#is that all lesbian shipping is to people... how long a couple can go without actually being explicitly romantic ?

[piosplayhouse]

Guy yuri finals is bingqiu versus hualian I'm sorry tgcfers but there is a correct answer to this and if you still want to give hualian a chance I'd better only see ONE, maximum, piece of propaganda about how "they're yuri because the 800 years of yearning!" Some of us yurists believe in UHAULING and HARD PHYSICAL GIRLSEX

[set-wingedwarrior]

My most important sapphic ships post before Pride Month ends

What the title says, studying kept (and still keeps me) busy so we gotta go fast lol

Bumbleby (RWBY)

to the surprise of absolutely no one, they get first place (despite me not going in a particular order) because of reasons. They're perfect. Soulmates. Slowburn of all time. Yin and Yang. Eyes the color of each other's souls. Truest OTP to ever OTP in my book. ∞/10

Konosetsu (Negima!)

I already talked about them in their own post, this scene changed my life leading to my self-discovery and it still lives rent-free in my mind.

Kyosaya (Madoka Magica)

I'd also add MadoHomu but I'm trying to keep it to just one for each fandom. That said, they still make me mentally unwell. I love them, and I did for a long time now. I can't wait for the next movie to come out and suffer.

Ruby and Sapphire (Steven Universe)

These bitches had the first cartoon gay wedding and kiss DO I NEED TO SAY MORE???

Korrsami (Avatar)

Still down the queer cartoons making history path, these two made me insane back in the day because I still didn't understand I was queer and lots of sapphic couple were starting to appear in media, and I remember jokingly say how "lesbian ships were hauting me". All I can say now is "Thank you" lol. Anyway, they were incredibly important and all the people criticizing how little queerness there's in the show will never understand just how massive this scene was.

Catradora (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Friends to Enemies to back to Friends to Lovers. Iconic. I still want a movie with their adventures bringing magic back to the universe.

Hollstein (Carmilla)

My third beloved blonde with a cat gf ship. I miss this web-series every day. Also, Natasha Negovanlis played an immense role in my gay awakening.

Ellie and Riley (The Last of Us: Left Behind)

Ellie and Dina are adorable and I love them, BUT I just will never get over these two. That dlc fucked me up. (also, they're in the same category with Korrasami as "gay ships that hauted me before I realized I was queer" lol)

Lumity (The Owl House)

I remember starting this show feeling it as the successor of Steven Universe, at least to me. We could say that at level of mistreatment from its parent company, it defenitely surpassed it, but at least I'm glad I was right and we got Luz and Amity becoming canon. I love these two and not a day passes without me yelling at Disney for what it did to them.

Bubbline (Adventure Time)

I actually watched Adventure Time fully only recently, but I always loved them even when I watched the show randomly when it appeared in tv back in the day. Getting to see the progression properly just made me love them even more.

Yasammy (Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory)

Incredibly recent addition, but I am so glad that I checked out Camp Cretaceous and got into it. It's a nice show and these two are a really cute couple, their confession and especially Yaz's internal turmoil were just so on point. I was really happy to see them go still strong in Chaos Theory, and I can't wait for next season.

Pricefield (Life is Strange)

These two caused me pain in the best possible way. I felt literal heartbreak at the Bay Ending, and I was just as emotional at the Bae one (Bae > Bay Forever) I hope the new game will respect their relationship OR ELSE.

Wow, this is quite the list. I do have an amazing taste, if I do say so myself, ahah!

Well, I guess this is it for now, glad I could make it before Pride Month was over! Knowing myself I might have actually forgotten some though, so keep an eye out for possible updates (what makes me even think that you'd care? lol).

That would be all, be gay and do crimes! Bye!

[overthinkthis]

Final thoughts on MMDIY

This is not going to be a review because I don't really do that kind of thing, but I do want to write about the point that I loved most about this show. I know it's not perfect but I will forgive a lot of wobbles in plot or editing when a show emotionally resonates with me or makes me feel seen in a way other shows don't. And the way queer struggles were portrayed in mmdiy definitely did that.

Neither Wan nor Kim are out as queer but it's like they're living in an open closet. It should be obvious to everyone (even themselves) that they love each other and yet, for the longest time they seem unable to make that last step and confess their love, even though they both desperately want to on some level.

We do get some explicit homophobia with regard to Wan's career but it very quickly becomes obvious that that isn't the actual problem. Wan is very well able to stand her ground when she is attacked directly, we see that with Jessie and with Marwin's family. She is ready to confess to Kim, plans to do so multiple times. Why is it so hard to make that last step?

I do not know what the creators of the show were trying to say, but what I feel when watching the show, is the impact of the invisible homophobia and misogyny woven into all of society. The kind that isn't openly hostile but consistenly equates happiness for women with straight marriage and queerness with being miserable. We can write essays about comphet, but to me, this show gives a good take on what it actually feels like to be pressed into this expectation (although, I should probably say that I come at this from the perspective of a trans guy, not a lesbian - I still think a lot of the feelings are similar).

I love the conversation between Wan and Kim and the end of ep 9, where Kim tells her that she is going to marry Marwin. She basically admits that she doesn't love him, but she is still going to marry him because her mother wants her to.

And we know her mum isn't really trying to control Kim or make her miserable - quite the opposite. All she wants is for Kim to be happy. She should probably know better - given how her own marriage ended - but the idea that marrying the 'perfect' guy is the pinnacle of female happiness is so ingrained in society that it's understandable why she still falls into this trap. I really like that they show how suffocating a parent only wanting what's 'best' for their child can be.

I love that this show made Marwin someone who looks like such a good catch. I mean, there were some red flags from the start, but at a time where Wan was more controlling and aggressive, he genuinely looked like the better option. Gentle, patient, rich (some people even commented that the show made them ship the straight couple). The kind of guy that would be endgame in every second cheesy het romcom.

The people around Kim can kind of feel that he isn't right for her (even Marwin on some level does) but they still all enable her terrible decision to marry him. Which is another aspect I like about the show: The conflict is only resolved when Wan and Kim choose each other.

Women are constantly discouraged from going for what they want, especially when it causes other people distress, but the show clearly says: They make this choice for themselves, even though it hurts people, and that is how they get their happy ending. Not by being perfect all the time, not by caring about everyone else's feelings, but by choosing what they want for themselves.

And yes, obvisouly the whole thing could have been resolved earlier with less people getting hurt. But in another sense it couldn't, because they weren't ready. It's easy to blame Kim and Wan for not being more honest earlier on, but we can't do so without acknowledging the silent (and sometimes very loud) pressure to conform to heteronormativity.

I know some people didn't like this show very much and I do hope you all get all the kinds of GLs you're longing for soon. But imo it shows important aspects of queer experiences that we don't see a lot. And I'm really glad it exists in the way it does.

[sadquickchristmassnowman]

Overall what do you think of mythic quest? It's on my list to watch. How would you intrigue someone to watch it

(just want to preemptively say that I know this ask has been sitting in my inbox for months and I am so sorry for taking so long to get back to you)

I absolutely love mythic quest. It's my #4 sitcom of all time, which might sound not very high, but numbers 1-3 are taken by the good place, community, and it's always sunny, and I mean. there's no beating those. anyway

I don't know how much you know about it, so I'll give a quick introduction. mythic quest is centered around a video game studio, which produces a video game of the same name. season one opens with them launching their new expansion: Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet. the show follows around the different employees of the company as they each chaotically try to achieve their goals. there are a lot of sitcoms centered around a workplace (the office, parks & recreation, brooklyn nine-nine, superstore, just to name a few), so I suppose you could say mythic quest follows a similar sort of formula to those. but, I think it's super unique and has a lot of stand-out qualities, which I love. it's difficult to make something so unique, to do things on tv that have never been done before (or, at the very least, are rarely done) and I think mythic quest does a great job with all of that.

for one, the types of interpersonal relationships mythic quest portrays are extremely unique. it's hard to go into detail without spoiling too much, but I'll do my best. the show is definitely an ensemble sitcom (a whole gang of "main" characters), but I'd say the show focuses mainly on Poppy and Ian, and their relationship. but, they make it explicitly clear that they are NOT romantically or sexually involved. there's a few jokes here and there, but they react with disgust every time. their relationship is 100% platonic, throughout all three seasons that are out, and it is the FOCUS of the show. how many tv shows have done that? hell, how many stories, period? it's so incredibly important to me, especially as someone on the aroace spectrum, and it makes mythic quest that much more unique and interesting.

(disclaimer that of course there are some people who ship poppy and ian together, which is just kind of. objectively wrong imo. but yk. people can do whatever they want I suppose. the point is, that ship will never sail in canon.)

the ONE current romantic pairing is a lesbian couple!!! that is just SO wild to me. literally none of the other main characters have any sort of (canon) romantic subplot or anything. and the lesbians don't get put through a ton of heartbreak and unnecessary drama either!!! there's pining, there's slight miscommunication and the characters themselves go through some things, but the relationship itself??? pretty much thriving, even through the end of season three. again, SO incredibly important to me.

the character work, writing, and acting is also exemplary. given that mythic quest is already on your list to watch, you probably know some of the actors who are in it: namely, Rob McElhenney, Danny Pudi, David Hornsby, Ashly Burch, etc. The show was created by Rob McElhenney, Megan Ganz, and Charlie Day, who all obviously worked together on iasip. Megan actively writes for MQ, Rob stars in and writes, and Charlie has been pretty hands-off since the show actually got up and running, but who knows. maybe he'll have a cameo one day. David, Danny, and Ashly have all also been involved behind the scenes. I'm sure there's other stuff I’m missing, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head, production and acting-wise.

one of the biggest things that makes mythic quest unique is that, once a season, they have a "backstory" episode, which provides context to a different aspect of the show. the first time I watched season 1 and the backstory episode came on (it's called "A Dark Quiet Death") I had to double check that I didn't accidentally click on another show lmao. I didn't know What was going on. the backstory episodes from seasons 2 and 3 have more immediately recognizable connections to the main story, so they're easier to follow right off the bat, but yeah. the mythic quest backstory episodes are absolutely fantastic. it allows the writers to play with different story layouts, deviate from the established feel of the show, introduce different characters, etc. I could talk about each one for hours, but I won't right now. but yeah. those episodes alone would make the show worth watching.

a few other things I love: danny pudi playing mean, brad as a character in general, the chemistry the characters and actors have, the way it's shot is beautiful, the post season 1 specials (quarantine and everlight), how fleshed out and real the universe is (so much so that I thought mythic quest was a real game for a while), the animations they use as scene transitions, the multitude of background details that I notice more of on every rewatch, the sheer complexity of the characters, the diversity and representation (queer characters, mental health issues, familial trauma, etc), and god so much more. I could go on and on and on about this show. because this ask was so long ago it's possible you've already watched it but if you haven't please do! if you're not the asker and you haven't seen mythic quest and are reading this, ALSO please do! and let me know what you think afterwards If You So Choose. as we've pretty clearly established, I am always super down to talk about my favorite shows :)

TL;DR: mythic quest is amazing and I would recommend it to anyone. unique episode/season layouts, dense worldbuilding, great writing and acting, lesbians, hilarious yet occasionally heart-wrenching plots, complex characters, and so much more. give it a shot. you won't regret it 👍👍👍 (plus season 4 is coming out this year!!!)

[crushedsweets]

in a far away universe where ninakate is canon in creeped verse how do u think their future together would be like? Like moving in with each other...getting married...adopting pets etc etc

AAGGGGHHH OK OK this is SUPER fantasy-type for me, not really realistic for the lore itself... but au where ninakate is canon is fantasty anyway so i do as i please. this is so fanficy and cheesy and stupid and goofy but i dont even caaareee they make me really happy I MISS MY GF(i saw her today. mb)

so this would happen LONG after kate finally heals from O/S syndrome. she is no longer a proxy, no longer has 'the chaser', has spent years working with toby, nat, jack, and nina to get better. get her GED, heal her overworked body, etc. i think kate would have to get a new identity/SSN from BEN so she can work. . . OR she'd wipe all of her missing person files and he'd get her a copy of her SSN, so everything can still be under her name?! i dunno, something super over-powered LMFAO

they'd move close to the coast. a quiet beach city filled mostly with old retired couples and young families. they rent out a small, quaint little house from an older butch/femme lesbian couple. its a short 30 minute walk from the beach (nothing for kate, good for nina). nina works as a nail tech, kate works at a morgue. lots of night shifts for kate, but nina has a disorganized sleep schedule, so she'll be awake when kate leaves and comes home. . .

nina would want marriage sometime into their 30s. without a doubt. and i dont think kate would mind. 'its a piece of paper' (its a legally binding life long commitment but she dgaf) .... nina would get so emotional talking about it, kate is like 'ok well why wouldnt i do it. make her happy.' nina wants a huge, dramatic, extravagant wedding... but i think they'd have a small, private wedding on the beach with very few people. nina wears a mermaid style dress with a dramatically long veil thats dragging all in the sand and was an obecjtively bad decision but kate said it was pretty so nina HAAAD to wear it. kates in a suit. with a pink little pocket square. cuz nina wanted to have pink in the wedding. they probably organized it all themselves, having them + toby and clocky thrift a ton of rando wooden chairs and toby/kate hand made the arch while clocky/nina put flowers all over it. AUGH. come on.

nina wants a chihuahua sooo badly sooo bad so bad. or a pommie. just some cutesy small dog. kate wants like a huge guard dog. smth smth 'for when im not around' and ninas always like oooooooo u care about meeee . LMFAOOOO. so maybe a pommie and a rottweiler .... crazy cute combo, of course .. .

they'd still have issues to get over. neither of them are very healthy partners for a long time, with nina being so horribly anxiously attached and kate being so distant and avoidant. kate being so bad at communicating would trigger the fuck out of nina. and nina is quick to raise her voice, and kate is selectively mute, so nina would trigger that as well. which frustrates nina, then upsets kate, which is a shitty cycle. nina has horrible self image and self esteem, and kate is NOT equipped to handle that - her appearance has never mattered to her, and nina being so worked up over superficial stuff is bothersome. they have a LOT going on that they NEED to work through. and since this is a fictional fantasy ship, THEY WILL LOL they will. because i want them to. and i think they deserve it.

auuughh i just. . . i like them :(

[wildissylupus]

Hi! i know you already get those asks but i really want to vent: i think them making pharmercy canon now would not be satisfating for me - im a lesbian, i feel like there was no indication since the game release that they have anything for each other, if anything mercy was very close to genji, they were very sutil with that, and all pharmercy 'flirt' lines are so recent feels like rushed. One of my favorite lesbian ships ever is Caitlyn and Vi from league, they construed they relationship for YEARs, from partners to lovers and just NOW in 2023 after years and everything they confirmed both as lesbians and even in Arcane they doing great with their romance. another exemple is leona and diana and killjoy with reze in valorant, compared with overwatch feels like they dont know how to develop a organic/fresh relationship between their female characters from the game, rigth now looks just pandering for me.

And yeah I do see where your coming from, Gency has had years of build up in canon while Pharmercy has just started being pushed. Though because of the fact that in the past we've seen OW writers say that they ship Pharmercy I don't think it pandering exactly. I think it's more wish fulfilment.

I also agree with what you're saying about what happened in other games when it comes to LGBTQ+ rep, those ships have had build up. To the point where I, a person who doesn't play either game, know what your talking about. I myself am also a lesbian and I have recognized Pharah as lesbian coded since I first got into Overwatch, which was back in 2016, they've had plenty of time to add things like voice lines or lore to this relationship but they haven't. I looked up their old Overwatch 1 interactions for this post and basically none of them have that flirting vibe that the new voice lines have, most of the personal ones being Mercy saying how she thinks Ana would be proud of Pharah and Pharah just going "are we talking about the same person here?"

Also I've stated it briefly in other posts on Pharmercy but I just don't think they would work, at least they wouldn't stay a couple for a long time. A big thing that people forget when it comes to Pharmercy is that Angela has a lot of issues she needs to sort out, one of those being her terrible communication skills and her ability to say goodbye to people. The reason this is important is because Fareeha has abandonment issues, and we see how Angela's inability to communicate already affects their relationship in "As You Are", we clearly see that Angela leaving without saying goodbye affected Pharah.

This also culminates into this being a story where one person has to wait for the other to sort out their issues, which is something I don't want for Pharah. This plot line with Gency works because it's mutual. If Pharah is going to be with someone I either want them to be dealing with something that Pharah can actually help with (like Symmetra and her inevitable identity crisis) or for her partner to be just as sure of herself as Pharah is (like Sombra or Kiriko).

Again I don't want Pharah to have to wait for Angela to get her issues sorted out, she already has to wait for her mother to come back, she shouldn't have to wait for her romantic life either, and Angela's problems are not something Pharah is really equipped to help with. We actually see how Genji and Angela talk while Pharah tends to offer silent support.

I don't hate Pharmercy and under different circumstances I think they would work, however, not only are the writers kind of fumbling to get me invested but Pharah and Mercy have so many things working against them on a personal level. Not only that but they're fundementally different morally, I think a lot of people forget that Angela doesn't like helix calling them mercenaries with no regard for civilian life, while knowing full well that Pharah works for Helix. That kind of difference would work in a friendship but that would not go well in a romantic relationship.

Anyway, again I don't hate Pharmercy, it's not one of my top ships but I do like it. However, what has been presented in canon either just doesn't get me invested or I just don't want to see happen in terms of characterization (again Pharah shouldn't have to wait for her romantic life in the same way she needs to wait for her family).

[mrskillingjoke]

I'm Back on Tumblr, after a month 👍

My reasons we're literally: I know I can't watch good omens season 2 when it's released so until I can watch it I won't Go on Tumblr, 'cause I don't want to get spoilered.

And holy Shit it was the right decision!

First of all this season was so good and gay and fan-servicing, I mean: WTF!!! THANK YOU NEIL GAIMAN FOR THIS!

The Idea of Aziraphale and Crowley to playing Wingmans for a couple of cute lesbians is beautiful 🤌

Aziraphale and Crowley Love each other so much, I mean the Looks, the married couple vibes, the flirting, the careness, the touches, the Dancing how can it be that even Gabriel/Beelzebub have a Happy end and Crowley and Aziraphale DON'T!!

I mean it's kinda comprehensible why Aziraphale decided to Go Back to heaven. After all we all knew it.

He Loved Crowley but at the same time He Loved heaven and would Like to Go Back there.

Aziraphale and Crowley are Just two Boys, abused in their menage.

But Crowley Had been left behind so He Saw the abusement and refuses it. But Aziraphale is dependent to heaven. He Always got enough excuses to want to Go Back and make everything right.

Like a Kid who gotten Hit by His mother and then she bought them an ice for excuse and is very prudence with them all the way 'till the next Hit. The Kid know it's Bad but they want their mother and stay and make excuses and say it's Not that Bad and when they are an adult they have their own Family and don't want to do it the Same way.

As i Said we already knew that Aziraphale Had this. We saw His struggles in the First season. So we were prepared for Aziraphale to forgive heaven all the time.

Also I Believe that Aziraphale May know in His occiput, that metatron was the only Thing standing between him and being vanished of the book of Life. I mean when a mighty Person Standing between me and my end of existence I would say yes to everything they ask me, Just to be Sure that I will live.

I mean metatron don't need to officially speak Out a threat. We have Seen it with the demons and Angels before. And Aziraphale was uncomfortable to be alone with metatron in the First place.

He is Like a old Mafia Boss, smiling peacefully at you while Holding a gun right to your ribs. You wouldn't do anything that could kill, disembodies you or vanish your existence. It's Just a sane reaction.

Also we have Seen how He regrets His decision. I mean we saw the way He looked at metatron when He telled Aziraphale about "the second". He looked frightend, anxious, regretful...

And yes I know all of this and Think it's comprehensible but I still wanna Grab Aziraphale by His shoulders and shaking him 10 minutes to Sense and then get them all therapy!!!

Oh and I have a new tag: #prayforahappyendingforgays🙏🏳️‍🌈

Yes it's Long but I need to have people using this tag, Just for a Happy ending for our Gays 😭

And also... I Heared that Neil Gaiman needs the Fans Support for a third season.

And I know what you are doing Mr Gaiman. Manipulating Fans by having this much of fanservice in one season and then let it end with a Bad and sad ending were the Most Loved couple Breaks apart and than asking for Support to have a new season to make a (hopefully) Happy ever After for them!

And it works!!! I mean No one who have a Bit empathy for Crowley or who is at heart, just a little bit of a good person would let this be the end of our ineffable husbands!

I mean I sat in Front of my (unfortunalety faltering) Television and screamed and cried about this ending, begging for a miracle (one more miracle, Sherlock...) For Not lettin' my ship sinking in a storm, pulled down by the Kraken himself 😭

🙏🏳️‍🌈 I beg you make a third very gay-happy-ending season with our all favourite ineffable husbands finally gettin' really married by god themself, 'cause even they can't See all of this without forcing them to finally come around together!!!

[averyintrovertedfangirl]

Me, reading the tags: Hmm, lots of hatred toward Dean and Cas for being... *checks notes* white? and... male. Interesting, these are definitely very strong bases for disliking Destiel. Honestly, whatever. You guys may win this poll, but I still think Destiel wins Tumblr. I'm not going to hate on The Witch From Mercury, I don't know anything about it and I might even like it, but if spn fans were going around yelling YESSS KILL THOSE STUPID ASIAN GIRLS!!! I think that might be called out a lot faster. (I'm really glad people aren't saying that though.)

People seem to be voting against Destiel on principle, whilst admitting they've never seen either show but must do it either "FOR THE LESBIANS!!!" (I've seen a lot of tags saying they're voting sulemio exclusively because they're female - what, and therefore... better??) or "to watch destiel die" (because apparently, a ship from a show you don't watch annoys you that much). What, is it considered cool to hate Supernatural or something? Did Misha Collins kill your dog? Hating it because it was queerbait is one thing, but I think it's the writers you should be hating (and not even all of them, we know which specific ones we hate and which ones did try to give us the gay angel we sought after) and not the characters themselves. I'm definitely not going to say the fandom can't be annoying, cause I'm sure it can, but like. The fandom pushed for them to be queer, and tried to fight against the homophobes. If you hate Destiel because the writers were homophobic, a lot of the spn fandom would probably agree with you! we don't need to argue with each other!

If you read into a lot of scenes (I've seen posts doing it), it looks pretty clear that it wasn't one-sided, 'show don't tell' and all that. I'm not asking any Sulemio fans to bother doing that for a show you don't watch, but at least believe us when we say it maybe?

Now, I don't know how to say this without sounding like a bratty fangirl, but in my opinion Destiel is THE ship of all time. I'm not saying you can't like your own show more, because supernatural can be truly fucking terrible, but nothing will ever be like Destiel. Is it the best? Heavens no. The entire thing was crazy. But just... everything about it, it is iconic. I don't think you could dispute that. Everyone on tumblr knows it, everyone's heard of it (pretty much). I will (and already did) get shit for saying this, but Supernatural is at the foundations of tumblr, it's just an important part of the site.

But this isn't even about Tumblr. It's the AO3 top ships bracket, so all tumblr-heritage crap aside, I personally think Destiel deserves to win for being that popular and well-loved that it became the first ship on AO3 to have 100,000 fics written about it. I know this isn't just about numbers, cause if it was then you could just count up statistics and call it a day. But it reached that milestone for a reason; people love it!!

I know I'm coming from a biased place; I migrated here from Pinterest where my first introduction to Tumblr was screenshots of superwholock and the likes from 2013. Of course I'm gonna think Destiel runs this place. Thankfully, a couple of nice Gundam fans have explained some stuff about the franchise to me, because I'd literally never heard of it before yesterday. And I will say, it does sound very impressive! The popularity of it, and how old it is and how long it's been around as a whole, is pretty cool. I love the idea of married space lesbians. I might actually check it out, they wouldn't be this well-loved if they didn't deserve it.

So while I mean no hate towards The Witch from Mercury, I've gotta say this. Hating Dean and Castiel and insulting them for being white and male is, as far as I know, sexism and racism. I'm not just throwing those terms around to make it sound like voting Sulemio makes you "problematic" or whatever, that's not my point at all. I'm specifically referring to the tags that state that Sulemio is the better ship because they're lesbians whilst Dean and Cas are white men. A lot of people seem to think that you cannot discriminate against white or male people, and call it "reverse racism"/"reverse sexism". It's... not. It goes both ways. Reverse misogyny, sure. But there's a word for that: misandry. And I'm not saying it's ANYWHERE near as bad as women got it, but isn't this still... slowly and subtly recreating the problems feminists and people of colour had to face? and still do have to? Quietly insulting someone like "lol die white men" isn't any better than being like "ugh i hate teenage girls" or "black rappers suck lmao". I'm not saying you can't jest, but joking about stuff allows people to say the same things seriously. And some of you weren't even joking. All I want to say is, if your basis for literally hating a couple of characters is "they're white boys and too many people love them", I think you should reconsider your ideals.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Tumblr Top Ships Bracket - FINALS

This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[dailymenace]

Pt. 1

I think most of my life I've been chasing romance. It's everywhere, isn't it? Can't go one book without an unnecessary love triangle, fandom is obsessed with ships, and, even when you are young, dating drama is the main topic of conversation. I knew I wasn't straight for as long as adults tried to push heternormativity onto me. I'm afab for context, and for a while it was in the same vein as disliking the color pink, just a rebellion towards assumptions pushed onto me, but it stayed as I grew. I didn't like boys, a it didn't help that couldn't really socialize with them. They were immature, especial when contrasted with how "mature for my age" I was. This was really just me be socially akward and turning to books for escapism, but it did have the side effect of making me a loner. Little weirdo me held a destain for boys, and only had girl friends. In addition to that, my style of friendship is having just a few people extremely close to me. Considering my limited social options though, this manifested as having literally only one friend. One friend who would be my world. And so I thought I was a lesbian for a while. It started when somebody new at school asked me if I had a crush. They had just told me theirs, and I wanted to reciprocate, but I didn't have a crush at the time. To compensate I told them I had a crush on my best friend, a lie, but this got me thinking. They were pretty close with me, and I even enjoyed physical closeness with them, something that didn't even apply to all my family. The more I dwelled on this and my acquaintance fangirled over me and my "crushe's" interactions, the more it seemed like maybe I did actually have a crush on them. Then the acquaintance told my best friend I had a crush on them. Which went way better then it could've, as my best friend basically just asked me if it was true, and I admitted it was, and then we got together. This relationship lasted about three years, and in retrospect my best friend didn't actually have feelings for me, just saying so to placate me. Their erotic obsession with just about everyone but me was pretty telling. (Seriously, who gushes about their crush on a teacher for a literal year to their partner? And flirting with people in front of them?? Literally kissed someone in front of me despite that never happening between us. Bad behavior, since this was never negotiated.) However, despite the duration and intensity of the relationship, I don't think I ever felt that romantic "spark". If you "know it when you feel it", then I was not in love. Which was weird, because holding hands and decorating a Chirstmas tree together held an intimacy I don't really hear people talk about in platonic friendships. There was a certain warmth that came from doing couple-y things together. We kept track of anniversaries just to write nice cards with gifts and flowers. At sleepovers I would rest my head on her shoulder and we would sing along to the songs we both knew and liked. Was that not romantic? If it wasn't, what is romantic? What divides the nature of relationships? My feelings for her were platonic, but we were definitely engaged in a romantic relationship, weren't we? I've had a bit of time to reflect on it, it's been at least half a year now, and I think the answer is as simple as it seems. Relationships can be romantic even if your feelings aren't. And that's what that was.

[humanwheatleyslefttoenail]

why do you ship chell and glados if glados is basically her mom

Okay this is actually a pretty common misconception in the fandom that unfortunately a lot of people have taken as canon, but I’m feeling nice so I’ll answer your question.

Basically, anon is referencing a theory from around 2012 that Caroline is Chell’s mom. The evidence for the theory is as follows:

- The turret opera calls Chell “bambina”, which means “little girl” in Italian

- Chell’s name can be found on a Bring Your Daughter To Work Day science project

- GLaDOS references the possibility of Chell being adopted multiple times

- GLaDOS is significantly nicer to Chell after discovering she’s Caroline 

And, anon, you’re right, it does sound like a pretty good argument at first glance. The problem is that a lot of these points don’t actually hold up to scrutiny.

For example, although “bambina” literally translates to “little girl,” it’s often used in the same way “baby girl” is used in English - it can mean child, but contextually it’s usually a flirtatious term. (Source: Cambridge Dictionary)

For Chell’s science project, it doesn’t work as evidence for the theory because GLaDOS killed the scientists around 1998-ish, when Caroline had presumably been uploaded several years earlier and Cave was already dead. Also, Chell’s in her 20′s, and since we know from Lab Rat/Portal 2 that people don’t age in stasis, and that Doug put Chell at the top of the test subject list only weeks after the takeover, Chell was 28 at the time of the takeover. The science project is really only an Easter egg and doesn’t actually fit into the canon timeline let alone prove anything about Caroline and Cave. 

GLaDOS talking about Chell being adopted is a pretty strong point, I’ll admit, but also it’s important to remember that maybe half of what GLaDOS says is true. And even if we take what she says at face value, she also says there’s a man and a woman in stasis with Chell’s last name, which could not have been Cave and Caroline because they were already dead at that point. And the official book Final Hours Of Portal 2 confirms Cave and Caroline were not married and could not have shared the same name anyway. It was also the 50′s, an an unmarried couple of two likely famous people having a child would’ve been scandalous, and yet we see no hint of something like this affecting their company. 

Also, although GLaDOS is nicer to Chell after the Caroline reveal, that’s not necessarily indicative of a mother-daughter relationship, and neither is any of their interactions. It’s just. GLaDOS being friendlier. 

Finally, when this theory was made (and let’s be honest - it still is happening) Chell was constantly whitewashed to hell and back. 

Chell is Japanese-Brazilian, and Cave and Caroline are white, so it would be a near impossibility for her to be their biological child (and insisting otherwise is kinda. just. whitewashing). And although people will cry “adoption!”, based on what I’ve previously proven, that’s pretty much impossible. This theory that somehow she’s Cave and Caroline’s daughter erases an important part of her identity. [Disclaimer, I am white, but this is what I’ve heard from around the fandom]

With all that said, the idea that she’s the daughter of Cave and Caroline really doesn’t hold weight when you really analyze the canon. It’s surface level analysis that doesn’t hold up. And honestly? The idea kinda cheapens the story. It’s much more powerful that GLaDOS learns to care about Chell and becomes kinder than just. Oh, she remembered she’s related to Chell. 

But to actually answer your ask. 

Why do I ship them?

Well, they aren’t mother and daughter, I think that’s pretty obvious now. But if you actually look at a lot of subtext in Portal 2, without the lens of the mother theory, it’s actually pretty romantic! 

I know that sounds ridiculous, but bear with me!

Now - it’s totally okay if you don’t ship them. I get it. Their interactions in Portal 1 and the first half of Portal 2 are toxic if not outright well. Y’know. Murderous. I completely understand why that turns people off from shipping them, and ultimately, shipping is a personal thing. To each his own. 

But before you judge me, let me present my case.

Exhibit A: Portal 

Portal is kinda gay. No, really. Chell and GLaDOS are enemies in this game, but the entire focus is on their relationship (good or not) and the power struggle between them. They are opposites, two sides of the same coin, different representations of opposite ideologies. People have analyzed Portal as a relationship metaphor, or as a metaphor about women’s role in society - either way, the heart of Portal is the complicated dynamic between Chell and GLaDOS. 

That’s not necessarily enough to code a romance, but a lot of popular (and especially popular queer ones) ships begin with opposite ideologies, symbolic powers colliding. Portal cements their relationship as a toxic one, something on the verge of falling apart and hurting both parties in the end. The ending image, of Chell and GLaDOS side by side after the battle, reinforces the symbolic parallels between the two. 

The companion cube is also pretty symbolically important to this interpretation. It’s literally a representation of someone’s heart, and you are told to protect it and preserve it under GLaDOS’ orders, and then you have to destroy it regardless of how you actually feel about doing that. You are destroying GLaDOS’ heart, so to speak. 

There’s also the ending song, Still Alive. The lyrics speak for themselves.

They hint that GLaDOS’ feelings about Chell are more complicated than they may appear (if she’s not being sarcastic...) and she literally talks about Chell breaking her heart (also, think back to the companion cube. Yeah.). The entire song is structurally similar to many a breakup number, with the laments of “I’m glad it happened, but also leave.” 

At the end, we also see that the long promised cake GLaDOS was supposedly lying about was real the whole time. Before Portal 2 came out, it was mostly interpreted as a stinger ending (along with the nicer lyrics of Still Alive) to make you question GLaDOS’ true motives and intentions.

She actually did have a real cake waiting for you. (Side note - not really evidence, but in Argentina, “torta” means cake in Spanish. It’s also a slang term for lesbians. So. Do with that what you will). The cake is what GLaDOS offers you to lull you into the sense that she cares about you, so discovering that “the cake is a lie” wakes you up to the realization that she doesn’t. Except then the idea is subverted one last time, at the very end, showing that the cake is real and at least some of what she said she meant. 

You also see the companion cube. You know, GLaDOS’ symbolic heart?

Now, okay, you might be thinking I’m extrapolating a bit too much. And you might be right. But Portal is not the only game in the series, and if you’re asking me about Cave and Caroline you obviously know about Portal 2.

Exhibit B: Portal 2

If you thought Portal was gay, Portal 2 turns that up to 11.

Even before GLaDOS wakes up, you’re treated to some visual subtext. A few of Rattmann’s drawings representing the events of Portal 2 focus a lot on the relationship between GLaDOS and Chell, with more of the cake symbolism.

In this, you can see a face layered on top of GLaDOS. This could be foreshadowing about Caroline, and likely is, but also resembles his other drawing of Chell. It insists that Chell is a part of GLaDOS, or reinforces parallels between Chell and Caroline, hinting at something either way. 

In this picture, we also see Chell standing on top of GLaDOS, in the same position where the overlay of the feminine face was, again referencing the parallel. It also presents them as opposites, fundamental parts of the same thing and both connected to the same basis, but on opposing sides. 

When GLaDOS wakes up, she returns to her antagonistic role, but there are more hints to something deeper just like in Portal. 

Here, in her awakening lines, she references Chell not unlike an estranged ex. Also worth noting that GLaDOS is pretty much the personification of testing (in a sense, she is testing since she can control all of Aperture like an extension of her body), and insinuates that Chell loves to test. And that she reciprocates that feeling.

In test chamber 10, she says this:

It’s supposed to be threatening, but it does read as almost... sentimental. 

There’s also another chamber with companion cubes in Portal 2. I already talked about their symbolism in Portal, and the same pretty much applies to them here. However, GLaDOS says something interesting about them during this level:

Once again, meant to be intimidating, ends up coming off as “well, GLaDOS, why were you going to give Chell a heart shaped representation of yourself that says ‘I love you?’” And you might think I’m stretching the GLaDOS’ heart metaphor thing a little far here, and I might agree, if the companion cubes didn’t literally sing Cara Mia for you. 

Cara Mia is the turret opera from the end of the game, which is all about how much GLaDOS cares about Chell. More on that later. But the companion cubes play a song called Love as A Construct, and when you get close to them, they sing a specific part of the song that has the tune of Cara Mia. These things literally exist to sing about GLaDOS’ feelings. 

Which makes this line a lot more. For lack of a better term. Tsundere-ish.

Then, right before the escape, she starts talking about the confetti from her fake surprise. 

I really don’t have to explain this one. What else does GLaDOS consider an inconvenience but might miss anyway? Or, more aptly, who else?

Then, during the escape, she teases a (fake) final test chamber in front of you, and forms the panels in the shape of a heart. No, really. 

Up to this point, a lot of the points I’ve presented are interspersed with a fair amount of antagonization on GLaDOS’ behalf, more Foe Yay than anything actually hinting at something deeper than GLaDOS being conflicted about whether she loves or hates Chell. But things really ramp up after Wheatley’s betrayal, when the two of them are forced to team up. (I should also note here that “enemies to lovers” is a pretty classic queer romance trope.)

Here, GLaDOS is put on an equal level with Chell and they have to rely on each other if they want to survive. For the rest of the singleplayer campaign, GLaDOS becomes a lot nicer and even friendly to Chell. There comes a point where she starts referring to Chell as a teammate, calling them “we.” She begins to consider them one unit, two opposites unified. Here’s what she says after the lemon rant:

You can not only see her using we, but actively talking about how her and Chell are going to fight Wheatley together. There’s also that last line - “let’s explode with some dignity.” GLaDOS has fully accepted the very likely possibility that she and Chell might die together. That she might die on the same level, and the same team as Chell. And she seems... surprisingly okay with that, as long as she and Chell go together. 

It’s during the Old Aperture levels that Chell and GLaDOS also discover that they have a lot in common. This is the part of the game where GLaDOS figures out she’s Caroline, that she’s human. Or, that she’s like Chell. And Chell discovers (from what we can tell anyway) that Caroline is kind, that she’s funny and smart and so many of these things she never noticed about GLaDOS before. Now also with the knowledge she is fighting alongside another human being. 

You can also draw parallels between Chell and Caroline, both intelligent women ultimately betrayed by their seemingly innocuous male friends before being trapped in Aperture and forced to team up with one another in a way that will free both of them. We see that really, GLaDOS isn’t that different from Chell - she too has been imprisoned in this place against her will, but in a completely different way. Once again, the idea of two sides of the same coin applies here. 

I’ve written another meta about this before, but I also think the whole idea of repressing a part of your identity and hating it, before bonding with another woman and then realizing that it’s okay to be like her and to be on her side. It’s okay to be yourself and meeting her is what helps you discover this new part of yourself. Is kinda inherently gay. GLaDOS’ discovery of her own humanity just fits so well into a queer realization narrative, to me at least.

Then, Chell and GLaDOS escape Old Aperture and have to get through Wheatley’s tests. 

Here, GLaDOS isn’t just begrudgingly on Chell’s team. She’s actively helpful. She wants to help Chell solve tests, defends her from Wheatley’s insults, and makes jokes to lighten the mood. Things that can really only be explained by her caring about Chell, especially the part about the insults. See below.

After the two escape Wheatley’s testing track, right before the boss fight GLaDOS has a few other things to say.

GLaDOS is not going to betray Chell, because of some kind of conscience. But she could easily ignore that back in her body, and yet? Here she’s deciding not to, and for no good reason. She didn’t have to say that to Chell, but she did, because she cares and she wants Chell to live.

And then, moments before the fight:

The final lines imply that GLaDOS does not think of Chell as an enemy anymore, and that it doesn’t matter what Chell thinks because they are in this together and they are getting revenge together. It’s pretty heartwarming to be honest, to know that even in a fight that will almost certainly kill you, she is there rooting for you and caring about you, even if you don’t feel the same way about her. It no longer matters to GLaDOS whether you even reciprocate - you staying alive, you making it through is enough for her.

So Chell fights Wheatley and sends him into space, all well and good, and at this point, GLaDOS has the option to kill Chell. But not only does she not, she actively saves Chell, and holds her hand in the process. If you don’t believe me:

And not only that, but when Chell goes unconscious from her injuries, GLaDOS sits and waits for her to wake up. It’s also implied that GLaDOS carries her to the elevator, since it’s where she wakes up but not where she passed out. In the scene where Chell blacks out, you can also hear the part of Love As A Construct that sounds like Cara Mia. Yeah. Yeah.

If you think that this cannot possibly get any gayer, you are wrong again, because then GLaDOS makes her final speech. Which is really just a love confession, let’s be honest.

The “surge of emotion?” Do you mean love, GLaDOS? And the idea of GLaDOS considering Chell her best friend, despite everything these two have done to each other? The idea that GLaDOS, out of all people, forgives someone?

Except this isn’t even Chell’s final send-off. GLaDOS writes her an entire opera of turrets, that sing a literal love song. (Note what I said earlier about the use of the word “bambina”).

It really can’t get any more obvious than that. “My (affectionate romantic term here), my dear, I adore you.” How. Is. That. Heterosexual. In. Any. Way.

So Chell goes to the surface, set free by GLaDOS (think of the saying “if you love something, set it free), and you think that’s the end. Until GLaDOS gives you a companion cube so you aren’t alone on the journey, and from the burn marks, you know it’s your first companion cube. Her original heart, her first gift to you, a piece of her that she wants you to carry with you to remind you that she does care about you after everything. It also gives the lyrics to Still Alive a much more genuine meaning. 

Portal 2 ends, and then the ending song, another GLaDOS number plays. Just like Still Alive, Want You Gone is structurally a break up song and very obviously about GLaDOS missing Chell and “counting on” (read: caring about/loving) Chell’s tendencies and quirks. 

She’s accepted Chell completely, and yet also given Chell the one thing she wants most. Only wanting Chell gone can mean GLaDOS not wanting Chell in her life anymore, but can also mean she wants to give Chell the freedom she’s wanted for so, so long. It’s the best thing she can give.

In the co-op campaign, GLaDOS also references still caring about Chell.

And that’s the end of the Portal series. Except. Brace yourself. Despite the games being over, there is STILL more subtext somehow. It gets. Even gayer.

Exhibit C: Supplemental Evidence

Valve has made a lot of extra/cut content for the Portal series, and I’ll be looking at some of it below.

This official valentine from Valve shows GLaDOS offering a romantic partner cake, which as we’ve established before, is very symbolic of GLaDOS’ feelings about and/or relationship with Chell. 

There’s a lot of other concept art and official art that emphasizes their relationship too. See below.

There’s also some cut GLaDOS lines that are even gayer than the source material and again, sound like confessions or references to a breakup:

The idea of “discovering things about someone”... how much more obvious can it get?

The developers have even confirmed a lot of my commentary on Chell and GLaDOS’ relationship in The Final Hours Of Portal 2. See these quotes from the book/this post:

The devs literally describe it as a romance. They use terms like “cheating,” they wanted to write a romantic duet, JoCo purposefully wrote the endings like love songs. It is literally, blatantly said by the creators of the game that their relationship is interpreted romantically. By the creators of the game. 

And if Word of God confirmation isn’t enough for you, have a song written for a cut alternate ending by GLaDOS’ voice actress, Ellen McClain. The song is literally nothing but GLaDOS talking about caring about Chell, about not wanting her to die/leave GLaDOS alone, about wanting to bake a cake with Chell, about waiting for Chell to wake her up. It’s so genuinely sweet and sad, and really, really romantic in the most heartwrenching way possible. 

JoCo also came back for the Portal levels in Lego Dimensions, writing one final breakup song for GLaDOS to sing about Chell. It comes off as GLaDOS not wanting to admit she misses Chell even though she obviously does, trying to replace their relationship but failing, and even explicitly forgiving Chell/wanting her to come back.

Also, the “finally I understand,” as if only now GLaDOS understands just how deep her feelings for Chell are... What else can I say?

In Lego Dimensions, GLaDOS also outright rejects anyone who isn’t Chell.

In Conclusion:

Why do I ship Chell and GLaDOS? 

Well, ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether I ship them. 

Because I think it’s glaringly obvious Portal does.

[tangent101]

Now this is an interesting post. It went down paths I was not expecting. So... let's take a moment to examine. =^.^=

First? I totally agree with you about the Warren ship. Warren is a "nice guy" who Max tries to fend off at the start. The only reason that it became a "big thing" is because in the "What If" beta, fans fell in love with Warren while Max answered with four different levels of "no."

And this is a shame! Because Warren deserved better than to become the Nice Guy Trope. He could have been painted out to be the faithful male friend who is not romantically interested in Max. Heck, part of things could be trying to convince Brooke or Alyssa (two of the other girls Warren is chasing after) that she is not interested in Warren that way. We need more male/female non-romantic friendships out there.

Instead, Warren was turned into a... cautionary story for those who decided to look more than skin deep. We have the doctored photograph of Max and Warren that he keeps in the men's locker room (where guys can see it but Max never would) and his pushing himself on Max and trying to manipulate Max into dating him and also at the same time being involved with Brooke and possibly Alyssa at the same time. Given how popular Warren is among some folk, the cautionary aspects were outright ignored so... why not just have him be a friend? Heck, if you need a trope, have him be the gay friend. ^^

Okay. Enough about Warren, I need a shower after talking about him. Now we're going to look at Rachel. And I'm going to delve over twenty years into my past when I ran into a girl at a bar and we kind of really hit it off. And we walked alongside the river boardwalk and decided to become a couple and it was... heady and fun and intense. And it burned itself out after one month, but we remained good friends after all of that for a number of years. (Last I knew she's married and I've no idea how to get in touch with her anymore, but that happens with friends.) That is the type of vibe I get with Rachel Amber and Chloe Price.

Rachel... is that intense flame that burns hot and bright and then fades far too quickly. No doubt Rachel and Chloe ended up in bed several times. Rachel was Chloe's lesbian awakening, for all that Rachel herself was very bi. So the quickness of their relationship is not a problem with me. If anything, it's that we don't get more of it is one of my problems. The second half of the third chapter is essentially a Rachel-free fetch quest. It could have been handled differently. Better. (There is also Chloe's complete lack of autonomy in the story, but I've gone on about that multiple times.)

I've gone on at length about my issues with BtS in other posts. The issue with Rachel is... we don't really get to see what it is about Rachel that got Chloe to be that dedicated to her. If we'd had more moments with her, perhaps allowing Rachel to help Chloe more with various things so that her being willing to toss her future away for this girl makes sense... but yeah. Rachel works best as the ghost, as the girl Chloe pines for. Having her come to life just... tarnished the illusion and killed any real interest I had with Amberprice.

Pricefield on the other hand... I think people enter into Pricefield from a certain direction. If you're not walking part of that path, then you end up not quite clicking with it. With me... it's that connection with Chloe. I'm the one who would accept her friends back without hesitation no matter how long it took for them to return. And there is also that tremendous loyalty toward your friends that lets you be willing to sacrifice everything else for them.

That said... I'm not sure Chloe puts that much pressure on Max, because the thing is? She bounces back from rejection fairly quickly. (The difference between BtS and LiS is that Chloe lacks autonomy in BtS while Max fully has autonomy in LiS.) So you can take Kate's call, you can refuse to take the obviously shady Handicapped Fund (because making a handicapped ramp for a building that requires several sets of stairs to access makes so much sense), you can just not kiss Chloe... and Chloe remains loyal to Max and the two remain together after the Storm.

As for Chloe's "questionable behavior..." let's move beyond the underlying factors (being dosed with a date-rape drug and not knowing what happened just three days before, among other things) and look at Chloe's behavior. Chloe is impulsive. But she is quickly talked down as well. All Max has to do is ignore her request and Chloe moves on. Chloe doesn't hold it over Max for not kissing her, she barely grouses about the gun or not having the "Handicapped" fund, she offers her life at the end no matter what and tells Max "whatever you choose, I'll support that choice" and does so. The only difference is if you get a goodbye hug or goodbye kiss... and it's MAX who initiates either.

One last thing to consider is where you are in life when you play the games. Because in one or two years? You may very well find that Amberprice is far more understandable, or that you just connect with Max and Chloe on a far deeper level. It's one reason why I recommend people play these games more than once. (Though admittedly, I'll never play BtS again. I just got so angry with that game that... well, I almost never rage-quit a game just inches from the end, but BtS is the exception.)

Thank you for your comments. :)

Unpopular opinion but I don't enjoy any of the ships from „life is strange” games.

Max does not seem in any way interested in Warren making their relationship obviously one sided. Even through Warren is theoretically one of romantic options it seems to me that his relationship with Max is pushed solely and exclusively by the player.

As for pricfield, they’re all right ,but that’s it. Chloe puts a lot of pressure on Max and even though you can clearly see that she cares a lot about Max ,some of her behavior is questionable. On the positive side, however, I think their relationship is the most emotional out of all the games and their moments are the most memorable but I don't particularly care for them.

As for the Amberprcie, like it more in theory than in reality. When I heard of their relationship in the first game ,I was thrilled and convinced that they would be my favorite ship out of all. I was wrong. My main issue is that their relationship develops wayy too fast. Bts lasts about 3 days, after not even a whole day of knowing Rachel, Chloe tells her she feels there’s something more than friendship between them. After a few days, Chloe is ready to throw herself out of school for Rachel , despite knowing how important that was for Joyce. At the same time I am able to understand her a little,ever since her father died and Max moved out ,she closed herself off and haven’t got any (close)friends. Rachel was the first person to take an interest in her in a long time, making it easy for her to quickly become attached. Similarly with Rachel ,she didn't have many close friends either. I think their relationship is quite cute, but as I mentioned earlier ,I like them more on paper than in action.

Also I don't see any point in mentioning the other ships, the only ones left are rarepairs, and they generally appeal to me mostly aesthetically so there's no need to dwell on them.

[itsclydebitches]

So The Owl House just had their main pairing kiss on screen in the latest episode. How is it a show under Disney can have their queer couple kiss but RT can't even confirm if Yang and Blake are actually together, much less kiss.

Was that in the final episode (minus some additional content I've been hearing about)? Because that seems to be the go-to trend nowadays: build up a relationship, but wait until the final hour to confirm it. Which, to be very clear, I don't mean as a criticism of TOH. Beyond the fact that I haven't watched it for myself yet (I know, I know), everyone working at Disney is fighting tooth-and-nail for any scrap of representation, often taking such compromises — they can't kiss, but they can hold hands; there will be a wedding, but it won't air in this country; we'll confirm it, but only when the show is cancelled/ending, etc. — over getting nothing at all. Plus, from what I've heard second-hand, TOH apparently does a fantastic job with their relationship, even with such obvious, external difficulties. The point being that, as you say, anon, if creators can manage this under the thumb of such homophobic corporations... the originally independent webseries who, it seems, only entertained the idea of a queer couple because the fans wanted it should absolutely be doing better. Like, way better.

Not to continually gush about OFMD in my RWBY asks, but even more than getting one queer kiss from a Disney cartoon, shows like OFMD emphasize, for me, how much better RWBY could be doing. Here's a nonbinary character! Here's a gay character! Here's another gay character! They're having unambiguous sex in this episode! They might be poly based on how they respond to a particular conversation! Even if they're not they're super chill about expressing their sexuality in various ways! Here's a repressed queer chihuahua man who will theoretically work through the homophobia he's internalized due to toxic masculinity! Here's another gay man who didn't realize he was gay until the end of the season! Here's a fourth gay man! They kiss!! Even though we only get ten episodes at 20-30 minutes each!

Meanwhile, RWBY is like... what if we wrote eight years of content... and the first kinda queer character is a background dude who's maybe gay... and the next was going to be an actual gay guy except we decided not to do that because he dies as soon as he's introduced... and then the lesbian is an obsessive radical out to murder her crush's parents and then disappears from the story after a two-second redemption... and there's a very cute queer couple who hold hands, but they're minor characters who are only around for half a season... and there's a bunch of intense queer coding for these two dudes (one of whom is a fan fave), but it's totally not our fault because the animators made them wink and flirt without our consent... and then one dies in a horrific fashion, but you can't call it bury your gays because they were never gay haha gotcha... and the main ship that's helping to keep this webseries afloat gets to—wait for it—blush and sometimes, SOMETIMES, touch their foreheads together, but they're not together-together yet, just wait for it! Hm? What do you mean we confirmed two main straight couples already? 😗

Meanwhile me, having just watched a ship full of queer pirates live their best lives while the story still makes time for numerous unrelated plots:

I know I often give RWBY the benefit of the doubt because I do believe strongly that almost any story can turn itself around — not fix what came before, but still improve going forward — but I do really believe that the beginning of Volume Nine will have a huge impact on how Blake/Yang is received by the fanbase for the rest of the story's run. If we get a kiss (or some other kind of confirmation), then I believe that the majority of viewers will be lenient in regards to the arc overall. People will forget how long these Volumes felt in real-time, more and more fans who come into the community will get to binge RWBY and never having to wait on that confirmation, plenty of posts will pop up reassuring others that it had to happen this way because this was the right time for them to get together, it's more proof of RT's amazing storytelling... and basically most non-RWDE folks will be pleased. Which is good!

However, if we miss out on a confirmation the concept of, "It just needs to be the right time" looses its persuasive power and we'll be left asking when the hell we can expect to see them get together if it's not after a post-assumed death reunion. The very end of the story, perhaps? Honestly, I can easily see RT crafting a scenario in which the emotional punch of the void is lost before Blake and Yang ever find each other again. Blake could wake up and immediately go, "Oh, well I haven't died. Therefore Yang shouldn't be dead either. I'm no longer freaking out about this!" and Yang might be worried about her teammates, but she never saw them "die" like they did with her, likewise creating a, "I'm sure everything will be fine," reaction. Toss in the amount of time it might take for them to reach one another on the island (time to cool down, not do anything impulsive based on high emotions) and the fact that RWBY is really bad at emotional followups to begin with (Weiss and Winter don't need to resolve their differences, Jacques is killed off by Ironwood, Qrow doesn't care about killing him anymore, Ruby barely reacts to Yang falling, etc.) and I can EASILY picture a reunion where it's just another forehead touch like after the whale separation. You know, despite the fact that the fandom will be screaming about you thought Yang was dead, Blake, how is this not the perfect time to admit your feelings?

Not to reduce a show to its shipping, but Blake/Yang is such a huge part of the RWBY community that if RT fucks that up even more, it may well tank the show's popularity in a way the bad writing hasn't managed to. We might get a kiss in Volume 9. More likely we might get it at the very end of the run. Worst case scenario is if something happens and RWBY doesn't finish, or — heaven forbid — they bow out of making the relationship canonical at all, and we're left with, at best, some panel announcement where they reassure everyone that of course they're in love... we just didn't get the chance to show you that for whatever nonsense reason PR has helped us come up with. Not having gotten anything by now isn't good, but not getting anything by mid Volume 9 will be even worse imo. It's a now or never kind of deal.

[readwebcomicsgdi]

woah look out

Here’s another little list of some comics! This is the fifth set, you can see the others here in the “roundup posts” tag~

Amongst Us (and Carciphona) By @okolnir​

“Amongst Us is a slice of life / romance / comedy comic about the couple, Blackbird and Veloce.”

I’m going to be ten thousand percent honest with you and admit that I got into this comic because one of the characters really really reminds me of my Agatha and I’m gay (I don’t mean to be rude by comparing them, I am saying this in the rec because a lot of other people also seem to appreciate the Tall Socially Awkward Intimidating Lesbian character archetype and they’re hard to find, it’s a selling point lmao). That said! It’s lovely to look at and certainly stands up without any of my own associations, and it’s a very cute and simple sapphic slice of life story. Y’all are always asking for wlw stuff, here is one.

I do want to mention this comic is actually an AU the author is doing of their main comic, Carciphona, which is an ENTIRELY different project; it’s a black and white fantasy manga that I haven’t actually read yet, but some of you probably have! To be honest this artist is quite a bit more popular than the folks I usually like to feature here, BUT: they’re publishing their own books and steering their own ship outside the mainstream and man I am all about that shit so go give these a shot.

https://amongstuscomic.com/

https://carciphona.com/

Electric Bones By HAZEL + BELL

“Lucian has just been fired from his dream job. Irritated and aimless, he is invited by his friends to go on a cruise trip in deep space.Lucian plans on spending his time on board indulging in every illicit activity and substance in the galaxy, but his plans are cut short when he ends up crossing paths with a familiar face: A robot who has an uncanny resemblance to the co-worker who got Lucian fired.”

yeah yeah Aria likes the smutty robot comic, but also it’s just really good. It’s good! The art is lovely, the story’s in that sweet spot where it’s “harder” sci fi with lovely detailed metal things floating in space but it’s ALSO having a good time without making you read a doorstopper’s worth of political lore every five minutes, and while this bit is maybe a bit less interesting from the other side of the drawing table, the lettering is creative and engaging and suits the story perfectly. A lot of comics get the fonts wrong!! This one didn’t.

This website is also navigable with arrow keys, which is just so nice. Why doesn’t everybody do this. Go turn it on if you have a comic site.

https://electricbonescomic.com/

broken By @yubriamakesart​

“broken is a fantasy/horror story about a psychic zombie kid befriending a fairy general and trying to deal with guilt, grief, and PTSD. This is complicated by eldritch abominations, a genocidal dictator, the dictator's wife, and a panic-induced exit from the last known bastion of civilization. Warning: this comic contains things like graphic violence (including suicide), body horror, and the occasional flashing image.”

The archive looks real big but don’t panic, this one’s broken up panel by panel so you’ll fly right through it. It’s maybe a weird thing to focus on but I super appreciate how much effort is put into the aesthetics of the website!! Even the backgrounds change along with the updates. The author clearly puts a lot of thought into crafting an Experience around their work, so it’s definitely worth reading it on the home site rather than on any of the mirrors.

https://broken.spiderforest.com/

The Secret Knots By @santapau​

The Secret Knots is, according to the author, inspired by things like A Softer World; it’s a series of self contained nonlinear pieces you can read in whatever order you like. He speaks extensively about how and why he started making this comic, it’s too long to put here but it’s a wonderful primer.

It’s hard to talk about this one you just kinda have to jump in. That said I love this shit dude this is exactly what I wanna see, make weird genuine shit and put it up for other people to read yeah yeah yeah

https://thesecretknots.com/

Shot and Chaser By @bigbigtruck​

“SHOT AND CHASER is a story about storms. Esoteric lifemates Tre and Olly set out together and experience a literal whirlwind of a day in the Texas panhandle. WARNING: This comic contains sensitive themes and is intended only for mature adults.”

You’ve certainly heard of this comic and this artist already (if not Shot and Chaser, you might be familiar with one of Weaver’s previous webcomic projects TJ and Amal) but sort of in line with the first one on this list, I’m just a real big fan of what they’re doing and how they’re doing it and it’s exactly the stuff I wanna see on this blog. I’ve reblogged it here before but I really wanted to put it in one of these posts because in addition to being a fun read it deals with Pentecostal stuff in a very like. Candid way, and I can always make room on my platform for anybody else making complex work about religious trauma.

http://tjandamal.com/sac/

as always, you can also read mine:

Kidd Commander by @shinesurge​

“It’s a world at the mercy of uncaring gods, and Phineas Kidd is a heretic with a chip on her shoulder and enough fury to outshine a supernova. Armed only with aggressive enthusiasm (and an explosive left hook), Phineas sets out to gather up a merry crew and travel to Kairos Crossing to catch the sun, an urban legend that has tempted countless dreamers to a bloody end.”

Kidd Commander is a romantic comic that’s mostly concerned with ambitious characters doing cool anime stuff while being subjected to trauma and dealing with said trauma! Rated T for lots of (cartoon) violence and swearing, and a good deal of irreverence for topics some folks might prefer to leave revered. If any of that sounds like it might make you uncomfortable this comic may not be suitable for you!    

http://kiddcommander.com/

If you’d like a comic (yours or otherwise) to end up in one of these, send me an ask or whatever and I’ll add it to my list of stuff to check out! The only requirements I have are I’d prefer for it to be a bit lesser known and it needs to be accessible in places other than tapas or webtoon because I am physically and emotionally incapable of engaging with either of those sites. Happy reading!  

[alastorseye]

About Remadora

When I say I really hate the HP fandom, I'm talking about the "fans" that hate everything about the saga, but still having Harry Potter accounts. They change the original story, claim that fanonical facts are canon, and launch hatred and death threats at those who simply like HARRY POTTER JUST THE WAY IT IS. Yes, I'm mostly talking about Marauders fans, which I joined after reading the books because I thought it would be interesting and funny. I suddenly realized how toxic and hateful that fandom was, it's like a cult dedicated to deifying Remus, Sirius, James and Regulus, and it seems that hating Snape, Dumbledore, and Remadora is a requirement to be a part of it.

At the beginning I used to consider Wolfstar as something funny, a bromance, it never bothered me, I mean... every fandom has fanon ships and I respect that, but the way they always hate Remadora and their shippers is something that MUST stop.

"You see!" said a strained voice. Tonks was glaring at Lupin. "She still wants to marry him, even though he's been bitten! She doesn't care!"

"It's different," said Lupin, barely moving his lips and looking suddenly tense. "Bill will not be a full werewolf. The cases are completely -"

"But I don't care either, I don't care!" said Tonks, seizing the front ofLupin's robes and shaking them. "I've told you a million times. . . ." And the meaning of Tonks's Patronus and her mouse-colored hair, and the reason she had come running to find Dumbledore when she had heard a rumor someone had been attacked by Greyback, all suddenly became clear to Harry; it had not been Sirius that Tonks had fallen in love with after all."

"And I've told you a million times," said Lupin, refusing to meet her eyes,staring at the floor, "that I am too old for you, too poor . . . too dangerous. . ."

When I read this part of the HBP I realized that Remadora was my favorite Harry Potter ship. Of course I wasn't aware of the death threats I'd receive later. I've read some "reasons" why some fans hate Remadora.

"Tonks forced him!"

We all know how insecure Remus was. I don't have to explain what's written in Wizarding World (Pottermore). This is the Remus bio:

Well, we can read that Remus was really attracted to Dora.

"Remus, so often melancholy and lonely, was first amused, then impressed, then seriously smitten by the young witch. He had never fallen in love before. If it had happened in peacetime, Remus would have simply taken himself off to a new place and a new job, so that he did not have to endure the pain of watching Tonks fall in love with a handsome, young wizard in the Auror office, which was what he expected to happen. However, this was war; they were both needed in the Order of the Phoenix, and nobody knew what the next day would bring. Remus felt justified in remaining exactly where he was, keeping his feelings to himself but secretly rejoicing every time somebody paired him with Tonks on some overnight mission".

This is so sad and cute, and that's undeniable. I cried when I read it. If someone still thinking that Dora forced Remus to marry her after reading this paragraph... I mean... they're probably talking about another book series.

"The age gap!"

I'm so satisfied to know that some Remadora shippers have explained this. When it's about a kid and an adult... OF COURSE IS HORRENDOUS! Because children are not physically and mentally prepared to have romantic relationships. Wizards are legally adults at 17, REMUS MET TONKS WHEN SHE WAS 21!

I mean, many old people abuses of young people innocence, or something. But we all know that Remus wasn't one of those! He really loved Tonks, and that's canon. I don't know what's doing in the fandom people who denies canon facts.

Remus and Tonks were two physically, mentally, and legally adults loving each other.

"Remus didn't love her!"

He was an introvert, Tonks was an extrovert, she made his life better. And of course, I loved the way he introduced himself when he was trying to prove he wasn't a Death Eater:

"I am Remus John Lupin, werewolf, sometimes known as Moony, one of the four creators of the Marauder's Map, married to Nymphadora, usually known as Tonks, and I taught you how to produce a Patronus, Harry, which takes the form of a stag." (Remus Lupin, DH)

Maybe I'm not the only one who perceive he was proud to be Nymphadora Tonks husband.

"I.. I made a grave mistake in marrying Tonks. I did it against my better judgment and have regretted it very much every since". (Remus Lupin, DH)

This phrase makes more sense after reading Remus bio. He used to think that he was "too poor, too dangerous" for her. He thought he wasn't enough for her. He never imagined that she would love him back. He was a werewolf, and of course he knew he was dangerous, you only need to be emphatic to realize he tried to get away from Tonks because he loved her, he didn't want to hurt his beloved woman!

If you don't believe me, read this again. It's in the chapter 11 of Deathly Hallows:

"Don't you understand what I've done to my wife and my unborn child? I should never have married her, I've made her an outcast!"

So, if Remus was trying to escape it's because he loved them, he thought he spoiled their lives. And of course, no one likes to feel that their influence is bad for someone they love!

"Their relationship came from nowhere! They don't have a development"

Well, the saga's name is HARRY POTTER, not The Love Life of Remus Lupin. The story is about the tragic life of this kid and everything he went through to save the world of a cruel and dark villain. I know many readers are young people in love, and they only want to ship everything, but that's not the main topic here, maybe mother's love would be the topic. Of course Ron and Hermione had a development because they were HARRY'S BEST FRIENDS, and they were always with him, from Philosopher's Stone to Cursed Child. Remus and Tonks are minor characters, and it's funny the fact that this usually comes from Wolfstar shippers, so... is Wolfstar more developed than Remadora?! I mean... they can ship whatever they want, Snape and the Sorting Hat, Dobby and Voldemort, anything, but that does not give them the right to disrespect such a cute, tragic and beautiful canon ship as Remadora.

"They are queercoded! Their relationship is homophobic!"

It's surprising to hear this. It's like... people gets angry just because the author doesn't make queer their favourite characters? I will explain why I don't think Remus and Tonks are "queercoded":

Whether through their dress, their behavior, their language, or other subtle forms of implication, queer characters were written or designed to communicate their unstated queerness to those who were searching for representation.

And this is the definition on the website Pride.com:

"Using LGBTQIA tropes and stereotypes to allude to a character's sexuality without explicitly confirming it in the text."

We all know that Disney used queercoding on characters like Ursula, Scar, Jaffar. And why do we know that? Because DISNEY WANTED TO PORTRAY THEM LIKE THAT, get it? Disney, THE CREATORS MADE THESE CHARACTERS INTENTIONALLY QUEER. How? BASED ON STEREOTYPES.

And going back to Remadora, I was really happy to see by first time a bada*ass woman, with short hair who wasn't portrayed as a lesbian just because the way she looks. This character didn't follow the: "Straight women have long hair and are girly", and "short dyied hair is for lesbians". I'm very very very surprised the fandom follows these stereotypes.

About Remus: I don't know how the phrase "being a werewolf is a metaphor about people with HIV AIDS" means "he's gay". Fenrir Greyback bit him when he was a kid. Many people interpret this as "r4pe". Okay, even thinking that it is the meaning of the "bite", I still cannot understand how being "r4ped" and "infected" makes him queer. Is this (again) a stereotype about people with AIDS and gay?

"JK Rowling created Remadora because she didn't like people shipping Wolfstar!"

It is true that fans love shipping everything, they queerbait and queercode everything. That's great, that's not the problem. The problem is when people starts bashing fans who ship canon straight couples. A very good example is the polemic on Falcon and Bucky relationship, some fans wanted them to be a gay couple, Anthony Mackie said that two men can only be friends, and there is no need to always give them a romantic connotation. People cancelled him, they called him homophobic. Yes, just because a person with authority (on the story they're following") didn't like the fact of queercoding their favourite characters. It's the same about Remadora.

Grindeldore is a very interesting and underrated couple by the way. You can love or hate JK Rowling, but the truth is that Harry Potter story is hers, and even if Remadora was "because she didn't like Wolfstar", she is the author, it was her mind where these characters first appeared, as a big Harry Potter fan I respect and like the original story, that's not a sin. An author has the right to make some changes if some characters were misunderstood by the readers.

(Yes, I wrote this a bit angrily since I've seen too much hate towards Remadora shippers)

[captnjacksparrow]

Why do I ship SNS?

It is a known fact that when people experience a good media, they like to discuss various things they liked, hated, interpret what the creator trying to say and get something from what they have consumed. Eventually people end up in a shipping war if there are multiple possibilities. 

I started watching Naruto on a whim, hoping to see some ninjas in action with some revenge as a background (after all when you have power, there will always be a revenge). Am a sucker for revenge, btw. I am a person who hates romance in media. Because, every movie, book, novel, series has this same recycled romance plastered into every story even though the story don’t need at all. So, I am very tired of it. Every media portrays romance as something inevitable, necessary and something we can’t live without. That’s wrong. 

Usually, romance goes like this... Person A sees Person B... they hate each other and add some possessiveness, jealousy... they magically gets attracted through some shared experiences eventually... they kiss and make babies. There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s just very tiring as I’ve seen million forms of this same repeated trope. I always cringe and yell “Can you give us something different? Grrr.....”.

And also, my motto is that love can happen with any person. It can’t be restrained into certain boundaries. So, I don’t like to put some relationship under an umbrella called Gay, Lesbian, Straight or whatever. Of course, illicit relationships and incest are not normal and am not okay with it.

With all that being said...

My experience after watching the Shippuden series until episode 478 was “Wait, do they love each other?”. I know am very late to realize this, but I have never even viewed them with any romantic lens throughout. 

On my first watch, I was always under the impression that “They are friends”... But there are certain moments I felt “Wait, why are they doing like this which could’ve been handled in a different way!!” I will get to this later in this post. But those moments were overlooked by me because of my curiosity of “What happens next ??”. 

And on my rewatch, it only confirmed my view. 

The other popular ships like SS and NH put forth many points to invalidate what SNS represents. The most common being “They are reincarnated brothers” or  “They are best friends”. Am just going to debunk them from my point of view. 

Naruto and Sasuke are like brothers.....

Nope. 

The best brotherhood title, in this series, should officially go to Itachi and Sasuke. 

You can argue as much as you want that Itachi mindfucked Sasuke and killed his parents....yaada yaada.... 

It is repeatedly shown why Itachi put a curtain on his own clan. The reason is, Uchiha clan decided to forcefully take over the village. No matter how much innocent you are, you cannot take over something with force. Dot. I will write about this in a separate post.

In short, Sasuke realised how his clan members were wrong after hearing the story from the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. That’s why he openly proclaimed “I am going to protect Konoha and become Hokage”. 

Back to the topic, Itachi and Sasuke are blood brothers. If I ship them both, then what you claim is very valid. 

The above gif says, “Sasuke, I know, I made a mistake by filling you with hatred. But whatever you decide to do from now on, I will love you always”. Meaning, He stopped treating Sasuke as a kid and accepts that Sasuke has his own path to walk.

This is exactly how brothers behave. I would do the same to my kid sister. You can see a fraternal instinct from Itachi’s eyes realizing that this is their last time together.

Another thing, Brothers trope always has this hierarchy.... Protect the younger sibling no matter what. It is evident from Madara/Izuna and Hashirama/Tobirama.

Not convinced?

If you pull the Indra and Ashura bullshit, let me tell you one thing. Indra and Ashura were separated and formed their own clan long ago. They eventually branched off into Uchiha and Senju clans. No way you can relate a century old blood relation as brothers. It’s just their chakra got reincarnated over and over. 

Don’t pull up an incest angle between Naruto and Sasuke. Because they never shared a womb. Dot. 

Naruto and Sasuke are Best Friends only.

You know what, you are almost right. I thought that for a very long time. Remember I never wore any shipping goggles ON. 

There are two types of best friend categories. Best Friends without a reason and Best Friends through rivalry. 

Best Friends without a reason in Narutoverse are: Shikamaru/Choji. 

They just became friends and became BFF. They won’t fight or hurt each other. But when you have something to share...you would go to that person and share everything honestly.

Best Friends through Rivalry: Kakashi/Obito, Hashirama/Madara, Naruto/Sasuke

I really cannot provide more proof for the first two pairings as Best Friends as it is not the scope of this post. Although the latter two also qualifies for shipping category. Why?

Because, the common thing among them is that all the three Uchihas awakened/reawakened their Sharingan for their best friend. But Hashirama/Madara and Naruto/Sasuke are the only pairings to awaken or evolve Sharingan when trying to break their bonds with each other. 

Special Brownie points for Madara. He had 4 brothers and lost 3 but still couldn’t awaken his Sharingan but when trying to break up with Hashirama, his eyes were brimming red. 

Sasuke’s Sharingan matures in the first Valley of The End.

That’s why I excluded Hashirama/Madara and Naruto/Sasuke from this Best Friends list.

Because to the both Uchihas, the other person meant something special which cannot be comprehended into a mere term called ‘Best Friends’.

Which is exactly why Kakashi/Obito would perfectly fall into this category.

The way they quarrel, fight with each other, protect each other are perfect scores for a friendship. What makes them best friends is when Obito decided to give his Sharingan despite Kakashi was always putting a cold air around him and most importantly asked him to protect his love ‘Rin’. Also Kakashi carried his friend’s will to his heart and passed on to Team 7.

It all falls under ‘In the memory of my Best Friend’ trope.

Obito may be a trash but he is a good friend. Because after Rin was killed, he massacred everyone around him except for Kakashi. He could have killed him. Understandable. Or he could have plucked his Sharingan back (because he literally plucked most of the Sharingans from the Uchiha clan massacre and kept those eyes as a reserve). This could have enabled him to use Susanoo. I believe Susanoo can only be used with Mangekyo Sharingan in both eyes. But for some reason, he didn’t. 

So what makes me think Naruto and Sasuke love each other, not as a brother and not as a friend but something beyond which I can’t term?

My way of shipping is not about marriage, sex and rearing babies. Because literally everyone does this as an obligation. 

So, I don’t ship them in terms of living together in my headcanon and having sex daily. Nope. But it is not wrong though if you ship in that sense.

In this Narutoverse, Women are just some stow away pieces whose sole existence is to fawn over their dreamboy and cry for them. (Usually literally nothing useful comes out of them). Me being a girl, as much as I hate this setup but I have come to terms with whatever it is and have accepted it. If you are a girl looking for a strong female character...... this is not the place. Watch something else. 

But I draw inspiration from male characters who are characterized deeply for which I have to applaud the creator. Reason being, the very first character which I connected with was Itachi. It was when Sasuke thinks about his past with his family in the flashback before the first VotE battle in part I. I will be writing a separate post about Itachi in this week. 

In short, If you are a person who wants inspiration, draw it from male characters. Not in a single moment, you stoop so low for characters like Hinata and Sakura. That’s not how I envision myself or any woman. Dot.

With all this being said, I ship them as a couple who necessarily don’t have to get married or have sex... But they each other has some special allowance towards each other in their hearts which no one can touch, not even their wives or children. 

This doesn’t mean I accept what came after episode 478 as they are literally something they made for $$$$$. 

There are some basic traits which are absolutely necessary for a ship to sail successfully. They are Acknowledgement, Reason, No Hierarchy, Influence, Owning each others rights and Privilege. (All these reasons should come from both the sides for the ship to be worthy)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Acknowledgement, I mean here, is to accept and acknowledge what they are to each other.

They both agree that they are Bonded/Friends verbally as well as emotionally.

To me, this is essential in any relationship especially for the ones you are trying to ship. I didn’t see this in any other ships like SS or NH where it is always one sided. Sakura confessed before the village entrance to which Sasuke said “You really are annoying!!”. Hinata proposed in Pain arc. Naruto didn’t even acknowledge her confession. He went on to beg for pardon for Sasuke. Again she proposed in the War at the expense of Love Cupid “Neji”. Naruto went on to joke with Minato that Sakura is his Girl Friend. 

If I were in both of these girls place, I would literally be mad and drop this shit right away.

Wheras in SNS, I saw both the people I am trying to ship were asking “What am I to you?”, to which they reply “You are my friend”. To me this is very important.

Reason

To those who are saying “Love is blind”, “Love is Madness”, “Love needs no reason”, you all need self-evaluation. This is not some K Drama situation where you don’t need any reason. You should know why you love someone and why you need the other’s presence.

Naruto’s reason is very simple.

I could provide many reasons. But here, Sasuke, without any reservations... knowing full well of the consequence if he feed Naruto but still extended the helping hand to someone who was always hostile. It is just like what Iruka did. And many incidents which happened during Land of the Waves arc are evident.

He wanted to be friends with this lonely Uchiha boy way back when he was around 7 or 8 for a simple reason that he understands his pain more than anyone. But he really became friends when they were grouped together for Team 7.  

Sasuke’s reason goes even way beyond when Naruto series started.

“Because he felt relief”.

Imagine a young boy who witnessed a massacre before his eyes and lost everyone he loved. But somehow another young boy of his age made him feel relieved. This explains why Sasuke went all out of his way to make friendship with Naruto despite being aloof. 

Isn’t this what we want from someone we love?  

Rather than being completely insensitive about an orphan life or just stalking from the distance and never offered any support, I would prefer someone who understands my pain from their heart and try to reach me. Sasuke reached out to him by offering the lunch and Naruto reached out to him by making him his rival and bug him.

NO HIERARCHY

This is pretty self-explanatory. Unlike blood brothers, there should be no hierarchy in a relationship I want to ship. 

We saw Naruto yells at Sasuke many times absolutely for no reason, despite Sasuke bearing this cold attitude. Probably he is the only person who can call him by such variety of names. 

Sasuke always calls him by his trademark ‘Usuratonkachi’. Sometimes he calls him fool just like everyone. But was never insulting or mean towards Naruto. Except for that time in the final battle, he made fun of his Shadow Clone jutsu citing his loneliness. 

In short, be it a physical fight or verbal offense.... neither of them wilts like a flower. They equally give back. 

The only other person who can verbally assault Sasuke is Karin and probably the only girl who never addresses him as “Sasuke-Kun”. 

U-SU-RA-TON-KA-CHI..... Why do Sasuke spend such an effort to call someone with a 6 syllabic word, instead NA-RU-TO, a 3 syllabic word which is way more convenient to call?? I always wonder.

POSITIVE INFLUENCE

I don’t have to spell out anything here. There are many obvious examples but will try to keep it short. 

Naruto became strong because of Sasuke. He trained hard for 3 years with Jiraiya , a month with Kakashi developing Rasen Shuriken and controlled Kurama’s power with Killer Bee. Except for Sage Mode jutsu everything he learnt was all for bringing Sasuke back. 

In short, Sasuke is Naruto’s predominant strength. 

Though Naruto was not the source of strength for Sasuke, but he brings out many vibrant emotions in Sasuke which he really needed for his traumatic mind otherwise he would always be that cold angry brooding doll without any emotions and I am sure Sasuke enjoys to banter with Naruto.

LOL!!! I don’t know why Sasuke feels competitve here. It’s pretty childish even for Sasuke.

Friendly tease :-) I think he also protected Sakura in this scene. He can also ask her the same, isn’t it? I mean as a friend. 

The best one is yet to come

It’s incredibly hilarious to see how Sasuke pouts when he was with Naruto. Sakura!!!! You third wheeling joker :-D :-D

Throughout Shippuden, Sasuke never shows his emotions with anyone. He either looks very cold or angry.

Reminiscing his Team 7 days, for a split second. 

Probably the only positive emotion is this, in all of the Shippuden. I mean not counting Episode 478.

I don’t think Sakura brought any kind emotions in Sasuke except annoyance when they were together in Team 7. Or Hinata too. These girls just moan “Sasuke-Kun”, “Naruto-Kun” but brings nothing to the table. Total wastrels!!!!!

OWNING EACH OTHER’S RIGHTS

This section is exactly where SNS moves on to a whole different level.

Sasuke wanted to inflict his pain over everyone who lives in peaceful Konoha for what it did to Itachi. (though I don’t really accept with Sasuke here since he never even bothered to question about his clan’s history, but what he was doing is understandable. Just like Naruto tells him).

But the context here is Sasuke is on a murder rampage. Starting from the Kage Summit, killing Danzo, unnecessarily hurting Karin and almost reached a point where he could not be stopped anymore. Then Ms.Annoying appears. She literally have no fucking clue what Sasuke is going through. So started to spout nonsense that she wanted to go with Sasuke-Kun with an ulterior motive to kill him without a strong resolve. 

The interesting SS dynamics here is Sasuke asks Sakura “Do you know what I want?” and to which she gives a carefree-shitty-pathetic answer “I don’t care. I will do whatever you want”. Geez!!!

If I were Sasuke, I would think, “This person standing before me don’t even care about what I want but coming with an intent to kill me and not only that... she is a kunoichi from Konoha where I planned to inflict my pain by slaughtering them.. I better ram my Chidori and be done with it”... He doesn’t see her as his former Teammate. He just want to kill that person.

However, Kakashi deflects the attack and saves Ms.Useless. 

( Me : I am a Sasuke fan through and through. But, Sakura..... You always says you will do this, do that.... But you never succeed at anything... Why is that? Why are you even continue being a ninja? No one asked you to kill Sasuke, you decided to. But why don’t you kill him. Probably you would’ve earned my begrudging respect... Pffft” ****sighs with a heavy second hand embarassment)

Anyways, Sasuke becomes an unstoppable maniac at this point because he was very irritated on seeing Kakashi and Sakura spouting some unreachable nonsense. So he started to attack Kakashi as he is even more irritated on seeing his Sharingan.

Again, Ms.Idiot wants to kill Sasuke when he is at his weakest point due to chakra exhaustion and that too from behind his back. (You!!! Gutless wrench). Sasuke sensed this and attempted to kill her again... (Naruto!!! You idiot. Why did you save her...)

However, Naruto appears and saves her. Naruto and Sasuke’s eyes meet each other.

But somehow Sasuke calmed down and hears out Naruto for what he has to say. He says, “Whatever you are doing until now, it’s understandable”. 

Kakashi wanted to kill him and Sasuke got riled up and prepare his Chidori. Anyways, Naruto intervenes and they go to some meta physical plane and talks privately. And Naruto comes up with his idea and announces as below:

Me: Naruto!!!! Sweety..... Do you realize that you have a big dream of becoming a Hokage which you have been shouting from Day 1? But still you want to overthrow everything for that one person who is in unbearable pain. It’s alright. But you don’t want to go alone or send him alone. No Best friend would go this far. And to those Sakura shippers.... Why didn’t Sakura try to bear the burden? Why didn’t she come up with this Idea? Afterall, you spout nonsense like ‘Sakura saved Sasuke from Darkness, isn’t it?’ And, Naruto.... Who gave you the right to take his hatred and shoulder the burden? And what makes you think you are that only person to do it??? Sasuke, might have other special person in those 3 years. How can you decide on Sasuke’s behalf??? Aren’t you going overboard ?

The answer to all the above is simple, Naruto can risk anything for Sasuke. And he clearly knew that Sasuke’s only living bond is him.

And what happened next was almost unbelievable and for the first time I thought ‘What is it with these two guys?’. 

Sasuke agrees with Naruto’s proposition to not destroy Konoha before fighting with Naruto. 

Me: Sasuke!!!! You have every right to reject his proposition. Since, he was not in your life for the past 3 years, your side of bond with Naruto should have been cut-off long back, right? Sasuke??? Well, at this point he was just your former Team 7 member. You don’t need to honor your proposition. You can attack Konoha anytime. Why did you accept?

Also Me: Sweety!!! Why do you always question Naruto ‘Who am I to you’? Why do you need his opinion always? There is an annoying princess standing behind Naruto vying for your attention. And yet you didn’t even ask her this question at any time. But before Naruto, you completely calmed down from your rampage and willing to wait for what he has to say plus asking for his validation. After all you don’t care about anything, why just Naruto???

And the reason being, Naruto is still his closest bond which he couldn’t cut off despite trying very hard. After all, Many years ago, Sasuke was the one, who readily jumped in to protect Naruto knowing full well that it’s a trap. He was ready to throw away his revenge for this boy back then. Sasuke is afraid that he will give in to this bond once more and Naruto is his weakness which he wants to eliminate so badly.

This is definitely not any Best Friend would do..... Fix that in your mind.

The purpose of these GIFs is not show how protective Sasuke is..... Well, I can talk about it all day. Let’s save it.

Me: Yo!!!! Sasuke..... You wanted to kill Naruto.... You said so yourself under the bridge. Meaning, He is the only person standing between your goal and your resolve and Naruto is always known to weaken your resolve. And yet why are you protecting him here? There is absolutely no need. Because, if there is a situation like Kaguya where both of you are must needed to save this world , then there is a reason to save him. But why now? Plus do you know, if Naruto dies, then Madara’s plan may not succeed because if a Jinchuriki dies, tailed beast also dies. It is perfect for your Revolution, isn’t it? Who gave you the right to own his life? Obito has his reason to kill Naruto, why not let him?Why is it that you want to personally remove him from your life? If he is dead by an external factor, you can carry on your path without any interference and pain. Why go so far to protect him ?

The answer is Sasuke values Naruto’s life more than his own even during his Team 7 days. He has this high esteem for Naruto and almost consider it to be a shame if some worthless fool takes his life. And Sasuke never hated Naruto. He once hated Itachi and his resolve to kill was real and intense. But when Orochimaru asked him to kill 1000 people for practice, Sasuke never killed anyone. He even implemented no kill policy for his team “Hebi”. So, someone like Sasuke who never liked to kill random innocent people, how could he let some trash take away a life, he considers dearly to the same level of Itachi? That’s why in this situation, his body moved on his own to protect something special for him. He may not agree it, but he always shows it.

But some other ship wankers try to say Sasuke may have said “You are annoying” but inside he deeply loved her which is why he was smiling. If so, Why didn’t Sasuke never showed his care not even once? He not only tried to kill her twice when she was defenseless but also let her die twice or didn’t bother at all during the war. Or show me where these soul level connection happened between SS or NH

In short, Sasuke and Naruto own each other’s rights unconsciously. Because they are the only ones who can understand each other’s soul which nobody can reach.

Me: Oh, by the way Sasuke, I think Susanoo should be used like this. You really don’t need your hand to protect Naruto. Susanoo can do it’s work for you. Minato would be proud though!!!!

PRIVILEGE

Most of the points I written above are in and of itself is a privilege they give for each other and not for anyone else. Privilege is essential in a ship. Because it shows how different a loved one is from normal people. 

For Naruto, 

I originally want to put how he begs for forgiveness on Sasuke’s behalf before Raikage and weeps immeasurably before hyperventilating. But this one trumps the other. Naruto literally broadcasted everyone how important Sasuke is to him and how he regretted not offering his friendship at that time and how he couldn’t stop Sasuke from reaching Orochimaru. 

If you want to inspire Alliance shinobi forces, you should have shown how you worked so hard from the bottom to top. Projecting Sasuke as your regret and inspiring people shows how deeply you prioritize this person which affects you after so many years and hence, you don’t want any more regrets. 

It’s very unconventionally romantic which passes the shipping category in flying colours. 

For Sasuke,

The following is the Land of the waves arc which was novelized in the name of Innocent Heart, Demonic Blood released in 2006. 99.9% of the material is exactly as it happens in Manga/Anime. 

This is the privilege Sasuke provides for Naruto. “ But coming from Sasuke, It almost counted as a hug”... 

BROWNIE POINTS:

Now, the following are the scenes which add a mysterious flavour to this ship. I sincerely don’t understand why Kishimoto put this. I mean I am absolutely happy with it, but why? What was he thinking while drawing these scenes? 

It’s also strange that, whenever they clash a Chidori with Rasengan..... They always gets repelled to their own sides and fall with a loud thump. But Naruto’s posture looks very perfect, I mean it looks like someone carried him and laid him down. Anyways, What’s Sasuke doing on Naruto’s side?? He should have fell on the opposite side. Why didn’t he walk away? There is absolutely no reason for Sasuke to come over to Naruto’s side and have an intense meaningful gaze. 

This is another mysterious plus intense scene. I am still wondering, Is this really Sasuke? He is a person who avoids casual touches with anyone other than his brother. I’ve seen so many times Sasuke rejecting hugs from Sakura. I can’t even imagine what Kishimoto was thinking. 

If you people pass these scenes off as Brotherhood or Best Friend chemistry... Then you lack basic human emotions. That’s all. 

Me: Well, Sasuke, If you really want to kill him, you should have shovelled your sword right through Naruto’s vital point when you made that exuberant landing. There is literally no need for you to draw a long sword in close quarters. And what about the Personal Space??? With your speed, you can land without leaning on Naruto’s shoulders... 

Also Me: Yo, Naruto... You were panicking when Sai does the same....but you don’t even flinch when Sasuke invades your personal space????

Anyways, it’s funny that both the intense scenes I have mentioned here were initiated by Sasuke. Quite strange and thrilling.

So, to conclude.... All these scenes I have mentioned  made me unconsciously ship them as a pair. With all these being said, I believe all the ingredients for a good romance were laid perfectly. A moment of impulsive tension or affection, say a hug, between them after a difficult battle could mess with both and make a romance happen. And I don’t think either of them will deny especially Sasuke. 

I don’t see any of this aspect in other popular ships such as SS and NH. If I am Sakura or Hinata in this universe, I will not be okay with my pair doing all these things with other person. I intentionally left scenes from Episode 478 as it is so intense and require a separate post. I am happy that even without Episode 478, SNS ship sails high. So, I believe both Sakura and Hinata are still fourth wheeling their respective pairs in Boruto universe also, I guess. 

P.S: I don’t watch Boruto

Final memento:

No way a friend will look this mesmerized on seeing the other one. 

[kitkatt0430]

Olivarry for both! :)

(Send me a ship and I'll fill out a Bingo Card for it :D )

Olivarry is adorable both romantic and platonic.

Their canon friendship is fun; Barry's one of the few people Oliver feels like he can truly relax with and trusts pretty much no matter what. Them both finding the other's abilities to be cool is really sweet and they both turn to each other for help a lot. In fact, Oliver was willing to go to Barry for help during the season 3 nonsense on Arrow even when he was busy pushing everyone else away, which is pretty significant considering he was busy having trust issues with everyone else in his life. Meanwhile Barry turns to Oliver when he needs help for issues he can't handle - like Vandal Savage - and seeks Oliver's approval while he's still fairly novice as a vigilante. And, of course, they gained an entirely new understanding of each other during Elseworlds that served to underscore how close they already were despite their friendship being long distance.

All of which also serves to illustrate why they work well as a romantic couple in fanfic too. Especially since Barry clearly has a massive crush on Oliver/the Hood in the two Arrow episodes that introduced him. Barry basically spends both episodes batting his eyes at Oliver and fanboying about Oliver to Felicity. (Like... I didn't get why the episodes seemed to think that Felicity/Barry was being teased when they were both too busy mooning over Oliver's arms.) Oliver was much slower to warm to Barry, but by the time Barry leaves Oliver is quite pleased by the gift of a mask. And when Barry comes to him for advice on what to do with his powers, Oliver is clearly flattered and a little enamored of Barry given his speech about how Barry can inspire people in a way he can't. Clearly Barry had inspired Oliver in a way Oliver hadn't anticipated.

This is a pairing I'm glad isn't canon, though. In part because I just don't think the show writers for either show could have handled it. Especially considering the Flash has been kinda queerphobic at times (most recently the Armageddon arc; having a lesbian be aphobic was not the message the writers thought it was) and the Arrow writers made a mess of Oliver/Felicity when they canonized it. (That relationship drama was just... repetitive and boring the first time around, so you can imagine how thrilled I was every time history repeated itself.) But also because fanfic is a much more malleable medium, so Olivarry can be a long distance relationship or have Barry work for the SCPD or move Oliver to Central City or have them be in a Pretty Woman situation in an AU with either one of them as Julia Roberts' character... all without having to consider the kind of baggage canon ships have to deal with. (Once again, Oliver/Felicity is a great example of canon ships with baggage; while initially I enjoyed them being teased as a couple, the way it played out pretty much killed that ship for me. It's hard to read even really well written stories for that ship as a result - them being annoying in canon looms heavily even over the cutest, fluffiest fics.) Though considering that their comic book counterparts don't get along well, It'd be hilarious to have them canonically making out in the show universe.

(Send me a ship and I'll be brutally honest about it.)