#it's also so gay coded

[paris-writes]

I am of the firm belief that there is a Crane Wives song for every single emotion.

Are you in the mood for a song about being trapped in an abusive relationship where your partner keeps making you feel as if no one else loves you like they (Tell you) do?

Try Nobody, by the Crane Wives.

You need a song about how you've not taken the opportunities offered to you because you're so scared of what could happen, and you know you need to get up and try and go but there's always the "what if" holding you back?

How about Safe Ship, Harbored by the Crane Wives, or Keep You Safe, by the Crane Wives?

You need a song about how religion has helped create a narrative of men being superior to women and that you had to grow up protecting your own self from men, and now you're finally able to relax and watch the little girls grow up shielded and stronger for it but you still chose to leave the abusive men, the horrible men in your life and live "in the darkness" because it finally makes you feel safe?

Ribs, by the Crane Wives.

How about literally having NO HANDLE on your life and feeling utterly useless because it seems like everyone has it together but you literally have no idea what to do? And you feel as if you were cheated in your adult/elder life because you were told "It would just work it?"

Hard Sell, by the Crane Wives

A SONG ABOUT HOW ABUSIVE PEOPLE LEAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE AND YOU CAN'T GET RID OF THE SCARS THEY LEAVE????

Pretty Little Things, by the Crane Wives

A SONG ABOUT BEING LEFT BEHIND CONSTANTLY AND TRYING TO BE MORE LIKEABLE BUT STILL BEING SO FUCKING LONELY ALL THE FUCKING TIME?????

Here I Am, by the Crane Wives

A SONG ABOUT HOW CAPITALISM IS LITERALLY DESTROYING OUR LIVES????

The Hand That Feeds, by the Crane Wives

So anyways I just think the Crane Wives are neat. There are SO MANY songs from them there's a reason they're my number one on Spotify.

[akynoctua]

They’re so married.

[cthulhum]

does anyone realize how crazy it is to have the actor of a mostly headcanoned queer ship say the fans were never crazy and they were right all along after 10+ years of everyone just absolutely going nuts over the said queerbaited ship

[bucksboobs]

I hope Tommy never leaves I hope he’s Eddie’s Best Man at the Buddie Wedding I hope he gives a toast mentioning that he’s the reason this finally happened I hope he and Chimney and Eddie still hang out I hope he takes Buck to things that Eddie isn’t that interested in the same way he takes Eddie to fights, I hope we find out what his dynamic is with Hen and Bobby and Ravi, I hope he gets a place in that little 118 family he was so jealous of

[lamiue]

I need him and Eddie to get married and adopt a baby girl. I need it like yesterday.

[bitchytwinkcore]

theyre so mecore

[eternalfrowning]

pffouh

[missholloween]

Ever since I finished Interview with the Vampire 2022 I've been thinking about this

[horribluh]

zoro fell first but sanji fell harder BUT ALSO i think zoro is very restrained in how he pursues sanji up until theres a mutual confession and then he goes completely batshit. i cannot see this guy being normal about anything. pre confession zoros sulking in a corner while sanjis doing his thang, post confession zoro is looming over his shoulder barring his teeth.

sanji confesses and zoro blue screens and when he snaps out of it the first thing he does is propose. once he gets the go ahead from sanji hes doing everything his caveman brain can think of to keep him. hes gonna marry that cook and theres nothing anyone can do about it

[vizabel]

we can't keep doing this bill

[karkatbug]

college roommates davekat where dave comes out to karkat bc he trusts him and karkat responds as you would expect

1/2/3/4

[dagwmeno]

🏳️‍⚧️💞

[kelocitta]

In honor of the @rw-ship-showdown I wanted to write about Artihunter as someone who jokingly slapped them together pre-downpour and still thinks they are actually very compelling. Just not in the super soft love wins kinda way (Although I get why people like that more) And the only way I know how to do that is talking too much so heres a far too long slug essay-

Obviously the slugcats don't offer a ton of characterization but theres not nothing to work with. Their stories, whether by their roles in it or the overarching themes do provide a backbone to work with. Even gameplay itself can provide a bit. (for some more than others) Hunter, to me, is ultimately a story about selflessness. The goal is to revive Moon, which is very much an act of kindness from both Hunter and NSH. But the weight of that action is much more significant for Hunter- Hunter is deeply sick. They're on the clock, and for all their skill in combat none of that will ultimately help them to survive longer than their body can hold out. Moon is a close friend of NSH but that means little Hunter- Hunter really gets next to nothing out of helping them, and ultimately pays quiet a bit spending their limited time alive fighting to deliver that neuron so that someone else can live.

To spend ones limited days on helping another, in a game that very much stresses the unwavering cruelty of the world and nature- is pretty notable. (And you could even say that Hunter being the Hardmode of Rain World adds another layer to this)

And then we have Artificer. A storyline that very much stands out to people as more… villainous (so to speak) than the other slugcats. Artificer's story covers a lot of things. Trauma, violence, revenge, etc. Revenge is a bit of a selfish desire- That need to see someone hurt as they have hurt you. A punishment that ultimately does not fix whatever harm was done- but feels good to see because you were hurt and now those responsible share that pain.

Artificer's actions are founded in that need for revenge, their pups killed for overstepping boundaries they didn't know existed. Is it not fair for them to be angry at that, to punish the scavengers for their violence with their own? Why should the scavengers ever be forgiven when they and their pups were not? And that's how you get that loop- Harm for harm over and over.

The original action has been lost in a spiral of violence for violence. And here stands Artificer- their very spirit scarred. Not just because they sought revenge, but because they never ceased trying to scratch that itch for violence as an answer. Artificer only has two paths for their story- killing the scavenger king (Someone who, really, has little to do with the original 'crime' of the scavengers, but represents an important individual to them- as did the slugpups to Artificer), locking themselves as karma one for good and spending the rest of their life chasing creatures that no longer even fight back in a warped sense of closure- or to dissolve themselves in the acids of the void sea because they're too far gone to find any real peace.

They can't meaningfully recover from that state, not alone, twisting in on themselves. Even if they halt their actions, they've been using violence as a feeble defense against their own pain- violence that no longer has any real direction or basis. Artificer gets no real closure from killing the scavenger king. All they can do is continue the cycle, or try to scrub it away. No real peace in a prison of their own making. So you have a creature, who even with a strict timer on their life- a body that will crumble to disease, spends its last bit of time on saving another. And another who was so caught up in the pain of loss that were eaten alive by their own anger, poisoned their own soul on such a deep level even self-proclaimed gods have no solution for them. What peace can they offer each other? For Hunter, its only a fleeting moment of happiness- of selfish love, before their own body fails them. A bit of indulgence in something for themself. For Artificer, its a single, comforting thread to ground them again, something tangible to protect and care about again. But thats a thread that will ultimately be snapped under the cruel indifference of the world. Hunters timer will tick down regardless of if it takes another with it. Its a tragedy- its doomed to end badly. Whatever good it offers to either of them to find each other will only provide the fleeting comfort of a band-aid that will be ripped away too early. But all that can be worth indulging in anyway, if only for the moment. It doesn't change the ending, but the ending was never going to be happy. Its can so yuri

[napping-sapphic]

Send me every little selfie you take so that i can look at them whenever i miss you

[bugsbenefit]

genuinely still baffled by the "they don't need to address Mike's sexuality, all that matters is that he's in love with Will" crowd. especially when people say it who claim to care about Mike's character (when you could also just say you don't really care for that part of the show, which would be fine, no one cares about all characters/arcs)

because Surely you realize how him being gay or bi would change his entire character, right. whether he's attracted to girls or not would change the way all his actions up until now are to be interpreted. not even making a statement on his sexuality here, this is generally speaking

if he was actually attracted to El you'd have to address when and why he suddenly stopped loving El since in fiction "it just happened" isn't usually a satisfying answer to breaking a multi season couple up. Why is Will it for him? he's been acting weird for ages so when did he realize? and what made it click he fell out of love with El for good? you'd have to give some explanation for why he was able to proclaim his love for El accidentally in s3 and then fail to do it in the same season while looking uncomfortable with kissing her and so on since his pov was so majorly withheld

if he's not attracted to girls his arc in s5 needs to focus more on comphet and how dating El affected him/why he felt he couldn't break up with her/homophobic attitude in his surrounding slash Hawkins. or the idea of platonic and romantic love in general. there would be no how he got from point A(El) to point B(Will), like what the focus of a bi!Mike s5 arc would have to be on to explain what happened, but a focus on how he ended up at point A in the first place and why he was stuck there/how it affected him

and even core moments of the series would have entirely different meanings depending on if he's attracted to girls. "it's not my fault you don't like girls" being a peak example. if he's gay it's easy to explain it with projection. if he IS attracted to girls though it would read as a much more intentional (even if blurted out) act of homophobia, since it would be him pointing something out that Will genuinely does (not liking being around girls) but he himself can't relate to

and that's all just the surface level differences. Mike being attracted to girls or not being attracted to girls would give his arc an entirely different focus in s5. AS WELL as make his past actions have entirely different meanings. the idea that "it doesn't matter for his character" is so insanely wrong it's wild how many people confidently peddle it

[ohmystarrynight]

Boyfriends on bike :)