#i'm okay with them being seen as a couple or as siblings tbh

[fangaminghell]

Very important thing I forgot to post

Unnamed Taka sibling oc ( that's in an au where Leo never went to Reborn): Why does Ace call you babygirl?

Taka, face turning red: Let's stop talking for a while.

[swiftfootedachilles]

you wanted more asks, so I'm here to deliver!

-favorite gallavich canon scenes?

-what are some favorite headcanons for them that you have? missing scenes, what ifs, etc.

-favorite characters besides gallavich?

-storyline you would have liked to seen/favorite storyline that the show did well?

-favorite fic tropes that make you just go fuckin feral?

-five things you think needed to be fixed/changed/improved about the show? gallavich related or just in general, dealer's choice

😘😘😘

rubbing my greasy paws together getting ready to type out an essay

ummmm uh okay lemme think.... the s1 juvie scene (CLASSIC!!!), all their scenes working at the kash n grab together, mickey finding ian and taking him home, club kiss, like all of South Side Rules pre-sammi fucking everything up, dock scene, literally all of their s7 scenes tbh, prison reunion scene, "I WANNA BE WITH YOU" "you dont get to be," mickey wasting his break getting noodles in the food court for ian instead of making ian get his own lunch, fiance shenanigans, "i only make toast for husbands with jobs," STEALING THE AMBULANCE AND MICKEY GETTING SO TURNED ON THEY IMMEDIATELY HAVE TO FUCK AND MICKEYS KNEES BUCKLES WHEN IAN PUSHES HIM AGAINST THE AMBULANCE, coworker husband shenanigans, "youre such a fucking barbarian" "thank you☺️," being SOOOO cute at their anniversary party together. so honestly all of their scenes

i love all the deleted scenes i literally need the show editors to go to prison for what theyve done. i especially love the original scripts for the s5 deleted sex scene/ians dream and their s5 breakup. favorite headcanons are autistic!mickey, casual D/s dynamics, not-so-casual D/s dynamics, 🏳️‍⚧️trans gallavich🏳️‍⚧️, hobby artist!mickey, ian becoming the new vee of their neighborhood (ghetto nurse!ian), annoyingly clingy codependent!gallavich being gross in front of everyone, s6 canon divergence where mickey doesn't go to prison bc wtaf was that, s5 canon divergence with no breakup bc that literally made no sense

ummm i love liam hes the true golden child. mandy. uh ethel i would've LOVED to see more of, and the other milkovich siblings. sheila. karen was a REALLY complex character that never really got more than surface-level analysis from the show writers. debbie and her journey as a child obviously struggling with bpd. i do like carl turning his life around and kinda fulfilling many of the dreams ian had growing up. i kinda wish they did more with kev than just "haha kentucky appalachian guy is stupid" like that whole family reunion arc of his was so fucking weird and honestly embarrassing of the writers. also we..... never really learn about vee's family? theres a whole episode dedicated to meeting kevs stereotypical family, and vee gets.....becoming a believer in the american voting system??? and of course svetlana. missed opportunity after missed opportunity with her character - but hey at least they didnt kill her off like isidora wanted⁉️⁉️🥴

really really wish the writers gave a fuck about showing ian coming to terms with his trauma of being groomed and abused. he never learns that what he experienced was abuse. i feel like if caleb can call mickey abusive, then surely ian wouldve mentioned something about literally any other relationship hes had and caleb or trevor wouldve been neen like "uhhh you should see a therapist about that thats really super fucked up that you were victimized like that as a CHILD"

ohhhh the fic tropes. my #1 is always bdsm i am a bdsm gallavich truther until i DIE!!!! um i like canon divergence fics (sometimes). domestic fics. post-s11 married life. learning to grow together as a couple after being off-and-on for like a decade, autistic!mickey!!!! trans!mickey and t4t gallavich!!!! aus where ian and mickey are actually dating starting s1-3 and are out to the gallagher/mandy. uncle!gallavich shenanigans. taking liam on adventures shenanigans

OK SO. FIRST AND FOREMOST I WOULD FIX THE FUCKED UP JUDICIAL SYSTEM IN SHAMELESS fionas/mickeys/ians court shit was so fucking unrealistic and BAD. how the FUCK did fiona get like 60 days in jail + house arrest for possession of a schedule ii drug and attempted manslaughter AND STILL KEPT CUSTODY OF THE KIDS.

literally what the FUCK did mickey get charged with. did he plea? what the fuck kind of plea is 16 years when the person you assaulted ALSO ASSAULTED YOU and is also a COMPLETELY unreliable witness/victim. youre telling me he wouldnt take his chances in court? as if debbie wouldnt be the perfect witness to prove his INNOCENCE? and bianca was dead and frank wouldnt even give half a fuck to testify to seeing mickey lock sammi in the trailer. literally no proof that ever happened. no proof he drugged sammi because it was FAR too late to test her blood and see how much of each drug she had in her system. just her testimony that she drank soda then fell asleep lmao. any defense lawyer would have an easy time getting him acquitted entirely, at most getting a refusal to comply with officers and disturbing the peace for running from sammi and then trying to kick her when the cops showed up to arrest them

literally what the fuck is ians trial. HE PLEADS NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY (WHICH NO LAWYER WOULD EVER DO BECAUSE OFC HE WOULD BE FOUND GUILTY WHEN HE CHOSE TO STOP TAKING HIS MEDS) AND IS FOUND GUILTY. OF ARSON. A CLASS X FELONY IN ILLINOIS. IN THE COMMISSION OF ANOTHER FELONY (KIDNAPPING.) AND HE GETS LIKE 2 YEARS IN PRISON YOUVE GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME. he could have gotten LIFE for that shit in the real world. i hate this shows pisspoor attempt at a legal system SOOOOO BAD. i stand by my belief that it wouldve made much more sense if he pled guilty and got put in the Chicago-Read Mental Health Center for mentally ill offenders. like he literally thought he was the gay Messiah what do you mean hes in a regular prison. plus it would've been much more interesting to see mickey in this environment - IF everything up to s9 was kept canon. otherwise he would only be able to visit ian like in s5, unless he found a way to get himself committed ?? idk it just makes much more sense than ian in regular prison

the attendees of their wedding. who the hell were those people. people from ians club ing days?? trevors friends???? i mean maybe. i assume sandy just went to every gay bar and passed out flyers saying there was a big gay wedding. it would've made much more sense if mickeys siblings were there especially mandy but what the hell ever. it's not like iggy literally has multiple scenes where he's supportive of mickey being gay and dating ian. WHATEVER. IT'S NOT LIKE THE GAY JESUS FOLLOWERS SHOULDNT HAVE EVEN BEEN THERE AT ALL SINCE THEYRE SHOWN LITERALLY ABANDONING IAN AFTER HIS ARREST AND IT WOULDVE MADE MORE SENSE FOR THE MILKOVICH BROTHERS TO BE OUTSIDE TO KEEP TERRY OUT. FUCKING WHATEVER I GUESS!!!

throw away the shitty homophobic gay man writer and let those 2 bi ladies write s11 gallavich. they were the only ones who wrote decent storylines. fr that gay guy needed to be fired SO BAD i can't believe he wrote the dumbass "who's the wife/bottom/submissive of our relationship" 11x3 plot AND the 11x7 orgy. HE SUCKS SO BADDD??? get rid of that stupid shit. give me more of ian and mickey in the growing pains of their relationship looking for jobs and dealing with the death of terry and trying to find common ground of their plans for the future and mickey being stubborn and scared without being "accidentally" an egregious stereotype of autistic people. LET HIM STIM AND GO NONVERBAL AND LET IAN LEARN TO GIVE MICKEY HIS SPACE WHEN HE'S OVERWHELMED GOOD LORD

[silverskull]

What are you top 3 episodes in each season of The Rookie, aaaaaand your least favourite in each season? (Same rules apply, no 3x13, 5x15 or anything like that...)

y u trynna kill me, ms sarah.

Okay. *cracks knuckles* Let's do this.

We’re going in reverse chronological order. Non-chenfordy episodes (like 515) don’t count.

SEASON 5 - Top 3

1 - 501 - Double Down And, tbh, this is probably my favourite episode OF. ALL. TIME. The disguises. The private jet. Las Vegas. “Do you wanna come in?” THE SHEER RIDICULOSITY. 5/5, no cap.

2 - 518 - Double Trouble If there’s a ‘double’ in the title, there’s a silverskull in the audience. Again. RIDICULOUS. Brilliant. Colourful. Silly. Insightful. I’m of the opinion that the True Crime episodes exist outside of reality, but that doesn’t mean that what they said doesn’t still stand. Lucy has nightmares that Tim will get killed. Tim bottles shit up. Sava is a spicy cinnamon roll. Jake should not have died.

3 - 512 Grrarararrra, how to pick between this and 508 and 510? BUT. I think this episode tops them because we get to see both Couple!Chenford and Work!Chenford, and both are beautiful and brilliant in their own rights. There is nothing to match the perfection of the colouring in 508, but the warmth of the ending of 512 is a close contender. I just. love. basking in it.

SEASON 5 - Bottom 3

1 - 503 I think Eric and Melissa did a lot with the little they had, but I would love to have seen more of the characters’ terror at Lucy being missing. Missing and trapped in a small, locked, space. Missed opportunity.

2 - 514 I don’t dislike this episode, but since Tim is spending all this time at Lucy’s apartment - to the point that Tamara is signing herself an exit ticket - I would love to have seen him interact with the two women a bit more. Or at least pick up on the tension between them.

This is the show’s biggest flaw, IMHO. We would kill just to see these characters sitting around and talking to each other, but they’re always so damn busy. I love 513, but they could have done the entire episode in Nolan’s living room and I wouldn’t have complained. That’s how much I love them. How much we love them.

3 - 511 I’m clutching at straws here, because I adore season 5. BUT! I would have loved Genny to stick her nose into Tim’s business a bit more. I know the episode dealt with serious DV issues in Lucy’s storyline, but since she was there anyway, I think Genny should have done more wondering aloud as to why Lucy was always by Tim’s side. Cough cough. I don’t ship my siblings with their partners, but you can bet your ass I’d be snidely commenting if their “work partner” turned up to randomly coach my son’s baseball team!?!

It turns out, exactly as I suspected, this question is gonna take A LOT of time, so I'm gonna make it a series, thank u, @queseraone.

[wedriftlikelonelyplanets]

for the soft asks: 7, 10, 16, 28

7 - Who do you feel most yourself around?

My best friend, probably. We've been friends for like...an entire eternity. She's seen the best parts, she's seen the bad parts, she's seen me at my highest masking, at my lowest masking, she's come over and cuddled me when I was at my most mentally ill. She's been there through my insane decisions regarding careers and school. We're more siblings than we are friends, at this point. That, or I have a small handful of online friends who have been around for a LONG time. They met me when I was probably my most mentally ill, and have been around for me to figure out so many parts of my life. Two of them and I have only started to get really close over the last year and a half, but IDK what I'd do without them, tbh.

10 - When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?

OKAY SO this doesn't mean much, because I laugh a LOT. I have the approximate brand of humour of a 12 year old boy, but I also tend to get really slap happy without enough sleep, and when I've been masking too much for too long. So a couple weeks ago at work, my coworker and i just kept this trend of vaguely kinky, pervy jokes going back and forth for HOURS.

This was then followed by a doctor asking me to collect blood on this sassy little white dog. He didn't have many teeth, but he also didn't want to sit still, and in order to do (god i wish there was like a spoilers option like discord) a jugular blood collection, we need to be able to handle the nose without them trying to bite. So we went to attempt to put a muzzle on this dog and he was just being SO fucking ridiculous that we had trouble getting the muzzle on, but in the most hilarious way. So I literally fell down I was laughing so hard, and absolutely was crying while laughing.

16 - What's something you want to create soon?

Man this is a loaded question. I've been creating a lot, lately, so I don't know if there's really anything specific. Honestly I'd love to finish creating this fic combo i'm writing, because I think it's probably one of the best things I've written. Other than that, I really need to do some more jewelry making, and there's this really cute idea i have for a strawberry necklace that I want to make, but I haven't actually STARTED it yet.

28 - What are you proudest of?

This is gonna be corny as fuck, but probably the person that I've become in the last year and a half. A little over a year ago I was working in an incredibly toxic vet clinic environment, I was in a situationship that wasn't going anywhere and was also making a MESS of me and my anxious attachment style, and I was in a weird place mentally. I've now figured out a lot of things about myself that have made figuring out why i'm the way I am in some situations easier, it's made it easier for me to accommodate myself, I feel less guilt about things, and most of the time I like myself better. Along with that, I've moved into a clinic that's reignited the passion in me for my job and my career, and has made me WANT to do more.

That, and I'm surrounded by people who care about me, even when I'm bad at messaging back, or bad at maintaining contact, and I've made new friends too, that love me for me and my mild unhinged-ness.

I still can admit that I'm a deeply flawed person, as we ALL are, but at least I'm becoming a better version of myself.

[darlingpwease]

Well... I mean yes, I do, I feel a bit called out tbh-, but still not sure about being a tsundere. Well, all of them is a stretch but idk sghjkdf– Yes, you!! You know what? I take it back. /vsrs /not affectionate

I have no idea what you're talking about. Dove the closet is very small, it'd be very cruel to take them there... /j /t

Ah, I'm definitely jealous... I'm doing so now,, I'm enjoying it :P I- 🧍WHAT– WAIT, hold on, pause, wait a minute, hold on a moment,,, excuse me?? You're taking ours, where?? Yes, maybe, but "panna cotta" has stuck :)) And I don't melt, but,, well,, I do crash,, that's for sure. And explode. And die. You've killed me a couple times. /t /pos ...hm.

Despite not looking I've somehow become blind in that general direction oh no :// Looks like I can't be locked up ┐(シ)┌ Underpainting is one I like!! How an artists uses/views it depends on each person, but it can be used as kind of a guide for future paint layers in a painting, and can also help show values in the work. There's another technique that I find cool, called dry brushing, but I haven't used that yet. I've seen people use it on figures to help with shading and that stuff without having to take the time to actually add those details manually lol. ( ´ ▽ ` ) YAAYYY tyty <33

/... ┬┴┬┴┤(･_├┬┴┬

/Ah, okay,, I hope to see your discoveries~ ...>:O *gasp* DOVE /t

-panna cotta

*raises the microphone* tell us what it's like when people around you have normal emotional expression while you keep everything to yourself and are afraid of strong emotions, we listen to you /t /j /nsrs as you should cuz it's calling out post /t okay, fine, but I really love it because you react to names either by ignoring or by being shy, and it's always very funny and cute sjdhhdhdhdh noooo!!! you are bully!!! bad pamna bad 3;<< heheheh awwww you're acting like a tsundere even now~ "I'll take the words away because you indicated that I care about you so I'll defiantly pretend that I'm not" such a classic archetype /t /affectionate<3

🙄🙄 oh gosh what did I expect from a pamna who refuses to admit that he's a little liar I pack up and leave with the writebabies we're all leaving writebabies get ready--- they are small too!!!... besides, why is the closet small? do you have a small closet?? gosh, my closet can easily accommodate me with siblings, but yours can't accommodate a dove with babies??? babyboo do you mean to say that you are like a soldier smaller than this innocent dove???? how little sleep do you get if you don't grow up????? /t /nsrs

hehehe~ I think this is what people call "karma", dear~ little pamnas deserve it when they don't give writebabies a good example<333 /t /j /nsrs cuz no one deserves these tiny bloodsucking trashies<///3 hehe, enjoy as you deserve, cutie❤︎

now they are my writebabies, not 'ours'!!!

okay, then you'll be a waffle cake~ I love waffle cakes~ >:33333 you stay with me even though 'I've killed you several times' even though you won't admit that you love me and after that you're not a tsundere??? tsk tsk is so vague~ /t /j /nsrs

... don't worry, I'll take you in the right direction~ after all, seniors need help~ <33333 uWu oWo <33333333 mmm, 'I haven't used that yet'~... do you use underpainting when you paint pictures? and then let's immediately talk about the artist whose paintings seem to you the most "deep" in meaning — not taking into account the history of creation, but precisely according to your personal, emotional feelings~ what touches your soul<3 mwah mwah~♡

/ MWAH♡

/ get used, dear, to a cruel world where I will either eat you or bite off a piece of you😋😋😋 /t /hj

[i-write-shakespeare-not-disney]

🍦🛠🎯💞 🧠 (Class 1-A)🤩 ✅

What's the sweetest fic you've created so far? Ah. Y'know, I'm gonna go with To End Up With You, because that was all fluff and falling in love lol not much angst or relationship troubles as I tend to do.

🛠What tools/programs/apps do you use to write? I used to use Word, then one horrible day, my laptop like. collapsed? It just went full on blank screen, wouldn't turn on at all and I went into a horrible panic because i had so many stories. Somehow it booted back up and I moved as much as I could into my email or a flashdrive, but I've lost a flashdrive with a story before, so.... I moved to google docs. Everything's there now. But that all I use, idk any other apps aha

🎯 Have any of your readers accurately guessed major plot points? Care to share which? Oh, for sure. They guessed the True Love's Kiss of course. uhhh and I think some guessed when Lance started writing poetry again in lovesick. Oh and someone guessed how Ozai died in Teaching a Heart. That one's cool because I haven't actually finished that one yet.... (I will, I swear I will, and I have a friend who is helping me make sure I do!!!!)

💞 Who's your comfort character? At the moment, it's Rody. And then by extension, Izuku because the way he treats Rody is what I imagine he would do for me? Just because I really resonate with Rody y'know

�� Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them. Ahhh, all of class A will take a while ahahaha but, okay some of the ones I can think of are-

I think they have themed movie nights

I have a headcannon that Sero has dated most of the class, but not in that messy kind of way, just like. Over the years, he's dated someone for some amount of time- whether to just see how it'd go, one date, kissing practice, or a genuine relationship of a couple months or longer. But if it ends, it ends amicably <3 Sero has a lot of love and affection in his heart. My best friends and I call him the "sentimental slut" or "wholesome whore" aksdjfkajdf in a nice way i swear

People do fall out of touch after highschool, but i like to imagine that no matter where they go, class 1A takes the time to reunite because... you don't go through all these near-death experiences and wars without... becoming family I guess? Like how do you just leave behind someone who fought at your side when the best of the best were hanging up their (figurative) capes?

They go to therapy. good god let them go to therapy

and my biggest headcanon that I might make a fic about: Izuku funds, creates, and runs a home for orphaned, abused, and unwanted children where they are taken in and helped with their quirks, however scary or "ugly," taught, and taken care of. I think that Izuku has seen what a bad upbringing could do to people enough times. Shiggy, Dabi, Toga. He saw how Rody and his siblings had to grow up. I don't think Izuku could handle just sitting back and letting kids with "bad " quirks or kids without someone to look after them or kids being hurt just keep being mistreated. He would want to be that outstretched hand, that listening ear. And I think he'd open up homes like that all over the world as he got older. Definitely think that Shoto helps with funding. And Rody and his siblings help run them. I really wanna write this one akjfka🤩 Who is your favorite character to write? ohhhh that ones hard (idk why the formatting changed, sorry) I've been writing in Deku's a lot, but I really resonate with bakugo's and rody's tbh.

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to? oh. hahah I tend to do a lot of "not officially dating, but basically dating, then that break up thats not really a break up, then getting together for real" also lots of nuzzling into necks.... OH! Also, there's a woman who always appears someone? Like the vibe. This sort of protective but no bullshit, tall, plump woman with a large presence. In Teaching a Heart, it's Madame Jun and in Princes and Pickpockets it's Miss Amelia. Like. they are the same woman. and idk why or who I'm even basing her on, but she likes to show up akljfka

Thank you so much for your questions!!! I loved answering them <3

[thousand-winters]

Dear pal!!! 💖 I also come asking for Darius lol, but I also ask for your takes on Soren. He was one of my og fire emblem favs and the first one I ever cosplayed way back in the day so I'd love to talk fe9/10 more!

Hello!!! 💖😄

Oh, my god, you cosplayed Soren? That's SO cool, I kinda wanted to do that, but I've never done cosplay asfhjsdg

But okay, okay, let's start with the man, the legend...

✨ Darius Deamonne ✨

1. Sexuality headcanon

This man is aroace in my heart. Ace at the very least, I don't mind any romantic orientation, but I'm hellbent on him being asexual, haha.

He has the vibes, the ace community has claimed him, he's ours.

2. OTP

Me and him /j

Sorry, I had to 😔

Honestly, my feelings for Darius ships are mostly neutral. I do see shippy art and go "oh, cute", but I don't actually ship anyone with him, tbh.

3. BROTP

Eber and him, of course

Is it fair if they actually have a sibling-like relationship? I have no idea, but I pick them anyway. They get to me. Absolute opposites and yet they adore each other, joined at the hip, I will never recover from Darius instantly stopping fighting the second he saw a knife being pointed at Eber's throat.

The siblings ever 💜🧡

4. NOTP

I was gonna say Dalador because while I understand why it can be fun, it just doesn't click for me, but you know what? I've seen Darius and Adrian as a couple before and that's... yeah, I'm picking Darius x Adrian for this one.

My man has better taste, I'll stand by this. That's, uh, aside from all the ways in which Darius wouldn't stand Adrian personality and morality-wise, of course asjfgjsdg

5. First headcanon that pops into my head

Oh, Darius being a messy sleeper keeps rotating in my head lately. As in "do you see this man that looks all fancy and dignified? Yeah, he's snoring LOUDLY and sprawled all over the bed right now" + him definitely NOT being a morning person and taking a solid hour to wake up in the morning, it just feels right

I cannot remember how this one came to be, but I know it's the Dadrius server's fault /pos

6. Favorite line from this character

There are two quotes battling in my head right now. I'll cheat and say both.

Okay, first of all: "NO MORE PLAYING AROUND!"

Just... the growl ✨ the anger ✨ the anticipation to his transformation. 10/10, I'm obsessed with the delivery of that line and that scene in general. He was lowkey pulling the dramatics with that one and I love him for it

And now, because of my Dadrius heart, of course:

"Magic or not, I think you'll make your predecessors proud"

The actual pride already in his voice, his smile, his newfound fondness. I'm so soft for that line 🥺

7. One way in which I relate to this character

Oof, that's a hard one, I'm not sure I actually have much in common with Darius.

... The inherent necessity to be impossibly extra sometimes, I'm counting that one (I mean, I did go very extra to be dressed in a him inspired outfit that one time so...)

8. Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

He's perfect, he doesn't cause me second hand embarrassment at all... I think. I enjoy him very much, I know he might have been embarrassed at getting the fright of his life because of Eda's curse, but I simply enjoy him

9. Cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Oh, I think he counts as a problematic fave, haha. It's not even his fault, but people make the biggest fuss with him for things they would overlook with other characters, it's a whole mess with Darius. I personally don't think he's problematic as much as simply flawed, but people will fight tooth and nail to insist he is, so... yeah

And as for my darling Soren 💚

1. Sexuality headcanon

Mmmm, good question. I don't tend to think a lot about this at all, but perhaps demiromantic?

2. OTP

Ikesoren

I'm a simple woman. But also there's SO much to their relationship, I'm sure it's been talked to death and back but their conversations make me unwell in a good way 😭💕 They need each other so much, they're so important to each other, I adore them

3. BROTP

It's absolutely in part because of that scene from the extended script but... him and Ranulf. Idk why but I kinda feel like there's some camaraderie and complicity between them by Radiant Dawn, and I found it very sweet how Ranulf was genuinely happy to see Soren coming out of his shell. There was a certain level of trust there that I find fun when it's explored

4. NOTP

I surprisingly haven't seen unholy ships, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere afdjkghfh

There are a few ships with Soren that I think are kinda cute but for NOTP, I think the one I've seen that makes me go "nope" is Soren x Mist. Does Soren look like a straight to you /j. I think if anything they would be closer to siblings too, tbh

5. First headcanon that pops into my head

Okay, so I have this headcanon that Soren does NOT enjoy reading, at all.

Why would he, tbh? He was kinda forced to learn by the sage, and I believe he mentions he had to study that stuff day and night when he was still pretty young, which... yikes. it has always been for him a question of how useful it can be for this or that, even later with the Greil Mercenaries, since he uses that skill to be useful to them too.

Now, it might be less canon, but in one of his dialogues in FEH he mentions he's reading a History book, not for personal pleasure, but to see if he can find anything useful for the strategies in that world.

He never once mentions reading books for fun, it's always work oriented, so because of that and because the whole thing with the sage sounds honestly traumatic, I truly think reading is a duty for him, not a hobby

6. Favorite line from this character

Okay, I have two here as well, ahaha, also coolness factor vs emotional value.

The first would be: "It would be in your best interest not to presume to know my strength"

It's just a cool line, alright? I'm rotating it in my head constantly when I think of him. Resident small mage is actually very powerful, true, do not underestimate him

And then of course: "I just wanted to see the only boy who had held out a warm hand when I had nothing"

Like at this point you have learned the whole story between Ike and Soren, and it just hits so hard. Something so small, so simple, brought their bond, and such a strong bond it is 🥺💚

7. One way in which I relate to this character

Trust issues ✨ Inherent self-value in what you can offer others. We won't address this 😌

8. Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Oh, my god, his scenes with Aimée are ridiculous and ridiculously funny, I adore them, he's such a cheeky little shit, but I'm half covering my face when he's flirting with her in RD, he says such embarrassing shit, help asjhfgjhdsg

9. Cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Oh, problematic fave for sure. There's his whole thing with the laguz, though I love how he learns and starts getting over it. He is very much an asshole with that tho, so... yeah, problematic

[xnchxntmxnt]

OMG HAPPY 2OO LUV!! ILYSM, AND YOU DEFINITELY DESERVE MORE!! AS EXPECTED I'M HERE FOR THE MATCHUP EVENT AND I'M SO SORRY FOR BEING LATE KSDJFHSDF

1 | name : amie 2 | pronouns : s/her 3 | preferred gender : doesn't really matter 4 | self-description :

— it's ya clown sho <3 anyway, i'm an ambivert but more inclined towards the introvert side. my MBTI is INFJ and i'm a Gemini. i'd describe myself as someone who's very observant? yea, i guess. i'm awkward and you know it. My favorite color is blue, specifically sapphire, but i love all pastel colors. My fav show is Chicago Medical and all the psychological and crime thrillers out there are my favorite ( silent patient is my #1 though ) I love painting, playing piano and basketball!

— what i look in a partner you ask, uh, someone who can tolerate my silence. there are times when i go quiet for a whole day, i'll barely speak, no interaction nothing. i want someone who'd not exactly 'deal with it' but 'understand it.' also, i want someone who i can talk to without any hesitation. i have a hard time opening up so i don't do it but when i do, i spill almost everything. i might cry, might have anxiety attack, i might even shout. i know it's not very healthy but i want someone who can help me with those. plus someone who i can read with please <3 cheating and not having any respect for personal space would be the major deal breaker for me

5 | gen. aesthetic : my fashion sense starts from sweats and ends in sweats. i'm a big fan of those oversized hoodies and shirts, like something really comfy. however, i do have a collection of formal wears like blazers and dress.

6 | color/s to describe myself : red, actually. if not read then blue. it switchers but red 90% of the times.

7 | fav song/s : literally everything by Chase Atlantic and The Neighborhood. However, my absolute favorites are some of the famous classical pieces like Experience by Ludovico Einaudi and Chopin's Ballade No. 1 Op 23.

8 | fav genre of music : classical music ( Beethoven, Einaudi and Chopin own my heart )

Lol this is very lengthy I'm sorry, btw congrats again!

I looked into MBTI, I looked into zodiacs, I went off of what you said

Here he is, the man, Seijoh’s do-it-all guy

HANAMAKI TAKAHIRO ur new boyfriend

There is not enough content for him, anyway

How You Met

Bear with me here

Think about this

Artist!hanamaki

You love painting? Art club.

Idk if youre actually in any art club but shhh

Anyway, it was probably some sort of community thing full of tons of different age artists (bc you’d have basketball or something after school and he had volleyball)

So like once a week on thursday afternoons everyone gets together and does all sorts of artsy stuff

Everyone listens to lo fi music (or you can bring headphones) and chit chat and just paint for a couple hours

Its in the back section of a library (bc the library near me does stuff like this its awesome) so if you want you can go read a book while you wait for things to dry

One day the person that ran it suggested you talked to the new guy

He was about your age, it was his first day, they didn't know what all he was good at, and tbh they thought you two would look cute together

Just the vibes yk

So you set up your canvas and stuff next to him and introduced yourself

And you guys just vibe to the playlist

He’s REALLY good

Compliments you a lot too

Which is fun because he’s cute so it makes you a little flustered

You find out you guys go to the same school and he’s on the VB team

And says he has a (practice) game that weekend and asks you to come if you can

Which you do

And they win! So its fun!

Matsukawa basically asks you out for him though

He’s heard all about you already

“You don't get it issei! She’s so pretty!! God, she touched my hand and I thought I was gonna die!!!!!” “the enthusiasm is new for you” “shut up asshole” (conversation from the night before)

So he walks up to you after the game and is like “Hey so,,, we’re going out to get some lunch, you wanna come?”

Makki thinks HES flirting with you and is pissed off about it

Until you all sit down for lunch and oh, the only open spot for him is next to you (since when is matsukawa willing to sit between iwaizumi and oikawa??)

He asked you out after art club that week (Mattsun threatened not to give him any more monster for the rest of the month if he didn't get the guts to do it)

General Headcanons

You date hanamaki, you're also dating matsukawa

There’s no separating them (good thing ur MBTIs work together too, especially for strong friendships)

This was literally my first thought

So

Good luck with both these trolls

More on that later

Of course he’s going to be worried if you go radio silent for a while, but he'll understand

There are some days he’s not gonna wanna talk either

He’s really supportive on your bad days of course

Expect a random text in the middle of the evening from him

“Hiya sweetheart, just wanted to remind you that you’re beautiful, I love you, and I hope your day is going well.”

When he’s having a bad day, the same thing is all he needs from you to keep moving

He’s a really honest person. If you want to talk to him, be prepared not to get any sugar coating. If you tell him to shut up because you don’t want advice, he will. But if you expect advice from him, expect brutally honest advice. Subtlety is not his strong suit, so when it comes to advice, he’s going to tell it like it is. He's just trying to help, yknow?

However, he’s pretty good with people, so will know how to comfort you when something is bothering you. Tea and cuddles? Gotcha. Dancing at 11pm because neither of you want to sleep yet? On it. You want him to hold you? Perfect.

He’s not like...the most touchy person? There are some things he’s really indifferent on, and other things he’s stubborn as hell with. Whatever you wanna do, though

His weakness though

⚠️this part is slightly little bit suggestive⚠️

He will randomly walk up to you and pull you against him, give you a really deep kiss, smirk and walk away like nothing happened

Like hands in hair probably almost making out and then just

Walk away

Because that’s how he kisses and it’s breathtaking every time

It’s either little temple kisses or forehead or cheek pecks or something

Or that

And probably leaves you flustered and it’s funny (to him) (and to me if I was there with you) (bc that would be funny)

Hmm I’m thinking

I’m thinking hair dye dates

He needs help doing his hair from time to time Y’know (he doesn’t he just likes spending time with you) and he wants to make it pink again

So he teaches you how to do his hair and even offers to dye yours one day

Either just a strand or the ends or everything, up to you

Imagine having twinning hair dye with makki isn’t that cute

I think it’s cute

I said ur platonically dating mattsun right

Yes you are now

He absolutely adores you and loves how much makki loves you

Probably would have asked you out if makki didn’t but he was really pushing for makki to because he was just all over you in the beginning

He wasn’t overly attached to you romantically so being friends? Perfect. Sounds great

You two get along wonderfully though like you act like siblings once you warm up to each other

Again, very brutally honest person, but a little more awkward so doesn’t know what he’s saying might come off as he’s acting like a dick

He doesn’t try to though and he does really care about you

Flat out told makki if he breaks up with you and breaks your heart he’s gonna kick his ass (makki doesn’t know he had the same (less aggressive) conversation with you)

Tbh all of the VBC at seijoh loves you

Oikawa loves talking to you he thinks you’re great for makki

Gets you in on he and makki and mattsun’s antics

Iwa thinks you’re good too he just doesn’t know you as well

I think that kunimi would like you (he was almost a runner up--)

Kindaichi too

The first years just think you’re cool even if they won’t say it out loud

Seijoh VBC loves you

You got mattsun’s approval

And hanamaki loves you with literally everything in his life

So

You’re pretty set with your strawberry baby huh

Date Night!

SLEEPOVERS

I was waiting for some matchup to come along that gave me sleepover vibes

In a perfect world where you could do sleepovers with your bf because most parents would,,,not let that happen

Imagine…

He shows up at like 7:00 after practice, pizza in hand because he picked up dinner

You two eat, chat about your day, he probably scarfs down half the pie bc it’s after practice ofc he’s hungry

So when you guys are done eating you head up to your room

And make pillow fort

It’s mandatory

Different design every time, but there’s a pillow fort nonetheless

And then when there’s just enough room for the both of you to climb in

You get a blanket and a couple pillows and one of your phones or laptops or whatever and watch a movie and cuddle

When the movie is over you guys break out the face masks

You ever wonder why he has such great skin? It’s thanks to you (or if you don’t have masks, he picks them up on the way home from practice)

But anyway you guys talk shit about people for a while and sit with the masks on (it’s usually him talking about how Oikawa is a bitch as much as he loves him) (or about whatever he and Mattsun were talking about lately)

You both get chances to vent while the masks sit on your face and you just vibe with music (usually that you pick) (he listens to like,,,meme songs and like CORPSE yk)

After masks you guys make/get some snacks and munch on those during another movie but this time you’re in comfy jammies and more relaxed Y’know

Less paying attention to the movie you’ve seen a million times and just vibing in each other’s presence and it’s just really sweet

Fall asleep on his chest

Let him fall asleep on yours

Either way, you’ve got him whipped for you he loves you

Not that he doesn’t already but that’s his favorite thing ever so please just let him do that

Always makes sure to tell you he loves you before you sleep too

If you fall asleep first he takes embarrassing pictures of you with your hair being a mess & you best bet he sends them to mattsun because “she’s so cute omfg” “dude” “dude what” “you’re so fuckin stupid” “?” “Whatever—good luck being whipped just tell me when you need to get a ring, k” “you’re such a jackass” “yeah yeah Gnight”

Zodiac/MBTI

Okay so I’m not doing a big long paragraph for all this BUT from what I understand, Gemini/Aquarius are really compatible, and ENTP and INFJ are known as “perfect matches” sO (I had a really hard time deciding between Atsumu and Makki because they're both ENTP)

Psst Gemini + Leo is compatible and so is INTP + INFJ,,,, so, again, asking you to marry me sho 💍💍

Aesthetic/Vibes

Playlist

Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major, BWV 846

Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi Trio (meme song)

Sky Full Of Stars by The Piano Guys

Someone To You by The Piano Guys

Shut Up And Dance - Simply Three

Runners Up

Miya Atsumu, Tsukishima Kei

[bereaving]

You definitely don't need to apologize for that 😆 I do that too...

For me it's different cause I love the horror genre. Like not this random, boring clichee sort of horror but this really subtle and deep horror like in Hill House. I'm a huge fan of it. For me it wasn't really important what's it about, I just wanted to continue this anthology.  

A lot of people say that honestly 🤔 it's different when you watch Bly first and then Hill House. But they both have a lot of similarities and I love that. 

She is! And it's for sure that most of the time where people were going through a traumatic childhood, they turned out to be assholes. Like we have an example right next to Jamie on the same show - Peter. He went through that as a kid and he turned out to be abusive and toxic, mostly. So it's great to see that there's a different way to go with that or to deal with everything Jamie had to deal with as a kid and how she turned out to be as an adult.  

So yeah that's really nice to see that people aren't the way you first think they are by how they act, you just need to get to know them and we did after her fantastic speech. I can't tell you how often I watched that because its one of my favorite scenes in the whole season. She definitely is one of the most important characters on the show. It's also a beautiful reference to how a flower needs it time to bloom and so do people, like you said. 

I mean she's definitely holding herself back a bit, and she tries to wrap her flirting and overall conversations with Dani up with humor. I think that's a great way of showing someone you really care about them without being too forward. So yeah I agree with you on that she would make a move if she'd be completely sure that's it okay for Dani too. But she would definitely do it in a Jamie - like - way 😂 like acting all cool and being funny yk 

Dani is bold af 😆 like she has shown us that so many times and it is refreshing to see. Cause if I'm being honest I didn't think of her that way when I first saw her. I thought she's cute and all but when I first got to know her backstory a bit I immediately changed my mind. Also the scene she had with Henry at the bar was bold af, I'd  have never done that for sure 😅

And then everything that happens around her at Bly and with Jamie, no doubt at all. 

Haha I had to laugh when Jamie said "who the hell knew" 😂 that was awesome and also gave Dani a feeling of relief. That was the first time she expressed her feelings, her real feelings, to someone she likes so much and no one blamed her for that.

I guess you can see it both ways. I hated how they decided to end it, like they just gave us all and then in the end they took it all away 😪 just seeing how Dani sacrificed herself and then no one even remembered her and she just has no choice but going to Bly again and die there, it was so hard to watch and to accept. And there's Jamie,  alone, with just the memories of Dani and she keeps waiting for her to return till the end... that's just heartbreaking and I need to hold back myself from crying every time I even think about it. 

It is a masterpiece, no doubt, but I just wish they would let them finally be happy for the rest of their days.

Yeah that's the thing when you watch Bly first I guess 😅 I knew Victoria will be in season 2, too. So I wasn't as surprised about it, but the fact that she played Nell just makes it change a bit. She nails playing those characters with real struggles and she brings them to life in a way I've never seen anybody do it 💯 her microexpressions are so spot on, like I don't even know what to say about it. These two characters are stucked in my head too. Dani a bit more than Nell but that's just because it's so long ago when I watched Hill House. 

I mean definitely! I hope Amelia stays on the horror path that would be great for me 😂 also same here, I won't watch YOU I don't know why but it's probably the show in general seems to be not really my thing 😕 unfortunately I have to say...cause i don't get to see Victoria

I really hope they bring them both back to The Haunting Series, I'd love to see Amelia back there and Victoria too 👌 but I guess we have to wait a long time for that 

We goin’ under the cut again because this one is also long, my friend haha

A horror two-timer such as myself really doesn’t have any other opinion other than the ones I’ve seen: Bly is and feels more gothic, whereas Hill House is more... I guess classically horror. They are both fantastic, and tbh I had no idea this is what horror does. I’d never looked into horror as a way of expanding the story, and Mike and his team had done that beautifully with The Haunting. Hours after I’d published the ask it occurred to me that the answer was so engrossed with Dani and Jamie that I’d completely forgotten to write about Peter lol whoops. He and Jamie are really two opposites of the spectrum. And in episode 7, I get that the whole deal for that is to get a better insight into his background, and what shapes him and what made him the way that he is. I enjoyed it as a casual watcher, and I liked OJC’s portrayal of him, but to be completely honest, I left that episode with very little added empathy for him. I’ve seen people like him enough both in real life and in fictional portrayals. I know what it’s like to be in the presence of people like him, and it is not in any way pleasant. So yeah, Peter, as this post so eloquently put it, can choke.

Jamie on the other hand... 🥰 Have I mentioned I love her? Lemme just say it again, just because.

Re: “I’m so glad you stayed” scene: That whole tracking shot... ugh, it just gives me goosebumps. I have seen it more than once and every time I need the scene for GIFs or anything, I’d always watch from the moment Owen’s car drives away. These two smol wives own my heart and my soul, and I love them a lot a lot.

Re: the ending Completely understand where you’re coming from, and it’s not something that I can casually think about or even try to sit with without some sort of mental preparation -- like taking a deep breath before you go for a deep dive. It still hurts, I still get sad and cry about the way their story had to end. But, that being said, to me it doesn’t feel like a disservice to their journey. It wasn’t done just for the sake of dramatization, or to show any kind of... hidden morality message, or anything like that. There’s no agenda to the story, is maybe a more succinct way of putting it. Just like any other couples we would see on screen, it treats them with respect. I think we all wish, deep down inside, that they would be able to shake off The Lady and live their best lives, but... I don’t know. Personally, I don’t think it would’ve stayed or created this big of an impact if they were to just ride off into the sunset together. 

Another thing to add is how good Bly is at exaggerating and amplifying aspects of real life and making it to be an element of the story. Some people forget you, some people will always wait for you and want to be with you. Some things, you do without thinking and it becomes a habit. Sometimes you lose yourself. Sometimes you’re stuck in circumstances or places you don’t really want to be in, but have to due to obligations and responsibilities. Some places really do have a pull of their own. Sometimes people love wrong, and it consumes you. Sometimes people love right, and it saves you. Maybe that’s just me and my takeaway from it, though. Last time I said Bly has changed the course of my 2020, and by that I mean that it’s taught me to have feelings again, to re-examine things, to care. And I just... love this series. Sadness and all.

MOVING ON 😆 I bow to Victoria. Ari ( @camhowes ) was the one who encouraged me to watch Bly in the first place, and so naturally once I started Hill House I messaged her and said, “I can’t believe Dani and Nell are played by THE SAME ACTRESS???????????” My freak out over her is not over yet, and I am begging anyone to let her be in all the things. I’ll fucking watch it (again... other than You) The way Nell breaks my heart... One of my friends who’s been a long Hill House champ has repeatedly said to me that Theo is the most fascinating sibling, and while I agree to a certain extent... Nell has my heart.

When it comes to Netflix’s You... to be completely blunt, a story that is pitched as “stalker man show, he kills people” is just not gonna appeal to me in general. No offense to anyone but there are just too many men I do not give a squat about. I don’t know if my resolve with this show will change. There’s been a couple sets of Love Quinn that I’ve seen (when she goes to the market in a beanie, or when she’s cooking and baking and drinking wine, or when she apparently went full on revenge baking mode) that are intriguing and is chipping away at my resolve, but... yeah, for the moment, I’m staying away from that series.

And I’m just gonna put a thought out into the universe, that if Miss Amelia Eve is hiring anyone to help her with her dog-walking business, I am available and can start ASAP.

[adorable-elsanna]

I don't mean to be rude, and I apologize in advance if I am!! But why do you ship this nd WHY does this ship exist? Aren't Elsa and Anna sisters? And blood related at that. I don't want to hate on ships, you can ship washer you want as long as you aren't hurting anybody!! It's just that ships like these with incest startle me a bit. Maybe I'm just confused since I really shipped Kistof and Anna so I'm missing out on this? Ahhh sorry if this is annoying!! -confused anon

 Hi Confused Anon ( aren’t we all? ;) ),

Thanks for your polite ask, lol finally I get to dust off this blog’s ask box! :)) I’d love to respond with a whole essay xDD but I don’t really have time :’( so maybe I’ll just give a quick rundown for now. 

I might not be the most representative person to pose this question to lol because I am an outlier in general, meaning due to my life experiences, my development, my major in college, my deep meditation practice, and more, I do not abide by normative, dominant, hegemonic social structures and social constructs (nor do I actively resist them per se), so I am unfazed by anything. 

I started shipping this after I watched the first movie when it came out in Nov. 2013. One of my first posts on this blog, 7 years ago, was me explaining how I came to ship this (I had made the post private, but now you can read it here. Also this other post, but I wrote it when I was a college student, so it’s a little too analytical for my tastes now. Those were my views at the time). 7 years is a long time, so my mindsets and reasonings have changed, but all the reasons I had for shipping them from before are still with me today. 

I didn’t go into the movie with the intention to ship them, but while watching it, I picked up on a lot of chemistry between them because their interactions and even storyline were infused with strong popular romantic tropes, tropes that were used in other classic Disney movies themselves. I used to watch a lot of romantic comedies so I was very familiar with common romantic tropes. Of course, having came away from the movie having noticed all these romantic notes between them, I was a little confused and thought maybe it was just me. But when I went online to search a bit to see if others saw/felt what I saw, I found out it wasn’t just me! 

So one of the reasons why this ship exists is because people picked up on the romantic tropes that colored some of Elsa and Anna’s interactions, tropes that have usually only appeared between romantic couples, in films and in real life. Even if the creators didn’t intend to and didn’t actively put the tropes there, they are there. 

If we apply the principles of Buddhism (not the religion. Many ppl mistakenly practice things as devotional worship or for superstitious reasons. But if ppl really want to know everything about the mind, how the world works, the universe, who they are, about themselves and “other” people and why people do what they do, the meaning of life, true happiness, the end of suffering and stress and conflict, and consciousness, then forget psychology [not saying it’s not useful though]. Buddhism, or rather Buddhadharma, is the true science of mind, or at least the much more effective tool), it says that there is the law of cause and effect, the universal law. Everything that is created in the universe and each phenomenon that happens is the result of the momentary coming together of causes and conditions that make that thing happen. There are many many causes and conditions and intricacies and things are interconnected and interdependent, no one person can control something to happen (certain conditions have to be there for something to happen). Something can not come from nothing. If something happens, then certain causes and conditions have been created to bring that result. A seed was planted. If we plant an apple seed, what comes out will be an apple tree (provided the right conditions were met, like water, soil, sunlight, etc.). It will never come out as a banana tree. And so we can understand the underlying principle behind how each situation and phenomenon arises, about existence itself, why each thing exists. 

Now WHY did I go off on that tangent??? LOL All of this is to say that certain causes and conditions have been created to result in the effect of many people shipping Elsa and Anna together and there being a fandom for them. (These principles and explanations might seem very simple and like kindergarten stuff, but despite that, many people can’t accept it. ESPECIALLY when it applies to heavy stuff in their regular everyday life. Or even trivial things tbh lol) The last I checked, there were people from at least 26 different countries shipping Elsa and Anna together. 

Everyone thinks they see reality exactly as it is and takes it for granted, and thus attach strongly to the notion that they’re right. But if that’s the case, then why are there so many fights over who is right? So who is actually right? Even if someone were to follow the majority consensus or some popular, ingrained, long-standing ideas / societal rules, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re right. There are many cases of the blind leading the blind. People used to follow the geocentric model of the universe before they discovered heliocentrism. Ideas are always in flux and keeps changing and transforming, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, sometimes imperceptibly and sometimes conspicuously. If you ask 100 different people why they ship Elsa and Anna, you will get 100 different answers (with a lot of overlap of course) with unique spins on their reasons. Because in the world, each person sees reality through their own color-tinted glasses and filters and adherence to labels, concepts, beliefs, upbringing, etc. And then the person seeing “reality” through red-tinted glasses gets mad at the person seeing with blue-tinted glasses for not seeing the world how they see it (and gets frustrated not understanding why), and vice versa. In this scenario, what is actually best? To realize you’re seeing “reality” through color-tinted glasses, and so you should take them off and truly see reality without any filtered lenses. (This is a little off-topic, but I had to bring some Buddhism into this because first of all, dharma applies to everything lol, and secondly, Buddhism is all about dispelling confusion. There is definitely a way to see reality exactly as it is, it typically involves meditation.) 

Yes, Elsa and Anna are sisters. But I’ve never seen any pair of sisters act like them before (if there are, then that’s great!). I have a sibling myself, and we are very close, but we don’t act like how Elsa and Anna act with each other. With most siblings, I would say there’s a lot more joking around, teasing each other, sarcasm, pranks, and casual relaxed communication than the intense intimacy, deep eye-contact, and soul-bonding that Elsa and Anna share. Disney has portrayed many other sibling relationships before, but it seems like they tried something a little different with Elsa and Anna’s relationship that made it pretty easy for many people to ship them together. 

I ship Elsa and Anna together because their pure true love for each other transcends all labels, concepts, preconceived notions, and time and space. They are completely selfless when it comes to one another and that’s what true love means. They make each other better people and it empowers them to extend this selflessness toward other people. Their sacrificing themselves for each other and selflessness in action is true love exemplified. No one deserves Elsa more than Anna, and no one deserves Anna more than Elsa (speaking from my shipper heart xD). Confining and defining their love as just sisterly seems limiting and not allowing the full potential of their true, expansive, infinite love to manifest. (A sibling relationship is really beautiful, but it still has to be shaped and look a certain way, it has to fit into a particular mold and box and abide by certain conditions. Otherwise, as we have incontrovertibly seen, people will scream bloody murder and be squicked out and all hell will break loose.)  

We can even go one step further to say that the same similarly applies to people’s definitions, notions, concepts, ideas, and beliefs about love. They say this love is like this and that love is like that, this is what love should look like, this person can love this person but only if it’s like this and not like that, this is what it means to love and to be loved, etc. Again, it’s limiting, and placing restrictions on something whose essence is boundless. In Buddhism, with the realization of Enlightenment, one realizes that true love is selfless, unconditional, boundless, free, all-encompassing, nondual, timeless, compassionate, wise, nondiscriminating, infinite, universal, endlessly flowing, non-judgmental, creative, indescribable, and inconceivable. So THIS is the love that I see and ship between Elsa and Anna. I love their relationship as sisters, but their love is so grand that it cannot be contained inside that label, so it transcends and goes beyond any attempts to neatly define and characterize it.

It’s okay if incest ships startle you. Uncomfortable feelings come up whenever the ego experiences anything that challenges its worldview and everything it’s ever known and held to be true, and that prompts it to question and reconsider its mind-constructs. We have a knee-jerk reaction to grasp, hold, and attach to what we like, and to avoid, reject, and push away what we don’t like and what makes us feel uncomfortable. For what it’s worth, Buddhism tells about the cycle of life, death, and rebirth from beginningless time, so we have all lived infinite past lives and been each other’s lovers, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, enemies, grandparents, etc. at one point or another. (Deep, but intriguing!, topics for another time.)  

If you really like to ship Krist0ff and Anna, then go ahead and ship happily. First rule of Buddhist meditation: Whatever you do, ONLY DO IT, 100%. ;) And if you don’t do something, then don’t do it, 100%. And then move on to the next moment. Be in the present moment. And remember that everything is changing moment by moment. Mind is changing moment by moment. Don’t need to anticipate the next moment. Who knows where our shipper hearts will take us. 

I like to ship people based on their chemistry and characterization. Elsa and Anna have a great true love story that is theirs and theirs alone. I don’t like to ship relationships that seem contrived, thrown in there for the sake of it, not fleshed out, lacking in substance, trite, and with characters who are underwhelming or underdeveloped. 

Lol no worries, this is not annoying, I’m sorry this is so long and that I took 7 days to get back to you. I wish I could give specific examples from the movies with beautiful gifs to explain why I ship them (I’ve probably written such posts in the past. Maybe I’ll come back to edit this reply one day), but I’ve gotta skedaddle! I’d like to hear your thoughts about my reply if you actually read this, so please send me a message in the ask box again if you can. 

Also I’m a girl if that makes any difference, but yeah anyway, skedaddle time, love you all! 

Oooooh I never finished replying to someone else’s ask box message asking me why I shipped them, it’s from years ago :’(, I started typing my reasons and saved it in my drafts, but it’s incomplete. But here’s what I wrote at the time!

1. I just love everything that Elsa and Anna feel and do for each other. Elsa isolates herself from Anna to keep her safe, and Anna persists in trying to get Elsa to open up to her and goes to find her when she runs away. They’re always thinking of each other and worrying about each other. They act selflessly for one another and their unconditional love is expressed so genuinely. This kind of devotion in any relationship is rare.

2. There was a lot of chemistry between them in the movie. At the coronation ball scene, I get that the creators were trying to depict awkwardness between them since they haven’t spoken in a long time, and Anna wanted reassurance that Elsa didn’t hate her so she was nervous about getting Elsa’s attention and approval, but the scene came off as Elsa being kind of suave and flirty and Anna being flustered because her crush just complimented her. Then Anna gave Elsa a playful smile when she was dipped upside-down as if she only had eyes for Elsa.

When Anna stares admiringly at Elsa as she stands atop the staircase, it was like a scene straight out of A Cinderella Story or Enchanted where the prince stares at his true love like she took his breath away.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

It's funny, I can see myself shipping Ro kunami or Ri kunami, potentially, but I can't see myself shipping Ro kushi or Ri kushi. In the case of the former I think it's because I may or may not see Ro xas and Xi on as siblings? I'm not entirely sure. In the case if the latter ship, I guess I just don't have any strong opinions on Ri ku and Xi on's relationship. I don't actively dislike any of these ships though.

I’m kind of sick of this argument with R*okuShi, tbh (and for R*okuNami, for that matter. Or when someone from one of the camps uses it against the other, without realizing they’re kind of being a hypocrite with that). Though that’s not your fault. Edit: And I just want to make it clear again, anon, that I’m not mad at you. I’m just kind of tired of this debate that’s been going on for a decade now.

Here’s why I think they’re fine and don’t see it as incest-like at all (though if you feel differently, that’s fine).

I think X*ion was just a blank R*eplica when she was first created, because she was made before the C*astle Oblivion mission had started and before any of S*ora’s memories of K*airi had been let loose, so to speak. At that point, she literally could have been anything or anyone. Like, there’s a point in the game where she gets R*iku’s memories and turns into him for a second... and if that had kept on--and she had kept getting more memories from him than from S*ora for example--she would have moreso been a R*iku clone than anyone else. And she could even get rid of some of the memories that were marking her and change again: going closer again to the blank slate she had been--or rather, her own persona who she’d developed: the black-haired K*airi--or closer to yet another character. I think people who compare her to a computer that you can import different files into--but then delete or alter, or bring new files into--are on point: especially when they say that just because she carries the file doesn’t mean that she herself is now the file. Computer ≠ computer file. 

Also, X*ion gets her own identity and sense of self, and that is what matters and is central to the series. K*ingdom Hearts is all about hearts being what really matters--the source of all power/the source of all existence, etc.--and that when you believe in something enough with them, that thing then becomes true. X*ion grew to be another person, and wanted to be another person, and since she saw herself that way and others did, too, it then becomes true. Roxas - “I see myself the way you remember me, and you see yourself the way I remember you,” or “By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone—that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was someone to see them, connect with them.” - Joshua

Also, I can’t help seeing all of this as a moot point, anyway, since even if you want to argue R*oxas and X*ion were “related” before, they’re not anymore--since they both came back with their own bodies and hearts, that have nothing to do with each other’s or S*ora’s.

And I definitely think D*ays shipped them, and I ship them for that reason. I even think N*omura now ships them more than R*okuNami, tbh. But R*okuShi parallels S*oKai a lot a lot. But they have their own romantic hints outside of their connections to S*oKai, too. Truthfully... while I still love R*okuShi and see it as an OTP and probably my second favorite pairing in the series, I’m not as hardcore about them as I used to be. I don’t remember all of their moments or hints now, so I’m not going to sit here and list them all (or any of them), but just believe me when I say they’re there... Well, I guess if you don’t see them or don’t want to try to, that’s up to you. But even some people in the past, who have hated this pairing and may have even somewhat seen it as incest themselves, couldn’t deny that the hints for them being a couple were there. I actually think R*okuShi has the most hints in this entire series, second only to S*oKai. But meh.

Edit: People in K*H’s biology even seems different from ours: they seem moreso made out of light and memories than flesh and blood.

Edit 2: If you’re interested, this AU fanfiction--in a sort of sci-fi cloning AU--explains my feelings on the whole R*okuShi issue pretty well. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8216812/1/Identity

As for R*ion, I’m just never going to be able to ship that one... because R*iku’s entire relationship with X*ion was basically wanting her to die and return to S*ora, and even somewhat manipulating her to do that for him. No thanks.

[in-tua-deep]

I'm like, ridiculously invested in the Lumberjack lesbian mom au, so I have a question and an idea that bounces off the question. Does she know they have powers? And then what if they were in the city and she (or some other probably child civilian) gets trapped in like... A burning building or something, and Five gets her out but people see him and Reginald actually does show up, following the rumors of potential Umbrella Academy kids so Ellie gets to make good on her threat😂

She does! But not at first, they keep that under wraps because they assume that if she figures out they’re The Umbrella Academy then she’ll send them back oof and they have Vanya’s inclusion to throw off the scent as well because there’s six umbrella academy kids and seven of them

but i mean Ellie wasn’t exactly born yesterday one of these little sucker’s name is Five and sometimes they call each other by numbers or - on rare occasions - their hero names (usually only when they’re sniping at one another but Luther occasionally does it out of habit)

and these kids have weird trauma that pops up oddly. Like the fact that when Ellie is first getting everyone dinner she expects them to be,, you know,,, kids. Descend upon the food like a pack of ravenous wolves. They’re seven thirteen-year-olds they might as well be feral little gremlins regarding food they’re still growing. But nope they all very quietly pile around Ellie’s shitty table where they had to drag in like four chairs from various spots around the house into a mishmash pile and quietly wait as Ellie piles food on her own plate and she’s like “??? what are y’all waiting for???” and ben just blinks and looks at her oddly and is like “uhhh you haven’t given us permission to eat?” and ellie is just like “shit chow down kids y’all don’t need permission” but they’re all still hesitant and luther is like “how,, how much are we permitted” and ellie is just “????? i mean make sure your siblings get some but if there’s any left and you’re still hungry you can always go back for seconds”

just klaus being wide eyed and all “What’s seconds?? wait you’re telling me that after we’re done we can go back and get MORE food? just like that?” and ellie’s heart is breaking and also she’s mentally looking at her budget again about feeding seven ravenous children and figuring she’ll teach the kids to fish and what in the forest is edible 

(she’ll figure out soon enough the kids already know, they’ve been living in the forest for a while before they came upon her and she adopted them, so ellie won’t have to worry too hard about feeding them when they come home with buckets full of blackberries and mud on their clothes)

but the point is that she’s pretty sure your average 13 yr old can’t help with the lumber with the amount of ease that Luther shows. She’s also pretty sure that the way the kids keep squirreling Vanya off into the woods is pretty suspect and so are the patches of woods where the trees are blown down like a localized tornado. Plus it’s hard not to notice that sometimes Five will go off in one direction and show up in another place entirely.

they think they’re being so sneaky about it

it’s probably five that gives it up in the end

they’re all gathered in front of the tv watching a movie with songs and dancing. Let’s say footloose because why not. Allison adores movies and dancing and all of that and will often make her siblings dance with her along with the characters and so they all have the furniture shoved back against the walls as they goof around. Ellie is sitting on the couch and Klaus is trying to teach her how to knit to no avail (he’s just much better at it than she is, she just doesn’t have the patience for this kind of thing - but then again she’d thought the same of Klaus but he seems to enjoy having something to keep his hands busy when he’s sitting with Clyde sprawled across his lap)

someone moves wrong and stumbles into someone else and they trip and hands go flailing and Five flinches but he’s had training at avoiding projectiles pounded into his head (and his flesh, bruises upon bruises and blood dripping down his lip) and so he does what comes naturally to him - he jumps before Diego can crash into him. Not far, just a few feet to the left as Diego crashes to the floor, but they all freeze because Five jumped

in front of Ellie

and Ellie is scowling at her knitting which she’s pretty sure she dropped a few stitches fucking somewhere and she isn’t sure where but she barely looks up she’s just like “No powers in the house” and jabs at something with a needle that might be picking up a stitch but might also be losing another one?

“What?” Allison blurts out, echoes by the others

Ellie looks up, “I mean, I don’t mind you kids using them out in the woods or anything but shit’s breakable in the house and we’re on a budget. We can negotiate when you’re older if you like.”

“you KNOW?” Diego asks, wide eyed and somewhat alarmed

“Diego.” Ellie says patiently, giving up and passing her knitting to an alarmed looking Klaus because really he’s good and if anyone can save whatever the fuck she managed to do it would be him, “Seven kids popped up outside my house. Six of which have the exact same names as the kids from the umbrella academy or whatever. Klaus literally had a nightmare the other night where he screamed about ghosts. And don’t think I didn’t see you throw that pinecone at your sister last week. Y’all aren’t exactly subtle.”

as though it didn’t take ellie fucking forever to put two and two together tbh like she figured out about the powers way before she figured out about the umbrella academy thing. She went to town and saw a gossip magazine with a picture of them all wondering why they hadn’t been seen in public (as if reginald is going to admit to them running away) and ellie was like ‘holy shiT’ at the time

“You didn’t say anything.” Vanya says, shakily

Ellie just shrugs again, “Well I figured y’all would come clean when you felt comfortable enough to. I’m glad you’re trusting me with this.”

“You aren’t going to send us back?” Five asks what they’re all thinking, and he’s shaking like a leaf, blue sparking across his hands like he wants to jump away and is only held back by sheer willpower

“Fuck no,” Ellie snorts, then frowns, “I mean uh, heck no. Don’t swear, kids. But like, your dad was clearly a piece of shit and I wouldn’t spit on him if he was on fire, let alone give him even a plant to take care of never mind seven kids.”

There’s a pause as they all digest that

“No powers in the house?” Ben confirms, because they’re all familiar with rules

“Like I said, breakable shit.” Ellie nods, “I trust y’all are being safe using them out in woods at least. Figuring out control is important, but I trust you guys to know what you’re doing. They’re your powers, after all. But - if you ever need me don’t hesitate to ask. I might be just an ordinary person, but I’ve got a trick or two up my sleeve.”

“You aren’t ordinary.” Vanya protests immediately, steel in her tone and by the way that all the others spines stiffen Ellie can figure she’s stepped on another landmine. There have been a couple, and Ellie keeps the ones she’s discovered written in a notebook in her room so she doesn’t forget (don’t jokingly put luther in charge, don’t turn off Klaus’s bedside lamp because he’s scared of the dark, don’t use the word rumor in any conversation ever, don’t mention the kids mother, telegraph her movements to five before touching him, and so on and so forth and now she can add ‘don’t use the word ordinary’ to the list as well), “You’re the most extraordinary person I’ve ever met.”

There’s another lull.

“What happens if we do use them? In the house?” Five asks, voice so very quiet that it’s almost lost as Kevin Bacon loudly says something to the Preacher on screen. 

and Ellie has to think about that, because she hasn’t really imposed any actual rules on the kids outside of like,, normal ones. Please be back before dark. Make sure everyone has something to eat, you can always go back for more if you’re still hungry. Pick up after yourself. The usual. And really, what can she do to punish a bunch of superpowered children, anyway?

So Ellie grins at them, “Then Clyde gets to sleep with me for the night.”

Immediately the tension is broken as the kids protest and cluster around to grab at Clyde dramatically. Clyde snorts awake but gives his tail some thumps at the attention even if he looks a little confused at why he’s receiving it. These days the little traitor sleeps with the kids who let him in their bed and cuddle him at night, all of them piled up on the mattresses that Ellie had thrown on the ground as they nest in the room that used to be her ‘office’ 

(she’s working on the extension to the house for them, but for now they have to share a bedroom. Not that they’ve complained about it, in face Ellie feels like she’s going to have to consult with them on what they want their sleeping arrangements to be in case they end up just wanting one giant bed to puppy pile on - which is fine for now but Ellie is pretty sure as they grow older they’re going to want their own spaces)

okay this got away from me i haven’t even looked at the second half of your ask

honestly if reginald did show up he’d knock on the door and Ellie would answer and then she’d squint at him when he demanded to see the children and would be like “oh hey it’s you ya motherfucker” and she’d be like “nope no kids here”

and reggie would point behind her to the family picture that ellie had taken a month ago that she loves because all the kids are smiling and laughing and ben is holding a frog and klaus is covered in mud and vanya has a leaf in her hair and luther’s pantlegs are soaking wet but it’s them and it’s wonderful and it’s her new favorite photo ever

and ellie looks him in the eye and deadpans, “haven’t gotten around to switching out the stock photo”

and reginald forces his way in and Ellie is maybe about two seconds away from fetching her wood chopping ax for Reasons and then the kids come back piling through the door loudly and raucously with laughs that die off when they see exactly who is in their living room, the front door still swinging open and Ellie looking coldly furious

even Clyde reads the mood and whines and there’s a loud growling grumble which absolutely does not come from Clyde but instead originates from the doorway leading deeper into the cabin where Marmalade/Orange Idiot stands with back arched as he bares his teeth at the intruder like the true guard cat he is

“Kids go to the other room.” Ellie says, and when they move to protest she puts her foot down with a “Now.” and a significant look because Vanya looks like a ghost all the blood has drained so fast from her face and Five is trembling and Klaus has tucked him and Ben behind Diego with wide frightened eyes and she knows the kids are going to eavesdrop but she wants them out of eyesight of their worst nightmare at the very least

Reginald is thankfully silent as the kids troop into the other room

“Clyde you go with them,” Ellie orders the dog, because those kids need as much comfort as they can get right not, and then she looks at the cat, “And Marm, you go too.” and hey her and Marm may not see eye to eye on most things but they both love the kids and Ellie feels like they have an understanding on the level of “if this ass goes into the room with the kids tear him a new asshole” and Marmalade sticks his tail in the air and hisses one more time at Reginald for good measure before trotting off as though he intended to exit the entire time

and Reginald says something about the kids returning and picking up their training pronto and Ellie just cuts him off

“Sir Asshat.” She says, ignoring the small gasp because her kids are not subtle, “I’m going to be straight with you - why the fuck do you think you’re walking out of here with any of those kids.”

and Reginald draws himself up and is like “They are my children. I made them what they are.”

“You traumatized a bunch of perfectly good kids is what you did.” Ellie says, “Look at them. They have anxiety. But that’s not what I’m getting at - though I don’t quite count buying them as being yours to begin with they’re children not furniture - but what I’m getting at is: how are you going to make them?”

and Reginald looks startled

“Those kids in there,” Ellie jabs a finger towards the wall, “Are extraordinary. And on top of that, they have powers the likes of which I’ve never seen before. And you think you, Mr. Hargreeves, are a match for them? If they decide to really go against you? You think you can force them to do anything they don’t want to do?”

She jabs a finger at Reginald’s chest, forcing him to take a step back. Because he came here thinking he had all the power, because he’s a powerful man and money talks. But not here it doesn’t. Not in Ellie’s grandmother’s cabin, in her neck of the woods, not when she has seven children behind her and the man who still gives them nightmares in front of her.

Ellie bares her teeth in what might generously be called a smile if it didn’t look too much like she wanted to tear Reginald’s throat out. “You are very lucky, Mr. Hargreeves. Because if I was in those kids shoes? There wouldn’t be anyone left to come looking for me, you know? You want that luck to hold, don’t you Mr. Hargreeves?”

“Are you threatening me?” Reginald demands, but looks unnerved. And he invaded her home, wants to take her kids away, wiped the smiles off of her kids faces and left them quiet and trembling and afraid just with one glance at them.

“No, sir.” Ellie tells him, “Just pointing out a truth is all. Now Mr. Hargreeves, I’ll even do you a favor and give you another truth for free. You see, you’re going to turn around and get the hell off of my property. You’re going to leave my kids alone, and never darken my doorstep again. You’re going to go back to your sad, miserable, lonely little life and you are never even going to think in the direction of my kids ever again. Do you understand?”

“I could have you arrested!” Reginald says severely, drawing himself up. 

Ellie crosses her arms and looks to the side, where all the kids are now hovering in the doorway and watching this clash between the two adults. “Kids,” Ellie says, mild as milk, “If I were arrested would you bust me out?”

“Yeah.” Luther says, and the fact that’s it’s Luther who answers and has his face set in stone as he turns towards Ellie as if Reginald isn’t in the room. And Ellie is so fucking proud of him it hurts, “Of course we would.”

Ellie nods, “So you see, Mr. Hargreeves, the thing about family is that if you mess with one you mess with all. And I don’t think you really want to mess with us.”

And Reginald turns sharply to the door, cane flashing in the light and Ellie can see the kids flinch back and is kind of regretting not just going straight for the wood ax or maybe one of the kitchen knives or hey maybe just using her fists and going to town she’s pretty sure she can take this pasty old man

and reginald leaves and maybe he vows to return and ellie calmly tells him that if he shows up again she’ll consider him a trespasser and deal with him accordingly

and then he drives off and ellie goes back inside and the kids huddle around her and she sweeps them into her arms and presses kisses on their heads and cheeks and wipes away Vanya’s tears with one hand as she presses Klaus’s sobbing face into her shoulder and she promises them that she’ll never let them go back to their father’s care no matter what

even if that means taking the kids and running

“But your grandmother’s cabin - ” Ben starts, swiping a hand over his own tearstained face as Ellie reaches out to him

“Nana would understand.” Ellie tells him simply, “She’s dead, you’re alive. You come first over any silly little cabin, you hear?”

and that night everyone piles into Ellie’s room instead of going to their own, pressing against one another in a tangle of limbs that Ellie already knows is going to have her waking in the middle of the night sweating like a don’t know what but she can’t bring herself to protest not even why clyde hops in and so does the demon cat who she will never admit she likes

“If he comes back I’m going to kill him.” Ellie says, thoughtful as the kids settle around her, “You kids would help me bury the body, right?”

“If we killed him, do you think we could go rescue Mom?” Diego asks quietly, and Ellie is suddenly turning in bed because the kids only mentioned their mother once and then shut down entirely any other time ellie asked

“We don’t have to wait, sweetheart.” Ellie says, all thoughtful and maybe just a little bit vengeful and petty, “Tell me about your mom in the morning?”

and the kids snuggle closer and nod

and okay later when Ellie finally meets Grace she can admit that she expected an older woman around Reginald’s age not this lovely young woman with her 60s style skirt and her smile and oh she’s a robot?? okay yeah that makes sense there’s no way this literal angel of perfection could possibly be a mortal to begin with

yeah ellie might be fucked

[mumblingelf]

Hiiiiii, I was wondering if Shiro and Keith were brothers or not? Cause in a book I read they were and Lance was with Keith, but people keep drawling Shiro and Keith as a couple. And most fans hate the idea of incest, so I'm confused on whether this is one incest couple they're okay with.

As far as canon information, they are not blood/step brothers. If they were I believe in S2E8 (The Blade of Marmora) Keith would have specified that Shiro was important to him because he’s his brother; however, that’s not what he said. “Shiro, you’re like a brother to me.” Those aren’t words that real brothers say to each other. You don’t tell your sibling that they’re like a sibling to you because they are your sibling. 

Those are words that best friends (who occasionally become lovers) say to each other. Much like when you say your best friend is like your sibling to you. I am curious what book you’re referring to because, as far as myself and everyone else I’ve asked about it knows, nothing like that has been stated. If you don’t mind sending me a link to it, please do. :) The bigger portion of the hate around Sheith is that for some reason it’s targeted as pedophiliac when Keith is well over the age of a toddler/young child. I see them being between 2-4 years apart which is a common age range in couple relationships. I haven’t heard the incest argument much, tbh. Then again, I don’t go searching through the tags here anymore because I feel like it’s abused to the point where you can’t even find the actual content you’re looking for lol. :P I’m on Twitter and finding everything there through mutuals, so that might be why I haven’t seen it. At any rate, I hope that cleared something up? And I hope it all made sense? :)

[sage-nebula]

thinking about your interpretation of xy ash and how he kinda ended up feeling like he had to act the mature hero-type because of how the others started looking up to him and now i'm wondering if he ever called up brock or cilan or tracey and asked 'em if this was what it felt like to be the "oldest"/"mentor" figure of the group or something. it's a cute but kinda bittersweet mental image tbh but i wonder what your thoughts would be on this?

My thoughts are that this ask has unbelievably perfect timing, because I was just thinking about this yesterday, I kid you not. Like, I know it might seem like I’m just saying that, but as I was going through the OS episodes for my Sass Ketchum compilations I came across that scene in OS009 (“The School of Hard Knocks”) where Brock pulls out an entire table, chairs, a tablecloth, decorative flower in a vase, plates, silverware, cups, tea seat, coffee pot, et cetera to make snacks and food for Ash and Misty to cure their grumps and get them to stop fighting, which really cemented his role as the Babysitter of the group, and that made me start thinking about the Babysitters Club in general and how the main group (i.e. Ash’s group) in the Kalos saga really didn’t have one.

Now, to begin with, I think it’s important to define what I mean by this, because I realize that referring to one of the characters in the main squad as “the Babysitter” might seem demeaning to the other characters, who are most definitely “the Babysat.” I don’t mean it in a demeaning way, however. I merely mean that one of the characters in the group—the Babysitter—fulfills a certain role within the squad and usually fits certain other pieces of criteria as well. Namely, the Babysitter is usually a teenager (how much older varies, mostly in the case of Tracey) who takes care of various “household” duties, such as cooking, laundry, navigation, et cetera. They can quell fights, give advice, and generally look out for the younger members of the group (i.e. Ash, another companion his age, and sometimes an even younger companion). While specific ages outside of select characters are usually left open to interpretation (e.g. both Ash and Misty are stated to be ten, but Brock’s age is an ambiguous “younger than the adults (and also Team Rocket), but older than Ash and Misty”), the Babysitter character is usually taller than the other two, generally more mature and responsible, and therefore can easily assumed to be a little older, even though they aren’t yet adults themselves. To date, here are our series Babysitters, by region:

Kanto: Brock

Orange Islands: Tracey

Johto: Brock

Hoenn: Brock

Sinnoh: Brock

Unova: Cilan

Brock and Cilan I always imagine to be about fifteen; Tracey I see as a little younger, maybe thirteen or fourteen (like, he really seemed to be the middle ground between Brock and Ash & Misty, but he was still a clearly defined Babysitter in that he a.) was brought in to cover for Brock, b.) sadly had to leave when Brock came back to reprise his role, and c.) was the team navigator and more experienced member of the Orange Islands trio, so even though he seems a bit younger than Brock, he still comes across as a bit older than Ash & Misty, and so I’d consider him a teenager in the 13-14 age range, versus the 15-16 range of Brock). Regardless of ages, though, all three of these characters fulfill the Babysitter role, with Brock having the longest tenure. 

(And again, I know the term Babysitter might sound demeaning, but I really don’t mean it in a negative or derogatory way. The Babysat aren’t lesser because they’re being looked after by a teenager who is better at things like cooking, laundry, taking care of the kids when ill, et cetera. They’re just young and less experienced, and that’s okay. Besides, the Babysitters are like older siblings, tbh. Brock in particular had a lot of experience thanks to his ten younger biological siblings, so he was well equipped to take care of Ash, Misty, May, Max, and Dawn. It’s not a bad thing that these five were taken care of by Brock, and I certainly don’t use the terms “Babysitter” or “Babysat” in a mocking fashion. It’s just sort of how it ended up working out. =P)

Now, when I started thinking about what I’ve affectionately nicknamed The Babysitters Club last night (as a play on that old book series—though, notably, all of our PokéAni series babysitters are male!), I came to the realization that the main Kalos squad doesn’t have one. That isn’t to say there isn’t one in Kalos at all, of course; in The Strongest Mega Evolution, Alan (age 15) acts as the Babysitter for Manon (age 10) since she has just started out on her journey, and—much like Ash at the start of the OS—has absolutely no clue what she’s doing (thus he watched out for and protected her). Of course, this set-up is inverted in a few ways; to start with, while the main series usually has it so that the protagonist is one of the Babysat (Ash), in The Strongest Mega Evolution, our protagonist is the Babysitter, Alan. Secondly, Alan didn’t join Manon on her journey; rather, Manon kept following him around, inviting herself on his journey, basically making him babysit her against his will (at least at first; he warmed up to her over time). Lastly, Manon ended up too dependent on Alan, something he calls her on in TSME 4 (“You need to stop depending on me all the time”), which ended up hurting her journey rather than helping it, which is honestly part of why I disregard the XY saga’s ending for the two of them and fix it by having her resume her journey independently (as I feel he would gently push her to do, so she can build her confidence and independence as a trainer). Typically the Babysat don’t end up wholly depending on their Babysitter, but that’s what happened here. Regardless of these inversions, however, Alan definitely qualifies as a member of The Babysitters Club given that he is a teenager who, for at least part of the time, looks after a child who just started on her journey. (They both also fulfill the Badass and Child Duo trope, with Alan as the Badass and Manon as the Child. Granted, Alan is younger than the standard Badass given that he’s still a teenager rather than adult, but they fit the bill nonetheless.)

But while Alan is definitely a Babysitter in Kalos, the fact remains that he’s not part of the main group because he doesn’t travel with Ash. (And in fact, his relationship with Ash is not akin to the typical Babysitter - Babysat relationship; Alan and Ash treat each other as equals, whereas Brock took care of Ash and Ash looked to Brock for advice, and Alan protects Manon and Manon depends on him for that protection and strength.) And while Alan is not the Babysitter in Ash’s Kalosean group, the truth is that Ash’s Kalosean group doesn’t have a marked Babysitter. If anything, Ash, Serena, and Clemont all share the role of Babysitter for Bonnie, which is another thing that makes me feel like the ages for those three are more than a little borked / unbelievable.

What I mean by that is … I know that Ash is ten in the XY(&Z) series. I know this. But he doesn’t act ten, and this is one of the ways in which he doesn’t. The fact that, for the first time ever, he didn’t need a Babysitter in the group speaks to the fact that he should be a couple years older (that he, like Tracey, should be ~13/14). The fact that he, Serena, and Clemont share the typical Babysitter responsibilities speaks to this. Ash handles the protection, the heroism, the strength, the advice; he has to be the Hero™ for them because they all expect it, as do so many others in Kalos (e.g. Shouta, Tierno, Trevor, and Shauna all see him this way, too). While Ash never hero worshiped any of the Babysitters he traveled with, as I said, he did look to Brock for advice at times. The Babysitter is typically seen as more experienced and mature and reliable in this sense. They know what they’re doing, and in the Kalos saga, everyone assumed that Ash knew what he was doing, since he was The Ace. He tried to be that for them because they expected it of him, and in this way he graduated to The Babysitters Club. (Also, remember XYZ044, when he was able to help out with the cooking? Yeah, he was just helping rather than being the main cook, but still. There’s a marked difference there between how he and Misty flailed around in Johto when Brock was sick, or how he made poison in the SM saga. It makes you think he grew some, that he has learned some, that Brock would have wiped away tears of pride if he saw his baby brother helping make the food.)

Meanwhile, while I may be forgetting certain episodes or certain things, I seem to remember both Serena and Clemont handling things like cooking or laundry at different points. In fact, I specifically remember a lot of Discourse™ surrounding Serena making cookies for Ash, and I also seem to remember Clemont inventing something to make laundry easier (though it, like his other inventions, might have exploded at some point—but look, he tried, and therefore no one should criticize him!). Rather than having one character handle everything, as Brock did, I feel like the chores were shared between Ash, Serena, and Clemont whenever they were shown at all. The only one who didn’t really participate independently was Bonnie, since she was so little, meaning that in a way Ash, Serena, and Clemont were all the Babysitter at different points, whereas Bonnie was indisputably the Babysat. (Which, it might seem ridiculous to say that one little girl needs three Babysitters, but it’s not because she’s a problem child. She’s not. It’s that her three Babysitters needed help, hahaha.)

So yeah, what I’m driving at here is—the Kalos saga really didn’t have a defined Babysitter, which forced Ash to step up and Babysit himself, + his companions at various points, while his other two companions at least did help out when it came to the “household” chores. (I mean, of course they didn’t really have a house, but you know what I mean.) It was basically a situation where, they didn’t have an older teenager with them this time, they realized this belatedly, and thus had to make due on their own. Thankfully, they didn’t die. But I do think it’s yet another thing that makes Kalos!Ash feel a bit older to me. He’s still not as old as Alan, but I can’t help but see Kalos!Ash as ~13/14, particularly when you compare him (and Serena and Clemont, tbh) to characters like Manon, who we know just started out and who acts like the ten-year-old child she is. Ash (and Serena and Clemont) act like young teenagers, versus kids, and the fact that they didn’t have a traditional Babysitter among the party contributes to this feeling.

So, uh, to get back to your original question—I definitely think that what you’ve described is very fitting. In my personal view, I feel like part of the reason why Ash decided to up and leave Kalos on his own (before his companions announced their own plans) was that he was just so exhausted after everything. He did a good job of keeping it together and trying to hide it, but as we see after his loss to Wulfric and subsequent fight with Serena he got really, really tired of having to be the Hero™ all the time, of having to be strong and upbeat all the time. (Which, again, is part of why Alan was so good for him; Alan was so strong that it was acceptable in the eyes of everyone else if Ash lost against him, so Ash could battle his hardest and just have fun with the match rather than having pressure on his shoulders. Additionally, while he does offer Alan emotional support, Alan doesn’t look to him for that; rather, Ash can go after him and offer it of his own volition, and just be honest about it, admitting that he doesn’t know what to say but offering what he can anyway. He doesn’t have to feel like he’s going to be judged if he admits he doesn’t know what to say, and it’s not expected of him to offer support to Alan. It’s a much more freeing and emotionally healthy relationship for Ash, as we’ve discussed before.) I think he was pretty eager to go back home to Kanto because of how tiring that all was, and I also think this played a part in how he stayed in Kanto for a while, seemingly chilling with Delia before they won that lottery, and even then originally going to Alola on vacation. It’s telling, I feel, that Ash didn’t feel compelled to go on a journey again right away. (Er, at least, telling if we want to pretend there’s still some continuity. We all know how the writers are nowadays, but I like to dream.)

With all of that said, I feel like Ash might still be in kind of a mindset where he doesn’t necessarily talk about this right away, especially if he’s trying to take a break from everything in Kalos—but I feel like his friends could tell. Brock in particular, being the nurturing guy he is (and having traveled with Ash for four regions), would probably pick up on it immediately if he traveled to Pallet to visit Ash while he was in town, and would be like, “What’s on your mind?” but also, “Here, let me get you a cup of cocoa. You still take it with six marshmallows, right? And Pikachu, I’ve got a fresh batch of those treats you like with me, let me get them out of my bag.” And Ash would get to enjoy what it feels like to be taken care of for the first time in a long time, and would no doubt relish in it. (Meanwhile, Pikachu’s like, “MY FAVORITE TREATS, FUCK YEAH!!” … well, maybe a little less profane than that, but it’s all Pikaspeak, so who can tell. :P)

Anyway, to wrap up this super long answer: I do think that Ash had to be the Babysitter (or at least share Babysitting responsibilities) for Kalos, and I do think that wore on him to a degree, at least by the time of the journey’s end—not so much because he had to Babysit per se (because he also acted as a coach to May in some ways), but more so because it was that plus having to be The Ace and The Hero™ with everyone acting like the world was ending if he lost or showed any weakness. And I do think he would think, sometimes, about how this must have been how Brock, Tracey, and Cilan felt to some degree, and so when Brock was making his cocoa would probably try to help, until Brock told him, no no, sit down, it’s just cocoa! He doesn’t mind making it. (Ash would, after some time of the two of them talking, probably say, like, “Hey, by the way—thanks for always looking out for me when we traveled together. And now. This, too.” And Brock would smile and shrug and say:

“No problem. I’m always happy to be here for you.”

Ash would probably drop by Oak’s lab to thank Tracey for not letting him and Misty die in the Orange Islands, too, and then call Cilan to thank him for helping him and Iris. You know. He knows how it feels now so he really feels compelled to thank them all.)

So yeah, absurdly long answer aside, I really do feel that this is the case! And your timing is perfect since I was just thinking about it, haha. Thanks for sending this in!!