#im almost never into childhood friends to lovers so the fact that a ship with it grabbed me THIS hard

[octahyde]

ok yes i don’t like the ship but like, i think rookvil shippers are very correct in portraying rook as someone with a variety of interests and his own likes but the second Vil comes up he drops everything to talk about how stunning and wonderful she is

like. yeah. we see a ton of that in book 5 even if i interpret why he does it and the impact differently but i can see why people find it romantic

but nobody acknowledges that Trey is literally exactly the fucking same about riddle and it drives me crazy. He drives me crazy. I have split on this cartoon character while playing this game before because he would not shut up about riddle rosehearts. he never SHUTS THE FUCK UP about riddle rosehearts.

and it’s fucking insane because like, Vil is a movie star and a fashion model. It’s very easy to see why someone would be enamored by her. (I know he would even if she wasn’t blah blah)

Meanwhile riddle is this stupid fucking angry little British boy who has never watched a tv show before. riddle would flip shit if he learned about Sonic the hedgehog because the concept of a character not respecting the law and playing by his own rules is bad enough, but he’s a HEDGEHOG? Such graceful animals would never act so disrespectful and crass. And Trey clover is in love with him. He is fucking head over heels for him. He wants to spend the rest of his life with a guy who had to be held back because Ace told him “eat my shorts” when he turned the Simpsons off. We need to put Trey clover under a microscope and study him.

[vennussy]

im seeing a lot of chrickie today so im dubbing today as chrickie monday (also bcs there's so much crickets this morning too jfc) and in contribution to chrickie monday, here is some fun fact about these two lovebirds in my wip pirate au.

spoilers maybe??? it's not a lot but if you wanna see it through the fic then that's okay too uwu

edit: it is a lot.

map for reference

Chrissy named the Wicked Witch of the Hawk, because of her history of love for magic which is illegal everywhere but Plaizon. When she was found learning and trying magic, she was called witch and banished from Hawkins.

Vickie is the beloved bard of Hawkins, loved by her peers. In the daytime, she plays her instruments to the loud and lively tavern, but at night, she goes to the secluded forest north of Hawkins where her girlfriend resides.

Vickie was the only one who supported Chrissy with her interest, and Robin too ofc.

They both met through Robin. Robin and Chrissy being childhood friends and Vickie and Robin knowing each other from the times they played together in the tavern.

Chrissy and Vickie weren't close at first but Vickie fell for Chrissy's passion and sweetness, her determination to learn about magic and seeing the beauties of it rather than the fear. Chrissy fell for Vickie's charismatic nature, her love for her family and the sacrifices she makes for people she loves.

Vickie fell first but Chrissy fell harder.

When Chrissy announce she wants to officially live in Plaizon, Vickie was nothing but supportive.

"Why not come with me, my love?" Chrissy would tell her as they cuddle on soft moss they were laying on, staring into the moon light. "I'm sorry, my light, but I cannot just leave my family here. I will visit though, every chance I get. Maybe even with Robin if I can convince her crew! I promise. Nothing will ever keep us apart."

Vickie keeps to her promise and almost once a week she would travel from Hawkins to Plaizon to see her love. The travel takes 5-6 days with a regular sailor boat, longer with a merchant boat but she doesn't care as long as she sees her love in the end.

Chrissy also visits Hawkins from time to time too so Vickie doesn't have to all of the work. It's harder for her though because she either has to go to a foreign ship that doesn't know she's banished there or sneak in a Hawkin's boat.

Chrissy loves to show Vickie her progress with magic and whether big or small changes, Vickie is always happy and interested to see it.

One time Vickie came to Chrissy all beat up bcs of a bar fight but one particular guy following her and beating her before she got away. The next day, Chrissy surprised Vickie with a pet frog. The guy went missing the same day.

Contrary to rumours spread, Chrissy did not curse anyone nor make them love her like she apparently did with Vickie. Even as a witch, she's just naturally charming and sweet.

Chrissy doesn't get jealous that much even with Vickie bcs she trusts her love more than anything. Vickie on the other hand is overprotective (in a healthy way ofc) and hates when men catcalls her every 2 seconds.

Vickie once thought she'll never get a chance with Chrissy bcs she assumed her and Robin were dating with how close they were. They weren't, they were more of siblings than lovers.

alrighty thats all for now i hope yall enjoy that!! that was long ASF

[rayshippouuchiha]

so my sister and i were talking about how we never really shipped stucky but are very much into sambucky, and we realize that we almost never ship the childhood friends together. (in fact im pretty sure makoharu is the only exception). So we got into discussing why we ship what we ship, enemies to friends to lovers, reluctant allies to friends to lovers, etc. And it's basically we like to see the transformation, from distrust to love, with understanding coming to love the other. I feel seen TM

Oh a mood has appeared

[nightwings-bussy]

guess who's still on their bullshit? it's me. it's always me. i'm going to talk about why dickkorybabs is a fantastic ship and you should ship it, let's just go character by character

dick. dickie boy. sweet richard john grayson. you're so queer and they just don't know what to do with you, do they. you're so queer that your serial monogamy in every comic since the 90's literally comes off not as "playboy" behavior but as honest to god suspicious, like the writers understand that if they leave you single for so much as a panel or two, it'll become way too obvious how gay you are. but no matter who they shack you up with, who your gf of the week is (and im sure they're lovely but let's be real... they're a placeholder) none of them compare to your Two Great Character Defining Loves. but also no one can fuckin agree on which of those Loves is supposed to be your one and only and as such neither can you - not because you don't love them both profoundly, but because you DO, often at the same time. that's poly as fuck baby. that's just fine.

because barbara and kori are both spectacular, but they each speak to something very different in dick: babs speaks to dick's foundation, to long held, precious bonds, to his loyalty to the family, to his place as the Prodigal Son, detective, prom king, goofball. babs is designed as dick's perfect counterbalance, the first girl he ever crushed on, the one who's known him almost a little too well for a little too long.

kory, on the other hand, speaks to dick's growth, his ascension as a leader, his independence, the formation of a new, strong identity that's all his own. kory has been a part of so many conversations for dick about who he's trying to become. babs and dick carry a lot of the same baggage - they've endured many of the same unkindnesses, survived under the same man's immense expectations and pressure, and that gives them a lot of common ground. in contrast, kory's never lived under batman's thumb, and dick has to fight off a lot of his more bruce-like impulses around her; kory helps dick embrace the emotional core of himself that bruce never could. she celebrates his openness, his softness, his emotional and physical neediness in a way he always thought he had to keep hidden. kory and babs have different access points to dick's heart, his vulnerability. and at his best, dick is an amazing partner to them both: dedicated and charming, deeply affectionate, funny and excited about them, trusting, respectful, in awe of them, confident in them, protective but not overbearing, a strong advocate and partner who's deeply and tirelessly interested in them.

but dick has a dark side that all his friends and lovers eventually see, and it manifests strongly with both of them. with babs, dick's biggest struggle seems to be his ability to trust her with his whole self, to be kind and fair to her in his darker moments, and (debatably) to be loyal when the chips are down. with kory, it's a constant struggle with his baggage; his difficulty expressing himself or be emotionally vulnerable after a childhood spent with a guy who rarely does either, his difficulty trusting anyone as much as he trusts his family, his conflicting cultural values around relationships and violence. without growth on his part, all of these issues represent a big hurdle to any real attempt at long-term relationships with either of them.

but triangles are the most stable shape for a reason.

let's cover this quickly, because i truly feel this is the easiest part to wrap your head around: there is absolutely no way, in the hands of a writer who knows anything, that kory and babs are not attracted to each other. it's simply impossible. babs is 100% kory's type (proud, stubborn, brilliant, competent, red head, warrior), and meanwhile babs is a lesbian with a singular exception. name me one lesbian who wouldn't be all over starfire given the opportunity. you can't. we don't exist.

also, on a personality level, kory and babs are just SO complimentary - kory's smart and strong and resourceful, and so is babs. babs is snarky and brave and domineering, and so is kory. babs has known the bitter pain of loneliness and isolation from ones family by a situation largely beyond your control. so has kory. kory has known the struggle of creating a new family and trying over and over to explain yourself to people who may not understand or accept you. so has babs. you could circle again and again why they're so good for each other, but you could also sum it up with the fact that they both deeply love the same man, and they could easily love one another just as deeply.

and then you start to realize how many problems it solves. queer dick? he's here baby. kory opens him right up - issues with being vulnerable? dealt with. issues trusting babs with his true self? kory says honesty only in this household. issues with loyalty? welcome to normalized polyamory, says our tamaranean princess. is he being a cunt to babs when he gets grumpy? now she has an advocate, bc kory never lets dick get away with that shit.

and with kory it's the exact same. dick struggles to be emotionally available bc of his weirdo dad? yeah, that's okay - babs speaks dick-ese. dick can't trust anyone the way he trusts family? babs is here to back kory up and make sure dick understands she IS family. dick has issues working through his conflicting cultural values with kory? well babs is a damn professional at overseeing Dialogues(TM), let her at him.

and on top of all that it's FUCKING CUTE. lose the jealousy subplots and the cheating subplots and just let kory and babs fall in love already - give dick the femdom supremacy lifestyle he so desperately craves. like it's just amazing how rarely i see this pairing when it's this gd good like WHERE are my dickkorybabs fic recs. where are they

[goldengoddess]

hi! I'm really really sorry to add to the amount of requests you have in your inbox but this seems really cool! no rush you can take your time :)). your headcanons are really spot on and i love seeing them on my dash!

could i get a pairing with a grishaverse guy? I'm an intj Capricorn (she/her pronouns) with (almost) waist length brown hair and brown eyes. I'm very sarcastic and generally withdrawn but i get very passionate about the things i love! I'm not too outgoing and i get a little exhausted when I'm around a lot of people for a long time, and i usually prefer small groups of close friends. i take some time to open up to others and i might put on a tough front but I'm actually really scared of being judged. I'm a ravenclaw (really a slytherclaw) and i love books, sunsets, and the night sky in the forest. i love the dark academia aesthetic and my preferred scent is citrus/mint (those really don't match up but it works for me haha). my favorite colors are silver, burgundy, and periwinkle! i hope that's enough info for you to go off of and I'm so excited to see what you come up with!

oh my goodness dont say sorry! really it's okay, im happy to do this im having so much fun <333 ily doll,,, i kinda got carried away ur a very interesting human

i ship you with nikolai lantsov <3

you and nikolai are childhood best friends to lovers. everyone saw it coming, except the two of you obviously. but it was painfully obvious for the longest time. he loves to braid your hair. so much. he spends a lot of time trying to learn different hairstyles and he insist on doing your hair for you ("it's like rapunzel hair! you deserve to have it done up!") he intentionally brings up the things you lie so you get to talk about them, because if not he knows you keep it buried away. though nikolai is king, he doesn't particularly like big crowds. so being able to just drag you around to a separate room to just let it be the two of you, is fantastic for him. firmly believe that nikolai is a slytherclaw so you two are very very compatible in that sense. nikolai says that every week you guys have to have a date night. he (him! not the workers of the little palace, him! he thinks this is a very important fact) sets up a picnic at sunset and you to talk until you see stars. and then you lay down next to each other talking about growing up together and future plans. it's all very romantic, all very nikolai. buys you alot of candles with your favourite scents. and they're always on. thanks to you the palace always smells like mint. you've affected nikolai in a way he'll never be able to explain.

[hanadolphieron]

lunar artist!yeojin; chapter two~

warnings; fish, fish bites?

genre; sci-fi, strangers to friends to lovers, fluff

pairing; im yeojin x gender neutral!reader

word count; 1.8k

summary; your small crater town on the moon was rarely visited. one day, artist!yeojin travels all the way from mars to paint the serene, wistful scenery of your planet.

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

day one-

you return to the same place every day, the place you met yeojin, the first spark in your life for as long as you can remember. she isn’t there.

day two-

again, you go back. she isn’t there.

day three-

she isn’t there.

day four-

you still go back. she isn’t there.

day five-

you don’t go back.

day six-

you stay home.

day seven-

you go back. she’s there.

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

yeojin looks up and says nothing. 

“you’re back!” you exclaim rushing towards her. you go in for a hug, but balk at the last second, wondering if yeojin would appreciate physical contact or would prefer to remain at a distance.

however, yeojin pulled you in, a big smile on her face, clearly overjoyed to see you.

“i missed you. where have you been?” you inquire, pulling back and looking into her eyes. somehow, you seem to have gotten closer over the week you’ve been apart.

“can’t say.” she tells you.

you both stand there, unsure of what to do. or, at least, you’re unsure, yeojin seems perfectly content standing there and staring up at you. you’re bending your legs a little so she doesn’t have to crane her neck, but we’re just going to leave that unmentioned for the rest of this chapter for yeojin’s sake.

���where do you live?” yeojin asks shamelessly. you lightly sigh, glad she spared you the task of saying something first.

“just over the hill. my house overlooks a little moon pond, there’s fish there too!” you ramble, excited. you’ve never talked about your house to anyone before. communicating has become a chore lately, and you haven’t bothered reaching out to anyone else except your plant, named rock, so talking to yeojin is a practically entertainment, “the water even freezes during the night! we could go ice-skating together!”

yeojin seems unaffected by your exuberance. in fact, she looks delighted by your plans. (even though she pretty much initiated it, with her not-so-subtle self invitation to your house)

“come with me,” you say, turning around, reminiscent of the way yeojin did just a week ago.

yeojin follows, a bounce in her step. her legs are moving insanely fast to keep up with you and you can barely see them. 

breaking the ice with a sledgehammer, you ask yeojin, “why did you leave so early last time?”

“i- like i told you, i had to be back by 17:33,” she stutters out.

“how did you do that,” you make weird floaty hand gestures at the air around you, “thing?”

“it’s just a habit i picked up when ships became scarce and i couldn’t fly,” yeojin says shortly. maybe you shouldn’t have asked. however, you decide to go against your gut and inquire more.

“isn’t that something plutonians do?” you seem to have hit a nerve with this question. yeojin opens her mouth, then purses her lips. her steps slowed a little, and she stumbled a bit.

you save her from your own question by asking another one, “do you like salt on your pretzels?”

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

you make it to your house, finally, the tension between the two of you was tight and you needed a distraction. 

walking over the hill, you stop, letting yeojin take in the view.

decking out the area around your house had become a full-time job once you realized there was nothing to do on this planet, and you had quite the plethora of beautiful, thoughtful places nestled around the lake’s edges.

a pier stretches out into the glistening water. fluorescent fish glide around its support. to the right of the pond, there is a garden, filled with all sorts of purple plants, creating a splash of dull color in your gray world. on the cliff behind the lake lies a mural, painted across the rocky edges in vibrant hues.

on the right sits your home. it’s wood, a native material of your home planet, that you brought with you as a keepsake to remind you of your roots. considerably small, your cottage only takes up a tiny sliver of the space surrounding the lake. it’s in the corner, a cute hidey-hole for you to stay safe and secure in.

yeojin looks out at the expanse of your property, her face expressionless. suddenly, as if she remembers that she has emotions, awe and adoration spread across her face. she turns to you, “it’s beautiful,” she says, and looks back at the view again.

“thanks,” you whisper back. “well, let’s get to it i guess, gotta get those pretzels pretzeled!” you say, slightly awkwardly, but that’s normal for you.

as you move past the pier, yeojin looks out into the water and sees the fish up-close. apparently having an epiphany over how much she wants to touch a fish, she drags you by the sleeve closer to the water’s edge.

you stumble over there, knowing exactly how this is going to go down.

yeojin rips off her left shoe and stabs her foot into the water. the fish, luckily, aren’t scared by her aggression and continue blandly swimming. (just keep swimming swimming swimming) 

yeojin isn’t satisfied with this, and reaches into the water.

“wait, yeojin, no!” you clamber after her. those fish are hostile!

it’s too late. yeojin tries to touch the fish, and, not used to abrasive humans attempting to make physical contact, the animal flips and flaps around, teeth out, and bites yeojin.

“ow!” yeojin yells, in a loud, raspy voice.

however, her poor finger did not bleed, and she was fine after a few seconds of glaring at the fish, who was oblivious to her anger.

you laugh, and head on towards your house. yeojin follows with narrowed eyes.

opening the door, you are met with a subtle silver glow from the lights.

“is everything on this planet gray and shiny?” yeojin exclaims upon entering.

“no! did you not the see the exquisite purple colored vegetables i tend to over yonder?”

yeojin says nothing. you won. hah!

going to the kitchen and leaving yeojin to fend for herself, you drag up two pretzels from the depths of your pantry.

yeojin survives the trek of 10 feet from the doorway into the house to the doorway to the kitchen and stands in the threshold, hands on her hips. 

you look at her, your eyes inspecting her dominating stance.

“just trying to scare you. guess it worked.”

huffing, you slap the doughy carbohydrates onto the counter and throw them in the oven.

“that was almost as aggressive as me,” yeojin comments, sipping from a drink. you think its yours. than again, who else would it belong to.

yeojin doesn’t seem to mind that she is inhaling your germs and slurps loudly.

you shake your head and look at the oven, trying to persuade the minutes to go by faster with the force of your mind. they don’t comply.

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

after talking for a while and becoming more familiar with each other, the oven screeched, causing you to jump from the noise and yeojin to cackle.

you stalk over to the oven, shoving on some super-mitts as to not burn yourself. you pull the pretzels out of the kitchen appliance and place them onto plates. 

sitting down across from yeojin and snatching another glass that had been laying on the counter, (there was a total of six sitting there, they started to pile up once you realized no one was going to tell you to pick them up and you had complete freedom to be lazy) you began to snack.

yeojin wasn’t the most delicate eater.

with cacophonous munching and smacking, she consumed her carbohydrates. 

you looked on, not exactly in disgust, but definitely in curiosity as you had never seen such an warrior-like eater.

yeojin notices you observing, but pretends she doesn’t, and chews louder.

in the middle of your small meal, yeojin interrupts the precious silence and asks, “can you play music?”

“you have music on mars?” you respond, surprised that she asked for such an elegant item.

“that didn’t answer my question.”

sighing deeply, you move to turn on the radio.

“yes, we do have music. some. besides, i paint. it’s hard to feel passionate about creating without indulging in other art forms.”

“oh.”

both of you are quiet for a while, listening to the sound of the music. 

suddenly, you decide to forego your normal daydreaming and imagining music-related tendencies and jump up. starting to fling your limbs out in all directions, you begin to dance.

yeojin falls out of her chair laughing at your attempt.

you, delighted by her clumsiness and happiness, topple over too, laughing as well. the two of you are on the ground for a few moments, and then you drag yeojin up with weak arms, pulling her into the middle of the room. 

falling to each other’s floppy embrace, you jump in circles, not exactly in tune with the music but that doesn’t matter anymore.

what matters is yeojin’s cute laugh that contradicts her tough persona, the way her cheeks get all chubby with the force of her smiling, the stars sparkling in her eyes, her hair flying around her face, sticking to her forehead now sweating from the exertion of laughing so hard you are about to perish, and the way she’s looking at you right now. 

the way she’s looking at you right now. 

it’s not the normal, happy, platonic look. 

not the same way your childhood friends looked at you when you made a great joke, or did something sweet for them. 

there’s something more there.

something that reminds you of waves crashing over the enormous beaches of you home planet, on the nights that don’t feel real, the ones that make you experience emotions that you can’t fully comprehend because they’re so beautiful, and so, so painful at the same time.

something that reminds you of roses, fluttering out into petals, blooming despite the thorns attached to their sides.

something that reminds you of illuminated evenings, talking and laughing, with an inexplicable tension in the air, one that makes you feel all warm and nervous inside.

something that reminds you of swirling blackness, that goes on forever, hidden from normal eyes, the perfect, dangerous place to explore and be addicted to.

something that reminds you of white clouds, floating across the sky, creating tapestries of gorgeous pictures, free to interpret and giggle over.

something that reminds you of actions, colorful vivid experiences. ones that leave a mark on your memory, but you don’t exactly remember who or what was happening, just a specific smell or sight or feeling.

and through all of those visions, you see yeojin in all of them.

not exactly see her, but she’s there, a presence that overpowers everything, so strong, taking over your mind, bringing you back to reality but ripping you away.

and then she’s right in front of you. close to your face. too close.

so close your lips are almost touching, noses brushing, eyes looking deep into each other’s souls.

and you pull away.

yeojin does too. 

and you’re back to where you started. slightly awkward, with a connection you can’t explain. back to where it’s safe.

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[ofrolysdogs]

HUGE HEADCANON & seven swordsman childhoods :0

bruh i have this REALLY huge idea, i really want to animate it but i have little 2 no experience with animation (i can draw tho thats like the least i can do) and i watched the S2 Glitchtale series and it gave me such a huge inspiration for something!!! (warning this post is *very* long)

so the seven ninja swordsmen weren't always ruthless, matter of fact, they were never ruthless, they were only trying to protect kirigakure from enemies, the reason why it started was because during the 1st mizukage's reign there was a huge human trafficking rumor going around which turned out to be true, enemy villages were kidnapping children from kiri & the seven ninja swordsman was formed, throughtout the years the seven ninja swordsman were labled as this ruthless group of people who killed just because they wanted to & that wasn't the case.

the swords have a mind of their own much like samehada and in most cases the blade's souls would take over their weilder and have them do ruthless & heartless shit.

the last generation (y'know ameyuri ringo mangetsu hozuki and those guys) were the best at keeping a distance between the swords souls & themselves, making them the strongest generation ever, but, why were they so ruthless during the 4th great ninja war?

kabuto had the help of a friend who terroized many of the last generation when they were younger (especially kushimaru for one sole reason: his power), and had extracted their original souls in replacement of the blade's souls.

during their lifetime, they were all branded as ruthless, heartless, coldblooded thugs outside of the village, but in kiri, they were known as heros, loving, and protective over their village, the fourth mizukage was not always ruthless, when obito had placed him under genjutsu and controlled him, thats when the "bloody mist era" began.

ameyuri ringo worked as a scientist alongside her lover, ace (an oc of mine :3) and specialized in lightning style which she had no effort in, her mother & father, alongside her elder brother had died around the end of the 2nd shinobi war, now homeless without a family, she was adopted and raised by them, a pretty decent childhood, she was playful & confident, can get a bit too overconfident at times but still, she was loved by everyone around her, ameyuri eventually met ace, and the two of them fell in love, as they were scientists, the two were responsible for the electricity in the mist, ameyuri was then drafted to fight in the third great ninja war, killing over 100 chunin and 50 jonin after kiba, her blade, had taken over her soul completely, ameyuri knew how to control kiba's soul, but kiba found other ways to take over ameyuri, eventually with the help of ace & kushimaru, ameyuri was finally feeling better, but was fatally ill, and soon, passed.

kushimaru kuriarare, being apart of this clan as the most strongest of all, despite having ptsd & major anxiety, still tried his best to make his life better after his traumatizing childhood, his clan was slaughtered at the hands of a shimogakure shinobi named mujōna which will later then start the war between kirigakure and shimogakure, in haunt for his soul, as it possessed an inhumane amount of dark chakra passed down by his mother, mujōna had created a sensei for him, which in turn had abused him constantly, his sensei and mujōna worked together to "power" him, having him tied down being bit by venomous spiders which gave him a huge amount of arachnophobia later, over the years he was staying with jinpachi's parents, and the two future swordsmen will later become like brothers, the two moved in together and kushimaru then later had a child out of wedlock which turned him into a single father, with the help of jinpachi, the two of them worked together to raise the child (don't judge me this is my favorite ship) in a household where there is no conflict & hatred. the third great ninja war had started and kushimaru was on the battlefield, while fighting might dai who was in his 8th gate form, kushimaru had a dark chakra sealed inside of him, whilst loosing control and also loosing control over nuibari's soul, inserting inside of kushimaru's body, he became a monster and killed everyone in his path, including jinpachi & jinin were were also fighting against might dai, kushimaru survived but was terribly injured, and for the rest of his life spent in a hospital bed, dying peacefully.

jinin akebino was known as a hero fighting in the 2nd shinobi war as a teen, deadly on the battlefield and showed no mercy, never letting kabutowari's soul take over him, a brave young man with a heart of steel. after the war had ended, he decided to settle down and become an academy teacher for a short period, while also taking care of his son & sick wife who was fatally ill with lung cancer, after his wife had died, he was now a single father taking care of his now 13 year old son, training him to become like him someday, his son grew older and eventually moved a new path, jinin now teaches young chunin how to control their jutsus and looks after the other swordsman on his team, the third great ninja war starts & jinin is fighting against might dai, noticing one of his teammates lost control of his soul in the process, being killed before might dai even makes a move on him

mangetsu was raised by the sea alongside his younger brother, the goddess of the sea had taken the young boys as her own after their parents had died in the 2nd war, they were then trained to fight to become one of the seven ninja swordsman, suigetsu had accidentally let his blade's soul take over his body, which had stayed attatched to him for the majority of his life, mangetsu on the other hand, had learned how to control his emotions and not let the sword's soul take over him, but mangetsu wasn't satisfied, he wanted to weild all 7 blades, in which he almost died while doing so, since the last person who wanted to weild all 7 swords had died in the process, while he tried to use shibuki, it would blow up out of nowhere, even when he wasn't even using it to train or fight, nuibari's wire would cut him deep & the other swords would even try to attack him on his own, hiramekarei (well, one half) was the only sword that didn't have an evil soul, which he kept by his side, eventually he got the ability to weild all 7 swords which also in the end, costed him his life.

[ im thinking of more headcanons soon so this is part 1 for now. ]

[got2ghost-archive]

ten ships and why!! I was tagged by @alienfuckeronmain AHH THANK U I LOVE TALKING ABT THIS SHIT

Half of my list is childhood best friends to lovers let's GOOOO

1. drarry

*deep shuddering inhale* I have thought abt draco and harry being foils before I even reached double digits. they could have saved each other and had so much potential to even just be FRIENDS!! if j*r wasn't like that, then she could have actually made a meaningful impact on draco early on. abt how you don't have to be your parents! and how to heal!! anyway I love them any way shape or form. I love reading dark gritty fucked up stories about them just as much as I love reading domestic silly fluffy stuff for them. draco would NOT put up with harry's bullshit and harry would NOT go easy on draco either but they're ultimately just two lonely boys who grew up in fucked up households who have much more in common than they realize!!! LIKE!!

2. wangxian

yes they're a new one but God their love extends so deeply. yes they r basically Chinese fantasy Kirk/spock!!

lan zhan is so in love w wei ying and is so devoted and everything he does is action or acts of service which js very much my love language!! but he also feels a deep sense of obligation to the rules and codes he's learned?? and wei ying loves lan zhan but it takes him a long time to accept it bc he DOESNT BELIEVE HE IS DESERVIG OF LOVE despite being so GOOD. AND THEY NEVER TALK TO EACH OTHER OR COMMUNICATE THEY WAY THEY SHOULD!!!! AND HE DIES and LAN ZHAN IS JUST. REPENTENT FOR 16 YEARS AND RAISES HIS SON AND IS SO INCREDIBLY SAD AND MISERABLE BUT THEN WWX comes BACK TO LIFE and they get to try again AND THEY GET TO BE HAPPY???? ANYWAY ACTS OF DEVOTION I!!!!

3. soriku

I've genuinely thought abt them since I was TEN when the first kingdom hearts game came out but it didn't solidify until KH2 came out when sora has to search for riku the entire game and when he finally does RIKU DOESNT EVEN LOOK LIKE HIMSELF BUT SORA STILL RECOGNIZES HIM ANYWAY AND HOLDS HIS HAND AND CRIES. THAT SHIT MADE ME GAY! I had never witnessed such tenderness and they are so inherently queer and subtle that it's one of the first stories I ever saw myself in. on top of that I also read that doujinshi that I consider Canon and it's so!! childhood best friends! with big complicated feelings of jealousy and betrayal and possessiveness when you start to grow apart from the person you care about the most!! and in game they're slowly... circling to become end game? the entire story revolves around them saving each other and RIKU LITERALLY CALLING SORA HIS MOST PRECIOUS PERSON? AHHHHHH

4. sterek

I will never forgive what the show did but the Fandom and the writing from that fandom is incredibly important to me. they're like my comfort pairing and I just love that Derek is sad and grumpy but it's because he's fucked up and needs to go to therapy and stiles is also kind of fucked up but happier and he's smart and beautiful and!!! they were obviously attracted to each other!! almost all of their stories involve CONSENT or Derek hale getting better slowly. they mean a lot to me bc my mom was dying while I clung to this fandom and wrote my grief fic and I always associate them with that time in my life. I could and did read like 30 stories abt Derek doing laundry and buying wooden spoons and trying to move on and be a healthier happier person.

5. taagnus

rarely have rare pairs but this is one of them and!!! look. I didn't ship them until the last two arcs of the show revealed that instead of only knowing each other for a few years and being idiots they in fact knew each other for 100 years+ and DIED A LOT together and saved each other. BUT COULDN'T REMEMBER IT YET THEY STILL KIND OF... FALL IN LOVE AGAIN? they balance each other so much. magnus is magnus - brave and GOOD. taako is so closed off, careful abt trusting people so when he acted on gut instinct to LITERALLY THROW HIS SOUL OUT OF HIS BODY TO SAVE MAGNUS I was hooked. I know that taako ends up w kravitz but bc we didn't get to see Krav much I couldn't grow attached to him? I love the thought of first love and exploring that - how it never goes away, really but you can still love other people!! plus! I love writing them as lesbians! they're butch/femme to me!

6. ruth/debbie

UGH. UGH!!!!! they're so obsessed with each other and it's so filled with repression and anger and betrayal thst has nothing to do with Ruth fucking her husband and everything to do with the trust of their friendship. it's such a complicated weird fucked up intense 'friendship' that I love to see and like!! sometimes my friendships w women FELT like that. the times I have felt the most hurt is when I lose a friend bc a part of me is in love w them in some way!! Ruth and Debbie are just. in love. though. and Ruth is never gonna admit it and she's gonna... be in a comp het relationship even tho she thinks Debbie is smart and sexy and she idolizes her GOD.

7. gene/finny

YES MOST OF MY PAIRINGS ARE SAD WHAT OF IT? I read this book as a sophomore in hs and I simply could not stop thinking abt how gay and in love they were. FIRST OF ALL THE metaphors!!!!!! gene as winter and finny as summer!! and how codependent and weird they were even tho finny KNEW gene broke his leg. he didn't want to believe it bc he WAS IN LOVE WITH HIM. THEY WENT ON A DATE TO THE BEACH? THE PINK SHIRT? finny being the embodiment of childhood innocence and Gene literally breaking that? and killing it? once again I just love reading abt how complex jealousy is and where it comes from and also REPRESSION!!!

8. forrden

yes I'm including my own OC with @dosalesbian

I wrote abt them for FOUR YEARS. they're childhood best friends who fall in love and marry and are in love no matter what universe and are so soft and tender and healing. forrest goes thru a lot of gender exploration and aiden is just the partner I want to be!! he's goofy and LOVES HER SO MUCH AND SUPPORTS HER SO MUCH GOD!!!!

9. kuroken

they r a new one and yes once again childhood best friends but in a FUN NEW WAY that I want to explore. kenma is like disinterested in most things except gaming and whatever kuroo wants to do and has a hard time socializing bc he's SHY and is too observant! and kuroo is big and dumb and passionate but was also a stupid anxious child. I think they're those friends who are dating but don't even know they're dating or their relationship is so indescribable to themselves and others that it's hard to take any step forward or backward bc theyre SO codependent and yes. I want to explore that and read abt them more.

10. don't look at me yes im putting ryden on here

THEY WERE IN LOVE BUT COULDNT ADMIT IT AND THEN BRENDON WROTE 3 BREAKUP ALBUMS ABT RYAN? AND RYAN RELEASED A SONG THE SAME WEEK BRENDON GOT MARRIED? they're never gonna be friends again bc they can't just be friends

okay!! I tag @scottspack @dosalesbian @pattern-pals hehe

[helenaswriting]

ships for @why-the-heck-am-i-here!

@why-the-heck-am-i-here: “Okay I really really want a ship thingy for marvel, Harry Potter and stranger things pls!! Imma send it here because I want to tell you as much about myself as possible 👉🏻👈🏻. (Feel free to post it still lol! Okay so my name is Bailey and I’m 5’9 (v tall) I currently have kinda short black wavy hair but I’m always dying it! Imma do pink next ;). I have green eyes and I tend to always do big thick eyeliner and smudged eyeshadow. I dress more on the oversized grunge side of the fashion spectrum, tho I would love to go more alternative. Okay now that that’s out of the waaayyy. I’ve always been described as the cool one kinda. I’m laid back but at the same time always up to do something stupid lol. I’m definitely always up for some fun but also a good ol nap. When I’m not doing anything like that I’m drawing or binging any show/movie I can get my hands on! Anime sign me up! Horror sign me up! Romantic sign me up!! You get the point. Back to drawing tho, that is such a big part of my life. I’ve been drawing since I can remember. Rather it’s just doodling or going out side with a canvas and some watercolor I’m always doing something new with art! I even have a small business. And if I happen to get a cool idea I’ll sketch it out on anything! My pets are also a big part of my life. I have a Pomeranian puppy named kuma and a GIANT Akita named Harlow. Their kinda stupid ngl but that means they take after mom 😣. Oh there’s music! I’m literally always listening to it or wishing I was listening to it, some times if I can’t I’ll start humming a song without realizing. Lastly id say I’m really touchy, I like to hold hands and get hugs 🥺. SNUGGLING IS THE BEST AHHH. Just some little facts; I’m a slytherin 🚨🚨 My favorite marvel character is rocket I’m a sucker for sandwiches My favorite color is black I always imagined myself sneaking my dog into Hogwarts as a pet (probably the Akita because 🙃) I’m a master a video games! Pokémon is my bff That’s all I can think of! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I HOPE IM NOT A BOTHER 👉🏻👈🏻���

hello!! you aren’t a bother at all and thank you for your request! i just did marvel and harry potter, if that’s alright? i’m very sorry, i just had so many considerations for stranger things and couldn’t make up my mind :( i hope you still enjoy reading these headcanons!! <3

· so, let’s start of with marvel! · as i was reading your description, i was considering many ngl, but i just have to go with bucky, because y’all would really be a power couple. · so the two of you meet very randomly, and a little cliché, at a blockbuster. (rip blockbuster btw). · you’re browsing shelves of movies, just taking a good look when you spot this tall guy, with shoulder-length brown hair, eyes on you, flustered when you spot him and you just kind of smile to yourself. · you spot the metal hand he’s hiding in his sleeve, (knowing who he was, though it wasn’t something you minded,) as you strike up a conversation with him, about the movie he’d quickly picked up when he saw you heading his way. · “the 40-year-old virgin, huh?” · “what- uhh, sorry?” · you nod to the dvd in his hand, realising that was the movie he’d randomly picked when panicking, though he wouldn’t admit he was, even later when you become a couple. · bucky and you end up leaving with each others numbers on your phones, and though he has a hard time admitting it, he’s very giggly and happy. · i mean he just got a really cute girls number, what was there not be ecstatic about? · anywho, so fastforward to after a little too many dates where he asks if you want to make it official. · it’s actually a really sweet moment. · you two are sitting at a fountain, no one around, your head on his shoulder as you just listen to the sound of the water behind you, a comfortable silence between you two. · he then kisses your lips, and you’re both feeling over the moon. · so this guy loves everything about you. · you both kind of have the same energy in a way, both laid back and though he might not have the same amount of coolness as you, you two just click and fit perfectly. · there’s never awkward silences between y’all, you’re practically soulmates, and that’s what steve and sam say too when they meet you and see you together. · if bucky has to go shopping for new clothes he always brings you along for advice, ‘cause he really likes your style and the vibe you have. · and you love styling him, since he goes along with almost everything. · for only you, of course. · bucky always hypes you up and admires your art, kissing your temples as you draw or paint, looking at your art. though he thinks your the art. · btw he absolutely LOVES your pets, and he spoils them by giving them too many treats sometimes, but he can’t help it. · yes, he is a big dog lover.  · is it just because they are your dogs and seem to have some of your personality? · maybe.  · he’s a soft boy with you, always there for you, holding you close whenever he can. · and this guy is also very touchy. · there’s nothing he loves more than laying on the couch with you, snuggling and cuddling as you watch a movie together or playing video games. · you almost always end up talking through movies, not being able to focus, but y’all don’t really mind.  · and you always kick buckys ass in video games, and when he get’s sad about losing you make up for it with kisses and loads of love <3. · he loves listening to music with you too and you showing him songs you like, since he’s not all that up to date with modern music and what’s popular nowadays. · bucky LOVES holding hands with you btw. · he only really uses lots of pda if he’s jealous of some guy checking you out, but he always holds your hand, proud to have you by his side as his lover. · he just appreciates you so much, and is so thankful that you support him and are there for him, especially when he’s going through dark episodes of trauma and PTSD. · all in all, you’re a real power couple, always strong together and you both rely a lot on each other. the trust and bond the two of you is so deep and stunning, and you’re a real dreamy, grunge couple.

· now to the world of harry potter! · okay, so honestly how can i not ship you with the obvious person who came to my mind first- draco malfoy.  · so the two of you are childhood friends and meet in your first year at hogwarts, befriending the boy. · we all know that draco is quite the dramatic person sometimes, and you two are quite different in that sense. · sure you have the same slytherin qualities, but since you’re waaay more laid back, sure up for a little trouble, but nothing with major drama, draco is the opposite. · he’s meddling himself into things that are unbelievable sometimes, getting into trouble for the most dramatic things.  · but you’re always there to help him. · you grow to be best friends, and many from the other houses judge you for that due to his reputation. · but the thing was that they didn’t actually know him the way you knew him, as a best friend, though you wanted to be more, and let’s be honest draco has had a crush on you since your third year at hogwarts. · he asks if you want to go to the yule ball with him, and that’s when you both crack at the same time to tell each other you want something more than to just be friends. · might i add draco is very enchanted by your dress, which i personally imagine to be this black or grey, puffy gown. · no matter what you would be wearing, he’d love it and think you look gorgeous. · “draco, i-” · “i have to tell you-” · “oh,” you both say at the same time. · “you go first!” · “no, you, you.” · “i insist you speak first, i-” · but he interrupts you by placing his lips on yours and god are there loads of butterflies in your stomach. · from that night, you’re a couple, but it’s not something you disclose to many people in the beginning, despite draco being so fond of pda. · fond of pda doesn’t even begin to describe it honestly. · once you’re a couple he can’t stop showering you with kisses, hugs, gifts, chocaltes- everything. · infront of anyone, anywhere. · btw he loves shopping with you and for you, and simply must give you really extra clothes worth god knows how many galleons, but he doesn’t mind at all. · whenever you gift him something it’s usual small, but very personal, and god this boy may seem tough and ready to square up, but he becomes so emotional when you give him a present- no matter what it is. · also he loves giving you art supplies, insisting on buying your watercolour paintings so he can have them on display both in his dorm but also at home, though his parents may not be to fond of it. · he’s your number one supporter and inspiration. · draco is very proud to have you, and WILL show you off whenever he can. · he thinks and knows you deserve it, for everything you put up with. · aka him. · draco is the sort of person who has a facade for most people, you being one of the only ones, if not the only one, to be able to break down that facade. · he knows that he can be difficult sometimes, since being emotional is something he’s bad at showing just because it’s something he hides a lot, but he knows he can trust you and be himself around you. · and he knows that you’re always there for him. · and draco is always there for you. · you two have a lot of fun and are always pulling pranks or getting into trouble. · on a date you two went to explore the dark forest, luckily not getting hurt, but even if it was scary, it was funny as well. · afterwards you retreated to your dorms, sitting in the common room, having movie marathons, which annoyed the other slytherins since you two hog the tv quite a bit. · he also loves sneaking up to your dorm and taking you out on midnight walks. · sometimes you take your dog along, and it’s all just very cute. · all in all, you are such a great pair, strong, fun and troublesome, yet sweet and tender.

[therewas-a-girl]

so - i got this amazing ask some days ago, and then like an idiot, accidentally deleted it. thankfully for me, outlook saved the copy from the notifications, so here it is

How do you see the Laurel/Oliver relationship? Otp? Notp? Brotp? More than friends, less than lovers? I always thought that their relationship was somehow complicated. Did you think that 5x08 showed that Laurel was really the love of Oliver's life, not Felicity? I love both ladies, but I kinda see Olicity as Otp and Lauriver as, actually I'm not sure what I see them as. They love each other, not romantically, but they're not exactly friends?

anon im so sorry for my carelessness, and for the late reply - free time is scarce for me these days. 

i wouldn’t say complicated - though they sure are! - it’s just that that is not the very first word i would pick for them. laurel and oliver’s story is just really long lol. it spans something around two decades, it has changed so much - just as they have, as people naturally do - so of course, it’s going to be complicated. it’s a really layered relationship - that’s the word i like for them. maybe it should be analysed by ‘historical period’ the way i study political systems in different countries lmao.

they’re not otp for me (though they’re not a notp either), because the way canon built their relationship, the dynamics of it and the dynamics between them, has some really ‘nope’ moments. i dont ship characters where one treats the other like shit. (i dont ship ships where the story treats one character like shit for the sake of another, either)

I do think that through the course of 4 years they finally made it to ‘friends’ status, yeah. in season 4 i really thought their friendship was cemented, because in season 2-3 they felt more like... acquaintances with a dangerous history. they had too much conflict between them to really earn a friend status to each other. (not to mention the way oliver failed time and time again to be what a friend should have been to laurel. and vice versa, ofc. tho i dont think in laurel’s case it’s as flagrant as oliver, but at this point im basing my opinion on general impressions cause i haven’t seen s3 in a while.) but, despite that, many times they protected each other, and supported each other throughout the show, even when they didn't seem to like each other much. 

in season 1, their relationship felt kind of muddy, to me because there is so much going on there. i mean these two used to be childhood friends at some point. then they got together and i think... i kid of think they weren’t friends anymore. i think oliver didn’t see it that way anyway. laurel was in the girlfriend category. and laurel was really young and, i believe, really idealistic, trying to fit into all these ideas that she believes a girl is, and a girlfriend is, and what love means. it’s everywhere in film and our culture that ‘complicated love’ is great and romantic when in most cases it just bad for your health. but we’re not trained to think of it that way. and that may be easy to see when you’re 26 y.o. but it wasn't when i was 17, and i imagine it wasn't for laurel either. i imagine she thought that hear-breaking and intense and painful is the way love is supposed to fee. all movies say so. 

[in parenthesis here, i don’t think oliver cheated on her as much as fandom likes to think he did. there are other ways to make sense of their relationship than to pretend laurel was an idiot or spineless or a ‘stupid girl’. 

he either got with other people when they were in their ‘off’ periods, which we know they had, because everyone says they were the kind of couple that was on-again off-again. or he cheated and she did not know about it. i tend to think it’s the first, from the interaction in the flashbacks between sara and laurel - when sara says ‘we both know at leas 10 girls he’s slept with.’ *slept with* , not *cheated on you with*. and i think this is the case also because it fits with my idea of the rest of laurel’s characterization: an idealistic girl who is so enamored with the idea of love, as well as her boyfriend, that she can’t really see the cracks. someone like that wouldn’t forgive cheating so easily, BUT it is entirely within this laurel’s character to believe she can help people change, and take oliver on also as a sort of project. 

(and when i see people sneering at this, and at laurel for having this idea, i remember, absolutely drowning in irony, about how many fanfics there are out there where ‘felicity changes oliver’ and ‘is oliver’s light’ or just the general romanticising of this idea that love is ‘a woman changing a man’ and being responsible for his ‘goodness’. like, it’s everywhere, so criticizing a girl for having this idea, any girl, feels a little hypocritical, because we all have to work to drain this kind of shit from out psyche.)]

and then the gambit happens and their relationship in s1 is just really heavy with the history of 5 years of accumulated emotion on both sides. not all good kind of emotion. laurel was all about “life, interrupted” and ‘what could have been’ and the possibilities of sth that never was. oliver was all about guilt and pursuit of laurel, the person, in order to find in her what had been keeping him alive - laurel, the idea, aka home, aka the end of all the violent fuckery, a time when things were simpler - throughout the five years he was away. s1 is such a mess of regrets, and broken hopes, of ‘you were mine once how dare you see/try to be happy with- other people’ kind of jealousy, on both oliver and laurel’s parts, and fear of attachment on laurel’s part - being afraid of getting with tommy after how she was betrayed the last time she let herself love someone. being left by tommy too, falling back in oliver. 

there is this poem by warsan shire that always makes me think of s1 laurel and her decision to sleep with oliver right after tommy refuses her again at Merlyn Global, after she tells him she loves him: 

when the one i wanted, did not want me.

I was almost rabid for love. Would’ve lunged at anything thrown my way carcass, shadow, memory, promise shell of a man. I thought it was better to be loved by a dead thing than to be left alone. Then I loved a dead thing and was completely alone

at some point in s1, i do think they were tentatively trying to be friends again, but there was a lot of shit that remained unresolved between them and that stuff doesnt just, go away if you ignore it because its awkward af. 

i dont even know if i take that s4 episode and the whole ‘love of my life’ seriously, to be honest with you. it’s not that it contradicts my idea of laurel’s development as a character. i can very well imagine that after seeing who oliver had become , how much he had changed, laurel might very well fallen back in love with him. laurel loves and admires strength and goodness. she falls in love with potential, as much as with the actual people. so no, it’s not impossible to me that she might have, during the course of season 4, fallen in love with oliver. again. if it were not for one detail. 

oliver didn’t tell her about the pit. laurel believes that for all that happened , he STILL does not see her as an equal. and i cannot believe that someone who has gone through the things laurel has gone through, can love someone who sees her as beneath himself. it’s just not realistic to me. her character would require a deep respect of her person, to allow herself even the smallest possibility of opening her heart again. 

5x08... i honestly only have my own idea of what that episode was. i rationalized it like this: oliver has a serious difficulty letting go of guilt. when laurel told him that she’d loved him all the while, that really cemented oliver’s regret after her death. canon hasn’t given us any hints on the fact that oliver might still be in love with her, romantically. but he does love her, she is a friend. she is someone important in his life. and knowing that she is dead , that kind of pain is deepened by the knowledge of how unhappy she must have been. specifically, how unhappy he made her. this combines with the trait oliver has that, whenever he regrets something, whenever he feels he has wronged someone he loves, that guilt pulls really heavily on his judgement. and he has this compulsion to give people what they want, what they might need from him. 

and that’s how i saw oliver’s dream world. a sort of tiny little prison he and the others were trapped in, where to get out they had to face their enemies and fears. and my idea was that, after defeating deathstroke and merlyn, the real test of strength was saying goodbye to an alive and happy laurel, for both sara and oliver. because in that moment of their lives, laurel - alive and happy and getting everything she had ever wanted, according to what oliver and sara thought she’d wanted - was their deepest wish, their latest and freshest regret. (this totally fails to account for  William in oliver’s life, and how that is also a big regret for him. but that’s details) 

so, yeah that’s how i think about it. basically, they’re friends with a fucked up childhood lmao 

[sorikaied]

okay now that i’ve had a few hrs to like process some of that final season in my head (and much needed sleep), thought i would just comment on a few things that like... stayed in my head the most afterwards, plus some minor complaints. so spoilers below if you haven’t watched the new s.pop season yet

first of all, i think it’s a good thing i didn’t go in with high expectations. while yes, i was generally excited to see how it would end, and the two teaser clips that were posted on the dreamworks tv channel (which has since been renamed but details), i wasn’t like ��i’m hoping that x ship becomes canon” or whatever kind of major hope. i think what i really wanted, was to feel okay with the ending. satisfied with the way the finale came to a close for all the characters involved. and i can say that i was.

i think my one real letdown honestly is the fact that adora didn’t really have much of a... “growth” in realizing what shera meant to her, or that line from madam razz on how shera isn’t the sword but adora. like... the show lightly touched on that, and kind of connected that the reason why adora was able to connect to shera again was because of catra, but i also wish it wasn’t?? at least... not just because of her. don’t get me wrong, this new season made me feel okay with the ship again because of what they did with catra (a point i will touch upon in a further paragraph), but maybe that’s just me. i think i wanted to see how adora would’ve closed her personal arc and her “destiny” in regards to her own worth alone but yknow... it’s still a kid’s show and they can only try and do so much in the series with it ending

i did appreciate that this was probably the most netossa and spinnerella have ever spoken in a season since they’re debut, and gods despite all the canon couples, or hinted at couples, i love spinnetossa the most and they just... my soft wives... even with all the angst. also netossa got some fleshing out ??? albeit minor but like... seeing a bit of her tactical prowess??? amazing. phenomenal. extraordinary. legendary

everyone else was also just... GREAT. entrapta was so endearing and just... so her and i loved every moment of it. the scorpia and perfuma dynamic was also like... so nice ??? scorpia finally having a really good and positive friend in her life??? sign me the fuck up. wrong hordak was absolutely PHENOMENAL he made me laugh the entire time and i loved it. also the star sibs? it’s sad they were only in one ep but all of their designs were great and i loved them all please bring them back

oh yeah, and redemptions happened this season. and after watching a video from the sin squad abt the concern of how the show would tackle redemptions (and if they were gonna get any) from catra, shadow weaver, and hordak, i had kept that in mind. given that there’s only 13 eps and there’s still a whole lot of stuff going on, i can tell that some “redemptions” weren’t as fulfilling as others, or felt like it was... not enough in some cases?? i think i kinda feel that the most with hordak??? sorta??? i mean i think i was trying to see what the show would do with catra, because around a certain point of the series, as intrigued as i was with her character, i also was feeling a bit... uncomfortable, which resulted in me pulling back in shipping her with adora until she worked some of her shit out. and don’t get me wrong, i do think that catra still has a lot more to work on. but again, they did the best with her redemption in the amt of time that they had so i can’t really complain much. shadow weaver’s redemption was... okay it may be my personal fave. i always found such an interest in her character as a villain. like yeah, she’s incredibly toxic and manipulative, but i love interesting villains. and her redemption happening through sacrifice to save catra who can save adora because she knows how important those two are to each other is just... so good. yeah, that doesn’t excuse all the bad shit she’s done, but i can feel satisfied with her ending. so yeah, i wasn’t really disappointed with how these three had their redemptions played out

the new shera look was also just... amazing. i liked how it felt like, in a way, it showed how adora had come into the role on her own, versus her old look which was tied to what the first ones wanted her to be (as well as mara in the past before her sacrifice). i almost forgot to mention that

the final episode made me tear up a lot, but it really hit when like... the glimmer vs micah scene was going on as well as the catradora moment (but im also an emotional sap sooo yeah)

okay finally, for now, i wanted to just briefly touch on the canon ships of the series. first of all, not mad abt any of them. seamista was pretty much “canon” but it felt more validated with sea hawk’s i love you and i love them. glimbow wasn’t really surprising for me. i mean, i’ve always been a multishipper so i always liked glimbow (and glimmadora and bowadora or whatever they’re ship name was), but i’m glad to see glimbow canon. say what you will abt childhood friends becoming lovers being an overused trope in fiction, i will still eat it up. i will say that glimmer just saying “i love you” kinda almost randomly was a bit shocking but i also figured, they’re in for the fight of their lives and it’s better to say it now then to not say something. and finally, catradora. honestly, it was either going to become canon or not, and i was okay with either choices depending on how things played out. the fact that it was canon was nice and a big step for more lgtbq+ rep in children’s media. like i sorta mentioned when i talked abt redemptions, i do think that like... the way they handled catra did soften me up to being okay to openly enjoy the pairing again. still, i also think they did... rush into it, but again, they’re trying to tie up loose ends so makes sense

i know there’s more to say, and there’s other things i left out, but all in all, i am really happy with the show as a whole. i never watched the original series, but what they did with this rendition was absolutely great and i know i’ll be rewatching it eventually. i may be slightly sad that adam doesn’t make a cameo but it would’ve been impossible to bring in he-man with everything, so that’s what aus are for

and yeah, that’s my review/random thoughts of the last of she-ra. what a great run that was

[the-connection]

A new documentary reworks the memoir of Bowers, who boasts he paired Cary Grant with Rock Hudson and Katharine Hepburn with 150 brunettes and slept with so many actors he didnt have time to see their films

Scotty Bowers was a 23-year-old petrol station attendant on Hollywood Boulevard when the actor Walter Pidgeon pulled up to the pump and asked the dimpled blond to jump in his Lincoln. It would be the ride of his life. Pidgeon was gay, claims Bowers in his autobiography Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars, and that afternoon they became lovers. Bowers himself transcended labels. Years later, he startled sexologist Dr Alfred Kinsey by checking off every sex act on his list (and took him to orgies to prove it). Guys, girls, spouses, kings, consorts and a three-way with Ava Gardner and Lana Turner. Bowers had done it all.

[Kinsey] came looking for me, says Bowers, now 95, on a hot afternoon in a Hollywood courtyard apartment. Things he thought impossible, I came up with. With his devilish blue eyes and thick white hair, it is easy to picture why he was popular. He burns with energy, as though he spent his retirement stoking gossip he vowed he wouldnt spill while his lovers were alive. J Edgar Hoover? A drag. Vivien Leigh? A hot, hot lady. Wallis Simpson? A real ballsy chick.

Bowers (second from left, back row) with friends. Photograph: Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment

Bowers used to turn tricks in this same building. Today, the vintage-style pad belongs to the director Matt Tyrnauer, a former Vanity Fair journalist who recently reworked Bowers memoir into the eyebrow-raising documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood. Tyrnauer, sitting next to Bowers and gently nudging his digressions on track, confirms that he called the Kinsey Institute to check Bowers tale. They knew exactly who he was.

Everyone knew Bowers. George Cukor, Gore Vidal, Merv Griffin; Tyrone Power referred to him in letters, interviews and biographies, calling him Scotty, Sonny, or just the gas station on Hollywood Boulevard. Tennessee Williams hand-wrote a 40-page story about him, which Bowers found embarrassingly over the top.

I said: Tennessee, forget that bullshit, says Bowers. I should have kept it. Instead, for decades, people pushed him to write down his own memories. I kept putting it off and putting it off, and all of a sudden, almost everyone they wanted me to write about was dead.

Lana Turner and Ava Gardner, with whom Bowers claims to have had a threesome. Photograph: Keystone/Getty Images

In 1946, the year he met Pidgeon, Bowers was competing with millions of other returning second world war veterans for work. Canoodling with a celebrity for $20 made more sense than digging a ditch for $10. After Pidgeon spread the word about his new friend, more luxury cars began to cruise by. Soon, Bowers side-hustle had expanded to a parked trailer with two king beds, glory holes in the bathroom and a battalion of good-looking men and women to fix up with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Bowers boasts that he paired Cary Grant with Rock Hudson back when the Pillow Talk star was still named Roy, and introduced Katharine Hepburn to 150 lovely brunettes. As for Hepburns rumored paramour Spencer Tracy, Bowers says he slept with him, too.

Hepburn and Tracys complex relationship is a fascinating example of Hollywoods hypocritical and literal moral code. Publicists decided it was better to pretend the friends were having an affair than explain the real reason why Tracy wasnt living with his wife Louise, to whom he stayed married until his death. A heterosexual affair was forgivable even romantic and it wouldnt get either actor fired. After Fatty Arbuckle was put on trial for the rape and murder of Virginia Rappe, the studios began to add a clause in their contracts forbidding actors from committing any offence that risked public hatred, contempt or ridicule. While the courts found Arbuckle innocent twice the Hollywood moguls believed just a whiff of indecency could destroy the entire industry. The swinging days of the early silent era ended overnight. Performers became studio property: they were told how to dress, how to behave, and who to date, or at least pretend to.

Bowers in uniform in the 1940s. Photograph: Greenwich Entertainment

It was a lucrative lie. Roy Harold Scherer got his teeth capped and became Rock Hudson. When the tabloids began to nag Hudson to get married, the executives betrothed him to his lesbian secretary Phyllis. Archibald Leach was rechristened Cary Grant and wed to the great beauty Barbara Hutton, although the love of his life was screen cowboy Randolph Scott, with whom he lived for 12 years as a roommate. Bowers says in his book: The three of us got into a lot of sexual mischief together.

Living double lives took a toll. Eventually, Hudson began drinking a bottle of scotch a day and recklessly sleeping with strangers. Grant tried psychedelic therapy and spoke in quips that hinted at his unfulfillment. I played at being someone I wanted to be until I became that person, or he became me, he told his biographer. Even his most famous quote Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant sounds like a whispered confession, or maybe a misdirection. What if he just wanted to be as free as Archibald Leach?

Bowers bedded so many movie stars that he didnt have time to see their movies. A movie takes a couple hours. I was busy every minute. When his daughter, Donna, died, he went back to work that day. He shared a home with her mother, his longtime partner Betty, but slept there only a few times a year. In the documentary, he teeters towards admitting regret for spending most nights in someone elses bed. But he candidly admits his only true passion was money. He grew up hungry during the Depression era, and, as a young teenager, he turned tricks for two dozen Chicago priests who paid him in quarters. That would be abuse in everyones eyes but his. In the documentary, Tyrnauer repeatedly presses Bowers about his childhood, and does so again today.

Youre very intent on the fact that you dont perceive yourself as a victim, says Tyrnauer.

I did what I wanted to do, maintains Bowers.

That is not the conventional perspective at all, but it is his perspective and I dont judge him for that, says Tyrnauer. I think people get to define who they are and tell their story and express their beliefs.

Executives married off Rock Hudson to his lesbian secretary, Phyllis Gates. Photograph: Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock

I do think that different people are different, thats very true, replies Bowers. Im speaking for myself only.

As an adult at the petrol station, Bowers never took a cut of other peoples cash. To him, that meant he wasnt a pimp; he was a purveyor of joy. The most important thing was company, says Bowers. The LGBTQ community didnt have many safe places to connect at that time. Homosexuality was illegal in California until the 1970s. When the Los Angeles Police Department vice squad the sexual Gestapo, says Tyrnauer barged into a gay bar, patrons risked being arrested, shaken down for cash, shipped to a mental institution, and possibly lobotomised. The LAPD targeted the Hollywood glitterati because they had careers to protect and money to spare.

When the petrol station became too famous, Bowers became a for-rent party bartender, which gave celebrities an even better excuse to invite him into their homes. Even that was risky. One cop memorised Bowers car registration plate and would pull him over, scare him a bit, and then undo Bowers pants while complaining about his miserable marriage. I hope he found happiness, writes Bowers, charitably.

The vice squad is responsible for Bowers impressive memory. Midway through one aside, he recites the address of a silent movie star who has been dead for 45 years. Terrified of a raid, he rarely wrote down his friends information. It was all in my head, says Bowers. I never kept anything. If I wrote down a number, I had it in my hand until I tore it up. Even then, he would swap the first and last digits to ensure the persons identity couldnt be cracked, a trick inspired by the Navajo code talkers.

Now, Bowers has no secrets. Critics have slammed the book and the documentary for outing celebrities without consent. In the film, Tyrnauer includes a film fan arguing that legendary stars deserve more respect. Bowers counters: Whats wrong with being gay? Others have thanked him for sticking up for the real person underneath the studio gloss for revealing their truth the way they might have if they were alive today. It is impossible to know how Hudson and Grant would have chosen to live in a country that legalised gay marriage. Perhaps their lives would have been happier. Although, Bowers notes, even in 2018: Everythings not going to be out in the open. More actors are out, but now must prove they can play both gay and straight characters. Neil Patrick Harris has succeeded; Matt Bomer is trying. Some have decided that it is still easier to hide.

Asked if he is biting his tongue about anyone alive, Bowers blurts out the name of a beloved actor and her 169% gay husband. He is dead; she isnt. So, Bowers will wait. Let me tell you something: when youre dead youre dead, he insists. Later, when the conversation turns to Kevin Spacey Bowers claims to know one of his exes Tyrnauer steadily repeats that Bowers information about the alleged perpetrator is merely secondhand. The director is clearly, and correctly, aware of the complexities of talking sensitively about sex in the era of #MeToo. But after eight decades of secrecy Bowers sighs: Poor Kevin Spacey, he was right in the middle of a picture and they dumped him and everything. Thanks to #MeToo, morality clauses are making a comeback. This time, one hopes they will only be wielded for good.

Cary Grant (right) with his room mate Randolph Scott. Photograph: Snap/Rex Features

Hollywood journalist Liz Smith once quipped: All this crap about coming out! Honey, I dont think I have ever really been in! Before she died last November, she affirmed that Hepburn was a lesbian.

I was pleased that she went on the record about Hepburn because I dont think shed ever done it before, says Tyrnauer. It really provides a great assist to Scottys narrative about Hepburn and Tracy, because people are in willful suspension of belief about this supposed golden couple.

Even more startling are Bowers lusty tales about Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII. Wally and Eddie, corrects Bowers, waving away their formal names. It was very easy to see how she talked him out of being king of England because she had complete control over him, says Bowers. She told him if you want to fool around and do this and that, you cant do it if youre king.

Scotty Bowers at home in LA. Photograph: Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment

A lot of people dont believe that particular story, says Tyrnauer. But he places them at the Beverly Hills Hotel in the 50s. We found a picture of them in the Beverly Hills Hotel in that period its in the movie. Four former clients knew Edward, and the couples close friend, photographer Cecil Beaton, titled an entire chapter of his diary: Scotty.

There were many, many factors that connected them, says Tyrnauer. I cross-referenced everything I could. When Bowers described a mansions winding pathway to the pool house, or a gate in a backyard, Tyrnauer would pull up an aerial view of Google Maps and there it was, as though the nonagenarian had visited yesterday.

In Los Angeles, notes the director: You can wipe the dust off something that has been obscured and find the truth. Scottys a living example of that. Here he was in Laurel Canyon for decades minding his business. And yet hes Scotty Bowers, the infamous male madame to the stars, and either you knew it or you didnt.

He has tried to ensure Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood tells the truth instead of peddling innuendo like tabloids, TMZ, or even acclaimed smut such as Kenneth Angers Hollywood Babylon.

Am I in that, too? asks Bowers.

Tyrnauer chuckles: Maybe between the lines.

There always will be secret life happening, beams Bowers. People should do what pleases them and the other person some people just please more than a few.

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood is out now in the US and awaiting a UK release date

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