#mind you this is coming from someone who doesn’t like age gap ships most of the time

[shrinkthisviolet]

…baffling new Westhawne discourse unlocked: apparently 25 and 31 is a “problematic” age gap now?

Like…someone was saying that Eddie had “more experience as an adult while Barry and Iris had just finished college” but uh…no?? Barry was a CSI when the show started, equal to Eddie professionally (different jobs, yes, but equally accomplished in them). Meanwhile, Iris was finishing grad school, not college*, she had a job as a barista and a blog when the show started**, and then she was offered a job as a CCPN reporter due to her blog (she would’ve had a harder time breaking into the field without it—it served as her portfolio, which she further developed after being hired)

Which, sure, isn’t on Eddie’s level, but they’re on different career paths anyway—Iris pursued a Master’s degree after undergrad and discovered her love for journalism during that, while Eddie pursued police work presumably right after undergrad—so naturally, Iris would progress in her career later than Eddie. That speaks to a difference in career path, not maturity 😂

Like…come on guys. If you’re gonna criticize Westhawne, at least stop getting hung up on petty nonsense.

*college in the US is usually synonymous with “undergraduate education”. Iris is 3 years past that. Although I’m pretty sure college isn’t synonymous with “graduate education” like…anywhere in the world (in some places, it’s moreso synonymous with “high school”). Or at least not often/commonly

**well, the blog became a thing post-accelerator, but you get the idea. It was still a thing from the pilot onwards. It wasn’t her job, granted, but it did lead to her getting one!

[foryoupeko]

I saw someone asking why I labeled something as Peko/Buki even tho I'm a Kuzu/Peko shipper. Other then the fact multishippers exist, I didn't consider that as a Kuzu/Peko comic. Ibuki expressed more interest in Peko than Fuyuhiko.

Call me asexual but I don't think just because Fuyuhiko was close to Peko's hip, it should be considered explicit shipping.

So just to be clear on my stance, I am okay with you ppl labeling my art as any ship but there are some boundaries.

Don't label it with problematic ships like incest or age gap.

If the art is clearly about one couple, don't make it about another. But if it's just a group of ppl chilling then you can find whatever couple you like.

I personally hate Mahi/Peko but I know I'm gonna draw things exploring Mahiru's crush on Peko so that's on me if ppl interpret it that way. Just don't be weird, because I have no quams with never drawing Peko and Mahiru within 5 feet of each other. I've drawn Case 2 ten times and I've only drawn Mahiru once.

I made a list of Peko's relationship with others if you wanna know my stance on her ships.

Hajime -I will never let people forget Hajime has a canon crush on Peko. Besides that, Hajime is Peko's first true friend. Outside of Fuyuhiko, Hajime is the only person Peko feels comfortable confiding in her secrets. He doesn't judge and is very kind. Meanwhile Hajime goes to Peko when he needs a cool headed and rational opinion.

Chiaki - Queerplatonic, they snuggle a lot. Chiaki is chill and her games makes it easier for Peko who has no experience talking to people have things to relate to. Peko understands when Chiaki is emotionless for the most part and then burst into excitement when it's something she's passionate about. They developed their own little language in those situations.

Nagito - Nagito likes to take advantage of Peko’s kindness and clings to her. Peko doesn’t mind hanging out with Nagito but stares dagger into him when he’s being too forward with others (he doesn’t read social cues so he’s not gonna catch it). Nagito thinks of himself as a diet Fuyuhiko. As long as Peko provides support, he'll look out for her.

Teruteru - He's super turned on by Peko but gets flustered when she genuinely cares about him (turns out he does not have a mommy kink). Peko enjoys Teruteru teaching her about cooking so the two eventually bond over that.

Imposter - Peko’s best friend on the island. They both relate to not knowing who they’re supposed to be. At the same time, they don’t see each other as just victims. They’re both people trying to grow and become better. When these two are together some say they're TOO COOL (actually Ibuki is the only one that said this)

Mahiru - Mahiru has a giant crush on Peko. At first she believe she knows what’s best for her and tries to takes her away from Fuyuhiko. Once she accepts Peko doesn’t want her help, she tries to be happy for Peko and Fuyuhiko.

Hiyoko: Is jealous of Peko so she lashes out at her a lot. Originally it was for looking mature/sexy and gardening Mahiru’s attraction. But after she learned of Peko’s past, she’s jealous that she didn’t have her own bodyguard to protect her from the multiple assassination attacks she went through.

Ibuki: Queerplatonic, they kiss A LOT. Ibuki loves seeing Peko awkwardly cheer for her at concerts (imagine Pearl from Steven Universe type of awkward) Peko made Ibuki realize that quiet is okay. Because only when it’s quiet, she can hear Peko’s heart beat speed up. I think they would be a cute fling but these two come from two different worlds. Ibuki is a party rocking planet and Peko is a silent moon. Maybe if the stars aligned they could've made it work. But that doesn't mean you can't appreciate eclipses.

Mikan: Mikan’s ability to read micro facial expressions helps her interpret a lot of Peko’s hidden emotions. Peko likes Mikan but Mikan mistaken Peko’s quietness with secret resentment (she can read that Peko isn’t mad but sometimes mental illness makes you ignore facts). Mikan is had to get close to and Peko doesn't have the social understanding to truly know her.

Gundham: He has adopted her as his own. He feels the need to protect this person on par with his traumatic backstory. She must realize this too, that’s why she keeps flocking to him and his four dark devas. Meanwhile Peko only understands 50% of what he’s saying but she’s trying. Sonia (and Gonta in non despair AU) has to interpret sometimes. Giant Big Brother and Little Sister energy.

Sonia: Sonia is the extrovert who adopts an introvert. Sonia wants to hang out with all her classmates and one of the few who doesn't see Peko cool demeanor as disinterest. Sonia is the only one who can relate to Peko's isolation and only she knows the kind of loneliness that can come with being around others. Peko doesn't realize this on her part and it hurts Sonia. But Sonia doesn't stop trying.

Kazuichi: Scared and aroused by Peko. I head anon one time his trash picking robot accidentally took Peko’s sword and it exploded. Kazuichi was so scared to admit it to Peko but once he did - Peko was more concerned about him than her sword. He’s convinced she’s in love with him and begs Fuyuhiko to ask her out for him. Peko bluntly declines.

Nekomaru - Nekomaru passionately talks with Peko about a lot of things. At first it was Kendo, then it was training, proper diet, and it spiraled into Nekomaru talking excitably about his day. Peko is a good listener but even she can go deaf from all the yelling. Ibuki bails her out sometimes. I think Nekomaru and Sonia are the only people who know how to push Peko out of her comfort zone without overstepping. Ibuki can be too excited in getting Peko to do new things. Hajime and Chiaki doesn't see a problem with Peko doing her own thing.

Akane - The girls bond over being asexual together. No talk about love or mushy stuff. They talk with battle! At least according to Akane. Peko is hesitant to train with Akane because she believes only someone strong like Sakura could handle her blade. Akane takes that as an open challenge and tries to blindside Peko until she takes her seriously. Akane does have to learn boundaries at one point. Maybe the person who grew up in constant danger doesn't want to keep looking over her shoulders in case her classmates attack her.

Fuyuhiko - Ultimately, though everything, this blog will always be a Kuzu/Peko blog. Growing up, Fuyuhiko developed a crush on Peko but never acted on it. Only after a chance conversation with Sakura about what being in love is like, Peko realized in middle school she is in love with Fuyuhiko. By that point their relationship is strained. Fuyuhiko is constantly telling Peko he doesn't need a tool and pretend they don't know each other. Peko doesn't want to be forgotten by Fuyuhiko, this person she spent everyday with. She planned on asking him out, as equals, but then Twilight Syndrome Murder happened. There was no time for love when there was so much hate in his heart. Eventually after everything, the two realizes they need each other. Fuyuhiko only pushed Peko away because he thought she couldn't grow as a person if she was constantly worried about him. Peko realizes she can still care and protect Fuyuhiko as a fellow warrior by his side. These two understand each other so well that they don't need to talk. But this also leads to terrible miscommunications.

[bohemian-nights]

Dumbnyra stans low-key be funny talking bout some "Daemon groomed/abused Nettles. Anyone who ships them are gross! She deserves better." And I'm like first of all they be calling Dettles this and that as if they don't be actively shipping UNCLE AND NIECE. Second if Dumbnyra isn't grooming (it is) it sure as hell is abuse because last time I checked choking your partner (non-consensually) is domestic violence which is abuse. But you know there right she does deserve better, not from Daemon but from there feminist girlboss can do no wrong in there eyes white insert Targaryen Queen Rhaenyra, who ordered her death but made sure to explicitly state no harm was to come to Daemon.

They out here trying to Jeyne Pool Nettles like news flash not only is Nettles important narratively, I wonder who’s going to tell them that without her there fave Daemon (at least show wise) is just an unredeemable asshole with no character development. Like hello HOTD writers you can’t say he was made up out of both darkness and lightness and then take away all his lightness (Nettles, Laena, his daughters).

Also that whole bullshit soulmate “we have always been meant to burn together” thing there trying to do with Dumbnyra is laughable.

Sorry for ranting 🙂 (I also love that you call Daemyra, Dumbnyra lol).

Never apologize for ranting about Nettles and Daemon. Lol, the math straight up isn’t mathing because if you wanted to protect Nettles from someone it would be little Miss Aryan who tried to put a hit out on her, not the man who was going to lay down his life for her🙃

And as much as I love to rag on Dumbnyra(can’t take credit for that cause I saw it somewhere else and started using it🤣) stans cause they are straight-up racist misogynist trash, it’s not just them who are doing this.

Some of Team Green or Green-leaning fans also seem to view Rhaenyra as this innocent white woman(when it comes to Nettles) who just had a little breakdown and maybe if her perverted husband kept it in his pants and didn’t go dilly-dallying with a young Black woman she’d be okay👍🏽

Daemon has to have abused Nettles because there is no way he could treat a poor young Black woman better than Aryan Valyrian Queenie 😀

In fandoms, people always look the other way for white ships even when there is actual abuse involved, but the moment a Black woman is involved her relationship has to be spotless otherwise it’s “abusive” or she’s being “groomed” or some other bull crap, and we must “protect her.”

This isn’t mutually exclusive to HOTD. No joke, I got hate for shipping Shuri x Namor, not because he literally killed her mother, but because Namor is 500 years old and Shuri is in her early 20s. Mind you this person was a Ten-Rose shipper and that couple has an even larger age gap than Shuri and Namor(Rose is 19 and the Tenth Doctor is 900) 🙃

Once again this “protection” is less about “protecting” and more like “No no no wait, stop. There is a black woman and she is being loved. This just can’t be. Alert the fire department. Call the police.”🙃

Circling back to Dumbnyra stans, they truly are the most delusional fans I have ever seen. Like they really believe that even though Daemon literally mentally, emotionally, and physically abused their self-insert somehow Dumbnyra is still going to make it🤣🤣🤣 Lol with or without Nettles your ship is going the way of the Titanic🤷🏽‍♀️ Epic soulmates they are not. The show showed them that.

And yeah while Daemon doesn’t physically abuse Rhaenyra in the book(s) it isn’t this great love story they are making it out to be because when crazy a** Rhaenyra needs Daemon the most, she straight up just wants him back with her and tries to kill Nettles to “free him,” this man says deuces, goes against her orders to save the “misunderstanding,” and possibly gets himself killed(we never saw a body so I’m holding onto the possibility he lived) rather than go back to her 🙃

Go read the sections of Fire & Blood where Rhaenyra goes on her racist tangent and then the part where Daemon reads her execution orders for Nettles if you don't believe me📖

They can’t read and cling to the fanon scenarios they’ve created in their head to prop up that sinking hellfire of a ship. They so desperately want Rhaenyra to be his light when she’s just not. Both in the show and the book(s).

In the book(s), his light patches are Nettles, Laena, and his girls. They’ve screwed over his relationship with Laena and their girls in the show so now it’s up to Nettles to show that the man is morally gray and they can’t stand that 🤷🏽‍♀️

[arkyn-iceborn-vindication]

SHIPPING INFO //ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSES SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER(S)?

My OTP with Arkyn is definitely Ahri. More specifically, Arkyn with @ahrichus--archived-blog‘s Ahri. Mo is one of my best friends and one of the main reasons I got so involved in the LoL RPC back in the day. The mixture of fluff and angst between these two immortal goofballs was such a pleasure to write. Mo’s retired from the RP scene, but I still often send them HCs and such about the two characters.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

Great question, especially since Arkyn is at least 9,000 years old (though depending on verse, most of that was in stasis). I’d say that any character around 25-ish can reasonably date any older character without me feeling very weirded out by it. There’s exceptions to every rule, obviously, but that’s the first thing that comes to mind. If the hypothetical 25-year-old has known, say, this 60 year old since they were much younger, that can definitely feel weird to me. Otherwise, I feel like the half-the-oldest-character’s-age-plus-seven rule makes decent sense for me.

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NSFW?

I’m more than happy to write violence n gore, but smut is something I’m rather averse to writing. The moment the clothes come off or when hands begin to wander, I’m fading to black.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

I feel like I’m just as selective as most people would be. I like seeing Arkyn’s character develop by meeting someone and entering into a romance, but I’m not gonna smack characters together and expect things to work out. I prefer the characters having known each other for quite some time before they “fall.” Slow burn / mutual pining is the best. If I don’t feel like there’s good chemistry between our muses after a few interctions, it’s unlikely a ship will come to fruition.

WHO ARE OTHER CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?

Arkyn’s had lots of relationships here on tumblr throughout the years. Most of them were with other peoples’ OCs, but there were a few League characters mixed in. Ahri, Ashe, canon-divergent Katarina, very canon-divergent Lissandra, and I’ve always been curious about trying a ship with a Sejuani. I like the idea of a Sejuani ship being a slow burn or a forced proximity since Arkyn’s first impression of Sejuani was poor, and both are proud and competent warriors with differing world views. It could even be a relationship that fails and they’re bitter exes. Really, I just want to interact with a Sejuani more because I rarely got the chance to write with any back in the day. If I were to pick any other champs, I would be curious to have Kai’sa interact with Arkyn if only for them to have shared void trauma to bond over.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?

I would like to discuss ships before we just jump into one, and, as stated before, I can be selective about who Arkyn would reciprocate feelings for. However, that doesn’t mean characters without many Arkyn interactions can’t send in ship-related asks or starters. In fact, unrequited love is a side of writing I haven’t often explored. I’ll probably DM you if we haven’t discussed it yet to hash out ideas, but if your character wants to put some moves on the ice boy, feel free! I can’t guarantee he’ll immediately be into it, but we can always wing it and see where it goes.

ARE YOU SHIP-OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?

My desire to write romance comes and goes, but judging from past experience in the RPC, if I’ve got an active ship I’m likely to err more on the side of obsessed rather than not. I don’t think I’m one to go out of my way to find new ships for Arkyn, but I do love to write him dealing with his own feelings should I have an active shipping partner.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?

That’s a tough question, honestly. I’ve been only tangentally involved in League for a long time, and I’m not sure if there’s a ship I particularly prefer to others. Ekko/Jinx is interesting from a tragic perspective, but I wouldn’t call it my favorite by any means. Once upon a time I shipped Shen and Irelia, but current lore makes me feel like Shen would have too many problems with Irelia’s philosophy for them to mesh.It’s been a while since I had any sort of CanonxCanon OTP.

If I were to step oustide of the LoL fandom though, I’ve been playing a lot of Octopath Journey 2 recently and I’m seeing some chemistry between Agnea and Hikari 👀 Also seems like Hikari and Throné have a lot in common but I’m not sure if I’d necessarily ship the two together.

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?

Message me! I’m always down to discuss ships, especially if there’s a certain dynamic or trope we want to achieve with the relationship. I haven’t really done any pre-established relationships before as far as romance goes, but I’d be willing to give it a go if I felt it was justifiable between each muse. Honestly, even a one-off comment in a tag or some inner monologue in a thread that implies a muse might be catching feelings could be enough if I feel the two could be a good pair. But yes, the most reliable way is to message me privately, and I would be more than glad to figure out any sort of shipping.

Tagged by: @misstantabismuses and @witchcraftandburialdirt Tagging: @cherrychitters @the-expatriate @chronicparagon @korvyna @eightfoldjourney and YOU

[jangyeevns]

in reference to this post, i’m gonna have a lax little group set in huntington beach, california and surrounding muses ages 21-45 ( maybe 50.. i’ll tweak soon when i decide ) because older muses deserve a place too !! i’m capping it at ten muns for now and it’ll be moots/friends/vibe check clearance exclusive for maximum comfort for everyone. basic rules and info are as follows:

obviously, no god-modding, ship/face-chasing, bubble roleplaying, ooc drama, generally abusive, insensitive or intolerant behaviour, etc or you’re out ! we’re all adults here, so while i’ll intervene when something is brought to my attention, i should assume we all know how to act for these tough and uncomfortable conversations to be avoided or handled privately and considerately.

age ( outside of established rule in next point ) and race-bending are also BIG no’s so let’s not do that, yeah?

muses, fcs and muns must be 21+ to be considerate of ages of majority in some parts, and the rule for aging a muse will be +/- 4 years per the fc’s current age.

recent community fuckery has me adding this, smh. if shipping/having romantic connections comes about, do consider the ages of both muse and fc and not indulge in massive age gaps or power imbalances; chemistry is so valid, but we also have to bear in mind the implications of a 30+ year old fc being with a 22 year old fc, especially as 21 is the youngest age accepted.

you can apply with 2 muses with one being gender, body or racially diverse since i’m not about to facilitate a white and cis as fuck environment because there’s no reason in 2023 ?? this goes for every second muse you pick up when additional muses are allowed once things kick off.

banned fcs shouldn’t have to be rattled off like crazy since lots of lists exist for people who don’t wish to be used and we know most of the problematic people to be wary of, but for those who are either still used in abundance or conflict with personal comfort ( which muns can add onto once accepted ), they include: the hadids, the jenners, kj apa, cole sprouse, nicola peltz, justin bieber, timothée chalamet, ester exposito, dove cameron, danna paola, legacies cast, angus cloud, any zionist, pro-trump or anti-blm tools, sabrina carpenter, george sear, gavin leatherwood, matt daddario, josefine frida pettersen.

interest checks will be on a weekly basis since we all have work, school and other commitments to prioritize at times and rp is a hobby ! since this won’t be an open group, activity checks and hiatuses won’t be mandatory at the moment.

THE APP !

[ faceclaim, age, gender, pronouns ] — i think i just saw FIRST LAST leaving the pier with AESTHETIC ITEM + AESTHETIC ITEM in hand. you haven’t heard of them? they’re a/n OCCUPATION from HOMETOWN, living in NEIGHBOURHOOD and you can always find them at THEIR FAVOURITE SPOT. i don’t know, they seem pretty - NEGATIVE to most, but i thought they were + POSITIVE when i spoke to them; we’ll just have to wait and see what else they have in store for us. [ mun name/alias, age, pronouns, tz ]

feel free to add extras to get a feel for your muse ! it doesn’t impact acceptance if i’m being honest, but i always love a little insight if someone’s even willing to provide it LMAO

SAMPLE APP !

[ tingting_lai, 22, cis woman, she/her ] — i think i just saw PHOEBE ZHU leaving the pier with A SCRUNCHIE COORDINATED TO HER OUTFIT + RASPBERRY PEACH ITALIAN SODA in hand. you haven’t heard of them? they’re a STUDENT/RETAIL CLERK from SOUTHPORT, CONNECTICUT, living in GOLDENWEST and you can always find them at THE BEACH. i don’t know, they seem pretty - PERFECTIONISTIC to most, but i thought they were + EBULLIENT when i spoke to them; we’ll just have to wait and see what else they have in store for us. [ jules, 25, she/her, nt ]

TAKEN FCS !

tingting_lai, bianca lawson

MUN COUNT + FCS !

tbd !

[sableseb]

Sweater Weather

Lee Bodecker x f!character

word count: 3.9k

warnings: smut, car sex, loss of virginity, age gap, stalking, dry humping, fingering, dirty talk

tags: @harrysthiccthighss​ @fuckandfluff​ @meetmeatyourworst​ @hallecarey1​ @sparksforkoo​ @buckysboobs​ @buckydaddy​ @stucky-my-ship​ @bemine-bucky​ @greeneyedblondie44​ @thewritingdoll​ 

a/n: This story is for my friend @bucky-soldat​ ‘s Graduation Celebration! I chose the prompt, “I’m not interested in her sweater. It’s what’s underneath her sweater that counts.” Which, heavily inspired this fic. I had to do Lee. He just called to me for this one. I hope you love!.x

Being Sheriff of a bum fuck town never really holds a wow factor. Lee knows. Sure he has that rush when there’s a robbery, or when he breaks up bar fights. But, at its core, this town is about as interesting as the asphalt roads he patrols daily.

But, that all changed as Lee found himself a fixation one evening. After another day of the same ole speeding tickets, he saw her in the April sun, walking alone with her head down on the sidewalk, skirt to her knees with a sweater that seemed a few sizes too big. He instantly fell smitten.

She’s a cure for the sheer boredom he’s experienced most of his law abiding career. She’s something that captivates him. She seems so timid, so palpable. Just thinking about how easy it’d be to use her made his cock harden.

He often finds himself wondering if she’s got a body under all the shaggy clothing. Is she tight and thin? Curvy and soft? He needs to find out soon, keeping an eye on her from afar isn’t cutting it.

“You’re doin’ that thing again,” his deputy drawls, grabbing Lee’s attention.

He whips his head to the side, eyeing the young man who’s currently accompanying him on his patrol today. “What thing,” he asks with a pointed tone. The Sheriff never particularly liked being called out by someone who’s beneath him.

“I see the way you side eye that girl every time we watch this street. You’re whipped, boss.”

Lee’s jaw ticks. He hates the fact he’s so transparent when it comes to her, almost as much as he hates the amusement lacing his deputy’s words. But, he doesn’t comment. He just turns his heavy gaze back to his girl because he knows the boy sitting next to him is right. She has him wrapped around those slender fingers and she doesn’t even know it.

~~~

Lee becomes familiar with her routine. He knows her habits like the back of his hand. He didn’t mean to clock her every move, he just slept better at night knowing she’s safe. He’s witnessed one too many men get handsy with the women around here. He can’t have that happen to her. She’s for his touch only. 

He sits and waits in his cruiser like he always does, looking forward to seeing her emerge from school. Nineteen is a perfect age for him. Young, needing a man to look after her, care for her, fuck a baby into her. He can’t wait to fill her up, watch his seed slowly drip out of her as she begs for more. 

He watches as she walks out the double doors wearing a skirt that’s a little shorter than her usual wear and that same damned sweater. Her socks come to rest just below her knees, somewhat blocking out the harsh bite the air holds. 

The picture of innocence. Lee couldn’t find it in himself to care one bit about her age. Not when she made him feel things so acutely. He has this overwhelming urge to protect and corrupt her, to cherish and destroy her. He’s tired of looking from afar. 

Each Friday she goes down to the river bank and sits. She never did anything other than watch the ripples as they broke the flow of the water. So, Lee wasn’t surprised to see her walk her way down the same hill that she does at the end of each week as he tailed her. He always admires when she gets lost in her head. She seems at peace, content with the world around her.

He almost feels bad for intruding while she’s in her mind...Almost. 

“It’s awfully frigid to be sittin’ on a bank ain’t it?”

She whips her head around. She didn’t even hear him come down the trail she took moments prior. Fear is prominent on her face, but she soon realizes that it’s him and relaxes. “Sheriff,” she sighs, “you scared me.”

He takes her in. She’s sitting on a rock, knees tucked under her chin, a slight tremble to her frame, books scattered near her side. Her hair is wild and mused from the breeze, eyes bright from the midday sun. He wishes he had a camera on him. She looks like a work of art.

“Didn’t mean to, darlin’. Just checking in on you.”

Lee sees her shy away from him, obviously taken back by his statement. Did no one care to look out for her? That’s absurd. How could nobody care to make sure she’s okay?

“I’m fine, I pro-“

Thunder rolls in the distance, halting her mid sentence as clouds start to cover the sky. He looks up, it’s going to pour something ugly and soon. He can’t have her out here, can’t have her walk all the way home in the rain.

Lee extends a hand to her. “Why don’t I give you a ride home? It’s gonna storm soon.”

She looks hesitant as she contemplates his offer, looking at his hand and then towards the sky. A drop of rain hits her cheek and that’s all it takes for her to lay her cold palm in his.

She hops off the rock with his help before moving down to pick up her books. Lee can’t help but to rake his eyes over her hunched position as she retrieves her belongings. Her skirt rides up, showing more of the smooth flesh of her thighs with her ass slightly outlined in the flowing fabric. 

He imagines having her hold her ankles as he takes her from behind, leaving his hand prints across the ample cheeks of her backside while tears stream down her face as she begs him to ease up, begs him to slow down cause that little pussy of her’s can’t take the stretch, the pain. 

Once she has herself situated, Lee leads the way back up the dirt path as the rain starts a steady downpour. They rush to the cruiser before they get completely soaked. As he shuts the driver side door, he looks over to his girl. She’s shaking, the sleeves of her sweater pulled over her fists, hair damp. But, what he notices the most...she’s in his space. He can’t have her leave him without a taste of what she has to offer.

He switches the heat on for her. She gives him a little smile and mutters a thank you, turning her attention back to her lap. Lee is an observant man, smart and intuitive. So, when he sees her shy away from him, not holding his eye for more than mere seconds, he knows it’s either because he’s Sheriff or because she’s attracted to him and his presence. Closing herself off so she doesn’t seem like a fool. God, he prays it’s the second.

She hasn’t the slightest clue on his feelings towards her. Every bump in at community functions, running into each other when grocery shopping, keeping his space but always making sure his eyes are on her, it’s been torture to his mind and heart. He never made a move because deep down, he fears rejection, fears what he’ll do if those plump lips utter the word no.

Today, he’s going to show her exactly what she does to him. He’s sick of the constant gap between them. He knows he has to be careful not to scare her off, knows that if she reciprocates his feelings they’ll have to sneak around until his election is over and he gets out of his dirty, under the table dealings. Lee isn’t going to jeopardize her safety with the shit he brought upon himself.

He didn’t realize how bad the storm was hitting while he was lost in thought. Looking out the windshield, he can barely see the road in front of him. The rain engulfs the cruiser in a gray blanket with how fast and heavy it’s falling. There’s no way he can navigate these back roads in this condition.

“We’re gonna have to wait this storm out, that okay, darlin’,” he asks while pulling off to park on the side of the road.

“Yeah, it’s okay.”

Silence hangs heavy as they sit and wait. The patter of rain on the metal roof would be calming in any other situation. But, right now? Lee doesn’t comprehend anything other than the weak-kneed little thing sitting to his right. She’s close, but not close enough.

“Here,” he grunts as he picks up her books in the middle of them. She watches in confusion as he leans over the front seat to place her books in the back. “You’re shiverin’. Let me warm you up a bit, yeah?”

He watches intently to catch her reaction. It doesn’t surprise him that those doe eyes widen or that she fidgets with the hem of her sweater. But, what does catch him off guard is how easily she slides over to him and tucks herself underneath his awaiting arm. 

So, he thinks, she does take a likin’ towards me.

He sits there with a grin on his face, a skip in his chest, and a pretty girl resting upon him. His pretty girl. The one he’s dreamed of having. The thing with Lee though, is that you give an inch, he’ll take a mile.

“I know how we can get you warmed up faster, darlin’.”

She raises slightly to look up at him. “How, Sheriff?”

Lee takes him arm away from her shoulders, shifting her back a bit so he can cusp her cool cheeks in his palms. He hears her breath hitch as he leans in close, lips barely brushing hers. She makes no move to pull herself from his grasp. He takes that as a sign to continue.

“You ever been with a man before?”

Her body tightens up and her eyes widen. Her hands have a firm grip on the end of her sleeves. She’s visibly taken back, but interest swirls behind those eyes and, is that shame there too?

“I-I’ve never done anything. With anyone,” she stutters out, forcing herself to look anywhere but his face. “Does that...bother you?”

He lets out a little laugh, trying his hardest to mask a groan that threatens to slip. His sweetheart wants it, wants this, wants him. No one’s tainted her skin, got to experience her in the form God created. 

“No, honey. Not one bit. You gonna let me show you how it feels?”

She finally meets his gaze. Worry is etched onto her soft features, her lip taking the brunt of her nerves as she threatens to chew the skin off. Lee slides his thumb from her cheek to her mouth, pulling her lip away from the onslaught of teeth. Slowly, he rubs the irritated skin as he waits for her answer. 

Time seems to slow as he looks into her eyes. The storm still rages on, not once breaking the trance each of them hold on the other. “I would like that,” she whispers.

He plants his lips against hers as soon as she gives him the go. He starts off by feverishly moving his mouth against hers. Then, his hands move from her face to her chest, kneading her breasts through the heavy fabric. This causes her mouth to open in a gasp, giving Lee the perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss.

His tongue moves along hers, sucking on it, biting it. He’s basking in her sweet taste and soft whimpers as his groping gets harsher. She’s struggling to keep up. He breaks the kiss to pull the sweater over her head.

He’s met with one of the prettiest sights he’s seen. Under the fabric that swallows her whole, there hides a sultry figure. Her heavy breasts are straining against the buttons of her white school uniform, her waist sinks in only to have her hips flare out. The cotton clings to her and accentuates every dip and curve. She’s beauty in the purest form.

He must have been staring too long because she’s cowering away, trying to shield herself from his lust blown eyes. Lee’s quick to grab her arms and drag her flush against his front. 

“You’ve been hidin’ all this?” He takes his nose and traces it along her jaw and up to her ear. He bites the lobe before whispering, “You’re gorgeous. You’re gonna move back to your seat and strip for me. Shirt, bra, panties. They come off. The skirt stays on. You got that?”

“Yes, sir,” she whimpers.

Lee’s cock jumps at her obedience. He grips her hair and pulls her head away from his. “Good girl. Now, give me a show.”

He leans back as she scoots her way over to her side of the vehicle. Her hands hold a slight tremble as she undoes her blouse one button at a time. He takes in each piece of skin that becomes exposed to him. He brings a hand down to his dick that’s pressing uncomfortably against his zipper. He palms himself, eyes never once leaving her body.

Her movements falter as she watches him please himself so brazenly. To Lee, it’s fucking hot how worked up she is, how easily it is to fluster her. She makes it to the last button and shrugs the long sleeved blouse off. She unclasped her bra, baring herself to him.

He believes he can cum from just watching her. Her tits are round and full, nipples hardening against the cool air of the cruiser. He’s itching to sink his teeth into the tight buds, hear her cry out to him as he sucks and nibbles the sensitive flesh.

Her underwear follows as she slides them down her long legs. “Put ‘em in the glove box. For safe keepin’,” he commands through clenched teeth as his grip on himself tightens. She places the baby pink fabric in the compartment and clicks it back in place.

“Now, come sit your pretty little self on my lap.” 

It’s not how he’d like to have taken her. He’d much rather strip away her innocence in his bed, behind his four walls instead of his stuffy police car. But, everything just worked out too perfectly today and he couldn’t wait any longer for her, not when she seamlessly fell into his arms.

Her skirt falls around them as she sits on her knees above him. Lee’s hands fall to her waist as he looks up at her. He runs them along her hips, her stomach, down to her thighs to bring them under her skirt. He snake his arms around her to grip her bare ass. 

“How do you get yourself off? Do you rub your clit? Stuff your pussy with your fingers? Shower head maybe?”

Her breathing picks up at his words and his continuously wandering hands. It should be a simple answer. But, she’s taking a lot longer than necessary to tell him her dirty secret. He waits nonetheless, chalking it up to her anxiousness. 

“If I tell you, will you promise not to think anything of it?”

Without hesitation he says, “Promise.” What is she so nervous about? It has him chomping at the bits. How dirty is his seemingly perfect angel?

“I use a pillow,” she rushes out, looking everywhere but him once again.

He knows he promised. But, how could he not think anything of that? He pictures her clad in nothing but tight panties, desperately trying to get off from the pillow between her thighs. It’s so debauched, so erotic. He makes a mental note to have her show him her nasty masturbation session later with his own pillows. Leave her scent on the very thing he lays his head upon each night.

“My girl ain’t as innocent as she seems, huh? Let me see how you hump your pillows, honey.” He pushes her down by her ass to rest her warm heat on his straining erection. Her gasp turns into a small grunt as he works her over his clothed length. She gets the hint.

She presses herself harder against him, putting more momentum in her hips as she grinds against him. Lee can physically feel how wet she is through his slacks. He aids her movements by still keeping a firm grip on her back side. He ruts up against her, adding more pressure to her clit.

Sweat breaks along her skin as she furiously moves against him, trying so hard to reach her high. Lee notices the tremble in her legs and how her moans picked up. He halts her movement and she lets out a pained whimper.

“Shh,” he cooed as he placed kisses along the expanse of her face. “Tell me. Tell me you want me to fuck you with my fingers.”

He moves a hand from her ass to her mound, rubbing the smooth skin before sliding his thumb down to circle her clit. She jerks at the sensation. “Please. I want your fingers, Lee. Fuck me with your fingers.”

He takes his thumb off her nerves. He rubs the length of her pussy with his hand. She rides his palm as he continues his teasing. “You’re so desperate. Don’t worry, darlin’. I’ll stretch ya out and let ya cum. Give this cunt what she needs.”

As soon as his middle finger breaches her hole, she falls forward and pushes her face into the crook of his neck. He can feel each puff of air she lets out as he drags his finger through her wet walls. Her arousal slides down his skin and coats her thighs.

“You got sucha tight cunt. She’s cryin’, baby. Feel how you’re fuckin’ soakin’ me?”

Lee adds another digit. The stretch has her whimpering as she tries her best to accommodate the foreign feeling. He lets her adjust, moving his wrist slowly as she gains the confidence to take his fingers. When she starts lifting her hips and sinking them back down against his hand, he takes it as to pick up the pace.

The sounds of her cries and her drenched heat bounce around the confines of the car. He’ll never get over the beautiful symphony. It’ll follow him around in the back of his mind for the rest of his days. 

“Lee,” she whimpers. “I’m gonna cum.”

“That’s right, honey. Go ahead and soak my hand. You earned it.”

Her body starts to pull taut above him. Her form is stiff and tight except for the shaking of her thighs. He keeps his fast pace, making sure his palm smacks her clit with each harsh thrust. He feels the sudden grip of her pussy around his fingers, feels the throb as her orgasm over takes her and leaves her a panting mess.

Lee pulls her off him. He brushes away the hair that’s clung around her face and takes in her blissed out expression. He leans in and captures her mouth with his, lips moving lazily as he lays her down on the leather seat.

Breaking away, he tells her, “Hold your skirt up for me.” 

Watching as she takes her dainty hands and pulls the fabric above her waist, he sucks his teeth, looking straight between her legs. She shines in the dull light of the storm, pussy swollen and slick. There’s not one part of her that isn’t a sight for sore eyes.

He hastily undoes his belt, pulling his zipper down and taking his leaking cock out of his boxers. It causes a sense of pride to swell up in his chest as she gasps at his size. He runs his hand along his shaft a few times, giving her an eye full before leaning over her.

He moves his tip through her sticky folds, bumping her clit a few times. Gently, he pushes the head of his dick inside her. “Lee, I don’t think you’ll fit.”

He grabs her cheeks, bringing her face close to his. “I’ll fuckin’ fit, baby.” 

Suddenly, he bottoms out inside her in one fluid thrust. He watches with a grin on his face as her brows contort to show her discomfort and her hips arch. She feels like heaven wrapped around him. He can feel the pulses that wrack the inside of her. He can feel her arousal covering his length. She’s so tight that he’s having a hard time holding still as he lets her catch her breath.

Her hands grip the front of his uniform as he slowly pulls out and thrusts back in again. Tears form as the sensations over take her. Leaning down, Lee bites along the skin of her chest, leaving behind his mark as she pushes her breasts harder against his face.

His hips start moving faster against her, sending her further up the seat as he pounds into her. Her moans get higher as he becomes rougher. His lips move to her neck and he gives it the same treatment as her tits. He wants her to leave this car with his teeth bruised into her skin, with his cum rolling down her legs, and a dull ache that nobody but him can soothe.

“Feel so good. You wanna cum on my cock? Huh? My sweet girl likes havin’ her pussy filled don’t she?”

“Yes. Please, so close,” she cries as she clings to him. 

Lee brings his hand down to where they’re connected. His thumb finds her clit once more as he fucks her. He rubs along the sensitive flesh, helping her reach her climax faster. He realizes that he’ll never get enough of this, never get enough of her. He knew his obsession wouldn’t end if he fucked her. She isn’t something he’ll ever get out of his system.

Her legs fall wider apart as her toes curl. That coil that’s in her stomach snaps and she’s cumming with a silent cry. Lee stops his movement so he can feel her clench around him. He curses under his breath as she squeezes him tightly. He can’t control himself anymore.

He starts to chase his high with her spent body. She lays limp as he thrusts inside her. He can feel that familiar heat creep up his spine. It burns so much hotter now that he’s buried balls deep in a pussy instead of his fist.

His stomach tightens as her silky cunt becomes too much. He cums with a growl and buries his face in her hair, breathing in her scent as he paints her insides with his spend. He lays on top of her, feeling her arms wrap around his waist. 

He rises and looks down at her. “You okay,” he asks. He didn’t want her to regret this, regret him.

She smiles as she says, “I’m perfect.”

Lee’s heart sores as he hears her admission. He kisses her and pulls out, already missing the warmth. He helps her sit up as she reaches for her clothes. She puts them back on her heated skin. His eyes never leave her. It’s like he wants to make sure he memorizes every little piece of her.

The weather cleared up significantly in the time the were wrapped in each other. “Alright, let’s get you home now, darlin’,” he says as he flashes a smirk her way. 

“Will I see you again? In this way I mean.”

“You mean, will we have sex again?”

Looking out of the corner of his eye as he shifts the cruiser in gear, he sees the little nod she gives him. She’s scared that this is a one time deal...his dumb baby. Still so oblivious to his true feelings.

“Of course,” he chuckles. “I’m never lettin’ you out of my sight, baby.”

[letarasstuff]

Unbreakable Bond

(A/N): This is based on this post and this tiktok

Summary: A big age gap between Aaron's children doesn't have to mean that they are unable to form a strong bond

Warnings: Mentions of Haley's death and failed relationships

Wordcount: 1.8k

✨Masterlist✨

_________________________________

His life took turns Aaron never expected. It’s not the “Oh, mh, well that was unexpected”-type of turns, I talk about the “God played Cards Against Humanity with angels and decided to make it happen for someone”-type. But looking back he would not want to change a thing.

After Haley and Beth he was convinced that God, the Universe, something out there shared the opinion that romantic love isn’t the right thing for him and Aaron accepted that fact. Even more when he and Jack went into witness protection. I mean, when you are worried about the life of your family being in danger because of a stalker, you don’t think about the beautiful neighbor, who lives next door, right? Right?

Well, without going into too much detail, Hotch did think about her and she about him and vice versa. Everything went good until Aaron received the message that the team found the stalker and that it was safe to come back. He decided to come clean to his girlfriend. They talked about the possibility of moving back to Quantico.

In the end they decided in favor of the move, the final argument was the surprising announcement of her being pregnant. Hotch wants to raise their youngest where his and Jack’s roots are located. But he decides against taking a position at the BAU, instead taking a desk job in order to be more at home. He also has the opportunity to work from home after little (Y/N) was born and continues to do so until she is old enough to go to Kindergarten. Even then he takes two days the week where he stays home. Aaron learned from his decisions and mistakes he made in the past and wants to live up to them and be a better father and husband than before.

And Hotch keeps it to this day, six years later. It’s (Y/N)’s first day of school, while Jack just graduated high school and goes off to college in a few weeks. Even though they have an age gap from twelve and a half years, their parents are sure there are no other siblings with such a strong bond.

Ever since his baby sister’s birth Jack is her biggest supporter, protector and friend. Her first word was his name, though it was more of a “ACK!”, but that’s the best nickname he ever got. As soon as (Y/N) was old enough to comprehend the concept of movies, he introduced her to Star Wars. Since then lightsaber wars out of cardboard pipes are not uncommon. Last Halloween they even dressed up as Chewbakka and Han Solo. You get three guesses on who was who.

“JACK!” (Y/N) runs into her big brother’s room with an excited expression on her face. “Daddy promised to buy me a real lightsaber after I read ten books! With lights and sounds and all! Isn’t that cool?” Jack smiles. Aaron did a similar thing with him. For a certain amount of books he got a reward they discussed beforehand. This way he felt motivated to read and improved writing and reading skills.

“This is awesome. I think that means we have to go book shopping together, what do you think?” (Y/N) is not only the cool kid that has an older brother, she is also the cool kid, whose older brother has a drivers license, a car and a part time job. She nods with big eyes, speechless, because the offer sounds like heaven to her. Getting books and one on one time with Jack after he was really busy with school for weeks? This has to be heaven.

“Ok, then you put your outside clothes on and I’ll tell Dad about our plan.” At that the little girl rushes to her room, not wanting to waste any more time. Jack makes his way down to the kitchen, where Aaron wipes the table from lunch down.

“Dad, I take (Y/N) to this bookstore in DC and we’ll probably go eat ice cream after that. Is that alright?” Hotch looks up at his son. It still feels like yesterday as he told Haley that Gideon is a big no as a baby name. Now he is all grown up and just a few weeks away from the next big chapter in his life.

“Of course, just let me get my wall-” Jack cuts him off. “No need, I want to use this as a kind of goodbye thing. At least until Thanksgiving.” Aaron knows what he means. It’s his last day before he goes off to college and just a couple more until the first classes begin. The family still hasn’t told their youngest exactly what’s going on. Else she would refuse to go to school and go on with her day, insisting on using all the time they have until Jack drives off.

Two hours later the siblings leave the bookstore, both of them having a bag in their hands. Of course Jack's heavier, but both he and the cashier assured (Y/N) that they lift the same amount of weight.

“Uncle Spence will be excited when I tell him that I read Harry Potter, he told me so many good things about it”, the girl gushes. Jack nods, indicating that he is listening. Of course they also picked books that are not that advanced. Still, no sister of his shall grow up without knowing the beauty of the wizarding world. Also, secretly he is hoping for her to turn out as nerdy as he is so they get more things to talk about. His next step is superheroes, especially the Marvel ones.

They converse until they get to an ice cream parlor and order both their usuals. “Do you think you are ready for me to tell you something important?” The older one asks after they sit down at a table. (Y/N) nods, confusion taking over her face.

“Uhm, you know how I graduated from high school? I’m done with school, but I want to get a degree, but for that I have to go to college. It’s pretty far away so I can’t come home for a few months. But I’m back home when Thanksgiving is and also for Christmas.” It doesn’t matter what Jack says, a sad frown has formed on the little one’s face. “Oh. And after Christmas, will you leave again?” He nods and explains when he is off from college and when not.

“We can always skype and write letters. How does that sound? And when you get your first phone, we can even text.” That (Y/N) lights up a bit. For her first year of school she got a stationary set and is eager to use it to this day.

“I’m going to miss you so much”, she says hugging her big brother. Jack pats her back. “I’ll miss you, too.”

The goodbye the next day is a heartfelt matter. Everybody cries, especially (Y/N). She can’t fathom a scenario where her brother isn’t there for her all the time.

The following weeks are also hard for the family. The youngest refuses to sleep alone for the first three days after Jack’s leave. She is more closed off and mainly just does her school work or reads the books he bought for her. By the time Thanksgiving is only away for another two weeks, (Y/N) has read through all of them at least two times.

Her father already ordered the lightsaber he promised her. Unfortunately shipping takes several months, so the little girl still has to wait patiently for her reward to arrive. In the meantime she works on getting the next and she is already pretty close to the comic book collection she wants.

“Sweetheart, can you set the table, please? Your Mom will be here soon from grocery shopping and she will need help getting them from the car into the house”, Hotch calls for his daughter while stirring in a pot.

The little girl nods, putting her stationary set and pens aside to do as her father asked. She is in the middle of answering her brother’s last letter, telling him that she is now the one that usually has to read aloud for the class because of her advanced skill for a first grader.

Just as she sets the last piece of silverware down the doorbell rings. “Sweetie, can you please open it? This should be your mother.” Happily (Y/N) runs up and turns the door knob. Over the last few months she hit a small growing spurt and is finally tall enough to reach it without standing on her tippy toes.

“Mo-” She nearly chokes on her own saliva. The one at the door is definitely not her mother. “JACK!” (Y/N) runs up to him and jumps onto his leg. “Hey Princess. I thought now that you read your books, we need to hold the most amazing lightsaber fight in history.” With a mischievous smile he pulls two from his back, giving one to his baby sister.

It is the most epic fight in history between an elementary schooler and a college boy. They can only be stopped by their parents announcing that it is a tie between both of them and that they have to sit down, else the food gets cold.

The following weeks mostly consist of (Y/N)’s joyous laughs and cuddling with her big brother. She even insists on him sleeping with her in her much smaller bed. On his last night before going back to college, the little girl turns to him in the middle of watching her favorite movie in the living room.

“Do you promise not to forget me when you are away? Because I alway think about you and tell my friends so much about you. I told them you are a hero, my hero, just like Daddy. They wanna meet you because of that.” Jack has to hold back tears at her statement.

“I also think of you so much. All of my friends at college are pretty jealous of me having such a sweet baby sister. Maybe one time you can visit me and I can introduce you to them.” The thought of that makes (Y/N) smile and is a little consolation to the thought of her brother leaving again.

Aaron watches the interaction going down, happy to see the strong bond between his children, despite their age gap. This is nothing like he and Sean were and that is a relief for him and the worries he had in the beginning. It is a sign that he did do some things right as a father.

Taglist:

All works:

@dindjarinsspouse @big-galaxy-chaos @jswessie187

Criminal Minds:

@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl @herecomesthewriterwitch @ash19871962 @ellyhotchner

[rwrights]

WE'LL BE OKAY - NAT.

summary : nat and you never got along. reasons still unknown, but it was affecting the whole team. steve assigns you both to a mission, with natasha acting harshly. she said something to you before heading off. she got in your head and the aftermath wasn't so pretty.

contents : angst (??) / fluff

warnings : mentions of blood, guns, bullying, cursing and just occasional marvel fight scenes.

NOT PROOFREAD. a/n : my first fic aaaahhh !! i was inspired by a lot of similar fics like this, but mostly by this WANDA FIC WRITTEN BY @/maximons - i suggest you give it a read BCS ITS SO GOOD ARRGH <3

you don’t know how the feud started between you and natasha. you couldn’t tell if it was because of your age or because you were new.

you had quite an age gap with the former assassin, being a striking 24 years old, but according to the russian - you might as well have been 12 years of age.

unlike most of the avengers, you had a decent childhood. it wasn’t filled with trauma, and death, and basically what some of them unfortunately went through. you grew up in the suburbs with your mum and two older siblings. you got all the toys you wanted and everyone loved you! because of that, you were always polite and cheery - it’s what made people like you. you were funny and usually managed to put a smile on people faces ; usually.

natasha found your positivity irking and unnatural. how could someone be so, happy? she felt as if you were shitting rainbows down her throat, and god, did she hate it. how could someone like you even have the guts to be an avenger?

she enjoyed picking fights with you out of nowhere, and as fun as it was at first - the hostility only progressed and became a disruption to the whole team, including you. you tried your best to really become friends with natasha - or at least be civil with her. but the more effort you made, the worse she treated you. all you wanted to do was make it a little easier for the team, you all have enough crap to put up with and the quarreling between the both of you was definitely not needed.

─── donk.

“nat! y/n! conference room one, now!” steve’s loud voice called out through the speakers placed throughout the compound.

you set your book aside before running down to the conference room as you were told. you walked passed natasha, already giving you a sharp glare from afar. she adjusted her speed and basically ran to where away from you. you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at her as you trailed behind.

you entered the room, greeting everyone politely before sitting down next to wanda, who saved a space for you.

“alright, now that we’re all here..” cap began, walking around the table where you were all sat. “we’ve got a mission for two of you,”

“did you call us here to compete for it? because i am so getting this mission.” natasha stated, pointing at everyone as if she was threatening them. “uh, no.. not exactly. we’ve already assigned the mission to two of you..”

“who?” she asked, wanting to leave the compound immediately and get some action (not the peepee way).

“you and y/n,”

hearing your name, you just froze. you couldn’t help but stare at steve as if he was out of his mind.

“what?!” natasha squeaked. “i’m sorry, but there is no way i’m going with her. it’s probably best if i go on my own!”

“that’s just mean..” you replied quietly, in your seat. you weren’t in the mood to argue, so you tried to contribute as little as possible into this conversation. “cap, if natasha doesn’t want to do the mission with me, i’m totally fine with sitting this one out.”

“oh, don’t suck up and use your y/n reverse psychology on this. it’s not gonna work,” she spat, obviously mad about the whole situation. “nat, i’m being serious. i know how much you’ve been dying to go out, so please. just take it.”

“no, y/n, you’re going with nat. we’ve decided this already.” steve stepped in, trying his best to set his foot down. “steve, i think you know this isn’t going to happen.” natasha glared.

“you either go together or y/n takes someone else.”

“steve! i swear i’m fine!” you argued, seeing how natasha’s ears were practically steaming from anger. “i-”

“no, you know what? fine. enjoy your mission, y/l/n.” she growled as she stormed out of the room. you couldn’t do anything but watch as she slammed the door shut. as much as you wanted to chase after her, you and everyone else in the room knew you’d probably make the situation a thousand times worse for natasha. you sighed and slammed your head on the table in exhaustion.

“we’re sorry, y/n. we thought her need for a mission would make her say yes even with the partnership.” bucky said from the other side of the room. your head shot up almost as quickly as you blinked. “what do you mean?”

“we thought sending you two on a mission together could… make the arguing stop - even by a little.” steve explained, sighing. you laughed at them, did they really think that would work? did they know the obstacles you went through to try to get on her good side? your first few weeks were HELL because of it.

“it’s alright.. clint? what do ya say?”

“always up for a mission, y/l/n.” he smiled, giving you a fistbump.

─── donk.

clint knocked on natasha’s door after the meeting. “nat? it’s me,” he called, nat opening the door a few seconds after.

“can you believe them? they know how much i dislike her and they’d send me on a mission with her? Bozhe mo! (oh my god!)”

“nat, y/n is awesome. it’s been months, it’s getting tiring.”

“oh, please. it took forever to get any of you guys to trust me. doesn’t mean it has to be the same with her.”

“nat, she’s a kid!”

“ugh, don’t say it like that. it makes my thoughts uneasy..” nat replied, mock-gagging. clint glared at her as he playfully shoved her. “you’re so stupid.”

“and oh, i’m going on the mission with her.”

“wait what?! but you’re my best friend, why would you take it!” she exclaimed. “i never say no to a mission, nat. you and i both know that. i thought you did, too.”

“i would’ve taken it, but.. no! i’m not losing this fight.” she huffed as she fell on the bed. “turn the tv on, i need to distract myself.”

he did as he was told and decided to stay and watch with her until dinner.

─── donk.

it was the day of your mission and you were making your way to the hangar. to your surprise, you saw natasha waiting there. you smiled at her only to receive another sharp glare. yeah, what a surprise. you looked away and decided to wait for clint.

not long after he arrived and said his goodbyes to natasha, just as you were going to aboard the ship, she grabbed your wrist and whispered in your ear.

“you’re gonna trip and get yourself shot, y/l/n.”

“what the hell? i’ve barely left and you’re already telling me i’m gonna fuck up?” you retorted, angrily. you weren’t in the right state to panic or stress. especially not before you were leaving. “have fun, y/n.” she smiled, dripping in faux kindness.

you followed clint onto the ship and couldn’t help but shake in fear. great, now you were worried. you didn’t want to fuck up. you weren’t planning to.

“you’ll be okay, y/l/n. i’ve got your back.” clint reassured, seeing the panic clouding on your face.

“thank you..” you mumbled, but natasha’s words never left your head.

─── donk.

“something seems off, clint.” you whispered, looking around and keeping your guard up. “i agree, y/l/n. it’s too quiet.. too easy.” he replied.

just as you were going to reply, someone charged at you from behind, getting a hold of your throat. by instinct, you kicked his shin and flipped him around. “clint!” you called out as you knocked your attacker out.

suddenly, groups of people were coming towards you - fully armed. “clint!” you screamed, pulling your gun out and shooting as many of them as you could. “shit!”

“y/n, it’s a trap!” clint finally replied, making you roll your eyes as you threw your fist at a guy’s temple. “yes, clint, i’m aware!”

“keep your guard up, y/l/n. you can do this!”

“there’s-” kick. “too many-” elbow. “of them!” shoot.

“try to hold out for as long as possible! i’m on my way,”

you looked up to see more men charging at you. “ah fuck,”

you grabbed one of the guns from the guys you managed to knock out and aimed. “clint, i can shoot right?” you asked for permission, not knowing if you were supposed to kill them or just simply knock them out.

“yes, y/n. you can shoot.”

“thank you!”

you silently thanked god for the gun you chose and started shooting at the guards. you quickly threw it away as they ran out of bullets and grabbed two pistols and continued to run and shoot away.

as you focused on getting a certain guard, one of them slid under you, quite literally slipping you off your feet - probably making you twist your ankle, giving one of them an opportunity to get a clean shot of your thigh.

the bullet went through your thigh, making you scream in pain. “fuck!” you shot back at him immediately and slid up onto the wall.

well great, another thing natasha was right about.

“y/n?!” clint called, hearing you scream. the worry in his voice was evident, it managed to make you smile for a second until you dodged another bullet.

“i’m okay!”

no, you weren’t. you could barely stand with your fucked up ankle and the hole in your thigh, but you continued to shoot and fight.

“just.. hurry up, please!”

you used your bad leg to kick a guy down and use him as a ledge. you cursed as you ran out of bullets. there were guns scattered across the floor, thanks to you. you just grabbed the nearest ones and looked back up.

as quickly as you did, a shot went through your shoulder and your abdomen. “gah fuck!” you collapsed on the floor as you tried to control the bleeding. you got up for a second to shoot back at the closest people and went back down. “clint, hurry up!” the pain was too much, the bleeding wouldn’t stop and your ankle looked like a fucking bean. you started to get nauseous, but tried your best to stay up.

“i’m here!” he yelled as he aimed at a few people in front of him. he ran towards you, finally seeing your state. “oh my god!” he kneeled down, putting pressure on your wounds to help with the bleeding, but the blood just kept seeping through “you just said you were okay, idiot!”

“i know, i didn’t want to worry you..” you mumbled. “no, no! y/n, you have to stay awake. come on!” he picked you up and started running away to go back to the ship. “you’re okay, y/n. tell me you’re okay right now.”

“i’m okay.. i’m okay, clint.”

“yeah, yeah, you are.”

you tried making it to the ship, but you were already so tired. “i’m gonna nap, clint..” you said before passing out.

─── donk.

clint alerted steve about you right when you passed out. they were rushing you out to the med bay to perform surgery on your injuries.

“she told me she was okay, steve. i thought she was okay!” clint screamed, he blamed himself for what happened to you. only if he arrived a few seconds before. you wouldn’t have been in the situation you’re in now.

“no, no. this isn’t your fault. neither is it hers, it happens, okay? we put ourselves at risk every time we step out of here. y/n was brave, alright?

wanda rushed down to the medbay, reaching for the door before pulling her back. “wanda, we have to let dr cho do her job right now. she’ll be okay.. y/n will be okay.”

she cried into steve’s shoulder - her best friend was being operated on. you were being operated on! the thought of you getting hurt never crossed her mind because she knew you were strong.

the team soon heard about the incident and let their worries out, obviously caring about you. natasha was confused about the whole hassle.

“vision!” she called out. he turned around and walked towards natasha. “how may i help you?”

“what’s the hassle about? everyone keeps whispering,”

“mr barton and ms y/l/n have returned from their mission, but ms y/l/n has suffered some major injuries and has been in surgery for about an hour now-”

hearing that, she sped to the medbay, thanking vision quickly. she saw wanda, steve and clint waiting around. “no, no, where is she?!” she yelled, making the three of them look at her in shock. “she’s still in-”

she tried running into the room like wanda did, getting pulled back by steve. “natasha, we have to let dr. cho do her job.”

“i need to see her!” she exclaimed, not being able to breathe. “what happened to her? what major injuries?!” she demanded.

“broken ankle, shot through her thigh, shoulder and abdomen..” clint recited, looking down at his feet. “where were you!? how could you let this happen?!” she roared, genuinely shocking them.

why did she suddenly care about you? well, yes, you suffered major injuries, but why was she getting mad?

“natasha! enough!” steve scolded. “this isn’t clint’s fault, and you know it.” he said, sternly. she didn’t reply as she panted. wanda held her hand as support, needing it for herself as well.

─── donk.

an hour later, dr. cho finally walked out of the room. everyone stood up in eagerness.

“is she okay?” steve asked, immediately.

“y/n suffered major blood loss, but we are lucky none of the three bullets hit any major arteries. she has also quite definitely broken her ankle, so i’m putting her on bedrest for at least 6 weeks until you get her up and going again.”

“main point, yes. y/n is okay.”

a smile broke out in all of their faces. “thank you, doc!”

“you may see her now, but she hasn’t woken up yet. don’t be too loud.”

they all walked into your room and stood beside your bed. “she looks so peaceful,”

“she definitely looks better right now than earlier,” clint joked, earning a soft laugh from the three of them. they stood by you for a while until natasha spoke up.

“um.. could- could i be the one who stays with her until she wakes up?”

they looked at the red head in surprise, “are you sure, nat?” steve asked.

“yeah.. i just want to be here.”

“alright,” they smiled softly at her before leaving.

she held your hand and stayed with you, waiting for you to wake up. it took for a while so she managed to fall asleep, holding your hand.

you slowly started coming back, groaning from the late pain you experienced. natasha jumped in shock and saw that you were awake.

“you’re awake!” she whispered, making you turn to her. “natasha? what’s happening?”

“you passed out during your mission. i know i told you you’d slip and get shot.. but i didn’t actually mean slip and get shot, idiot!” she scolded, flicking your forehead. “gah! it was an accident, i was doing fine,”

“no, you have three holes in your body. and not the good ones,”

“nat??” you replied, shocked. “did you just joke around with me?”

“no..”

“you’re holding my hand.. what did they bribe you with?” you asked, quickly getting suspicious. you tried pulling your hand away, but she only held onto you tighter. “nothing! i.. i volunteered. ask steve and wanda! and clint!” she replied, defending herself quickly.

“well, if you volunteered.. what do you want from me? i’m not gonna be leaving the compound for at least 2 months, so you can have all my missions-”

“no, y/n. truthfully, i just really want to apologize.”

“huh”

“i know i’ve made your first few weeks really hard and even after being here for months, i still managed to.. you know.. make it hard for you. in full honesty, i genuinely don’t know why i’ve been so horrible to you. i had a hard time opening up to people - and.. you were just so welcoming and i got scared. not an excuse for my actions, by the way! i was horrible and i’m so sorry.”

“thank you for your apology, i forgive you, nat.” you smiled, squeezing her hand. “i also.. have feelings for you.” natasha added, avoiding eye-contact with you. “you whAT?!”

“i-”

“i like you too! but are- are you serious?”

“yes, y/n… i like you. guess that’s why i was so defensive about.. literally everything.”

“nat.. thank you. for opening up to me. it genuinely means so much - especially after all this fucking time, you asshole.”

“are we okay now?” she asked, hopeful.

“yes, nat. we’re okay.”

[icarusbuck]

here's the thing...

just because buck and taylor are dating doesn't mean bucktaylor is endgame, especially when you consider buck's dating history.

in the pilot we see that buck tends to put himself out there and has a number of hookups, but in the very first one he tries to take that further by asking her out and gets shut down. so from the start he isn't just looking for sex, he just keeps ending up in bed with people who are. enter abby

right off the bat, abby is a break from the norm. she doesnt even want to meet him in person at first. they form a connection before they ever hook up (and one could argue phone sex is even a little more intimate in some ways because there's an added layer of vulnerability to it). she shows buck how far emotional investment can elevate a relationship. unfortunately, she can't invest nearly as much as buck can, and ends up leaving him high and dry when he's ready to take the next step with her.

lesson learned: he needs someone he can keep pace with. enter taylor (phase i)

at first taylor seems like a good, safe bet, but buck is once more seeking connection ("call me?") and taylor's career is taking off - which is just so sexy of her, i might add - and their false start leads them nowhere. but it does have the benefit of helping him put abby out of his mind. enter ali

i dont care what anyone says, ali and buck were cute together. the scene where they're touring the loft? adorable. ali helps buck move forward from abby in multiple ways, including getting him out of that goddamn apartment and into his own place. they operated well together, shared equal footing, had great chemisty; everything buck had with abby, but with someone in the same phase of their life.

by the end of season 3 we know that while buck may have moved forward from abby, he hasn't fully moved on. closure is a powerful, powerful thing. and man, can i just say im such a sucker for "right place wrong time" love stories? age gap aside, i was alright with buckabby until we learn she ghosted him in season 2.

in the end, while ali cares deeply for buck, knowing he's always in danger and seeing it for herself are just too much to stomach. lesson learned: he needs someone who will be able to handle the stress of dating a firefighter. enter taylor (phase ii)

disaster bis are back, baby! they start off as friends, but something is off from the beginning. buck jumps the gun, dropping hints that hes looking for more. taylor jumps the gun too, showing up to a double date thinking it's just a hookup. there is a significant lack of communication between them.

even before they get together we see that taylor often retreats into her own head when they're running on different wavelengths, leaving him behind instead of meeting him halfway. even dragging him along would be better; at least that would show she values his input.

we see this displayed most prominently in the treasure hunt; they have a couple moments where they're perfectly in sync (which visibly bothers eddie, and god i love that for me) and others where taylor hits the ground running and leaves buck standing in a cloud of dust.

we didnt get to see their honeymoon phase (tragic; i may not ship bucktaylor but i sure as hell like seeing hot people make out, bless you season 5 premiere) but if we extrapolate from monday's episode, buck is still resorting to using his body to get her attention - and even that fails sometimes.

we havent seen them hit any bumps just yet, but i think bucktaylor will reach a crossroads sooner rather than later. there will come a time when buck needs her to be there for him emotionally, and taylor either won't be able to OR she'll try, and it won't be what buck needs.

the lesson he hasn't learned yet: relationships need equal footing.

relationships that dont work out are important. they teach you what kind of person is right for you, the kind of person you want by your side forever. bucktaylor needs to run its course, or she will just end up taking abby's place.

and the thing is....

buck already has someone in his life keeping pace with him. buck already has someone in his life who understands why he puts himself in danger. buck's already (almost perfectly) in sync with someone who has been his equal since the day they met - and even went far enough to make that somewhat legally binding.

you can have my back any day. you could have mine.

[jennana501]

A Case for Rexsoka

I’ve been around the block when it comes to ships. I’ve seen people obsess over them, and I too have been driven mad by obsession. I was a hardcore original avatar fan and I was OBSESSED with shipping Toph and Sokka together. Any time they so much as made an interaction I over analyzed it and picked it apart looking for clues that somehow would prove that my hunches were correct. It was because I related with both characters, and I loved their chemistry. I wanted them to have a romantic relationship because it would feel like some sort of personal validation.

I’m an adult now and nothing has changed. But it has been a while since I’ve desperately shipped two characters together that are not obviously romantically involved with one another, or who could be romantic behind the scenes or beyond the story shown.

Until Rex and Ahsoka.

And I’ve seen people be adamantly against it. 

“No no no it’s just a brother/sister relationship.” 

“No it’s gross she is a child”.

And of course being disagreed with on the internet can drive a person crazy, and instead of individually arguing with dozens of people online, I’m making this post once and for all to explain why I think Rex and Ahsoka have romantic feelings for each other. Especially Rex.

The argument I’ve seen, that their deep passion, commitment, love, admiration, and respect for one another (which are all so obvious you’d have to be...silly to not see it) are felt in a platonic fashion. Which, for the first 6 seasons and 8 episodes, I would totally agree.

But then Ahsoka comes back. And let’s face it. She is a woman. Age wise, she’s around 17, but everything from the maturity of her Lekku (which weirdly don’t get all that longer, especially compared to other Tagrutan women) to her poise and confidence, to her prowess as a warrior, a user of the force, and her ability to command soldiers as well as control her emotions points to her being an adult woman. She’s no Snips anymore; she’s no child. She’s grown up. And how her peers react to her illustrates how they now view her as an adult.

First there is Obi-wan. Obi-wan has always been a mentor to her, a sort of second Master. Obi-wan never hesitated to guide and Ahsoka or offer his council. He is proud of her when she succeeds, and will admonish her when she makes mistakes. When she returns and he sees her as a woman, he changes the way he treats her. He acknowledges her maturity by addressing her as an equal. He doesn’t admonish her. Instead he discusses with her, challenging her ideas and letting her offer an argument for them instead of putting them down and telling her how she should think or act. He also comes to her in his time of need, trusting her to help him with Anakin.

Then there is Anakin. We all know of Anisoka shippers, and they are perfectly able to ship and enjoy said ship, but we can all acknowledge that it is a crack pairing with no basis in the canon. Anakin portrays the perfect kind of brotherly love. He is excited to see Ahsoka, and is stunned by her unexpected reappearance. Things are harder for Anakin because he is used to their fun banter and sibling-like companionship. He’s constantly shut down with her business like manner and he struggles with coming to terms with the fact that she isn’t a little kid sister anymore. She is an adult with a mission and a plan. When he looks at her, he is endearing. He loves her. Admires her. And he can’t wait to pick up where they left off. There’s joy and adoration in his face. He is proud of her and what she has become, but he also feels alienated and even hurt because of how her adulthood has changed their dynamic.

Then there is Rex. When he first sees her, he wants nothing more than to reassure her that she still belongs. The clones had accepted her into their family. As far as they were concerned, she was one of them. When he looks at her for the first time, he’s beaming with the same adoration as he had had for her before, but also with a solemn awe at what she has become and what she has grown into. He welcomes her back into his life without hesitation.

But then there is a moment things shift so drastically that I paused the show and re-watched it half a dozen times. We all know it and love it. This face he gives Ahsoka. The Look.

What we see here is something we have never, EVER seen in Rex for 7 whole seasons. And it is my opinion that this is the first time Rex has been able to feel and express that he is attracted to Ahsoka. In other words, Rex has a sexual awakening.

Up until this point, Rex has been a sexless character. Nothing he does is flirtatious, sexy, or at all suggestive that he has those feelings inside him at all. Every sexual being has a moment where they are first animalistically drawn to another being. Characters who have already had this moment are easy to pick out. Obi wan. Anakin. Ventress. These characters have already experienced their sexual awakening. Ahsoka has too. Lux was her first object of attraction.

But Rex has never had this moment. Until this reaction.

I know some of you might be thinking “but Ahsoka gives a very similar look to Anakin, does that mean she is sexually attracted to HIM?” It’s a very good point. Ahsoka and Anakin share some cheeky playful looks during “Old Friends Not Forgotten”. We see many characters give similar looks to other characters, but does this mean it means the same thing as when Rex does it? The short answer is no.

When animators design a character, they establish the “range of emotion” for that character. You can easily see this when you look back at how many times you see Rex break from his stoic, captain’s face. He rarely laughs, smiles, or emotes in any way. This is why when we see him emote it is exciting to us as an audience. A character like Ahsoka or Anakin commonly show a wide variety of expressions. Ahsoka is much more likely to give a cheeky look than Rex is. So “the look” for Rex, means a lot more when he is doing than it does when another character does it, say Fives or even Obi-Wan.

Which means the writers are trying to tell us something about this moment. 

This moment has changed Rex’s and Ahsoka’s relationship. 

Now does this mean that they are going to go bang each other immediately? Does this mean the second they are alone after “Victory and Death” they start an intense, sexual relationship? Of course not. That’s not what this ship is about at this time. But the reason many of us ship it is because suddenly they don’t feel like brother and sister anymore. It isn’t entirely platonic. And the show does a good job to further emphasize this as they come closer and closer both emotionally, and physically during the finale.

Blocking is a huge factor in visual storytelling. During the finale, Rex and Ahsoka are blocked in a way that makes them as close as physically possible on the screen. This communicates to the audience that they are closer now than they have ever been. As Jedi and Clone Trooper. As friends, and as companions, their bond forged in the fires of war, struggling to find meaning in life as soldiers.

In contrast, look how Ahsoka and Anakin are blocked in their scenes. There is nearly always a gap between them, illustrating that they are distanced from each other emotionally. Rex is even visually inserted into the gap between them in several instances. Anakin and Ahsoka are growing apart, but she and Rex are growing closer.

We get to experience Rex and Ahsoka engaging in actions and conversations that we had rarely seen before. From casual banter, to moments of intense intimacy, to emotional peaks, Rex and Ahsoka interact more in these four episodes than in the previous six seasons. Part of this is because their maturity gap has closed. Ahsoka is finally Rex’s equal in experience and maturity. It is also in part because it is a unique dynamic. No Obi-wan. No Anakin. Rex and Ahsoka are equal leaders of the 332nd. There’s also the fact that they are put into life threatening situations and have no one else but each other.

But there is that “look” that is given at the beginning of all this that suggests something else, that as their bond undoubtedly becomes strong as beskar, there is an element of it that takes their relationship from the platonic to the romantic.

I feel every detail, moment, and piece of dialogue in the finale tells the story of this bond. 

Many instances of their strong emotional bond have been spread throughout the internet, with most ready to acknowledge that they have a connection unlike any other, one that may even be described as a “force” connection. These last four episodes are so exciting because we see two friends reunited, but then we get to watch as their relationship transforms.

Even disregarding their implied attraction to each other physically, they dive into each other and hold on tight. Ahsoka shares deep personal worries with Rex, and Rex and her are shown opening up to each other in ways they have never opened up before.

We were all floored and dumbfounded at scenes such as these that show these characters at their most vulnerable. But they decide to be vulnerable together. Is it because they are all that is left of their 501st family? It part, this is definitely true. But by being this vulnerable they transform their relationship into something very different from what they had before. It will never be the same again, and it will be near impossible to back out of the emotional intimacy that these two have participated in. Once you have formed that kind of an attachment with someone, there is no going back, and as is seen in rebels, these two maintain that strong connection even after years of being apart.

This goes beyond their sexual desires or needs. They’ve forged a bond that cannot be broken. They have shared minds, shared pain and agony that only the other can understand. They’ve been isolated from the world, and all they have left is each other.

And at the end of the series, when we have Rex and Ahsoka broken, their world flip upside down and everything they ever valued or cared about lies in ruins before them, the idea that they still have each other is that beautiful seed of hope Star Wars is so good at preserving. Those of us who believe that their relationship could be romantic want good things for Rex and Ahsoka. We want them to have that love and share it with each other. Maybe only for a few moments, but having known it would be better than both of them living and dying without having that experience. 

When we see the two in Rebels, for me it confirms that these two love each other deeply. But their lives can never be lived in a normal fashion. They cannot even be together as partners in life. The Empire has stolen this from them. The tragedy of this ship is that it can never be the way we want it to be. Rex will age and die long before Ahsoka is even halfway through her own life. They cannot live with one another. They cannot wake each morning with each other, at least not at the point we see them in rebels. 

But they continue to love each other. Even over distance, even knowing that mortality will claim them with only a fraction of the memories that they deserve with one another. 

So please, the next time you see some art or a fic, or a post like this, think of what I had to say. Rexsoka is about two adults, their lives destroyed at the hands of Sidious, but in defiance they still forge a bond that he could never break or take from them. And that to me is beautiful and something to celebrate.

Side note: I spent a ton of time making gifs but they never would work and so I had to use screenshots instead :(

EDIT: At the request of the OG poster of a few gifs, I have replaced them have also made some grammatical changes. 

[womenofwonder]

Option on RWBY ships:

Btw, I don’t usually ship characters. Romance is usually the least interesting part of the story for me so expect a lot of meh.

Arkos: obviously I love this, it’s perfect

Blacksun: ehh, it’s cute. I started out feeling kinda meh, it was sweet but not really interesting, but now it’s growing on me. Ironically the same thing is happening with Bumblebee, although I still like Blake and Yang better platonically

Bunanas: so this is a ship between Velvet and Sun, and it’s honestly really cute to imagine even if it is completely random. I like it better then Blacksun…I think?

Candy Cane: this is just weird. I can’t imagine Nora being anything but a older sister to Oscar. The age gap makes it creepy too, not the four years is much of a gap, but when your teenagers it’s a big gap.

Chocolate Arc: this is hilarious to imagine but obviously yeah, Coco isn’t going to fall for someone like Jaune

Cinnabun: I barely know anything about Yatsuhashi but he and Velvet are cute, I guess? Still like her better with Sun

ClockRose: heck no!

Coconuts: again, can’t see Sun doing anything but annoying Coco. I really don’t like the whole ‘badass jerk of a girl falls for goof ball trope.’ It always ends up feeling sexist in several ways

Combat Boots: honestly outside of an AU I can’t see Yang ever forgiving Mercury much less falling in love with him. Also Mercury just doesn’t deserve her

Combat goggles: I feel like Yang and Neptune would have fun causally dating each other and slowly realizing they actually like (Blake/Sun/Jaune/whoever) and become each other’s wingmen. That fanfic better be lying around somewhere

Crimson Lotus: okay, if I didn’t love Renora and Rosegarden so much I’d probably ship this. It’s really cute

Crimson Sun: this feels like an excuse to write lemons of the two hottest characters

Crimson wings: look I understand most of the shipping heroes with villains because they’re both hot and the villain/hero dynamic is always fun. But Cardin…he’s not even hot. He’s not even interesting. And yet people ship him with Ruby? Why?

Daddie Issues: you know I see where this is coming from but they would just end up murdering each other.

Dairy Farm: obviously this is downright creepy in cannon, but in an au where Neo isn’t evil and both are closer in age, this would be adorable. I feel like Neo’s main problem is she’s incredibly lonely—other then Roman no one bothers to understand or talk to her. If Oscar reached out to her, and she began to protect him…it would be perfect. In way even better then Rosegarden because I think Neo would still be a bit of pycho even when good, and it would be fun to see her lose it when Salem hurts him.

Ilia/Adam: I just want to say I am forever grateful the show went out of its way to avoid this obnoxious, cliche ship from being canon

Dragon slayer: I see why people ship Jaune and Yang, I really do. They’re both the team mom/dad of their team, they’ve got the whole goofball/badass thing going (which is a trope I do like when the badass isn’t a jerk), they both have a good sense of humor, etc. But I just can’t see them as romantic. It feels really weird. I can’t even explain why. I understand shipping them but I really can’t ship them myself.

Emercury: I really love this ship, but I also don’t mind at all if the show decides to make them platonic. I enjoy their relationship in general and it works either way.

Oscar/Emerald: again, feel creepy. I love the idea of a sibling relationship and can’t see them possibly being romantic even without the age gape.

Cinder/Qrow: yeah again. Both are sexy and good for angsty lemons. I’m not into that stuff so I don’t ship them

Fall Stinger: I just don’t know why anyone would ship Tyrian with anyone. Unless it was Salem and even that is super creepy

Firerobber: I like villain relationships but Roman already has Neo and Cinder is a hot mess. Literally

Firewall: I don’t know why anyone would ship Watts with anyone. He’s even worst less ship-able then Tyrian

Footloose: I don’t actually ship it but just imagine Mercury and Melanie bonding over weaponized feet.

Freckles: Yeah this is just painful. The two most adorable characters (Penny and Oscar), who go through the worst things imaginable. It’s endless fluff, angst, and whump, and I love cute romance and tragic romances, so this is definitely something I ship.

Frostbite: seriously, this is so weird and toxic. Having Adam fall for Weiss or vice versa. Maybe it would work in an AU or something but it’s just too creepy

Funky Beats: it’s cute, I ship it.

Gelato: yeah I love healthy villainous relationships! Neo and Roman are freaking adorable, and I’m sad that we didn’t see more of them together.

Grandmasters: I obviously don’t ship Salem and Ozpin because that’s just creepy, but I do like their romance. I like tragic romances, and this probably the most tragic one in existence

Greek Lotus: I don’t see the chemistry and crashes two of my favorite ships so…

Green Knight: well, she kinda helped kill his last girlfriend so…unless it’s AU this isn’t going to work. Even if it is an AU. This feels like another ship made solely for lemons

Velvet/Cardin: yeah, a bigot changing his mind when he falls in love with a minority isn’t cute. Isn’t sweet. It isn’t romantic. I don’t even excuse lemons that use this trope. Even porn ought to be above that

Weiss/Cardin: WOULD EVERYONE STOP SHIPPING CARDIN WITH PEOPLE

Hummingbird: it’s hard to ship something when you only know one character, but I was interested in the theory that Qrow was actually Ruby’s father. But then in season 7 Qrow’s description of Summer made me rethink it, and it didn’t sound anything like how you’d describe a romantic relationship. So I don’t really like that theory anymore

Iceberg: this is just cliche and boring. I get them dating but it wouldn’t last that long

Flynt/Weiss: I really love this one, it’s my favorite ship with Weiss. I don’t want it to actually happened in cannon because that would be random, but I feel like it would be fun for both their characters. And they both share an interest in music. I’m imagining an AU where he gets her into jazz and she starts singing it at all her concerts to the horror of Jaques.

Iron Maiden: honestly what. Why. Gross

Iron witch: well I definitely see why people like it. I actually wouldn’t mind it being cannon, It’d be a good combination of funny/tragic and I’d like to see Glynda mentoring Winter

Jailbirds: this just feels forced and also Qrow is probably too old for her. I like their relationship and don’t want it to be romantic

Knight fall: lemon ship. Moving on

Knight Life: I feel like Jaune just gets shipped with everyone but this is cute I guess

Lancaster: it’s cute, but I can’t ship it because it feels cliche. I was worried that Jaune was going to be her love interest when they first met and was relieved to see him with Pyrrha instead. It just feels forced and boring to have him end up with Ruby

Pyrrha/Mercury: this really popular for some unfathomable reason. I like Mercury but Pyrrha deserves better

Marrowgold (May/Marrow): I just don’t see it

Nikong: Pyrrha and Sun would be cute together, but I don’t really love this ship. It’s kinda meh.

Nora’s Arc: no. Just no. It technically would work but their platonic relationship is way too good to lose

Old Silver: this is Maria/Pietro, and I think it’s adorable. They both strike me as really flirty for their ages and both are very good mentors. They can be the crazy grandparents of the team

Ozglyn: just don’t see it

Phoenix: yeah Raven was a horrible girlfriend/wife. I don’t ship her Taiyang

QuickSilver: Ruby deserves better than Mercury.

Rehab (Qrow/Glynda): the fact that this is called rehab explains why I don’t ship it

ReNora: yeah, this is probably my favorite ship. I don’t think I have to explain why.

Robotic Knight: I briefly shipped this but now disagree

Rosegarden: I really love Rosegarden, they’re just too adorable together, though the whole Ozpin does make it a little awkward

Rosewick: I can’t see this happening, even in an AU

Coco/Fox: I don’t know enough about Fox to really ship them, but the fact that Coco canonically slaps his butt during battle definitely makes me want to

Mercury/Neo: I could see this working. It would be pretty cute

Silent Knight: again, it would have to be an AU and even then I don’t see it working

Snowbird: so at first I really liked the idea of Qrow and Winter being ex’s, but now that I think about it he has to be at least twenty years older then her. Also, I have to say that while they have chemistry I think they would just end up killing each other

Speakeasy (Flynt/Coco): I got to say I like this ship and could see them having a lot of chemistry together

Strawbanna: I just can’t see Ruby and Sun together. It feels weird

Sunflakes: Can’t see it working

Sunflowyr (Ren/Yang): don’t see any chemistry. Again this just seems random

Tauradonna: this is obviously as toxic as you get.

The Hunt (Cardin/Blake): stop shipping Cardin with anyone!

Mercury/Cinder: Mercury is way too young, and even if he wasn’t this would be really weird. Also Cinder makes him look like a stable, peaceful person, so also no.

Toxic Petals: I swear I’m done with this. No more Cardin, Tyrian, or Watts ships. They too gross

Velveteen Knight: Aw, they’d be cute together

White Knight: I really hate this ship. It’s so obnoxious and boring, and nearly falls into the jerky badass/goofball trope I hate

Winter Soldier: ew, no, Ironwood is like her dad

Wise Dragon: anyone care to explain why this is so popular? Sage barely has any character to him, I can’t ship him with anyone

Yellow rose: Yeah, I kinda ship this, but again, it’s difficult when you barely know one character

IronQrow: I understand why you would ship this but I just don’t see it. Guys can hug without being gay you know

Martial arts: why?

Noah’s Arc: why?

Sea Monkeys: again I understand why you could ship it but I don’t. They’re obviously just friends to me

Shovel Knight: like most Oscar ships it feels weird. Jaune is obviously a big brother to him

TaiQrow: As funny as it is for Tai to sleep with every member of his team, I don’t ship it.

Fair game: I really can’t stand Clover so again, don’t ship it

Achilles heel: Cinder literally kills Pyrrha, why would you ship them?

Baked Alaska: lemon ship

Black glass: annnd, another lemon ship.

Blood Mint: yeah I don’t see Emerald and Ruby ever being a couple

Catmelon: I found Ilia’s crush on Blake kinda cringy and I can’t see them being a couple

ColdMurder (Weiss/Cinder): even in an au I don’t see it working

Cold Steel (Penny/Winter) eeewww, they’re practically sisters

Cream Machine (Neo/Penny): I mean…if she wasn’t evil…and wasn’t so much older…it might work? Maybe?

Crosshares: cute but I feel like Velvet is too much of a doormat for Coco

Digital Clock: Ciel obviously didn’t care much for Penny, and she was barely a character at all. I don’t see it

Pyrrha/Nora: don’t see it, and also can’t stand the idea of breaking up the two best ships

Falling Petals: I get that Cinder is hot, but can we stop shipping her with the kids she’s trying to murder? Because I can see several things wrong with that

Freezerburn: again, for no reason that I can think of this ship just doesn’t work for me. Much like Dragonslayer it just feels weird

Gingersnaps (Penny/Nora): that would be chaotic. I can’t really see them romantically though like most Penny ships it would be cute

Guilty Conscience (Bree/Winter): oh please no. They really don’t have any reason to be together

Ladybug: I just can’t see Blake with Ruby at all. Blake feels way to old even though she’s only older by two years.

Milk and Cereal (Ruby and Pyrrha): I guess it would work but I just don’t any chemistry

Mint chocolate (Emerald/Coco): if Coco managed to forgive her for everything that happened at Beacon I could maybe see this happening. There is some chemistry

Mommy issues: Nah, can’t see this working out.

Monochrome: Blake and Weiss have never had any romance chemistry despite plenty of opportunity to have it, so again, I see them as strictly platonic and shipping them feels almost like incest. I know that doesn’t make sense

Nordic Winter: I can’t see Weiss handling Penny, but again, any Penny ship is pretty cute

Nuts and Dolts: I would ship, but I like them together platonically too well. Definitely understand the ship, though I find it funny that Ruby, who insist she likes weapons better then people, would fall in love with a personified weapon. I know that’s probably racist against robots

Overheating (Penny/Cinder): I take back what I said about every Penny ship being cute

PennyWeiss: but this one is pretty cute

Pink Lemonade: can you imagine the chaos of Yang and Nora dating each other? They both need someone with a cooler head to keep them in check

Scheenoks: with Weiss’s fangirling I can definitely see were this is coming from, but Weiss is too mean for Pyrrha

Steadfast: I really don’t ship any of the ace-ops with anyone. I found them all boring and annoying except for Marrow

Strawberry Shortcake (Neo/Ruby): not seeing it

Sugar Rush (Ruby/Nora): Again, too much chaos. They both need chill partners. And I love Rosegarden and ReNora too much

Thunder cat (Blake/Nora): don’t see any chemistry between them

WhiteRose: I can see why this is shipped and I don’t dislike WhiteRose shippers. I just prefer Rosegarden, and find Weiss and Ruby working better together romantically

Bumblebee: again, I see this working better platonically, not romantically. It kind of annoyed me at first, but it is growing on me, much like Blacksun. I still like Blacksun better though

Enabler: No.

[firelxdykatara]

Katara x Aang :3c

are you trying to get me in trouble

-cough-

no but in all honesty, my genuine feelings about kataang boil down to three major points: 1. it's boring, and does not jive thematically with either of their character arcs, to the point of, 2. actively hampering character development on both sides, and 3. katara deserved better.

points expanded under the cut. (please, if you're a kataang shipper and you see this, just keep scrolling. i've tagged it appropriately and put the bulk under a cut and at this point that's literally all i can do lmfao.)

send me a ship and get my (brutally) honest opinion!

1. It's Boring: This is the most subjective point on the list (I mean, in fairness, it's all subjective, but I have evidence from the show and post-canonical materials to support my other points; this one is just preference), but there's just... nothing to kataang. It's cute (when it's not actively aggravating), and... that's about it. It's not even that I dislike friends-to-lovers as a shipping trope (though it's not my overall preference), because there are a lot of friends-to-lovers couples that I do ship (kanej comes to mind, also will/elizabeth from potc, karolsen from supergirl, romione and hinny from hp, among others), but one thing that I think all of those couples have that kataang doesn't is that both sides of the pairing are teens or adults when they get together, with teen/adult dynamics and issues and stories to deal with, rather than one half being a teenager and the other being literally prepubescent.

And don't get me wrong, I have no problem with age gap ships in general. And as far as atla goes, Katara, at 14, has the same age difference from Zuko (16) as Aang has from her, and it's never stopped me--because both Katara and Zuko are well into puberty when they meet and I have no problem picturing them being into one another and growing together as they enter adulthood. Aang, on the other hand, is a child. And he acts like it. Which wouldn't be a problem, if the show weren't expecting me to believe he is a) ready for a romantic relationship, and b) ready for one specifically with Katara, who is not only older and far more mature but is specifically cast as his caretaker in a very maternal role for the entire show's run.

This show asks me to believe that a teenage girl well into adolescence is going to be attracted to and develop romantic feelings for a pre-adolescent child--and it asks me to believe this while showing us otherwise that Katara's type is actually older boys with fabulous hair and angsty pasts in all of her other potential romantic dalliances--and then enter into a relationship with him, all while ignoring the elephant in the room that is the fact that she was basically acting like his mother for the entire series to that point. (Something that is heavily lampshaded earlier in the very same season.) That just stretches the bounds of credulity way too far for me, especially when there's no evidence that Katara herself would get anything out of their romantic relationship.

There's nothing there for me to sink my teeth into. No delicious development, no parallels where they help each other grow, no internal conflicts that they have to work through together, nothing. Certainly no reason for me to actually believe Katara feels (or would grow to feel) anything for him other than the platonic affection of a caretaker. I can easily believe she loves him dearly, as a friend and quasi-little-brother, but I just can't see that developing naturally into romantic love--not the way it's presented in the show.

And even if they did manage to at least make the development of Katara's feelings believable, unless they changed something fundamental about the nature of their relationship, it'd still be boring, so.

2. It Actively Hampers Their Character Development--On Both Sides: I've written before (extensively lol im so sorry) about how kataang is actively detrimental to Katara and to Aang. In short (because ye gods this post is already getting long enough), Katara is narratively harmed by being shoved into a relationship that completely ignores her stated feelings--a relationship that had been presented as a one-sided puppylove crush for the vast majority of the series--and it inhibits her growth as a character in ways that become far more obvious in the comics and lok, where the very same creative forces that lead to her beginning a relationship with Aang in the first place reduce her to 'the Avatar's girl' and very little else, all the way through to the end of LoK (where she is a Healer and the Avatar's wife and, again, very little else).

As for Aang:

As to how this relationship is detrimental to Aang (other than the comics and LoK nonsense)? Just take a look at book 2, when he’s trying to learn Earthbending from Toph. Katara constantly coddles him. Much of the time, she’s afraid to be anything other than gentle and understanding with Aang--partly because of her fear that if she pushes him too far, he’ll run away. (Which he does, several times.) But sometimes, what Aang needs to grow is a sharp kick in the slats, which Toph was more than willing to provide--and which worked. Katara was great for teaching Aang to waterbend, but he needed more than that to grow as a person. And he can’t get that while he’s in a relationship with someone who will apologize for getting upset when he was very explicitly neglecting her.

In addition, it is pointed out by Guru Pathik at the end of Book 2 that one of Aang's chakras is blocked by his attachment to Katara. Aang takes this to mean (incorrectly) that he has to stop loving her in order to become fully realized as an Avatar, but this is actually part of the problem--because the issue isn't that he is in love with Katara, it's that he's possessively attached to her. He believes himself entitled to her love in return, rather than selflessly loving someone regardless of whether or not they return that affection. (This is obvious come the EIP episode, where Aang demands to know why he and Katara aren't in a relationship already--because he kissed her without asking [or even checking to see if she'd be ok with kissing him], which he phrases as mutual even though it very much was not, and he gets angry and violates her boundaries when she says that she is confused and doesn't want to think about it right then.)

It is his attachment to Katara--the need for her to return his love, the belief that she will and it is only a matter of time before he gets what he wants--that he was supposed to let go of, not his feelings for her in general. Unfortunately, while he pays lipservice to doing this (far too late for it to be useful--if he'd stayed with the Guru for five more minutes and unlocked his chakra there, that battle would've gone very differently), he almost immediately backtracks on that development come book 3, and there isn't another single whisper of Aang maybe growing up and moving past his one-sided and possessive crush and realizing that even if Katara doesn't feel the same way, it doesn't mean she loves him less or that their friendship is less important.

What really needed to happen, for Aang to grow as a person and become fully realized as an Avatar, was for him to grow up. To realize that his feelings were not of paramount importance, and that even if he was in love with Katara, he was not entitled to her love in return. He should have been able to move past his need for her to love him back, in order to get past that stumbling block, unlock his chakras, and regain the Avatar State in time to face the Firelord. But he didn't. As a result, they had to find some other way to just give him the Avatar State (a well-placed rock) and the means to defeat Ozai without killing him (the deus ex lionturtle) and his entire character arc just fell apart in the third act rather than reaching a satisfying conclusion.

3. Katara Deserved Better: This really ties into how her romantic relationship with Aang hampered her own development, but I'm still bitter enough about it that it gets its own bullet-point. And the biggest single reason I could never ship kataang--the thing that would've turned me off even if there were substance and a halfway decent storyline for them--is the fact that Aang kisses her without her consent (for the second time) in Ember Island Players, Katara gets angry at him and storms off, and then..... she walks out onto the balcony to make out with him.

With nothing to bridge that gap.

It's bad enough that a show aimed at children had a scene where the child protagonist kissed the object of his affections without her consent when she didn't want him to (made explicit by her angry reaction)--and this is absolutely an issue when the show is aimed at children and it may well be the first experience they've had with consent issues portrayed in media--but this moment is never addressed again. Katara just decides--completely off-screen--that she does love him Really and walks out to make out with him in the epilogue. There's no conversation, no apology for violating her boundaries, no discussion of why that was wrong or any indication that Aang understands what he did and why it upset her. They don't have a single one-on-one interaction between that kiss and the epilogue, and the only other time they are on screen together, Aang yells at her and storms off.

So, even leaving the comics and lok aside, Katara deserved much better from her own romantic plotline. In fact, she deserved to have one, rather than simply being the oblivious object of Aang's affections, given a couple moments where she blushes but otherwise remains completely ignorant of his feelings (she looks shocked and upset when he kisses her prior to the invasion, and then she completely forgets that even happened because she's confused as to what Aang is even talking about during EIP until he brings it up; that's not the behavior of a fourteen-year-old girl who was kissed by someone she was developing romantic feelings for), before the epilogue where it becomes clear that she figured all of that out off-screen and had feelings for him after all.

She's a main character, not a side-character written in solely to give one of the mains a love interest. She deserved a romantic plotline of her own. (She could have had one with someone else, with very few changes made to what was actually on-screen prior to the epilogue, but that's another conversation entirely.) She deserved to have her feelings considered at all important by the person she was going to be paired with in the end, rather than having him just assume she felt the same way and then get mad at her for never giving any indication of it when he'd never asked about her feelings to begin with. She deseserved agency in her own romantic narrative, and she just didn't get that with Aang.

So yeah, at the end of the day, my biggest issue with kataang is that it involved doing Katara dirty, and she's my favorite character and she deserved so much better damnit.

[masterthespianduchovny]

I’m going to be honest before I get to the Sam/Rebecca subplot: if they drop plots threads indicating that this continue into the next season and uplift this pairing, I’m out.

This storyline is gross and I can see why some people quit the show when the revealed happened.

When I say I’m repulsed by age gap relationships of this nature, this isn’t a shipping thing or a race thing. This is a moral and ethical thing. Because it’s not just an age gap, it’s also that Rebecca is Sam’s boss. I legitimately don’t see how people can overlook this and ship how “cute” this is. I’m not judging anyone, it just genuinely doesn’t make sense to me.

And for people who think I’m a hypocrite, Ted/Rebecca is not the same. Sam and Rebecca is like a principal dating a student. If you want to age Sam up, because people love to accuse others of infantilizing Sam, it’s like the president of a college dating a student. In both cases, there would be backlash, and have been, to these types of relationships.

Which would make Ted’s position that of a teacher/professor or someone higher. In most cases, there aren’t objections, however, both parties have to be transparent about their relationship and careful about how and if that influences their professional relationship with each other and others.

Last week, I mentioned a friend of mine who was 18 and dated someone who was 28. Both are white for reference. When I found out their ages and respective positions, I became concerned and doubly concerned.

Oh, they had chemistry and he made her so happy, but he was also controlling as fuck and emotionally abusive. During the duration of their relationship, he became her boss and would monitor her interactions via cameras in the back office. She was stressed out as fuck and would go to the bathroom to cry. You know, where cameras weren’t and where he couldn’t enter.

And it was a secret relationship because he could get in trouble. I didn’t say anything because she was with her boyfriend before she knew me. Me telling someone could’ve gotten him in trouble or fired, but that wouldn’t have ended the relationship. It would’ve made her end our friendship and cling closer to him. Instead, after I quit for other reasons, I sporadically checked on her to see how she was doing and give her advice and resources.

As far as the actual episode itself goes, I struggled to enjoy it due to the Sam/Rebecca situation. It should’ve ended at dinner at most.

The only emotional beat that landed, imo, was Jamie and Roy’s hug. I do think Ted’s confession was strong, but the flow was kinda weird for me. By itself it works.

Two things working for me that wasn’t at the forefront of the episode was 1. How Ted’s problem is fucking over the team. 2. That Nate is in over his head.

Even if AFC Richmond had lost with Ted being in his A game, it wouldn’t have been that made and the team would’ve been more competitive. They were sloppy and making baffling errors. Their head was not in the game and it showed. Man City wasn’t that good, Richmond was just that ill prepared.

And who led training?

Nate.

Nate has great instincts, but he isn’t ready to lead a team and he still has a lot of work to do before growing into coaching a team as head coach.

But let me stress, this falls completely on Ted and even Beard to an extent. Yes, Ted is having emotional issues, however, many people rely on him and he wasn’t there. I don’t mean literally because teams should be able to function without their head coach for stretches of time. He hasn’t been there mentally and emotionally for most of the season. Because AFC Richmond’s competition isn’t as premier as Man City, it’s easier to appear more dominant that you are, esp if you’re coach isn’t on his A game. However, when you’re up against actual Goliath’s in the league, you’ll get your ass handed to you like Richmond did.

As I mentioned earlier, if they do go through with supporting and uplifting Sam/Rebecca, my time with this fandom ends with the season 2 finale.

But if we take Ted’s dark forest into consideration, there is another way this could play out. Actually many.

The one I can see happening that can get her somewhat redeemed, because some will never get over this happening in the first place, is her hitting rock bottom via her relationship with Sam. Something will happen or make her have unflattering thoughts about herself and her actions that will drive her into a tailspin.

And I’m unsure if it’ll be just a personal crisis or if it’ll also be a professional crisis.

Some may disagree with me, but I do want this affair to come to light. Because if it doesn’t, it sets up this fucked up precedent that Rebecca can do fucked up shit and get away with it in private.

Rebecca fucked over her club, uprooted a man’s life in bad faith, and almost ruined several people’s careers due to her bullshit in the first season. The fact that she didn’t have to answer for any of this is a God damn mercy on Ted’s part even though she didn’t ask for it.

Now for her to date/fuck a player because “she just has to know.” Because she doesn’t want to let something pass her by?

Yeah…no.

Rebecca’s fear of loneliness is leading her to make very bad decisions and I fear what this means for Sam’s career and relationships if this breaks. There were people who allegedly care for Sam, yet cheered for this relationship to happen. What do you think happens with his locker room relationships? I’ve already explained in another post that either this sours those relationships OR they want favors from him because he’s dating/fucking the boss.

He’ll get crucified in the media. He may even have trouble getting employed. Why? Because that’s how racism works.

“But, masterthespianduchovny, if Sam may receive hate and racist acts committed against him, why do you want the affair exposed?”

Because this shit show of a relationship isn’t about just Sam. It’s about Rebecca’s fear of loneliness leading her to make bad decisions that effects everyone not just her and Sam. It’s the fact that a white woman isn’t thinking about how her actions could have major consequences for a young black man.

Rebecca is so obsessed with not being lonely and being loved that 1. She never sought help or productive ways to deal with the fall out and humiliation of her marriage. 2. She dated a man because he was “fine” and not because she was actually invested in him and the relationship 3. She’s getting involved with a player on her team without thinking of any of the consequences. 4. She’s not considering the other players, the coaches, or anyone else she’s responsible for.

Oh, and considering we got that call from Sam’s dad…his relationship with his father will most likely suffer as a result. AND now that Dubai Air thing looks suspect, esp because she was talking to him around that time unknowingly.

Oop! And isn’t she getting her relationship with Nora back on track? Even though Nora and Sam can’t legally date and I’m not saying every decision should be swayed by a teenage girl, however, Rebecca is literally sabotaging every relationship just because she’s afraid of being alone (I agree with another poster who said we really didn’t need to explore this storyline, but alas…)

Although Ted forgave Rebecca for her scheming in season one, I honestly don’t think he’d be so forgiving for this. It’s his job to protect players and look out for their well being and how can he one his boss is involved with one of his players, which again, affects others players. This relationship has major consequences for other people who are not in it.

Also, Sam…for someone who people love to say is mature enough to date an older woman, not once did even be consider the ramifications of getting involved with the boss.

Not once.

And that looks bad because a mature person his age would be mindful of such a thing. This isn’t considered or, at least, isn’t said onscreen. Sam os either thinking with his dick, his heart, or both, but he isn’t thinking with his head. Because there is no way you’re thinking with your head and don’t stop to say, “hey, this thing could jeopardize my relationship with my teammates and the other people I work with. Maybe I should think some more of this before pursuing a relationship with my boss.” Sam was all in from the moment he decided he wanted to have dinner with Rebecca. There was no thinking on his end.

But Sam’s super mature, right?

Another poster mentioned that there might be a screaming match between Rebecca and ted and I’m so here for that. No, I don’t think this argument will be romantic. They’ll have legitimate gripes with each other, but yeah…this is an argument that needs to happen. Which will most likely be before Rebecca gets help.

That’s all assuming this happens. Like I said, they could have Sam and Rebecca being a power couple (🤮), or handle this some other way. But if this is going to be framed as a good thing, others can enjoy it, but the show will have one less viewer from me.

[lacependragon]

All right. I’m cranky. My stomach hurts. And I’ve been seeing antis fucking everywhere these last couple of days, so let’s talk about the distinction between reality and fantasy/fiction.

I really like age gaps in my romance literature. I love the balance of two different worlds coming together, the disconnect in culture, the potential for power dynamics, the way the weight of numbers and years can vary. It fucking fascinates me.

In my romance literature. I like being able to turn it off. To close the tab, the book, to turn off my phone, and for it to be gone.

Because I know those things can get really skeevy in real life.

Regardless, I have four (four!) age gap ships that I absolutely adore and actively seek out or make content for regularly. All of which have very specific power dynamics that absolutely would not be okay in real life.

Endhawks (BHNA). You have Hawks (22) and Endeavor (45). Hawks is the same age as Endeavor’s eldest child and worshipped Endeavor’s heroics throughout most of his life. He also is a spy, taught to lie, conceal emotions, and deceive others. Endeavor is a man attempting to atone for his decades of extreme abuse he put his family through, is unable to talk about his emotions, and is undergoing a massive redemption arc. The concept of their friendship allowing the two to grow and see where their shortcomings are as people, to boost each other through hard times, and to help each other be better is gorgeous and lovely and I read most of the fics posted on AO3. In real life? This absolutely would concern me and I would absolutely think the older guy was a predator and harming the younger guy, especially with his history.

Obikin (Star Wars). You have Anakin and Obi-Wan, canonically 16 years apart. They met when Anakin was nine and Obi-Wan had to take him on as an apprentice. For fourteen years, Obi-Wan trained Anakin, though he had a lot of help, and much of Anakin’s skill comes directly from Obi-Wan. Anakin canonically looks up to Obi-Wan, respects him, and wants his respect in turn. Obi-Wan cares deeply for Anakin and both would do anything for the other. The concept of this lifelong bond shifting from friendly to romantic once Anakin is knighted at nineteen is beautiful to me. Obi-Wan never saw him as anything but an apprentice and a friend until one day, when they are equals, he looks over and realizes that Anakin has grown into a man he feels strongly for. Anakin could take his protective nature and turn that into a strength. Obi-Wan could teach him to let go! They could challenge each other. In real life? A guy who raised a kid from age 9 starts dating the kid? Absolutely I would assume it is grooming. I do not believe for a second Obikin is grooming for a lot of reasons - one of which is the community based nature of Jedi and the temple - but that doesn’t apply in our world. I’d call the police.

Sun/Kali/Ghira (RWBY). Sun is Blake’s friend and Kali and Ghira are her parents. In canon, that puts them at least eighteen years apart in age, probably closer to low twenties. At most, when Sun meets Kali and Ghira, he might be 19, he’s probably 18. He’s the same age as their daughter. The concept of this happy go lucky guy who has never had anyone finding this beautiful, successful people who see him as someone worth being with, and Sun bringing joy to these two, is great. Getting along and pulling pranks with Kali, helping Ghira lighten up, training together, and ultimately teaching other things that only they could, just makes me smile. In real life, this is a Stacey’s Mom situation, and I do not think it is a good idea. If my dad wanted to date my same age best friend, I would absolutely think he’s lost his mind and yell at him.

Hazel/Emerald/Mercury (RWBY). The newest addition to the list. We have Hazel, big buff older murderer with a protective streak; Emerald, the thief with a heart she won’t admit to; and Mercury, literally an assassin. While Emerald and Mercury are the same age, and approximately 19-20 when they meet Hazel, they’re probably 15-20 years younger than him, at least. We don’t know Hazel’s age. Hazel is very protective and a bit of a bodyguard figure, while also making plenty of bad decisions. He watches out for Emerald and Mercury. Mercury watches out for Emerald. Emerald tries to do things in ways that make sense to her. As a ship, you can build upon their morals and draw them together as they fight to redeem themselves, you can have Emerald take the lead and have her show the others the way back to the light, even if it’s hard for her to do it. You can take that dynamic of Hazel being much older, wiser, and more powerful than them and bring in some beautiful protector tropes. In real life? I mean, they’re all criminals. But an older man protecting younger people and then dating them would raise some alarm bells. Even if they were all adults. Because he’s in a position of power over them, and he can hurt them, and they’ve been hurt before. I’d be concerned for their safety.

Look at the contrast between these fictional situations and real life. I enjoy these things in fiction. I love playing with these dynamics and reading about them in fiction. I root for them and ship them in fiction. Fiction is not the same as real life. You do not have to only consume “pure” and “unproblematic” media. I know these aren’t real. That’s what makes them fun to play with. No one is getting hurt, no one is ending up in an abusive or dangerous situation, and no one real is going to go home with a predator because I shipped these things.

Dark fiction exists for a reason. We read murder mysteries and thrillers where we might root for good guys who commit murder, while realizing that murder is wrong in real life. We might agree with the guy who drugged his boss for information, while knowing it’s horrible in real life.

But fiction doesn’t have to follow real world morals. You can read and root for murderers, sketchy people, criminals, and bad guys while knowing it’s wrong in real life.

And fiction doesn’t have to say “this is wrong” to be “okay to consume”, either. You don’t read a book where a spy who commits murder is celebrated and go “this book is bad because it didn’t say murder was wrong”. You know murder is wrong. Romanticizing crime and police brutality is a constant in media. Yet, we have critical thinking skills and can understand and research why it is bad.

The same goes for romance. You can read a 20+ year age gap romance and have it be romanticized in the text without taking away that “it must be okay in all situations”. You can read a dark romance where a woman falls in love with her captor and realize that the author probably doesn’t think that’s okay in real life. Power dynamics, toxic tropes, age gaps, all of that is allowed to be written and read as romantic if you want. There’s no rule saying you can’t.

Fiction is allowed to do whatever it wants because it’s not about real people. If you want to romanticize darkness, crime, and unhealthy relationships, go for it! Nothing in the text has to say it is bad. Nothing in the author’s letter has to, either. If you, as the reader, cannot understand that these things are bad in real life, or take fiction as a one to one on how to interact with the world, that’s not the author’s fault, that’s on you. You need to educate yourself and read widely, you need to talk to safe people in your life, and you need to do research.

If you want morals in your fiction, go read Christian romances. Otherwise, learn to think critically and understand that books aren’t telling you want to believe, they’re trying to tell a story. And sometimes those stories shouldn’t be applied to real life.

And that’s not a big deal.

[shadamyheadcanons]

Shadow the Hedgehog?

Send me the name of a character and I will tell you my:

1: sexuality headcanon

Heteroromantic, and I could see either heterosexual or asexual. Naturally, it’s up for interpretation, but I can’t picture him with anyone but Amy, so I only ever see him as interested in women. He tends to connect with them well anyway.

2: otp

As if anyone needs to ask ;)

3: brotp

She’s not strictly a “bro,” but I can only put Rouge here canonically. Omega’s there, too, but Sega doesn’t humanize him as much. I definitely take some fun liberties whenever I write Omega.

4: notp

This is horribly close-minded of me, but seeing him with anyone but Amy makes me disgruntled because I just don’t think he works with anyone else. It’s the polar opposite of how I feel about Amy ships. I’m fine with Rouge having a one-sided crush on him so long as she still winds up with Knuckles and never stops being Shadow’s bff regardless, but that’s about it. I get particularly frustrated when I see him with characters who are way too young for him, even more than I do with other age gap ships, because protecting the innocent is so fundamental to his identity. Shadow as a predator/groomer makes me sick. The ship that bothers me the most falls under that category, and...well. I’m not going to say which one it is for reasons I won’t share, but it pops up whenever I google shadamy, so that really ticks me off.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

I’ve seen lots of cool fanart where the stripes on his arms end in the Black Arms symbol on the backs of his hands. I won’t repost fanart, of course, but there’s plenty out there. My headcanon is that he’d feel conflicted about it because of his...complicated relationship with the Black Arms, but someone who often sees him with his gloves off--by which I mean Amy--helps him come to terms with it, and as the last member of his race, Shadow reclaims the symbol and strives to finally represent the Black Arms in a positive way.

Bonus points if Amy secretly finds it a little attractive, too. ;)

6: one way in which I relate to this character

I have a bad temper and can get carried away with things I’m passionate about. Also, I know it said one thing, but my favorite color combination is red and black because I have the same aesthetic sensibilities as I did when I was 14--which, now that I think about it, may have been influenced by a certain hedgehog with that color scheme...

7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Oo, boy...where do I start? This boy’s got some growing pains for sure, and he’s got the terrible dialogue to prove it. To narrow it down, the worst IMO is “This is like taking candy from a baby, which is fine by me” from the TRUE HERO path of StH. As if the surface cringe weren’t enough, it directly contradicts the “protecting the innocent” quality I’ve always loved about him. The Japanese line is apparently “How stupid of those guys. Leaving a chaos emerald exposed in front of me like that,” which isn’t so bad.

8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

He’s usually problematic to some extent, but his struggles are at least understandable given his complicated, traumatic past. I don’t think he’ll ever be a true cinnamon roll, though. He has a little too much deviousness in him for that. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. A sweet cinnamon roll like Amy could use a little deviance in her life, you know? It’s all about balance!

[mcmactictac]

is wolfstar canon

Hello and welcome back to another episode of I analyze your favourite ships and let you know if they’d be canon if a coward wasn’t writing them.

I have read all the Harry Potter books and watched all the movies, I have not read All the Young Dudes but I have consumed lots of mauraders content so I’m really hoping all of these points I’m making are canon.

Let’s start with Remus Lupin. That’s a queercoded bitch if I’ve ever seen one. Now I’m always a sucker for queer coding within magical worlds, as there’s a lot of really subtle things to do with it. Now with Remus being a werewolf, there’s a lot to examine there. When examining queer coding we will ignore the shitty implication that it’s a disease that can be given to you by others because that’s dumb and Rowling sucks. We do not stand for homophobia in this household so I want to make extra clear I don’t want to imply any of that.

That being said, being a werewolf is a thing Remus is ashamed of and feels the need to hide. He hides it from everyone around him because he doesn’t want them to look at him differently. You also have to keep in mind the time period this would be set, being gay can be incredibly unsafe and life altering in a negative way. So he hides it to protect himself, despite the fact he is a child struggling with all this internal self loathing. The constant narrative of being a monster that just pushes you further and further into hiding because you have no idea what would happen if they found out. And eventually he finds close friends who figure it out and they support him, they want to help so he feels less alone. And yes he has this outlet now but it’s still a tightly guarded secret. Something he’s only open with to the people he trusts. His lycanthropy is a clear parallel to being gay and although I hate the implication that it’s a “disease” like. Metaphorically most of the things you look for in queer coding are right there.

You also have to keep in mind that Remus was literally never in a relationship and showed no interest in anyone until like the end with Tonks. And it’s pretty clear to me that Rowling threw that in so people would stop saying he was gay. I like Remus and Tonks and the dynamic they have but like. They seem more like friends, the age gap is weird, there’s no build up, it doesn’t make sense for Remus’s character and it’s just like. Not great? Tonks and Remus are great friends but I don’t really see them together romantically.

I’m going with the fact that Remus is just straight up gay. Tonks seems like a cover, and if I was a person who wasn’t a coward writing this, Remus and Tonks are both aware neither of them are straight and are covering for each other. It’s giving me very “let’s get married so you don’t get drafted to the front lines even though we arent in love” like people did during like the Vietnam war. They get along really well but Remus has no romantic chemistry with any woman ever. That is not a straight man.

Sirius Black. This is another fun one. Since the start of his time at Hogwarts he is marked as “different” from the rest of his family because he isn’t a slytherin. We need to keep in mind the Black family is very wealthy, has a high value on their reputation, and are basically just racist, homophobic and classist people. Difference is not accepted, and Sirius already starts out by breaking that mould. Now l honestly don’t remember how much of his interactions with Marlene are canon so I don’t know if I can argue that but like. Yes I am thinking about it, much like JJ, Sirius overcompensates with being a huge flirt with everyone despite having no real feelings attached to any of them. Throughout growing up he continues to break away from his family, and break away from their problematic views. Being raised in an environment like that instills a sense of fear around you. So even if Sirius knew when he was younger, it’s likely he denied it or never said anything because of fear. By the time he leaves he’s pretty much kicked out of the family. Through his school we can also see how supportive of Remus he is, trying to help him and make him feel as comfortable as possible. Giving him support and love he was never given.

If a coward was not writing this Sirius black should not be straight. I’m not certain if he would be bi or gay, but he for sure likes men. It would fit well and be interesting for his character and story.

So how do they work together? Objectively, really well. I’m going to look at this through a canonical lense, so trying to keep what I can of the story but adding these sexuality headcanons in mind.

Remus and Sirius were ABSOLUTELY together in school. I don’t think they were public about it in the slightest. But this is another gay person you’re close with, you care for who fiercely cares for you despite your family or your “disease”. Remus was totally out first, but just to the Mauraders. Sirius never really comes out. He probably tells James first, mentions it quietly one night after thinking about his family. He knows James will be ok with it because he was always ok with Remus. And James is supportive and never says anything, never treats Sirius any different. That’s still the man who is basically his brother. But he sees how Sirius looks at Remus the same way he looks at Lily. He knows, even if they never tell him. But if anyone were to know, it would be him.

They have the chemistry, the stories line up, they’re good friends and it would make sense. Because of the time period it’s quiet and guarded, a relationship kept from prying eyes. They might love each other but they don’t want anyone to know about their relationship because neither of them are really comfortable or ready being out.

Now after school there’s probably a bit of a splitting apart, knowing they can’t maintain what they had forever. The future isn’t made for them and they know that. And then James is dead, and Peter is killed and Sirius is in prison and Remus is forced to pull himself together and do the best he can to move on without them. Now if we were in a timeline where Sirius didn’t go after Peter, and him and Remus could potentially take Harry? I don’t know. They sure as hell wouldn’t let the Dursley’s take him, but dumbledore also isn’t going to just let them live in peace. They would have to go totally off grid, making sure Dumbledore never took him. The priority here would be keeping Harry safe, not on their own relationship.

Now after POA is where things get messy. Because you essentially have two years here before Sirius dies. Even though Remus knows he’s innocent he went 13 years thinking he wasn’t. That trust isn’t going to magically return overnight, he’s going to have to unlearn all of the wrong things he figured out over the past decade. And this Sirius is different. This Sirius doesn’t need a relationship, he needs support, love and someone to help him. And Remus is there for that. They both still care for each other but they aren’t at a point where they work anymore. They just appreciate the comfort that the other provides. Remus takes care of Sirius the way Sirius took care of him so many years ago. It isn’t about a relationship, it’s about love. That love for each other is still strong, and it’s still there. Nothing is going to change that, they’ll always be a part of each other.

So no I don’t think they got “back together” before Sirius died. Or even if Sirius survived, before Remus died. If by some miracle they both survived the war down the road? Maybe. They’d still have that tight bond with each other and over time and as they heal it might develop again. But no I think they only really “dated” in high school. But that love for each other never really went away. It’s still a huge part of each of them, and even if they aren’t in a relationship that doesn’t mean they aren’t in love.

So in summary:

-Remus is gay. His story is queercoded but in a homophobic way.

-Sirius likes men. It further distances him from his family and is something he has a lot of internal problems with

-they’re secretly together in high school. James probably knows but he never pushes

-post POA they don’t get “back together” but they are still fiercely attached and care about the other deeply. The lack of a relationship is not an indication of no love. They don’t really care about labelling it as much they’re just Remus and Sirius and they just. Need each other

-if allowed to survive till the end they may get back together

So I would say yes, Wolfstar is canon. We have nothing to prove none of this didn’t happen. They could have been together in high school and Harry would never know. And even if the relationship fizzles out, that love is always still there and that never goes away.

If you’re still here this is part of a series I’m doing, and I’m going to be doing this with a bunch of other stuff! It’s all going to be under #deathoftheauthorbirthofthemcmac so if you like this one I’ve got a jjpope one up and more to come!