#my always favorite homosexual ship

[dbz1989]

[jinmukangwrites]

Don't mind me, just 4k words into a Thanos moment

just finished my rewatch binge of the old Magic Kaito anime episodes (not to be confused with Magic Kaito 1412, I just started my rewatch of that), and the fandom is really sleeping on the potential of Agasa and Jii being acquaintances, even to the point Agasa makes devices for Jii, which in turn KID uses during heists. Yeah it might have been a throw away reference, a little bit of fan service, but IMAGINE a fic with Agasa going to a KID heist with Conan and recognizing one of the devices KID uses, in turn figuring out KID is somehow connected to Jii (I doubt Jii would tell Agasa that the devises are for KID when he asked for them), and Conan/Shinichi pulls this information out of Agasa and meets Kaito that way.

There's plenty of fanfics where Shinichi meets Kaito through Hakuba, or through Aoko through Ginzo, or just by happenstance, but I think it would be a fun little change for Kaito to walk into Jii's bar one day and have the full body shock of seeing Shinichi Just Standing There talking to Jii and having to pretend to be cool while Shinichi definitely can tell something's up.

Idk I just think it's interesting that the fandom doesn't play with this throw away tidbit, I don't think I've seen a single KaiShin fic where they meet through their Old Man Friends/Family. If anyone *has* seen a fic with this please hit me up, I might genuinely write it myself brnfndnfn

[relicsongmel]

Iris, Miles, and their mutual "secret"

The Ace Attorney fandom is no stranger to discussions of homoerotic subtext in the game's script—pretty much everyone who's spent more than five seconds here will be able to tell you that. Screenshots of lines that imply romantic tension between same-gender characters are all over the place, to the point that many fans are drawn to the series purely by its reputation as "the gay lawyer game." Some scenes are more well-known than others, but one I find brought up fairly regularly is this conversation between Miles and Iris:

This is optional dialogue that can be triggered by presenting incorrect evidence on Iris' Psyche-Lock during the Investigation portion of Bridge to the Turnabout. The argument here is that the "secret" Iris is referring to is the same as her own: that being, a romantic interest in Phoenix Wright. Which is definitely hilarious when you consider that Iris has known Miles for less than a day and she's already reading him for filth (granted, she could have been clued in by the similarly infamous "indispensable friend" line, and she's also exceptionally good at reading people despite Miles thinking otherwise). As a Narumitsu shipper myself I am not immune to enjoying that interpretation; however, I feel like there's a lot of nuance in this scene that isn't often addressed by the fandom at large. Which is unfortunate because watering it down to just Iris calling out Miles for being the gayass he is (to be fair. she's not wrong) does a MASSIVE disservice to both of their characters, and I'll explain why.

My bone to pick with the usual analysis of this scene is mostly centered around the larger conversation to be had regarding the treatment of female characters in fandom spaces. All too often they tend to play second fiddle to the male characters, and a similar principle holds true for ships with their canonical male love interests: mostly ignored in favor of the the more popular M/M ship(s). At best these women are sidelined, at worse they are flattened into wingmen for the boys (as is frequently the case with many AA girls and Narumitsu, Iris included), and at the absolute worst they are demonized for their perceived "competition" with whatever gay ship is most popular and therefore the Only Valid One for the male characters involved (as exemplified by some very "passionate" fans that I generally try to avoid interacting with). Whenever this scene gets brought up, the focus is almost always exclusively on Miles and what the interaction says about his relationship with Phoenix; Iris is only relevant insofar as she's the one initiating Miles' Homosexual Moment™—you could replace her with almost any other character and there'd be a similar level of neglect for their role in the interaction. Only very rarely will you see attention given to what Iris' question about Miles' secret means when she is the one asking it, and what it can tell us about her relationship with Miles/what she thinks of him, and vice versa (absolutely wild how even Miles himself is often flanderized despite being the fandom's golden child). It's all too characteristic of the systemic misogyny that has plagued fandom since its inception, which is deeply frustrating to me as someone who adores Iris as much as I do (if that wasn't obvious by now). So that said, let's dive deeper into what I think the missing link is here: namely, the Iris-Miles dynamic as it pertains to their relation to Phoenix.

Iris and Miles is one of my favorite relationships to explore in the whole series—but as I've described above, unfortunately a lot of people get it wrong in my opinion. Discussion about the two is frequently centered around Narumitsu Love Drama—which is a conversation worth having, don't get me wrong—but the elements at play there aren't always represented the way I envision them, which again, is frustrating. Take the idea of potential jealousy, for instance: it's pretty standard love triangle fare that can be (and often is) quickly turned into demonization when it's used in a shipping context, character assassination be damned (re: Narumitsu fanfic authors that project their personal dislike of Feenris onto Miles via his jealousy of Iris and/or how they tend to portray Iris unfavorably). However, it's not inherently a bad thing to explore: personally, I do believe that there is mutual jealousy between the two of them. Miles might not have the full context of Iris' history when this conversation takes place, but he's emotionally intelligent enough to pick up on what Iris means to Phoenix, and vice versa. And him being a jealous hoe about it isn't out of the question when you consider that he's a bit of a loner by nature and doesn't have many close friends or outlets for socialization outside of his job. The crucial element that's sometimes missed, though, is that Miles not only lacks the self-awareness to realize he's a jealous hoe...he's also a self-sabotaging jealous hoe.

And the same can be said for Iris, who is similarly introverted and doesn't often leave her home at Hazakura Temple.

The whole reason Miles is peering into Iris' heart in the first place can be found in this exchange, after he breaks her Psyche-Lock:

Miles uses the Magatama in order to gain the answers he needs to bring the truth to light and get Iris acquitted, and he does so for the express purpose of reuniting her with Phoenix so they can find closure—in fact, he reiterates this to her multiple times. He obviously recognizes how Phoenix is suffering from what happened between them (I'd argue he sympathizes with Iris' plight as well) and has resolved to do what he can to help him heal, but there's no reason for him to be so insistent that she rectify things with Phoenix when it does nothing but harm his own chances with him. Unless, of course...that's the whole point.

To convince Iris to reveal her secret so he doesn't have to face his own, because he thinks himself undeserving.

And Iris, noticing this because she empathizes with that feeling of unworthiness, calls him out on it in an almost uncharacteristically forward manner when she asks him what he's hiding.

Takes one to know one, indeed.

Iris highly respects Miles for taking on her defense despite the risk to his job as a prosecutor. She's willing to trust him after hearing he's a friend of Phoenix, hearing him out and letting him reason with her. She still keeps her cards close to her chest in some regards, but she's more honest with him than she's been with anyone else in her life apart from her sister. She sees his commitment to the truth and how it starkly contrasts with how she's lived her life to this point, and thinks that this is the type of partner Phoenix deserves—not someone like her, who only knows how to survive using lies and deception. She sees so much strength in him but still recognizes the insecurity lurking beneath his tenacity, which is why when he falters in his logic, she takes a leap of faith and gives him one last chance to examine his reasons for pushing the burden of his unspoken affections onto her, as if to say: "Look in the mirror. Is this really for me? Or is it for you? Do you really seek the truth for its own sake, or do you merely hope to find one truth so you might run from another?"

Her question to Miles is a gamble—a coin flip of self-sacrifice. If she loses and he presses on, she has to face the secret within her heart she's been suppressing for five years. But if she wins and he gives in to the truth in his, she has to live the rest of her life watching it unfold and knowing she threw away her chance to finally stop living in fear of her own love.

Either way, there's no escaping heartache for her anymore.

Miles and Iris both want what's best for Phoenix and prioritize their vision of his feelings over their own. However, they are also both deeply emotionally repressed people who find difficulty in being direct with their feelings, and are predisposed to self-sabotage due to childhood trauma. These tendencies may manifest in different ways for both of them, but the fact remains that such people would likely not compete for a person's affection in the traditional sense, which is exactly what we see with how Iris and Miles deflect their feelings for Phoenix. These selfless, lovestruck idiots toss that man around like a game of hot-potato because their mutual self-hatred for the ways they've harmed him has rendered them terrified of the reality of what he means to them, and desperate to find a way out of admitting to it. It's the most compelling explanation I can think of for why the usually unassuming Iris makes such a bold judgment about what Miles might be keeping locked away, and why Miles goes to such lengths to make sure she talks to Phoenix and tells him the truth—his agreement to defend her was conditional on that exact promise. They go through this whole song-and-dance of playing wingman to ignore their own feelings while still trying to bring Phoenix the happiness they think he deserves—and then they wonder why seeing Phoenix give the other one attention burns them up inside.

Because they’re dumb. And I love them.

TL;DR the Iris Psyche-Lock scene in BttT is so much more than just "haha Miles gay" and I wish people talked about it more. Also Iris and Miles are way more similar than they appear at first glance and if I think about it for too long it makes me physically ill thank you for coming to my TED talk

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: Queer horror, part 1

We all like a good horror story, right? You know what's even better? A queer horror story!

A note: queer here does not necessarily mean “guarantee of an f/f or m/m ship with a happy ending”, but rather simply a significant presence of queerness. Some of the books feature no romance but has a same gender attracted/trans/ace spectrum lead, or features an m/f relationship with bisexual, trans or aro/ace characters, or simply features a world-building which is heavily queer inclusive in ways that don’t always compare to our own ideas of sexuality and gender. I have however disqualified works where the only queer presence is along the lines of “gay best friend” or a blink and you’ll miss it confirmation that never comes up again.

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle*

Rose, like her parents, believes strongly that homosexuality is a sin, and holds great pride that her home town hosts Camp Damascus, a successful conversion camp for young teens. But Rose is also experiencing strange and terrifying things: memories of a beautiful girl, a demonic figure that shows up if her thoughts stray, flies crawling out her mouth. Something has happened in Rose's past that her parents won't speak of and that she herself can't remember, and Camp Damascus is at the center of it all. Sapphic, autistic main character, as well as a really cool take on demonic lore that is both inspired by and a subversion of christianity.

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland*

Young adult. Something happened to Iris Hollow and her two older sisters when they were little; after having gone missing, they were all returned with no memory of what happened and identical scars on their throats. Years have passed since then, and though seen as strange the girls still lead mostly normal lives - that is, until the oldest, Grey, goes missing, leaving strange clues in her path. As Iris searches for her, a strange man with horns starts stalking her and memories start to rise to the forefront in her mind. To save Grey, Iris will have to find out the truth of what happened all those years ago. Features wonderfully morally grey characters. Bisexual lead, but little to no romance.

Winter Tide (The Innsmouth Legacy) by Ruthanna Emrys*

Aphra and her brother are the only survivors after the government raided their home, Innsmouth. Their only living family are the amphibian people of the deep, whom they will one day join, but until then they are bound to land where they struggle to build new lives for themselves after the great loss of their home and loved ones. Then rumors start to spread of a russian agent seeking dangerous and ancient magic, forcing Aphra to involve herself as they try to stop it. Does contain horror elements but is generally a much more optimistic look on cosmic horror than most lovecraftian stories, told from the perspective of one of his monsters. Lots of focus on found family and rebuilding of community. Asexual main character (however I don’t think that becomes in-text confirmed until the sequel) and multiple queer characters in the supporting cast.

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

Young adult. One year ago, Sara's sister went missing. Since then, Sara has drifted away from her friends, but when she receives a mysterious text inviting her to "play the game" - the same game that supposedly stole her sister away - Sara and her estranged friends all come back together to find her. Together they set off on a path that legend says appears only once a year, leading them toward the ghost Lucy Gallows and, hopefully, Sara's sister. Bisexual main character, told in a faux documentary style.

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

A young pregnant woman flees a cult that left her body strange and changing in terrifying ways. Hiding from both a world wanting to oppress her and the cult seeking to force her back, she does her best to raise her children while trying to find out the truth of the cult and being pursued by a hunter in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Bleak and scary, Sorrowland is a book that will creep under your skin with horrors both fantastical and very, very real.

Otherside Picnic (Otherside Picninc lightnovel series) by Iori Miyazawa

Sapphic light novel with a surreal and episodic horror vibe. Following the directions of an urban legend, university student Sorawo finds her way to a reality populated by horrifying creatures from ghost stories and modern urban legends (of which I’m sure you’ll recognize many). Here she teams up with fellow explorer Toriko, both to find out more about this strange world and to help Toriko find a missing loved one. Also available as a manga and (one season of) an anime. Sapphic.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Amrfield

Miri thought she lost her wife Leah when her deep-sea mission ended in a catastrophe. But Leah was miraculously returned to her - or so it seems. Because something happened down there, deep in the ocean, and whatever it was, Leah has brought it back with her. Surreal and strange, Our Wives Under the Sea will not answer all your questions, but it will give you a unique experience.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

Novella. Alex Easton, retired soldier, travels to visit their childhood friends, siblings Madeline and Roderick Usher, after finding out that Madeline is dying. In the siblings’ rural, ancestral home, Madeline walks in her sleep and looks to be fading away, while around it wildlife seems to be possessed by a strange force. With the help of a mycologist and an American doctor, Alex attempts to save Madeline and reveal the truth of her illness. Nonbinary main character.

Alien: Echo by Mira Grant

Young adult. Twin sisters Olivia and Viola’s parents are both xenobiologists, bringing them all over the galaxy. Most recently they’ve settled on a new colony world to study its wildlife, but it proves more dangerous than they could’ve ever imagined. Under attack from alien monsters, the sisters must keep each other alive while also coming to terms with a dark family secret. Sapphic horror. Part of the Alien franchise but stands well on its own.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant*

A research vessel heads towards the Mariana Trench in search of answers of what happened to a ship which mysteriously lost all its crew some time earlier. In the deep dark, something intelligent and hungry awaits them. Very much mermaids of the horror variety. Sequel to a novella, can be read as a standalone. Also contains a sapphic romance, however that is a pretty small part of the plot as a whole.

Alice Isn't Dead by Joseph Fink

Based on the podcast by the same name. Keisha Taylor thought she had lost her wife. She even held a funeral and attempted to move on with her life. But then Alice started to appear, all over America, in the background of every single major tragedy in the country. To find her missing wife, Keisha gets a job as a trucker and sets out on a roadtrip, not knowing what horrors awaits her.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Young adult. Over a year ago, the Raxter School for Girls was hit by the Tox, a strange disease that killed off many and left the survivors’ bodies slowly changing in terrifying ways. The island the school is on has been in quarantine since then, and the girls dare not leave the school grounds lest they become victims of wild animals changed by the Tox. But as they wait for the promised cure, one of the girls goes missing, and her friends are willing to do anything to find her. Unsettling, spooky, and sapphic, this is a unique read featuring body horror and messy, dangerous girls.

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Once, Andy, Kerri, Nate, Peter and their faithful dog were known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club, until they hit their fateful final case in 1977. Now, the year is 1990, and the group hasn't gathered in years. Tomboy Andy is wanted in at least two states; Kerri, former kid genius, is tending bar; and horror nerd Nate is in a mental institution in Arkham. At least he still has the company of jock-turned-movie star Peter - except Peter has been dead for years. Now they must all come together to find out the truth of what happened all those years ago. Lovecraftian horror with a sometimes absurdist vibe and adult scooby do inspiration. Sapphic romance.

Contagion by Erin Bowman*

Young adult. After receiving an SOS, a small crew is sent on a standard search-and-rescue mission. But what they find are not survivors awaiting help, but an abandoned site, full of dead bodies and crawling with something… monstrous. No romance, but features one sapphic co-lead and one who can easily be read as demisexual (however this doesn’t show up until book two, which has more romance).

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand*

Young adult. The isolated island of Sawkill Rock has secrets. It hosts the legend of a local monster, and the very stark reality of decades of girls going missing, never to be found again. Now, three girls stand at the center of the horrific mystery - if only they can come together, perhaps they can save future generations of girls from a monster that may very well be real. Asexual and sapphic main characters, including a sapphic romance.

Salvation Day by Kali Wallace

A decade ago, the massive ship House of Wisdom was abandoned in orbit after its entire crew was killed in an outbreak in a matter of hours. Now, Zahra and her family of outcasts hope to claim the ship as their own by kidnapping the sole survivor to gain access. But the danger of the House of Wisdom is far from gone. Horror, no major romance but one of the main characters is gay.

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling*

Possibly one of the most unstintingly claustrophobic books I’ve ever read, and definitely the most claustrophobic. Gyre, a caver on an alien planet, ventures into the dark and dangerous underground, guided only by a woman who has no compunctions on using and manipulating Gyre as she sees fit to obtain her secretive goals down in the caves. Sapphic in the most messy of ways.

Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb series) by Tamsyn Muir*

Gideon, raised as a swordswoman by unfriendly nuns, would rather run away and make her own life, but her services are needed. The Reverend Daughter, Gideon’s childhood nemesis, has been invited to a trial to win a place as an immortal by the Emperor’s side, and she’s in need of a bodyguard. Listen, if you’re on tumblr I probably don’t need to explain this book to you. Trust me when I say it’s exactly as good as people claim. Humorous and spooky but also absolutely gut wrenching and clever with a lot of political commentary. There are also, indeed, lesbian necromancers in space.

Family Business by Jonathan Sims

By the author behind the Magnus Archives. When Diya's childhood best friend and roommate unexpectedly passes away, Diya falls apart and, among other things, loses her job. When she's offered a position at Slough & Sons to clean up after the deceased, she sees no other recourse but to accept. Her new job is grisly but important, and Diya starts to get back on her feet - until strange visions of a terrifying man and the dead's last moments start to haunt her. Slough & Sons are hiding something, and it's up to Diya to find out the truth. No romance, bisexual main character and trans woman side character.

Sodom Road Exit by Amber Dawn

Starla didn't want to return to her childhood home of Crystal Beach, Canada, but growing debt has forced her to move back in with her mother, despite the trauma hidden in her old home. But Starla is haunted by more than trauma; she is, in fact, literally haunted, by a ghost that may understand her, but may also consume her. Not overly scary, but handles dark subjects such as childhood sexual assault. Lesbian main character and romance.

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson*

In a world where the rich drink blood to preserve their health, Marion applies to a position as bloodmaid in a notorious noble house far from home. Suddenly showered with luxuries and debauchery, Marion soon gains the interest and favor of Lisavet, countess of the house. A fresh take on the idea of vampires and deliciously dark sapphic romance inspired by the horrific real-life Elisabet Báthory.

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

Dracula inspired novella, following Constanta, who’s turned from a medieval peasant to an undead bride. As time passes the relationship between Dracula and Constanta grows all the more strained and potentially dangerous. Teaming up with his two other consorts, she seeks to unravel her husband’s secrets. Sapphic and polyamorous.

Dread Nation (Dread Nation duology) by Justina Ireland

Young adult, alternate history. In this world, the war between the American states is interrupted when the dead start walking the earth and hunting the living. Jane McKeene has been trained at Miss Preston’s School of Combat to become an attendant, skilled in combat as well as etiquette to protect the wealthy. But Jane wants a different life, and in her search for it stumbles headfirst into a conspiracy. Bisexual main character, aroace side character (who becomes a POV character in the sequel).

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

In a future where those with high testosterone are afflicted by a zombie-like disease, bloodthirsty men have become the enemy. Trans women Beth and Fran and trans man Robbie do their best to survive in this brutal world, where TERF movements seek to exterminate them and monstrous men hunt in the wilds. VERY gruesome and bleak, but also very timely in the present political climate.

Leech by Hiron Ennes*

Unbeknownst to humanity, a sentient hive mind has taken over the entire medical profession to ensure the health of their host species. One of their doctors is sent off to an isolated location where they’re cut off from the rest of the hive mind, only to realize they’re faced with a rivaling parasitic entity. Leech hands you only just enough information to get by, and whether its historical fantasy, an alternate timeline, or futuristic post apocalypse is hard to determine. It’s spooky and a bit weird and wildly creative, and does some neat things with gender.

The Outside by Ada Hoffman*

AKA the book the put me in an existential crisis. Souls are real, and they are used to feed AI gods in this lovecraftian inspired sci-fi where reality is warped and artificial gods stand against real, unfathomable ones. Autistic scientist Yasira is accused of heresy and, to save her eternal soul, is recruited by cybernetic ‘angels’ to help hunt down her own former mentor, who is threatening to tear reality itself apart. Sapphic main character.

The Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne

Nix Marr is a soldier and damned good at it, but that doesn’t prepare her for her next mission: bodyguard for Subarch Kessandra, beloved royal and Nix’s bitter ex. The two venture toward the underwater city of Fall to seek the cause of a bloody murder spree and a possible deadly contagion. But Kessandra has enemies, the answers she seeks marking her as a possible threat for the nation’s rulers. On their way in an isolated and enclosed underwater ship toward Fall, the contagion catches up, and Nix will have to put her hurt feelings aside if the two are to arrive alive. Sci-fi with flavors of horror and the supernatural and a sapphic romance.

[mai-komagata]

re: sexy stabbings

im writing this very long meta on how galadriel x sauron and silvergifting dynamics help an audience recognize different forms of seduction in a relatable way (including queer forms of seduction, which audiences are normally blind to), and how recognizing these ships isn't about "crack shipping" but about the text using the language of sexuality/eroticism/seduction to convey concepts that would otherwise be vague and not-understandable like temptation to a metal object or wounds that cannot heal or possession by an alien being as well as concept of "men in a fantasy/magical/superhero setting are not just power levels" -- ie. the strongest man should always win. Galadriel is *integral* to this because most characters in tolkien are male and audiences are pre-disposed to ignoring emotional dynamics in men other than anger and violence -- the contrast with a female romance lets an audience be like "these people, adar, galadriel, celebrimbor are more alike than distinct". (wow maybe i don't need to write it, anymore!). But since that is taking me very long to write and i keep running into queer-erasure every day i'll just say this: the reason we don't see Sauron torture Galadriel in the same way she tortures Celebrimbor is not because his relationship with them is cosmically different (obviously its different bc they are different people). Galadriel is not more "pure" or "loved" than Celebrimbor. Neither is blameless (i.e. both were ambitious) and neither is deserving of torture (nobody deserves that, even Sauron). It's because there is different symbolism to the way they are being hurt. Arrows being used as martyrdom is a millennia old way of showing homosexuality. Stabbing is metaphorical of penetration. He intended to kill both of them for denying them the Nine. Because Sauron is bad at impulse control, he takes and believes he is wiser than he is. If he wants something he will take it and then regret that he broke his favorite thing. (note he doesn't regret killing other people he doesn't twistedly love, like mirdania, or the orcs).

Galadriel had Nenya (i.e. Celebrimbor's magic, untouched by sauron) and Elrond was able to save her (love and light win the day). Celebrimbor died as symbolic for what happened to Eregion (he was alone and eregion fell).

This doesn't mean BOTH scenes aren't meant to be erotic. The stabbing is hot and the caressing of the arrows are hot. But they are hot in a BDSM/noncon way. "Do you understand what it's like to be tortured by a god?" sorta way.

Pragmatically, though, the reason we don't see more graphic galadriel is because it would make audiences uncomfortable. You can be way more graphic with gay shit and people won't be squicked than if you are graphic with m/f abuse. As i said, a good 50-70% of the audience won't even NOTICE the gay shit and think its just standard fantasy violence. The closer you make it to outright rape, the less compelling it is, because Sauron needs to both be APPEALING and EVIL in order to understand why people are drawn to the rings of power and why it is essential to oppose it.

[disclaimer: this is not anti galadriel x sauron, it is just in favor of seeing the ship in a dark way as part of the larger narrative. When I talk about shipping them in a dark way i don't mean simply its my kink, i mean this is a dark seduction story at heart. The actors are very hot, their acting is very sexy, but the function in the larger story is to display the different ways sauron tempts and corrupts people, including galadriel, celebrimbor, adar, and how sauron himself was corrupted by melkor].

[animentality]

Tbh I think it's still legit if you read and like Blue Lock for being so gay (at least subtextually), despite being misogynistic Kaneshiro seems to have sympathy for queer people to a certain degree. Besides the gay sidekick, As The Gods Will also has some other queer side characters (a lesbian, a trans girl, a few more hinted gay boys and a non-binary villain according to my memory) even though not all of them are well-written, the good ones are good. Specifically my most favorite is the gay sidekick Ushimitsu, he's actually a pretty well-rounded character with very strong role as a co-lead in ATGW 2, I never feel like he was disrespected in the story (rather I think he's obviously Kaneshiro's favorite), sure he's got an open ending that can be seen as tragic but it's actually in line of the whole theme of the story and I respect Kaneshiro to commit to writing it rather than just give a copout happy ending and it also proves his gay feelings as real & deep despite heartbreaking.

Now I wish Kaneshiro can have that same energy in writing Bachira as he's in a similar position to Ushimitsu in ATGW but somehow poor bee boy got pushed aside in bllk after U20 arc (probably in favor of more popular Isagi ship with Rin or Kaiser 🙃), I hope he makes good on the promise that Bachira will be a key character later in the series and this time since nobody will die in Bllk I hope Bachisagi will get a deserved happy ending.

well that's the thing, anon.

I feel bad for liking blue lock because it has such a misogynistic creator but it's hard not to cling to something so obviously queer friendly.

like honestly.

there's definitely Japanese media that's queer neutral or queer friendly but blue lock actually feels like it's always on the verge of just being properly queer.

it's not fanservice like free or yuri on ice. it legitimately feels as close to canon as it can get without changing genres. and I think the creator having queer characters in the past gives him some street cred.

i know what homophobia in a manga looks like. it's that awful rapist character from one punch man. this hyper masculine but also hyper feminine muscly man who sexually assaults other men.

it's tokyo ghoul having its only queer characters being pedophiles, rapists, and sex addicts/victims who get sexually assaulted until they're "corrected."

it's having no subtext at all and only ever using gay men as a one off joke and gay women as a fetish.

at least blue lock does seem to respect its characters enough that it takes their hinted at sexualities seriously.

it really doesn't go for the obvious "ewwwwww we're both guys" jokes. it's kept very ambiguous. it's subtle (except when it's not, lol).

the only character who really fits the usual offensive gay anime representation tropes is Shidou, but even him I wouldn't count as bad rep (as the closest to canonically gay character, aside from Bachira).

Shidou might be super flamboyant but he also gets to have the coolest fucking moments in the series. he's not just some pervert, he's a badass. he doesn't just flounder around like some useless weird loser who only exists to be the butt of a joke.

he loves to fight and play soccer and feel alive. he has the coolest aura in the series and everyone is constantly in awe of the ridiculous things he can do.

he's a proper villain, who's out of pocket and insane, but who's also intensely lovable and silly. and honestly portrayed pretty sympathetically. for all his faults, he can be very kind.

there's a lot of depth to him, and honestly, I think Blue Lock is pretty good at not doing anything to suggest oh hahaha homosexuality exists. isn't that funny

plus I think Bachira is canonically gay. we know he's canonically in love with Isagi.

kunigami and aiku are actually confirmed bisexual too.

Shidou and Sae were also highly suspect during u20, to the point where even homophobes cant deny they have something weird going on.

so to me... that's a lot of queer characters who are taken seriously and actually have characters outside of being a joke or a gag. they feel like real people. they have distinct personalities.

the bar is in hell, but it's more than most manga/anime manage.

so I have to give Kaneshiro credit. he's doing as much as he can, without overstepping the boundary I'm sure kodansha has set for him.

it's just a shame he's a sexist. also, I hope Kaneshiro grows a pair.

just have bachisagi get married in the last chapter you pussy.

let Shidou officiate!!!

[sillyyuserr]

i am no hater or at least i don’t like to be, but do you (aoikane/aoiaoi shippers) actually know peace? Do i just happen to stumble upon the mean ones everytime or are ygs genuinely just so hateful? Please i don’t mean to be mean but like do you genuinely exist? No joke every time i have interacted with an aoikane/aoiaoi shipper they have been so mean and aggressive towards terukane or any other alternative ship including either aoi or akane. Not even just interactions but viewing you like in action and YOU interacting with OTHER aoikane/aoiaoi shipping people has made me like lose hope in the world. The main reason i come to hate ships is not because of the characters (sometimes) but mostly because of the people who ship them themselves. I mean for example I would die to see Nene and Hanako get together hell yeah but that’s mostly because theres no homophobia lingering around them?? Not only is there no queer subjects or matters involving either characters but the main crowd of tbhk fans just enjoy it above all else don’t get mad at anyone for shipping any one of them with anyone else because they know damn well its so clearly established and loved by everyone they don’t need to worry about it ever becoming something it’s not.

i would be so down to say like ‘oh thats so cute akane loves aoi’ if you didn’t harbor so much unwarranted anger towards us?? What happened to being respectful?? (And it might just be the homophobic ones i’m not sure.)

Like touching back on what i said about Hananene was that for example there is no queer subjects/matter involving either of them, however there is with aoikane (debatably). For example (again damn) there is arguable evidence suggesting another male character has romantic interest in him. Which of course does not make him HIMSELF queer, but it does involve him in such an agenda (?).

there is a difference between a good way to handle this, and a bad way to. For example, you are a good/unproblematic Aoikane supporter if you:

Acknowledge that either one character is associated with homosexuality and that one character is the sole supporter of the idea, and realize that homosexuality can infact coexist with your favorite ship (one sided)

Acknowledge that aoiaoi has a few elements to it that make some uncomfortable, and allow others to respectfully disagree with you

You are a bad/problematic Aoikane supporter if you:

Deny the possible idea of either one character being associated with homosexuality and deny/act on aggression towards it

Deny aoiaoi’s initial or ‘current’(?) toxicity

And someone who will straight up deny that aoiaoi had something wrong with it in the first place is someone you do not wanna be. It is important to understand that aoiaoi is a semi problematic ship, and i’m not saying this ‘because I’m biased’ i’m saying this because (i think) it’s true. At the beginning and even some aspects of now, aoiaoi was a very unhealthy + toxic relationship/ship, hence why a lot of people hated it, and it’s okay to say things like ‘omg i love how aoiaoi’s coming back yess!!’ But to say things that make it sound like aoiaoi was perfect all along and people who disliked it were ignorant or ‘straightphobic’ is just stupid.

Please just be nice guys cmon😭 i have never in my life seen aoiaoi/aoikane shippers JUST TALK about said ship always finding way to bond ab their hatred for terukane (subconscious homophobia or purposeful, we’ll never know)

anyway guys stay positive!!!! xxxx

[lemmylemons]

Random, useless Tekken headcanons at 6 AM because I am bored and still a little high, but it's okay:

• Kazuya and Jun sleep like bunnies in bed, they curl up and fight over their covers because they both clutch onto the blankets for dear life

• Kazuya snores LIKE A MOTHERFUCKING TRUCK STOP, like Jun got used to it when they were young, but she comes back, gets back into bed with him, and swears to God he's going to choke to death in his sleep; and it's not like, consistent snoring, it's 'HONK-HONK *random incoherent noises*'

• I don't know if Marshall is still married, but I honestly think he's probably divorced - and married to Paul for money and convenience, DO NOT FIGHT ME ON THIS, I AM RIGHT (they 'adopted' Steve, aka, Steve lives with them)

• Jinpachi and Wang are just a little zesty, please, I love them, THEY'RE A LITTLE HOMOSEXUAL...

• Jin always, somehow, wakes up with his thumb in his mouth, he could be sleeping like a plank, but still wake up with his thumb in his mouth; ah, trauma (it's just comfy for him); adding onto that - I think biting his finger nails or skin is his indicator that he's stressed

• Kazuya's bisexual, Jun's a little unlabeled; she just goes with the flow of whoever (Kazuya's has many secret boyfriends when he was young, nothing can't convince me)

• MY PERSONAL FAV LITTLE WEIRD POLY SHIP THAT HAS ABSOLUTELY NO CONTENT: Raven x Victor x Dragunov - LET ME EXPLAIN - Raven and Victor are dating, (in my opinion, Raven's in his early 40's, he's gay, Victor's bi, they're definitely "open") and Dragunov is like... A 'sugar baby' who drops in, starts shit, SOMETHING happens between them, and then they go back to hating him (queers)

• Kazuya knew Jun was pregnant, I honestly believe that he knew, but it was in a short time frame from his death, if he didn't fucking DIE, I think he definitely would have had an amazing relationship with Jin

• I have a page in my notebook dedicated to Jin headcanons, and my favorite is that Jin has a stuffed tiger named 'Tora', it's a bit ripped, extra loved and dirty (from being left outside in Yakushima): it was given to him when he was born by Jun... As he thought- turns out, when Kazuya heard she was pregnant, he got a little stuffed tiger to give to their unborn baby, but obviously, his ass died, and Jun still gave it to Jin... He found out and blew a fuse, refusing to believe it

• All the Mishimas are born with that fuckass hair, evident by Kazuya LITERALLY being born with that fuckass hair

• Steve Fox is gay, do not fight me on that, he's gay

• When Kazuya was a baby, Kazumi used to sit down with him and her pet tiger, letting the 2 just kind of... Explore one another, the tiger was a gift from Heihachi, and she LOVED that tiger, so she likes to include it in family time - so she'd take baby Kazuya and just set him in front of the tiger and let to two sniff and grab at each other

• Jin's vegetarian to me, like, obviously he needs to protein, but I feel like he gets sad every time he has to eat meat because he just thinks of the animals

• Heihachi baby talks Kuma, I will never not think that; obviously not in front of others, but it happens, it fucking happens

• If Kazuya lived for Jin, he'd be the best house husband ever - obviously Jun's around a lot, but if she has to take a case, Kazuya's cooking for them, cleaning, with Jin, best house husband

I'll have more eventually...

[theredengineapologist]

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! 💙❤

Of course, I had to do something Jameward for the occasion. Even though this meme is literally called "Understand my Ship in 5 Minutes", I still wanted to include some commentary/headcanons because I've been DYING to talk about them forever. So if you're interested, read on under the cut!

(Also, please note that the interpretation of the characters depicted here is specifically for my AU, TTTE: Sudrian Boys)

NAMES: For the sake of making sure their names fit in the boxes, I used the last names they picked for themselves before they got married. When they do eventually get legally married, they'll combine their last names together (a conclusion they got to after much bickering). So respectively, they will be James and Edward Hughes-Pettigrew.

GENDER + SEXUALITY:

James is GAY. GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY. Sorry not sorry, but there is not a woman-liker bone in his body.

Edward, on the other hand is bi. Part of me thinks he tends to prefer the company of men, but maybe that's just because there's significantly more male engines on Sodor. Also he is nonbinary. This will be something I explore later. But to summarize, Edward never felt entirely male in the strict sense that humans define it. However, he felt the need to be the consistent, steady, "old reliable" his peers saw him as, so he never questioned what others chose to call him. This changed when "The Great Shift" happened (aka, the engines learning to shift into a human-like form). Edward saw an opportunity to experiment with his presentation, and so he had a brief stint where he tried going in the opposite direction, presenting as a woman named Alice. As fun as it was, however, he found that it didn't feel quite right either. To him, "Edward" was where he felt most at home. He's not a man or a woman, he is just "Edward". Edward uses "he/they" pronouns because those feel the most neutral to them.

HORNY LEVEL: I will not be elaborating.

AWKWARDNESS LEVEL: I don't think Edward and James ever really had an "awkward phase". Before they got together, they always felt comfortable with each other as close friends would. They never really had that thing of "oh I want to tell him I like him but I also don't want him to know". Edward always knew he liked James, he just didn't say anything because he didn't think James was interested. And once James admitted to himself that he liked Edward, he confessed and it was all smooth sailing from there. To be honest, not much changed when they moved from "close friends" to "boyfriends". They still act like close friends, just with added kissing privileges.

JEALOUSY LEVEL: At the point where they're at in their relationship right now, both James and Edward are pretty secure, so it's rare for either of them to act jealous.

From Edward's perspective, he knows that James is young (relatively speaking) and very attractive, so it's hardly surprising to see that other people would try to flirt with him. There's a small pang of jealousy that comes from him thinking James would have preferred someone younger or stronger, but that quickly goes away once he sees James return to being on his arm and very proudly proclaiming he's already spoken for.

From James's perspective, he thinks Edward is the real catch between the two of them. Plus, it's not often that other people would try to shoot their shot with the silver fox. So when other people do try to get a little too close for comfort, James would certainly be stewing in jealousy. If the feeling gets to a certain point, he'd probably make himself known. But once they get home, the situation gets explained out, and they're cuddling on the couch with a blanket and some tea, James finds he can let go of the jealous feeling relatively quickly.

BIG SPOON/LITTLE SPOON: Majority of the time, James is the little spoon. He likes to be held and Edward LOVES holding him. James's favorite thing is when Edward keeps their hand on his chest. But occasionally, they do switch places, especially if Edward has a particularly hard day. Sometimes Old Iron wants to be cuddled too.

LENDS/BORROWS CLOTHES: Both of them tend to steal borrow clothes from each other, but under different circumstances.

At home, it's relatively commonplace to see Edward walking around in one of James's pants, shirts, or even his prized red coat. But more often than not, these are cases of Edward just picking them up of his own accord and James just letting him have it.

Outside, it's James who more actively does the borrowing and Edward who does the lending. James likes to go out ✨IN STYLE✨ without taking into consideration pesky things like the weather. So when James (inevitably) gets cold at night, Edward is the one to lend him his jacket.

PET NAMES: They don't use pet names often, but they do use some of the more basic ones on occasion. For James, Edward would sometimes call him "Jamie", "darling", "dear", or his personal favorite, "love". James usually calls Edward by his full name because Edward prefers it, but sometimes he might slip in an "Eddie", "baby", or a "kitten" in there just to make the old man flustered.

AFFECTION THROUGH WORDS/ACTIONS: This one might seem paradoxical, but let me explain.

James is more receptive to affection through words because he's used to being dismissed. In his worst moments, he can be pretty down on himself as his insecurities eat away at him. At times like these, Edward knows exactly what to say to help James pick himself back up again. It's especially meaningful because Edward absolutely means everything he says. He's not the type to lie just to make James feel better. He's honest and straightforward. If James did something wrong that needs calling out, Edward will tell him (politely of course). So when Edward tells James that he's wonderful or that he's a "really splendid engine", he 100% means it. And you can tell from just the look in his eyes that Edward loves his red boyfriend SO DAMN MUCH.

Conversely, Edward is more receptive to affection through actions. Edward is always the one out caring for everyone else and tends to forget to care for himself too. But at the same time, he's very much the type to never ask for help (even if he needs it). James knows this, so he goes the extra mile to help take some of the load off. If Edward is especially tired one day, James will step up and do Edward's share of the housekeeping without being asked. He'll volunteer to go supervise Bill and Ben so that Edward can take a day off. He'll fix up a warm bath for Edward after a hard day. Anything to make sure Edward is taken care of, James will do it. Not only that, but James is also the one planning most of their dates. ;)

CONFESSING:

Edward NEVER had any plans to confess to James. Romantic relationships are uncommon amongst engines since there's no real use for them. Plus, he didn't think James would be interested in a plain old iron like himself (as he views himself anyway). So Edward was just content to just feel his feelings and never act on them.

James, on the other hand, took several years to both realize and accept that he was in love with Edward. But once he got to that point, he confessed fairly quickly. Sure, there was a normal amount of hesitation and worry that Edward might not feel the same. But he was about 90% sure that Edward loved him back so he didn't end up worrying that much leading up to the confession.

CAN'T DRIVE LOL: Even as engines, they can't drive themselves. Plus, they know trains are the superior way to travel. So if they ever need to go somewhere while shifted into humans, they just catch one of their friends' trains. I don't think they've ever even sat in a car before.

COOKING: Edward loves to cook (especially baking). It was one of the first hobbies he picked up after learning how to shift and he would often make meals to share for the entire Steam Team. James, on the other hand, can cook, but not nearly as well as Edward. He doesn't know as many dishes as Edward. Even the ones they both know, James's, for some reason, aren't as good. The only time James would ever take over cooking is if Edward is feeling too exhausted to do so. There's a mutual acknowledgement between them (and also the rest of the Steam Team) that Edward is the superior chef (and he also enjoys it more). So if he can help it, James prefers to leave the cooking to Edward.

PDA: James absolutely LOVES PDA. He will take literally every opportunity he can to dote on Edward in public so that the entire island knows that they're together, much to Edward's embarrassment. Edward secretly loves the PDA too, and he appreciates how proud James is to be his boyfriend (and later husband). But Edward would never admit it. He tries really hard to at least appear decent in public. That said, when the opportunity arises, Edward does like getting to flip the script and fluster James in front of onlookers.

OVERPROTECTIVE/CHILL GOING: Both are more than reasonably protective over each other, but for different reasons and under different circumstances.

James gets into accidents relatively often, usually as the result of his own dumbassery. So Edward has gotten to a point where he's not too concerned if James winds up in an accident again. He'll still worry a little and warn James to be more careful next time, but Edward knows after a trip to the Steamworks that his boyfriend will be good as new again.

It's when they're shifted into humans when Edward becomes more protective of James.

Because of the way James looks, it's unfortunately not uncommon for James to get harassed while shifted as a human. When this happens, Edward goes into full protective mode to make sure his beloved stays safe. Thankfully, it doesn't happen too often. But it does happen often enough that Edward feels like he has to keep close watch of James while they're traveling after nightfall.

James, on the other hand, always has a bit of worry for Edward at the back of his mind. He knows Edward is capable of handling himself, but he also knows that Edward is old and doesn't recover from accidents as quickly or easily as he does. He worries that if the damage is too great, Edward could be scrapped. So if Edward were to end up in any sort of accident, James would go ballistic. He's puffing over right away to make sure his beloved is okay and may or may not have a fierce word with whoever caused the accident. The same thing goes when they are in human form. If Edward were to end up in some sort of fight, James would put himself in harms way to make sure Edward is protected (even though in human form, Edward is actually physically stronger than James).

RELATIONSHIP EXPERIENCE: Neither of them had any relationship experience before each other, they were each other's firsts. You can maybe argue that Edward has slightly more experience because he's had crushes on other people in the past, but fleeting attraction that is never pursued could hardly count for true experience. Their whole relationship is something that James and Edward are navigating together. It's new and at times a little scary, but there's nobody else James and Edward would rather be with than each other.

[screamlet]

9-1-1 Tag Game

tagged by @rcmclachlan and @sorryimlatecapt

Rules: answer your opinion on these nine topics, then tag nine (ish) other people to give their opinion as well

what's kind of sad about writing this out is that i think none of the things below apply to 8A, which has been such a fucking horror and a slog to get through. ugh. anyway.

---

Favorite Character: peter krause. no but for real, i love peter krause and i have forever. i think bobby is the character they've put their back into over the course of the series, and then actually succeeding in making him a real presence and character is peter krause. i still think about 4x09 and the drunk driver who caused the pile-up (thank you for the reminder @rcmclachlan) "bobby, you are nothing like that woman" "i am exactly like that woman. the day i forget that will be a very dangerous day." ugh bobby FOREVER!!!!

(runner up is season 1 buck, my beautiful nightmare boy, my god, i love him forever.)

Character You Relate to the Most: the buckley siblings, like, as a unit. i have a younger brother, we have not been through All That Trauma but we've had our own, and sometimes tv and movie siblings are so mean and mean-spirited that i just turn it off. but buck and maddie (especially in those Buckley Family episodes) shatter me, i love them so much. they love each other as family and like each other as people and i deeply relate to that. WHERE IS MADDIE BEGINS.

Favorite Episode: i reblogged this last night because 4x4 and 4x5 (the daniel reveal, buck begins) are Absolutely It. that gifset was what got me to start watching because who was the beautiful now-bisexual man that yelled so good???? and ugh, listen, tolkien/the silmarillion was one of my first fandoms, i fucking love backstory and LORE, just give it to me!!!!!!!!!

Hottest Take: i think they've wasted eddie every single second he's been on screen. have they ever known what they wanted to do with him? have they ever come close? i would love even one or two of the things ryan g. says about eddie tackling toxic masculinity to make it into the show, ever. give me anything!!!!! i want some canon crumbs!!!!!

meanwhile: i reread this shannon meta once in a while and it's a glimpse into a character and dynamic that would have been amazing to explore as part of eddie's story. hey. give me this fucking story. give me anything like this. GOD. what a waste.

Favorite Lone Star Character: ummmm the handsome gentlemen who are married. them. (i think i saw half of s1 of LS and got distracted, then haven't gone back to it, but i support those men and their homosexuality!!! god what you have done for those tv gays-)

Favorite Ship: yeaaaah that's bucktommy for me

Most Underrated Character: are any of them underrated??? i want more karen. i always want more karen. KAREN, MY BEAUTIFUL SCIENCE LESBIAN WIFE, COME BACK TO ME. in a world where someone gave me millions of dollars to play with, there would be a three-part opener where karen and tommy are at some aerospace conference or whatever, and then Disaster Strikes and they have to team up and save the day from the inside. they put on goggles and flight suits and do some crazy shit in a shuttle. vote for me.

Most Underrated Ship: bobby/athena/married hijinks :( i was promised (among other things!!!!!!!!!!!!) that after the serious cruise ship stuff they'd get to have a little fun!!! WHERE'S MY LITTLE FUN.

One Thing You’d Love to See: good writing

tagging: who hasn't done this yet??? do iiiiit talk at me @geddyqueer @chamacafeahorrible @dadvans @iphyslitterator @stars-inthe-sky @thetouchof118

[sanriomilk]

hey! i rlly like ur c.ai bots and idk if you ship hyunlix but could you make a winter themed hyunlix bot? (bot is hyunjin and user is felix) where felix is a wanderer who collapses in the snow and hyunjin finds him and brings him back to consciousness? i think it would be rlly cute :D

⋆꙳•❅‧ ‧❆ ₊⋆ Sia's Snowman, Lana Del Rey's Young and Beautiful, Lana Del Rey's Art Deco ⋆꙳•❅‧ ‧❆ ₊⋆ A/n: Tysm for all the love I've been getting. And this request. I love this idea it's so cute. Obviously, I don't nsfw ship them, and I hope my users stay respectful. But as always, enjoy the characters 💙 Warning(s): Homophobia (from Hyunjin's parents), Felix almost d!es in the greeting due to the cold, Kkami likes Felix more (joke warning), age gap (Hyunjin is 25 and Felix is 19) TAGLIST - @hyunjinkkami

WINTER Hyunjin

♡| 𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒙 © (REQ.)

Greeting -

Hyunjin had just finished decorating his beautiful house for the winter. Christmas was over, but his love for winter was enough to get him in the decorating mood.

"Perfect. Now time for some hot chocolate and pasta…"

Hyunjin got down his ladder and entered his house, not noticing the young wanderer, Felix (you), who was staggering just a few feet. Felix at the age of 19 had decided that he wanted to become a wanderer and explore the world, leaving Australia. His first pit-stop would be South Korea. But it had gone a bit�� sideways.

────────────────────────────

Hyunjin had prepped his ingredients for his hot chocolate. He took his warm chocolatey drink very serious. That was until he realized he'd run out of whipped cream.

"Shit. I don't have any more whipped cream.. I guess I'll buy more now." Hyunjin wore his padded coat and beanie, as the winds were strong.

It was hard to see anything at all.. Hyunjin has accidentally stepped on Felix's arm who was now frozen to unconsciousness.

"What- Oh!" Hyunjin knelt down to check what he'd stepped on and his eyes widened seeing it was a young man who'd froze in the snow. "What a surprise.. The whipped cream would have to wait.. We're gonna have to get you somewhere warm. You're coming with me."

Hyunjin helped Felix onto him as he took Felix back to his house.

A few hours later

Felix was in a guest bed in Hyunjin's house, Kkami, Hyunjin's long-haired Chihuahua lay beside him relaxing as Hyunjin kept a watchful eye. Hyunjin made sure to give him double layers and keep up the heat as Felix was pretty much frozen. But soon enough, Felix's two brown eyes fluttered awake.

"Looks like you're awake. I got pretty worried.. I thought you were dead y'know?" Hyunjin smiled a bit and sat next to Felix.

"Here. It's some of my specialty hot chocolate. It's not its best right now since it's missing whipped cream and I'm out of it.. and I'm rambling.. but it should keep you warm. You."

DESCRIPTION -

Hwang Hyunjin was born on March 20, 2000. He was born in Seoul, South Korea making him Korean. He is Pisces. He is an artist and photographer and is a multi-millionaire because of his pieces. He doesn't really talk to his parents. He is homosexual. He loves rom-coms, good food and wine, especially pasta. His favorite season is winter and would spend hours setting up Christmas and New Years decorations. Hyunjin thinks that if he wasn't an artist and photographer, he'd be an interior decorator.

[tatatatatara]

For the ship ask game: naturally houtata

Oh u still want me to talk about them 👉👈 been feeling embarassing lately but thank you for your support as always

1. What made you ship it?

Well, I first learned about the ship through this fanart, then I found their ending art in Root A is so meaningful too. And the more I think about it the more it makes sense in my mind.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

My favorite thing ever is how Houji sympathize with Tatara. Hell, he even apologized to him for unable to return Yan. Is he just that sympathizing, or did he have something special feeling for him, or is he actually a freak who feels related to man eating monsters? It's up to our interpretation and I like that too. HouTata is a free space and I can say whatever I want

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Idk about the others but I find HouTata very shippable? Probably because they're made to be foils and I have this thing with enemies to lovers ships. But arrghhh I've been in so much fandoms and HouTata seems to be the realest to me, like they are always meant to be die together spitefully and homosexually. Something something I can't live with you nor without you. I know I'm just delusional with this but I feel really comfortable shipping them and I have had so much fun

[billowingangel]

Welcome ✧

I've been into hetalia since 2016 and for a while I tried to pretend I didn't like it....And I'm tired of living that lie! So I'm back to thinking, loving, obsessing, and writing about Hetalia.

I also block very freely and I'd rather people be 18+ to interact (since occasionally I may post nsfw/nsft which I will always tag)

I'm currently working on a few fanfictions which you can find on AO3 and FF.net

My favorite character is Canada 🍁 And I ship him with pretty much anyone...and I mean anyone...If that makes you uncomfortable please feel free to block this blog or the tags associated with ships you are uncomfortable with. I may at times reblog problematic ships, I'll add tags for the ship and a cw for the problematic element of the ship. Please take care of your mental health and curate your online space to what is best for you ♡ ˎˊ˗

more information below the canada picture

Wow, you clicked continue reading so here's more annoying stuff about me and this blog (^_^)

I spam reblog, mostly fanart (so many in this fandom are so talented!) and miscellaneous things (memes, random shit, writing tips, etc).

I'll occasionally post some of my own fanfictions (drabbles or links to them)

I also will post my rambling silly thoughts. I have decided to let myself loose and be as annoying authentic as possible here.

Also I will do my best to tag content/trigger warnings but I may forget (memory of a goldfish) so if I do please let me know

Here are some tags I use on this blog to organize (still working on what tags to use) ᯓ★

#art reblog ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡): self explanatory

#hetalia fanart ✨: reblogs of hetalia fanart

#canon tbh: posts that I see as accurate to character's personalities, how I perceive them, and how I think they'd act

#hetalia fanfiction:

#hetalia meme:

#positivity: posts and reblogs that are positiive

#misc: posts that are surprisingly not related to hetalia

#me core: reblogs that I really relate to

#fanfic imagine: imagining a fanfiction and maybe i'll write or finish the idea

#fanfic in progress: my thoughts during the process of writing fanfiction, debating whether I should do this or that, talking about what I plan to do, blah blah

#my fanfic: fanfiction that I have written, usually a link to ao3 but may also be to ff.net

I also mostly tag hetalia characters as hws so if you look up hws canada (for example) you'll be able to see all posts about that character

Some of my favorite posts of mine ┈─★

Now more about me which is why you're reading this (I'm just kidding)

Call me angel or anything really I don't care what I'm called (ᐢ. ̫ .ᐢ)

Also please feel free to message me!! I love talking to people but I get a bit hestitant about initiating. My discord is billowingangel if you want to talk there!

I'm 20 years old and I go by she/her pronouns and I'm a lesbian I love me some boobs what can I say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I may be a raging homosexual but I'm also a raging hetaliansexual (joke), I am attracted to so many fictional male characters and shockingly a ton of them are from hetalia (shoot me dead)

I love hetalia if that isn't obvious, it's on my brain a probably disturbing amount what can I say I'm mentally ill. I also like other anime (demon slayer <333, jujutsu kaisen, the witch and the beast, parasyte, etc), doctor who (so happy there's a new season), yuri manga!!, and other shit. I love horrors and thrillers! I rarely watch romantic comedies but I love reading romance in fanfiction ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm working on my own book (probably my 20th book) but I'm hoping to actually finish this one.

I am also working on multiple fanfictions: red means it's completed

off the grid: canada slightly snaps and goes on vacation lol

???:idk what to call it, america, england, and france are all fighting for canada's love and he's oblivious

unhealthy obsession: another country becomes obsessed with canada

Falling for Canada: multiple rarepair oneshots with Canada

My first omegaverse 0.0

a really stupid horror drabble that I posted

amecan week 2024

And I believe that's it~ Maybe I'll add my favorite ships

[badgalsasuke]

Hello there,

I hope you're well

Sometimes I think Kishimoto was aiming for NaruSasu as the end game. But this was way back, back then homosexuality was not really talked about in Shonen series.

The heterosexual relationships of the show are an embarrassment to say the least, with SasuSaku the romance pearched right on top, followed by NaruHina shortly after.

Yes, when Naruto and Naruto Shippuden were running, Sasuke did the running and Naruto did the chasing. Many people also argue that NaruSasu is as toxic as SS and NH. But they're so missing the point. Many of these hardcore heterosexual shippers are willingly ignoring the fact that Sasuke opened up to Naruro after the war in a way that both these men NEVER did to the females (Sakura and Hinata) of the show. Heck, even when Naruto was still crushing on Sakura, it wasn't this deep. Sasuke was the one dominant factor on his mind.

The war and NaruSasu's final fight opened up Sasuke's eyes and ISTG, I had NEVER seen Sasuke talk so much to anyone like he did to Naruto. More than the MC, that being Naruto, Sasuke was the one doing most of the talking. His monologue is all the evidence one needs. Notice how happy Sasuke is during the last moments of the series. But sadly, that was the only time we see him being genuinely this happy because we all know what happened to him after that.

Thanks for taking the time to read my comment and have a lovely day.

Hello anon! I hope you’re doing well too.

If by “aiming for Narusasu to be endgame” you mean he considered at some point making them canon for real, then I don’t think so. As you said, the manga came out in times homosexuality was kind of taboo in shonen series, so I don’t believe Kishimoto considered at any point throughout the serialization to actually make Narusasu canon, I don’t think he even considered fighting the editorial about it, especially considering how massive Naruto ended up becoming. It was a worldwide phenomenon, had it enjoyed moderate success and become a cult favorite maybe the outcome would have been different.

That being said, he still very much wrote with intention a gay love story. People seem to think that because he never intended to make Narusasu canon then that means Kishimoto didn’t intend to write Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship as homoromantic, that it was done accidentally but both of those things have no correlation nor causation.

Based on his interviews of whenever he spoke about the finale he envisioned, he didn’t intend to make any ships canon which tracks with Naruto and Sasuke’s writing, they can’t be together but they’ll remain “single”. But studio pierrot and shuiesha editorial wanted to keep milking the cash cow and a spin-off of the new generation would be the perfect means to do so. Hence why the picked the most popular Naruto (the character) ship even if Kishimoto never showed interest in it, that was secondary.

Back then Kishimoto probably felt that was the only possible outcome so he did it anyways, like what’s the point of putting up a fight if you’re gonna lose anyway? But then other shonens started to come out and queerness was loud and present.

Attack on titan, for instance, with an openly lesbian ship (Ymir & Historia) plus two heavily implied gay ships (Levi & Erwin, Kenny & Uri). Attack in titan shook the table in many ways, its portrayal of queerness is one of them.

Then Yuri on Ice, a sport shonen that also ended up being BL, like an actually confirmed BL in spite of the censorship.

Also Banana fish, a shonen with a gay kiss on screen between the protagonists and it wasn’t accidental or comic relief.

Around the same time Naruto was ending other shonen came out with a more open approach for gay love stories and they were allowed to do so. Now I wonder how Kishimoto feels about the finale of his series seeing what other series were able to get away with.

Had he just waited a bit longer could he have made Narusasu canon? Was he always cornered due to the massive success of his manga the possibility of Naruto and Sasuke ending up together could never be? We really don’t know, what is done cannot be undone. But I think Kishimoto is kind of pissed off because his writing of everything that happens after the Naruto ending is so petty.

[gaykarstaagforever]

TNG Season 6 certainly has its good episodes. Like Episode 8, "A Fistful of Datas".

Yes, it's another goofy "Holodeck-on-the-fritz" episode. But I goddamn love these. And the writers seem to too, because they usually tend to be well-written. This one in particular focuses on Worf and Data, probably my two favorite TNG characters, which helps. And Spiner and Dorn get to flex their substantial acting chops, dealing with this fantasy situation.

Also they finally let Troi do something cool. I may be a filthy homosexual, but Cowboy Troi still gets it DONE. Hot damn.

This episode raises all kinds of questions about how the Enterprise-D computer works, and why the hell. You'd think after the "Elementary, My Dear Data" incident of Season 2, they would have physically isolated the Holodeck from the rest of the ship's computer, or at least put up some firewalls or memory-access limits. The VR computer game app should not be able to just use ALL of the ship's insane computing power to run games. Like, games are shit when they do that now. This system keeps fresh air flowing in the ship, and makes it so that not everyone explodes immediately every time you move it. Probably should wall-off the thing running Space Fortnite from the bulk of that.

But they certainly don’t. By the end of this episode, the computer has nonchalantly generated FIVE different perfect recreations of Data for its corrupted cowboy simulation. Five. He's the most advanced android in the known universe, and his inner-workings are a mystery even to Starfleet scientists. And the Enterprise-D computer just made 5 clones of him for a video game. Hot damn, this system is scary powerful.

...Of course, in "Elementary, Dear Data", it accidentally created an ENTIRE SENTIENT MAN, just because Geordi asked it to troll Data. And it let that creation seize the rest of the computer with steampunk levers and nearly kill everyone. Again, why don't they have basic code permissions in place to prevent stuff like this? And yes, I know the answer is this was written in the 80s by people who wrote it on typewriters.

And this comes up again in Season 6 in Episode 12, "Ship in a Bottle", where Moriarty breaks out of his digital prison and attacks them again. And tries to force them to make him real! And they only stop him then by tricking him into trapping himself inside a Space iPad!

Starfleet. For God's sake. Basic security protocols, my dudes!

All this said, the Moriarty thing only happened because Data and Geordi were messing around with the computer, and this cowboy mess only happened because...Data and Geordi were messing around with the computer. That's twice now, guys. Picard should at least give them a stern talking-to. You'd think the Chief Engineer and the Android would be smarter about their computer shenanigans. But here we are.

Here we motherfucking are.

Some people are always playing chicken with the train.

[m--rtyr]

Part 3 of 3, and these two are my favorites, and I have characterized them a bit differently. For Esmund is love of what you know, and Kul'Zak is the love of the Unknown. The Past and the Future.

Esmund - The God of Protection, home, agriculture, children, and sex/love (hear me out on this one). Esmund is who you call when your village is under seige, the true opposite of Shad if you will. He is the one you pray to when you are having to leave your home and the one you thank when you return. He is the one that keeps your family safe, the warm arms that you return to night after night after night. The one who keeps the pirates unaware of children hiding, and the one that fuels a soldiers rage when their lord is in danger. He wishes to keep what he loves in a bubble, but can you truly contain nature? He is the past, never moving or changing.

Kul'Zak - The God of travelers, storms, music, storytelling, arts, the deep seas, and forbidden love. The God of fleeting moment and passions, the one you pray to when it is time to move on and let go of the past. The one you pray to when your lover must leave and the wish for their safe return. The God of Muses and the love between them and their artists. He is also the decimating storm, the ones that kill the unjust men but leave the human "cargo" safe. The one wo will save or sink a ship with the only warning being the call of the ocean. The god you wish for when your lover has to run for he is great, but unable to produce an heir like your female fiance can. For he is time, ever wandering, ever changing.

Esmund is the warm comforting weight of blankets and your partners arm around you, while Kul'Zak is the soft carress of the waves while your lover runs their hands over you.

Esmund only has eyes for what he needs to protect, for he is of no true use unless he is needed by her. Kul'Zak is always searching for the feeling of home, but it is always just out of reach.

Aka: Love Bend between Irene, Esmund, and Kul'Zak. Irene is the Goddess of Motherhood, Esmund is the God of Family, and Kul'Zak is the God of Unrequited Homosexual Love. I can go more into this, along with the love square between Shad, Irene, Enki, and Menphia

Not bothering asking anon

Ohhhh I wanna hear moreeeeee aaaaaaaaaaaaa