#love and respect to them for saying yes we will do what nobody else has done before

[sunskate]

Mia Sugino/Olivia Marr skating their Chicago FD 🥺❤️ st BC/YT Super Series

omg the voiceover from the show about Roxie and Velma -- "a first - the first time anywhere there's been an act of this nature - not only one little lady, but two"

i got teary watching them do their lifts and their dance spin - there are all these other stories you can tell - on Broadway, you see two women dancing numbers all the time, but on ice, this is so new -

blaze that trail bbs 😭❤️❤️

[hexhomos]

little random but i really appreciate your dissections and analysis of Mel mainly bc the fandom either adore her and won't admit she is a flawed character and get over defensive when you call her out, or straight up hate her and make her out to be completely evil.

Mel is written as morally grey for a reason and when ppl try to act like she was morally correct in everything she did, it goes against the whole plot. yes, she regrets most of her actions by the end of the series and is left to deal with her family's leagacy and the weight of her actions, but that doesn't undo anything she did. and her eventually starting to care about Jayce doesn't just cancel out that she manipulated him (you'd think this would be obvious)

what bothers me the most i think is meljay shippers who say Jayce mistreated her and that Mel only ever helped and care about him and aided him in rising to power politically, and how she was so understanding of Jayce's and Viktor's friendship. yes, encouraging methods of political corruption in order to gain more power is so caring and kind of her! ❤️

Mel might've told Jayce to go spend time with Viktor after finding out he was ill, but the one time in the show she interacted with Viktor was... prejudiced to say the least. she never directly spoke to or answered Viktor, and the expression on her face any time she looked over at Viktor was so clearly full of dislike. it shocks me ppl still believe Mel and Viktor could get along and respect one another, especially romantically. no way.

anyways, sorry for the rant. just tired of how many bad takes there are in this fandom and very fond of your account lol

you are right and you SHOULD say it re: that oft repeated argument about her "only wanting what's best for him" bothers me so much. Its just... weirdly patronizing and spousing pro-piltover nationalism every time i see it being brought up. "She's doing what anyone would do/what is best for the city!" IDK MAN I AM NOT ROCKING WITH THAT. Im not an ubercapitalist. I don't think any of that was the good option actually lol. Probably I hate piltover too much to humor these arguments but from day 1 we are shown this is a city of immense class inequality in which the elite few holds all the power and all the profit gains at the cost of everyone else's submission and humanity. (Not for nothing: these are also the classic old guard Noxian tenets of supremacy. That's how they do colonization.)

The interactions Mel has with Jayce for majority of the series, before she watches that bomb come in and has her rapid onset change of heart, are her talking about how investors want his work and how she can use his discovery to advance this city (which is already built on exploitation!) or instigating his rise to power as a new ringleader for the council's rigged mercantile operations, and this is just not good or heroic in any way to me. This isn't love either, it's industrial convenience. The fact that she's conflicted by the end doesn't cancel these actions out! Jayce realizes that he's been used in ways he strongly disagrees with and any the affection in that dynamic vanishes instantly. The time he spends in isolation replaying his mistakes in that cave has an emphasis on mel/heimerdinger's voice on the council too, all of his regrets with blindly following someone else's vision or disappointing an idol he held in high regards.

And Jayce DOES care about the state of the cities, or he did before the writers forgot: He's the one who pleads for Zaun's independence at the end of season 1! He's the one who spent all his life trying to work towards improving the lives of common people, giving them the miracles they've been denied!

Viktor is a fucking nobody. He is extremely worthless in the eyes of the piltovan upper crust, only kept around on the merits working with Jayce have afforded him; and they still don't care. They're probably hoping he dies quicker. We *SEE* him being singled out and alienated during that weapons discussion where Mel is pleading for Jayce to think about "protecting his people" (only piltovans, never, ever zaunites- protecting piltovans against the zaunite menace.) and Viktor is set off at that whole exchange because it doesn't matter how loud he screams, these people can just tune him off and pretend he doesn't exist anyway. It's what they're used to doing. It drives me insane!!!!! His indignation is extremely under-explored and very inline with his act1 speech of feeling like an undesirable presence in piltover and having to push through with the grit of his teeth. It's open faced classism and I still see people pretending it didn't happen. Fandom makes all of these characters FAR less interesting by defanging them. The heart is in the friction and in the ugliness of them fucking up because they have very, very different conceptions of "utopia" - and some of those utopias require the death of the other characters present.

A lot of the Arcane character arcs have to do with realizing the above, and weighing if the sacrifice is worth the risk. Sometimes it turns out their utopias were shit.

[amazinglyegg]

Are you still doing "companions react to" requests? if so, I've got one for ya!

Can you do "Companions react to Sole being transgender"? this can be either sole coming out as trans and wanting to transition, or sole ALREADY being trans for a while and finally letting them know.

you can do just the basics, but if you want to differenciate reactions for mtf, ftm, or enby, thatd be cool too!

alternatively you could also just do "companions react to sole being queer" if you want

(sorry if this is lengthy, ive never submitted a request like this before! keep up the good work!)

Companions React: Sole Coming Out As Trans!

Cait

I feel like she's the type of person to assume the worst when someone says "we need to talk"

So when Sole comes out as trans she's just like "OH THANK GOD"

Once that's out of the way she's chill with it

Probably asks something along the lines of "So you're a they/them?" but don't get me wrong, it's a genuine question!

Afterwards you KNOW she's calling out any assholes that misgender Sole

Wouldn't be surprised if needles are a bit triggering to her (post quest) so if Sole's taking HRT in the form of an injection that might be the one part Cait will step out for

Otherwise she's chill. It doesn't change much in her eyes.

Curie

Absolutely hyped to be trusted by Sole

Honestly Sole being trans is secondary to the fact that they're telling her all about their personal experiences!! And she gets to hear it!! Hell yeah she loves hearing stories!!

You can bet she's asking as many questions as Sole's comfortable with, some to understand how to support them better and others just out of curiosity

Also the queen of oversharing

Finds out Sole's taking testosterone and is like "did you know testosterone can lead to clitoral hypertrophy, otherwise known as bottom gro-" "THANK YOU CURIE THAT'S ENOUGH CURIE"

Codsworth

Codsworth's like the #1 ally here

He's chomping at the bit to do literally anything and everything that supports Sole in any way, and this is the perfect opportunity

The potential of a new name, new clothes, new anything!? Bro's been stuck in a catatonic state for 200 years, any sign of Sole actually existing and growing as a person brings him glee

Honestly he's probably happier than Sole is

You BET he's got an internal schedule keeping track of when Sole should take their hormones or how long they've been wearing their binder for or anything else applicable

Irons their wrinkly-ass trans flag for them

I'm imagining him pulling out Sole's clothes in the morning and laying on top is just their fucking packer. Like "ah yes and here's your cock for the day sir, I made sure to pick one that fits your mood this morning"

Danse

He's taking the conversation SO seriously

Probably has a whole speil about how proud he is of them, how this doesn't change his opinion of them, and how he'll do anything in his power to support their transition

Also being high ranking in the Brotherhood he'll be able to get anything they need on their medical file changed the second they ask

Otherwise mostly leaves it to Sole to bring it up, he doesn't want to push any boundaries or anything

But he DOES go up to Sole several months later out of the blue to tell them about seahorses or hyenas or mushrooms or any other human-gender-defying animal he just learned about like "🫵 it's like you!"

Generally very respectful and professional. Treats it like Sole just got a raise or something

Deacon

Changing identities is his whole thing, he by far has the easiest time adjusting to Sole's new gender

The biggest problem Deacon has is the conversation itself

I think he will shrivel up and die if he has to have a heart-to-heart conversation that lasts more than five minutes

If Sole's particularly worried about the backlash of coming out then don't worry, he's got like 50 different stories of being every gender under the sun while working in the Railroad

He can assure Sole with 100% confidence that nobody in HQ will care what they identify as or how they choose to present themself

Group trip to the feral-infested clothing mall for a wardrobe change!!! You KNOW he's good with outfits

Gage

"Got it, boss, let me know if you need anything" and the conversation's over

This isn't a heart-to-heart (no way the Overboss would ever do THAT), this is a sharing of new information

It really is the verbal equivalent of 👍

You don't ask questions about other raider's lifestyle choices unless you want to get stabbed, and Gage does NOT want to get stabbed

(Will stab someone else on Sole's behalf if they give the green light, though)

Who knew Nuka World was such a kind and accepting place ✨️

Hancock

"Hell yeah."

He's probably been came out to (comed out to...?) many many times in his life. This is just like talking about the weather with him

He can hook up Sole with anyone and anything they'll need if they want to transition - surgeons? Hormones? An old "totally safe and mostly functioning" auto-doc they keep in some random smelly corner of Goodneighbor? He's got it all covered.

He's pretty confident on Goodneighbor being a safe place to exist in, but if any drifter causes problems he WILL want to be first to hear about it so he can deal with them swiftly

All I'm saying is that there's no way Finn's the first asshole he's stabbed

Maccready

Immediate flashback to all the slurs he said as a young boy

Nah but for real the "worst" reaction Sole would get out of him is just "uhh...? Alright? Why are you telling me?" if they've still got the whole "Sole hired him" vibe going on

Otherwise once they've got a closer relationship with each other he's decently comfortable with it

I'm imagining him going to Daisy or someone else he knows like "I want to show Sole I actually give a shit about them what do trans people like"

Comes back with pink thigh highs and a blahaj for Sole. He doesn't even question it.

Clueless but he's trying his hardest!

Nick

The closest to a Normal Coming Out Experience Sole's gonna get

He'll listen, he'll tell them he's proud of them, he'll give them a hug if they ask

Would also offer to help Sole come out to anyone else if they're worried about doing it themself

Brings back a nice tasteful pride flag to put in his pencil holder or something

Supportive grandpa all around

I doubt Diamond City has too many assholes but he knows very well who to avoid and will make sure Sole's safe and comfortable

Probably nervous about helping Sole with their HRT injections if they ask, it's been a long while since he's gotten a shot and he doesn't remember how to do it

Piper

Little bit more sheltered due to living in Diamond City, will probably take the time to ask what that actually means in terms of their relationship

Like "Should I use a different name??? Pronouns??? Can I still call you dude if I use it in a gender neutral way???"

Once she's got it she's got it. Probably takes notes or some shit

Has enough connections that she'll be like "omg you'll get along so well with my friend's uncle's roommate, they're trans too!" or something equally as a random

Also WOULD make a news article vagueposting transphobes in the community. Will still respect Sole's privacy though, don't worry

Preston

Another member of the "expects the worst" when it comes to serious conversations. Probably panics when Sole asks to talk and then keeps panicking a bit wondering if they're only telling him because something bad happened

Sole's just gotta reassure him that they just wanted him to know, not that a settler's commited a hate crime or something

King of the passive-aggressive correction of pronouns if anyone misgenders sole. "He's the general?" "Yes, SHE'S the general" very pointedly

That kind of awkward but very sweet supportive vibe. Whenever Sole changes their outfit even slightly Preston immediately notices and is like "Looks good, general :)"

He puts up a pride flag in some public area of the settlement and tries to act all cool about it like "well I just want to make sure ALL settlers feel respected here" while secretly looking to see if Sole approves

Strong

I don't think Strong knows what a gender is. I don't think (Commonwealth) Supermutants have genders.

And honestly it'll probably just make him confused if Sole tries to explain it

Probably makes him a decent ally ngl. He won't question if Sole's appearance or voice changes. Hell he probably won't even notice

Is Strong the true #1 ally here???

X6-88

You know the "Hey girl I mean they" meme?

That's him the first time he tries to use sir/ma'am after Sole comes out. He's trying his hardest he just doesn't know what the gender neutral term is.

It's best if Sole just like, gives him a list of acceptable terms. Otherwise you might find him threatening someone who has the audacity to say "hey guys" while talking to a group that has Sole in it

He's also not great with emotional conversations but he will stand there and awkwardly nod to show his support.

Will find a pride flag somewhere and point at it stone-faced like "it's you." and then continue on.

The worst Sole will get is him criticizing their clothing for being suboptimal during battle

It doesn't matter if you're a HE, SHE, THEY, or IT, if you're going into battle YOU'RE WEARING ARMOR

[thewistlingbadger]

Yes Silco hates Vi for what she did to Jinx and for being a dangerous threat to him that is outside of his control and out of fear that he'll lose Jinx to Vi but I also think he hates her because she doesn't fit the narrative he has constructed.

The entire basis of Silco's relationship with Jinx is that they are one in the same. He doesn't take her in because she had nobody, he doesn't take her in because he knows her, he doesn't take her in because he pities her, he takes her in for one reason and one reason alone:

"She left me. She is NOT my sister anymore!"

After she says this Silco looks down at her, looks up at Vander's corpse, and then diverts his attention back to Jinx. Silco takes comforts Jinx, takes her in, and raises her as his own daughter because he used to be her. Her pain over Vi is his pain over Vander. She is the first and only person he has ever met who could possibly understand and relate to his past with his brother.

This huge similarity between them is CRITICAL to their bond and is the foundation for everything when it comes to the two of them as a duo. Silco gives Jinx advice based on his own experiences and traumas. He tells her to let the past die and reinvent herself because it's what HE did after Vander betrayed him. He teaches her to be feared by others because it was what HE did after Vander betrayed him. These two examples were effective for both of them but also toxic. The show draws many visual and narrative parallels between Silco and Jinx to cement their kinship AND they have Silco just flat out say it several times throughout the show.

"Everyone betrays us, Jinx! Vander- HER! They will never understand. It's only us."

Life is entirely subjective and based off your own experiences and interpretations. Constructing a narrative is often a coping device humans will use to try to explain things that they do not truly grasp or understand. For example: If your partner cheats on you, you might construct the narrative that they never loved you in the first place, because you cannot reconcile the nature of your relationship with the fact that they ultimately treated you as disposable.

We see characters in arcane construct narratives to save themselves from heartache all the time. Young Viktor constructs the narrative that Singed is a bad and twisted man because he doesn't understand why Singed would go to the lengths he did to keep Rio alive. Vi constructs the narrative that Silco is keeping Jinx captive because she doesn't understand how else the two of them could be connected and simultaneously alive. Silco constructs the narrative that he was once a weak man because he cannot understand why Vander would mistreat him so harshly and how Silco didn't see it coming.

Silco is of the partial belief that he was betrayed because he was weak and had he not been weak, he wouldn't have been betrayed. At bare minimum he would have been able to defend himself from Vander's attack. Remember, Silco went about a decade without speaking to Vander. He never got his note. He doesn't know the true reason why Vander attacked him and he never gets a true apology either, even after he is finally reunited with Vander. Having to deal with something so painful without being given an explanation or stance of reasoning has resulted in Silco becoming a twisted man, who says shit like "the only way to defeat a superior enemy is to stop at nothing" and "I hated you but you kept my respect."

He passes this way of thinking down to Jinx because to him, they are one in the same. To him she is going to benefit from his advice because he knows what he's talking about. To him the betrayal of their siblings is what binds them and Jinx is the only close bond silco has in his life. Even before Vi's "betrayal" Silco saw the way she was like Vander. So to him those two have also been one in the same for a long time.

But when Vi comes back, she does not behave like Vander. When Vi is reunited with Jinx, the first thing she does is apologize for leaving Jinx. Vander never apologized to Silco for his betrayal, not even when he was given the chance later in life. All he said was that he had never forgiven himself for what he did. Vi continuously fights for Jinx throughout season one. Vander never fought for Silco at all, he completely gave up on him and even when Silco presented him with the opportunity to fight on the same side again, to be brothers again, Vander rejected him. Vi tells Jinx she's willing to walk away from everything as long as she has Jinx with her. Vander couldn't even muster up the courage to fight for his own people. Vi blames herself for what happened to Jinx and tries her best to make amends. Vander never took responsibility for his actions and didn't attempt reconciliation.

Jinx is supposed to be Silco and Vi is supposed to be Vander, but Vi is not Vander. She's a way better sibling and person than Vander ever was and Silco cannot reconcile with this. Because if Jinx is him, and he knows she is, then why did she get to have her sibling back and not Silco? Why did she get the one thing he desperately wanted for the longest of times? Why could Vi forgive Jinx but Vander couldn't forgive Silco? VI is supposed to be the bad, disgraced sibling but she is not. Everything she does post time skip in season 1 is about redeeming herself and putting in the effort to recover a lost relationship.

[nuttersincorporated]

Mickey Mouse does not need your protection

Since Mickey Mouse became public domain, I’ve seen some really wild takes and misinformation going around. Yes, Mickey Mouse is public domain. No, you do not need to protect him. It’s fine if people other than Disney make Mickey Mouse stuff, even if you don’t like the things that are made.

You are not protecting Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse is not real. Even if he was, you STILL wouldn’t be protecting him. You’re just sticking up for a megacorporation. Disney has more money and resources than you will ever have and they horde them. You shouldn’t be trying to help them do it.

Disney is a company that loves using public domain properties to make things. They have just tried their absolute hardest to make sure that nobody else could do the same thing. If you think Mickey Mouse should only be used by Disney, you should be upset that Disney made money off public domain stories like Snow White and Rapunzel.

What about things like Winnie the Pooh? Disney didn’t come up with him but they were happy to make money off him. They bought the rights to him and then didn’t share.

‘Ah!’ I hear you say. ‘But Winnie the Pooh actually helps prove our point! When Disney – that poor poor super rich company that should be protected – lost the exclusive rights, a Winnie the Pooh horror movie was made! That’s not in the spirit of the original character!’

Firstly, you can just ignore that movie if you want. I did. Nobody is making you watch it. You are responsible for your own media consumption.

Secondly, there are nice Winnie the Pooh stories out there that aren’t by Disney or the original author. The Pooh books by Jane Riordan are lovely. Her stories are much more in the spirit of the original character than a lot of the Disney comics were.

This is an official Disney comic with Winnie the Pooh

This is a picture from one of Jane Riordan’s Winnie the Pooh books

One of them is sweet, kind and in the spirit of the original character. The other is Disney owned and approved.

What would the original author A.A. Milne think of the different adaptions and new works? Well, we don’t know because, at the end of the month, he’ll have been dead for 68 years. However, I can quote one of the original Pooh books about sharing,

And really, it wasn’t much good having anything exciting like floods, if you couldn’t share them with somebody.

Thirdly, Disney does not respect authorial intent.

PL Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins books, did not want Disney to make a movie based on her work. She got coerced into letting them make one. She hated the movie and refused to let them make any more.

What happened after she’d died, the ban on them making more Mary Poppies movies ran out and they got their hands on the rights? They made a sequel.

I think you should be more upset that Disney went against the direct wishes of an author than the fact regular people can now use a character that megacorporation uses. PL Travers was a person. Disney is a company. There is a difference.

I love the original Mary Poppins movie. I don’t care about or like the sequel. However, PL Travers died in 1996. People should be able to use the character now, no matter how you or I feel about those newer stories. Again, you can just ignore them if you want.

The original stories are still there.

Royalties are different to public domain. The profits from PL Travers original books go to her descendants and the Cherry Tree Foundation. They will continue to go there for 80 years after her death and then the royalties will be shared out among any decedents who are alive at that time. The money from those books will continue to go there, no matter what new stories with Mary Poppins get made.

You all seem okay with Disney making money off public domain stories and buying the rights to other stories. Why can't you extend that right to other people?

No one has stolen Mickey from Disney. Disney can and will continue to make money off him. All that’s change is that other people can now do that too.

[naavispider]

I often see people describe Spider as a neglected child. Do you think that is totally accurate? Would Norm and the other scientists have set rules and boundaries? If Lo’ak and Spider did something stupid together would Jake punish both of them? What would a scene like this look like?

This is a very big question, in my opinion, and seems to have divided a lot of people depending in their answer. I think I can see it both ways. Spider is clearly a child that has grown up without a stable parental figure, and has lived his life trying to fit in where there seems to be no natural slot for him to do so. I do think he is relatively well adjusted, he's formed strong relationships with those his own age and he clearly has strong morals, all of which are accomplishments in themselves given the circumstances. Anyone else in his position would obviously struggle to deal with so much (being displaced by war, not having a stable family, and generally being an outcast by the tribe). If you add the daddy issues on top, which have provided him with a fluctuating sense of identity ever since he was old enough to understand who is father was, it's no doubt that Spider is definitely a special kid and extremely strong to have been through what he has, and come out the other side remarkably 'unharmed'.

We also can't ignore the fact that he was outrightly mistreated throughout his childhood as well. This is more obvious in the comics from the comments made by Neytiri, but there is also all the subtle ways in which he was excluded from the People and made to feel like an outcast. The kind of social isolation he suffered from clearly had an effect on him and is obvious in the way he has a complex about trying to impress, and not let anyone down, ever.

Your question asked about whether it's valid to say that Spider was neglected. In short, I think the answer is yes, but it's harder to pin point by exactly who and for how long. Individually, most of the adults in his life treated him with kindness and respect, and often fondness. I'm sure that Norm and loves Spider, too (and probably Max). But what makes him neglected is that by itself, that kind of treatment isn't enough for an extremely young child. What everyone seemed to miss while he was growing up is the lack of a parental figure. The McCoskers clearly weren't actually interested in raising Spider like their own, so that fell short; as a result, nobody else stepped up and Spider went without paternal or maternal love.

In my mind, the McCoskers are definitely guilty of neglect. The question of the other adults is murkier, because they are not directly at fault and Spider was really not their responsibility. However, in my opinion they did not do all they could to emotionally support Spider through his identity crisis and feelings of belonging. As such, I would say they emotionally neglected him.

That was a long and winding answer and I know that others have hashed this topic over at length before, but those are my two cents! 🥰

Would Norm and the other scientists have set rules and boundaries? Yes, I reckon so. When Spider was very young it would primarily be around safety and where abouts in the compound he should be, when. The McCoskers were probably responsible for bedtime routines and ensuring his basic needs were met, and I can see them being pretty harsh with that (for example shutting Spider in his room). As he got older and the McCoskers' attention turned to their own sons, they started to care less and less about Spider and creating firm boundaries. As a result he became a much wilder spirit and then the scientists would have had to put their own boundaries in place. By this point though, Spider was a young teen and probably all they could do was tell him off (which would work for a while). I can see the other scientists begging Norm to talk to Spider when he accidentally broke a piece of lab equipment.

If Lo’ak and Spider did something stupid together would Jake punish both of them? Jake would clearly be much harsher towards Lo'ak. I can see him just sending Spider back to the shacks, aware that Spider is not his son and nit his responsibility. In fairness to Jake, he personally struggles a lot with how to be a good father and isn't confident with the two sons he already has, so mentally I think he's distancing himself from Spider on purpose, because he's afraid and doesn't want to take on even more parental responsibility than he is already having to contend with. Lo'ak and Spider would meet up after and Spider would ask Lo'ak how bad it was. Lo'ak would probably moan that Spider is lucky he doesn't have to brunt Jake's anger, and Spider would outwardly agree.

Sorry it took me literal months to respond to this ask! I'm working my way through them 💞💙💞💙

[mjrtaurus]

I like to think Shanks is a very divisive topic amongst the Monkey D Family. It’s very you love him or you hate him with them. Luffy (obviously) loves him! Shanks is the guy that inspired his pirate dreams to begin with and gave him his signature hat! Urpi is also quite fond of Shanks from the time they’ve spent on Elbaf together, always full of swapping stories and him just being an absolute gentleman towards her.

Dragon….its not entirely hate admittedly. It’s mostly jealousy due to how highly Luffy regards like he was his father or something! Add to that the fact that he’s won over his Mamay without even trying and Dragon definitely feels some type of way about him! Garp is right there with him unsurprisingly! That red haired scoundrel is the reason his precious grandson turned to a life of crime! He simply can’t forgive that!

Kuzan and Dadan are where the waters get a little muddled. Kuzan actually doesn’t care for Shanks and claims that the emperor is “weird and not in a good way.” He has no real reasoning beyond the few times they’ve met in battle but there’s something very odd about that guy to him. Dadan surprises absolutely everyone by..actually liking Shanks! And by ‘actually liking Shanks’ I mean she says he’s alright when asked (which in Dadan-speak in a glowing 5 star review!)

Rapid firing everyone else I can think of!

Sabo/Robin - neutral by veering on like considering how much Luffy hypes him up. Needs to meet to make final judgements.

Crocodile - Pretty much the same reasoning as Dragon.

Mihawk - Likes him but you'll never be able to tell

Buggy - President, Vice-President and Founder of the Fuck Shanks club (yes both ways).

Kong - Unadulterated Loathing towards all pirates and other assorted criminals what are we expecting here?!

Luffy absolutely adores him. There is no getting out of it, and Dragon and Crocodile are both green with jealousy over it. And plenty guilt-ridden, too.

They also don’t really appreciate Shanks coming into and out of Luffy’s life like that, but Garp wasn’t much better… and they were absent entirely for the longest time. It was hard choices all around, and projection their issues onto the man would do nobody any good.

They tolerate him, but they closely guard their jealousy around them. He knows they do, because it’s not hard to notice. He doesn’t poke or prod at them over it.

Urpi adores the man. Any one of Roger’s group is a friend in her eyes. Especially after the inspiration he’s sparked in Luffy.

Garp wants to be 100% on the issue, but when Roger is involved, it never is.

Kuzan feels awkward about him, given the whole Blackbeard thing he had going… Dadan is happy to know Luffy has someone out there on the seas who would have his back if things got really bad. She hopes…

Sabo has respect for him, because Luffy wouldn’t be Luffy without him. Robin is the same.

Kong…

Kong is Kong.

[stellas-starry-sillies13]

I'm sorry you had an anon be mean to you about this but that's what you can expect your life to be like if you don't learn to respect others. No "respecting but not supporting", no "I'm a Christian so I can't support", no "I have a DNI for a reason". You're not talking about some dumb internet discourse like proshippers and antishippers, these are real life people who have lost their lives to hate and ignorance. They were like you, they are like you, with hobbies and loved ones and dreams, and they lost their lives. Take that in.

This could be a friend of yours that is terrified to tell you, or your most beloved family member, or the people who have supported the (really nice!) art you create. They are everywhere and they are afraid, because someone decided to lie and put words into God's mouth that He never said.

I know it's hard to unlearn the things you've been incorrectly taught, and whoever taught them to you is probably not some evil homophobe but simply someone who was misguided just like you. But God never said anything about homosexuals, much less about transgender people. He said to love thy neighbor, and that a man should never sleep with a boy. That's right, not a man with another man, just a man with a boy. God is against child abuse, and that's a great teaching.

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, so it makes sense that over thousands of years, getting translated back and forth into so many different languages, a mistake like this could occur. But you need to know this and realize God's message beyond the books, that He loves every one of His children and you should love them too, because you are appreciating God's creation, and God made them the way they are.

In the times we live in, the hate towards these people has gone down, and that's a great thing! But it's definitely not eradicated. They are still being bullied, beat up, and yes, murdered because of who God made them. And you may think that it has nothing to do with you or your beliefs, because you don't hate them, you simply don't support them. But think about it like this:

Everyone in your class likes either the color blue or the color pink. You can all agree on this. You like pink so you can't imagine why anyone would like anything else, when it's not only the color you've been taught to like, but also a really nice color for you personally. If people were allowed to like other colors, you'd still love pink, and you think everyone would like blue or pink still.

So you have a new classmate, and he likes green. Everyone is confused, it makes no sense. How hard can it be to just like blue or pink? You don't get it, nobody does. And they start bullying him, calling him horrible names and being violent towards him. And it makes you sad, because you don't think he deserves that, he just needs to be left unsupported so he can realize he actually likes blue.

Months go on like this, until he changes schools due to the bullying. He's severely depressed. His parents are mad at the bullies, and disappointed in you. Because you could've stood up for him, despite not understanding him, despite being worlds apart from each other, but you didn't. Because your silence fed into other people's hate. Because hate is bred by ignorance.

We're all humans and we're not gonna live forever. Can we make the world a nice place for each other to be in? Can we stop putting false words into God's mouth and killing humans, with families and with hopes and dreams, over it?

Hi. If i dont like arianna grande, does that mean I hate her? No. I just may not be into her music, what she does, or her in general. If i dont support lgbtqia does that mean i hate it and everyone thats in it? Absolutely not. I have friends in that community who know i dont support it and are fine with it. Am i saying everyone is lke that? No. Some people are very sensitive and think that because i dont support it, that means i hate them and im a terrible person. But thats not what it means. Just because I dont like it, doesnt mean i hate it or those in it. Its like if you love playing this game and you recommend me to play that game. But im not really into so i dont really wanna play it. Then you get mad at me for not playing the game and say that I hate it, when in reality, i dont. Its just not my thing, or maybe i believe the game has like a bad influence or idk something that i dont like is it. And yes, i know yall are real people. I never said you werent, never said i didnt love you guys. So stop trying to paint me as this villain who because i don’t support that means that i hate everyone who is in it. Chill out.

Moving on, lets talk about what God has to say about homosexuals or more specifically, the verse that was “mistranslated”

I found a reddit that sums it up perfectly. If you truly and genuinely have sent me this ask because you genuinely believe im blind or something, you want me to see the “truth”, or because you belive ive been misguided, please read through this whole thing, and look at the facts before making conclusions, instead of making excuses about the bible so it can look like what you want it to look like.

And even if what you said about that verse was actually true and it was mistranslated or God was actually talking about sleeping with a boy, there are lots of other scriptures that talk about homosexuality, here are a few:

1st Corinthians 6:9 says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

Leviticus 20:13, If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.

Romans 1:26, For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due

In the beginning, go made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, not Adam and Eve who goes by they them. If they them and all those other custom pronouns were actually natural, God wouldve said so. He wouldnt just forget to mention it. He specifically made adam and eve, a man and a woman for marriage. And can I say I hate when people say, “im just a girl in a boys body” or vice versa. No youre not. Because saying that hints that God made some kind if mistake when creating you. God doesnt make mistakes. Hes perfect.

Nowadays in this world, people tend to flow with their feelings rather than logic and common sense. Oh, I feel like a boy, so that must mean i am one. Yknow, ten years ago, people would laugh at the fact that people genuinely think they could become their opposite gender. Its not because we were stuck up or narrow minded. Its because we used logic and common sense. But now people completely disregard that concept. They think they can change their gender, just because they want to.

Also i don’t appreciate you saying ive been misguided and mistaught. No offense, but you clearly dont read the bible enough to decide what is right and wrong. If you are a christian, the bible tells you that what God says is right is right, and wrong, wrong, therefore you should be basing what you believe is truth from the bible. If you arent a Christian, then we have totally different beliefs and you also are not in position to say ive been misguided because you are basing the truth either from how you feel or from the people around you, meaning we both believe totally different things.

And again, i do love my neighbors. But im not going to encourage them or support them doing something that i believe is wrong. That is the opposite of love.

Moving on again, your example of pink, blue, and green is completely inaccurate because you are presuming my personality and my character from one fact: i dont support lgbtqia.

I will always be against bullying and if I was in that position, i wouldnt simply stand there and do nothing, so you have no right to say that that would happen if I was in that position. Even if i dont support everything he believes, that doesnt mean i think its okay for him to get bullied, and please stop trying to guilt trip me. If you get offended simply because I dont support what you like, thats on you for being too sensitive. Maybe if i was your friend or family that would be a different story.

In reference to your last paragraph, i agree. Can we make this world a nice place? Can we stop lying to each other and trying to add or subtract words from the bible to make it look like whatwe want it to?

Anyway thanks for being honest with me, anon

[sunflowersunite]

Hello there.

I'm back with the final part on: advice on writing Mikasa: by SunflowerStories, as asked by @starshower1215. Parts 1 and 2 here, thank you lots for your patience Star, so here is your final part.

The remaining question is:

"if you're very experienced in writing Armin, how would you imagine their relationship to be after Eren's death, as well as Mikasa's relationship with Annie as Armin's love interest?"

but I picked up another interesting one from the comments of the latest post which reads:

"Do you think Levi might have served as a role model for Mikasa during her time as his subordinate? He's arguably the most selfless character in AoT, and he's able to balance emotion with his duty towards serving the common good, which is something she learns later on. What's your impression of their relationship?"

I choose to start off with this one.

You cannot see me right now, but I'm smiling with this, because it's one of the hills I'll die on: their dynamic was one of the most underrated ones (underrated by the story itself may I say) and it desperately needed more screentime.

As someone who takes great fascination in Mikasa's relationship with Levi and has a lot of gaps to fill (because the story left a lot), yes, I have imagined what the relationship that we didn't get to see was like, I'm glad you asked.

In my mind they were like mentor/student, or rather dare I say, kindred spirits. As mentioned in the previous parts, Mikasa is burdened with responsibility because she is the strongest; and that strength is unmatchable, unlike anything anyone's seen before. Nobody could truly understand what she felt, (and it wasn't like she minded much).

Until Levi.

Mikasa saw a kindred spirit in Levi, someone who carried the same weight, the same burden as her. Someone who understood what was expected from her.

Neither of them is the talkative type so I don't think they ever had an extensive discussion about feelings and duty on a cool summer night sitting on those plastic chairs that seem to be laced with the correct circumstances for a therapy session.

Still, Mikasa looked up to Levi, she could see he felt a lot and deeply, like she did, so eventually he became a role model to her even in her independence. As she grew up and took up a more important role in the army, I'm sure she found a crutch in Levi, consciously or not, as someone who went through the same.

Noting that he was the one who stopped her when she made to chase after Eren when he was taken in early season 3, and he was one of those who ultimately convinced her to sacrifice him for the world. Let's keep in mind that Mikasa is rather strong-willed, so one can only stop her when they present unshakable reason (e.g. Hange trying to convince her Erwin was the correct choice) or when she respects them a lot (that's the case regarding both Hange and Levi).

That was long. Moving on!

I'm not extremely experienced in writing Armin but I wouldn't say I'm completely inexperienced either. I've pondered about their relationship post canon and I have interacted with much EMA content, so here's what came out of it.

1. Armin

As we see, Armin travels a lot away from Paradis while Mikasa chose to stay. It probably took a lot of years until Armin became either unnecessary for the peace negotiations or incapable of continuing his work as an ambassador. He possibly settled on Paradis after that, but my point is that he and Mikasa spend a lot of time apart.

Nevertheless, without needing too much contact, they stay cordial because their relationship transcends distance. They've meant a lot to each other since childhood (the're practically siblings), and that doesn't falter.

Additionally, they both share a pain nobody else understands-- they directly fought Eren to the death. If they were other people, that event could have driven them apart, but I don't think that ever happened to Mikasa and Armin. Whenever they meet, they become painfully aware that they're supposed to be three, not two, but still, their love is too deep to stretch into a rift. They understand each other's pain without needing words, and when the time is right, in quiet evenings under the tree, they share thoughts and memories of Eren. So they've become a crutch to one another.

(Whenever Armin comes to Paradis, he and the other ambassadors most likely help rebuild the island and babysit the orphans. He would be good at it. That's what I imagine lol)

2. Annie

Annie and Mikasa are another occasion of kindred spirits who bond over their simplicity. They were never exactly friends but they're very much alike-- it doesn't take them much philosophical pondering to set a cause for themselves (unlike for example Armin or Reiner) and they're both action oriented.

One would expect Mikasa would resent Annie due to the latter's insistence that she kill Eren in the end, but this post would explain Annie a little better, so long story short, Mikasa knows she made the right choice and doesn't blame anyone else for it.

Now, regarding post-canon, both girls find interactions awkward so they'd struggle a bit, but without any hard feelings between them, they'd find a way to be friends that works for both of them. Initially they'd be a little reluctant around each other, since Annie is in a relationship with Mikasa's brother basically, but they'd get the hang of it. (Perhaps they would have something like a therapy session on a quiet summer evening involving plastic chairs.)

It was a pleasure to think about this, and if you want my thoughts on something specific that I didn't cover fully, let me know!

[lennadanvers]

Pride Month just started, and I wanted to take this opportunity to say something I think is implicit but that everyone should be aware of:

You are a person and that's what matters.

There shouldn't be a discussion on whether or not it's okay for people to be happy, live, have rights or have those rights be respected. Every human being (and every being, for that matter) deserves respect. Unless they are harming someone (harming meaning abuse; not just existing), they can and should do whatever makes them happy. No one needs permision to exist.

The only people who can give their opinion about your relationship are you and your partner. The only person who decides what you can and can't wear is you. The only one who knows your gender is also you. How or who you have sex, kiss, marry, live with or love is nobody else's business.

The LGBTQIA+ community is for people who aren't allo-hetero-cis. That means that if you aren't all three, allo, hetero and cis, you belong here. This is a great time to show support, because the attention is on this topic. Take this chance to educate (yourself and others) about sexual and gender identities. Do your research, talk to people in the community. Always be respectful. Ask if it's okay to ask questions, always making sure what you're asking about is something you wouldn't be uncomfortable answering to yourself. Go for general questions ("what does it mean to be [insert identity here]?", "why is [insert topic/person/action here] problematic?", "what can I do to show support?") instead of personal ones, unless the other person says they're okay with it. Remember that everyone (LGBTQIA+ or not) dresses, has relationships, talks, looks, feels and lives differently: we're all just people. If it is not your business when talking to an allo-hetero-cis, then it's not your business when talking to LGBTQIA+ people either.

It is okay to not know. As long as you're willing to learn and educate yourself, to be respectful, and to acknowledge past mistakes, it's okay. I don't know everything, but if you have any questions, I can try to answer them. Send me an ask and I'll do my best.

To any LGBTQIA+ person reading this, I know this month can be complicated. Keep in mind you don't owe anyhting to anyone. The most important thing is for you to be safe. The next most important thing is for you to be comfortable. You deserve to have both and so much more. Yes, the Industry takes advantage of Pride Month to sell stuff and look good. We can use it for visibility anyway. This is your chance to speak up if you're in the right place to do it. If you can't, or you don't feel comfortable doing it by yourself, you can send me an anonymous ask and I'll post it. If there's something you want to talk about, you can send an ask too. This is a safe space (as long as you're being respectful).

Also, this is Pride Month. It is very important to use it for activism, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it. Have fun. Make art, memes and jokes about it. Wear rainbows and pride flags. Have a good time. Feel pride, happiness, excitement and whatever else you feel. You can be angry, hurt or sad too. You can be all at once, or none.

This blog is a safe space for everyone. If you can't find it in you to be respectful, you don't belong here. Otherwise, you're always welcome.

[thelonelysoulhome]

Doumeki is the first person ever to reach out his hand to Yashiro:

(Part 3)

When Doumeki first meet Yashiro he is a 36 years old man with strong anchored beliefs, that diged all his traumas deep deep inside of him, traumas that he nourished everyday for 26 years at this point. He suffers, but in silence,

he suffers, but nobody sees, cause he's really good at hiding, at faking, after all, people are actors.

Like I said before Doumeki is the first person ever to ask Y if he's okay and that on their first encounter.

For the first time in Yashiro's life someone try to help him.

And ask a question: are you okay ? Are you okay with what happening ? Do you need help ?

At this point it's not like Y could Say:

"Oh yes I'm deeply traumatised from all the abuse I lived as a kid and that never ended till now, I had to face everything alone and to endure everything, I had to hide the true me real real deep and live as a cold lustful maso cat seeking violent sex as a coping mechanism to protect myself from more external harm"

He's more like;

"Of course I'm okay dumbass... I like violent sex, I can't feel anything if it's not painfull, I always lived like this and it's fine, I don't need anyone, I'm alright as long as everyone treats me like they always did : badly, without care, like an old rag.

For Yashiro, the familiar feel safe, and the change feel overwhelming, frightening.

That how his distorted brain function .

It's in this state of mind that he come into the presence of Doumeki.

We know D always though that Y was beautyful, (he confess that to Y in chapter 1), and that the yakuza world could not be that bad if someone like Y was part of it.

But everything takes a big shift when Y help D to reconnect with his sister Aoi :

At this moment D understand that Y is more than what he just pretends to be.

Y is neither cold or cruel, he's the opposite of that, he's gentle, he's kind, he's sensible, he don't judge, he's strong, cause suffering is never a reason to pity someone, it's a reason to respect them, respect for their strenght to endure it.

Y never shows those sides of him, he try hard to burie them cause for him, they are weaknesses, and he can't take the risk to be weak again.

But it's too late, D already saw little fragmants of the real Y.

And now, he's resilied to stay by his side no matter what :

"I'll do anything, as long as I can stay beside you"

He'll do anything, but it's only a matter of time for him to no longer being able to bear the way people treat Y, and the way Y treats himself.

D don't understand how kage dosen't notice Y like he does,

He is angry that nobody sees Y the way his eyes do .

Haaa look at how he stare at his smile... He just want to see him happy.

(The world D used in japanese for 'beautiful' is "きれい" (kirei) that kinda mean beautiful but also clean or pure, meaning that he think Y is beautiful on the outside but also and mainly from the inside)

For him Yashiro is kind, strong and beautiful.

He keeps on by saying that he respect Yashiro.

He's attracted to Y in a way he never been before with anyone, and he sincerely care for Y.

He don't want to use him like a toy like misumi.

He don't pity him like kage.

He don't want him to be something else (a woman) like ryuzaki

(that a deeply dislike btw... And Y is so kind that he take risk to save his ass..)

He love's Y for who he trully is, and he want to protect him.

In this moment D is mad and frustrated, not because Y is having sex with another guy, but because he is being harmed by someone, again. He wants to deffend him but he feel powerless, and that hurt him a lot.

I see some people saying that D is possesive and jealous, and that he has no words to say about what Y is doing with his body, (and normaly I agree whit that) but we know Y's case is far from being normal. Y uses violent sex as a form of self harm to cope with his trauma.

All the men Y encountered always treated and abused him really really badly,

And Y let it all happen not by choice, but because he never lived something else, he been used his whole life, he never chosed anything that happened to him, he undergoes everything . everyone always treated him badly everyone neglected him; his stepdad, his mom, shcool, all the men he encountered, ryuzaki, misumi, they all abused him, and he is so deep in selfloathing that he dosen't care anymore. He's resilieted, he so damaged that his numb.

But D is not okay with that. Is that something this bad ? Is that this bad to want to protect someone you love and care for, from further harm and abuse ?

D is not being possesive and jealous, he can't bear seeing Y being treated this way. Who could ?

If you saw someone you love and care deeply for, harming themself daily in front of you, you won't do anything ? You won't try to stop them ? You won't try to protect them from this harm ? You can't just say "oh I'm not interfering, their life their choices" when someone is consuming themself little by little in front of your eyes.

Yashiro did not chose this, he suffered, and then he made himself suffer, cause it's the only thing he knows.

No one ever tend he's hand to him, and told him that he doesn't need to treat himself this way anymore...💔

See you part 4.

(How many parts I'm gonna write, bear with me lol)

[lxmelle]

Re-reading some satosugu moments after chapter 261 dropped.

Spoilers under cut

“If you were there to pat me on the back, I might’ve been satisfied.” I know Geto was shown to have a little tear in reaction to this, and after knowing what he did and was willing to do with his body in ch261… phew, I feel like he recognised that Gojo really valued Geto’s presence and acceptance* of what he was doing, and that he had nothing to be envious over. (*more on this later)

Yes, he wasn’t lonely and yes he had fun with someone with unparalleled strength, but it seems like, as it was shown in his thoughts over the impossibility not becoming a monster alone - hinting that nobody else would do - because he single-mindedly has been chasing one person. (Just like Geto was who adorned himself with a Gojokesa, no less. Geto who couldn’t smile in a world despite having a family for the past 10 years but felt like he could cope with things when Gojo was by his side. Smiling warmly at his words at the very end). I think Geto recognised that. Hence the tear after seeing Gojo’s end and hearing what his friend had to say about it.

When they both heard how Nanami also spent a lot of time reflecting on the past, and yet ironically bet on things in the future at his death... Gojo also seemed appeased by this, deciding he didn’t have any regrets in the afterlife and yelled out to Yaga.

He seemed satisfied with his decision over events in 261 too.

Geto’s tears in both panels (I actually didn’t notice the second for some time) seemed to depict a sense of bittersweet realisation that he was truly missed / needed by Gojo. Or that their sacrifices had meaning. Who knows... but it does really hit different after the recent chapter. It’s just so like Geto to express himself in this way. The Japanese aren’t really blunt, so it makes a lot of sense that he is a little vague.

Just like at the end of jjk 0, he says that he didn’t think Gojo had forgiven him and still had trust for him. He thought they’d fought. His statement of “you should curse (me out) at the end” is as much of an admission of his apology as he could give in that moment.

Although it makes a lot of sense of Gojo’s last words to be “I love you.” (As I wrote about in another blog), it makes equal sense to me if he said “welcome home; you did your best.”

Because then Geto’s blushing smile could’ve been how he realised he always had a place with Gojo. Nobody else could do. He didn’t realise until then that he was actually loved by the person he loved too. The person he tried to save by dirtying his hands and try to preserve. He loved by trying to sacrifice himself not knowing that the other person actually needed him and would have been monsters together if Geto said “Yes, kill them.” at the hideout. A few people on X were tweeting about how it was ironic how Geto’s CT of intaking curses and his way of loving was to let them go; Gojo’s CT was to repel energy and his way of loving was to hold on forever. Sigh.

Nevertheless, we see how Gojo respected what Geto needed to do and didn’t chase after him. He allowed himself to be left behind. If you think about it, Gojo has done every. single. thing. Geto has requested from him, from giving Riko a good time, not killing the followers, ensuring there is a point to killing anyone, letting him walk away because it would be respecting his decision to live his life doing his best to create a world of sorcerers, let him go get crepes with his girls, and finally… to be the one to end his life. (He probably also gave his body to his cult family because Geto asked about whether they escaped, showing his consideration for his friend.) This was the warmth of his loving acceptance. Gojo was accepting of Geto’s need to do things on his own and never forced his will upon him.

Some others on X were discussing how Geto was within Gojo’s inner circle ⭕️ and that he wasn’t considered a “flower” to him. Thus, he drew a line between him and others and never could let anyone in. It makes sense when we think of them as the “strongest duo” that came to an end, and the Yin & Yang nature of their dynamic. Geto felt left behind by Gojo and Gojo felt left behind by Geto. Sigh.

Yuta: Don’t be a monster on your own.

Gojo thinks: It’s impossible; I was left behind back then, so I need to catch up (in other words: because nobody else will do beside me, besides Suguru).

Again, it hits harder to read ch236:

“at some point, a line was drawn between me and others as a living creature.” (People became flowers whom he believed could never understand him.)

“I couldn’t reach him. I had fun.” (I tried to be a monster and fight a monster to see if the answer was to reach someone else, it it didn’t work but I had fun going all out for once in my life; dying in battle than of old age.)

And “If you were there, I’d probably have been satisfied.” (There was something missing and it was you.)

And it all makes sense what he said in jjk0 that in his personal opinion: “love was the most twisted curse of all.” And “my one and only best friend.”

Ah... tragic love. Sigh.

[thedaythatwas]

I need to know what goes on inside akechi’s head on the evening of october 24th.

like. look at it from his perspective. he comes to leblanc early. he has his priorities straight: he’s going to play some mind games, really get under joker’s skin.

(bear with me while I get serious about a profoundly unserious conversation)

he’s staking his claim on enemy territory. he’s sitting patiently, waiting for akiren to walk through the door. surely, it will intimidate his rival to know that he’s made himself at home in his living space. look how close he managed to slip without akiren noticing! he even went so far as to strike up a conversation with his odd barista caretaker. akechi would drop some quick political jargon here, reference some continental philosopher’s name there— all in the name of making akiren look totally incompetent.

really, joker should be terrified. he should feel violated, even. akechi would! hence:

look— he’s so self satisfied! yes, he totally won this round!

🚨 BUZZER NOISE! 🚨

see, akechi is playing 4D chess. so is akiren! but they’re using drastically different playbooks. we know this because goro akechi procedes to get hit with the following:

I know you as the player don’t need to select that dialogue option (I could go on about the implications of that, but other posts have already said it better). but you can! and I, for one, do.

not to get too deep on what is obviously a joke post, but I think this offers some insight into those little rants that akechi goes on sometimes. you know what I’m talking about— “oh, you’re so special, so interesting, it’s like we were fated to meet each other!”

yes— they were basically fated to meet each other, but that’s not the point.

as silly as it sounds, the fact that dialogue options like this exist proves the oft-stated fact that akiren is the antithesis to akechi’s thesis.

akechi plans his interactions with akiren down to a tee, and still, akiren manages to throw akechi off his rhythm! every. single. time. nobody else does this.

part of this is because akiren sees his interactions with akechi for what they’re worth. it’s all a gamble, a chess match. akechi appreciates that akiren is an equal player in their game. he respects that. it takes intelligence to see a bluff for what it is, and to call it. flirtatiously, too!

that respect is what makes their relationship so compelling. it holds true whether you read what they have as love, hate, obsession, or, hell, even all of the above! you know it isn’t indifference, because that doesn’t make any sense coming from either of them.

call me crazy (I certainly deserve it) but if akiren responds “honey, I’m home” to akechi, he hears another message loud and clear: I see what you tried to do here, I’m calling you on it, and you don’t scare me. you’ve made your move, and I’m going to undo it with flair, because I’m joker, and you love it.

and when you look at it like that, it makes sense why little things might set off akechi’s thoroughly-stated appreciation of akiren. they aren’t “little” to him at all. I’m sure he doesn’t wax poetic just to fuel akiren’s ego, anyway. that isn’t quite his style.

and hey! even if akiren didn’t mean to communicate all of that (he totally did though), it doesn’t make the sentiment any less real to akechi! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. the guy has issues. let him plot the downfall of his enemies (real and perceived) in peace <3

[perfectserendipity]

It makes sense

Delusion and shipping logic aside. Ianthony being romantically involved with each other and dating would make lot of sense.

I know that a lot of fans feel like they have to ''defend'' them from shippers. I get it, I really do. I can understand why a lot of people react defensively, in an effort to protect them, and push the ''they are just friends and that's great'' narrative, (exactly like we have seen them do with Shourtney before the marriage announcement).

But even though that is a valid sentiment, I also feel that trying to stop fans from hoping there might be something more (especially when there definitely are a lot of things pointing in that direction) and dismisisng everything as ''delusion'', is not the way to go.

Most operate under the assumption that the shippers are seeing things that aren't there, ... but what if that is not entirely the case?

I think that both sides should keep an open mind and just see what happens.

I love Ianthony, yes, but even putting the shipping goggles aside, I still think that it makes a lot of sense for many reasons.

If you don't see it (or think you have to pretend that you don't because of your fear of being parasocial and invasive) it's ok. But as long as they are respectful bout it, there is nothing wrong with some seeing something there and hoping for the best.

Even because, to be completely honest, I don't think shippers are the only ones believing there could be something going on.

Even when they read ''childhood friends turned lovers'' Reddit story, it seemed pretty clear to me that both Shayne and Courtney were trying trying to encourage Anthony (and Ian) in some way. Those two know exactly what it's like to be in love with a friend and coworker and can probably read the signs better than anyone else, and they definitely seemed to have be wanting to say something to Anthony.

Of course, you can say that it's just reading too much into things and that Shourtney's comments, the reason the story was picked in the first place and Anthony's emotional reaction to it, can all be explained away in a different manner, but it's just yet another thing to add to the list that has been growing for quite a while.

In the end all I am saying is that none of us know, but especially after the Shourtney thing, I think that shippers (the respectful ones of course) should be given a bit more leniency.

Nobody knows what will happen. I think it would be amazing if they started dating, and I'm really hoping for it, but in the end I just want them happy, we all do. So fingers crossed and let's wait and see, there's no hurry.

[acourtofthought]

Do you really think sjm will give every single FMC in every single one of her books the same HEA with a mate?

In almost every case, yes.

If SJM is writing a full length novel in the ACOTAR world that features a fae FMC / MMC (I'm not sure I see her writing a full length MM or FF novel, maybe a novella where the characters may or may not have a bond) than I do think they'll receive a HEA together as mates because we have been told there is no bond greater than a mating bond. That no matter how special marriage is, a mating bond trumps it. That the mating bond is a bridge between souls which means any other love is not.

In the old days of gymnastics the best score you could receive was a perfect 10. Though a gymnast could be extremely happy with a 9.8, you still can't turn around and tell them that 9.8 is just as good as a perfect 10. It's a great score of course but it's still not the best score.

That's a mating bond in this world, the perfect 10 and there's no going back once we know what the peak is. Elain loved Graysen, maybe she could have learned to love Az, but she'll only ever be mates with Lucien. Lucien will only ever be the one with a bridge to her soul. People can rant and rage all they want, they can downplay it to their hearts content but it doesn't change the fact that Sarah J Maas (as well as many other authors) have decreed this as their truth. I have never known a fated mates author to write a true rejected mates story, one where they don't have a HEA by the end, regardless of how many fated mates book they've written. Ella Fields has multiple Fated Mates books at this point. J.R. Ward has at least over 20 (an author Sarah loves). If Fated Mates are presented as an option within a world then nothing else is going to be as good especially when it involves two important side turned main characters. Many in the fandom love Elain and many LOVE Lucien. He's just as much a favorite in this world as she is and Sarah has not written him to be anything but respectful to Elain, hot, and set up to become a future HL. This is not a throw away character where his feelings don't matter, his longing for Elain matters just as much as her current avoidance of the bond. The arguments of feminism are so ridiculous because in books you are allowed to root for all characters equally, I don't have to put Elain's "wants" (though we don't truly know whether what she currently claims is what she actually wants) over his simply because I'm a woman. I am allowed to be just as invested in his HEA as hers because the author wrote it that way, because she has set him up to be the good guy in Elain's story - the one who has never hurt her and only wants the best for her.

An author can throw all the angst, tension, hatred, etc. that they want at the two characters but it has never changed where they end up (which is together).

The only scenario where a rejected Fated Mates story would make sense to me is a setup like we might be getting with Mor / Eris. While Sarah is now writing Eris to be sort of a good guy, many readers were not quite as invested in him until SF. Yes, I realize there are some who have always loved Eris (I like him too) and after reading that Beron tortured him we hope for a better outcome for him but I think it's safe to say that if he and Mor turn out to be mates, nobody would be all that heartbroken for him to not end up with her. We know her romantic preference but we don't know his. We saw that he caused her trauma that has lingered over the years and we've never seen him longing for her. Sarah has written them to share in a connection of sorts, where they're always aware of the other but not in a way where anyone really wants them together. Eris letting go of Mor and his bond with her so she might find happiness with a women makes him heroic without the reader feeling heartbroken that he doesn't get to be with her because we don't get the vibes he has any interest in being with her. This is a scenario where it might make sense for mates to not end up together because we know Mor will never want a male in that way and we're not invested in Eris ending up with anyone (outside of Az for some).

In contrast, Elain does like males and Lucien finds Elain to be the most beautiful female he's ever seen, even more than the one female who had control over his heart for centuries. We know he's already struggling with the effects of the bond therefore we know the disappointment he feels at her indifference would continue to hurt him. They are set up as a romantic possibility despite Elain's behavior around him right now because authors don't write that sort of setup for it to go nowhere.

Could SJM write a non mates story without ever introducing a mating bond (even a rejected one)? Sure! Vassa and Jurian come to mind. But I don't think it's happening within the current cast of fae characters most likely to get a spin off.

She might also decide to write an entirely new series where mates aren't a thing but in the current worlds, unless the character is human, it's kind of difficult not to want that perfect 10.

[wildflowerwoodsworld]

A guide on writing YamiChar (or, how I do it, at least)

I've tried to write this meta over and over and over, trying to put all my thoughts in order, (below is my best attempt at it) but the more I try to explain how I do them, the more I realise that writing YamiChar well really just comes down to making sure that they're their own separate characters, with their own motivations and conflicts and lives outside each other. Yami needs to give a damn and Charlotte needs to not be obsessed with him. That's it.

Anyway. The meta.

First things first, the most important part of writing them (and why it so often falls short in canon) is that they both have to care about each other. Exactly how this looks can vary depending on the plot of your fic, but you cannot have Yami not caring about Charlotte in some way. The biggest reason this ship calls short in canon is because Yami doesn't really seem to give a damn about her, when he is all Charlotte's internal monologue can really focus on. She gets possessed and he doesn't seem to give a damn. After the initial fight, he doesn't even think about her, even while he's running around with Charla. Comparatively, when Yami gets kidnapped, she can't think about anything else.

Personally, I tone down Charlotte's crush. Or at least how she expresses it outwardly. Her running away from Yami screaming isn't funny, it isn't cute and it isn't helping her in any way. It's just embarrassing for her and makes her look incompetent. This woman is a Magic Knight Captain. She has a reputation to think about, people her being incompetent will reflect badly on. She is the face of the Blue Rose Knights, if people lose respect for her, then they're likely to start losing respect for her squad and that just makes their job harder than it needs to be. Especially considering the fact that, the world of Black Clover, just like our own, seems to elevate men's accomplishments above women's. So, yes. Charlotte's panicked screaming needs to go.

This isn't to say that she can't get embarrassed or flustered or that she can't panic, Charlotte is still a dramatic person at the end of the day, but those sorts of emotions are far more likely to be expressed in private, or only around people she can trust. She is not going to run screaming into a room full of strangers making a fool of herself.

On Yami's side of things, I tend to go with him not quite realising exactly what he's feeling. he has no real reason to believe what he's reading in her ki, or what people are telling him she feels. He's a foreigner. People like Nozel have made it quite clear that he isn't really welcome. Why would he think that the woman who could have literally anyone she wanted would want him?

Yami acts like a big, confident guy, but there's a lot of childhood trauma buried under all the bravado. He jokes about being a soft sensitive princess, but there's truth to it. His love interest has to be willing to look under the big macho man facade and not many people do.

So. We've got two people with a whole host of childhood trauma hiding their real selves from the world. How do we turn that into a relationship? You give them something to connect over. For these two, they're in a very unique position to understand each other in a way nobody else really can. They've both been shunned for things they can't control. They've both had people terrified of their magic. They've both had countless doors slammed in their faces. They've both dealt with people judging them on appearance alone. They've both been placed on a pedestal with a kingdom that criticises their every move. There's a lot of common ground for them to bond over.

Importantly, they aren't fixing each other. Sure, they learn from each other, but Yami doesn't suddenly become a perfect gentleman, Charlotte doesn't lose her sharp tongue or general attitude towards men. They do not suddenly become a lovey-dovey mess. They are both people who would rather ignore their feelings and leave it to deal with another time, preferably never. "That's Future Yami's problem" ring any bells? Which, I suppose, is better than Charlotte just diving straight into denial. Anyway. My point is, their romance looks like friendly teasing and unspoken trust, "I've got your back" and meaning it, the calm confidence that comes with knowing you're stronger together and capable of utterly wrecking anyone that tries to fight you.

Also, if anyone is going to retire to raise the kids, it's Yami.

TL;DR write them the same way you would if they were best friends but with more flirting.