#is this romantic is this platonic. who the heck knows definitely not me

[lynne-monstr]

on his birthday, huang shaotian says he wants kisses. and he's so smug. he thinks he's so smart because now the captain will have to give him kisses all day. he doesn't expect that when he announces his birthday wishes to the entire team that morning that the entire team would decide to take him up on it

[zenkindoflove]

Fandom Shipping Terminology 101: ACOTAR edition

Hi! So I decided to put a little resource together for the ACOTAR fandom. Since many people join the SJM/ACOTAR fandom and have never been in fandom before, they encounter a lot of fandom terminology that they are not quite sure what it means or have seen others use it incorrectly so they get a false impression of the meaning of the word. So I put this together, including examples from the fandom, so that people can use it as a reference to learn more about what these terms mean and when they're appropriate to use. This list is focused on words related to shipping.

Tldr definitions (note: these are definitions that I wrote based on my own experiences/research on fanlore. These are always up for interpretation and meaning and nuance change over time and depend on fandom context)

Canon ship - a relationship where the characters have romantic interactions in canon

Fanon ship - a relationship where in canon the characters are platonic but the fandom has accepted as a ship with romantic undertones, canonical potential, or has become so popular within a fandom it's has surpassed the need/desire for canon

Crackship - a pairing of two characters where the idea of them together is strange or funny depending on the circumstances. Often in these ships, the characters have little or even no interactions in canon

Rare pair - agnostic to fanon or canon status. A rare pair simply means the fandom does not make a lot of fan content for it.

End-game - This is a canon ship that is together by the end of a series.

Slash ship - Fanon ships that feature queer relationships. M/M usually takes on the term slash and F/F has the term femslash.

OTP - Stands for One True Pair. This is a ship that a shipper considers to be the most important one that they love in a fandom.

NOTP - anti-OTP, or a ship that a shipper detests/is squicked out by

Multishipping - the act of shipping a character with multiple other characters.

For more context and thorough examples read more under the cut 

First, what the heck is a ship?

The origins of shipping and becoming obsessed with fictional relationships predate our modern understanding of fandom. Modern fandom roots can be traced as early as Star Trek: The Original Series. But the terminology of calling a couple you like a ship or the act of obsessing over fictional (and sometimes non fictional) couples "shipping" has its origins in the X-Files fandom. While ACOTAR is a romance, many fandoms do not have romance as a central element of its plot, and yet, shippers find a way. That's exactly what happened for the fans of Mulder/Scully. Those who wanted them to be in a romantic relationship were called "relationshippers" which then got shortened to "shippers". The verb "to ship" would appear later from this origin.

The way to think about "what is a ship" though is really based on do people think up romantic scenarios with these two characters? If yes, then you have a ship. And in ACOTAR, oh baby, are there MANY, MANY SHIPS.

Canon vs. Fanon ships

Where does a canon ship end and a fanon one begin? Now that, my friends, is not as clear cut as you might think.

I think this discussion is very important for the ACOTAR fandom because of the state of the ship war currently. Often, there is back and forth about which ship is canon or fanon (and *eye twitch* people throwing around crackship as a derogatory term to de-legitimize a ship which makes me wanna punch shit).

I'm gonna burst everyone's bubbles and say, I personally think Elriel, Elucien, and Gwynriel are all CANON ships.

Why? Well, that's the part that is up for interpretations my friends. What is deemed canonical romantic interactions? That is where a lot of lines can become blurry and if you have ever shipped a fanon ship before - you KNOW what I mean by that. Is it a charged glance? A caress of a hand that lingered too long? Is it a shared kiss? Or do the characters have to explicitly declare "I'm yours and you're mine"?

I've shipped a lot of kinds of ships. Canon. Fanon. Canon that had its end-game blown up. You name it, I've shipped it. And to me, a canon ship is anytime the writer of the canon is putting characters in a romantic situation, regardless if they end up together or not by the end of the series. If they wanted you to feel butterflies and think "could they?", and you felt butterflies, well my friends, you're responding to canon romance. And we've seen evidence of all three ships having those moments.

But, what does that mean for fanon ships? I have shipped a fanon couple where I got butterflies from their canonical scenes together. I've read into their moments and thought "wow, that was romantically charged". I think this is where the lines of canon and fanon are blurred. Because what this comes down to is, did the author intend this? Or am I seeing more into an interaction because I like it? Most fanon ships do hinge a lot of their interest in said ship because of what happens in canon. But, often times, the authors of said content are not necessarily wanting you to take away from their writing that these two characters are interested in each other romantically. You just can't help it. You see it. You see the potential, and you want it to go there so you see more of it the more you look.

Sometimes fanon ships are very clear that the canon is not even hinting at these two characters together romantically. And that is perfectly fine. To me, a fanon ship is a ship that has become so ingrained in the fandom community that the fandom thinks of these two together romantically. That it doesn't really matter anymore what the canon says or doesn't. The fandom has created this relationship and it lives and breathes within what the fandom builds for it. Azris is a perfect example of a fanon ship in ACOTAR. The canon interactions between Azriel and Eris are sparse and platonic in nature, yet the fandom itself has created a whole fanon around them with a large enough community that as soon as you enter the ACOTAR fandom, you immediately know this ship exists.

Rare pairs and Crackships

These two terms are often used interchangeably as if they are synonyms. Now, a rare pair can be a crackship but not all rare ships are crackships and vice versa.

Generally, a rare pair is devoid of canon or fanon connotations. A rare pair is a ship that receives little attention from fans and has few associated fanworks. So, a rare pair could be a fanon couple that few people think about romantically. For example, Emerie and Gwyn have a lot of interactions in canon. I would not think shipping them together to be a crackship because I mean, they're friends, they like each other, they read smut together. There are a lot of scenarios one could imagine them falling in love. But they have a whopping 12 fanfics under their tag in AO3. Therefore, they are a rare pair but not necessarily a crackship.

A rare pair can also be a canon ship. For example, Thesan and his unnamed lover are canon. However, when you look up their relationship tag on AO3, there are 23 works and most do not appear to be focused on them.

I also have seen people use rare pair for very popular ships (like Azris) when they mean fanon. Again, rare pair is really an indication of "how much fan content can you find for this" not necessarily are they canon.

Crackships really were birthed from the intention of putting two characters together "4 da lulz" to bring back early 2000s internet lingo. Crack shipping is usually a pairing that the idea of them together is a little absurd but also fun. Beron/Tamlin is a quintessential crackship example, especially why it came to be (but we will avoid getting into all the origins of that). There is no real reason to think Beron or Tamlin would ever have a romantic interaction and thinking about it makes you laugh. Crackships can sometimes turn into fanon ships. This is another example where the lines do get blurry. But really, crackshipping is about intention and the use of absurdism within fan creation.

I also want to say, often what I see in the Elucien v. Elriel and Elriel v. Gwynriel ships wars is the use of crackship in a derogatory way, and thinking that if one of these ships does not become end-game, therefore, it proves the other was a crackship. Simply put - no. That's not how it works.

End-game

Related to the above point, I think often where the ACOTAR ship wars really derail themselves, is conflating fanon/canon/endgame with each other. I don't see people often using the term end-game, when really, it would help so much with the judgmental and strange ship policing that this fandom loves to do. Specifically, this fandom has a hard time talking about the value within shipping fanon, or shipping the blurriness between fanon and canon for any characters that do not have end-game potential. ACOTAR is not a complete series. Therefore, in a strict definition, no couples are end-game. However, given the genre, there are several couples who are clearly going to be end-game. And really, what I think the ship war community needs in their discourse, is to start using the term end-game when they want to discuss the outcome of Elucien, Elriel, or Gwynriel having a canonical Happily Ever After. The reason being is that you can use end-game, and not insult another ship. End-game is simply a fact. There is no hierarchy involved in what ship is best or not. Because ships can be beloved whether they're canon or fanon or canon who did not end up together. And they all can have very valid reasons why people ship them despite not achieving end-game.

I also urge the ACOTAR fandom to realize that end-game is not the end of YOUR experience of your ship. Your ship lives on despite what the canon may or may not give you. Even if you ship a canon ship that does not achieve end-game, you can create those fanon end-games for yourself. Many popular ships end up being popular because of the effect of that ship not achieving end-game. And while I am using the prime-ship war as examples within this post, I've seen other microshipwars popping up within the fandom as well. So, I'm not trying to pick on this specific set of conflicts, it's just the one I see most prominently.

OTP vs NOTP

I think the ACOTAR fandom could also really benefit from adopting this terminology.

The point of declaring OTPs and NOTPs is a way for you to signal to others in your fandom, "This is how much I care about this ship. Whether I love it it or hate it. Tread carefully". These terms are not meant to say one ship is better than the other from a moral standpoint. Instead, it's to indicate to others that you have a strong preference. You're going to love your OTPs regardless of what arguments others throw at you to convince you to not love them. You will probably be very annoyed by your NOTPs regardless of what others try to do to convince you that they're actually cute/sexy/hot/perfect for each other. And what the ACOTAR fandom could benefit from, from readopting OTP/NOTP language, is having a common understanding where different shipping communities boundaries are and how they can better utilize those boundaries to prevent constant fighting. Now, ship wars are inevitable because of how people see their OTPs and NOTPs, but general rule of thumb is - don't engage with your NOTP's content for your own mental sanity.

Multishipping

Multishipping can be used in many ways. Some people use it to say, hey I'm in this fandom, and I ship a lot of couples. But the origins of multishipping as a term, comes from ship war discourse in other fandoms. Multishippers generally are people who ship one character with multiple other characters. For example, if you ship Elain/Lucien, Elain/Azriel, Elain/Gwyn, Elain/Tamlin, etc etc etc, you are a multishipper. I generally would not consider someone a multishipper if all of their ships do not cross streams. It just sort of means that you ship a lot of couples. Which tends to be normal for romance series with a lot of couples. Maybe not a single of those couples is your true OTP, and that's what you mean by saying you're a multishipper. And that's okay. I think though that multishipping generally in other fan spaces is a marker of you telling others that you don't draw harsh lines with who you see characters with. I often see multishippers not declaring NOTPs. It's kind of a state of how you go about shipping often. I, for one, identify as an OTP shipper. I've never really multishipped. But I also have a very strict standard of what I call my "ships". Anyways, this is to say, this term has a lot of uses. And sometimes it can be confusing which of these uses a person means when they say it.

Slash shipping 

I've seen over the years that slash as a terminology has fallen out of favor. In the past, slash shipping was the pinnacle of shipping in fandoms. The term slash comes from the first modern fanon ship, Kirk/Spock, where the / between their names, which we now all know and use to indicate a romantic pairing (note: & is used to indicate a platonic interaction between characters), exists because the Kirk/Spock shipping community really were the originators of shipping communities creating fan content and sharing it in with each other in a massive way. In general slash (and femslash) is an important modifier of shipping because it explicitly tells you that this is a queer ship which often were not mainstream and considered canon until more recently. With the rise of canonical queer ships, I think the subversiveness of shipping queer couples has lost it's edge, therefore slash is not needed as much anymore to directly state the nature of your ship.

I wanted to keep this in the post though, because I think it's incredibly important history for ALL ACOTAR fans to understand. Shipping queer couples, and especially shipping FANON queer couples, has always been the backbone of fandom. Kirk/Spock walked so Destiel could fly. These are all queer ships that have strong fanon roots (and that fanon has had impacts on their canon) and have shaped fandom and your concept of shipping and romance tropes in inextricable ways. You don't have / without Kirk/Spock. You don't have Omegaverse, without gay shipping within the Supernatural fandom. And I wanted to make this point because this fandom has a strong het (heterosexual) ship bias. Which is okay. It's a romance series with a lot of heterosexual canon couples. But, I think because of that, many people are not entering this fandom with an understanding that people shipping queer fanon couples have been the ones who were the originators of many fandom terms that we have come to know and use today.

Conclusion:

I hope you all found this informative and that you can take away something from this post that can help you have better interactions and ability to communicate with others in this fandom. Again, I want to stress, that this is heavily influenced by my own 25 years of experience being in fandoms. And I haven't seen it all. Others will have different interpretations of these terms and experiences using these terms. So, feel free to add on anything that you think would be helpful to those in the ACOTAR community to better understand how to "ship and let ship". I do think that ship war are inevitable and not necessarily a bad thing. But using the right terms can help you engage in a more respectful way within ship war discourse.

[the-delta-quadrant]

the notion that "demiromantic people can only fall for people they're already close friends with" is some platonormative shit by the way.

i met my partner online. i don't remember how but it was years ago. i was talking to a lot of random people online back then because i was disabled and isolated. i was at a point in my life where i also emotionally latched onto anyone who was even remotely nice to me. i craved connection. because of this we texted a lot every day and started talking on the phone more and more. at first it truly was a more shallow emotional thing, but as we shared more about each other with each other, got vulnerable with each other, built trust with each other, it turned into something more substantial, something specifically about him and not about "please literally anyone be nice to me for once". we never defined what we were at the start. we were just two people who bonded online. despite never having met in person at that point, i started feeling like i wanted to be close to him, physically, hug him, cuddle him, things i now know are part of romantic attraction for me. i started feeling like this is someone i want to merge my life with, build something new together. not become one entity, but become deeply connected. i always had a hard time picturing a future for myself, but i knew i wanted him in it. i felt like i could be around him all day and not be annoyed or drained by his presence after some time. in a way, it felt like he became the exception to so many things in my life; he was the exception to my touch-aversion, to my ideal future of living alone in a studio flat, to my introversion. we fell in love and we expressed it. when we finally met in person, this was only solidified. even more so did i know i wanted his companionship, emotionally and physically. we both cried like hell when he had to go back to england. fast forward, we've been living together for over five years. i've never felt this way about anyone before or after.

and we were never "close friends" before we became lovers. friendship is most definitely part of the foundation of our relationship, but it didn't develop before it, it developed alongside it.

for various reasons i have always struggled with all kinds of relationships in my life. i've always had a hard time actually defining relationships with other people, never knew when it was the right time to consider someone a friend or not, never knew if i was being too much in a maybe-friendship. with my partner it was similar until we were agreeing that it looked like this had shifted into a more romantic thing. i knew it when i felt it. but platonic stuff, let alone familial stuff? it's harder for me. so how would i ever even know if someone was any kind of friend? besides my partner, i never had anyone i would consider a "close friend". half the time i wasn't even sure about just friend. if anything, i think a genuine friendship for me would actually develop similarly to how my romantic relationship did.

heck, for all i know people would look at our situation from the outside and say we were briefly friends before, or say we moved too fast for me to be demiromantic, or whatever.

all i know is that these feel like the right words for what i feel, despite "only falling for close friends" somehow being the platonic ideal (pun intended) for demiromanticism.

it's fucking bold to assume we all have clearly defined bonds and relationships. it's bold to assume we all make platonic bonds in the first place. it's bold to assume that "emotional connection" translates to "platonic connection" for everyone. it's bold to assume that "emotional connection" has to have a certain amount of "depth" to count.

emotional connection is so varied. some demiromantics connect to others quickly and easily and feel romantic attraction based on that, for others it might take longer. some demiromantics are able to feel romantic attraction after forming a relatively loose emotional connection, for others it needs to be stronger. for some demiromantics, the emotional connection is platonic, but for others, it might be mental, sexual, sensual, something else or entirely undefined.

i need people to understand that demiromanticism itself is its own spectrum and that we are not a monolith. just because your experience looks like the above doesn't mean everyone else's does, too.

this is an issue with demisexuality too btw, where people assume that "emotional connection" means "romantic connection", despite aromantic demisexuals and so many other people for whom this isn't true existing.

[istharoth]

Dancing

Ritsu Shinjo & Fem!Reader | Fluff(I swear on my heart) | can be interpreted as romantic or platonic!

Wc:1k

If there's one thing that happens at Sinostra it's the usual money-making business, courtesy of Taiga's strange luck and Romeo's bookkeeping.

If there's another thing, it's the honor student cleaning up the casino with the other Sinostra students. She's gotten used to it by now, actually but it's still a bit annoying. 

Just a few moments ago she was speaking to Ren about Christmas. Curiously enough, the ghoul didn't hate the holiday. It might've been because it was an indoor holiday or he liked the gifts he received. 

She got him something from the list he had made, alongside him, she had given gifts to the other ghouls as well. Unexpectedly, her gifts were well received and she was even gifted a few.

Heck, even Dante had a gift prepared for her. That was most unexpected. 

"Honor Student!" A Sinostra student calls from the other side of the casino, pointing at the stairs leading upstairs, "My family's calling so I'll be back quick!" 

Without even hearing a response, the student runs up, a joyous look on their face. She looks down at the glasses she was cleaning, her blurry reflection facing back at her. 

She looked...defeated. She's not sure what to call it exactly but defeated sounds right. Her hair went unbrushed for who knows how long, her eyes dead tired and her lips chapped from the cold. If Romeo saw her right now, he'd order her to take a break and make herself right stat. 

She almost wonders if sitting on the couch back home, a blanket over her head, eating cereal dunked in milk, watching crappy shows on her glitchy television as the lights from the Christmas tree would provide her some respite.

She almost wonders if she'd feel comforted had she been at home and not Darkwick. 

...Who is she kidding? She knows she would.

She's sure a few minutes have passed, maybe even an hour had passed but the students who left one by one didn't return. She doesn't blame them; working on Christmas night is something no one wants. 

Stretching her arms, she glances at the stairs leading upstairs. Only one student coming down, he's still in his uniform. 

How utterly strange. This student she knows ends all his business as soon as the clock hits 5 PM, this includes changing into more casual business clothing. 

"Inspector," He nods in acknowledgment, smiling lightly. "Shinjo, hey," She waves, walking up to him. She had finished cleaning the tables but she needed to get the dirty rag into the trash before it landed on another table.

She didn't know what she was expecting but it surely wasn't Ritsu saying goodbye to the formalities to ask for a dance. 

"Would you care for a dance?" He extends his hand, bowing into a curtsy. "Got hooked onto the Frostheim Christmas Eve party?" She raises an eyebrow, lips quirking up.

"If you need the specifics," He coughs, taking out a notepad from his breast pocket. "At exactly 14:35, at 29 seconds you were devastated at how you didn't have anyone to dance with on a romantic day such as today." He ends, putting the notepad back to where it previously was. 

She pushes back her hair, smiling awkwardly, "Did you stalk me while I was helping Ren at Mystery Diner?" He scoffs, utterly appalled at the assumption. 

"Of course not. See it as a safety measure." Right...she's definitely going to see it that way. Definitely. 

"You should trust me." He hesitates slightly, "As a business partner, that is." She huffs, crossing her arms, and staring down at him.

"So it's alright to follow me around because you're a business partner? I'd rather you be a friend if you're going to continue this." Obviously, she doesn't want him to do so, but knowing Ritsu, the likelihood of him accepting friendship is non-existent.

He holds a thoughtful hand under his cheek as if seriously pondering it. "Let's do it then." She blinks in surprise, almost dropping the dirty rag on the table she just cleaned. 

"Wha-??" She splutters, much confused at the unexpected answer. This is something she would expect out of Jin Kamurai and not Ritsu Shinjo. 

Seriously! Why would Ritsu Shinjo, a growing paralegal want her friendship?! 

"Because we are friends, would you care for a dance now?" He asks again, extending his hand. Staring at it for a moment, slightly hesitant, she sighs. 

"I never learned how to dance." He frowns, failing to understand the problem. "Dancing isn't required for most parties held for my father's law firm. As my business partner," He coughs, apologizing for his wording. 

"As my friend, all you'll need to do is be by my side." She can feel her face heat up, unbelieving of the fact she earned Ritsu's friendship. Was this seriously the Christmas miracle as said by all the 'Friendship is Power!' shows she watched as a child? 

"Well, thank you, friend." He nods, very pleased with how things are going. He puts his hand on her shoulder, his other hand holding her own. 

Ah, he knew waltz? That was unexpected of Ritsu Shinjo but at the same time, she could see him doing it. 

Mirroring his actions, she places her hand on his shoulder, quickly moving her left foot upwards. Ritsu frowns at the sudden dance move. The first step is usually left to the men, yet here he was following her lead. He can't say it's bad, really.

"Waltz?" She chuckles, "It's not unexpected." He hums, quickly moving his feet, matching his pace with hers.

"Were you lying when you said you didn't know how to dance?" He asks, undoubtedly curious about the Inspector. 

"I told you I never learned it, not that I didn't know it." She shrugs, moving her foot to her left, w a thing carefully as he mirrors her actions. 

She almost wonders if the other ghouls of Sinostra knew how to dance. Taiga seemed like a hip-hop-free style type of person whereas Romeo seemed like a tango person. 

Irrespective to anything else, she got her wish granted and she's overjoyed by the case of events.

Merry Christmas, Y/N-San." He mumbles, pushing a stray hair behind his ear. Calling someone by their first name is embarrassing but considering they were friends, it should be alright.

She blinks in surprise then giggles, "Merry Christmas to you too, Ritsu."

AN: Hi, hello, this is much later than when I was supposed to post it lol, but, Merry Late Christmas to all those who celebrate.

I hope you had a great time, and even if you didn't, I hope you can find some comfort in the following days and into the New Year's.

[fourstarsoutofnine]

Hi thereee~ Would you mind doing some headcanons of the chain with a reader that basically has no personal space rules set in place for themselves, so they're like a living teddy bear up for hugs and anything else? Who would totally take advantage of this for free cuddles?

A/n:Oh my goodness this is really cute heck yea. I’m not sure if this was meant to be platonic or romantic but it can be read as either!! Also, I’m only gonna do three for right now, just so I can have something out and it doesn’t take too long to produce, I’d hate to keep you waiting for so long :(. The other ones will be written as well though! Just in multiple parts! Thank you so much for your patience🫶

Chain w/ free cuddles reader <3 part 1.

This part includes Time, Sky, and Twilight in that order!

Also Lemme preface and say the chain would absolutely make sure you’re 100% okay with it first. They don’t wanna cross any lines, even if there aren’t technically any lines there. Just had to throw that out there. Anyway!

Time:

The old man isn’t really a cuddly person, but if you were you just come up to him and hug him, I don’t think he’d think anything of it. You’d definitely have to initiate it first with him for a while. Take for instance he and the captain are going over plans. You walk up to him and just hug around his torso or hug his arm and lean your head on his shoulder(or wherever you can reach), he wouldn’t even miss a beat.

“Hey uhh old man?”

“What?”

“…nothing”

They’re all just a touch too intimidated to say anything. He has a soft spot for you and would let you walk all over him if you wanted. Eventually he does get to a point where he returns your affections and place an arm around you whenever you come up—even if you don’t initiate it. He gets used to the affection you give and subtly begins to seek you out. Sitting by you at dinner time, putting his bedroll by yours, silently hoping you end up in his arms in the middle of the night. You’re comforting to him and he likes having you around.

Sky

Sky would 10000% take advantage of free affection. That man is the human version of the word “cuddle,” so the fact that you are as well makes him melt. Finally, he has someone just as snuggly as he is. I can see the two of you constantly snuggled up by the fire, his sailcloth around you both to act ad a blanket. He’d either be whittling something new(probably some cute gift for you) or playing his harp—or even just talking to one of the others. If he’s not doing something with his hands, you best believe he’s got at least one of his arms around you. I also know for a FACT he loves having someone play with his hair(it’s me I’m Jojo I say so/j). You can’t have hair THAT fluffy and not constantly want someone playing with it. Sky will absolutely seek you out at any time of day—as the chain travels around, he’ll come to walk by you and take your hand, swinging it with a dopey smile like he was proud of himself to get to walk beside you(spoiler alert:he is. He’s so happy he gets to exist at the same time as you, even momentarily.) sky adores you and wants nothing more than to hold you all the time. He will if you let him, but you’d have to say that first.

Twilight

My rancher, my cowboy, my beloved. He gives the best bear hugs in all of Hyrule—every Hyrule! He’s probably the second person under sky to absolutely take advantage of the ‘free hugs from y/n’ rule. He loves getting hugs and giving them too :,). He and sky are the comfort people in the chain—and you, little charm, are the newest addition to that title. If anyone is in need of comfort and love, they go to one of three folks. Sky, twilight, and you. You are Twilight’s comfort person, most definitely. Both as wolfie and himself. The wolf walks by you, and twilight will do his best to as well. Usually he sticks around the old man, but when he can, he’s by you, even doing so much as to drag you to the front of the group so he can have both. He likes being in his mentor’s plans, hearing the creation of them, knowing exactly what direction they’re heading and being able to be one of the first into action should something occur—speaking of action, that’s another reason he likes you by him. Not only to sling an arm around you and have you hug around his torso—but so he can protect you as well. He adores you and would absolutely blame himself if something happened to you(he and the champion are alike in that way). He can always keep you safe, and hold you when he wants to, so it’s a win win situation!

[neonlunatic]

Me when people think I'm weird,

For being Aroace,

and then they tell me "you can't have a partner because you're aroace," "you don't know the definition of love," "you can't feel love at all," "you're cold hearted and emotionless," , etc, bc I am Aroace.

Well, firstly I'd like to point out, Aroace people can still platonically or even romantically have a partner, just I don't really feel it in general. It's like impossible for me to physically feel it except for with 2 people, and only those two people, no one else really. It's just, "eh". For me as a whole. I also yes do have a hard time trying to feel love itself, but another thing people say about being Aroace is that you "can't actually love or care about someone unlike those who aren't Aroace,"

I 100% can love and care about someone and want to do anything for them, and want to protect them, because another thing is emotions, and people who are Aroace aren't 'cold hearted' as many say they are, we just can't really feel love as much as others do or have a really hard time feeling It, or a really hard time feeling it except for with VERY specific people. It's not that I am cold hearted and emotionless, or don't know the definition of something just because of my identity, people just see it that way because I don't feel love the same way as everyone else, I feel it differently. It's not that I'm "weird", or "broken", or "alien", or anything like that, I just feel things differently, and feel love in a different way than those who aren't Aroace, etc.

And no being Aroace does not banish you to a lonely and sad life, because as I pointed out up there, we still have emotions like everyone else, even if we are Aroace, and we still have things we care about or enjoy.

Heck, I'm Aroace & Gay, and I have an amazing boyfriend that I love and care about lots.

And I also try to be around him as much as I can.

[fraudulent-cheese]

Hiiiii

Saw the tier list, I would love If you elborated on Sierra as I too love her and think she's fun and loved her friendship with Heather (yes I consider it friendship)

Yay let's go i got asked to elaborate!!!

Sierra's definitely one of the first characters that grew on me thanks to participating in the fandom; she has one of the most interesting premises in the entire first generation cast, that of a super dedicated fangirl who knows everything about everyone, and seeing people play with it in fan works is really fun!

Her personality's great for one, she's passionate and incredibly enthusiastic but also very socially awkward. She's very knowledgeable about her interests, and she's generally just very relatable to me?? Her hobbies are (mostly) internet centered and she's so excitable and fun and lonely and talented, she's got so many little interesting things about her!

Like, even in her delivery or lines or even animation sometimes! Her voice actress does an amazing job with her performance to the point even her crying sounds good??? How do you do that??? Also like look at this. She's adorable. And she's actually funny.

Some of my favorite headcanons regarding her are:

her being autistic (or generally just neurodivergent), mostly thanks to her fixation on Total Drama and just. Her everything. She's stimming in that GIF i don't think i could make it more obvious if i tried

Her being aromantic, as i read her crush on Cody as being one she picked herself out of the cast of Total Drama; he's a nerdy guy so there's the relatability, part of a popular boyband so he's unobtainable and would read as a more "normal" crush to have (and she could probably find like-minded folks online), and she's developped a pretty big parasocial attachment to all the cast thanks to knowing so much about them. She's isolated enough to not have much of a reference point for how romantic feelings operate for most people and i already headcanon her as neurodivergent which wouldn't help. She really seems like the type that would mistake platonic appreciation for a close friend as romantic attraction or on the flipside just. Not knowing what to picture in a romantic relationship yes im projecting shush

Her more specific hobbies she got into to get more positive attention from others or generally just as something to do with her time pre TD obsession; for instance i think she's a huge fan of kandi bracelets, and the culture surrounding them she was exposed to online. I also think she'd have an interest in different dance styles since she already knows German Slap dancing. Also stem. Specifically mechanics and physics.

She'd totally be into ARGs or Lost Media searches, or just any kind of Internet puzzle. She's clearly good at doing research, i say she'd love helping solve an internet mystery if it's related to one of her passions!

Rerailing back to her character for a second, i wish the series used her knowledge on the show and the contestants more! It's set up early on that she dislikes Alejandro, and in an early episode she tries taking advantage of Heather trying to manipulate her by pretending to fall for it; heck, in the very next episode when Heather talks strategy, Sierra actually plays along! Sierra's also VERY physically strong, like she's one of the most athletic Total Drama characters period. She's an absolute powerhouse and i find it really sad that the Cody obsession kinda took over that.

You specifically mention her friendship with Heather and like!!! I get the heatherra heads, i see the vision there's totally something there! Honestly wish they tried pulling an alliance plotline between the two that lasted longer than two or three episodes because they bounce off eachother so well!

Neither of them have very good social skills and neither of them seem very aware of this, but they express this in different ways; Heather pushes people away, she's mean, she's got sharp edges and she's not hiding from them, she's not easily vulnerable and when she is it's strategic; she was raised on superficiality and it shows. Meanwhile, Sierra's overly friendly, she's talkative, cheerful and seemingly naive, she seems far more interested in others than herself, but she's still strategic. [it's a small thing i noticed, when she reveals something about her family on the show it's usually because a challenge prompts it] Point is, they contrast in their attitudes, but are both intelligent and aware of the game they're playing. I love the idea of them falling into a friendship via alliance, Sierra could actually get to know another contestant as an actual person and not via obsessive research, and Heather could form an actual friendship with someone who accepts her, nerdy interests in all. And they'd 100% call eachother out on their respective bullshit if needed, like actually

Back on topic, i think an interesting thing about Sierra in TDAS is that out of the first gen cast, she's the one who connects the most with the roti guys. Granted, most of her teammates are from the second generation, and the only one that aren't either really doesn't like her or are Lindsay and get eliminated one episode in.

But! she seems to get along with them at first, which is very different from her first impression with the first gen cast which was negative leaning neutral at best. She befriends Sam and Cameron (at first), and she says Svetlana's her favorite alter, and i bet she'd get along with Zoey and Mike too!

Now on the topic of her canon plotline... i do actually have something to say, and i only thought of it while writing this post.

i'll preface this analysis im about to do by saying that i haven't watched All-Stars. All of this is going to be second hand info i've learned by looking at the wiki and reading other people's thoughts, so i may be off base at a couple points, HOWEVER.

I think that while her plotline during TDAS is dogshit and an attempt to do the World Tour running gag again but worse, there is something interesting set up here: how the Cody hallucination starts. Cameron is mostly victim to it, but she does just hallucinate her entire team as cody at one point (after prompting by Sam to cheer herself up). Im mostly going to focus on the Cameron bit, but... The hallucinations start when she's actually befriended Cameron.

I don't think this comes out of nowhere, as Cody and Sierra were friends at that point in time after all. And while the hallucinating bit is uh. Concerning and a weird decision. That says alot about this girl's social life AND her familial situation overall if being friendly to her is equated to being the one guy she's obsessed with.

Her mother (and possibly Grandparents, she does say she's a "third generation Chris scholar in Celebrity Manhunt) is completely obsessed with Chris Mclean, and her knowing all about Chris's career and liking him, while it's only relevant for one or two episodes, definitely comes from that. Her mom has a fucking SHRINE dedicated to the man, there's no way part of Sierra's interest in Chris doesn't at least partially come from her!

I generally think Sierra's neglected by her parents. She's super online and seemingly super lonely (like. she says herself at one point that she didn't make any friends at school), so there's a possibility that her friendship with Cody off the show was the first actual friendship she had. Being obsessed with the person you like was her normal for almost all her life, is it really a surprise that once she'd lost her other source of comfort (internet access) on a show as stressful as Total Drama, that her brain would react like this? Ok, maybe not with the hallucinations. BUT MY STATEMENT STILL STANDS, that if we're taking canon's decisions into account, her plotline in tdas doesn't come out of nowhere.

I mean it's also due to the writters apparently trying their hardest to not write Sierra as a person on her own and needing to shove Cody into it because surprise surprise he was planned to be on All-Stars but got cut from the season and im convinced the Sierra plotline was a remnant of that draft but this isn't about him and it still sucks anyways what was i talking about

IN SUMMARY: Uh i like Sierra. Literally me. I don't know where i was going with this

[creativesplat]

💘, 🐳, ⛩️, 🙊?

💘, 🐳, ⛩️, 🙊

💘 MIPHLINK!!! Do I have to say it? Absolutely 110% Miphlink. Honestly they are a pairing that I love more than all the other ships I have ever shipped, and I come back to them whenever other hyper fixations fizzle out or I want something comforting. I love them both so much. AoC is one of my favourite zelda games for that reason. (BoTW too, but the tragic lovers vibe is so sad)

Skyward Sword Zelink, a little bit, I wasn’t head over heals for them, but SS Zelda reminded me a fair bit of Mipha (if Mipha had been brought up in a less dangerous time and with less royal duties they would have probably been more similar), so that was that! 

I really wish I shipped Revali with someone, because I love the birb because he is stupid and fun to draw, initially I was a pining Miphvali shipper, but like, I wasn’t a massive fan of that, so maybe ZelVali? Some people ship that, and I’ve got to say the Revali and Zelda talking scene is one of my favourite cutscenes in BoTW, not to mention Zelda’s dialogue to Revali; If not romantic, definitely platonic. 

Teba and Saki are the adorable birb parents so I quite like their couple dynamic? Im not really the biggest shipper outside of Miphlink tbh.  

🐳

I honestly have no idea? Probably a Hylian (boring answer sorry!), but maybe a Rito. I love the decoration styles, and bright colours, and also they live in a cool climate and I do not like hot weather. So maybe a rito. 

⛩️

I think my favourite dungeon would have to be the Ancient Cystern in SS, I just love how beautiful the whole thing is, with all the lotus-y patterns and the pinks and turquoises and the flowers and stuff. ITs just so dang beautiful!! I also really loved the Sandship Dungeon. I think in terms of play through that was my favourite from start to finish. Location is SO much harder. Aesthetically Satori Mountain, and Rito village, story-wise and where I spend my most time in BoTW Zora’s domain, I also Love the Zora’s domain and Rito Village music. Also sweet cozy little skyloft is so nice and permanent and homely. The great plateau is so nostalgic and I love that too… AAA I don’t think I can pick! In AoC it has to be Scero’s Supplies, I know you can’t really go there, but the merging of Zora and Hateno architecture is just so beautiful and I LOVE IT SO MUCH! 

🙊

Ohhh… Unpopular Zelda opinions… I have quite a few of those. Ok. Here we go. 

ToTK is AWUFUL. Hot dang it is the worst thing ever. It wasn’t even the story that made me stop playing. It was one line from an NPC in Rito Village. Molli wants to make elemental arrows, and has an idea for arrow inventions, that can freeze enemies! No way that’s so cool, except… that is literally one of the main things in the last game. You can buy elemental arrows from the shops. Like what the heck? At least explain to me why a very common commodity that EVERYONE but Particularly the people who’s job it is to look after Bows (Harth and Moli) know about and have access to is somethign they want to invent now. I hate is. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I ha- anyway. I despise whatever Lazy idiot decided that was the way to go. Who cares about lore? Not us apparently. I also have a massive problem with the imperialist mass-destruction weapon wearing zonai as well. And as a historian I just love BoTW so much better than ToTK. It treats its history with respect, and nuance, and good golly thats not how ruins from 10,000 years ago would work and o my word stop suspending my disbelief!?! 

Anyway. I could rant for far longer about far more things, but I’ll leave it at that. 

Way more unpopular, and Zelink shippers please ignore this: I think BoTW Zelink is creepy. The power dynamic is insanely bad (princess and her servant who literally cannot disobey her father), and the age gap is also awful (16 turned 17 for one day and “20 something” from the BoTW art book). 

Also, the women deserve better from that fandom. But that’s not news.

Thank you so much for the ask Stars!

[amazing-spiderling]

002 Mattfoggy and 003 Nightcrawler

Mattfoggy

when of if I started shipping it.

I came to this soooo slowly. I watched the TV series and really enjoyed it, but it didn't inspire me to jump into the fandom per se, and I was already elbow deep in Spideypool, meeting my comic book nerd quota. But after reading some Daredevil comics as part of some Spider-Man podcast research, I got interested in seeking out more of the series, and eventually the Waid run. THEN it clicked for me, I went back and watched the show, shipping goggles freshly attached, and didn't look back, haha.

my thoughts:

sdfds what is this??? This is such a vague question. All of these are my thoughts. Okay, here's one I just made up. Let's have a spin-off series just about these two in college. I know Ultimate was kind of that, but we also largely pretend the Ultimate universe didn't happen. It could even be a min or limited series! Let's go!

What makes me happy about them:

I am a big ol' sucker for friends-to-lovers, and these two provide me with that in spades. Even when they're at odds with one another (or in one of their "divorce" eras), they would still do everything they could to help the other out, if called on. Comics as a medium are built on change and shifting relationships and dynamics, so it's really satisfying to see something that remains consistent, even when undergoing changes of its own.

What makes me sad about them:

I think too many comic writers, when given the task of writing Daredevil, think that his strength is in solo brooding, rather than his interactions with his supporting cast. Foggy gets put on the back burner (or on a forgotten shelf in the pantry) because it seems like the writers don't understand his value.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

When either of them start speaking in a way that tells me the author is halfway through their psych 101 class, or just learned what the Kinsey scale is or something of the sort and just COULD NOT WAIT to put it in a fanfic in such a way that one of them starts like... rattling off the definition of bisexuality from a textbook. Pleaseeee. It's not even the "he wouldn't fucking say that" so much as the "he would not be fucking self aware or confident enough to put that idea into words". It also just reads awkwardly and makes the fic feel clunky as heck.

things I look for in fanfic:

That sweet, sweet mutual pining between two people who understand each other so well except for this ONE REALLY IMPORTANT THING is so delicious to me.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

See, the thing is, this is a true "it's always been you" situation- like, canonically. Even if they weren't in a romantic relationship together, they would still "end up together" as platonic partners, y'know? But that being said, I think Kirsten is the one who was most prepared to stick it through with Matt. For Foggy? Man, I don't know. His canonical love interests mostly sucked. I liked Glorianna, but them ending up together... (the niece of his ex-wife?) was always a little awkward to me. Foggy's interactions with her always seemed like he was on the verge of apologizing for being, well, himself. So I don't really know. OTL

My happily ever after for them:

I do like the version of events I came up with for my comic "Doing Good". While human biology would require Matt to retire from superheroing at some point, it's hard for me to imagine either of them truly retiring from their jobs. I mean, relaxing and having time for their personal lives would be great and all, but I think they'd get bored and antsy after a while, so they'd find (less time consuming) ways to contribute to society, like working for non-profits, teaching a college class twice a week, etc. Oh and they live together and kiss whenever they want.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Matt is the big spoon when he's feeling particularly protective or worried. He likes being able to hold onto Foggy and feel him in his arms. But Foggy returns the favor when Matt is injured or has gotten too lost in his head.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

Maybe I'm a little biased because I have a small collection of my own, but should these two ever have a free night to share, I can imagine them relaxing and listening to vinyl records. It could be a fun hobby for them, collecting things randomly that the other might like, and making an evening of listening to them over food and drinks, sharing memories associated with the songs, or the first time they listened to an album.

Nightcrawler:

How I feel about this character: 

He’s my best friend, he’s my pal, he’s my homeboy, my rotten soldier, my sweet cheese, my good time boy. We've been together since I was 12 and I'll always love him.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: 

Eh.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: 

Wolverine is the classic choice, and a good one! But Way/Legion of X and Uncanny Spider-Man have me craving more interactions between Kurt and Legion.

My unpopular opinion about this character: 

I don't actually want to bone him like most people in the fandom XD On top of that, I don't actually think he needs a permanent long time partner in the comics. (I don't even think I want it.) It's never felt as right as his "true love" being Xavier's dream and the X-men as a whole.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

By the end of "X-Men: Forever", Kurt had swapped powers with Rogue and attempted to absorb *Thor's* abilities, which left him half knocked out and mumbling in runes. I desperately wish we'd gotten to know what happened to him after that, but the series ended right after. The comic itself was a little too jumbled to be any good, but it gave me so much food for thought.

my het ship:

I wasn't too mad about him and Amanda together, but I also feel like nobody ever made her particularly interesting. Like... I would happily read fic that had the two of them in a relationship, but I think the story would naturally be about whatever they were dealing with. TBH the moment in comics when she asks why it didn't work out between them and he says, "too much history, perhaps" felt like the most real "relationship moment" he ever had in comics.

my fem/slash ship:

I don't really have a dog in this fight. I've read and enjoyed Logan/Kurt before, but it didn't give me that ache in my soul like my real OTPs. I think I've known these characters too long. They're like brothers to me.

my OTP:

Kurt/Mankind i don't know loll

my OT3:

I don't really do OT3s, but I would personally fund a comic where Kurt hangs out with Matt and Foggy for a while. Particularly for the bits where Foggy is like "wait, you're Catholic too? And not a miserable brood machine half the time? Matt, are you hearing this?"

a head cannon fact:

Kurt, like me, loves Christmas and hot chocolate and decorating the tree and all that jazz. Some of his fondest memories were getting to witness the Christmas markets in Germany, though he doesn't bring it up much because he doesn't want the other X-Men getting jealous. (I know I am.)

[riallasheng]

Answering an Ask

In an unusual way, because my darn tumblr be broken and didn't show the ask in my inbox! Fortunatly, @edutainer2022 PMed me to make sure I got it! ^^

===============

Hi! Just in case the asks act out, some ask game points for you:

🍒 What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)

🥭 Rank from most enjoyable/fun to write to least: Fluff, Smut, Angst, Crack.

🍏 Is there something you overuse, whether it’s a certain phrase, trope, or piece of punctuation?

🍐 Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a fuck-up in characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown onscreen, etc…

=============

🍒 What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)

Platonic and/or familial! While I can and will write romance, there's always a heavy focus on the friendship of the characters, more than the romantic ^^

----------

🥭 Rank from most enjoyable/fun to write to least: Fluff, Smut, Angst, Crack.

Well, I don't actually write Smut at all (closest I'll come is Lime, and usually I'll only write Orange. I've never actually written even a Lemon, let alone anything more hard core than that), and the closest I get to Crack is 'here is a silly thing that canonically could happen' rather than true crack.

Sooooo....

Drama (angst, fluff, serious, comedy, and bunch of other stuff rather than a heavy focus in just one type.) FAR and away my favorite.

Angst & Whump (as old fanwoman is old and I go by the definition that ANGST is mental/emotional 'harm' that may have a physical element or trigger, but is all about the emotions and mind. Meanwhile Whump is physical 'harm' that may have an emotional/mental element or trigger, but is all about the physical). I generally prefer it to be an ELEMENT of a story, and I strongly prefer hurt/comfort, but I do have some instances fics / ficbits that are (mostly) solid angst and I'm more likely to have Angst scenes / elements in my works than Fluff

Fluff: tends to be only sparingly and mixed in admist other things, and even my 'pure' fluff pieces like A Cure for Boredom were cahracter and fan-lore explorations alongside the fluff. Mostly because pure fluff BORES ME ^^;;

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

🍏 Is there something you overuse, whether it’s a certain phrase, trope, or piece of punctuation?

Ellipses, probably XD I actually try to alter my writing style to a degree depending on who the viewpoint character is, but I am ANYTHING but brief (even though I know brief / less is more is the 'in' thing now). So I tend to have lots of details and asides and descriptions and trend much more towards being VERY wordy

-----------

🍐 Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a fuck-up in characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown onscreen, etc…

Oh yeah, many things XD There's always at least ONE 'fix it' in every fic I write. Sometimes small, sometimes BIG... I try to give my reasoning for any / all changes, I do my best to respect that other people may have totally different takes than me. But yeah, there's always fix-its in my fics for things that bug me or that I flat out hate

Heck, in an example that I'm currently writing (well, re-writing as back in the Naughts this darn thing was COMPLETE and now I'm re-writing it from memory XD ). In As the Wyrm Turns and my fanfic Universe in general....

I moved Marineville. I've always HATED that it's canon location for a REALLY LONG LIST OF REASONS THAT ARE VERY VALID DARN IT, so I moved it to Maine (Isle Au Haut specifically). On top of solving most of my list o' issues, it also meant that I could have the Aquaphibians living in or near 'Atlantis' ^^

[beanghostprincess]

Late to valentines day, but consider queer platonic strawhats.

Luffy, upon hearing about Valentine's Day ((Makino would likely have told him a bit about it as a child, but it got forgotten amidst the trees and critters and love and family and also trauma of living ten years in the woods with criminals and bandits as his company)) goes absolutely APESHIT. A day devoted to LOVE?? HECK YEAH SIGN HIM UP!!!! HE LOVES HIS FRIENDS SO MUCH!!!

Robin, Ussop, Chopper and he all settle across the deck and make crafts. Luffy is very much more focused than usual, both bc Hands Moving, Colors and Glitter Good, and also bc this is IMPORTANT so he's doing his absolute best.

He makes a card for every person on his crew. He also makes stuff for his friends all over, addressed to them by name. He can't send them, not really, because it's hard to remember the addresses (Nami helps with some of those), so the ones he can't send properly (Shanks, Buggy, Boa, etc) he throws into the ocean.

((There's a quiet moment after nightfall when he's sitting on the figurehead, holding a card he worked Extra Hard On. It's addressed to Ace, and Luffy isn't one to really... be sad. He tries not to be. He's worried about seeming weak.

The crew definitely caught on, though. Nami steps up to him, puts a hand on his shoulder. Tugs him back to the deck. She leads him by hand towards the center, where the other's are waiting. Franky is beaming.

He made a little lantern like device. It has a little pocket, and it floats up and up and up, "all the way to the heavens," he exclaims proudly. Nami mentions sending a letter to Bellemere. Chopper has one for Hiriluk. Ussop has one for his mom, Sanji for his own, Zoro to Kuina, Robin to Saul, Brook to the Rumbars, Franky to Tom. Jimbei carries a few, but merely smiles softly at Luffy.

He tries not to cry as they all load up their letters, but he feels better when the only response people have to the wetness on his face is a brief touch or side hug.

It's bittersweet, but somehow he feels better than he has in a very long time.

And with his crew around him, supportive and still there, still staying.... well, Luffy didn't think he could love them any harder. Full of surprises, the lot of them.

Late to Valentine's Day too, don't worry 🫶 And I consider Queer Platonic Strawhats every day of my life actually-

This is,,, So beautiful,,, I'm sure Luffy would absolutely love Valentine's Day to celebrate his love for his friends. Maybe Nami and Sanji tell him that's not exactly how it works, because it's supposed to be romantic, but when he asks them "Why, though?" they don't really, uhh, have an answer for that. So turns out their captain is right and they can use this day to celebrate all types of love!

I adore the idea of Luffy writing letters and cards and throwing them into the sea if he can't send them. It's just beautiful. Maybe in a bottle, pirate style. Maybe fate helps him and somehow those letters end up with the correct people. Who knows?

Also, Luffy would be extra clingy the whole day and Sanji would make a huge dinner for everybody. They'd have so much fun and Luffy would just,, Take a moment to look at all of them being happy for a second and he'd go "Now this is what being a pirate should be!" and it makes me really emotional.

Not to mention the Ace thing,, All of them sending their letters to their dead loved ones in the sky? Do you want to make me cry??? Because you're making me cry.

They're precious to me.

[possessionisamyth]

Can you frame Leon/Ashley as both romantic and platonic? I personally enjoy them both ways because i can just see it like that BUT i am dead curious to know how you'd frame it. Also because i think the doors about their dynamic were left open by the devs so no definitive, really.

This isn't meant to step on anyone's toes about preferences or anything, i just wanna see another perspective from someone who appears to be objective in this hellspace of a fandom AND because I'm tired of insistence that "it's canon" being shoved around for literally about any ship that i ever engaged with being pushed around solely for pointless ship wars.

If you want ofc, do share your thoughts.

Okay, so, uh, you're not going to like my answer and it probably won't sound very objective. I'm sorry in advance since I don't really ship Leon and Ashley. I can absolutely see the potential there. They wouldn't have framed the remake with the prince and knight fairy tale costumes if that wasn't their intention. Heck, people wouldn't be replacing Ashley with Luis in game mods if their story wasn't coated with romantic undertones.

Platonic Relationship:

Both in the OG and the Remake, I can see them getting along. OG Leon would definitely be more teasing of OG Ashley by mimicking her slang, giving her silly nicknames, and making sure she's okay. He'd be the obnoxious bestie that she'd call asking for advice and he deadpans "break up with him or I'll do it for you" and nothing else.

Remake Leon would be not quieter, but softer? with his treatment of her. He'd still tell his bad jokes, and he'd do all the chivalry nonsense of holding doors open for her, and making sure her order is correct when they order food, and listening to her, but it's all about showing that he's mindful of her and he cares about her. He's definitely aware the way people show they value her well-being is from a job only perspective, and she appreciates him being genuine and sincere. She tries to give him the same benefit of the doubt, and her own style of care.

Romantic Relationship:

You're going to hate me, but to me OG Leon is in his slut era during RE4. He's also still very much under the thumb of her father at this time, so he'd have enough tact to wait til Benford is out of office before doing an interest check with Ashley. Everything would be going great until they have sex, and it'd be so medicore she'd tell him they're better off as friends. That's why he's so standoffish and weird in Degeneration.

Remake Leon would also wait until Benford is out of office, but that's because any publicity is a security risk for his position. Dating the president's daughter would get his face in a lot of places he could no longer stealth through. Since the general US populous stops giving a fuck about any president once they're out of office unless there's a scandal, that would be the safest time to try a relationship with her. So he goes for it, and he really tries being that caring prince charming/knight/insert luis given nickname to her because he thinks that's what she wants. It is not what she wants at all. She just wants him to be himself. Either they work it out or, they don't. Either way, Ashley is mature enough to realize that the fantasy her attraction turned Leon into when she was 20, is not nor has probably ever been the case for who he is. She likes him better now.

[jils-things]

❨♡❩ valentine's week ; familial day

familials have been such an important factor in my time as a selfshipper recently because i truly came to appreciate what is familial love. it's just that really nice feeling of pride and appreciation for someone you really care about. i'm excited to say that i have a lot in my roster to share! reading isn't mandatory for anyone viewing - writing my feelings help me articulate my words well.

first and probably my most important one yet is ruby stone! at first, I wasn't really interested in the whole "he's my son concept" but i just knew that ruby was an instant favorite of mine after reading the manga. it's funny, because i actually did kin him at one point (i mean, i can still say i kin him but because i'm a selfshipper first, manga consumer second. i see him as my son more). i see myself a lot in him especially in his flaws. but because a friend told me it would be fun if i had called him a familial, it wouldn't be so bad (and steven is also there. wouldn't it be a cute family?). i initially drafted jaide stone and ruby to just be friends but ruby has a special attachment to her (due to his personal issues with his father) but that shit changed FAST and thus, ruby stone was born. i adore my silly boy, he makes me so happy and i admire his character. he's different from the other protagonists and it makes him stand out all the more. I'm so proud of him, his whole story made me so emotional and i just want to hug him and let him know everything's okay and he has every right to be who he wants.

am i allowed to talk about my husband? i mean he IS ruby's father so,,, heheh. ill keep it short or else it becomes a romantic love letter to my hunni sorry 😚 anyways i always imagined steven to want to have kids and ruby was the best thing he ever asked for. he's so proud of him too. they went through a rough patch as a father and son but things gotten better and they're very happy to call each other family. 💚

ahh, my favorite silly stinky little brother. gold! this one's got a long history. i was always a big fan of ethan/gold as a protagonist in the games. but i had no idea that this version ethan (or as the manga calls him, gold.) was simply the best for me. he's got this special spark that really checks off my list of what makes a character my favorite! just like ruby, i also see myself a lot in him. (heck, even my sister thinks i'm super gold-coded) he was so shaped to be my best friend or little brother, and i picked the latter. he's probably the most comedic, and has a very deep emotional side that i like to philosophize about. po.kespe kids are written with much difficulty and he's no exception. if i had a brother, i feel like this is how i would treat him.

okay this one's gonna be SUPER confusing which i'll apologize over and over again i'm so sorry 😭😭 for this one, i'd like go introduce blake and nate (respectively). these two are completely different from each other, but i still have this maternal/big sister care for both of them. just like gold - nate is one of my favorite protagonists by game and learning their personalities in both manga and game (pkmn masters ex) made me adore them even more. i think ilynne (oc) is the first girl who has more priority over familial and platonics than romantics. i think that's very cool! it's hard to say everything here why i love both versions but if you took a look for yourself, maybe you'll understand hehe. (also, nate just has the BEST protagonist design. hello? who wouldn't love him? definitely not me!!!!) it was only because of pkmn masters ex that made me like nate a lot. his voicelines makes me feel so comforted like that's just a really happy boy! he sounds so excited for everything and his giggles just cleanse my soul 😭 i could pat his head all day. silly pineapple boy. blake just... i dunno man. it's probably because i already liked his base design so naturally I'd like his manga ver too 😭 they pulled a wildcard in designing this kid like he's a fuckin agent!!! that's so cool!!! hes a fuckin hater!!! look at him go i can fix the edgy kid !!! by being his mom!!! (lore accurate btw)

ah yes. the most fanbase developed kid ever. it's carmine! this kid is so special. his entire existence came from a fan created f.n.f mod and everyone ran with it - just like me. i remember constantly keeping tabs with this mod and i was always curious to know what carmine has in his story - playing the mod itself was such a pleasant surprise. my whole attention was shifted to carmine's story - it's rewritten slightly to make the creepypasta more impactful and it certainly did make me feel sympathetic for the little guy. giving him the sweetest and admired big brother to love and care for him was the best design i ever thought of. after the devs added more story, it made me feel all the more protective of carmine. unfortunately he's not the most lively boy around as he's bullied for his insignificance. i would do anything to let him know he's loved. (AGGRESSIVELY FORGETS THE PART WHERE HE'S PAINFULLY POSSESSED BY THE FUCKIN GHOST BEGONE!!!!)

i think what also powered how much i love carmine was the endless support i got from the actual fans of the mod on twt. even the devs approved it and it made me feel so happy and reassured that it's okay to appreciate him (it was actually a little nerve-wracking to post rhys and carmine on twt because carmine is... technically an oc). that's why i describe carmine to be a special kind of fo. he's an oc of a mod and that's pretty neat

those are my main familials, but i'd also like to give a shoutout to my secondary familials!

when i tell you there's so many cool characters in this game I wasn't JOKING. these guys are so... AUGHH i feel like they would be the best guys to have around to make my day better. looker is more uncle shaped to me, he's not exactly the BEST caretaker (shh i know emma) but i know he's trying his best. it's hard to juggle being an agent and a friend but i understand that and i appreciate his efforts. playing platinum to see this guy appear, i just KNEW he's gonna be the coolest. and i wasnt wrong! he's associated with my oc ilynne along with blake! for po.kespe consumers, yes - they are all coworkers!

professor sy.camore is definitely a father figure to me. i love his enthusiasm and i know he's the best guy to cheer someone up. his cheerfulness is endless and he literally mentors 4 kids, if he can do that then surely he can make my day better (a miserable young adult /jjj) i really wanted to make a kalosian oc for him. i envisioned the oc to be an ex team flar.e member who wanted to renew herself from her past deeds (as she was foolish to not understand lysandre's grand plan) and sy.camore was there to rescue her from her crisis and helped her start somewhere by being a student under his care. they would develop a father-daughter dynamic and i think that's very sweet 🥺💚

in case you noticed. my main familials are a case of like ... me wanting to nurture them. but my secondaries are the other way around and it's like... what if i was the one being nurtured and cared for? pretty cool...

that's all for today. thank you familials 💚

[four-loose-screws]

Hello there, I’ve been playing a lot of Engage lately and I’ve been really enjoying it a lot. I’m writing in to ask you on what your general stance is on the whole discourse that has surrounded how certain S-Supports were translated. As for me, after reading a couple of them through, both the original versions and the localization, I personally don’t see that much a difference or disconnect between the two. While yes it can be argued that the localization did toned down a couple in a few cases, but even still I don’t think the general tone is really lost and in most cases it seems the only real notable difference is the usage of some select words in place of others which in a couple of cases might skewed into something that seems more platonic, but the rest of the conversation still seems to generally be pretty direct with how it’s translated. I also feel that even the original Japanese conversations generally speaking don’t feel nearly as romantic as they’ve been in previous games which has given me the impression that relationships in general are just simply greatly downplayed in Engage, and while that’s definitely apparent in a few other areas of the game I’ve definitely noticed it a lot through those conversations. It should be worth noting that I encountered the original Japanese conversations through Google Translate as well as other people’s own translations, and even with Google Translate I was still able to see what the initial tone of the dialogue was generally supposed to be and personally speaking didn’t think to was all that different from the official localization (minus a couple of choice words). I do think it’s worth noting that the wake-up events generally are more romantic than the conversations, or at least have more direct implications of it which I thought was interesting. However even with all of that, I would like to hear your opinion on all of this, from someone who is a speaker of Japanese, to get a further perspective on all of this. Thank you for reading this admittedly super long question as well as all the hard work you do for this community, hope everything is going well for you.

Hi and thanks for the support! :) Things have been a wild ride for me for a while now, but in an alright kind of way.

I chunked this out into 3 parts, because my brain gets lost in a whirlwind if I don't chunk up my writings.

Pt. 1 - Opinion Time!

My own personal opinion, in its own tiny little vacuum, is that I don't really care what changes a localization makes, for the most part. I see some changes as unfortunate - like those that put in pop culture or meme jokes that won't age well, in a game not already dating itself on purpose. But I don't have reason to become emotionally invested when I can look up and read the Japanese in my free time, analyze the differences between JP and localization in my free time, and use my blog to share those findings to those who don't know both languages.

The downside is I'm not available to blog like I used to be, but there's always been other people out there who know Jp./Eng. and are filling in the gaps. It's not a fun time to be subjected to the "LOCALIZATION STUPID, LOCALIZATION TEAM YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD" tone you sometimes see, but sifting through good and junk information is how research has always worked.

Now, to add on some nuance, because the world is a complex place and simplicity is a rarity. I think that it is very very valid to mourn what is lost because localization teams are trying to sell a product to a different audience, and simply cannot commit to trying to directly convey the exact same experience the JP version offered.

Not everyone is going to see the positives of localization as worth the cost. I love seeing FE spread to people I never imagined it would, because localization teams work hard to make the text engaging for non-JP audiences.

But media preservation is important too. Heck, I'm basically devoting my entire life to preservation by translating a collection of 20-30 year old novels! It's perfectly valid to value preservation of media over maximum outreach (and the big profits that come with it).

Also, just because I feel like pointing it out, I don't see localization as censorship. I feel like censorship is much more violent - a group in power trying to entirely eliminate media that does not fit their agenda for the purpose of control, etc. It's not like Treehouse is going around the internet, trying to remove and hide any record of the JP script or anything - they're just trying to guess what will sell the game outside of Japan, and protect Nintendo's brand. Nintendo could stop fan JP vs. localization analyzers at any point, but they don't, our content is all still out there for those who want to know more about the JP versions.

Pt. 2 - Talking directly about Engage & the S support conversations

Now, as for the conversations themselves!

My initial impression - Wow, the localization of these S supports compared to the Awakening days, is so different I'd think Engage was from a different franchise entirely! (For those who didn't play Awakening - the localization entirely rewrote some lines in many S supports - particularly many of the CG image quotes, in which each character says their final romantic words to Robin.)

Depending on the exact conversation, Engage's localization takes slightly different approaches towards making conversations with child & teen characters more platonic. Framme's support changes 'partner' to 'ally.' Meanwhile, Anna's support changes 'partner' to clearly mean 'business partner.' Clanne says "all I think about is you" in JP vs. "all I think about is helping you more," to shift the focus from implied romance, to keeping his relationship with Alear strictly as a master / guardian relationship.

For characters over 18, their conversations were not altered to remove romantic implications.

And, that's about the extent of it. Anon, you are exactly right in the summary Google Translate helped give you - the localized conversations always follow the original Japanese, save for toning down any lines w/ under 18 characters, that originally felt more romantic than platonic.

There is one huge sign that even the JP version wasn't as serious about committing to every S support being romantic, though - the CGs. Every character under 18 wears the ring on their middle finger instead of the wedding ring finger. Now, one could argue that the CGs are only that way because the artist was told to focus on the NA / international release, and I think that is a very valid possibility, but... many of the characters of all ages don't even wear the Pact Ring at all, and just hold on to it in their CG. And then there's the fact that the emblem rings are all worn on the wedding ring finger, when no one in the game has a romantic relationship with an emblem, so... yeah. I still don't think we're meant to read too hard into what wearing any ring on any finger means in this game.

I don't see any reason to do a deep analysis on any of the conversations, the changes are really that simple. But, as I always say, if anyone ever wants to see specific conversation(s) translated, then just send an ask my way! Straight translations tend to take less time than answering questions because I don't have to organize my personal thoughts, so they tend to be addressed the fastest!

Pt. 3 - Talking about Engage's romantic aspects in general (or lack thereof)

Overall, it is pretty easy to pick up on the sense that the devs weren't as interested in the romantic features of FE this time around - and in fact as I was writing all this out, I found a dev interview that briefly confirms the development of the game centered around Alear and the Emblem mechanics. The wake-up events might have been written as a middle ground to balance between those who wanted more romance, while taking focus overall off of the romance, but I've seen no sign of that being true in dev interviews.

Fire Emblem is Fire Emblem, and each FE game is always a grab bag of "What's coming back?" So it was always inevitable that even the romantic aspects would be toned down at some point, despite them being so present and essential to the popularity of three whole games in a row (Awakening, Fates, and Three Houses). I'm a long time fan, who knows that's how FE operates, so I enjoy it. But understandably every game will cause some controversy with those who aren't used to, or don't like, the rapid changes.

To me, as a fan since the GBA/GC days, Engage feels kind of like a fun return to GBA form, where supports always felt like a roulette wheel. Which relationships would read romantic? Platonic? Would the relationship seem platonic in the A support, then the characters get married in the ending card anyway? Would family or platonic pairs get an ending card? Who knew!

That being said, make no mistake!! Engage leans as hard as ever into FE's main overarching theme about bonds - that bonds are strength, and the glue that carries all FE protagonists to victory! There's just not as much of a focus on the romantic bonds this time around. In true FE form, you never know when the devs are going to dump, or at least shift focus away from, previous features.

I think I've gotten all I had on my mind typed out now - but anyone can feel free to follow up the conversation if you want in another ask!

-----------

(Note for full context: I read through about 10-15 or so of the S / Ring Supports before starting my reply to this ask, picking out some of the youngest characters, as well as a random sampling of others for balance. ...I didn't even try to read them all, I could only handle so many of essentially the same conversation in a row, before my head started spinning, ha ha.)

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hello Steph!

Ace Awareness week is already over, but I'd be really happy if I could ask you something about being a-spec. I'm honestly not sure who to ask irl and I feel like I've learned a lot on your blog, that's why I'm sharing this with you. I really hope this isn't too long or personal. If it is, please ignore it and thank you for reading <3.

So, I recently found out for myself that I'm pan(-sex.&-rom.) and platoniromantic (whee, there's a word for it! and I'm not automatically a creep! whoop!) For me it means, I basically have crushes on all of my friends at all times, (but Lgbt wiki says it falls under the aromantic-umbrella) which can get a bit awkward.

Growing up as a girl with my female friends, I've been confused by how physically affectionate they were (Hugs, and hand holding; Platonically sharing the bed etc.) bc I don't think any of them were sapphic. It was just cute and sweet for them, but they didn't want more. As a consequence I've been careful not to act on those feelings and not make my friends uncomfortable or abuse their trust(hence why I thought I'm creepy); the times I hinted at taking it further, they never seemed to be interested (I mean, what are the chances they're even sapphic?) It's kind of been the same with my bi/straight male friends. My dating pool is basically my small rl friend group (currently 2 lovely women), but I guess that way it's less likely they're also like me romantically back?

Over the years, it's just caused me a bit of heartbreak, because I have cared deeply about my friends and crave a closer romantic connection to someone. And, I mean, I do think it's kinda sweet that when my lizard-brain sees something friend-shaped, it wants to put a ring on it, but I don't really know how to proceed from here.

I'm honestly embarrassed that I'm already in my mid-twenties and have so little experience (no romantic/sexual relationships, not even proper kissing) (partly bc the pandemic struck 1 year after I got out of school). Do you maybe have some advice on how to meet people that 'match'? I'm quite shy and people usually call me uptight, so I haven't really been to any queer spaces in rl bc I'm a bit intimidated. Like, I don't seem particularly queer and I'm not great at talking about these things (I'm not even out to my family yet). Heck, for the longest time I thought I'm straight and just doing friendships wrong.

I'd appreciate a morsel of your wisdom, but it's also been really nice to just be able to share this with someone. It's made me feel less weird. Thank you.

Hey Nonny *HUGS*

Never ever hesitate to ask a question here... sometimes I answer them, sometimes I don't, but I try my best! <3 Especially asks about asexuality, because I like sharing the stuff I learned on my journey, AND I also enjoy researching to learn more as I reply to these asks!

So, OOOF, romance is definitely not something I know a lot about. And PLEASE don't be embarrassed at all. It's society that engrains this horrid notion that if you're in your 20s and you still haven't met someone / had sex, you're all dried up and no good (hence all the terrible ageism in fandom spaces). Nonny, I'm in my 40s and I've never had a serious relationship – sexual nor romantic – in my entire life. I crave wanting to be in love, but sadly it's not something that's probably ever in my future. And that said, I am LITERALLY the worst person to ask advice on how to "meet people" – I'm neurotic and introverted with horrid social anxiety, so meeting new people for me is a months-long prep period for me. And because I'm ace, I feel like sites like tinder and bumble aren't going to welcome me, so I've just... never tried.

Pfff so I suppose probably looking into community groups in your area, or joining social program (both things I haven't done because – you know – anxious). A-spec relationships are tough, it seems, because some of us such as myself just want to meet someone I can cuddle and love and spend all my time with for the rest of my life, while others might want the sex but not the romance... it's tough. Honestly there's no right answer I can offer you, mainly because I'm very inexperienced myself.

For me, I take joy in loving the people in my life in the various roles they play in it: my coworkers, my sister, my besties, and my family all have different attachments to me. I care about them all, and it's fulfilling in its own way. And I DO want a partner, if one will ever have me, but it's not a necessity to make life fulfilling for me.

I also haven't really been to queer spaces IRL either other than Pride and the cons I've visited, but yeah I feel like I'm going to be intruding because I'm not outgoing myself. I really wish I had the right answer for you, Lovely. I'd like to know myself. I feel like, sometimes, that I just got in too late.

ANYWAY, sorry if this isn't a good reply nor make you feel better, but I'm happy you felt comfy enough to share your story with me. Asks like this one make ME feel less alone too, Nonny. *HUGS**

If anyone has any advice, please feel free to add onto this post <3

[cafeinnewdelsta]

(… whoops forgot to give you numbers- forget abt the previous ask sorry :’D)

3 and 4 for Hikari for the ask game?

Heck yeah!! Best boi posting!!! :D

There are slight spoilers, so I put the answers undercut:

● My non-romantic OTP for this character:

I love HikaCas in a platonic sense; something about Hikari wanting to take up the role of an apothecary to use his hands for healing and Castti teaching him is an idea many have had and I love seeing it so much aaa (their friendship means everything to me ;-;)

Speaking of Hikari and Castti, I know some people have touched upon Temenos reminding Castti of Trousseau, but I love the thought of Castti feeling a sense of de ja vu in Hikari's presence too, because he is kind and gentle like Trousseau once was. I think that's why I love how his banter with Castti bookends her Chapter 3 so much. I should write about them more myself, they're such great characters 🥹

(Sorry I got to rambling there ahaha...)

● My unpopular opinion about this character

Idk how unpopular this is, but Hikari is definitely stronger than he looks.

I love the thought of this small little guy just pulverizing folks twice his size and everyone just stood there like 😮

(and not to go on a Temehika fueled tangent, but I imagine Temenos pulls a 😏 face towards anyone who under-estimates Hikari huehue)

And probably not likely to happen, given how skilled he supposedly is, but I love the thought of Hikari resorting to using his fists if his sword or pole arm was flung out of his hand (somehow). There is a learned skill he can get called Right Hook where he just punches the enemy and they lose two shields 👀 (recommend using on the Octo 1 gang with Sealticge's Seduction applied of course)

Anyway, thanks for the ask! :D