#it's something bigger than platonic but it's never romantic either

[echo-rambles]

if you ever see me talking about chanlix, just know that I view them as a qpr and I try to write them as such

[mcytfanfictionappreciationweek]

Runs from January 21st to January 27th, 2024

7 days of fanfiction appreciation for all our fandom writers!

Everyone from all corners of MCYTblr are welcome to participate. No matter how large or small your favorite SMP or creator is, there is a space for everyone.

Many fandom events focus on providing tasks for artists and writers, but very little are made with the people who enjoy and appreciate that work in mind as participants. Lurkers and enjoyers and love posters are just as important to the fandom, so this is a space for us to do our thing and spread the love 💗

How to Participate

There will be 3 kinds of planned activities hosted on this blog, but there is no single correct way to participate, as long you’re uplifting others. The activities and prompts are meant to be a guideline and source of inspiration. You don’t have to burn yourself out by participating every day or in every activity.

Keep this space positive and abide by standard fandom etiquette. Be mindful of tags and if you don’t think you’ll like a work, don’t click and read it!

Share the love; one goal of this challenge is to help authors who’ve been overlooked feel appreciated for their contribution to the fandom. If you’re up to it, try and use this challenge as a way to break from your comfort zone and uplift others who you haven’t seen get any attention yet.

Note: This doesn’t mean to not send love to any ‘bigger authors’ whose work you admire, and we are not entertaining any discourse related to the size of one’s following.

Use the tag ‘mcytfanficappreciationweek’ for your recommendation lists related to this event and we will reblog them here!

Activities

(Under the cut!)

Reading and Recommendation Challenge

Find a fic that fits the theme of the day and give it a read/comment! Then if you’re up for it, share the recommendation in a post on tumblr and use the event tag. You can make individual posts for each day, or create a wrap-up at the end of the week.

It is both allowed and encouraged to engage with fics whose authors don’t have any linked social media presence. This is not exclusive to authors on tumblr.

January 21st (Day 1: Something New)

Read and comment on a fic written by an author whose work you’ve never commented on before

January 22nd (Day 2: Hidden Gems)

Read and comment on a fic that currently has no comments

Or, feel free to share and recommend a fic whose only comment is your own

January 23rd (Day 3: Underrated Blorbos)

Read and comment on a fic centered on a character of whom you’ve never read as a main POV (the less fics the character is tagged in, the better!)

January 24th (Day 4: Rarepair Extravaganza)

Read and comment on a fic with a character relationship tag (that’s central to the fic, no cheating with ensembles!) that has less than 500 tagged works

For fandoms with <1000 works, use 50 tagged works as a threshold (or your best judgment)

For fandoms with <100 works, use 5 tagged works as a threshold (or your best judgment)

Can be either romantic (using the “/”) or platonic (using the “&”)

January 25th (Day 5: A Blast from the Past)

Read and comment on a fic that was last updated before 2023 (complete or in progress!)

January 26th (Day 6: Canon? Who is she?)

Read and comment on a fic with any ‘Alternate Universe’ tag of your choosing

Canon divergent fics or split timelines count!

January 27th (Day 7: Procrastination Termination)

Read and comment on a fic that you’ve had ‘saved for later’ or opened in a new tab but never got to reading

Or, finish catching up to a multichapter fic that you fell behind on and comment on it

Author Interaction

Send authors who are active on tumblr questions about their work! Ideas/prompts for each day are written below.

January 21st (Day 1: Something New)

Ask an author about future writing projects or ideas that still only exist in their head

January 22nd (Day 2: Hidden Gems)

Ask an author about one of their least-kudosed fics

January 23rd (Day 3: Underrated Blorbos)

Ask an author about something they’re excited or passionate about

January 24th (Day 4: Rarepair Extravaganza)

Ask an author about one of their favorite ships (romantic or just a platonic relationship!)

January 25th (Day 5: A Blast from the Past)

Ask an author about past fandoms they may have participated in or their journey as a fic writer in general

January 26th (Day 6: Canon? Who is she?)

Ask an author about an AU or headcanon of theirs

January 27th (Day 7: Procrastination Termination)

Ask an author about their writing process

Love Posting

Too shy to reach out to someone you admire directly? Write them an anonymous message in our inbox and we will post it and tag their blog for you! (Please be sure to include their blog name so we know who to tag).

Note: If we suspect that your message is back-handed or being hateful towards another group in the community, it will be deleted. If you believe your message was deleted in error, feel free to send this blog a DM about it.

And finally…. If you are an author remember that even if you don’t receive a message or new readers during the course of this event, you are still a valued member of this community. With the size of our fandom, it is impossible to give every single author their due recognition. You are appreciated for your contribution to this fandom, and every fic that is written makes our fandom a more vibrant, wonderful place to be. We love you for the time and effort you put in the art of your creation and we are privileged that you choose to share it for us to enjoy!

[yanderes-galore]

Fandom: Steven Universe

Character: Jasper

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Type of Fic: Concept (HCs)

Oh... Girl is SO insecure it hurts (for you, mostly-)

Yandere! Jasper Concept

(Primarily Focuses On Gem! Obsession)

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Possessive behavior, Insecurities, Manipulation, Threats, Violence, Forced and toxic relationship/companionship, Degrading behavior mentions of possible murder.

We all know Jasper would be toxic, right?

Granted, she has her "reasons", but that doesn't excuse her behavior.

She's naturally a bully as she needs to feed her ego, she can't be seen as a weak failure.

She would want to either be superior to her darling or loyal to them if they were stronger than her.

But you're most likely going to be weaker than her... which results in her being more controlling.

She's ruthless and authoritative, never wanting to show weakness.

Not even to you.

In fact, the reason she's so rough with you is because you stir "weak" feelings in her.

She doesn't understand why she feels the need to be so close with you.

She doesn't understand why she feels she needs you.

So, part of her ends up blaming you.

Yet she never lets you go... too dependent on the feelings you give her to do what's best for both of you.

I feel Jasper would be horrible with both a human and another Gem.

HOWEVER, with a Gem she can try to coerce you into Fusion.

A topic she ends up obsessed with when defeated by two Fusions, creating Malachite with Lapis.

She'd want to fuse with you for strength, mostly...

But it also fuels a possessive desire within her.

If you were human, Jasper immediately views you as weak.

Which is why she has no clue why you make her feel so... strange?

You're weak yet she feels so dependent on you and your presence.

Due to this, Jasper may view you like a pet.

She uses you to fuel her ego, forcing you to view her as your superior.

You humans are always so weak.

She wants you to feed her ego, consider her strong.

Since you're so weak... you need her, right?

You'll HAVE to rely on her.

Normally she doesn't protect weaklings, especially humans.

But... You have her attached.

You're stuck with her now.

Similar situation occurs with a Gem! Darling.

She views you as weak and claims you need her.

It's so easy to get hurt for you... why don't you let her take control?

I'll talk more about her with a human in another draft I have in the works... but I think her with a Gem introduces an interesting concept.

Fusion.

Imagine Jasper not wanting you to rely on anyone but her.

She's possessive, following you around and isolating you from others.

With a human she'd hide you away deep in the woods like in Future.

But with a Gem?

She can force you to rely on her via Fusion.

She's both forceful yet desperate when it comes to fusing with you.

Fusion with you would be a last ditch effort to keep you to herself.

Something she never could do with a human.

Normally she's against Fusion, but with you?

She craves it.

I don't think it would be as bad as Malachite, but the Fusion would still be dysfunctional due to you not being in sync.

If you keep fighting her and making the Fusion collapse, Jasper keeps trying.

She needs you.

She hates to admit it but you make her feel whole.

Jasper likes control.

Human or Gem she doesn't care if she has to force you into the role she wants.

She often puts you down to make herself feel better, making you feel weak and forcing submission.

It's easy for her.

She's so much bigger and stronger than any human.

And as a Gem, you would eventually get tired of fighting.

Eventually you'd comply and let her fuse with you.

Where she'll never let go... since you'll be all hers now.

In a Fusion, no one can have you the way she does.

I would not be surprised if Jasper killed people for you, or if they're a Gem, shattered them.

She doesn't want to be weak or have you find someone else to rely on.

Her harming others only shows they're weak.

It proves that she's the only one you need... even if it's messy to do.

Jasper wants to control you, make you all hers.

For her, your bond isn't entirely love.

It's toxic, unhealthy, she knows that...

But she needs it... Needs you.

If that requires scaring you into submission, be that through threats or violence towards others... Jasper doesn't care.

Her feelings originally make her feel insecure and weak.

But having you submit to her? It makes her feel strong...

It makes her know you're all hers... She likes that more than anything.

[wingzie]

The Increase of Secret Jikooker's?

Rose is a Karmy from 2019 who gave brilliant insights into Jikook from kside’s point of view. During one of her Periscope Lives, she admitted that there are more Jikooker’s out there than we know of. However, they are scared of blacklash to embrace our part of the fandom. Especially with their main accounts publically. Therefore, they talk more privately. Ever since, I was intrigued by the idea of there being more Jikooker’s out there than we know of and it’s something that I’ve seen more over the years.

A good friend of mine used to run a Hobi account. Though they went on “rest” during the pandemic and we haven't spoken since. You wouldn’t know it by their posts, but they were actually a Jikooker behind the scenes. I understood and respected their decision to keep things strictly related to their account on Timeline though, so we just gushed about Jikook in the DM’s instead. One day, they accidentally retweeted one of my threads on their main account. They were really worried about the reaction they would get, but overall the response was positive. It was a surprise and it actually encouraged them to post a bit more about Jikook every now and then.

Whilst taking screenshots for the Live Reactions series, I will often see conversations between Army who strictly keep their accounts a certain way. Not an ounce of Jikookery, but they clearly know their stuff and are passionate about them. There’s been times I’ve wanted to quote them hyping up certain moments, because it's just so sweet to witness these conversations between them. However, I’m aware that they would want to keep their conversations to themselves. They wouldn't want them to be broadcasted. It’s also why I don’t include any usernames in the screenshots taken, just to keep them safe. Something else to note is that the majority of screenshots taken for the Live Reactions series, aren't from Jikook signposted accounts themselves.

I always encourage talking about Jikook, either publicly or privately. This is because I wish for them to be remembered well, as it's what they deserve. I understand that some are turned off by all the “shipping fights.'' But, if given the chance, they do enjoy these type of conversations. It also helps to show Jikook’s bond beyond our own audience. There are plenty out there that recognize how close they are, they just might have a smaller following that gets drowned out by all the hate. You can also tell when those with a bigger following are somewhat secret Jikooker’s.

At the end of the day, there are those out there that see something close between Jikook. Either romantically or platonically. Not everyone knows a person's thoughts behind the screen and not everyone feels confident enough to post things online publically about them. Personally I will continue to keep posting about them, so that anyone can see their moments together. This might spark an interest of Jikook in someone. You never know who could be reading your words about Jikook and learning more about their bond by doing so.

[nnooahhsworld]

YANDERE HUSKER X MASC! READER WITH FLUCTUATING APPEARENCE

SUMMARY: Headcanons of “Yandere” Husk x Reader with fluctuating appearence.

FANDOM/CHARACTER/READER: Hazbin Hotel ;; Husker ;; Masc Reader.

PAIRING: Romantic or Platonic

WARNINGS: Stalking, manipulation, overprotective and Obssesed behavior, reader being kinda mentally unstable and insecure.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: love this request by @cupophrogs!! even if this isn't really yandere, i still wanted to implied it since that what's about my account.

✧ Honestly, I can't think of any other way you can meet Husk other than walking into the hotel and staying there.

✧ At first, you are insignificant to him (as ugly as that sounds). At first.

✧ I don't think Husk is someone who is very curious. Let alone gossipy. He's not nosy about other people's lives and tends to ignore them as long as they don't mess with him.

✧ Still, he is a great listener. He is willing to listen to others and gives good advice. I mean, he died while he was an old man, something he must have learned in his human life or in his life as an Overlord.

✧ Or after delivering his soul to the radio demon.

✧ But over time, he shows you more attention. I mean, the fact that your appearance and certain physical aspects of you change depending on your mood is intriguing.

✧ Because he has seen it. Everyone has seen it.

✧ You are someone with emotional problems, sensitive to a certain point. Your moods are constantly changing and therefore, certain characteristics of yours. That managed to capture his attention rather quickly.

✧ He is interested in these changes... how your teeth and fingers become sharper, your skin/fur becomes hard as scales and even your hair grows longer when you are angry and ready to attack.

✧ How your eyes get bigger, other smaller eyes appear and you can certainly shrink a little when you are startled by being off guard or feeling threatened or in danger.

✧ As your skin/fur grows and you lock yourself in it making yourself into a ball when you are sad and don't let anyone near you as your fingers sharpen to threaten anyone.

✧ As for that, Charlie really tries to help you. She wants to be there for you when you're down like your good friend but you shut down. With her, with everyone... except with Husk.

✧ Everyone opens up to some extent with Husk. Either because they're really drunk or they seriously need someone to talk to and Charlie isn't always the best, unfortunately.

✧ Let's remember that Husk knows everyone's problems in the hotel and sooner or later, he knows yours too. How you hate to overreact to anything, how you hate to see your appearance deform and become something horrible in your eyes because of your moods.

✧ Husk feels... pity. Although, after a while he becomes more overprotective as he forms a bond with you.

✧ At a certain point, understand your self-hatred as well, it's not nice that people in general are scared of you in general because of your mere appearance.

✧ Once he knows you beyond your problems, once he sees the sinner calm instead of angry, once he knows the real you, that's when his real obsession begins.

✧ Obsession that confuses with severe concern for you and becomes suffocating.

✧ He gets to the point of following you around when you're not in the hotel. You're not someone very powerful and you're in hell itself. Everyone is crazy and you'll never be safe there. Not unless he's in the shadows, watching you warily.

✧ You feel something strange in the air... eyes staring at you, your mind screaming at you that you are not as safe as you think and consequently, small eyes appear on your face and look everywhere desperate and scared, your fingers and fangs sharpen in any alert situation.

✧ Even inside the hotel, he watches discreetly and quietly. And that's one of the reasons why you're also a little more restless and cautious: you don't stop having that uneasy feeling no matter where you go.

✧ And you go to Husk for protection and the thought only gets worse once you get close.

✧ Husk wants you to only have confidence in him.... he doesn't like it when he notices you closer to Angel Dust, when you spend more time with Sir Pentious. And if you were to become close with Alastor, Husk would go crazy.

✧ His obsession with you turns him into a paranoid overthinker. What if he makes a deal with you? What if he steals your soul? What if he takes away your freedom? What if he takes you away from him?

✧ He puts his fear into your head indirectly. Subtle warnings, reminders of how dangerous Alastor is... whatever it takes to keep you safe.

✧ He also manipulates you into not trusting others. I mean, as jealous as he gets to feel, deep down he's happy to see you making friends. But shit, he's afraid that you won't trust him anymore, that you'll stop going to him for comfort, that he won't be the only one who sees through you anymore.

✧ So go ahead, bare your fangs and claws at the others but open your arms to him... only him.

[anxiousnerdwritings]

I’m projecting but I feel like platonic yandere Claire and Chris (maybe a romantic yandere Jill hehe) would love a darling who just never wants to leave the house, like they would fully (and toxicity) encourage it, you don’t wanna leave the house but you really want that drink from the corner store? Great news Claire’s on her way back and can pick it up for you! They would also probably subconsciously encourage it by openly talking about whatever horrible thing they had to dead with, honestly why would you want to leave when the world is so horrible, and obviously they’re telling the truth, why would they lie lol

Oh, definitely! A darling who willingly wants to stay shut in and away from the outside world is perfect. Chris, Claire, and Jill wouldn’t have their hands forced in having to keep their darling safe from trying to leave, they wouldn’t have to end up using extreme measures to keep their darling in place. It would honestly take such a load off. Keeping their darling safe was one of the bigger objectives so if they barely ever leave the security of their home then Chris, Claire, and Jill don’t have to worry as much. Not to mention, there would be so much less tension and hostility between them and their darling than there would be if their darling tried to actively leave them.

I could see Chris, Claire, and Jill not wanting to leave their darling all alone though, especially not for long periods of time. Even if the darling is cooped up in the safety of their shared home all day long, the others would want at least one of them to be home with them for company. Even if it’s in shifts until all of them can be home together as a whole. Not to mention, there is a deep seated worry in all their minds that one day their darling will decided to up and leave the home on their own while they’re all away. Whether out of boredom or finally being sick/restless of staying in one place for so long and wanting to see or experience something new. But luckily with the information Chris, Claire, and Jill come home and relay to their darling about what’s going on on the outside, even if it isn’t always exactly truthful, they’ve already instilled some level of fear into their darling about what awaits them if they were to ever leave.

As bad as they should feel about some of their over-exaggerating of what’s really going on outside the confines of their home, Chris, Claire, and Jill can’t help it. Not only does it help in keeping their darling in place for them to come home to but the worry and affection they’re met with when they walk through the door is everything. The look of concern and relief washing over their darling’s face as they cling to them, having worried if either of them would come back home hurt or even at all. So, as much as they should feel even the slightest bit of guilt over not quite telling their darling the truth it’s worth it in the end if it’s earning them some extra love from their darling. Besides, the co-dependency is a nice feeling too.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

What are your thoughts for these Snape ships: Sirius, James, Remus, Regulus, Lily I know you prefer a female OC but I would like your thoughts on the other characters with Snape

Honestly, I don't read a lot of shipping fics with Snape. He's one of those characters that doesn't need a partner to have an interesting story. I just want him to have loving friends and heal properly and be happy.

I never found Snily appealing. I am not fond of her. I prefer reading platonic Snily where they reconcile or where Snape moves on from her completely and drops her like a bad habit. The thought of these two together romantically gives me the ick.

Similar feeling for Remus. I don't like picturing this guy with anyone. The dynamic between adult Snape and adult Remus is so gross. There's something so manipulative and gaslighty the way Remus talks to Snape. Similar to how Dumbles talks to Snape. Snape was obviously uneasy around Remus in POA. Snupin gives me an even bigger ick than Snily.

Now Reggie, Jamie and Siri is where things get interesting.

I have never fully read a Jeverus fic. I began reading one or two and they seemed pretty good. But I don't know, I never fully read them. I like the potential of the ship but its not enough to keep me invested. Probably because James seems boring to me now.

Snack is more fascinating to me than Jeverus. I can't fully explain why. But Snape and Sirius seem more on equal ground, especially as adults. I also love both the toxicity of the ship or how the ship can be a facilitator in Sirius' redemption. I love Sirius redemption fics!

For me Jeverus is like Dramione and Snack is like Drarry. One just has more fire and passion you know. I know there's a headcanon where Sirius/James bully Snape out of a sense of internalized homophobia. But it hits harder for me when it's Sirius who realizes he liked Snape and he can't have him anymore because of how much he bullied him.

I have never fully read a Regulus and Snape fic either. I read one that was pretty good - Snape and Reggie were so cute together. But the level of marauder bashing was too much (lol yes as much as I hate the marauders sometimes the vindictiveness of the bashing is too much) so I stopped reading. I prefer Reg and Snape as friends. Too bad so many Regulus fics tend to bash Snape. It's a shame.

The only Snape ship fics I have properly read were for Snack. I'm not really fussy about shipping Snape with anyone.

[summertimemusician]

Linktober 2024, Day 1, Mirror (Self)

Alright here we go again.

Technically a sneak peak of a bigger thing to come in the future that I'm repurposing, and the result of my final playthrough and readthrough before EoW dropped being Four Swords Adventures and that made me sad about Shadow Link again.

Note that this is for the Four Swords Adventures iteration of Shadow Link that might evolve into an LU Shadow, not Dark Link in either LOZ or LU, I have other plans for him.

This one shot was brought to you by Scars by The Crane Wives, Ribs by The Crane Wives, Ruin by The Amazing Devil and Two Minutes by The Amazing Devil because the author's playlist decided to be incredibly cheeky when they blacked out to write this like an ancient seers being cursed with visions and then called mad and hearing they've been put up for execution.

As always the nature of the relationship can be romantic or platonic, mostly due to the author's time constraints and further plans.

Anyway enjoy the reading!

It was cold.

The sort of cold after a wildfire, when everything's turned back to ash, the sort that left burned your vision white after the flames licked through your veins and left an ache in your bones. He shuddered, coughed black onto the stone floor, shaking with a muffled whimper.

It never got any easier, being dragged from the Dark World and into the Realm of Light, the goddesses' world itself revolting against an intruder, wanting the wound torn asunder into their oh so precious realm cauterized. To purge the intrusion and smite it where it stands.

Too bad for them (and for him), his master didn't particularly care about what the world wanted. Didn't particularly care that he hadn't grow accustomed to the pain or the cold, he had to stand up. There was work to be done.

(Shadow gritted his teeth, willed himself not to think about the prophecy of a golden haired princess- because whether he liked it or not, it was prophecy. As those with divinity running through their veins are wont to spill from their throats so carelessly- of violet eyes and a smile a third moonlight and hands holding a hammer.

It always hurt more, after one of the heroes liberated one of the maidens, or the jewels, the pain lingering for days afterwards and carving a home in his metaphorical bones. But just this once he'd take the cold bite of the Four Swords over the pain in the hole in his chest that Vio's betrayal had left, something that felt so much worse than every other time before.

Just this once he wished that maybe, just maybe, the hurt would be too much to bear, that he wouldn't wake up again-

Why? Why does it hurt so much but he's still here? He already knew the Light was uncompromising and unforgiving, but he thought them at least above curses.)

His ears twitched as soft, almost silent footsteps came up to his side. Someone crouching by his fallen form, setting a cautious hand over his own that Shadow couldn't help but draw away from with a hiss, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the world again, to your face, carefully blank as you guided him to lean against your side, a silver choker with a crimson gem winked mockingly at him, the shade closing his eyes and going boneless against your side.

Shadow was so, so tired.

He heard you quietly sigh, plucking his cap from his head and running your fingers through dark amethyst, smoke and mist made hair. "I told you so."

"Shut up." He grumbled, nuzzling further into the crook of your neck. One clawed hand curling against your free wrist, digging into the skin. Absentmindedly noting there were new scratches just above the metal.

It was routine by now, the warmth of your existence against his own a welcome balm, not quite of the Realm of Light where it's unpleasant, not too close to the Dark World where he felt like melting back into the embrace of the darkness, only to howl in agony at being dragged out.

Memories not quite his own bled into his mind all the time. How you'd shape ice into flowers for the princess in winter with nary a though, of blinking and from one second to the next you'd have whatever sword he had hostage if you though it was time for a break with a smile brighter than the sun.

His master had changed that though. It took months for you to stop trying to claw the collar out and to stop trying to fight Vaati.

(Funny how holding a mage's dragon as a bargaining chip is just as effective as kidnapping a ruler.)

Your gaze flicked to the polished obsidian of the Dark Mirror, to the gold, ornate frame. "The offer is still open, you know. Let me take the suffering from you."

"No." He scowled, leaning back to glare into your eyes, a hint of fangs poking out from a maw struggling to keep the shape of a human jaw, "You helped him. Helped them." Shadow spat, there is that hurt again.

You shrugged, a movement that's just slightly awkward as you flinch, "That I did." You confirmed simply, it almost made Shadow see red as he leaned away, knocking your hand from his head in the process, but if there's anything him and the heroes shared, was a lack of a desire to hurt you. It was a little grating to be honest, "Vio even offered to take me with him, to be honest."

"Then why didn't you leave?" He demanded.

Why did you stick around?

Your eyes shuttered, a hint of conflict in your pursed lips. Before you found your words, they come out softly, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you why. You'll just have to find out yourself."

You tug your wrist from his grasp, and Shadow lets you go.

(Stubbornly pushing down on memories and emotions that arearen'tarenotanymore quite his.)

You stand and turn away, pushing the curtains away from your sight, you turn your tired eyes to Shadow with an emotion he can't put a name to. "Just keep it in mind that there's more than one way to end this. Nothing is truly inevitable."

Shadow watches you go. 'There's nothing that can be done. He tells himself, hand hesitating above the Dark Mirror, briefly, it curls into a fist. The hero's original self stares back at him.

'… Does he really believe that?'

He shakes his head, and focuses on willing the Dark Mirror to show him his counterpart.

His chest still hurts.

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

I'm aroacespec (and honestly confused about where I fall on that spectrum, but I do know I'm sex/romance favorable) and tbh my relationship with shipping is weird.

There are some ships I look at and I'm like "how can you see this as anything but romantic" and there are other ships where I'm like "okay but why do we have to ship them, can't they just be friends?" and it's almost always the total opposite of what the fandom majority's view is. For example, my Sonic "how can you see this as anything but romantic" ship is Espilver, and my "okay but why do we have to ship them, can't they just be friends?" ship is Silvaze.

I will say that something I've noticed is there tends to be a double-standard with allo people (specifically cishet people) when it comes to ships. You get a ton of "why can't they just be friends" with slash and femslash ships, but then those same people will ship a het pairing that look at each other in a single frame. I don't know if it's something that's more obvious to me because I'm gay myself (or even if it's more obvious because I'm aroacespec specifically), but it's weird to me. I choose to look at it this way: if this was a het ship with the same character dynamic, would people still say "why can't they just be friends?"

That's not to say aroace people are in the wrong for looking at a pairing and saying "can't they just be friends? Why do we have to ship them?" but with a lot of cishet people specifically, it feels like there's a lot of people perpetuating a borderline homophobic double-standard. I get it when it's something like Scott and Jay from Ninjago, but so many masc characters' dynamics are canonically given homoerotic or even just romantic undertones (a good example of this being, in my opinion, Sonadow; there's not an almost 3 and a half hour long Sonadow iceberg video on YouTube for no reason. As far as I'm aware it's the longest Sonic-related iceberg video on YouTube that covers exclusively official content) which is why people tend to gravitate towards those ships. I could do an entire analysis on why gay ships tend to have bigger followings than het ships but if I did this would get too long lmao. I will once again point to the Sonadow iceberg video though.

I generally use shipping to explore my own relationship with my aroace-ness, and usually I do that using characters I either headcanon as aroace in some way or who are canonically aroace, because I can relate to those experiences. It's kinda weird to me to see other aroace people acting like doing that is bad or wrong, because usually that's what people are doing, and even if that's not what's going on, fanfiction doesn't affect canon.

There is no right or wrong way to participate in fandom (unless you're harassing people and/or actively putting people in danger), no matter what you identify as.

Basically: People should be allowed to do what they want, if something bothers you that bad there's nothing wrong with blocking a person or tag.

(I might've gotten off subject a few times, sorry lol)

Okay, that thing about blocking tags inspired me to look through my blocked tags to see what ships I've blocked and here's my petty aroace thoughts on all of them without naming names lmao

Fanon het ship. They've never given any indication that they know of each other's existence. Her girlfriend is right there.

Canon het ship. Had the chemistry of two wet paper bags. Literally just shoehorned in there because god forbid any story exist without a romance subplot.

Semi-canon het ship. I'm mostly neutral about them. Just unnecessary.

Fanon mlm ship. Literally brothers?? I don't care that one of them is adopted, they grew up together?? As brothers??

Fanon het ship. I don't care what you call their relationship. You can call it professional, platonic, familial, just please don't call it romantic.

Semi-canon het ship. Again, completely unnecessary. God forbid a man convince a woman to become a villain without there being ~attraction~

Fanon het ship. She is 14?? And he is like 30??

Semi-semi-canon het ship. He did have a crush on her when he was, like, 14 but he's a grown adult now and she's the most lesbian-looking woman to ever exist and they're the most found family siblings to ever find a family

Fanon het ship. LET MEN AND WOMEN BE FRIENDS. LET MEN AND WOMEN BE PLATONICALLY MARRIED.

Fanon mlm ship. I personally see them more as brothers. But whatever floats your boat.

Semi-canon het ship. Just really shoehorned. I don't like the woman very much. I liked her more when she was allowed to be a badass without being a ~flirty badass~

Fanon mlm ship. Again. Adopted brothers. Gross.

Canon het ship. I've seen many things from this director. He's a creative man. He couldn't think of a way to move the plot forward without a smooch?? He couldn't create a series that didn't have an unnecessary love triangle??

Semi-canon het ship. The man isn't coming back for S2 and boy golly gee am I glad

Fanon het ship. Not my cup of tea. Just let them be friends

good lord I have a lot more ship tags blocked than I thought

anyway, this is your daily reminder to just block stuff you don't want to see and move on

[uraichievents]

Monday, June 26th, 2023 - Sunday, July 2nd, 2023

~

General Info

What is UraIchi Week?

It’s a week-long fanworks event to promote the Urahara Kisuke x Kurosaki Ichigo ship. There’s no sign-up, it’s just for fun, and everybody can participate. Completed works and wips are both acceptable, and any type of fanwork (fanfic, fanart, gifsets, etc.) is welcome. NSFW and/or potentially trigger-y content is allowed, although please remember to tag your works properly.

The ship itself can be written romantically or platonically so long as it stars these two characters together in some way. Poly ships are also fine so long as Ichigo and Kisuke are still the focus of the fanwork. And crossovers and fusions are also allowed even if it isn’t one of the given prompts for the event. Basically, anything goes, and the only criteria is that it has to be UraIchi-centric.

Posting:

For those of you with Tumblr, you can tag your stuff with #UraIchi Week 2023 in the first five tags of your post. I’ll be tracking that tag so I’ll see it and reblog it to this blog. (If it’s been a few days since you posted and I still haven’t reblogged it, something probably went wrong, Tumblr’s not always reliable, so just shoot me an ask about it and I’ll reblog it.)

For those of you with AO3, I will create a collection a day or two before the event starts, and you’ll be able to add your work to the collection when you post. (I’ll toss up a notice for everyone once the collection is up.)

And of course we have our Discord server (link is on the sidebar) so if you want to come and talk about what you’re working on or you just want to chat, feel free to join us there!

At this point, the UraIchi Server has definitely gotten a lot bigger than just UraIchi, but we do still have channels dedicated to UraIchi events.

~ Themes

The votes are in and tallied so here are the results that everyone’s been waiting for! It’s your choice whether or not you want to make a fanwork that includes all the themes of that day, or a fanwork for each theme, or a fanwork for just one. You can make something for each day of the week or just one or two days. And if your fanwork doesn’t fit any of the themes, there’s a Creator’s Choice option on the last day so feel free to bring your own ideas to this event. All prompts can be interpreted any way you want as well, it’s entirely up to you, any extra bits I’ve added is just to help get those inspiration bunnies hopping.

An extra note about the sentence prompts: feel free to change the tenses and pronouns as it suits you. If you’re inspired by a sentence prompt, then of course you should include it in your fic (as opposed to the quote prompts which are just inspiration in a general-theme-of-your-work sort of way), but if you need to change the tense from present to past, or if you’re doing a genderbend fic and need to change the pronoun, that’s perfectly fine.

And now here are the prompts:

June 26th, 2023 - Day 1: the passage of time is a game-changer, for better or for worse

Time Travel AU / Dimension Travel AU

"At this point, I've died so many times, once more isn't going to make a difference."

Post-Canon AU

"This isn't your responsibility." / "It isn't yours either."

June 27th, 2023 - Day 2: o if only the dead could speak— you would hear the stories they could tell, of the terrible things we did for love

Loyalty Kink

"Him or the world? That's easy."

Oaths / Vows

"Everything I've ever let go of has claw marks on it." - David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

June 28th, 2023 - Day 3: is there really so great a difference, between man and martyr and monster?

vs. Gotei 13 AU

"You could at least keep your pet killer on a leash."

Mafia AU

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you look when considering violence?" - Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

June 29th, 2023 - Day 4: i was never human to begin with (you made sure of that)

Feral

Eldritch/Horror/Supernatural Elements AU

Binding Contracts

"Is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?" - Friedrich Nietzsche

June 30th, 2023 - Day 5: our love was forged across battlefields (we fought for every bit of it, every single day)

Soulmates AU

"I want you to stay. Am I still not being clear enough?"

Arranged Marriage AU

"We accept the love we think we deserve." - Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

July 1st, 2023 - Day 6: redemption or destruction— which one will you be to me?

Touch-Starved Character(s)

"I've forgotten how to be kind."

Mask

"I desire the things that will destroy me in the end." - Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

July 2nd, 2023 - Day 7:

Creator’s Choice!

[lost-in-lamentation]

Hello!

This is my first ask and I feel a bit shy 🙈 but I have been looking for some time now to find someone who could write an idea I had for a few weeks now. I could write it myself but I don’t feel comfortable about doing it and also I really enjoy your writing.

I was thinking about it a lot today and your posts appeared as an answer to my prayers!

There is a French song called « The Devil doesn’t wear Prada anymore » (Le diable ne s’habille plus en Prada). In the song they talk about Lucifer so I was thinking about Lucifer and Diavolo and maybe some of the other characters listening to this song in a club or a bar or while MC is listening to it in their bedroom and I would love to see what you think their reactions would be.

I’d be happy to do the translation if that is something you’d be interested in.

-L-

a/n: definitely, a bit of a challenge to write because it’s been way too long since i stopped learning French. thank you lala3244 for the prompt and the translations <3

content: lucifer, diavolo, and satan all catch you listening to a french human world song.

can technically be either platonic or romantic, but satan is a flirt. fluff all the way through.

lucifer, diavolo, satan x gen!reader. (separate.)

lucifer.

being the kind of demon to listen to the same cursed records on loop, lucifer has never commented on the music that rings out of your room into the hallway. occasionally, he even pauses in the corridor, trying to catch the way your voice swings in tune with the words (and he denies the claims when his brothers accuse him of this). today was no different. when lucifer heard the music through the door, he stopped his journey back to the study, leaning towards your room to hear clearly. it wasn’t long before he realised the song was in a different language, but the demon wondered if it was his imagination that had him thinking you had sung out his name.

inside your room, you knocked on your desk along to the rhythm, half singing and half humming along with the song you had put on repeat.

“oui l'élève a dépassé son maître,

"oui l'enfer est bien plus gros sur terre,

"depuis qu'les hommes font pire que lucifer, depuis qu���les hommes font pire que lucifer,” you sang quietly, head bobbing up and down in time with the music. reaching over to your d.d.d., you tapped the screen awake, making sure the song would play again before turning it back off. too engrossed in the song, you failed to notice the door behind you cracking open.

“MC-” lucifer called out to you, but was quickly cut off by you yelling in surprise.

“WHA- oh my goodness, lucifer! can’t you at least knock?!” your hand slammed frantically on the desk in a crude attempt to turn down the volume of your music.

he eyed your screen curiously, clearing his throat to catch your attention. “perhaps consider keeping your music quieter so you can hear people come in.” the corners of his mouth twitched upward at your guilty expression. “i only came in because i thought i heard my name. would you enlighten me about the song?”

you released a dejected sigh. “it’s just talking about how… hell is supposedly bigger on earth, and that humans do worse than… you.”

lucifer’s shoulders shook with stifled laughter. he turned his head away, taking a moment to compose himself before turning back to you. “well, i can’t say that the song is wrong.”

═  ˎˊ˗

diavolo.

the music from the speakers blasted through the club and into your ears, making it practically impossible for you to hear diavolo correctly. the two of you had gone up to the human world for some research, and somehow managed to get everything done early with a night to spare. in celebration, you took diavolo to a popular club in the area, wanting to show him a few more human world activities before heading back to the devildom. the two of you sat across from each other in a booth, drinks in hand as you discussed (shouted over the music) about how your trip had gone.

“is it always this difficult to speak to each other in clubs?” diavolo looked towards the speakers, an eyebrow raised in concern. “i fear that volume of this level might ruin your hearing.”

you shrugged at the question, swirling your drink around with a straw. “it’s alright, as long as you’re not doing this everyday.” the current song faded out, beginning to lead into a familiar electronic riff. immediately, you waved your fingers at diavolo, gesturing to him to listen to the music. “we should play this song at one of your parties one day.”

diavolo leaned onto the table, frowning slightly. “i can’t seem to understand the lyrics.”

“that’s cause it’s in french,” you chuckled softly.

“what is it saying?”

you listened for another chorus, piecing together the translation in your head. “says that the devil doesn’t wear prada anymore. and also that he has no job anymore, since the humans took it away from him.”

the ruler of devildom stared at you, eyes flickering around the room in thought.

“it also says that humans do worse than lucifer,” you finished off as the song did, taking a swig of your drink.

diavolo only gave you a confused look. “i think the only one who ever does better than lucifer is barbatos,” he said seriously.

laughing at his stern expression, you set your glass down. “only you would say that,” you mused, moving to stand up from your seat. “let’s play it in front of lucifer next time and see what he says.”

“a splendid idea!” the demon said with his signature laugh, following you out of the club.

═  ˎˊ˗

satan.

satan thought he was hearing things. after all, your room had no reason to be playing music that loud, let alone music that was in an entirely different language. he racked his brain as he stood in your doorway, trying to recall if you had mentioned knowing a language such as french. you weren’t in your room and had left your d.d.d. playing out loud, and even though satan wanted to respect the boundaries that were set for you room, he couldn’t help himself. curiosity killed the cat, after all. why not take after it?

satan shuffled over to your desk, lighting your d.d.d. screen up to reveal the music you were playing. “le diable n- ne s’habille… plus en prada. the devil…? prada? what is prada?” he mumbled the questions to himself, unaware that you had made your way back.

“it’s a human world brand,” you answered matter-of-factly. satan immediately spun around to face you, guilt scribbled across his face. “you know french?”

sheepishly, he rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. “that was going to be my question,” he muttered under his breath. “i’ve spent a lot of time learning different languages. i learned french a long time ago. how come you know it?”

you hummed softly, stepping around satan to reach for your d.d.d. and quiet the music down. “wouldn’t say i know it that well. took some classes in school, so i can pronounce french alright. can’t guarantee that i know what i’m saying though,” you replied.

satan plucked your phone out of your hand, turning it on to read the title of the song. “teach me then. how do you say the title correctly?”

a sly smile rested on your features. “as if i’ll teach you for free,” you purred at him, swiping your d.d.d. back. “what’s in it for me?”

satan’s eyes widened in surprise for a split second, but the demon was quick to control his expression. the blonde flashed you a smirk, taking a step closer to you and tilting your chin towards his face. “teach me the language of love, and…”

“and what?” you shivered at how gentle his touch was.

satan leaned in closer, his lips hovering just next to your ear. “and i’ll teach you a few things about love itself.”

a/n: polyglot satan >>>>

[whitevelvet-ly]

part 2 or alternative of the trust fall fic,, angst pls pelase e😔🙏

"trust fall...?"

even people who write titles have off days okay HAHA

PAIRING: scaramouche x reader

HEADS UP: gn!reader, angst with comfort because I'm too soft and scared HAHAHAA, can be platonic or romantic, mentions minor injuries and blood, scenario, a tad bit long I can't write short scenarios 👊

A/N: ANOON I'M SORRYE as much as I tried to think I couldn't write for anyone but my boy scara 😭😭😭😭 I didn't start writing angst until recently as well so I'm really hoping that it's to your liking 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

SCARAMOUCHE / WANDERER

"kuni!"

you yell, grinning behind him.

"what do you want?"

"trust faaaallll!!— ow!"

...aaand of course he wouldn't catch you. why would he?

scaramouche looks at you with a smirk growing on his face. "trust fall? what's that supposed to be?"

"you know... self-explanatory!" you say, groaning from the impact of the fall.

he sighs, crossing his arms. "it's a boring concept. why would you indul—"

suddenly, a sharp pain throbbed through the side of your knees.

"ow! ouch ow ow—"

"what? what, what happened?"

each wave of pain made you wince. why do smaller wounds always feel so much more painful than bigger ones?

he groans. "see? I told you it was a bad idea." the pain was unbearable for a second, and you had to stay in place for a while.

"the heck..." you mutter, checking on your knee.

archons, it's bleeding, alright...

"...let me see that." he says. it sounded like more of a demand than concern.

"hey, hey!— ow!" you swat his hand away, protecting your knee. "that hurts."

"why are you humans so pathetic?"

somehow, that amplified the pain even more. scaramouche's facade flickered a little, and so he stayed silent, inspecting your wound without touching it.

suddenly, he took your hand and helped forced you up. "hey! seriously... injured 'pathetic human' here!" you mimick, making kunikuzushi shoot you a glare.

"be quiet. just deal with the pain."

he hooks his arm under your arm, attempting to support you to walk.

"what are we doing? where are we going?"

"stop asking. keep walking."

you sigh, yet comply either way.

...

"...so, does that mean I can't trust you?" you joke.

"what?"

"I mean... you didn't catch me, after all."

he groans, muttering something abut your stupidity under his breath. "why? you lose faith in me just because I didn't catch you? how disloyal."

"no," you say, starting to worry. "I was just kidding, kuni—"

"fine. I'll catch you, if it means that you'll trust me."

"..."

scaramouche was never one to use talking as a solution. if anything, you find it quite hard to figure out his emotions. talking to him is difficult, which often makes you wonder how you two stayed together for such a long time in the first place.

but he still listens to you, and you still deal with his shenanigans.

"we're here." he says, interrupting your thoughts. "oh." you mutter, looking at the small shelter. that was quick...

"...????"

"what?" he hisses, becoming more irritated than usual.

"what's this?"

"I said: stop asking." you rolled your eyes, and you both walk inside.

when you saw the interior, you gasped rather dramatically. "ooohh!" you say. we're at a doctor's. you grin at scaramouche. he turns away with a scowl on his face in response.

"maybe I shouldn't have brought you here."

"nonsense," you laugh, ruffling his hair to tease him further. "come on, let's go."

[soneakyr]

Temptation of the Force spoiler:

What I love about this quote is the implication of the fact that although they had something that bound them together since they were two Padawan, something very strong, they were probably two teenagers more or less unaware of it. I want to think that they started fooling around at some point, with teenage passion because of the mutual attraction, and became something bigger than them. Elzar always knew what it was, but never spoke up, either out of fear, shyness or because it wasn't the Jedi way, but Avar couldn't even acknowledge it, even though she knew it was important! (And neither in TFS she was really able to name what she felt, the need to have him by her side on the Ataraxia!)

And things were fine as long as they were together, even if they weren't physically close or romantically involved, because their relationship was made up of banter, care, intimate platonic closeness, and they were able to manage everything despite their feelings because they were together, being each other's anchor.

Everything fell apart and change when they separated, after the Light of the Jedi, because they never really thought about parting, they never meant to be part, the Force and they never wanted to, but they needed to realise it. They were from the start "One with the Force/Two with the Force"

But before being together they needed to realize that, and the way they realize it, in the Force, is beautiful and delightful, throught the tide and the Song of the Force, which make the Galaxy bigger when they are together, and less bright when they are apart.

They need to be together, because it's how it was meant to be for them:

[aliennazero]

hi, your yoshiden posts are making me go insane at midnight. thank you so much for the good food! i was wondering if you have any personal thoughts on the reason(s) why yoshida would be romantically interested in denji? (or have the potential to be?) and if you think there's anything in the manga so far that does/could point to that?

Thank you for your question, yoshyoshy! Sorry for my late responses.

About why Yoshida would be romantically interested in Denji... honestly I have no basis for that, it just from VIBES and my feelings alone like- In my eyes, they have this weird gay tension that's only shounen mc and his *completely opposite designed* "rival" could have.

HOWEVER when we talk about CSM style of foreshadowing, I think yes, their relationship progression is already hinted since chapter 103 and 104. We, as the readers, just don't know exactly how it will ends up to be. We have the puzzle pieces, but not knowing the bigger picture. It could be platonic, it could be romantic (either one sided or not).

CHAPTER 103 SYMBOLISM

In chapter 103, there's so many details set up for both of them that I will show one by one. May be a reach, but knowing Fujimoto, we can't really predict or ignore anything tbh.

When the crowd cheered for Chainsaw Man, Yoshida saw and interested in Denji only.

Yoshida seems to be more relaxed (leaning in) and comfortable sitting with Denji than Fami (in chapter 122).

There are metaphor using their drinks to showcase their personality. Yoshida is iced coffee: bitter, dark, tired, and more mature-like. Meanwhile Denji is orange juice: sweet, sour, and more childish-like. Both standing next to each other (with height differences too). Which is very cute in my opinion.

Lastly, the famous background scene full of paintings with each different objects and symbols. Which I might try to debunk later on, but it's for another post.

CHAPTER 104 REVISITED

Now we go to the next "foreshadow" chapter, which is my personal favourite because we get teased by the probability of new trio. But we will focus on yoshiden this time.

"I'll stop you by force if I have to." Yeah, he already did. But what interesting about that is, he never *actually* try to hurt Denji. He always try to minimize the impact of his force method and tries to make Denji understand (the problem is, Yoshida is really just that BAD at giving reasonings and excuses).

Yoshida's memory is hinted to be weirdly strong. He remembers so many details even from small talks months ago, talking about Denji and "10.000¥ is 10.000¥"

"If there's anything I can do, I want you to come to me" has the same energy with "It's save through cloth, right?". It's not just a random empty words. It must be relevance in the future, right? RIGHT???

IN MY CONCLUSION

I think that's it. If you think there's more evidence to foreshadow their relationship, feel free to discuss about it! For me personally, their dynamics is very interesting and it would take much more effort to develop them into nothing than something.

I am VERY positive that their relationship would go deeper beyond what we have now. Honestly let's be real, it would be more interesting if their relationship develops romantically. Not only it would break shounen rules, but it also will be a major character development for both Yoshida and Denji. And apparently it suit the subplot we had right now, conforming your real identity. However I don't hate the idea of them being platonically too.

Also their dynamics goes from "haha funny comedic duo with gay jokes sprinkles" to "I could see you for who *you* are, but our traumas and our limited social abilities has shaped us to threaten each other, we understood everything yet we understand nothing (also let's blame the government)" in exactly 30 chapters after their first meeting in part 2, crazy.

[whyareyouhere66]

Racetrack higgins hc??

Yes, of course- thank you for the request, I hope you enjoy! [and thank you for the follow bro <;3]

Racetrack Higgins Headcannons. [Gender Neutral Reader]

Includes both Romantic and Platonic- not as much platonic ones, I apologize for that.

Content Warnings: mentions of smoking

Romantic:

◘ I said this in a previous post to @mysemantics, and I’ll say it again- constant pet names. Probably 3 in one sentence. 

◘ When he see’s you, he’ll grin and open his arms wide and with a cigar in his mouth, loudly say something like “hello, angel, my darling, how’re we feeling this fine evening?” 

◘ Brags about you every chance he can get, to Jack, to Spot, basically anyone. It’s a common thing amongst the newsies- they like to brag. 

◘ Jokes around a lot, but that’s never once stopped him from being affectionate.

◘ He especially likes when he can just pull you into his lap and hold one arm around your waist, the other catching his cigar. Doesn’t matter if you are taller, shorter- he’ll do it anyways.

◘ He’s pretty touchy in a relationship, he’s most comfortable when he can lean on you, lay on you, hug you, etc.

◘ Any alone time you two often get, is closer to night time- perhaps early morning, or just the later afternoon. 

◘ You two will be strolling the streets, the sun just barely visible, talking about the most pointless of things for minutes to hours at a time.

◘ It comes to the point where you are walking loops around city blocks, weaving around the maze of buildings and paying more attention to each other and the sky than anything else.

◘ When the group goes down to Medda’s for a show, you will either be in his lap or next to him with his hand somewhere on you.

◘ Sometimes he’ll lean over and whisper, “I think you’d pull that off real nice,” or, “What’d’ya think, Angel? You wanna try that out some time?” And it’ll sound like a joke, in true Racetrack fashion- but he is not entirely kidding.

◘ When it comes to sleeping situations- basing off the earlier points, he loves to have you there to sleep with.

◘ He likes it most when he is behind you, with one arm looped over your waist. Again- doesn’t matter if you are shorter, taller, bigger, smaller- he does not care. As long as you are in his arms he’s fine.

◘ However, that can’t always play out- especially with such small beds, so if you aren’t gonna be sleeping in his bed- he has solutions.

◘ You will be the first thing he sees every morning after he wakes up, and every night before he falls asleep. Before going to bed he will stop by your bunk and say goodnight, good morning, whichever fits the occasion. 

◘ I do just wanna touch one more time on what I wrote before- he does not mind if he is the shorter/ smaller or taller/bigger one in the relationship. He does not give one fuck. If he can reach your lips for a kiss, does he really have anything to complain about?

◘ The only time he’s ever really argued about it is when one of the other boys tries to use it to tease him. And even then, it won’t affect how he sees the relationship- it’s just him throwing around insults.

Platonic: 

◘  You are the first person he tries to make bets with.

◘ At any given chance, he turns to you and starts there first. If you say no- then he starts taking the opinions of others.

◘ Hangs around you most, when one of you finish selling papers early- you will be spotted together. When eating, at Medda’s, any sort of gambling, you are next to each other. It happens naturally, one minute you’re standing around somewhere and the next you’re standing around somewhere with him. 

◘ Really just you two fucking around a lot, joking and making sarcastic jokes. Sometimes, whenever Spot comes around, then you become a trio for the time being. 

[sweetangelanon]

Stir Crazy Au; Part: 2 Birds of a Feather Flock Together

This is Henry's introduction to the lore and also his wife WHO plays a much bigger part then before and will need her own post oh god mary ann im sorry girl we are we are going through it tonight.

Meet Henry Emily, local 12 year old boy who's just one of the many outcasts in a big city school (insert whatever state I pick later Maybe Missouri) Meet Henry Emily's history teacher who is about to change this kids life forever. Debatable if it's for the better or for worse. As you can expect Henry is bullied, and bullied hard. It's the 50's and his last name is Emily so ofc he's having all the slurs thrown at him along with rocks. He doesn't know what he did wrong, or how he can change it, he tries to change it but things just seem to stay the same no matter the age. So, his history teacher in a form of support points Henry, and his parents to a pen pal program. This is where Henry meets his best friend, maybe even some (I am some) would dare to say platonic soulmate, William Afton.

Unlike what this opening suggests they are far from friends when the letter writing first starts out. Will is being forced to write these letters for an English project, and does what every pissed off 12 year old does when they are forced to do something they don't like. He complains about it. A lot. Basically baiting Henry into an argument as a way to try to make up an excuse for why he can't do the project. (can't do the project if the person writing you is mad an uncooperative, right?) and boy howdy do words fly. This time it's a mix of biting witt, (as much wit as you can get from kids) Slurs (its the 50's idk what you expected not to mention kids don't know how deep slurs are they're kids repeating stuff that they just know is bad words to get a reaction out of someone an to be seen as grown up) the most baseless name calling and idiotic reasoning for a grudge you have ever seen. Now, dear reader of this post you may ask... "But- but why would Henry keep writing back, he was looking for a friend. Wouldn't he just quit and try to get connected to someone else."

To that I say simply this: William just so happened to be the straw that broke the camels back. As you can imagine this is YEARS of pent up rage and upset coming out of him after so long directed at a person who can take it and still comes back. (Granted he's forced to write back in these beginning letters but I digress.) During one of their many letter fights William mentions something that Henry has never heard of before (some British slang probs) which stops him in his tracks leading him to ask questions. Will replies in turn and suddenly this argumentative back and forth letter writing that had been going on for at least three months turns into a civil conversation. They simply seem to forget what they where doing lost in the interest of just how different the other's life is.

They both really want to meet each other in person but both parents are hesitant for different reasons. Also it doesn’t help the cost of tickets either way is expensive… So the two just have to be content with writing one another and sending pictures of each other. Now while the two aren’t on similar levels of…. Freak. Henry does have some less than stellar traits himself like the fact he finds no issue in recording someone who isn’t aware as long as it’s deemed for their safety. He’s pretty much able to wave some morals/respecting privacy if he thinks what he’s doing is way more important and will actively protect the other. Maybe a tad bit of stalking, but not as bad as William. He is NOT climbing through unlocked windows to get to his romantic interest. But, he would be following them around work/campus and constantly trying to talk to them, writing down notes of things they liked. Henry please….. Will and Henry probably talk about their lovers document- well actually more like Will does because when Henry talks about the doc he has on Mary Ann Will gets weirdly quiet and it gets weird (it’s because he hates that it’s not him </3) Mary Ann obviously doesn’t know Henry has this doc about her and she would most likely throw up and cry if she did. Now, to the bit I have been dying to write. Hehheeh- So, unlike Will who basically dropped everything and got married to his... 'girlfriend' is a questionable title since they weren’t dating before they decided to get married but okay… (They don’t get married until they reach America but forget all that we are here for MARY ANN.) Henry, has been dating Mary Ann ever since High School. They were high school sweethearts (church sweethearts) and before he left for college he proposed. She said yes, and the two agreed to get married after he finishes school. The issue? Henry had some… eye opening experiences at college, one of them being he realized he likes men. (Bisexual king) This weighs heavily on him since he’s not sure what Mary Ann would think about it. He lives on his own in an apartment and is going through said life crisis until he ignores it in favor of the fact William just showed up on his doorstep. But, even after the joy of meeting his best friend in person the issues still stand and it can’t be ignored forever.

Henry comes to the bright (no it’s not) conclusion that while he’s learned something new about himself he still very much loves Mary Ann and still wants to marry her. Just, maybe not right after college. William is cheering his head off (mentally) while Mary Ann grows more annoyed, and a bit scared of the thought of Henry leaving her. Not out of a place of love, though she tries to trick herself into believing it is, but from the fear of being seen as impure, as a woman thrown to the side, someone used where it will be harder for her to find a husband because of it. So, this turns into eight years where the church and his and her family are annoyed by it, and Henry keeps finding ways to push it off. (William tries to sabotage their relationship and fails) Mary Ann during these long eight years gets twitchy, worried that her perfect wedding, with a house an white picket fence an 1 child will be dashed away. What’s not helping her anxiety is the fact that everyone at church has something to say about the situation. There's an equal mix of people being blunt while others are passive aggressive with her to tear down her self esteem and belittle her. The pressure she’s being put under is mounting, she keeps getting treated badly at church for her unmarried status to the point she does something DEEPLY unthinkable to speed up the process. It goes against her religion, and everything she was taught. She has sex with Henry out of wedlock. She grieves after it, she feels tainted, impure. (There is so much to unpack from that babe) But, it had to be done in her eyes. Her plan was to claim she’s pregnant to rush the wedding as no one wants to have a baby out of wedlock. Her plan goes on without a hitch and the two finally get married. William hates every second of the ceremony. <3  The only issue was the pretend miscarriage but surprisingly William helped in that regard. And, by helped I mean he was a clingy little asshole and kept drawing Henry’s attention away from her (which he felt suuper guilty about post her ‘miscarriage’ feeling like it was his fault but babe it’s all fake I wonder if I should let him find that out that’d be pretty cool) Of course she can’t stay childless forever but the idea of having children is… daunting.

She won’t admit it to herself, but she doesn’t want to have any children.