He has dark grey skin, with a fine sandpaper feel. Two short horns, whitish/tan in color grow from the sides of his forehead. One of the horns has a white streak running through it, as result of an injury that has healed itself. Like most ghouls, Special has a long prehensile tail. The tip of his tail is flat and pointed, similar in shape to a spade but not quite. Though he is 100% ghoul, he shares more traits with a human than most ghouls.

Eye color: Bright green

Hair color: Black with pale silver highlights

Piercings: none

Tattoos: none

Typical style: Special, like a majority of the ghouls living outside Hell, typically sticks with one or two of the uniforms issued by the church. He is very much in love with earth and humans, so he's become fond of human fashions. Skinny jeans and band shirts, formal suits, anything really that makes him feel like he is fitting in. As it is with the ghouls in Hell, he enjoys being naked when the time is right. It isn't common for ghouls to wear anything at all in their home world.

Personality traits: Special is incredibly friendly, almost too friendly. He is liked by almost everyone but can be a bit much for some. He is smart but sometimes lacks the most basic skills to think logically. He is deeply driven by his emotions. He is loving and kind. He cares deeply about nearly everyone he meets. He is protective of those close to him. He is giving and generous. He is extremely loyal. He is quick to fall in love and that has left him with frequent broken hearts. He has an addictive personality, especially when it comes to things that are typically human things. He loves coffee and good food. He loves music and conversation. He isn't unclean but can be sloppy. He enjoys being outside, but not when it's cold. He hates the cold. He often forgets that he isn't a human being, but is incredibly proud of being a ghoul.

Parents: unknown

Siblings: he has several siblings but doesn't know any of them

Other noted relatives: n/a

Pets: none

Occupation: The "face" of the band Ghost. He is the media manager for the church and often conducts interviews and attends events that relate to the church and its Ghost project. While not exclusively his job, he is often the go-between for ghouls and human church members. Not every ghoul is comfortable with human communication.

Hobbies: Special's hobbies include listening to music, having sex and napping wherever there is a patch of sun. He is a big fan of smoking weed and just being around the people he loves. He enjoys watching movies and playing video games with friends.

Favorite color: black

Favorite food: pizza

Favorite movie: Mama Mia

Favorite song: Dancing Queen by ABBA

3 likes: coffee, his friends, cats

3 dislikes: ice cream, swimming (he can't), Sister Claire Marie

6 Random facts:

- Special was married (to a human) in the mid 1970s but unfortunately his wife and their child died during the birth.

- He developed a taste for coffee and has become addicted to it. He doesn't know how to make it for himself though, so he relies on others to feed his addiction.

- He is a fire ghoul, meaning he draws his powers from the fire elements. He can manipulate flames and his teleportation leaves behind ashy and smokey smells. He runs a high body temperature. He not only dislikes the cold but actually feels pain if the temperature drops too much.

- Special died but was brought back by the Horseman Death.

- He is learning how to do basic magic (beyond Ghoulish abilities) and plans to mask his natural form so that he can be in public places without his mask.

- If he wasn't a servant of the church, he'd want to be a stand up comedian, but no one has the heart to tell him that he isn't actually all that funny.

[cuddleslutloki]

I have a genuine question. How often do you actually deal with antis? I've been following you for a bit now and it seems every so often you bring up antis. I've certainly kept my interest about thorki shut and locked away in a box from my friends for the simple fact that all of them think it's incest. It's not an easy topic of conversation but you just seem to handle all the antis so well? Also on an off note about beast!Thor, his favorite pass time must just be rutting into Loki 24/7 🤔

when someone tells you that you're romanticizing abuse [bc i made a stockholm moodboard for a fic] I don't know what I'm supposed to say other than I don't condone it but I write about it? Is writing about abusive relationships bad in writing??? you're the only person i ask for advice so thank you for anything in advance

i’m honestly really glad you came to me. i really do like discussing this topic in this kind of way bc i’ll never reblog an anti or answer an anti ask. even if you’re arguing against them, i don’t think it’s worth it to argue against them if it means also spreading what they’re saying

the basic premise of all anti behavior and ideology is censorship. that’s all it is. 

“i don’t like this topic, you need to stop writing it and making art for it. if you don’t stop there will be consequences.”

that is censorship and that is the kind of shit fandom has had to fight ever since there’s been fandom. women, poc, lgbt+ folks have been dealing with people telling us what we can and can’t write and enjoy for... well, probably forever. but we’re still here, creating the kind of content we want to see and indulge in.

as far as how to deal with antis, my advice is to ignore, ignore, ignore. they want what any bully wants: attention

you stop paying attention, you stop giving them time they don’t deserve from you, they’ll die off. there’s no point in fighting them directly. produce the content you want to see and enjoy what you want to enjoy. drown them out. you don’t owe them a response just because they come to you. they don’t have any qualms about being rude to you, so be rude back and just ignore them. i love blocking antis, personally. take out the garbage, y’know?

antis use the words ship and support as synonyms because they think that shipping is some radical call to action for lgbt rep instead of entertainment

shipping is not activism. shipping is about entertainment and enjoyment, nothing more

so this is why i have this very blasé attitude about antis. i just don’t give a fuck about them beyond making posts trashing their idiocy. because that’s what it is. it’s idiocy, but going deeper it’s puritanism at its finest. antis use fox news scare tactic logic under the guise of some pseudo feminist agenda because they don’t understand and don’t want to understand that enjoying dark fiction as entertainment isn’t equivalent to some greater moral stance

they use the same argument about shipping and fanfiction that WASP moms use against video games and loud music: that enjoying and consuming it will make you think it’s normal and there’s nothing wrong with it irl

okay, well, vlad the impaler never played CoD or far cry and caligula never watched hentai but we know why i’m bringing them up in this context without even heading over to wikipedia, don’t we?

they use the words abuse and pedophilia waaaaaayy too liberally and they’re doing more harm than good because they’re twisting and warping words that should have very specific meanings by using them so goddamn vaguely and irresponsibly 

my own personal theory is that these people are terrified that if they don’t yell in opposition to these topics 24/7 and actively attack content creators that they’d probably enjoy it, and they’ve been so programmed by the echo chamber of tumblr and twitter that they think this means they’re bad people. 

spoiler alert: that’s not what it means

i literally watched a circle jerk on twitter where screenshots of some mafia starker au got tweeted and retweeted w/ pictures of someone pouring bleach into cereal and people had asked to see more of the post. if you really don’t like something, you shouldn’t hate-read about it. it’s not productive, it does more harm than good if that’s the actual issue rather than some reverse psychology-style enjoyment they’re probably getting out of it.

they claim to hate this shit so much, but they’re reading hundreds and thousands of words and putting these images in their heads of their own free will. i don’t do that with shit i genuinely dislike. i avoid it.

i see antis say they enjoy thorki fanart because they think it’s cute, then they see it’s tagged thorki and they have an over the top reaction because the nature of anti ideology states you should never enjoy something like that, so if you do then you have to make the excuse of ignorance to prove that you’re still innocent and pure. enjoyment is apologism to them because they aren’t content to simply attack fan creators, they want to try and drive away the people who consume our art as well because they know you’re the cornerstone of fandom. consumers are why creators create. yeah, i write because i enjoy it, but i also write to connect to my readers and have people commenting on my fics when they like them.

it’s also worth noting that antis only ever talk about shipping. they only talk about sexual and romantic ships. i’ve never seen an anti talk about (often extreme) levels of violence in canon source material for the ships and characters they want to froth at the mouth over. 

seeing someone bleed out and choking on their own blood after being stabbed or shot or bludgeoned? meh

seeing a character who was once a child have a sexual thought about a character who was also once a child and is also their close friend? omg why are we trying to make fandom unsafe for people?

personally, i’ve also noticed that fandoms with darker canon material tend to have more chill fandoms most of the time. i think it also depends on the average age in a given fandom. there’s a major difference between fannibals and steven universe fans, let’s just say that.

creating a moodboard for a dark fic is not “romanticizing abuse” and at this point antis honestly have no fucking idea what that phrase is. they use those words the way a bored CEO uses social media buzzwords and hashtags in a staff meeting

if antis want to see true romanticizing of abuse then they can go to serial killer thirst tags and spot the fucking differences between shippers and people who forget that ted bundy was weak, flaccid, cowardly piece of shit

writing something dark or violent or whatever else and condoning the act or doing the act are different. this is why stephen king isn’t under government surveillance or in prison.

make no mistake, this anti shit only applies to fandom. they’re attacking creators here because creators out at the professional levels don’t give a fuck. they’ve tried, and they’ve failed. 

creators at the professional level understand something antis don’t: that being able to reconcile your enjoyment of dark media can be a sign of emotional intelligence and good emotional health. it’s cathartic. it’s allowed to be cathartic.

the most common consumers of dark fiction are members of minority communities and people who’ve been emotionally and/or sexually repressed for one reason or another. 

antis want to say that fiction doesn’t exist in a vacuum and they are 100% correct! because writing fanfiction and original fiction that relates to parts of my life that nearly killed me gives me control over something that was beyond me in the original context. writing about fucked up codependent, violent romance allows me to process my shit in a way that’s healthy and produces something fun and enjoyable.

my therapist knows i ship thorki, she knows i write thorki. i’ve had her read pieces of fanfiction i’ve written in addition to pieces of original fiction. y’know what she said? “wow, baylen, that’s vivid. you have a way with words!”

i read her a line out of smart boy and told her what the story was about and this trained professional said “well it’s a productive way to process some emotion that you clearly need to let out”

but you know what? if someone doesn’t have the trauma i have? let them write it, too! let them create and enjoy the fictional content they want! more cake, y’all!

finally getting around to one of the first parts of your ask, lol. thorki is incest. thor and loki are brothers. they were raised believing they were blood brothers, even. loki being adopted doesn’t change a thousand years of personal history where thor looked at loki and thought that they came out of the same woman, y’know? 

that’s his brother and in the comics his attachment to loki is even more intense. the mcu nerfed that shit. loki’s life has been intrinsically tied to thor’s ability to feel a full sense of joy. 

enjoying an incest ship isn’t some sign of moral depravity. writing abusive relationships isn’t bad. gone girl was made into an award winning movie. art should look like life, and sometimes life fucking sucks. dark stories, sad stories, fucked up holy shit idk if i can go to sleep after i read this stories exist for a reason. we need them. we have to have an outlet for our frustration, our anger, and especially our fear.

so which is the healthier option of these

to write up a piece of fanfiction where two siblings are in love in a way that might be cute and soft or might be destructive, depending on your mood?

or

attacking strangers you don’t know online and threatening violence against anyone who doesn’t think like you do?

i know what kind of person i want to be.

ship and let ship, thanks for reading my doctoral thesis office hours are always

[iamanartichoke]

It kinda breaks my heart to see you’re a th*rki shipper cos I love your fics and your blog in general but then the th*rki love is just so off putting, like I find it hard to believe anyone shipping them. I’m guessing you’re an only child?

Thanks  for the politeness of your message, anon. I do understand where you’re coming  from, because the ship is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s  totally fine. I also know that there are ships out there that, due to their  general nature, can be off-putting as well.

That  said, I don’t particularly feel as if I need to defend why I ship Thor and  Loki. If I were to defend it, I could say, well, they aren’t blood-related, but  that undermines the validity of adoption and, besides, I’d still ship it even   if they were. I could say, well, consider the mythological aspect of these   characters and that incest is fairly common in mythology (if you’ve read my   fics, you might remember Osiris and Isis from Sanctuary, and consider that they  are brother and sister as well as husband and wife, just to give an example  from both Marvel comics and Egyptian mythology). There’s also Freyja and Freyr, who are married siblings and the rulers of Vanaheim. But   that is neither here nor there, really, because again, I’d still ship Thor and   Loki even if this wasn’t common in mythology. The MCU versions that I ship   are pretty far removed from their mythological counterparts, anyway.

I ship Thor and Loki because they have an incredibly complex bond. They know each other better than anyoneelse in the universe. They love each other more deeply than anyone else in the universe.Their dynamic can be read as strictly platonic, and that’s fine. Their dynamic  can also be read as romantic, and I think that’s fine, too. Ultimately, how  each person chooses to interpret their relationship is up to them, but it doesn’t mean that these are relationship dynamics we wish to replicate in our own lives. 

Put it  another way: one of the most popular tropes in fiction – TV especially – is the“will they, won’t they” dynamic of two characters who continuously go back and  forth between whether or not they’ll finally take the romantic plunge – which,  usually, they do, but not without a lot of buildup, angst, miscommunications, and  drawn out tension. Castle and Beckett, Ross and Rachel, Luke and Lorelai,  Barney and Robin, etc etc etc – these are all couples that people get  ridiculously invested in for the sake of the push-and-pull drama. We eat it up.  We can’t get enough. But in real life? Nobody actually wants that. It would drive us crazy. It would be aheadache on top of our already stressful lives. Shit or get off the pot because  nobody has time for that nonsense in real life. You get where I’m going with  this, right?

David  Foster Wallace said, “Fiction is one of the few experiences where lonelinesscan be both confronted and relieved. Drugs, movies …. Loud parties, all these  chase away loneliness by making me forget my name’s Dave.” In other words,  fiction (and this includes fanfiction, shipping dynamics, headcanons, meta,  everything that transfixes us so completely as fans) is escapism at its finest.  It fills a void, in that it allows us to step outside of ourselves and look at  the world through different perspectives.

Fiction  explores what it means to be human, but that doesn’t mean that it inherently defines  our morality, values, or circumstances. We can feel drawn to exploring, through  Thor and Loki’s relationship, for example, the complexities and highs and lows  of love, the frustration of feeling inferior, the pressures of being in a  position of responsibility, the sorrow of loss, and the angst of fighting,  without literally wanting to experience those things in our own relationships  (or, for that matter, without literally wanting to experience them with our  siblings). That’s the beauty of it - that fiction gives us the outlet to explore those things while forgetting that our name’s Dave. It gives us a safe space where we can forget who we are for awhile and lose ourselves in someone else’s drama. 

In  response to your assumption, I’m not an only child. I have several brothers. I  have not ever, in any way, shape, or form, wanted to engage with them sexually  or romantically. The very idea is revolting. I’d rather shit in my hands and  clap twice. My personal life circumstances and relationships have absolutely no  bearing, whatsoever, on what media I choose to consume or what fictional tropes  I invest myself in or what ships I’m interested in. I’m also mostly asexual, but I still enjoy reading sex scenes between two characters I’ve become invested in over the course of a story. I’m truly sorry to hear that it  breaks your heart to know this about me, anon, but I’m not sorry for shipping  Thor and Loki. You are more than welcome to continue to follow me for my blog  content and read my fics, but if you choose not to anymore, that’s totally  fine, too. If you’re someone who regularly engages with me, then I’ll be sorry  to see you go, but you’ve gotta do you. I have no problem with that. 

I realize that you didn’t ask for this long, rambly response and that I probably ended up  defending my shipping choice when I said I wasn’t going to, but I’ll consider  this a general explanation and message to any of my other followers who may  feel the same way. This is where I stand, I don’t feel that there’s anything wrong with it,  and at the end of the day, I’m here to participate in fandom I enjoy in the most  pleasant and non-dramatic way as possible. So if you’re uncomfortable with the  fact that I ship Thorki, please just unfollow me and move along. I will not be  offended and wish you all the best in your fandom endeavors. :) 

[lacependragon]

mantisbelle replied to your post: I’ve been thinking a lot about the MCU lately,...

The thing that’s always driven me away from the MCU is the stifingly formulaic nature of its films which have just kind of wallowed in mediocrity for a long time. Character writing never occurred to me really, and you raise some really good points without going for the obvious Whedon discussions people usually go after. Good post, ani.

The formulatic nature of the films has finally been broken to some degree, but in doing so, they destroyed all source of classic entertainment for the lowest common denominator. Thor: Ragnarok and Captain America: Civil War both have non-traditional climaxes and endings, but in doing so, they completely destroyed all the tension the classical format gave them, thus not only relying on mediocrity to create their plot and structure to begin with, but then destroying the only part of the mediocrity that actually makes the films worth watching.

(Spoilers)

Civil War’s climax is a three person battle of Captain America + Bucky vs Tony Stark. We know Tony can’t win, but the way in which he loses, and the battle as a whole, is completely dissatisfying and overall flat ending. The fight is boring, the staging is terrible, and the outcome has very little effect on well, everything. It doesn’t matter. The climatic battle has no baring on the actual storyline, it’s all about one dude’s quest for revenge and a pair of bash brothers kicking his ass. It has nothing to do with the plot of the overall movie.

Thor: Ragnarok has a similar problem in that the final battle has very little emotional impact. Sure, we see Thor get his powers full throttle, we see Valkyrie fight, but there’s... very little there. Once the heroes realize they’re outnumbered, the fight becomes “welp, time to book it” and we don’t even properly see how Loki’s whole thing works and why Sutur doesn’t try to come after them. Frankly, having two villains we know nothing about battle was boring, and the fight would have been much more interesting if there was any emotional attachment to it. Instead, we’re left dissatisfied and going “that’s it?” because there’s no character inherent in the climax. We’re also left with more questions than answers: including whether or not Bruce Banner is dead.

Like? The movie is fun and wacky, but in trying to break the formula at the very end, instead of all the way through, it becomes incredibly dissatisfying and frustrating. And while I appreciated its focus on sibling relationships, I’m still left wishing it had done more.

(End Spoilers)

The thing about media is that it can be completely mediocre in plot and still be incredibly entertaining. Look at RWBY: the plot itself isn’t all that new, and there are incredibly deep flaws in it, even disregarding completely redoing the world-building between seasons on multiple occasions, thus creating massive inconsistencies between storylines and plot developments (see: Glynda and Cinder’s powerset, the Maidens, the Relics, and the existence of Lionheart). However, the characters are incredibly dynamic and interesting.

No one likes RWBY for the story. They like it for the characters. Hence why so much of fic is AUs, moreso than any other fandom I’ve ever been in.

On the flip side, you have shows like BNHA and say, Sailor Moon. Both of them have much fewer AUs because the overall world is very flexible and provides the ability to stretch and shape it. However, the characters are still the driving factor.

I mean, a lot of things that are character focused tend to have shitty plotlines: Red vs Blue’s first five seasons are only watchable for the characterization it picks up; Slice of Life anime, such as Cardcaptor Sakura, Sakura Quest, and even Yuri on Ice!!! are based entirely on characterization and relationships. Without the characters, these shows wouldn’t be interesting. And Yuri on Ice!!! being such a phenomenon isn’t just for the fact that it’s a main stream gay anime without fetishization, but also because of how well-developed and character focused the storyline was, to the point where the character losing isn’t a disappointment, but a logical progression of the relationships between the characters.

I mean, look at how many people during the airing weren’t sure who they wanted to win. Because everyone was so damn well done.

The MCU has a massive problem here that I find many blockbusters do, but because the MCU is so huge and interconnected, it becomes much, much more obvious: the characters are flat.

 We’re how many movies into the MCU and people still aren’t getting development? The main characters of these movies are identical to who they were when we first met them, if not worse or Flanderized to a huge extent.

Tony is a great example of this: he went from wanting to stop making weapons and be a better person to a controlling, ghosting, emotionally distant and manipulative, drunken bastard who tries to hold everyone under his thumb while having no attachment at all. His relationship with Pepper means nothing. His relationship with Peter means nothing. He never learns. He just gets worse and his bad traits get focused on.

And everyone is incredibly inconsistent. Every movie they believe something different. You never know what they’re thinking because no two writers, no two directors, no two editors think the same thing. There is no story bible, there is no rule of thumb. They aren’t even using comics anymore.

Steve in the Avengers movies is a Gosh Golly Christian Good Ole’ Boy who calls all women ma’am. In his own movies he’s a rough and tumble Brooklyn kid who wipes blood off his mouth and asks you to hit him again. Where’s the consistency?

Tony is an inglorious bastard all the way through, but he’s straight up a villain protagonist since Ultron. Why should we care about him? Why should we like him?

And the women. Pepper exists as Tony’s handback. Jane Foster is gone. Sif is dead. Natasha hasn’t mattered in a long time. Scarlet Witch is barely a character and mostly tits and ass. And... that’s it, isn’t it? We have Valkyrie, who’s all right, and the Black Panther ladies. Who else? Sharon Carter? Yeah, she’s changed actresses how many times?

And what about the POC characters? The black men? Black Panther did it well, but look at the rest of the universe. Rhodey’s fucking gone. Sam barely matters. Valkyrie is probably gonna die. Can you think of any other major, important, non-white characters? I can’t.

And that’s not including anything else, like Dr. Strange or Ant-Man and the huge disservice both did to their respective source material.

The fact of the matter is, the MCU is relying on being action movie blockbuster formulas to try and build a universe we should care about, but is also being incredibly formulaic, inconsistent, and flat out disrespectful to both the source material and to the fans. You can make one, two, even three movies with no characters or plot and still have them be pretty enough and have enough going to on to keep you interested (see: James Cameron’s Avatar,) but after a while, people start to notice the issues, the cracks, the inconsistencies.

And even though some directors/writers/producers/editors are trying to fix it, they’re reducing these characters to caricatures. They snap off witty one liners, laugh in the face of danger, and act like they’re all the rulers of the universe. They’re all cocky, they’re all confident, they’re all smart, they’re all witty.

And when they’re all the same, why should we care? When the laughs keep coming, when there’s no pause for serious, where are the stakes? Humour has its place, but humour for the sake of humour isn’t development, it’s lazy, especially in a series like this. Like angst for the sake of angst, it just doesn’t work. You have to mix it up, you have to use beats, you have to try. And they just aren’t.

Bad characters can be fine with a good plot, but will suffer. Good characters can carry a bad plot. But having both is a disaster waiting to happen and I think the MCU has finally hit its tipping point. It’s collapsing upon its own weight and inconsistencies and the only reason it’s still hanging on is, frankly, obsessed fans, diehard stans, asshole men, and Black Panther lovers.

[danreblogsstuff]

rip these ships for me: klance, tony/loki, cloud/sepiroth, luna/ginny

You did the thing!! Yay!

Okay, so I’m gonna answer these in the order of what I have to say, from least to greatest. Everything’s under the cut for anyone who wants to skip, and of course everything is based off my interpretation of these characters. If I shit all over a ship anyone likes, just tell yourself I just don’t get it and move on with your life.

Luna/Ginny: Aside from my usual disinterest in F/F ships, I don’t really have a problem with this one. I like Luna, she deserves to be happy and treasured and if Ginny is the one who does that then great. Plus, it keeps Ginny away from Harry and leaves him for one of the fifty thousand fictional males I ship him with.

Cloud/Sephiroth: *screeching keyboard smashing* I LOVE THIS SHIP. It ticks so many of my boxes. Size difference? Check. Dangerous dominant top? Check? Cute blond bottom? Check. Cut blond bottom that’s actually a badass and can kill you without even trying? Check. Hero/villain ship? Check. Happy endings requiring liberal changing/disregarding of canon? CHECK. I especially love this ship when it’s approached from the perspective of a young, pre-canon Cloud trying for the SOLDIER program who idolizes Sephiroth and, through various circumstances (*coughZackcough*) gets close to Sephiroth and lures him away from JENOVA and the events of canon with his sweet tight ass unconditional love and affection. My biggest problem with the ship isn’t really anything with the characters themselves, but with how the fics are written. FF7 is an old ass fandom, and at its height was mostly populated by young teenage girls who just discovered fanfiction in general and slash in particular. The tropes and cliches sometime will not end. And don’t even get me started on how everyone wants to rape Cloud because that’s what happens in yaoi and, hey, we’re writing yaoi!!1 So yeah, great ship, but filled with too many relics of bygone years at times.

Tony/Loki: OKAY. So. I...don’t really get this ship. I mean, superficially I can understand. Hero/villain, right? Plus Tom Hiddleston and Robert Downer Jr are hot. Really, that’s all you need. But from a character standpoint...they have no chemistry? I mean, they talk twice in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, and there’s never really anything between them. Tony is fighting him because he’s the bad guy, and Loki is fighting Tony because he’s just one of the many good guys. They have no history. They don’t do anything to each other. They don’t even really fight. All they really have in common are daddy issues, and Loi’s are more brother issues than anything else. Plus, in my daddy issue ships I prefer only one of the guys to be hung up on their fathers. The other one should help them work through it, or, sometimes, turn it into a daddy kink. Loki has more of a reason to be fixated on the Hulk than he does Tony. Personally, I think, as far as M/M ships go, Steve/Tony and Thor/Loki make way more sense. Or, if the step-sibling incest bothers you too much, Loki/Bruce or Loki/Hulk. Even better, put that sad, angry ice boy in a crossover. I’ve read really good Loki/Thranduil and Loki/Harry Potter. And yes, I’m well aware that I like Loki crossover ships when the main reason I’m not a fan of Tony/Loki is because they barely interact. Deal with it.

Klance: HOOOOOOO BOY HERE WE GO LADS! Okay, so, disclaimer first, I never really had much of a problem with Klance when VLD first started. I never had much of a problem with Klance when I started shipping Shieth. I never had much of a problem with Klance when I started getting irritated by Lance’s character. No, my friends, the thing that turned me into the Klance hater I am today was the fucking Klance shippers. I don’t even think I need to go into detail here, but fuck dude. Klance has everything I hate about the Steven Universe and Rick and Morty fandoms, with the bonus of doing that shit to a show and creators and actors I actually like. Fucking Josh Keaton is a goddamn saint for how he deals with these people, I swear to god. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into why the ship doesn’t work.

Lance is straight.

No, really. Lance is straight and he doesn’t belong with a guy, end of.

But, what’s that you say? Lance isn’t any less gay than Harry Potter or Cloud, and you ship them with guys, kill yourself you fucking hypocrite. Well, yes. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m being a bit hypocritical here, but I do have my reasons. Harry Potter and Cloud and most of the other guys I ship with guys have one thing in common that is very much missing in Lance: almost all their most meaningful relationships, the ones that crackle with chemistry and meaning and feeling, are with other guys. Lance’s are not. The way I see his character and the way I interpret his relationships with other people, his most meaningful contact is always with the opposite sex. It feels weird to put him with Keith. Especially since all of Keith’s most meaningful moments are with Shiro. I mean, Keith and Shiro are basically written like childhood friends-to-lovers in canon as it is, just without the actual lovers follow through. A follow through that, I’m well aware, will never happen in canon, in case anyone feels the need to point that out. Lance doesn’t need to be gay or bi. He is a straight male character and there’s nothing wrong with him staying that way. If the only way you can like him is by making him like dick, then you’re an idiot who probably shouldn’t be consuming media.